When I was a in middle school, I was on the quiz bowl team. The tournaments were nonchalant, the questions were manageable, and the teams all competed to have a good time, not just to advance. Because the experience was enjoyable in middle school, I decided that I would also brave the unknown murky waters of high school scholars bowl; I was under the assumption that it would be the same for the most part. This assumption was severely misguided. I remember strolling into the classroom for my first day of practice and being surrounded by people who seemed to be far more knowledgeable than me (especially Macy Davis). Mr. Kucharik was sitting at the front of the room manning the buzzer. This frightened me because I was a young naïve freshman, and we were all led to believe that Mr. K absolutely despised freshman. The practice was not at all what I expected. Asking us impossible college level questions, Mr. Kucharik seemed to love watching us struggle. The man was sadistic. Transitioning from questions such as “What kind of clouds produce thunderstorms?” to questions about novels that I’d never even heard of was demanding to say the least. After attending several practices, at which I did horribly every morning, we finally participated in our first tournament of the year. It was my first time ever leaving the school with Mr. Kucharik and absolutely did not go the way I hoped it would. When we first arrived in the parking lot outside of the tournament, I made a joke that he
Students who are becoming freshmen often ask “what’s it like to be in high school?” High school is not what you think. Freshmen don’t get pushed in lockers, there's not that one popular girl who shoves other students books out of their hands, and the cafeteria is not the most embarrassing place to be. High school is not an amicable. If you really think high school is a amicable place where students smile at each other, think again. Here is some advice from my high school experience.
In middle school, 5th to 8th grade, I endure multiple adjective to describe my experience in middle school. While in Middle School, I struggle with my appearance which has stayed as an adult. For I always look at myself and all the flaws in my features, as my family members and/or friends state my beauty features, I will brushed them off by stating the negative feature I visually observe. Until recently, I’ve overcome my inability of reading in public and/or to my peers. As my cousin passed away tragically, his mother (my Aunt) asked if I will read his poem to her and a group of 50 strangers. She knew my fear of public speaking, she also knew my dream of becoming a teacher and starting to a career as a substitute teacher. Therefore, she knew I needed to overcome the fear of speaking. I am extremely pleased with myself to speak clearly and to have the strength and encouragement of my family to overcome my greatest fear with a poem in dedication to my beloved cousin.
My middle school experience has been like a rollercoaster, full of ups and down and sharp twist and turns that either make me scream in excitement or cry in fear, and in the end, it went by too quickly making me question whether I want to experience it all over again or leave and never turn back. No matter how I feel about it, middle school has shaped who I am today. Since the beginning of 6th grade till now, the end of 8th grade, I’ve changed a lot. I’m not just walking able gaining weight and growing a few inches; I’m talking about what I discovered. The last 3 years has taught me many lessons and helped me grow emotionally and changed my view of the world, the people around me and myself.
When I first heard of academic bowl in my freshman year, I never realized how much I would enjoy joining the team. Seemingly random information I had picked up from the internet or tv shows actually got put to use, winning matches. Who knew Star Trek would help me answer more than one astronomy question. Even the music on my iPod helped my friend and I win our first junior varsity match, our two person team beating the full four person team. The wide range of topics meant everyone on the team was important for their “specialty” subjects like sports, literature, music, or tv and movies, creating a wonderful team dynamic.
Throughout middle school and the beginning of high school I faced many challenges with my grades. These challenges made me grow and help shape who I am today. In my early teenage years I would view my school work not important. My perspective on priorities were all wrong. As I became older and matured I realized that. I realized school is the most important thing because my future depends on how I do. I realized if I want to go to a good college and have a successful career I have to work hard in school to get there. As high school went by my grades got better and I saw a better version of myself. My grades went from C’s and D’s to A’s and B’s in all my classes. I began to be attentive in class, and be productive and take notes. I did my school
I’ve grown and changed through the past few years. Sadly I did not grow height wise. I’m still the same short girl who everyone knows around here. I’ve grown to be mature and independent at a young age.
During my teenage years, I was extremely indecisive in the career I wanted to pursue and if I could even successfully complete middle school and high school. I was constantly surrounded by students who were not enthusiastic about academic performance and I did the minimum effort to get through the academic week. Education was my least priority.
High School is said to be the easiest time of a young adult’s life. Our teachers help us and remind us to turn in our work. We don’t even have to study much for our test. We don’t have to pay taxes either. But in college, you have to pay for everything, including taxes and room and board. In high school we just kind of coast through and take what our parents do for us for granted. I will discuss my first prom in sophomore year and building prom as a junior.
The transition from Middle School to High School can be overwhelming for many students. Having a Peer Leader makes the transition easier because the new student has someone to talk to that has been through the same experiences they will soon encounter. Peer Leadership is a great opportunity to enhance my leadership skills, be a role model, and share my experiences with others. I will be able to show the incoming students how to maintain a balance between school and extracurricular activities, and make the most out of their experience at New Providence High School. From my own transition into high school I know how important the Peer Leaders were to make my freshman year successful. These are some of the reasons I would like to be a part of the Peer Leader’s.
Other’s see the empty hallways, staircases, sport fields and classrooms as a time to replay the good times with their friends laughing, being stupid or sometimes sadness. What I relive are the memories of my classmates laughing at my attire, crushes humiliating and degrading me or even using my intelligence for their own personal gain. High school was like my middle school experience; just older and matured people who knew how to make bullying unnoticeable. I felt like:
The high school experience is something that will forever dominate the psyche of most American adults. It was an unforgettable time of fun, rebel-rousing, summer loves and parties. It was a time of warm summer days at the pool and chilly autumn nights, watching the football team and wondering were the party was going to be that night. School dances and hotel parties. Seems like all I can remember are the good times. High School is a very emotional time for many teens and everything matters. The insidious problems that I had to face are but a smudge on my memory, things like too much homework, zits, mean people, gossip, and algebra. The social atmosphere that permeated every aspect of high school could
Going into high school didn’t give me the effect I was expecting. Instead of my usual indifference about life, I found a light at the end of the tunnel. My entire outlook was shifted from one point of the spectrum to its opposite. Everything I thought I knew had been revised in way. My experiences in high school have done a great job in shaping how I perceive the world. Freshman year is when I began learning about the real world.
For many people change is full of stressful and not welcome. Not a lot of people handle change well. It’s difficult to make changes when you are uncertain of what you want to be doing. Life is full of changes that are big and small. Some changes are taken solely by yourself, and others with a group of family or friends. Life is very dynamic and it always will be.
My high school experience could be compared to a roller coaster. At times, it seemed to only go down--with no tracks into the future. Other times there were unexpected twists and turns where all I could do was hold on for dear life and see where the ride would take me. Sometimes the crazy roller coaster ride ended abruptly while other times the ride seemed everlasting, never allowing me to catch a breath. Unlike a roller coaster, I can't go back and ride again, so I have to make the most of what I've got and move forward with a positive attitude into the future.
High school can be a difficult journey in one’s life. Teenagers create drama, teachers stress out students with an abundance of homework, and sometimes procrastination defeats the high schooler's will to get work done. Despite all of that, high school is great; one must look at the little moments, the fun times, and the friends throughout. Arnold Spirit, Jr. had an atypical freshman year in Sherman Alexie’s novel “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian,” and taught many lessons throughout the story. Arnold’s high school experience and my high school experience are different in the fact that he used his drawings for his words, and I used photography and music for mine; but our experiences are similar in the sense that we both began