It's the 24th of June. I'm listening to Journey and, of course, writing a blog entry. There has been a lot on my mind lately. I'm pretty sure that, instead of being a dedicated review of the school year, this will become a mass of my thoughts over the last few days, or weeks.
A retrospective; First half (September to December)
Let's begin with a look at the year, shall we? A bit of preamble here. The summer prior to the Grade 11 year was filled with the same old, usual nothings. August was filled with work. Whether it was the actual job I had or the time-consuming extra-credit Socials 11 project, I found that a lot of my time was devoted to these. My job went to hell; all of the old co-workers who I had worked with in my earlier months (2006) slowly drifted away from work. I would find that I would drift as well. The extra-credit work was stressing because I never found that I had the work ethic to finish it. When crunch time came around, only then would I work on it. This procrastination would spread the seeds of my decline to come.
September seemed like it offered optimism. A new year, new classes, more freedom in the way of administration relations; it seemed like the year would be good. Still, stupidly, I'd have the feelings for somebody who, in retrospect, was a foolish gamble. Perhaps there's a section for love, though. The work didn't seem so bad but, as it was to be expected, it was only the beginning of the year. October rolled around and, to be honest, I can't remember much of that. Halloween was the obligatory Guy Fawkes mask with casuals. November I can't remember either except for "Remembrance Day Hockey". It was the first time, if I remember correctly, that we gathered together to play some hockey for a good few hours. Things went well but I remember spraining my ankle on a slap-shot. Terrible.
With December came Christmas fever. I don't remember if I had money to get people gifts; I can't remember if I even got my family gifts. I know; it's terrible. I suck at managing my own money. I can't remember much in the way of school; I was caught up in the fever that was Rock Band. Revolution for the rhythm-game industry. It played to my liking of genres and, of course, liking of instrumental peripherals. I was shot down when I didn't get it for Christmas. That was really selfish. It was stupid. I wasn't content with what I had. And the year ended on a sour note as well.
A retrospective; Second half (January to June)
As the hours, to minutes, to seconds ticked away on the 31st of December, I thought that 2008 would be different. I thought 2008 would be a clean slate for me. I set out my resolutions for the year and, as I lay here with this laptop, I see that none of my resolutions have come to fruition. Perhaps in another time, things would have been different. As they stand now, however, they do not.
January brought the exam crunch. I didn't end up studying much, if at all, and as a result my exams suffered. I hit Bs across the board in most subjects (at least the ones I know of) and I'm sure I ended up a disappointment. The report cards rolled around and I managed to stay on the 4.0 roll. I guess it was luck that I didn't hit the Bs for the academic subjects. February I cannot quite remember either. I don't remember anything eventful. The same goes for March and April. I've got quite the troubled memory, though, so I'm probably missing something really important.
May was a month where I could not wait for the summer. I realized then that the year had gone to hell for me; there was no way I could possibly redeem my grades. I slacked off more, missed school because of unfinished homework, and let my social life take over my academics. Perhaps I should've seen that as a signal of my failures and should have tried to amend that; I didn't. Before I knew it, June rolled around and so did exam studying. Of course, I didn't study for those exams. I threw it all away. All that potential to do well was thrown away for the pursuit of a good time. My exam marks suffered as a result; it was only by luck that I did not fail those exams. I had truly hit rock bottom.
And while I lay here and remember the promise I told my parents, I remember that I never won any awards. Crumbling under pressure or just a failure to live up to my potential?
The Classes
Math 11 - The last year of Math I would ever take. It was a decent year. There were about 5 guys in this class but I don't think any of us minded. I sat by the lights and door the whole year with Mike, Alfonzo, and Grace. I'd say it was good for the year; no real distractions but the ones we gave ourselves. Could've done better in terms of marks, though.
Writing 12 (Journalism) - The Green Ink. At first, I came into this course with hope. Having been switched out of B block Religion and into this, I came in expecting that this course would be good. The hope soon turned to despair, however, when I saw the cast of players. Some were great workers for the Ink; others were far too elitist in pushing their own agendas onto the school. This course is terrible when you have members of the staff who don't do their work. I'm glad it's over.
English 11 - Another year with Mr. Hughes. I can't say that this was a bad course. I can't say that it was particularly great either. What I remember, mainly, is the emphasis on essay writing. We spent many, many months on this; perhaps far too many months. As a result, this cut into our poetry time. We had about 3-4 weeks on poetry. With poetry pushed back, novel studies suffered. We had about 2 weeks on "Lord of the Flies". Great teaching but poor time management.
Writing 12 (Creative) - One of the most laid-back classes I had. It was a good experience for letting the creative juices flow for writing. It's really helped my writing style. Where once I came in with the biggest of words and the longest of sentences, I know leave with the knowledge of variety. It was stupid that this did not dawn on me before but, when you hold your own work in high regard, you tend to be blind-sided by your self-proclaimed majesty. The leeway was my downfall, however. I often used the time we had negatively and slacked off, often finishing stories or pieces a night before or on the day of the deadline. This is especially true of my 2nd-term portfolio project. Four months and I have nothing to show for it. It's worth 30% of my mark. If I've done my calculations correctly, I end up with 56% to show for the year.
Spanish 11 - Ah, Spanish. I've been with the same people for the last four years. It has been a good four years and there aren't many negatives to the whole experience. Out of Spanish, I'd say, would be Los Tres Amigos, or Palma, Bryan, and I. Extended, Matthew and Luttrell fit into that. We may have been overworked sometimes but I think that helped me study in the long run. Mr. Moscoso was a good change for a brief period but soon we were lost in the books, trying to find what we were being taught. I'm glad that Spanish is over for most of us. I can't say that Spanish 12 will be the same but I'm happy to have been granted a unique opportunity for it.
Religion 11 - This was a good class. I started out the year sitting with Etienne in the column of tables farthest from the main door. Some time in the middle of the year I switched over to sit in the third column with Bryan, Matthew, Luttrell, and Marayag (provided one of them was absent). In the final bit of the year, I sat with Sean or Etienne, with one of them nearby. Was it a good class? I'd say yes. I was afraid it would be history heavy (having seen the presentations of years past) but I was delighted to have something very different. Was I envious of Holowka's class? I'd say I would be but this class helped me rediscover my Catholic faith.
Chemistry 11 - Like Math, this would be my last Science class ever. I started out the year with promise and I still remember scoring the highest on the first test. Never again, it would seem. From then on, I would see a decline in my grasp of Chemistry. I was never one for it. I soldiered on and saw, with the Midterm, that preparation was definitely needed. I did not take the hint. I finished the Final with 68% and 83% on the year. A far cry from the 90% I had from first term. Was the drop worth the joy of not needing Science any longer? Probably not.
Socials 11 - Ironically, Socials was one of my favourite courses. Sure, I was put off my the administrative decision of Mrs. Anderson over Mr. Donnici but I persevered. Geography and government were never my strong points in the course and this showed. History was where I shone. The years of reading encyclopedias as a child and those Wikipedia late-nighters (where I would find myself going from page to page reading about history) finally paid off. Without studying, I could easily B (and A) most tests. The lack of work ethic became my downfall, however. I don't think that I did too well on the Provincial and, as a result, with my overall mark.
A retrospective; First half (September to December)
Let's begin with a look at the year, shall we? A bit of preamble here. The summer prior to the Grade 11 year was filled with the same old, usual nothings. August was filled with work. Whether it was the actual job I had or the time-consuming extra-credit Socials 11 project, I found that a lot of my time was devoted to these. My job went to hell; all of the old co-workers who I had worked with in my earlier months (2006) slowly drifted away from work. I would find that I would drift as well. The extra-credit work was stressing because I never found that I had the work ethic to finish it. When crunch time came around, only then would I work on it. This procrastination would spread the seeds of my decline to come.
September seemed like it offered optimism. A new year, new classes, more freedom in the way of administration relations; it seemed like the year would be good. Still, stupidly, I'd have the feelings for somebody who, in retrospect, was a foolish gamble. Perhaps there's a section for love, though. The work didn't seem so bad but, as it was to be expected, it was only the beginning of the year. October rolled around and, to be honest, I can't remember much of that. Halloween was the obligatory Guy Fawkes mask with casuals. November I can't remember either except for "Remembrance Day Hockey". It was the first time, if I remember correctly, that we gathered together to play some hockey for a good few hours. Things went well but I remember spraining my ankle on a slap-shot. Terrible.
With December came Christmas fever. I don't remember if I had money to get people gifts; I can't remember if I even got my family gifts. I know; it's terrible. I suck at managing my own money. I can't remember much in the way of school; I was caught up in the fever that was Rock Band. Revolution for the rhythm-game industry. It played to my liking of genres and, of course, liking of instrumental peripherals. I was shot down when I didn't get it for Christmas. That was really selfish. It was stupid. I wasn't content with what I had. And the year ended on a sour note as well.
A retrospective; Second half (January to June)
As the hours, to minutes, to seconds ticked away on the 31st of December, I thought that 2008 would be different. I thought 2008 would be a clean slate for me. I set out my resolutions for the year and, as I lay here with this laptop, I see that none of my resolutions have come to fruition. Perhaps in another time, things would have been different. As they stand now, however, they do not.
January brought the exam crunch. I didn't end up studying much, if at all, and as a result my exams suffered. I hit Bs across the board in most subjects (at least the ones I know of) and I'm sure I ended up a disappointment. The report cards rolled around and I managed to stay on the 4.0 roll. I guess it was luck that I didn't hit the Bs for the academic subjects. February I cannot quite remember either. I don't remember anything eventful. The same goes for March and April. I've got quite the troubled memory, though, so I'm probably missing something really important.
May was a month where I could not wait for the summer. I realized then that the year had gone to hell for me; there was no way I could possibly redeem my grades. I slacked off more, missed school because of unfinished homework, and let my social life take over my academics. Perhaps I should've seen that as a signal of my failures and should have tried to amend that; I didn't. Before I knew it, June rolled around and so did exam studying. Of course, I didn't study for those exams. I threw it all away. All that potential to do well was thrown away for the pursuit of a good time. My exam marks suffered as a result; it was only by luck that I did not fail those exams. I had truly hit rock bottom.
And while I lay here and remember the promise I told my parents, I remember that I never won any awards. Crumbling under pressure or just a failure to live up to my potential?
The Classes
Math 11 - The last year of Math I would ever take. It was a decent year. There were about 5 guys in this class but I don't think any of us minded. I sat by the lights and door the whole year with Mike, Alfonzo, and Grace. I'd say it was good for the year; no real distractions but the ones we gave ourselves. Could've done better in terms of marks, though.
Writing 12 (Journalism) - The Green Ink. At first, I came into this course with hope. Having been switched out of B block Religion and into this, I came in expecting that this course would be good. The hope soon turned to despair, however, when I saw the cast of players. Some were great workers for the Ink; others were far too elitist in pushing their own agendas onto the school. This course is terrible when you have members of the staff who don't do their work. I'm glad it's over.
English 11 - Another year with Mr. Hughes. I can't say that this was a bad course. I can't say that it was particularly great either. What I remember, mainly, is the emphasis on essay writing. We spent many, many months on this; perhaps far too many months. As a result, this cut into our poetry time. We had about 3-4 weeks on poetry. With poetry pushed back, novel studies suffered. We had about 2 weeks on "Lord of the Flies". Great teaching but poor time management.
Writing 12 (Creative) - One of the most laid-back classes I had. It was a good experience for letting the creative juices flow for writing. It's really helped my writing style. Where once I came in with the biggest of words and the longest of sentences, I know leave with the knowledge of variety. It was stupid that this did not dawn on me before but, when you hold your own work in high regard, you tend to be blind-sided by your self-proclaimed majesty. The leeway was my downfall, however. I often used the time we had negatively and slacked off, often finishing stories or pieces a night before or on the day of the deadline. This is especially true of my 2nd-term portfolio project. Four months and I have nothing to show for it. It's worth 30% of my mark. If I've done my calculations correctly, I end up with 56% to show for the year.
Spanish 11 - Ah, Spanish. I've been with the same people for the last four years. It has been a good four years and there aren't many negatives to the whole experience. Out of Spanish, I'd say, would be Los Tres Amigos, or Palma, Bryan, and I. Extended, Matthew and Luttrell fit into that. We may have been overworked sometimes but I think that helped me study in the long run. Mr. Moscoso was a good change for a brief period but soon we were lost in the books, trying to find what we were being taught. I'm glad that Spanish is over for most of us. I can't say that Spanish 12 will be the same but I'm happy to have been granted a unique opportunity for it.
Religion 11 - This was a good class. I started out the year sitting with Etienne in the column of tables farthest from the main door. Some time in the middle of the year I switched over to sit in the third column with Bryan, Matthew, Luttrell, and Marayag (provided one of them was absent). In the final bit of the year, I sat with Sean or Etienne, with one of them nearby. Was it a good class? I'd say yes. I was afraid it would be history heavy (having seen the presentations of years past) but I was delighted to have something very different. Was I envious of Holowka's class? I'd say I would be but this class helped me rediscover my Catholic faith.
Chemistry 11 - Like Math, this would be my last Science class ever. I started out the year with promise and I still remember scoring the highest on the first test. Never again, it would seem. From then on, I would see a decline in my grasp of Chemistry. I was never one for it. I soldiered on and saw, with the Midterm, that preparation was definitely needed. I did not take the hint. I finished the Final with 68% and 83% on the year. A far cry from the 90% I had from first term. Was the drop worth the joy of not needing Science any longer? Probably not.
Socials 11 - Ironically, Socials was one of my favourite courses. Sure, I was put off my the administrative decision of Mrs. Anderson over Mr. Donnici but I persevered. Geography and government were never my strong points in the course and this showed. History was where I shone. The years of reading encyclopedias as a child and those Wikipedia late-nighters (where I would find myself going from page to page reading about history) finally paid off. Without studying, I could easily B (and A) most tests. The lack of work ethic became my downfall, however. I don't think that I did too well on the Provincial and, as a result, with my overall mark.
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