Monday, May 17, 2010

Re: Robert's Overholt

Robert I would have to agree with you. This year has felt like that fastest year ever, and definitely the fastest semester this spring. I also remember walking into the room not knowing really what to think of the school, the people, the teachers, or my new classes. It was all new and ready to be discovered. This year I also have enjoyed watching everyone come closer together. Whether it be old friends from middle school, high school, or new friends everyone has come together. I especially agree with Robert with the unique situation that John's Creek offers. As upperclassmen, basically anything we want to do is open to us. Just the other day I walked into senior class council not knowing what I might get into and left a part of it. I think many people don't realize how many opportunities are truly open to them; just waiting to be taken up. It is a truly unique situation we have.

junior year

After going through another school year in my life, I would consider my junior year as a mostly successful one. In my decision to come to Johns Creek High School from Chattahoochee, I had many friends from both Northview and Chattahoochee that were going to the new school so I figured that I would take a chance at a fresh start and migrate somewhere else. I am not going to lie to you after the first couple weeks I was regretting my decision of coming to Johns Creek and even thinking about going back to Chattahoochee. There was no school spirit at all because of the lack of tradition. Also, the freshman and sophomores severely outnumbered the number classman by a ratio of around three to one. However, as traditions started to develop and the school year went on, I settled in and started to begin to like Johns Creek better than Chattahoochee. It feels like as an upperclassman at a new school, you have more freedom and power because the faculty wants you to make new traditions and show the younger classman how high school should be.

Football season was alright for the first year. We finished 6-4 although we did not play a region schedule. We played seven varsity teams and three junior varsity teams. It was not a bad start to the football tradition and Johns Creek High School however if we want to compete in a region schedule next year and win games, we are going to have to work I extremely hard in the weight room this summer and on our speed. I am looking forward to next year’s football season because it is going to be the last year of playing football in my life as of right now. I plan to make an all region team whether it be first team or second team at wide receiver.

Baseball was extremely solid for the first season. We beat many 5-aaaaa teams and finished the season with a winning record by seven or eight games. Many people thought that our record was not going to be good for a first year school but our freshman class stepped it up and contributed to our success. I think that we will definitely make playoffs next year and I plan to make it deep into the playoffs. The baseball team will definitely be the best sports team in the school next season in my opinion. A lot of talent lies in that rising sophomore class and a couple of experienced rising seniors such as myself will lead the way into the playoff race.

As for colleges, I hope to raise my SAT score ten points to make it a 1300 and then I am going to apply to Georgia and Georgia Tech so that hopefully I will get into one of those schools. I would love to go to the University of Georgia because I think the college experience as a whole would be the best and most affordable than any other college. Well, so long Mr. Glenn and I hope you are successful in whatever you choose to do after your teaching career comes to end.

Junior Year

Where do I begin? My junior year was something that I had not seen coming. It was completely different from my previous two years in high school. Like everyone else, I was heavily influenced by the change in schools. I guess I tried out a couple of new things at this school. For one, I tried out online courses. Well, I sort of regret taking them because of the amount of time they require. I also tried out classes that I never thought I would take. For instance, Music Theory. That class was something that I was not expecting, and I just entered the class hoping for the best. I think my wish came true, and if it did not, then it was very close to the best. I also tried theater with Mr. Glenn. It was super, duper, extreme fun. It’s so sad that Mr. Glenn (that traitor) is going to be leaving us.

Besides the new things I tried out, I also met a lot of new people. On my first day of school, I really did not know where to sit. I did not want to sit with Brittany and Steven because I wanted to meet new people. However, I did not know where to start. Despite the fact that the cafeteria at this school makes feel claustrophobic at times, I felt lost on the first day. I decided to sit down by myself for a couple minutes to see if there were people to sit by. All of a sudden, a kid came up from behind me and sat next to me. He asked me if I was Korean, and when I said I was, he gave me a big smile and said he was Korean as well. He said, “My name is Eugene. Let’s be friends.”

I know that there are a lot of outgoing people out there, but this one just caught me by surprise. Even more, when he started to tell me about himself, I found out that he was actually from Bolivia and that he was new to the country. Talk about taking the initiative. That lunch period ended with Eugene and I learning more about each other (but we eventually found ourselves at Steven and Brittany’s table unfortunately).

I made a lot more friends in all of my classes. I became friends with the valedictorian of our senior class, Rebecca Kim, and I became friends with one of the stupidest people that I have ever met (I’m not going to give the name). I became friends with an Indian freshman in the theater, and I became friends with an Asian senior that sang the National Anthem at the Awards Night. I became friends with a lot of different people. Back at Northview, I did not have a lot of choice in the type of friends. There were many, many Asians, and although I love my people, too much of anything is bad. Not only that, but Asians are also one of the most mob-minded people that I know. If I walked down the halls at Northview, I would somehow find myself in a slowly growing crowd of Asians. Even here, when I try to make new friends, I find that a disproportionate amount of my friends are Asians. Well, that’s a discussion for another day.

I meet a couple of my Northview friends from time to time, and we just hang out. A lot of the times, something feels different. I think it has to do with me being away from the group for such long periods of time, but I think there might be another underlying reason as well. My friends and I have become more mature, I think. Back at Northview, my friends and I used to have fun doing the most immature things. Now, when I see people doing immature things, I just want to punch them in the face, especially if they acted like I did back then. Perhaps it is not my friends who are more mature, but it is just me. After all, I know for a fact that one of my closest friends when to Northview on snow day and drew large inappropriate figures in the snow. I sort of miss being immature. It was easier to laugh back then. Now, I have reservations before I laugh, and I think to myself, “is it really okay to laugh at this?”

I guess that is one thing that has changed about me here. I guess I have become a bit older. I don’t say that just because I laugh less at crude jokes. I’m saying that because I can tell that my outlook on life has significantly changed. Sometimes, I’m not too sure what my outlook on life is, but I know that it is a whole lot different than the one that I used to have.

Johns Creek has made me feel a bit angrier, too. I guess that is a negative thing about this year. Back at Northview, I was one of the medium students in the socioeconomic levels. Now, I’m sure I am in the bottom 5 percent. I know that I should not feel this way, but it’s sort of an automatic human thought. I control it most of the time, but sometimes I want to punch the spoiled kids in the face (not every rich kid is spoiled, by the way. I only think the ones that brag about what their dad bought them are spoiled.)

Reflections for next year? I know that I am going to be staying at this school. Maybe, it’s better for me to go back to Northview, but I don’t want to give up on something that I just started. I came to this school because I was worried about regrets I would have later on in life if I didn’t come. Despite coming here, I still have many, many regrets. Next year, I’ll make sure to tackle my life even harder and make sure I don’t have any regrets at all.

5/17/10- My Junior Year

I didn't really know what to expect coming into this year to be completely honest with you. New school, new people, new teachers; anything could have happened, but thankfully, I had a very successful inaugural year at JCHS. It seems like yesterday I was walking into first period on the first day of school doing the get-to-know-your-classmate games and what not. At first, I was unhappy about my schedule because originally I wanted to stay enrolled in Spanish, but having so few students taking that class, the school only had one period of that, and it conflicted with my math class. I had to drop Spanish and take personal fitness and P.E. which I didn't really mind because my day included four AP classes so a little break was definitely necessary. I thought the AP classes I was in were going to be unbearable, but as the year went on, I found out that it really wasnt too bad as long as I paid attention in class and did assignments when I was supposed to.

In all honesty, this might have been the fastest school year I have ever experienced and I'm looking forward to our two week lengthened summer. I was never because everyone always warns you that junior year is the hardest and most important year and I agree completely. However, when I look back at my classes, it really wasnt as excruciating as I expected it to be. At times yes, I'll admit I was extremely burdened but on the average day, I just had a lot of reading to do and that was about it.

Soccer was a huge part to my junior year both in and out of school. At JCHS, the team was brand new and no one really knew what to expect. While we weren't the best soccer team ever, we had a pretty decent inaugural season and I think next year we will just continue to improve. We were just under 500 on our record and lost a close game in the playoffs to Druid Hills in PKS. Next year we will have a much older team and I think we have the potential to be able to do some work on teams. On my club team, we won our league, Region III Premier League which gave us an automatic bid to regionals in Baton Rouge this summer. I can't wait for the trip and to just relax some this last summer before I have to start preparing to go to college. Its so weird to think that I am a senior now when I feel like I was just starting high school as a freshman. I can't wait though to move on and start a new chapter of my life. Overall, the year was great and I'm really happy about how I ended up performing in all my classes and on all the AP exams. I hope next year is equally as fun (though hopefully not as hard) and that it goes by just as quick as this year.

Sunday, May 16, 2010

My Junior year

It seems like everyone else loved their junior year. Even though I can’t say I hated it, I definitely wouldn’t say it was any different than my other years in high school. And when I hear all of these people talking about how much they’ve changed from freshmen year to graduating from high school, it really makes me feel as if I’ve missed or am missing the whole “high school experience”.

Overall, I am glad I went to Johns Creek instead of staying at Chattahoochee. For one, I felt the academics here were soo much easier than in Hooch, where if I had decided to take four AP classes like I did this year, I would’ve been swamped. Here, I thought it was relatively easy to get good grades in all my classes allowing me to slack off like I usually do after the first month or so and leaving time for other things like hanging out with friends. Speaking of friends, one thing I really liked about Johns Creek was the fact that I met so many new people. By the end of the year, I felt like I knew pretty much everyone in the junior class since it was so small and all.

One problem with going to Johns Creek however, was the fact that throughout the year, I felt so incredibly bored at school– boredom which for some reason, I did not feel as much as at Hooch. Maybe it was because the junior class was relatively small or maybe it was due to the fact that since I decided I would take 4 AP classes, most of the people in most of these classes weren’t very socially or maybe it was because of the class sizes themselves (there were 4 people in my AP Chem class and 7 in my AP Calc class). Every day at Johns Creek felt the same as the last – same people, same schedule, same occurrences. I know this seems to contradict what I said earlier – about meeting new people – but looking back almost all of these new friends were ones I made outside of school. Even now, I get the feeling that if I had chosen to take for example, all on level classes, then I feel like I definitely would have met even more new people in school. Anyway after awhile, I would have to say this got really annoying even though I would also say that this perpetual boredom allowed me to come to the conclusion that perhaps in college, I would try to study abroad because after 12 years of living in the exact same place (Johns Creek) I am so ready to experience new places and new people.

Overall, though I would have to say that this was a beneficial year both academically and socially even though throughout it all, I always felt like something was missing. I am glad this year is finally coming to the close especially with the recent pressure of AP Exams and I can’t wait until the start of summer. I look forward to Senior year and I hope it’s a little more interesting in-school than junior year was for me.

Junior year is perhaps the year that I would want to redo. Not because it was a disappointment but because there were just so much more that I could have done. Looking back at things I think my ideal junior year in Johns Creek High School is one that incorporates things like getting more involved in starting up the school, having more time with friends, and making more friends. Of course, all of these things are stuff that are desirable for every year, but I think what is unique about my junior year is that I was not only going to a new school, but I was also an upperclassmen of a new school.
Those are all very dry, uninteresting stuff I mentioned up there. Well on the brighter side, my junior year was very enjoyable. I believe that the faculty at this new school was very supportive, and they helped me out a bunch with the transitioning to the new school. I also think that this facility is awesome and the fact that it is so close to my house means that I get more freedom because I could choose to walk home on days that I decide to stay afterschool. I also made a bunch of new friends around the school and got to know a lot of the faculty members. I also like the fact that there aren’t as much juniors in this school, which allows for more personalized attention from the faculty. I also enjoyed Mr. Glenn’s APLang class. I think those discussions we have in class were awesome (although sometimes the discussion itself goes bad, but those topics and questions are very well thought out). Other than that I think most of my classes were just mundane. Except 6th period which is basically a free period.
Okay I really don’t have much more to say about my junior year other than stuff about debate. I think debate dominated most of my junior year. I’ve travelled to I forgot how many different states for tournaments. We started a great foundation for the future of our debate team (like winning second in states etc).
Well since there isn’t much more to say about my junior I guess I could dedicate my next 200 or so words to those who made my junior year as awesome as it was (no order of importance).
1) Mr. Glenn – thanks for making language arts an enjoyable subject (that is actually a really hard fleet). Your audacity to argue against almost anything and everything makes you quite an awesome teacher. Good luck with whatever you are doing. I am sure everyone in the inaugural JCHS AP lang class will miss you.
2) Mr. Spiegel – Who is probably one of my favorite teachers of all time. Without him, there would be no JCHS debate team (which happens to be where most of my life is). He is always fun and supportive.
3) Nick Jeon – My debate partner, who had the patience to sit through my speeches. Indisputably a great guy to have on your side. We will kick ass next year.
4) Brittany Liebenow – Probably the closest friend I have coming to JCHS. Glad to see you enjoying new company and congratulations in advanced (I can clarify this later)
5) TAG office – A group of awesome teachers who I hang out with at 6th period. They are very supportive and friendly.
6) Counseling department – very supportive and will listen to my complaints/ questions. I couldn’t have done most of what I did this year without them.
7) The debaters – a new set of friends who are fun to be around, we all come from different backgrounds and have different preferences, but it is that diversity that made debate practice and debate tournaments amusing.
8) New friends – Julia, Elizabeth, Sarah, Sally, Sydney (and other people who are not in the class and will thus not read this), thanks for making this year bearable and enjoyable.
9) Everyone else- I know this might have defeated the point of making a list in the first place, and I know I might not like everyone in the school, and I know I might not even know everyone in the school, but I guess everyone played a part in making my junior year what it is so I thank them for that.

The Last One

This is the last blog of the year. With it comes a time to reflect and ponder all that has happened over the last year.
Junior year, Junior year...where to begin. How about the BEGINning. Coming into this year I didn't really know what to think. I was not one of those kids that came to JC hating their old school. I liked Northview and the friends that I left behind. Walking in on that first day was kind of weird. I was unsure of myself along with being completely lost. It did not help that the map we were given was wrong AND the homeroom s were all changed at the last minute AND there was more kid than chairs. But that is just what you have to go through as a first year school. Although there have been some rough patches in getting the school started, overall I think the administrators have done a great job.
Now let's talk about the school work. early in the spring semester of my sophomore year I was beginning to put my schedule together and figure out which AP's to take. As I learned more and more I began to dread the upcoming year more than anything. I had heard before that junior year was the hardest year of high school and they are absolutely right. Sophomores beware, it is more terrible than you can ever believe. As I came into the school year I didn't know what to think about AP Lang, I knew AP US was going to be hard and all my other classes should be fine. Now at the end of the year I can see that Honors PreCalc was the most dreadful hour of my life and both my AP's were much more enjoyable than I would have believed. As a sophomore I had decided that I didn't want to take more than two AP's. Looking back it feels like I went through three of them. The only other class I was considering taking was AP Physics. I'm happy with the classes I chose but I feel that I would have been able to handle taking AP Physics. Anyways, the difference between sophomore year and junior year is so great when it comes to effort required. I can only remember a few times when I did any significant work on the weekends sophomore year. As a junior, I remember MOST weekends with tons of work to do, just to barely stay above water in all of my classes.
As I look back on this year I see much hard work and much great memories. It was definitely a good time. Coming to a new school was risky but I have loved meeting and becoming friends with new people. With only one more week left I cannot recall a time where I wanted to get to summer more. But I also can't wait to be a senior and enjoy all the benefits of being at the top. "It is finished."