School Schedule Analysis

School has already been in session for a week. So far, I've been able to get some first impressions of each class. Because I'm absolutely bored out of my mind right now, I'm going to write my first impressions and expectations of each class. Without further ado...

1. AP Statistics with Nicholson- Mr. Nicholson is quite possibly the nicest guy on this planet. His personality just gives off that vibe that says he is sincere and really cares about each and every one of his students. The class itself has been somewhat rough to this point. Personally, math is the toughest subject for me to comprehend. The fact that I have math first period makes it even tougher due to the fact that I can't comprehend ANYTHING, let alone AP Statistics, at 7:50am. Luckily for me, the activities in class up to this point have included a class survey with multiple random questions (i.e. How tall are you in inches?, What kind of car do you drive?), checking our pulse rate, and then graphing different sets of data. The work has been fun as well as easy. Much of the work has been review from past years. I can only hope that the workload will be this simple, but that will most likely not be the case.

2. Sports and Entertainment Marketing with Hirschy- I really had high expectations for this class. Last year, Mr. McNeal, one of my favorite all-time teachers at Homestead, taught me the basics of Marketing in Marketing I and II. What I liked about McNeal was his laid back attitude and his ability to waste entire class periods with stories about his fishing adventures. Mrs. Hirschy is laid back as well, but she seems to think we actually need to do work everyday. The material we read in class has included the exact same concepts we were taught last year. One advantage we have in class is our assigned seat, which each have a computer. Usually, I spend the class period surfing the net, often reading different articles on ESPN.com and SI.com. Mrs. Hirschy is friendly beyond belief as well. Although she doesn't have the stories of McNeal, she is enjoyable to have as a teacher.

3. Composition with Jankowski- No comment.


Just kidding, I'll write something about this class. Because I enjoy creative writing, I feel this class will be a fun one for me, although it may not exactly be simple. The in-class activities have been fun, such as the punctuation contest, in which my team known as . won first place. Unfortunately, Mr. Jankowski did not allow us to be our original name of Balzac's Army. He said we meant wrong by the name, even though, in truth, we really enjoy his works. I especially enjoy La Peau de Chagrin and the idea of life having a serpentine motion with all its twists and turns. To be 100% honest, I can't think of ONE single inappropriate thing that can be associated with this great writer's last name. Maybe I'm missing something.

4. Advanced Speech and Communications with de Calonne- This is my third year having Mrs. D as a teacher, so I know what she's about. So far, the class has been quite easy. An impromptu speech, a direction/drawing activity, and some notes have summed up what we have done thus far. I'm excited to start speeches. I'm going to try harder than ever before to put my style into these speeches. I want to add more humor than usual. Basically, I want to have fun. Although Mrs. D probably has expectations for me already, I feel I will do fine in this class. As long as I find topics I enjoy speaking about, the speech writing and giving aspects will come easy to me.

5. Economics with Livensparger- I don't remember anything from this class. It's been difficult to pay attention to the lesson because I have either been staring at the white bricks in the wall while thinking about lunch, or I have been staring at the backs of my eyelids dreaming about lunch. Mr. Livensparger is a funny and friendly guy, but so far he has only lectured. Hopefully, things will pick up in the next week or so. Otherwise, I'm going to wake up in a puddle of drool with the whole class staring at me. That will be an epic day.

6. Assitantship with Doc- This most likely is and will be my favorite class for the semester. I sit in a cushioned, wheeled swivel chair and watch the class listen to Doc quote Seinfeld, The Simpsons, and listen to stories with his dry sense of humor sprinkled into his words. It helps to have Doc as my basketball coach. I can truly say I love Doc. He's had a large influence on my basketball career and he has made high school that much better. His quotes are classic and so are his rock cassettes.

7. Newspaper with Kuhn- This class is by far the most relaxed on my schedule. So far, we've listened to Mr. Kuhn tell us about his kittens, how bad of a city St. Louis is, and how frustrated he is with the administration. The last thing has been his been the topic of conversation the past few days and during this time, I've tried to avoid him, as he seems ticked off beyond belief. We will have staff positions figured out by the end of the week so we can begin writing stories and finally produce our first issue of this school year. Margaret Distler, the editor in chief, basically told me I am the Sports Editor, which excited me. I was a writer as a sophomore, co-sports editor as a junior, and now I have the position to myself. It's safe to say that I am excited about the upcoming school year.

There you have it. Now that I think about it, I probably should have waited to write this next week. It's not a big deal though. Sometimes boredom prevails.

What Can I Say?

Six hundred words per week about anything you want. At first sight, it seems like a lot. On second thought, it is a lot. But hey, when you love to inject your own style into your writing, how hard could it possibly be? I have always wondered how people can stay so committed to writing in a journal or blog. Oftentimes, it's a daily process that takes some time out of your schedule. So now that I begin my journey into the blogging world, I wonder how it will affect my schedule. Today, I attended church and slept. I almost put this blog off for one more day to sleep some more, because I value my slumber. I didn't want to start the blog because I had no idea what I was going to write in here week in and week out. What can I say?



My life is nothing special to write about. I am normally a kid who keeps to myself around people I am unfamiliar with. When it comes to spilling out my inner thoughts and emotions, I suppose it's much easier to do so behind the screen of my laptop in my basement bedroom with the lights out and Strip My Mind by Red Hot Chili Peppers playing in the background. Maybe that's a sign for what this blog is to become. Maybe this blog will become an extension of my mind and strip all the thoughts and emotions from my it. Or maybe I'm still a little out of it from my 4 hour nap.



So far, senior year has been great. I feel confident. There seems to be a swagger to my walk that I never felt during freshmen, sophomore, and junior year. Being a senior just makes me feel bigger. Of course, that could be attributed to my 6'7" frame, but hey, what can I say? I've been chosen to be apart of the elite gathering of guys known as the Painter Boys, who paint their bodies and shout battle cries under the Friday night Llghts during Homestead football games. I did (or attempted to do) 248 pushups after the Spartans scored 55 points against Huntington North. I carried the flag after each touchdown and led the Painter Boys. Random guys patted me on the back and random girls winked at me. Cheerleaders even talked to me. When that happens, I know I'm doing something right. What can I say? Maybe I'm starting to get some 'game.' Or maybe I'm just a wishful thinker.

Goodness, six hundred words is a lot. What else can I say? How about some talk about the future. Usually, I hate thinking about what's to come after today, but sometimes I have to write six hundred words in a blog and I can't think of content. One thing I know for sure is that I want to get out of Indiana. Don't get me wrong, I love living here. My family is great and my friends are amazing, but I want to have a great college experience. I want to experience something new, and by going out of state to college, I feel that goal will be reached. My mom tries to get me to read those big college resource books that explain what each college is about and why I should attend that school. As of now, my short list includes Villanova University in Philadelphia, Boston University, North Carolina, Wake Forest, Florida, or maybe Emory.

Basketball, however, has potentially opened doors for me and could make my college decision easier. I have received letters from Cornell College in Iowa, Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, NY, Earlham in Richmond, IN, Kalamazoo College in Michigan, and University of Rochester in New York. If I were to decide to play basketball in college, University of Rochester would be my choice, assuming they wanted me to come and play for them. The qualities I am looking for in a college include being located near a pretty big city, medium sized population, business or journalism school, and far away enough from Indiana to feel like I'm living my own life. The University of Rochester is the most qualified under my expectations. If the coaching staff at this school told me they wanted me to play for them, I would have a hard time turning them down.

Wow, I just got carried away with that last paragraph and I see that my word count is now over 700 words. Like I said, I love to write about things and events when I can inject my own style and opinion into my words. Maybe six hundred words isn't so bad. What can I say?