Finish with @ Fight, St@rt Strong

I can honestly say that this marking period, the second marking period of my freshman year, has been the most difficult marking period of my life.  Having never gotten anything lower than an A in my life, I was in for quite the shock.  Classes posed challenges, challenge that I wasn't used to, making me drop down in the standings of the class, even though I had previously always had the top spot.  When report cards are issued, I expect to see at least one B, if not a C in the first class I have found that I cannot seem to excel in.  Here's my plan.

Fight to the very last minute.  Produce quality work, write an impeccable research paper, take extra credit opportunities to use to my advantage, avoid procrastination, take amazing notes, find effective ways to study, and give it my all on finals.  And finally, take another fresh start, another blank page, as the second semester begins.

So goodbye to you History, Comm Tech, Health, Fitness, and English.  And as for you: DV, Spanish, Geometry and Bio, bring it on.  I'm ready for you.

Ch@nge c@n h@ppen @t @ny time.

Before a debate, a challenge, an opportunity to speak and thereafter be beaten down by an opponent, your heart is already a restless bird, fluttering wildly in your rib cage.  But when one of your teammates doesn't show up on the day of the discourse?  Now that's stressful.  This week, my history class had to face each other off in a political related debate.  Meanwhile, this is Communications High School, we can listen and rebuttal opinions, it comes as naturally as walking to us.  But this wasn't just any debate.  Oh no. This was for points.  And when points are involved, the competitive spirit is unleashed.  All weekend, my team divided our strong points, came up with a sequence, and mapped our way to victory step by step.  And then sickness hit.  Our whole plan was torn like a door off of its hinges.  Somehow, we still emerged victorious over the other team, who also suffered from a missing member.  Then again, I know how.  Sometimes planning is not the key to success; but rather adaptation to sudden changes in the environment, sudden changes in standards, sudden changes in expectations.  In the words of Stephen Hawking, "Intelligence is the ability to adapt to change."  For me, one who always thought I could acquire all my knowledge from books and thorough study of them, this came as a real shock.

Change can be, and often is, unexpected.