Last Post Ever

Today is thursday, May 19, and it is our second to last day of school.  This means that this will be my last post ever.  I'm sure the millions of people who wake up every morning just to read my blog posts will be so sad about my last post, so all I have to say is sorry, but I don't need to do these anymore.  There will be many things I miss about high school, but I don't think that writing blog posts will be one of them.  Next year, I will be off in college, doing my own thing, and probably not writing blog posts unless I have to for one of my classes.  I don't think I'll need to write blog posts in college so this may be the last one I ever write.  The Next piece of work you'll read from me will probably be the article I write in a super famous journal, or my first best-selling book.

Skip Day

Today is senior skip day and I am in school.  So far I am in third period and the only class that we've actually done anything is English.  To start the day off, I had math, where we spent the whole period watching the office.  Then, I had English where we took some notes.  As of now, I am in engineering, where I have absolutely nothing to do besides writing this blog post.  Senior skip day seems fun, but some of us have have sports, and we can't participate in our practices or games today if we we aren't at school.  So here I am, with nothing to do.  Maybe I'll sign myself out at 11:00, but who knows, I might just decide to stay in for the entire school day.

Almost There

The countdown has started, and the end is near.  After more than 700 school days of high school, we are have just about 10 more to go.  Most people in senior assassin are already dead and senior prom (and the day we get out of school) is in 14 days.  In just two weeks, we will be done with high school, and the only remaining piece of high school will be sports, senior activities and graduation.  On top of that, the majority of us have already decided where we will go to college.  AP tests have already started, so school is quickly winding down as there is absolutely nothing to do in some classes because we are finished with the curriculum.  So this is the point of the year that we have to enjoy and spend time with friends until we head off to college.

AP Tests

Next week starts the beginning of the AP tests.  Throughout the next two weeks, some kids will take up to 6 AP tests, which amasses to at least 18 hours.  On top of that, many kids spend hours on hours of studying for each test.  This week can understandably be stressful to many of the kids that need to take these tests, but I am looking forward to the tests because it marks the end of some of my classes. After the next two weeks, many kids will only have a couple of classes left and will be playing kickball with their AP classes all day.  So, after the tests are done, there will only be just over 10 days left of school, so i cannot wait until these tests are over.

End of the Year

Within the past week, a few of my classes have come to an end, and all we are doing now is review for the AP tests, which we will take in a few weeks.  This is definitely a landmark in the year, as most of the classes are winding down and there is less and less work.  In addition to the lesser workload, the winter weather is finally going away.  Starting in April vacation, the weather will start to peer into the 60s every day, which is the best kind of weather.  Then, in almost a month, we will have our last day of school.  During our last days of school, we will also have our events, such as the prom, the boat cruise and the all-nighter.  At this point, we are almost at the light at the end of the tunnel and it couldn't be more beautiful.

Misster RMHS

This weekend, the big event within the RMHS community was Misster RMHS.  The show this year was especially unique because this was the first year for girls to be in the show.  Throughout the show, there was a theme of progress, as the gender neutral bathrooms and allowance of female contestants were alluded to throughout the night.  Another difference was that the show was longer than usual.  This time, the show lasted for about 3.5 - 4 hours, compared to the past ones, which were no longer than 3 hours.  This year, there were many great skits, and there was a lot of laugter.  Along with the great skits was great music.  I already knew that some of the kids at RMHS were very good at their instruments, and I've seen them play before, but it was awesome to see some of them play together.  Aerosmith's rhythm guitarist graduated from RMHS, who knows, maybe the next great band is walking through our school hallways.

I Wouldn't Mind Living in Hell

Last week, we took notes on Dante's Inferno.  In this allegory, Dante describes his journey through Hell, guided by the Roman poet Virgil.  If I were to describe all of the notes we took about this book in one sentence, it would be that you most definitely want to go to Heaven, unless you really like hanging out with the great nonchristian people.  This book describes the nine rings of Hell, starting with the first one, which doesn't seem too bad.  The first rings is Limbo, which is where the unbaptised and virtuous pagans go after they die.  Apparently without baptism, people lack hope for something greater than their minds can conceive, so they can't go to Heaven.  However, Limbo includes green fields and a castle with seven gates to represent the seven virtues.  This castle is the home of many of the greatest humans to exist, such as Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Julias Caesar, Cicero, Hippocrates, and so on.  So, the first ring of Hell is actually a pretty cool place because it's basically a deficient form of Heaven.  However, the rest of Hell is a pretty awful place.  The next eight rings go in order of sin, with the second ring being the lightest sin and the ninth ring being the worst sin.  As you go down the rings, the punishment gets worse and worse, so you DO NOT want to end up in the ninth ring.  So, next time you tell somebody to go to Hell, make sure you let them know you mean rings 2-9 because the first ring is kinda cool.

Decisions

With the May 1 deadline approaching, and the last of regular decision admittances being released, it is almost that time of the year for us to decide where we will go to college.  Many kids have already made their decision and have already paid the deposit to their school.  However, much like me, many other kids are stuck between which college to attend.

Ever since junior year, I've been told many times that the application process would be the most stressful part of senior year and that the rest of the year will be a breeze once I figure out which colleges I get into.  As someone who doesn't worry about much, the whole application process flew by and involved absolutely no stress.  As a realist, I had a firm grasp onto which schools I would probably get into and which schools I would probably not get into so I experienced minimal stress when admittance decisions came out.  As someone who loves two different schools, this next month will be tough, but I know that I will spend a lot of time thinking about which school I will attend and will ultimately make the right choice, so I'm not too worried about the choice that I will have to make.

Midquarters

Senior year can be characterized by the theme of ending.  At some point this year, each graduating senior will have his last RMHS game, performance, club meeting, or any other acitivity involving the highschool.  While each senior separately experiences endings at different times throughout the year, there are a few moments throughout the year in which we all experience the sense of ending.  Last week, we had our last midquarters, which means that school is winding to an end.  At this point of the year, AP tests are not far away, and most AP curriculums will be finishing within the next few weeks.  Within the next 6 weeks, most AP classes will be completely finished and the weather will be absolutely perfect.  Even though my English midquarter was not the best (as this blog post is for amnesty), I couldn't have been happier to realize that it is almost the time of the year for the weather to warm up and for school to come to a close.  The third midquarter seems as though it should be an insignificant landmark, but it signifies that we are actually close to the light at the end of the tunnel.

Warmth

Two months ago, I would have killed for a 75 degree day.  Now that it is only the beginning of March and each day is starting to be as warm as 60 degrees, I could not be happier.  Although I enjoy winter, it lacks certain qualities that the warmer seasons possess.  Not only will I be able to walk around town without such heavy clothing and without fear of freezing my face off, but there will also be so much more to do with friends.  Winter's snow covers all of the fields and the cold disallows spending the entire day outdoors.  Now that it is warm out, I can spend all day with my friends at a field, a beach, or any outside hangout spot and enjoy the warm weather.  However, not everything about the summer is so great.  For too many years I have seen kids pass out at soccer tournaments from heat frustration because it is way too hot on the turf, and if you are fair-skinned, it is inevitable that you will have a sunburn at least at a few points of the summer.  Even though it gets pretty hot and it becomes really easy to burn, I cannot wait for the summer, but I will try to enjoy the spring while it lasts.  Which season do you prefer, summer or winter?

Spring

When it comes to winters, the one this year was a failure.  Historically, we have usually been hit by at least a few snowstorms every year, but this time there was only one big one.  However, I will forgive this year's winter because it had such big shoes to fill from last year's record setting snow.  Although I will forgive this year's winter, I will not forgive last year's seniors for having so many snow days.  This year we were only allotted two snowdays, while last year's seniors had what seemed to be hundreds of snowdays.  With this huge disparity between snowdays, it seems as though last year's seniors got the upper hand with the whole winter situation, but there are other factors to take into consideration.  Since last year brought such a strong winter, it took much longer for all of the snow to go away.  Last year I remember shoveling feet of snow off of the track in late March so that we could use it for practice.  Not only was there so much snow, but it was also brutally cold during that part of March.  This year it has been constantly in the 50s and next week it will reach the 70s.  Not to mention that the track team does not need to clear off the track and the lacrosse team does not need to clear off turf 2.  The seniors from last year think that they are so cool for having so many snowdays, but the joke is on them; we're going to enjoy senior year so much more because our spring will start off on a higher note.

Let it Snow

It is finally the time of the year for it to start snowing hard.  This winter, we have experienced way too much rainfall and not enough snowfall.  The weather this year is so pathetic that we are four days into the coldest month of the year, and it has been in the 50s for just about each day of the month.  It feels strange to have such a mild beginning of February, especially after experiencing the most snowy winter recorded in Boston history.  However, we are forecasted to get 4 to 8 inches of snow tomorrow, and there is a chance that we will get our first snowday of the year.

With such a meager winter, many students at RMHS would be surprised if we end up having more than a few snowdays.  In fact, I found it surprising to hear that there was a possibility for a snowday on Friday.  Although, I am an optimistic person and believe that this year's winter still has potential to carry us through at least a few snowdays, even though it has been a big dissapointment so far.   If we happen to have very few snowdays, or none at all, this year, I will be very dissapointed in the 2015-2016 winter, and very jealous of the class of 2015 for having so many snowdays.

What do you think?  Will we have a bunch of snowdays, or very few if any at all?  How will you feel if we end up not having any snowdays?

Snow

With January closing to an end, February is right around the corner.  Usually, this time is marked with an absurd amount of snow piling everywhere and making New England look like a winter wonderland.  However, Mother Nature seems to be very confused because my friends and I are able to play ultimate frisbee with shirts vs skins and still break a sweat.  Normally I would not have much of a problem with this, as sometimes the winter can be a little too extreme, but as a senior I would really appreciate a few feet of snow.  For as long as I can remember, we have had at least a couple snowdays every year, and it would be a shame if we end up getting none this year.  It would be naive to assume that we are getting minimal snow this year, since we still have all of February and March, but the forecast for the next week does not appear as though it belongs in February.  Although we do not have much snow, much of the east coast was hit hard by a historic blizzard this year, so maybe that could spread hope for the arrival of snow in Massachusetts.  This winter, would you prefer to have a lot of snow days, or a lot of days that are warm enough for you to wear shorts?

Midterms

This week, the school wrapped up its second quarter.  This part of the year is often dreaded because it is plagued by last minute tests in just about every class and then followed by the midterm.  This 1-2 punch is too overwhelming for many kids, who spend every moment of daylight preparing for their tests.  However, as a senior, I look forward to midterm week because it is another step towards graduation.  After the midterm, we will not have to take any similar tests (except the AP tests) for the rest of our high school careers.  Also, the midterm usually reminds us that we are only halfway through the school year, so it is a pleasant surprise for us to feel like we are only halfway done when in reality we only have one full quarter left of highschool.  While all of the freshmen and sophomores are dreading their midterms, I will happily take them, as they will remind me of how close I am to finishing up high school and starting off the summer.  Although my high school carreer is rounding its last corner, therer is still a lot of work to be done and I will need to make sure to keep on top of it.

James Joyce Scares Me

In English this week, we were introduced to one of the best known the Irish authors, James Joyce.  Considered to be one of the most influential writers of the early 20th century, James Joyce produced books in which just about every single word was carefully placed within the text to convey a special meaning.  Joyce's works are so impressive that semester-long college classes are based off of just one of his short stories.  At the moment, we are reading Joyce's book, Dubliners, and we have spent one class fondling the short story, Araby, but we have only read the first two paragraphs because there is so much detail to be fondled.  We have only read two paragraphs of Joyce's book, but it is already apparent that he is an exceptionally gifted author that will be remember through many years for his work.  However, before reading his works, our class looked over his love letters, which contained shockingly strange messages for one of the most renowned authors of all time.  

At no point during this blog will I quote one of Joyce's love letters, but those who have not seen them are free to look them up.  The structure of most of his lettters are of high caliber, but if you break it down and look at certain excerpts, it would be hard to believe that an author such as James Joyce had written those excerpts, as many are very sharp, vulgar or just gross.  The things that Joyce wrote about in these letters are very taboo, and it goes to show that even the greatest minds can be a bit quirky.