It was a time to...

I am going to start with the fact that yesterday, my 5^th grade class of 2008 had a reunion at our elementary school. I saw my best friends (and maybe not so great friends) that I had grown up with, people that I had not seen in seven years: was it really that long ago? Elementary school was a time to struggle to learn how to read a clock and struggle to learn long division. It was a time to have so many tamagotchis that the class had to put them in a box before going into the classroom (3^rd grade version of cell phones?). It was a time to talk to friends about was what we should play during recess or which Webkinz we had. And yesterday, we talked about college.

Flash forward to middle school. A whole new world. Let me just tell you that I went to a private elementary school, and then I went straight into Carnage Middle School, quite a change. I knew only one person going to that middle school, and honestly I was scared. But, I managed to meet new people and make friends. Middle school was still a strange and awkward phase of my (and probably everyone else’s) life. Middle school was a time when the core classes were still simply called science, math, social studies, and language arts (none of this IB Biology, AP Statistics, IB Twentieth Century World Topics, and IB Language and Literature nonsense). It was a time to take really weird electives like “Math Art” (for one project we sewed geometric shapes onto pillows), and go on weird field trips to the landfill. It was a time to read every single Series of Unfortunate Events books (yes, all 13) only to be extremely disappointed by the ending, but then discover the Harry Potter books and become happy again. It was a time to go to socially awkward dances. It was a time to figure out how to not be a child anymore.

Flash forward, again. High school. Maybe it was not quite as big of a change as it was from elementary to middle, but still very different. For one thing, the school was huge (3 buildings, pods, trailers!) How would I ever find my way around!? I can still tell you the first class I ever went to and what I did in it: Art 1, we made folders for ourselves. I can also still tell you what my second period class was, because it was English with Mrs. Genesky J (fun fact: I sit in the same exact spot this year that I did in 9^th grade). Okay so freshman year. It was a time for learning this new place. It was a time to take new and different classes. It was a time (for me) to constantly hurt myself in sports and walk on crutches for the majority of the year. It was a time to grow.

Sophomore year: honestly, I feel like I can sum up that year with one word, APES. It was the first AP class I ever took, and it was hard. Sophomore year was a time to really start working. With Chemistry, Algebra 2, and APES, life was great (not really). And yet, sophomore year was also a time to make a big decision about the next two years of my life. My parents took me to a meeting about some “really rigorous program” that I should do. For some reason I thought that sounded great, so I signed up without exactly knowing what I was getting myself into.

Junior Year: I would probably say that the transition to junior year was harder than the one to 9^th grade. I did not know very many people doing the IB program, and it was so different than what I was used to. Junior year was a time to figure it out. It was a time to be handed extremely vague rubrics and be expected to figure them out. It was a time to write IAs and Written Assessments all while being really confused about what they were for. It was a time seminars every day, jokes of the week, constantly going outside during class (4^th period Bio), and most importantly, it was a time to become family with everyone going through this too.  

Senior Year: I really feel like senior year just started. It seems like I was just in the auditorium waiting for like 10 hours to take my senior picture. Senior year was a time to keep working (while constantly hearing “It’s your senior year! It shouldn't be hard!). It was a time to rewrite IAs and Written Assessments because we didn't know what we were doing the first time. It was a time to have some of the best teachers I’ve had in high school. It was a time to be criticized by others about having an inflated GPA but knowing we worked for it. It was a time to take that very time consuming extra class called applying for college. It was a time for final sports seasons and senior nights. It was a time for running to class like freshmen to keep our senior exemptions. It was a time to be with the group of friends that I became close with over two years. But it was also a time to realize that the end is coming.

I know I complain about high school and that I say I’m ready for college, but honestly, when we are all standing there at graduation in our caps and gowns, I know I will be sad. I have made great friendships and learned more than I’m willing to admit, so I will be sad, but I can still say that I am excited to move on to the next phase of my life.

A Look Inside the Mind of Whitman

When I briefly looked through the pages of Whitman’s notebook without trying to really read anything, I noticed that everything seems unorganized, like spur of the moment thoughts. There are many question marks to show that he had many ideas but questioned everything. Also, many things are crossed out and new words are rewritten in place of the crossed out ideas. I would describe his writing as scribble that was not intended for anyone else besides himself. Even without reading the words, it is easy to tell that this journal displays Whitman’s raw thoughts and the development of his ideas.

When I actually tried to read the words on the pages, I was able to make out some of them. In the very beginning he labels a page “brochure” and says, “two characters as of a dialogue between A. Lincoln” and someone else that I cannot read. He then says “lessons for a President elect.” He also starts writing a lot about “The Ship of Libertad” (Libertad=Liberty in Spanish) and with it, he says, “welcome the storm, welcome the trial…I shall see what the old ship is made of…anybody can sail with a fair wind, a smooth sea.” I think this metaphor reveals the probably personal struggles of Whitman in his life and shows that he has the strength to fight through whatever problems he faces. To me, he seems very insightful, and through his writing I think he hopes to explore all aspects of life.

There are also many drawings in the back of the notebook which I find to be interesting because I wonder what he needed drawings for. There are two that grabbed my attention the most. One of them is of a person whose face is drawn very darkly. The second drawing that stands out to me is the last one where a skull is drawn for a head and the person in the drawing has a sword stuck through his chest. Again, I am not sure why these drawings are included.

When I read the translation of scribble into readable type of what Whitman had actually written in his notebook, I understood it much better. I had not been able to read the part about religion, but it is actually very interesting. He believed there was a political and philosophical divide in his nation. He also wanted to include everyone in his new “third religion.” This shows that he really cared about his country and wanted everyone to set aside their differences and come together.

Apparently Whitman’s use of the word “Libertad” is actually a mystery. The theory that I really like is that Whitman believed freedom was not only confined to his own nation and that everyone deserved freedom. The ship metaphor is actually supposed to represent Lincoln’s presidency and the rough waters he would have to face. It parallels with Whitman’s midlife crisis as well.

The pictures in the back of the notebook are actually not by Whitman, which makes much more sense to me. I did not understand why he would have made any drawings because he was a poet, an artist with words, not images. The last image (with the skull and sword) may actually be an allegory of America. It shows the strange state of the country, poised between life and death.