The agony and the ecstasy

By the time you read this, it will be too late for me. I may even be sitting at a desk, listening to the distant mumbling sounds of my teachers while the rest of the class seems to know what they're doing.

I always hate the first day of school. First of all, we have to sit through a welcoming that our principal gives us. I mean there's nothing wrong with it, but that's kind of when the reality hits us. It's usually then that 63 percent of the students burst into tears and the other 36 percent talk quietly to themselves saying that this couldn't be happening.

The days preceding school are torture too. That's when the gods of school supplies tell us it's time to get back in order by reminding us with a huge yellow face in Wal-Mart. You've seen the commercials. A family is happily shopping when all of a sudden the infamous yellow smiley comes bouncing along and lowers the prices of everything in sight. The family then looks at each other in a knowing, loving way as if all of their lifelong problems have been solved. In reality, if we saw this yellow face coming towards us, we'd lose all bladder control, grab the nearest discount hockey stick and mutilate the thing. But unfortunately the prices keep on dropping ... on school supplies. Parents jump at the occasion to buy these things, and unfortunately we're pulled along for the ride. They expect us to pick out the binders and notebooks that we want. Want? Last I checked I didn't exactly care what color my notebook was that I pointlessly wrote my trig notes in.

Basically everything except the actual school part is fun. The basketball and baseball games, track meets, dances, prom and parties. Those are all the fun things that I like about the school year. I guess learning a thing or two on the side is just a bonus.

I hope you all enjoy your school meals. It's either that or generic brands of potato chips from the vending machine at my school. We could walk uptown, but that requires walking. I understand that the school isn't going to have a wonderful feast, but they could at least reduce the amount of hair that they add in the ingredients. I realize that if any of the cooks read this, I'll be the next thing they serve for lunch. Hope my friends are into fried Caucasian.

High school really has been great so far and now that I'm a senior, I think I may actually miss it. These are some of the most memorable years in your life, and you've got to take full advantage of them. Just thought I'd throw in that comment for the freshmen who feel it's hopeless.

To end this, I hope everyone has a good school year. Through the homework, tests, bad grades and other obstacles that you may run into in school, remember that it doesn't last forever. Just remember that you may look back on it, and wish it did.

Contact Sam DeReign at sdereign@hotmail.com.