Rory Storm
05-17-2005, 05:18 PM
I wasn't sure if this would be considered art. SO I posted it here. Basically what it is is a Speech I had to do for my english class for my graduation. I am presenting in a week. I'm curious to see what other people think. I want opinions. Should I add stuff in? Take stuff out? Any tips for when I do present it?
Space is big. Really big. You won’t believe how vastly, hugely, mind-bogglingly big it is. This is, at least, what The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy has to say about Interstellar Distances. That is also how I felt about, not only the size of the school, but the amount of time I had at Cumberland High when I first arrived as a freshman. I felt like I had all the time in the world. That was, of course, four years. Now, as looked back on those four years I realize, they went by faster than four years should go by. This could have been partly because of my schedule. My schedule involved me following the same routine. Every day, of every week, of every month, of every year of school. Wake up at 7 a.m., get to school for 7:30 a.m., sit in school for six hours, listen to people talk, go home, eat lunch, watch television, go on the computer, go to bed. It’s a set schedule. This monotony is reminiscent of the monotony of the civilization in the Ayn Rand book, Anthem.
My schedule is pretty much where those similarities stop. I like to keep things...different, I guess. Even though I was never the loud person in class, I’ve played my fair share of jokes on teachers. They were always harmless pranks that were greatly remembered for years after I had done it, even tough they were small. And it is all these great moments that I like to remember, look back on, and laugh at. The funniest of these moments I have committed to memory would have to be when I took a pencil, broke it in half, took the end with eraser, jammed it up my nose, turned to the teacher, and asked, “Miss, I have a pencil lodged in my brain, can I go to the nurse?” The reaction to this was priceless. The answer, of course, was “no.”
School was, of course, not always a laughing matter, much like this speech. I never knew where to begin on big projects. I would always sit around until some grand idea hit me. And then, it hit me. I was sitting there, in between my two math classes this senior year, not but one week ago, part sitting, part leaning on a heater in the hallway of the math wing of the school, between rooms 332 and 334. It was in those five minutes between classes that I figured out how I was going to start my speech. That was also when I realized that the end of High School was near. It all went into sharp contrast in those five minutes. The end, as they say, was near.
I remembered the times, even though I didn’t want to be there, my resource teacher, Mrs. Tropea, helped me. What she taught me was that I should accept those problems that I cannot fix. If I could fix them, though, do it. Fix the problem. Speak up. Give yourself a voice. That is why I think she made a big impact in my high school career. She gave me a voice. I learned how to speak up for myself, like I should. I learned how to effectively communicate, logically solve problems, both academic and personal, and responsible citizenship by learning to think and act on my own behalf.
Others may find it unfortunate that I may not have made the most of my time at CHS. I never attended any dances, was never really a part of any clubs, I wasn’t on any sports teams. But to those who say I didn’t make the most of my time, I say, bug off. I enjoyed it. There were times where those enjoyable times became a bit obscure, but overall I had an unforgettable time. I know I will be remembered as an eccentric person. People have already told me this. The people who told me this are my friends, and their words are supposed to have some sort of validity. So therefore I hold them true.
So, as I stood there, between my wonderful geometry class, and my horrid algebra class, I thought these thoughts as I watched people go from class to locker to class. It was a truly odd feeling. I suppose I felt like an odd fly on the wall. I felt a strange, sudden feeling of alienation from the rest of the student body. I felt like it was my time to get out of there. There was this strange emotion buzzing about in my mind.
The emotion was mixed, it was a sort of, “Ha ha, two more weeks of this and I’m done, they still have, and at least, another year” and “Oh, I guess I will miss this place.” I think I wanted to get out of there so badly, that I never really thought of where I would be when I did get out of there. I knew I would miss CHS. I knew I would miss the over crowded hallways, the stupid, immature sophomores in my geometry class, most of the faculty, some of the people. All of it had made an impact on me. How could it not? How could four years in one place not make an impact? I would remember the great teachers I had, and the bad ones. The fellow students I liked, and those I didn’t really care for. All of them made an impact. Now I go on to different things, a major change in my life. I think it all went by too fast. Although I want it to be over, I suppose that I am just looking for something to feel a bit more permanent.
I know I covered the teachers requirements in it: Refer to a book you read in class this year, select a teacher that has had an impact on you, and refer to how the school has effected you though the mission statement.
Again, just seeing what you guys think, advice, comments, complaints, all welcome.
Space is big. Really big. You won’t believe how vastly, hugely, mind-bogglingly big it is. This is, at least, what The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy has to say about Interstellar Distances. That is also how I felt about, not only the size of the school, but the amount of time I had at Cumberland High when I first arrived as a freshman. I felt like I had all the time in the world. That was, of course, four years. Now, as looked back on those four years I realize, they went by faster than four years should go by. This could have been partly because of my schedule. My schedule involved me following the same routine. Every day, of every week, of every month, of every year of school. Wake up at 7 a.m., get to school for 7:30 a.m., sit in school for six hours, listen to people talk, go home, eat lunch, watch television, go on the computer, go to bed. It’s a set schedule. This monotony is reminiscent of the monotony of the civilization in the Ayn Rand book, Anthem.
My schedule is pretty much where those similarities stop. I like to keep things...different, I guess. Even though I was never the loud person in class, I’ve played my fair share of jokes on teachers. They were always harmless pranks that were greatly remembered for years after I had done it, even tough they were small. And it is all these great moments that I like to remember, look back on, and laugh at. The funniest of these moments I have committed to memory would have to be when I took a pencil, broke it in half, took the end with eraser, jammed it up my nose, turned to the teacher, and asked, “Miss, I have a pencil lodged in my brain, can I go to the nurse?” The reaction to this was priceless. The answer, of course, was “no.”
School was, of course, not always a laughing matter, much like this speech. I never knew where to begin on big projects. I would always sit around until some grand idea hit me. And then, it hit me. I was sitting there, in between my two math classes this senior year, not but one week ago, part sitting, part leaning on a heater in the hallway of the math wing of the school, between rooms 332 and 334. It was in those five minutes between classes that I figured out how I was going to start my speech. That was also when I realized that the end of High School was near. It all went into sharp contrast in those five minutes. The end, as they say, was near.
I remembered the times, even though I didn’t want to be there, my resource teacher, Mrs. Tropea, helped me. What she taught me was that I should accept those problems that I cannot fix. If I could fix them, though, do it. Fix the problem. Speak up. Give yourself a voice. That is why I think she made a big impact in my high school career. She gave me a voice. I learned how to speak up for myself, like I should. I learned how to effectively communicate, logically solve problems, both academic and personal, and responsible citizenship by learning to think and act on my own behalf.
Others may find it unfortunate that I may not have made the most of my time at CHS. I never attended any dances, was never really a part of any clubs, I wasn’t on any sports teams. But to those who say I didn’t make the most of my time, I say, bug off. I enjoyed it. There were times where those enjoyable times became a bit obscure, but overall I had an unforgettable time. I know I will be remembered as an eccentric person. People have already told me this. The people who told me this are my friends, and their words are supposed to have some sort of validity. So therefore I hold them true.
So, as I stood there, between my wonderful geometry class, and my horrid algebra class, I thought these thoughts as I watched people go from class to locker to class. It was a truly odd feeling. I suppose I felt like an odd fly on the wall. I felt a strange, sudden feeling of alienation from the rest of the student body. I felt like it was my time to get out of there. There was this strange emotion buzzing about in my mind.
The emotion was mixed, it was a sort of, “Ha ha, two more weeks of this and I’m done, they still have, and at least, another year” and “Oh, I guess I will miss this place.” I think I wanted to get out of there so badly, that I never really thought of where I would be when I did get out of there. I knew I would miss CHS. I knew I would miss the over crowded hallways, the stupid, immature sophomores in my geometry class, most of the faculty, some of the people. All of it had made an impact on me. How could it not? How could four years in one place not make an impact? I would remember the great teachers I had, and the bad ones. The fellow students I liked, and those I didn’t really care for. All of them made an impact. Now I go on to different things, a major change in my life. I think it all went by too fast. Although I want it to be over, I suppose that I am just looking for something to feel a bit more permanent.
I know I covered the teachers requirements in it: Refer to a book you read in class this year, select a teacher that has had an impact on you, and refer to how the school has effected you though the mission statement.
Again, just seeing what you guys think, advice, comments, complaints, all welcome.