A Fresh Perspective
By Madison Ulitsky and Meghan Kitt - 2009/12/18 Edition
Coming to Bell High School is a leap for grade 9s – more so for some than for others, but almost all of us get slightly off-balance by the different schedules, and all of the things that take place simultaneously around us, as we stand in the center and try and make sense of it all. Sometimes, we can’t!
On the first day of high school, the first thing that we saw was a giant banner over the door saying, “Welcome, Class of 2013!”
Nice touch.
We wandered through the lobby with a crowd of other new 9th graders, looking warily at the gym door that everyone in front of us was disappearing through. Then it was our turn, with loud music pulsing, and grinning Link leaders shouting halfaudible directions. We filed up into the stands.
A lot of the first day is a blur, with brief moments that we remember clearly: Mr. Hemstreet tearing up a five-dollar bill amid cries of protest, for one.
On that first day, though, we could really feel the energy of the school – more importantly, the energy of the people in it.
The biggest difference that we noticed, coming to Bell, was the jump in the number of people, and just the sheer energy that permeates the halls of the school. As we walk through the halls we see people walking, stopping to chat with their friends, making their way to the innumerable events that go on every lunch hour. Everything that goes on at Bell is done with purpose; there is a specific goal in mind, a determination that radiates off every gesture.
Sometimes we just feel out of the loop. A good example is Key club – when announcements for this club’s meetings first came on in the mornings, we had no idea what Key Club was. The same went for a few different things as well. Asking around didn’t help; everyone else was as clueless as us.
Grade nine has some of us feeling somewhat overwhelmed, sometimes lost, often confused – but mostly excited. When you’re surrounded by others’ energy, it can’t help but rub off on you.