By Jessica Son, 14, La Cañada HS
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Jessica says high school has been a blast, especially concert choir.


I knew that my first day of ninth grade would be challenging. There would be higher expectations than eighth grade and the teachers would be stricter. I was scared that my classmates would all have changed over the summer—gotten taller, prettier or even smarter, making me the only stupid ugly duckling who didn’t change. But I missed everyone, and that helped me forget my worries.

In the midst of my anxiety, the phone rang on the Friday before the first day of school at La Cañada High School. It was a recording of our principal. Sounding incredibly serious, she said that school was cancelled on Monday and would be delayed until Tuesday. This was because of the fire in the La Cañada-Flintridge area near my house, school and hangout spots. My school was being used as a shelter for those whose houses were threatened. The thick black smoke was everywhere; not just outside but inside our house too, even though we kept the windows and doors shut at all times. We had a too-perfect view of the fire from our window; we could see the flames burning everything in its way. Though I was frustrated with the fire, strangely, I was also happy at the same time because we had an extra day of vacation.

On Monday evening, I was preparing for my big day. My red backpack was filled with new notebooks and binders. Then the phone rang. Again a recording of the serious-toned principal told us to stay home: the fire was still going and it would be impossible to go to school with the smoke still thick in the air. I could feel my anxiety growing inside of me. When was school going to start? Will my nerves ever calm down? I just wished that the first day of school would hurry up and come so that I could get it over with.

Finally it was Wednesday. The real first day of school. I walked onto campus feeling nervous even though I had walked these same grounds for two years because the middle school is next door. Everything looked and felt different now that I was in high school— The middle school building looked so cute, like an old memory that was done and over with.

I looked at my schedule. First period—German. I took a deep breath as I opened the door to my first class. Here I go. The room was big and spacey. There was no carpet, and we had an old-fashioned blackboard that’s usually a more modern whiteboard in other classrooms. I sat down at a random desk and the bell rang. Class had started.

Our German teacher was very friendly and I liked her from the beginning. What I didn’t like, though, was that I was surrounded by sophomores, juniors and seniors, with only five familiar faces. Though I was excited that I would get to know people out of my grade, I was a little scared too. I didn’t know how juniors acted. They might be nice but then again they might be bullies.

I had to walk all the way across campus and up three flights of stairs to get to my third period—biology honors. Our teacher’s name is Ms. Compeau, and I think that she will teach us a lot this year because she is very to the point. She also has her unique way of saying “be quiet,” she says “alligator.” She explained that she is the king, or should I say queen, of the class because alligators are the “king of the swamps.” I had a feeling that this class wouldn’t be a drag like some of my science classes in the past.

GROWWL. Wow, I was hungry. Fourth period used to be the time to eat lunch back in middle school, but not anymore. We have one more period before lunch. Now it was time for concert choir. I walked into a chaotic room with people in cliques talking, laughing and eating. The accompanist was going over his pieces as I walked in trying to find someone I knew. There was one freshmen girl who I barely knew and everyone else was older than me. So I sat alone. I was so lonely that for a second I wanted to quit concert choir.

When I finally got to meet my friends to eat lunch once again, I felt happy. The familiar spot and people brought back memories of last year as we caught each other up on our summers.

After lunch, I went to my English class. After surviving five periods without too much of a challenge, I didn’t feel too bad about ninth grade. However, fifth period changed everything. I didn’t feel ready after all. My teacher’s name is Mr. Valassidis but he told us to call him Mr. V. Mr. V told us that we would have to write 40 essays and read AP-level books such as The Odyssey this year. I love reading and writing, but come on, 40 ESSAYS? AP-level books? Now I was scared. He also talked about how important it was to be organized and focused. I wasn’t too worried about the organized part, but the focused part? Last year was not a very “focused” year for me. While doing homework, I was often talking on the phone, or engaged in a conversation on Facebook. I planned on stepping it up this year because I wanted to stay an honor student.

All in all, the first day of ninth grade was good. I enjoyed (most) of my teachers, classmates and classes. I was able to see my friends who I didn’t see all summer. But most importantly, I was now in high school. Though it was my first day I already felt like I was well on my way toward a successful high school career. And you know what? High school can be fun. Surrounded by unfamiliar sophomores, juniors and seniors, I have managed to make a friend in concert choir in the first couple of days.