User blog:Chubbyman2/Prelude to H-E-Double Hockey Sticks

It's that time of year again; the new school year begins once again. Now, I'm probably giving away my age here, but seeing as barely anyone even visits this wiki anymore, nevermind bother to read my blogs, I think I'm in the clear. Grade 11 is a year which I had literally been warned for years on end prior to even beginning high school. Comments like: "It's one of the most important school years in high school, if not the most important" and "This year will determine which University you get accepted into, which will determine what your future will be like" are common things to hear from parents, high schoolers, and University students. Needless to say, I am nervous, but I have been nervous for several years now. The anxiety eventually saturates and gives way to other problems, such as existential breakdowns (more on this another day).

You can probably also guess my nationality by now, judging from the comments I just listed. Yes, I'm Asian; more specifically, Chinese. I'm a first-generation Canadian, having immigrated here at a young age. However, that's besides the point.

The real question here is: Am I ready? Simple answer: Yes, or as ready as I reasonably can be. I have been preparing for this year for a while now, having taken extra classes outside of school to expose myself to the material beforehand, which, take me on my word, can mean the difference between an 85 and a 95. Am I still nervous? Yes, definitely. Finally: Is this really just a self-reflection, or am I actually trying to convey a point? Ah. Now you're catching on, imaginary reader.

When people say that Grade 10 is the easiest grade of high school, they are correct. Grade 10 was probably the easiest, most enjoyable, and most successful grade I've had so far in high school (which is not saying much, since I'm just beginning my third year). Really, the only mark I received that was below the 90-100 range was science, and I mainly blame my teacher for that (for reasons which I will avoid going into). Overall, my grade average for everything was 95, including the science, which is pretty satisfactory for a year in which I had just transferred to a new school, not knowing the environment, the people, or the teachers.

For Grade 11, it will not be so easy. Looking back, Grade 10 could have been quite the cakewalk (excluding Science, of course) if I managed my time better and procrastinated less. Even so, I still managed to do half-decent. This year, however, I will need to bring my A+ game, upgraded from my current satisfactory A game, which will definitely not be able to last me through the year. My main focus will be trying to not burn out by the second semester, obtain a 95+ average, and continuing to focus on the final goal of my life (more on this another day).

Ok problems. Where to begin...

Firstly, my science teacher from last year. He's a geologist who likes talking about his orchid appreciation group, rock formations, windsurfing, and other random crap (no seriously, I didn't make up the first three). I bet he could potentially be an interesting guy, if he had a better personality. He's very domineering, and for someone like me, who enjoys my freedom and really doesn't care about the "authority" of mere teachers, it's a bad combination. Without ranting about his every flaw (which would probably take an entire blog on its own), let's just say that the strategy needed to "deal" with this man is patience, and a mask (more on this another day).

He can be dealt with, as seen by my classmates last semester. Reflecting back, if I am to succeed this year, I will have to employ the two most desperate strategies I have in my arsenal: sucking up and faking patience & understanding. Luckily, I have been sharpening these two tools for a month while I was at SHAD, along with my interpersonal skills. School starts in 3 days, on September 4, and we will see then how effective these methods are at pacifying and gaining me the things I desire.

Moral of the story: Welcome back to school! Pre-learn everything you will learn at school to be prepared! School is important! The best way to get on a teacher's good side is to behave like they want you to (hahaha classic dictator personality), do things exactly the way they want, and to suck up to them as much as possible while maintaing your sanity and actually performing well. And they say schools aren't feudal societies. How silly.

P.S. I know I put three "more on this later"'s in the blog, and I may or may not actually get to them, but I simply felt that they were important enough that I may actually write about them in the future, and I wanted to keep my imaginary reader anticipating future posts.

P.P.S. I know this is much more informal and much less narrative than my previous posts, which is an intentional detail included on my part. I think I might actually split my blogs into two categories. The 'RE:' ones will be more narrative and will illustrate a point in a more articulate way, with more enhanced prose and solidified arguments. The ones without 'RE:' will be more informal, and resemble rants more than short essays.

With all that said, I hope this school year goes well (because I really can't afford for it not to). I will likely post another blog in a few months to check in, but this is all I have for now. My writing is also becoming less and less formal recently, which I will focus on correcting in the near future.

With that, I bid you Adieu.

-Charles, September 1, 2018