Student Blog: Expecting the Unexpected of Sophomore Year

We all know freshman year is scary and new, junior year is the most stressful and academically challenging, and senior year is the one you can relax just a bit; but what about sophomore year? It's the year of being a ‘wise fool’ (the Greek words meaning sophomore) and nobody really tells you what to expect.

My first few weeks have been a whirlwind, balancing 3-5 hours of theatre rehearsals a day, 8 classes, and a plentiful of tests each week. I am enrolled in the common core high school classes, honors English, math, chemistry, and honors history, with breaks in my day in the form of electives. 3D art and Design, Human Psych and Behavior, Intro to Business, and Creative Writing are all classes I'm taking to help prepare me for my future and so far, they’re my favorites. Creative Writing is a class full of all my friends, and we all have a great time unwinding and writing fun short stories. 3D art and design is the coolest class! We are only a little over halfway through marking period one and so far we have created plaster hands, weaved baskets, and are currently candle painting to display for Dia de los Muertos. Both Intro to Business and Human Psych will switch in for the second half of the year, so I'm excited to see what those classes have in store.

Being back at school has positively impacted me, getting to see and spend time with my friends every day and thriving in a positive environment. This year has definitely been a step up from freshmen year though, and it gets thrown at you fast. After a few weeks, I've gotten a good hold on it and the stress has lowered. Waving to my friends in the hall, or sharing a laugh at lunch are all highlights of my day. A lot of teenagers are opposed to school, but me being a people person I love it and all the social interactions it has to offer.

Rehearsals are my absolute favorite part of the day. Our little theatre family walks into our freezing cold auditorium and debriefs our days until the clock hits 3:05. Then, our drama club president starts warm-ups as our stage manager and I, the assistant stage manager, set up sign-in sheets and fill out rehearsal reports for the day. We run around checking all the props are set, and making sure set pieces are in the correct spots. I love watching our actors block scenes and make different creative choices, sometimes leading us all to a good laugh. Creating inside jokes and memories with our theatre group constantly makes my heart happy and ends each day on a good note.

The main difficulty of this year is balancing theatre and school. With rehearsals starting from the moment school is out until 5, 6, or sometimes 9 p.m. every day, homework and studying becomes a more threatening task. I find time to squeeze it in during breaks or late at night, which comes back to haunt me when I wake up at 530 for school the next day.  Ultimately with a bit of caffeine and show tunes all the work gets submitted on time. While it all seems daunting, there is no way I rather experience high school, getting to create amazing memories all day even if it comes with the price of doing homework at 12 am.