Life Story: Chapter Fifty Three

And now we come to my senior year of high school. Like so many of my other high school experiences, much of the 12th grade has somehow been blocked out of my memory. But I'll do my best to find a key that opens the door to that past.

Nothing really happened during that summer before senior year. Mostly, I just spend my days working. At the time I was working for my aunt and uncle's company. I worked as part of an assembly line that put together small gift items. So, yeah, let's hear it for nepotism!

I decided I wanted to take it easy in my last year of school. Not that I worked myself to the bone in my previous high school years. Thanks to the counselors I was forced to see during my unfortunate incarceration in the hospital, I had discovered that I didn't have to work too hard and still pass with Cs. But I had still been taking honors level classes. Senior year, I decided to put an end to that nonsense. I mean, where was the extra work really going to get me?

It's not a decision I really regret. However, if I had it to do over again, I'd have probably applied myself just a bit more. Once I got to college, it would turn out that I was .01 of a GPA point away from a scholarship from the school. I guess it all turned out all right anyway though. Nothing wrong with owing 50,000 in school loans, right?

Anyway, that's a story for another time. I was still in high school. And I was taking it easy. For the most part. I took regular English and Government classes. The Center for Humanities that I had been a part of for the previous three years wasn't available for seniors. The kids from the Center that wanted to continue pushing themselves applied for City School. Being one of the kids who didn't want to push himself, I have no idea what City School entailed. All I know for sure is that the City School kids got to go downtown for their English and Government classes (I think). If anyone wants to correct me on that, feel free. I have no idea what I'm talking about there.

I also decided it would be a good idea to take college level Biology. It was a dual-enrollment thing with Virginia Western Community College, also known as the University of Colonial Avenue. You remember how I said I wanted to take it easy? How I just wanted to do the minimum amount of work and coast with a C? Yeah, college level Bio was not the way to do that. There were some fun moments. But for the most part, that class kicked my butt.

Now, let's include the fact that I discovered that I didn't need to take a math class in order to graduate. So I didn't. Who needs math in every day life anyway? (This coming from a guy who currently works as a bank teller)

So I had an extra class period on my hands. What did I do with that extra time? I took an extra elective. My electives senior year involved a year long stint in Advanced Photography (which was awesome), and a semester each of Drawing II and Painting. So much excitement to come.