The First Week

The first week of school has just passed and already I am excited to delve further into my subjects. I have always enjoyed school, but this senior year has the best schedule I have ever had. Even with classes like English, which in the past I have had a hard time focusing on, have been more alluring to me. Some classes, like AP Computer Science, I am very excited about attending for the pure mystery I see in them. I have almost no experience programming, or even looking at hardware in a computer and I am hoping that this class gives me a starting point to this glassed over world. Last spring I worked on three posts in which I described and ranked my favorite classes of freshman, sophomore, and junior year. I want to do this again for my classes senior year, but instead of only looking at these classes once I have finished the course, I also want to describe how I think they will be, and what I expect my enjoyment from each one of them to be at this beginning of the year. Here are my first thoughts on the six classes I am taking.

German Four:

German is the class I am most afraid of. This first semester I have a new teacher, Frau Roper, because the expected German teacher, Frau Farrell, just had a baby and is now out on maternity leave. I had pleasant previous experiences with Frau Farrell during German One and Two, so I was a little disappointed I would not have Frau Farrell this first semester of German Four. Off the bat, Frau Roper came in with what felt like a heavier emphasis on speaking. This scared me because I have always struggled with speaking, and having this weakness pushed will only make, what has felt like a difficult class in the past, feel harder. I can hope and strive for becoming a better speaker, but I know it will be tough even if I do. Truth be told, I can not judge how Frau Roper will be as a teacher yet, only having had two periods as of yet, but German has always been a class I mildly disliked, and I am not expecting this to change. I feel out of place in the environment, and the pure fact of being unable to translate my rampaging thoughts into cohesive sentences has made the class in the past feel even more anxiety-inducing.

The Novel:

The Novel has been a class that not only has met my expectations, but has exceeded them. I have never been a huge English fan, but I got the first taste of an English class I really enjoyed last spring with Making and Remaking Race. My expectations for English this year were then set higher coming off of a very interesting last semester in English. So far, the Novel has kept me involved, entertained, and even excited to go to class. The works we are reading, like "If on a winter's night a traveler" seem exceptional pieces of literature. The Novel is a block that I definitely want to go to.

Physics:

Physics scares me. It does not give me anxiousness in the ways German does, but even after only a few classes, looking at the problems and the ways of thinking seem troublesome, Despite that, I am really excited to jump into it. As much as it scares me, I learned so much Chemistry last year when I had the exact same feeling. One thing I really want to explore here is physics in the three-dimensional world, as of right now we are only working in two dimensions. I have always struggled with visualization in three dimensions and this seems like a great place to tackle that endeavor. Physics is a class that I do not know what to expect, except that it will be challenging, and extremely rewarding. I am excited to fight through this class and the questions it will pose to me.

BC Calculus:

If I had to put one describing word for this class it would be safe. We have yet to do anything that I have not yet done in Trig and Precalculus, giving a friendly familiar feel to each problem. This class is something I do not expect to stretch me too thin. Despite this, I feel there will be interesting and imposing challenges that will pop up, allowing it to not just feel like something I can be complacent in. If I do start acting complacent, I know I will also start to struggle. I want to see what new concepts this class brings that I have not had the pleasure of exploring in math before, and that will probably be the greatest decider of my enjoyment in this class.

Ancient Civilizations:

Ancient Civilizations has been a class I have looked forward too all throughout my high school career. The class interacts with some of the most historically attractive time periods to me, going all the way from ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, to the Roman Empire. I really love looking at these old Mediterranean and Near East civilizations, and this class does exactly that. Some things I am especially excited for are the research project, and some physical, not all paper-based, projects that I have heard we do. Mr. Hanover seems extremely passionate and at place in the class, and getting to see him analyze and help us analyze the time period has already given me tingles down my back.

Computer Science:

Computer Science is the class I am most excited for at this point. What makes it so exciting is just how little I know about it. From programming to physical computers, this class is something I hope will bring me into the magical coded world. I have had such limited experience with this type of work that I did not know if I enjoyed it at all while signing up for the class. We have only just dabbled in simple programming, but already I am enjoying it a lot more then I expected. I do not know what I will think of this class in the end, and right now, I love it for that.