Year by Year - going nuts for November

Come November, come golden days where the light catches off bright red carmine leaves and the interlacing of warm hands… or come bitter winds that foretell of a winter full of cramming assignments and cursing procrastination. This “Year by Year” presents the early November, midway-through-semester-1 thoughts of Aidan Wang (Grade 9), Pradyumn Jha (Grade 10), Sindhuja Vellanki (Grade 10), Julianne Ho (Grade 11), Rose Moosavian (Grade 11), and Hassan Khan (Grade 12):

How fast did the first two months of school pass by for you?

Aidan: “Very. So many new experiences for me were concentrated into these two months that when I
look back it’s all a blur.”
Sindhuja: “They passed by pretty slowly, although math class felt very fast paced.”
Julianne: “FWOOOOOOSH - I didn't have as long nights as I used to have, so the days seemed shorter to me at the beginning. Also, ever since the beginning of school, I feel like I've just been rushing to get things done in not enough time. I don't remember the last time I could fit a reasonable amount of time for me to do something recreational in my schedule…”
Rose: “It went by so fast. It feels like two weeks”
Hassan: “Way too fast, I'm not ready to graduate :')”

How would you typically spend the morning of a late start?

Aidan: “Unconscious.”
Pradyumn: “On a regular school day I typically wake up around 5:00 AM, and then I follow my schedule
which includes exercise, review of notes, etc. On late starts, I allow myself an extra hour
of sleep :) lol (wake-up at 6:00 instead) and use the extra hour to do productive work.”
Sindhuja: “I usually sleep in for a few minutes before studying advanced science right before I leave for the bus.”
Julianne: “I usually have too many things to do, so I always wake up at the same time as a normal school day :( If I had a test that day I'd spend it studying, otherwise I'd spend it on completing assignments or cleaning
up my room.”
Rose: “Studying :’)”
Hassan: “i just forget and show up early most of the time lmao”

Which grade in high school do you think has it the best?

Aidan: “Ninth for sure. Everything’s new and ready for you to explore, no responsibilities, classes are
the easiest, grades don’t matter in the slightest, and most importantly you get that cool feeling
when you befriend the older kids. I’m trying to just enjoy the time I have right now and not think
about how my life is only going to get busier from here.”
Sindhuja: “Probably the Grade 9s, since the teachers feel more lenient on the newcomers to high school, and because it’s easy to figure out what exactly you want to do.”
Julianne: “I would classify Grade 9 as "I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing and I'm overwhelmed with what the high school experience has to offer," Grade 10 as "I've found the group of friends I like spending time with the most and this is the perfect opportunity to get even closer to them. Things are getting difficult but still manageable," Grade 11 as "OH SO THIS IS WHAT THE CRUSHING WEIGHT OF
RESPONSIBILITY IS SUPPOSED TO FEEL LIKE," and Grade 12 as "I'm dead inside, but it's going fine I
guess. I have half a year to recover before adulthood hits me in the face". All this being said, I think
Grade 10 has it the best because you've gotten used to high school but don't have the weight of worrying about the impending doom that is your future yet.”
Rose: “Definitely the gr 11s. We’re just the coolest”
Hassan: “11s, they're familiar with the school and feel like they belong but they
dont have the pressure of being in their final year”

Which grade has it the worst?

Aidan: “I’m not really sure, but I’ve heard of the terrors of grade 11 👀”
Sindhuja: “The Grade 12s, because they have to choose post-secondary options which emanate terrifying vibes.”
Julianne: “I think Grade 11 and 12 are both the worst of the bunch, though after the first half of the year, Grade 12 marks don't give as much pressure anymore? They both require a lot of responsibility, but I think many people feel the most pressure for good marks for post-secondary and catching up to their peers in Grade 11. Also, I believe Grade 12s are mostly used to the responsibility already as they have dealt with the same issues in Grade 11 (I could be wrong)? I would probably go with Grade 11, then.”
Rose: “Gr 12s look like they have a lot going on with university applications, so probably them”
Hassan: “9s... poor them, they've had their entire middle school years messed
up, i don't know how they're coping”

Do you believe in the social life-sleep-school pyramid concept where one can only balance two at a time? If so, which two do you choose?

Aidan: “I think it depends on how much life and/or school demands at the given time. If I had to choose
though, I would probably say school but end up actually losing sleep.”
Sindhuja: “I think the concept of this pyramid is interesting, and to be honest, I would choose sleep and school. My social life consists of a select group of friends who I bonded with over being attacked by a parasitic wasp, so I’m pretty sure that tells you a lot already.”
Julianne: “OHOOOO my social life is crashing hard, so I guess I've already chosen sleep and school? Actually I think instead of school it should be responsibilities/work in general, there's so many things to look out for, not only grades.”
Rose: “I think you can balance all three of them if you work hard”
Hassan: “I mean on principal no but i've never gotten enough sleep during a
school week so ̄_(ツ)_/ ̄”

What were you up to on Halloween?

Aidan: “Was going to trick-or-treat then quit at the last minute. Ended up singing.”
Pradyumn: “Well on Halloween I actually had an 8-hour Bronze Cross course so I was finishing that up.
However, I did carve a pumpkin which was pretty cool lol”
Sindhuja: “Channelling my inner Winter Soldier and streaming the Rocky Horror Picture Show with my friends because life is just like that.”
Julianne: “I went to a party hosted by a friend, most of our friend group was there and we were gaming and eating food (and playing with their dog ofc). This wasn't exactly on Halloween, but it was a celebration for it at least. My actual Halloween was spent preparing for the school day coming up.”
Rose: “I dressed up with friends and ate very good food”
Hassan: “I kinda forgot it was halloween til like 3/4 ofthe way through lol, but i wore a cape to school that i've had since i was 8?”

Do you think COVID ruined your high school experience?

Aidan: “No. There are some aspects like most clubs being online that are a slight bummer, but I think
I’ve had a much better start than the grade 10s whose whole first year was online.”
Pradyumn: “I don't think that 'ruined' is the right word. Moreso I'd say it prepared us and made us
resilient. The pandemic made us more adaptable to change, while increasing our abilities
to innovate. It is definitely unfortunate that so many students have missed out on high
school experiences, but there are some valuable life lessons to be learned from this.”
Sindhuja: “Yes. Period.”
Julianne: “Absolutely, I think I missed out on the best high school year. A lot of it was spent secluded in my room just calling other people, and being sad together while holed up at home :( We also missed an
overnight trip that my friend group and I were really looking forward to ahhh”
Rose: “It certainly made it one of a kind”
Hassan: “Ruined is a strong word, and in some way it's made me a more sociable and confident person, but i do wish i had longer to develop some relationships (and play music!! no music :(( )”

Name an inside joke.

Aidan: “so true”
Sindhuja: “Cryptus albitarsis”
Julianne: “#out-of-context, pillow jumping contest??”
Rose: “LEMUR ?!”
Hassan: “I'm desperate”

In one word, describe the balance between school, life (the universe), and you right now.

Aidan: “what?”
Sindhuja: “Imagine a small boat floating in the ocean. Then add in a few large waves. Maybe some lightning, rain, and all around bad weather. Holy--is that a shark fin??? Okay, so combine all that together, throw it inside a blender, add asparagus leaves, and then mix it all together. Pour into a glass, refrigerate, stir and drink chilled.”
Julianne: “Imbalanced :D”
Rose: “Eventful”
Hassan: “Oh i typed out a whole thing but then saw it was one word lol uhh: Precarious”

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