Back To School
by Brian Costa
It's that time of year again. It's late in August, staying out late is becoming quite routine, and it still doesn't seem to matter that you are not even close to being finished reading your summer book list. This was my experience in the last few weeks of summer, dreading the beginning of yet another school year. At the end of summer it is hard to find any positive reasons to go back to school, but don't worry, once the year begins, you finally realize that there are always a few things you miss about school.
The beginning of a new school year is another new beginning, another chance to get your act together and do something good, either for your school or for your community. Since I will be starting my junior year at Prep this year, it will be a bit of both. Aside from academic schoolwork, we must also stay in touch with the community in our required junior service projects. Although this may sound rough, it is actually a very enlightening experience. I also enjoy being back with all my friends, since it is hard to see everyone when your friends are scattered all over Fairfield County.
Junior year is supposed to be the hardest year in high school, but it has its advantages as well. I am actually pretty excited because becoming an upperclassman is going to be a totally new experience. The third year of high school is more than just a new school year because you are now at a stage where what you have to say makes a difference and you begin to take more active roles in athletics, clubs, and service projects. Aside from all of that, you also realize it is not very difficult to sneak off campus for lunch since most people can drive now. Although this may not sound very applicable to someone going to freshmen or sophomore year, it is because it gives them something to look forward to as their academic careers progress.
The service projects we do at our school have been probably the most spiritual part of my high school experience so far. Helping others in the community is a good way to give something back, and it is a very worthwhile experience. For example, this year we will be working with children in inner city grammar schools in a project called the Urban Plunge. This is something I am looking forward to because it is a good way to help people, learn about people and it encourages spiritual growth. This is one of the most important things besides academics in high school. This is a time when you begin to stop being told what to do or what to believe and come up with ideas, values and morals of your own. High school is a time in which you grow in many areas of your life. Returning to school means that you will now resume your growth both as a person and as a student which is something that I definitely look forward to.
Summer's over, but just think about all the valuable things you will learn, and the friends you will see and the new ones you will make once school is back in session. For me it is hard to believe that two years have gone by and my high school career is almost over. It cannot be said enough how fast high school flies by, but most people miss it when it is over. After high school there will be yet another new beginning: the world of college. If you are getting sick of high school, it always helps to look forward to how great college will be, and how you will grow even more as a person. There are not that many new beginning and second chances once you get out of school, so you should definitely make the most of the chances you have now to fix things for the better, like the beginning of this coming school year.