The LAST PROJECT

What Have I learned in High School?

There are so many things, but I mean, let’s be real… I will learn more in college. But considering I still have a few days left, we might as well focus on high school for now. One of the first things I learned is to write everything down.

I used a pen (blue or black, rarely green) and a pad of paper that could easily fit in my back pocket of my jeans.

I bought a 12-pack of 100-sheet pads of this size that I could use. I used 1 pad a day, only on weekdays, and never when there wasn’t school. Occasionally I use an extra page here and there, but for the most part I stick to this system. On these pads of paper, I write homework, schedules, girl’s phone numbers (this actually happened in school one time), and really anything I cannot forget. Once I did it, or talked to whomever, or put the number into my phone, I would cross out the item. If I do not have the time to deal with one of the items, it gets transferred to the next day. I throw away the pages each night. Since I bought a 12-pack, I figured I can use them all the way through college without having to replace them. If I wrote it down, it got accomplished, but If I never wrote it down, it would probably go forgotten.

At Mariemont High school, it is easy to accomplish a lot. All you need to do is talk. Being shy gets you nowhere in this life. You have to go out and get what you want and you must start with talking. Once you talk, then you walk. Say then Do. Be yourself and talk.

Show up. “Seventy percent of Success is just showing up”- Woody Allen. You cannot do anything without showing up and can’t do a lot without showing up on time. So don’t be late either.

Try hard. I mean, c’mon, that’s an easy one…

The Most Important Thing I learned…

Friendship. This may sound silly, but friends get you through the worst of times and enjoy the best of times with you. Without a group of friends or one friend, everything can be quite lonely. Everyone needs to feel love, and when we go out into the world, Mom and Dad are too far to love us when we need it. This is where friends come in. We crave the love of others.

What should I have gotten? (Really: Where did the teachers strike out?)

I kind of wish I learned more of video editing and all that with Mr. Goetz. I have been in videos of all sorts, including the hit documentary Kick Drum Hearts, and several classroom productions, but I know nothing of video editing. I lovemaking videos, I have good ideas for videos like skits and things of that sort, but I just don’t know what to do when given the task of cutting film to match it up in the way I want. This is I guess where friends come in. Glad I learned that! But I mean, look at this picture, Luke is simultaneously cutting different parts of the movie to make it into a sequence, and If you look closely, I am in both frames.

Usually someone wishes they learned things that are all philosophical, but I took philosophy, and there is nothing philosophical about the trade of video editing. It’s just one of those things I never got.

As a whole, I feel I played the game of high school just right. I made some friends (let’s be honest, some lifelong, some not, but still good to have around), learned a lot in the academic sense, learned more about myself and social trends and tendencies. I mean, the one thing I cannot wait to do is friend all of my FORMAL teachers once I have that diploma. HA. But yea, I am pumped for the next step. I am not nervous at all. Mariemont has prepared me well. And I couldn't have gone through it all with my hero, especially English...

Drew Harris is my hero.

-B