By: Nehemiah Perez
Every morning, I wake up at 7:15 am, lay half-awake in my bed a bit, and eventually, (literally) roll off. I check my closet and dresser’s drawers for a half-decent outfit that I feel expresses myself. I then jog down my stairs and heat up breakfast. I then grab my keys and drive myself through a godforsaken amount of school traffic and impatient parents trying to get their elementary school students to school on time 5 minutes after their bell rang.
Once I park not too far off the Benicia High School (BHS) campus because I don’t want to pay for a parking pass, I then walk a couple minutes to start my school day.
First period:
Graphic design. Mr O’Reilly then explains our assignment for the first 5 minutes of class and then gives us the rest of the period to do the assignment. That class I often take to chill out and listen to my music, and just do something I enjoy doing. Graphic design is really fun, and Mr. O’Reilly is a good teacher who is cool about letting students listen to music and he even puts on his own music in the background.
Second period
Economics and last semester was government. Government was the best class, taught by Mr. Higginbotham (aka Mr. Higg) and allowed for collaboration in a non group project feel, so students would actually talk to each other and enjoy the work. Mr. Higg also allowed for students to listen to music. Econ this semester is much more rigorous, and no phones are allowed, even earbuds. We take notes daily, and have a group-project we are working on. Ms. Westerman will give us a lecture while we take notes, and then I go to my next period.
Third period:
Creative writing. Mr. Greenwood gives us a daily quick write where we can write about anything we want, but often there is a topic to write on that he provides. We’ve had many essays, plays, poems, and other types of writing that we have explored in that class, and it really opened my eyes to other mediums of writing. Right now, we are doing video game writing, which wasn’t even in my realm of thinking at the start of the year, but it is a really interesting unit, because thinking of designers (like my first period), and writers working together in order to push out games with intricate story-telling and plots is fun to do.
Fourth period:
Journalism with Mr. Hughes, (where this article is being written), who is probably the most sarcastic and mischievous teacher on campus, which makes him one of the funniest (this is not playing him up for points in this class, I am being unbiased and legitimately enjoy hearing the shenanigans in this class). We aren’t run by Mr. Hughes, he is merely the grade giver. This class is run by Frankie Demapendan and Leila Rocha, our “Editors in Chiefs”, who give us assignments, lead brainstorms, and partner us up for editing.
Fifth period:
English with Mr. Calderon. Mr. Calderon is a well of knowledge who teaches “Hamlet” like no other. The life lessons and actual English lessons I get in this class are unlike any else. I’ve learned better syntax for writing, and how to sound more professional while keeping things concise but still get to the point I want to make. Paring down on work during revision and editing has really helped in both journalism and creative writing.
Sixth Period:
Last but not least, I have weight training with Mr. Stephens. I get to get warm, get energy out, and lift weights in a safe and managed environment surrounded by peers who have similar goals. Many people have lifting groups in this class, and the interaction between people is really nice to see. However that is not to say you can’t lift or exercise on the treadmill or bikes alone. The ability to help others and be helped in a journey to better my life and health is really cool to be a part of. Since I have this period last, I don’t mind getting a bit sweaty during my workout because I just go right home and take a shower. That concludes my day as a BHS student, and I then return home to do my (minimal) amount of homework, and do things in my own life to decompress
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