Skip to main content

Another Year, Another You: Moving Up in the World

By Anonymous
Tian Ooi

As the bells rang once more, the school year picked up steam like a shiny new train chugging out of the station. Though many things stayed the same, most students had a deep awareness (or unawareness) of moving up to the next grade.

With last year’s graduation barely past, ex-juniors found themselves filling the void their predecessors left behind. Between front-row seats in Chapel and freedom from shifts in the Junior Class Store, twelfth graders grappled with a mini existential crisis as they ascended to the top.

Pondering deeply, Peter Kim (12) said sagely, "To be honest, I don't feel like a senior; I still think about planning for JSB. But looking at college applications takes me back to what I'm supposed to do—be a senior.”

Newly minted juniors, on the other hand, jumped straight to business. The class put in many hours managing and running their store, which proudly advertises brand new products such as funnel cakes or cookie dough balls.

Not only were juniors occupied in the store—they also sacrificed Saturday mornings to plan and prepare for the upcoming After-Sneak Dinner for the new senior class. “I can’t tell you what the theme is,” Elisabeth Kilgo (­11) said, aghast. “It’s so much better as a surprise. But,” she divulged with a smile, “I think it’s seriously pretty cool.”

Most sophomores felt a bit more ambivalent about the new year, simply glad to move a step up the high school ladder. “It’s better than last year,” Joseph Chandra (10) and Letitia Ong (10) agreed after ­­­­hesitation, promptly returning to studying for their Developmental Psychology test.

Last but not least, the freshmen experienced their first taste of high school. Affectionately referred to as “freshies” by most of the upperclassmen, many former middle schoolers felt overwhelmed by the new environment and expectations.

Others, however, enjoyed the change. “Ninth grade is a lot harder but also not as stressful, since you don’t get the pressure of being the top of the social hierarchy,” Mikaela Yeap (9) said as she walked out of her first three-minute thesis presentation.

Despite the serious atmosphere of some classes, students also remembered to enjoy being at school. Lydia Geiman (9) recalled a humorous incident from her band class, nearly incomprehensible between bursts of laughter.

The first few weeks of school were eventful in themselves. Casually momentous milestones passed students by with hardly any notice. As the year steamrolled on, covering more and more terrain, students enjoyed taking in the rolling scenery before the high school train reaches its destination.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

DINGBAT DALAT STUDENT SPENDS PRECIOUS TIME CONJURING UP SELF-REFERENTIAL SENIOR SCRIBBLE RATHER THAN GATHERING LEGITIMATE WORK

By Anonymous
Yusoof Monawvil PENANG, MA - As the deadline drew near and the stars aligned in the night sky above the majestic waters of the Strait of Malacca, one particular Dalat student—Yusoof Monawvil (12), despite a plethora of school events to select and report on—opted instead to spend a remarkably well-wasted 24 minutes staring at a blank Google Docs page, fruitlessly drawing up and shooting down brainstormed ideas.  In a moment of sheer and undeniable epiphany, Monawvil deemed it only fitting to self-referentially satirize his own ingrained incompetence and dingbattery. Commenting on the flash of insight, Monawvil quoted himself, saying: “It all just kinda made sense. I went on DISCourse to look at the little rubric thing Ms. Grad and Mr. Hieber posted, and I checked if I was following all of the guidelines... And I technically am/was; [N]ot like there’s any specific direktive [sic] prohibiting self-quoting.”  In a turn of events, Monawvil did come to find his self-quoting en...
6 comments
Read more

“I Miss Her” by Nikhil Pillay

By
While most people had a fun week for mid-semester break, whether it was spent with family, or with friends on impact trips, no one had a more emotionally confusing week than Judson Kenneth Robert Nosker (12).  In the light of recent events, Judson, despite all odds, had gotten in a relationship with one of his classmates, and as the break started, he had started to spend a lot of time with her. While with her, he started to experience a new level of joy and completeness that he had never felt before. In the words of Judson Nosker, “The first half of the break was good, but the rest of it was horrible.”  The reason for such a quote and the roller coaster of emotion was because half way through the break, disaster had struck. Judson’s girlfriend had gone on a trip with her family to Thailand, leaving Judson all alone. For the rest of the week, Judson was in a state of longing for her presence.  His friends have reported numerous occasions when Judson would be sitting with t...
Post a Comment
Read more

Varsity Sports Award Ceremony

By
By Amos Koay On April 22, the Varsity Sports Awards was held in Harbor Hall. This was when people who had joined a Varsity sport would get acknowledgment for all the blood, sweat, and tears they sacrificed to fight for Dalat.  Many amazing athletes got the recognition they deserved. Some notable people are Romeo Kontsas (11), Isaac Lee (12), Naomi Weidemann (12), Josia DeJager (12), Joshua Morrison (12), DJ Yost (12), Caitlin Chan (11), and Alexia Nyul (12), who all got awarded MVP in their respective sports.   Although many people got different awards, one athlete stood above the rest of the players. One exceptional athlete who was in soccer, basketball, and track, where he broke multiple ACSC and school records for his sprints—the Male Athlete of the Year, Kyle Tang.  The following quote is what Kyle Tang (12) had to say about his achievements: "Winning athlete of the year is an incredible honor, especially with the amount of sacrifices I've spent improving myself ...
Post a Comment
Read more