As I swing open the door of what appears to be my new room with force, dust suddenly fills the dimly sunlit streaks pouring through the cracks of the blinds looming along the tall windows. The moment feels surreal, my consciousness finally processing the fact this isn't simply a visit to my grandparents, but we had moved back to California. I bring my hand back to grip the handle of my suitcase, accidentally losing my grip. Causing the contents of my half opened suitcase to spill out before me; my paintings and drawings I had spent hours on, a pair of headphones, a book on the history of serial killers in the country, my mp3 player, as well as my photos of my friends and loved ones from my old home; to remind me there are people who love me.

Well, to start out my first journal entry for Honors English II, I would like to say that I am personally a new student here at Carmel High, although I am in my Sophomore year, this is my first year here. Which has caused some confusion amongst the staff here. On my first day I honestly expected everything to be extremely laid back, and simple; though for me that was not the case. Turns out I hadn´t been assigned a schedule unlike all my peers, resulting in me having to go see my counselor and rerun the process of signing up for all of my classes. Though that was a whole process, I attempted to still; get a running start off into the year by immediately getting a locker and a Chromebook, to make it easier on myself in a way. But I was surprised to find that because I am a new student it was extremely difficult to learn my way around and explain to people though I am a new student, I am a sophomore. After all of that, I left school early due to a migraine, making my first day of school not so great. But this week I am determined to set myself up for success, get adjusted to my new schedule and life; and take all of my failures as a learning opportunity. Afterall, things can only go up from here.

One thing I have in common with the new Principal and Vice Principal, is that I am new to this school. The fact that I am a new student, and that this is my first year at Carmel High School can be taken two ways; as an advantage and as a disadvantage. Though personally I believe I can use this to my benefit, as it gives me a different perspective on the school as a whole; as well as its problems. When I had arrived on the first day of school, like most of the Freshman students I was taken aback by the school’s size. I had found it difficult to make my way around campus, even with a tour guide; and got lost several times attempting to make my way to either to the right bus for our Sophomore bonding trip, or finding my classes. Which brings us to my first topic, better navigation. During the tour I was given by several upperclassmen, I was only shown the office, and the restrooms before being taken to get my yearbook photo done. Leaving me wandering around campus, looking for the correct place to get my chromebook, where my classes were, only to find out I hadn’t even been assigned a schedule yet. Another small issue I would like to address is the cafeteria food, so far I have enjoyed the food provided; especially since school lunch in California is free. Though one thing I have noticed is the waste of food on campus, because of the fact students are required to take fruit, or a vegetable. I don’t see a problem with this, as it is important for students to get the correct nutrition. But one thing I have noticed is that many students are simply throwing their fruit away in the trash. I believe that there is a bin where you can put it if you don’t want to eat it, but still I am constantly seeing perfectly good fruit being wasted. In my opinion, I think a good solution to this problem would be to offer a larger selection of fruits and or vegetables at lunch to decrease the amount of waste by offering food students may enjoy more. Though as for the tours for the new students; I believe a solution that would encourage link-leaders to go more into depth with their tours, or go into further explanation, would be to come up with a tour plan. A tour plan would give the upperclassmen link-leaders an opportunity to read to new students exactly what the school administration wants the new students to be hearing. Making the tour guides more complex yet still easy to understand. Personally, if I had a tour that was planned out and read to me; I believe I would have been better set up for success here at Carmel High School.

(IN PROGRESS)