And as Such, the New Generation of Students Arrive to My Former School

*written at approximately 6:30 P.M. today in my high school cafeteria




Here I am in the cafeteria for my little sister's high school orientation basking in the always-familiar smell of my past life within these confines. All I see before me are little kids looking a little anxious about what high school has in store for them. This would be their first time being in my high school, I believe, so it would be safe to assume they're pretty nervous about going here. Surely, I felt the same way when I was in their shoes 4 years ago.

I didn't know what to expect of high school either in the leadup to my first day of sophomore year (I went to two high schools: a 9th grade school & a senior high school). I wondered whether it was going to match my expectations. As a kid, way before I went there, I developed somewhat of an image of what it was supposed to be like, more thanks in large part to the multitude of T.V. shows/movies that I watched. In those programs, high school was presented as a "cool and hip" place to go to. One of them was a movie called "High School Musical".


sigh


I thought dancing maniacally on the tables of the classroom and cafeteria was normal. I also thought making friends was going to be a piece of cake. These shows painted a utopian-like image of the high school life everyone of us in the real world dream of. "Yeah! High school is going to be a blast once I get there!" is what I thought.

Oh, how wrong I was......

As a matter of fact, it wasn't a blast.

I mean, it was fine and all, but it was underwhelming. It didn't fulfill my presumptive expectations, to say the least.

Now that my class graduated 2 years ago (Class of 2015 represent!!) from high school, we've made way for the next bunch of students to complete their 4 years in the same fashion, thus bringing in newer faces.

This generational change is already evident in my little sister's orientation. Seeing this happen makes me feel very old, even though I'm at the current age of 20. For a school, it's just any other day in its year-long routine of curriculum; for me, however, it's anything but. It's a reminder of how I'm really just a spoke on a wheel-- the dynamic wheel of generations--that never stops moving. Nothing's ever going to force it to stop. It's infinitely moving but there's no destination in sight. Once this current crop of students graduate in the future, the group behind them will only repeat the same path. Wash, rinse, repeat.

It'll never stop, but it is what it is. I guess I just have to deal with it.

Me vs Splashtown

*written at approximately 1:00 P.M. today on my notebook


Welp, here I am, reader, in Splashtown with my family having the time of my life. It is unsurprisingly hot, I'm watching people get wet (don't think wrong), and I'm writing down what I'm thinking in this little notebook that I have under my possession. I don't know what time it is right now because I didn't bring my phone for this period of supposed fun. A breeze of cool wind just hit me and it felt great. This is probably going to be the only time I'm ever going to be here this year, so I guess it is best for me to put my pencil and down and relax in the water park. I need it. That's right. I should just soak this in. I'm not going to experience anything quite like this ever again at a unique day like the 6th of August of 2017, so I should make the most of it. Here's to fun!





1 hour and 30 minutes later

This has gone to shit now.

The sky became cloudy while I was having fun with the family and the lifeguards of the park, thinking the weather was going to get worse at a moment's notice, stopped all of its operation.

Great.

Just fucking great. I can't get even this time peacefully. There always has to be an interruption from somewhere or something whose sole purpose of existence is to fucking fuck me over. Fucking clouds. Fuck you. It never ends. Oh well, it can't be helped, I guess. In addition to that, I don't have my phone in which I can use to pass the time. Maybe not taking it with me was a mistake. However, I do have this notebook. Perhaps, this day won't be wasted, after all. Let's see what happens in the future of this day together, reader.





30 minutes later, I think

The suspension is over! People are now entering the rides. I can now get wet again (don't)! Patience does pay off in the end! Rejoice!





1 or 2 hours later probably

Fun. Happiness. Fun time. Bliss.





30 minutes later

NEVER.

FUCKING.

MIND.

The bad weather has appeared again and the lifeguards are taking their precautions again by stopping the water park AGAIN (I understand why they're doing this since it's part of their protocol but fuck). Everyone is leaving the water again, myself included. Fun time is over again.





bleh (less than 1 hour later)

We've given up. We've decided to change back to our normal clothes and leave the park. Well, it was fun while it lasted, Splashtown. You were awesome. I went to that Texas Tornado thing or whatever and it was scary. The speed took me by surprise and I hung on for my dear life when it was blitzing to the sides of the funnel/tornado. I thought I was going to fall off of the big yellow floatie I was riding on. I kept screaming "OHSHITOHSHITOHSHIT" until it ended. It was fun, though, so it didn't matter in the end.

Despite everything that happened today with the stoppages and all, my family and I had fun. And if we had fun, then the day was not wasted. My legs hurt, but I don't feel any pain. That's because I used them for the enjoyment of my loved ones.