10. Just making my list is an experience that occurred at the beginning of my sophomore year in APUSH. As an intimidated young sophomore taking my first AP class I felt “like I was too dumb to” handle such a rigorous academic environment (Kesey 210). To my surprise, I scored a perfect 10/10 on my first essay on Puritans. Most of my fellow APUSH students freaked out over their sixes and sevens so I felt pretty thrilled and felt that AP classes were not all they’re cracked up to be.
9. This one may not be the most academic thrill in the world but it occurred in school and with an academic instrument. Way back in the awkward freshman days, I was an avid calculator gamer. “It is obvious that [my] social spheres [were] widely different” as a freshman (Wilde 37). But anyways, I got the most epic high score ever witnessed in the history of CFHS. I played one game of Avalanche for over a half hour straight in Mr. Salyers’ study hall and scored 25,252. I have never seen anyone get above 6,000 so yeah; it was thrilling to say the least.
8. Undoubtedly the most difficult time thus far in my high career has been my AP Computer Science class. Every Friday we have two nine point AP problems that just rocked my world for a while. I “press[ed] ahead with getting clobbered” weekly on the Friday problems, usually scoring a 3 or 4 out of 9 (Currie 105). But two Fridays ago I had my breakthrough, scoring an 8.5 and 9 out of 9 and feeling as thrilled as anyone could about two 9-point assignments.
7. Who wouldn’t feel thrilled after finishing a 25-page paper at 4 in the morning? Well after hours of exhaustive work I finally hit ctrl + P and witnessed “‘the end, the absolute, irrevocable, fantastic end’” of my first ever data sheet (Kesey 304). The moment I printed the mother load of analysis and pain I felt all sorts of stress and anxiety lift from my body.
6. If you text and drive, you may be “in the waning moments of your existence” according a highly acclaimed study done by the great Alex Hurtuk and Jimmy Boldt (Currie 261). Alex and I did our 10th grade research project on cell phones and driving and we aced it, I mean we really aced it. Getting such a good grade on such a large project gave the 10th grade me quite the thrill.
5. Tenth grade English class…Ms. Beach: “We are going to have a guest speaker tomorrow, he doesn’t have any arms or legs.” … Lizzy Burl: “Does he have bones?” … Alex Kreger: “Yeah he just rolls around like a big gelatinous mass everywhere.” This was one of the funniest moments for me in school. The speaker may have been “legless and armless” but he was anything but boneless (Currie 113).
4. Moushumi! Enough said. I felt “so full of sympathy” for whoever had to play that part (Kesey 233).
3. The second greatest day of my school career occurred on the day before winter break of my sophomore year. I sat in second period APUSH class and watched as Mr. Brownlow stood atop a desk with his famous wooden stick ranting about sectionalism or something when BAM! the power went out. Mr. Browlow immediately let out a frightful scream as all of us wondered what was going on. After about ten minutes in the dark word came through that we could leave school if our teacher talked to our parents first. After my mom and Mr. Browlow chatted for a brief minute, I booked it out of class, met up with my best friend Charlie Micunek in the hall and sped out of the school, starting winter break six periods early. That school day seemed “to me to be in every way the visible personification of absolute perfection (Wilde 31).
2. On December 10, 2010 I was going to hear whether or not I made it into Dartmouth College. The email came out at exactly 4 pm and beginning at 3:59 I stared at my computer screen… waiting. “The suspense [was] terrible” to say the least (Wilde 52). When I finally opened the email and saw that I had gotten in, I felt so relieved and thrilled. I felt that my previous 11.5 years in school had finally paid off for something.
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| (Alex K) |
1. Some may not consider my most thrilling academic moment in high school very academic but because it happened during the actual school day, I find it perfectly academic. It was Springfest 2010, the day of the annual dodgeball championship. This dodgeball tradition sets itself apart from all other traditions in the school. It’s a time when the ENTIRE student body watches an athletic event together. In past games, the fans have been divided, whether it be by grade or by social orientation. The 2010 game was far different on the other hand. The game featured the heavyweight team, Team Cheesed, against the surprise team, the East Washington Mafia. I played for East Washington Mafia. Before the game began our nervous team huddled in the girls locker room (one of the teams had to be in there) and got pumped up for the most important sporting event in any of our lives. As we approached the stairs to make our appearance on the court, the entire gym filled with boos as Team Cheesed took the floor. Moments later we ran onto the floor to massive cheers. Once the game began, we garnered more and more support from the crowed as everyone but one or two people cheered for us. Chants of “MAFIA, MAFIA, MAFIA” roared through the building as Team Cheesed players fell. After winning the first game and losing the second, the championship came down to one final game. We came out strong and took an early advantage. Taylor Mendel, Austin Sauey, Danny Murtaugh, Alex Kreger, myself and even Jillian could not be stopped as we dodged and dipped our way past incoming balls and fired some back with often-deadly accuracy. The final seconds were a mad rush as EWM players charged, balls flying, toward the one or two remaining Cheesers. As soon as the last opposing player fell, the crowd erupted. I felt greater “joy and love in just this one last moment” than I had experienced in all of high school (Currie 302). I had never been in such a loud gym in all of my life. We had done the impossible, defeated an over confident team with some of the best athletes in the school on it while uniting the entire student body behind us. I am very positive that Chagrin Falls High School will never see a comparable game ever again. It was quite the feat and quite the thrill. Surely number 1 material.
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