Today, I sat in the music room during my spare, looking at oddly shaped triangles and parallelograms with ticks and marks in the sides. Frustrated that the shapes weren’t magically turning into completed solutions after fifteen minutes as they usually do, I decided to take a break from the mind-wracking algebra and geometry problems and dove into some lovely stoichiometry, which did complete itself in a matter of minutes.

Being the super cool Grade 12 music students that we are, the Grade 9 music class we were sitting in on usually had a few kids that asked or noted one or two things, usually about the arcane powers that we have gained after putting up with this place for three years already. It’s kind of like living in the refuse of a nuclear power plant; whatever doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, and believe me we have become quite immune to many of West Hill’s peculiarities so to speak.

Last week, one of the niners asked me if I was skipping a class or if I just had a free period. I replied that I did indeed have a spare. In awe, the niner mentioned that she wished she could have a spare. It’s been a year that I’ve had a spare now (I invested a skill point in a spare when my character reached level 3) that I’ve forgotten that niners three weeks into school don’t know about spares.

Today, they made a few more discoveries. For instance, they learned that I was the esteemed leader of the clarinets. Under my visionary leadership, the clarinets will conquer the music landscape. Well, not really, considering who I have to work with in the first clarinet section. Not exactly prime candidates for succeeding me, if those of you know what I’m talking about.

Anyhow, after I started punching in numbers to find the molar mass of lead(II) nitrate, one of the clarinets noted that “everytime I see this guy, he’s doing math!” I ignored that, but then I started thinking about what the niner said. It’s true. Every time I’ve been on my spare, I’ve been doing algeo or calc or physics or chem. And all of those classes are basically math.

I’ve finally realized why I’m so bored of my classes this year. It’s because they’re all math. Let’s inspect this statement, shall we? Algeo is math. Not only is it math, it’s philosophy math, so it’s doubly impossible. Then there’s calculus which is stereotypical math, that is boring math. Calculus is the most boring class ever. Notating domains in intervals is the most mundane thing I’ve done in math yet.

Then there are the sciences. Physics would be pretty boring were it not for Nguyen and his lack of English skill. “Perfect! You get zero bonus marks!” he says and we all burst into fits of laughter. I’m not sure he realizes it. Then there’s chemistry, which, in Grade 9 I thought was pretty damned interesting. Sadly, De Guzman is proving me wrong by speeding through it faster than catbus on fire. There’s also computer engineering which is electricty which is physics and logic.

Sidenote: I just watched the last vestiges of light in the sky disappear. That is bloody freaky.

Moving on, I think I’m lacking the English/Humanites course that would have normally offset this type math invasion. Last year I had a total of three maths (one math and two sciences). To balance out the mathing out, there was English, Classical Civilization, Music, and Counter-Strike.

It’s funny because I’ve always hated English. It’s that damned subjectivity that gets me. In math, I can be sure (well, I used to be able to, but algeo has shaken things up a bit) and I can pick it up easily. English takes a bit more. How in bloody hell do you improve in something as subjective as style?

With a year of Cohen for two of my courses, I’ve discovered that writing is something I really like. The last assignment we did for Classics was the one that cemented my belief. That was the myth poem in the style of Ovid’s The Metamorphoses. I got 95% on it (pity that every time I get 95% on something in English it’s not worth very much). He said that I should write and whatever I do I should also write.

I really like writing some of the essays last year both in English and Classics. I enjoyed just as much receiving the feedback he would give me after marking it. That stuff is gold and I’m sure it’ll help me this year in English. In fact, it’s one of the reasons I’m quite interested in maintaining a blog. It gives me a chance to write.

Heck, a few people have told me that I write really well. It was kinda like that time a few people told me I could sing really well. I didn’t really think I could sing. I didn’t really think I could write. Now I enjoy both (to a certain extent).

I think it sucks how high school is set up. Grade 12 is all about those six courses that are going towards your admissions average, which is quite stinky for engineering hopefuls, since five out of those six are decided for you already. It’s a shame that high school can’t emphasize on diversifying courses. I know that they have a sort of cop-out way of handling it in making you do the Group A complusory credit. That’s not good enough.

I know that in Grade 8, while I was flipping through the course book (yeah, yeah I’m a nerd and the like) I was really interested in the Grade 12 courses in the humanites section. Stuff like world issues, economics, law, politics, world history, psychology, and the rest. I liked studying that stuff or would have like to as an interest sort of thing rather than for getting into university. In Grade 9 or 10, I realized that I could probably take only one of those, and that was Classics.

It’s funny, because for all of those engineering and maths and sciences, they have a list of prerequisites, all of which are math or sciences. Then, when you have a look at the arts programs, you have one required course: English. Then it’s your choice. But notice that almost never do people going into arts take any maths or sciences. They’re all into the ‘English’ courses.

No matter what they might get you to think, there’s not really all that much flexibility in high school. Quite honestly, you have about three options:

1. Math, Engineering, or Science: The six-pack (three maths, three sciences)!
2. Business: Load up on business courses, and maybe a math here, a science there and a humanity somewhere else
3. Arts: Screw math, go go ten billion essay writing courses!

I guess it’s true what they say: high school isn’t really real school.

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