High school was an adventure, especially since I went into it without friends. It's not like I didn't have friends, but my middle school fed into two different high schools, Wheeling and Hersey, and my close-knit group of bookworms, whom I had known since first grade, went to Hersey. (One of my friends actually up and moved to Boston to go to a private school). I was able to make some friends during tennis summer practice the high school offered before school even started, but they didn't become extremely close with me. I had always been pretty quiet in middle school and kept to myself except with my friends; everyone else had their own drama and didn't really want to go outside their cliques. As freshmen in high school, some people had their old friends and others, like me, had to start new. And I did. I met my new best friend in Mr. Rowley's human geography class. Through her, my classes and some clubs I joined, I just began meeting some of the vast amount (about 2,500) of kids at Wheeling High School. What's great is that I never felt lost among the large number of kids. There was always someone with interesting stories, or who wanted to go do something or who like similar things, and I was always ready for an adventure.
There were also a crazy amount of clubs to join. We had a literary magazine called "Circus," a show choir, a state recognized jazz band, a great marching band, a boxing club, a business club, an auto mechanics club, a debate and speech team, Italian, Spanish and French clubs and so on. There was even a class that was also a daycare for some of the teachers' kids. We also had an l battle bots club, and our school held the district tournament every year. By my junior year, a nanotechnology lab had been built and there was a class and club for that as well.
One of the best things about Wheeling, though, was its diversity. People from all different ethnicities went to my school. I learned about the Muslim holiday Ramadan from a girl who I played tennis with. I also had the privilege of being invited to a Debut, which is a Filipino ceremony that celebrates when a young woman turns 18. One of my Latina friends introduced me to this Mexican candy that is sweet, salty, and spicy. (She couldn't stop laughing when my face contorted).
Due to the large Latino and Indian population in my area there were some great ethnic shops around as well. I got all my henna and Gulab Jamun from the Indian store across from the high school, and I celebrated Taco Tuesdays at a Mexican restaurant down the street, getting dessert from a Mexican pastry shop next door.
This large and diverse student body made all of these clubs, experiences and the large amount of available AP classes possible. Not all of them were good, but they were all necessary in creating the person I am today. I am more aware of and sensitive to different cultural practices, and I know if you're swearing at me in Spanish.
