The first weekend of November, I was fortunate enough to help represent our beloved Athens Drive High School on WRAL’s Brain Games, a team trivia show that pits schools from all across North Carolina against each other for the title of Brain Games champion. Our team ended up coming in second in this first round of play with a score of 350, not guaranteeing us a playoff berth but giving us a decent shot at returning in February.
That Saturday morning spent at WRAL studios I found myself amazed, and not only because some great friends, and I were being taped on a trivia show. The true beauty was how that entire week had worked out, with the spirit halls, homecoming court surprises and time spent with my closest friends all coming together to create the best week of senior year so far. And now, I look back at the column I wrote last issue, about how our senior year may not be the glamour and fun we had always dreamt it to be, and am thinking, “Well, maybe I spoke too soon.”
If you know me well, I am not the kind of person that retracts my statements lightly; it is a cage deathmatch in my mind when I realize I could be wrong. It is even worse when what I may have been wrong about is now immortalized in the Oracle’s archives. But here’s the catch: though I do agree with my earlier comments about how our senior year will be great because of the memories we have accumulated over the years, I forgot to take into account one of the most important reasons we love senior year: the memories of high school that are still to be made.
When I wrote my column last issue, I was still thinking like the rising senior I was last summer. It was only a few weeks into the new school year and far too early to be deciding on the fate of my memory of senior year. Although having an admittedly slow start, my senior year is still only an infant, and as such has time to grow and blossom into that daydream we have all been having for three years now.
Zoe, Tracie, Sue and I all went into WRAL Studios not knowing what to expect, how we would do or if we would truly embarrass ourselves on public television. We met during lunch hours regularly beforehand, memorized Norwegian and Costa Rican history and crossed our fingers that the other teams would be having a rough day when the day of the taping arrived. However, one thing I knew for certain (and I’m hoping I’m not only speaking for myself when I say it) is that this Brain Games competition was well worth the time, effort and stress we all undertook going into the episode, and the opportunity has forged a memory of senior year that we will not soon forget.
This column will mark only the second paragraph of my six paragraph essay of senior year within the Athens Oracle, and I will do my best to continue sharing my story as we all finish this year of high school, whether it’s your first or your last. Brain games was only one highlight in what has been an unforgettable senior year, and we’re not even half way done. Last issue, it was too early to judge. Now I know better, and I’m sure we all still have plenty to learn in the months ahead as well.
