February 4th, 2014
Dear Mrs.Smith, At the beginning of the first semester, I had some problems with adapting to wearing a uniform at school. Although the uniform does symbolize many positive things such as respect, discipline, unity, etc., there were quite a few problems of many sorts with donning it. Some students see that everyone having to wear the same uniform is ideal, because they don't have to waste time in their mornings choosing the right clothes to meet society's social expectations and judgments. I see uniforms as a problem because I don't choose my day-to-day clothing based on looks, but based on convenience and comfort. I was in fact used to picking the nearest clean set of clothing to school. In particular I found the dress pants to be rather uncomfortable, not to mention how there was only one store where we could purchase the uniform. That being said, uniform issues were in a small corner of my mind compared to fears I had about high school. Due to many sources of various sorts, I had many different views of how my high school life could turn out. I also have a tendency to visualize many out-of -the-ordinary scenarios in my free time, so my fears piled up over my summer break. To this day I still remember my mother lecturing me during the break on how high-school is filled with bad people; This was mostly related to drug use. Although I must admit, she was somewhat correct. Behind the school I would see a group of people smoking cigarettes whenever I went to one of my classes that was in a portable. People that I knew and people on the internet would also joke about how you would be picked on and shoved into lockers and such, but so far nothing like that has happened so I am relieved. I also feared the teachers to some extent in how strict they could be or how much work they would give out. Though it does vary from each teacher and class subject. When I finally started going to St.Francis Xavier Secondary School I had quite the first impressions on the people there and the building as well. The building for example was immense compared to the school buildings for my middle and elementary schools. What really caught my eye was the main staircase which twisted around to the third floor! None of my classes were on the third floor, so I rarely went up there. Not only that, when I went for the link crew tour, the design of the school seemed very elaborate and confusing. It was even difficult to remember which stairs took you to which floors. Even now I get lost sometimes getting from class to class. For the first few weeks, I tried my best to gain a positive first impression on both my classmates and my teachers, because I had absolutely no idea how each one would be. I would be extra cautious with what I said and spoke without assuming or judging based on appearance. I also felt an intimidating demeanor from the teachers due to my fears and since I felt work would be on a whole another level.
As for any hopes and Expectations regarding high school, I am also an avid fan of anime. By that I mean I've watched some anime based on school life, many of which are usually filled with action and interesting plot. Due to that prior influence, high school really felt like a total let down sometimes. The majority of my current school life has been and still is writing assignments and completing work. Though I do believe that itself has been interesting in its own sort. Not to mention that I'm only in Gr.9, giving me many more hours of time to waste before even having to consider my future.That doesn't mean I don't have my own general path set out for my future career though. I now firmly believe that now I can aim to become someone who has a well-paid, respectable career.