Going into my Junior year at ETHS has let me find out new resources and things I haven’t gotten around to yet. With classes I didn’t take previous years that are new to me this year and I have had some negatives and positives. For one, I chose to take Early Bird PE. Early bird is a gym class you can take once you’re a junior or senior. The class is before school so you get a free period during the day. Class starts at 7:10am and ends at 7:50 am. So it’s also shorter than a regular gym class. Although arriving at school at 6:50 am is not ideal, it gives me more time to feel prepared before my next class. It’s more efficient than regular gym class during the day because I feel more motivated since there’re less people in the building which allows me to focus on myself. But the one downside to Early Bird is that I don’t have any friends in my class. And I like having gym buddies.  

There is definitely a difference between junior year and sophomore year, the work load is a lot more than previous years. With greater academic freedom from the ability to take AP classes, the adjustment from traditional classes to college courses has been difficult. I recently dropped AP U.S History and am now taking regular U.S History, and I can already feel the difference.  Regular U.S History is a lot more relaxed. It reminds me of civics class, which followed a collaborative and experiential framework. It is very different from APUSH, which felt like lectures.  

Another thing I enjoyed this year was YAMO. I felt like the skits this year were very well scripted and relatable. Continuing writing for the Evanstonian this year also has been enjoyable. I love the community and I’m friends with my editor which I find helpful when writing because it’s easy to get help when in need. Shoutout to Sophia Sherman, the opinion editor for the paper. 

As you probably can hear from the planetarium courtyard, ETHS got roosters and from my previous article I find them distracting during class. Also, it’s weird to look out the window at your school and see something you would see at a farm. I feel like I have appreciated the hub a lot more than I did last year. Just having that space in school to get what you need to get done and relax the staff is very nice and always greets you when you walk in. I find it a perfect place to go during my free period. Also you can eat and talk there which is different from the libraries if you want a more social place to go. I do find the east library another place I go during the day if I want to read , check out a book, do an assignment in an environment that is an easy place to focus on your assignments. Another great addition this year the Evanstonian added a crossword which i find really fun to do and its very entertaining, Even though the last one had a few mistakes i love it.