Sophomore Slumps and Strides

 Freshman year came and went. Some things that developed from Freshman year lingered into Sophomore year of High school. My sister Susie mentioned to me about restarting a Pro-life Club on campus that our 2 older sisters had previously started a few years prior. I had played PYB basketball in 9th grade, but I felt up for the challenge to try out for the High school team and I heard more about it from a former teammate who was a year younger than me regarding training and tryouts. Susie and I were in Confirmation classes and were thinking about a confirmation saint to choose that we admired and could pray to, as well as a confirmation sponsor whom we looked up to and could pray for us. 

Elisabeth and I with face masks, late summer 2008

 

Sophomore year felt different than Freshman year. I could automatically tell the classes were harder, there were higher expectations, and I was figuring out my friend group. I would say it was a weird and somewhat awkward year navigating friends. I had a falling out with a friend from Freshman year, and was adjusting to a new schedule, new classes and trying to form some friendships within my classes. It wasn't always so easy. For instance, like P.E. which I had 1st period, I had a few other girls to talk to but overtime I didn't really connect with them as they were in Honors and AP classes and I definitely was not. I remember they would talk about their classes and academics a lot. It was kind of a safe group since they were very academic, and I knew I could at least be myself. 

A few of my classes after early morning P.E. weren't my favorite like World History and Biology. I can say I enjoy learning about History now, but as a 16 year old it all went over my head, and I didn't learn the way my teacher was introducing topics such as role play scenarios. It was a difficult class, as well as challenging to connect with my classmates. I had one friend who I sat with at lunch from that class, but I would call her more as an acquaintance/classmate.

 Bio was probably the most intimidating. It was a naturally hard subject for me with a cool teacher, but very challenging. My brother Matthew would sometimes help me with the material or quiz me for a test when he was home which was helpful. I remember feeling very alone though in that class with my thoughts, but also insecure in my test scores and interacting with others. I think I was also interiorly stressed, and my teacher could tell. It turned out that I got a 'D' my first semester and had to retake it my first semester of Junior year. Luckily, I passed with a 'C' my 2nd semester. Susie and I would often have time together during 'Brunch' time which was after this class. It was nice to catch up about our days and just lament to her about Bio frustrations. 

Math was next and it was interesting. We had a new teacher, somewhere in her mid to late 20's. She was nice, but too nice to some of the annoying and popular kids who would draw boundaries like purposely mixing up her last name to make it the name of an alcoholic drink! About 2 or 3 weeks into the school year, my classmates and I came to class and our teacher wasn't there! We found out that she left, she quit and another math teacher had to use his prep period to take our class for the remainder of the school year. He was an okay teacher, and it was there in that class that I reconnected with my old friend Katie who I had briefly known of in elementary school and saw her around Freshman year. I also didn't connect with any of my classmates, and she was having a really rough time with her friend group who eventually all left her. I introduced her to my one friend, Natalie from History and welcomed her to our secluded spot at lunch to join us. Eventually, that nice little spot became more popular with some other contacts and friends joining later that year and into Junior year.

English was also a low favorite that year. My 6'10 teacher made everyone feel short, and his rather interesting and somewhat annoying jokes made the class feel less and less serious or inspiring for me. I had a hard time relating and connecting with anyone, and I didn't get very inspired with the texts we were reading. I remember a lot of popular kids who would fool around, and I felt like a quiet nobody at times. It would be in Senior year I would have the same teacher again for English, but luckily I knew his teaching style or lack thereof. 

French was a good class. It became harder as the months progressed and the teacher was French herself which made it challenging to fully gather the material and the conjugations. It was a somewhat silly and fun class with different grades all mixed together. I remembered I befriended a girl who was a Senior, Bahareh, but she said she wanted to change her name to 'Jordan' since she thought it was pretty. It was nice to have her there as we would talk and laugh about different happenings within the class. It was this teacher who was our liaison for the club and this classroom where my sister and I had our Pro-life meetings. In the beginning, there were a number of people, but with every meeting we got a solid number of regulars and members.

In October, the conditioning for basketball started. I did it for about a month before tryouts. I remember I wanted my friend Natasha to join me as she was into basketball, and we were on the same team together in 6th grade. For some reason, she changed her mind, but I felt that I should still go through with it. They were intense workout sessions after school and I would see other girls in way better shape and skill than me. It really did feel like a boot camp! Then, came tryouts in early Fall which were also a lot of dribbling, shooting, passing, running and tricks like dribbling behind your back which I had never learned or succeeded with before. I was pleasantly surprised I made the JV team, and most of the other  girls were sophomores like me, with 2 or 3 Freshman on the team.

 It would turn out to be a long, busy and tiring season. I wanted to quit a few times but I stuck with it. I went to every game even if I really wanted to be at the Walk for Life with the Pro-life club in January. I again had a difficult time connecting with my teammates. I didn't share any classes with any of them which could have helped with that bond. But I also just felt different, things that they were into and always talking about- Facebook, getting your permit and license, boys, phones- I didn't have and didn't care to get into. I think I also felt misunderstood about why I didn't drive yet or have a phone, but I was just being me and that was okay. I remember a lot of social events like pasta nights the night before games, bonding times during breaks or weekends that I didn't always go to and never really wanted to,  carpooling rides to games, and social/bonding time after games. My true introvert self was shining through!

The good thing was that I was stretched a lot- literally and figuratively. There were a lot of stretches we did in our practices, but I was also forced to grow a lot and get more in shape. There was a lot of 'humble pie' with games, always being the bench warmer, and the last resort to get the team on track in a game. I had a challenging time memorizing the plays as that was mostly new to me. And I would easily mess up on the court, with our coach yelling and stomping her feet to know we were doing something incorrectly. Somehow though, at the end of the season I received the, 'Most Improved' award and my coach gave me a card with words "I have truly enjoyed your positive outlook! You have shown everyone that you are a hard worker and that you became a fav on this team. I thank you for never giving up and always showing me your true self. :)"

There were other good and special moments Sophomore year like dances. I went with a group of people- some friends but mostly acquaintances to Homecoming dance, my first high school dance. I was continuing to write and develop my short stories. I remember well one Fall day during Thanksgiving break and having Basketball practices. I didn't really look forward to them and how tiring they were but thinking about writing and developing ideas for stories lightened the mood for me. Susie and I would get confirmed January of 2009. I would choose my older dear sister, Elisabeth as my confirmation sponsor and felt inspired by the Holy Spirit to choose St. Maria Goretti as my confirmation saint, patroness of youth and purity. All 4 years of High school I saw the musicals which were so fun and enjoyable to watch! Freshman year was 'Thoroughly Modern  Millie' and Sophomore year was 'Bye Bye Birdie'. The musical play done my Freshman year was by far my favorite. It was done again in 2018 and I saw it again and it brought so many memories of my Freshman year.

There were fun times with Susie with bus rides home, learning and navigating the Pro-life Club together with her as President and me as Vice President. And I always enjoyed my siblings' visits home from college. Elisabeth and I were in contact through letters or email. There were camp prep weekends to look forward to and the infamous week of camp in the early summer with friends, other counselors and new campers. That summer Susie and I also helped out with our oldest sister's camp in Santa Maria for a week as counselors. Sophomore year would be my last year of basketball as well as French. There was more to come with Junior year such as heavy transitions and learning curves, painful abdomen pains, and insecurities to pave through. I knew I would miss having Susie with me as she went on to college, and my younger brother would join me. 

Ryan's return home party from Iraq, Fall 2008