Saturday, August 24, 2013

First Days and the Lessons They Taught

     Hey guys, welcome to the Lair once again. Something told me I should have posted on Wednesday when the stories came to me, but I waited till the day I promised in my last post. Of course, that day happened to be the one where exhaustion hits me the most. That's why I'm a day late. You wouldn't believe how long I slept today as well. Good grief. I didn't realize how much school tired me out until the Friday afternoon, and we only had a three day beginning week! Normally, people don't do enough with me in three days to have some awesome, legitimate story, but I found some nice situations in school since Wednesday.
     On the first day, my second period teacher let us walk in and choose a seat without telling us he would be assigning seats. When I walked in, I saw my friend, NK, sitting in the back of the row nearest to the teacher's desk. I wanted to sit somewhere near the teacher, but no where near the back. I chose the second seat of that row, then asked NK to sit behind me. He refused, then asked me to sit in front of him. I refused and remained by myself until ST walked in and sat behind me. ST and I go way back because we share the same last name, but aren't related. I trust her a lot more than anyone else in my class. When the teacher began assigning seats by last name, I stayed where I was because my last name normally puts me on the last few rows. By the time he was close to my name, there was one seat ahead of me open. ST convinced me that would be my seat, so we both got up and assumed the seat in front of us. Our teacher then called out a girl I didn't know to sit in the seat I just got into. My spot, was right behind this mystery girl. My spot, is the original desk I had chosen at the beginning of class. ST was right behind me, where she too had originally sat. NK was in the middle row, but still in the back where he wanted to be. Now, I could be looking into this occasion too hard. I could be reading entirely too deep, but I did catch something nice out of this little happening. Sometimes, your first choice is the right choice. Don't let anyone make you change your mind. ST and NK may be friends that I'd trust in the middle of a fight, but both of them had the potential to lead me astray. I can hear someone out there say, "Oh East, it was just a desk in one of your classes. It wasn't a big deal." The two of them had me on a similar path (row closest to the teacher), but one tried and one did get me to alter my choice. My response to the 'not a big deal' thought is, what if it was something bigger? I won't say always stick with your choice, because someone else could have a better idea. I'm just saying, there are times when you must abide by your choice. I am glad it was something small that day, and I only had the embarrassment of getting up and moving to my first desk.
     The Writing Club president talked with a teacher on the second day of school, and got her to agree to be our sponsor. Our previous sponsor changed jobs in the school system, and told us to look for another teacher. President LA talked with a few teachers, and found a sponsor in a teacher I haven't met yet. LA wanted me to go with her to meet our sponsor candidates, but I didn't receive permission to leave class during the times she went. "A little forewarning and I would have let you go Mr. Wind." That was the response I got from my teachers. I don't know how LA pulled it of on the second day of school. "Excuse me (insert teacher name), I know you haven't heard of this club yet, but I am the president of it. My club is looking for someone to sponsor it, so can I leave class today?" That's what I imagine she said, but she is the president of the Writing Club for a reason. Maybe she knew how to word it correctly. Maybe the teachers only let her leave because it was the second day, and lessons hadn't really started. Anyway, we have sponsor now. Once she is officially recognized by the school principle, we can begin the recruitment of the future authors in our school that don't know about the club. I have to set aside some time before or after school to meet up with Mrs. W. LA said that Mrs. W has some great ideas on what to do with the club, and I want to share the ideas I thought up over the summer with Mrs. W as well.
     I received some great encouragement on the first day of school. Two teachers, that I'd only met at open house, unknowingly boosted the confidence I have in my faith. On the first day, I never expect a teacher to remember my name. I'm the kid that doesn't sit far from the teacher, but I also don't say much. Mr. G, however, called me out by name multiple times during the class without referring to the attendance sheet. Once the bell had rung and the class had emptied out, I asked him how he knew me. He said that he recognized my face from the community prayer for the schools event held the Sunday before school started. "You're the boy that rode up to the high school on a red bike right?" Is what he asked me. On my confirmation, he said, "Your dedication to God left a big impression on me. This kid loves God." His words made a difference in my day. He doesn't know that the ride from my house to the school isn't too tiring on me. He only knows that I have no problem physically exerting myself to give honor to God. My fourth teacher, on the other hand, had a different way of encouraging me. It's the basic auto class, and this is my senior year. He asked me how much experience I have with vehicles (not driving). I told him about the one day I'd ever fiddled with a few cars to fix some problems. It was a weekend I spent with my dad. His church was hosting a volunteer auto ministry, and Dad asked me to be apart of it. When my teacher heard this, he asked about my involvement with the church. I told him that I'm regular attender and find myself at some of the events hosted by the different churches in our towns. Mr. S was happy to know that I was a nice Christian boy. He then asked what I planned on doing when I finished high school. I told him that I wanted to pursue video game design. Mr. S hopped on this opportunity. He asked me to make 'good games'. He wanted me to help stem the tide of blood and gore games. Put some 'good games' out there. When I think about it, it seems difficult. Most of my classmates from the game design course I took, love those kinds of games. Those are the games that the public seems to enjoy. But the quest he's given me, I want to accomplish. I don't know how to include God in games, because I feel like many will reject Him. That once people say it's just a game for Christians, no one else will want to pick it up. My friend WU loves to play video games, but he is a public atheist. I know for a fact that if I told him the game I made in school was about God, he would tell me to delete it. I'll give it a go anyway.
     Well those were some cool happenings in the first three days of my senior year. I'll shall try to post next Friday, but if school burns me out again, depend on Saturday. Thank you for returning to the Lair of the Eastern Wind.

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