I chose to capture this scene because I remember my first day of high school better than most other experiences I had during my high school career, and the feeling of entering a new school, meeting new people, and taking new classes is something that most people can remember and relate to. I compared this experience to my last day of high school because, as I mentioned, even though high school did not drastically change who I was, I still learned a lot from the experience. Not only did I learn academic material from the teachers I described, but I also learned more about myself and why I reacted to some situations in the way I did. When I was a freshman in high school, for example, I would not have been able to describe why I questioned whether to greet the bus driver, why I went to the man with the tie for help, or why I liked certain teachers. This has also allowed me to reflect on how I have changed since high school, because as I was preparing to tell my story, I reflected on why I remember certain experiences, such as why I remember certain teachers over others, or why I remember my first day of high school in the first place, and what I would do now in certain situations (I would definitely greet the bus driver).
I included the final part about my father’s comments on his last day of high school to show that even many years after the fact, high school was something that he remembered vividly, even though neither of us found a moral to his story. This represents what I was thinking as I was telling this story, because high school changed who I was as a person and was an important time in my life, even though these changes were small and I can not pinpoint any concrete moments that changed me.
I really liked your sense if humor, and how easy it was to engage with you. I felt like you were talking directly to me, and like we were in the same room together. Even though high school didn’t change you in this huge capacity, I felt content with how you grew, It felt like a coming of age story. I guess my one question would be is there a Ms. G that impacted you more, or that you felt more connected to, than the others?
I loved the way you told your story Kianna! It was engaging, funny, and made me all sentimental at the end. I found a lot of your feelings to be very relatable and genuine. You described people and moments with so much detail that I found myself connecting some of them to my own teachers/experiences as well!
Kianna, What I appreciate about your high school story is that so much of our growth happens in smaller increments, which is completely the opposite of what Hollywood would have us believe. Hollywood makes moments dramatic and life-changing and we rarely just get slice of life moments. I suppose one question I have for your is, while you grew slowly during your high school years is your growth because of or in spite of your high school experiences. You front a lot of random knowledge (Romeo and Juliet, Spanish grammar, etc.) that leads me to think that the school was more about random and abstract knowledge than anything else. I am also interested in the relationship and levels of trust and fear you had with adults in the schools in relation to peers. So many of the films we are watching zoom in on peer relationships. Your story is entirely about adults in relation to you—bus drivers, men in ties, Ms. J’s and the like. Why is that, I wonder? What is the commentary on that? How much is high school about adults for you vs. peers?
This was Eric’s comment, btw