Midterms are over!! I am officially a second semester senior. January flew by. It feels like the months are passing like weeks. Before we seniors know it, we will have graduated and be taking out first steps onto college campuses. Now comes the waiting period…til April 1st. That’s when most colleges send out acceptances, rejections, or wait lists. I must admit, I’m getting very anxious and impatient waiting for those letters. I cannot wait to see where I’m accepted and to decide where I’m going to spend the next four years of my life.

These next few weeks will be jam-packed with extra-curricular activities. This Friday is our school’s annual “Sleepout for the Homeless.” More than a hundred students spend the night outside in cardboard boxes in our school’s parking lot to raise money for the homeless. While I’m not exactly thrilled to be spending the entire night outside in below-freezing temperatures, I’m excited for this event. It is fun and is a great fundraiser. During previous years, this event brought in more than $278,000 for donation to local charities.

Also at the end of this week, I have my first Mock Trial competition of the year. This time, we will compete on the defense side. As the lead defense attorney, I will perform the direct examination of the defendant, the cross examination of the plaintiff, and the closing arguments. I’m excited and nervous for the first trial — our team has a lot to live up to after making it to the state finals the past two years — and this is the most responsibility I have had on the team. I’m very excited about my role.

The past few weeks have been fun even with midterms. I had most midterms while school was still in session, so I had a couple of days off from school. Our largest Latin Club event was last Friday. We had a dinner celebration called Saturnalia (a Roman feast celebrating the dedication of Saturn’s temple) at a really nice restaurant, where we ate and played games. It was pretty geeky, but we had a blast. It was sad to think that it was my last Saturnalia, but as president of Latin Club, I got to MC the event, so it was a new cool perspective.

I only have two weeks of school until another week-long break, so I’m very excited. I’m starting to feel symptoms of senioritis, but I’m trying to remain focused. We’ll see how it goes.