The End to it All

"There is no real ending. It's just the place where you stop the story."

-Frank Herbert

    
            Here it is, the last metacognition. The metacognition of metacognitions. The assignment sheet that we all looked forward to completing, yet now remorse when we finally completed it. 

This English class has been quite easily the most memorable and productive English class that I have ever taken. I have grown as a writer much more than I thought that I would be able to. I am now much more confident as a writer, and words come to my brain much quicker than in the fall. It’s crazy to think that sure we did learn strategies of how to write better, but that most of this was obtained by just the sheer amount of blogs that we wrote. Sure I may have dreaded the assignment sheet each week basically all year long, but knowing this is the last one ever makes me feel a little odd. It doesn’t feel right. Our school year doesn’t feel like it has ended. We haven’t received that sense of “closure” like we were expecting to in the fall. I will wake up tomorrow morning with the thought of homework still on my mind, only to remember the sad truth. The sad truth that we will never return to Fenn for another day of school. No more jokes from Fitz that we have heard 1000 times before. No more lost and found announcements by Star at all school meeting. No more basketball games at recess. None of it. This is it. 

Part of me wants to keep writing this metacognition, past 500 words, to keep that sense of school still alive. Keep that last bit of Fenn still going. Yet a much bigger part of me wants to finish this and get on with my day, and finally enjoy that summer feeling. 

It is a little concerning to picture what my summer will ultimately look like for the next three months. I will wake up at most likely 1 PM or later, get breakfast when I should be eating lunch, and then probably play video games or basketball for the remainder of the day. I’ll still have those few days where I feel productive, maybe even a little adventurous, and I will break my schedule, but I have a good feeling that those days will be scarce. 

Back in the winter, before I had expected, or even heard about the coronavirus, and the possible spread of it, I had high hopes for this summer. I dreamed of all the basketball camps that I would attend, and trips to the local basketball gyms to play in pickup games; this was truly going to be the summer that I would prepare for high school basketball. My brother and I would have taken advantage of his license, and have traveled everywhere in our 30 mile radius as possible. I was even looking to get a job. These dreams were washed down the drain when this pandemic began to spread, and now we could even see our freshman year of high school ruined due to it as well. 

I don’t want to end this final metacognition negatively, so I will say, I hope we can get as many people as possible to join our weekly scheduled Fitz advisory zooms each Wednesday throughout the summer. Thank you Fitz and everyone in this English class for making what we had of this year special, I hope that we will be able to stay in touch.

Getting Cut and Living on 

Basketball is like a war in that offensive weapons are developed first, and it always takes a while for the defense to catch up.

-Red Auerbach

          I approached last years Fenn basketball tryouts as a scrawny 7th grader, not prepared to take on the 9th graders that awaited. I felt that I had to make the Varsity Basketball team this year, as my brother had in his 7th grade year, and I wanted to be just as good as him. However, this year there were many returners, all being 9th graders, and little did I know, they were bigger, faster, stronger, and better than I was. I still went in there ready to give it my all, and although I left bumped and bruised, I had learned and understood that it wasn’t yet my time, I would have to wait another year.

Cherishing the memories while they last 

“No amount of money can bring back those moments you treasure.”

-Malika E Nura

       Our hobbies are very important, and something that we should appreciate now, as we don’t know how long they may last. Basketball is a hobby that I have cherished in my life, however I know I won’t play it competitively forever. I need to appreciate these times now, before I will be leaving the court for the last time in years to come.

Road to Banner #18

The key is not the ‘will to win’… everybody has that. It is the will to prepare to win that is important”

– Bob Knight

       Basketball is a sport that anyone can watch and be entertained by, just from the excitement in air, and the competitiveness all around. One team that does a great job at this is the incredible and legendary, Boston Celtics. Countless young children and excited adults crowd the garden, ready for a spectacular night. This Celtics game was set and ready to be a good one; it was now time to watch the spectacular play.

The Big Friendly Giant

“A sibling is the lens through which you see your childhood.”
– Ann Hood

          Having an older sibling is like having a personal mentor to guide you through your childhood and prepare you for the rest of your life. My big brother has helped me accomplish so many things in my life. My brother introduced me to the game that I would devote hours and hours to, the thing that has brought me more happiness than anything else, the game of basketball.

Deepening Connections

A Whole lot of Dogs

“All is connected… no one thing can change by itself.”

– Paul Hawken

        Dull houses, masks, and many dogs. Corona may have taken our freedom away from us, but we still get through it with adversity and dog walks. 

Importance

“Housework can kill you if done right.” 

-Erma Bombeck

         Chores are an essential asset in forming the correct mindset in today’s youth. The chores I have been given by my parents have helped shape my mindset and form me into a more responsible young adult. One specific chore that I have to do quite often is washing my clothes. This is a chore that I grew up being used to my Mom doing for me. 

I Wish

“Every day was a Sunday during the COVID-19 pandemic.”
-Steven Magee

         I understand that none of us can control the outbreak of this unforgiving pandemic, yet I still wish I could have my Spring back. I still wish I could have my pre-high school summer back. Most importantly, I still wish I could have Fenn back. This is probably the most over used saying in all of parting 8th and 9th graders’ blog posts, and I myself have used it upwards of thirty times, however it is too important to not write about thirty different times. I will write about the thing that is consistently on my mind day after day, because this is what matters most to me right now in this point of time in my fourteen year stretch called life.  

The last of Fenn

“How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.”

          I am still unable to comprehend the fact that we are truly never going to have another real day of school at Fenn for the rest of our lives. (At least for those of us who are leaving this year) We never had the chance to say our last goodbyes, never had the chance to create final lasting memory’s, never had the chance to leave Ward hall that last time, never had the chance for us Gold Team members to finally beat blue on field day. We never had the chance.