New year brings new faces
School. The dreaded six-letter word brings a mixture of fear and excitement to the students of Gridley High School. Although most of us have grown up together, we look forward each new year and the new students who arrive.
Along with the freshmen and other new students, we had the pleasure of welcoming two senior foreign exchange students: Amelia Westerberg from Sweden and Arttu Moisio from Finland. They bring an aura of excitement and mystery to our classes, where they share their different cultures and lifestyles.
For most GHS seniors, this year is just like settling down into a familiar and slightly easier routine. When one enters his or her fourth year of high school, the teachers' faces and most other students are all well known and friendly.
We greet each other with hugs and "How have you been?" Back-to-school feels like when a family has been apart for some time, and it is good to be together again for one last year.
This year brings a sense of bittersweetness. Our last year in high school will most likely be very fun, but I don't think most of us grasp that this is probably the last year we will see each other for a very long time — some of us never again. We will all make the most of this last year as Gridley Bulldogs and make many memories together.
On the Friday before the 10th anniversary of 9/11, Leadership pulled together a touching and emotional tribute in remembrance of the people who lost their lives on that horrible day.
For the Sept. 9 football game, the American flag was painted in an end zone of GHS's football field. At half time, 182 students gathered to form another larger flag with red, white and blue balloons, and there was a moment of silence in the stands to reflect on the tragedy and to be thankful for the loved ones we still have in our lives.
The GHS varsity football team started off its season with three disappointing losses to Willows, Pleasant Valley and Live Oak high schools, but we soon recovered with a victory over Marysville High. We are very proud of our boys for this exciting win and hope to see many more victories in the near future.
This year was also the third annual Harvest Bowl, where Gridley and Live Oak put aside their differences to play some football. GHS fought gallantly but, unfortunately, the Lions won. However, I am confident that it is the Bulldogs who will take the victory next year.
Although school has just started, it feels as though time is flying by, for homecoming is just around the corner along with Thanksgiving and then Christmas.
Before we know it, the second semester will be here — and with that graduation, when we say goodbye to those we have known and grown up with all our lives. But we know that the future holds many opportunities for us, and I, for one, cannot wait to take a bite out of life.
Holly Anderson is a senior at Gridley High School. Her column appears every six weeks in Education.
