The Last Piece to the Puzzle

With finals officially over and done with, I can finally end my junior year with a sigh of relief. All that’s left to do is prepare for my cohort’s upcoming trip this summer. And what better way to do so than by attending the last of the milestone events than with the orientation held at Pinole Middle School.

I couldn’t help but feel a sense of nostalgia as I set foot on my old campus. You could imagine how I felt walking through the grounds as a rising senior, since last time I was here was during my eighth grade promotion ceremony. After nearly three years, Pinole Middle has undergone major improvements. It’s been completely rebuilt from the ground up. And it’s shocking to see just how beautiful Pinole Middle has become since I was last here.

Although I had a few minutes to spare before the orientation could start at 6:00 PM, some ILCers weren’t so lucky getting to the school’s cafeteria on time. I myself can attest to feeling slightly uneasy at the thought of being late to every single event. After waiting nearly 15 minutes for the five ILCers who were running late, this event mainly reemphasized the importance of being on time. Mr. Ramsey and Don couldn’t make it any clearer. Every single one of these events has definitely kept me on my toes.

After waiting for what felt like one of the longest 15 minutes of my life, Mr. Ramsey went ahead and began the opening session before the last ILCer arrived. What a better way to start, than with the first point on the list: punctuality. According to Don, this was the first time in recent years with as many as five people arriving tardy to the mandatory orientation. Although one person was completely off guard about the event being held today, it was refreshing to know that he didn’t lie his way out of it. As cliché as this may sound, honesty is best policy. There aren’t many people who actually own up to their actions nowadays and instead they build a whole web of lies to combat problems.

Once opening session ended, we dispersed into our respective cohorts. As one of the smallest groups, our group was at ease while filling out the permission slips and looking over the agenda. Now that I can see the skeleton schedule of our trip, it looks like all the pieces are finally coming together. I could see why Mr. Ramsey and Don rave about out chaperone. Mr. Mannix could give anyone a run for their money. He may be one of the most put together teachers I have ever come across. He has everything planned out before you can ask a question. And when he doesn’t have the answer, he makes sure he follows up before you forget. I have a great deal of respect for Mr. Mannix not only as my chaperone, but as one of our district’s teachers as well. It’s not every day that you come across a teacher like Mr. Mannix in our district. And to top it all off, he is a great conversationalist. I can see why he became a teacher.

Since our chaperone Mr. Mannix concluded with going over the schedule and answering questions, our cohort reconvened with the rest of the cohorts back in the cafeteria. With closing remarks, Mr. Ramsey congratulated all of us as being officially a part of this year's Ivy League Connection. Overall, I wouldn’t have had the orientation go any other way. I can’t believe that in less than a month, I’ll be blogging from the other side of the country all the way in Washington D.C. This whole opportunity is surreal.