Diary of a Charger: Counting Down to a Spring Trip to Europe

This weekend, we played a team from Colorado called Denver East. It was a close game, and even though we lost, I think our team did much better. Something was different this time, we had energy and spirit; everyone could feel the change. After the game, my friend Mc Kinna took me to her house in Joshua Tree for her 18th birthday, and we spent the rest of the weekend rock climbing and going on adventures.

Starting Monday at El Toro was the first ever “What if…” week. Each day, we will focus on a specific topic to reinforce the unity El Toro is so proud of. On Monday (“What if we all made safe decisions?”), we watched a PSA about the dangers of texting while driving. At snack, students could sign a contract pledging against texting and driving, which was posted around the school. Tuesday focus was “What if we beat bullying?” A video called "Teen Truth" was played during tutorial about the effects of bullying and how it can lead to extreme school violence. Photos and video of the Columbine shooting really shook up a lot of students, but the message was important; topics are supposed to get more positive as the week goes on.

In English, we are reading the book Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley. Normally, I love the books we read in class, even the more confusing ones by Shakespeare or Sophocles, but I cannot seem to wrap my head around this one. On a better note, we started a new chapter in my math class and it seems super easy. Math was my only B last semester, and it’s the only class I ever really stress about, so this definitely takes a weight off my shoulders for the time being.

I'm not sure if I've ever talked about this before, but over Spring Break I am traveling to Europe with the World Languages department at school. I've been counting down for months, and now we’re in the single digits! In only eight days, I will be on a flight to Paris. Our group of about 25 will be going to Paris in France, Bruges in Belgium, and Rome and Florence in Italy. I have always wanted to visit Europe, and going with some close friends will be so much fun; I am so excited I'm going slightly crazy!

Until next week,

Bella