Having attended 11 different schools over the past eight school years, I have had my share of diverse teachers. From a ‘rich’ upper-middle-class school in a suburb of Akron, Ohio, to a ‘poor’ inner city school in Cleveland, Ohio. Like most schools, MV has its share of different classes. Classes at MV can best be described as a box of chocolates, except that half of the chocolates are missing, one of them is melted, and the other one just gave you a 100-point quiz on a Monday. 

Some of the classes are really good, the kind where the teacher makes lighthearted jokes, the lesson plan is easy to follow, and it is engaging. The kind where the time speeds up instead of slowing down. These are the classes where the students form the strongest bonds and friendships. These classes can even inspire unmotivated students to think, “Maybe school isn’t so bad after all.”

Then there’s the bad. Everyone knows that one class where the notes are taken from start to finish, all the lights are turned on, even though all the work is online, and tests that genuinely make no sense. The material is bland and clearly copied from someone else who made it back in 2007.

And last, but certainly not least, the ugly. The classes where time stops. Every time you look at the clock, it has barely moved. These are the classes that test not just knowledge but strength, specifically eyelid strength, as it is almost impossible to keep your eyes open while the teacher talks in a monotone voice. 

Even though they might be bad or even ugly, they each still teach something, even if it is just patience or how to daydream without being too obvious. The bad classes are annoying, but they teach you how to adapt to longer periods of work, and the good ones are a light at the end of the tunnel of documents and notebook pages. The mix creates a sort of balance throughout the day with its highs and lows.

So yeah, MV classes aren’t perfect; no classes are anywhere you go. But that’s the point. Life isn’t always going to be easy, but it will have its moments, just like the classes on your schedule.