A Time to Reflect: Student Profiles on First Quarter

The Student Activist

Kriti Vasudevan

   Junior year is notorious for its challenges, but this year has made it even tougher. 

   For junior Kriti Vasudevan, this was certainly the case. Vasudevan juggled a rigorous course load along with multiple extracurricular activities – Speech and Debate, tennis, her role as AYLA club president and a podcaster on Spotify.

  “A lot of my outside activities would be much better in person,” Vasudevan said. 

   The way she sees it, while most of Vasudevan’s outside activities would have been better in person, she has since adjusted to the change. 

   “I do Speech and Debate for school so the competitions shifting online have been a little more difficult, but I think it’s still an activity that can be done online,” Vasudevan said.

   In the wake of cancelled activities from COVID, Vasudevan can still do one of her extracurriculars from home. 

   “It’s been super fun (making podcasts) during the school year and is an activity I can still engage in at home,” Vasudevan said.

Podcasting has been a way for Vasudevan to advocate for other students.

   “I love creating and editing episodes to get my voice out there, and I’ve had the awesome opportunity to speak with Mrs. Leighton about how the pandemic affects schools and GBHS’ plans,” Vasudevan said. “I’ve also been able to learn a lot of information about relevant and serious social issues, so quarantine really helped me gain interest in creating a podcast to begin with, which is what I would consider a benefit of being home!”

   The academic aspect of Vasudevan’s first quarter was positive, and she credits the hard work of her teachers.

   Ultimately, her biggest challenge was asking for help in such a different educational environment. 

   “The way that I learn (…) is very different from typical people,” Vasudevan said. “Sometimes it’s kind of hard to keep up with this online format and shorter classes and stuff like that. That has been my greatest challenge.” 

   But Vasudevan has taken strides to conquer this challenge. 

   “I’ve learned to ask questions and not be shy about things,” Vasudevan said.

   The challenges Vasudevan experienced, however, have brought her new knowledge and lessons learned. 

   “I learned a lot of time management (skills),” Vasudevan said. “I have more time to dedicate to myself and take some time (…) to take a break and relax. That was never something I had before.”

   Vasudevan also said the first quarter taught her to be more independent and to “really test (her) ability to want to learn and strive to be the best I can be,” according to her.

   “I’m  kind of relieved in a way (that the first quarter is over.)” Vasudevan said. “I honestly think the first quarter went pretty well.”

   Vasudevan reflected these positive feelings in her overall ratings of the quarter. She gave the academic aspect 10/10 and the social aspect 8/10. 

“The Guy To Be Around”   

Richard Grube

   Freshman Richard Grube, describes himself as “the guy to be around.”

   But for Grube, his dad has also been “the guy to be around,” lately.

   Son of a passionate teacher, Grube spent more time with his dad over the first quarter, something which he says “is good and bad in their own separate ways.”

   “It’s hard to describe,” Grube said. “Basically I don’t get as much alone time because it’s more people who want to talk to me even though I want to be alone sometimes.”

Despite these feelings, Grube said he enjoys having his dad around.

  “We get to have fun with our hobbies together,” Grube said.  Aside from his relationship with his teacher dad,  Grube was initially nervous coming into high school.       

   So far though, the first quarter has thrown “nothing too difficult” at him.

   “I carried my academic habits to high school,” Grube said. “(I’ve learned) to not slack off in classes with lots of information. I (now) know to up my focus levels.” 

   Grube is still working on ways to quickly acquire information and stick it in my brain.

   Grube rated the academic aspect of his first quarter as a 9.5/10 and the social aspect as a 2/10. 

   In spite of his low rating on the social aspect of his first quarter, Grube ultimately feels prepared for whatever the future throws at him. 

“I feel not as nervous and ready to tackle another term,” Grube said.

The New Dancer

Annie Johng

Annie Johng is a freshman who moved from Texas. 

“We moved because we wanted a change of environment since Cali and Texas are two very different states,” Johng said. “My brother and sister both live in California since they went to college here so we just wanted to be closer to them.”

Coming into the school year, Johng said, “It felt weird since I moved from a different state and corona was like lowkey messing everything up.”

For Johng, her biggest challenge was starting high school without her friends back home. However, she said she still stays connected by “talking and staying in touch with them.”

   Additionally, Johng said being part of the GBHS dance team has helped her adjust to the move. 

   “I got to be part of the GBHS dance team, so that’s super cool that I had that chance to meet people even before school started,” Johng said. “I think it helped me be more confident in meeting new people, since I already knew a little bit of people from the team or just in the neighborhood. I was definitely less intimidated.”

   In spite of the challenges, Johng said this quarter has taught her valuable lessons. 

   “I learned that it’s okay to have some failures,” she said. “It definitely (helped) me be a better person just in general (…) I’m still learning lots of things about myself, others and the world including (everything from) school work to even political views.”

   Johng said the future of this school year has presented her with a new challenge, but she remains optimistic.

   “I feel anxious about the next quarter because I definitely lost some motivation to do school online,” Johng said. “But it might be better especially since we have the option to do fully in school.”

   Johng rated this quarter a 7/10 for both the academic and social aspect.