Since the last post, I've finished work experience, entered the last year of high school, completed my GCSEs, compiled a yearbook together, moved into the school's sixth form, left a few friends behind, made a few new ones, made a parody of the school's news project, performed in the band for a risqué musical, finished my AS Levels, applied for university, wore lip gloss accidentally to an Oxford interview, got rejected from Oxford, and now I am merely a day away from my last official school day at Greenford High School before my A-Level exams. Throw in a kinda-but-not-really-secret relationship and some absolutely fantastic banter along the way and you should get a gist of my school life in the past 3 years.
I started this blog 5 years ago. Back then, I was but an inquisitive 13 year old child with the whole world to explore. This was a time when I did not understand the struggles of the exams that lied ahead, or that running around screaming in the playground is actually really annoying to everybody else. But now, I am a young adult, matured and ready to forge a path through the great, wide world. It's strange being 18; there's so much anticipation to the birthday itself and all the crazy, exotic things you can now do as a 'responsible' adult. Yet, when the day comes, it blows over quickly, and you don't feel any physically different. With the hype attached to the big day, it would seem as if the whole world would stop and commend you on this glorious achievement - "Well done, you've successfully navigated through 6573 days of your life (give or take a few), here's a personal message from the Queen, the President of the United States, and the Pope". Alas, life trudges on without a care for your worries. Although, I did receive a signed card from Steve Pound, my local MP, for my birthday, so I guess that comes close.
It seems remarkable that it actually has been almost 7 years since I started high school. It does not feel like 7 years at all. It feels like 5. Okay, maybe high school may have been a bit of a drag at the time, but as I write this post, I realise that these 7 years really have flown past. I remember when I was just entering high school as a tiny Year 7 student, enclosed by a blazer and being enthralled at the idea that you didn't need to have a handwriting passport and pen in order to write at school anymore. This was a step into the unknown. I distinctly recall thinking that while I had just moved on from primary school, I still had a very long time in high school to navigate. 7 years in fact, and this seemed like an impossible length of time. Well, here we are at the end of it. A target almost incomprehensible to an a Year 7 student who'd only even barely lived for more than 7 years gone in a blink of an eye.
So, has anything changed? Well, I would like to think so, but at the same time, I wouldn't have liked to have changed too much. I've tried to stick to my guns and be myself while also adapting to different situations as I moved through life at school. I've always attempted to be the sarcastic, witty person with a bit of a poker face but also a genuinely decent guy. Was I like this in Year 8? To be honest, probably not but at least, from what I remember, I wasn't too much of a twat. Which is the main goal really - to not be too much of a twat. So that rules out Year 7 me then. (Actually, I honestly don't remember how I was like in Year 7. All I remember is [REDACTED] being a bitch. Screw you [REDACTED]. Screw you.)
Speaking of changes, I am actually astonished at how decent I was at writing when I was in Year 8!
Speaking of changes, I am actually astonished at how decent I was at writing when I was in Year 8!
"We did have a man teacher for History, but with his messy writing I didn't know if it was Treaty of Versailles or Trainy at Vorsales!"
Goodness me, I was a better comic then than I am now!
"So, I'm afraid you'll never know what happened on May 12!! Ha, Ha, Ha, Ha, .., "
Bloody hell, using form and sizing for effect! Jesus Christ almighty.
I think my writing skills have regressed since 2011. Although, at least I don't use multiple exclamation marks anymore.
Greenford High School is a very 'interesting' school to say the least. Essentially, it's a roadman factory that somehow churns out decent GCSE results. And yet, I have a lot to thank it for. Firstly, I must commend the students for teaching me some street smarts which I feel is invaluable in surviving the rough parts of Northolt and also intimidating non-Londoners. Also, the teachers are alright I guess. I mean, some of them need to back off with the Twitter stalking but most of them mean well. However, I can't forgive the school for rebranding itself. Okay, fair enough, it needs to look fresh and modern so it stands out in the age of tomorrow. But what kind of motto is 'Learning to Succeed'? It's not as if I'm going to school to learn to fail! Unbelievable. And also, that D-Block one-way system. Damn that system to hell.
Well, what lies in the future now? Well, I'm off to university now to study a bit of physics, provided I pass my A-Levels. It seems very daunting to even think about university because you always hear and see these stories of students crying or laughing on Results Day as they announce their results for the whole world to deride. Those are the students who are going to university. Not me. It's always "Oh, that's me in the future, that's me in 3 years time, I've still got a long way to go". But it is me now. And that's scary. But as high school was the step into the unknown, university is the step into the undiscovered, and I guess that's kinda exciting. Although, the banking and cooking and general adult things to do isn't.
I think my writing skills have regressed since 2011. Although, at least I don't use multiple exclamation marks anymore.
"(Extra points for ballad metre!)"Fucking nerd.
Greenford High School is a very 'interesting' school to say the least. Essentially, it's a roadman factory that somehow churns out decent GCSE results. And yet, I have a lot to thank it for. Firstly, I must commend the students for teaching me some street smarts which I feel is invaluable in surviving the rough parts of Northolt and also intimidating non-Londoners. Also, the teachers are alright I guess. I mean, some of them need to back off with the Twitter stalking but most of them mean well. However, I can't forgive the school for rebranding itself. Okay, fair enough, it needs to look fresh and modern so it stands out in the age of tomorrow. But what kind of motto is 'Learning to Succeed'? It's not as if I'm going to school to learn to fail! Unbelievable. And also, that D-Block one-way system. Damn that system to hell.
Well, what lies in the future now? Well, I'm off to university now to study a bit of physics, provided I pass my A-Levels. It seems very daunting to even think about university because you always hear and see these stories of students crying or laughing on Results Day as they announce their results for the whole world to deride. Those are the students who are going to university. Not me. It's always "Oh, that's me in the future, that's me in 3 years time, I've still got a long way to go". But it is me now. And that's scary. But as high school was the step into the unknown, university is the step into the undiscovered, and I guess that's kinda exciting. Although, the banking and cooking and general adult things to do isn't.
While I look ahead to the interesting times that lie ahead, I must sadly wave goodbye to the things in the past. And while I do make fun of it at times, I will miss Greenford High School when I'm gone. It is very sad leaving GHS as I will be leaving behind some friends and teachers who made that place somewhat nice. These are people who've helped me and taught me and moulded me into the sarcastic bastard that I am now. It almost seems wrong to leave GHS for the summer and not have to face the prospect of coming back in the autumn because that is all I've known for the past 7 years. Looking back at this blog and the writings I made back in Year 8, it seems absurd that, then, I was only at the beginning of this crazy adventure. But now, I am nearing the end. It has been an interesting past 7 years of my life, filled with change, maturing and hard work. However, most of it has been good, and I am glad for that. I will miss Greenford High School when I'm gone, but time is such that one must keep moving forward. While I still have to live out the rest of my life, for now, it is the end to Life in Greenford.
Okay, enough sentimental shit, fuck GHS.
No, I'm kidding.
Okay, enough sentimental shit, fuck GHS.
No, I'm kidding.
A quick note on this blog. At its inception, this blog was supposed to be a fairly detailed account of life as a student in Greenford High School. Judging by the low post count, it hasn't really worked out. I think the failure of this blog from its original purpose was mainly due to the hugely ambitious nature of it. However, I don't think it was ever meant to be a serious project and at the time it was just a fun, spontaneous thing to do for a Year 8 student. Also, the attention span of a Year 8 student is quite limited so this blog was probably forgotten about when new, exciting things were happening. To be honest, I think it was just because I couldn't really be bothered. Alas, with it being the end of my time at Greenford High School, it signals the end of this blog too.
Well, I guess I must uphold the original purpose of the blog and update you on today's events one last time. Today is Wednesday 12th April 2016, although this post may go up on the day after. With it being the last full day of school, things were quite relaxed. Although, with double further maths and physics today, 'relaxed' is slightly an understatement. At lunch, apparently there was a fight involving a Year 11 girl who had lost control. Which something you don't really want to lose if you end up fighting Mr Harvey like she did. You need good concentration to land those punches you see. It seemed to be serious as the police were involved. Well, a police car entered the car park, but to be honest, I think that was the extent of the involvement from the 'ops'. Maybe they just got lost or something. After school, I had rehearsals for the end of year leavers performance. It went fairly well, but I think it will all be trumped by the fantastic 'Running Man' dance when we're leaving the stage. There's going to be a lot of selfies taken tomorrow, but with it being forecast to be 23 degrees and a whole year group packed into a dilapidated lecture theatre, I think our faces will probably melt before the Snapchat comes out.
Adrian Lee
