see ya - blog 3.3 - aire❤️

 Greetings to all of you! I am your Author, Aire Marcellana!

Why do I sound all dramatic and fancy all of a sudden? Is it the influence of reading a book set back in like the 1800s about a moving circus? Maybe. However, there is another reason.

You see, this is my last blog. Sure, it's the year's last blog, but it's my last blog. I'm moving to Filipino next year, meaning to say this will be my last AEP blog. Who knows? This week and the final's week AEP sessions might be my last AEP classes ever. I know everyone's all happy the school year is ending, but I can't help but feel a bit bittersweet about it all. I can’t believe I’ve been in this school for 2 years already. This year went faster than grade 7, to be honest. Everyone said they felt the same. It’s kind of… scary, to be honest.

That being said, it’s time to dive into what matters right now: the present- I mean this blog hehe

————————————————————————

MARCH 6, 2024

Today we started with an old classic: Squaredle. How fitting, going back to our roots. Technically, the root of all this is Wordle, which stemmed into all these different branches… Anyways. Miss Disa gave us quite the challenge; 62 words in 15 minutes. We started off strong- or not. Rayan held the pen, and with everyone rushing to find words and shouting, it was chaos. Like they say, if you can’t handle the heat, get out of the kitchen. Mysha, known for her eloquence, took initiative and held the pen herself. Yet for some reason, she wanted to switch. I saw Hyeono and Kuk raising their hands, however Mysha stayed hesitant to give it to them, hoping for another volunteer. I raised my hand, Mysha perking up and instantly handing it to me.

I was able to find several words this time, which I took pride in. I was also impressed in our class, who was shouting words at me. Sure, it was chaos, but that meant there were a lot of words found. I did my best to keep up to the demands, until Summer, the queen herself, spoke up. The class was still shouting as Summer did her best to speak up. She doesn’t usually speak up, and when she does, everyone does their best to listen. Following that, I shouted “SHUT UP!” to Hyeono, who, as expected, was shouting the most random stuff.

We weren’t able to complete all 62 words before the 15 minute timer ended, yet Miss let us continue as there were only a few left. At 2pm, we finally got all the words, triumph at last.

Next up was vocab! I suppose Miss was feeling nice, as she let us review 3 times before the actual quiz. We got to do the crossword, and once a word was found, the word and definition would be announced. We were also able to do sentences, filling the blanks with words, and definitions. It seemed to me as I answered most of the questions in a fair amount of time.

And finally, the dreaded vocab. We returned to the Wheel of Names. Usually the Wheel of Names would hate us, giving us words we wouldn’t know, yet it seemed kind. Or at least, kind to most of us. Unfortunately some weren’t able to answer, yet they were fortunately given a second chance. I totally forgot Unit 12 existed, so I wasn’t able to prepare beforehand, yet I got perfect anyway (haha sorry Miss). 

We settled down to finish an old seatwork. It was determining the main idea of a text and writing a short, 1 paragraph summary on it. I was able to do 2 exercises, which I feel proud of hehe.

MAY 7, 2024

Today, we just played games! This one we played was called “Countdown”, which is a game Miss saw on a show. While she was setting up the game, she told us how a girl used her wifi without her permission, so Miss just unplugged her router (lol). She let a few people pick either a vowel or a consonant, which we would later use to make words. (Earlier as she told the story of the freeloader, she separated the vowels and consonants face-down so it would be completely random.) I recall Miss asking us girls. She said “Girls?” Hyeono replied with “Yes?” It was certainly quite amusing. As Miss set up the 1 minute timer to think of words, she announced: “1 minute timer, annoying music!” And annoying music indeed. The music was fairly loud, loud enough to barely hear your own thoughts. The music was also upbeat, but slowed down as the timer neared it’s end, so you could tell when your time was almost up. And, of course, the infamous meow signaling the end. Just as the music slowed down, you could already hear people shouting “No!” and a few giggles here and there. I got 2 points/merits, while some others got a good amount as well. Kuk got 2, Zahrah got 3, Summer and Hyeono both getting 5, one of Hyeono's impressive words being “homepage”. 

For the last few minutes of class, we played Contexto. We used the most random guesses, with Miss Disa scolding Hyeono for being so random. Yet as she said that, Hyeono’s random word worked. It got #34 if I remember correctly. But of course, we couldn’t finish it. At least we got close though.

————————————————————————

Well, that has certainly been a wild ride. This year was filled with many adventures, AEP vocab quizzes, and Squaredle. Writing these last few words, I feel a weird feeling in my chest. I suppose I’m scared. Scared for the future, scared for what it brings. The uncertainty of things stress me.

I always feel like this at the end of every school year, a feeling of… loss? Anxiousness? A feeling my life is flashing before my eyes. A feeling I’m not enjoying my best years. A feeling I’ll never be this young again.

However, the future may have more in store for us. Even if AEP and I are parting ways, I will always appreciate the lessons AEP taught me. Thanks to AEP, I’ve learned to read questions first and the article so I would know what to search for. I learned, finally, after years of mixing them up, the difference between skimming and scanning. I’m also learned a lot of new words. Let’s see… 12 vocab quizzes with 20 words each… that’s 240 words. Will I be able to recall every single one? Perhaps not. Yet I have a feeling, when the time comes, I will be reunited with these words again, and at least have the slightest idea of its definition.

    I learned valuable lessons I am sure will definitely be put to use in the years to come. I wouldn’t exchange that for anything. Maybe Pochi though. (I’m joking!)

Okay, alright. 10 months and 12 blogs later, I suppose it’s time.

Goodbye, grade 8. It was a nice ride.