This Friday is Nov. 30, 2007. A very important day for the class of 2008, it is the day that University of California and California State University applications are due. All of our hard work has been leading up to this point when we finally apply to college. After clicking the "submit" button, it becomes a waiting game. After this, our fate is out of our hands. Many of us have already been working on our applications for months. We've been taking and retaking tests, writing and rewriting essays, and feverishly trying to remember all of the volunteer and extra-curricular activities we've participated in.
Sure, it may seem like actually filling out the applications is the hard part. It takes a lot of time and effort. But I think perhaps the waiting after we send in the applications is the hard part. We may know where we want to go, but we can't be sure we're going to get there. We may have a first-choice college, but we may not get in, or for some reason or another may not be able to attend.
One thing we do know is that after the applications are sent, and after the acceptance letters are out, that's when the real senioritis starts to kick in. That's when we're home free. That's when the stress is lifted and the fun really begins.
Friday is important to us at Gilroy High for another reason. It is the day that our varsity football team takes on Oak Grove in the Central Coast Section Championship game. No offense to the team, but I think a lot of us never thought that this day would come. We've sat through some disappointing games and seasons in the last few years. Our expectations for the football season were greatly lowered. We expected nothing better than mediocrity, because that is what we had seen in the past.
In the past years, the football players have always been cocky but failed to deliver.
To hear them talk, you would think that they were all that and a bag of chips. At one point, we stopped taking them seriously. At the beginning of this season, the team talked about how far they were going to go and all of the teams that they were going to beat. Many people (myself included) did not believe them, and thought that this year was going to be another letdown.
I think it's safe to say that this year's football team has sufficiently shut everybody up. They have beat team after team in game after game. They have displayed depth and teamwork, been able to come up big when needed and been able to shut down their opponent's offense. They made going to the football games fun again, and gave people a reason to go other than just to socialize.
The football players have always talked about how awesome they are, now, they can actually back it up. Now they really are all that and a bag of chips. They have given our school and our town something to be proud of. So, congratulations guys! Thanks for proving us all wrong, and go out there and kick some Oak Grove butt.
On another note, it is that time of year again for Winter Ball. This year's "Winter Wonderland Bliss" will be held on Dec. 8 in the cafeteria (again). For those of you who chose not to go last year because it was in the cafeteria - it's really not that bad. Word around campus is that almost everyone is planning on going, with or without a date. While the seniors realize that there is no way that Winter Ball can top Senior Dinner Dance, we also recognize that it is our last Winter Ball and, therefore, we're not planning on missing it. Some seniors are rather disappointed that there will be underclassmen there though. Hopefully we will all be able to get along and play nicely with each other so we can make this Winter Ball a memorable one.
Deena Morsilli is a senior at Gilroy High. Her column is published every other week on Thursday.
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