Sophomore.

I was not nervous before starting my sophomore year. By talking to some of my older friends, I was already prepared for how different high school would be from junior high. Even though it is not exactly what I expected, it has gone pretty well so far.

I have gotten used to the different students and teachers. Also, two of my more difficult classes have made me push myself to work much harder this year. For the most part, my grades have improved.

Leadership

Shakespeare points out many of the characters' leadership flaws in the play Julius Caesar. Caesar had defeated Pompey and many others in his scheme to become dictator of Rome. As this was taking place, Caesar's peers feared he was becoming much too powerful and ambicious, so they formed a plot and assisinated him. Some did this for loyalty to their country. They loved Rome more than they loved Caesar. These men, Brutus included, believed the only way to save Rome was to overthrow Caesar and find a new ruler. But others did this out of greed and hate, hoping to gain political power of their own.

Similar to modern times, citizens do not always agree with their nation's leader. Barack Obama, set to take office in January, is our country's President-Elect. People have very different feelings about Obama becoming the President of the United States. Unlike the men living in Caesar's time, we must only fight for what we believe in and hope for the best.

Sci-Fi as a Genre

I do not enjoy reading science fiction novels. I have read quite a few science fiction books, finding many of them dull and difficult to follow. There is one exception, though. I actually liked 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, by Jules Verne. But I would usually much rather read a historial fiction novel or a book about something more realistic and true to life. Overall, the sci-fi genre is not for me.