Wisdom Headed My Way

I enter my sophomore year in a few days time. Am I really that wise??

Sophos has a Greek origin, meaning "wise." Early Greek teachers, philosophers and imparters of knowledge were called Sophists. The novice, ignorant 'freshman' puts a foot into the world of wisdom. Then comes the 'junior' class of wisdom (sophos) and the 'senior' class. The suffix of sophomore was eventually dropped from the 'junior' and 'senior'. Today we are left with Freshman, Sophomore, Junior and Seniors. This college terminology then percolated its way down to the four years of High School. 

So is there lots of Wisdom headed my way? 

If so,

I hold my arms out wide. 

The greek "moros" means foolish! Oh the disappointment! Are sophomores (sophos+ moros) then mere "wise fools?" Isn't that an oxymoron as well, like the mournful optimist?  I don't know about college years, but I can say that this definition pretty much sums up the quintessential high school teen! 

The quintessential High School Teen

Neural activity at its peak

Yet... 

illogical and logical simultaneously

This year I will have American Literature, Algebra II, Biology, World History, Spanish 1, Journalism and P.E. Waiting till next Monday!! My freshman year flew by in the blink of an eye. Oh, and I made it to the Dean's High Honor List in my Freshman Year!

Donner Lake

Donner Lake

Big blue, bluer and azure! Donner lake, blue gold by sunlight, turns silver by moonlight. A treat lay in store for the youth attending the DS USA event. Promises of chances to experience this magnificent lake at close hand. The 3 mile long lake lies on the edge of the Sierra Nevada Range near the town of Truckee.

The experience was just way way beyond expectations. Ie: I was in seventh heaven cubed. My favorite had to be the Jet Ski ride, which I did 5 times around the lake!! The Jet Ski just cleanly slices through the shimmering wavy sheet-like water and sends out streams of spray on either side. Houses on the other side of the lake - 3/4 mile away - are visible - mere toys to the eye. Little toy people stand on piers and grow lifelike as you get closer to the other shore. The steep turns and the tilts of the Jet Ski provide extra bonus thrills. I first tried Jet Sking during my vacation to the Bahamas laat year with Mom and Dad. The volunteers go faster than Mom and Dad, so this was more fun.

I would love to be able to drive a Jet Ski on my own!

I also tried tubing for the first time. It was fun to be dragged around the lake on the tube, but it was somewhat bumpy, compared to the Jet Ski. But still, not an activity to be missed - so went not once but three times. And of course a leisurely canoe ride was sandwiched there, somewhere in between.

We had spent the night at the Donner Village Resort. From the floating pier in front of our hotel, we watched others out on lake and the changing color of the alpine waters and the surrounding trees as the sun set. It was just delicious to the senses. (Kind of really over stimulating too!)

What a lovely mini-vacation!

Summer 2011 Vacation Travelouges
(A Mini Vacation 7/31/11)