Is it already that time again? At this rate, the semester is going to blow right past me! I can’t figure out if that’s a good thing or a bad thing.

Today I’m going to go back to 4th grade. Seems reasonable enough. I think my biggest memory from that year was my teacher’s love of whales (aside from all the trolls the teacher next door had. They lined the top of the cabinets throughout the rooms. Oh trolls, where have you been?). For a good chunk of the year (what seemed like all year), our “science” lesson consisted of watching videos about whales and coloring a book about whales. I remember one series of vidoes was not so much about the whales themselves but a sort of story about the marine biologists themselves.

I had to do a project in that class where I recorded all the TV I watched in a week. Aside from watching Beauty and the Beast one night with my family, the only thing I watched was videos at school. I watched more movies in class than out of class! That is just sad.

The funny thing is, I think this is where my dislike of large underwater animals comes from. When we were in Florida last summer, I told my dad I’d be okay with snorkeling, as long as it wasn’t with any creatures larger than I am. So no manatees, no dolphins. Certainly no sharks, but I doubt that was an option. It’s not that I think that these animals will do me any harm–I’m smarter than that–but they still creep me out when I see them under the water.

Watching videos like the ones that we watched back in 4th grade creeps me out. Those PacificLife commercials with the humpback whales? I don’t like the shots with the whales underwater (incidently, seeing the whales out of the water was my favorite part of my San Francisco trip this summer). I think videos of killer whales are the hardest to watch.

Anyone care to analyze why this bugs me? I think it might have something to do with how powerful these creatures are. Out of the water they aren’t any more powerful than I am, but they’re quite mighty in that water, their territory.

Other school day memories:

Kindergarten and First Grade: Kisses and Skunks
3rd grade: Childhood Games and Railroad Ties Don’t Mix (posted a while back, but one of my favorite memories)
7th Grade: Teacher Review
8th Grade: 100 Marble Pick Up
College Senior Year: Why Procrastination Might Not Be My Thing