by Andrew Aquino

Listen to the story!

It may be one month too late, but it's just as painful to hear, summer is over and school is back. There is math homework every night, AP test studying, and worst of all: waking up at the crack of dawn. I'm pretty bummed that school started again; this summer was just too short. But then again I guess school CAN be fun. There are the homecoming dances, spirit weeks and awesome clubs you can join.

At Service High, they have a salsa-dancing club. ATMI reporter, Katie Zager, has shimmied her right foot forward and joined.

Every Friday and Wednesday, for 40 minutes at lunch, Katie escapes the world of AP classes and frees her mind through dancing. She said that she was timid to join at first, and can't really tell her left foot from her right. All that changed once she started shaking her hips. She realized dancing is a great release.

You hear that Service kids join Salsa club because it is the cool thing to do. No one cares of you're a good dancer or not, it is just a cool group of kids trying something new.

In Katie's words, “School is school no matter which way you spin it, but for 80 minutes a week, I get to experience what school really should be.”

That's pretty cool. I think I should start a salsa club at South. I really like dancing. With all those catchy tunes out there, how could you not?   You have JT bringing back sexy, Chamillionare “ridin' dirty,” and Dynamic Duo Gnarls Barkley going “Crazy.”

Even though I listen to more underground music, I have to admit: I am in LOVE with those songs. Fellow reporter, Chris Frenier, is crazy over Gnarls Barkley, not the good crazy but the bad.

With its retro seventies feel, “Crazy” can easily be called this summer's jam, but some songs should just leave with their seasons. It's fall and “Crazy” is still playing. It plays all the time, on every station.

When those first thumping bass beats come on, Chris says, “I remember when, I DIDNT HAVE TO PUT UP WITH THE F****** SONG!!!! Whatever it is...I plead with the DJs of the world, stop spinning "Crazy" 'cause soon it's gonna stop being a song and start being a reality. ”

I agree Chris, but two Fridays ago, I was at Service's Homecoming dance and they played “Crazy,” and at the moment, I didn't even care that it was the millionth time I've heard that song . All that mattered was how snazzy I looked grooving at homecoming.

The week before homecoming all the schools have a spirit week, a dramatic build up to the dance. Each school's Student Government declares themes for the five days before a school dance. The schools have unique spirit days, like "Las Vegas High Rollers" day at Bartlett, "Princesses and Plumbers" day at South and "Harry Potter" day at Service. Towards the end of the week, there is a grand finale: Class Color day, where each class shows spirit for their grade.

ATMI reporter, Barbara Nave, says Spirit weeks are pretty fun, but no matter which theme your school has, Spirit Days seem to always end up with boa feathers on the ground, glitter on the desks, and a whole squad of irritated janitors and teachers.

“Spirit Week has a definite impact on school, and you can't deny it makes school more interesting.”

I entirely agree with Barbara. Right when the weeks started getting long, spirit week makes everything exciting again. I may be contradicting what I previously said, but I am sort of happy that school is back. You get to see all of your friends in one area and the school spirit kind of gets to you. I just sit back and realize these are going to be some of the best years of my life.

But in the mean time, all the homework is driving me crazy.