On March 10, over seven hundred kids tumbled into the Auditorium at Lewiston Middle School. We sat down to see three large screens perched on the stage. Across the screens was written Charting Your Course. After a small introduction, music blasted from the speakers and the show started. I heard bands like My Chemical Romance, Red Jumpsuit Appartus, and Avril Laviegne. Those are just a few of the many bands whose songs were in the video. Soon I felt myself singing the lyrics to the songs under my breath. I watched as clips of movies appeared on the screen and in the clips you saw characters who were making bad choices, or doubting themselves.

Then in later clips, you saw the characters turning their lives around, or learning to accept themselves. The music pulled you in, the movie clips brought your attention to what could happen if you didn’t chart your course, and the fact that we didn’t have to go to class, just made everyone more happy.

By the end of the assembly, we were all so absorbed in what was happening, we didn’t notice it when the teachers told us to stand to leave. We were so struck by things that could happen to us if we didn’t think before we took action. We were so amazed at how much we learned in that short, thirty-minute video. We learned things that will stay with us as we move up in our education. Most importantly, we learned how to chart our course.