never used to like art.  I’m terrible at drawing and I have always lacked artistic creativity so I generally shied away from the subject.  Then, my sophomore year, I took a ceramics class, and it changed everything.  My brother and sister both loved ceramics, and I decided I would try it out.  We sculpted for a little while to begin with, but once we started wheel throwing, I knew this was the class for me.  I wasn’t particularly exceptional when I started out, but I did love throwing so I worked hard, and continued to improve.  I loved the class so much that I decided to switch into ceramics two for second semester instead of waiting until the next year.  I continued practicing, going in at lunch and staying after school.  I took every opportunity I had to practice.  I learned cups, bowls, platters, and vases.  The next year, due to lack of students for ceramics three, I completed an independent study and by the end, created a set of tableware.  I am continuing my studies with a full year of throwing my senior year.  This is my fourth semester of ceramics, and it is still my favorite class.  It is a refreshing break from the rest of the school day where I can relax and learn about something very different from my other classes.  Mr. Herman is one of my favorite teachers ever, and I credit everything I know about clay to him.  I have learned new, creative ways of problem solving.  But perhaps the coolest thing ceramics has taught me is to be creative and artistic, something that I thought was a lost cause just two years ago.  It is only at Memorial, where we have an exceptional art department, that I could have had the high school ceramics experience that I’ve loved so much.