Although we've only been back to school for about two weeks, it feels more like it's been a couple of months. The pace at which school seems to be moving contrasts sharply with the pace at which summer sped by.

Earlier this week, the drama department held auditions for this year's school musical, "The Sound of Music." The music department has started rehearsing pieces for their fall concerts, and the AP classes have been flung headfirst into their preparations for the big exams in the spring.

All this preparation beginning so early in the school year has made me realize once again that it takes a lot of work and advance planning to make things turn out great.

I've enjoyed watching the school productions in November for the past couple of years, and they've been absolutely spectacular. But what a lot of people don't realize is just how long it takes to create something so gratifying and enjoyable to watch. The same goes for any other performance; it takes a lot of work and practice in order to get things just right.

As far as AP tests, the preparation is on more of an individual level than a group, but you still have to "train" and learn the material one step at a time to be ready to perform at your best when test time comes around.

This subject would probably fit better further into the year, but it can still apply to right now. It's a reminder to do your best in everything you do this year, and to give yourself enough time to do it right. The days may be dragging by now, but I have a feeling that pretty soon, things will be picking up speed.

And I, for one, want to keep up.