Great Gatsby

Sonja Paulson, Reporter

Every year, the whole sophomore class is required to read the book “The Great Gatsby.” This year, it was my turn. I had hyped up Gatsby for weeks, and I was quite impressed with how it turned out. I had gotten my dress, headpiece, and boa the week before, so I was set.

The day of Gatsby was the most chill day at school I have ever had. I have my english class in the morning, so that was basically a study hall because all of the teachers were setting up for the party. My other morning classes (algebra 2) weren’t as focused as they normally are because all the sophomores were focused on Gatsby.

Unfortunately, there honestly wasn’t much time to get ready (at least for girls) because not all teachers would let you get ready and girls have to do more to get ready compared to the boys. I was a little late to the party, but it’s ok because I was “fashionably late.”

Before the party had started, many students had stolen money from the gambling tables so that they had money to gamble with. Even during the party, students would steal money from other students so that they could bribe the bouncers. Luckily, none of my money got stolen.

I didn’t really try to find out who Gatsby was, I was more concerned about finding out what the password was to get into the speakeasy. I was fortunate enough to get into the speakeasy twice, but I was never in there for long. There weren’t any games in the speakeasy (just food and drink), so unless my friends were also in there, I didn’t have a reason to stay.

I went to get my picture taken with my friends (courtesy of Dan McClanahan), and I was really impressed. The pictures turned out really well, and it Dan made the picture taking not awkward and extremely chill.

Overall, Gatsby was really fun. It definitely got me more interested in the actual book, and gave me a sense of what the 1920s were really like. I would recommend to future 9th grade girls who go to Gatsby, DO NOT WEAR HEELS. I wore only 3 inch heels, and by the end of the party, I had several blisters on each foot. Other than that, Gatsby was a great time and I can’t wait to (hopefully) help out with Gatsby next year.

Gatsby_1925_jacket