My first impression of NMH was that it was going to be a walk in the park. To be honest, I didn't really have to study in my old school. I did maybe an hour of homework a night and aced the tests. Once I got here, though, I quickly realized that I would have to work hard. I wasn't used to spending three hours a night on homework. That was a shocker.   It took me a month or two to adjust, but now I have really good study habits. With the help of my student leaders and my advisor, I've gotten a good grasp on time management. Sometimes I think, "Oh, my god, there's so much work." But when I get like that, I think about the end product: what I'll be when I'm done, and how worthwhile it is to give 110 percent.   Watching varsity basketball games is my favorite thing to do. I've never been to a place where there's so much school spirit. The entire school is backing the team, which makes me feel like I'm part of something big. That's a good feeling. I've played basketball since I was three; this year I played point guard on the thirds squad, and I hope to play on the varsity team before I graduate. I played on the football team as a freshman, when I was still getting into the groove of NMH and learning how things work here. All the upperclassmen on the varsity team treated me like a brother—they helped make sure I found friends and stayed out of trouble. That was a great bonding experience.   Being here has taught me how important it is to be myself. I have friends who have problems because they're one way around a certain group of people and another way with a different group. I've learned that when I'm true to myself around everybody, I can't go wrong. People like me for me. It feels better when you don't have to pretend to be somebody else.