Pushing past the blankets that kept the sunlight out of her cave, trudging through pieces of paper with strange drawings of random internet memes and glitter that never quite came out of the cracks of the stone floor, Naomi Cantilina, the homeschooled hobbit, emerged for her first day of school at Del Val.

At the end of her first class, Cantilina had negative impressions of both the school and its restrooms.

“I prefer my cave,” Cantilina said. “There’s more ways to dry my hands — never toilet paper on the floor — and the soap dispenser is always filled.”

After experiencing her second class of the day, chemistry, Cantilina was shocked by an interesting discovery unknown to hobbits.

“The legend of the pop quiz is real!” Cantilina said. “I was just minding my business in chemistry class, and all of a sudden, there was a quiz on my desk. Who set that system up?”

As students were excused for lunch, the hobbit encountered a horrifying, life-threatening situation. 

“When the bell rang at – I think at 10:30 a.m. – I saw absolute chaos throughout the halls. Other kids were pushing and shoving each other just to eat a burger,” Cantilina said. “Some rando almost pushed me into a locker.”

Cantilina next travelled to Algebra II, where she described the significant struggles she faced when completing her assignments without the help of her fellowship.

“It was difficult to understand much because the packets didn’t explain how to solve a problem step-by-step,” Cantilina said. “It was like I was supposed to know everything when it was a brand new lesson.”

When the day had concluded, being the tough critic she is, Cantilina reflected on her experience.

“While I was overwhelmed with the high school experience, it was still fun to be there with people my age instead of being crammed up in a small hobbit hole, huddled over my laptop and talking to no one all day,” Cantilina said. “There are some areas that I still need to get used to, but other than that, I’d say I’m excited for this new chapter of my life.”