Do you know your neighbor?- Andrew Collins

In English I sit next to Ben Grossman. I have known Ben since sixth grade, when one of my other good friends introduced me to the kid that he sat next to in band class. Ben has always been a very carefree and fun-loving guy. Although it may be hidden by his usually long hair, he has a very expressive personality when he isn't chugging along on less than 5 hours of sleep (he actually becomes much more expressive after he's had a hair cut and you can see his eyes). Ben is very witty and intelligent, but his wit is often hidden by his social awkwardness, and his intelligence is often hidden by his less than stellar work ethic.

This year, I have 3 classes with Ben, and I sit next to him or near him in all of them. It has been interesting. Ben has band second hour, and he enjoys complaining about being in the middle band (he switched instruments so he wasn't proficient enough at his new one to be in the top band) while we're supposed to be learning Spanish in third hour. Unfortunately for Ben, he is not one of those people who can not pay a lick of attention and still know the right answer after being called out.

If I had to assign a color to Ben, I would choose blue or dark green, because of his relaxed personality. In five years I see Ben at UK, probably working on some major related to math or science, and of course still goofing around on tuba.