I Can’t Believe It.

I can’t believe it.

In a matter of days, the seniors will be on that stage, giving their speeches and receiving their hard-earned diplomas. They will be wrapping up their four years of high school and go onto college as freshmen.

And I will become a senior.

God, it’s just so hard to wrap my head around.

It feels like just yesterday when I was 14, braces-clad, and had just come out of eighth grade. High school was so new to me. These three years escaped me.

It’s funny how four years make the perfect stretch of time to help students learn, grow, and move onto the next stage of their life. Freshman year I felt totally unprepared-I was still shocked that I was actually in high school.  Sophomore year, I felt like I was still a freshman and I didn’t (or couldn’t) realize that I was growing up and that I was more mature than I was the year before. This year, I still can’t believe that two years of my high school has past and gone and that I am already almost three quarters of the way done. I will be a senior and write college essays in my sleep until!

That means:

I will be heading tables at dress dinner.

I will be making announcements at milk & crackers.

I will be writing college essays.

I will be taking the SAT‘s again.

I will probably lose hair.

I will be graduating.

I will be in college.

I still can’t believe it. I don’t suppose I will until I am on that stage next year.

Crunch Time


Who knew so much pressure could mount up on one’s shoulders? I’m trying to cram so much information into my head. The AP weeks are coming up and I am on the brink of crumbling. AP Calculus AB and AP US History the first week, followed by three SAT II subject tests that saturday. Oh and what else? An AP Biology test that upcoming Monday and an AP Writing and Composition test to top it all off.


I am beginning to think that I will not be able to get the grades that I want to on these tests. I will need to stay up very late and buy multiple Starbucks double shots from Starr Market. However, what frustrates me is the recent ruling that girls are not allowed to stay up to study in the girl’s lounge past lights out. I just can’t wrap my head around it.


I understand that the faculty is concerned with us staying up and that those staying up may have abused the privilege by eating food while studying or being on Facebook. I am not going to lie, I did both. But that doesn’t mean that I wouldn’t be eating in my room or checking my Facebook for a quick five minute reprieve (because my brain cannot handle studying for hours on end without a quick break). However, I don’t think that the faculty understands that we cannot reach our goals of staying up to study and fully grasp our studies as well as do extra work for the upcoming SAT and AP tests in our rooms. My roommate usually goes to bed after a half an hour or an hour after study hall and studying under the small light of my desk lamp is very difficult. I chose to stay up. I want to stay up. I do so to get the grades I get and I do so to stay on top of things. But now that I can’t stay out in the lounge, I can’t study to my fullest potential.


It’s crunch time. This weekend and every night after tonight, I will be studying, studying, studying and praying my BUTT OFF so that God would bless me with the knowledge and preparation I need for this test. Ahh, maybe I should build my own personal girl’s lounge as an extension of my room. Ha! Now that would be odd.

I HATE THE SAT!

Yesterday was the big huzzah. It was the day that would determine the fate of my summer. Yesterday, Thursday, March 31st, 2011, was the day I had been waiting for. And it was nothing short of disappointing.

I was home sick yesterday, but I still remembered, the moment I woke up from my slumber, to check my SAT scores. It only made my condition worse.

The screen read 650-reading, 670-math, and 620-writing. Goodness, it seemed as if my previous summer had been a waste. I had spent two months of pure studying for this one test and I had gotten a 1940. The colleges that I am hoping to get into require over a 2000.

I did remind myself, however, that I was sick that Saturday I took the test and the week following up to it. But a 1940? That is no exception.

I haven’t told my mom my score yet because I am afraid for her reaction. This summer, before taking my first SAT prep class, my diagnostic grade had been in the low 1900’s. My mom was very disappointed in me and I know that she will still be disappointed in my score if I tell her that after two months of sending me to classes, I have arrived at a almost identical score.

My goal for the SAT’s is a 2100. A 700 in critical reading, a 700 in math, and a 700 in writing. I know this is attainable because my scores (650, 670, 620) are not too far from my goal. But sadly, I will have to spend my summer not at the beach and having fun, but in a cold, isolated classroom, shoving hundreds of vocabulary words into my head in SAT classes. Oh goody, I just CAN’T WAIT!

Nasty Habit!

Old habits are hard to break-even the nasty ones.


I bite my nails. I have periods when I break the habit, but during times of anxiety and pressure, I assuage my nerves with a dose of nail biting.


It’s gross, I know, but strangely stress relieving. Weird. Funny thing is, I hate looking at other people biting their own nails!

I had stopped the habit sometime last week but with the SAT just yesterday, I began to bite. I’m still biting because it’s very hard to stop once I’ve begun but I will try in order to let them grow and look prim for prom!

I don’t suppose I will be able to completely put an end to the habit until I get into colleges next year. Until then, I will battle the habit, temporarily stopping just to go back to biting again.

Driving.

Pothole

So fortunately for my Dad I have now successfully began to drive like a legal driver. Yes you did hear me correctly I can drive and  I have even passed the stalling stage.

Don’t get me wrong I still have my problems and I lack a bit of control, but otherwise it is going good. I have days when I do brilliantly but there are others when I just have to ruin the clean record and do something wrong.

On Saturday I had an early start for my SAT. I woke up got changed quickly and thought it may have been a good idea to drive to school, half asleep. The consequences of this bad decision were that I nearly reversed into a tree, I pulled off the road into some pot holes and I drove a bit too fast around some sharp corners. The main thing is I survived and so did my car. But for my pride’s sake lets just blame all these mistakes on the early morning and my lack of knowledge on how to demist my car. This experience may sound slightly dreadful but we have to look at the positives in the situation, I stalled once.

Those who have read my driving blogs in the past probably will not be assured that I can now drive but i’m sure you can all say that I have progressed significantly. Ok, granted I have only been practicing in the back roads of Ojai but still I haven’t crashed nor stalled nearly as many times as before. So it’s out to the main roads of Ojai this week. All I can say is watch out Ojai Avenue.