Every week for journalism class, we have to write a blog. It is actually getting a bit annoying, and we are only on Blog #5. I know some other people actually really like the blogs, but I feel like I always have a hard time coming up with the topic of the week. My ideas are either way too broad and boring or way too personal. Also, I always forget about the blogs until around ten or eleven on Friday night. This is really scary because I have to quickly go through the process of writing an entire blog and go through the struggles of choosing a topic in the span of about twenty minutes before it turns twelve. In conclusion, I hate blogs, and I’m going to make this exactly 150 words to spite the word minimum. Thank you for listening to my speech, and have a wonderful night.
I know junior year is supposed to be hard and all, but this is really my tipping point. Between three other AP classes, precalc, journalism, and being a yearbook editor, as well as other extracurriculars like being in Student Council, a dorm prefect, and in varsity sports, I have taken on a lot this year. All of these things are in addition to keeping up with my friends and family and also keeping myself in check.
Even though it’s a lot, honestly, I could do it. That is, if it weren’t for the class that could commonly go by the name of the course of satan himself.
Now, I have nothing against Mr. Driscoll; I love him. He’s super sweet, helpful, and knows what he is talking about. However, I don’t think the best teacher in the entire world could get me through that class. Again, this is not due to Mr. Driscoll, but as soon as I walk through the door of the chem lab, I am flooded with an immediate sense of grief. If I hear one more person talk about mass spectroscopy, thermodynamics, or stoichiometry, I don’t think I will make it to next week. I genuinely think everyone still in that class is some sort of superhero.
This past week, I have been pursuing other options for classes to take if I drop out of AP Chem. After much thought, I have decided to transfer to AP Bio. Now, I know AP Bio doesn’t sound all that different from AP Chem, but it is for me. I just have this deep-rooted and indescribable hatred for chemistry that cannot be applied to anything else. I’m not exactly sure what ionic compound demon possessed me when I was choosing my classes last year.
Anyhow, it doesn’t matter anymore, as I am out of that class forever. I will never be haunted by intermolecular forces and chemical reactions again. I am free.
First, ducks have small brains. I think it would be nice to just hang out in the water all day thinking about nothing but food. Actually not all day, like your whole life.
Secondly, ducks are cute.
Third: ducks can fly. I think it would be so nice to fly, so just be above everything and look at it from afar. Also, being high up is scary to me, to the point where it’s kind of exciting so I think flying would be cool.
Fourth of all, ducks are all-terrain. They can go in the air, land, or water. I think the water would be the best part, if not the sky. To just float in the cool water for your whole life would be so nice. No college applications. No class, no grades, no tests, no SATs. No worries, no stress, no hurt, no tears, no disgust, no listening to people cry and not being able to do anything about it.
Fifth of all, ducks look very soft. I just want to pet one so bad, but they don’t sound like very good pets because they poop everywhere. A duck would probably be happier in the wild anyway. Also, I have a cat that would definitely attack the duck.
The summer after 9th grade in my home country I made the biggest decision of my 15 years of life. It was the decision to come to the United States. What I wanted to do, was to get an education in the United States and go to college. I first became interested in studying abroad when I went to Australia for a week in 5th and 7th grade to attend a local school. I was shocked by the cultural differences there. The technological advances, the teaching styles, everything was new and fascinating. My parents are very supportive of what I want to do. I was very blessed with my surroundings, and I was a little sad to leave my school in Japan. However, I was more excited about my new life. When I arrived at my current school, it was during the Covid pandemic. However, my mother came with me to the United States. I felt sad to be away from my family, even though it was the path I had chosen. But more than that, I was surrounded by wonderful friends and teachers, which made me realize that my decision was not a mistake. I was sure that this big step would enrich my life.
Since we have been back at school so far, a lot has happened. The first week of school consisted of meeting an incredible amount of new people from all grades, getting back into dorm-living, and and having an overwhelming amount of homework. There was a camping trip last week, and now we are just approaching the end of the second academic week. I’ve been loading my plate up a lot recently, and I’m not quite sure if its the right thing to do. However, this stressful-ish energy has been motivating, in a way. It’s exciting because it reminds me of how many opportunities that high school can provide.
However, I feel as if school has been rushing past me all too quickly. I’ve been to many schools in my life, and lived in many places. It feels sometimes as if my life is on autopilot and I cannot slow down. Only yesterday does it feel like I was scrappily coloring, eating my peanut butter and jelly sandwich that had been tossed around in my bag, and coming home begging my parents to have more time to play Minecraft. Now, I’m held up to a standard, where everything in my life is more complex.
I know, thats quite literally what growing up is about, but I feel like it has all gone by too quickly. I might never get back living in such simpler times, where the only thing to worry about was what color crayon I was going to use, but I will always appreciate and feel grateful for how those moments shaped me and led to me becoming the person who I am now, and who I will continue to become in the future.
No, I’m just kidding. On a more serious note, I really do want you to imagine something. Imagine a guy named Paul, and all Paul wants to do is follow his dreams and go to NASA Academy. NASA Academy is perfect for Paul, whose only dream is to be an astronaut. However, NASA Academy is very expensive, and Paul does not have the money. What is Paul to do? Should he give up on his dream?
Now, I’m not being too fair to Paul. Yes, there are schools that have astronomy classes, so why not just go to one of those? It’s like telling a kid you’re taking him to Dojo Boom and giving him a trampoline. Not those big ones where you can do flips, but the small ones made for 3-year-olds. You know, the ones that say on the box “3-8 years old.” Here’s a visual if you need
Back to Paul, now it’s not necessarily the worst thing ever. Your kid gets to jump around, and Paul gets to see the stars—through a telescope… instead of flying among them. What would you tell Paul? Seriously would you look him in the eyes and tell him to jump on some small trampoline? I have to move away from the trampolines.
To make this even harder what if i told you Paul needs space to live. Not like in a literal sense but in a way that his life would be meaningless without it. You can only ever truly understand if you’ve love something so unconditionally, so purely, so passionately. I can’t expect you to understand if you’re going to college for a job. Paul is going to college to live, to give his life meaning. Who knows maybe Paul is just being difficult, dramatic, extra. I guess most dreamers are. Paul will have to choose, and thats if Nasa even accepts him. Ha! Paul hasn’t even been accepted and he’s worried about everything else. Heres another thing about Paul, he stresses too much but we all do… right?
I’ve definitely gone over the 150 word mark so I guess, Im done.
Ok, this is actually so dramatic, I’m not even graduating yet.
Well, here we are – my last blog. I’ve survived my last semester as a junior, my APS are over, and summer vacation is imminent. So, I’ve had about a week to do nothing but sit around and reflect on the last three years of my life, including the lessons that I’ve learned along the way. Honestly, I’m no old wise seasoned senior sage- I probably should wait until this time next year to do this.
get your priorities straight
There are always a million things to worry about at high school. You’re trying to do well in classes, maintain a fulfilling social life, live a healthy lifestyle, participate in extracurriculars, and whatever else. There are only so many hours in the day, and simultaneously thriving in these areas is pretty much impossible (in my personal experience). When you’re being pulled in so many directions, it’s crucial that you have your priorities in order, because something always has to give. These priorities can shift from year to year, even day to day.
keep exploring
They’ll tell you that your first year is all about exploration — and they’re not wrong. You should explore academic areas and social settings that push you out of your comfort zone. However, I’d challenge you to keep that same energy throughout your entire high school experience. It’s natural to branch out in your first year, but once you get settled, it’s easy to get a little too comfortable with your routine. OVS is full of amazing classes, interesting people, and unique opportunities, and I think we all wish that we spent more time exploring in the end, so do your future self a favor and spend some time expanding your horizons.
don’t be afraid of rejection
We, humans, can do anything – anything – but the fear of rejection is so powerful that it can make us step back from life in case we get hurt. That’s completely understandable. Completely. But we miss out on so much by doing that. I believe the key to having the confidence to expand your comfort zone is realizing that rejection isn’t that bad- and it really won’t matter by tomorrow. My advice is to focus on what you’re getting out of this opportunity you are scared to take advantage of. And rejection isn’t so bad, it will hurt for like a day and ultimately, it will get you closer to your goals anyway. It’s good to be vulnerable every once in a while.
The return of spring signals the return of many of my favorite things: the blossoming of the Magnolia tree in my backyard, the sweet smell of flowers growing in the orchards around OVS, the time change, the end of the school year, and (perhaps most importantly) the return of Junbi’s lavender honey matcha. And taking Claritin every morning…
The first day of real warm weather during the spring is always one of my favorite days of the year. People hiding from the colder weather for months suddenly reappear around Ojai as though awakened from their winter, indoor slumber. People can be scattered across Arcade Plaza, by that fountain, and in Libbey Park soaking up the good sun.
At the risk of sounding dramatic, especially because festivals and people touring the city never really stop, life returns to Ojai.
I need to study a whole lot. This weekend is coming up and I’m so excited. Studying for exams has to be my favorite pass time ever, with a pencil, paper, and a computer I could study the rest of my life away. Personally, my favorite class to study for is math, I love memorizing all the formulas and everything in between. My favorite class is Algebra 2 and I’m soooooo good at it. I’m definitely one of the best in the United States, if not the whole world at Algebra 2. If you were to give me the hardest Algebra 2 problem in the world I would be able to solve it in sub 30 secs. Anyway, super hyped for all my ap tests and I’m definitely going to try my hardest to score a 5 on my upcoming AP Spanish exam, for some reason, they thought that I slept through my APES exam but that is a lie.
These are not my favorite actors, just actors that have been in a lot of movies I’ve seen.
Tom Hanks: Terminal- great story, made me cry when Forrest Gump didn’t. Great performance, and a convincing accent to me. Really unique plot and an interesting antagonist.
Daniel Day-Lewis: There will be Blood- honestly this performance is the reason I decided to write this blog. Some of the best acting from an already incredible actor. Many powerful scenes in this movie.
Willem Dafoe: The Grand Budapest Hotel- I mean what a cool character, that scene with the fingers. Anytime he was in a scene it was more interesting. Also, John Wick was a good movie with him in it- but not really because of him. I notice Dafoe is in a lot of movies I watch but rarely plays a big role in them (besides Spidermen).
Leo: The Departed- probably a controversial pick but a terrific cast and director. It’s intense and funny, Leo really delivered. At its core, this movie’s characters are what make it special, you really feel like you know them and you’re invested in their fates.
OVS Journalism Blog 
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