Tag: school

End of an era

KairodnesLeave a comment

(Photo Credit: Auntbeulahblog.files.wordpress.com )

Looking back five years, I still remember when I first stepped on campus at Ojai Valley School as an 8th grader. Fear of the uncertain filled my heart; I didn’t know what to expect and what challenges I would have to overcome at my new school. I gave my parents one last hug right before my dorm parent called me back into the dorms, and in that moment I knew I wouldn’t see my parents for at least three months, the longest I had been away from my parents at that time.

As scary as being a boarding student was, I have overcome it and made it to the very end, which is being a senior at Ojai Valley School. I still can hardly believe that it has been four years since I graduated middle school, and five years since I decided to leave home in Shanghai to come to school in the United States. There were a lot of things that I wanted to do during my high school years, and I have done many of them and feel accomplished because of it. Checking each thing off in my mind is a relief. I’m that much closer to my goal.

Looking forward, graduation is almost here. I have been through four proms, at least eight camping trips, played on a lacrosse team, was a stagehand for three plays, survived English 11, and lived with six different roommates. There are countless other memories, including having seen a lot of my former classmates/teammates graduate high school. I’m wondering what it will feel like to finally check off the last thing on my “To Do” list in high school — to sit on the stage listening to Mr. Cooper address us for the last time, and for his last time, because as we graduate he is retiring. It’s the end of an era for both of us, and the beginning of something new.

April Showers…and Finals

paris22Leave a comment
Photo Credit: Sizzle

As California transitions into spring, the “April Showers” have been few and far between. However, there has been a recent shower of finals and exams. Because APs are soon to be upon us, teachers have been giving us our typical end of the year finals now, rather than later, to prepare us for the AP.

That’s all well and good, but after finals we still learn things, and some classes have a second final during finals week, along with the AP in May. And, I’m pretty certain almost every student at this point is 97% done, I know I am. This is the point of the year when projects, essays, research papers, tests, and reviews are piled on, with the thought in the back of your mind that finals are in a month and a half, and (in my case) you literally have no idea what’s going on in half of your classes.

T-minus 45 days until summer.

The End of a Chapter

KairodnesLeave a comment

(Photo Credit: Spreadshirtmedia.com )

Four years have passed since the class of 2017 entered high school as freshmen. Four years later, it’s the last few weeks of our senior year, the last few weeks in high school. Graduation looms around the corner. Oh, the joy of finally finishing these four grueling years, yet what good memories are in those years.

We should all take some time to think about what we have accomplished in these four years and what we have learned from friends and teachers. These memories should send chills down our spines when we think about good memories with the great people we got to know during our time here at school.

It is hard to believe that it is all about to end. We’ll soon be waking up the day after graduation thinking: “Where did these years go?” So hug your friends harder, because this might be the last time you’ll see them – the reality of graduation is just a moment away. Hold your breath, because this is one of the biggest milestones of our lives. This is the one that defines us as adults, the one that marks our accomplishments as students. Prepare yourself, because graduation will catch you off guard. 

College Crises

paris22Leave a comment

Photo Credit: BuzzFeed

Over break, I embarked on the tedious task of touring colleges. As a junior in my second semester, the process of college applications and tours are like the big bad wolf coming to get me. But before I can actually apply to colleges, I have to find colleges I actually want to go to, and that’s proving to be quite the mission.

So far, I have visited four colleges, and after numerous kids telling me to “save my money and don’t come to this hell hole” on one campus, and seeing 10,000 kids crammed into another tiny campus 20 minutes outside of the city I actually want to be in, I am now down to only two prospective colleges. The reason being is I have a very extensive checklist for my future colleges, which, considering my GPA and lack of extracurricular activities, is probably not the best idea.

Also, every college tour is the same: they all pick the same peppy tour guide, drone on about their majors and team sports, and their “diverse” (cough, cough) student population. These tours also remind me that I have another four years of school to endure after high school, so all in all, college tours really are my big bad wolf.

Senioritis

1998sakuraLeave a comment

After I got accepted to a few colleges, I started to become extremely lazy. I just want to be done with high school and I don’t have the motivation I used to have, due to the fact that senior grades don’t affect the chances of being accepted.

I don’t know if I am simply becoming lazy, or if I have senioritis. Senioritis is a word I hear a lot these days. The definition is: “A crippling disease that strikes high school seniors. Symptoms include: laziness, an over-excessive wearing of track pants, old athletic shirts, sweatpants, athletic shorts, and sweatshirts. The only known cure is a phenomenon known as Graduation (Urban Dictionary).”

After reading the definition, I am pretty sure I have senioritis. Previously, I never knew it existed, and I am surprised I have it. I have 130 more days until graduation and I hope my senioritis does not affect that time. Instead of just thinking about college, I want to appreciate the last days I have at this school, and as a high school student.

Photo Credit: collegetransitioninitiative.com

Finals got you down?

stayhappy1231 Comment

Here are ten ways to cope with your impending doom!

1.) Dig a hole. I mean, a really deep hole. Once you have dug said hole, lay in it. I’m not telling you to die there or anything, that’s entirely optional. If you need some motivation, think about your math final, and how you have literally never taken any notes at all.

(Click here for more info. on digging a proper grave.)

2.) Scream really, really loudly. Freak out your neighbors. Go ahead. You know you hate them. Do you even know their names? Of course not.

3.) Lay on the floor for a little bit and relive every embarrassing thing you’ve ever done. Come on. You know you want to. (At least more than you want to worry about finals.)

4.) Take a shower and maybe lay on the floor for a little bit. Might as well.

5.) Draw a chalk box on the concrete and sit in it. Everything around you is lava, except what’s inside that box. Don’t believe me? Your finals are located outside of that box.

6.) Get in a fight with someone who cares about you. It will 100% take away all focus from your finals. Unless you are really underprepared, like yours truly, in which case there is no hope.

7.) Go for a run. Plan to run to the nearby Starbucks. Run further. Run too far. Run way too far. Let the sun set, go somewhere creepy, and wait to be kidnapped. Foolproof. You think being kidnapped is too scary? FINALS.

8.) Do you have any allergies? Now is the time to thank whatever forces blessed you with them. Allergic to cats? Go lick one. Hug it. Rub it on your face. Peanut butter? Really dig into a nice jar of Jif and thank me later.

9.) Find a trustworthy friend, and kindly ask them to push you down some stairs.  If they are skeptical, here is a note from a trustworthy source (me) on why this is a good idea:

Dear friend, don’t hold back. It’s for their own good. Don’t believe me? Check their notes. Yes, that is a sketch of Justin Bieber pre-Gomez. No, there are no notes on the Aeneid in there. Keep looking, I promise.

10.) Or you could, like, study or something.

F.I.N.A.L.S.
Photo credit: memegenerator.net

Sunday Nights

stayhappy123Leave a comment

What’s worse than Sunday?

The impending doom of Monday morning lurking around the corner, homework piling up by the minute.

How about waking up on Sunday and thinking it’s Saturday? The stomach drop when your phone blinks with “Sunday” is the equivalent of reading the saddest book ever, twice.

And, even though Sunday mornings are bad, nothing is worse than Sunday night.

Sweet Dreams Please!
Photo Credit: EduinReview.com

And don’t even get me started on Monday mornings.

My next life…

1998sakuraLeave a comment

What a life pets have. Especially the pet who lives on campus: Jack the cat.

Jack is loved by students, gets full attention and is very spoiled. He gets food and treats from the teacher, Ms. M., everyday. Ms. M. even bought him food and water bowls, as well as a cushion for him to sleep on. These days, it has become a daily routine for Jack to come to her to get treats. He spends most of the day on her desk sleeping.

When we are in class, he meows outside the classrooms to let people know he wants to come inside. We always open the door for him, even if we are taking a test. He walks in and wanders around, and eventually rolls on his back allowing the students to pet him on the stomach. Everyone adores him and we all say “hi” when we see him, even though he ignores us. I want to be him in my next life.

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Jack the Cat — Photo Credit: Evelyn Brokering

The Injustices of Book Release in Fall

whynotstayinLeave a comment

I have a bad habit of reading a lot of good books very quickly. I’ll pick one up and think hmm seems interesting enough and then all of a sudden my Saturday is gone. I realize that somehow I am now reading in the dark.

Photo Credit: http://www.pinterest.com

So, it’s January.

The last word has been read, the cover closed and I want the rest of the story right then and there instantly in my hands. Forget food or anything else. After a cursory search of my shelves I realize I don’t have the second, third, fourth, tenth, or umpteenth book. My heart breaks.

In point two seconds my phone is in hand as I research the next book.

I religiously read the description hoping to glean just a little bit of information before my greedy fingers move to order it.

I move the mouse down till I find the order button.

My heart more than breaks it is razed, obliterated, ground into nothingness.

Preorder.

Receive order on November 2.

I slide out of my seat into a puddle on the floor. The middle of the school year. I can’t help but think, I’ll bet a million bucks I’ll have a calc test to study for, and goodness knows how much other homework.

So I give up, I order it and put it on my shelf to look at me and shake it’s head in disappointment. Every once in a while I’ll look up at it like a scolded kid as I try to figure out the slope of a tangent line before it costs me my grade the next day.

School Dress Code

paris22Leave a comment

 

Photo Credit: Twitter User @Harika101

School Dress Code. It’s quite a hot topic at pretty much any school that has a dress code. The most frustrating aspect of most school’s dress codes is the attitude taken toward female students.

The restrictions placed on girls’ outfits can be numerous. There are restrictions on girls tops, in case their shoulders are too inappropriate to show in broad daylight, or, god forbid, her bra strap shows. Because the fact that many females wear bras is a secret that the female population must keep under wraps for the protection of adolescent teenage boys. Or, even worse, girls don’t wear a bra. Because male nipples are okay, but female nipples are a crime?

There is also the problem of shorts, skirts, and dresses. Too much of the thigh can’t show, because, as everybody knows, the skin on ones upper thigh is completely different than the skin on the knee, calf, or arm. Even butt cheeks! Everyone has them, crazy right?

All jokes aside, no one is expecting the school system to allow students to wear whatever they want, be it their birthday suit or a pant suit. But schools do need to recognize that modern fashion does not fit into what many school’s dress codes allow, and if they’re expecting female students to dress in Bermuda Shorts (YUCK) and long sleeves as to not “distract” the other students from learning, here’s a tip: stop sexualizing female bodies and treating them as a distraction, because a girl attending school should not be thought of as a “distraction” for dressing in modern clothing.