Tag: school

It’s a Whole New Year

Daphne PsaledakisLeave a comment

Most people measure their years beginning and ending at New Year’s Eve. But when you’re in school, Summer marks the beginning of a new year. You have three months off, to relax, sleep, recuperate from the endless studies and homework. Then in the fall, you go back to school and you start a new year.

Some people never want the year to end. They want to stay near their friends, and they don’t want things to change.

For me, it’s different.

At the beginning of every year I’m excited for what it will bring. For the new friends I will make, and the new things that I’ll learn. But a couple months in, I start getting tired. Tired of school, and of a lot of the people at school.

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There’s Always Something

smackyjackjackLeave a comment

As everyone generally feels, junior year is the hardest year in high school. Well, they don’t tell you about senior year.

While it’s true that academically this has been by far my easiest year, applying to colleges has been one of the most stressful things I’ve had to do all high school long.

I figured I’d know where I’m going by the hard deadline most schools set of May 1st as a reply date.

Well I was wrong about that.

I just figured it out on Thursday, and that choice is Chapman University (or more specially Dodge College).

Okay, so now I’m done.

Well, no.

I still have to figure out housing, classes and worst of all…finances.

Applying for financial aid is an ordeal in itself. Because after grants and scholarships come the dreaded student loans. Those are going to stack up. All I can say is that I hope I have a damn good job when I leave college or those are going to stay with me for a while.

Too Far Away

Daphne PsaledakisLeave a comment

One of the downsides of going to a boarding school so far from home is that sometimes you feel that you’ve been left out of the family. Sometimes when I’m talking to my dad or brothers on the phone they talk about things they’ve done, and I get to feeling a little bit left out.

I realize that it comes with living away from home. I would not trade my amazing life here at OVS for going to the punchbowl or Smash Burger back home. But hearing about it does make me miss it.

Another thing I miss is making decisions with the family. Over the past four years we have moved three times, and all three times I have not been able to choose my room, or the furniture that goes into it. The result? Home doesn’t feel like home.

I know that I am far away, and that I have another life here at school. And it’s a life that I love and would not trade. But I do miss home. I miss being able to relax all the time. I miss designing my own room and being excited about where we are moving. I miss my family. I miss my dogs. I miss not being there to watch my little brothers grow up. And sometimes it all makes me feel like I am too far away.

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Math.

eternity1030Leave a comment

Actually I am not a great math student, and math is not my favorite subject to study. I mean math is gonna be very useful in our future careers, but what I don’t like about math is that math is just confusing sometimes and I hate the feeling when all of those numbers are stuck in my head.

Tests have to be performed in education, I totally understand that and I’ve been taking so many tests as I grow up so I dont have any problems about tests or I should say students just have to take tests.

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Picture Perfect

Daphne PsaledakisLeave a comment

I recently wrote a story about the bike ride our school took. They left on Superbowl Sunday, and rode about 25 miles from the campus to the beach.

I was very proud of my story. I had fun with it, and in my opinion at least, the writing was pretty good. But then came the art…

Every story needs a picture to go with it, some sort of visual. And in our Journalism class we don’t stage or photoshop photos. This would be awesome if it didn’t complicate things so much.

I started out on my mission to get a picture of the group that went on the bike ride by asking the teacher who led the trip to make an announcement at morning meeting. He did, asking all the students who went to meet up with him and I quickly after the meeting.

Since I don’t have my own camera, and have absolutely no idea how to shoot good photos, my classmate helped me out. We had the group stand in a couple different places in the courtyard, then behind the Spanish room as well.

Unfortunately, in all the photos we took the lighting was absolutely terrible. Somehow the background behind the students ended up completely white.

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Honors Ski Trip

Daphne Psaledakis1 Comment

Break is quickly approaching, and on Friday the campus will begin to empty out. Students will go home, or to friends and family, for the week long winter break. And then, on Sunday, they will return.

However, there are the lucky few that leave the morning after boarding students return to campus. They will load bags and bodies into the school vans in order to make the trek up to Yosemite. These students get an extra week of break on Honors Ski Trip.

The Honors Ski Trip is a week long excursion with the headmaster and a couple other teachers, and a handful of students who put in the work to keep their academic and effort grades up to standard.

Last year I went on the trip and I had an amazing time. In the mornings we would cook obscene amounts of bacon before loading into the vans and driving to the nordic track.

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Valentine’s Day-Damn Love!!!!

backinphillyLeave a comment

Well this was one roller coaster of a week. I had a bunch of stuff planned and then was forced to scramble it together at the last minute as usual. I don’t know how everything snowballed into nothingness. I screwed up, that much is for sure.

First things first. You gotta take care of the flowers. I had a huge bouquet planned. Then I realized the real prices of flowers. So I did some digging, made some calls, and had a big arrangement planned.

And then everything collapsed. Valentine’s Day Eve, I had to make another reach out to my friends and they were awesome enough to help me out and grab some flowers on their way to school that day.

Then, one of my teachers, who doubles as my girlfriend’s teacher, allowed me to surprise my girlfriend during their class that morning. I showed up with a dozen roses and a balloon saying happy valentine’s day.

I gave them to her and she couldn’t have been happier. The past couple days since then have been far from perfect, but hopefully, the dust will settle soon.

Valentine’s Day, I hate you and your shipping complications.

Finals-Honestly, kill me now

backinphillyLeave a comment

So now the end is near huh? The semester is ending and people are cramming like some hung over college kid for the bar exam. It’s chaos on the hill, and really it all begs the question, “Who are we kidding?”

There’s no way in hell that this weekend is enough to prepare a student for an exam based on an entire semester’s information. People think that studying this hard for an exam is going to help them.

I’ve got news for all of you. You’re better off not studying at all at this point rather than try and cram. You’re just going to confuse yourself with facts. There IS such a thing as too much studying.

Some guys have been holed up in their rooms this weekend in order to study, only coming out to use the bathroom. They even bring their books in the bathroom to study some more.

Dude, seriously you’re not gonna learn anymore by taking your textbook into the bathroom. Give yourself a minute and a half to use the toilet and go back if u wanna.

I just don’t get the obsession to study like a maniac.

My roommate just told me a saying that his region of China lives by.

“If you have a small test, have a little fun. If you have a big test, have a lot of fun.”

Words of Wisdom from OVS.

Everyone just needs some time off.

F.I.N.A.L.S.

callmemaybe32Leave a comment

It is that dreaded time of year again, finals. 

After a full semester of work all I have to show for it is a bunch of pieces of crumpled papers in the bottom of my backpack and the ink my teacher puts on my test telling me how I did in their class this semester.

This time is stressful for all, and I try to not get caught up in the stress, but there is just no way around it.

Honestly, most finals for me aren’t too hard.

Math? Easy.

Science? Easy.

English? Easy

History? No sir.

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Finals and the pressure that comes with them

displacedlocalLeave a comment

Right now I am taking a break from analyzing my interview notes and filling the gaps in my history knowledge to speak about finals.

This is the first time I have felt really concerned about every. single. one. of my finals. I am on the border of A/B in all of my classes and these finals could mean the difference between going to the college I have had my eyes on, Northeastern, and losing this option forever.

This is a huge pressure on me and I am concerned with what the results might be.

History is one of my strong points and I have been studying, but there are definite gaps in my knowledge.

Journalism has been kicking my butt all year. We have one last article to write before the end of the year and the final grades. This has me very stressed about my grade.

English is something that I am not very nervous about due to my knowledge of the material being tested.

Calculus. Oh god. Calculus is going to be a nightmare. I am going to have to ace this final to oblivion to even consider an A. I have been studying a lot and am planning on going to the 2 and a half hour study session for extra review.

Physics is one of my stronger points and I am actually excited to take the final and I am prepared for it.

Finals should be… Interesting.

Now back to Writing the Journalism final that I have been dreading.