Quarterly Week

Well here we are, once again, getting ready to take huge exams that are 15 percent of our grades. Everyone is stressed out and racking their brains to remember all the things we have learned this year. There are classes where we know once we look at the test we'll get that sinking feeling that we will completely fail this test. I don't want to feel that way about any test, and I know that I am not the only one. It's natural for us to feel stressed out about all the studying we have to do for every class. The quarter is almost done, but right now it feels as if the year has barely begun. It can become really challenging to balance school and being a human being. I've been in situations where I'm so stressed out that I can't think straight. It can really disable you and consume you to the point where you live and breathe what your grades are. Take it from someone who spent her middle school years feeling trapped in a figurative box of perfection because of the stress of grades, balance is very important. It's still hard for me to not get too carried away with grades and academics. You burn yourself out that way, and then you're stuck being exhausted and miserable but at the same time anxious to the point of insanity.

A Word to the Teachers

I'm being honest when I say that this school is exhausting. All the class time, tests, quizzes, presentations, projects, and everything else we busy ourselves with can really drain us both physically and emotionally. Personally, by the end of the day on Friday, I'm so anxious to go home and enjoy the weekend that the minutes crawl by at a ridiculously slow rate. After a whole week, I just want to go home and relax, hang out and play Zumba on my Playstation Move, and watch endless hours of Spongebob. It's hard to be focused on the last class on Friday. I should know, because I struggle with maintaining my focus all the time. It''s easy to get sucked into all the distractions. This Friday,for example, I got into an argument with one of my classmates because I was irritated and thought they took something of mine. I understand I shouldn't have argued- I get that. What I don't understand, though, is why I was the one who got a talking to after class even though I wasn't the only contributing to the argument. It frustrates me that every time I do something wrong, the teachers are ready to pounce on me with this long lecture that is drowning with disappointment. They should know by now that I will be the first one to admit my that I made a mistake and apologize. Which is exactly what I did on Friday. So why do teachers have it in their heads that scholarly students such as I shouldn't be able to make mistakes? Why do have we to get the long speeches about how we should have known better?
I know what the response will be: "Students like you and all the others with your qualities are the leaders of the school who need to be the examples of the school".

But I pose one question:is it right to make someone feel like they can never make a mistake? To put them in a box of perfection because they are the leaders of the school? Would you not do the same thing if you were in my situation? I do laugh, I do argue back when someone yells at me. I'm human and I have those days where I'm not in the mood to participate, or don't feel like being in school.
Doesn't everybody?
I think teachers forget that. It's almost as if they perceive me as this person that can be displayed like a trophy during meetings and presentations.

So I write this on behalf of all the students who feel the same way I do:It wasn't that long ago that the you all were our age, trying to balance academics and social freedom. If you would just look back and try to remember what it felt like to be stuck in school when all you wanted to do was go home, or hang out with your friends. Students who make it their duty to succeed and do the right thing the majority of the time, students like the peers who chosen to be ambassadors, all we ask for is some empathy from you teachers who hold us so highly. We already have pressure to be at the top of the class by everyone we love, including ourselves. All we really want is for you to understand that, and to get the benefit of the doubt that we know what we did was wrong and that we'll redirect ourselves like we always do.

The Countdown

I think I speak for everyone when I say that Ms. Algozo is a very moving speaker. Her last speech was just as spine tingling as all the others. It was evident that her words brought a lot of us back to reality. We are indeed only two short years away from college. It is not the time to "derail the class" as Ms. Algozo so eloquently stated numerous times earlier today. All of our actions can influence not only us, but everyone we are surrounded by as well. We need to remember it is not only us fighting for an education, but also 32 others who dream of attending Syracuse, Brown, Michigan, and all the other prestigious colleges we dream of. Sometimes it's scary to think about how small my graduating class will be when the big day comes soon enough. I hope that that the tenth graders that I share classes with and see in the hallways will be standing on that stage with me, tears of pride in their eyes. It's hard to say, but I don't know that what is left of our family will have the honor to graduate in 2013 with all the high school requirements under their belts. All that I know is that I will be standing up there, diploma in my hand and gratification in my heart.
For me, high school is just a countdown. A countdown to when I can finally attend Syracuse, choose the classes that I love, and finally be free of labels, and identity crises. A countdown to my dream job as a writer for the Chicago Tribune, LA News, or even NY Times. A countdown to living in a condo with big windows and high ceilings. In all honesty, I know that these two years will be anything but easy, but my path is clear along with my mind and I know what has to be done in order to make my dream come true. It's like the adorable Zach Gilford says to Alexis Bledel in the movie Post Grad, "You got the hard part figured out. You know what you wanna do. Now you can just spend the rest of your life going after it."

A Saturday to Remember with Ms. Gala

Today, I had the pleasure of going to Manhattan and eating delicious Indian food with my best friend Kinyanna, Ms. Gala, and her brother. The food was delectable and very different from what I was accustomed to. It was initially a bit uncomfortable to eat most of the food with my hands, but after a while, I forgot about it and just enjoyed the food. Since neither Kinyanna or I had ever really explored Indian food, Ms. Gala and her brother expertly chose a few dishes that they thought were good and I have to say they did an amazing job. I thought all of the food was delicious and unlike anything I had ever tasted. Kinyanna and I thought that it was hilarious that there was a breakfast dish that resembled a doughnut. We tasted it and it was the opposite of sweet; savory, actually. There was a mango shake that Ms. Gala recommended that was like eating the best mango yogurt ever made and was perfect for cooling my mouth when the food got just a little too spicy. Our conversations were very interesting as well, varying from both the good and bad books we have read for school in the past years to how Kevin Ozoria's title should be "The only boy you could date who would get your parent's approval." Needless to say, I am glad that I chose to raise my paddle in the auction for this trip. Not only was the food a taste to remember forever, the time I spent with my best friend, Algebra teacher, and her brother was perfect for a day where I would have most likely done absolutely nothing at home. Thank you Ms. Gala for:

1. An awesome opportunity to try something new and get to know you better
   
2. Letting your brother invite himself
   
3. Allowing me a chance to get to know you better

This is definitely something I wouldn't mind doing again (including the food of course).

Countdown to Litlle Shop of Horrors!

Well the cat is out of the bag because of me!( By the way, who made that weird saying? Mr. Bobrow would know, seeing as it will probably be on a global grit one of these weeks) I found out that the musical this year is............drum roll for those who are unaware..................

Little Shop Of Horrors!

I've seen the movie before, a long time ago, and all I really remember is the big plant that says, "Feed me Seymour!" Well, I looked it up a bit, and came up with this list:

1. I love Audrey, Seymour's love interest. (Hint hint Mr. Campbell and Ms. Rose)
   
2. I think the chorus is amazing and I adore their clothing throughout the movie.
3. Audrey's boyfriend that is the dentist in my opinion is an alter ego of Lamont Sadler
   
4. I never get tired of the songs Skid Row and Suddenly Seymour.
   
5. I can't wait for auditions and casting because i know I want to be a part of this masterpiece.

Mr Campbell revealed that auditions are being held in February for all the people who, like me, are excited. Countdown to February!!!

I want

When I'm fresh out of college, I want to work in a big building, with these huge glass windows. I want to have a little cubicle surrounded by other people who share the same love of writing that I do. I want to have meetings with my coworkers brainstorming about what the next issue of the magazine should look like, or what should be written about next in the newspaper. I want to have the satisfaction of seeing my name in print in a newspaper. I want to live on a pretty street full of trees and brownstones in a little apartment that kind of looks like crap, but I love it because it's all mine.I want to work in the midst of a city with people all around me in business suits, pencil skirts, and high heels.I want to go to a coffee shop every morning for breakfast. I want to fall in love and kiss on the doorstep of my tiny apartment after a date.
And after I get tired of that, I want to be able to say that I'm moving up to be editor, or on to a higher building, or a house.
One thing I know for sure, though, is that no matter what happens, my dream of writing for a living will never diminish.