Make-up (Day 174)

I have spent the day making up the work for this weekend and catching up on blogs. My room is actually clean for a change and you can even see the floor. *Smug face* So ha. It looks really good if you don’t look at my shelves. But I won’t take picture of that. So it looks clean to everyone who doesn’t read this blog. Nobody really does anyway, so nobody will ever know. Which is fine with me. J So I found out my mom was hoarding my mail. Only not really. Just not giving it to me (which I guess is hoarding) as a privilege when I finish all of my work. Which I have almost done. Today was a good day and I actually did all of my work including my tedious Calculus homework and notecards…

Driving (Day 173)

I spent like 5 hours today driving. L I mean it was fun at first but then it just got really boring and tedious. I had a driving lesson from 3:30-5:30 so I actually had to practice today. Which meant I had to chauffer my mom to whatever errands she decided she needed. And Saturdays are usually errand days. But I felt really prepared for my lesson. The guy was a bit strange though. He kept laughing when I made a mistake or when he criticized something like he thought it was funny. Needless to say I didn’t. And at one point he made me park while he went into Starbucks to get coffee. And left me in the car L but said, “Don’t touch your phone.” I was like umm…ok? Bye? But after that, he was more normal and I actually learned something from him which is good.

College (Day 172)

I’m feeling really good right now. I mean its senior year and I have gotten into 4 colleges (Towson, UMBC, Drexel, and Salisbury). And I am really close to getting my license. I mean I still have to worry about scholarships and a summer job and the AP tests in May. But I am more than halfway through my senior year and college just seems so close. I am really excited to leave high school but I know that it will also be really sad because I really love the people at New Town. Well not exactly all of them, but I love all of my friends and most of my teachers. I have been really lucky with the teachers and people I have met and the things I have been able to do and be a part of. It has really made me into a successful persona and hopefully will serve me well at whatever college I go to. Eek…now I have to decided what college I want to go to and what I want to do…ugh.

100 (Day 171)

100. That’s a pretty large number. Try finding 100 pieces of information on books you haven’t read in quite awhile. That is where I am right now. I have 60 notecards and I need 40 more. That’s a lot, even for me. I love reading. I do. But I don’t like analyzing things because I think that when you analyze a book, you lose the real purpose of the book. Books, I don’t think are meant to be over analyzed. Sometimes authors write a book because it is about their life or it shows their opinions about something. When you over analyze it, the book loses its real meaning. Take “The Stranger” or “Waiting For Godot” for example. These books have no real analysis because there is no real analysis. I think they were created simply to entertain. That is the real reason for these books. I just saved thousands of kids time. You’re welcome.

AVID PARTNER! (Day 170)

I love my AVID partner!! Yay Yemi!! J We have actually been helping each other and it’s definitely helped my grade. I now have a B in Calculus as opposed to the C that I had last quarter. I feel like if we keep working that we can both get As and then pass the test in May. I think we make a great team because we have a lot of the same classes, have the same work ethic, and we both are in the same house. I also learned during the Caesar Flickerman interview that we have some of the same interests. And we both love The Hunger Games! It’s pretty cool that Carney and Dona were able to pair us up and somehow know more about us than we know about ourselves. I feel like I know every single person in AVID but not as well as I thought I did. I think it was a really fun experiment and it will definitely help me out. I hope I help you too, Yemi.

House meeting (Day 169)

We had a house meeting today and it was really LAME. Legit. There were maybe 15 kids who actually showed up and we had to meet in the hallway. The HALLWAY. Not even in a quiet part, but right in front of the library. We are still in third place and I keep telling the kids that we really need to start earning points and stop losing them for dumb stuff, but the students who always lose the points rarely come to the meetings. And several seniors never come either. I get that its early, but its homeroom and you have a pass! Some kids are like, “well I lost my pass.” Hmmm…sure seems like a personal problem. Maybe you should come and talk to me! Ugh…I am not that scary and I always talk to everyone and I’m really nice. So if you have a problem, come talk to me and maybe we can fix it and move into at least second place! COME TALK TO ME PLEASE!

Yay Free DAY!!! I have absolutely nothing to do today. Except scholarships…and an application to work at either Grove Point or Conowingo Camp. My choice would be Conowingo except they are doing a purging of counselors and starting over. That most likely means I will not be getting a job there because they don’t need interns. I beg to differ. Camp was always the one place I could be myself and get away from all of the negativity of the real world. I was with counselors that were not afraid to embarrass themselves and sing at the top of their lungs or make another child feel better. I always wanted to be that counselor who brought the magic of camp into the light for some unknowing child and I thought I could do that but the Vice President of GSCM isn’t too fond of me. The last year of training to be a wrangler, we saw her for what she really was and she didn’t like that we were running camp. She decided it was time to change traditions and make new ones, even though Conowingo has been running on traditions since it was founded in 1989. I believe I should be given a chance to work at camp because I know the traditions and I know most of the girls who come and they know and trust me. Camp was the place where I grew into who I am today and I want to be there to help another young girl find herself, whether the staff like me or not.

Work work all day long! (Day 167)

Yay 3 day weekend! I really like them because I have time to completely catch up on all of my work before going back to school. It also gives me a day to relax and watch TV and old movies like Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen J and read and not having anything pressing to do. That means I have to catch up on all of my blogs (which I am doing now) and reread The Joy Luck Club for my research paper and finish all of my homework for Human Geography, Chemistry, and EPI and finish my Calculus homework. Maybe I will even get some driving time in. I have been so busy with that, I haven’t had many hours yet and I have to get my license my April. It will get done. I also have my driving time with Elite next Saturday. So I have to get in more hours this week so I am prepared. But this is my cutie Yogi Bear who actually looks like a bear!  I love him!

Happy Bday Mokun! (Day 166)

Happy birthday Mokun! Today is a really pretty day to have a party! It is really sunny and actually kind of warm! I spent the day mostly at Mokun’s 18^th birthday party with Kim, Mokun, Nick, Ashley, Yemi, Agnes, and Kayla. It was really fun. We got to play Kinect and dance all night and eat great food, and dance more and just hang out. I got her this really cool necklace that is a watch. It’s really cool and I think she liked it. I was very tempted to buy her a pillow pet though. And it was funny because someone else had gotten her a purple lady bug pillow pet. My mom thinks that pillow pets are for little kids but I think she just doesn’t understand the greatness of them. There is a new tie dye unicorn one and I would really like it. So someone should get me one. Hint…

Computers! (Day 165)

I have never set up so many computers in one day. It was awesome to be able to work with the other AVID kids to make a huge mess and then clean it up afterwards. Amber, Bonita, and I had a bit of a Styrofoam fight and it was all very fun. We set up like 50 computers and it was fun but that library was TRASHED! J I would hate to be the one to clean up that mess. I wanted to stay and help clean up, but Mr. Carney made us all go back to class, especially since I had to take a Calculus quiz. I actually knew what I was doing on that, though, so it wasn’t as bad as it could have been. But if anyone wants to give me one of those old computers, I will surely take it. Hint hint Carney…

Joy Luck Club (Day 164)

I am going to write about The Joy Luck Club today because it is part of my research paper and it is such an incredible book. I used it because it has so many great morals and themes about love and family in it, along with culture. I learned a lot about the myths and legends of Chinese culture and about their version of family values. There are a lot of things that are different about their stories and our stories of how the world began. I also learned about Mahjong and how it is more than just a game in their culture. Everyone should read this book because it is awesome.

Championship (Day 163)

We had our bowling championships today and it was bitter sweet. I mean it was great that we got to bowl one last time with them, but it was sad because I had bowled with them for 4 years and had grown attached to Mr. Hemler, Kalyn, Jervonne, Aaron and Deon and Jevon. Although we finished in 6^th place, it was an eventful night where I exceeded my average both times and where Deon won the boy’s Grandmasters tournament. That is where the kids who have been bowling more than 4 years can bowl in their own separate category. Their scores don’t count for us, but it is still fun for them. I am really going to miss everyone because I had fun. It was definitely a memorable sport and it helped me see what I want to do when I get older. Thanks for a wonderful experience, Mr. Hemler.

Valentine's Day (Day 162)

Happy Valentine’s Day! So I spent the evening with the most awesome people in the world-Atrium Village Residents. I went tonight thinking of it as a chance to do more extra credit, get house points, and hang out with my friends. Once I got there, however, it became something more. I spent the evening with Propser, Jason, Kennedy, and Jamilla talking, eating, dancing, and socializing with people 50 and 60 decades older than me. We danced to music from the 40s through 90s, including Michael Jackson, the electric slide, the Cha Cha slide, celebrate, and the YMCA. The most memorable part was when Mort, a guy I sat across from all night who refused to dance, got up to dance with his daughter and granddaughter, who wouldn’t even dance with us. As they danced to, “It’s a wonderful world” I was thinking about all of the chances I missed to dance with my Pop Pop while he could walk and hope I can still dance with my dad when he is that age.

Research paper (Day 161)

So we are doing a research paper in AP English comparing two books we have read. I chose two random books in the beginning and then realized that they actually had connections and then I was happy because I could actually do them. I chose Hamlet by Shakespeare because I just read that book and I bet I could find connections between it and anything, and The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan because I read that last year and I actually understood what it was getting at and the deeper meaning. I am going to compare them through their diction and tone and also through their similar themes in family and death and morals and culture. I think that will be good enough to get me an A in her class and an A on that paper.

It's winter but...(Day 160)

So we have to have 10 scholarships due by the end of third quarter and I think that I will be able to get those. I already have 5 I think and Dona just gave me another one to do. I mean I need more than 10 to be able to go to college. And Princeton is like $50,000 a year and I can’t afford that. I have to pay for all of it and I can’t without scholarships. So I need to one like every day. Maybe more than one a day. Ugh. Why college so expensive? If everyone in the world needs to go to college to be able to get a good job, why is it that most people can’t afford it? If I was a college, I would let me in with a full ride. J

Lock-In (Day 159)

We had a lock in at Columbia Supreme Sports Complex all night and it was very fun. There were about 20 of us and we stayed up all night (well most of the night) playing games and skating. We also watched Paranormal Activity 2 which scared me to death. I do not like things that are scary but for some reason we all thought it would be a good idea to watch it. Kelsey and I held hands throughout the entire thing and it was extremely scary for most of the night. It was a lot of fun though because they had a hot tub for kids 16 and older and a pool so we took advantage of that It was a great night and then I came home at 7 a.m. and slept until 5 p.m. It was a great sleep. J

Red Tails (Day 158)

So today we went on a field trip to see Red Tails. It was an incredible movie and I was so glad that I got the chance to watch it. It was funny, suspenseful, and sad all rolled into one movie. I learned a lot about the Tuskegee Airman and it further encouraged my love of history. That is why I think Archaeology would be such a good fit for me, because I love everything about history. I was also surprised to see Daniela Ruah in Red Tails. She plays Kensi Blye on NCIS: Los Angeles and it was funny seeing her play an Italian girl, speaking no English when we all know very well she is American. But she played Sofia very well because she speaks English, Portuguese, and Spanish, so I’m sure Italian wasn’t that hard for her to learn. But it was a very good movie and it made me cry a little at the end. But it was very much worth seeing.

bowling (Day 157)

We had a bowling game today against Owings Mills and it was fun. We won, of course and that means that we are 8-2 and ranked second in our division. It would have been better if we were ranked number one so that we could have a banner in the gym, but the tournament is what really counts and it would be awesome if we won that. They are changing it this year so that we don’t have to play teams out of our division, just the 9 other teams in our division so that should make it easier to win or at least come out in the top 3. We got third last year and got medals and a plaque. It was fun. Today I rolled a 116 and a 105 which is good.

Hamlet mock trial (Day 156)

So we did a mock trial of Hamlet in AP English and it was actually really fun. We had a defense team, a prosecution, 5 judges, and 7 witnesses. Mr. Parker also came in and got to watch and read the medical examiner part. He was really witty and I actually enjoyed myself. Besides minor annoying people always calling out, it was very life-like and entertaining. I also felt like I learned more about Hamlet by going through the text looking for specific details that would make him guilty. Of course they found him guilty of the murder of Polonius. But it was engaging and I found myself losing track of time. I was King Hamlet, a ghost that appeared to his son and I had to show up in court and explain my position on the events leading up to the murder. I also had to explain that I was a ghost and should be taken seriously, although I had serious doubts my testimony was taken seriously. J There were many comical parts during the trial, including my short-term marriage to Alyssa (Gertrude) and the demonstration of the murder with a fake sword and a bed sheet.

Towson! (Day 155)

We had a game against Randallstown today and of course we won. That means if we win on Thursday that we will officially be in second place in the division with a chance of getting like second or third in the region. And if we did that than we would get another banner in the gym. But it was cool to have a winning streak with only like 2 losses this entire season. We lost to Lansdowne and Woodlawn. And that is it which is pretty good. That means we can beat them in the Championship and hopefully win. It would be nice to go out with a bang this season. I have really enjoyed being a part of Allied Bowling these past four years and I hope that Mr. Hemler will be able to keep this program running when 5/10 students graduate this year. I am really going to miss everyone but I am excited for tennis season to start. BY THE WAY, I GOT INTO TOWSON!

Calculus! (Day 154)

I got a 5/9 on my AP question today. It was really nice to finally get a high score. The question wasn’t that hard today which was good so I got part A and B perfect. It was a pumping station and a tide removal at a beach with two equations, R(t)=2+5sin(4πt/25) and S(t)=15t/1+3t with 2500 yards of sand initially there. Part A was asking about how much sand was being removed during a 6 hour interval. So all you have to do is∫ from 0-6 of equation A which equals 31.82 cubic yards. Part B was asking the expression for y(t) or the total number of cubic yards during time, t. That was y(t)=2500-∫ from 0-t of equation A+∫ from 0 to t of equation B. I didn’t get part C which asked the rate or part D which asked the time when the sand was at a minimum. I was really impressed with my score though. I am going to get an A this quarter!!

Superbowl (Day 153)

Go Giants. Anyone who beat those gross Patriots is a friend of mine. But we should have won. We would have won if it wasn’t for a 32 yard miss. 32 yards. He has made 51s before. Ugh. But today was a good day because we got to make lots of hoagies with the youth group even though there were only like 7 of us there to help. It was fun and it didn’t take as long as we thought. We also had some rookie sub makers that did really well. It was sad because it was Kelsey, Julie, and my last year to make them since we are all going off to college next year and my mom says she isn’t going to be doing it anymore and seeing as I won’t be there anymore either. We raised almost $200 which was cool.

Hoagies (Day 152)

I went shopping with my mom today at like a bazillion stores. I mean we went to Giant, Food lion, BJs, and back. I mean it was cool because we got to buy things for our Jam (I explained in an earlier post) fundraiser for the annual mission trip. We sell Superbowl hoagies every superbowl Sunday and a lot of people buy them. I mean they are really good. I like them a lot and so do the members of the church. Last year we sold like 94 and this year we have 88 orders. We always make a couple extra in case people forget to buy them or they want extra that Sunday of. We sell them for $5 each and it is a 9 inch hoagie. And we are always open for tips. We usually raise a couple hundred dollars but my mom said we might not this year because the supplies are more expensive than usual.

Doodle 4 Google (Day 151)

We have to yet another Doodle 4 Google. Like my last two weren’t embarrassing enough. I can’t draw. I just can’t. And this scholarship is all about drawing so I don’t understand why we all get it even though only a handful of kids can draw in the whole class. (Hyperion + Nick) Every year my drawings are bad and I know that I can never get that scholarship because people like Wei and Tiffany just have that talent and I lack it. I have accepted that but Dona still thinks we have a chance at beating them. Even some of the third graders are better than I am at drawing. Drawing is a talent that I always wished that I had. I remember in 5^th grade, my friend Kristian tried to teach my how to draw. Needless to say, I was really bad and I think I offended her by destroying her confidence to teach art. Sorry if my Doodle 4 Google is bad this year, but at least I tried.

College Knowledge (Day 150)

Happy Groundhog Day! I have 2 things to talk about today. One, is report cards and how equally happy and mad I am about those. The other is the College Knowledge Night at New Town. So report cards…I got 4 As, a B and a C. The C is totally not okay with me. My parents drilled into my brain that Cs are not acceptable, even in an AP class so I have realized that is true. Cs are not going to get me a full ride and definitely not getting me into Princeton. I am most likely not going to get in anyway, but it would be cool. I mean I’m not going there because I can’t afford it, but it would be nice to be able to say that I applied to my reach school and I got in. And the College Knowledge night was kind of boring. I mean I wasn’t interested in any of the schools except for UMBC and Towson and maybe Salisbury. I do realize that tonight wasn’t for the seniors, but for the juniors, but I wish we had something like this last year for us. It would have been a lot more helpful with our college search.

Budgets (Day 149)

Today in EPI we learned about budgets and how to budget your money in order to successfully make a living. Can I just say how hard that is? I was extremely happy that I knew what I was doing and knew how to find the net and gross incomes because my mom had made me do it earlier (several years). I found it extremely hard to only receive a small amount of money and make it last for the entire month while having to buy furniture, clothes, food, a car, rent, utilities, and maybe going out once in awhile. It was extremely challenging for no reason. Ugh. And to top that off, Mr. Galowitz wouldn’t even allow us to go buy things from the dollar store and Goodwill. He said that wasn’t reasonable. Who honestly doesn’t buy anything from Goodwill or the dollar store, especially when they are having monetary troubles? I’ve deiced I am going to live off of Ramen noodles and riding my bike to work.

Vs Franklin (Day 148)

We played Franklin today. It wasn’t even as easy as I thought it would be because we had to give them a handicap of 44 pins, which means whatever score they get, we have to add 44 pins to that. Which also means that they can technically beat us with a 54 average. That is ridiculous but is fair in allied sports. Our average is like 102 and theirs is a 56. It is really sad because most of the time they are disqualified from playing and have to forfeit because they only have 5 players and they need 6 to be an actual team. Today, they had their extra kid and so we played the game. We still won but it was a fun game and not knowing whether we would win or not also made the outcome even more suspenseful. Deon, Michael, Chris, and Jevon were very happy that we won and it was cool to have pizza with them afterwards. Of course their coach told them that they won. J

Blogs (Day 147)

I am so far behind on my blogs it isn’t even funny. I mean I always forget to do them until I have free time on the weekends and then I am too lazy to even do them. I haven’t done one in forever and every A day I just pray that my name does not come out of the reaping. It did once and Ericka volunteered for me because she did hers. I mean Jamilla and Tiara never do there’s and it makes me a little angry because Prometheus is always in third, but since I don’t really do mine on time, I can’t really judge them either. It is just hard to find a time every day to write a paragraph and take a picture. My school life isn’t that interesting and I know I would be bored reading my blogs every day. But from now on, I am going to find time everyday to take a picture and write something.

JAM (Day 146)

I didn’t go to church today because I promised I would go to JAM tonight. JAM is my youth group at my old church that I used to go to. JAM stands for Jesus and Me. I don’t know who came up with the title and I think it’s kind of babyish now. I mean when I was younger I thought it was really clever but now we don’t even say Jesus and me. We all call it Jam. It is always fun because we get there at 6:30 every Sunday night and play a game at 7 and then at 7:45 we get a snack and then have bible study until 8:30 when we leave. And now we have like 20 kids in the group. We gained a lot when the ICY-G (Immigrant Children’s Youth Group) came. All of them are from Vietnam and they speak Vietnamese which is really cool because they teach us a lot about their culture. My friend Nhi’s parents are Buddhist but she is Christian. It took a lot of convincing for her to come to Jam but now she does and it is really cool to be able to meet someone that has lived in another country.

Pop Pop (day 145)

Two whole hours of testing. Ugh. But the good thing was that I actually knew what I was doing and I just know I got at least a 500 on both of them. Especially the history part. After the test, I went up to see my Pop Pop in the hospital up in Pennsylvania. The doctors think he had a heart attack, a blood clot in his lung, and pneumonia. But hopefully he will get better and will be out soon. I don’t like seeing him in there. But it was cool to see the entire family in the room. I mean my uncle came up from Mississippi to see him even though my Aunt Kate told everyone to stay home. Nobody listened to her. J It was funny because our entire group took up the small waiting room in the hospital. There was like 10 people there. But it was great to see everyone. This WV keychain was from Mr. Mustipher and Mr. Murray. Recruiting much?

Subject Tests (Day 144)

This is my new favorite toy called Cosmojetz. Its this random thing that when you wind it up, it bounces like crazy. So I have done every single blog since September 6^th. Just saying. Because I think that is an accomplishment. Anyway, I found out that I have to take 2 SAT subject tests for Princeton tomorrow and I am trying to figure out how I am going to study for the SAT tomorrow. But lucky for me, Mokun and Iyin are also taking them so I will have friends! J But it won’t be that bad I am assuming. I mean I chose US History and Math 1 because I know them. I mean I can do math in my sleep. Especially simple math. And since I am majoring in Archaeology and that has a major base in history and I got As in AP US History last year, I am betting that I can get a good grade tomorrow. History has always intrigued me. Learning about out past and the past of the whole entire world has always been something I enjoy so if I get a bad grade on this test, I am going to be very sad.

AP Chem (Day 143)

So in AP Chemistry, we are learning about how to find the pH of different molarities and the elements that go with them. For example, we had to find the pH of .050 M KOH. That means that p(OH) = -log(.050). That equals 1.3. After that, you subtract the answer from 14 because that is the top of the pH scale and you get 12.3 which is a base. It really isn’t as hard as everyone makes Chemistry seem. I mean you have to be good at math to be able to do some of the calculations, but other than that, it is really simple algebra. Not like Calculus anyway…There is also a formula that looks really complicated but is super simple. It’s like pH= pKa+log[A/HA]. Looks crazy right? Well it’s not J

AP Calc (Day 142)

So in AP Calculus, we have started doing AP questions daily. I think it is a good idea because by the AP test in May, we will have done close to 70 AP questions from a decade of tests. And these are hard questions too. I mean I usually only get a 4/9 on these but Mr. Hopkins says that it is a pretty good score considering. He also said that we only need like a 60% on the actual AP test to get a 5. I think that is ridiculous but if getting a D on the AP test gets you the highest score possible, then it must be an extremely difficult test. I really need a 4 on this test so that I won’t have to take it in college. Well, I need a 4 on all of my tests but that means I have to start studying all of the time. I cannot wait until May when we are out of school and I can go to prom and get ready for camp and college.

Recruiting (Day 141)

I realized I was several days off on my blogs. Not the blogs, but my labeling. Today we were supposed to have a house meeting but we cancelled it because we were all disorganized and I got to go to Deer Park to almost recruit eighth graders into the AVID program. It was nice to be able to see every single kid in the cafeteria raise their hand asking for a pamphlet and wanting the opportunity to join AVID. Unfortunately, every child in that room will not have the opportunity to join AVID and the several of the ones that do will drop out. Some will make the excuse that AVID is not for them, and leave, but in reality, they were not willing to work hard enough every day. I just hope the ones that do make it into AVID are the ones that realize that they should not take it for granted and that they will succeed and make it into a four-year college.