Enough is Enough.
This is not something I usually write about here, but I felt it needed to be said, and what better place than a platform that already exists and already reaches people?
Anyway, this is my story of the Parkland School Shooting, why I am connected to it, and why enough is enough.
~~~
It was Valentine’s Day, and I was clutching (what remained of) a carnation I received from one of my friends that day. It was time for my daily Reddit check, just a casual scroll up and down the memes and funny stories on my feed.
But across the top of my Reddit feed was a bright orange banner proclaiming “Deadly School Shooting in Florida, Several Injured.”
Anyway, this is my story of the Parkland School Shooting, why I am connected to it, and why enough is enough.
~~~
It was Valentine’s Day, and I was clutching (what remained of) a carnation I received from one of my friends that day. It was time for my daily Reddit check, just a casual scroll up and down the memes and funny stories on my feed.
But across the top of my Reddit feed was a bright orange banner proclaiming “Deadly School Shooting in Florida, Several Injured.”
Taking College Confidential With a Grain of Salt
Everyone has had both good and terrible experiences with College Confidential, myself included. Sometimes it had great and valuable information that you’re thankful you stumbled upon, and other times you’re almost crying because you’re reading the Chance Me thread and realizing you’re never getting into Princeton (not speaking from personal experience).
But sometimes you have to reel yourself in and realize that no matter how all-knowing and deity-like College Confidential and its posters may seem, it’s just another college forum on the internet, where you never know whether what people are saying is real or not.
And for that I say, take College Confidential with a grain of salt.
But sometimes you have to reel yourself in and realize that no matter how all-knowing and deity-like College Confidential and its posters may seem, it’s just another college forum on the internet, where you never know whether what people are saying is real or not.
And for that I say, take College Confidential with a grain of salt.
My Valedictorian Speech
So, a lot of you aren't going to understand the jokes in this speech... but I though might as well put it up here anyway as a way to ease back into things.
Thanks for reading!
Thanks for reading!
The Importance of Setting SMART Goals
Good riddance 2017 and helloooo 2018!
Although I can’t say 2017 was a terrible year (some good stuff did happen), we enter 2018 with the hope that this year, finally, will be our year. And yes, yes, we say that every year, but do not fear, this year will actually be your year.
But around this time, when one week into January you are starting to realize your resolution of going to the gym every other day and reading a new book every week is just not gonna happen, don’t feel hopeless. It’s not you, (it’s me). But no, all jokes aside, do not blame yourself for the chronic inability to keep up with New Year’s Resolutions, it happens to the best of us.
Instead, after a week of inevitably failed resolutions, it’s time to revisit those goals of yours for 2018 and set some SMART goals. And these should have a significantly higher success rate than that goal to stop procrastinating you set for yourself every single year.
Although I can’t say 2017 was a terrible year (some good stuff did happen), we enter 2018 with the hope that this year, finally, will be our year. And yes, yes, we say that every year, but do not fear, this year will actually be your year.
But around this time, when one week into January you are starting to realize your resolution of going to the gym every other day and reading a new book every week is just not gonna happen, don’t feel hopeless. It’s not you, (it’s me). But no, all jokes aside, do not blame yourself for the chronic inability to keep up with New Year’s Resolutions, it happens to the best of us.
Instead, after a week of inevitably failed resolutions, it’s time to revisit those goals of yours for 2018 and set some SMART goals. And these should have a significantly higher success rate than that goal to stop procrastinating you set for yourself every single year.
My Favorite Student/Productivity/College Blogs
Now that it’s finally summer, my annual let’s-get-productive-and-create-a-schedule-and-study-habits effort is in full swing. To celebrate this almost always failing effort (but not this year! hopefully…) I’ve compiled a list of my five favorite productivity blogs. All of these blogs I read/use on a frequent basis, and of course some are more helpful than others, but I find each of them to be reliable and valuable tools when trying to deal with pretty much anything school related. There are actually a lot more blogs/YouTube channels I follow (cause I’m obsessed with these kind of productivity/student help websites - why I started this blog in the first place) but I’ve pared them down to the ones I find most helpful most frequently.
My Plans For Summer Before Senior Year
This is where the real fun begins.
Now that I’m officially a high school senior (ewwww I still can’t believe it) it’s time for the real grind to start. In most schools, senior year is supposed to be the easiest (senioritis, yay!) and well… that doesn’t really apply to me. For everyone out there who says I brought this upon myself by taking too many difficult classes and being too involved, what did you expect? Anyway, before senior year, I still have this one summer of freedom. Ha, just kidding, no freedom for me this summer. XD
There is so much to do this summer that I am scared just thinking about it. So I decided to write about it to make it seem like less than it actually is. Or at least to get it all down. This is honestly written less for others (although I know for some this info might be helpful) and more for me to hold myself accountable for everything I have planned to do this summer. Let’s see how much of it actually happens. And so begins my descent into the inferno.
Now that I’m officially a high school senior (ewwww I still can’t believe it) it’s time for the real grind to start. In most schools, senior year is supposed to be the easiest (senioritis, yay!) and well… that doesn’t really apply to me. For everyone out there who says I brought this upon myself by taking too many difficult classes and being too involved, what did you expect? Anyway, before senior year, I still have this one summer of freedom. Ha, just kidding, no freedom for me this summer. XD
There is so much to do this summer that I am scared just thinking about it. So I decided to write about it to make it seem like less than it actually is. Or at least to get it all down. This is honestly written less for others (although I know for some this info might be helpful) and more for me to hold myself accountable for everything I have planned to do this summer. Let’s see how much of it actually happens. And so begins my descent into the inferno.
Getting My Sh*t Together for Senior Year
Sooooo… I am going to die next year. I mean, I’ll still be having so much fun (while slowly gasping for breath and drowning in my own pile of papers) but it is going to be so much work. Here’s a quick glimpse of what is on my plate senior year: NHS Pres, Smile Train Co-pres, Pres of USABO, STUCO Pres (student council), my AP classes, trying to take all the electives possible, oh my god Senior Capstone Thesis, Columbia SHP, volunteering, college apps, playing and teaching piano, this blog. Oh man. I’m crying writing this right now.
But as you can see, being willy-nilly unproductive, inefficient is not going to fly this year. So I am embarking on a journey to get my sh*t together for senior year. My goal is to also foster these good habits and practices for when I will 100% need them in college. I want to start university with an already established base of excellent study habits.
This will be the introduction to a series of posts where I focus on productivity tools, studying, prioritizing, and anything else I can think of. In this post, I’ll go through my general plan for surviving next year and take a look at some of the topics I’ll explore further in different posts.
But as you can see, being willy-nilly unproductive, inefficient is not going to fly this year. So I am embarking on a journey to get my sh*t together for senior year. My goal is to also foster these good habits and practices for when I will 100% need them in college. I want to start university with an already established base of excellent study habits.
This will be the introduction to a series of posts where I focus on productivity tools, studying, prioritizing, and anything else I can think of. In this post, I’ll go through my general plan for surviving next year and take a look at some of the topics I’ll explore further in different posts.
Suing the School System
For of those of you who may not have heard, Prince Ea sued the American school system last year and got 7.5 million views in settlement.
Now that school has started up again (at least where I live) I figured might as well get into the school spirit by sharing this amazing take on the American school system in all its glory. Now, I’m not saying I agree with everything he says in this video, but I agree with everything he says in this video. Watch it here, then read my take on it.
*Disclaimer: I actually love school. The school system… the jury’s still out. (Ha! I made a joke.)
Now that school has started up again (at least where I live) I figured might as well get into the school spirit by sharing this amazing take on the American school system in all its glory. Now, I’m not saying I agree with everything he says in this video, but I agree with everything he says in this video. Watch it here, then read my take on it.
*Disclaimer: I actually love school. The school system… the jury’s still out. (Ha! I made a joke.)
NaNoWriMo and Why Everyone Should Do It
Well, October of senior year has been an absolute great month for me. (In case you missed it, that was sarcasm.) To all you seniors out there applying to college, congratulations! For getting through this first round of applications and getting halfway through this crazy season.
Now that’s it’s officially November 1st, I am finally finally finally free (at least a little bit) and I can finally get back to some semblance of a schedule. So to commemorate this amazing and possibly short-lived freedom, what better way to spend the little free time I have to write and write and write!
So this month, for the first time ever, I’ve decided to take part in NaNoWriMo!
Now that’s it’s officially November 1st, I am finally finally finally free (at least a little bit) and I can finally get back to some semblance of a schedule. So to commemorate this amazing and possibly short-lived freedom, what better way to spend the little free time I have to write and write and write!
So this month, for the first time ever, I’ve decided to take part in NaNoWriMo!
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