Assignment 7 - Jimmy Chen

 College is something I haven’t really thought about much, but my parents really pushed it on me to think about it. I have a very rough plan of what mostly my parents want from me. It would be nice to go to an Ivy League but I really fumbled that bag freshman year. The main thing I want is I want to get out of the middle of nowhere so east coast, west coast, and maybe Chicago because that seems large and relevant. I would ideally want to go to New York City but anywhere on the northern east coast is really nice. I also really like the idea of los angles, Southern California seems like a very fun place, I’m not sure of Northern California. I want to go to Southern California because it had nice beaches and it’s warm, which sounds basic, but it don’t matter to me. I have no idea what I want to major in as I don’t have really any life plan, I’m completely lost with what I want to do.

Assignment 7 - Jimmy Chen

I don't really have any particular interests, one of the things I am better at at school is social studies. I am okay at memorizing facts but the thing that I particularly like is finding impacts of certain things in the past on our present day. It's satisfying to create a mental picture of how events have unfolded to create the current world that we live in today. That is also probably why I enjoy playing some strategy games like CIV but I hate playing real strategy games like chess or checkers because it feels boring and pointless. I honestly don't really enjoy problem solving and critical thinking even though I am pretty good at math. But I don't really enjoy it. Math is just a basic skill my mom has instilled on me from a little child, its one of the basic things everyone should be good at according to her, but I never enjoyed doing it. 

Assignment 8

 Annoyances - slow walkers 

Accomplishments - All National Orchestra

Confusions - Ap Physics

Sorrows - My first cat

Dreams - making my parents proud

Idiosyncrasies - Asian, Glasses

Risks - I want to fly a plane and get messed up in a different country

Beloved Passions - wasting time

Problems - procrastination, organization

My parents are never satisfied with any thing I do, which honestly at this point made me give up on them. What I have realized is every time I reach a point they keep raising the bar till I can’t reach it and then get mad at me for dissaponting them. This has led me to just stop trying and putting effort into anything I do. It’s been a downward spiral since middle school, me doing more and more of the bare minimum, but I’m trying to do more now that it’s junior year. Freshman year was kind of a wake up call to me that I wasn’t doing much with my time and I would just waste these couple years of my life. 

Assignment 8 - Grace Barnett

Fears - losing my brother, being kidnapped, spiders

Annoyances - liars, egotistical people

Accomplishments - some of my exam scores, being a sister

Confusions - physics

Sorrows - seeing that I have caused others pain 

Dreams - finding a job that I am passionate about

Idiosyncrasies - I tend to ramble if you let me 

Risks - sky-diving, swimming with sharks

Beloved Possessions, Now and Then - Stuffed animals, jewelry from family members

Problems - anxiety and stress 

 I was about 7 years old when my brother was born. I was there for every moment when he was growing up and I can remember it clearly and I was there to change his diaper and for his first steps. I think that is why I feel so attached to my brother, and why one of my worst fears is him passing away. I am terrified of the day that I have to lose my family members but with Noah, I don't know if I will be able to handle it. Another fear of mine is being kidnapped. I hate to go anywhere alone because I always get so paranoid that someone will try to kidnap me. A more curable fear of mine is spiders, I just absolutely hate them. It does not matter how big or small the spider is, I will cry if I have to kill it because I can't stand being near them. 

Assignment 7 - Grace Barnett

 I am still on the fence about what I want to do with my life and where I want to go to college. When looking at different colleges, somethings that stand out for me personally are the location, size, the abroad programs, and if they have the majors that I am interested in. The location is important to me because I do not want to go to a college that is in the South and is in a place that is always hot because I prefer colder weather.  The size is also important to me because my ideal size in a college is about 8,000 - 14,000 because to me that is not too big and not too small. One thing that I absolutely love is to travel to new places and it is imperative that I go somewhere that has really good abroad programs because I would love to spend a year or two in another country. I am also looking for colleges that are not engulfed in Greek life, being in a sorority does not appeal to me. I think that joining clubs and programs will give me the leadership opportunities that I am looking for without the drama that I tend to associate with a sorority.

Assignment 2 - Ethan Scutchfield

 Most of the books I have read have been for school, like Storm of Steel.  I have read a lot (and I mean A LOT) of Manga, like Buso Renkin.  I have also read a lot of comic style books because most of the time those series are what I enjoy and they are only in that type of format.  If you don't know what Manga is, it is a Japanese comic books and graphic novels.  But I also read a lot on my phone by looking up articles I am interested in reading and learning about.  If I have to read a book for school, I finish it but I probably procrastinate until it is due.  When I get Manga books, I pretty much devour them within the day.  I reread some books I really liked over the past year and I realized the books were not as good as I remembered.

Assignment 6 - Ethan Scutchfield

I am really interested in world history. I like to look up videos and learn something I have not learned in a book.  I was supposed to go for my fourth year to Duke Tip summer program this past summer, but could not go because of Covid.  I have really enjoyed going to it the last 3 years.  The first two years I was at the Davidson campus.  You would not think that I would want to go to a camp where I would go to school every day but Sunday, but the way they taught and how I got to be on my own was cool.  We were in classes from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day and then had study groups at night.  We even had assignments on the weekend.  The third year I went to the Duke campus.  I could pick from lots of different.  One year I studied DNA, another Kings, Dictators and CEOs and my first year cryptology. 

Assignment 8- Ben Belin

 Fears: SPIDERS

Annoyances: people who honk at me on the road, bad TV shows

Accomplishments: have not gotten a C in a class yet (pretty proud of this one), eating 12 slices of pizza in one sitting (my record)

Confusions: why doesn't everyone wear ski masks more often to keep their faces warm

Sorrows: talking to loud (sometimes gets me in trouble)

Dreams: owning a moped, opening a taco truck

Idiosyncrasies: mints make me sneeze

Risks: bit confused by what I was supposed to write here, but driving is a risk when I'm the one doing it

Beloved possessions: phone, mask (right now), alarm clock

Problems: organization, procrastination (this is why I am doing all these blog posts in one day)

I will elaborate on my fear of spiders because its pretty bad. Now most people who are afraid of spiders don't have a reason behind it and just find them creepy/scary; however,  that is NOT the case for me. I will never forget how I became afraid of spiders. It was when I was in 3rd grade I came home from school and my sister decided to show my a picture of the biggest spider in the world (which was as large as a dinner plate) after this I became so afraid of spiders that when I was watching a video and a spider came onto the screen I had to look away. This fear only got worse when one day when I was in 4th grade I was half listening to my teacher when a MASSIVE spider dropped down from he ceiling and landed right in front of me. Needless to say I ran out of that room as fast as I could. An interesting part of my fear is that daddy-long-legs don't scare me. I don't know why maybe its because they don't look like other spiders.

Assignment 7- Ben Belin

 To be honest I have not though a lot about where I want to go to college and what I want to do. I don't have a specific college in mind but my ideal one would be somewhere where I can explore my options. I don't want to work my butt off to get a degree then realize that it isn't actually something I want to do. I would also want to go somewhere warm because cold weather drives me crazy, but that wouldn't be a deciding factor. I want to use my college education to learn about the world (as cheesy as that sounds) I feel like I haven't gotten to meet a ton of different types of people, and meeting new people is something I enjoy. I would also want whatever college I go to to have at least some Jewish community because I feel like that is important to have while I'm in college. My sister goes to UK which has almost no Jewish community and I don't think I would be able to take that.

Assignment 6- Ben Belin

Alrighty this is a tough question. If I had to say what interests me I would say comedians and comedy. Sometimes I can watch these people telling jokes for hours, and I get to sit there laughing my butt off. One of my favorite comedians of all time is John Stewart (also my favorite famous Jewish person). What made John Stewart so incredible was that not only was he hilarious he was also incredibly smart. If you haven't seen it already you should look up "John Stewart cross fire". It shows how smart of a guy he is. He went onto some else's show that he hated and totally dismantled it. He made the argument for why the show was bad for the country and even won over the audience ON THEIR SHOW! A few days after John Stewart went on crossfire the show was canceled because thats how effective he was. An intellectual experience that meant the most to me would probably be science. I am not amazing at science but I enjoy learning about it and find it pretty interesting.

Assignment 5- Ben Belin

 I am super picky about what TV I watch. I love to watch TV but only the shows/movies that stand out. One of my favorite shows right now is Rick and Morty. What makes it stand out is the creativeness of the show. At the start of each episode you have no idea what is going to happen. It could either be an episode about Morty going to school and his dad trying to find a job or an episode about Morty and his insane grandfather going into outpace to stop aliens from taking over the universe. A show that I recently came to hate is the new Cobra Kai on Netflix. I trie watching that show and could only make it through 2 episodes because it was so bad. Nothing incredibly interesting happens and the acting is ehhhh. Every scene feels awkward and to scripted, and maybe it gets better but I'll never know because there is no way I'm watching it again.

Assignment 4- Ben Belin

 My family is interesting in that both sides of my family hold different beliefs. My grandpa on my dad's side was a doctor and thinks that you should work hard and look out for yourself, and this belief was pushed onto my Dad when he was a kid so he thinks this way to. While my grandpa on my mom's side couldn't think more different since he played a large role in the civil rights movement and was a lawyer, and thinks that people need to help and look out for each other. His beliefs were pushed onto my mom who also thinks this way. Usually if I contradict the ideals of one of my parents I am supporting the ideals of the other. I align myself a lot more with the ideals of my mom's side, and I don't think there is a specific event that made me think that way just from watching the news and seeing whats been going on the past few years it seems like Americans need to stop only thinking about themselves and look out for each other.

Assignment 9- Katie Taylor

There are countless things I care about. All somewhat connected, but never enough to make a coherent statement. I could go on tangents for hours about what I care about in the world. But for the sake of this blog post, I suppose I'll have to settle on one thing. 

For now, I'll write about the extreme polarization of American political parties.

Basically all anyone can think about right now (10/29/2020) is the Presidential race. Politics has become such a headache, even for someone ineligible to vote, like me. What bothers me most, is the extremes that parties will go to to establish themselves separately from each other. Some issues shouldn't be confined to one party, like the right to love who you want to love. It disgusts me how basic issues like equal rights for all, especially in the time of the Black Lives Matter movement have become such a controversial issue. I hate how so many people, if educated properly, would probably have their opinions changed to be different from what their party believes in. On top of all that, although not related (but since I'm on the topic I feel like I have to say it) it shocks me how some people will go to such lengths to constantly beat down, kill, mistreat, and deprive other people of their basic rights just because they hate their skin color. 

Assignment 8- Katie Taylor

Writing Territories

Fears: death, bugs, living a life without meaning

Annoyances: it really depends on my mood. Usually I'm easy-going but if I'm ticked off, everything annoys me. Also, politics.

Accomplishments: section leader, all A's throughout my academic career, beat (for the most part) an eating disorder, made All-State band this past winter, have gone viral a few times on TikTok

Confusions: for the longest time up until a few months ago, my sexuality. Also, physics and what I want to be when I grow up.

Sorrows: death of an idol, a missed connection, failure to break my bad habits, injustice, loneliness

Dreams: to do what I love for a living and make an impact on this world so I won't be forgotten when I die. I also want a nice apartment in NYC and a country house on at least 5 acres of land.

Idiosyncrasies: I have OCD, so basically all of my rituals/compulsions are idiosyncrasies. 

Risks: I will be applying to a lot of distinguished colleges next year. I also have tried out for various teams and honor bands over the years. I suppose every time I drive it's a risk, too. 

Beloved Possessions-

now: my trombone and music, my tiktok, my clothes, my jewelry, my dogs

then: my American Girl dolls and my dollhouse, and that one orange dress I insisted upon wearing almost every day as a three-year-old.

Problems: OCD, worrying about the future, my messed up jaw, motivation for virtual learning

Bugs will always, well, bug me. My first recollection of being afraid of a bug was when I was three. I was taking a nap, and I looked down my bed and saw a huge beetle crawling up towards my head. A few years later, I remember being at my grandparents' house and accidentally stepping in a cricket trap, getting crickets stuck all over my pant leg. I also witnessed one of my preschool teachers get stung by a bee. Seeing her hop up and down in pain scared me. I suppose this lifetime fear of bugs was just an early sign of my OCD tendencies, as I could not be in the same room as a bug. To this day, I just can't bring myself to even kill a bug. They just gross me out so much. I don't know how to explain why, they just do. I imagine them crawling in my mouth when I'm sleeping, and the feeling of crushing a bug in a tissue. 

Assignment 8 - Ethan Scutchfield

 Fears:  spiders

Annoyances:  people

Accomplishments: not being dead

Confusions:  inequality

Sorrows:  anger

Dreams:  I don't have dreams

Idiosyncrasies:  video game nerd and video game historian

Risks:  traveling

Beloved Possessions, Now and Then:  video games

Problems:  procrastination

I love playing video games.  I have played since I was young.  I started with CDs I played on my mom's computer and then they realized it was something I enjoyed. I wasn't really social, but it gave me an outlet and now that I can play with friends online, it is kind of my social existence.  When I play a particular video game, I like to learn about it's history and I like to be knowledgeable about why it operates the way it does and why.  I read articles about particular video games online to find out what the kinks might be as well as the tricks to do better.  My family likes to a Mario Kart challenge when we are all at home and I always know the secret passages and they get frustrated with me, but that is what I do. this has also lead into my want to understand how and why things work as they do in the world  Of course, I also get mad when I don't do well and know I need to work on that.  I have gotten better but sometimes I just get mad.

Assignment 7 - Ethan Scutchfield

I will be honest.  I have not thought about where I want to attend college or what I want to study when I get to college.  My only reason I know I will go to college is because education is extremely important to me.  Although you would not believe it during Covid, I like to learn.  Realistically, my motivation right now is just surviving.  My passions are history and video games.  My values revolve around a functional world.  When I look at learning, we get education from everything around us.  We have a entire encyclopedia in our phones.  My grandfather is an epidemiologist, but has taught at colleges for most of his career.  When he and I talk about things, I look the subject up on my phone and keep reading to understand.  Right now, I miss learning with others that want to learn and be able to talk about the subjects.  I guess I hope that college will be in person when it is time for me to go.  I would like for college to be flexible to help me be able to adjust.  I would love to major in history in college but not sure there are many jobs.  I hope my college would inspire us to learn and explore new ideas.

Assignment 5 - Ethan Scutchfield

 I think TV provides a good form of entertainment for a lot of people.  I don't watch any TV on a regular basis except sports, so I do not always understand why people watch so much TV.  But, I do like sports and would not be able to afford to attend all of the football and basketball games I watch on TV. I think it can be all:  entertainment, convenient delivery for advertisers to send their messages and an inane use of time.  It is entertainment because TV can take us away from regular life and allow us to immerse ourselves in different scenarios.  It can be a break from life.  Advertisers can target the audience they want to by advertising by their products demographics.  It can also be an absolute inane use of time.  People can become zombies in front of the TV when they could do something constructive.

Assignment 8- Gaby Rondel

Writing Territories

Fears: heights, not being successful, not being able to support me, public speaking, tight spaces, stairs with gaps in between each step

Annoyances: when I am (not other people) late, when I have to repeat myself more than twice, when someone asks a question the teacher just went over, when people act dumb but are actually smart and decent

Accomplishments: getting stuff done, being someone my parents are proud of

Confusions: how to write?, how people don't get simple assignments done

Sorrows: not sure I have any yet, I am fortunate enough to have a pretty great life

Dreams: travel every-frickin-where, to be able to have the life my parents gave me but have it on my own

Idiosyncrasies: book-lover, dork, I think numerically 

Risks: anytime I have faced one of my basic (non-existential) fears

Beloved Possessions, Now and Then: 

                now and then: my stuffed cat, friendships, my sister, the rest of my family

                now: my plants

Problems: forcing myself to do stuff I have no passion for (like 0- not even the slightest inkling to want to do it)

The risks I have taken are very minimal, at least what I consider minimal. I try to get over my not so bad fears, like heights and gaps and stairs/ladders. I feel like they go together and once I've gotten over one the other one would be exponentially easier to get over. II have mostly gotten over my fear of height, the problem I have is what it takes to get up to that height. I've zip-lined, which the worst part of that was not the jumping or actually going down the zipline, it was waiting on the old rickety wooden stairs on the way up to the platform. I love rollercoasters, especially if they are inside. I think that this is also one of those that I was scared of when I was younger because of the stairs/ladder on the way up. I have come to the conclusion that I am not scared of heights but just of the thing that gets me up to those heights. I'm not stupid enough to go to the very edge of a cliff, so I'm scared of the fall, so I'll gladly hike up a cliff. I love hiking, especially when the view is worth the hike. 

Assignment 8- Emma Snyder

 Fears: Losing my loved ones, being alone

Annoyances: People being rude, people who chew really loudly

Accomplishments: Getting good grades so far, getting into chamber orchestra

Confusions: Why does everyone have to be so hateful towards each other

Sorrows: Definitely weight as well

Dreams: Get married out of college with a good job, and maybe start a family

Risks: I want to move in with my boyfriend right after high school for college.

Beloved possessions: MANY stuffed animals that I still have to give a kiss goodnight every single day

Problems- Mental health

Well my problems actually work together with my beloved possessions almost- when I was like 4, I slept in my parents bed with them. I would go in and go to sleep while they watched something on tv and then came in later. I had just been tucked in when I had  the sudden urge to kiss everything in that room goodnight. Everything. Every wall, every pillow, every blanket, every shelf, even all the spokes of the fan. I turned it off and stacked up pillows just to reach it and I remember I didn’t know why, but I absolutely had to even though I didn’t want to. It actually took awhile cause I would think I got everything and then try and sleep but then I’d think of a bunch of other things that I hadn’t given a kiss goodnight to so I’d have to get up again. I remember crying as I did it because I didn’t want to but my brain was telling me I had to or something terrible would happen. I didn’t realise it until about 10 years later, but that was the first time I remember actually being affected by mental illness. My mom told me one day that my doctors always thought I had a bit of ocd, and when she told me about all the symptoms that weren’t the stereotypical “being a perfectionist,” I realized that was exactly what I had. I had always had a very specific routine before bed- things I needed to kiss goodnight, things I had to go ouch, light switches I had to switch or else I wouldn’t be able to sleep and I realized these were ocd rituals. I’d also always been very clean and I liked to shower a lot and constantly have my hair wet so I could feel like I just washed it and I realized this was a symptom of ocd too, and when my mom told me that it all made so much sense. All this to say, kissing my stuffed animals (and other things) goodnight has always been an important part of my routine and it’s something I still struggle with today. (Also, little PSA here but I’d like to mention that you should definitely educate yourselves before you say “you’re so ocd,” just because someone is neat or organized. I’m actually diagnosed with ocd and I can be quite messy so please try to educate yourselves on things like mental illness before you throw around a term you don’t even understand.)

Assignment number 7- Emma Snyder

 Right now my ideal college would probably be UK. It’s here in the same state, so my parents can help me easily, they have nice dorm rooms (with your own personal bathroom which was kind of a big deal to me), and all my KHEES money will translate and I’ll be able to use it here. I have a few careers in mind,  couple of which being an actress or a veterinarian. I’ve seen plays and productions at UK before so I know they have a good acting program, and I drive by the vet lab building for UK occasionally too, and I don’t know how good it is, but at least I do know they have a veterinarian program. I’m excited to go to college and be more independent and in control of my life. I wanna move out and buy my own groceries and hang out with my friends whenever I want and also be able to study and work whenever I want which is good for me cause I do my best work when I actually feel motivated to do it so I think the whole sort of schedule change from highschool to college will be good. 

Emma Snyder assignment 6

 Personally, what really interests me are the arts. The project that had the biggest impact on me was when I auditioned for the school musical in ninth grade. I actually got the role I tried out for (which was surprising to me because I never done anything like that before), and I learned alot about opening up and becoming more confident. Not only that I also learned to improve my skills like acting, and singing, as well as singing while dancing (which was definitely the hardest part since you’re always out of breath) and these came in handy when I auditioned for future productions. These experiences also got me thinking that I may want to continue doing stuff like this as a career. I’ve always loved theatre and musicals especially but I never thought I’d be able to actually DO it so getting into that musica in ninth grade as my first ever show gave me a lot of confidence to think about actually pursuing this as a career path.

Ethan Scutchfield - Assignment 4

 My parents made me go to church when I was a little kid.  They sent me to a Christian pre-school and I went to a Christian kindergarten.  They made me go to Sunday school and participate in Wednesday night church. As I got older, I believed their was hypocrisy in Christian beliefs because of the thoughts and beliefs of many Christians.  Almost every war has been started because of religion.  You can look at the Crusades, any of the middle east encounters, the wrath of the British/French/Spanish and they all started because of religious belief.  If religious people really believed in the sanctity of life, would they promote fighting?  I know I upset my parents - mostly my mom - but I can't help what I feel.  I would say that I am an atheist at this point in my life.  If there were a God, I do not think he would allow for what is going on to happen.

Ethan Scutchfield - Assignment 3

 My parents make me travel a lot.  I would prefer to stay home.  Usually we go to the beach or a cruise but sometimes we go somewhere different.  Some of the trips we have taken are to New York, Germany, England, the grand canyon, Las Vegas, Philadelphia and lots more.  When I was on the cruises, I usually enjoy having ice cream whenever I want.  One thing that stuck with me in New York is that we must do more to protect the environment.  It is all concrete and people on top of each other.  But I did like the museums.  I figured out how to use the subways because my parents got us lost.  In Germany and England, it was cool to experience different cultures and how things changed over time.  We do get that kind of history in Kentucky.  I went to the Duke Tip program for three years (I was supposed to go last summer, but covid happened).  It was cool to learn at college campuses with people from all around the country.  I went for two years at Davidson and one year at the Duke campus.  Duke costs a lot to go to school there but the dorm I stayed in was horrible.  The showers kept overflowing. And for some reason they spent money on the gothic architecture instead of fixing those problems.

Ethan Scutchfield - Assignment 1

 Obviously, my name is Ethan Scutchfield.  I have an older sister who is in college in Colorado and both my parents are lawyers.  I have two dogs who annoy me while we are in zoom classes and bark whenever a car drives by outside.  My personal and academic goals for this school year are to just get through this year with everything going on and hope that HCHS will actually have a lacrosse season.  I sometimes regret my life choices.  I do not really have a meaningful moment of the corona staycation.  My parents made me get a job this summer since I could not do anything else.  Luckily my travel lacrosse team had a season this summer.  I pretty much stayed inside and played video games when I was not at work or at lacrosse practice.  Oh I go to DeMarcus for personal training a couple of times a week.  I geek out over video games, anime and D&D.  My favorite website is probably this.

Assignment 9-Zent

One thing that I get really annoyed about and that I could talk about for a while is climate change. Or just like the environment in general. I feel like this is a really big issue that we are not talking enough about. This is going to affect all our lives negatively in the near future in many different ways and people seem to forget about this. I think it's crazy that in Lexington we don’t recycle paper and that many things that our products come aren’t recyclable to begin with. I feel like the idea of not having a planet to live on at maybe some point in our own lifetimes doesn’t freak people out as much as it should. There are ways we can improve our planet and extend the time we have left to fix it that are really simple. Like turning off lights and fans and unplugging cords. These are easy things that could help out the environment. 

Duncan Wingfield Assignment 8

 Fears: College, tornadoes, cave crickets, death, people

Annoyances: Physics, vaccum cleaners, the vegetables that my parents just leave out on the counter rotting for weeks, canvas, shopping

Accomplishments: Made it this far in school, lego stuff, grades

Confusions: Social interaction, college, physics

Sorrows: I feel like I'm rude and judgemental and generally kind of unpleasant

Dreams: Live somewhere with better winters, 

Idiosyncracies: Knowledgeable

Risks: I don't know I don't like to take many risks

Beloved possesions: Legos, my friends (now), still legos (then)

Problems: Organiziation, rude, judgmental

Shopping severly annoys me, nothing feels worse than wasting 2-5 hours of my day in cold and crowded stores just to have food to eat later on. It always takes forever and there's nothing interesting to do and I always get really cold. The worst part of it all definitley has to be getting home but not being able to go back to your day because you have to help put away groceries and carry them in from the car. It always wastes massive amounts of time and I just hate it. I definitley don't miss shopping cause with the pandemic I haven't had to go out shopping for a good while and it's great to not have to do that.

Assignment 8- Koen

 Fears: Failing, loosing family members

Annoyances: ignorant people

Accomplishments: academic awards, good grades

Confusions: different people's ideology

Sorrows: being to judgmental, not open minded

Dreams: travel around the world, meet new people

Idiosyncrasies: cracking my wrist every time I sit down and relax

Risks: Running across the cliffside of an ocean

Beloved Possessions, Now and Then: Lego(Then), my watch I got from my parents(now)

Problems: Procrastination and unpreparedness

    On the topic of procrastination and unpreparedness, I think they go hand in hand. When one procrastinates on an assignment, that will lead to inadequate work on that assignment thus being unprepared on the day it is due. I have really tried to do the work on the day it is assigned but it can be hard to work on it when you have other activities rather than school work. The brief focus I get to work hard on an assignment is right after it is assigned. When I stop working on it, I start to procrastinate. For instance, during the summer going into my freshman year, I knew I would have to work on my summer work for high school. I was really focused right at the beginning of summer break. As I worked hard for the first few weeks and then stopped and enjoyed the break. When we came back to school, I procrastinated on some assignments and even forgot to write an Odyssey essay for English. From my procrastination, I was unprepared from the first day of school.

Assignment 9- Church

 Something that really bothers me is oil rigs. I just need someone to explain to me why we have them in the middle of the ocean, and how we can just leave it in the middle of the ocean where there is the possibility of the oil spilling into the entire ocean. This is not only terrible for the environment but terrible for economics as well. I don't understand how no one can do anything about. All of the nations leaders are just sitting around looking at each other while no one does anything. Not only is that millions of dollars in oil wasted, but it would be contaminating the water and killing off fish that countries might use as their main food source. But not only the fish; turtles, dolphins, whales, sharks, coral, and other sort of life in the ocean. All of them will die and or get sick and die because of these oil spills. Take for example the Persian Gulf oil spill. It was estimated that anywhere from 370 to 520 million gallons of oil were spilled into the gulf. This major oil spill killed off most of the birds found in the gulfs because oil coated their coats leaving them unable to fly. Not only are the birds affected by this because, when oil coats the sea otters it can cause them to obtain hypothermia and die. Overall I just think it is a waste that all of the geniuses of the world haven't come up with a way to stop the use of oil because it is killing our environment.

Jimmy Chen - Assignment 5

I personally enjoy lots action and plot because I already have awful time management so I spend my time watching trashy tv comedies while I do homework. I do enjoy action packed TV shows solely for the gore, explosions, and deaths, but I really don't care what happens to the main characters until I get emotionally attached to them. I feel action packed tv shows where I get attached to the main characters are the best because I actually care what happens to them, usually what happens is I say, "boohoo she died" because I have no sense of empathy and don't feel for other people. A recent tv show I liked was a trashy zombie movie where every single main character got killed and the show ended and I thought that was really funny.

I think that the Emmy's getting all this attention is appropriate for our society, it is just human nature. We don't actually care about progress of humanity, humans just care and fend for themselves. Society just funnels that motivation into a more productive and positive form. We make progress as humans for self betterment, trying to reach the goal of success and wealth. We as humans just care about the glitz and glamour of the Emmy's because it shows real wealth and success, with all the celebrities. But with the Nobel peace prize, it isn't as glitzy and glamorous. Nobel Peace prizes are around 900,000 I think, but compared to the net worth of these Hollywood celebrities' isn't much. We like to watch the Emmy's because we want to see the life we want to live, not for the betterment of humanity.

Ghazzal Hammad - Assignment 8

Fears: spiders, snakes, failure, losing my family

Annoyances: people who are ignorant to situations/problems that don't directly affect them

Accomplishments: good grades, being able to juggle lots of extracurriculars

Confusions: most of chemistry

Sorrows: starving and/or war-torn people

Dreams: have a good career that I am proud of

Idiosyncrasies: playing with my hair when I'm talking

Risks: skydiving!!

Beloved possessions (now and then): stuffed animals (then); my laptop and sweatshirts (now)

Problems:  lack of self confidence, being hard on myself, being stubborn and refusing to ask for help

The one I am going to elaborate on is my annoyance. This is something that hadn't started bothering me until recently (maybe towards May/June). It stuck out to me whenever the Black Lives Matter movement started becoming popular. I noticed that a lot of people -- some of my friends included -- chose to be ignorant about the problems and acted as if nothing was happening because it was something that did not affect them personally. I don't mean to get controversial here, because I respect everyone's opinions, but I think a lot of people were choosing to ignore the whole situation because it wasn't something they needed to worry about. While I understand wanting to advocate or speak out about issues that pertain to you personally, I don't understand being ignorant and blind to issues that affect other people. So many people I knew were dismissing the whole situation and acting as if though the victims were the people to blame, even when so much evidence said otherwise. This became so frustrating to me, because it just seemed absurd to me that people are so selfish that they can't even take the time to truly learn about these problems that affect other people. Obviously, it is harder to understand these situations when it's not something that you have ever had to worry about. However, it is still important to attempt to learn about these situations (for the sake of your peers, friends, and community members) instead of choosing to be ignorant and disrespectful about them.

assignment 8- David Butler

Fears: Acceptance and public image

Annoyances: When people hold opinions that they know nothing about, unsubstantiated opinions, blatantly biased opinions

Accomplishments; i've played cello for more than 8 years, i've made it to state for cello and cross country

Confusions: i don't know

Sorrows: when people don't like me

Dreams: to be a large well known film producer

Idiosyncrasies: i can talk about aspects of films for hours

Risks: I like doing dangerous sports like climbing. I'm going skydiving on my 18th birthday

Beloved Possessions, Now and Then: I really loved legos as a kid but now i might say(all though this isnt a possession of course) my girlfriend

Problems: Organization/procrastination

If you know me then you know that I can go on tangents for hours on end about anything from something that happened that day to the deeper meaning or a movie, especially the later. This is a common occurrence for me and sometimes I worry that I annoy people when I do this or things like this. On a related side note, one of my greatest fears is in fact just how other people see me and me wanting them to like me. I have heard that most people have this innate sense of what I just described on some level or another. I hope to be a large film director and producer in my future as that's what I love and what I'm good at. It interests me and I won't get bored of it which is important for something that you want to do for a long time. I know it's said quite often but i don't think enough people take heed of these words, pick something you love.

Assignment 7- David Butler

The past year has been far more complex and confusing than anyone could have expected. I believe the word jumbled sums it up rather well, because that's exactly what it's been, a jumbled mess. But through that mess we've grown and some of us now appreciate parts of our lives that we otherwise took for granted, like our social lives which no matter how small or large, kept us from going insane. More importantly we've grown to appreciate the things we loved, whether it be people, places, or even hobbies. This forced us to grow as a society and advance skills or hobbies that we enjoy. Some already had passions that drove us but others rediscovered them. One of my long term passions has been film and as a kid I saw it as a way to get away and in a way dive into a creative space where I was in control. Anything i wanted to do, if i tried hard enough it could come alive on film and so i fell in love with it. I did it for many years but as I grew I thought something in the creative arts was unrealistic and I would never amount to the great producers of Hollywood. I never thought my vision could appear on the big screen so I put my passion behind, but subconsciously it was front and center. As years went on I grew my skills without even knowing it as every movie I watched I picked apart meticulously from a young age and never thought much of it. Some may have seen me do this and i have even had people say “why can't you just enjoy the movie” or “why are you such a critic?''. But they're wrong if they think that because I loved it. Seeing the scene and picking apart shots made me subconsciously feel closer to the world of film. In my mind it was like i was behind the scenes and i could see how they were shooting every shot, every camera angle, how they set the lighting, or stitched together shots. I even watched endless amounts of movies and videos about how they shot certain movies. I read enough articles to fill multiple books and was enthralled by actor interviews. I even went to places like universal studios, Comic-Con and Disney world and instead of just enjoying the roller coasters or atmosphere, i relentlessly thought about how they made these amazing films. I was more interested with the behind the scenes than the actual movies being shot then about a year ago i realized what i was doing and thought to myself that this is what i should be doing. I had without knowing it put in 10+ years of research into something that really interested me. So i gave film making another shot and i was far better than i ever was as a kid, go figure. I had skills in plot development, cinematography, insights into film production, and I was ready to work harder than ever. For the past year I have been devoting a huge chunk of my free-time to developing my own skills and I've grown exponentially. I started with just i movies and an idea but that grew and I now can fluidly use premiere pro and stitch in complicated edits into my videos. I've learned camera professional camera tricks and even invested in professional equipment. For example, I am currently building a supercomputer which I worked for months at my job to be able to afford. I have never worked harder at something in my life yet feel so entertained and invested like it wasn't work at all. All I can say to whichever college that accepts me, I will be one of the most hardworking applicants you will see and like always, I strive for improvement.

Sara Anderlich- Assignment 8

About Me:

• Fears- losing people, my dad dying, my dog dying, overwhelming others, annoying others, not being "good enough", etc.
• Annoyances- forgetting to save something and having to restart/losing progress on an assignment due to a glitch, my computer freezing, people being forgetful, people who lack empathy, chewing gum loudly, refusing to try, "I don't have time", etc. 
• Accomplishments- Winning the Reflections contest at state level (poetry, 8th grade), having a good group of friends, learning to be mindful
• Confusions- why can't people just love other people? 
• Sorrows- anxiety, my dad has dementia
• Dreams- having a family, feeling carefree, travel, 
• Idiosyncrasies- band!!
• Risks- paragliding, sky diving (both want)
• Beloved Possessions (now and then)- photos, music boxes, journals
• Problems- overthinking, overthinking, overthinking, overthinking, overthinking

Extension:

    Problems: There's so much that goes on in my life, good and bad, that it's hard to know what to specifically talk about. Right now, not as much is great. I'm struggling a lot, and even if I'm carrying myself well, certain things are really overwhelming. Things that should and shouldn't be. Most are stupid reasons and it's part of an anxiety that I'm trying so hard to get rid of. 

    There are some things that I want to be able to do so badly, that I do try my best to be comfortable with, but that I can't do. I know it's bad to say things like "I can't". It's something I'm annoyed by when others say.. but I feel like there's a difference when you're obviously trying so hard and already not in your comfort zone. I know I'm overthinking, I know it's not a big deal, and I know I'll be okay... but I still feel stuck. 

    I have been getting better. I notice it in a lot of things I can do now. I'm always doing my best to be a more outgoing, positive, and fun person to be around. In other words, I do not feel defined by my problems. I just have my days where I just want for them to go away quicker than they are. 

Assignment 8

Fears- heights, mainly ones that are open like cliffs or Ferris wheels 

Annoyances- people who refuse to see the other sides of stories

Accomplishments- being in the academy and getting the grades I have with ADHD

Confusions- what I'm supposed to be doing with life

Sorrows- my body build (tall and skinny)

Dreams- A fun lifestyle and my dream job of psychiatrist 

Idiosyncrasies- huge nerd with psychology 

Risks- want to go skydiving, did go hiking and climb large cliffs

Beloved Possessions, Now and Then- My xbox both now and then 

Problems- body image and staying focused on tasks

I am going to expand on my answer for the annoyances. People,e who just refuse to ever hear or see the other side of a story in a situation always annoys me. Im guilty of this too and sometimes its hard to even reach out to the people on the other side of the story to hear theirs because its just a problem a friend had with someone. But when both sides are shown and people refuse to hear it from the other persons side it makes me mad. In psychology their is a phenomenon called the fundamental attribution error. This is a theory that we attribute people behaviors to just their personality rather than events that could be happening in their lives. Some action however are unforgivable even when you hear their side such as cheating and abuse. Besides those very specific instances, its good to hear and acknowledge what could be happening in the other persons life and see why they may have made the decision they did instead of just assuming they are a bad person. 

Assignment 7

 I have big plans for when I go into college. Im not sure yet if I want to keep paling tennis while in college but I have big dreams of becoming a psychiatrist. I am very determined of this and determined to always have good grades. My dream school is Vanderbilt currently as they are a very reputable school and I love the campus and the surrounding area. I won't be getting bored there easily and will most likely always be busy with work. I am determined to work hard even with my ADHD holding me back a little. One of the hardest things I had to overcome so far was the huge curve if middle school to high school. Grades went from just being a way to see how you were doing too being important to your future and how well collages would look at you. I struggled with this change the first year barely being able to pull out a 3.5 GPA even after I emailed one of my teachers to round my grade and I think they did so out of pity. The second semester of freshman year was able to get 4 A's with no rounding needed. Sophomore year I had straight A's both semesters and I am on track to get straight A's this first semester of junior year so far. I had to work and adapt in order to get the grades I wanted to get. I couldn't slack like I did in middle school with the mindset of "these grades don't matter no school will ever see these grades." I had to change my entire mindset to keep me focused on my work and achieve the work I knew I could do. 

Assignment 8: "I never had to choose my subject- my subject rather chose me" - Henry Adams.

 https://docs.google.com/document/d/1tMx0Itim_POJ3UJ-X0GS2wa9cvrb0Qtvro1iJ-tko9w/edit 

Assignment 9: Carebears?

What is the issue you care about most in this world?  It keeps you up at night.  It gets you (ง’̀-‘́)ง when someone this passion.  This should be closely connected to the topic of your annotated bibliography which obviously makes this a preview of your speech in December.  This topic does not have to be profound but you should care so much about this subject that you could speak intensely on this matter without notes.

Some of my topics I could discuss for a good 30 minutes might be:
The power of narrative in society.
Knowing yourself helps you navigate the world more easily.
Comic Books are a gateway drug to literacy.
Families don't adequately teach their children life skills: money, love, sex, home repair, etc.
Dress Codes for girls means we don't trust our boys - both lose.
The implications of Spiral Dynamics.

Due Sunday, November 1st at 11:59 pm

December 13 is the last day to make up blogs 9-15

Assignment 6-David butler

 This is the story of my passion for film and video editing and how it applies to the majority of the population. 

As a kid I had started with a youtube channel that I posted on quite often and eventually i got a few friends to join me as well. This turned out to be a great experience and what i loved about it most is that it was something that i was truly passionate about so i was willing to put in time and effort to learn the necessary skills. This made the growing process much more fun and enjoyable because it didn't feel like work but instead what I wanted to be doing with my time off. However, a lot of people see this type of scenario in the wrong light. They feel that sine this was only a “hobby” or “side interest”, that they could never truly make a career out of it.

So they never try…

Whether it be the lack of computer software or budget, like in this example, people always doubt their dreams can become possibilities and so for years i did the same.

About 5 years passed and time i could have otherwise used to grow and expand my knowledge of something i loved, I effectively gave up on.My passion faded into the background and i nearly forgot about it but about one year ago something came up on my youtube watch page. That was one of my old videos that for all I knew was lost to the furthest corners of the web, yet here it was. I was surprised by the amount of views it had and that it had surfaced after so long so I got a spark of inspiration. A few days later I downloaded the movie to my computer because at first I didn't have anything else, in fact before I even used an iPhone on my iPhone 6 and I got by just fine. So i was determined to at least for a little while use what i had and try to make the best of it. So for the next few weeks I started planning videos to make. I started to mess around with iMovie on my computer because it is quite different from the phone version that I was accustomed to. And after some thought and a lot of preparation, i made my first video that i posted on my new channel. It got more views than I expected and so I thought to myself. How with what i have can i do better, better quality, more advanced edits, more entertaining, more structured yet fluid. From all these questions I found a drive to improve myself and my skills. So for the next few weeks all i did was research for hours on end, looking up the best edits, how to structure videos around viewers, and so much more.

But yet I enjoyed it. I had once again found a true interest of mine.

After so many hours one tends to get bored but my interest just builds on itself and when you find things like this you don't make the mistake i made, you stick with it because it's what you love. And ultimately what you love leads to the most success because that is what you will put the most effort into and what will make you happy which is most important. 

Assignment 5 - David Butler

Is television good or bad for you? Well, like many others my opinion of this question isn't exclusive to one side or the other. I also believe that it's far more complicated than a simple question of good and bad. First I'll start off with a common question, “Does TV provide a good form of entertainment”?. To answer this i would say that in the right situation if can be informative and helpful but most of the time it is just here to take our mind off the real world and in that sense i don't believe things like violence in movies affects as much as we may believe. We use it to entertain ourselves but i believe we mainly dissociate ourselves from reality when watching shows because we don't expect realism or the constraints of reality. This is why we are entertained by things like space movies or action films. However, i believe this is also why we don't always take what we see in movies or shows into our lives, because we don't compare them to reality. Now is too much of anything ever a good idea? NO! Of course not. But it can let us take a break from reality which is often hard and boring to delve into another universe and in this sense i think Tv can but isn't always a good form of entertainment. I do think that advertisers can rely heavily on tv but since streaming has blossomed across the world, TV advertisement has become less pronounced. This allows us to enjoy more quality entertainment which in amounts can be a useful way to wind down like said earlier. But it can be a waste of time in the sense that it isn't inherently productive.

Assignment 7- Gaby Rondel

I can't say that I know what my ideal college is, but I know what my ideal college experience would be like. For me, college should be a place where you can learn to prepare for your future and learn about yourself and the kind of person you are. It should be a place where you become the person you're meant to be. I know. It's cheesy. But that's what I want. I want a college where I can pursue my interests academically (in and outside my major). I want a place where I am free to be me whether that be religiously, clumsily, artistically, stupidly, smartly (is that a word?), plant-loverly, humorously, etc. I want college to be a place that will prepare me for the life that I am currently completely unprepared for.  I want a school where I can be part of the stage-crew for plays. I want a place that I can connect with people like me. I want to have fun. I want to live. I want to travel. I want to prove to my parents that I can make it. But more importantly, I want to prove to myself that I can make it. My ideal college provides a space where I can be all of these things. 

Assignment 8 - Palmer Lee

Fears - Drowning, spiders
Annoyances - Kids, loud/sudden noises
Accomplishments - Driver's license, doing well in school
Confusions - Politics, people in general
Sorrows - Gender dysphoria ✧
Dreams - Becoming a veterinarian
Idiosyncrasies - Popping my knuckles/joints
Risks - Coming out to my friends
Beloved Possessions, Now and Then - My dog, my computer (now), my Simba stuffed animal (then)
Problems - Time management, organization, getting overly frustrated

I've wanted to become a veterinarian since at least 2nd grade. I’ve always had an affinity for animals, and I’ve always wanted to help them in any way I can. When I was twelve years old, I went to my neighbor’s horse farm one morning. I don’t remember why exactly we were there. One of the horses - Manilla Fudge -  was pregnant, but had also been exhibiting some signs of illness. The vet came over while we were there, and he and my dad started talking and my dad mentioned that I wanted to be a veterinarian. The vet ended up offering to let me draw the blood samples from the horse, and I took him up on that. He walked me through where to place the needle and where to stand in relation to the horse. Manilla Fudge ended up being perfectly healthy and gave birth to a healthy foal five days later.

Assignment 8-Zent

 

Fears- public speaking

Annoyances- my siblings, homework

Accomplishments- getting good grades, being on the soccer team

Confusions- physics

Sorrows- not being heard

Dreams- traveling everywhere

Idiosyncrasies- always pulling the top of my shirt/sweatshirt/sweater over my mouth

Risks- driving stick shift on a main road without knowing how

Beloved Possessions, Now and Then- american girl dolls (then), my camera (now)

Problems- overthinking 

I hate public speaking in any way unless I know the group of people and feel comfortable with them. I usually try to avoid it at all costs. Don’t get me wrong, I love my siblings and would do pretty much anything for them, but they can be so annoying at times. It’s like they just know the exact moments I’m trying to focus and those are the moments they decide to come bug me. I get pretty good grades and I have been on a soccer team, for Henry Clay and club soccer, for all of highschool and all of middle and elementary for club. I have no idea how to do most of the things we are doing in physics and when I get something we move on. I feel a lot of time being the middle child I’m not heard by my family and extended family. I would really like to travel all around the world someday. I don’t know why I put my shirt or sweatshirt or sweaters over my mouth when I’m just sitting somewhere or trying to focus on something, it’s just something I’ve always done. My cousin was trying to teach me how to drive stick shift and thought it was best if we started on the main road (it wasn’t). My sister and I used to love American girl dolls and play with them all the time. I enjoy taking pictures on my camera, I take it on my family’s trips. I tend to overthink really simple things and then rush into things that I should have thought about more. 

Assignment 6- Gaby Rondel

There are a lot of things that interest me. I love learning about the way things work and why they work that way. I think that this is why history and chemistry are my favorite classes. There have been times when I start thinking about something we learned in class and something doesn't make sense, like how it went from point A to point B, but we didn't talk about the journey from A to B and I can't stop thinking about it until I get an answer. It's that same thing that I can spend hours talking about. When I learn something that I find really cool, I pretty much tell anyone who will listen. Most of the time it's just my parents, but I'm fine with that because they are the same way I am. When they find something interesting they will learn all about it and then tell me. I will also rant about anything that I experienced and found memorable, whether that is a book or something that happened at a USY event. Basically, if I am passionate about something or like something I would love to learn, chat, and rant about it.

Rukavina- Assignment 8

Fears- sharks, shots

Annoyances- when my dogs won't stop barking, having to wait a really long time in line

Accomplishments- being able to finish an entire pizza

Confusions- what atoms and molecules (chemistry stuff) actually look like

Sorrows- Bridge to Terabithia (that movie ruined me)

Dreams- end up with a job that I love and still makes good money

Idiosyncrasies- will over talk when I'm in a good mood, have attempted over the years to do the confusing one eyebrow lift face

Risks- my sister and I sneaking into the football stadium they filmed FNL

Beloved Possessions, Now and Then- barbies (then), all my fuzzy blankets (now)

Problems- time management 

My answer to the risks topic of the list above starts when my mom, sister, and I went to visit my brother while he was at college for Spring Break. That year Friday Night Lights was still a relatively new show and was really popular among a lot of people. Well, my sister and everyone she knew would wait every week for the next episode to come out and were obsessed with this show. So when my sister found out we were going to Texas for Spring Break, she was very excited because they filmed the show at different places around Austin. After we had been there a couple days my sister drove us out to this stadium where they filmed all the football scenes for FNL, after we somehow got passed a chain that she forced me to get out of the car and somehow unlock we made it onto the field of the stadium. What we did not know before this unfortunate situation is that apparently that particular football stadium had a very good high school football team that was very competitive with the other high schools around them and that there were several instances where teams would steal the others game plan before the big games. So while my sister and I are out on this field taking pictures, the entire football team and staff comes out and sees us and then starts to run towards us. At first we were confused because by this time were in the stands and we thought that visitors were welcome, then we hear the extravagant curse words coming from the team and the security guards running towards us. At this point my sister just looks at me deadpanned and says "run" and we bolted all the way back to car. As we were leaving we had about 50 people running behind us and yelling at us to never come back and asking how we got back here. In conclusion, do not go to a different state and break into their football stadium because it will highly offend them and all of their security workers. 

Assignment 7- Koen

     As I get closer preparing for colleges, I really look forward taking my education into a new level by getting to travel the world. I'm not sure where I want to go for college or what I want to study, but I really enjoy the experience of going somewhere new. Ivy league schools are something to strive for but getting to experience new surroundings is much more valuable to me. One thing that really interest me when it comes to new places are the new perspectives that they provide. Colleges that are more internationally driven acknowledge new thinking throughout the world and are able to provide more perspectives than colleges that are closed in. Not only will this create a fruitful education experience, but it will allow connections to be made with all kinds of different people. The world is a big place and college education is the perfect means to expand one's perspective of the world.

Assignment 8- Church

 Fears- Getting murdered in my sleep, the dark

Annoyances- people with bad work ethic, people who complain

Accomplishments- getting a raise, doing well in school

Confusions- Politics

Sorrows- people leaving and not caring

Dreams- traveling and having a stable family

Idiosyncrasies- having a ring on and taking it off

Risks- sky diving and swimming with sharks

Beloved Possessions- my dog and my grandmothers ring

Problems- I am mean and inconsiderate of peoples feelings

Okay listen I know I put one of my problems as mean, but I promise I'm not actually mean. I would never punch a dog or a baby. I would never go up to someone and just tell them they are stupid and mean it, but... I just don't care about other peoples problems. I know that is mean but people in our world today especially In the United States complain about the most first world problems ever and it is really annoying. I just think that people are not grateful enough for what they have or what they received in their life and that just bothers me. Let me give you some more examples. So if someone grew up in a wealthy life and then complained to me about their mother or father not giving them 50 dollars to go to the mall. I just find that dumb and annoying. Because some people don't get any money from their parents, some people don't have parents, and some people work for their money. Another example could be someone simply complaining about not getting their homework done on time because they were" busy". It just bothers me because I know fully well that their version of busy just means they hung out with their friends all weekend and spend most of their time on Netflix and procrastinating their homework. Don't get me wrong I think it is important to have time away from school, but I just think that you shouldn't complain when it is their own fault that they didn't finish their homework. Anyway I know that these people might not even understand what they are doing and that to them their problems are real and I know I should be more considerate and validate everyones feelings. It is just hard when you compare some things to your own life and you can't help but think how annoying it is. 

Sara Anderlich- Assignment 7

    I really haven't thought much about what college I want to go to, nor what job I'm super passionate about. I know that it's important for me to be doing that now, especially with how fast time is going to fly by, but I guess I'm still feeling surrounded the multitude of choices. When I was younger, I really wanted to go to an Ivy League school, which if I qualified for, I knew I would be able to afford with financial aid. But now, I realize it wouldn't be so bad for me to stay in-state. I could go to UK, major in adolescent medicine, minor in music (they have a great jazz program), or I could go somewhere else. There's Chicago that has both a school of music and psychology, which used to interest me a lot. I've also thought about maybe Michigan State or Ann Arbor which, which I've always been interested in without much of a reason. At this point, I'm just going to have to do some research. It's really going to depend on which schools have the programs that best suit me. I've always been interested in the human body which is why I feel more drawn towards medicine. For a while I thought about being a therapist/psychologist, but I don't know how much I would enjoy that. I love psychology, and I would love to take a class on it, but for it to be my entire career? I don't know. I'm drawn toward the brain and how people think, but I'm not squeamish either. I don't like needles, but I'm sure I could overcome that. At one point I wanted to be heart surgeon. Another time it was an optometrist. I also know I would rather work with children/adolescents, so being a doctor just fits. 

    I don't want to go to college for the title, meaning it's not important for me to get into Ivy League if it doesn't add anything to my life. I just want to find a place where I can have valuable experiences. It's important to me that the college I choose teaches me something that otherwise I wouldn't have known. This includes in my education, but also in every other area of my life. I need a school that will challenge my ways of thinking and, as a result, shape me into a better person. 

Assignment 7 - Palmer Lee

As a junior in high school, I’m not completely sure of where I want to go to college. I’ve looked at a few campuses in person (none of the virtual tour links that were given out had worked for me), and I did really like Auburn University. Ever since I was a little kid, I had always wanted to be a veterinarian. I’m not entirely sure what drew me towards that decision, but that’s remained a constant in my life for over a decade. I’m looking forward to doing studies that would help me achieve that goal, such as biology or maybe wildlife studies. I’m looking forward to living away from what I’ve always known as home, and being able to make my own decisions regarding how I live my life. I hope that wherever I end up going, my education there will help me to propel myself to succeed throughout the rest of my life.

Assignment 8: "I never had to choose my subject- my subject rather chose me"

Writing territories are a range of ideas that one generates to spark their writing. In general, it is just one of the many ways one can brainstorm for different types of writing.

This week's blog is more undefined than others because it depends so much on your unique personal experiences. Below, is a list of 10 writing territories and you'll begin by answering them. Your answers do not have to be lengthy, they only need to be definitive enough so that you, the writer, could look back at it weeks from now and it could trigger what you were thinking about.

Writing Territories

Fears

Annoyances

Accomplishments

Confusions

Sorrows

Dreams

Idiosyncrasies

Risks

Beloved Possessions, Now and Then

Problems

For instance, my list looks like:

Fears: drowning, loosing family in catastrophe, living in pain

Annoyances: rudeness, expecting fairness in this world, people who refuse to think

Accomplishments: still being married, being a dad my children want to be around

Confusions: inequity (different than fairness)

Sorrows: anger management, weight, (totally working on both but to be honest "weight" is harder than "anger" 'cause food is goooooooood)

Dreams: retirement, travel,

Idiosyncrasies: nerd, paper/pencil RPG (redundant?)

Risks: pilot's license (want), jumped out of an airplane (did)

Beloved Possessions: comic books (then), friendships (now- i know, cheesy)

Problems: Organization

Simple, right?

Now, once you have your list, choose one topic to expand upon in-depth (or at least 150 words). This may be as simple as an explanation of this topic (e.g. I discovered I had an anger management problem when I realized that I was taking out my frustrations on my family. . . .). It may turn into to a short-story or a beginning of a short story. It may turn into a narrative of a memory. It may turn into a  social commentary. It may turn into 150 words of freewrite. It may turn into something all together different and weird and delightful. Whatever you wrote down in your list, reflect upon it and allow it to guide your entry for the week.

"There is no rule on how to write. Sometimes it comes easily and perfectly; sometimes it's like drilling rock and then blasting it out with charges." -Ernest Hemingway

Due Sunday, October 25 at 11:59 pm

November 1st is the last day to make up Blogs 1-8

Ghazzal Hammad - Assignment 7

 Honestly, I feel like I've been preparing my whole life for college. In my family, there was always such an emphasis on getting good grades and being involved in activities and studying. However, with all that said, I still feel so unprepared for college. My sister is a freshman in college this year, and watching her go through the application process and adapting to her first year at a university has made the idea of college so much more scary and daunting. As of now, I don't have a particular college I want to go to. I have a few ideas, but none really stick out. I do, however, have a few things I am looking for in my ideal college. I definitely want to pursue a medical career, so I hope to go to a college that has a good medical program. I also want to go to one that has good academics and highly-rated professors (or at least decently-rated). For me, academics are the most important thing at a college. While I would like to be involved in extracurriculars, those are not nearly as important to me as the academics of the school. 

    Another thing I don't really have a preference for is the location of the school. I don't want to go too far from home -- probably not further than neighboring states -- and I don't think my parents would allow that anyways. Many people talk about how they want to go to a big college in a big city, but that isn't one of my top concerns, either. I think I would prefer an average sized school, but it truly wouldn't affect me that much. I should probably start finding more characteristics that I want in my 'ideal college' so that it'll be easier to narrow down which ones I want to apply to.

Assignment 7- Zent

If I am being completely honest, I have not thought very much about what kind of college I want to go to or really what I want to do. Up until this year that all has felt very far away, so I just kinda have left it for my future self to figure out. But, if I was really thinking about what my ideal college would be I think it would be a big school. I want to go somewhere where there are lots of people to meet and lots of different things to do, and I think a big school would be the best place for that. I also think that with being at a big school there would be lots of things going on all the time so if I had to miss something I would feel like I was missing out on something everyone was going to. For college, I’m excited about going somewhere new and meeting new people.

Rukavina- Assignment 7

 Whenever I think about the college I would like to attend I’m both excited and stressed out about it. I can’t wait till I can go off on my own and get away to somewhere new, but at the same time I think about how little time I have left with my family that I’ll never get again and time seems to go by way too fast these days. I don’t have a specific college that I’ve dreamed about my entire life but in the fast few months I’ve been looking around and have figured out at least some characteristics I would like my school to have. I definitely want to go to a big school that is flexible about what path you want to go down. I think I might want to major in engineering but I still would like to be able to learn about other topics that interest me while I study it. I looked into Duke for a while because they have some interesting engineering programs and are flexible about you major or minor in. I also looked at the University of Austin because my brother went there and he really liked it. However, one thing I need to do first is figure out the exact fields of engineering I’m interested in so that I can look into which colleges are the best for each field.