Sorry it’s been so long, guys! Life has been crazy!
Well, the Academic Decathlon did NOT make it to state. Our team this year was amazing though. We achieved our school’s highest team total (36,644 points or something like that out of a (im)possible 60,000) and I gained the highest point total ever for a varsity team member (just over 6,000). If each of us had improved our individual score by about 300 points (which is approximately two more questions right per test- not impossible) we would have made state. Ah well. Something to shoot for next year! XD
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So, after AD was over I thought I’d finally have a chance to relax, get caught up on a bit of schoolwork (sadly my grades dropped from the excess studying for AD and not for that darn chemistry exam), and return to my hobbies. Boy, was I in for a surprise. Two or three weeks after we get back from competition, my teacher and the AD coach for my school, Mrs. Barnes, pulls me aside and shows me a poster on her wall for the World Scholar’s Cup.
Now, let me assure you that I had actually been eyeing that poster for a while. The finals for this year will be in Seoul, South Korea and our meals will be provided and everything, assuming we make it to World Finals. And the pictures looked gorgeous. The topics for this year weren’t half bad, either.
But when my teacher asked me if I’d be interested, my heart was torn in two. I couldn’t make a decision. Half of me wanted to shout, “HECK YES, OF COURSE I’LL DO IT!” The other half wanted to shout, “HECK NO, I THOUGHT I WAS DONE BEING YOUR SLAVE FOR THE YEAR!”
So, of course, being the kind-hearted person I am and not wanting to hurt her feelings by saying the latter, I told her I’d think about it.
As the next 48 hours passed until I reentered her classroom, I thought it over long and hard. Yes, I was ready for a break, but didn’t I think the other two who already had their spots on the team guaranteed were ALSO ready for one? And it was a great honor to be asked to participate on this team as a junior when the other two participants were seniors. By the time I got back in her classroom, I had decided I really wanted to do it, and she saw more enthusiasm about it from me than from the other two candidates vying for the remaining position. So with my parents’ consent, my teacher added me to the list.
So now I have to study space exploration and the exploration of new lands including the new world and worlds never found (Atlantis, Shangrila, El Dorado, and one other that I can’t think of at the moment), and I also have to study math, economics, literature, art, astronomy, and debate. Great. Just the way I wanted to spend the next two months. Oh well, it’s a new competition, so hopefully it shouldn’t be too hard to do well!
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On top of all of this, I have started applying for a summer position as a teacher for a group called the Breakthrough Collaborative. Their whole theme is “Students teaching students.” So for the last couple of months, I’ve been completing my written application. I submitted that a week ago and heard back almost immediately from my two site choices that I wanted to work with. Both have graciously granted me interviews, so I’ll keep you guys posted on that.
Wednesday, I have my first exit level state test. I have to pass it. If I don’t pass the test this year, I WILL NOT GRADUATE next year, which would totally suck, of course. So I’m getting really nervous. And the test will be the English/Language Arts/Writing test, which is traditionally my worst one. I mean, I’ve never really had a problem with any of the tests, but the ELA is the worst of them and the one I’m most worried about. The really worrisome thing is that we have to take this test almost two months before the other ones so the graders have time to read the millions of essays and short answer questions from students across the state. The other 3 state exams won’t be until the end of April, and those I know I can handle.
Also, AP tests are coming up. (Yeah, I know, my life’s getting crazy. This isn’t even the end of it all.) I’m getting really nervous because I’m supposed to take two of these stupid tests. Yeah right. One of them at least. I gotta take the AP Chemistry exam, but I doubt I’ll be taking the AP English Language test. (Yes, there are two AP English exams, the English Language test and the English Literature exam.) So we’ll see, it depends on if my parents can afford to pay for both exams. I can’t even pay for one of them due to my lack of personal funds. I have about $20 and those stupid tests cost $54 each. *waits for the gasps to subside*
Well, in good news, if you guys remember that SAT I took back at the beginning of December, I got the results back the day after my last post. It was… Drumroll please… 2320! I got a 2320 out of 2400! WOOT! I’m SO excited! XD What with my 223 PSAT score, my email inbox and my parents’ mailbox have been FLOODED with mail from various colleges across the country.
Oy, this is getting long. I suppose it’s time to wrap this up… it’s almost my bedtime anyway. See y’all later!
~Mylinda
