Welcome to 204
I use this same post every year because it is generic and all-encompassing. As the year progresses, the questions you encounter will become much more conceptually dense and will require a great deal of cerebral introspection.
For now, though, we start here.
Welcome to your very first 204 blog post. We will be using this blog frequently, both as a tool and a resource to get the most out of our time, and as a place we can go to share thoughts and valuable information and ideas whenever we need to. Each week, there will be a question posted that you all must respond to in the allotted amount of time.***(Usually, 3 days, but it could be shorter. Plan well.)
These questions may be a jumping off point to class discussions, a support activity to lend insight or knowledge to what we are doing in class, or simply a thought-provoking way to get you to look at the world around you and marvel at your place in it.
These questions will not be simplistic, and they should not be done when you only have 5 or so minutes on the computer; rather, they are questions designed to make you think and your posts should reflect that. You will be graded on your responses by their content, so I would encourage you to try to not leave them for the last minute. Each one will have a word minimum, but don't be discouraged by that. I care much more about the quality of the thought you put into your responses rather than the quantity of the words you use.
Now that the formalities are finished, I would like you to consider the following: You are now entering your junior year. Some people say that this is the toughest, most demanding year of high school for a variety of reasons. What do YOU think? Do you have any expectations about what this year should bring? What are you hoping to get out of your AP Lang class and your junior year in general? What are your fears about this class and/or about 11th grade? Are you where you want to be academically, socially, physically etc? If so, how do you know? If not, why do you think you aren't?
For now, though, we start here.
Welcome to your very first 204 blog post. We will be using this blog frequently, both as a tool and a resource to get the most out of our time, and as a place we can go to share thoughts and valuable information and ideas whenever we need to. Each week, there will be a question posted that you all must respond to in the allotted amount of time.***(Usually, 3 days, but it could be shorter. Plan well.)
These questions may be a jumping off point to class discussions, a support activity to lend insight or knowledge to what we are doing in class, or simply a thought-provoking way to get you to look at the world around you and marvel at your place in it.
These questions will not be simplistic, and they should not be done when you only have 5 or so minutes on the computer; rather, they are questions designed to make you think and your posts should reflect that. You will be graded on your responses by their content, so I would encourage you to try to not leave them for the last minute. Each one will have a word minimum, but don't be discouraged by that. I care much more about the quality of the thought you put into your responses rather than the quantity of the words you use.
Now that the formalities are finished, I would like you to consider the following: You are now entering your junior year. Some people say that this is the toughest, most demanding year of high school for a variety of reasons. What do YOU think? Do you have any expectations about what this year should bring? What are you hoping to get out of your AP Lang class and your junior year in general? What are your fears about this class and/or about 11th grade? Are you where you want to be academically, socially, physically etc? If so, how do you know? If not, why do you think you aren't?
I have heard about junior year since my freshman year. That it is the hardest year of all. That it will beat you up and leave you in an alley as a pile of sorrow and energy drinks. That the school work will stress you to the point that you might want to drop the classes you are taking . It kind of scared me at the time but I knew that junior year was two years into the future and that i didn't need to worry about it. (As I do with many assignments.)
ReplyDeleteBut as time flew by here I am now starting junior year thinking freshman year was just yesterday. I do believe this year will be the hardest because of the fact that I have not heard a single person say so otherwise. I think this will will indeed bring challenges. As I am taking four AP courses, I expect a huge workload. I expect to be up late frequently doing work. I will have to juggle school, sports, and friends even more carefully than I ever have.
I was actually a bit more excited to take this class than other classes. Especially to be in your class. I have friends who have taken this class and have been your student who have said very good things. I have heard about the blogs and the OP's and I liked how you can just write about whatever you want and let the words flow from your brain. I strongly dislike research essays argumentative essays where you have to sound a certain way and construct your writing around a strict rubric with set guidelines and organization. Plus having to have a certain amount of quotes with citations and all that. I feel like that kills the fun in writing. It kills your personality in your writing and it makes you sound like a robot. That way of writing is all we are taught all our lives and I hated it. So I got excited when I heard about the OP's and blogs. I know there will probably still be argumentative essays and such in this class but I will still look forward to the blogs and OP's.
In my junior year I hope to become efficient and hardworking this year. A big problem I have in school that holds me back is procrastination. I will leave everything to the last minute and often have many assignments due in one night which leaves me stressed to the point where I just give up and get a bad grade and regretting it the next day. I want to stop procrastinating. I want this year to be a least stressful as possible and I will do it by working on time management. I'm already making progress. I'm starting and turning this is in 3 days before the due date! This has never happened before. Learning time management this year will help me for the rest of my life.
I am definitely afraid of the workload this year. I am afraid of having so much work that I forget to do an assignment entirely. Which I have already done. I thought we had to turn in the lit term definition in class on Monday since my period did not have class Friday. But I didn't see the part that said it was due on Google Classroom Friday so now I feel stupid. Great start to the year!
ReplyDeleteI am not what I want to be academically. I think I am fairly smart and I have a great ability to understand information. But my time management skills have held me back and it shows in some of my grades. Not that they are bad but I've always been hard on myself for grades and I always want them to be perfect. So this year I will work on time management and bump my GPA up to where it shows my true potential. Also I want to take the SAT's for the first time and get a super high grade on it.
I think I am doing great socially. I have plenty of friends who I have lots of fun with and make me laugh. But a lot of my closer friends have graduated this past year and I'm kind of bummed out because of that. This year I want to create stronger bonds with everyone in my grade so that won't happen again.
I am not where I want to be physically. But that’s okay because I will never be. I am never content because I will always pursue becoming bigger and stronger. I want to swim faster and throw javelin farther. I don't think I am content with my swim times because of my endurance. It has always held me back. This year I want to work on that to cut my times dramatically. I want to gain at least fifteen pounds in muscle to throw farther and to overall feel good.
This year I want to exponentially grow and develop in every aspect to make me exponentially more happy.
Every year before school begins, my mom tells me, "This year is important. Keep focused and work hard!" At this point we laugh that she says the same thing over and over again, but now I know that junior year is really the big one. The year you apply to college. The year you should have your life figured out. The year that everyone has their eyes on. The one that will make or break you. There's more weight to junior year than I think is necessary. Yes, it's the year that colleges and universities see first but only because typically, it's the most recent one. Yes, junior year is when you begin taking AP classes, the ones that most represent those you will experience in the college classroom. Yes, junior year is your first and final impression on the admissions office. Yes, junior year is when you should work your butt off to enjoy a relaxed senior year. Yes, all of these are mainly true statements, but doesn't every year of high school count? If you tank your sophomore year, great grades your third year of high school won't magically save it and the same is true for freshman year or junior or even senior year! I feel that sometimes people put so much pressure into what makes junior year important to keep the students who really want it from slacking off. Senioritis spreads like cooties in a kindergarten playground, and most want to keep that as far away from the already maxed out juniors who want to give up after the first five minutes the school doors open to students for the year. However, I do have high expectations for myself in the third year of high school. Not in ways that would necessarily show on my report card. I want to grow more as a person this year by kicking bad habits (procrastination anyone?), improving myself both in school and on field, expanding my interests, and by finally going out and doing things I was always too busy to do before (or simply giving myself a break, both are cool). I hope AP Lang will help further my skills as a writer. I believe and have been told that I have a very unique voice that shines through my writing and I love the different ways I can pull words together and craft sentences but sometimes I can get too caught up in an explanation or my conclusion is very dry and it destroys my entire paper. Mainly, I want to correct mistakes like these so I can continue writing for myself and enjoy it. I'd also like to make admissions offices not only remember me for an extensive resume or athletic accolades, but for a paper that just rocked their socks off and was the piece of writing they couldn't help but compare the rest of the essays to. I want to be able to make the story within my paper the best it can be. Plain and simple. I'm in an okay place where I am now, but I always strive to be better in everything I do. I fear that I will be one of those people that will always look to high school as the best time of their lives. I fear that by having my goals, standards, and expectations so high I will lose a golden opportunity but I refuse to settle for anything in my life. If you settle you will always be content but never happy. My ultimate goal in life is to be able to die happy with where I was in my life and be who I wanted to be with all of the people I wanted to be around. I don't want to be so consumed by average daily life that I never truly live. That would be the most tragic way to go.
ReplyDeleteJunior year hopefully will help me start to get into a college and get scholarships that will help me pay for college. It is basically the defining year for me because colleges look at it the most. Although I want to go to Stockton, which isn’t as expensive as most colleges/universities, I want to get into the physical therapy program which could become expensive with all the classes. I need to do way more research. I want this year to help me get ready for a science career, even if I don’t get into the program I want I will still go try to get into another school that has physical therapy for a major, which means I have to work hard anyway. I’m hoping AP Lang, as well as my other classes, will improve my test scores and hopefully cover some college credits so the transition to college can be a bit smoother. I did take three AP classes and I doubled up on science and I’m nervous about the workload that will come eventually. Time management is a big issue for me especially because I forget to text back my friends or I put off doing work for so long that I have no time for myself, family, or friends and that’s frustrating for me. Also, sometimes I push my work off to the point where I can’t even go to practice which helps me relax and focus better. Another thing is if I push my work off for too long it’ll just be rushed, sloppy, and drained of anything good. So I can be where I want to be academically, socially, and physically if I learn how to better manage my time throughout the school year and hopefully improve to a point that exceeds my own expectations.
ReplyDeleteJunior year. Just those two words alone strike fear in many people, including myself. When I was a freshman my sister was a junior. I remember going to bed at nine and later hearing my sister come to bed at one. To be honest that was my biggest fear about my junior year, sleep. I thought my junior year was going to get here a lot slower than it did. All of the sudden here I am writing about my past thoughts. I always new that Junior year was going to be stressful but for some reason instead of being scared I WAS excited(emphasis on the was). Now I’m more terrified than excited. My expectations for this year is that it's going to go fast.When you’re busy time flies and before I know it I’ll be taking my senior picture and finalizing my college choice. I’m expected at least one all nighter. Hopefully I’m wrong and I end up organizing myself and getting things done early. I’m hoping crossing my fingers that I will become a way better writer. I’ve always had a passion for writing. I do it quite often and have several note books all over my house. Writing has always been my way of expressing myself. I always get out everything I need to say way better when I write. In general I hope to get better grades than last year and I hope I will be more dedicated to my work rather than sports. My fears about this class is that I will hate it and do terrible. I love English it's always been and will hopefully always be my favorite subject. I fell in love with critical thinking for some reason. It would break my heart if I ended up hating this class and dreading being there everyday. It would also hurt more if I just did absolutely awful in this class. I am definitely where I want to be academically I feel like I should be where I am right now. Ap classes are a way to challenge yourself and see what your strengths are. I firmly believe that Ap classes are going to change my life for the better. Even if it means I’ll be stress crying and sleeping less. In the end it’s going to help me so much. However not so much socially I am an extremely vocal person. I talk way too much and once I get started I don’t stop. A plethora of people do not know that about me because that's not the case most of the time. I kind of have been labeled a quiet kid over the years and it just stuck with me. I’m hoping over time I can get over that but I don’t know if I’ll be able to. People have a much better high school experience when they have great friends. Well the thing is because I’m quiet you can take a wild guess at who by default I become friends with. Quiet people. Just because some is quiet like me does not mean that they have a personality I relate with. Nine times out of ten they don’t and guess who is stuck with them. Which means I become what my friend Sarah calls a floater. Which means someone who doesn’t have close friendships with people. Of course out of school I have plenty close friends but in school that isn’t really the case. Interestingly enough my only real close friends are people I met outside of school that went to the same school as me by chance. Anyway the answer is no I am not happy where I am right now socially. Also when people say joining activities helps you find friends. Wrong. Unless you are someone doesn’t have issues with speaking out . I hope by the end of this year that it will all change for me.
ReplyDeleteEntering junior year is a big deal. Ever since I began my high school journey this year would always come up. I thought to myself "it's Junior year! That's so far away I don't need to worry about it now", but now I'm a junior. It is every bodies most important year. I have to make sure I'm on top of all my classes. This is the year where colleges will look and decide if you're good enough for them which to me adds pressure because I want to go to a good college. This year is the year I told myself I was gonna focus the most. I want to get good grades in all my classes and be on top of every assignment my teachers throw at me. I want to study my butt off in every class, and if I think I need help I don't want to be afraid to ask. That is one of my problems.
ReplyDeleteThe reason why my mind is so set on grades and studying really hard is not just because this is the biggest year in high school , but it is also my come back from last year. Last year was a dark for me because I got so stressed and drowned in work that I procrastinated in. It was so bad that by the end of the year I just mentally and physically couldn't do it, so I gave up. I know I am not that person and I want to prove to my teachers that I'm not. I am taking two AP classes this year. hearing the word builds stress itself. The first thing I think about is work! AP classes are hard, but if you set a goal for yourself you can make it easier. In the long run these classes will get me to where I want to be in life and I will move on from there. Ever since freshman year I've heard a lot about APLang. This class to me is different... in a good way. It inspires me to open up about myself to my classmates, and in a sense makes me feel safe and at home.
Junior year is going to go by fast so I have to make every second count. I am afraid I will fall into bad habits, but I know I can't . I'm better than that. And that goes for all of my classes. I want to work hard, but also have a fun year with my friends and teammates. Academically I am striving to et better this year and all the other years to come. I believe that in my own pace I am where I want to be, but that can always change. Physically I what to go harder in my sports and be the best, so colleges can look at me and this year is the big year for that. I want o take my first SAT and ACT this year when I'm 99.99% comfortable. For now I'm letting the days flow by and trying hard each and everyday to make my difference, so that by the end of the year I can say I've accomplished my goal.
Going into this year I was nervous because multiple people have told me how hard it may be on me in general even more so because I have more than one AP class. I do think this year is going to be the hardest year because it is the year before you start applying for colleges and a lot of things I do this year school wise will be looked at by colleges. I'm definitely going to have to keep up on my work this year more than the previous years which can get hard in my life but hopefully I can manage. I think 11th grade will bring a lot of work but I'm hoping I will have fun and create new friendships throughout the corse of this year. I'm hoping that AP Lang will help me build a better vocabulary and help me comprehend what I'm reading more thoroughly. I think that junior year should be able to help me decide what I definitely want to do with my life and hopefully help me look for the best colleges to apply to that would be a good fit for me. I fear that not only for this class (mainly though) but all my classes are going to give me too much work that I won't be able to handle. These previous years I did have a lot of work however it was a decent amount I was able to handle and fit it into a schedule that worked for me. I think right now I am where I want to be academically, socially, and physically. I have been keeping up on my work thus far even with my busy softball schedule. I also manage to keep up good relationships socially with the people I care about and although its not many I like it that way. I know this year is going to be a change compared to all my years of schooling so far but I think I'm ready for it and I'm excited to see how much I can get out of this class and this year as a whole.
ReplyDeleteHey Aryel, I see what you mean about being nervous. A lot of people seam to take AP Lang which makes me wonder is it really that hard, or is everyone just as daring as us to try to take it. Already today I spent three hours on homework, so I also see what you mean about the work load being too much. It's a lot of work for us to try and fit in our busy lives, at least when your in college your soul purpose is school work so you have time for it. I'm also excited to see how much I can get from the class. The way Mrs. Bunje talks about I feel like my whole world is going to change.
DeleteI think what people say about junior is really how you interpret it. If you think it's going to be the “hardest” part of your highschool career then of course it will be. However if you don’t perceive it as being the hardest, then it will not be as difficult as others say. Which is how, my thinking is at this very moment, I envision it as being just a tad more difficult than last year honestly. Isn’t that every year really? Each year is harder than the previous one. My expectations for the year is to be better than last year, in towards everything that i put my time and effort into. Such as my goals, academics, sports and etc.... What i am hoping to get out of our AP lang class is to experience the journey and process of what we are going to do in this class. And what it takes to “survive” in your class. Furthermore my journey for 11th grade is basically the same thing, the ride through the whole year from different seasons in sports, to the vast majority of task’s in my classes. My fears about the class, at this very moment is really none. No i'm lying, my grade i should say after the end of each trimester. And fears for 11th grade? Really no fears at all what do i have to fear? Can you tell me now so i can know ahead of time? Yeah i am where i want to be in relating to those categories right now. Because i do not have anything lower than a b in any of my classes, i'm cool with basically everybody i know. I do not have much issues with anyone, besides two kids. And physically yeah i could get a little stronger, and bigger but besides that Mrs.Bunjie i’m alright if i say so myself.
ReplyDeleteI actually have never really thought about the difference in difficulty within the various years of high school. My father always told me that my Junior year would be the toughest year, but I never really gave him much thought (mostly because he has a SERIOUS tangent problem and would start talking about school and then somehow get onto the topic of the dentist in the timespan of half an hour). I'm not 100% sure what I should be expecting, but I do understand this year is going to bring some harsh challenges for me to attempt taking on, especially because of this sudden schedule change. I know acedemically it will be hard, and I'll have to try harder than I ever have within my many years of school. But, there already has been plenty of problems this school year that isn't relating to acedemics. I take a lot of negativity from my family (and before anyone assumes, NO, it's not because Asians are usually more strict - just so you know, only my father is Vietnamese, my mother is white, and she's actually the one who causes most of my stress and MAJOR self-doubt). She always has me so extremely confined all the time, I feel as if I'm trapped in juvy and my mother's the warden. I'm supposed to go to bed at a really specific time, and if I don't, I get a very loud and scary scolding. I'm not permitted to visit any of my friends without my mother knowing their faces, their families, who they are, their background, etc. I try to do things to the best of my ability and make my mother happy, but if I don't meet her expectations, I'm suddenly this bratty child who can't do a thing right, a stupid, ignorant, selfish teenager. I'm not allowed nearly any privacy from her, not even in the bathroom or in my own bedroom. She always assumes that if I'm alone, I'll be planning something bad or doing something illegal on my phone. This also includes my father, who typically takes her side, and yells at me as well if I don't do a job correctly according to him. It's even worse with the two of them combined when both are angered or agitated. To add salt to the wound, my best friend of ten years suddenly decided to call me fat, ugly, and quite a lot of profanity, and just stop being my friend. And, of course, I feel as if I should believe her because she was my best friend, so it must be true, I thought.
ReplyDeleteBecause of all of this, this is why I like school so much. Not always because of the learning, but because it's my chance to get away from all of that, and I get to see my friends, the guy I love, and friendly teachers. To many's surprise, school is my relaxation time for the most part. Deep down, (really, really, really, REALLY deep down), I love my family. But I can only take so much. Thank you for reading, it felt nice to get some of this out.
Last year I was told that this year would be the year all hell breaks loose. I was told that I would drown in school work from the first day on and the way it was described; all teachers were just scary, homework-giving demons. With that being said I was a little intimidated. Now that I’ve been a Junior for a solid week, I don’t believe what everyone was saying. I think this year will be very important and definitely a year where time management is a must. I say that because now that we’re getting older and becoming more responsible, teachers will have higher expectations for us. Besides the teachers’ expectations, I expect this year to be different. Different doesn’t exactly mean bad or good. I see it as a new obstical we have to take on as students. I know the workload will be heavier which is where the time management comes into play. Last year I struggled with organization and time management and even though I don’t like to admit it; my grades reflected that. So this year I plan to work harder and meet my own personal expectations as well as my teacher’s.
ReplyDeleteThis year in AP Lang, I hope to not only learn how to score higher on my state tests but also learn how to better my vocabulary and my writing. I know this will be possibly because I have the best teacher ever (10 extra credit points for that one? I think so ;])
I also plan to better myself mentally as much as I do academically. What I mean by that is, I want to be able to say that I not only grew smarter in school but I also grew into a better person at the same time. I believe there is always room to better yourself despite the reasoning or how you plan to do it. So, even though this year will be a big academic rollercoaster with it’s ups and downs; I think I’ll survive… hopefully.
Junior year is what your make of it. It can either be the most difficult year of your life, or just another year. For me junior year is the year where real life begins. It's the year in which there is no time for playing games with your work, but it's also the time to strengthen your relationships, and find out who and where you want to be in a few years. This year will bring many challenges, especially those of us who are taking multiple AP classes. The school work will consume my time, and energy, and I'm ready for it. Who doesn't love a challenge? Your can either go hard or go home, there's no in between. As my first time going to Oakcrest this year I expect to gain a lot this junior year. I want to create, grow, and strengthen relationships with everyone. I expect for AP Language and Composition to help my mind grow, and my vision of the world to become more in depth. I have no fears about the AP Lang course, only the fear in myself that I will grow weak in my efforts to work hard, and be more than ordinary in this class. I will never be where I want to be academically. No one should ever be satisfied academically with themselves since there is always so much more to learn. Socially I am almost satisfied. I have the friends I've always had, and made a lot more, but I'm always looking forward to making friends with people who I want to be friends with. Physically I could be stronger, but I'm still a very healthy person, and value that for myself. So I guess you could say this year is going to be...interesting.
ReplyDeleteBefore starting high school, my older brother made it clear to me that Junior year is the year that counts. For a while I could not understand why this would be the case. Once I finally became a freshman, the reasoning was clear. I see freshman and sophomore year as the time to prepare for the most difficult classes of your high school career; Your junior year classes. This intimidated me, especially as the years went by and the closer I came to be a junior. Now that I am starting the year, I feel I have prepared myself (academically and mentally) for the journey ahead. I am expecting to have difficulties in classes due to their vigourous material, however I have learned to give myself some slack and for the sake of my mental health, I do not obsess over my grades nearly as much as before. Even though I say this, I still put forth my best abilities and try my absolute hardest to reach my goals. One goal I have is to become a better writer during the AP Lang course. If I pursue a career in the journalism field, by taking AP Lang, I am giving myself an extra advantage. I am hoping for my word choice to improve as well as my sentence fluency. As far as junior year goes, I hope to continue to understand myself and follow the path I want to take in life. It is also a part of my high school experience so I will not forget to enjoy along the way. The only fear I have pertaining this course and junior year is to not push myself to my fullest potential and/or out of my comfort zone. Since freshman year I have been able to push myself there and therefore I am able to take the classes I take this year. My goal that I set freshman year was to take AP Lang, APUSH, AP Calc, and an AP science in 11th grade. If you look at my schedule, I have accomplished my goal. Even though I have been pushing myself academically for the past few years, I do not forget about the importance of a social life. I wish I was slightly more outgoing however I have come a long way since middle school in that aspect. I feel as though I have a strong balance of my academics, my social life, and tending to my mental health. My ultimate goal for my junior year is to still be able to say that statement in nine months from now without lying.
ReplyDeleteGoing into my junior year, I didn’t know what to expect. I knew this was the year that I had to start thinking about colleges, and I knew I had to take this year a little bit more seriously than others. We are now a full week in, and it’s not that bad at all (so far). I expect this year to treat me well; academically, physically, and socially. This year in AP Lang, I hope my essay writing improves and I hope my reading comprehension improves. This year in general, I hope to improve and grow as a person, and I feel as though a lot of that will happen in room 204. I did have many worries and fears going into my junior year at first. I have had friends that are now seniors complain about the work, the teachers, and of course, the struggle of being a student athlete while trying to deal with these things. I’ve managed to get my work done around sports practices and games, but I admit it has been a little harder this year so far. I’ve had more worries about AP Lang than I’ve had about any other class, but those worries went away by the end of the first week of school. I have high expectations for myself in AP Lang this year, and even higher expectations for myself alone. I feel that I grew a great amount over the summer socially and physically, and I am aiming to keep bettering myself and continuing to grow academically as well. I’ll just have to see what this year has in store for me.
ReplyDeleteJunior year a.k.a the hardest year in high school. Between SAT’s, AP tests and not to mention the most important year on college applications. Just seeing that in the same sentence would get anyone stressed out. To be completely honest this year is very important for myself because my grades have not always been the best and I would like to show on my college applications that i've improved by leaps and bounds so i'm definitely feeling the pressure. I am expecting the workload to be very challenging this year though I believe this can be a great thing to help me get out of my bad habits such as procrastination. To be honest I am the pro in procrastination and is something i've always struggled with. I know it's still very early in the year but I am very proud of myself so far because I have been very organized and on top of my school work. I decided to take this class not because it was an AP and looks good on college applications though that is nice but simply because it will teach me a ton about writing which is something that I love to do but feel that I need to work on. I expect this class to be very demanding though in the end be very rewarding. My biggest fear about this year is if I can handle the workload and not to mention getting bad grades. Right now I am not where I would like to be academically I would like to improve my grades this year and work on some of my flaws. Also I am not where I would like to be physically see I injured my back swimming last September and am still dealing with the injury and getting back into swim. So needless to say this school year is going to be a challenge but it is one i'm up for and hopefully will help me grow as a person both inside and outside of school.
ReplyDeleteFrom an academic standpoint, I am not Where I want to be. While my grades are good, I know I can do better. I will challenge myself this year to our in the extra time to study and be better prepared for my classes. In the past, I have been a procrastinator. I would always wait until the last minute to complete probe rd or study. I know I am only adding undue pressure so my goal this year is to be more proactive and stay on top of my studies.
ReplyDeleteFrom a social standpoint, I have a solid group of friends that I have known since elementary school. We all have the same mindset of doing well this year and will be there to support each other. I know I need to become more comfortable with talking to teachers and guidance. This is a skill set that I need to strengthen especially in preparation for college.
From a physical standpoint, I feel great where I am today. I worked with a personal trainer to get myself in shape, especially for the upcoming soccer season and overall.
I am looking forward to the AP Lang class this year and am hoping to strengthen my writing skills. I would like to learn the tools needed to become a good writer since I know this will be an important skill set for college and beyond. I have good writing skills but I know they can developed further.
In conclusion, Junior year will be the most challenging and satisfying year in high school. I am committed to putting forth the effort needed to do well and achieve my academic goals.
It feels like just yesterday I was sitting through freshmen orientation thinking that the next four years were gonna feel like forever, “stay busy and these years will fly by” they said and that's exactly what's happened. To believe I graduate next year, shocks me more than ever. Without realizing how many years have past or how little years are left in school I still feel like I'm a freshmen. Since I walked in the doors of Oakcrest and even my sister I’ve heard so much about the infamous Junior year. “Junior years the hardest year of high school” or “wait till you’re a Junior” to know it's finally here and I can finally understand what these teachers/ students were talking about. With AP classes coming into effect, SATS, and having to apply for colleges or even meet with my recruiting officer for the military, I believe this year will be the hardest. I have to remain focused and stay on top of all my work, although, getting a job and even my license will distract me lots from school. I have tendencies of procrastination and giving up when I don't understand things so this year I hope to change that this year. I have high expectations for this school year and I hope not to let myself down. I want to become happier with myself: physically, emotionally, and socially. I’d like to be healthier and in better shape, plus I’d like to get fit for the military. Last year I was in a negative state of mind, I had no motivation and throughout the whole year I was dealing with my grandmother's battle with cancer at home. At the end of the year my grandmom lost her battle and passed away right before finals week, which broke me. I’m still coping with her loss which isn't easy. I’m hoping her loss will motivate me to do better this year because I promised her I’d make her proud before she passed. Socially, I’d like to put myself out more, I had tendencies to cling to one friend at a time and I've realize that's no longer good for me.
ReplyDeleteAll in all, I hope Junior year works out for me. :)
I've known of the infamous junior year of high school since around the time my older sister, alonna, entered Oakcrest in 2011. For the past two years anytime I struggled with anything school related, she would always say “Oh you're struggling with this? Just wait until your junior year”. I never really thought about it because I've always felt like it was so far away and irrelevant at the moment, until it was the very end of the summer and I hadn't even started any of my summer work yet. I know that I still haven't had the opportunity to comprehend the work capacity that I'll have later in the year once we get into things but I'm already not so sure I'll be able to keep up with everything and not be extremely exhausted all the time or be someone whose only concern is to stay on top of their school work. Between a job, school, and attempting to go to the gym in the morning (key word is attempting), I know it's possible if I'm very conservative with my time and don't procrastinate with every assignment I have. I'm trying to actually get my life together this year and be productive and efficient in every aspect I can, which hasn't started out very well but I'm hoping to get into some kind of groove soon. This year I'm expecting a lot from not only school but myself as well. A huge goal of mine is to keep my grades up and not struggle horribly trying to do so. I don't want to be seen as the friend with the horrible grades anymore and though I try to make it seem like I don't care, I want to be seen as someone who's smart and knows what they're doing not someone who's just winging it like I have been. I'm expecting myself to create more discipline within myself because of the way I've acted and presented myself these past two years, in which I have made an innumerable amount of mistakes. I am expecting to be able to carry my study habits into my senior year and know that I'll pass with flying colors. I want to learn more about myself and more ways to control and teach myself new things this year, whether that's from the classes I'm in or just practicing on my own. From AP Lang specifically, I am expecting to read faster, learn how to better analyze text, and write more extensively without just repeating myself over and over again. I'd also enjoy if this class gave me a bigger interest in reading in general which I do not enjoy. At this moment, I am nowhere near where I want to be no matter which perspective I chose to view my life through. I know this because I have so much room to grow and so much room where I want to flourish. I want to be confident in not only my intelligence but myself as a whole and I have a lot of work to do before I am who I want to be.
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