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?
Difficulty is subjective. No matter what others say on how laborious or strenuous anything is, it may be the complete opposite considering your own point of view. If I were to take into account, school activities, affairs at home, and a number of AP classes I take then yes I believe this is a tough year. Yes, I believe the workload will be demanding, however, I do not believe it will be as tough and demanding as senior year. Maybe it’s because I’ve only had two days worth of experience from junior year but then again who knows?
ReplyDeleteWhat I do know, however, is what I expect of this year. The number one thing I expect from this year is to learn a fair amount. What’s the point of taking all these AP classes if you aren’t going to gain knowledge? As for AP Lang, I am hoping to improve my grammar and widen my vocabulary. To be completely honest, I’m about 33% sure on where I’m supposed to put a comma and the words I use the most are shut, hate, suck, eat and gat (obviously excluding profanity).
For junior year, all I am hoping for is to become closer with my peers. To me, it seems as if we all know we each exist but none of us really knows anything about each other. But what I desire and what I am fearful of are the complete opposite. I fear since I have such an increased quantity of work, that I will be too focused doing projects and homework that I’ll have no time for my friends and that it’ll send them away rather than bring them closer.
Determining how I stand academically, socially and physically really depends on my mood. But since I'm rather content at the moment I’d say academically, I want to do a lot better. I haven't been giving everything my all and the effects show. As for socially, I guess I could use several extra friends. And as for physically, let's just say that walking to my classes before the late bell rings is already more exercise than I anticipated.
Junior year...the toughest, the most stressful, and the most important year (or so they say). Does it not scream “anxiety attack every five seconds”?! I hate to start this off so negatively, but if I’m being honest, I’m completely terrified. Coming into the 2016-17 school year, I expect nothing but crazy changes, good and bad. For example, we have no ceiling tiles, half of the 200 wing is closed off, and gym locker rooms are still under construction...but hey, at least we have air conditioning! (In about five classrooms). But let’s turn things onto the positive side, even though I’m nervous about this year, I also couldn’t be more excited. I genuinely love being in my school's environment, especially in the beginning of the year. Football games, field hockey, the holidays, it’s all great energy. Another thing that I’m feeling positive about is this class. I love a challenge, and I feel like AP Lang is gonna be just that for me. I’m hoping that by the end of this school year, I leave knowing that I actually got something out of this class, instead of walking out relieved that it’s finally over. I’d be lying to you if I said I was gonna do it perfectly, and without having the urge to cry a few times, but I know that I will get it done, and I will be confident in where I stand as a student.
ReplyDeleteNearly everyone around me says that Junior year will be the most difficult year in high school. They say this for various reasons, like SAT's and colleges, and I have to be honest, they are right. The vibe I'm getting off of these AP classes are on a whole new level, although I have taken one AP class before. I'm doing homework on a Friday, the day of the first Football game! I'm usually the last one to do these, and here I am, number three, which is unprecedented. I know exactly what this year will bring. It will be packed with learning and homework, as well as an expanded knowledge base. Oh yeah, it will also pitch me into a fresh new hell as I power through these next 180 days on nothing but willpower. Wasting away, deprived of sleep and relaxation, I will most certainly come out of this year like a stranded survivor on an unknown island. I know this class will transform me into a better writer, and I am sure my other classes will change me as well. This is what I want from these classes, besides that big, fat, juicy 20% weight (Just kidding). All I fear from this class, and others, is the workload and the difficulty. I have a bad feeling whatever pride I may have had about doing all my work will be gone by the second trimester. I'm definitely not where I want to be in anything. If I were academically, then I would be going to Six Flags on Sunday. If I were socially, I'd have received a text from someone today. Physically, I'd love to be perfect, but food and sleep are really good.
ReplyDeleteWell if there's one thing that stresses me out in being a Junior is that colleges will particularly look at this very year and determine whether or not I get accepted, which then pressures me sort of to do my best in all of my classes. As for the work load that comes in being a Junior with two AP classes and all Honors classes, I'm sort of not surprised. Ever since I was a freshman, I've always dread this kind of a workload, but I will always fear it. So this year I'm going to to my best and hopefully overcome my horrible study and procrastination habits, but there's a good chance I'll fail at getting over those habits. What I'll be hoping to do this year is to just really do well and do the one thing I dread, studying. Even my own cousin who's really smart and in college says that Junior year is really tough and I need to study my butt off. I hope this class will turn me into a better writer because honestly I suck at writing, so hopefully at the end of this year, I'll be at least decent at writing or more hopefully an excellent writer. As for where I'll be academically, hopefully I'll still be at the honor roll, socially I really don't care as long as I have friends, and physically I really need to control my appetite.
ReplyDeleteHaving a large amount of friends in the senior class has given me the advantage of walking into junior year with a large idea of what to expect. The majority of people that have survived junior year make it very known that there will be several all nighters filled with homework, a ton of tests that will be failed, and a lot of anxiety attacks. But isn’t it that way with every grade? At least for me it is, so although I have completed only 3 days of my junior year, I am making it a point to keep what everyone has said in the back of my head but to start junior year as if I have absolutely no idea what to expect. I don’t want to enter a school year expecting myself to struggle, which is why I am going to treat junior year like any other year.
ReplyDeleteI am hoping that this year, this class especially, teaches me to understand the fact that I am not a number. That concept is very hard for me to grasp given the fact that I feel as if everything I have ever handed in is documented into some secret file for every college I apply to, but I would love nothing more than for this year to force me to let go of that crazy idea, and I am hoping that this class gets the job done.
As of now, my only fear about 11th grade is it ending too quickly. I am not lying when I say that I LOVE school. Don’t get me wrong, I love learning, but when I say I love school I mean that I love all the accessories of it; I love being social, I love being apart of the athletics family, and I love all the fun activities that Oakcrest holds throughout the year. Because of this, I am worried that time will get the best of me.
At this point in time, I am very content with where I am. I am proud of the effort I put into my academics, and I do see that my effort and dedication is paying off. In a social aspect, I enjoy all of the people I’m surrounded by. As for the physical aspect, ice cream is just too delicious.
At first, my perspective on junior year was initially that it was one step closer to graduation. Ever since I was a freshman, all I ever wanted was for the school year to end faster. However, I have started to grow an appreciation of school and I'm pretty excited for my junior year. The only fear I have would be the dreadful, long nights of homework/assignments, that I probably waited to do due to procrastinating. Also, I am pretty stressed out from the constant lectures about junior year being the hardest year in high school. What also forces me to do my best this year, is the idea that colleges will be looking at my grades from this year the most.
ReplyDeleteOverall, I could say I feel that this year I would like to improve academically and socially. I wish I could have joined more clubs and activities back in my freshman year, but I am honestly happy with the friends I have made so far. I am prepared to work hard and get good grades for the last two years of my high school experience. So far, I feel as though I am grateful for the life I live and am inspired to continue to grow beyond my expectations.
• Coming out of sophomore year on a very low note, I expect myself to do better junior year. Ever since I walked into Oakcrest, it's been implemented in my head that eleventh grade is the most important year; SAT's, college visits, recruiters, AP tests. I feel like I've been doing nothing but listen about how important junior will be for the past two years. Taking three AP classes and no study hall was probably not my smartest move but I wanted to challenge myself this year. I wanted to see how I'm going to manage my time with eight courses (Seven if you don't include gym). This sounds nuts and actually pretty idiotic but I also did it to see how I can handle my stress. I have been a worry rat since young so I don't expect myself to be any different.
ReplyDeleteI expect myself to do well this year on the SAT and the AP tests. I hate tests, I always freeze up and getting back my PSAT and SAT score was an eye opener. I've always been good in the English part of any standardize test but in both tests, they were my lowest scores by a lot. I am hoping and praying that Lang will help me improve my scores. I know there will be nights where I do find myself at 12 am crying and saying "Why did I do this to myself" but I know it will all be worth it when I learn how to not procrastinate and actually get my life together.
My biggest fear for eleventh grade is that I am going to do crappy on the SAT. If I don't do well on the SAT very few scholarships will come my way and I don't want to be paying for college until I'm 75. As far as where I want to be, I'm kind of where I would like to be academically because (at the moment) I’m not procrastinating, but socially I need to work on my people skills. For God’s sake, I brought my friend from Ocean City to the Oakcrest side last night. New people just intimidate me; I don't know why so I need to work on that and with time I will get there. I am not where I need to be emotionally. I lost my grandmother (who I was extremely close to) in May of 2016 and ever since my emotional state has been a little foggy. I do have a goal for myself by the end of the year to be where I want to be physically and I know running in the hallways so I’m not late to class mixed with rowing will help me. But, doughnuts are just so good and iced coffee makes me happy.
I believe junior year is the most important year of high and probably the hardest year too. This year is the year that’ll count the most to colleges.I never actually thought about junior year too much when I was a freshman, but as I became closer to junior year and after listening to all the guidance counselors and teachers talking about how important junior year it eventually sunk in that it was a big deal.Colleges will be looking at everything and there’s no doubt that it stresses me out, but it’s nothing that can’t be handled with hardwork and determination. Many people look at junior year and think that it’s the last year of highschool where they have to work super hard because senior year is kind of the chill year and you don't have to stress about too many classes because it’s usually a majority of electives.
ReplyDeleteI have high expectations for junior year and AP Lang. My academic goals every year are basically the same no matter what classes I take and stay focused. I try to maintain an A or B grade in every class every marking period even if it isn’t my best class. I began to panic about my grades as soon the grade drops to a “C” at any point during the year, but throughout the marking periods my grades are a rollercoaster and I guess when I stress it helps me motivate myself in a way. My expectations for AP Lang is to learn stuff that I don't know and to have a better grasp of concepts that I don't understand too well. My main goal for this year in AP Lang is to improve my writing skills because even though I like writing I'm not too good at it. My main goal for junior year to have grades i'm satisfied with, do well on all standardized tests, and have a great overall.
My fear for junior year is not being able to reach my goal of maintaining an A or B and that's also my fear for AP Lang. In some classes, I have a bad habit of zoning out when I'm really tired so I plan on getting sufficient sleep and staying organized throughout the year like I've been doing. I'm fine with where I am academically and socially especially right now since school has just begun because I feel like I have people when I need them to talk to them either for education purposes or just to talk.Education wise I've always accomplished my academic goals but there's definitely room for improvement and it’ll be harder this year since have more difficult classes. I would like to improve physically, but that's always been a problem because at points I can be very lazy and I also get tired super fast . Overall, I hope junior year is great and all my goals are accomplished.
Ever since I stepped into high school, all I hear are: you’re going to hate Junior year, Junior year is the hardest, I can’t wait for my Junior year to end, etc., which honestly made me unenthusiastic about. I remember when summer vacation just started, I was already dreading to go back to school. However when I came home from school after the first day, I felt like junior year may not be what everyone think it is. I know for a fact that having sports and other activities after school will make this year a tough ride, but it will all be fine and smooth by using time management wisely. As a student, I HATE to procrastinate and I HATE to see my things disorganized, so if I know an assignment/project/homework is assigned even if its due date is a month from now, I will always make time to do it as early as possible by making my own due date, like maybe a week before it’s due. So in my opinion, the difficulty of this year will all depend on the person, and how he/she will handle the “most demanding year of high school.”
ReplyDeleteI don’t expect this year to be easy, but I expect it to be fun where at the same time I would learn plenty of new things. As for this class, I hope to be a better writer and speaker. Whenever I write essays/reports for a class, I have a vast amount of information and thoughts in my head, that for some unknown reason, I’m not able to write on my paper. It’s also the same with speaking, I know what I want to say or explain, but once I speak my mind I start to stutter or end up saying the wrong explanations.
I don’t want to say that I do not have fears about 11th grade, because we all know that this is the most important year for colleges, but why stress myself? For me, the better way to approach this year is too see that the glass is half full not half empty for me to survive and even enjoy this year’s upcoming challenges.
Yes, I think I am where I want to be. I cannot complain about my schedule because all my classes definitely left me interested right on my first day. Socially, I believe I have the best friends I could ever asked for. My friends list adds up every year and I like that. But I would say I am a quiet person so I am a little awkward to those I don’t talk to at first, but once I talk to them more often I’ll be fine. Physically, I feel good. I jog, I eat, I play my sport.
Coming into this year, I'd dint know what to expect from Oakcret High School. I didn't know if I would come back to air conditioning in all my classes or never ending sweat beads coming down the side of my face for another year. But then again, I didn't know a lot of things heading into my junior year. One of those things being my schedule. And my schedule consists of other significant classes that are mandatory for me to graduate including Chemistry, Algebra two and US History two. But this class is hands down the most important I will have in my final two years here as a Falcon. I guess you can say I got lucky to not get a AP class my first two years here at Oakcrest. But the way I look at it is this is a new challenge to me. You may be dealing with an "inexperienced" student who has never had an AP class before, but one thing I will not do for the next nine months I have this class is stress, complain or overthink anything you give me in this class.
ReplyDeleteBecause I'm the type of person to think of the glass half full, not half empty. I've learned from past experiences in my life both personal and in school that if you think you can't do one thing, you will always think you can't accomplish anything. So on the second day of class when you asked for my reaction to the workload that you would give me this year, I told you a mixture of composure and stress. The composure comes from me being an introvert. I'm not the crazy, all up in your face type of student, I save that for pep rallies and football games. But I'm not the shy, lonely student that I used to be. I like to think of myself as a perfect mixture of socially awkward and fun to get to get along with type of student. But when it comes to school work and workloads that I'm expected to get this year, I am very clam and try not to think of the worst possible situation and just do it. But I'm not gonna keep typing in this response how I'll never crack under the workload because I might. But that's why you're here. To help me if that ever happens. That's where the mixture of stress comes in. So in conclusion, if anyone were to put on themselves in the shoes of of a junior in high school, their first reaction would probably from the workload not only in this class, but in every class would be terrified. Junior year is the hardest year in high school absolutely. But sometimes you just need to look into the eyes of fear and stress and tell him you'll never break me. I'm ready for your challenge. I'm ready to AP English.
When I hear the words "junior year," I am presented with three strong emotions; stress, anxiety, and excitement. I am not really sure how it is possible that i can feel stressed and excited at the same time. Coming from someone who stresses about every little thing in the entire universe, it is safe to say that I am already ridiculously stressed about junior year. Maybe that comes from the fact that Ive already gotten a good amount of homework in my classes... and I've only been a junior for 3 days. Forgetting about what my older friends have told me and warned me about, I am already starting to see the hard parts of this year. Alongside all of my teachers' introductions including the general facts about their life comes speeches about exams and SATs and staying focused and earning credits and fulfilling requirements and COLLEGE. Although for years now I have had a clear idea about what I want my career to be, I still seem to worry about being prepared for college. Im sure they are the typical worries of every high school student, but even knowing everyone else worries about the same stuff doesn't help me feel better. What if I don't get accepted into my dream college? How do you properly fill out an application? Are my grades perfect enough to even get accepted into a decent school? I try to live by the moment and not stress about my future but I am sure everyone can agree that it is hard to do knowing a huge part of your life is only 2 years away. Despite my fears and worries, this is where my excitement pays a role. I am so excited to see what my future has in store for me. I have been warned that the classes I take will kill me, but I am up for the challenge. Even if that challenge means staying up until 3:00 at night finishing homework due to my extreme case of procrastination. No one forced me to take this class. I chose it by myself. I know that regardless if lessons are a piece of cake or something that I am struggling with, this is what is crafting my future self. Everything I do is making me the person I will be for the rest of my life. I am expecting to have nights where I feel like quitting. I am expecting to have times where I have no idea what to do or how to do it. But, by taking this AP Lang class, I am expecting to go to a good college, I am expecting to use the tools I learn here for the rest of my life. I am so ready for the challenges of junior year. I have a strong, solid group of friends guiding me through every step of the way. I participate in several clubs and activities for the school. I play a part in the spirit of Oakcrest High School. I absolutely love the school I go to. Sure, this class will be hard. But it doesn't scare me. Again, I am here for a reason. Some people may argue that freshman year is the hardest; having to go to a new school, adjust to the work load, be in a high school, etc... But I think I turned out pretty well. I survived. If I can survive freshman year and sophomore year, who says I cant survive junior year? Im ready. I am ready to learn and overcome challenges. Junior year is the start of the end and I am so so so ready to accomplish another amazing year of High School.
ReplyDeleteLast year was one of the best years of my life so far. I found amazing new friends, joined clubs and activities that made me feel welcome, and I was overall a happy person. Although I knew it would be an amazing year I also knew it had to come to an end, and that end was graduation. All of my friends left me and I was left with no one really. Ever since the summer of freshman year I knew that my friends would someday leave me but it never truly hit me until I walked into school the first day of 11th grade and saw faces I never really took the time to notice. All around me were strangers and it was terrifying. I remember walking in the hallway and I swore I saw Laiba, but it wasn't really her. I remember searching in the crowd of people for my friends, then remembering they weren't there. Don't get me wrong, I am so happy to see where my friends are now, in college having a great time, but it's justs lonely now without them. I was never looking forward to Junior year, I really wanted to just skip to senior year, until I realized that Junior year would be a year where I can focus on school and hopefully learn great new things. When I saw who was in my classes I panicked because these were not people I was friends with, then I realized once again my friends didn't even go to Oakcrest anymore. Now my post is starting to get sad so I will tell you what I made this dismal realization into. This year I won't have people to distract me in my classes. I won't have people texting me as much, allowing me to do more homework. If there was any time for my friends to leave it would be this year, because this year I need to focus. From all of the stuff I've heard about Junior year I was nervous but as soon as we discussed what we would be doing in this class I noticed something. It might be a lot of work but it looks like a lot of work I will ENJOY doing. This class is a class I feel like I won't mind the workload, because its a workload of interesting pieces. On the other hand though, I could be wrong. This could be one of the worst classes I've ever taken (although it's not a history class, so it can't be THAT bad.). This year is when I want to be organized. I want to teach myself ways to be motivated. I am determined to make this year one of my best years academically. It will require some sacrifices, like track, but I will make it work. For this year in general I want to focus on media and see if it's something I would want to go to college for. I'm determined to push myself this year and enlarge my boundaries. I already know there will be up's and down's but I know that I will be able to make it through them. Overall, I'm looking forward to this year. I know it will be hard and require a lot of work, but I'm determined.
ReplyDeleteWe've only had three days of school and I've finally realized how hard this year is going to be. For the past years in high school, it was pretty easy to get As. All I had to do was listen, study a little, and do my homework. But after getting a whole chapter (28 pages) to read for homework on the second day of school, it's finally hit me. This year is going to be the hardest because it's the first time I'm taking AP courses. Not only that, but I'm taking five of some of the hardest classes there is. There's no easing into it--you just do it. But, I'm glad that I'm realizing this now and not on my first day of college.
ReplyDeleteI don’t understand how some people can take five AP classes, do sports all year round, and get really good grades. Last year was my first time playing sports all three seasons (two in the fall) and it will be my last. It was really hard to juggle practice, school, and sleep and I was really lucky to have teachers that didn’t give me a lot of work. This year, I’m just sticking to marching band, some clubs, and maybe a winter sport. Spring is off limits for this year because I want to have the time to study for the AP tests.
This year will be my best academically (and hopefully when I beat Preston). I’ve already taken the SATs twice and my PSAT score was not where I wanted it to be. I’m planning on getting higher scores on both tests. My (unrealistic, but totally possible) goals are to qualify for the National Merit Scholarship, get in the 1500s on the SAT, get all 5s on my AP tests, and get all A+ for all of my classes, but it’s going to be really hard. Luckily, my parents forced me to study over the summer, so I’m already ahead of the game, but not by much (seriously though, I’m literally reading a whole history textbook).
Honestly, I don’t know if I’m ready, but it’s too late. I don’t know what to expect, especially since I have a lot more free time than the last two years. Lang is probably going to be the toughest class for me because I’ve always struggled with trying to understand a deeper meaning in the books that I read. I’ve always hated answering questions while I’m reading because why can’t I just enjoy it and not have to think about why this or why that. When I hear that someone likes reading the classics (like Pride and Prejudice or a Tale of Two Cities), I instantly become jealous because I can’t understand how it’s such a good book or how anyone could like those old books. But, I took Lang partly for this reason--to be able to understand it deeply--so that I can become a better reader and appreciate authors more for their works of art. With more practice in writing and reading, I’m expecting to leave the class with a better understanding.
Surprisingly, I don’t like to think hard, especially for homework. Yes, I’m always getting my work done early, but that’s because I don’t like feeling stressed. I know doing hard work is just life. I just try to avoid it. I’m not afraid of the work that I have to do; I’m afraid of getting even less sleep than last year, I’m afraid of getting too stressed and overwhelmed, I’m afraid that I’ll disappoint my parents this year with my test scores/grades, I’m afraid that I won’t be able to get into a really good college, I’m afraid to fail myself. I’m setting some really high bars this year and I’m not sure if I’ll ever be able to reach them.
It’s weird how I think being challenged physically and mentally are two totally different things. Yet, I do the same thing in both--I’ve never given it my all before. Whenever I run, I can tell myself to run faster, run harder, but I’ll keep slowing down. I think if I just study, then maybe I’ll do better on my math test, but I never do. I don’t like how I’m weak in both ways and I’ve never done anything to fix it before, but I will now. This year will be my best year yet.
All of the college talk and preparation begins now. College level classes, college tours, college planning; it all seems surreal. It feels like just yesterday I was graduating middle school, and now my parents and teachers are trying to prepare me for the next big step...college! I expect junior year to be a very challenging year for me, but who doesn't love a challenge? I can already tell that the academic rigor of my classes this year is very high. In AP Lang, I hope to excel in my understanding of literature, compose better essays and written work, and retain as much knowledge as one possibly can. I want to get the most out of this class because it is more than just being able to read a book or write an essay. It goes beyond what regular english classes teach. Surprisingly, I am not afraid of anything that junior year has to offer. I already accepted the fact that an A+ will not just appear in Genesis, but that I have to work at being the best that I can be to earn the exceptional grades. Junior does not scare me nearly as much as it should. The last two years of high school have taught me a lot. They taught me that it is okay to fail, and learn from my mistakes. Academically speaking, I make the same mistake every year. I do not give my full dedication to a specific class (usually math), and it hurts me in the end. This year I am going to try my hardest to dedicate my time more to every one of my classes. I am emotionally and physically ready for the workload and stress that is to come with my AP courses.
ReplyDeleteJunior year is definitely going to be the most challenging year in my opinion. I have some pretty challenging classes and Lang is the one that I’m most worried about. I have had a few people warn me about how stressful this class was for them but i'm stubborn and once I put my mind to something nothing can stop me. I think Lang will push me out of my comfort zone when it comes to writing and presenting things orally but i'm up for the challenge. My only expectation for this year is that I am most likely going to be stressed out of my mind. I tend to overthink the littlest things which absolutely adds to my stress levels. The main thing I want to get out of this year in general is knowledge. In the past I have had classes that I can honestly say did not teach me one thing. I love to learn things and I have a million questions bouncing around my head at all times. Yet in those classes all I did was memorize things for the test which I then had to quickly discard to make room for the next set of things that were going to be on the next test. I’m hoping AP Lang will help me improve my grammar. It took me two years to learn English and the first year I didn't have an ESL teacher so I was practically clueless. The ESL teacher I got the second year only took me to restaurants and had me read the menus.So I didn't learn English or grammar the way that everyone else did.
ReplyDeleteI know for a lot of people their main concern is the workload but that's not as high on my list of worries. I have pretty good time management skills and a good group of friends that keep me motivated. My number one concern for this year and this class is managing my anxiety and not letting it affect me academically. It's something that I have been dealing with for a while now and it definitely stops me from doing a lot of things. I’m not exactly where I would like to be academically. I feel likes there's always room for improvement. Socially I think i'm one of the lucky ones. I have an amazing group of real friends who support, motivate, love, and understand me and for that I am truly grateful. My main goal physically is just to be healthy. I have some health issues that I don't pay as much attention to as I should. I am not a big fan of doctors so I don't go to them unless I absolutely have to and even then someone usually has to drag me there. I don't want to be just physically healthy but also mentally healthy. Overall I’m excited, nervous, and a little scared for this year but I think I can handle the things coming my way.
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ReplyDeleteSince the day that I walked into Oakcrest freshman year, all that anyone has ever told me is that nothing matters the way that junior year will. Knowing from the jump that this year would be challenging, I chose to challenge myself more than most of my peers throughout the first two years of high school in order to prepare myself for the dreaded eleventh grade. That being said, anxiety and stress have been my closest friends for a while now. We're kind of a package deal.
ReplyDeleteWalking into junior year, I am far from afraid. Biting off more than I can chew is one of my favorite hobbies, and I am completely and utterly ready to take on every challenge thrown at me for the next 176 days. I know that not a single day is going to be easy, and I'm okay with that. As well as knowing what I'm getting myself into, I also know exactly what I want out of this school year. I am aiming to do nothing more, and nothing less, than better myself. Not just as a writer or a mathematician, but as a person, as a friend, and as a daughter. Through AP Lang and writing, I hope to find who I am, and who I need to be, not for anyone else anymore, but for me. Through both my math courses, I'm hoping to test my limits, no pun intended, and see just how far I can go. And of course, through all of this, I want to begin to plan for my life as I move on from high school.
Academically, I am satisfied where I am, however I know that I could do better. I could use my time more efficiently, study harder, work better. Socially, I am missing a piece of my heart who has been in my life for quite some time, and I am working to get back to where I was, and fill the gap myself. And physically, I am happy with how I look and how I play. But being happy about who I am is another story. Mentally, I am working so very hard, and hoping that this year brings new found happiness and purpose.
Since the day that I walked into Oakcrest freshman year, all that anyone has ever told me is that nothing matters the way that junior year will. Knowing from the jump that this year would be challenging, I chose to challenge myself more than most of my peers throughout the first two years of high school in order to prepare myself for the dreaded eleventh grade. That being said, anxiety and stress have been my closest friends for a while now. We're kind of a package deal.
ReplyDeleteWalking into junior year, I am far from afraid. Biting off more than I can chew is one of my favorite hobbies, and I am completely and utterly ready to take on every challenge thrown at me for the next 176 days. I know that not a single day is going to be easy, and I'm okay with that. As well as knowing what I'm getting myself into, I also know exactly what I want out of this school year. I am aiming to do nothing more, and nothing less, than better myself. Not just as a writer or a mathematician, but as a person, as a friend, and as a daughter. Through AP Lang and writing, I hope to find who I am, and who I need to be, not for anyone else anymore, but for me. Through both my math courses, I'm hoping to test my limits, no pun intended, and see just how far I can go. And of course, through all of this, I want to begin to plan for my life as I move on from high school.
Academically, I am satisfied where I am, however I know that I could do better. I could use my time more efficiently, study harder, work better. Socially, I am missing a piece of my heart who has been in my life for quite some time, and I am working to get back to where I was, and fill the gap myself. And physically, I am happy with how I look and how I play. But being happy about who I am is another story. Mentally, I am working so very hard, and hoping that this year brings new found happiness and purpose.
“You are now entering your Junior year.” I am. According to the state, my parents, my teachers, and my friends, this is my 11th year of attending public school, but to me this is my 5th year of getting an education. How does that make sense? Well, all throughout elementary and middle school I saw the big yellow bus and the building with a million kids in it as a form of socializing. Don’t get me wrong, I loved school and was always a good student, if that's what you would call it. I received nothing but A’s and gave nothing but respect to my teachers, but it was not an education. I went to school everyday remembering what I was “taught” for a week or until we had a test on the material. As soon as grades were received my brain was erased and ready for the next piece of temporary information.
ReplyDeleteEventually 7th grade rolled around and a light switch was turned on. I can’t explain how and I can’t explain why. I just fell in love with learning. I retained everything, or tried to at least. I no longer went to class to remember something for an assessment. I went to class to learn. I went to class to remember material that would help me for the future. I started receiving an education, a real education. It wasn’t college or even high school, it was just me, finally understanding what it actually meant to learn. So will junior year of high school be the toughest? Probably, but I know that I can handle it. I don’t expect to cry every night and I don’t expect to have mental breakdowns. The only thing I’m expecting is from myself. My goal is to obtain the most knowledge I can from all of my classes and begin preparing myself for college. I don’t want to remember my junior year of high school as one spent stressed out. I actually go to school to learn, along with the fabulous memories that are attached with it, and have no fear that I won’t be able try my best with everything that is thrown my way.
When I was a freshman I never really thought about junior year and would yet to come. Now that day has finally come and I never even noticed how fast everything went by. Now I think everyday on how I am going to survive junior year due to the challenges that await me. Tests, homework, and wanting to have free time with my hobbies sounds like a lot to fit in. Also the fact that this is my first year here so everything seems brand new to me which makes me feel like a freshman. I still get lost in hallways sometimes scared that I'll be late for class but I am slowly understanding where to go. So I do agree this will be the hardest and most brutal year of high school but will not be impossible for me. I am actually very excited this year to learn everything I can and tackle the work that comes with learning. I am also very excited to take this class too. Since elementary school I was never really a good writer and did not like to write at all. Over the years I have grown to like writing but was still never good at it. When my sister heard I was going to Oakcrest she told me take this class because it had made her a better writer and that is what I hope to accomplish. I feel that learning to be a good writer will help me in the future immensely with college and applying for jobs. Yet no matter how excited I am, I am also afraid at the same time. AP classes are new to me and have never taken them before. All honors classes and an AP class scares me a bit with all the work that is yet to come but I am hoping I can handle this. Even with the SAT's and the ACT's some of the most important tests for getting into college. But I am confident that I can do this and get through junior year with satisfaction and not regret. The knowledge that I have right now is where I want it to be right now and hope to increase it this year. So in all retrospect I am ready to get through the year and more importantly AP English no matter how much work it will be.
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ReplyDeleteEvery year there are always people telling me that it will be hard and challenging and I have got to the point where I’m not even phased. It’s not like it is easy (nowhere near easy) but the workload whether large or small always feels the same. I feel that I make school way harder than it is because of how I procrastinate. It stresses me out though I don’t have the same mentality as most the people I know. A lot of people are overwhelmed by the stress and will have all these problems that branch from it while I just get really annoyed by the work. I tell myself that I won’t do it next time and I’ll start early but come next essay or project and I’m back in my room typing away at midnight. I’m also very lazy so combined with the procrastination it makes school more “exciting”. One attribute that has helped me though is my ability to brush the negativity off. I’ll see my friends look like they’re about to have a heart attack when they see a B but I could get an F and laugh about it. Can’t change it, what I can do is see what I did wrong to improve upon it. All I want from this year is to have the work I do help me get into a great college because really that’s all anyone wants. When it comes to fears the only thing I really hate doing in class is presenting/speaking in front of the class. I already knew that it would probably happen often this year so I’m just going to have to deal with it. Again academically I want to be in good shape to get into college so hopefully, five AP courses are enough considering how much life they’re going to drain me of this year. On the physical side, I’m doing football which should keep me in shape. It’s ironic that I love sports and participating in them while also being lazy as well as hating activities such as running. School and sports take up a majority of my time so, other than what happens in school, having a social life is limited. Perhaps that’s the reason I surround myself with pets.
ReplyDeleteI have always heard that junior year would be the toughest year in high school and I always thought that it would never come. My first two years in high school went by a lot faster than I expected. Now that I'm here I can finally see for myself if this year will be the toughest. Its only been four days and I can already tell that it will be very difficult. I can already feel the difference and can tell that there will be much more work and the work will be much more challenging. But the more challenging the work is, the more that I will get out of the work that I'm doing. This year there will be no work that feels like busy work and all of it will have a significant meaning. I expect this year to be extremely challenging and demanding, but I know it will all be worth it in the end. I am hoping that AP Lang will help me become a better writer because I know I can write a lot better.I'm sure that when I leave the class i will be a much better writer. I fear that the work will be overwhelming and I will fall behind, but if I stay on top of the work and do it earlier than the last minute, then I should be good. I know in AP that I'm not going to wait until the last minute to do my work because all of the work should have maximum effort and time put into it. Procrastinating will make the work bad and it won't be nearly as good as work if it has a lot of time into it. Another fear is speaking in front of the class and I really don't know why. I know in most classes you have to do this, so I have become better and more used to doing it, so I don't see it being that big of a problem this year. I like where I am academically right now, but I know there is so much more to learn about all the subjects we take. I can improve in a lot of areas and then I will feel even better on where I am academically right now. Overall, I am ready to tackle junior year and all the challenges that it will bring. I know that it will be tough, tiresome, and dreadful, but I'm prepared to do this to help me in the future greatly.
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ReplyDeleteCollege has not felt any closer or surreal. Three years in a high school environment changes people. Coming into my junior year I have a feeling of authority. A sense of maturity that I have not felt anywhere else. I walked into my Bio medical room like an adult and felt a sense of maturity rush through my body. But, as the day went henceforth, walking out of my last class of the day … I felt the same exact feeling I felt walking into this building for the first time. A complete freshman. Taking Four AP classes and one magnet program I started to realize that my maturity was really going to have to take me through this year. It brought me back to a time when I was on the boardwalk this summer and me to start realizing that the things I did one night that changed me as a person. That night related to the type of excitement and maturity that I would be feeling the day after school. I didn’t think I would be so changed by the things I heard my first day of junior year and the rest of the 179 days of the school year. Things happen for a reason and I’m excited to mature up and start to face these battles. Whether it is enjoying yourself and the company of others on a boardwalk late summer night, or contemplating whether or not you want to put those extra 30-40 minutes to revise the paper that is due in a month.
ReplyDeleteMaturity comes with a lot of expectations. I need to start to realize that this year is the year when your grades will be looked upon the most. Grades will be a thing of worry, and my time management skills will need to mend through with my maturity. Taking an AP course is great and all but after my first day I realized that I will not only learn skills that will regard to the course, but will learns social and time management skills as well. Everything ties back to maturity. My number one fear is coming out of my junior year without a choice of what I want to do with my educational career after the year. I also fear that I might not catch up to my maturity levels. It’s going to be tough but I think this will be a great experience for me. I will get to where I want educationally. Whether I follow my maturity levels that I will receive this year will entitle if I am able to keep control of my education. It’s scary, nevertheless it’s exciting to change for the better.
Ever since I left my old school after Sophmore year and relocated to Oakcrest, I was hopeful for a fresh start for my Junior year. Sophmore year really put me to the test (mostly because I was procrastinating and hurting myself), but if what my friends said were true, the hard part was still to come. I believe that Junior year is supposed to present challenges and expectations that we should be able to overcome. As always, challenges come with hard work, dedication, and motivation, something I didn't have much of during my Sophmore year. That brings me to AP Lang. When I signed up for the class, I wanted a class that would challenge me to bring out my best and I expect this class to do exactly that. I also wanted something to fill up my free time, something that I had too much of during my Sophmore and Freshman years.
ReplyDeleteI guess my biggest fear was procrastinating too much and hurting myself in the process. I was afriad that I signed up for more than I could handle. I was scared that I would fail miserably. However, after experiencing Junior year a little, I can say that I feel great about this year. Everything is where I want it to be, whether in academics or life in general. I have actually never felt better.
Overall, I feel ready for the future and I look forward to what it has in store for me.
Ever since I left my old school after Sophmore year and relocated to Oakcrest, I was hopeful for a fresh start for my Junior year. Sophmore year really put me to the test (mostly because I was procrastinating and hurting myself), but if what my friends said were true, the hard part was still to come. I believe that Junior year is supposed to present challenges and expectations that we should be able to overcome. As always, challenges come with hard work, dedication, and motivation, something I didn't have much of during my Sophmore year. That brings me to AP Lang. When I signed up for the class, I wanted a class that would challenge me to bring out my best and I expect this class to do exactly that. I also wanted something to fill up my free time, something that I had too much of during my Sophmore and Freshman years.
ReplyDeleteI guess my biggest fear was procrastinating too much and hurting myself in the process. I was afriad that I signed up for more than I could handle. I was scared that I would fail miserably. However, after experiencing Junior year a little, I can say that I feel great about this year. Everything is where I want it to be, whether in academics or life in general. I have actually never felt better.
Overall, I feel ready for the future and I look forward to what it has in store for me.
Growing up next to an older brother that went to high school before me I have always heard the words "Junior year is the hardest year" and "It's so stressful". These words made me feel excited knowing that I didn't have to deal with junior year until four years later so I enjoyed my time in Davies, but as time flew by I knew that soon enough I would end up here where I am now. My first impressions were that I knew I would be in for a long, strenuous year full of work. I am not worried though about the things that come ahead. I am actually excited about the challenges I am going to face this year.
ReplyDeleteI am always motivating myself to become better and better at the things I accomplish. I know that I will become a better reader and writer after taking AP Lang because I have seen the impact that it has made on my brother so I expect nothing less and I am looking forward to it being a beneficial class that will help me in college. Academically I know I have to step up this year as it is one of the most important years that prepares students for college and life after college. In other school years I have been a little lazy at times but I know that this year it is simply not an option. The only fears I have about this year is being behind on work but I know that I need to stay ahead so that won't happen. Socially I am fine and have plenty of great friends to surround myself by. I hope to look back after this school year and feel accomplished academically because I know that I can succeed if I put my mind to it. I also hope that after this year I can look back and see that all the hard work payed off and I can say that junior year wasn't so bad after all.
As I'm entering my senior year, I'm beginning to become over whelmed already. Most people are fine with it being their senior year with their only problem being that they're all still in shock that they're seniors. My anxiety level sky rockets when someone reminds me I'm a senior. My mind starts to race with accomplishments I want to achieve this year. This year specifically referring to AP Lang I want to improve my writing and to comprehend better when I read. Honestly I am scared to miss too many days. last year I was so close to losing my credits for the year. I'm not the type of student to skip school for fun, I have asthma that requires me to stay home and be close to my medication. This year I hope for my asthma to stay under control enough for me to not miss many days. Socially I wish to make more friends and break away from my comfort zone. I do not plan to do anything crazy when I say get out of my comfort zone, I mostly mean to be less shy. Academically I hope I do not lose focus on what is important to my future. I plan to not let my love life, friendships, or even my family distract me from what I need to get done. At the end of last school year I lost all motivation to do anything including my homework. This year I plan to stay on track and to manage my time wisely.
ReplyDeleteJunior year is indeed one of the hardest years I'll have to face in high school. Just because I know that colleges will look at the things I've done this year and judge if they want me as a student or not. Although either way I'm pressed to attend college, I'd prefer one of my top pick colleges to look at my transcript and want to accept me. So that pressure weighs down on me as a student, as well as the idea of having better classes, higher grades, and to be well rounded in clubs and activities. It all just evokes a lot of stress.
ReplyDeleteSo when picking my classes last year I expected a heavy amount of work and a lot of dedication, especially in my AP classes. But regardless of the amount of work I have to do I'm expecting for my knowledge to grow in all subjects, and more significantly AP Lang because writing is a part of me that I'll not only carry into college but into the content of my work outside of school related things.
My freshmen year I was a student at ACIT, where I was set on a major and told that the next three years I'd be growing to become college ready. There was no choice in that case, so when I transferred to Oakcrest and realized I had options i decided to dedicate myself to my work, since I am sociably challenged and lack charisma. Which is one reason I'm dreading all the presenting done in AP Lang. I love writing and expressing my opinion but I'd rather express my thoughts on paper and leave them read opposed to spoken. Public speaking is a huge fear that I'll eventually overcome but I'll always be afraid of speaking in front of a room full of people. Lastly, I wouldn't say that I'm where I want to be academically because I can always do better, or socially because I can always be more charismatic, but I'm content with the route I'm going and I hope this year helps me grow as a person and student.
Ever since I left my old school after Sophmore year and relocated to Oakcrest, I was hopeful for a fresh start for my Junior year. Sophmore year really put me to the test (mostly because I was procrastinating and hurting myself), but if what my friends said were true, the hard part was still to come. I believe that Junior year is supposed to present challenges and expectations that we should be able to overcome. As always, challenges come with hard work, dedication, and motivation, something I didn't have much of during my Sophmore year. That brings me to AP Lang. When I signed up for the class, I wanted a class that would challenge me to bring out my best and I expect this class to do exactly that. I also wanted something to fill up my free time, something that I had too much of during my Sophmore and Freshman years.
ReplyDeleteI guess my biggest fear was procrastinating too much and hurting myself in the process. I was afriad that I signed up for more than I could handle. I was scared that I would fail miserably. However, after experiencing Junior year a little, I can say that I feel great about this year. Everything is where I want it to be, whether in academics or life in general. I have actually never felt better.
Overall, I feel ready for the future and I look forward to what it has in store for me.
Now entering junior year of high school, I am deluged with more stress than usual years. Junior year is an important year for me and most high school students. Every grade you work and earn over the year is observed by possible colleges you may want to attend your senior year. The year brings new challenges with the extra work given in all the AP classes. But I feel that I will get so much more out of my classes than I would in a regular course, so I guess you could say I’m quite curious of what is to comes within my AP classes. Just the other day as we discussed the tone in writing, I was so intrigued how Ms. Bunje described it. It was the most I have received about tone than ever in my English classes. It really opened my eyes to the English world and all my other courses. I feel like the classes I have picked will prepare me to be on top of my writing, Math, and social studies. Now I am frighten with all the work I will be assigned for the year but I believe it is necessary. I need to learn how to get my ideas out in and organized and understandable way. With all the writing we will be getting it’ll make me a stronger student and will discipline me in my writing. By the end of this year I should be right where I need to be and on top of everything.
ReplyDeleteEver since I had entered Oakcrest, I had always heard the former juniors/seniors complain about how junior year is possibly one of the most exhausting years of high school. Each person associated junior year with the words: stress, tests, and failure. And right now, I can see where they are getting at. Four ap classes with all the similar amounts of workload that are given each day; there will be no time for me to relax or procrastinate this year (but as I am writing this, I am already distracted by youtube). Plus, trying to juggle between band, schoolwork, and additional clubs, this will be a giant circus act within my life. I am prepared for the failures that will eventually come to me as I am ready to learn from the mistakes that got me that failure in the first place. I expect that, overall, this will be my best year as a high school student. Academically and socially. Usually, I’ll be cramming the period before a test, but I have learned that cramming wasn’t the optimal solution anymore due to my past test scores last year. This year, I will strive to stop playing my computer games and actually put more time into my studying sessions. That way, I can actually receive the grades I desire in my classes, on the SATs, and AP exams (and not allow Lena to surpass me). With no more distractions, I would actually have more than enough time to complete my oncoming amounts of homework from the four AP classes I currently have.
ReplyDeleteIt is no secret that English is possibly the worst subject for me since I have notorious grammar and pronunciation skills follow by horrendous writing. But with AP Lang, I hope that this class will actually help me improve my English skills to the point where Lena doesn’t have to correct me for all my grammar mistakes every five minutes. To the point where I can have a better well-sharpened reading comprehension skills.
I imagine that junior year will be the most demanding academically mostly because this is going to be my first year of taking an AP class. But that also leads to my fear of not being able to keep up with the workload. I do not always do my work early, but I do not prefer to do them too late either. And I am not the best at pacing myself when doing work since I have always preferred doing my work all at once, which is pretty stupid of me.
Although I may not be where I want to be in academics, I am still happy with where I am in it. For instance, I am glad that I am in the position I am currently at in grades and rankings, but I’m not happy about my current proficiency in the subjects. On the positive side, my social life has actually improved quite a lot. I am no longer lonely in the dark now since I have friends that fill my life with many different emotions and dilemmas that I have not been in before. Honestly though, junior year has the potential to be my favorite year if everything goes well.
Honestly what everyone says about junior year being the hardest year is correct. I feel like you face more challenges and disappointments rather than triumphs in the 11th grade. Junior year, to me as a student athlete, means keeping your grades high, taking more challenging classes, and playing sports better than you have in your whole life. Colleges in my opinion care more about your junior year rather than any other year. Junior year is when student athletes start contacting colleges about their sports and if they really want to get into a college of their choice or a good college then they must keep their grades up and take good classes to show you can handle the pressure of top level classes while playing sports. I have many expectations this year but my main expectation is narrowing down my college choices to three colleges before senior year. Also I've been known to slack off sometimes and I'm not the brightest flower in the patch but this year I don't want to be known as just a bonehead kid. I want to show people what I can really accomplish and prove that Jack Markley is a very smart person. AP Lang will probably be my kryptonite. This class will be very challenging but thats why i took it. Instead of being scared and avoiding a class that I know will not be my strongest class, I decided to face the demon head on and instead of it being my worst class by the end of the year it will be my best class. Everyone succeeds and fails every once in awhile but this year I'm going to succeed because I'm determined to be the best in this class and overcome my fear of writing. I'm only looking for success at the end of my junior year. Yeah I'm going to have failures this year but my failed trials and tribulations help me learn lessons and help me succeed in another trial. Academically I believe... scratch that, I know I can do better that's why this year is my year. I'm physically prepared for sports this year and I'm socially prepared for mock trial and any other debates or conversations I in. Overall this year my work ethic is going to go through the roof and I can't wait to defeat junior year with pride. Junior year bring it on I'm ready!
ReplyDeleteEver since Freshmen year I feel as though that school was going perfectly fine for me. I was always successful at maintaining good grades in all of my classes, even if I had to push myself extremely hard. My thoughts of Junior year right now is a little "eh". I'm not really sure what to expect right now. On the first day of school, the first thing that came to my mind was, "this is going to be a terrible year". School isn't how I imagined it to be all summer. I always knew that Junior year was the year where you have no time to slack nor fall behind. This year is extremely important. This is when you have to start SAT's, College tours, and really start thinking about your future. Especially if you are in any type of sport that you take very serious. I have found myself stressing over my future. It's crazy to really be to the point where it's almost over. Now I feel like this is real now. Freshman and sophomore year I was always able to say well I have 3 or 2 more years left. As a Junior Colleges start to really look at you and follow you throughout the rest of your high school career. I personally am working to get a full ride for Track. Overall in AP Lang I am just hoping for the best. I already know what to expect and I'm just going to have to be a little more focused if I want to pass this class. I am looking forward to becoming a better writer and hopefully getting better at comprehension. I am hoping to be able to push myself more this year. My biggest fear and worry is procrastination and being able to fit everything in with athletics. I have never been so over school so early into the year. I am just wondering how I am going to get through this. I know I am, but I know it's going to take a lot of work. Other than that I am mentally and physically ready for the year. I feel as though that If I just focus on my priorities and learn how to balance everything out, then I will be perfectly fine. Junior year may not be as bad as it seems.
ReplyDeleteJunior year is the year of many personal epiphanies. For so long, I saw school as something so easy and boring, but as I enter(ed) my junior year, that view completely changed. Taking one AP class didn't prepare me for the baggage that four AP classes came with. Less than two weeks in, and I'm already doing homework? This is not a common occurrence for me considering my lazy nature and my tendency to procrastinate until the last minute. Honestly, the only reason that I'm scared for this year is because of this exact class. Don't get me wrong I LOVE writing, but this class "has got me ****** up," as the teenagers say nowadays. Having something that's basically an essay due every single Wednesday just hasn't processed completely in my brain yet because, well, I refuse to let it. I could go on for years about the troubles AP Lang is going to bring me, but let's not get into that, you might think I'm a bad student or something. All in all, junior year isn't going to be bad, except for the fact that I have this little class called AP Lang.
ReplyDeleteMy expectations for this year are more athletics based than academic based in all honesty. As I have previously stated, school always seemed easy for me so this year was going to be the year I focused all on track and not in school. I expected an "easy" year in order for me to focus on sports, but that's blown out of the water already. With this in mind, I still expect myself to excel in sports, but I also expect myself to be up past midnight every single day.
The things I hope to get out of AP Lang are tools I need to become an amazing writer. Such a good writer in fact, that I would read my own writing for leisure. I also hope that I finally learn to manage my time wisely. The thing I want to get out of my junior year most of all is the realization that you need to have fun with school. Though I think it's easy, I still think it's boring and that's something I really want to change. My fear about this class AND 11th grade in general is that I won't be able to get all the work in on time because of the amount of AP classes I'm taking, not to mention the Biomedical Program. Academically, I'm not where I am academically quite yet, but that's only because of my class rank. Yes, I understand that doesn't determine how smart someone is, but I just want to beat my sister's rank, and my parents just use class rank as a symbol of academic success. Socially, I feel perfectly fine because I honestly couldn't care less if I don't talk to a lot of people, I just need that one person. Physically, I feel extremely fit but not tip top shape because I can run… a lot… but I still die after a treeline. So I feel fit but definitely not in undefeated track runner shape, which is my goal.
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ReplyDeleteI was taught that if there were any opportunities that may help me with my success, take a risk. My grandmother had always told me that once I go into junior year, I should not relax and treat school very seriously as it is the year where it is more or so, all or nothing; that junior year is the year where my grades should not drop because it will affect the outcome of getting into a good college. I do not have much to say about whether junior year is the toughest of all or not because it has only been a couple of days of me becoming a junior, but I am not going to stress about it because worrying about a problem that has not yet begun is just adding pointless pressure to the stress that will soon to come. All in all, I am going to treat this year as relaxed as I can because I know once I start stressing about it, everything is going to turn into a jumble of chaos and I would not be able to control myself from feeling down. Take on the task with a smile and never give up is a motto I use pretty often.
ReplyDeleteI expect this year is going to be quite hectic as I have taken on three AP classes, but I also know that I will have lots of fun, especially since I recently joined tennis (though I am not at the level where I am proudly to say I am exceptionally good at it). As for AP Lang, I expect myself to improve in the fields of being a writer and a reader. I know I lack many things in the reading field such as understanding comprehension questions and reading between the lines, which will affect the writing portion when it comes to understanding what the author is trying to say.
My only fear for any class is that I will not be able to take them on, but constantly being worried about meaningless situations will not do me any good, so I will just push them to the side and worry about what is on my plate.
I want to believe that I am where I want to be academically, socially, and physically, but I also know that I can go even further if I give myself an extra push. For academics, I know I should not procrastinate as much, though I do it constantly. Socially, I can be more outgoing than I already try to be. And physically, because of all the new changes I have this year, such as taking up a sport, I know I need to set up a plan where I can catch up on my classwork, sleep, and have enough time for homework.
11th grade, or in other words, the year of standardized testing, AP exams, and the start of the college paperwork. This isn't the hardest year of highschool, it's rather the most important, stressful, and new year you'll encounter. Depending on your work ethic and determination, senior year can be even harder than junior year. It depends on the student. However, it is the most important year for colleges. You begin taking SAT's, AP exams, ACTs, and other exams that make you one in a couple million. Luckily for you, you can relieve your stress by filling out college applications and if you're an athlete, sending emails to various coaches and signing up for NCAA clearinghouse. Junior year sure is pretty.Junior year is the "newest" year of highschool because the leap you take from 10th to 11th grade is broad. Going into 10th grade, you didn't have too many options to pick from for your classes. Going into 11th grade however, is a completely different ball game. You have to pick classes that align with your major, or classes that will help you get accepted into the college you want. Junior year is also different than any othger because you have to driuve yourself. The teachers are going to do everything in their power to see you float, but nobody but yourself can push you to study for the SAT, or even study at home for the big test you have the next day. If you have no self determination, junior year will be a drag. This year is my first year taking AP courses, so I'm excited to see where I'm at academically. I'm not scared or worried about these courses, because I will have to take harder classes in college and possibly senior year, so it's better to get used to the system while the classes are still free. My main goal this year is to get into better habits and push myself further academically. This includes studying more, stop copying homework, and put in more effort in the classroom. This year, I think I'll need all 3 of those goals to come true if I want to be an exceptional student. In AP lang, I want to know how to get people to respect my writing and hear what I have to say. I want to learn how to get my point across in various ways. How to talk to different audiences and appeal to all of them. As somebody that wants to major in law and politics, getting my point across and appealing to different kinds of people is some of the most useful skills i can acquire. My only fear this year is anatomy, and that's because I hate the medical field, and don't find any interest in it. I have a feeling I'll pay less attention to that class than any other class I take.
ReplyDeleteIf I was to take a survey asking which year in high school is most important nine times out of ten people would respond by saying junior year because this is the year that colleges look at. This is the year where you have to take the SAT and ACT at least twice. This is the year that you have to study and you can’t procrastinate. However, I don’t believe that doing all these things makes junior year the most important in high school nor do I agree that people should continue to say this. By continuing to make the statement “Out of all your years in high school junior is the most important.” It gives off the impression that you can completely fail the other years and still get into an ivy league. Every year in high school is important! Therefore, I am not going to stress out at all this year. I am going to continue to try my best and study and do what I always do nothing different and if I fail and do horrible (which I won’t) I honestly won’t cry or beat myself up about it because I know I did my best.
ReplyDeleteWhen it comes to AP Lang despite what everyone has told me about how I’m not going to have a social life because this class is very demanding. I honestly don’t believe that’s true. Yes, I do agree that this class will be a lot of work, but I also believe that I CAN and WILL have a social life and still have fun. It is about balance and making time for everything.
When it comes to my junior year in general I’m not expecting anything expect HOMECOMING AND PROM. If I am just being honest. I love dressing up and buying makeup and these two events are the perfect excuse to splurge. Besides, I’m in formation and like Queen B (Beyoncé) once said, “Slay, trick or you’ll get eliminated”.
I have a lot of mixed emotions going into my third year of high school. I’m excited because I’m now an upperclassmen and will have access to bigger and better things, such as, the senior cafeteria and being able to participate in the powder puff game. On the other hand, I also feel overwhelmed. This year will consist of stress, tears and anxiety. I expect this to be the most stressful school year of my life and there to be long, dreadful nights of homework and failure. This year also comes with PSATs, SATs, AP exams, sports recruiting, and college visits. I have been told for a few years now that this year is the year to make big things happen. This year could potentially determine my future. But, being told that the classes I’m taking will mentally kill me, I’m absolutely up for the challenge. I am being faced with a lot of new things this year, inside and outside of school, and they will all be a challenge to me. I hope by the end of the year, I can look back and see all of things I have learned from this class instead of saying I learned nothing. I am hunkering down and focusing on this year and will do my very best to get a good outcome. This year, one of my main goals will be to live in the moment and to not look too much into the future because it is going by fast and it’s scary. Friday night football games, endless hours of soccer, field trips, spirit week, and many more of Oakcrest’s fun activities will eventually come to an end. This year is the beginning of the end and I’m determined to make the most of it.
ReplyDeleteAs I'm now entering my junior year it will be a wonderful and extraordinary experience for me."Ha, just kidding junior year was so last year." As of right now I'm a senior. I have already surpassed the hefty obstacles of junior year and reached the next level. Junior year alias is the year of critical decisions and the bridge to your final path in high school. When someone says junior year is going to be your most important year, it is 100% your important year. It basically is a test to see if you are ready to take on the real world. If you're the academic kid who wants to go to college and make a living, then this is your ultimate test. All your need to do is to be calm, serious, manage your time wisely like an owl who searches for his prey at night and be active as quicksilver. Basically during this year you want to be as cautious as a fox. One wrong move might be your last. ( Just kidding but mark my words.) As of my experience in junior year, it will always be my most memorable year because I was active, participating in a lot of events, serious in school etc. I would say I achieved partial of my goals from sixth grade. Even though I did encounter some obstacles in the way, I came, I saw, I conquered. The biggest obstacle aka my distraction was my friends in my classes. I would deviate from my lesson and indulge in the company of my friends. Later on as time progress which was the median of marking period one, I came to a realization that I didn't come to school to see my friends. I came to school to make a future for myself a purpose out there in the world. The reason why I was born. My mom's advice was my wake up call. According to her, she asserted that,"Education is always important. It is the key to your future. Without it, you will be as lost as a survivor from a shipwreck." I agree with her 100% on that issue. Taking her advice helped me tremendously. It gave me a new understanding of school and education. Which is why I even came up with a quote from the top of my head. " Education and knowledge are the keys to conquer the battlefield." There are more but I'll just stick to giving one example. And now here I am from the hard work and effort i put towards junior year to be now a senior right now is dynamite. I'm definitely looking forward to the obstacles senior year have for me with goal being to graduate and advance to the future. It may be stressful but in the end it will be a great reward. With AP Lang as one of my achievements from junior year. I hope to gain a better understanding of comprehension and composition. When it comes to those two it just flies through the top of my head. With this class, i can get a better understanding of the English Language. My only fear is possible how bad I might do in this class. As this is my senior year and I want to pass with flying colors, failure is not an option. As of now I can only hope for the best and hope the results will be in my favor. Also since this is my senior year it's definitely going to be stressful because I have to figure out want college I want to go to, along with a career in which I'm happy with, financial aid and whatever goes along with this list. As of now I'm elated where I've reached and where I am. All this was from what I achieved from junior year and I'm going to keep up the work till the end. My ultimate goal in the future is to be a physical therapist or anesthesiologist. Either way AP Lang will be the biggest obstacle for me as of right now along with Anatomy and H.Pre-Cal. If I'm able to hit a home run with those three. Then I could say to myself that I'm ready for what college and my future have for me. For I am able to face anything that stands in my way. And if I should give any advice to anyone whom is a junior right now is not to slack off but have fun and be active like super storm sandy.
ReplyDeleteMost people say you're college career starts junior year. Well, I believe that. You should start looking for colleges, or if you plan on not going to college than start looking for yourself. Looking for yourself in the sense of, who are you? Not where you actually are at the moment. If something bad were to happen you feel "lost" so it's important to find yourself and know where you're going. Not only is Junior year about educational excellence but also yourself. A lot of kids tend to say junior year is extremely important, and who listens to fellow classmates often enough to believe them? In this case though, not only fellow classmates but also teachers, parents and graduates all say the same about junior year. Some would describe it as one of the most memorable years or one of the worst. Junior year is a make or break kind of deal. If I don't procrastinate or mess around to much, I know I'll be just fine and this year should be a good one. As to AP Lang, it seems like a lot. But who doesn't like a challenge? This class will sure enough be a test as to whether or not I can hang with the "big dogs." The kids who go exceptionally hard in school. Some have that rush to be ranked number one in the class and some have parents that just pound their kids with books. I was never that and I think it's important to have a life outside of school, to have fun, but it's also important to maintain the work and the play. So this year will be a challenge and I accept it. I am not quite where I want to be academically but I am sane with it. Socially, I don't ever feel left out or neglected. Socially, I don't hang with very many people. I accept that. There's a difference between friends and acquaintances. I have a lot of acquaintances but not many friends. Only a select few get to be called my friend and those people to me are my role models or just outstanding people. Most of my friends have the same goals as me and arent underachievers that will try to beat the system, their thought should be to run the system. Socially, I feel accepted. My physical appearance is what I take some pride in, and it may seem conceded but I prefer the word confidence. I have never been that kid where no one wants to be around. I have never had an awkward body type or had been socially awkward. I have everything I want in life and I'm exactly where I want to be and I'm with exactly who I want to be with. If I can stay with who I want and know where I want to be this year, I will do just fine and have no worries about it. This year will get tough but not tough enough for me to give in. So bring it on!
ReplyDeleteRight when I entered high school, I was told that Junior year was the most important. This is the year where most people take their SAT’s, ACT’s, and other standardized test. Our grades also have to be between decent and stellar. Oh, and you can’t forget about all the colleges with their eyes on you. You need to look into colleges to see if they have what you want out of a college, you need to plan college visits, and, if you care about how prestigious the college is, you must look into how good the college is and see what their standards are so that you can reach them. While picking a college you must know what you want to do in life. The anxiety over this is insane because if you make the wrong choice, the money your parents spent is wasted, and if you realize too late that you don't love what you're doing, you will most likely stay with it for the rest of your life to avoid the mental and financial obstacle that is college once again. Though college seems so far away in my head it is actually so close and all this planning is something I need to start NOW. I don’t even know what I’m wearing tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteMy expectations for this year are definitely different from my expectations from last year. Last year I was at ease with mostly all honors level classes. However, this year gives me little pangs of anxiety whenever I think about the work load. I knew that my classes would have a huge workload and the material being taught would be much more rigorous, but I took it on either way. If I can’t change the way I manage time or stop procrastinating, I will never make it out of college. By forcing myself to take such backbreaking classes, hopefully I can change myself to manage my time so I don’t stress myself out and do assignments last minute.
My fears are not doing well on the SAT’s, not doing enough of or not dealing with anything pertaining to college and my life beyond high school, and not getting involved. I also fear procrastinating for obvious reasons. Procrastination is my worst enemy because it has caused me oodles of stress. I also have trouble managing my time.
I am basically okay with where I am academically. If I studied more (or at all) then I would actually do so much better in my classes. Socially, I am okay with the people I hang around, but I still want to find a club to get involved in so that I can meet new people and I just get involved at all. Overall, I am okay with where I am in life except for the complications I mentioned earlier.
When I started my first year at Oakcrest, I had made friends with some sophomores, at that time, due to sharing same classes and from being in the same clubs. As my freshmen year continued, I made more friends who were upperclassmen. Then as the summer passed and it was my turn to be a sophomore, my sophomore friends went to being a juniors. I may not have shared the same classes nor have I been going to clubs lately, I find staying after just wastes my money since the food they serve after school is just perfect compared to the food during school, but I still kept in contact with my fellow juniors, at the time. I asked them how their classes were going and all they told me was that is was hard. For example, for this class, AP Lang, majority of juniors I asked said it was the hardest class they have or one of the hardest, my memory is fuzzy. Yet they also said it was easy as long as I take advantage of the opportunities given and actually do work in good time than procrastinating as I did during that year. As the summer passed again and it was my turn to be a junior came, I really wasn't caring too much about school. I was pissed off that school was back. Don't get me wrong if you are thinking that I wanted to return to school early cause it's not the case. I am irked because I could have stayed for my brother's birthday for the first time since I had to be back in the U.S. for school. As the first week went by I only took note of what I needed for each class instead of giving my full attention. As the second week started(which was yesterday), I was giving a full 99% attention to each class since full concentration is mentally impossible for anyone since the mind of a human has other things to consider. As this year goes on, I expect there to be challenges and barriers I must overcome to give me life skills for the future, hence why I took Culinary 1. From AP Lang specifically, I expect to learn ways to improve my writing to be at the very best that I can manage. Writing is not really my strong suit nor has it ever been, but as I take classes that focus in writing or anything writing related, I hope to improve my skills. My only fear of the 11th grade is failing miserably as Junior year is a very important year for the future.
ReplyDeleteWhere I am at academically, physically, and socially is different from each other. I am happy with my grades from last year, however, I do wish to improve to be in the A range all year. Physically I just started to get on the right track. During the summer I started to see where I can get from the local gym and I can say I'm quite happy from the results although it's not much but it is a start. Throughout the year I aim to get more fit but not just yet because of one reason. The heat is a downer. Socially I am quite pleased with the friends I have. They are people I can count on, hopefully, On another aspect of my social life, I have yet to gain it. A lack of voice is my biggest problem but the thing is is that I have a whole year of either disappointment or blissful happiness.
I’ve been fearing my Junior year ever since I first stepped through the doors of Oakcrest as a freshman. Junior year is a time where you need to start thinking about where you want to go to college and where is it you want to be in your life. I can’t really judge for myself if Junior year is hard seeing as I’ve just begun but when everyone around you is constantly saying how terrible it is, you get intimidated. I’ve developed this fear that I’m going to lose any kind of a social life I have left trying to juggle volleyball and all my difficult classes. Even though people are preparing me for the worst and most difficult year in my life I still have high hopes for myself. My dream is that this year I give every class all I got, and it ends up being good enough to maintain good grades and hopefully some friends. With a class like AP Lang. I understand how much work, effort and, time I’m going to need to dedicate in order to be as successful as I want to be. Even if that means canceling plans or staying home on the weekends just to finish a paper I was writing, and I’m pretty proud because I actually mean what I just said. Usually I tell myself how hard I’m going to try but I know I’m lying and I’ll put everything off to the last minute. I’m happy with where I am in my life academically and socially considering how many good classes I’m taking, and even though I don’t have many friends I know I have ones I can trust. I really think I am going to make it out this year alive and well. SAT’s are coming up and I’m ready to pass them with high scores and just get out of this school. I know Junior year is going to be a challenge but I’m halfway through High School and even though Junior year might suck, it’s just another year closer to getting out of this hell hole, no ceiling, half finished school.
ReplyDeleteI was always told that Jr year would be demanding and now that I'm finally here I'm beginning to understand what all the hype is about. It is what I call “Grind Time”. My teachers are expecting more, my coaches are expecting more, and I'm expecting a whole lot more out of myself. This year can make or break my future plans. My goal to attend a four year college on an athletic scholarship while majoring in premed. I would like to someday become a dentist. The only way to accomplish this is to cut off anything negative that may distract me this year. I chose to take AP lang because of all of the great things I’ve heard about room 204 , and also because of the high expectations Mirs. Bunje sets for her class. Although it won’t be easy, I am looking forward to expanding my knowledge. I love writing, writing is a beautiful way to express your feelings. I am looking forward to becoming a better writer throughout the course of AP Lang. This year will be the year I learn to be happy and love myself despite who may or may not be in my life. The amount of work that we are given in AP Lang is pretty intimidating. I also fear that I’ll be the least intelligent one in my class. I recognize that I’m not the smartest which only means that I will have to work hard. I am not where I want to be academically. In the past I didn’t take school as serious as I wish I had now. My popularity is no concern of mine. I interact with others very well, I’m a genuine person and enjoy the company of others like me. I am very satisfied with my social standing. When I look in the mirror I am never truly happy with the way I look. I never had a high confidence level but I’m working on fixing that.
ReplyDeleteThe way time flies is absolutely remarkable. It seems like only yesterday I was that overly-timid new freshman girl. In fact, I clearly recall each day of that year, the good and the bad. Now, here I am three years later, still at this school, as a junior. As astounding that is to me, junior year's significance did not strongly hit me until this summer when reality shocked me with the realization that this year is notorious for being the most challenging year of my entire high school career.
ReplyDeleteWhat fills me with anxiety the most is the AP's, the SATs, and all my exams this year. I've always possessed an excellent academic standing for as long as I can remember in every year of my education on record, and due to being a hard worker, I am always determined to receive good grades and push myself, especially from the impact from my parents, and consequently meet my goals. However, the fact about the stress of this year and all of life's success based on college definitely appends more pressure on myself, this year in particular considering I have never taken any sort of AP class or faced this newfound, very close proximity of college than ever before. With that being said, I know that if I put my mind to it in all my courses and complete tasks this year without tremendous procrastination, I will be successful, especially in this class for being proverbial as the "most rigorous AP class in the whole school" with its essays, quizzes, etc.
The other nerve-wracking part of junior year for me is interacting socially. For the longest time, I have struggled and combated my issue of timidity. I know to many, it is a ridiculous idea; however; for me, it was a huge issue. This characteristic of me had negatively impacted my judgement on joining activities, creating friends , or even expressing anything in class. It became such an issue where I eventually developed a low self esteem and could not say a single word for an entire school day. Due to this, most people only thought of me in that way as "the quiet one", an adjective and impression about me I unwillingly managed to create and still hear about myself, irking me to this day. This year however, I want to be able to improve it and still have fun despite all the work and make new, great connections without the obsession with caring what others think. This year will also be disparate than my other years because I'm going to try my best to be involved here at Oakcrest for these next two years and take risks, not regretting not joining anything, such as my biggest regret so far on missing my opportunity to create friendships through being with those on the girls' soccer team or even the basketball team. I also hope I have time to do the things that I love and have time to relax from the craziness of work.
The change in my classmates give me mixed feelings. On one hand, I miss many from the past two years who are not in any of my classes this year, yet on on the other hand, I like the peers in my classes this year. Also, I love all my new courses this year because I can learn something new which I actually had the opportunity to choose. Change is generally awkward at first, yet it can be great, which excites me because I now have a fresh, clean slate to improve myself.
Overall, I am aware junior year will have a plethora of work, but with time management, effort, determination, and balance, it will put everything at ease. People have said that they hated this year, but I cannot fully listen to them because it can be the very opposite for me. Basically, it is unknown unless you do it for yourself. Hey, everyone around me in Galloway said Oakcrest "sucks", but I came here for myself, discovering all those bad rumors are false, and I now love this school. I hope by the end of this year, I will see purpose and vast improvement from the high academic rigor of my classes, and with my positive mindset, I can say that I will ace everything.
All throughout the beginning of the year, I have been constantly reminded that junior year is defined whereas "some people said its going to be overwhelming". Who the hell are they to set a precedent as to what I think? If it's going to be overwhelming, so be it, you don't create the exact future ahead of time and frankly, that's the only reason you're not numbed to existence. Things can be unexpected, challenging, fun, horrible, or even boring, however unless its experienced for oneself, there is no determined way for it to feel. So, people say things, wow, big whoop; shocker; I can't believe it. People need to form their own ideas whereas expectations for this year should be nonexistent before having plenty of self-experience from the year itself. The quote "Expect the unexpected" is a cliché for a reason; one might get lucky, and correctly guess something that will happen, but that is a far cry off from expecting it to happen. Concurrently, as of now I possess no expectations for the year. I'm going to get an education out of eleventh grade, that's the reason I strive for success. As for AP Lang as an individual class, my goal is to see where I stand with my knowledge as a heavy reader. Reading books and learning brings forth the idea to test one's own bounds out of simple curiosity. As Jim Morrison says, "Let's just say I was testing the bounds of reality. I was curious to see what would happen. That's all it was: just curiosity". Fears for 11th grade... really? School is a thing to be feared now? I don't fear school, I don't fear the class, I only fear that I might regret something because there is no medicine for regret in this world. I am content with the way things are in my life, albeit a little hungry at the moment. I know I'm content because I'm not overly discontent with anything in my life.
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ReplyDeleteAll last year I thought to myself to make the most of that year, because my perception was that it was all down hill after that. My mind has been filled with the anxiety and realization that my junior year is here. It is considered to be the most crucial year in your educational life. The worries of messing up this year and the thought of all the work I'll have made this year seem dreadful for a long while. It really dawned on me on the first day of school that this has the potential to be the best year of my life depending on what I do with it. So many exciting things are to come in my junior year. I will get my license soon enough, I'm finally a upper class man (so no more being labeled as a child), this year I'll finally be a asset to the football team and all that hard work will pay off, and now all those relationships I've built will reach their peaks. Before I looked at it as its down hill, but I've now realized that it is only up from here. Sure there will be challenges and advertises, but it is all about how I adapt and get through them. My classes I feel will challenge me, but in the long run they will be extremely beneficial in more ways than I even realize. The confidence I have in myself to achieve will carry me through this year, through the good times and bad times. Through this experience I will learn values of life as well as broadening my intelligence. Not that I am content with where I am at but so far I am proud of how I've carried myself through life, There is always room to improve and I'm sure that will be the case this year in all aspects of life emotionally, mentally, and physically. All in all my expectations for this year are great to say the least.
ReplyDeleteFor the past couple of years, several people have warned me how difficult and important is your high school junior year. It consists of life-threatening decisions, standardized tests, college planning, career researching, and simply developing the person you will be for the next sixty years or so. My personal expectations for this year are lots and lots of homework, college essays, planning, and researching. My dream at first was to become a teacher, it later changed to becoming a chef, and then my heart decided to become a lawyer. This has motivated me for junior year to be able to go through and accomplish my dream. What I am hoping to get out of my AP Lang class is to build my vocabulary and learn how to become a great speaker and writer. Out of my junior year I hope to get good grades and develop a portfolio. My only fear is to not be able to balance my time between work and school. However, I've promised to become a better student and that's what I will do. I am not academically, socially, or physically where I want to be but I know what my abilities are and I will most definitely accomplish it. I know I'm not there because I have not tried my best and I will push harder and harder to meet my expectations.
ReplyDeleteWow, junior year… I still can’t believe that I’m a junior, it still feels weird saying it. I completely think that this year is the toughest and most demanding. For me personally, this year I’m taking some of the hardest classes I’ve ever taken. I’ve never taken and AP class before, not to mention I’m taking three. This year I’m taking the SAT’s, I know what to expect and don’t know what to expect at the same time. Also, my final grades at the end of this year, are some of the last grades colleges are going to look at when I apply. They really won’t get a chance to look at senior year because it won’t have ended yet. But luckily, I have friends who have already taken the classes and tell me what to expect. I don’t really have expectations for this year. I don’t like having expectations, knowing that I could be let down while having high hopes. I just try my best at everything I do and try to reach my natural expectations for myself. Always giving one-hundred percent. What I am hoping to get out of this class is to be a better writer, obviously. When I write a college application, job application, an essay for school, I want them to be the best they can possibly be. I like to write, but I’m not too good at formatting or how I write, which is where I hope to improve upon. As for junior year, I really want to improve academically. I want to get good grades all the time in all classes. Not just good grades all the time in one class, not really caring about the others. I want to leave at the end of the year knowing I tried my best. I don’t have any fears towards junior year or this class. I learned to not fear something because I know I can accomplish anything I want to, I just need the right motivation and mindset. As of right now, I am where I want to be academically, physically and socially. I have a changed mindset academically; I know I want to do well so I am going to do well. Physically I’m always changing myself for the better. And socially, definitely. I have the greatest friends in the world who I know I can always count on for anything.
ReplyDeleteI joined marching band freshman year and I immediately made friends that talked all about Junior year. The friends I made were very intelligent, talented, passionate, and took many rigorous classes. So, being an underclassmen, I looked up to them and wanted to achieve the same grades and have the same goals. But, coming in to my junior year, I realized that I can’t compare myself to these people that I thought were “perfect”. My friend Sophie texted me the other night saying that no matter how hard you strive to be like someone, you just can’t. You are your own person. Now with that being said, I can’t tell how hard junior year is going to be for me, some things may come easier to me than to other people and I may have a more difficult time with things that others may think is simple. I expect that this year I will learn more about myself and who I am as a person, and what exactly my prioritizes are in life. If you asked me what I cared most about as a freshman, I would say grades. But, I’ve grown so much over a two year span, that all I really care about is being happy. I don’t want to go through high school being miserable and hating school just because of my classes. I want to keep a positive mind and I love playing music, so I took 2 music classes instead of another AP class. Some people may not approve of this, but I don’t need anyone else’s approval to be happy. This is my junior year and I’ll spend it however I want because when I get older I’m not going to remember spending long nights studying, or getting a B on a test. But I want to remember laughing with my friends, playing and hanging out at football games, and spending every Saturday at practice and competitions. These are things I love to do, despite other people saying that all that matters is tests and AP tests. Of course, I’m going to try my hardest though on everything, but if once in a while, if I fail, I’m not going to beat myself up over it. Wow, if I said that to my freshman self, I would think I’m crazy. As for this class, I’m hoping to become a better writer for college essays, and just overall become a better person and learn more about speaking and connecting with people through words and writing. I think it is a fascinating that learning others and having that ability to communicate and learn as much as possible throughout your lifetime. Furthermore, I feel like I am in the right mindset and I’m where I want to be, even though it took me a long time to get here. I’m finally happy, I understand that no one can choose my future for me. I accepted the fact that I don’t want to become a doctor, or a lawyer, or a business person. I just want to be me and do what I love which is music. This was hard for me to admit to myself because the major of my lifetime people have been telling me that I’m so smart and I should be a doctor and I shouldn’t put my smarts to waste (whatever that means). And finally, I have the most amazing friends in the world that care about me so much and always listen to my problems no matter how stupid they are, and even if some of them are in college being busy. I’m so thankful that I get to share these high school experiences with people that I connect to and being in band with them, those are the moments I’m going to remember forever.
ReplyDeleteEvery year I have a single junior friend telling me how important my junior year of high school is going to be and how much harder it was for them than any other year of education has been for them. I honestly agreed with them because, in my eyes junior year seemed like it would be harder than any other year for any one. Junior year seems harder than any other because it's the year you have the most going on therefore the most stressful year. The kids trying to get into good colleges will work hard as possible to bump their grade point average up. Also all of the athletes will be working extra hard to earn athletic scholarships. I honestly have so much more to work toward my junior year because of the amount of "slacking off" I've done in recent years. So, I've kind of got a lot of anxiety going into junior year. However, I'm hoping I can rise to the occasion and have the grades to apply for colleges. Also, this is the year I have to show out in wrestling and make my way into the state tournament to gain more college looks than the only one I have. Every year, I learn a little more about myself and this year I hope that AP Lang helps me achieve that in the same ways english class has done for me since I was twelve years old. Hopefully my junior year will be one great year to remember.
ReplyDeleteComing into Junior year I was warned by my friends and family about how hard it was going to be, and especially how hard AP Lang was going to be. Walking in on the first day i was beyond nervous asking myself questions like "Will I like my teachers? Will they like me? Will I be known as Haley's little brother?". But after the first few periods I realized I would be just fine. That was until I had just finished gym and had walked to the wrong classroom only to end up late to my AP Lang class, and to make it even better I ended up falling asleep in that class. Now as bad as that sounds, i still have my expectations for this year. My number one goal/ expectation for this year is to prove to myself that I am an AP level student. Coming out of junior year I hope to have pushed myself to do my best, and to come out of it with decent grades in all of my classes. Ap Lang has more of a meaning to me for Junior year for the simple fact that my sister did well in this class, so to me that means I need to do well in this class. I hope to come out of Ap Lang this year with a better writing style, and aa better drive to get my work done early. Now although Junior year has its ups, it also scares me a bit. Junior year is filled with Ap classes, state tests, and alot of homework. I am nervous but also excited to take on the many challenges of Junior year. Last year in academics, my grades lacked. I was constantly pushing work off to the last minute, and my sleep schedule was messed up beyond repair. I would come into school with a solid 3 hours of sleep and most days would end up asleep in some of my classes. This year will be different. I have been doing most of my work way before it is due and have been studying over days rather than all on the last night. Physically, I want to get back into running more often, and to start lifting again. Coming out of Junior year I no longer want to be this tall skinny kid.
ReplyDeleteAs I'm entering my senior year, I'm beginning to become over whelmed already. Most people are fine with it being their senior year with their only problem being that they're all still in shock that they're seniors. My anxiety level sky rockets when someone reminds me I'm a senior. My mind starts to race with accomplishments I want to achieve this year. This year specifically referring to AP Lang I want to improve my writing and to comprehend better when I read. Honestly I am scared to miss too many days. last year I was so close to losing my credits for the year. I'm not the type of student to skip school for fun, I have asthma that requires me to stay home and be close to my medication. This year I hope for my asthma to stay under control enough for me to not miss many days. Socially I wish to make more friends and break away from my comfort zone. I do not plan to do anything crazy when I say get out of my comfort zone, I mostly mean to be less shy. Academically I hope I do not lose focus on what is important to my future. I plan to not let my love life, friendships, or even my family distract me from what I need to get done. At the end of last school year I lost all motivation to do anything including my homework. This year I plan to stay on track and to manage my time wisely.
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ReplyDeleteTuesday, September 13, 2016
Last year was a pretty good year. The work was really not that hard and sports were fun. Coming into my Junior year I can't Stop myself from remembering all the Juniors complaining about how hard thier year was going to be.But now that's me in their shoes. A lot of people say that junior year is one of the hardest years that you will ever face in your high school career but I disagree with that. Everyday you are faced with challenges that will sometimes knock you down. And you have to face these challenges with a positive out look because if you do not have a positive out look then nothing will ever go you're way and you won't accomplish anything. I know this year will bring me many challenges but I rather face those challenges with a positive way of thinking like telling myself that “I can do this and I will do this” instead of being scared and telling myself that “I can't do this”.This year is no different from the last two years because every year should matter not just junior year. I've never really been apart of a class like AP Lang which is why I am very excited for this year. I fear about my grades even though people say grades do not define you. My grades being high make me feel good about myself. And I always think of my report card as my pay check and it can either be good or bad and that's all under my control. I need to create better habits like studying and doing my homework. For the most part I am very good at that stuff but there is always room for improvement. Writing is one of the reasons that I wanted to join AP Lang. I am not very good at writing and I feel that I Will have a better grasp of the concept in this class. I am ready for all the curve balls that this year will throw at me and i am up for the challenge. I feel really good about junior year and I am excited
I’m shocked I’m already a junior. I knew since freshman year that high school was very important and goes by extremely fast, but I thought little of it, until now. Everyone always told me junior year is the main year that colleges look at, and that’s very scary. I did decent my freshman year, and then my sophomore I slacked way too much (for my standards). Going into this year, I promised myself to not let my distractions get in the way of my schoolwork. I’ve decided to push my social life aside for the most part, and to start thinking about my future. I set goals for myself this year. I am done with high school drama, I am done procrastinating, and I’m done getting average grades. I took this class to challenge myself. I have heard from a couple upperclassman that AP Lang is not an easy class. I’ve heard it is very time consuming and difficult. I told myself I could handle it, and as long as I keep telling myself that, I will be able to handle it. I want to end this year with the best grades I’ve ever received.
ReplyDeleteI play a fall, winter, and spring sport. I take three AP classes. I have a lot on my hands, and I know that. But I know if I can handle all of this in highschool now, I could eventually handle medical school when it comes around. I’m thinking of this year as a test. I will give this year my all and if I get the results I’m expecting, I know I’ll be ready for college. I’m not where I want to be academically yet, but I know I’m getting there. As for my social life, I’m not too worried about it. I’m happy with the people in my life and the people out of it. Physically? I love where I am and I am very happy with all the sports I play.
This year will defiently be bittersweet for me because, I'm enrolled in the early graduation program.I know that I will miss highschool but, I'm ready to continue to follow my dreams as far as a career and graduating early will help me get a headstart.I really feel like this year will be different then, the rest of the others because, nows the time to really focus on SAT and other standardize test scores to get in to college.I'm worried because, I'm generally not a good test taker standardize test give me anxiety but, I know they're not going away.So, all I can do is prepare for them and find better strategy to do well.I felt a sense of relief when you made the statement "You are not a number and what you score on a standardized test won't define you." Thats such a true statment because, there is hardworking people who get good grades and just still score poorly on tests that doesn't make them any less of a person though.
ReplyDeleteI expect that this year will bring out the effort in me.I won't be able to just breeze through work I want to do my absolute on every assignment wether its homework to midterms.I want to be completely honest I'm not used to a teacher like you.Your very assertive which I like about you.Every year I have always been close to my english teacher because, englush is my favorite subject so I hope overtime we all grow closer as a class.It makes things alot less stressful when you can talk to your teacher about things.I feel like honestly all honors or AP students definetly take on more responsiblity and stress on themselves.Which its great to challenge yourself in a more difficult setting with more rigious material but, you never want to stress yourself out to much or its not really worth it in the long run in my opinion.
This year I'm being my regular laid back self.I've had the same bestfriend for 12 years and we are still friends till this day.I value good friendships because, they're really hard to find someone who actually genuinely is your friend and wants to see you do well even if it doesn't benefit them in any way shape or form.Freshman year people start out with a bunch of friends because, they're trying to feel people out see which crowd is right for them.However, no matter how friendly you are by your junior senior year you have already established your real friends from your associates.Me personally I believe less friends less drama.As far as academics, goes I'm excited to be taking 2 AP classes this year.I know it'll take me a minute to adjust to the AP mindset.But, I refuse to believe that I can't be sucessful in this setting because, I'm the type of person who's not afraid to go the extra mile.I can't wait till winter sports come up I'll defiently be more involved.It'll take me a time to figure out how to manage a job,school and a sport but, I'll try my best to make it work.I know with the continuous help of my guidance counselor and great teachers who motivate me anything is possible.
Honestly I hear people stress about how hard and important your junior year is but I don’t believe the hype, yes that’s the main year colleges look at so you have to do good or really good for them to notice your grades, SAT scores, and other things to possibly get a scholarship. But as a whole I feel like it’s any other year of school where you just have to do your work and get the good grades you got prevous years before and you’ll be fine. Coming into my junior year known that this is the year that means a lot I'm going to stop those little habits I had last year to raise my grades even higher than they were before. This year during AP Lang I'm my main hope is to have a stronger vocabulary so I can use more words that sound appropriate to the situation. I was born to fear anything so I really don't have any fears going into this class, I knew it was hard that's why I signed up for it. No, there's a lot of things i can work on in all three of those categories but I feel as if I continue to grow how I've been I'll be where I want to be at by the end of the school year, and it's as simple as this " I just feel like I can be stronger in those areas"
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DeleteAs a sophomore making the tough transition into junior year, i knew there were going to be challenges academically. Although I enjoy challenging myself in many ways, I was dreading the intensity of this one specific course. although i am a hard worker, like everyone else, I have many weaknesses, one being i do not do well under pressure, and this class is known for the pressure you are under while taking it. I don't not regret signing up for the course, I am just simply nervous that i will not do as well as i thought i would. everything must be done on time and correctly, which is a very reasonable demand for such a prestigious class. I fear i do not belong in here and that i will mess it up every chance that i get, but like i said, i am very hard worker, and one of the characteristics of a hard working is not backing down from responsibility.
ReplyDeleteI absolutely hate disrespect. Whenever I see someone disrespecting another person I get super pissed off because nobody deserves to be treated with disrespect no matter if they are a bad person or a good one. You are supposed to be treating others the way you want to be treated. Honestly seeing other people happy and getting along makes me feel very jovial. Just think what if one day the whole world would settle their differences and just instead of being separate countries but being one globe. Yeah I know people are different for a reason but that shouldn't effect the way of life about getting along. I've felt this way about my reactions my whole life because this is the key to success. In my opinion.
ReplyDeleteI value integrity and being selfless. Integrity is what I have been living by my whole life. I hate the feeling of guilt that is why I follow integrity. I have been raised to put others before myself because it is the right thing to do. To me treating other people good is the reason why i want to be selfless. I want to help the world become a better place by being selfless and showing others that putting others before yourself is a good trait not a bad one.
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