Last day of real school?

It's so hard to believe that today is the last day of real school. Time flies!

This week I did my presentation for English and Environmental Science, finished my independent project for multimedia and took math test. Now all I need to do is the USD final and my online class. I enjoyed watching other presentations because all the topics are very interesting.

Most of the seniors are going on a camping trip tomorrow. I decided not to go because I want to spend some time on my online class and also because tomorrow is my stepdad's birthday. I wish everyone have a great time!

Endercession starts next week. I originally planed to write a book about the questions I wonder about. But then I decided to work on my online class because I won't be able to graduate if I don't finish that class on time.

Crazy Week

This week I worked on wrapping up my inquiry project. I worked on my abstract, project page and presentation script. I interviewed Sydney and Serena for my product. I would like to thank them for helping me. I also finished reading Never Let Me Go. In this book, the friendship between Tommy and Ruth turn into love. I was disappointed that the story did not end with a romantic happy ending. This weekend, I need to shorten my presentation speech and practice before I present on Monday.

For math, I worked on the challenge problems. I plan to figure out Heron's formula proof this weekend. Struggles...For multimedia, I am almost done making post cards. I just need to do some final editing and write the reflection. For environmental science, our group finished our lesson plan, but we still need to work on presentation. I also need to read a book and write an essay tonight.

It has been a crazy week for me. I hope I can catch up on my sleep during the weekend.

Decision

This week I've been working on the abstract and my independent project for Multimedia.
I also submitted my enrollment deposit to USD this week. It was not a hard decision for me because I did not get into any of my top schools. I was not surprised because I knew I was not going to be admitted by those schools in the first place. Why would they want me if they have applicants who have published books, started their own business or speak several languages? Those students deserve to be accepted because they must have worked extremely hard. They were probably studying when I was eating, sleeping, shopping and wasting my time. I'm happy with attending USD. It is a nice campus and it is close to my house. However, I still wish I had worked harder.

Work, work and more work

I was really stressed on Monday when I realized how much work I have to get done in the next couple of weeks. inquiry project, climate change summit project, independent project,book and essays for honors, USD class, English class online...and I havn't done any math in the last 6 weeks.

Even though the list goes on and on, the calenda we got in Stephanie's class is very helpful because it keeps me on track and helps me to manage my time. I hopw I will be able to finish all these work on time (actually I have to) and still have time to sleep.

Twelfth Night Project

We originally planned to record our performances. For the first two days, we worked on translate our lines into modern English and put a script together. It definitely took us a lot longer than we expected. This means that we only have one day to finish our project. Therefore, we decided to take some pictures and put dialogues on those pictures instead. Even though we end up finishing our project on time, I think we should and could have done it a lot better. The lesson I learned is that we should not wait until the last minute to start working. We should also make a timeline while making a plan.

After seen other groups' production in class. I was really impressed by the live performance by Sydney and Serena's group. They did a very good job on writing their own script and playing their roles. I also really liked the graphic book by Kaylen, Leah and Lauren's group. They took some very cute pictures. I enjoyed Lamont's performance as well. It takes a lot of courage to act alone.

I also got my third book for the inquiry project today. It's called Never Let Me Go. So far, I've only read the introduction. It seems like an interesting book to read. And it also seems to be different from the other books I've read. I will make updates after I read more.

Reminder

Today, we took the Math Mid-term and I finished my second inquiry essay. The book I read is called Sula. My essential question is how do friendships change over time. According to the description of this book, it is about two girls who were once best friends and then grow into enemies. After I read it, I think it is more about good v.s evil. Similar to the previous book I read, which is Snow Flower and The Secret Fan, this book also talks about the friendship between two girls who grow up together. For my next book, I would like to learn more about friendships between boys or between those who did not grow up together.

I am really excited for Spring Break because I am going to Shanghai! Here is a list of the things I need to do during break (in case I don't remember):

1. Start working on twelfth night project
2. English 9 online
3. Start reading book and writing essay for Urban Ecology class.(Maybe)

Poem "Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night" - Dylan Thomas

Similar to what Lord Byron did in "She Walks In Beauty", Thomas also made contrast between light and night. The poem is written by a man to his dying father. We all understand that death is unavoidable and most people are afraid of death. However, there is strength lying in each and everyone of us; therefore, we should use our strength and passion to fight for living. The poet uses wise, wild, good and brave as examples to encourage his father to be hopeful and remain strong. I think this is a very touching poem. It also reminds me of "To The Virgins, to Make most of Time". No matter how much time we have left, we should use it wisely.

Poems

I really enjoyed the two poems we read in class this week.

"To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time" by Robert Herrick

The poet points out the sad fact that time flies. And as we grow up, we will only have less and less time left in our life. Therefore, he encourage the younger generation to embrace the beauty of youth and take advantages of the opportunities that are given to make life extraordinary. I agree with him that time goes by very fast. I still remember the very first day of high school, and now I am less than fourth months away from graduation. Looking back, I think that I should have use my time more wisely.

"She Walks in Beauty" Lord Byron

The poet saw a gorgeous woman walking gracefully. She is extremely beautiful that her eyes, cheeks and brows are all perfect. In addition to her physical appearance, her heart is also pure and innocent.

This is a very sweet love poem. The author uses similies and personifications to compare the woman with light and to create an image of a beautiful woman

This reminds me of the love Orsino has for Olivia. He falls in love with Olivia majorly because she is young and beautiful. It is interesting to see that when people see others, if he/she is pretty outside, we assume that person has a nice personality as well.

Endersession Project

I plan to write a book about the questions I wonder, the stories I have heard about the question and my own theories about it.

Here is an example:
Topic: Wealth=Happiness?
Story: A conversation between a 20 year-old college student and 40 year-old fisherman.
A fisherman always goes home when he catches enough fish to feed his family. One day, he met a young man on his way home.
Student:Why do you go home so early. If you keep fishing for four more hours everyday, it will double your profit.
Fisherman: What should I do after I make more money?
Student: You can buy bigger boats, hire people to work for you and buy a bigger house.
Fisherman: And then what?
Student: So when you get old, you can enjoy your life with your family.
Fisherman: Spending time with my family? That's what I do everyday after work. And we are living happily together now. Why do I have to make more money in order to get what I already have now?
Theory: I have heard so many people saying that they want to be wealthy. But does money really bring happiness? I think that there are so many ways we can feel fulfilled beyond money. Happiness lies in the little things in life, such as a funny joke, a compliment from other people or a gathering with friends. We don't have to be rich to be happy. Instead, when people are wealthy,they have more things to worry about, such as whether others like them for who they are or for their money.

1st Essay & Career Day

We wrote our first in-class essay this week. I finished reading Snow Flower And The Secret Fan during the weekend. This book is very helpful to answer my question. It talks about the friendship between two girls and how their relationship changed over time. This is a fascinating and touching story. The ending is very sad.

For career day, I met some very cool people today. My favorite among them is the screen script writer. He has written about 30 scripts and only about 5 of them were actually made into movies. However, he never give up writing or lose his passion for writing. He focuses on writing comedies. After reading a rather depressing story, I agree with his point that we need more laughters. I think his story that he starts from a college graduate who has no connections to the movie industry and then become a script writer whose movies became big hit is very encouraging.

Emma

The highlight of this week was watching "Emma". At the beginning of the musical, Emma kept persuading her friend Ms. Smith to marry a wealthy man. When it comes down to her own marriage, she thought that Mr. Churchill was a perfect match for her before they met each other. She "loved" Mr. Churchill because he was handsome, charming and wealthy. This reminds me of fairy tales. Romantic stories always give us the idea that everyone would find a soul mate. Not only is he a perfect match, he himself is perfect. But in reality, no one is perfect. Each of us is just a half of a circle, and we need to find the other half and make a perfect circle together. Just like in this musical, Emma realized that her true love is by her side all the time. Even though Mr. Knightley always argues with her and he gets jealous easily, Emma fell in love with him. I really enjoyed the play, especially the ending. It tells us that love has nothing to do with appearance, social status or wealth, it is a feeling from our heart instead.

College Interview

I had a college interview at UCSD today. My interviewer is an alumi of the school I applied to and he is now a professor at UCSD. He is very nice and funny. The interview lasted for an hour but it felt like 15 minutes.
After a couple of interviews, I find that they are really low-key. It has little or even no effect on the chances to get in. It is just a very great opportunity for us to learn more about the school from those who actually attended. And it is a way for the school to know a little more about us beyond those numbers.
I have another interview scheduled tomorrow. Instead of being nervous, I am actually looking forward to it.
So for those of you who are having interviews, just relax and be yourself.

Here are the questions they might ask:

1. What are some extracurricular activities you are involved in? Which ones would you participate in college?
2. What's your favorite subject at school and why?
3. Where do you picture yourself in 10 years?
4. Why ____college?
5. Do you have any questions for me?

Inquiry Project Update

I started reading my first book on Tuesday, it is called "Snow Flower and The Secret Fan". The story happened in nineteenth-century China. So far it has been very interesting to me because I have some basic knowledge of Chinese history of that time period. At that time, women generally don't have rights. For example. they had to bind their feet. And most of them didn't have the opportunity to go to school.

I emailed two Psychology professors on Thursday. I am excited that I heard back from one of them today and she said she was willing to meet with me.

I also started my Survey for Calculus class at USD this week. The professor is very nice. She always makes jokes during class, so her class is pretty fun.

Senior Year

For my inquiry project, I decided to study how does friendship change over time. I think it would be an interesting topic to study. I am excited to find the answer through reading books, poems and watching movies. I don't have any of my books yet. I hope I can start reading my book next week.
I am also looking forward to grad night, prom and endersession. I think this year would definitely be the best year of high school because of all those exciting things.
However, the bad thing is that I have to take 9th grade English online. 16 Unites, 16 Essays, 2 Semester-long projects, 2 mid-terms, 6 finals and a ton of readings. Sad...

As Time Goes By

We read Beowulf this week. At the beginning of the story, Beowulf is the only person that is strong enough to kill Grendel. But at the end, he sacrificed his life for his people. I was saddened by the ending. Fifty years went by and time took his strength away. I started to think about what I have gained and lost as time goes by. One thing that has never changed is the love of my parents and families. This leads to my Inquiry Project. I am thinking about studying about love and connections between people. Does anyone have any suggestions on the question I can study or any recommendation for books? I would really appreciate it.

Mother Tongue

This week we talked about college level writing, read articles/stories and watched videos about languages. My favorite reading is "Mother Tongue" by Amy Tan because it reminds of my mother and me. English is not our first language, therefore, we don't speak perfect English. However, we are both trying to speak better English.

The part that the author says even though sometimes people don't understand her mom, she understands. My stepdad always says that we speak three languages at home, English, Mandarin and my mom's own language. For example, my mom has trouble distinguish "r" and "l". But no matter what she says, I can always understand her perfectly.

The author also wrote that even though some people cannot express themselves perfectly, does not mean their thoughts are imperfect. I agree that it is very hard to put our thoughts in words that others would understand.

I think it is necessary for us to learn the language if we choose to live in this country. And I think the best way to adapt a language is by using it.