It's definitely been over a year since my last blog post which discussed the complications of a seemingly simple task such as baking cookies. So many challenging decisions, golden memories, obnoxious dance moves, successful baking trials, meetings of Internet sensations, sore post-concert throats, letters written, musicals stage managed, friends made, late night exchanges, art created, planes flown in, pools lounged it, sleepless nights, milestones, endings, changes, AP calc tests, tears, smiles, indescribable moments that mysteriously fade into the picturesque misty water color memories of a year. And I don't know if we're able to catch up on it all, at least not in one blog post. At least, not in this blog post.
I wanted to make a comeback, have a fresh start. Begin Again, so to say, and I wanted to do it in a way where I could assist those that are about to undergo the year I just lived. You'll each be making your own sets of misty water color memories, and I want you to paint them boldly, beautifully, and leave nothing but yourself and a lack of regrets on the paper. A painting without watermarks. A painting for the masses. A painting of you.
There's no concrete way to write a list of fool-proof tasks to follow in order to make sure your Senior Year is beyond perfect-trust me. Mine was far from perfect, and I couldn't have asked for it to go any differently. Except there definitely could have been less calculus. Actually a lot less calculus. But we're not here to talk about calculus. We're here to talk about you.
1. You can attempt to seek removal from the class through your counselor, but as I alluded to before, you're probably not going to get far. I went in three separate times and asked to be moved into the regular calculus class at various intervals of the year (including once within the first week of school) and was only told that I couldn't switch because someone "paid" for me to be in that class. Smile, nod, and scream about the bullshit later folks.
I wanted to make a comeback, have a fresh start. Begin Again, so to say, and I wanted to do it in a way where I could assist those that are about to undergo the year I just lived. You'll each be making your own sets of misty water color memories, and I want you to paint them boldly, beautifully, and leave nothing but yourself and a lack of regrets on the paper. A painting without watermarks. A painting for the masses. A painting of you.
There's no concrete way to write a list of fool-proof tasks to follow in order to make sure your Senior Year is beyond perfect-trust me. Mine was far from perfect, and I couldn't have asked for it to go any differently. Except there definitely could have been less calculus. Actually a lot less calculus. But we're not here to talk about calculus. We're here to talk about you.
Belle's Fool-Proof Guide To Making Senior Year The Best You're Capable of Making It
- Don't take AP Calculus.
Now I know what you're thinking. Belle, you literally just said you weren't going to talk about calculus. Well, I also said I was going to tell you how to make your senior year the best you're capable of making it, and this definitely is one way to improve your senior year. That is, if you're not good at math like myself. Although, most high schools make students decide what their proceeding year entails roughly a year in advance when their past selves can't even anticipate what will be best for dinner, let alone for their future selves. And their counselors are always "oh-so-helpful-and-assisting" when it comes to the student changing their mind on their year-old misCALCulation. So if you are in either of these situations regarding the dreaded AP Calculus as you're reading this blog post now, the only thing left to do is pray... and listen to a few tips I have to make the less-than-ideal situation a little more bearable. If you're ecstatic to be learning about all the amazing things a derivative is capable of doing, why limits do or don't exist, and why integrals are necessary, than feel free to move on to the next tip. But if you're already riding the struggle bus because of that nice 80 question packet of summer homework, hang in there my friend! Deep breaths are crucial.
1. You can attempt to seek removal from the class through your counselor, but as I alluded to before, you're probably not going to get far. I went in three separate times and asked to be moved into the regular calculus class at various intervals of the year (including once within the first week of school) and was only told that I couldn't switch because someone "paid" for me to be in that class. Smile, nod, and scream about the bullshit later folks.
2. Find a couple friends that make calculus look effortless and never let them go. You may have to buy them coffee every once in a while to prompt the pre-test cram sessions, but they obviously know what they're doing more than you'll ever know and quite often have better methods than the teachers or calc chat could ever offer.
3. Get your homework done the night it's assigned and go in for one-on-one help with the teacher the next day if you don't understand something. The most basic tip in the books: Asking For Help. But I completely understand how demeaning it can be to continuously ask for help in a subject that's about as challenging as learning a foreign language with no prior instruction. You feel stupid and you don't want the teacher to know that you know absolutely nothing. But they're being paid to help you, so take advantage of it!
4. Keep crying during tests to a minimum. Remember, it's just one test. It won't matter in a years time.
5. You can get through a year of AP Calculus. Even this girl who's going to Art Skool made it through with an A in the class. Even while continuously riding the struggle bus. Now back to your regularly scheduled list.
2. Talk to Everyone and Anyone.
Senior year is the year of 'fatal encounters' in which you will come across at least a handful of people a month or two before the school year ends and ask yourself where these people have been all your life, or at least the last three years of your life. It's pretty rude of them to have been hiding from you and all, but it's also partially your fault for never searching outside of your sacred squad. Trust me, I know talking to new people can be pretty scary, or god forbid, awkward. But even if you do try to branch out and end up making a fool of yourself in the process, there's no harm done because you won't have to see each other ever again in a couple months! But if it so happens that the person you just began talking to turns out to be one of the most amazing and relatable people you could hope to meet, you have to now say goodbye to that little piece of perfection you just got your hands on. To prevent this sadness from occurring in your life, make sure to have some of those 'fatal encounters' in the fall if at all possible.
3. Appreciate the time you have with your Friends.
If your group of friends is anything like mine, everyone in eleven months from now will be going in completely different directions to colleges all over the States, or even one lone straggler in London. Take the time to make those connections and memories with one another. Live in the moment, but documentation is also important (especially in eleven months time). Go on adventures, group trips, dinners in the city, the lame school dances, homework sessions, laptop club, Instagram missions, and the infamous Taco Bell runs. Just appreciate everyone for their quirks and individual-ness that makes your friends themselves, cause soon enough they'll be gone and adventures of one get to be lame and FaceTimes don't do gossip sessions justice.
4. You'll know what college is right for you when you feel it.
The madness of a college decision made me want to rip my hair out at least 84,000 times within the last year. And it's not just the decision, no. Every single part of the process can be incredibly stressful. From figuring out which school actually is your 'dream school,' to applying to your dream school, to waiting for either a rejection or acceptance from your dream school, to realizing that your dream school may not be your 'dream school,' to going back and forth between the pros and the cons of the final two schools you've narrowed the masses down to, to FINALLY making the decision you've been sitting on for month and months (and ending up choosing the school you looked at before your junior year even began). It sounds lame and unpredictable to say you'll know it when you feel it, but the fact of the matter is only you can truly decide what the best choice is for you. Whether money is a contributing factor, or where the schools located, or the majors they have to offer, it all has to be prioritized by what you care about. Don't lose sight of what's important to you and what you love. I knew when I applied for the School of the Art Institute of Chicago that I wanted to be there for the next four years even if I hesitated to outwardly state those feelings, and fortunately I was able to live out that dream. When the time comes to choose, you'll know what's best for you.
5. It's just a bad d(gr)a(de)y, not a bad life.
Ah, the dreaded 'studied-for-hours-and-still-didn't-understand-the-material' or the 'I-just-didn't-have-the-motivation-#senioritis' moment finally comes along and is the cause of your failed (whatever your definition of 'failed' might be) calc/english/physics/gym(?) test. The occasional slip-up or for some the regular slip-up might be the reason for getting down on yourself and your confidence in whatever subject the failure happened it. Please don't let it get to you. It happened, alright? Take what you learned from it and don't let it happen again. Okay, don't let it happen multiple times again. Honestly, everything that happens senior year feels incredibly stressful. Everyone lies and says that the stress stops after junior year leaving the senior slide effect to run it's course. Obviously those people hadn't taken an AP class senior year. But get this: as long as you remain pretty average and only allow the occasional slip-up to happen, you're golden. You're going to get into college, I promise. You don't deserve to be sad, I mean look at you. You've made it this far! You've got to keep going to see where you end up, and please don't let that be jail.
6. Have Fun
Senior year only happens once. There's going to be many, many, many exciting years ahead so don't expect it to be the highlight of your life (unless you're actually planning on peaking in high school). But jokes aside, make sure it's a great year. Go to the events and be involved with the programs you've come to love whether that be the musical, sports, the debate team, art club, marching band, the math team, or that one Mario Brothers club that always had posters hanging around the halls. There's opportunities for spontaneous fun to happen everywhere, you just have to look a little.
That's it. Those are my tips for surviving your Senior Year of High School, now on their way to joining the masses of other people's lists of surviving the highly anticipated year. Take whatever advice you feel is somewhat relevant to this fairly short road you're about to embark on. It all goes quite fast, so be sure you take the time to slow down and smell the cafeteria chicken served at least nine times a week, cause soon enough it'll all be gone.
-Belle xx
-Belle xx
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