Yes, the best time of year for us students is already on the horizon — summer vacation is coming fast. Of course, being juniors, nothing is easy for us; summer vacation just can’t be quite the same three months of relaxation and fun it used to be. So what am I personally planning on doing? I’ve mentioned a few things that I need to finally get around to doing over the summer, but here is the list in full. (more…)

At some point in all our high school careers, it will come time to … take “the Test.” The Test can be anything, standardized or otherwise, but it’s important that we do well on it, no matter what. And to do this, it’s important to know just how to take the Test — because like one of those repeating dreams, the Test will come back to us again and again over time. (more…)

I must admit a secret: I haven’t gone on any college visits yet. Because important as they are, I simply haven’t had time enough to go anywhere, especially since things have been piling up around this time of year. (And it doesn’t help that the colleges I’m most interested in are quite a long way away…) (more…)

This past weekend I competed at NYSML, the New York State Mathematics League. We assembled a team of students from different schools in our county who were top performers at local math competitions and went to compete with other teams from across the state. Of course, the academic experience itself was valuable — there were some truly mind-bending problems asked, requiring deep thought. Although our overall team performance ended up being delightfully average, and no one received any awards in particular, we still put on a decent showing. But beyond the academics, it was a very valuable experience for me, as it was an opportunity to meet many new people. (more…)

Recently I missed a deadline, an important deadline. It was the deadline for honors society applications, due at exactly 3:00 p.m. last Monday. I had the application and paperwork all ready; my error was that I forgot to turn it in before 3:00, and arrived at 4:00, which was, of course, too late. Well, time waits for no one, as they say. (more…)

Recently in my biology class, we filled out a class survey where we evaluated the workload of the course in comparison to other courses; we also included our comments. One section involved describing what percentage of our time spent doing homework went toward each individual course. In filling out the survey, I realized that my time spent on each course per night was very uneven; three courses alone took up about 80% of my time.
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Success is certainly something that we all strive for, something that we hope to achieve as often as we can. The glory of being accepted into that one college or program, or leading your sports team to victory, or anything like that is definitely a great feeling. But we can’t win them all, as they say, and sooner or later we all have to face defeat. (more…)

There are just over 10 weeks until the first of May and I’m already nervous. The reason why I’m counting down to May instead of the end of the school year in June is because, this year, May is an extremely important month for me — it’s the end of these long months of test preparation, with exams and college admission exam dates such as the ACT all falling during this part of the year.

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It happens every so often: things are all business as usual, homework is steady but bearable, life is normal. And we begin to think, well, maybe things aren’t so bad, right? And then, we hit a brick wall. Tests from multiple classes all crop up in the same week, maybe with a massive project due around the same time, not to mention all the extracurricular activities we take part in. Suddenly, bedtime gets pushed into the wee hours of the morning, and just the thought of going back to school the next day seems impossible.
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It’s a new year, and for many, that means making resolutions. Whether it be to work harder, or organize better, or perhaps the ubiquitous weight-loss resolution, almost everyone has something different they want to aspire to this New Year. I’m no exception — but my resolution has more to do with thinking than with doing. And . . . here it is: think positively. Not just an effort to break the “whiny teenager” mold, though I admit, that’s something that I strive to avoid (with varying degrees of success, depending on whom you ask).
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