Project

Finding a way to help or improve peoples lives. Sounds pretty easy just do a little something here and a little bit over there and presto you have accomplished your goal.  This is the attitude that I had going into class today but by the end of class, that attitude was turned completely around. Our project of finding a goal that will improve society turned out to be much harder than I anticipated. As we were brainstorming all of us in the group found it difficult to come up with an idea that was practical to help society and yet still be something that we could possible impliment or pursue. 
 So as I was sittinng there racking my brain for ideas, I suddenly realized we were facing the same problem policy makers face (on a much smaller scale of course). As citizens we see problems within society and we expect congress to address and fix the problems we see yet it seems the true problem is never fixed. This had always been a mystery to me why seemingly simple problems could never be erased, but after class today I now more fully understand the logistics congress men/women face when trying to impliment programs.  
Now im not totally letting them off the hook for not always getting necessary items taken care of but I am more conscious of how much of a pain in the butt it is to try and be helpful.... no wonder why it is not as prevelant as it was back in the good old days.

Break

Finally some time away from school! These past few days have been a great change of pace. I have not had to worry about college applications, or any homework besides reading our wonderfully confusing Crime and Punishment. But instead I finally got to turn off my alarm and sleep as long as I wanted, then once awake, it has been a joy just doing things for the heck of it rather than always having to get one thing done and then move on to another. This free time has been great and I hope everyone gets some good opportunities to kick back and reflect on all the things you have to be thankful for this Thanksgiving!!  

Test: past, present, and future

Test days come to quickly so we never feel as prepared as we should be but yet when it is all over the relief of not having another night of cramming brings such joy that it compensates for not feeling like a test went well.  However the severity of feelings of unpreparedness and then relief have changed much over the years. Back in elementary school I hardly even cared what a test was let alone study for such a foreign thing, so the stress before hand and relief afterward meant nothing or very little to me at the most.  Then we took the big scary step from elementary to middle school. Now as the classes were filled with more specific information and specialized concepts, all of a sudden test did not just fit in with the rest of the boring day, but were something occupying the back of my mind until it was all over.  
Now as a senior, test are a source of great stress and worry, and instead of occupying a small space in my brain I find myself constantly thinking about what I should know compared to what I actually do and trying to figure out ways to get as ready as possible for the test throughout the day.  This year more than ever I have noticed people devoting an entire class period during the day top accomplish last minute cramming totally oblivious to what they are supposed to be accomplishing during the class.  So it has been interesting to look back and see how the importance of test has grown and almost I would say start to consume our way of looking at school.   
After seeing test this year and how they have driven me crazy with worry, I can only imagine how much "FUN" it will be to prepare and take test next year in a college environment. But I guess I will survive that like I have the rest of school (or at least I hope so). 

Timed Writing

Alright so the essay topic today in class was a joy to write about.  I had really enjoyed the book I read but when I was finished I could not figure out why I had liked it so much, but I found as I was writing today that the book was so enjoyable because of the examples that we had to use to prove the unsettling and pleasurable parts of our books.  I realized that I enjoyed our outside reading book so much because the intermixing of pleasurable and unnerving elements was so well done that as a reader I never noticed my changing emotions.  While writing I suddenly figured out the book actually took the reader on a similar emotional roller coaster as the main character. So seeing that I don't like actual roller coasters but enjoy the feeling afterward, it only made sense that I liked the book because I went on a roller coaster without even knowing it.

College Visits

last Friday and Saturday I was lucky enough to be able to visit the Colorado School of Mines, to get a feel for the campus to see if it fit my idea of what college should be like.  So we get to quaint little Golden, Colorado and find some place to park and start an adventure.  We walk around campus looking at all the buildings and at the mountains in the back ground. after killing a couple of hours, we got the chance to watch a swim meet. While watching the meet i came upon a sudden revelation that just like needing to see the swim team in action to determine if i would like what goes on, i also would like to be able to witness what goes on in the class room at the school too.  But to my chagrin I had not set up any appointment to sit in on a class.  So if any of you go to visit a college I would HIGHLY suggest you ask for an opportunity to sit in on a class because I think that it could be valuable in helping you determine what college really fits what you want.