Reflection

When my friends that are younger ask me about my opinions in certain classes, I usually know exactly what to say. My mom joked that I should start a business in helping mothers of 8th grade students decide what classes to take for their freshman year. When sophomores ask me about APUSH, I tell them that Matthew Crooks will become their greatest nemesis next year. AP Lang, however, gets a different response. Yes, there is a lot of writing and in class work, there is no denying it. Nonetheless, the overall impact that this course has played on my writing abilities is monumental. After getting a pathetic 2 on "The Poisonwood Bible" Essay test, I knew that something needed to change. I thought my narrative at the beginning of the year  about my trip to Israel  was one of the greatest things I have written. I was "lucky" enough to be selected as the class guinea pig and have my essay edited and revised by my peers. My face turned bright red as I was so embarrassed by my naive style compared to the other geniuses in my class. I realized my mistakes and how I could make it better. I have finally learned how to write- Show, not tell; strong verbs; and an overall newly found passion for writing. 

There are some assignments that have truly helped me with my writing skills. The first journal project from last semester taught me how to express my feelings in a clear way onto paper with a limited amount of time. It was a great stress reliever and helped me to think quickly about writing, rather than over-analyzing everything. Another activity that benefited me was working with my classmates on "fire drill" essays. Learning how they would write an essay helped me think about my own style and how I could improve it. I am still very shaky on the rhetorical analysis, but I'm sure with all of the practice we are doing this week in class, I will be ready for the AP  Exam next week.

APLang has been a fun and memorable class. I will always remember "The Crucible" adaptation from the beginning of the year when I won "Best Actress" for climbing on top of a desk and being the unfortunate, rumored class slut. Of course, another one of my favorite projects was the satire project. On the internet, there is a satirical website about teenage pregnancy advice. Let's hope no one finds it. In five years, I will be able to go back onto Facebook and see my Crucible video or search the web for "If the Stork came too early..." and see my website.

Thank you Mrs. Smith for an amazing year! <3

Nothing like Family

Blog Journal Project- Entry 6
"Nothing like Family"

Today, I attended my cousin Michael's graduation party. He is graduating next week from Woodward Academy and is most likely attending University of Miami (fingers crossed he gets off the UGA wait list soon). Being exactly a year and a month apart, we are the closest in age out of all eight cousins that I have on my dad's side. I am the third to youngest, so even though Michael and I are not babies, we are very young in the family. There are high expectations in this family as well, that's why the UGA wait list is such a big deal right now. For my final blog post for this project, I'm going to write about my cousins and our relationship.

Let's introduce the family. Rachel graduated from the Honors Program at UGA and is currently in medical school, studying to be a gynecologist. She is starting her residency next year at the University of South Florida. She just turned 26. Russell graduated from George Washington University and is currently working in New York City. He is 24. Next is Greg; he graduated from the Honors Program at UGA and is getting his master's degree there. He is 23. Leo turned 21 yesterday. He is a junior at UGA. Then, we have Michael- 18 years old and graduating! I'm next, and I turn 17 in one week! My brother, Ross, is 14 and going to the Weber School for high school. Finally, my cousin Emily is 13 and goes to St. Francis. Rachel and Greg are my dad's sister's children. Russel, Leo, Michael, and Emily are my dad's brother's kids. That is the brief intro of everyone (for when I start name dropping).

Rachel and Emily are 13 years apart. Because of the wide age ranges in my family, we are lucky if we see each other two to three times a year. The strangest part is that each family is based in Atlanta. Despite the many in and out of college, we all have extremely busy lives. I wish I could be closer to my cousins. Whenever we are together, we always get along and have a good time. The picture below is all of us at our annual "Day before Thanksgiving" dinner. As I am getting older, I can finally carry decent conversation with my cousins that are nine years older than me. Most of them took AP Lang and a variety of other AP classes, so their advice becomes very useful (especially because I aspire to go to UGA like half of them did/do). At this certain family dinner, I stood with Rachel and her boyfriend, Michael Chang (aspiring pathologist), and complained about my physics class. Rachel gave me great tips: "You don't want to be a doctor. You have no interest in science. Keep a B in physics and As in all of your other classes with your AP/Honors points, and I promise, you will be fine." Never were words so true. Family is irreplaceable, and that is a key.

#MyThoughtsAtSchool

Blog Journal Project- Entry 5
"#MyThoughtsAtSchool"

I'm sitting in my living room trying to figure out what to write for this post. My parents are in the kitchen next to me arguing about where my brother is going to high school. Because this week is EOCT testing and I am stuck in two and a half hour blocks all day, I have been thinking about all of the things that run through my head during the school day. It just so happens that #mythoughtsatschool is a trending topic on twitter, so this is the perfect opportunity to share my thoughts. Rather than a formal blog post, I will be making a list.

Zoe Falkenstein's Thoughts During School

• "Holy hell, what time is it?" *checks clock* "Good G-d, my life is over."
• "If this kid in my math class burps one more time, I'm going to pull his disgusting red hair off of his head so hard that his body will never make another sound again."
• "So, when are you going to start teaching us?"
• "Coach Crooks is my best friend...too bad he hates me."
•  "No, Madame Sirot, I do not remember vocab from the 4th Grade."
• "If d=3 and the sum=360, what is the rule of....oh my gosh, WHO CARES"
• "LaaaaaaaAcrymosa, diiiiiiiiIesila" (this is supposed to be singing Lacrymosa)
• "I really miss Tae Wan. I wonder what teacher he is bothering right now."
• "Ok, you should really stop staring at my chest...I see you pervert."
• "I'M SO HUNGRY."
• "I wonder if I can hold my water bottle like..." *bottle hits desk* "Oh, that was really uncomfortably loud. Let me pick this up. Go back to what you were doing everyone."
• "I really hope he texts me, or communicates with me, or thinks about me, or something."
• "I wonder what my brother is doing right now."
• "How late will I be staying up tonight? What homework do I have?"
• "Oh, so I have math homework. That's not happening until homeroom tomorrow."
• "I would kill for a cupcake right now."
• *During a Physics test* "Why do you torture me like this Mrs. Murray? Why?"
• "I need to go to the bathroom, but I shouldn't ask the teacher now. I'll just wait."