Getting rejected by your first choice school April 15, 2014

If you’re anything like myself, you’ve probably entered high school with the mindset to do whatever it takes to get into your top choice school—even if it means spreading yourself thin. All you could think about for +3.5 years is attending said school and using connections made at your future profession. Well, sometimes things don’t always work out and rather than getting accepted and joyous beyond your wildest dreams, you’re faced to decide between your other schools.

I’m not going to lie; getting rejected from NCSU was probably one of the worst parts of high school.

4/4/2014 Update; AKA I’M STILL ALIVE ALTHOUGH THIS BLOG IS DORMANT April 4, 2014

What to expect now that the point of this blog was achieved January 31, 2014

Obviously, my most recent college acceptance was life changing for both my future and present, but it’s also blog changing. As both a student and a writer, I no longer have to try to prove to universities that they want me on campus—three out of the five colleges I applied to want me despite my transcript flaws! A collection of people in various areas in the state of North Carolina want me for being me! Such a great feeling 🙂

That being said, I’m going to try to chronicle the home stretch of high school and make this blog a bit more useful for upcoming and current high school students—perhaps even throw in the occasional video or two.

In honor of this blog reaching this milestone, enjoy the bathroom selfie timeline of the past four years which covers mortifying freshman year to relaxed sophomore year to stressful junior year to serene senior year.

2014 Mission Statement January 25, 2014

Curious what this post is about? Click here to see last years post 🙂

Hey, colleges actually read this! January 21, 2014

Nearly two years after starting this blog later, I finally have something to prove for my many sleepless nights, anxiety riddled moments, +13 extracurricular activities (that hit almost every subject area possible), hours spent forming opinions into posts, and working my ass off:

I am attending a college I loved since the moment I stepped foot on campus. Although I got rejected from my first choice school, I am without a doubt thrilled to be attending said college next fall. I’m still a bit overwhelmingly thrilled to be translating my emotions coherently, but I just wanted to take the time and thank everyone who has ever read this blog or supported me as either a writer, student, peer, or mentor—I wouldn’t have made it this far without your encouragement.

Expect a much more thorough post from me later in the week but as for now;

hey colleges, thanks for actually reading this!

14 things after completing first semester of senior year: January 13, 2014

1. The only thing more stressful than college applications is waiting to hear back from colleges.(seriously though)
2. It’s okay to cry because you’re uncertain about next year—almost everyone else in your grade is too. Reach out and freak out together.
3. You don’t know how much you’ve grown up until you realize you were once one of those obnoxious freshman in your chill elective class.

Lately I’ve been… September 29, 2013

Lately I’ve been under the influence of Senior Year.

Academic Contracts August 25, 2013

After having such a rough summer thanks to ulcers last year, I decided to write up a list of “statutes” I’d follow during the school year to prevent future stress related health problems. Placed on the back of my bedroom door along with two posters from Wise Like Us, skimming over the list was one of the first things I did every morning to remind myself of my personal work ethic. I still got sick due to stress, but nothing bad enough I missed school over and I was as dedicated to achieving extreme perseverance as I had hoped. With this in mind, I rewrote my Academic Contract for Senior Year and have included both contracts in case anyone wanted to follow a similar suit.

Most of the ones from Junior Year are from things I read on various places online in terms of study tips while Senior Year I cleaned it up; removing the things from Junior Year that didn’t work out too great(study groups, caffeine intake, etc), while adding easier to follow and more reasonable statues.. The main trick however is to make it look as formal and as serious as possible while placing it in an extremely visible place. This maximizes viewing and reminds yourself how important your new academic guidelines are.

Hope this helps and good luck to all embarking on their upcoming school year 🙂

Back to School Apps and Supplies August 24, 2013

Tis the season for going back to school and back to school shopping!

With 3 years of high school and 12 years total of public school education under my belt, you could assume I’m a bit of a pro when it comes to figuring out what I need to stock up on during the school year and methods to combat the year. Last year I actually wrote a post on some tips to help you stay organized and ahead in your academic endeavors. Although the post contains tips I still use, I’ve advanced and neglected to mention ways I attempt to stay prepared and sane.

A look back on: my summer Coursera classes August 18, 2013

Since discovering Coursera while it was in beta testing, I’ve been determined to take at least one class through it—but school always got in the way. So as finals were coming to a close in June, I decided to enroll in two classes: Food Sustainability- A Global Perspective and Introduction to Public Speaking.

If you’re unfamiliar with Coursera and other MOOCs(Massive Open Online Classes), such websites provide free classes in practically every subject imaginable taught through a college university.