Friends

I always thought that the friends I had in elementary and middle school would be my friends for life. The fact is that every time I moved to the next phase in my life my favorite friends became old friends and eventually someone of the distant past. Now that I am in highschool, and a senior, that process of building and breaking friendships has happened faster. What is it about the coming of age that makes keeping friends difficult? This is my theory:

Elementary school is the time where kids get their first exposure to the formation of "clicks". Side note: I never really understood why people felt the need to create subgroups amongst themselves because it only spreads people farther apart. I hear a lot of people who are in my age group and even above my age group talk about how "big brother" and business like to exclude and torment certain people based on race and demographics when really, we learn to minimize diversity and increase the chance of a specific race or demographic at a young age by forming clicks. We tend to stick around what we know and who we identify as similar to ourselves, which brings be back to my story. Although we see the formation of clicks begin in elementary school, we are all of the same kind - young and immature. Everyone wants to be funny,  have a lot of friends, say they don't have a curfew and most importantly, everyone wants to be deemmed cool whether they admit it or not.

Once we move on to the next stage of our lives, middle school or Jr. high school, we tend to think that we will be more mature , more ready to attack life, so we drop most of our silly friends and settle for the girls who wear red lipstick already and the guys  who have had 10 girlfriends as a 12 year old. In middle school we identify doing "grown-up" things such as wearing makeup and having multiple partners as being mature and even sophistocated.

After moving into Highschool, we realize that the people we associated ourselves with in middle school we're really silly for thinking they were so grown which may have caused them to always have an attitude, be a "debby downer" or even the class clown. When in highschool, most of us don't want to bring those type of people into our new lives as highschoolers so we drop those friends and they each form new clicks.

This cycle repeats over and over again all the time in our lives. Now don't get me wrong , there are some people who manage to stay friends with people they've known to kindergarden but as times change the life expectancy of friendships change as well. More kids are starting to feel like they need to mature faster and  enjoy less time as a minor. My message is to try to hold on to your friendships and grow together, unless the friendship is toxic to the well being of  one or both partners and in that case and  that case only do I say , let it fade away.

Make it Work for You

In my biology class I am learning about the transfer of energy and the metabolic pathways of life. Major components of metabolic pathways are reactions, endergonic and exergonic reactions. Exergonic reactions are the break down of larger molecules into smaller molecules which releases energy. This energy released by the exergonic reaction can fuel an endogonic reaction. An endogonic reaction builds a larger molecule using the energy released by the exergonic reaction. The way these two processes (exergonic and endogonic reactions) work together is called energy coupling meaning that one reaction fuels (or gives rise to) the next reaction.

The best way I found to understand this energy coupling was to relate it to my life right now. Right now college is my life. It is what I am looking foward to and what will be the reward for the hard work I put into my four years in high school. With the pressure of senior year, as expressed in previous posts, I've found myself in difficult times where everything is just too overwhelming and I just break down. In the midst of trying to find a way to cheer myself up I found myself thinking about energy coupling. I was experiencing a meltdown (or a breakdown) but that was only the beggining of something great. I had to release that bad energy in order to fuel a major build up, my redemption. I realized that my fustration and stress over college was only the first step in a process and once I convert that energy into good energy  I can build myself up even better than before.

I always find it helpful to make an analogy in order to help me understand or memorize  difficult concepts. Have you ever made an analogy to help yourseld remember or understanding something?

Life through Art

Sometimes at around 9' o clock when I can no longer fight the urge to pick up a pencil and draw I stay up for hours creating an expression. Alot of the drawing I do is based on how I feel. The best work that I have ever made was the work thaT i needed to draw for myself. The drawing that helped clear my mind. I am not someone who sits down and draws something just because. Whenever I am seriously drawing something it is because I feel a connection between myself and my work. A big part of art to me is expression of the human experience. With every interaction with the world around us to relationships with ourselves we build on our experience as a human being. I find it very important to be observant and to pay attention to the things that are happening around me and how it has correlation with something else in the world.

I also enjoy creating an expression through different forms of art including poetry , dance, and music. I usually write poetry to empower or encourage myself to be active in my community or for purposes of dealing with complex emotions. Whenever I am dancing on my free time , I try to make an attempt a ballet or contemporary desperately trying to remember first through fifth position from the ballet class I took so many years ago. My music is always by my side , when I'm not listening to Drake , I'm listening to someone similar to him. I believe music is art because it is a way to express how one feels and art is all about expression.

What is your art?

Personal Statements - Class Related Response

As I dive into senior year I am starting to feel the pressure to get good grades and do a million in one things. As a student , an athlete and a sister I have a myriad of responsbilities that become overwhelming from time to time. All the things that I do inside and outside of school are not only for me but to be a role model to my sisters and brothers , a leader amongst my peers and proof that girls can also be student-athletes. But, to be completely honest , the plus side about being pulled in every direction is having alot to write about in my college essay. On the other hand that has made it hard for me to pick a moment in my life that has had such great impact on me that I would want that moment in time to reflect who I am to colleges.

Working on personal statements in my english class has opened my mind to all the different things I could write about. I was also amazed to hear some of the stories of my classmates. By listening to their stories and thinking about how their personal statement impacted me , I began to really narrow down those moments that I think will leave an impact on others. I always seem to have trouble with writing personal statements because I jump around from topic to topic and sometimes one story to next but with the help of my peers and college conselours I think I have come up with a fool-proof way to leave an impact , and write a great personal statement.

Step 1: Think about a time where you came to a realization that you would have never thought about before , maybe you've come to realize materialistic things don't matter to you anymore or that you really have a passion for egineering.

Step 2: Try to remember that moment or moments in which you came to that realization. How did it make you feel? What did this realization change in your life? Why was this important to you?

Step 3: Draft it out!
Just let your ideas go and flow onto the page. Once you give yourself the oppurtunity to write without really thinking about whats coming next you might find that what you write really capture your voice which is what colleges want to hear.

Step 4: After you've written a lengthy draft , go back and take apart what you wrote . Seperating what moments you want to include in your final draft from the ideas that maybe aren't so important in conveying your message or point.

Step 5: Get serious
Now is the time to really sit down with your revised draft and make sure it fits the criteria or what colleges want. You may want to seek opinions from different counselours , peers nd teachers for this step in order to ensure that your grammar , spelling and orgnization is up to par

Step 6: Re-read your paper and make sure you love it!

**If you still find yourself stuck on step 1 try talking to your friends , teachers or any adult figures who know you about a time where they felt you changed in any way. Talking about the change that happens in your life can be a good starting poimt for a conversation and finding an interesting and defining moment in your life that colleges are looking for.

I hope that this guide can help anyone who is just as lost as me when it comes to writing personal statements.

Who Am I?

A simple three word question that I have yet to know the answer to. Who am I? I try to imagine describing myself being as easy as just listing some fancy adjectives , likes , dislike , yata-yata. But the truth is , I am my environment and I am my choices. I cannot capture my whole being in one word because I am never just feeling one emotion , I don't have on strong suit , or one weakness. I am the resulting product of my failures and my triumphs. And I am ever-changing  as new failures and triumphs come about.


For those who prefer a more direct description of who I am , I'll try to capture significant moments below:


Favorite Color : Blue
- Blue is calming and deep. I tend to dress in a lot of dark blues and draw in light   blues.


Favorite Animal: Cheetahs
-I grew up waking up early mornings to watch the Steve Erwin show and a myriad of other shows on  Animal Planet. I've always been fascinated with  the cheetahs strut , run and strength. 


Hobbies: Drawing and Ice Skating 

2013 Annual Ice Show

- I draw whenever I feel that there is something that I need to talk about that I can't express with words. I am learning  to create with my mind rather with templates but like all things that is a work in progress. I've been shredding ice since I was 9 and I don't plan to stop. ever. 

Education
- Learning outside the classroom including everything from talking with my friends to Ted Talks brings joy to my little heart. I love discovering new things and questioning what I know and believe,