Essential Question Response: School and Goals

Essential Question: What will make me happy? / What is in my future?

As you have probably figured out by now, I am a geek. And as such, I enjoy school-- probably a lot more than I should (note: please know that 'school' does not entail the daily torture session known as 'math'). There are many, many reasons why I love my school as much as I do.

One of the first reasons is, of course, friends. When I'm hanging out at the Alley, it isn't hard to be happy-- my friends can always make me laugh, even if I've had a bad day, done not-so-great on a test, or just read Pirates of the Caribbean spoilers saying that my favorite character is going to die in the third movie. People at the Alley are generally random, insane, and very illogical ("I am from Canada, and my eyes are brown. Therefore, cheese."), so it's difficult to be bored. Over the year, people at the Alley have decorated for Halloween and Christmas, played foursquare, played Tackle Frisbee, played Trombone, participated in 'How to be a Ninja' Tutorials, been fire hazards, glomped and been glomped, had dance- and sing-alongs to inane songs on iPods, gotten sugar high, organized and participated in Easter egg hunts... the list goes on and on. And though, of course, friends have been depressed and bad things have happened, we pull through and keep laughing.

Another thing I love about my school (which name shall not be mentioned in the unlikely event that someone reading this is a stalker) is the opportunities it offers. There are clubs, teams, organizations, brilliant teachers, a huge array of really interesting classes (which I unfortunately do not have enough time to take), plays, performances, community service opportunities, and so on. I love the feeling of knowing that though I may not be able to take advantage of it all, there will always be new people to meet and something new and enjoyable for me to do.

But of course, much as I enjoy my friends and classes (not math), school does have its downs. Stress is rampant, and though I rarely break down, I definitely get upset what with homework, tests, and the pressure about grades. When I first came to my school in fifth grade, I viewed a C as OK. My perspective-- influenced by friends and teachers-- has changed drastically. Here is a grading rubric that shows the mindset of the average overachiever in my school:

A = Acceptable
B = Bad
C = Crap
D = Doomed
F = Find a new school

I have not gotten to this point yet, but I'm getting close. Sometimes this mindset seems very appropriate and reasonable, and sometimes it freaks me out. Yes, part of me misses the days when a C truly was average. But while I do think that laughter is essential to everyday life, so is perseverance, responsibility, and intelligence. All of that is reflected in grades-- which in turn play a huge role in the future. Grades now will determined what classes I take later, what my grades will be in the future, what college I get into, and what job I end up with. Everything starts here, and I'm sure I speak for my fellow geeks when I say that I don't want anything lower than an 'Acceptable' future.

Introduction / the Purpose of Blogging

I believe that when you write, you should show a character's personality through stories and actions, instead of simply telling. I'm going to do the same as I describe myself-- I'm going to tell stories.

I'm the kind of person who, on a four-day weekend off from school, will spend my day home alone listening to World War Two radio broadcast recordings on my dad's record machine.

I'm the kind of person who plasters my room walls with posters of people like Gandalf, Dumbledore, and Obi-Wan Kenobi, Darth Vader, and the Beatles. In fact, I only have one poster in my room that would be socially acceptable by the standards of non-geeks, and it's of Jack Sparrow.

I'm the kind of person who will spend as little time as possible on Algebra homework, but only so that I can hurry on to English and History.

I'm the kind of person who would rather die than dance in public... unless I'm with my friends and we're listening to 'Popular'-- for irony's sake-- on someone's iPod speakers, and we all get up to sign along and do what we call the foot-dance.

I'm the kind of person who believes-- and has acted on the belief-- that it is better to have a friend who hates you but is alive than to have a dead friend.

I'm the kind of person who will laugh until I cry on the bus because I'm reading something funny, and not care about the weird looks I get.

I'm the kind of person who, during the fall, lives for football games-- but only because football season is Marching Band season.

I'm the kind of person who gets high off Root Beer, roller coasters, and fun.

I'm the kind of person who might commit murder if I hear the phrase "This one time, at band camp..."

I'm the kind of person who will never judge a friend but is a bit too quick to judge someone who judges.

I'm the kind of person who write incomprehensible sentences that use the same word too many times.

And most importantly to me, I'm the kind of person who will never let a friend down, who will never drink and drive, who will never willingly hurt someone, and who will always try to help the people I love.

Being who I am (a geek stuck in the past, to be blunt) I don't particularly want a MySpace or a FaceBook. But for a while I have wanted a blog, and now, with this English assignment, I have the excuse to get one. Blogging means being able to share your views with the entire world without the distractions of 'friends' or reviewers or stalkers. Blogging gives you a chance to really take advantage of the Internet: you can link to your favorite websites, play music, show videos, post pictures... anything the Internet has to offer, you can somehow incorporate into a blog. And there isn't so much distraction that you forget the lovely old days of just reading and listening. You can have recordings of old radio broadcasts, quote books, or even just write your heart out without any fancy technological additions. Have a blog also means that as soon as you have finished writing something, it can be out in the world in seconds. It is a wonderful feeling to know that after I post this-- sitting in my home in Hawaii-- someone in England or Australia or South Africa can find out about me, get to know me, and talk to me-- all within an hour. So despite being stuck in the past when it comes to music and history, I love the Internet, and already I love blogging. Blogging means communication, potential, entertainment, and above all, freedom.