At our school, there was an annual Talent Show and every year the ones put in charge of pulling it off were the Seniors. Being a senior myself this was a huge deal - how it went was how the Class of 2015 would be remembered. We made up our Talent Show Committee just a few weeks before it went on, and it took us nearly a week to think of a theme, which was titled "The Grand Act".
We then began to give out roles for the seniors to do, from the Tech Team to the backstage crew, the hosts, and even the set and program designers. I was the program designer and the host, and working together with the girls was probably the most fun (and stressful) I've had in quite a while. There was a bit of procrastination that went on, however, and by the time we realized that the talent show would be in a week - we panicked. But you know how they say, "Some people work well under pressure."? Yes. That's exactly what happened.
In a matter of a few days the entire auditorium was decorated with the grandeur (HA!) theme, the program design was made and sent out to the printing press, and the final revisions for the program and the scripts were completed. It was like watching those time lapse videos, where you could see everything move in a fast-forward motion and it was pretty cool knowing that I was a part of it.
One thing I've learned, is that pressure and the desire to do good at something, is what brings people together. Amidst all our differences, and our conflicting ideas, we all managed to collaborate and work together to make "The Grand Act" a success.
Dear juniors,
this blog post is dedicated especially for you - coming from a senior graduating with the Class of 2015. Take my advice as a sort of warning for those of you who are especially ambitious and wish to tackle a few AP classes whilst applying for college. Don't even think it.
I thought taking AP Biology and AP Chemistry my senior year was a brilliant idea since, after all, I went two years taking all Honors classes. Boy, was I so wrong. The first semester was filled with confusion and frustration and dread as I practiced for my SATs, and tried to make all projects due by deadline. Trust me, as ambitious and capable you are, don't. Just don't. Take it from me. I'm graduating in 4 weeks and all my creative juices and motivation have most likely reached the basic scale on a litmus paper. Not good.
When applying for colleges, consider going out of the norms and apply at schools that have your ideal environment. And by "norm", I mean not listening to anyone's opinions of where you should go - be it from your trusted teacher or your parents. You wouldn't want to spend another 4 year trudging your way through the school year just because you chose to follow someone else's choice. Also, a key tip in applying to colleges is looking at who they want. Let's say, if Columbia University were looking for a biology major who could play the trombone because their orchestra lacked a member - and that person sounds an awful lot like you - then there's a great chance you'll be picked. It's all about knowing where to look.
And last, just relax and take it easy your senior year - but do not get lazy and allow your grades to fall. Your last semester grades count towards the college's decision, and sometimes a sharp drop might be enough for them to revoke their acceptance letter. You wouldn't want that. But really, it's your last year.
So have fun. Spend time with your friends because it may be forever until you meet them again, and plans to meet over Winter break and Thanksgiving could be broken. So cherish your senior year. It's basically the last time you'll ever be this free.
Sincerely,
Arielle Esteban
College - cue the sound of a million other high school seniors sighing as they sit in a class.
May 1 is finally here, aka it's also the deadline date of college decisions in the U.S. of A. To most people, this date is rather frightening - unless you've been accepted to an Ivy League school or have a generous amount of scholarship money. When you're past that stage, however, it's time for the college dreams to commence. And for me, it's been a good few weeks since I've started. Ahem.
I'll be attending Simmons College, an all women's college in the heart of Boston, MA. I met the girls of the Class of 2019, and talked to them through Skype and Facebook. Speaking of the latter, colleges make making friends so much easier through college Facebook groups. It also makes the decision-making more easy, since you'll get a feel of the kind of people and atmosphere in that particular school. They also let you meet future roomies. Hehe.
I met my roommate through the Facebook group, and we'll both be taking the same major + she likes the same things as me, and she's traveled to Europe a lot. Brownie points! We've already made plans to visit NYC together this summer, too.
When in college, I'll probably sign up for a lot of clubs and join a language class - Japanese or Chinese, perhaps. I also plan to volunteer at a local orphanage or at a charity organization, since I do like helping people for the greater good of the world. Heh.
But for this summer, all I'll be doing is planning for Move-In Day and shopping at vintage thrift stores and meeting up with my future coursemates and roomie. I can't wait!
