College Essays

I wonder how everyone is doing with their college essays. It is something quite amazing that our whole grade, or at least 90%  of the people have already completed their first drafts and accepted by Ms.Pamela. Other international schools seem to have it the opposite way around. Unlike Ms.Pamela, they tell their students to take their time to look for the colleges they like and then when the common application deadline is almost approaching then begin writing your essays.  Now, personally, I don't have an opinion on this, things could go two different ways; but what I will tell you guys is that I feel a lot more comfortable with the way Pamela did it than the way others do it. There is a sense of readiness and mental vitality that is developed at an earlier stage. Moreover, we don't have to mix and mingle college apps. and the SAT. One thing though, most of the students in other American and International schools don't have as much local kids as PAS does, so maybe that is why they don't need to worry about SAT and thus need not start the process so early. Weird thing is: a lot of these American kids in these schools have SAT scores way lower than what our local students get on these tests. Thus it only speaks one thing to me : they don't give a crap.

Flaws

Many people say that being in a relationship soils our academic endeavors or soils our performance at school. Thus it became the ultimate excuse to avoid one. Unfortunately, to me, this just shows how weak a person is. If one cannot handle one over the other, how can you call yourself a well-rounded multi-tasker. A great student is one that can handle everything: maintaining a good GPA,SAT score while able to discriminate that from his or her social life. It seems to me that not a lot of people fulfill our school motto: work hard, play hard. It is always one or the other, but never both.

Re-fascination in Books

I was a book worm once, believe it or not! Throughout my elementary years and early middle school years, I was very much into books. However beginning from my mid-seventh grade year, I began to drop this habit and instead replaced it with activities that most (all) parents will frown upon. My grades dropped immensely and to some degree it has affected my SAT. I almost wished that I had never quit once upon a time for it could've made my SAT practices a less tedious. However, beginning a year and a half ago, I began to read a few classic books, including one of my favorites: East of Eden. The last time I looked at this book, I couldn't even past the first page, because it was so boring. It is so amazing that Steinbeck can turn such a boring topic to such an adventure. And with this book I began to read many others, including the Memoirs of a Geisha, Grapes of Wrath, and even the Last Life.