I meant to post a vain little snippet on all the ego boosts I got this week, but forgot about it before long. I gotta say though, today's bit really takes the cake. I dunno what it is, but this week has been hella-good for the self-esteem and ego (dangerously so).
So earlier this week I was late in submitting an assignment for my Photoshop class. I explained to the teacher in an email that i was late, and even though i lost credit i wanted her to know i got it done (cause it was a 3-hour picture that took me 5 hours, since Photoshop was crashing like none other that day). She responded that I would still get partial credit (and I actually got majority credit), because I was the best of the class. +5 Ego right there, even if she wasn't serious.
Then later I got invited to a brainstorming session for the local art museum on integrating technologies and modernizing exhibits. I was pumped for that, but got even more excited about the reasoning. My art teacher invited me and one other person, saying that we were his two "most promising students." +10 Ego
Then that same art teacher said he got my last project and was thoroughly impressed. Enough so that he was going to discuss it with another art teacher here. Another 10 Ego right there..
Finally, today was the day of the brainstorming session. I was hella intimidated, even in such a fun environment (they had stretchy ninja stars, nerf guns, silly putty, and some other gook randomly on all the tables, to "promote creativity" I'm sure). Directors and supervisors from both sections of the Arizona Museum of Natural History (one section being the prehistoric setups and gigs, the other being fine arts) were there, all ready to brainstorm on a few new concepts and topics relating to technology. I didn't get any words in cause I was still nervous being there--one of only 4 students, and easily the youngest there--until we were split up into groups to tackle "Immersion" (how to immerse visitors). I was treated as an equal and all my ideas were heard and expanded upon. I was ecstatic.
- Unexpected lunch break followed; free food always makes for a good day -
Finally, as the brainstorm was coming to a close, my art teacher brought up my last piece that I did for his class--a giant Photoshopped portrait of my dog, done in a psuedo-oil/acrylic style. I had mentioned it over lunch, so a few people egged me to go present the whole piece. So in essence, I got to present my project in front of the supervisors and directors from the museum (moreso to demonstrate digital styling and capturing photorealistic attributes). My heart was racing fast as a starving artist's heart can, really, but it got a very good reception. Many people were very enthusiastic and impressed with my work. I felt like a highschool cheerleader, shaking everyone's hand at the end, and getting compliments. Oh yea, and I got some free passes to the museum, and hookups to check out some of the studios. ;D
I'm still high on endorphins right now. It's just that awesome.
So earlier this week I was late in submitting an assignment for my Photoshop class. I explained to the teacher in an email that i was late, and even though i lost credit i wanted her to know i got it done (cause it was a 3-hour picture that took me 5 hours, since Photoshop was crashing like none other that day). She responded that I would still get partial credit (and I actually got majority credit), because I was the best of the class. +5 Ego right there, even if she wasn't serious.
Then later I got invited to a brainstorming session for the local art museum on integrating technologies and modernizing exhibits. I was pumped for that, but got even more excited about the reasoning. My art teacher invited me and one other person, saying that we were his two "most promising students." +10 Ego
Then that same art teacher said he got my last project and was thoroughly impressed. Enough so that he was going to discuss it with another art teacher here. Another 10 Ego right there..
Finally, today was the day of the brainstorming session. I was hella intimidated, even in such a fun environment (they had stretchy ninja stars, nerf guns, silly putty, and some other gook randomly on all the tables, to "promote creativity" I'm sure). Directors and supervisors from both sections of the Arizona Museum of Natural History (one section being the prehistoric setups and gigs, the other being fine arts) were there, all ready to brainstorm on a few new concepts and topics relating to technology. I didn't get any words in cause I was still nervous being there--one of only 4 students, and easily the youngest there--until we were split up into groups to tackle "Immersion" (how to immerse visitors). I was treated as an equal and all my ideas were heard and expanded upon. I was ecstatic.
- Unexpected lunch break followed; free food always makes for a good day -
Finally, as the brainstorm was coming to a close, my art teacher brought up my last piece that I did for his class--a giant Photoshopped portrait of my dog, done in a psuedo-oil/acrylic style. I had mentioned it over lunch, so a few people egged me to go present the whole piece. So in essence, I got to present my project in front of the supervisors and directors from the museum (moreso to demonstrate digital styling and capturing photorealistic attributes). My heart was racing fast as a starving artist's heart can, really, but it got a very good reception. Many people were very enthusiastic and impressed with my work. I felt like a highschool cheerleader, shaking everyone's hand at the end, and getting compliments. Oh yea, and I got some free passes to the museum, and hookups to check out some of the studios. ;D
I'm still high on endorphins right now. It's just that awesome.
I'm going to start posting these short updates, just for the occasional visitor who might find something like this entertaining.
So I had missed two weeks of ART331, but I knew that we were suppose to be working on 3 self-portraits throughout those weeks. Well, being the chronic procrastinator that I am, of course I didn't draw anything. Well, ART331 is my Thursday class, and I knew that I couldn't miss it this week. So I had to get everything done by Thursday. That's 3 pieces on 24x36 paper, which usually takes about 5 hours each (if done well). So 15 hours of work. So when did I start all this? About 9pm, the day before everything was due. How long did it take me, you might wonder? Well I'm working at "cramming" speed, mind you, so I was able to finish everything in a timely 11 hours (12 if you count my breaks). Yay slacker pride!
...so anyway, I take a powernap and goto my Web Design class. Took an easy quiz and got out of there--I debated taking another nap, but knew I'd oversleep Art if I did. So the time comes, and I proudly march my art supplies to the classroom. Except... no one's there... Well, there is someone, but he's going over a powerpoint presentation with someone else. I figured it was just the previous class instructor going over something with the last student, except they never left. In fact, nobody from my Art class showed up. I sent out an email, and the only response I've gotten so far shared my confusion. So nobody knows if we even had class, however I *did* find out that all this work was actually do last week.
*sigh* just when I was feeling so accomplished.
So I had missed two weeks of ART331, but I knew that we were suppose to be working on 3 self-portraits throughout those weeks. Well, being the chronic procrastinator that I am, of course I didn't draw anything. Well, ART331 is my Thursday class, and I knew that I couldn't miss it this week. So I had to get everything done by Thursday. That's 3 pieces on 24x36 paper, which usually takes about 5 hours each (if done well). So 15 hours of work. So when did I start all this? About 9pm, the day before everything was due. How long did it take me, you might wonder? Well I'm working at "cramming" speed, mind you, so I was able to finish everything in a timely 11 hours (12 if you count my breaks). Yay slacker pride!
...so anyway, I take a powernap and goto my Web Design class. Took an easy quiz and got out of there--I debated taking another nap, but knew I'd oversleep Art if I did. So the time comes, and I proudly march my art supplies to the classroom. Except... no one's there... Well, there is someone, but he's going over a powerpoint presentation with someone else. I figured it was just the previous class instructor going over something with the last student, except they never left. In fact, nobody from my Art class showed up. I sent out an email, and the only response I've gotten so far shared my confusion. So nobody knows if we even had class, however I *did* find out that all this work was actually do last week.
*sigh* just when I was feeling so accomplished.
Greetings everyone! It's been quite a few ages since I last updated. Second semester has already ended, and today marks the beginning of 3rd semester (I have classes throughout the summer). So let me sum up second semester for ya:
My classes included ART108, ART231, PSY150, MAT087, ENG102, GAM101.
ART108 (Principles of Design) is incredibly easy, and very laidback. The teacher we were all expecting (the same that taught my ART105 class last semester) quit just a day before the semester began. I was kinda apprehensive about the new teacher, but he turned out to be a great guy. We only had one assignment due each week, and there was no such thing as being late (unless, of course, there was nothing turned in by the week of finals). I had a lot of fun, as it allowed me to use some of my own photographs, manipulate some pictures, and to draw my own pictures digitally. It was a blast.
ART231 (Intermediate Drawing) had the same teacher from my ART108 class, so again it was very laidback. What I loved most about it was the fact that we got to use our own graphite pencils if we wanted to (as opposed to the messy charcoals of first semester). Another great plus is that all of our assignments were in-class, instead of taking 5-10 hours on our own time (like last semester). But wait, there's more! We were allowed to listen to our own music too! It was pretty much an independent study, with just a new sketch being directed every few weeks. I loved it.
PSY150 (Psychology of Thinking) was by no means a fun class. I was not a fan of the professor, nor the homework load he was handing out. Despite constant complaints against the level of homework for this 150-class, the professor insisted we were all fully capable of completing everything on time, and then some (for extra credit). I'm sure I might have been one of those people, if I had made it to half the classes. It was a 10:30am class, which I thought would be manageable, but... as it turns out, it's hard for me to get up before noon anymore. Since I missed half the classes, I also never got notification of when there was a new surprise paper or essay to write, since the professor refused to use the online shell (even though half of our schoolwork is suppose to be done online, according to UAT's student handbook). So you get the idea that I'm not too fond of this class. Well, it's also one that I haven't finished yet. I had to ask for an incomplete so that I'd have a few more months to finish the homework. I have till August, and at this rate, it just might take me that long to finish everything.
MAT087 (College Algebra II) was my one online class. I tested out of the lower math class, but didn't quite make it into PreCalc. I'm pretty much thankful for that, actually, because I don't know if I would be able to handle it. Yes, I did have Calculus my senior year in high school, so you would think that this would be a breeze for me, right? Well, not for a procrastinator. Without a teacher or any real class time, I didn't think about it much. Until everything was due, that is (a new chapter's worth of work due every other week). I would sit down hours before the Chapter test was due, do all the chapter's work, take the quiz, and finish the test, submitting my work in by midnight. Sure, maybe I was *suppose* to spread out the work load, or maybe it was *suppose* to take me longer than just a few hours each week, but nothing goes the way it's suppose to with a prograstinator. :P
ENG102 was pretty much the same as my ENG101 class, but with a slightly more mature environment. Still, it was very open, and we the students made up most of what we went through in class, so it was a lot of fun in that respect as well. We had some great discussions, got to perform several social experiments, and write about whatever we were inspired to. The teacher hates the 5-paragraph essays that were instilled in us during high school. That alone made this an awesome class. The fact that I could talk to the teacher whenever about whatever only made it better.
GAM101 (Game Concept Design) sounds like it would be an easy class. I mean, who wouldn't want to take a Gaming class, of all things?!? Well, it was a little more writing-intensive than what you'd probably think it would be. The first few weeks were spent watching nothing but "behind the scenes" videos about games and how they were designed. But after that, we had to start writing about one of our own, even if it was just a concept. It was an interesting experience--I say that because I did 80% of the work in the last two days of school. Even so, I learned a lot: to make a game takes a LOT of work, and I barely scratched the surface. That's why I'm thankful that I'm sticking to the artsy stuff. :]
So anyway, those were my classes, and if you're wondering, I got A's in all except one: Psy150. I'll probably end up getting a B in that class, but I have to hand in all my unfinished work first. I did make a few local friends, but none of them go to my school, so I don't usually hang out with them until the weekends (it's not like I'm doing homework on an off day, so why not?). It's been a fun semester, but definitely stressful; especially during Finals week, considering my roommate typically sleeps 9am-10pm (yea, try doing your homework in the dark; it's not so much fun). Anyway, next semester I'm taking another 6 classes: Japanese, Web Design, Advanced Drawing, Technology and the Law, Advanced Photoshop, and Professional Skills and Management. Mostly core/required classes, but hopefully the work load won't be *too* bad. Till then, enjoy your summer! Cause I'll be stuck in a dorm for mine. :[
My classes included ART108, ART231, PSY150, MAT087, ENG102, GAM101.
ART108 (Principles of Design) is incredibly easy, and very laidback. The teacher we were all expecting (the same that taught my ART105 class last semester) quit just a day before the semester began. I was kinda apprehensive about the new teacher, but he turned out to be a great guy. We only had one assignment due each week, and there was no such thing as being late (unless, of course, there was nothing turned in by the week of finals). I had a lot of fun, as it allowed me to use some of my own photographs, manipulate some pictures, and to draw my own pictures digitally. It was a blast.
ART231 (Intermediate Drawing) had the same teacher from my ART108 class, so again it was very laidback. What I loved most about it was the fact that we got to use our own graphite pencils if we wanted to (as opposed to the messy charcoals of first semester). Another great plus is that all of our assignments were in-class, instead of taking 5-10 hours on our own time (like last semester). But wait, there's more! We were allowed to listen to our own music too! It was pretty much an independent study, with just a new sketch being directed every few weeks. I loved it.
PSY150 (Psychology of Thinking) was by no means a fun class. I was not a fan of the professor, nor the homework load he was handing out. Despite constant complaints against the level of homework for this 150-class, the professor insisted we were all fully capable of completing everything on time, and then some (for extra credit). I'm sure I might have been one of those people, if I had made it to half the classes. It was a 10:30am class, which I thought would be manageable, but... as it turns out, it's hard for me to get up before noon anymore. Since I missed half the classes, I also never got notification of when there was a new surprise paper or essay to write, since the professor refused to use the online shell (even though half of our schoolwork is suppose to be done online, according to UAT's student handbook). So you get the idea that I'm not too fond of this class. Well, it's also one that I haven't finished yet. I had to ask for an incomplete so that I'd have a few more months to finish the homework. I have till August, and at this rate, it just might take me that long to finish everything.
MAT087 (College Algebra II) was my one online class. I tested out of the lower math class, but didn't quite make it into PreCalc. I'm pretty much thankful for that, actually, because I don't know if I would be able to handle it. Yes, I did have Calculus my senior year in high school, so you would think that this would be a breeze for me, right? Well, not for a procrastinator. Without a teacher or any real class time, I didn't think about it much. Until everything was due, that is (a new chapter's worth of work due every other week). I would sit down hours before the Chapter test was due, do all the chapter's work, take the quiz, and finish the test, submitting my work in by midnight. Sure, maybe I was *suppose* to spread out the work load, or maybe it was *suppose* to take me longer than just a few hours each week, but nothing goes the way it's suppose to with a prograstinator. :P
ENG102 was pretty much the same as my ENG101 class, but with a slightly more mature environment. Still, it was very open, and we the students made up most of what we went through in class, so it was a lot of fun in that respect as well. We had some great discussions, got to perform several social experiments, and write about whatever we were inspired to. The teacher hates the 5-paragraph essays that were instilled in us during high school. That alone made this an awesome class. The fact that I could talk to the teacher whenever about whatever only made it better.
GAM101 (Game Concept Design) sounds like it would be an easy class. I mean, who wouldn't want to take a Gaming class, of all things?!? Well, it was a little more writing-intensive than what you'd probably think it would be. The first few weeks were spent watching nothing but "behind the scenes" videos about games and how they were designed. But after that, we had to start writing about one of our own, even if it was just a concept. It was an interesting experience--I say that because I did 80% of the work in the last two days of school. Even so, I learned a lot: to make a game takes a LOT of work, and I barely scratched the surface. That's why I'm thankful that I'm sticking to the artsy stuff. :]
So anyway, those were my classes, and if you're wondering, I got A's in all except one: Psy150. I'll probably end up getting a B in that class, but I have to hand in all my unfinished work first. I did make a few local friends, but none of them go to my school, so I don't usually hang out with them until the weekends (it's not like I'm doing homework on an off day, so why not?). It's been a fun semester, but definitely stressful; especially during Finals week, considering my roommate typically sleeps 9am-10pm (yea, try doing your homework in the dark; it's not so much fun). Anyway, next semester I'm taking another 6 classes: Japanese, Web Design, Advanced Drawing, Technology and the Law, Advanced Photoshop, and Professional Skills and Management. Mostly core/required classes, but hopefully the work load won't be *too* bad. Till then, enjoy your summer! Cause I'll be stuck in a dorm for mine. :[
The following is an update that was never sent out/posted until now, and only for the sake of archiving my progress.
Finally, another update! The rumors are true: I'm still alive and kicking. Sorry that I hadn't written an update sooner. I convinced myself I was too busy, when in reality I just wanted to play more games. But anyway, you may be wondering what college has been like thus far.
So far UAT has been great--I love the school! I could never say that about high school. Anyway, I still only know a couple people; haven't made any good friends besides my roommate. Luckily we get along great, but some other people weren't so lucky. My only complaint is that the AC constantly blows on my side of the room, so despite the +80 degree weather outside, I'm always wearing a sweatshirt indoors. Aside from that, dorm life is great. Even though I don't know anyone, I never have to make my bed, only clean when I want to (which, surprisingly, does happen), and get to have the TV just a few feet from my laptop, which is right next to my bed, making the whole bed-to-internet-to-video-game switch a whole lot easier.
Actual classes themselves have proved a lot easier than high school as well. Overall, I probably have half the homework I ever did in high school, even though we're covering twice the material. There's also no fines for be tardy or truant (not that I would ever do such a thing), and all the teachers are fairly lax on late assignments. Ironically, now that there are no consequences for being a "bad" student, I've actually been able to stay on top of everything like a good boy. :] Anyway, my classes this semester include ART105, ART130, SOC150, ENG101, and MTM101.
ART105 (Color Theory) is probably the easiest by far--there's no homework, besides a final project, which is a relatively small presentation/portfolio. Most classes end up being off-topic discussions or just critiques on our portfolios thus far. The teacher is great too; she's the typical New York Italian gal, but with a great sense of humor to offset her tongue.
ART130 (Basic Drawing) is probably my most difficult class but only because it is the most time consuming of all my classes. Each assignment (now) is suppose to take between 5 and 10 hours to complete--we only use charcoals, though we have some other materials to add different effects to the values. I've procrastinated most of the assignments until just before class yet I'm still able to pull off some half-decent pieces, and manage to hold an A, so I don't mind it too much. It's just an inconvenience in that the Wednesday night class is during the dinner at Cuban Pete's (the cafeteria here).
SOC150 (Society and Technology) is just another slacker class, compared to what I'm use to. Attendance isn't even required for passing, but I still show up anyway so that I can draw and write letters in the back. Our topics are genuinely interested, and the class itself is basically a discussion. Usually the discussions turn into debates between only a few people, so there's nothing to really do but listen and wait for the teacher to get back on topic. The only assignments are a quiz, some online discussion, and an essay every 3 or 4 weeks--I goto class to get a vague idea of what the unit is about, and on the night when all the unit's assignments are due, I fill out all the online discussions, guess on the quiz, and type up a fluffed-up essay on what I think the unit is about. Overall, it takes less than two hours, and I'm set for another month. I wish high school were that easy!
ENG101 (English) is pretty easy as well. My only problem with it is that it starts at 8:30am Mondays and Wednesdays, and I've been developing a habit of sleeping through it altogether. Each essay is only as long as we want to make it, but for the semester we're required to have written about 20 pages overall. That's about two assignments in high school! The teacher for my English class is also very nice and understanding--we have one-on-one conferences to talk about our writing, however it's not a strict teacher-student conversation, and I've come to like her as a person as well as being an innovative teacher.
MTM101 (2D Computer Graphics) started out as a repeat of my highschool Compute Graphics class, since we spent the first quarter working on vector graphics with Adobe Illustrator (whereas in high school I used CorelDRAW--essentially the same thing). The second quarter is spent working with some basic tools of Adobe PhotoShop. So far it's been pretty easy as well. The only reason I usually don't get everything in on time is that this is my only class in which we're actually using the books and we have to complete a lesson assignment outside of class each week. The lessons are easy enough but they're incredibly tedious where just a few basic steps would suffice, so a lot of the class is a little less than enthusiastic to get them done.
Outside of class, I don't do much besides chat online, play video games, and occasionally draw, just to try and improve for my own sake. Next semester I'll be taking ENG102, PSY150, ART108, ART150
Finally, another update! The rumors are true: I'm still alive and kicking. Sorry that I hadn't written an update sooner. I convinced myself I was too busy, when in reality I just wanted to play more games. But anyway, you may be wondering what college has been like thus far.
So far UAT has been great--I love the school! I could never say that about high school. Anyway, I still only know a couple people; haven't made any good friends besides my roommate. Luckily we get along great, but some other people weren't so lucky. My only complaint is that the AC constantly blows on my side of the room, so despite the +80 degree weather outside, I'm always wearing a sweatshirt indoors. Aside from that, dorm life is great. Even though I don't know anyone, I never have to make my bed, only clean when I want to (which, surprisingly, does happen), and get to have the TV just a few feet from my laptop, which is right next to my bed, making the whole bed-to-internet-to-video-game switch a whole lot easier.
Actual classes themselves have proved a lot easier than high school as well. Overall, I probably have half the homework I ever did in high school, even though we're covering twice the material. There's also no fines for be tardy or truant (not that I would ever do such a thing), and all the teachers are fairly lax on late assignments. Ironically, now that there are no consequences for being a "bad" student, I've actually been able to stay on top of everything like a good boy. :] Anyway, my classes this semester include ART105, ART130, SOC150, ENG101, and MTM101.
ART105 (Color Theory) is probably the easiest by far--there's no homework, besides a final project, which is a relatively small presentation/portfolio. Most classes end up being off-topic discussions or just critiques on our portfolios thus far. The teacher is great too; she's the typical New York Italian gal, but with a great sense of humor to offset her tongue.
ART130 (Basic Drawing) is probably my most difficult class but only because it is the most time consuming of all my classes. Each assignment (now) is suppose to take between 5 and 10 hours to complete--we only use charcoals, though we have some other materials to add different effects to the values. I've procrastinated most of the assignments until just before class yet I'm still able to pull off some half-decent pieces, and manage to hold an A, so I don't mind it too much. It's just an inconvenience in that the Wednesday night class is during the dinner at Cuban Pete's (the cafeteria here).
SOC150 (Society and Technology) is just another slacker class, compared to what I'm use to. Attendance isn't even required for passing, but I still show up anyway so that I can draw and write letters in the back. Our topics are genuinely interested, and the class itself is basically a discussion. Usually the discussions turn into debates between only a few people, so there's nothing to really do but listen and wait for the teacher to get back on topic. The only assignments are a quiz, some online discussion, and an essay every 3 or 4 weeks--I goto class to get a vague idea of what the unit is about, and on the night when all the unit's assignments are due, I fill out all the online discussions, guess on the quiz, and type up a fluffed-up essay on what I think the unit is about. Overall, it takes less than two hours, and I'm set for another month. I wish high school were that easy!
ENG101 (English) is pretty easy as well. My only problem with it is that it starts at 8:30am Mondays and Wednesdays, and I've been developing a habit of sleeping through it altogether. Each essay is only as long as we want to make it, but for the semester we're required to have written about 20 pages overall. That's about two assignments in high school! The teacher for my English class is also very nice and understanding--we have one-on-one conferences to talk about our writing, however it's not a strict teacher-student conversation, and I've come to like her as a person as well as being an innovative teacher.
MTM101 (2D Computer Graphics) started out as a repeat of my highschool Compute Graphics class, since we spent the first quarter working on vector graphics with Adobe Illustrator (whereas in high school I used CorelDRAW--essentially the same thing). The second quarter is spent working with some basic tools of Adobe PhotoShop. So far it's been pretty easy as well. The only reason I usually don't get everything in on time is that this is my only class in which we're actually using the books and we have to complete a lesson assignment outside of class each week. The lessons are easy enough but they're incredibly tedious where just a few basic steps would suffice, so a lot of the class is a little less than enthusiastic to get them done.
Outside of class, I don't do much besides chat online, play video games, and occasionally draw, just to try and improve for my own sake. Next semester I'll be taking ENG102, PSY150, ART108, ART150
So school's finally out, and my high school career has come to a close (and not a moment too soon). I know I've been really lax with the updates, but that's mostly because the last quarter of high school was anything but fun. I was struggling a ton with Physics and Calculus, and also trying to work more hours. Not to mention all the fines I was getting for being tardy, and conflicting messages from different faculty members (mainly whether or not I was eligible to enjoy being in Senior Commons). For senior commons, at least, I was told I could go for one of my study halls (since I had two), and that was that. After a week and a half of going to commons, I saw my name was crossed off the list in red marker, and a giant demeaning "NO" marked in each box where I would normally put my initials (to sign in). This was in the last week of high school, and I didn't care to deal with more teachers being on my case, so I didn't try and reason with the faculty member that marked me off. I just continually told her I'd be in commons, and then I went outside to hang out. Nobody ever came to actually check, and I was only marked absent once. I think they had too many other students to mess with to care enough about me specifially.
Anyway, I got a decent grade in Physics (C), having made up everything by the last minute. As for Calculus, I failed it. Simple as that. Even if I had the time to make up every assignment that I missed, it would be impossible for me to pass (how pathetic is that). As you can imagine, I wasn't please with any of what was going on in school, and so I didn't write about any of it as a result. My other classes, if you were wondering, included Creative Writing, Psychology, Art, and Religion. I think I got average grades in Religion and Psychology; nothing special there. I got an A- in Creative Writing, which made me ecstatic. Our final paper made up 80% of our grade, so of course I waited until the last minute to work on it (and by that I mean I didn't sleep the night before it was due). =P In Art, I got a B, and only because my second project was such a disaster. Absolutely nobody finished it on time (that should be a red flag that maybe we never had enough time in the first place), and only two people I know actually completed it without cheating; both were also the only ones to hand it in less than two months late (another red flag?). I never even finished my second project because I was too absorbed in my final project. I'd give you a picture of it, except that the teacher has yet to give it back to me. :( Anyway, point is that my Art grade without the second project would have been a perfect A, which is also exciting for me, even though it's really not an A.
Anyway, graduation was uneventful for me. Walk this way, walk that way, grab your diploma and run. Actually, we couldn't, because when it was all over, we had to step outside and shake hands with what seemed liked 100 faculty members (some of which I've never seen before). But after half a billion photos, we were allowed to throw our hats up (actually that exercise has been banned at KML, but students get away with it outside, since we can't legally be fined after graduation), and then returned to finish with another half billion photos. It was great seeing everyone at home, though I think I spent more time in the basement playing games with people almost my age-range than actually talking with any of the adults for too long. I think that night was even more fun, because after everyone had [more than] plenty to drink, they decided to force eachother to try and play Dance Dance Revolution. I just wish my camera was working then, so you could laugh too. ;)
So now that school's out, life's been pretty great. Awesome, in fact. The immediate days after school ended, I was hanging out with friends almost non-stop. An example would be smoking cigars on pier on a pond, and then driving to Lake Michigan to watch the fog come in by the lighthouse around 2am. At someone's graduation party, we actually started watching the stars outside and decided we would stay up all night to wait for the sun to rise. We found out that people are at their sleepiest around 3am, but we survived and watched the sunrise, which was actually pretty mundane. I've also taken a trip to the zoo with friends, climbed trees for fun, walked around Walmart around 1am, taken trips to George Webb after [city] curfew, and also just walked around town to enjoy the weather around 3am. As a result, I rarely wake up before 1pm now, but I'm fine with that (Mom isn't though).
So that's pretty much all that I got going on. Sorry for such a huge delay in writing an update, but they'll probably be a lot more frequent nowadays. If you hadn't already heard, I'm going to Cancun for vacation again this year, in just a matter of days in fact! Also, in July, I'm going camping with friends, and with some luck, I'll be able to go to Cincinnati for a while too. So there's plenty to write about, and now that I have a functional camera, I'll have plenty of pictures as well! To make things better, I finally picked up my old laptop, which has all the photos I've take from the past 2 years, so I'll be able to re-publish some of those old trips you read about last year. =] Wish me lots of luck, time, and fun! Talk to you all soon.
Anyway, I got a decent grade in Physics (C), having made up everything by the last minute. As for Calculus, I failed it. Simple as that. Even if I had the time to make up every assignment that I missed, it would be impossible for me to pass (how pathetic is that). As you can imagine, I wasn't please with any of what was going on in school, and so I didn't write about any of it as a result. My other classes, if you were wondering, included Creative Writing, Psychology, Art, and Religion. I think I got average grades in Religion and Psychology; nothing special there. I got an A- in Creative Writing, which made me ecstatic. Our final paper made up 80% of our grade, so of course I waited until the last minute to work on it (and by that I mean I didn't sleep the night before it was due). =P In Art, I got a B, and only because my second project was such a disaster. Absolutely nobody finished it on time (that should be a red flag that maybe we never had enough time in the first place), and only two people I know actually completed it without cheating; both were also the only ones to hand it in less than two months late (another red flag?). I never even finished my second project because I was too absorbed in my final project. I'd give you a picture of it, except that the teacher has yet to give it back to me. :( Anyway, point is that my Art grade without the second project would have been a perfect A, which is also exciting for me, even though it's really not an A.
Anyway, graduation was uneventful for me. Walk this way, walk that way, grab your diploma and run. Actually, we couldn't, because when it was all over, we had to step outside and shake hands with what seemed liked 100 faculty members (some of which I've never seen before). But after half a billion photos, we were allowed to throw our hats up (actually that exercise has been banned at KML, but students get away with it outside, since we can't legally be fined after graduation), and then returned to finish with another half billion photos. It was great seeing everyone at home, though I think I spent more time in the basement playing games with people almost my age-range than actually talking with any of the adults for too long. I think that night was even more fun, because after everyone had [more than] plenty to drink, they decided to force eachother to try and play Dance Dance Revolution. I just wish my camera was working then, so you could laugh too. ;)
So now that school's out, life's been pretty great. Awesome, in fact. The immediate days after school ended, I was hanging out with friends almost non-stop. An example would be smoking cigars on pier on a pond, and then driving to Lake Michigan to watch the fog come in by the lighthouse around 2am. At someone's graduation party, we actually started watching the stars outside and decided we would stay up all night to wait for the sun to rise. We found out that people are at their sleepiest around 3am, but we survived and watched the sunrise, which was actually pretty mundane. I've also taken a trip to the zoo with friends, climbed trees for fun, walked around Walmart around 1am, taken trips to George Webb after [city] curfew, and also just walked around town to enjoy the weather around 3am. As a result, I rarely wake up before 1pm now, but I'm fine with that (Mom isn't though).
So that's pretty much all that I got going on. Sorry for such a huge delay in writing an update, but they'll probably be a lot more frequent nowadays. If you hadn't already heard, I'm going to Cancun for vacation again this year, in just a matter of days in fact! Also, in July, I'm going camping with friends, and with some luck, I'll be able to go to Cincinnati for a while too. So there's plenty to write about, and now that I have a functional camera, I'll have plenty of pictures as well! To make things better, I finally picked up my old laptop, which has all the photos I've take from the past 2 years, so I'll be able to re-publish some of those old trips you read about last year. =] Wish me lots of luck, time, and fun! Talk to you all soon.