Update!

My life has been so busy lately! Juggling school, family, and friends all while trying to sneak some fun in can be difficult, but I definitely wouldn't have it any other way! Although I've been busy, not many exciting things have happened, but last week I got two little surprises that made my week:)

I got my "I Exceeded AIMS" shirt!

I've been waiting for this shirt since I got my scores! And even though it fits me like a dress, I still love it.

Back in April of my Sophomore year, we had to take the AIMS test. I wasn't nervous, but I really wanted to exceed! I felt pretty good about how I did, but I was still anxious to see my scores. Finally in May, my English teacher received the scores! My friend and I stayed after school so we could see how we did. SUCCESS! I had exceeded my Writing AIMS! Apparently the Writing portion is the toughest to exceed on out of Reading and Math so I was extremely happy! I did really well on Reading and surprisingly, Math but I was way more excited about Writing.

They score the Writing using the Six-Traits rubric. The traits are Ideas, Organization, Word Choice, Voice, Sentence Fluency, and Conventions. On each of those traits, you can receive a score of 1 to 6, 1 being the lowest and 6 being the highest (and toughest to receive). I received a 6 on Voice.

"VOICE shows the writer's personality. The writing has a sound different from everyone else's. It contains feelings and emotions so that it does not sound like an encyclopedia article. The reader should be able to sense the sincerity and honesty of the writer. The writer should be writing from the heart. The language should bring the topic to life for the reader. The voice should be appropriate for the topic, purpose, and audience of the paper."

Having a strong voice in my writing is what I strive for so it was really encouraging:)

Last week, my ceramic bust was finally taken out of the kiln and all that was left was to glaze it. After it had been glaze fired, I got to take it home! It's definitely not the best sculpture, but I'm really proud! It took us like three months to make and I feel so accomplished! And anyway, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, cliche, cliche, etc.

Throughout the day I got a lot of funny looks because really, how many times have you seen people carrying around a bust? Some of those looks were also directed at the look of my sculpture, but I don't care because I worked really hard and long on it and they obviously can't appreciate art work:)

Sincerely Yours,

Alexis, the next Michelangelo!:P

P.S.

Need I say more?

How to Survive the First Quarter of Junior Year

They say that Junior Year is the hardest....

That's an understatement.

First Semester Schedule:

Sculpture/Ceramics I

College Algebra

AP American History

Honors Chemistry

October 2nd was my last day of school before Fall Break and boy, was I thankful! One quarter of my Junior year complete! It was a tough first quarter because each of these classes has given me new and very difficult challenges to overcome. This entry is going to detail those challenges, what it takes to overcome them, and basically show you: How to Survive the First Quarter of Junior Year.

Chapter One: Sculpture/Ceramics I

No one can deny it. Everyone has taken at least one art class in their life thinking it would be simple. I can tell you that everyone at my school has done it, but not without great consequence. It all started my Freshman year when I took Fundamentals of Art. It was a prerequisite for all art classes so I was pretty much forced to take it, but thought it would be an easy A. I've never been more wrong in my life! The teacher was extremely mean and hated freshmen, the class consisted of reading the art books and memorizing countless art terms, and worst of all, nobody's artwork was good enough for her! Fortunately I made it through with a C (don't judge me!) and continued on with my life. Finally, this past year I was able to take another art class so I decided on Sculpture/Ceramics because it wasn't taught by the teacher I had freshman year. Good Idea? Not entirely. This is definitely the most difficult and frustrating art classes I've ever had. It started off with us getting used to working with clay by making little pinch pots. Very cute! Little did I know that this was our introduction to making CERAMIC BUSTS. How were we supposed to make the jump from making bowls to life-sized busts! Suddenly my little pinch pot didn't seem so cute. Regardless of my unease, we started making our busts. It took about a month and almost every one of those weeks was filled with frustration. Getting clay to look like a real person using nothing but your bare hands is tough. The most difficult part was the eyes. I ripped them out and redid them countless times. By the end of the month, I started putting shoulders on my bust and in no time, it was complete! Let me tell you, I've never felt more accomplished!

And there it is! Success in the form of a ceramic bust! I don't even mind that the nose nearly cracked off and I eventually had to rip off the eyebrows. All that matters is that it's cooking away in the kiln:]

Tip: Focus on your artwork! Comparing your art to someone else's lowers your artistic self-esteem. If it doesn't come out the way you wanted, don't worry! Michelangelo didn't sculpt David perfectly in one week, he had to practice.

Chapter Two: College Algebra

Math has definitely never been one of my strong suits so I was particularly nervous for this semester of math. Not only is it a college level course, but I got the Notorious Varsity Football Coach as a math teacher. Yikes! To be honest, the thing I was most frightened about was the dreaded Warm-Up. Warm-Ups are four math problems that everyone has to do at the beginning of class. The teacher then picks four people to go up to the board and "teach" their problem to the class. I know, I know, it doesn't sound that bad. In reality, it actually is! It was only the third day of warm-ups and one kid was unlucky enough to get problem four, a super hard one. The kid stumbled through the problem, struggling to understand all while the teacher was barking at him about his mistakes and giving him "tips." Lots of emphasis on those quotation marks. Everyone was dead silent as the teacher eventually started yelling at the kid, telling him that he made every mistake possible. Eventually, the kid somehow made it through the problem and was told to sit down without any applause. And so began the wrath of Football Coach Math Teacher! Everyday, we all hope and pray that it's not our turn to do a warm-up, but sometimes he can sense our fear and picks us to do a terrifying math problem. I've been picked four times, but fortunately (VERY VERY FORTUNATELY), I've known what I was doing.

The plus side to having a scary math teacher is that I always pay attention and I always, always, always do my homework. It's all out of fear, but hey, at least I'm learning. I've gotten a lot better at math recently, but I've also started to have a problem. It's a problem that's pestered me for years, but it's just now starting to effect me. I'll do all of my homework and be able to do the problems with ease. Same thing goes for when we have study guides. For some strange reason though, I cannot pass a test with anything more than a 75%. How does this happen? It's a question I find myself asking more often these days. If I can do the homework and study guides, shouldn't I be able to pass the tests? The answer should be yes, but not for me. I really do try hard and study for that class but nothing changes. Regardless, all I can do is try my best and, at the very least, pass the class. I still have another quarter to improve my grade!

Tip: All you can do is try your very best. If your best isn't good enough for anyone, oh well! It should only be good enough for you and hey, at least you get credit for putting some effort into whatever it is you're struggling with.

Tips for Avoiding Warm-Ups: When he starts picking people, stare at your paper and look like you're figuring out a problem. This includes erasing and writing numbers or anything math-related, having a confused look on your face, a genuine look of concentration, and if you can pull it off, a serious I'm-Going-to-Figure-This-Out-No-Matter-What-Because-I-Love-Math face. Most importantly, Don't Breathe! He can hear you!

Chapter Three: AP American History

I never realized how many crappy history classes I've had in the past. This particular class really put that into perspective for me. Despite this, AP American History is definitely my favorite class.

Top Three Reasons Why I Love AP American History

1. The Teacher: Seriously one of the coolest teachers I've ever had. He's funny and he keeps

it interesting. His little stories definitely keep the class lively and he's constantly

reminding us that we're very smart and how we are the future.

2. The Students: Yes, there is a few people who annoy me, but generally speaking, we all

get along. The atmosphere in an AP class is so different because we all really do want to

be there. Everyone is really intelligent and hard-working.

3. The History: I've never really found American History very interesting and maybe that

was because I haven't had a good history class. At this point, I'm an expert on the American

Revolution and the Civil War.

In regards to my third reason, it wasn't easy becoming an expert on those two very important times in American History. As my teacher has said and will continue to say, we have to completely immerse ourselves into our own history to get a full understanding. It's important to learn about our past so we don't repeat the same mistakes again. He's also said that studying three to four hours a week would help. This class is difficult but I enjoy every second of it. I'm proud to say that I have one of the highest grades in the class. I have an 82%, but it's weighted like an A, making my GPA higher. I just hope I passed my midterm!

Tip: You can't always let go of the past! Learning about the past is essential to the future. And most importantly, STUDY!:]

Chapter Four: Honors Chemistry

As my second favorite class, Chemistry has been a pleasant surprise. With my bad experience with Biology during my Sophomore year, I thought science was just really not for me. This class has definitely proved me wrong. I have the nicest teacher ever! That definitely makes a class more enjoyable. This teacher explains everything so well and she wants nothing more than for us to succeed. She's now changed my mind about science and now I'm even going to take AP Chemistry next semester to learn more in depth about this subject. Yay for Chemistry!

Tip: Don't let one bad experience turn you off completely to other new experiences. It could be good for you!

All in all, I love all my classes in some form or another. I look forward to learning new material everyday. I now welcome new challenges just so I can overcome them. School may keep me extremely busy, but I wouldn't have it any other way.

Sincerely Yours,

Alexis, Survivor of First Quarter and Hard-Working Student