...is terrible, but almost over.
I already took my SATS, which I had been practicing for, so I hope I did well! The only thing that got me bummed out was that people discussed the test afterwards and started talking about the answers to certain math problems, and I think I already got one of them wrong. Ah I hate it when people talk about tests afterwards! haha I get all stressed out. =]
I already took my two AP tests- one of them went great, the other went so-so (US history, toughie for me), but I could've predicted that. But I'm glad they're over and my mother was really supportive of it, so I'm just happy they're done, and I'm not too worried. After all, it's just for college credit and to show some effort, right? right. So all I have left is one final exam in June, a research paper, an english presentatation, and an in-class essay, take the ACT- and then I'm on the road to summerrrrr.
I still don't know what i'm doing, becuase I haven't gotten responses from the two things I applied for yet- I'm supposed to get them in about a week, or two? I'm either going to Argentina (which will be cold, because it's winter over there!) for community service, or being a counselor for 5th graders over a summer-school-like program. The counselor position is apprantly reallly hard to get into, because it offers pretty good pay, so I'm placing my hopes on the Argentina trip. If I don't get into either, I'd probably sign up for a summer class (boring, I know). So I guess we'll see!
(Figure above) Argentina. My mother joked that if I got to go, at least I'll get to see the glaciers of Argentina before they melted. Even though it was a joke, it kinda depressed me. A lot of natural things are dying soon, because of climate change.
Driving:
Oh! And I have finally passed and finished my driver's ed course. I've already had my permit for a while, so I've been practicing with my mother. I haven't gotten into an accident yet, and my mother's started actually
breathing when I take the wheel (in the beginning her face would turn red and she'd clutch the side door), so she says I've made a lot of progress and turned into a decent driver. Hurrah! But the downside is, once I get my license, the insurance will go up about $2,000, and thats not something she's willing to pay. I would pitch in If I weren't broke, so basically she's not going to let me drive until senior year =[. I would be okay with this, but I have a little dilemna that I haven't exactly told her about yet. She doesn't know that in the city, you're not allowed to drive with a permit unless your car has a double brake! (which is stupid, because only instructor's cars have that. And how am I supposed to practice on the weekends?) So, basically everytime I've driven with my mom, I've prayed that I don't get pulled over on even bump lightly into another car, becuase I could get into muchas problemas- unless the police officer is nice and understanding (ha..ha...in the city? right. maybe upstate.) That's why I'm so anxious to get my senior license- so that I won't get in trouble for driving only with a permit, even if it is with my mom. And I need to continue practicing until I get my license, so if I have to wait until next year- well, that'll be a lot of times I'll be praying not to get pulled over! So you see the dilemna?
(One of my life ambitions is to own a smart car. So cute, and energy efficient. I wish that an American car company would develope something similar, to support american car industry, and maybe make it popular in america, instead of those ridiculous hummurs and suvs.)
PROBLEM, in case you didn't want to read that whole paragraph:
License= needed soon, so I don't have to drive illegally anymore. (without a dual brake car)
No license until next year (because of insurance cost)= have to practice in order to pass, lots of driving illegally, highering my chances of getting caught.
(my biggest fear, besides sharks, at the moment)
I'm thinking I should tell my mom that all those times we've been driving have been potential trouble. She's been led to believe that if I have a permit and an adult with a license, I'm ok. But, I'm afraid of telling her, because then she'll 1) get mad then 2) maybe stop letting me practice and then 3) yell at me for rushing to take driver's ed this year, and telling me I should've waiting until next year to take it. ughhh.
I don't understand how anybody practices in new york to get their license- I mean, besides with an instructor. If anybody sees a solution to this, or any words of wisdom, please enlighten me!
On the homefront:
My parents are doing fine. Today's mother's day, I'm writing this while everyone's getting up and eating breakfast/ getting ready to go out. My little brother (not so little- in 9th gade) is with this band, and he's the lead guitarist. They started getting serious about it, and so they actually went to a studio to record! And, okay, I'm was a pessimist, but they actually sound really good. If they ever get their music up via myspace or whatnot, I'll post the link up.
Next Year:These are the classes I signed up for:
AP English (the hardest AP to get into in our school, probably won't get in)
AP Spanish Lit
AP Drawing and Painting (so excited!)
Religion
Calculus.
I'm actually really really excited to do the AP drawing and painting, which my teacher already gave me clearance to do next year (unlike the english AP, which you have to "audition" for, and the spanish lit, which I have no idea if they'll have space for me or not, but with my grades in spanish I think I'll be okay.)
Recently, I've really gotten into the arts- my mother was a painter on her free time, so she's very proud =] And she likes my works, so she's as excited, if not more, than I am. And it's kind of a risk, considering it's not a very "scholarly" AP class, but I think it'll make a statement on my transcript- you know, I'm not just some stuck up kid who does classes because they look good- I have passions, and I do it to learn what I'm interested in, not just to get a certain GPA or get into a certain college. That's how I felt like before that anyway, but now that I'm taking an art as a major class, and making a big committment to it (instead of just talking it as a minor), I really feel like- wow, I can actually do things that I love. And I know it's going to be just as stressful and demanding as other classes (the teacher is really intense), but I have this surreal feeling of hey- I might actually enjoy senoir year! haha.
Birthdays:
My birthday is veryyy veryyy soon (17, wooot), and I won't say when exactly so that I won't be somehow identified, hha. It's weird, but I've adopted this new view of birthdays- when I was little, I used to be obsessed with them. I was alll about the gifts. And I know that there are still people that celebrate them, and enjoy getting gifts (thats probably the majority), but my recent birthdays, I've gotten really nothing much, and I haven't had a party or anything- just usually a dinner out on the town with my family. And you know what? I'm perfectly content! Birthdays just don't seem like a big deal anymore- I'm happy I'm a year older, but then it's kinda like...so what? haha. Sometimes I feel like I forget it's about to be my birthday. Not like some girls in my grade that constantly count down to their birthday via aim/facebook statuses two weeks before, or start talking about their birthdays to everyone beforehand to make sure people remember. I don't even care if people remember or not (besides my parents, because I like going out for dinner, especially on a school night when we usually don't =]). Hmm, I don't really know why I've grown this way towards birthdays, but I guess it's just kinda the commercialism of it, maybe, that puts me off a bit. Even though it's fun to be invited to birthday parties, I'm happy with not having one of my own. Am I a birthday grinch? Maybe =]. But I like to think that I'm maybe maturing a bit.
Okay, enough of my life, I'm sure it's quite the bore. But thanks for staying tuned! I always promise I'll be more dedicated to the blog, but then I don't. And then when I'm like "hey, I should write something", I start thinking about how insignificant my blog is, really, in the big scheme of things- both in the world, and in the virtual world, and hey, not that many people even read it. But I guess once in a while, I give in to the urge that maybe something I say, or something I talk about, will interest someone surfing the web, or maybe strike a string. You never know.
Thankfully yours, (and remember your mothers today!)
New York Chique
p.s. I am now CPR certified! I passed the skills test and the swim test with flying colors. Maybe it'll come in handy some time.