Creative Blog #6: Last day of school is fast approaching

I'm pretty excited for school to be over. I've been stressed out for so long and now I can finally relax.
I'll miss my friends of course, but i'll see them outside of school before I go off to college. I'll also miss some of my teachers. They definitely helped me grow as a student.
But I definitely won't miss the stress this school has caused me and those darn stairs I had the pleasure of falling down....
Sometimes I wonder what my life would've been like if I went to Oakwood or Crossroads instead of Buckley. I probably wouldn't have had the same experience.
Anyways, I feel like I'm ready to leave Buckley. I know some people are sad to graduate but I've never been so ready to leave in my entire life.

So good bye everyone.

Creative Blog #5: The AP expirience

This was my first year taking AP classes and for the most part it wasn't too bad. First semester I felt like my head was going to explode from all the reading and memorization I had to do for both AP Gov and AP Enviro. I really didn't think I would be able to handle all the stress that came from taking college level courses. But around 4th quarter, I proved to myself that I could actually do it.

I think the worst part about APs is actually STUDYING for the AP test. Actually taking the test is the easy part. You get to show up in free dress and miss all of your classes. It's pretty nice. Especially the feeling of freedom and relief once you've finished the test.

I'm so glad I didn't push myself to fill my schedule with really challenging classes. I had a decent amount of classes that challenged me and a decent amount of classes that were super easy for me *cough*french*cough*

I'm also proud of myself for seeing both of my AP classes to the bitter end. I'm pretty sure I passed both of my APs so hopefully I'm exempt from taking certain classes in college.

Creative Blog #4: My last Buckley fair

I was somewhat sad yesterday when I realized I was going to my last Buckley fair. Every move I made, I kept telling myself "oh this is the last time i'll ever go on the tilt a whirl" or "Oh this is the last time I'll ever watch Buckley's battle of the bands" or "oh this is the last time I'll almost trip on an electrical cord while searching for my friends."
I remember the first time I went to the fair back in 2007. I was just accepted at Buckley and I went as a part of a welcome new students bagel breakfast. There I met Madeline Fuhrman and Marika Cleto as we were about to go on this spinning black ride.
So I guess I'll miss the fair. No wait, I'll miss all the memories I've had every time I've gone to the fair.

Creative Blog #3: Just keep your head above: how a jack's mannequin song inspired me to never give up

“Just keep your head above,” I say to myself every time I feel nervous about something. It seemed like every day my French theatre director yelled at me for messing up my lines. He had the ability to make a beautiful language like French sound more like nails on a chalkboard. Usually, I am quick to memorize my lines, but this time the words aren’t in English. I could only understand every other word of what I was mechanically reciting to my scene partner. The director kept saying “Merde! Merde! Merde!” while kicking a trash can in frustration. I never knew what that meant, but I had a feeling it didn’t mean fantastic. 

There are times when I wanted to quit and offer to work behind the scenes while my friends shined on stage. Then I remembered my favorite song, Swim by Jack’s Mannequin, and I knew that I shouldn’t give up without a fight. The lyric that resonates with me the most is “You gotta swim and swim when it hurts. The whole world is watching. You haven't come this far to fall off the earth.” I worked very hard to get accepted into the Experiment in International Living and I wasn’t going to let anyone, not even the director, stop me from giving it my all onstage. Besides, I came this far to study theatre so failure was not an option.

This song always reminds me to keep going. Even when all hope is lost and the situation looks grim, just keep swimming. If I “keep my head above” the problem, then sooner or later I will succeed. I love how the song shifts to a more urgent tone towards the end: “There's no shame in drifting. Feel the tide shifting and wait for the spark,” as if the writer of the song, Andrew McMahon, is telling listeners that it’s okay to wait for the right moment to strike and swim again. He wrote this song about his battle with leukemia and how he defied the odds and survived by never giving up. I know that if he could find the horizon despite all hardships, I can do the same. So I’ll always keep my head above and swim.