Homeschool to Public School

Aquinas!

2011-10-15T22:37:00.002-04:00

I'm currently on my fall break! The transition into college went well! I'm really liking it at Aquinas and have made the coolest friends.

I'm currently taking German 101, French 101, Intro to Comm, Intermediate Algebra & Trig, and College Chorus. I was taking an Aerobic Fitness class that started at 7:45AM (!!!!) but it just ended (was only a quad). This adds up to 17 credits. I'm doing really well. The last French exam I took, I got 98%. I also gave my first speech for Intro to Comm and got an A-. Really happy. So, yup... I hope I can keep it up!

I'm planning on majoring in International Business... and, if I can, I want to triple major with French and German. I've heard it's been done before. So if I can do it in 4 years, I will. If not, I'll make one of the languages a major, the other a minor.

It's really interesting taking two languages at the same time. I like it. So far, I haven't gotten things too mixed up.

My German so far: Ich heiße Frau Biewer. Ich habe blaue Augen und blonde, kurze Haare. Ich bin achtzehn Jahre alt. Ich komme aus den U.S.A. Ich wohne in Grand Rapids. Ich bin klein und schlank. Ich bin attraktiv. Ich esse Brot und Pizza gern. Ich trinke Wasser und Apfelsaft gern. Ich studiere Deutsch, Französisch, Mathematik, Musik, Sport, und Kommunikationswissenschaft in diesem Semester. Mein Deutschklasse beginnt um Viertel nach zwölf. Ich verstehe Englisch, Lateinisch, ein bisschen Deutsch, und ein bisschen Französisch.

.... And now my brain is too fixed on German to be able to write much French. It's something I have to switch over to gradually. I can't be writing or speaking one foreign language and then jump to the next one quickly. It confuses me. We'll see how having both languages through the years goes! :)

Until next time,
Catherine

Choosing a Major: Help!

2011-05-28T07:58:00.000-04:00

I will be going to take tests and register for classes at Aquinas on June 7th. I hope the adviser I get is a good one, because I'm not entirely sure what classes I should pick.

Any advice on how to choose a major and a minor? I know I still have a ways to go before I have to decide, but it'd be nice if any of you readers have some experience on that subject. Did you pick a major based off how marketable in the job world it was or on your own strengths and passions? I'd rather pick one based off the later, but in this economy, it seems wiser to base it off the former. Any advice?

For example, I really like writing and languages, which isn't very profitable compared to computer programming or sustainable business. But I'm not sure if I'd enjoy the profitable things quite as much. I may find if I take a class on them that I could, but for now, I'd rather study languages! Hmm. Decisions, decisions.

I'll figure it out eventually, even if it takes me my whole life. Haha.

It's Finished!

2011-05-26T19:54:00.002-04:00

Today marked my last day of high school and my last and first year of public high school! It was such a crazy ride. It was worth it, for sure. I was a little emotional today, thinking of what I'd been through in such a short time and all the people I'd met. Got a little teary eyed at some points.

My opinion of public school now? I definitely have a different perspective now, now that I've been through it. I saw a lot of what I expected to see, but there were also things in the high school that I was pleasantly surprised about. For example, I had always assumed that the majority of public school teachers were awful teachers. Well, not the case, at least not at the public school I went to. In fact, I believe I'll miss the teachers the most.

The negative things I noticed were plentiful. The one that bugged me the most was that I was always too busy to really enjoy learning. I had to get homework done, read books, do projects, work, and try to have time to be on the Internet and do other stuff that I value. I always felt guilty whenever I decided I wanted to read a book independently or study something unrelated to schoolwork online, which was really hard for me. Before I was used to reading so much every day, but when I was at the high school, I barely read what I wanted to. I was always reading textbooks and books for classes. And of course, I could've just decided to not do the homework and get lower grades, but I'm the kind of person who obsesses over that kind of stuff.

Also, I absolutely hated being in that building. There were many times I just wanted to walk out of the building to escape. There are way too many kids crammed in that building right now. It's so chaotic and loud. It felt like a daycare for rowdy teenagers.

Oh, and the bells. Don't get me started on the bells.

But, honestly, I think going to the high school for a year benefited me a lot. I feel more confident about my abilities now. I got into the National Honor Society, I was Student of the Week, and now I've found out that I'll be receiving an award (not sure which one) at the senior award's ceremony. All in one year. I was scared that I'd not be able to adjust to that environment, but look at all that I was able to do! I'm so happy that it worked out this way.

I'm still very glad that I was homeschooled. I like who I am, and I'm sure I would've been a different person had I not been homeschooled. I wouldn't have the same friends, never would've learned Latin, never would have had the opportunities the Lansing area homeschool group had to offer. I'm very grateful for my homeschool education, especially what it offered me in high school.

I will be attending Aquinas College in the fall. I'm not entirely sure what I'll be majoring in, but right now I'm interested in becoming a foreign language teacher. Possibly German. Because of the influence Latin has had on me, I've fallen in love with languages. Things could always change, but that's what my plan is at the moment. We shall see. I'll keep you guys posted.

14 Days Left of School!

2011-05-06T20:48:00.000-04:00

It's been a long time since I've posted. I'm sorry!

Latest thing that's happened is that I took my AP English exam. It went splendidly. The timed essays on the three different passages went well, and I believe I did pretty well on the multiple choice. My AP English class really prepared me to take it. I hope I get at least a 3. That would be very nice. I have to wait until the third week of July to get my results.

I have A's in all my classes for the last tri, which is nice. The hardest class is... uh... actually, none of them are very hard. It kind of makes me wish I had taken more AP classes. It's too late for that now, though.

And... there are fourteen more days left of school. I am starting to get sad. I've met so many cool people this year and now I probably won't see them after this. Aw. Sad. I can't imagine what it's like for some of these people who've known each other since they were little!

Also, I got a job at Burger King. It's definitely a different experience. Right now I'm learning how to take orders for drive-thru. It's confusing, but hopefully it'll get better as I get more experience.

Also... as of right now, I'll be going to Aquinas College. So far, so good. Everything seems to be working out so far!

God bless all of you! :)
Catherine

NHS

2011-03-23T09:45:00.000-04:00

This month, I was Student of the Week, which wasn't much of a big deal. Getting Student of the Week merely confirms everyone's suspicions that you're a teacher's pet and/or a know-it-all. I'm completely fine with those titles, though. It's against my very nature to not be nice to teachers and to not try my best. If others feel intimidated by my being that way, that's their own consciences speaking. ;)

I've also been accepted into the National Honors Society, which is more of a big deal. Tomorrow is the induction ceremony. Not sure what to expect.

And the final grades of the second trimester: all A's. I'm so glad. I was worried I wouldn't be able to pull it off. I was this close to getting an A- in Algebra III again. You all know how I feel about A-'s.

This tri, I have Economics, French I, Modern World Literature, A.P. English, and Honors Chemistry. I'm gonna be very busy. I've had homework from all of them almost every night so far. At least French I is not very hard, or I'd be in trouble!

It seems I've done pretty well in the public school. That was my goal, to prove I could. It almost seems strange now, to think I hadn't attended one before this. It no longer feels alien to me; I understand it now. Hopefully it will benefit me in the future to have both experiences.

Teachers

2011-03-01T20:44:00.007-05:00

When I was making my decision to go to a public school, I was very curious as to what I'd think about the teachers there. I'd only experienced teachers online (through Lone Pine Classical School and Homeschool Connections) and for my driver's education. These two experiences were like night and day. My online teachers were very accomplished and challenging, while my driver's ed teacher... well... not so much.

Now that I'm more than halfway through the school year, I can say for sure that the teachers are my favorite part of this whole experience. So far, I've been very fortunate, because all my teachers are awesome (coming from me, that's saying something). I may not agree with them on all their methods of teaching, but for the most part I believe they're doing the best they can with the kids they have.

Now I can't be entirely sure on this point (it's not like I've taken a survey), but I've observed that a lot of kids don't really appreciate their teachers. I don't get this. In my mind, teachers are people to treat with respect and to learn from, not people who are out to get you and make your life miserable. Granted, there are a lot of bad teachers out there, but so far I haven't encountered one at the public school.

All my previous years of being homeschooled is what is reinforcing this idea of teachers being valuable resources. I had to be my own teacher for the most part throughout high school. It wasn't an easy thing and it took discipline, sometimes discipline I didn't have. It was a struggle to schedule my time. Now that I have teachers for all my subjects, I really can appreciate them and what they do. I know the difference.

Now I'm not saying a lack of teachers in an education is bad; it has its own positive aspects. One of them is that it helps prepare for college, where it's important to be able to schedule time and be able to study on your own, instead of being babied and coerced into doing it. At the public school, it seems like kids can get away with not studying on their own and making homework handouts from the teacher the maximum of what they do to learn for themselves. But on the other hand, it is very nice to have someone to look up to, someone whom you know has studied the subject in college. It's more personal than learning from a textbook or independently researching a subject.

I've come to believe that there must be a balance of these two factors for there to be the best learning atmosphere: mentors to help you and drive to learn on your own. I believe each different road of education, whether it's homeschool, public school, or private school, can foster this, but it takes a will from the students, parents, and teachers.

You'll Never Guess

2011-02-22T08:15:00.004-05:00

I got a snow day! It's absolutely spoiling me. Tomorrow morning at 6:30, I'm gonna feel it. But for now, I'll contentedly blog and sip my coffee.

Yesterday I was gathering photos of myself. My Aunt Lisa is going to compile a scrapbook for me, for my graduation. So I gotta get all these together. I also want to head over to Wal-mart and print off some photos.

Speaking of photos, I want to rant about digital ones. Yes, I know they are very useful, but I find that it's so tempting to not print them. With my family, it's so rare now that we print our digital photos. They're all on computer... somewhere. I have to salvage them before it's too late and years of photos are wiped out! Yeah, maybe I'm overreacting...

And now speaking of graduation: I can't believe I'll be graduating this year. When I was a freshmen, senior year seemed so far away. And now I have to start planning my open house and thinking about going to college in the fall? It's surreal... it went by so fast, it seems! And I hear life only gets faster after this. I guess I better hold on for the ride.

Snow! My Feelings on Snow Days

2011-02-21T09:03:00.008-05:00

We got snow dumped on us last night, about 6-10 inches I'd guesstimate. Outside doesn't look quite like Snowpocalypse II, but it's a pretty considerable amount of the white fluffy stuff.

Ironically, my school already had this day set aside for a Professional Development day. I heard it's canceled due to the snow, so now I'm wondering if they're going to reschedule. Maybe for tomorrow? I doubt it, but it'd be so awesome to have another day off.

That sentence above kind of gave away my feelings on snow days. They are so awesome. My first snow day had a snow day after it. And then during Snowpocalypse, we got two snow days for that, too! It's just a great feeling to get a lot of snow and then find out you can sleep in tomorrow!

The only downside to snow days is all the work that has to be made up after them, especially if there are two in a row. That does heighten the dread of going back to school, because ya just know that you're going to get dumped on with as much homework as your area got dumped on with snow. Oh, well. It's the price we have to pay for the luxury of the white fluffy stuff.

Aquinas College

2011-02-20T14:11:00.011-05:00

Yesterday, I went to Aquinas College's Spectrum Scholarship Competition. A lot of other kids came, including one of my friends.

First of all, I'm about 99.9% sure that I'll be going to Aquinas. The .1% is the part of me which is still concerned whether I really want to spend a lot of money on college and take out loans. On the other hand, it 's looking like I'd end up paying less than I would if I went to a public university like MSU. My reasoning is that, if I'm going to spend any money at all on college, I might as well spend it on a good private college education. Aquinas seems like a college that would be a good fit educationally, socially, etc. I love the idea of a small campus and small class sizes, next to such a large and exciting city like Grand Rapids. Plus, their campus is absolutely gorgeous.

The Spectrum Scholarship Competition went very well, in my opinion. I wasn't at all nervous (maybe a little bit...) and I tried to be myself. They give away 30 scholarships. It's a small chance to get one, so I can only hope and pray. It'd be such a relief to get more money, especially if it were one of the full ride scholarships. It doesn't seem likely I'd get any of them, especially the full ride, but, again... I can only hope and pray for a miracle. I'll find out the results by April 1st.

Wish Me Bona Fortuna!

2011-02-19T07:38:00.005-05:00

I'm going to Aquinas College's Spectrum Scholarship Competition today. It's basically a whole-day affair. I'm really hoping I get one of the thirty scholarships. If I don't, it will still be a good experience. Hopefully I'll meet some new people!

I'll be enjoying a three-day weekend. On Monday, I'm going to plan on doing a Heart of Darkness reduction for A.P. English, so I won't be completely lazy!

I'll tell ya'll how the competition went when I get back!

New Vocabulary: TGIF

2011-02-18T06:43:00.006-05:00

TGIF! After this day, I'll have a three day weekend to recuperate. Before, "three day weekend" was never in my vocabulary, but now those three sweet words just make me feel so great!

Here are a few more words/exclamations/things that I've begun to use more:
"TGIF," as in, "YES! TGIF!"
"Homework," as in, "I'm pretty sure there wasn't any homework..."
"Spring break," as in, "I can't wait for Spring Break!!!"
"Prom," as in, "When is prom?"
"Grades," as in, "Gotta keep my grades up!"
"Presentation," as in, "We had to do a presentation today in psychology."
"Excuse me!" as in, "Excuse me, (you people who would run me over without realizing it)!"
"Oh my..." as in, "Oh my... (I shouldn't be surprised, it's the public school)."
"This is ridiculous," as in, "This is ridiculous. (You people should really begin to act your age.)"
"How was that essay question?" as in, "Don't tell me the details, but how was that essay question?"
"Ugh, stupid backpack!" as in, "Ugh, stupid backpack! (Yeah, I know I could put everything in my locker, but I'm just too lazy to come here before every class.)"

The list could go on, but those are the ones I've been noticing that I didn't hardly ever say before (or never had a reason to say before).

My Two Cents: Trimesters

2011-02-17T06:53:00.007-05:00

One thing I just really didn't get when I started at the public school was having trimesters instead of semesters (or just all-year-rounders). I thought it was crazy that I could have French I in the first tri and then not have it again until the third tri. I mean, c'mon, most kid are going to forget everything the second tri anyway.

I still think it's crazy. I have classes that last one tri, some that last two, and an A.P. English class that lasts for the whole year. When I was homeschooled, aside from Latin, I was completely oblivious of semesters and trimesters. I just did all my subjects the whole year.

I can understand the logic behind it: if you have tris, there are more subjects the kids can have per year. My argument against this is that you can't really learn too much history in one tri, or even much in-depth psychology in two. In my psychology class, we've skipped a whole ton of modules/chapters. It makes me feel like I should go back and read through those, because of all the interesting stuff we've had to miss because we only have psych for two tris.

But it does make me feel a lot better about what I did when I was homeschooled. Even if I never completely got through my algebra book in a given year, I now realize it was just about as much as anyone at the public school did in a given year. In my algebra III class, we haven't even done much of the problems in the book. We just focus on one sort of problem with its variations and then take quizzes and tests over it. This tri's almost over and I doubt we will have covered all that's in the big ole' Functions, Statistics and Trigonometry book.

Over all, I just don't think tris give anyone much depth in a subject. I believe high school should be more than just a place to get a taste for all the different subjects. I believe it should be a place where you just fall in love with a subject and are encouraged to study it as much as you possibly can.

Good to Be Busy

2011-02-16T15:21:00.002-05:00

As I've been preparing to go to Aquinas College in the fall, my life has been increasingly busy. It's not as busy as I should like, since I don't have a job yet (I'm going to look into applying to some local restaurants). Nonetheless, I've been busy with church music, college preparation, retreats, and (of course) the public school.

This second trimester is almost over, which I find hard to believe. As of today, I only have one A- in Algebra III, and hopefully it'll stay at that level or higher. The hardest class at first was Honors Chemistry, but now I know what to expect on the tests, even if I may not fully understand the concepts all the time.

It's unbelievable that I have to start studying for final tests! I don't want to think about it.

Besides academics, my social life at the public school has gotten a lot better. I've made quite a few friends and acquaintances, who are all very nice to me. I'm even finding all of the rambunctious sophomores in my World History II class to be amusing and funny, not just annoying. That's definitely an improvement for me and makes the class more tolerable.

Also, I'm thinking of starting another blog. I'm thinking that maybe I'd just pick a random YA or Sci-fi book off my library's shelf and review it on the blog, and do that every so often along with a few popular books. Maybe I'd try to do it from a Christian perspective, but I'm not sure yet. Any suggestions?

Prom's coming up. Doubt anyone will ask me. I'll probably end up going with a few girl friends from school.

Pax!

Catherine

Life, The Universe, and Everything

2011-01-11T23:22:00.003-05:00

I've gotten bored of public school. During school days, I count down until 2:40, glad to get home at 3:00. I've gotten into the rut of counting down until Friday night. Now I'm counting down the days until graduation, when I won't have to get up at 6:10 every school morning and stay in the same building for most of the day. I feel so sorry for the kids who have been going to school since kindergarten. I can't imagine how much the seniors must be looking forward to graduation!

So, yeah, I've learned that it gets old fast. I'm learning lots of stuff, but public school has a way of making learning a little dull. Some of the classes are very good and I'm not bored during them. Others, it's just too easy to get As and be bored at the same time. :/ Oh, well. That's why I wanted to go to public school: to see what it's like and how I would do. I've found out that I do well in public school. I've also found out that it can be boring. So I've accomplished what I set out to do, essentially. Now I'll just countdown until June...

Let's see. Funny thing happened: I popped popcorn during seminar (we can bring snacks). I tried to open it... apparently too fast, because all the kernels, popcorn, oil, and butter flew EVERYWHERE. Over my book, the desks in front of me. The kernels went all the way to the other side of the room. It was ridiculous and pretty funny. I spent the rest of the hour cleaning up butter and picking up kernels off of the floor. I won't be making that mistake again!

In other news, I'm trying to scope out some scholarships to apply to. I really don't like applying for scholarships. It's so time-consuming. But if I can even get one of those scholarships, it'd be worth it.

Until next time!
Catherine

Latin: How It's Beneficial In Education

2011-01-08T00:54:00.002-05:00

If anyone knows me, they know I'm a Latin enthusiast. What I've been noticing more and more throughout every public school class I've taken, is how useful it is to have a lingua latina background.

Psychology: a lot of words they use are Latin or derive from Latin. It also comes in VERY handy when you're memorizing psych vocab, because you're so used to memorizing things like voco, vocare, vocavi, vocatus that it's just so easy.
French: if you have a good background in Latin, the basic French classes are extremely easy. Memorizing vocab is very simple. Hardest part is pronunciation.
A.P. English: Very useful, especially if your Latin class also involved learning ancient Roman mythology and history. It becomes simpler to write in English, because after writing so much in Latin, your English skills get better. If you didn't understand nouns, pronouns, verbs, more complicated stuff, etc, and how they relate to each other in a sentence, you WILL after a good Latin class.
Chemistry: again, memorizing vocab is pretty easy. And usually Latin helps with your thinking skills, to aid in remembering the vocab MEANING. Also very useful when you have to know how to spell the elements!
Algebra: sometimes words relate to Latin; again with the Latin helping your learning/patience skills!
History: if you know ancient Roman history and its language, Western history, culture, literature, etc (et cetera! Latin!), suddenly makes more sense. Rome was such a major force in ancient Western civilization. If you know Latin and can read the original works of Cicero, Caesar, etc, the following centuries that were so influenced by Roman culture are much more interesting.
It also makes you look smart to your peers and teachers when it comes up that you know Latin. I don't know why.

I’m sure there are more benefits that I haven’t thought of. I think it’s so tragic that American public schools don’t offer Latin as a subject. It’s like getting rid of a major tool of understanding Western society. So much was influenced by ancient Rome and Latin, especially in Western culture! If you understand Latin and ancient Roman culture, suddenly a whole new world perspective is opened up! Suddenly history makes sense, suddenly literature makes sense. Science vocabulary used to be based on Latin. So much stuff in the past is better understood with that knowledge, that I just can’t believe the public education system doesn’t think offering Latin would be beneficial!
I really hope that starts changing. I’m sure a lot of kids would be interested in learning Latin if it were offered.

Christmas Break!

2010-12-31T00:55:00.002-05:00

We're having our two-week Christmas Break right now. It's almost over. I've mostly been reading and sleeping. I missed being able to read whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted, so I read 1984 (Orwell), The Book of the City of Ladies (de Pizan), The Catcher in the Rye (Salinger), and two fantasy books by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl, called Beautiful Creatures and Beautiful Darkness. It's been very nice to just be able to read and think all day, take a break from classes and studying for tests.

I'm in my second trimester currently. I have Psychology B, A.P. English, Algebra III B, World History II, and Honors Chemistry A. My favorite class is between A.P. English and Algebra III (they're both challenging). My least favorite class is World History. It's so depressing because, even though it's so easy and the teacher practically gives away the answers to tests, some kids STILL do poorly. Seriously... the day before the test, the teacher tells us what the hard questions will involve and sometimes what we'll have to know for the free-response question. I can't stand how easy it is. I would prefer a history class that's interesting and has us actually read books. Instead, we have a huge textbook that only covers about a paragraph of information per historical figure/event. When I was homeschooled, I'd read an entire book about a historic individual/event. A paragraph is just not enough!

That's one of the reasons I read The Book of the City of Ladies. The author, Christine de Pizan, is a French Renaissance woman who wrote some of the first pieces of feminist literature. She was mentioned in the textbook once and I figured that it'd be beneficial to read one of her books. The book tries to prove that what men have said about women, like that they shouldn't be educated and such, is unfounded, and she goes to prove it by mentioning "historical" women. The one thing I didn't like about it is that she treated goddesses and semi-mythological figures as real people based in history, such as Minerva, Europa, and Ceres, rather than made-up entities.

Anyway, I'm dreading the day I have to go back to school. I think what I'm dreading most about it is the alarm clock going off at 6:30. Ugh. I am not a morning person by nature (I've been going to bed between 12-1 AM and waking up between 9-10 AM). I'll just have to get used to it all over again.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! See you in 2011!

さようなら。 Sayōnara.
Catherine

Exams!

2010-11-23T19:26:00.002-05:00

Hi! I know it's been a while. I've just been too lazy to sit down and write a good post. Yup, that's a sure sign that the novelty of public school has worn off. Sometimes it feels like I've always gone to public school, but there are times when I stop and think, "Wow, I'm going to a public school. What did I get myself into?"

I'm doing my first trimester exams. I have three done--psychology, French I, and P.E. They were all way too easy. Tomorrow I have my AP English exam which consists of writing three essays in a row within two hours. I pray I won't be emotionally scarred after it.

Oh, and I exempted my algebra III exam (which will leave me with the grade I have now, an A-). At my school, if you've missed less than three days of school (job shadow, two college visits, and field trips not included), have more than a D- in a class, and have been keeping your nose clean, you can exempt one exam. You can do this once per trimester. I know, it's crazy. I felt so horrible for exempting an exam, but all my peers pressured me into it. They're like, "Think of it as a reward!"

Apparently the school had to start doing this a few years back, because they were having attendance issues. People would skip school for stuff. Crazy!

But I am really glad I don't have to take that algebra exam, because I would've had to have taken it right after the AP English exam. I can tell you now that after that AP English exam, I'm going to be fried. It probably would've resulted in my getting a B in algebra. (Oh my!)

After Wednesday, we get a five-day break! I can't wait!

In other news, I'm accepted to Aquinas and I visited Aquinas' campus. I really, really love the campus. It's so beautiful this time of year, with tons of trees with colorful leaves. I really hope I end up going there. The only issue I have to solve is money. I guess we'll see.

Volleyball!

2010-10-22T22:40:00.001-04:00

In P.E. we're playing volleyball. It's been a little rough for me, because I'm not good at volleyball at all. I'm slowly getting better, though. I can serve now and most of the time I can set the ball up/hit it over. But I'm still a little uncomfortable, because all the kids are so competitive. It makes me nervous to play, because I'm worried that I'll mess up and make my team lose. Now that I'm getting better, though, I don't feel as bad. Volleyball is actually pretty fun, if everyone tries to do their best!

Algebra III is getting harder for me. There's a lot of material I have to learn over the weekend for a quiz on Monday. I think if I study it a lot, I'll be fine. I'm hoping to get a good grade on the quiz, because I did poorly in the last few. I'm down to an A-! It's horrible! Don't want it to go down any further, or I'll get stuck in a rut. I think I just have to make myself study, or I'll never get out of it. Math doesn't come as easily for me as languages or reading comprehension. I'm not used to having to work so hard to understand something, because for most everything else, it's easy. With math, sometimes I'm just like, "Huh??" So, yeah... hopefully I'll be able to work it out and get this algebra stuff down.

I'm planning on visiting Aquinas in November! I really hope I hear back from Aquinas soon. I really wanna know If I'm accepted or not, because if I don't get accepted there, I'm going to apply to other places. I should probably apply to other places right now anyway, just in case, but I'm just not excited for any other college, so much so that a $35 dollar application nullifies my interest. I guess I'll have to figure out which colleges are worth the application fee to me.

Until next time!
Catherine

Not Much New

2010-10-18T21:00:00.003-04:00

We had a long weekend. We had no class on Friday, because of a student-parent conference and other stuff. It was a nice little break, but it made me dread this morning even more. I just did not want to get up. It was too dark outside and my bed was nice and warm. Somehow, I managed to get ready before 7:20.

Nothing's really new, except that I'm noticing that I'm not trying to fit in. At all. The first few weeks I tried to semi-fit in, but now I just don't care. For an example, I'm starting to read non-school-related books while I'm walking down the halls (haven't run into anyone yet). So nerdy! Such a homeschooler thing to do. Gotta love it.

I'm also starting to really find out just how handy it is to know Latin. So far, it's helped me in French and A.P. English. Sometimes I can read the French sentence because it looks Latin. In AP English, I was able to say that 'to kill a king' is called regicide and 'to kill a father' is patricide, because regis (plural of rex) is Latin for king and pater is Latin for father. Though, I must say, when I answered the teacher, I said patricide with semi-Latin pronunciation. (I said paw-tricide instead of pah-tricide, because pater is pronounced paw-tair. Woops!) That's one problem with my knowing Latin: I can recognize all different kinds of words, but if they're not used in normal conversations, I only know how to pronounce them the "Latin way".

Right now, I'm pondering whether I should start applying for jobs. I'm worried that I wouldn't be able to handle it all, but I guess that's just a poor excuse. I really should start earning some money...

Also, I'm still waiting to hear back from Aquinas.

Valēte!
Catherine

Speculation for the Day

2010-10-14T09:50:00.003-04:00

One thing that's very different in the Catholic homeschool culture around here than the public school culture is that the majority of homeschool kids wouldn't even think to swear, especially in public. Sure, some homeschoolers do rebel and start swearing, but it doesn't happen too often.

An example of what would happen if I were to swear around the majority of my homeschool friends:
Friends: *gasp and look at Catherine in absolute shock and horror* "You said a BAD WORD!"

An example of what would happen if I were to swear at the public school around the other kids:
Kids: *no reaction whatsoever, not even a blink*

An example of what would happen if I were to swear around a homeschool mother:
Mother: *stares at Catherine in absolute shock and disgust, and immediately finds my parents and tells them what I just said*

An example of what would happen if I were to swear at the public school around a teacher:
Teacher: "We don't use that kind of language in class." (Or something like that.)

Yes, I am in a completely different culture at the high school, where I hear an abundance of vulgar language every day.

It's Homecoming

2010-10-08T18:55:00.002-04:00

I'll give ya'll an update:

The psychology class is really easy. So far, I don't have to study that much, and I still get As. The stuff isn't that hard to remember and the multiple choice quizzes and tests are pretty easy (for me, at least).
For P.E., we're playing flag football. I've gotten two touchdowns so far, although I've dropped and missed the ball more than I've caught it. It's still a lot of fun, though! Next, we're playing ULTIMATE FRISBEE! I'm either going to love this or hate this. I'll hate it if the other kids don't follow the rules. Without the rules, ultimate frisbee is lame.
French is pretty easy. It's getting a little harder, but not by much.
A.P. English is getting a little easier. It's getting easier to write the timed essays. Yesterday, we had to write an essay about a poem. What we did is walked in the classroom, picked up the poem, read it for the first time, and then had to write an essay about it within the hour. I finished right after the bell rang. I ran out of time and didn't write a good enough conclusion, but that's just something I have to work on.
Algebra III is a little hard for me, because I'm more behind on algebra than the other kids it seems. I'm still managing to gets As and do better than others, though. I don't get it. Today, I had a quiz that I thought I'd get a C on, but I got an A with extra credit. Either I'm really good at looking at the question and guessing, or I subconsciously know it. Maybe it's a little of both. Either way, I hope I keep it up.

Today we also had a pep rally. It was funny. We were in seminar when some of the band came down the hall, playing really loud. We followed them to the gym, where the seniors, juniors, sophomores, and freshmen sat in different sections. The cheerleaders and dancers performed, there was a tug-of-war contest (including some seniors vs. some teachers), and some of the teachers did "modern dance" to modern songs (LOL!!!!). One teacher got a pie to the face, too (long story). It was pretty great. I definitely will never forget seeing my P.E. teacher dance. It was way too funny.

I'm debating whether I should go to the homecoming game tonight or not. I applied to a college and have to get my complete transcript to my counselor so she can send it to them. I have to get that to her on Monday, so I'm thinking I'll have to work on it tonight and tomorrow morning. So, yeah, not sure if I'll make the game. But I will be going to the homecoming dance tomorrow with Jacob. I'm hoping everything goes as planned!

Have a great day!
Catherine

Homecoming!

2010-09-30T19:11:00.002-04:00

School is going great. I'm getting As, one -A, and a B, without wearing myself out too badly. At this point, it's honestly not taking too much effort to get good grades. It's either that I'm really smart, or that the people who get bad grades just don't care. I'm thinking it's the later, although it could be a little bit of the former. I mean, OK, I could be "smarter" than other kids in some sense, but I think that it isn't really hard to do well in these classes. You just gotta do all the homework and some studying. It's not that bad.

I've made some friends in the classes, but it's still weird walking through the halls. Everyone's talking to people, where I'm just focused on getting to the next class. Oh, well!

Oh, and I actually really like the lunches. They're not bad at all. The spaghetti on the first day was the worst one, and it's never been that bad since.

The homecoming dance is on the 9th! It'll be my first time going to one. I've been to one high school prom two years ago, and I'm thinking this shouldn't be too different. I think it'll be fun.

Tchao!

Catherine

Friday!

2010-09-24T22:56:00.004-04:00

Another week has gone by and I have gained a little bit more knowledge...

Today, I aced my psychology test, which I was glad of. I also took an algebra quiz and I have no idea how I did. I'm having trouble being able to tell what I have to write down to define the domain and range of a function. In this algebra III book, it's supposed to be review from algebra II. Problem is... I never got far enough into the algebra II book to learn about it. Eh... well, I'm paying the consequences now, I guess.

This week, a guy actually asked me to homecoming. Unfortunately for him, I had to turn him down, because I'm planning on taking my boyfriend. I kind of felt bad when I rejected him... I don't like breaking guys' hearts, after all. Hopefully he can take another girl!

I'm doing horribly at tennis. My partner, Laura from Spain, and I haven't won one game yet. One problem is, is that Laura doesn't realize she's not supposed to let the ball bounce twice before hitting it. Unfortunately, I don't know how to tell her that in Spanish. Another problem is, is that I am just not good with the racket. I either hit the ball too hard or not hard enough. It's a little frustrating. I can't seem to get the right touch! Oh, well. I'm still trying to have fun with it.

I'm doing well in French. I've learned how to say things like j'aime la pizza (I like pizza), j'adore les amis (I love my friends), je deteste les maths (I hate math), and je n'aime pas les examens (I don't like tests). So far, so good. Thankfully, French looks a lot like Latin, so it's no trouble memorizing the vocabulary. The one issue is the pronunciation, but I think I'm getting the hang of it.

Are my posts starting to get boring? If so, what would you want me to write about? I'd like to know! I'm running out of ideas besides to talk about my day/week, so it'd be appreciated if you'd tell me what you'd like to hear about.

Quote for the Day: "An excuse is worse and more terrible than a lie, for an excuse is a lie guarded." - Pope John Paul II

Au revoir! Valete!

Catherine

Better Day!

2010-09-21T19:43:00.002-04:00

Today was 100% better than yesterday.

I started the day reading a few pages out of St. Augustine's Confessions before psychology started. I've been doing that for a few days, though I don't think I did it yesterday (maybe that's what threw me off!). It's great to read his Confessions out loud, because it's almost like you're saying a prayer yourself, even though they're St. Augustine's words. One of my favorite lines out of it so far is, "... our hearts find no peace until they rest in you." Another line that caught my attention today was, "It is true that curtains are hung over the entrances to the schools where literature is taught, but they are not so much symbols in honour of mystery as veils concealing error." Definitely something to ponder...

Anyway, a reason today was good was because I found out I did really well on my algebra III chapter 1 test, especially compared to everyone else. I got 42 points out of 48. The teacher said most of the class did horrible except for a few exceptions. I think I was one of them, because the girl next to me had gotten 25 points out of 48. My doing a good job on it really made my day, because I've always considered myself really bad at math. It reassures me that I'm not as bad as I think.

We've started playing tennis for P.E. I really need to work at it. I don't have too much experience with tennis. I just remember taking a class when I was seven or so. Since then, I think I can just about count on both hands how many times I've played.

For A.P. English, we read The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway. We had to answer some questions about it. I don't know how well I did. I forgot that we could use notes to help us answer the questions, so I never wrote any down. I had the problem of not remembering some of the parts in the beginning of the book. It was a little hazy to me. I remembered the second half of the book, though. I guess I learned my lesson. Next time we read a book, I'll take notes and review before we answer questions.

À demain!
Catherine

Bad Day

2010-09-20T19:44:00.004-04:00

Today wasn't a good day. It's not that nothing really bad happened, it's just that I'm in a horrible mood. It didn't help that I had my essay reviewed and graded today or that I had an algebra test...

What's really happening is that public school is starting to get on my nerves. The novelty of it is starting to wear off and the reality of it is sinking in. It's like, oh crap, I have to keep doing this the rest of the school year. I hope I can keep a positive attitude, but it's starting to get harder. I just really don't like being in that building the whole day. At least when I was at home, I could get my school done quickly if I wanted to and then I could do what I wanted the rest of the day. With public school, I have to slowly learn at the same pace as everyone else, come home, do homework, do something fun if I can, go to bed, and start over. It wouldn't be as bad if I could go ahead of the class, but that's not how it works. I have to stay at the same pace on the subject and be bored. I guess I could learn independently, but that could hinder me from being able to regurgitate specific knowledge for a test.

On that subject, public school is so much different than being homeschooled. It seems the emphases in public school is to get your homework done and do well on quizzes and tests. I don't know about you, but I hate learning that way. When I was homeschooled, I focused on learning first and didn't focus on acing tests. I did give myself some tests occasionally, but I didn't worry about it if I didn't do well on something. If that happened, I figured out what I did wrong and tried again.

I've never liked tests in the first place. If you focus all your effort on just doing well on a test, it's more likely that you'll just forget most of the information later. I think it's better to learn for the sake of learning, with tests just being there to show you what you need to work on. I really, really hate when tests and grades are considered the final say when it comes to someone's knowledge of a subject. But maybe that's just me.

Well, enough of my ranting. Tomorrow will be a whole new day and I'll make the best of it.

Quote for the day: "Why love if losing hurts so much? We love to know that we are not alone." - C.S. Lewis

À bien tôt!
Catherine