Ugly Sweater Party

Today, I did not attend class because I bought a ticket to join the party that was taking place in the gym. The party was ok except the pizza was not free, not even the drinks yet many people bought $3 tickets. Also, the music was not of my taste so for the most part I stood around and watched the multiple scenes unfolding around me. The good news was that we were able to get out of school earlier than usual. Overall, today was ok.

EQT PROJECTS DAY 2

Today, I was able to present my project. It was kind of difficult finding controversy within medical bioengineering but eventually, I found controversy in stem cells which is a part of it. I had to do plenty of research in order to find why the idea of stem cells is controversial rather than why I think it is. I believe most research was done in order to find 2 events concerning stem cells. We had a time limit of how far back in time we could go so I had to stay within that limit. I believe my presentation turned out good. I presented well by making eye contact and not reading from the board as I would have normally done from being nervous. The project itself was not too difficult but difficult enough to ensure that one knows their topic because they have done so much research. I liked the others’ presentations although some were questionable to a large extent. However, it is not my place to correct them so my opinion is kept to myself. Overall, today was great and I hope we will be able to finish all of the presentations tomorrow.

EQT PROJECTS DAY 1

Today was the first day of the EQT projects. For the project, we were told to look up a controversial topic and create a PowerPoint explaining its history, controversy, supporters, opposers and etc. The first person to present took too long and over-explained their topic. As a result, a student assigned to present today could not present. Nonetheless, I enjoyed the projects and topics. I learned a lot from them that I did not know before even though I had prior knowledge of them. Overall, today was intriguing.

WHAT DO YOU SEA?

Today, I was not present in class along with most of my classmates because we were on a field trip. The field trip was located at the Dolphin Island Sea Lab. It was all new to me because I had never been to the lab let alone do I remember going to Dolphin Island for any occasion. On arrival, it looked as if it were abandoned. We saw a big building that we hoped that we would be in but that was not the case. We were then split into 2 groups and was guided to a room with desks covered by deceased sea animals. Our speaker was very kind and humorous. He told jokes and made sea life appear to be similar to the life of humans although the two are different. I learned that sea cucumber can turn their bodies into liquid and that they are the coolest animals ever. I learned a lot more but I can't recall at the moment. After being told so many unbelievable things about the ocean and its creatures, we were taken to the lab to dissect squids. I for one hate all wet, squishy, unfamiliar things so I was not keen on touching the squid or any other animal that was in the lab. At the beginning of the dissection, we were told to lay the squid down and separate its tentacles and legs.  We slowly but surely made it to the part where there would be cutting. We took out the esophagus, the squid's mouth and then finally we cut open the part above the eyeballs. Surprisingly, I was the one doing the cutting and touching. I had to muster up enough courage to complete it so I was proud of myself. We then learned how to determine whether the squid we had was a female or a male. I was so happy that my partner and I received a male. We saw the 3 hearts and where the ink is located. At the end of the lab, we were allowed to use the ink and write our names with it. I enjoyed the new experience even though I was petrified.

EASY PEASY

Today was an extremely permissive day. The teacher didn't teach anything but he did go in-depth on how our project should be done. He did this by using students' topics and searching them up on credible sources. After the demonstrations, he allowed us to complete our projects in class.

Mini Pilot

Today, we were assigned a bellringer that involved us writing about an important event that occurred in our life. Instead of writing it as the first person, we wrote it in the third person. The most important thing that has occurred in my life so far was me being able to fly a plane. I described the experience and what writing it in the third person uncovered me about myself. I learned that on that day, I grew mentally. I became stronger and overcame one of my greatest fears. Next, the teacher then blessed us with the good news that we will not be taking a test for our EQT but doing a project. The project itself is simple and I believe that I will acquire a lot from it. Overall, today was excellent.

Absent

I didn't attend school today due to family issues. I wish I could have attended because this week is a review week for the EQT.

DEFEAT

Today we were assigned a multiple choice quiz. I took it and of course, I failed. Miserably. Luckily, the teacher did not put it in the grade book because my grade would look dreadful. After observing all of our tests, the teacher went over the test and explained the answers. I felt idiotic for not choosing the right answer because it was pretty simple after he explained it. Overall, today was depressing.

Fear & Kisses

Today, the class began with a quick write concerning fear. We were instructed to compose a paragraph about our greatest fear. My greatest fear is being a failure. I have become so accustomed to high expectations or instances where I make a perfect grade; if I were to make anything less, I am then filled with disappointment and regret. Because of this fear, I am always unsatisfied with my actions. I never know when I am going to mess up and I fear mistakes prompting me to not want to expand on anything. I suppose you can say that I have trapped myself within a box of safety. Following this task, we read and analyzed poems. The first poem regarded the poet's fear of death. The other poem was about the poet's disappointment in a well-expected kiss. She loved her significant other and vice versa, but the kiss was not what she dreamed of. Each poem had a few questions to follow in which we completed and graded. The last assignment of the day was to compose a poem that will be entered into a contest. It is hard for me to put words on paper so this task is quite challenging. Overall, today was transcendent.

COOL,CALM AND COLLECTED

Today was a fast day. The class was small due to most students being on a field trip so the work was light. We read essays from previous AP students to distinguish between the correct and incorrect ways of answering a prompt. After viewing the essays, I grew a little bit confident in my chances of passing the AP exam and obtaining the college credit. This is only because of our teacher and his verbal annotating. As we read, he would stop and indicate the things that we needed to be mindful of. My mind had begun to comprehend and I was no longer bewildered but still, I feel that I lack much writing skill. I wish that I was given opportunities to heighten the skill or lessons on how to be an exceptional writer. Nonetheless, the class went smooth with no distractions and I had a meager breakthrough.

FAIRYTALES

Today was great. Our teacher was not present so we had to go to the class next door to our soon to be teacher, Mrs.Wells (if I spelled it right). She took the initiative to teach us a little bit of history such as the history of popular fairytales. She said that the key is to get a perspective that could be backed up with facts or credible information. For instance, we were told to tell her the story of The Three Little Pigs. After telling her the version that we know, she showed us a video of the story being told from the wolf's perspective rather than the pigs' perspectives. The wolf's perspective was less believable than the pigs' which is probably why most people are comfortable with their version of the story. When the teacher was done teaching, she allowed us to have free time. We used that time to play Heads Up from then until the sounding of the bell. It was extremely fun.

M.I.A

Due to a new addition to my family, I am constantly juggling my time; so, my apologies for not doing a few blogs. Today was a great day. Although I couldn't stay for the entire class because of a dentist appointment, I really enjoyed the lesson. The best days are when the teacher provides a lecture in which I have prior knowledge of because then I am able to fully comprehend the concept. For example, today the teacher gave us a prompt that required the understanding of monuments. We watched videos that gave us a glimpse of just how much impact monuments have on society. In my opinion, I don't really care about monuments. They are astonishing creations that signify important people or events, however, they can easily be vandalized or demolished. I think that honor is something that should be awarded to thousands of people who have done great things but if that was to happen, the world would be covered with them. You don't need high priced statues to show gratitude or remembrance. I wish I could have stayed at school but nonetheless, it was still a great day.