If you are one of the millions of adults who has graduated from high school between... well, ever and now, you know how stressful it is. You know about the college entrance exams (if you live in Asia), the SAT/ACT (I got a 21 on my ACT Plan... not exactly on pointe if I want to get into Northwestern. Plus, four people [yes, I calculated] scored higher than me on the English component in my school. So I gotta outscore four of these chickens), the extra-curriculars, the community service, the academics, and then the increased load that comes when you actually start applying to colleges. So far, I'm looking at:
Northwestern University (Illinois; Big Ten; my dream school)
Howard University (Washington, D.C.; Historically Black College & University; secondary dream)
New York University (New York)
Olivet Nazarene University (Illinois)
Wright State University (Ohio)
Bowling Green State University (Ohio)
Xavier University (Ohio)
Penn State University (Pennsylvania)
And who knows? Maybe one of the Ivy Leagues. But if I apply to one of them, it'll be U Penn.
So, of course, since I am applying to all of these schools... okay. I know you're only supposed to apply to like, three, but because musical theatre is a very competitive major, I need to apply to as many schools as possible. After all, I'm not really that confident in my acting skills, to be honest. But since I am applying to this many schools, I need to have a lot of extra-curriculars. I have done and plan on doing:
4-H (didn't like it too much, but I was the secretary for two years, which I enjoyed)
Junior Council on World Affairs (this year was my first; my team won third place at the Quiz Bowl)
My little cake business (no business yet and I'm kinda sorta locked out of my e-mail, so I hope no orders are coming in...)
Theatre camp (I actually get to see Million Dollar Quartet this year)
Jazz/ballet/acro (haven't started yet)
Community service at my local library
Community theatre (haven't started yet)
School play (this spring)
National Honor Society (hoping I'll get in this fall)
Key Club (maybe)
And much more...
Every single one of these activities are geared towards a goal. The school play is for my acting resume. NHS looks impressive to competitive schools. However, I realized I may be a little too focused on getting to my dream school, to the point where it's becoming tunnel vision and I'm barely doing anything for the fun of it.
So, I came up with a fun challenge. To read 200 books by the end of the year.
I was inspired by Kelli from "Blimey Cow" who did a similar challenge to read 100 books in a year. However, I'm probably going to be there by June. So, for no reason at all, I'm reading 200 books this year. I'm already in the forties. I guess I do have an underlying reason... to outscore the four bumbanuts who scored higher than me on the English component of the ACT Plan. BUT! It's mostly for fun *eye twitches*.
Here's what I've finished reading (this year) so far:
Bleach 1-19 by Tite Kubo
Line by Yua Kotegawa
Alive: The Final Evolution 1-5 by Tadashi Kawashima
Sailor Moon 1-2
Wedding Planning for Dummies
The New Teen Titans: Who is Donna Troy? (DC Comics)
The New Teen Titans: The Judas Contract (DC Comics)
Attack on Titan 1-6 by Hajime Isayama
Just Listen by Sarah Dessen
American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang
School Rumble 2-3 (I read the first book last year)
Brave Music of a Distant Drum
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
Twisted by Sara Shepard
Seiho Boys' High School 2
I'm also reading the third Gossip Girl novel, Wicked, some musical theatre books, and The Strange Case of Jekyll & Hyde. If anyone has book recommendations, let me know.
Also, I made other goals that you can try too.
-Learning a new language. I'm already taking Chinese, but after all my anime-watching and manga reading, I've decided to take up Japanese as well. And Zulu, for some reason.
-Learning new songs on guitar. I'm going to start playing my guitar again and try learning "Ain't That Peculiar," "Shiawase (Happiness)" by PUFFY, and "Alchemy" by Kyler England.
What are some little goals you can set for yourself?
Northwestern University (Illinois; Big Ten; my dream school)
Howard University (Washington, D.C.; Historically Black College & University; secondary dream)
New York University (New York)
Olivet Nazarene University (Illinois)
Wright State University (Ohio)
Bowling Green State University (Ohio)
Xavier University (Ohio)
Penn State University (Pennsylvania)
And who knows? Maybe one of the Ivy Leagues. But if I apply to one of them, it'll be U Penn.
So, of course, since I am applying to all of these schools... okay. I know you're only supposed to apply to like, three, but because musical theatre is a very competitive major, I need to apply to as many schools as possible. After all, I'm not really that confident in my acting skills, to be honest. But since I am applying to this many schools, I need to have a lot of extra-curriculars. I have done and plan on doing:
4-H (didn't like it too much, but I was the secretary for two years, which I enjoyed)
Junior Council on World Affairs (this year was my first; my team won third place at the Quiz Bowl)
My little cake business (no business yet and I'm kinda sorta locked out of my e-mail, so I hope no orders are coming in...)
Theatre camp (I actually get to see Million Dollar Quartet this year)
Jazz/ballet/acro (haven't started yet)
Community service at my local library
Community theatre (haven't started yet)
School play (this spring)
National Honor Society (hoping I'll get in this fall)
Key Club (maybe)
And much more...
Every single one of these activities are geared towards a goal. The school play is for my acting resume. NHS looks impressive to competitive schools. However, I realized I may be a little too focused on getting to my dream school, to the point where it's becoming tunnel vision and I'm barely doing anything for the fun of it.
So, I came up with a fun challenge. To read 200 books by the end of the year.
I was inspired by Kelli from "Blimey Cow" who did a similar challenge to read 100 books in a year. However, I'm probably going to be there by June. So, for no reason at all, I'm reading 200 books this year. I'm already in the forties. I guess I do have an underlying reason... to outscore the four bumbanuts who scored higher than me on the English component of the ACT Plan. BUT! It's mostly for fun *eye twitches*.
Here's what I've finished reading (this year) so far:
Bleach 1-19 by Tite Kubo
Line by Yua Kotegawa
Alive: The Final Evolution 1-5 by Tadashi Kawashima
Sailor Moon 1-2
Wedding Planning for Dummies
The New Teen Titans: Who is Donna Troy? (DC Comics)
The New Teen Titans: The Judas Contract (DC Comics)
Attack on Titan 1-6 by Hajime Isayama
Just Listen by Sarah Dessen
American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang
School Rumble 2-3 (I read the first book last year)
Brave Music of a Distant Drum
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
Twisted by Sara Shepard
Seiho Boys' High School 2
I'm also reading the third Gossip Girl novel, Wicked, some musical theatre books, and The Strange Case of Jekyll & Hyde. If anyone has book recommendations, let me know.
Also, I made other goals that you can try too.
-Learning a new language. I'm already taking Chinese, but after all my anime-watching and manga reading, I've decided to take up Japanese as well. And Zulu, for some reason.
-Learning new songs on guitar. I'm going to start playing my guitar again and try learning "Ain't That Peculiar," "Shiawase (Happiness)" by PUFFY, and "Alchemy" by Kyler England.
What are some little goals you can set for yourself?
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