Last Friday was the AcaDeca Awards night. It was amazing, even though I didn't medal in anything.
We're actually 20th out of the 58 schools. Still pretty good, in my mind. One of my closest friends got a Bronze medal in Interview; one of the seniors got a gold medal in interview and a bronze in speech (I think, I might be wrong); and my boyfriend (that was awkwardly typed, just so you know) got a silver medal in speech, a honorable mention in essay and he was the top scoring student of our team.
To tell you the truth, I was really upset that I didn't medal. I cried for a long time and I did resent my teammates for a bit. I have this thing that I have to be the best at everything. It comes with being a dancer and a student in the highly competitive Magnet. In dance, you have to better than everyone to even be noticed. To tell you the truth, there's been many a time that I've hoped for or relished in someone's mistake. And it seems like I'm a horrible person, I know.
But you don't understand. I grew up in the environment where I needed to be the best. I was found "gifted" at an early age. This led to my placement in the "more advanced" classes surrounded by children of the same mental capacity. My fourth grade teacher instilled such a love for reading that ever since, I've been a literature geek.
The Odyssey? Age nine. Bullfinch's Mythology? Age ten. Edith Hamilton's Mythology? Age eleven. Pride and Prejudice? Age 12. The Scarlet Letter? Age 13. Doctor Zhivago? Age 16 but I read it three times: the first in a week, the second to understand the book and the third to actually analyze and iron out all the inconsistencies in my mind.
From the same education that gave me a love for literature, I also got a love for history. What interests me so much about books full of someone else's story and another country's story is that even though all of it happened in a world from long ago, they will forever be remembered. They will forever have their name printed in a book that brags about their accomplishments. Isn't that amazing? Imagine, if I do something big enough to span decades and centuries, a girl or boy in the future will have to forever remember my name and what I've done.
I'm done with my life story. For now...
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
Monday, February 4, 2013
4 February 2013
So I am finally done with Academic Decathlon. For this year... But it feels good.
I tied for the highest score on our team (in the Super Quiz), we're unofficially 19th of the 52 schools who participated, and in the western San Fernando Valley, we're second only to Granada Hills. But it's Granada Hills, they're state champions!
I'm really really proud of myself and my team. We worked hard and it sure has showed. We're awesome like that. So that link down there is a link to an article the LA Times wrote on the day of the First Round of our competition.
LA Times wrote about Academic Decathlon.
I tied for the highest score on our team (in the Super Quiz), we're unofficially 19th of the 52 schools who participated, and in the western San Fernando Valley, we're second only to Granada Hills. But it's Granada Hills, they're state champions!
I'm really really proud of myself and my team. We worked hard and it sure has showed. We're awesome like that. So that link down there is a link to an article the LA Times wrote on the day of the First Round of our competition.
LA Times wrote about Academic Decathlon.
Thursday, January 31, 2013
Two days before competition; 31 January 2013
We must travel in the direction of our fears.
Let me tell you what I fear. I fear that on Saturday, I'll completely blank out. I fear that the taunting voice in the back of my head will win out over all the hours I've put into studying. I know what I'm doing. I know that I've given hours to studying.
I'm just so stressed. I want to cry and just give up. But I can't. I can't let them down. I can't let Mrs. Miller down. I can't let myself down.
I'm sorry. I just wrote and deleted about six paragraphs. My mind is so confused. I don't make much sense.
Well, maybe I'll tell you about how I do. But I'll probably just cry in a corner. Have a good weekend.
Let me tell you what I fear. I fear that on Saturday, I'll completely blank out. I fear that the taunting voice in the back of my head will win out over all the hours I've put into studying. I know what I'm doing. I know that I've given hours to studying.
I'm just so stressed. I want to cry and just give up. But I can't. I can't let them down. I can't let Mrs. Miller down. I can't let myself down.
I'm sorry. I just wrote and deleted about six paragraphs. My mind is so confused. I don't make much sense.
Well, maybe I'll tell you about how I do. But I'll probably just cry in a corner. Have a good weekend.
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
29 January 2013; Tuesday after AcaDeca competition part
So last Saturday (26 January 2013) I competed in the Speech & Interview part of the AcaDeca competition. It's a two part thing; one Saturday, you give your prepared speech and an impromptu speech and you interview. The next Saturday, you test on the other 8 subjects. Yeeeeeeeeah. I think I enjoy the speech portion better..
Let me give you the rundown on AcaDeca: you have ten subjects. As previously stated, you do two pieces one Saturday and the other eight the next. The subjects are: speech (prepared and impromptu), interview, art, math, LangLit (a novel and shorter selections), music, science, history, and economics.
The eight subjects are all based on a chosen topic. This years topic is Russia.
Great subject, right? The right answer is no, if you have any common sense.
Last years topic was Imperialism.
But, I hear the year before that was the Jazz Age. Flappers, jazz, shockingly showing some leg (by that I mean the knees). What's not to like?
Do I bore you with my talk of this? Well, you only see the outside view.
But if you join, you get to see why I love this team.
Let me give you the rundown on AcaDeca: you have ten subjects. As previously stated, you do two pieces one Saturday and the other eight the next. The subjects are: speech (prepared and impromptu), interview, art, math, LangLit (a novel and shorter selections), music, science, history, and economics.
The eight subjects are all based on a chosen topic. This years topic is Russia.
Great subject, right? The right answer is no, if you have any common sense.
Last years topic was Imperialism.
But, I hear the year before that was the Jazz Age. Flappers, jazz, shockingly showing some leg (by that I mean the knees). What's not to like?
Do I bore you with my talk of this? Well, you only see the outside view.
But if you join, you get to see why I love this team.
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
Week of No Sleep
So this week is crunch time for my Academic Decathalon team. Yes, I'm a total nerd. I can tell you what the oppurtunity value of an hour is; I can tell you that the Challenger exploded 73 seconds after launch, killing the first US civilian Miss McAuliffe, a schoolteacher; I can tell you that Anton Chekhov entered his final phase of life in 1898 and had to spend his honeymoon at a resort for tuberculosis patients.
And I'm so stressed out. Everything annoys me, or makes me wanna cry. I haven't had more than four hours of sleep and I am so tired of having a snack food for dinner and then ravaging the cupboards at the wee hours of the night.
And if AcaDeca stress isn't enough, my boyfriend has decided that it's time to fight over every little thing. Great, isn't it?
Every once in a blue moon, I write pages and pages and pages of my thoughts and problems in a little blue book. But now, I wanna write a letter or sixty...
Off to study some more. Oh, joy!
And I'm so stressed out. Everything annoys me, or makes me wanna cry. I haven't had more than four hours of sleep and I am so tired of having a snack food for dinner and then ravaging the cupboards at the wee hours of the night.
And if AcaDeca stress isn't enough, my boyfriend has decided that it's time to fight over every little thing. Great, isn't it?
Every once in a blue moon, I write pages and pages and pages of my thoughts and problems in a little blue book. But now, I wanna write a letter or sixty...
Off to study some more. Oh, joy!
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
16th of January 2013
So this is my first post. I still don't know what to do exactly but I'll wait for the writer in me to take over, inspired by the mundane life I live.
Well, my name is Jacekleen (pronounced jay-suh-clean). I'm a junior in the Law & Government program. I did Academic Decathlon last year & continue to do it and have done Dance Guard since freshman year. These are the only two extracurricular activities I can boast of, as sad as it is.
Well, today has been another day in the continuous streak of bad days. I've been annoyed at the world since this morning so I hope no one takes my annoyance as something worse. I snapped at Kim but now I realize, she deserved it.
The highlight of my day was probably lunch. I actually hung out with someone other than the usual Guys.
This is capitalized because these are the group of male schoolmates I hang out with everyday: Jose, Chris, Gabriel and Alex. Everyday, nutrition & lunch.The bell is gonna ring in six minutes so I'm off.
Well, my name is Jacekleen (pronounced jay-suh-clean). I'm a junior in the Law & Government program. I did Academic Decathlon last year & continue to do it and have done Dance Guard since freshman year. These are the only two extracurricular activities I can boast of, as sad as it is.
Well, today has been another day in the continuous streak of bad days. I've been annoyed at the world since this morning so I hope no one takes my annoyance as something worse. I snapped at Kim but now I realize, she deserved it.
The highlight of my day was probably lunch. I actually hung out with someone other than the usual Guys.
This is capitalized because these are the group of male schoolmates I hang out with everyday: Jose, Chris, Gabriel and Alex. Everyday, nutrition & lunch.The bell is gonna ring in six minutes so I'm off.
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