The calm has finally arrived, my friends.
In my last post, I gave you an intimate glimpse inside the often frightening world of the Studying Teenager. If anyone (not including my sister - I know you're reading this) was reading this blog before that post, they certainly aren't anymore. But today, my friends, is a completely different day than then. Today I am well-rested, calm and worry-free. How, you ask?
Yesterday I wrote my last exam. It's nearly impossible for me to wrap my head around that fact, but there you have it. I've finished four courses! Whatever happens next, happens, and I'll save the freaking out over my marks for later. Now is the time for cleaning my room, shaving, doing my hair, getting back on my diet, reading, and socializing. It's a wonderful feeling, to be able to do all the things you want to do. I fully intend to get the most out of my four-day break. On Wednesday, a new set of classes begins, but for now, I am living the life.
iris
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Brain Sprain!
All day, my friends, studying has been me. I say this because to say "I have been studying" would imply that I was the subject of my day's activities; this is not true. This day has not been about me reading my notes and memorizing lists and terms and theories. Rather, it has been about the material devouring me, digesting me completely and letting me become part of it. I have morphed into the study. The study has morphed into me. I AM the studying.
This may sound a little melodramatic, but let me tell you: I have studied for eight hours today, and while I love all the subjects I've been studying, there comes a time when memorizing 300+ verbs, their four principal parts and respective translations, can become a little mind-bending. That kind of intensive brain work should be credited with a little melodrama. Not that I'd rather be studying anything else, but I feel so wrung out by studying that I don't feel I can do it for one more second. This is a problem, of course, because I only got through about half my material today, but I have studied it so thoroughly that facts just keep popping randomly into my - genetic variation is when a gene controls variation in hereditary traits.
Hmm? Sorry, what was I saying? Oh, yes. I am so afraid of forgetting what I've studied that it's been repeating over and over in my head on some twisted, thought conveyor belt. Even now, I feel I should be cramming in some more studying, but I felt I had to write instead - for the sake of my health, not that it's in such good shape, anyway.
This is the result of my day's labours: I have a pounding headache, I haven't showered, and I really should go finish the laundry. My diet has crumbled under the stress like a kiddie chair when I sit on it, and my hair is indescribable. I am paranoid, OCD, a complete mess, and the acronym BEVGAPSH is on a continuous loop in my head (don't ask what it stands for - no, don't - don't! - *there is a scuffle* - Biogeography, Embryological Development, Vestigial Structures...)
This, my friends, is the plight of the Smart Kid. Other teenagers have horror stories about hangovers and failed report cards and breakups over text message with their dirt-bag boyfriends; I deal with none of that. There is no such drama in my life. I have a pretty OK relationship with my family (it's a little rocky, but it works), I love my friends, I am responsible, well-behaved and don't attract too much attention to myself. But the sight of me after a day of studying would frighten any parent into picking the lying, green-skinny-jean-wearing, booze-a-holic drug addict over me. Those nerds you see at work or school with the glasses, the shy smile and the neatly organized study notes - those are the ones who go completely ape-shit at exam time, destroying their surroundings and doing things like tripping over lint on their way down the stairs, then grabbing the railing with just two fingers and somehow managing to break their nail while they're getting up, only to slip again because they're wearing those socks with the frogs on them that make them giggle in the brief, manic periods between study hours (once they finally reach the bottom of the stairs, they've forgotten why they came down, and blink at family members like they've never seen them before; then they make their perilous way back up the stairs, already going over in their minds what they should study next, their left eye twitching, but it must be okay because that's never happened before - it must just be a brain sprain, if that's a thing - although that's also what they said about that rash a couple months ago, and it's turned purple in the meantime).
The world of the intellectual teen is a frightening one, and don't let anyone tell you different.
Until next time,
Iris
This may sound a little melodramatic, but let me tell you: I have studied for eight hours today, and while I love all the subjects I've been studying, there comes a time when memorizing 300+ verbs, their four principal parts and respective translations, can become a little mind-bending. That kind of intensive brain work should be credited with a little melodrama. Not that I'd rather be studying anything else, but I feel so wrung out by studying that I don't feel I can do it for one more second. This is a problem, of course, because I only got through about half my material today, but I have studied it so thoroughly that facts just keep popping randomly into my - genetic variation is when a gene controls variation in hereditary traits.
Hmm? Sorry, what was I saying? Oh, yes. I am so afraid of forgetting what I've studied that it's been repeating over and over in my head on some twisted, thought conveyor belt. Even now, I feel I should be cramming in some more studying, but I felt I had to write instead - for the sake of my health, not that it's in such good shape, anyway.
This is the result of my day's labours: I have a pounding headache, I haven't showered, and I really should go finish the laundry. My diet has crumbled under the stress like a kiddie chair when I sit on it, and my hair is indescribable. I am paranoid, OCD, a complete mess, and the acronym BEVGAPSH is on a continuous loop in my head (don't ask what it stands for - no, don't - don't! - *there is a scuffle* - Biogeography, Embryological Development, Vestigial Structures...)
This, my friends, is the plight of the Smart Kid. Other teenagers have horror stories about hangovers and failed report cards and breakups over text message with their dirt-bag boyfriends; I deal with none of that. There is no such drama in my life. I have a pretty OK relationship with my family (it's a little rocky, but it works), I love my friends, I am responsible, well-behaved and don't attract too much attention to myself. But the sight of me after a day of studying would frighten any parent into picking the lying, green-skinny-jean-wearing, booze-a-holic drug addict over me. Those nerds you see at work or school with the glasses, the shy smile and the neatly organized study notes - those are the ones who go completely ape-shit at exam time, destroying their surroundings and doing things like tripping over lint on their way down the stairs, then grabbing the railing with just two fingers and somehow managing to break their nail while they're getting up, only to slip again because they're wearing those socks with the frogs on them that make them giggle in the brief, manic periods between study hours (once they finally reach the bottom of the stairs, they've forgotten why they came down, and blink at family members like they've never seen them before; then they make their perilous way back up the stairs, already going over in their minds what they should study next, their left eye twitching, but it must be okay because that's never happened before - it must just be a brain sprain, if that's a thing - although that's also what they said about that rash a couple months ago, and it's turned purple in the meantime).
The world of the intellectual teen is a frightening one, and don't let anyone tell you different.
Until next time,
Iris
Thursday, January 13, 2011
A Cellular Rap
Because my brain is on exam overload and - just for now - can think about NOTHING BUT BIOLOGY, here is a rap about cells which I have pieced together from my unfairly long Genetics unit in my Biology class:
Life uses energy to keep its state
Reproduces, evolves, makes waste
Cells use mitosis to procreate
IPMAT, watch the chromatids differentiate
Why you gotta hate on how cells mate?
It's not up for debate
Mitosis, meiosis, and the DNA percolates
Into our bodies to decide our fate
Determined by thymine and a nitrogen base
Biology can't satiate my brain's estate
But this exam makes me hate that life creates
Such a difficult mandate
'Cause now I gotta learn and regurgitate
All this stuff about why we are animate
When all my brain wants to do is
De-de-de-deactivate
Ahem. So, yes. If you thought you had a chance at the Nerdiest Rap of the Year award, you are sadly mistaken. I have clearly stolen the show. See you after exams, if I am still capable to put together thoughts and write sentences at that point. Otherwise, I bid you farewell, worthy blogosphere! Wish my godspeed on my trip into academic impossibility.
Iris
Life uses energy to keep its state
Reproduces, evolves, makes waste
Cells use mitosis to procreate
IPMAT, watch the chromatids differentiate
Why you gotta hate on how cells mate?
It's not up for debate
Mitosis, meiosis, and the DNA percolates
Into our bodies to decide our fate
Determined by thymine and a nitrogen base
Biology can't satiate my brain's estate
But this exam makes me hate that life creates
Such a difficult mandate
'Cause now I gotta learn and regurgitate
All this stuff about why we are animate
When all my brain wants to do is
De-de-de-deactivate
Ahem. So, yes. If you thought you had a chance at the Nerdiest Rap of the Year award, you are sadly mistaken. I have clearly stolen the show. See you after exams, if I am still capable to put together thoughts and write sentences at that point. Otherwise, I bid you farewell, worthy blogosphere! Wish my godspeed on my trip into academic impossibility.
Iris
Friday, January 7, 2011
Zombies, Unicorns and Snowy Days
Hello, all!
You see, I am capable of being regular with my blog if I put my mind to it! It's only been about a week since my last update; I'd say that's pretty commendable. *mini happy dance*
All right, so I just finished my first week back to school, and it was unpleasant to say the least. Everyone was distraught over having lost their Christmas break, which evaporated into the air like so much grey smoke. This caused people (*coughcough* me *coughcough*) to be very irritable and snappy. Combined with having to wake up at 6:30 again (shudder), I got braces on this week. And no matter what any orthodontics veterans may tell me, they are painful. They feel awkward in my mouth, they make my teeth feel sore, I can't bite into, well, anything, and I feel uglier than a naked mole rat with them on. So that has played a number on my mood. Also, exams are creeping on us faster than ever, and I feel thoroughly unprepared.
HOWEVER. I know that in my last post I made an ongoing goal to be more positive, so I will try - at least in my blog - to do this. Now, since I don't have the ability to actually convince myself that anything is going positively right now, I will opt for the easier solution - complete and total unacknowledgment of anything negative, accomplished through a powerful dose of self-denial.
So! On that note, I will write about the NICE and HAPPY things that surround me right now, starting with my recent used book purchases. While I said that I wanted to read Walden in the new year, I've been sidetracked by a couple of other books: Don Quixote, The Marvelous Land of Oz and the book I'm reading right now. It is called Zombies vs. Unicorns.
Zombies vs. Unicorns is an anthology spawned by a group of young authors who started an internet meme which asked which was better: the zombie or the unicorn. Many authors were very strongly on one side or another, and they recently came together to write short stories arguing their side. I am Team Zombie, for those of you who are wondering. However, I'm able to stomach the unicorn stories, of which my favourite so far is Diana Peterfreund's "The Care and Feeding of Your Baby Killer Unicorn" (the fact that it's a killer unicorn really ups the interest for me). My favourite zombie story is, by far, Maureen Johnson's "The Children of the Revolution," which is horrifyingly creepy, but amazing.
And more news in the area of positivity: snowy days are finally here! I am not a particular fan of snow; I don't like to shovel, I don't like wet socks and I don't like big bulging jackets that make me look like the Michelin Man. However, as the weather in Canada becomes milder and milder, I have realized that I am seeing global warming occur before my eyes. It's worrying, to say the very least, and when a snowy day the likes of which I am used to finally arrives, I have a moment of relief. The soft, white fluff covering the quiet streets this morning seemed to me a promise of hope: all is not lost. This is reversible, and redemption is possible. Our legacy does not have to be that of a violent civilization whose greed ultimately consumed it. We can be more than that, and I am determined to help my generation become more than that. Because really: without snowy days, how are we supposed to justify drinking three mugs of hot chocolate?
Until next time.
You see, I am capable of being regular with my blog if I put my mind to it! It's only been about a week since my last update; I'd say that's pretty commendable. *mini happy dance*
All right, so I just finished my first week back to school, and it was unpleasant to say the least. Everyone was distraught over having lost their Christmas break, which evaporated into the air like so much grey smoke. This caused people (*coughcough* me *coughcough*) to be very irritable and snappy. Combined with having to wake up at 6:30 again (shudder), I got braces on this week. And no matter what any orthodontics veterans may tell me, they are painful. They feel awkward in my mouth, they make my teeth feel sore, I can't bite into, well, anything, and I feel uglier than a naked mole rat with them on. So that has played a number on my mood. Also, exams are creeping on us faster than ever, and I feel thoroughly unprepared.
HOWEVER. I know that in my last post I made an ongoing goal to be more positive, so I will try - at least in my blog - to do this. Now, since I don't have the ability to actually convince myself that anything is going positively right now, I will opt for the easier solution - complete and total unacknowledgment of anything negative, accomplished through a powerful dose of self-denial.
So! On that note, I will write about the NICE and HAPPY things that surround me right now, starting with my recent used book purchases. While I said that I wanted to read Walden in the new year, I've been sidetracked by a couple of other books: Don Quixote, The Marvelous Land of Oz and the book I'm reading right now. It is called Zombies vs. Unicorns.
Zombies vs. Unicorns is an anthology spawned by a group of young authors who started an internet meme which asked which was better: the zombie or the unicorn. Many authors were very strongly on one side or another, and they recently came together to write short stories arguing their side. I am Team Zombie, for those of you who are wondering. However, I'm able to stomach the unicorn stories, of which my favourite so far is Diana Peterfreund's "The Care and Feeding of Your Baby Killer Unicorn" (the fact that it's a killer unicorn really ups the interest for me). My favourite zombie story is, by far, Maureen Johnson's "The Children of the Revolution," which is horrifyingly creepy, but amazing.
And more news in the area of positivity: snowy days are finally here! I am not a particular fan of snow; I don't like to shovel, I don't like wet socks and I don't like big bulging jackets that make me look like the Michelin Man. However, as the weather in Canada becomes milder and milder, I have realized that I am seeing global warming occur before my eyes. It's worrying, to say the very least, and when a snowy day the likes of which I am used to finally arrives, I have a moment of relief. The soft, white fluff covering the quiet streets this morning seemed to me a promise of hope: all is not lost. This is reversible, and redemption is possible. Our legacy does not have to be that of a violent civilization whose greed ultimately consumed it. We can be more than that, and I am determined to help my generation become more than that. Because really: without snowy days, how are we supposed to justify drinking three mugs of hot chocolate?
Until next time.
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Ongoing Goals for the New Year
Ah, hello friends. *waves hand shyly* Haven't seen you all in a while...
All right, now I know I haven't written in here for...WOW, geez...a long time, but today is the first day of a new year! It's 2011, people, and while I believe that New Year's resolutions are terrible things which set you up for failure, I do have some ONGOING GOALS which I'd like to accomplish in the new year. The first, of course, is that I write more often in my blog. Even if no one ever reads it, I think it's important for me to establish some kind of consistent writing schedule. One can't spend all their writing time on school work; I mean, there's only so much I can say about sinoatrial nodes, hydrocarbons, and imagist philosophy before I lose my mind. I need to keep my sanity and make time for FREE WRITING on my blog. I really do think that's important (translation: if you haven't written in your blog for a while either, you should probably take my goal into consideration. Just a thought ;)).
Of course, that is not the only ongoing goal I have for 2011. I would also like to:
1. Lose twenty pounds (pounds as in fat, not British money)
2. Read Walden
3. Finish the school year with a 95% average (I'm pretty sure this is an exclusively Canadian way of grading, so, to clarify, a 95% is an A+)
4. Finish TNIW (If you're confused, just read "An Update", my second blog post)
5. Complete a SECRET PROJECT (so secret that even the blogosphere *gasp* - yes, even YOU! - cannot know about it)
6. Start and hopefully complete driving lessons
So, those are my ongoing goals for the New Year. I may or may not update you on how I'm progressing with them, depending on whether or not I actually make any headway. If you don't hear any more mention of my ongoing goals, I've probably forgotten or failed miserably at them. Of course, that's not to say that I WILL. Hmm, maybe a positive attitude would help in actually achieving my goals this year. I should probably add that to the list...
7. Be more POSITIVE!
Well, that's it, that's all. Those are my goals. And what are yours? Please feel free to share, all the best 'til next time, and HAPPY NEW YEAR!
All right, now I know I haven't written in here for...WOW, geez...a long time, but today is the first day of a new year! It's 2011, people, and while I believe that New Year's resolutions are terrible things which set you up for failure, I do have some ONGOING GOALS which I'd like to accomplish in the new year. The first, of course, is that I write more often in my blog. Even if no one ever reads it, I think it's important for me to establish some kind of consistent writing schedule. One can't spend all their writing time on school work; I mean, there's only so much I can say about sinoatrial nodes, hydrocarbons, and imagist philosophy before I lose my mind. I need to keep my sanity and make time for FREE WRITING on my blog. I really do think that's important (translation: if you haven't written in your blog for a while either, you should probably take my goal into consideration. Just a thought ;)).
Of course, that is not the only ongoing goal I have for 2011. I would also like to:
1. Lose twenty pounds (pounds as in fat, not British money)
2. Read Walden
3. Finish the school year with a 95% average (I'm pretty sure this is an exclusively Canadian way of grading, so, to clarify, a 95% is an A+)
4. Finish TNIW (If you're confused, just read "An Update", my second blog post)
5. Complete a SECRET PROJECT (so secret that even the blogosphere *gasp* - yes, even YOU! - cannot know about it)
6. Start and hopefully complete driving lessons
So, those are my ongoing goals for the New Year. I may or may not update you on how I'm progressing with them, depending on whether or not I actually make any headway. If you don't hear any more mention of my ongoing goals, I've probably forgotten or failed miserably at them. Of course, that's not to say that I WILL. Hmm, maybe a positive attitude would help in actually achieving my goals this year. I should probably add that to the list...
7. Be more POSITIVE!
Well, that's it, that's all. Those are my goals. And what are yours? Please feel free to share, all the best 'til next time, and HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)