Freshman Year Reflections and Advice

This school year, my freshman year, has been one of the funnest years I've had at DCA; I've experienced many great memories, learned many valuable lessons, and am therefore more prepared for my journey at DCA in the future.  Some of my greatest memories this year have been through the many trips I've taken, such as the choir/drama trip to Los Angelos, the Show-choir trips to Alabama and Ohio, and the 9th grade winterim trip to Washington D.C.  It was so wonderful becoming closer to the groups of people I have been able to travel with this year, whether it be my Show-choir family or the entire 9th grade.  During these times have I experienced many moments I will never forget, such as standing on stage waiting to perform in my first show-choir competition, walking the Walk of Fame in Hollywood, and taking a class picture in front of the White House.  In addition to so many special memories I have made this year, 9th grade has also taught me many valuable lessons.  One of the biggest lessons I've learned this year is now that I'm in highschool, it is more important than ever to take school seriously.  In middle school, you can definately get away with not trying your hardest in academics without it being a huge deal.  But now that I'm in highschool, I've realized this year that every effort or lack of effort I put into school will effect me in the long run.  This year has really given me a new perspective on things and has shown me that working hard in school really will create more oppurtunities for myself in the future. 

There are three pieces of advice I would give to upcoming freshman, regarding the areas of academics, socialtiy, and spiritual life. First off, make sure you learn how to manage your time.  It will be impossible to do well in school if you cannot learn how to prioritize and balance time.  Even though this may sometimes mean sacrificing your leisure time in order to get something done, it is much more worth it to work hard and earn your grade than to procrastinate and stress yourself out at the last minute, or get a bad grade due to not doing it at all.  Whatever you have to do in order to balance school time with the other things in your life, commit to doing it and it will make your life so much less crazy.  Secondly, make friends with the upperclassmen, especially seniors.  I cannot tell you how much being close friends with several juniors and seniors has helped me get through this year.  They are always so willing to give you advice and help you get through things that they may have struggled with when they were freshman.  Not only will this help you make wise decisions, but it will also make your freshman year so much more enjoyable and fun having a group of awesome and hilarious senior friends.  Lastly and most importantly, never lose sight of Christ.  Your relationship with God is the most important part of your life, so don't waste freshman year by not saving time for the One who put you on the earth in the first place.  Honestly, the Lord is what has gotten me through so many stressful and crazy moments this year.  It's so wonderful to have a hope that difficult days will get better and that the Lord is always there ready for us to cast our cares on Him, even on the days where we have a million and two things to do and hardly any time to do it.  Whatever it takes to keep Christ your number one priority, do it, because it will be more than worth it.

A New Perspective on the Post-Civil War Era

In my English class, we just finished a study of the book, The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman, a historical fiction novel that has definitely widened my perspective of what life was like for the black Americans.  One idea in particular that I learned from reading this novel is that after the slaves were freed, their lives were no better, if not worse, than what they were as slaves.  The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman continually shows examples of how the slaves encountered discrimination, hatred, and segregation even after they were freed.  An example from the novel is when Jane and her “son” Ned are traveling to Ohio and come across a white woman who, although claims to be a “God-fearing woman”, tells them that she hates the blacks and that they are responsible for the mess America is in.  It also amazed me at how much endurance the blacks had, even after they were continually degraded and dehumanized by many whites.  Many of them did not give up or lose hope of a better life, but they continued their lives on with a purpose. Although I knew that black Americans were discriminated against after the war was over, I did not realize the extremity and severity of it until I read this novel.  

The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pitman: Stereotypical White Discriminators

In my Honors English class, we are reading an autobiography of a fictional black woman from the reconstruction period after the civil war, called The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pitman.  In this story, many stereotypes are portrayed through the many different types of characters.  One stereotype of this time period was that all the white people hated the blacks. However, it is clearly shown by this novel that this stereotype is not true.  For example, at one point in the story Jane meets up with a white man who, although has a wife that hates the blacks, is very kind to Jane and gives her a place to stay at night and food to eat during her visit. Another example from this story is when Jane comes across an old white man who, rather than shunning them from his house, lets them in and gives them advice on where they need to go and how to get there.  From these examples it is clear that while many whites during this period did discriminate against the blacks, many were also against slavery and treated them just as human as anybody else.  

An Allegory of Human Beings' Desires for Power

In my English class, we just got finished reading Animal  Farm, an allegory  of the Russian Revolution in 1917.  In this book, there are several different elements of allegory that represent different circumstances of that time in history.  In my opinion, the most effective allegory element in this story is the pigs representing human beings and how they naturally have a desire for power.  Even in situations that may seem good like trying to reach Socialism, humans will tend to take advantage of these situations for their own good.  In the beginning of this story the pigs are already shown to have a few powers over the other animals on Animal Farm.  This is shown as early as chapter 2: "The work of teaching and organizing the others fell naturally upon the pigs, who were generally recognized as being the cleverest of the animals."  This proves that even though all of the animals desired equality from Socialism, it was clear very early on that it would be impossible to gain complete equality because of the pigs' desire for power and leadership.  Human beings are the exact same way, which is why Socialism always leads to Communism.  The picture below shows the idea of Dictatorship and how even though the animals originally desired equality, they are now being oppressed under the rule of the non-equal animals (dogs and pigs).

What am I Most Thankful For?

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays for many reasons but mainly because there are so many things that I am blessed with and have to be thankful for.  The thing I am most thankful for is having such wonderful relationships with my family and friends.  God has blessed me with an amazing Christian family and so many uplifting Christ-like friends.  My best friends in particular are such a blessing to my life and I honestly do not know what I would do and how I would live without them.  Each one of them is a gift from God to me, as well as my wonderful parents and brothers. I often take for granted these people that are huge parts of my life, but thanksgiving is a reminder to me that not everyone is blessed with encouraging friends and a great Christian home/environment that I live in every single day.

Career Day Experience

Career day today was a very interesting learning experience for me and many others.  The 4 careers I sat in on were Music, Special Education, Ministry, and Nursing.  From these sessions, I learned many things.  For example, I decided that I never want to go into the music business because there are too many downsides and risks on that occupational path.  On the other hand, I realized that nursing is something I think would be fun and could be passionate about if I choose to take that  path in the future.  Therefore, my favorite session of the day was the nursing session.  I enjoyed it a lot because our speaker gave us lots of beneficial information not only about nursing itself, but she also talked about steps we should take now in high-school  to prepare us for the nursing career path we might decide  to take in college.  She was also very honest about the nature of the work and what a normal day in the life of a nurse is like.  She also discussed many different paths within the medical field, which gave me a nice perspective on the many options I would have if I chose to go  to nursing school.  I'm very glad I chose the nursing session and there are lots of beneficial  things that I learned from  it.

My Julius Caesar English Tri-fold Project

In my Honors English class, we each had to do a project based on the play Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare.  The project I chose to do was a tri-fold poster over the various settings of the play  and visuals to  depict them.  I chose this project because I am a poster project type of person and it was something I would enjoy doing.  The 5 different settings I chose to depict with visuals from the play were the streets of Rome, Brutus' orchard, the Roman forum, the senate house, and the battlefields at Philippi.  From this project, I learned that Shakespeare put lots of thought into the different settings of the play.  For example, Brutus' orchard/garden is the setting where Brutus chooses to betray Caesar.  This ties symbolically to the story in the bible of Judas' betrayal of  Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane.  I also learned a little about the Roman culture and the city of Rome itself by studying the Roman forum and the Senate House.  The picture included is a picture of my tri-fold project.