I wish I had updated this more regularly.

I think if I had done that, I would have been able to write about things as they happened.  I could have talked about how I was feeling at the time, without the benefit of hindsight, and it could have been pretty interesting and informative for, say, high school juniors and seniors who were wondering what getting used to college is like.  But such is life.  I won't regret being lazy before and not updating; I'll just remember this next time I feel like not posting, and I think I'll still write about stuff that happened before, but in sort of a retrospective point of view.

I carn't spel: A blog post about U.S. education

According to President Barack Obam, "A world-class education is the single most important factor in determining not just whether our kids can compete for the best jobs but whether America can out-compete countries around the world" (Source).  In recent political discussions, education reform has been largely overshadowed by debates about health care and the economy.  However, ensuring that future generations have access to quality education is one of the most important things that we can do to further progress and innovation and to secure America's position in the global market.

It's well known that American students consistently score lower on standardized tests than students in other countries.  Critics of the U.S. education system use this fact to argue that schools do not adequately prepare students for college or the job market.

President Obama made a step in the right direction when he replaced the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) with Race to the Top.  NCLB, while well-intentioned, over-emphasized standardized test scores as a way to gauge students' progress and did not place enough importance on teachers' abilities.  While standardized tests provide a convenient and across-the-board way to measure student performance, they force educators to "teach to the test" if they want funding for their schools, rather than focusing on the students' needs and making sure that they understand the concepts.

The makers of these tests could never understand the needs of each school and classroom.  Students in poorer regions have fewer resources and need more individual attention than students in wealthier areas.  It should be up to each city or county -- not the state or national governments -- to ensure that their education systems are meeting the needs of their students.

Teachers, the people closest to students in the classroom, are one of the most important factors in improving education.  (The attitude of family members and the environment where students live play an important part, too, but the quality of teachers is something that the government can control.)

Therefore, if there is to be any significant change in education, it is imperative that teacher quality improve.  This would require greater motivation for good teachers to teach and methods for evaluating teachers' effectiveness.

There is no surefire way to evaluate and identify unqualified teachers.  However, some combination of student, parent, administrator, and peer evaluations could be used to pinpoint and fix problems that educators are having.  In addition, the government must give qualified people more incentive to become teachers, starting with increased compensation.  If teaching were viewed as a high-status occupation — on the level of engineering and law, for example — as it is in other countries, more of America's brightest people would be motivated to become teachers.

Lawmakers in both state and national governments need to pay attention to students' and teachers' needs.  America's education system will not fix itself, and ensuring that future generations can get jobs and compete globally should be the most important issue in the upcoming election.

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This is an official blog entry for the YourLocalSecurity.com Blogging Scholarship. If selected, I'll receive $1000 towards my college expenses in 2012. This scholarship is sponsored by YourLocalSecurity.com

Update: I love texting now!

Over the summer, I wrote a post about why I hate texting.  Well, since starting college, I've learned to love it.  (I know, I know, call me an assumption-having, conclusions-jumping hypocrite.)  Here's why:


1.  No one leaves messages anymore.

Or at least, I don't.  Whenever I get sent to voice mail, I just hang up and hope that the other person will see my missed call.  It just feels so awkward for me to leave voice mails -- like I'm talking to myself:  "Heyy... It's, um, me...  Shela.  I guess you're not there, so, like, call me back when you get this!  ...This is Shela, by the way.  Bye."


2.  It's convenient.

It's true that texting is not as fast as having a conversation over the phone, or even over Facebook.  But both people have to be online to actually have a Facebook conversation, and I am awkward even on the phone.  So texting is an easy way for me to make plans and talk with friends.


3.  It's fun!

There are few things more exciting than hearing the familiar tri-tone coming from your own phone.  (Or iPod Touch with texting app.)  That might just be me.  I don't get texts all the time.

Yo, I'm back!

Hello, all!  I'm back... again!

I guess I overestimated my ability to stick with a once-a-week blogging thing.  Maybe just the thought of having to write so much was just too much for me.  But it's winter break now, and I've got way too much time on my hands.  I think I'll stick to short posts that I'll just write whenever I feel like it.  I might write about how I'm adjusting to (and enjoying!) college life, my recent relationship (which crashed and burned), and other things that have been going on.  Blog posts will no longer be the carefully drafted, link-filled things that they were.  (Seriously, the last couple ones took me over an hour each!)  So, fingers crossed for a successful winter break!  Blogging-wise, that is.

Why I love classical music

Why are there people who don't like classical music?  Do they think it's boring?  Snobbish?  Only for old people and nerds?  I gotta say, those are some pretty unfair assumptions right there.  (Well, I mean, there is of course some nerdiness going on here, but really, what music fan isn't at least a little bit of a nerd?)

Okay sure, we don't get that much exposure to classical music these days, and that might be part of the reason -- it's not like Mozart and Rachmaninoff are on TV or Vevo lip-syncing and shaking their goodies (yeah, I just said that).  (Since I sort of bring it up, though, according to my mom, classical music was the "pop music" of the time when she was a college student in China.  Just in case you were curious.)

Below are the reasons why I love classical music, and why those who haven't really listened to it should at least give it a chance:

1.  It's beautiful and exciting.

Again, I ask, Who says classical music is boring?  There's a reason it's been around for hundreds of years -- it sounds good; people like it; and on top of all that, it showcases the talents of composer, conductor, and musicians.

One thing about classical music is it's complexity.  The composers need a lot of skill to turn out the pieces they wrote (huge understatement).  But the composers themselves being geniuses is not enough:  It's up to the conductor and the musicians to turn the notes on the paper into rhythms, melodies, harmonies, and (dare I say it) feelings.

That's right, feelings.  Because I have a theory that it's impossible to listen to any kind of music without feeling something.  Love, anger, disgust, confusion, happiness, sadness, excitement...  Even when I'm listening to The Beatles or Lady Gaga, I feel these things -- never mind when I'm listening to a good classical piece, which can leave me drowning in a flood of emotions.  Or holding my breath, on the edge of my seat from excitement.

And besides all that, there is the simple fact that just watching an orchestra play is awesome.  Seeing the musicians move with the music, seeing the bows and trombones move in unison, and seeing the conductor get worked up over the music is just one of the coolest things.

For samples of some of my favorites pieces, click through the YouTube links that I posted above.

2.  It connects you with people from centuries ago.

I admit, this is not one of the things that I think about often when I'm sitting around or playing the violin in orchestra.  Still, when I realized that, Wow, some genius guy wrote this piece a really, really long time ago, and now I was playing the notes that he wrote, it's kind of mind humbling.

Maybe it's just me, but I find it so fascinating that it wasn't even recordings, but notes on pieces of paper that got handed down through so many generations, and now here are are, trying to understand what the composer wanted us to do with those notes.  We're hearing what they heard so long ago, but still, we're not hearing the same thing.  (Make sense?)

3.  It makes me feel sophisticated.

Okay, so I know I said that classical music isn't just for snobs, but I do have to admit that it is kind of satisfying listening to people talk about Ke$ha and Drake and things like that, and then turning around and talking to my friend about the piece in orchestra that we're playing.  I mean, I wouldn't say that I feel superior for liking classical music -- just, you know, kind of hipster or something.  Because even though I'm saying that more people should like classical music, it is a relatively small community that actually does listen to it.  But, you know, I'm happy to be in that community.

Introducing... the Why I Love series!

So, I was in China, brainstorming blog ideas, typing them up in my iPod, when I realized that a lot of my ideas started with "Why I love..."  (Now that I think about it, I was probably inspired by my earlier post, "Four reasons why I love The Beatles.")  I carried the idea further and discovered that I love a lot of things -- things that other people might not necessarily like or understand; things that people don't think about usually; and things that lots of people like, but there needs to be a list of reasons why those things are awesome.

Now, without further ado, I present the first post in my Why I Love series (well, technically it's the second, if you count my first Beatles post, but this can be the first official post in the series.  Anyway, without further ado...):  Why I love classical music!

I'm back!

Hello, everyone!

My apologies for neglecting this blog for so long.  (Wait, who am I apologizing to, again?  No followers.  Sigh.)  Anyway, I've been back from China for a while, now, and I came up with a lot of ideas while I was there.  The hard part is actually sitting still and writing it all down.  So I've decided that I will try to get at least three posts up each week.

In other news, it's getting to that time when I have to start shopping, cleaning, and packing for college.  (I leave on the 19th!  How exciting is that?)  So I'll be writing about those sort of things, too, if I can think of anything.  Soon, this blog's name will change from "The Lazy Pre-Frosh" to "The Lazy Freshman," and that will just be too awesome.

I'm going to China!

So there will be no new posts these next two-and-a-half weeks, which, you know, is okay because I don't have any followers yet, but it will definitely not help me gain any followers.  On the plus side, I'll definitely have a lot of things to write about once I get back.  Toodle-loo.

How to give a great gift without even trying

So you've just been invited to a birthday party!  Hooray!  Man, how popular are YOU.  After this initial euphoria wears off, however, you're stuck with that whole issue of actually having to buy something for the lucky birthday boy or girl, and you can't for the life of you think of what to get.  Fear not, this handy guide will teach you how to give a great, seemingly thoughtful gift (whether for birthdays or other occasions) without even trying.


Giving Gifts to Girls

Step 1.  Get thee to a Walmart.

Walmart has everything, and for cheap prices.  And as long as you don't go out and buy anything that has the Walmart / Sam's Club / Costco logo on it, you're golden.  If you have complaints about Walmart's business practices or whatever, I guess you could go to a... a Whole Foods or something?

And if you were thinking of going to the mall or some boutique to look for the perfect present, I'm just going to ask you right now to leave from this lazy person's guide to gift-giving, because going to the mall requires a lot of shopping around and walking.


Step 2.  Consider your gift-giving options.

It helps if you know a little bit about the girl for whom you're shopping.  For example, does she have any favorite movies, bands, or authors?  Consider getting her a DVD, CD, or book -- it makes you seem thoughtful because you remembered something about her interests.  (In the case of book-giving, return to Step One, and get thee to a Barnes & Noble.)  Just make sure that she doesn't already own a copy of whatever you're getting her, because that just makes it awkward.  This will take some sly detective work from you, but I'm confident you can do it.

If you're shopping for a girl with whom you're not that familiar, or you just weren't paying much attention when she was talking about how much she loves The Beatles, there are a few generic gifts that almost any girl wouldn't mind getting:

• Lotion:  Walmart actually has lotion scents that can compare with those of Bath & Body Works.  Make sure to do a smell check before buying -- if you don't like the smell, she probably won't like it either.
• Fuzzy socks:  Basically, all girls love fuzzy socks.  (That might be a bit of a generalization.)  If I'm shopping for someone during the fall or winter, I will often get a pair of fuzzy socks and lotion that are the same color for the appearance of epic thoughtfulness.
• Make up or nail polish:  Be a little careful here -- not all girls wear make up and nail polish.  If you know your friend even a little, though, you should know if she does or does not.  For those of us who do wear make up or nail polish, we like variety, so we certainly wouldn't mind getting more.
• Chocolate:  Chocolate is an excellent and delicious bag-filler, for when it looks like you didn't buy enough.  And if your girl friend doesn't like chocolate...  LOL JK, that's never gonna happen. *

I also advise you to stay away from clothes, unless you're absolutely certain that you know your girl friend's tastes and size.

* I'm just kidding!  There are some crazies out there who dislike chocolate, so if you need to fill space in your bag, just get some other candy.


Step 3.  Buy a gift bag and some tissue paper.

Gift bags and tissue paper let you "wrap" your gift in approximately ten seconds, but at the same time, they give your gift a cute look.  For maximum cuteness, match the color(s) of the gift bag and tissue paper with the main color(s) of your gift.  And if you're feeling particularly cheap or lazy, recycle a gift bag or tissue paper from previous gifts that you've received!


Step 4.  For the creative types, don't buy a card.

Consider making one.  Sure, it takes a bit more work than just picking a Hallmark off the shelf at Walmart, but it can be fun, and it gives your present another thoughtful-ness point.  To avoid seeming cheap, subtly mention how you feel that homemade cards are much more personal than store-bought cards and just better.

Tips for making an awesome birthday card:

• Make it on card stock or thick construction paper.  If there's none around, fold printer paper twice (into fourths) to make the card thicker.
• Draw something cute.  Girls love cute things.  Like bunnies.  And bunnies eating flowers.
• Start your note on the inside with "Dear..."
• Don't forget to mention "Happy Birthday!"
• If you need to fill up space, draw birthday related things, such as gift-wrapped presents, balloons, and cakes with the correct number of candles.

Even if you're not the artistic type, you might be surprised at how cute drawings turn out when a non-artistic type tries to draw something.  At any rate, your giftee will appreciate the effort.


Step 5.  Take off the price tag.

Please don't forget to do this.


Step 6 (optional).  Bask in the glory of a job lazily done.

Arrive at your friend's house and give your gift with a smile and hug, knowing that your gift is passable, and you barely had to do anything!


Giving Gifts to Guys

Step 1.  A gift card to GameStop.

Or to a sports store, if he's more of a sporty guy.  Or to a book store, if he's more of a bookish guy.  Or cash, if he's one of those hard-to-shop-for hipsters.  The point is, I don't know anything about buying gifts for guys.

Why I hate texting

Don't get upset!  It's not that I dislike the people who text, it's just that I find it annoying when people text while I'm talking to them or text during class (or worse, while driving!).  And I'm not saying that other people shouldn't text; these are just the reasons that I will probably never start texting all the time.


1.  What's the point?

Maybe it's because I don't text, but I see no way that you can have a real, full conversation with text messages.  On my iPod touch, it's hard for me to type and spell things correctly, so I end up writing shorter comments on Facebook or whatever than I normally would.  Basically, I'm saying that with your ability to communicate lessened like that, each text response might be one or two sentences each, which is not what a normal conversation should be like, for me.  If you want to talk to someone, just call them, yeah?

Sure, sometimes texting can be convenient, and I text my mom and friends occasionally to let them know where I am, that kind of thing.  But I just don't see the point of devoting time and attention to an entire texting conversation.


2.  It's distracting.

So, so distracting.  In class, it distracts your attention away from the teacher and learning (I know, it sounds so nerdy); on the road, it makes it so that you can't pay attention fully, putting yourself and other drivers in danger.  And in any other situation where texting wouldn't interfere, you could almost always call instead.  So again, I don't see the point.


3.  It's annoying for people around you.

Am I the only one who gets annoyed when people I'm talking to pull out their phones to check and reply to their texts?  It makes me feel like they'd rather be talking to someone else or they think I'm boring or something.  And... even if I am boring, at least keep it a secret from me!  It seems to me that texting cuts you off from conversations going on around you and discourages other people from talking to you.


Again, I don't mean to preach, and I'm not saying that everyone should stop texting; I just wanted to get my thoughts out there.  I'd love to hear your views on this, but please just remember to be nice!

Four reasons why I love The Beatles

Four reasons why I love the Beatles

How's that?  Seriously though, there is so much to love about these guys.  This list would probably be longer, but I need it to fit in with my pun above.


1.  Their Hair / Suits / Smiles / General Adorable-ness

Anybody can see that these boys are a couple of handsome fellas.  I mean, just look at Ringo's smile!  Is that not the cutest thing that you've seen since the last kitty you saw?  And the suits that they wore during the AHDN days!  I hope I don't need to explain how suits make good-looking guys look good-looking-er.

One thing I want to point out, though, is that while I love their later musical works, this era's clothing and clean-shaven appearance best suits my fancy.


2.  Accents

What is it about accents that make English men irresistible?  How can the words "girl" and "world" as sung by the Beatles be the cutest things an American girl has ever heard?  I will never know, but I don't complain.


3.  Talent

Their gorgeous voices, perfectly comfortable harmonies, effortless skills at multiple instruments, beautiful and meaningful compositions, and occasionally, downright witty lyrics that make me want to laugh out loud.

How is it even possible that there exist/existed people with so much talent.


4.  Revolutionized pop music

Okay, this might be an over-statement -- everyone has his or her own opinions as to when pop music started and who did it best.  (In my eyes, it was the Beatles.)  But listen to a couple of the Beatles' albums in order, and you can hear their evolution from love-song-y boy band to full-out rockers / innovators.  I love the early songs, middle songs, and later songs, but to me, the changes in their lyrics and style show how they grew up and matured during those ten years.


So anyway, those were the ramblings of an obsessive fangirl.  (Also, there was a lot of Paul in this post, because he's my favorite.)  You're free to disagree with me, but please just be nice about it!

A letter to future orchestra members

During the school year, I tutored the violin at my old middle school through a program that we called BOW.  I really enjoyed the time that I spent there, so my middle school orchestra teacher asked me to write out some of my thoughts about the program.

Dear future orchestra members, 

I want to tell you guys a little bit about the B-- Orchestra Workshop, how I started going to it, and how it became one of the things that made my Fridays even better. 

At the beginning of senior year, having completely blown off NHS my junior year, I was in dire need of points.  When I heard that I could tutor violin for points, my first reaction was actually, “But what if I mess these kids up even more while trying to teach them?” 

I decided to try it anyway. 

I don’t know if you all realize, but a lot of the younger students really look up to us.  My kids were always saying things like, “How did you get so good?” and “How can you play that without even practicing?”  Even if you don’t think you have anything to offer, please believe me when I say that you do, and not just because you know more than they do. 

Because even though Mrs. G-- is an amazing teacher, she is only one person, and I think it helps to have that individual support and attention that BOW gives.  Every time I went, I felt like I was actually making a difference, even if it was just a little bit. 

My only complaint is that we often did not have enough tutors to offer that kind of one-on-one time that I felt was needed.  I always had to tutor two or three students, which was inconvenient and difficult for them and for me.  I kept waiting for the day when we would have enough tutors so that I could focus on just one student at a time, but it never happened. 

So while I’m definitely not asking you to drop every other commitment for this, if you know that you’ll be free after school every once in a while, please consider adding your email to the tutors list or giving your number to someone in charge so that they can contact you if they’re short on tutors. 

After all, even though we all know that orchestra is about the music, there’s more to it than that:  Being in orchestra makes us part of a team and a community, and we’ve got a bit of a responsibility to give back to it. 

Sincerely,
Shela.

Finding my college

This is a mini-essay that I wrote for a scholarship entry.  Obviously, I have very little chance of winning the scholarship, but I kind of liked what I wrote, so I'm posting it here.

When I got rejected from MIT, I was devastated.  I kept saying to myself and my concerned parents and friends, "It's okay, it's okay.  It's not a big deal."  But it was a big deal.  It felt like everything I had worked for the past three years had been a waste.  What was the point of getting good grades and working hard in school if there was no MIT?  Where else in the world could I possibly be happy? 

Several days later, encouraged by my parents' and friends' support, I got out of this funk and, for the first time, started seriously considering the other schools that had accepted me.  Carnegie Mellon and University of Michigan have excellent engineering programs, and besides that, I used to live near Pittsburgh, and many of my friends would be going to Michigan.  But I wanted an adventure.  It sounds a little silly when I put it that way, but really, I just want to go somewhere new, to get out of my comfort zone, and to force myself to get out there and meet new people and see new things. 

So when I got an invitation to visit Cornell during its admitted student welcome sessions, I said, "Why not?" and drove eight hours with my family to Ithaca, New York.  Even though I kept hearing people talk about how gorgeous Cornell was, I was unprepared to find out how beautiful it really is.  The roaring waterfalls, the breathtaking gorges, the stunning view from the mountains -- all that, on top of the time I spent exploring and touring the campus and hearing about the school's engineering program, made up my mind. 

And so what if Cornell is not MIT?  Some time during this whole ordeal, I decided that the college I attend will not determine what I achieve and become.  No matter where I go, there is no guarantee that I will be successful or happy -- that is something I have to go out and get for myself, whether at MIT or Cornell, and even afterwards.

How to write an AP English essay without even trying *

1.  The Introduction

One of the hardest parts of writing an AP English essay is the beginning.  After all, we've been learning since elementary school that the beginning is the most important part of the entire essay, and if you get it wrong, you will fail.  We don't want our readers getting bored and walking away after the first sentence now, do we?  This idea stands true despite the fact that the AP readers are kind of required to stick it out and read the whole essay.

Therefore, a winning introductory sentence should start with something all-encompassing and vague, such as, "In today's society," "For many years," or (my personal favorite), "In the words of [insert important historical figure here]."  There's no way you can go wrong when someone like Albert Freaking Einstein is starting off your paper.

From there, contrive some way to transition to your thesis.  The best thesis statements analyze the theme of the passage while also managing to answer the prompt fully.  Theme is tricky.  Look over the passage or think about the work that you are writing about, and think about how it makes you feel.  The stuff that they make us read for AP English usually has something to do with society or something, so try to mention that.  If you're still stumped, that might be an indication that the theme involves the ambiguity of society's morals or the lack of clarity in life.

Once you have your thesis, remember that this is what you're trying to prove from now on.  Keep referring back to it to ensure your reader that you haven't forgotten this task.


2.  The Body

Everybody knows that good essays must be long.  Therefore, feel free to embellish and adorn your sentences as much as you like, making sure -- and this is important -- to add several clauses and the like; make frequent use of semicolons, as these also make you look like you know what you're doing.

Using the passive voice is a good way to lengthen sentences -- never mind the fact that it makes your writing dull and ineffective.  Redundant phrases such as, "Needless to say," and "It goes without saying," serve the same function.  Sprinkle in some long, impressive-sounding words that you read in that book that one time.  In a word, if you want your essay to look impressive, never say in one word what you can say in many.

Never use, "I think," or "In my opinion."  Even if you feel that omitting these phrases might make you seem abrasive or assertive, giving others the impression that you're just generally unfriendly, these phrases weaken your argument.  Instead, use "one" when you feel the urge to use "I," because it sounds sophisticated and smart.  Sentences such as, "One would think that one would get used to one knowing oneself," will show off your writing smarts and impress the reader.

Transitions are important.  Scatter such phrases around your essay as: furthermore, in addition, moreover, however, on the other hand, in contrast, therefore, and thus.  Please keep in mind that "thusly" is a bit ridiculous sounding and might not actually be a word.


3.  The Conclusion

The conclusion is the last the thing that the AP reader will see before grading your essay.  Logically, then, the conclusion is very, very important, since you can't possibly expect the reader to remember everything that you wrote in the previous paragraphs, whether it was good or bad.

As you'll be running out of time at this point and cracking under pressure, brow sweating, fingers cramping, checking the clock every twenty seconds because OMG YOU HAVE NO TIME LEFT, it's best to keep this  section short and sweet.  Don't panic.  Flip back to your first page and take a look at what you wrote for your thesis sentence.  Using your extensive AP vocab, substitute appropriate synonyms, rearrange the word order, and voila!

You've just finished your winning AP English essay without even trying!  Feel free to discuss the essay with friends afterward and brag about how easy it was for you.


* LOL JK, there is no easy way to write a decent AP English essay.  I'm truly, sincerely sorry.

So, what is it like being all graduated and everything?

Not much different from being un-graduated and everything.

I'm actually having a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that I'm finally done with high school.  Forever.  Previously, I would imagine myself after graduation, devastated and heart-broken over the fact that I would never, ever see my friends from high school again.

But that has not been the case.  I am not devastated, and (surprise!) I'm in fact quite content right now with my freedom off from school, SAT's, college apps, summer programs, etc, etc.  I've been trying to learn some songs on the guitar and playing a lot of Lord of Ultima, which sounds really nerdy (and probably is) but is actually a lot of fun.

I've been absolutely obsessed with the Beatles lately.  I've stopped watching my normal subscriptions on YouTube and have just been listening to their music and scrolling through pages and pages of Beatles gifs on Tumblr.  It's a very bad case of Beatlemania.  (Side note:  Google Chrome is telling me that "Tumblr" is not a word, but "Beatlemania" is.  YES!)

Hello World!

Seeing as I won't be doing much else this summer, I decided to start a blog! I'm new to this whole blogging thing, so please be kind. I'm thinking this will just be a "what am I up to, here are my thoughts" kind of thing, though I've read that you're supposed to find a blogging niche and whatnot. Anyway, I'll do my best to write some stuff and have fun doing it.