Every Thing Matters!

My favorite work of literature from this year remains Every Thing Matters! by Ron Currie Jr.. I find this novel to have multiple twists and turns that make it such an interesting read. Multiple times throughout high school, I found myself trying to find alternative ways to avoid the inevitable. However, this novel shows how sometimes you cannot prevent certain events from occurring, but one can definitely redirect their life in the direction they desire. I feel as though this novel has reiterated numerous lessons in life that I have forgot these past couple of months of high school. I continue to countdown the days until school finishes so I can enjoy my stress-free summer. However, similar to Junior, this negative attitude toward the present time in my life only prohibits me from truly appreciating everything occurring at the moment. Junior finally realizes that he needs to appreciate his past "Because even in the last moment there is still Everything" (Currie, 302). The profound lesson of living in the moment is one of the reasons why I enjoy this novel so much. I have recognized that "It does matter. All of it" (Currie, 268). Instead of wishing my last few weeks of school to be over, I now recognize that I must spend this time to recall on the wonderful time I have had here at Chagrin Falls and the preparation it has made to make sure that in my future "anything, anything, anything is possible" (Currie, 302). Sometime in our future, we may see Ms. Serensky "get in a vehicle and try and find you in the state of Ohio." We have time to experience new things and we must live in the moment to cherish these experiences in life.

"Top Ten Most Thrilling Academic Moments of My High School Career"

Throughout my high school career, I have experienced multiple memorable academic moments that I feel I will remember for the rest of my life.

10) One of my most thrilling moments remains when my group did not come in last place for the multiple choice extra credit game in English class. Trust me when I say, "It looks so bad" to be the only team that does not receive extra credit (The Importance of Being Earnest, 7).

9) Many would agree, Physics remained a constant struggle throughout last school year. However, I find the tests in his class to be quite thrilling due to the uncertainty of how well we actually did on each of them. I will never forget the stressed and confused faces as I looked around the room with the same fear on my own face. However, everyone seemed to "quickly make it right" because by the end of the year we all ended up with straight A's in his class (Othello, 4.3.83). I guess hard work pays off.

8)Some of my overall most thrilling academic moments have been while writing an in-class essay for AP English. Continuously throughout my essay, I question "Does Anything I Do Matter?" (Every Thing Matters, 9). I have found no matter how much I stress about these papers, I seem to do better than I imagine I will. The thrill of not knowing if you will finish or end up with a successful product always leaves me in anticipation on essay days.

7) I remember the long months it took to complete my Honors English 10 Research projects were some of the most annoying in my entire high school career. As I eventually turned in the finished project, I remember was in disbelief saying "I'm not crazy. This is real" (Every Thing Matters, 90).

6) One of my favorite teachers, Mr. Roberts, nominated me for Tiger of the Semester junior year. Although I was expecting one of the boys who believe "Girls don't think it right" to receive the award, I was honored after Mr. Roberts gave a memorable speech about the time spent in his classroom (The Importance of Being Earnest, 3).

5) In Computer Science, we have a competition of the best coder for Tic Tac Toe. We face each other to see whose code can conquer all others. Although many would say their code failed because of a "misunderstanding between myself and a young person", the thrill of watching my code against another only brought excitement then eventual denial  of failure (The Importance of Being Earnest, 1).

4) I never thought it possible to receive a 100% on a final, a final in English especially. Although my embarrassing presentation "will not go from my mind", I remain very proud to say I received 100% on one of my AP semester exams (Othello, 4.3.31).

3)Passing my AP tests was very exciting. Coming out of the tests last May, "I [was] nothing if not critical" (Othello, 2.1.118). I had no idea of my results and remained critical on the parts I struggled with on each of the tests. However, my stress turned into relief after I received my results.

2) Among my most thrilling moments has been receiving the letter of recognition from the Cum Laude Society. After months of early stages of senioritis, I had come to realize"no one likes change unless it is from something bad to something good" (Every Thing Matters!, 7). However, I realized this change from summer being over and many months of school ahead of me was not too exciting, I needed to appreciate the good education and smart people I was surrounded by at Chagrin Falls and cherish the time I had left to leave my mark at our high school.

1) The most thrilling moment I have had in my High School Academic Career has been receiving my acceptance letter to Purdue University. College acceptance "inspires absolute confidence" and highlights that our academic successes have truly paid off (The Importance of Being Earnest, 10).

The Crossroads

The Crossroads by W.H. Auden remains one of my favorite poems from this year. This poem discusses the separations of friends in life and the path individuals choose to take. I feel this poem relates to our lives now and the upcoming separation as we all continue our way to college and other adventures after high school. This poem reminds me to recognize that there is "no time at all" left of my childhood years (21). This thought gives me fear but motivation to cherish the time left and prepare myself for the major decisions coming my way. The poem recalls how major paths chosen by individuals will affect the rest of their lives and the people they will become in their future. This poem allows me to realize that I am "about to make the most important decision in your life to date" (190). Among my future decisions, I will have to grow from my past mistakes and learn to leave the many individuals I have felt comfortable and familiarized with. This poem highlights how high school is a place "of decision and farewell" (8). This home for the past eight years of my life has taught me to realize "It does matter. All of it" (268). Like one of my favorite books from this year recalls "Everything ends, and Everything matters" (292). However, this end can only bring upon a bright future and another crossroad in life where I must decide the path I want my life to lead due to all the lessons I have learned throughout my life.  

A Thank You to Ms. Serensky

Throughout these past two years, I have questioned the reason for Ms. Serensky's "cruel" but genius mindset. Fortunately, during one of my favorite days in AP English 12, Ms. Serensky explained the cause of her intelligence and teaching techniques. As we sat together in our tightly packed circle, Ms. Seresnky eloborated on her own experiences of lEnglish class and a similar struggle to become a creative and insightful writer. I felt as though our class could finally relate to Ms. Serensky on a higher level as she continued to create parallels between our escalating learning. Ms. Seresnky elaborated on her valedictorian status in high school and how this given confidence became destroyed in her first college classes. Similar to our own downfalls in AP English, Ms. Serensky faced defeat in "one of [her] scariest moments" (50). She described an identical horror to my first paper in AP English and the realization that much knowledge needed to be learned to succeed in a higher level of English. Ms. Serensky expressed a similar mindset as myself as I recognized that "then I saw no harm" (4.2.4). She explained her acceptance of struggle and the recognition that from this struggle can only come growth and development to become a better writer. Her own experiences of trial and error allowed me to feel proud of remaining in advanced classes and made me appreciate the opportunity of having such an amazing teacher to prepare me for my college classes. All of the members of AP English would agree that "you can't go anywhere without meeting clever people" (16). However, from hearing about Ms. Serensky's path to success, I feel as though I must use these clever people (Ms. Serensky} to my advantage and learn as much as possible to become the best writer and student possible.

A Casual Meeting Between Amy and Cecily

Amy:"Hi" (61)
"This is the part where you say 'hi' back" (62)
Cecily: "Pray let me introduce myself to you. My name is Cecily Cardew" (34)
Amy:"You're a special one, aren't you?" (63)
Cecily "I hope so" (35) "I am very fond of being looked at" (35)
Amy: "This isn't going to be one of those 'it's not you, it's me' conversations, is it? " (88)
Cecily:"I only met you to-day for the first time" (34)
Amy: "I'm sure that it's very real to you. Which is the part that makes you crazy, see?" (90)
 Cecily:"there is no reason why i should make a secret of it to you" (36)
Amy:
Cecily:"I'm gonna get real weird with it. I was forced to write your letters for you" (32)"What ...are you talking about" (88)
Amy:
Cecily: "To-day I broke off my engagement with Ernest" (33)"I'm going to need a little more explanation than that" (88)
Amy:
Cecily: "I don't like the name Algernon" (33)Amy: "like the time you thought it would be funny to let me believe , for three days, that you thought you might be gay?" (90)"out with it...Not funny at all. You should go home" (89,91)

Cecily: "I don't think so" (35)

Amy:

Cecily: " Oh no! I live here" (35)

Amy: "I'm guessing it has something to do with terrorists? " (207)

Cecily: "I think your frankness does you great credit" (31)

Amy: "Oh. No. No, no, no... I really am sorry. But I liked you better when you were crazy" (218, 208, 230)

Amy:"You've got about ten seconds to convince me" (90)
Cecily:"It would distress me more than I can tell you...if it caused you any mental or physical anguish" (37)
Amy:"That's...inconvenient" (212)
Cecily:
"But I forgave you" (33)
Amy:"That's why I stopped apologizing" (208)
Cecily: "I knew there must be a misunderstanding...it had always been a girlish dream of mine to love some one" (33,39)

Thoughts of Our Newest Student on Their Best Day in Class

Essay day. I cannot wait to use my sneaky words as a key weapon toward an A. Clearly, my essay will remain the most valid and witty of all. Look at everyone. They all look so nervous while rummaging through their binders for paper. John is even informing Kelsey that she "needs to chill out." How pathetic. These students will not see what hit them after I recieve my 9+. Ms. Serensky will then feel the need to withdraw from her title as teacher. Wait, Iago, focus. Ms. Serensky remains the key obstacle toward achieving my success. I must "Observe her well" (3.3.198). She reminds me of myself. She and I smirk as we watch everyone pull out their hair. We both find the stress quite amusing. I wonder how I can persuade her to believe that I actually know what I am talking about in my essay and see truth in my words. I should start with begging or a simple: "My lord, you know I love you" (3.3.116).  After she sees I am looking out for the goodness of her, she will sway my grade in my favor and "all things shall be well" (4.2.169). My words will be the best way to win all that I desire. This truly is the best day of AP English 12.Evil Iago Smile

Pain

Dear Unknown Entity,

I have found that many of your lessons to Junior pertain directly to AP English 11. At the beginning of Junior's life, you explained to him that "no one likes change unless it is from something bad to something good" (7). In my AP English 11 class, I have found that many would agree with this statement. Many would agree that the change in work load and amount of endless stress AP students faced their junior year remained unpleasant and definitely not desired. However, I would have to say, the change into a more dependent and knowledgable student definitely enabled my continued learning and belief that "anything, anything, anything is possible" (302). Like Junior, I have found that time is of the essence and we must use our time to our full advantage. In AP English 11, we thoroughly learned time management through in class essays. We developed skills that we believe to be impossible at the beginning of the year and gradually worked our way toward greatness. However, this greatness came with a toll as many of us faced detrimental grade drops, occassional "why am I taking this again?," and the numerous sleepless nights. However, Ms. Serensky, similar to you, has taught us to "seek the meaning in sorrow" (292). She enabled us to use our pain as a tool to become even better students. By the end of AP English 11, I was able to appreciate all of the hardships of the class and recognize that pain is necessary to develop and grow. I feel as though your guidance with Junior has helped him to realize this as well. I applaud you for your tremendous patience.
Sincerely,
Kelsey Butler