The End (Or a New Beginning)

"Love is playing every game as if it's your last" -Michael Jordan

     As I am ending my high school career, it is only appropriate to look at all the moments of my past. I also think to myself, is there anything in my past that I regret. Are there moments that I wish I did differently. Did i appreciate the time that I had. Connecting MJ's quote to my life, did I cherish the moments that I had in high school, and not take them for granted. I am not saying I fell in love with high school. First of all, not many people will admit to you that they love high school. Most people say that can't wait to get out of here. Part of me wants to get out of here, but part of me will miss it.
     I have been asked, what will you miss from high school? Honestly there is only one thing; I will miss my brothers on my athletic teams. I know that you could tell me that there are dozens of things that I should miss more. I won't even honestly miss my friends. I will only miss my teammates. After my soccer season, I sat around and constantly thought what I was going to do with myself. Afters spending years and long hours with those boys, it finally came to an end on one gloomy October night. My winter offseason was hell. I cried. I cried because I missed my boys. Fortunately, I am still in my volleyball season currently. But the thought keeps running through my head, what will I do when thats over?
     I could be as depressed as I want to be at this moment, but that is not the person I am. I will not sit here and have pity. Why not, because I have no regrets. Sure I have made mistakes, but those mistakes have made me a better person, they have helped me grow. As you know, I made many mistakes in handling my concussion. Additionally, I have made many mistakes inside of school with my classes. I have also made mistakes in personal relationships. And of course, I've made mistakes on the field and on the court. However, no one in this world is perfect. No one is an outsider to that fact. We all make mistakes. It is not the mistakes that define us, but how we pick ourselves up from those mistakes. Get up and hold your head up high.
     While this is the end of a significant time period in my life, it is also the beginning of a new chapter, a chapter that I am eager to enter. I continue to want to live my life the way I have been living it so far. I live by the motto Just Do It, and I also live my life with no regrets. Going forward, that will continue. I wish you all good luck in your future endeavors. And in the words of Ron Burgundy, stay classy.

Standardized Testing

     It's that time of the year again! Welcome to hell week. The week of AP testing. AP testing really makes me look back on myself and others, especially in my school community. I live in a fairly affluent community. I am privileged to have the financial capability to take these Advanced Placement tests. This isn't just about the AP tests, it is also about all other standardized testing too. By living in an extremely affluent neighborhood I am able to take these tests. What about the impoverished kids looking in from the outside?

     I recently watch the movie Stand and Deliver. To me, the movie explained the hardships that are currently going through the lives of kids in such neighborhoods as Los Angeles. However, it also sheds light into my colleagues in schools much nearer to me, such as Chicago. Or even people within me own school. I took the ACT 4 times. One of them was payed for by the school, while the other times I had to pay for it by myself. Many students are only able to take it one time in their life because of their financial situations. It is a clear advantage to take the ACT more times. You tend to do better the more times that you take it. In regards to AP testing, as seen in the movie, some kids are just flat out not able to take the AP test. This restricts the, in many ways in the future. A sad event.

     These impoverished kids are looking from the outside in for most of their lives. However, strictly speaking in regards to standardized testing, their impoverishment restricts them in the future. These kids are then limited to attending high ranking universities. It is all a sad domino effect. The question is, what can be done about it. We seem to not care about these outsiders.