My Last Week of High School

It wasn’t easy writing this. I put off writing about my last week of senior year for more than 3 weeks because I didn’t want to accept that it was over. I finally did write it, so here it is.

In Calculus and Vectors, our last assignment was a Culminating, which is like a milder version of an exam but more than a test, of the chapters in the Vectors part of the course. 25 questions, all about the properties and applications of vectors, lines and planes. We got this assignment on the Friday of the previous week, but being who I am, I left this for the night before it was due. Out of the 25 questions, only 5 were confusing at first glance. But even they turned out to have simple solutions once I gave them a little more thought. It didn’t feel like a test because I had all my notes in front of me (Culminatings are usually, somewhat, open-book. When they happen in class, you're allowed to peek at your notes a few times, but you must pause your writing while you take a look. Since there had been no instruction about not looking at your notes, and since there was no one to check if I did, I wasn't really breaking any rules by getting the extra help). I finished the questions in a little over an hour because I was paranoid about getting an answer wrong by clicking on the wrong option; triple checking everything apparently takes a lot of time. My final score was 37 out of 40, which is 92.5%, and I’m very happy with it. It brought my overall average in C&V from 92% to 93%, which I’m grateful for because, in my first semester, my final exam in Advanced Functions brought my average down by 2%. I’m beyond glad this course is over. Just one more year of Math and then, hasta la vista.

In Writer’s Craft, we had to submit a compilation of three poems from the genres our teacher had assigned us in the previous weeks as our final assignment. Along with each poem, we had to submit a paragraph explaining how our poem fits the genre, and what makes it stand out. Writing the poems was definitely easier than explaining why they were a good fit in the genre. I submitted a haiku about French fries, a limerick about a crazy bird that lived in a meadow and a found poem about anti-racism. My mark for the anthology was 27.5 out of 30, which is approx. 91.67%. My final mark in the course was 96%. I truly miss this class and the wonderful opportunities I got to express myself creatively. There were many things we didn’t get to do because of everything that happened, but I hope to take a similar class in the future and be able to do them there.

In English, our final assignment was to write a 1200- 1500 word essay explaining a theme of our ISU novel and proving our thematic statement with three literary devices. My thesis was “Jane Eyre is about family and having a sense of belonging. Brontë shows that having a family, or people to love, gives one a reason to live a happier life with a happier mindset. Jane’s growth from a troubled child to a functioning adult is aided by more and more loving people surrounding her. The reader also notes the difference in her personality when they stop feeling pity towards her and starts feeling happy for her. The positive change in Jane, influenced by better company, is shown through the use of character development, pathos and pathetic fallacy.” For once, I finished an essay way before the deadline, so I was able to ask my teacher for feedback. After making the few suggested changes, my mark on this assignment was 98%. My overall mark in English was 96% as well, which was a little surprising but definitely welcome. I don’t think I will be taking any English courses at University, so this was my last English class, as far as I know. Won’t say I’m upset about that XD.

I don’t think it’s still fully sunk in for me that high school is over, because this summer break feels just like any other. Maybe I have to wait until university actually starts, and then it will feel more real. I’ve signed up for a few prep classes, so I’m excited about that. Let’s see what they decide to teach us, in order to make this transition easier. I’ll keep you updated if the classes turn out to be interesting and helpful. I think I’ll be posting less frequently this month, with nothing cool happening. Anyways, till my next post, toodles. - Aarushi