That's right, we're officially over the halfway mark!
Monday, January 27, 2014
Thursday, January 23, 2014
Monday, January 20, 2014
AP PREP POST 1: SIDDHARTHA
So, I'm pretty sure I can objectively say that I'm pretty good at searching the web, and as far as I can tell Siddhartha has only appeared on the actual AP exam once. Here is the question:
Given that the assignment asks "[w]hat... these questions tell [us] about the AP exam," it would be kind of pointless to list questions here that weren't on the actual AP exam. Therefore, I'm only listing this one question because it is the only relevant question I have found.
This is actually the perfect question for this assignment, because the one passage we read from Siddhartha looks like it is the "single pivotal moment in the... development of the protagonist" referenced by the question. In this moment, Siddhartha is finally awakened completely as he realizes he is now nothing but himself. He has relinquished his entire social status in favor of his awakening, and at the end of the passage he seems to have realized his ultimate purpose. However, the last part of the question asks us to analyze "how that single moment shapes the meaning of the work as a whole," which I am unable to do because I haven't read the book. In order to fully answer this question, I'd need to know about Siddhartha's development both before and after this passage, so I could write about how this moment fits into his character development as a whole.
This question shows that the AP exam may reference some less-common literary terms (in this case, "bildungsroman"), accompanied by short explanations. Therefore, as test takers we are not necessarily required to know these more obscure terms, but if we are already familiar with them it may give us an advantage over others who are seeing them for the first time.
Also, this question shows that AP prompts may have multiple parts. In this case, we must describe the "single pivotal moment" in the character's development, "the meaning of the work as a whole," and how the two are related.
"A bildungsroman, or coming-of-age novel, recounts the psychological or moral development of its protagonist from youth to maturity, when this character recognizes his or her place in the world. Select a single pivotal moment in the psychological or moral development of the protagonist of a bildungsroman. Then write a well-organized essay that analyzes how that single moment shapes the meaning of the work as a whole."
Source: College Board
Given that the assignment asks "[w]hat... these questions tell [us] about the AP exam," it would be kind of pointless to list questions here that weren't on the actual AP exam. Therefore, I'm only listing this one question because it is the only relevant question I have found.
This is actually the perfect question for this assignment, because the one passage we read from Siddhartha looks like it is the "single pivotal moment in the... development of the protagonist" referenced by the question. In this moment, Siddhartha is finally awakened completely as he realizes he is now nothing but himself. He has relinquished his entire social status in favor of his awakening, and at the end of the passage he seems to have realized his ultimate purpose. However, the last part of the question asks us to analyze "how that single moment shapes the meaning of the work as a whole," which I am unable to do because I haven't read the book. In order to fully answer this question, I'd need to know about Siddhartha's development both before and after this passage, so I could write about how this moment fits into his character development as a whole.
This question shows that the AP exam may reference some less-common literary terms (in this case, "bildungsroman"), accompanied by short explanations. Therefore, as test takers we are not necessarily required to know these more obscure terms, but if we are already familiar with them it may give us an advantage over others who are seeing them for the first time.
Also, this question shows that AP prompts may have multiple parts. In this case, we must describe the "single pivotal moment" in the character's development, "the meaning of the work as a whole," and how the two are related.
LIT TERMS REMIX 1-5
I recently started playing Magic the Gathering, so when I saw this remix assignment, I thought, "Hey, what if I turn the lit terms into Magic cards?" For anyone who doesn't play Magic the Gathering, this post probably won't make any sense at all, but oh well :P
Tuesday, January 14, 2014
Friday, January 10, 2014
Tips on memorization part II
Earlier this year, when we memorized "The Laughing Heart," I wrote a post with some assorted tips on memorization. As both a longtime actress and general geek, I've memorized a LOT of stuff (the former is pretty self-explanatory, but the latter is in reference to pi and Edgar Allan Poe), so over the years I've developed a lot of strategies (some more successful than others). With "The Laughing Heart," Hamlet, and now Henry V, I've also had plenty of opportunities to further refine my techniques this year. I've come up with some new ones recently, so if you're worried about Henry V, read on!
Want more tips? See also part I! Thanks for reading!
| 1) | When we were memorizing "To Be Or Not To Be," I thought of a brand-new-strategy that I added to the end of my original post. In the spirit of "dimidium facti qui coepit habet," this is a pain-free way to start memorization, but only works if you start well before the due date. Put the poem/speech somewhere that you'll see it repeatedly — for example, set it as your desktop wallpaper or tape it to your mirror — and at a set time each day (for example, when you first turn your computer on or when you brush your teeth, respectively) read it once or twice. The key to memorization is repetition, and this is an easy way to achieve that. In fact, to test it, I tried this method for the first time with "To Be Or Not To Be." Since I didn't have to consciously remember to spend time memorizing the speech, I was delighted to realize that this method needs only a tiny fraction of the motivation I usually need for memorizing — it felt like I'd memorized it with hardly any effort at all! Unless your family is gonna get annoyed at you for sticking stuff to the mirror, I highly recommend this technique :) |
| 2) | The second method I literally just thought of about 20 minutes ago (and its success is what prompted this post!). The Righetti Actors' Guild Romeo and Juliet auditions are coming up on January 21st and 22nd (I don't know about you, but I'm STOKED to get the opportunity to actually perform Shakespeare), and the posters around the school said to prepare a Shakespearean monologue for the audition. I thought about just doing the Hamlet speech I already have memorized, but then I thought I might have more success with a monologue from R&J. So I found one of Juliet's monologues from Open Source Shakespeare, copy-pasted it into Word, and planned on typing it out repeatedly like I mentioned in my previous post. But then, I had an idea. Instead of using only one kinetic function (typing), what if I type it AND mouth the words simultaneously? It actually required some concentration and made me type a lot slower than usual in order to coordinate the two, but after using this process only once, I felt like I pretty much had the monologue down. I tried typing it from memory to test myself, and got it perfect on only my SECOND attempt. It was ridiculous how fast it worked. If you're short on time, this is the way to go! |
Want more tips? See also part I! Thanks for reading!
Wednesday, January 8, 2014
HACKING MY EDUCATION
1) What do I want to know?
- I want to know how to control my illness instead of it controlling me.
- Furthermore, I want to learn how to help others with the same.
- I want to know if there's shame in taking pills to fix my problems.
2) What experiences do I want to have under my belt?
- I want to have the experience of a return to my pre-illness competency/success so I don't have to consider myself handicapped anymore.
3) What skills do I want to demonstrate?
- I want to find the skills necessary to manage my illness, and demonstrate that I can function just as well as a healthy person.
Monday, January 6, 2014
WHAT'S IN THIS FOR ME?
From my comment on Dr. Preston's post:
Besides my chronic hiccups (which I really can't do anything myself for), I've also been struggling with my blood sugar (which, luckily, I actually do have some control over). When I was eating a normal diet (which really wasn't that unhealthy), I continually suffered from energy crashes which my doctors and I finally figured out were associated with carbohydrates. I went low-carb about four months ago, but it was only about two and a half months ago that I went radically low-carb. At first I only cut out the obvious carbs, like bread, cereal, potatoes, candy, etc. and allowed myself a limited amount of "treats," like a quarter of a muffin if that's what my family was having for breakfast, and bittersweet chocolate for dessert. It helped, but it wasn't enough.
Two and a half months ago I cut out almost ALL carbs: in addition to everything I cut out before, my new diet dictated no fruit, no dairy, and absolutely no cheating lest I relapse. To my surprise, the change not only prevented crashes after meals, but also allowed me to actually wake up in the morning without the assistance of coffee. I had felt like a zombie every morning for literally years, so as sad as this sounds, suddenly feeling "good" came to me as a shock.
However, sticking to the diet was a challenge. It was terrible at first — each morning I jealously eyed my mom's orange while I ate carrots, and every evening I fled the table after dinner so I wouldn't have to see the dessert the rest of my family enjoyed. It got easier over time, though. You can get used to almost anything if you try hard enough. The one time I decided I couldn't take it anymore and started eating fruit again, my condition got worse immediately, so I'm no longer seriously tempted to eat anything forbidden.
Even if I can't do much to ameliorate my main illness, I'm glad I can at least do SOMETHING to improve my health. So, maintaining my diet is one of the things I plan to do this semester to avoid falling behind in my classes because of my health. I'm also taking some new medicine, which I'm hoping will improve my energy and ability to keep up in school. Hopefully, 2014 will be a good year for me.
"My ultimate goal for this semester is actually a bit more general, and applies to all my classes, not just English. My struggle with my health has made it very difficult for me to keep up in school, and this semester I will make a determined effort to use every possible tool available to me (that includes not cheating on my stupid diet that I hate, I'll even exercise if my doctors say I have to *shudder*) to maintain my health so I can avoid falling behind."
Besides my chronic hiccups (which I really can't do anything myself for), I've also been struggling with my blood sugar (which, luckily, I actually do have some control over). When I was eating a normal diet (which really wasn't that unhealthy), I continually suffered from energy crashes which my doctors and I finally figured out were associated with carbohydrates. I went low-carb about four months ago, but it was only about two and a half months ago that I went radically low-carb. At first I only cut out the obvious carbs, like bread, cereal, potatoes, candy, etc. and allowed myself a limited amount of "treats," like a quarter of a muffin if that's what my family was having for breakfast, and bittersweet chocolate for dessert. It helped, but it wasn't enough.
Two and a half months ago I cut out almost ALL carbs: in addition to everything I cut out before, my new diet dictated no fruit, no dairy, and absolutely no cheating lest I relapse. To my surprise, the change not only prevented crashes after meals, but also allowed me to actually wake up in the morning without the assistance of coffee. I had felt like a zombie every morning for literally years, so as sad as this sounds, suddenly feeling "good" came to me as a shock.
However, sticking to the diet was a challenge. It was terrible at first — each morning I jealously eyed my mom's orange while I ate carrots, and every evening I fled the table after dinner so I wouldn't have to see the dessert the rest of my family enjoyed. It got easier over time, though. You can get used to almost anything if you try hard enough. The one time I decided I couldn't take it anymore and started eating fruit again, my condition got worse immediately, so I'm no longer seriously tempted to eat anything forbidden.
Even if I can't do much to ameliorate my main illness, I'm glad I can at least do SOMETHING to improve my health. So, maintaining my diet is one of the things I plan to do this semester to avoid falling behind in my classes because of my health. I'm also taking some new medicine, which I'm hoping will improve my energy and ability to keep up in school. Hopefully, 2014 will be a good year for me.
LIFE AFTER THIS BLOG POST
Earlier during the break, I wrote my letter to my future self at FutureMe.org. Two, actually. I sent the letter to myself one year in the future, and then decided to send it to myself ten years in the future, too, with a short postscript.
It was actually sort of a theraputic experience for me. There's been a lot on my mind lately, and that's what I wrote about. All I set out to do was tell a story, but soon enough I realized I had written seven pages. I don't think it really matters WHAT you write about, as long as it's natural. Y'know, stream-of-consciousness style. Then, in the future, you not only receive the actual content of your message, but also the connotative information about your past self's thinking style, emotional state, and all the subtext that you might not even know you were communicating. Beliefs, thoughts, emotions, and identity are all things that change so gradually that you might not be able to tell when, or how, they changed. Those, even more than memories, are likely to be lost in time if they aren't recorded.
I know I'll always remember the sequence of events that happened because of my chronic illness, but I don't know if I'll always remember how I felt during the time I was sick if I become healthy in the future. And it's VERY important to me that I remember, because I know I'm not the only one who's suffering. I might be going to college to become a neuroscientist, because I dream of curing chronic illnesses like mine. If I can remember my frustration at my illness and desperation for a cure, it will make me that much more motivated to help those who are in need like I am now.
It was actually sort of a theraputic experience for me. There's been a lot on my mind lately, and that's what I wrote about. All I set out to do was tell a story, but soon enough I realized I had written seven pages. I don't think it really matters WHAT you write about, as long as it's natural. Y'know, stream-of-consciousness style. Then, in the future, you not only receive the actual content of your message, but also the connotative information about your past self's thinking style, emotional state, and all the subtext that you might not even know you were communicating. Beliefs, thoughts, emotions, and identity are all things that change so gradually that you might not be able to tell when, or how, they changed. Those, even more than memories, are likely to be lost in time if they aren't recorded.
I know I'll always remember the sequence of events that happened because of my chronic illness, but I don't know if I'll always remember how I felt during the time I was sick if I become healthy in the future. And it's VERY important to me that I remember, because I know I'm not the only one who's suffering. I might be going to college to become a neuroscientist, because I dream of curing chronic illnesses like mine. If I can remember my frustration at my illness and desperation for a cure, it will make me that much more motivated to help those who are in need like I am now.
Sunday, January 5, 2014
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