LAUNCH/DRAFT

I have two concurrent goals (one relatively short-term and more immediately important, thought not lasting; the other is more long term and arguably more important, although less immediate), so I'm gonna write about both, in two columns!

What am I passionate about? What do I want to do?
I want to be an amazing Juliet for our production, and at the same time deepen my knowledge of Shakespeare so I can kick some AP test butt in May :D	I want to cure myself and others of chronic illness. No doctor has cured me yet, and I'm sure there are countless others facing the same impasse. I'm confident that once I acquire the knowledge necessary to understand my illness and others' (which I'd like to say is only a matter of individual research, but I think it's more realistic to say it will take years of study. Good thing I'm going to college), I have both the intelligence and the personal sympathy (gained only by experience) to be an outstanding doctor.
How can I use the tools from last semester (and the Internet in general)?
I can personally say that our study of Hamlet has (indirectly) helped me immensely in my study of Romeo & Juliet. As compared to the first time I read the play in LeClair's class, this time around it looks so much more like English! And our adventures in memorization have definitely improved (and helped me codify) my strategies: see both my original and follow-up posts on the topic.	I know that the Internet contains an immense amount of educational and informational resources about almost everything. I've learned that the problem is not whether or not information is available; it's whether or not we seek it. (I used to stare at ingredients lists and be like "carr-a-gee-nan? what's that? well, whatever" but now [especially considering the advice I've gotten from my nutritionist] I'm like, "Dude! I'm not ingesting that if I don't know what it is" so I look it up and FIND OUT. Granted, the Internet [in this case, a virtually unlimited supply of "facts" and oftentimes conflicting advice] is no replacement for actual experts on anything, but it's certainly better than being completely clueless, especially on subjects that you wouldn't ask an expert about anyway [which includes pretty much anything that doesn't kill you, i.e., almost everything].)
What will I need to do in order to "feel the awesomeness with no regrets" by June?
I guess I need to figure out how to tailor my schedule in order to accomodate this commitment. In other words, I need to make sure that everything that I really need to do (such as homework, and getting enough sleep) gets done so I don't regret committing to the play (especially because I almost didn't: in order to focus on school, I haven't done a spring play since freshman year. I debated for a long time about R&J, but I had several compelling reasons that I did not have for either of the spring plays that I missed, including the fact that I can count it as part as my English curriculum [Shakespeare = excellent literature analysis and AP essay fodder], and that this is my last chance! My swan song!).	This question may not be entirely relevant to this particular goal, since it will span many years. In fact, this goal might actually have to suffer in order to achieve my other, more pressing short-term/high-school goals such as the play (see left) and my multiple AP classes.
What will impress/convince others (both in my life and in my field)?
If I'm lucky enough to get a prompt on my AP test that I can work to fit Romeo & Juliet, I'm gonna be able to refer to every scene by name, I'll have a complete understanding of Juliet's emotional conflicts throughout the play (having almost literally lived them myself), I'm gonna have an arsenal of Juliet monologues on command, and I'll probably have half of everyone else's lines memorized too. If the gods offer me the proverbial chance, I'm gonna write a Shakespeare essay like the AP graders wouldn't believe!	I can see the newspaper headline now: Sick Girl Cures Self After X Years Of Hiccups (where X = at least 2.5 [in other words, clearly too many]). You would read it, wouldn't you?
How will I move beyond 'What If' and take this from idea --> reality?
Lucky for me, I've already started this one! I even have 5 of my monologues memorized already :D	This goal is a little tricker. It's a bit hard to define the start point here: I've kind of already started my research. I've been focusing on researching all the medications I've taken (9 total) to see if the comparisons between the medications that did and didn't work shed any light on the cause of my hiccups. However, I've been stumped because the information I'm trying to work with is extremely technical, and honestly over my head. This is where I need intensive study, so I intend to major in neuroscience or a related field to get the education I need. So, I may be unable to move forward with this very much until I'm enrolled as a college student, but I doubt my motivation (or the cause thereof [heh]) will disappear by then, so I'm fine with waiting on this one.
Who will be the peers, public, and experts in my personal learning network?
For Romeo & Juliet, I have two sets of peers. First of all, there's my fellow actors in the cast, and secondly there's everyone in Dr. Preston's AP English class. If Dr. Preston likes this idea (which I'm sure he will), I hope to give a refresher presentation on the play sometime in March for everyone who has read the play already, but might not remember it well enough to write an essay on it for the AP test. And then, hopefully you guys can come to the play to see it LIVE!	In my study of hiccups and/or neuroscience, I have (at the moment) all my doctors, plus my brother (who is majoring in neurobiology). As soon as I get to college, my learning network will expand immensely — I'll have all my professors to learn from, plus all the other students in the major. If I wanted to, I guess I could probably try to expand my learning network into that sphere even sooner, but for reasons stated before I think I have enough on my plate for now. This is still an important goal for me, and I will revisit it this summer.