Sophomore Year and why it’s Unique

After midyear exams ended a few weeks ago, I did a celebratory jig, breathed a deep sigh of relief, and then took a nap. No, really- between those intense study sessions and seemingly never ending list of extracurriculars, sophomore year is a lot more tiring than I had originally anticipated.
I’ve always thought of sophomore year [...]

Junior Year: First Semester Recap, Second Semester Preview

Phew!  The first semester of the most grueling year in high school is officially over!
I leave it with words of wisdom to young sophomores and tips for weary second semester juniors.
Seniors always told me their junior year horror stories with a shudder… and rightfully so!  Everyone knows why junior year grades are so important.  No [...]

How-To: Make a Portfolio

In applying for colleges and scholarships, I have been asked many times to include a writing or artistic portfolio. It really helps the recipient get an understanding of your personality, interests, and even intelligence, through proper use of grammar and so forth. So how exactly is a portfolio made? Let’s start with the basics.

My Common Application Supplements

Whoever said applying to college was easy never applied to college.
Let me tell you, I’ve been preparing and researching for this moment where I’d have to finally apply and 1) I’m still completely terrified and 2) I’m still deciding (on practically everything)! I keep asking myself, “Does this REALLY showcase my personality, my ambitions, and all [...]

Blogging FTW!

As some of you may know, I’ve been long-distance interning for Zinch, a college recruitment site, for the past 3 or so weeks. Every week my group, called the “Student Voice,” have assignments we must complete. This week, remarkably, I was told to write for The Zinch Report, Zinch’s very own blog. I already have [...]

Pauline Paint Warrior, Offending the Sun Gods, and Existentialism in the Fourth Grade: More Tales From A Rockin’ Summer

In a Mayan village, I helped to liven the paint on their church…

…but it was they who helped me liven the color of love in my life.
As I mentioned previously, I recently spent eleven-ish days in Mexico with other youth from my church. It was without a doubt one of the best experiences of my [...]

work it!

Hello!
Things have been really great lately – I have a chance to win this year’s SYMF piano competition, I have a chance to get on varsity tennis this year, I have a collective 4.0 GPA so far, my private SAT tutor says that I’m en pointe for that 2400 if I put in some hard [...]

Just Dance

Hey all! I just got back from New York! I was attending the Global Citizens Corps summit 2008 at Adelphi University on Long Island, New York. It was fantastic! We listened to a lot of speeches from a variety of different speakers – from op-ed writers to the President and Vice President of Mercy Corps. [...]

“kinda that summery feeling only on a more existential level”

A buddy of mine from camp describes the funk I’ve been in as, “kinda that summery feeling only on a more existential level.” Truly everything lately has been given a haunting (though, frankly, obnoxious) new weightiness. I’ve got 92 days until move-in date at Seattle U, but most of my friends head out a month [...]