The Ugly Truth...

...about AP classes.
Well, I guess it isn't really all that ugly, but here are a few things I wish I knew before I took two of them this year.

1. They may not be that hard, but they're a ton of work. It depends on the class you take, but a lot of them are really pretty easy with straightforward material. The material is just given to you in a way that requires a lot of work. Expect to write a lot of papers. Like, a lot. Pretty soon the standard intro-2/3 body paragraphs-conclusion set up will be so second nature to you that you start to organize your thoughts in that manner.
2. The teachers vary a lot. You can end up with someone like my AP Lit teacher, who is still pretty nurturing and very ready to help students, or you can get someone like my AP Euro teacher, who is more or less a crotchety old man who is sometimes lovable and hilarious. A good example of this is the e-mail I sent to both of them the other day when I got sick that basically told them that I'd be missing school so it would be great if they could tell me what happened in class. The reply I got from my AP Lit teacher praised me for being responsible and checking in even when I'm sick and said that she hoped I felt better soon. My AP Euro teacher said "Do this and this and this. See you tomorrow." Get the picture? My AP Gov teacher last year was somewhere between the two of them; not quite nurturing and not crotchety. You'll also notice that they all have a very different style of teaching, which can be something along the lines of lecturing (Gov), trying to fit a bunch of material in with varied teaching styles (Lit), or holding a class discussion based on textbook reading (Euro).
3. Just because homework isn't assigned doesn't mean there isn't any. Mr. EuroTeacher is notorious for doing this. Then again, so is Ms. LitTeacher. In Euro, we usually have specific assignments about three times a week, and the rest of the time we're supposed to be reading our textbooks to prepare for class discussion. In Lit we get assigned a lot of long term projects all at once. Like I just finished the final draft of a research project assigned in November, and since then I've had to read a novel and a few plays. And now I have to read another novel. And a novel for Euro. 
4. Get used to setting your own deadlines. This is one I'm not quite used to yet. But it's really important. Usually the way it goes is: Here's a book. Here's when the book should be finished, usually a month or so from now. I am now not going to mention this book in class again until the week before it needs to be done. Until then, we're going to read this 20 page short story, write these essays, and read this play. That's exactly how my satire unit in Lit happened. I didn't finish the book. I...I didn't really...start...actually...
5. You're only allowed to complain to those who feel your pain. Feel free to bitch with your Euro friends about your thousand homework assignments and how pissy the teacher was that day, but quite frankly, nobody else cares. And here's the other thing about complaining about being busy: you need to remember that it's your choice. It especially grinds my gears when someone is saying how crappy their life has become because they have thirteen hours of theatre rehearsal and then basketball practice and then they have to stay up until three in the morning doing homework. You didn't have to audition for theatre or try out for basketball, now did you? So stop it, because I won't pity you. I'm being particularly vocal about this now because my school is currently in the thick of competition theatre season. And don't get me wrong, I love every single theatre kid to death, because I'm one of them in the offseason, but I am so sick of hearing about all the crap they have to do. Stick to complaining about your busying activities with the people you share them with, and a lot less people will be annoyed with you. 
6. Relax, gosh dangit. I know it's hard. Trust me, I do. But that doesn't mean that you need to try and force your life together. Usually, it just falls into place. Don't worry about trying to cram a social life into your schedule, because it'll just stress you out even more. AP classes kind of become your life, and you'll meet some really awesome people in them and get to bond over your assignments and what not. My Euro class is kind of like a really weird family that gets to share a bunch of awesome inside jokes. I've met some really great juniors and seniors in my Lit class that I normally wouldn't have gotten to know. So AP classes aren't always a big stress machine. So just breathe every now and then, because this is not going to last for the rest of your life.  

Fingers. Fingerfingerfingerfingerfingerrrrrs.

Sometimes when I actually practice my cello, I really enjoy it.

And then I can't stop fidgeting. Well, not really fidgeting, but I have this addiction to moving my fingers all of a sudden. So I like to cure this addiction by texting. And clicking pens. And blogging, of course, or I wouldn't be here, now would I?

So what else is new?

Basically nothing. I just feel like typing. Did I tell you about TFiOS yet? I think I did. Yeah, I did. Because it was really short and stuff, and I thought I had more to say but I didn't.

I bought a dress yesterday for the Sadie Hawkins dance. It's really called Holly Hop, but that's like the stupidest name in the history of the universe, so whenever I'm talking to people who don't go to my school, I usually just say Sadie Hawkins. And here's the thing about dances: I don't like them. You go into a super dark gym and in the middle is this HUUUUGE CROWD of people that are all more or less doing the horizontal tango while standing up, which is kind of an oxymoron. I think. And the music is either like ghetto rap that nobody knows or really bad remixes of already pretty bad songs. Then the white girls like me stand on the outside of the huge crowd of sex simulators and jump up and down and do the white guy overbite and generally look really stupid. Also, everybody makes waaaay too big a deal out of it. Seriously people, it's not the end of the world if you don't get a date or you see your ex-boyfriend dancing with some whore, and you don't have to spend a million and a half dollars on a dress and new shoes that you're just gonna take off anyway. For a while I didn't even want to go to this godforsaken event. But now that I do have a dress (that was reasonably inexpensive) and a new pair of shoes (from Payless) and I have a date (who doesn't like whores and isn't my ex), I'm kind of excited. KIND OF. Okay, more than kind of. Mostly because I get to hang out with my friends, and they're generally pretty cool people. So yes, I will be on the outskirts of the gym, doing the white guy overbite with the rest of my white and halfsican friends. It'll be a good time.

Oh! And announcements! At some point my mom and I are planning to start a blog together. It has yet to be named, because the name I came up with sounds really dumb out loud, but basically we're gonna read some books and write some reviews. Because we enjoy doing stuff like that for whatever reason.

Aaaaaand....yeah that's it. Kay bye.

[Insert Pretentious Title Here]

Because I'm feeling pretentious and literary and there are words that are formed in my brain that are desperately making their way to my fingertips to be hastily typed out here.

See? Pretentious. Literary.

One can only be in such a mood after reading an amazing, thought-provoking, beautifully written novel. Usually said novel is written by John Green.

So I've finished the much-awaited The Fault in Our Stars at long last, and I just have a few thoughts. No spoilers. Promise.

1. I am conflicted. I don't know whether to keep this book to myself or preach to the world that everyone needs to read it. I don't know whether laugh or cry, recover or stare out the window for a while.
2. It is simply beautiful. Every word oozes beauty, though oozes is not generally a word one associates with beautiful things.
3. It makes me feel psychologically complex.
4. This psychological complexity can only be cured by watching Disney movies and playing Temple Run.
5. I have nothing left to say. I thought I might have more, but I really do not. My apologies for the briefness of this particular post.

I Hate it When People Suck.

Ello.

I'm not really sure where I left off, because I didn't feel like going back to read my last post. Basically, I had a splendiferous Christmas break, where I thoroughly threw off my sleep pattern. As a matter of fact, since my brain knows I don't have to wake up early tomorrow, it's still up and wanting to blog. So I'm gonna blog, dammit. Also I'm bored. [Insert clever nickname for le boyfriend here] is at some church retreat with no cell phone reception. Dear goodness, no contact for an entire weekend?!? How will I ever survive?!? I hope you caught the heavy sarcasm. So anyways.

I'm gonna talk about books. Specifically The Hunger Games. And Twilight. I've never been good at the smooth transition thing.

As most of you know, The Hunger Games movie is coming out in a couple of months. It's generating a lot of buzz because the books were such an awesome series, and I'm guessing that a lot of people are starting to read the books before the movie comes out and that kind of thing. So it's a pretty big deal. (Also I just proofread that second sentence, and forgive me if it makes no sense. I'm listening to music and it's late. Deal.). The one thing that has always bothered me about books that are made into movies, specifically popular book series, is that they always seem to be compared to Twilight in some way. Harry Potter somehow managed to mostly avoid that dilemma, probably because it was cool before Twilight was even written. The Hunger Games is one of those movies/series that has been compared to Twilight. And it bugs me half to death. It bothers me because I've read the entirety of both series, and Twilight doesn't even come close to holding a candle to The Hunger Games. It really chapped my khakis the other day when I saw an article title that said "New Hunger Games Photo Shows Twilight-Esque Love Triangle". Give me a motherloving break. Just because a storyline contains a love triangle DOES NOT MEAN IT'S ANYTHING LIKE TWILIGHT FOR GOD'S SAKE. Especially since the love triangle in the Hunger Games is based on actual love and not just lust, like Twilight. I mean really, those of you who have read it know just how many times Stephanie Meyer goes into intricate detail about Edward's abs. And seriously, how is it even possible for a 400 something old man to fall in love with a 17 year old girl? They don't have a chance of having anything in common. It makes no sense. Never in that book do Edward and Bella talk about how they enjoy each other's personalities or company. They just have sex all the time, or want to have sex all the time, or are thinking about wanting to have sex all the time. THE HUNGER GAMES NEVER DEPICTS LUST. For God's Sake. Katniss doesn't even love Peeta at first. She doesn't even really love Gale. She is a strong, independent woman who doesn't need a man to complete her. (Anyone?). But really. Sure, she doesn't want to kill Peeta. But it's not because he's hot, it's because they both have grown really close and have trusted and saved each other countless times. The love in The Hunger Games is a two way street. Each person gives and takes. In Twilight, Bella basically complains about how she's not pretty enough, and then Edward obnoxiously assures her that she's perfect, and then she still never actually believes that she's pretty enough. Lust. As far as the female's final choice in the love triangle, it's greatly differed in both selections. (I love AP Lit.). Stephenie Meyer spends four four hundred plus page books drawing out a love triangle that was decided in the very first book. The readers always, ALWAYS knew that Bella would pick Edward. BECAUSE SHE SUCKS. Seriously, Jacob is the way to go in this situation, but I won't get into that. It'll bring out my seventh-grade fan girl, and there is no way I'm ever going back there. Suzanne Collins, however, draws it out until the last book, but the choice is never clear. At some points, especially in the 2nd and 3rd books, it could really end up either way. And, in my opinion, she made an excellent, justifiable choice that never had any reason to be creepy because he was several hundred years older than her. And, as a final point, the love triangle in the Hunger Games isn't the entire plot. It's almost a subplot, as a matter of fact. Actually, it is a subplot. Because Katniss is a strong, independent woman who doesn't need a man to complete her. She has more important things to do, like fight for her life, keep her family safe, and rebel against an overbearing Capitol. Y'know, that kind of thing. Like I've already said, Twilight spends over a thousand pages total talking about a love triangle. Sure, there are other parts to it, but none of those parts fit together into the bigger picture. It doesn't seem chronological to me at all. Each book has a seperate subplot that sorta kinda leads up to the last hurrah in the final book, but the love triangle thing overshadows it all. It's like "Oh yeah, weird demons have been invading my house and smelling my clothes, but did I mention how hard it is to choose between each of your rock solid, perfectly sculpted abs?" I could go on for pages upon pages explaining how different these two series are. I really could. Twilight is that bad, and The Hunger Games is that good. But I won't, because eventually you guys will get bored and stop reading my blog, and then I won't have anything to live for.

And might I point out a funny thing I found online the other day.

When the love of Hermione's life left her, she kept fighting to destroy all of the evil in the world.
When the love of Bella's life left her, she curled up in the fetal position in the middle of a forest.

I know I haven't been talking about Harry Potter, but I felt the need to reference it.

Damn, this is long. It took me a half hour to write. Enjoy it.