I'm thinking about taking a gap year. I don't want to go to college, and I think I've found something that would be enjoyable.
Restatement: I want to go to college, but not right now. Maybe later, once I figure out my motivations. So far, the only thing shoving me down the academic path is my parents. Also, I just want to get out of here. So, there's this really cool thing I want to do, and its really right up my alley. I'd spend the summer building up stamina, and getting a job (possibly more than one), and in genral, looking forward to going somewhere awesome and getting some college credit for it. Only problem: my plan is to go for one semester. So I could just defer college until the start of 2009, or take some community college classes to get rid of a few Gen. Ed. requirements.
What do you think? Honestly, I'm a little nervous about coming out of the closet about this, because everyone says its really hard to go back to school after taking a break, you'll probably just meet some guy and get knocked up (thanks John), etc...
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Monday, October 29, 2007
Common Application Essay
Option 2: Describe some issue of personal, local, national, or international concern and its importance to you.
Far across the ocean in a poor third world country, a boy named Oscar was born. As he grew older, he watched as his country split in a long growing divide between black nationalists and a predominantly Caucasian government. The nationalists waged guerilla warfare until a peace treaty was agreed upon in nineteen seventy-nine, and in February of nineteen eighty, Robert Mugabe was elected the first prime minister of Zimbabwe. Seven years later, when Oscar was eleven, Mugabe was eleected Executive President by Parliament. In two thousand, he began a land redistribution program that took farmland from Caucasian settlers and gave it to Zimbabweans. Oscar and his family were forced to give up their home and leave their country. He and his wife currently manage a camp for tourists in South Luanga National Park in Zambia. I had the priviledge of meeting him over the summer of two thousand and seven when my mother and I visited Zambia.
Oscar told his history over a pit fire on the banks of the Luangua River. His eyes filled with tears when he talked of being forced from his home. Oscar was what a Zimbabwean would call "colored," or of mixed heritage. In the new regime's eyes, this was enough to expell him from his home, even though he was a third generation resident. His pain was completely foreign to me in the sense that that while I felt empathy for his situation, I could never completely comprehend the magnitude of being threatened by my government to the point of becomming a refuge from the United States of America.
Robert Mugabe's land redistribution program raises hundreds of questions about the treatement of an invasive country's settlers after the occupied country is declared independant. At the time of Zimbabwe's independance, most Caucasian residents were third or fourth generation and considered Rhodesia their home. Are these people now second class citizens?
This scenario is not unique to the reign of Mugabe. Similar events have occured with the rise of the Third Reich as well as during the American War for Independance. According to Hitler, Jews, gypsies, gays, and anyone who opposed the Nazi Party could be lawfully removed from their homes and euthanized. Similarly, members of the Tory political party, which supported Britain's occupation of the Colonies, were given the tar and feather treatment by their opponents, the Whigs. Many Tories voluntarily left the newly formed United States to avoid persecution and descrimination.
The object of each of these scenarios is the formation of a scapegoat by a newly formed governmental power. Why does this creation occur? Is a scapegoat necessary for the survival of the newly formed political party? Will people displaced through such actions ever be able to return to their homes? These are but a few of the questions raised by Mugabe's reign. Oscar's account brought horror stories of human rights violations in Zimbabwe much closer to home and inspired my personal interest in how Mugabe will be dealt with. My hope is that I will be able to continue my study of one of the world's worst dictators through my friendship with Oscar's family.
....
(the end)
So, I turned this into Vandy, and she was like "This is awesome! What an experience!" and she changed one word. I was really happy with it, and then I showed it to my parents, and they were like "Let us rip this up and make Helen feel stupid with our obvious advice!" Obvious is used in the sense that when they said it, I was like, "Wow. Duh! Why didn't I think of that?"
Silly me, taking pride in my work.
Far across the ocean in a poor third world country, a boy named Oscar was born. As he grew older, he watched as his country split in a long growing divide between black nationalists and a predominantly Caucasian government. The nationalists waged guerilla warfare until a peace treaty was agreed upon in nineteen seventy-nine, and in February of nineteen eighty, Robert Mugabe was elected the first prime minister of Zimbabwe. Seven years later, when Oscar was eleven, Mugabe was eleected Executive President by Parliament. In two thousand, he began a land redistribution program that took farmland from Caucasian settlers and gave it to Zimbabweans. Oscar and his family were forced to give up their home and leave their country. He and his wife currently manage a camp for tourists in South Luanga National Park in Zambia. I had the priviledge of meeting him over the summer of two thousand and seven when my mother and I visited Zambia.
Oscar told his history over a pit fire on the banks of the Luangua River. His eyes filled with tears when he talked of being forced from his home. Oscar was what a Zimbabwean would call "colored," or of mixed heritage. In the new regime's eyes, this was enough to expell him from his home, even though he was a third generation resident. His pain was completely foreign to me in the sense that that while I felt empathy for his situation, I could never completely comprehend the magnitude of being threatened by my government to the point of becomming a refuge from the United States of America.
Robert Mugabe's land redistribution program raises hundreds of questions about the treatement of an invasive country's settlers after the occupied country is declared independant. At the time of Zimbabwe's independance, most Caucasian residents were third or fourth generation and considered Rhodesia their home. Are these people now second class citizens?
This scenario is not unique to the reign of Mugabe. Similar events have occured with the rise of the Third Reich as well as during the American War for Independance. According to Hitler, Jews, gypsies, gays, and anyone who opposed the Nazi Party could be lawfully removed from their homes and euthanized. Similarly, members of the Tory political party, which supported Britain's occupation of the Colonies, were given the tar and feather treatment by their opponents, the Whigs. Many Tories voluntarily left the newly formed United States to avoid persecution and descrimination.
The object of each of these scenarios is the formation of a scapegoat by a newly formed governmental power. Why does this creation occur? Is a scapegoat necessary for the survival of the newly formed political party? Will people displaced through such actions ever be able to return to their homes? These are but a few of the questions raised by Mugabe's reign. Oscar's account brought horror stories of human rights violations in Zimbabwe much closer to home and inspired my personal interest in how Mugabe will be dealt with. My hope is that I will be able to continue my study of one of the world's worst dictators through my friendship with Oscar's family.
....
(the end)
So, I turned this into Vandy, and she was like "This is awesome! What an experience!" and she changed one word. I was really happy with it, and then I showed it to my parents, and they were like "Let us rip this up and make Helen feel stupid with our obvious advice!" Obvious is used in the sense that when they said it, I was like, "Wow. Duh! Why didn't I think of that?"
Silly me, taking pride in my work.
Friday, October 26, 2007
meh
Helen is:
sick of people snapping at her
sick of snapping back and worsening the situation because she can't control her temper
feeling a little let down about things in general
in all reality, probably pmsing and needing to get over herself
not tired
One of the above statements is a lie.
Go to bed, Helen.
sick of people snapping at her
sick of snapping back and worsening the situation because she can't control her temper
feeling a little let down about things in general
in all reality, probably pmsing and needing to get over herself
not tired
One of the above statements is a lie.
Go to bed, Helen.
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Dunce
Apparently, today is a day in which my brain cannot function properly. No seriously. It can't. What could be the cause of such an occurence? Perhaps working for three hours on overdue french homework and then being told that I didn't know the difference between direct and indirect objects. I've known how to use "leur" properly for at least two years thankyouverymuch, yet on this day, I wrote "Les Americains n'aiment pas leurs." What was I thinking? How could I make such a mistake?
Madame had the obvious answer: I was thinking in english. How rude of me. Pardon, Madam. Je le regrette.
Madame had the obvious answer: I was thinking in english. How rude of me. Pardon, Madam. Je le regrette.
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