I think differently than most people, which can be an asset and a detriment. Timothy Leary said in a piece of one of my favorite quotes of all time, "Do the unexpected, find the others." By others he is referring to the people in the world who think differently, who yearn to say, "tell me something that makes you cry" over mindless small talk. I am definitely beginning to embrace my outside-of-the-box-sometimes-confusing way of explaining my ideas, but many times, people do not understand my humor or the way my brain makes connections.
Like Frankenstein, the most misunderstood of monsters, sometimes I can appear to be something I'm not: quiet, hideous, disinterested. Sometimes it seems as though I communicate in grunts, my intentions are misperceived, and I am driven out of town. The chance of my ideas being shot down prevents me from saying anything at all.
In this group of people, I am the energizer and coordinator, as I am optimistic, bright-eyed, and organized. Despite my sometimes quiet and structured side, I remain curious about the world. If someone instructs me not to do something, I immediately imagine the deliciousness of the fruit. So yes, maybe I experience the wrath of God, but I've tasted the apple, and quite frankly, you have not.
Thursday, August 29, 2013
Monday, August 26, 2013
Blog Post #2: Determining Test Readiness
Disclaimer: I took the Practice Exam 1 instead of the Diagnostic test.
Overall, the practice exam was not too difficult, but also did not come easy to me. There were a few strengths and weaknesses that were apparent while checking my answers. My strengths included answering fact recall and summary questions quickly and accurately. For example, when asked what the phrase, "gone into mourning" describes, I was quickly able to skim that part of the passage and circle the correct answer. This strength was evident in other passages as well. Further, I was able to correctly identify all the literary terms that I had heard before. For instance, I knew right away that parallel analogy and personification were used in "The Writer." I noticed while taking the exam that interpreting poems came quite easier to me than interpreting dense prose.
Despite these strengths, there were many weaknesses that I need to continue to practice as this year goes on. For example, it was very difficult for me to which lines were paralleled, incorrectly answering this same type of question several times on the test. When asked what lines parallel, "a smooth course for the right window," I was completely off in my answer choice, despite poems being my strength. Further, if I simply studied more literary terms and vocabulary, I would be able to score much higher. I did not know how to identify where a poem "broke" and some literary terms that we had not covered in depth in AP Language and Composition, like juxtaposition. I also had much difficulty answering the question from Jane Eyre that asked about religious imagery, as I have not studied many religious texts. And while poetry is quite fun and entertaining for me to read, dense prose like Bleak House by Charles Dickens, was difficult to understand and interpret.
After completely analyzing my strengths and weaknesses above, it has become very easy to pinpoint my mistakes and come up with ways to improve. Studying literary terms and vocabulary is going to help me accumulate the most amount of points, as the solution is easy as skimming the definition of the word "juxtaposition." I plan to make flashcards of the words that 5 Steps to a 5 deems important for this test and quiz myself weekly on literary terms. That way, when the AP test rolls around, these terms will be etched into my brain. Moreover, I can practice reading and interpreting higher level prose like the writings of Charles Dickens. Simply becoming familiar with these texts will help me be quicker on the actual test and actually understand what I am reading.
Finding these ways to improve my multiple choice score has really helped me measure what sorts of goals I can set for myself. The first goal I can set for myself is to make flashcards and review them at least twice a week starting as soon as possible and up until the AP test. The flashcards will have all sorts of literary vocabulary as described above (in 5 steps) and will allow me to quiz myself and effectively memorize the important terms for the AP test. I will memorized 5 new literary terms and unknown vocabulary from 5 Steps each week. Another measurable goal I have is to miss 4 less questions on each consecutive practice test I take from this point onward. For example, with the two tests remaining in this book, I will miss only 14 questions on the next test, and then only 10 questions or less on the final test. (I chose the number 4 as that was the number of silly/easily fixable questions I missed on this diagnostic test.) Organizing my thoughts and thoroughly analyzing my strengths and weaknesses has immensely assisted in setting solid goals for myself throughout this class. Measuring my progress will only push me to excel further.
Overall, the practice exam was not too difficult, but also did not come easy to me. There were a few strengths and weaknesses that were apparent while checking my answers. My strengths included answering fact recall and summary questions quickly and accurately. For example, when asked what the phrase, "gone into mourning" describes, I was quickly able to skim that part of the passage and circle the correct answer. This strength was evident in other passages as well. Further, I was able to correctly identify all the literary terms that I had heard before. For instance, I knew right away that parallel analogy and personification were used in "The Writer." I noticed while taking the exam that interpreting poems came quite easier to me than interpreting dense prose.
Despite these strengths, there were many weaknesses that I need to continue to practice as this year goes on. For example, it was very difficult for me to which lines were paralleled, incorrectly answering this same type of question several times on the test. When asked what lines parallel, "a smooth course for the right window," I was completely off in my answer choice, despite poems being my strength. Further, if I simply studied more literary terms and vocabulary, I would be able to score much higher. I did not know how to identify where a poem "broke" and some literary terms that we had not covered in depth in AP Language and Composition, like juxtaposition. I also had much difficulty answering the question from Jane Eyre that asked about religious imagery, as I have not studied many religious texts. And while poetry is quite fun and entertaining for me to read, dense prose like Bleak House by Charles Dickens, was difficult to understand and interpret.
After completely analyzing my strengths and weaknesses above, it has become very easy to pinpoint my mistakes and come up with ways to improve. Studying literary terms and vocabulary is going to help me accumulate the most amount of points, as the solution is easy as skimming the definition of the word "juxtaposition." I plan to make flashcards of the words that 5 Steps to a 5 deems important for this test and quiz myself weekly on literary terms. That way, when the AP test rolls around, these terms will be etched into my brain. Moreover, I can practice reading and interpreting higher level prose like the writings of Charles Dickens. Simply becoming familiar with these texts will help me be quicker on the actual test and actually understand what I am reading.
Finding these ways to improve my multiple choice score has really helped me measure what sorts of goals I can set for myself. The first goal I can set for myself is to make flashcards and review them at least twice a week starting as soon as possible and up until the AP test. The flashcards will have all sorts of literary vocabulary as described above (in 5 steps) and will allow me to quiz myself and effectively memorize the important terms for the AP test. I will memorized 5 new literary terms and unknown vocabulary from 5 Steps each week. Another measurable goal I have is to miss 4 less questions on each consecutive practice test I take from this point onward. For example, with the two tests remaining in this book, I will miss only 14 questions on the next test, and then only 10 questions or less on the final test. (I chose the number 4 as that was the number of silly/easily fixable questions I missed on this diagnostic test.) Organizing my thoughts and thoroughly analyzing my strengths and weaknesses has immensely assisted in setting solid goals for myself throughout this class. Measuring my progress will only push me to excel further.
Thursday, August 22, 2013
Blog Post #1: Decisions, Decisions.
"Remember that you and I made this journey together to a place where there was nowhere left to go.” - The Namesake
Interestingly enough, this quote from The Namesake inspired me to choose this design. The grey birds flying toward the top of the screen are a representation of my journey towards becoming a better writer and reader, doctor, and beyond.
The essential goal of my blog is to be attractive and engaging for the average passerby. This is achieved through the dreamy tone employed by the design. Viewers are greeted by a pale khaki background with flying birds, displaying not only professionalism, but also creativity and open-mindedness. Being entirely brought up in California is a critical component of my personality, and thus "Musings of a California Girl" was created. The color of the blog titles is a bright, cheery red, but the majority of the text is black and white in order to be easily read.
Further, much thought went into choosing the couple fonts displayed on the web page. A script, diary-like font is applied for the main headings and titles, providing an informal and relatable mood. Employing a handwriting style font is a refreshing touch in that it gives the illusion of the blog post actually being a diary entry of sorts. The rest of the blog, however, is in Arial, a traditional font to maintain professionalism and allow the reader to focus entirely on the content of the blog post versus a crazy curvy font.
Interestingly enough, this quote from The Namesake inspired me to choose this design. The grey birds flying toward the top of the screen are a representation of my journey towards becoming a better writer and reader, doctor, and beyond.
The essential goal of my blog is to be attractive and engaging for the average passerby. This is achieved through the dreamy tone employed by the design. Viewers are greeted by a pale khaki background with flying birds, displaying not only professionalism, but also creativity and open-mindedness. Being entirely brought up in California is a critical component of my personality, and thus "Musings of a California Girl" was created. The color of the blog titles is a bright, cheery red, but the majority of the text is black and white in order to be easily read.
Further, much thought went into choosing the couple fonts displayed on the web page. A script, diary-like font is applied for the main headings and titles, providing an informal and relatable mood. Employing a handwriting style font is a refreshing touch in that it gives the illusion of the blog post actually being a diary entry of sorts. The rest of the blog, however, is in Arial, a traditional font to maintain professionalism and allow the reader to focus entirely on the content of the blog post versus a crazy curvy font.
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