Crime and Punishment

I don't know about, you, but I really like Crime and Punishment.  Yes, it's difficult to read with the incredible details and plethora of Russian names that are hard to keep straight, but the plot is awesome! I'm usually into happy stories with happy endings, but how Dostoevsky explores the psyche intrigues me.  Raskolnikov is an ordinary young man struggling to make it on his own in the world.  Like many people, he views himself superior to others, even if he doesn't flaunt it; he is plagued by the injustice and imbalance in the world, and tries to make it right himself (by killing Ivanovna); he is indecisive in his actions as he executes his plan.  I know it sounds bad, but I connected to Raskilnikov (not because I plan on killing an old lady, or anyone) because Dostoevsky made him a universal character.  The protaganist has wants, needs, biases, weaknesses, self-doubt, and love.  The book is also very intense- Raskilnikov's dream sequence and the murder of the sisters was gruesome, but not over the top.  All in all, I'm fascinated to know how it ends!

Oh The Sports Analogies

This week in class, I feel like we've run a marathon.  Practice AP tests and essays all week? NOOOOOO!!! But it reminded me of being in offseason sports: when you're not actually competing, you have to run extra distance, put in lots of hours at the weight room, and work on your core strength to build for the coming season.  It's the exact same for English class.  Our competition is the AP test, and it's tough.  So we put in the hard work now: the analytical essays, the ridiculous passages no one understands, and the questions designed to trip us up.  Thinking about this helped me realize Mrs. Ramirez is preparing us to beat the heck out of this test, and personally, I say thank you!  It also made the work more bearable, since we'll be used to it by spring. 

On a different note, I felt rather odd writing this.  I'm blaming all the analyzing practice this week; I can't help but evaluate it, but through a track runner's eyes instead of a literary stand-point.

Better Late Than Never?

My thoughts about the class last week didn't seem especially brilliant, so I'm posting a poem I wrote this week.  It's flowery and whimsical because I'm a teenage girl, not because I have especially deep thoughts. So here goes...

Shining knights and lovely maidens 

fill my dreams today.

Day creeps on, the dreams are fadin';

Why must they go away?

If only love were always honest

and the same for life as well;

would all else be so purely flawless?

If you know, I beg, pray tell.

The simplicity in my mind

rejects reality.

I forever look and never find

perfection's rarity.

And the only thing that's left now-

the one way I can cope:

To believe with all my heart now,

To never give up hope.

Like a Chicken with Its Head Cut Off

Senior year. Oh how I underestimated you.  I was so excited for my last year of high school: the activities, the bragging rights, the excitement for college. And then reality kicked in.  There is hardly any breathing room between sports, orchestra, AP classes, church activities, college preparations, and (if I have an extra milli-second) friends.  Granted, I'm learning how to manage my time better and am finally enjoying everything, but for the first three weeks I was highly disappointed in the 'senior' label. Sometimes I feel like a cross between a chicken with its head cut off and the bad joke about ADD kids:

Q: How many ADD kids does it take to screw in a light bulb?

A: Wanna ride a bike?