Today in class, a Brown college admissions officer came to speak to our class about the college admissions process and the most important parts of our applications. I got a nervous pang when I was reminded of the application essay. On Thursday night, there is going to be an optional essay-writing workshop that I am definitely going to go to. Many of the kids who attend summer at Brown seem to have amazing college counselors at school. This turns out to be beneficial to me in two ways. One, because I get tips from them in day to day conversations and two, the workshops are also usually not crowded because many of the students have already gotten the spiel. As a result, I'm able to ask really individualized questions during the lectures.
I took two naps today after waking up at nine this morning, one during lunch and one after class. I think that the excitement of last week with new subjects to learn and new people to meet finally caught up with me. Everyone seems to be getting a little bit sick too. Living in such close quarters is not something I think about when I think of college. I guess I'm getting the real college experience. I'll make sure to take my vitamins in the future!
I spent the afternoon strolling on Thayer Street and eating frozen yogurt. When it started raining, people ran outside and started jumping in puddles. When the rain stopped, the temperature was the nicest it has been since I've been here.
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2 comments:
As a board member I am pleased that you are giving me information about our counseling services. As you know we only have limited funds that severely restrict our ability to provide comprehensive counseling services for our students. This is one thing that has become evident in our work with the Ivy League Connection.
I am hopeful that our elected officials and local constituents will provide supplemental funding to assist our students in our district. Only time will tell.
What is evident from your posts versus the other students is your observations around resources. I notice that you mention and contrast our district and its services with those of other districts. I am curious why you have decided to highlight those differences.
I agree that we lack resources and this is sad. Hopefully we can find a way to increase our school funding so all students have the same chance to succeed. Nonetheless, we have to still move forward and do the best we can with what we have and not make excuses.
This is hard to do and it is always shocking to see what others have, but this is life. I am though grateful for what I do have and I am glad that I am able to share my limited resources with others. I hope that you have found this trip and class worthwhile and I am curious if you feel that Brown is a school that appeals to you. I noticed that you mentioned that an Admissions Official made a presentation in your class. Were you impressed? Was she able to give you vital information that helped you in thinking about applying to schools outside of California?
Let us know, we are interested in hearing your thoughts. It also sounds like you are taking the time to rest. This is good. It is good to have some time to relax.
Thanks Kiana for your fine work.
Take care.
Charles T. Ramsey
Kiana--Sorry to hear that you and your team are feeling poorly. Sometimes, when we let our bodies wear down we open ourselves up for lots of nasty bugs to enter our systems and shut us down. No matter how much we try, sometimes we still fail to take the precautions we know are necessary.
I appreciate your observations about what kinds of resources are available to some of your classmates from other districts. We all know that there are the "haves" and the "have nots" and many of us here in West County have forgotten what it's like to be one of those "haves".
Even if they have better resources to offer their kids, we still have plenty of students that can hold their own when it comes to matching wits and showing leadership. Sometimes it's being one of the "have nots" that can teach us things that the "haves" can never learn.
Even so, I'm pleased that you're having access to guidance counselors while at Brown so you can come home with some of the right questions to ask.
As Charles mentioned in his response, it's not that anyone here wants to deprive any of our students of the resources they need to advance, it's just that we have limited resources and radically different issues to deal with. All we can do is try to make the best use of what little we have.
I'm also pleased that you're becoming aware of the value of knowing how to put your thoughts down on paper in a proper essay. There aren't many jobs these days where you won't be required to write something from time to time. Of course, there are always those jobs at the local Burger King where you'll never have to write reports. letters or memos, but I'm guessing that you weren't aspiring to spend your life flipping burgers.
There's always time to improve on your writing skills and I always tell people that sometimes it;'s just a matter of doing it more often. Try to write something every day--even if it's just a journal to keep track of your thoughts. There are also a lot of tricks to making your essays better but a blog isn't the place for such tutorials. Feel free to contact me at your leisure, though, if you want some of my input and assistance: (dongosney@comcast.net). I can be of some help in this arena.
I love a person who knows the value of a proper nap, Kiana. Someone that enjoys multiple naps will always have a special place in my heart. Of course, when I had employees who took multiple naps during the workday I had a slightly different viewpoint and would often invite them to spend more time at home where they could enjoy those naps without having to worry about their boss interrupting them. It seems that the unemployment that came with that free time at home was always a shock to them, though.
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