Football Field Activity

This week we took a trip out to the track and stood on the 17th yard line and took some time to reflect on our life. As I stood there seventeen dashes away from the end-zone I put my life in perspective. Currently it seems like going to the perfect college is the ultimate goal, yet as I stood on the football field I realized that college is not even half of my life. Rather it is a landmark, for the rest of your life. It is the first step toward independence and there are many things to look forward to after college. However, being a senior, it is hard to imagine life after college, for the past four years we have been working for the moment when we do venture off into the next stage of life. Humans life expectancy is 78 so even though senior year may feel like your reaching your peak, we still have about 60 more years to go.

This week we began reading Siddartha, which is a novel that we can all relate to in one way or another. Siddartha grew up in a sheltered world and at one point in his life he decided he wanted to experience the world and achieve Nirvana. Siddartha left his parents and began his journey. I can relate to Siddartha because next year I will be leaving my parents and despite where they want me to go to college, I am going to go where I want.

Traveling with lacrosse

This weekend I had the opportunity to travel to Arizona for lacrosse. Traveling without parents helped me get a feel for life after high school. I learned of the responsibilities that come from not being taken care of all the time, or having an adult watching over you. Rather I got to feel how independent college students feel and how much responsibility comes from completing taking care of yourself. In the summer I also traveled to Maryland, Pennsylvania and Colorado without my parents for lacrosse. Initially the trips are exciting and it feels adventurous being hundreds of miles away from home. However, as the trips progress I learned and grew from the responsibilities that come with not being completely taken care of. The trip this weekend especially held a lot of responsibility, for I am a senior and there are freshman, sophomores, and juniors on our team that look up to the upperclassmen for advice and leadership. As I traveled by myself to Arizona this weekend, I got a little peak into what college life may be like and through my experiences I have gained responsibilities that will help me in the next part of my life.

Hamlet

This past week I have been contemplating about what to blog about. Currently there are a million thoughts swirling around my head, from college applications, to lacrosse practice, so it was difficult to choose a topic to blog about.

Nevertheless, this week I personally learned to love everything in your life and not take anything for advantage. Our family friend passed away from cancer on Saturday, and although it has been tough, it has made me realize how privileged I am for my friends and family. They are the constant in my life and I know whenever I need them, they will be there.

As I was searching postsecret.com I came across this secret and I thought it was very relevant in light of Saturday and for the rest of mine and everyones life. Keeping this thought in mind, I tried to relate this blog to Hamlet. I believe if Hamlet had someone in his life that he could trust and rely on he could have turned to them for advice and solved his confusions in a way that didn't lead to his death and others. I think in a way Claudius was a scape goat for all of Hamlets problems, and maybe all Hamlet needed was a friend or family member to help him with his problems and set him back on the correct path.

Too Much Madness

This week in class we read the poem “Much Madness is Divinest Sense” by Emily Dickinson. The poem’s main message is having madness in life will keep one sane, while constant sanity will drive one mad. While reading this poem, people in our class could relate to going mad because we are at a very stressful, crucial, scary point in our lives. As we hit those big submit buttons and as we venture off into our next journeys, we will experience many new emotions. Currently, most people in our English class are experiencing madness. Whether that madness comes from trying to pass AP physics or tying to push our parents limits, we are all experiencing madness. Needless to say this madness does not make us mad, but rather as Emily Dickinson stated the assent to madness will help maintain sanity in your life. For if we did not have college applications, papers in English and struggles at home, our life would be far too boring and as Dickinson says, many people would be driven to madness by their sanity.

Likewise, this week’s poem can also be related to Hamlet. Many people think Hamlet has lost his mind completely and has already descended into madness. However, as we have seen recently, Claudius is truly the outlandish character and as seen through his outburst during “The Mousetrap,” he has become mad. Emily Dickinson was crazy as well and she defends the eccentric. She explains that if you accept your madness you will maintain sanity in your life, but if you shun it, your sanity will drive you crazed. Claudius shunned his madness and kept his secrets quiet, therefore his guilt and unfaithfulness lead him to madness.

The Dip

Once I pressed that big submit button, there was nothing more I could do. Last Thursday as I submitted one of my first college applications, a million thoughts rushed to my head. However, I knew that once I pressed submit, I reached my limit and there is nothing else I could do. Today in class we read, "The Biggest Mistake They Made in School" by Seth Godin. In this article Godin used an image of a dip to show the cycle humans go through in parts of their life. I think at this point in my life I am climbing out of a dip. I have just submitted my application for my next phase of life and after four years, I will be concluding High School. High School itself acts as a dip for it shows the paths of life students are taking. Some students may think High School is too overwhelming and may struggle to pass, while others may have discovered their passion. Regardless of the situation a student is in people can agree that it is easy to graduate, yet getting there is challenging. As I know from personal experience there are many aspects of High School other than actual school, that are challenging, such as making friends or making a sport team. Needless to say, as I graduate High School I think I will be concluding on dip and entering another dip, world of college.