#slice2013

I'm not sure I have ever said this about a school year before, but junior year has flown by.

I feel as though only a couple months ago I was getting on a plane to Spain, yet ten months later I am here preparing for finals. Weird.

For my AP English class we don't have a final, but instead we had to complete a final project. For my final project I created a presentation on whether imagination or knowledge is more important to America's society today. I began my presentation with a quote from Albert Einstein, "Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world." Einstein was more than just a physicist. He was also a genius when it came to ethics of education.

Since 2005, American schooling has been using standardized testing as their primary unit of measurement of achievement when we should be using tests such as the Torrance task. Torrance tasks, if you have not yet heard of them, are tests that psychologists have put together in order to measure the creativity of children. Children are given different tasks and riddles and problems to complete, and then are judged/scored on their fluency, originality, flexibility and their elaboration. These 4 factors are supporting the creative process and judging students on what will really benefit them in the future.

I also researched the Problem Based Learning Approach method, where students and instructors alternate roles to promote collaboration and further motivating students to take initiative and learn things for themselves and not for the grade. One way that the PBLA curriculum does this is by using real world problems and global issues to interest their students. Through this curriculum, teachers are allowing students to be creative when it comes to their education.

Education is definitely one of the most important issues in American society today. We would be silly to not pay as much attention as possible to making schooling better.

Choose2Matter!!

Hello fellow slicers!

For the past month, I have been working to get the word out about an amazing project for students, founded by Angela Maiers. For more information, please read the post that follows and help me get the word out! It’s a great opportunity to inspire kids to make a difference in this rapidly changing world.

If you like the idea of Choose2Matter, please feel free to tweet this blog post! Our job right now is to get as many participants as possible!

Choose2Matter (the quest to matter)

YOU vs. the world

As kids, we have always been told what to do and how to do it and maybe, if we’re lucky, why it’s important. However, choose2matter is a little bit different. You are in charge. Of everything. You are in charge of what you decide to do and why what you’re doing is important and how you’re making a difference.

We all look at our world and see flaws.  However, it’s what you decide to do to better the world that makes all the difference. Are you choosing to matter? In order to participate in Choose2Matter, all you have to do is choose an issue that you want to fix and figure out a way to fix it. This is called your “quest.” Or, if you already have left your positive footprint on our world, all that’s left to do is to tell us about it!

For example, have you run a lemonade stand for a charity? Tell us!

Have you collected spare change for hurricane victims? We want to know!

Have you always been concerned with America’s growing obesity rate? Do something about it!

Check out our website at http://choose2matter.org/quest2matter-join for more details on what to do and how to do it!

IMPORTANT: submissions must be in by June 7^th!

EVEN MORE important: don’t stop doing good things because of a deadline!

Good luck and be sure to matter!

April Fools!

Alright, not going to lie. Tuesday came pretty quickly. I thought that I would have tons of stories to share in a whole entire week of going without blogging, but it's been a day. And I am stuck here without much to write.

Actually, just kidding. I do have something.

Yesterday was April fools day! You have to understand that April fools day at my house is honestly better than Easter. Well, that is, only when you're playing pranks on someone else. Unfortunately, I was the main victim this year.

Cecily, my youngest sister, duct taped all of my clothes together and then duct taped all of my hangers to the rack that they hang on and THEN duct taped all of my little drawers full of socks etc. completely shut so it took a good 10 minutes to get everything off. Trust me, it was a lot of duct tape when everything was said and done.

Then, as soon as I got home from school Cecily ran up to me at the door grinning like a madman and offered me a caramel apple. At first I was like, "Score I get a caramel apple." But then, after a closer look at these caramel "apples" I realized that they were not apples, but instead onions. Nice try Cecily.

The last prank that I received I found when preparing to brush my teeth. First, my toothpaste had been dipped in salt so I had to carefully remove every little particle so the mint-salt taste wouldn't make me completely gag. Then, when I had finally completed this difficult process I put the toothpaste on my toothbrush and turned on the water. The faucet, unfortunately for me, had been taped. This is a common trick in my household but I still fell for it. We put clear scotch tape on the faucet so when someone turns on the sink, the water goes straight at them. So then, soaking wet, I finally put the toothbrush in my mouth. It was covered in sunscreen which, I can tell you from personal experience, does NOT in any way taste okay.

And that was pretty much my April fools day! Don't worry; I'll get them all back next year.

#slice2013 31 of 31

31 of 31! Tomorrow I'm going to be lying in bed thinking to myself "I am forgetting something" and then I will think to myself "I forgot to post today!" But I'll think to myself "April Fools! It's over!" And that's weird.

Anyway, I have had an amazing time participating in this virtual experience. The slice of life has been a great community for me to be a part of and I am extremely thankful for that. I am especially appreciative of the fact that even though I am probably one of the younger slicers participating, I still got amazing feedback and comments.

I would like to especially thank Elsie and Tara for being such faithful commenters throughout this entire process. There has not been a single day where one of them has not commented on my post. They have been loyal to me even during my vent session, which is saying a lot. 

Everyone has been so original throughout this entire thing, and I was really impressed by all the blogs I saw. Participating in this challenge has helped me see things differently because I have been walking through my life looking for things to write about. I has helped me to notice. 

I would like to end this journey with a little blurb that I wrote.

I sit down and begin to draw my tree.

I draw the roots disappearing into the ground.

I draw the trunk, slowly rising up to meet the open air and the strong branches breaking off from its superiority to guide my tree out and into unknown territory.

My tree continues to grow as I have other branches branch off of those and even more branches branch off of those.

Slowly, my tree is beginning to look like a tree.

But then I stop.

I don’t know how to continue.

Or rather, not how to continue, but how to end.

How does a tree end?

Do the branches just stop?

Stop growing, stop continuing, but where? And how?

I look out my window and stare at the tree that I see everyday when I wake up, but have never really looked at until now.

I stare at it and wait for it to give me an answer.

It does.

I can see every detail of the cold brown wood because it is March and the tree is not yet covered by a blanket of green.

At the end of each branch, there is a small bud.

At every end there is a beginning.

Now, I can finish my drawing.


Happy Easter and a huge thank you to Ruth and Stacey for hosting Slice of Life!

#slice2013 30 of 31

I never realized until today that everyone's last slice was going to be on the day of Easter. Just thought that was kind of funny.

I just got home from a weekend in New York City with my family and my host family who I stayed with during my first semester this year when I went to Spain. It was soo much fun. We walked a lot and ate a lot and had a really good time. Tonight is my time to do my homework and write and do some more homework and then maybe hang out with friends.

Anyways, now I'll talk about my actual slice for today. I'm going to apply for my high school's National Honors Society and the essay I have to write is why I want to be in the NHS. I thought this would be an extremely easy essay to write, but then I realized that I didn't even know what NHS did once you got in it. Once I researched it, however, I discovered that it is basically a group of nerds that gather about once a month and talk about contests to enter, and fun community service opportunities, and how the teaching at our school is beneficial to our learning, and how we can make things better. Basically, it's my idea of a pretty good time.

Now that I know what NHS is and what it's about, it's going to be pretty easy to write this essay because I genuinely want to be part of it. What I didn't realize is that NHS is not only about what you do to get into it, but also about what you choose to do when you're accepted and that's the real reason I want to join.

#slice2013 29 of 31

My family and I were in New York this weekend and my hotel did not have internet access last night, and then, as soon as we got up, we left the hotel and I didn't have a chance to post. So this is the post that I wrote at 12:00 last night.


Today my family and I went to New York City.

We went skating in Central Park.

I had an audition so I had to leave while everyone else went biking.

I was pretty glad I missed out on the biking because it sounded pretty tiring.

Then I got back and we had a picnic.

Then we walked some more.

Then we went out to dinner and went to the top of the Rockefeller building and looked out over the entire city. It was absolutely beautiful.

Good night.

#slice2013 28 of 31

My fifth grade teacher loved writing. Writing was her favorite subject to teach and she put everything into it. I learned from this teacher how important words could be.

"Words can be misinterpreted." You can say one thing, but mean another. You never want your words to cause drama, but instead make sure that they initiate peace. Use your words to help but never to harm.

"Words can change the way you look at something." Don't judge someone by how they appear or their reputation. Wait until you hear what they have to say for themselves before you come to hasty decisions you may make based on other people's words.

"Words can make someone change their mind." Sometimes all it takes is a simple, well-spoken explanation for someone to see your side of the story. Most of the time, it is words, and not fists, that can help you gain respect. If someone understands you, it is more likely that they will like you as well.

"Words can be very, very bad." We should not abuse our power of communication. Words are not meant to be hurtful, but are instead meant to communicate. If we, as humans, didn't need to communicate, then we would have never evolved from monkeys. Make sure that you never abuse your gift of speech.

"Words are powerful."