January 23, 2017 Reflection (Personal Finance)

Today's agenda was similar to the past few PF classes we've had. First, we looked at the article we read for class about compounding, discussing what we found interesting and important. I found myself participating more this class. I definitely feel like I've become more accustomed to and comfortable with the class, its people, and the format of our discussions. We talked about investing early, and about how once we'd invested some, we'd learn that it might become less complicated.

After working on the article, we started talking about budgeting. Mr. Bisset passed out a handout -- a letter to give to our parents. The letter had information regarding what we needed to do for the rest of the semester -- manage our own budget. Every day until May, we need to record what money we spent. One thing that I noticed was that I already don't do a lot of the examples Mr. Bisset gave us to save money. I bring my own lunch, rarely take taxis, and don't have a data plan for my cellphone. This is definitely important because I'll need to be extremely aware of what I'm spending. I'll have different categories from most of my classmates, but I suppose that's part of the challenge! 

January 18, 2017 Reflection (Personal Finance)

In class today, we discussed Compounding. Using a website called moneychimp, we compared interest rates, principal amounts, and annual additions to see which combination would give us the highest return value. While I'd had a vague idea of what compounding was, it was interesting to see the calculator return the value right in front of me. In Precalculus, I learned about the math behind compound interest and annuities, but the moneychimp calculator showed me right before my eyes the return amount. The calculator helped me see the value of compounding, as well as starting to invest early. 

It was a good example that helped me visualize what the article we read for this class was talking about. I also believe that learning about the math behind it in Precalc was helpful, because it didn't seem like a number pulled out of thin air; there was logic behind it. As someone who is going to college soon, I'm going to be able to apply this knowledge for sure. Also, since I'm planning on entering the Computer Science sector, I'm anticipating that I will have a lot of money that I could invest in the stock market.

January 16, 2017 Reflection (Personal Finance)

My second Personal Finance class started off with fifteen minutes of silent reading. I'd been looking forward to it since Tuesday -- even as a second semester senior, I still have a lot of work to do and rarely get time to read. I'd been trying to read it since the beginning of winter break, but I was bombarded with countless other distractions. Three weeks passed, and my book was still unread. The fifteen minutes was just enough time for me to get into my novel, Everything is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer. I'm glad I had those fifteen minutes to read, because those fifteen minutes let me read fifteen pages of hilarious writing.

I was almost sad when the fifteen minutes were up, but it didn't last for long. It was exciting to get started with finance. Going through the article we had to actively read was also fun. I got to learn about my classmates' viewpoints on the article, what they found important and interesting. Learning about compound interest and what Dow Jones Industrial Average was also really interesting. Even though I learned a little bit about the stock market through my Precalculus money project, I hadn't learned about indexes in much detail.

As always, I'm looking forward to sitting in the room wallpapered by magazine covers, learning yet another way to improve my financial choices for the future.

January 12, 2017 Reflection (Personal Finance)

As of January 9, 2016, I am officially a second semester senior. Most of my classes are year-long, so I didn't have much adjusting to do, but I have one new semester class: Personal Finance. I suppose I know most everyone in our class. That is to say, I know of their existence, but I've never spoken to most of them: a few words exchanged here or there (Hey, could you pass this down? or I think this worksheet is yours), but never a full conversation. I'm really looking forward to getting to know them better.

Coming into class not having spoken to many of my classmates before, never having learned about finance but the classic Save, don't spend! was actually pretty exciting. It made me realize how much I enjoy being the "new student," putting myself in that slightly uncomfortable situation, forcing myself to meet new people and opening myself up to learning new things. After being at SAS for nearly five years, it's almost a relief to feel unfamiliarity seeping through the walls.

Of course, it wasn't completely unfamiliar. I'd had Mr. Bisset as my World History teacher way back in freshman year - it was the class where I learned how to write a strong essay, how to give confident speeches, how to spell the word "occurred" (2 r's!), and gained an interest in history, something a geek girl like me might not have enjoyed before. I was excited to come back into Mr. Bisset's room, to look at all his magazine posters on the wall (I absolutely loved those as a freshman, and I still love them now -- especially the clown nose), and to learn something new from him as I always have. Or to learn how think about everyday things in a new light.

It happened within the first ten minutes. I learned that curiosity is the most important trait I should develop. That before investing in anything I should invest in myself. Maybe not directly related to finance, but they definitely resonated with me. As a computer scientist, as an engineer, as someone who loves to solve problems, it was important for me to hear. Without curiosity, without the drive to find out what makes things work, I wouldn't have anything to do.

It was a good start. I'm really excited for what next class will bring.

Notes:
You should know, Mr. Bisset, that I'm quiet for the first few days of class. I don't remember what I was like in freshman year, you might, but I've noticed that it takes me a day or two to get used to the dynamic of the class, to figure out how to form my sentences before I speak. 

And you should also know that even though I no longer participate in debate, I am still actively involved with public speaking! I'm part of the Oral Interpretation team, and I've given multiple speeches last semester. I suppose the reason I didn't like debate as much was because a) I was concerned about the impromptu aspect of rebuttals and POIs, and b) I was finding it difficult to juggle many things that year. While I know both aren't good enough reasons for my stopping of debate, and that I would have definitely improved, I'm still glad that I'm finding time to voice my opinions still.

Sorry, Emily Dickinson, It Was Inevitable

Working in a group has helped me gain some insight. I learned that writing is not only about myself. It is about the people who will read it. Some writing is personal - my journal, for instance, allows me to reflect on my day and sets aside some time for introspection. Most writing, however, is for an audience. Whether an essay, a novel, or a poem, someone is bound to read it at some point. Even Emily Dickinson, as introverted as she was, couldn't escape that fate.

When people other than the author read the author's work and analyze its meaning, it's a testament to the writer's skills if the readers are able to correctly interpret the purpose of the piece. Writing doesn't come as easily to me anymore. I take this as a good sign; instead of just putting any words down on the page, I am focused on choosing the right ones. I'm taking the time to find ways to express my purpose clearly.

My most recent workshop piece - a narrative titled Only the Ground is Constant - is a forage into my head. It is the only piece I can remember that with every sentence, thought of my objective. I'm not too satisfied with the title, but I suppose once the narrative has been workshopped, it shouldn't be too difficult to find a new one. 

my narrative plan; purpose is blocked out just in case you're reading this before you read my story!

As for working individually, that has helped a lot too. First drafts are eked out when I'm writing individually. They're godawful first drafts, that's for certain, but without them I would never write anything at all. Sitting alone in my room, listening to Spotify's Deep Focus playlist, I find that I'm most productive. It also gives me a chance to look back on past journal entries, think back on my week, write unintelligible things on scraps of paper. Those unintelligible things are almost always story ideas that I fear I will lose if I don't write them down.

The reason I can never do these things in a group is because when I'm alone, I am able to focus a lot more. I can experiment without being self-conscious or distracted. Experimenting with new metaphors (especially since I need to improve my figurative language use), with story ideas I'm not too comfortable sharing with an audience yet.

Writing individually has helped me become a better writer because when I'm alone, I'm more likely to try new things and see for myself whether I like it or not. Writing a story in a new style is great, and stepping out of my comfort zone is great, but if I know for certain what I have attempted sucks, I don't feel comfortable sharing it with other people yet.

I've already noticed an improvement in my own writing; I find myself employing what we learned in class for my college essays. Personally, I believe my workshop submission reflects my improvement as a writer. I hope that my readers feel the same way.

When to Fall Asleep on the Bus, and Other Observations

Looking back through a month's worth of entries, I'm pleasantly surprised to find information that could end up in a story. The girl with blue hair I see while getting on the bus every morning has recently dyed the blue part purple. On Welcome Back Day, my lunch table quite literally broke in half. The sound of a mongoose, I've discovered, is the cross between a mechanical bird chirp and a sprinkler. 

My journal is a place for little revelations, where I try to make sense of everything that's going on in this chaotic senior life. My favorite discovery: ఒళ్ళు మండిపోయింది (ollu mandipoindi -- Telugu for "extremely angry") literally means "limbs burning," which is an accurate expression for how one feels when they're angry. I've found that the best sleep on the bus comes in the two minutes between the Elementary School and the Middle School. Although I haven't quite discovered yet whether my dog merely likes the fish in my room or is waiting for a chance to eat it.

However, if there's one thing I'd change about the way I currently journal, it's the Drawing. I'm not sure how significant it is, and I'm confused about what I should draw - should it be a depiction of one my observations? Apart from that, I wish that instead of 7 things we did today, 5 things we saw, and 1 thing we heard, we only have to write down the important, interesting things. Currently, when I'm writing in my journal, I worry I have nothing interesting to say. Every entry begins with a variation of "finished homework for ________," or "studied for test in ______ next class."

That being said, journaling has become a habit, and I've become more attuned to the world around me. Whenever I hear something interesting, I think, that should go in my journal, and I write it down immediately. (I like the Heard section the best, since they are snippets of conversation I can use in my own writing to make it more realistic).

As an introvert, I'm already rather quiet. As a writer, doubly so. But because of the journal, I'm observing more, too. 

Hope and a Sense of Direction

The nights before Workshop are my favorite. I take time away from the complexity of calculus and the practicality of physics to just read. Even writing pockmarked by punctuation errors and riddled with plot holes helps me breathe slower, more deeply. I'm no longer rushing; the heaviness of my head is relieved.

The day my poem was to be workshopped, I was terrified. I knew it was cliche and inconsistent. The only thing I had going for me was the title, and I couldn't even pronounce that correctly. (I mean, seriously, tell me how long it takes you to say the word mauerbauertraurigkeit).

I've always enjoyed writing, but insecurities began in English 10, where I learned to analyze literature. I was feeling both disgusted by and sorry for Jay Gatsby when I realized that my writing was not as focused - in my own writing, I wasn't thinking about purpose. I admired, but simply could not understand how every word in a John Steinbeck or Harper Lee novel played a role. I began to worry that I would never be that good (I sure wanted to be).

As Prof Hemley writes in his book, writing isn't something that just happens. It, like any other skill, takes practice. AT Writing is step one for me. Workshop both exposes gaps in the purpose of my writing and helps me feel better about my own writing. 

Before Workshop, I wasn't very sure about how well the rest of the class and I would get along. Writing so often seems a solitary exercise, yet we all need people to tell us where to improve. I found workshopping a piece with (mostly) total strangers to be invaluable. I was worried about my classmates forming an instant opinion of me based on my work, but it turned out that their ability to spin my poem's faults into hilarity took away that nervousness entirely. Strangers are more of the demographic I am trying to reach as a writer - if my classmates don't understand what I'm doing, it's very likely my readers won't, either. That being said, it helps to have a good relationship with the people who critique my work. That way, I don't feel harsh or accusatory as a reader, and I know that the other readers aren't trying to be.

There were important lessons hidden among the innuendo and laughter: a metaphor that is no longer a metaphor has become a cliche. make your reader care about your characters. workshop the piece, not the craft. Workshop helped me gain more confidence, Now, I will make sure to know the purpose of my writing. For the first time since that devastating epiphany in English 10, I have hope, and a sense of direction.