Hello everyone,
So my last post was two whole months ago and a lot has changed between now and then so get ready for a Colleen themed whirlwind.
College - The big one
Florida State University - Accepted
University of Florida - Accepted
University of Virginia - Waitlisted
University of California at Berkeley - Waitlisted
Rice University - Denied
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill - Denied (Within ten minutes of hearing from Rice)
So a lot more disappointment than I was anticipating but, hey, no one said this was going to be easy. So, at this moment in time, I am going to enroll at University of Florida but I am on the waitlist for Berkeley. It has been sort of a paradigm shift since I didn't get into any of my top choice schools, but I think I will find my way just fine at UF (also, added bonus, I got into the Honors College so fancy dorm rooms and better schedules, yippee!). I've even followed all of the UF a capella groups on Instagram in the hopes that I might join one next year, which I think would be so super exciting so we'll see how that pans out. So, college = crazy.
School - Can it be over, pleaseeee?
I have officially ended all my high school assignments
EE - Done
IAs - Done
TOK - Done
CAS - Done
Confusing everyone with all the acronyms - Done
So all I have left are tests. 13 TESTS IN 2 WEEKS. *Insert sobbing*
So the next few weeks will most likely be characterized by doing no work and wishing I was at the beach every moment I spend at school. But the end is near.
Speaking of end, nothing says End of Year like Prom. Yes, this year I will be partaking in the age old tradition of spending thousands of dollars on 8 hours of crazy. Has anyone asked me? Nope. Am I bummed? Maybe a little. But I'm going to look damn good so it's their loss not mine.
Band - God, I'll miss it
Band for me has been pretty lax lately. The first week of March ended my last official band season with an Excellent rating at Districts. The last week of March marked my last judged performance with the stellar Nease Clarinet Choir and ended my time at Nease with a big ol' SUPERIOR RATING AT STATE. I liked that ending. But aside from me, Nease Open Percussion Ensemble or NOPE2K15 as they are affectionately known, has done so well and I am proud to call myself a fan and proud to call them my friends. They have won numerous competitions and just made the Finals for the very first time in school history finishing 14th in the world in the class. WHAT?!? And we also broke the system to get them voted fan favorite. No regrets. I also might have paid $35 to watch them live in Semifinals, which was totally worth it. So yay them. Guard is going to World Championships this week and they're going to kill it so yay them in advance. I love these crazies I call my bandmates :-*
So that's the update. College is weird, School is lame and Band is awesome. Maybe things haven't changed so much as when I last wrote.
Have a jammin' April 12th,
Colleen
Sunday, April 12, 2015
Tuesday, February 10, 2015
Dobby is a Free Elf
MY EXTENDED ESSAY IS COMPLETE, TURNED IN AND OUT OF MY LIFE FOREVER!
Yes, it's true. To what extent were the usages of Chinese and Greek horoscopes similar in their respective cultures? is no longer my problem. 6 months, 3341 words, 12 sources, 3 drafts, 1 essay. Done. Woohoo!
Also, this is my last blog post before I am a true 100% adult human being. 18th birthdays suddenly sound a lot weirder when you explain them like that. But yeah, birthday eve hype!
Also also, I'm leaving for New York in two days for what I hope will be the greatest field trip ever. Snow and Wicked and Snow and Squad and Food and Snow. You could say I'm pretty pumped.
Also also also, on that trip the UF admission decision gets announced and since pretty much everybody on that trip applied it's going to end up being the Red Scare all over again. "Did you get in?" "Did you get in?" "Of course, I got in." "I heard they didn't get in." So I can't wait for that.
So yeah, segmented post to compliment my fractured brain at this point in my existence.
Have a wonderful February 10th,
Colleen
Yes, it's true. To what extent were the usages of Chinese and Greek horoscopes similar in their respective cultures? is no longer my problem. 6 months, 3341 words, 12 sources, 3 drafts, 1 essay. Done. Woohoo!
Also, this is my last blog post before I am a true 100% adult human being. 18th birthdays suddenly sound a lot weirder when you explain them like that. But yeah, birthday eve hype!
Also also, I'm leaving for New York in two days for what I hope will be the greatest field trip ever. Snow and Wicked and Snow and Squad and Food and Snow. You could say I'm pretty pumped.
Also also also, on that trip the UF admission decision gets announced and since pretty much everybody on that trip applied it's going to end up being the Red Scare all over again. "Did you get in?" "Did you get in?" "Of course, I got in." "I heard they didn't get in." So I can't wait for that.
So yeah, segmented post to compliment my fractured brain at this point in my existence.
Have a wonderful February 10th,
Colleen
Monday, January 26, 2015
Passionate
I'm looking back at my past blogs and they are generally dismal and sarcastic and today I realized something sort of wonderful in the people that I know and I figured I should let it brighten up my blog. So here it is.
So people generally regard the "millennial" generation, of which I am a part of, as one of dulled emotion, spite and unwillingness to admit we enjoy anything. Which is, for the most part, more true than we care to admit. But today I realized that within all of us is something that lights our fire, something that we could talk about for hours and never get bored, something that we are passionate about.
This began this morning in Wind Ensemble rehearsal. Last week we hit an all-time low in moral and musical camaraderie (as in, the lowest it has been in my four years of high school) and, determined to prove ourselves again, we had an excellent rehearsal, leaving all of us with our finale piece stuck in our heads. Later in the day, our drum major and first chair tuba player was humming it in math class and because I had heard it six thousand times in my own head, I turned around and said, with fake menace, "Don't you even dare." But after that he went on about how he loved the negative space in one of the movements and the instrumental layering in another. Then I jumped in and commented on my favorite part of the piece, the smooth and mysterious clarinet soli that begins the piece and without even knowing it, we had talked for 10-15 minutes about musical theory. It's no secret that he's a "music guy" but to look at him while he talks about the thing he loves is a rare and beautiful sight, especially among my emotionally dimmed classmates.
Then I started thinking about all the people in my life who I've had the privilege of listening to talking about their passion. I tease him but when I listen to my brother ranting about a certain movie's flaws or praises it is blatantly obvious that this kid loves what he is talking about. His eyes light up when he predicts, with 90% accuracy, the nominees and winners of the Golden Globes and the Oscars. I'm not joking about that, he's scary good at that. My mother, who just got what I think is her dream job, working part-time as the head of the pharmacy at our local homeless shelter. She comes home and talks about how much she takes pride in her work and how, even though there would be challenges, she knew she was doing what she had always wanted to do and could see the impact she was making on the world. And then there's my friends, who, every so often, get on the topic of ethics or philosophy or television or theatre and simply cannot stop talking because they are so intrigued or in love with the subject.
Then after all that musing, I ask myself: "When do people see me talk about my passions? When do the lights of intrigue glow in my eyes?" I'm sure there is something, but it's either unexpected or slightly less tangible than music or pharmacy and I just can't put my finger on it. Which is why I hope the next few years of my life will be the best because it is my best chance for realizing what my passion is and finding a way to live and talk about that passion for the rest of my life.
Well, there ya go. A happy, hopeful blog post. That's a welcome change.
So my challenge to you is this: Listen to the people in your life, look for that spark in their eyes, find the fire within yourself and
Have a beautiful January 27th
(this went up on the 26th but it's almost midnight so it's not really worth it),
Colleen
So people generally regard the "millennial" generation, of which I am a part of, as one of dulled emotion, spite and unwillingness to admit we enjoy anything. Which is, for the most part, more true than we care to admit. But today I realized that within all of us is something that lights our fire, something that we could talk about for hours and never get bored, something that we are passionate about.
This began this morning in Wind Ensemble rehearsal. Last week we hit an all-time low in moral and musical camaraderie (as in, the lowest it has been in my four years of high school) and, determined to prove ourselves again, we had an excellent rehearsal, leaving all of us with our finale piece stuck in our heads. Later in the day, our drum major and first chair tuba player was humming it in math class and because I had heard it six thousand times in my own head, I turned around and said, with fake menace, "Don't you even dare." But after that he went on about how he loved the negative space in one of the movements and the instrumental layering in another. Then I jumped in and commented on my favorite part of the piece, the smooth and mysterious clarinet soli that begins the piece and without even knowing it, we had talked for 10-15 minutes about musical theory. It's no secret that he's a "music guy" but to look at him while he talks about the thing he loves is a rare and beautiful sight, especially among my emotionally dimmed classmates.
Then I started thinking about all the people in my life who I've had the privilege of listening to talking about their passion. I tease him but when I listen to my brother ranting about a certain movie's flaws or praises it is blatantly obvious that this kid loves what he is talking about. His eyes light up when he predicts, with 90% accuracy, the nominees and winners of the Golden Globes and the Oscars. I'm not joking about that, he's scary good at that. My mother, who just got what I think is her dream job, working part-time as the head of the pharmacy at our local homeless shelter. She comes home and talks about how much she takes pride in her work and how, even though there would be challenges, she knew she was doing what she had always wanted to do and could see the impact she was making on the world. And then there's my friends, who, every so often, get on the topic of ethics or philosophy or television or theatre and simply cannot stop talking because they are so intrigued or in love with the subject.
Then after all that musing, I ask myself: "When do people see me talk about my passions? When do the lights of intrigue glow in my eyes?" I'm sure there is something, but it's either unexpected or slightly less tangible than music or pharmacy and I just can't put my finger on it. Which is why I hope the next few years of my life will be the best because it is my best chance for realizing what my passion is and finding a way to live and talk about that passion for the rest of my life.
Well, there ya go. A happy, hopeful blog post. That's a welcome change.
So my challenge to you is this: Listen to the people in your life, look for that spark in their eyes, find the fire within yourself and
Have a beautiful January 27th
(this went up on the 26th but it's almost midnight so it's not really worth it),
Colleen
Saturday, January 17, 2015
The Waiting Game
24 Days until my 18th Birthday
25 Days until my Class Trip to New York
55 Days until my Spring Break Vacation to Costa Rica
74 Days until my Last College Decision Date
118 Days until all of my Exams are Over
133 Days until I Graduate From High School
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I have entered the waiting room of my young adult life. Some view it as the home stretch, the final countdown, and so on and so forth but for me it is the torturous waiting room.
You are so nervous for what is about to happen that you are only able to sit paralyzed reading a Better Home and Gardens magazine from 2011. (Which is now four years ago. Holy banana sausages.) Interest in anything is gone because I realize that in less than 150 days, it won't matter anymore. Last page. Shut the book. Move on to the next one.
My life is merely numbers. Remembered dates. Deadlines. It is no longer dictated by the events that make life special but by the X's on the calendar marking the final tasks to finish this episode of Colleen's Crazy Life much like the etched tally marks on a prisoner's cell wall.
It is strange to think that a year ago, I was terrified of moving on with my life. I didn't want the unknown, I wanted the same old. But now I am literally counting down the days until I am an adult (also, How on Earth did that happen?) and done with my twelve year sentence to government mandated education. Amazing how one college acceptance letter and a frozen Grade Point Average can flip your whole worldview around. Huh.
Well, all I can ask is that days 1-133 are their own kind of special. Even if they're the hellish, boredom type of special. Which may not be exciting, but are certainly memorable.
Have an extraordinary January 17th,
Colleen
25 Days until my Class Trip to New York
55 Days until my Spring Break Vacation to Costa Rica
74 Days until my Last College Decision Date
118 Days until all of my Exams are Over
133 Days until I Graduate From High School
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I have entered the waiting room of my young adult life. Some view it as the home stretch, the final countdown, and so on and so forth but for me it is the torturous waiting room.
You are so nervous for what is about to happen that you are only able to sit paralyzed reading a Better Home and Gardens magazine from 2011. (Which is now four years ago. Holy banana sausages.) Interest in anything is gone because I realize that in less than 150 days, it won't matter anymore. Last page. Shut the book. Move on to the next one.
My life is merely numbers. Remembered dates. Deadlines. It is no longer dictated by the events that make life special but by the X's on the calendar marking the final tasks to finish this episode of Colleen's Crazy Life much like the etched tally marks on a prisoner's cell wall.
It is strange to think that a year ago, I was terrified of moving on with my life. I didn't want the unknown, I wanted the same old. But now I am literally counting down the days until I am an adult (also, How on Earth did that happen?) and done with my twelve year sentence to government mandated education. Amazing how one college acceptance letter and a frozen Grade Point Average can flip your whole worldview around. Huh.
Well, all I can ask is that days 1-133 are their own kind of special. Even if they're the hellish, boredom type of special. Which may not be exciting, but are certainly memorable.
Have an extraordinary January 17th,
Colleen
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