a big mush of information

Remember how I said that I'm occasionally indecisive?
Well, I wasn't lying! I still have an announcement, just not the original one that I had planned.

So, recently I had time to do some reflecting. And, the more I thought about it, the more it seemed like the right choice. I'm giving up orchestra.

Don't get me wrong- I've enjoyed it these past four years. I've learned so much about music, and I have no doubt that playing the violin has allowed me to have an even greater appreciation for music.

And yet..
 It's been a bit of a love/hate relationship. While I enjoy playing it, I'm not particularly gifted at it. In addition to not feeling like I'm progressing, I also tried to think of the benefits of staying in orchestra. Last year, I had to write a plan of the classes I would take throughout my four years of high school, to see how I would get all of my credits in. I only had enough room to take orchestra the first two years of high school. That would mean, more than likely, that I'd be quitting after next year. The violin just isn't something I can see myself doing throughout my adulthood. It's more of a hobby than a passion. And, yes, it does look good to colleges if you stick with a musical instrument.

I recently did some reflecting on that too. When it came time to signing up for classes for next year, many of my friends decided to sign up for an AP elective class, almost exclusively for the GPA credit/points. I thought about it, and I figured a lower GPA is worth having a social life (and sleep, for that matter). I'm still taking plenty of challenging classes, just not bogging myself down with them. I decided to take a class (which is supposedly quite easy, but very interesting) about medical science, which is something I'm very interested in. I had no doubt about sticking with French, of course.

So that left me with one more elective class. At the time, I signed up for orchestra. I changed my mind a few weeks ago, and that was when I began the frantic search for another class to take in its place.

Well, I was going to tell you that I was taking sign language instead. That, make no mistake, it wasn't some symbolic gesture of me trading in music for ASL. I was going to say that I can't give my opinion about a language, a culture, that I've never truly experienced. An exciting adventure, to try something new.

And then..
I went to talk to my counselor. I explained everything, and told her that I felt ASL was pretty much the only other alternative class I could take. She asked me if there was anything else I was really interested in.

I told her how I love to write, and I really wanted to take yearbook. I was disappointed how I made my decision too late, seeing as the deadline to apply was nearly a month ago. Well some emails, a few rushed references, and an interview later...

I will be on my high school's 2010-2011 yearbook staff :)

And, for what it's worth, I just might consider taking violin lessons outside of school. It's still an option, and I've yet to completely decide. Also, this doesn't mean I won't ever take ASL...just not this year.

....I wonder if I should change the blog name?

Adorable

*Note to viewers* Don't bother going on YouTube to read the comments unless you feel like reading a debate that is completely irrelevant to the cuteness of this video :)

Free Batteries, News

A reader of this blog who I've become pretty good friends with shared some links with me about free hearing aid batteries. I thought I'd pass them along to anyone who may be interested.
*Disclaimer* I have never used, nor do I endorse any of the websites mentioned for free batteries. I advise anyone to take caution when giving out information to an unknown site. If anyone has experiences with these sites (good or bad), please let me know so that I can edit this post appropriately. 

FreeHearingAidBatteries.net
Energizer

If you have other sites where you've gotten free battery samples, feel free to share!

Now there are only three long weeks left until summer! I could say "wow, this year has flown by!" or "I'm going to miss being in school everyday, and getting absolutely no sleep!" , but we all know that would be a lie!

I'm very much looking forward to this summer. I'm volunteering at a local pediatric hospital again, which should, at the very least, keep me busy. I had a bit of an eye opener while working there last year.  I must say, I've come quite a long way in the past year, and am much less anxiety-ridden about using the phone. I'm also attending the AG Bell Convention in Orlando, and am very much looking forward to seeing all of my friends that I haven't seen in two years! I'm not sure what else I'm doing... We may go on a short vacation (but we're staying in the country this year!) I'm taking an online PE class- ha, talk about an oxymoron. Not exactly exciting, but it's one more credit I can get out of the way. I'll also be taking the majority of my driving lessons, so that I'm able to get my license on time, in less than four months! :D

I have a pretty big announcement coming up. It's neither good nor bad, just a change that I have no doubt will surprise quite a few of you. I am waiting to share until I am 100% sure I'm making the right choice, but I've thought long and hard about it, so I think I am. My teenage brain can occasionally be indecisive, so I'd rather wait until all is said and done. I'm hoping that when I choose to announce it that no one jumps to any irrational conclusions :) Hint: The announcement is not about me changing schools. I'm still staying where I currently attend. So, stay tuned!

Why yes, I am bragging

Do you ever have those weeks where it seems like nothing is going your way? And you just want to go sit in a corner and cry?
Well that's how this past week was for me. And the week before that.  I don't want to go into a long rant about it, but there were a lot of things that I had been hoping for..that just didn't happen. Then I got (and still have) bronchitis, and I kind of felt like locking myself in my room for a while.  We've had a week of TAKS testing, but the freshmen only had one test (while the sophomores had 3). That meant half of my week was spent sitting in class doing nothing. Absolutely nothing, except watch movies that were rated G or reading. Which can really old after a while. And, to top it all of, my Friday evening was spent in the school cafeteria taking a practice AP exam.
So, to put it mildly, I wasn't exactly wild about going to my classes today (after 3 hours of sitting in silence, that is). 
I walked into my French class and looked up at the board. "National French Exam- Top 10% scores", the board read. There were 5 names.
Mine was one of them.
It felt awesome.

"  While they were saying among themselves it cannot be done, it was done"  - Helen Keller

For those of you wondering, the National French Exam is about 50 % listening. The listening portion is typically played for all of the kids at the same time using a CD player. It's difficult for me to understand voices in English (let alone in French) through electronics so I got special permission for the script to be read to me by the teacher administering the test. I don't get any extra repeats, just a live voice that uses the FM, as well as that I can lipread if need be. That's also what I do for all of my French quizzes and tests, and I can assure you I wouldn't be doing nearly as well if I hadn't asked for this accommodation.