Pre-DWA Stress Syndrome

I've got a big day ahead of me.

I'm sure everyone reading is familiar with the Direct Writing Assessment. It's one of those big test days tommorrow at my school, and everybody is holding their breath for Hell on earth, hoping they don't get a crappy prompt. If I do, I'm screwed. Last time I got a three, but I constantly tried to change everything and made it worse.

Not only that, but I've got two assignments due tommorrow that I have absolutely no hope of finishing. It's not that their large, but it's out of my spanish and science worbooks, both of which I lost a while ago. So I'm calling up my friends, trying to get them to photocopy theirs and give it to me in the morning. I don't understand how I lose all my stuff. I'm only ever in two places where I have my stuff. Home and school. You'd think that would narrow it down, but nope.

The problem about high school is that the system makes us end up thinking that grades are the most important thing in our lives. Which it is to an extent, but this causes backlash on other aspects of our lives, such as our social life. I've probably imposed on a lot of people to try to save my grades. I feel bad to have to get people to photocopy things for me, or print assignments out for me, but what am I supposed to do?

Luckily for me, most of my friends have had this experience before, and can sympathize with me. But I can't help feeling I put a lot of pressure on them. To feel the weight of two peoples' grades on your shoulders. One is bad enough. But I do my best, and I get by with a little help from my friends. And I help others when they need it or when they ask. Even an enemy can borrow my answers if they ask for it and they obviously need it. Because I'm not one to sit by and watch someone fail and assignment when they could've passed, regardless of my thoughts about them.

So yet again, we end up in the Battle School. For those of you who have read Ender's Game, the more intelligent students learn that even though the students compete to succeed, the only real enemies are the teachers. And in real life, it's not always the teachers who are the enemy in real life, but grades as a whole. As students, we have to unite to succeed. Keep that in mind. Never be unwilling to "take one for the team" because when someone asks you for help in school, they're on their last string. They need it.


"I don't care if I pass your test, I don't care if I follow your rules. If you can cheat, so can I. I won't let you beat me unfairly - I'll beat you unfairly first." - Orson Scott Card, Ender's Game

Saved by the bell

Luck's a funny thing.

Sometimes, you get it when you need it, but other times it doesn't. It seemingly comes at random. But when it does come, it is vastly appreciated. And there's no other word for it. I got lucky.

Well, I came to school in the morning as usual. I spent my morning working to finish the homework I hadn't. And I did it. I was able to turn everything in. On time. Yeah, I'm stunned myself.

I went through the day, bewildered. And it's like that day I had a shield to bad things. I didn't get any homework. The Vice principal of the school didn't notice I was out of uniform. An old friend (bracelet kid) forgot a loan he gave me a while ago. Incredible. I really was pretty dazed when I went home, but there was hardly anything for me to do.

So I sat around and listened to my iPod. School seems to b a funny thing. Either it's a hellhole overworking me, or a pointless waste of eight hours. I hate both.

But it makes me wonder which one's better. An overworked, but overall efficient day I. E. The Battle School?
Or the inefficent waste of my whole day I. E. The Pointless Hell?

I could use a couple of Battle School days-I been having some good luck lately. Oh well. It's not my decision.



"Luck can only get you so far." - J.K. Rowling

The Battle School

I hope anyone who reads this has read Ender's Game, because it's the only way you'll get this joke.

Funny thing that happened today. The first couple of periods, I was swamped, desperately trying to do unfinished work. And throughout the whole first half of the day, I could really sympathize with Ender. I felt like I was being pushed to my limits. I felt like it was driving me insane. (If you don't know about Ender's Game, I suggest highly that you read it. It is a fantastic sci-fi novel by Orson Scott Card.)

It really did get to me. I was angry at just about everyone and everything for a while, but I was still able to finish my work and get the grades I needed. And funnier still is that as the day went on, I ended up with just what I wanted. A break. I came home with no homework of any kind. No worries. Was this heaven?

Be careful what you wish for.

I found myself puzzled and dysfunctional for the rest of the day. Now that I finally had a "day off", I had become absentminded, and to some extent, unhappy. When I went to hockey practice today, I played horribly. I have done nothing noteworthy today. But tonight, I had a revelation:

I have to accomplish something in a day.
If I don't, I won't be happy.

This is quite unfortunate, but true. And upon having this revelation, I realize that I now know my own stride on the path of life. And knowing what I can do in a day will help me decide which way to go. But the path forks off in many directions. Which way to go?

At any rate, I treated today as something it's not; a weekend. It feels like a weekend to me in all ways. But the real reasoning behind this is that today's Tuesday. So far I have had a horrible week. But if today is the last day of the weekend, I'm given a clean slate. A chance for a good week. A week where I'm not Ender, but not a dysfunctional slob either. Because I can't live like either. So I have but the narrow path to walk down. But I'll make sure to keep moving forward.





"Human beings didn't evolve brains in order to lie around on lakes."-Orson Scott Card