Starting now...
For my AP Psychology class, Dr. Applestein asked me to write a unique assignment - a letter to me a year from now telling myself what I think I'd accomplish.
To a strangely energetic, yet worn-down John Shen, 19 years old:
I hope this letter finds you with no more white hairs than a year before. You might want to sit down at a desk for this one.
At what should be the peak of my high school career, I've just been called to go above and beyond even more. I'm going to the Physics Olympics Program in three days, which promises to be frightening, exciting, and eye-opening all at once. That holds the majority timeshare in my mind. How I'll miss my friends, family, and former life holds a close second, and related is filling out/picking up my senior pictures for memory. Third is the other homework I've yet to do to ace my classes, because I was, am, and still will be an incorrigible procrastinator. Fourth is what I'm going to do over the summer - Dr. Li's looks like a good option, only because it's flexible time for good pay. No way I'm going to bus tables or cashier at Regal Theater - I could spend $$$$$ with where I'm going, yet I imagine you're running a bit low right now. Fifth is how * lucky I am right now, and how much I appreciate God's blessings, in spite of that I'm not as close to him as I want to be. Sixth is what I'm going to play for the advanced guitar class on Thursday, seeing as how I still can't pull of Leaves that Are Green - S&G with any fluency. I'll probably do Bianco Fiore and When I Fall - BNL, because I'm sappy.
Seventh is how awesome this song I'm listening to now sounds, Deep Tree - it's a remix of pygmy chants(!) with some new wave techno, and very cool. Not normally something I'd go for now, but I'm not sure a year from now. I'd imagine you still have the same tastes in music as you do know, but a bit expanded to some techno-ish stuff. Tell Ning when you bump into him next that you still think 'hard core' hip-hop sucks, especially Tipsy, from that Game Over dude...
Well, what else is really important in life? Let's talk about growth, because nothing else is as important as how you've changed from where you've started. Starting from 8th grade, about October. Yeah, you know what I'm talking about, still, right? Serves you right that you named your Dramatic Arts character with the same name - except for the H in T. What a sap I was. Don't ever write another allegoric story again - stick to memoir and realistic fiction(Compilation, The Fourth Genre; Robert Cormier, I Am the Cheese).
My social maturation lagged behind my physical one by about 2.5 years, but I'm mostly caught up now. Big realizations came about in February of 9th grade, after a year of what with T/H, selflessness winning over laziness. Then a very long, slow, quiet decline into social stagnation, bottoming out at middle of junior year, while I honed my other skills - music, math, landing the 90.1%, art, rebellion, R&E(?!), physics, writing, computers. Relocating some identity, priorities, respotting my place between me and God in 2003, RSI, culminating in college apps. Tough, but win-win choices, then, and still now. Great fun traveling as a second semester senior now, visiting colleges, competitions, and such, reaping what I've sown in high school in every aspect. Some bittersweet feelings now predominate the landscape, but still quite positive on the current and future forecast. That's it, in massive generalities, from 1999-2004. I'll let your memory fill out the important details. Along the way, I've never been able to break fourth place in competition at the national level in anything, but frankly, I don't care a whit.
Now, how are you doing? I'm obliged to do some self-prediction. First off, you will still be writing in this LJ with about the same frequency that you have been. Your writing should be good enough by now that you're fast, but still sensical, and tamed enough structurally to not abrade the senses. You'll probably complain more about classes, although they won't be too challenging to you. You're still not cocky, despite temptations. Your circle of friends will expand quickly, but you'll have the same depth problems that you do now, because you misallocate time for studying what you already know. Music will be a bigger part in your life - you won't be in acapella, but you will be in a musical.
Like I said, classes won't be too hard, because you're underperforming. You'll have a research job, but not volunteering. If you are doing something new, it's because you got excited on impulse. Otherwise, keep on trucking - consistency is what you need now. You'll be moderately to wildly successful in whatever you do, because you stick all of yourself in it, with the possible exception of relationships with the ladies. You're playing basketball right now, and DDR, and getting better at only one of the two.
Your disarming honesty is becoming more and more guarded - it's on its way to losing its power. You should keep in touch with your parents more, don't neglect them. And while you're at it, send some update emails to some close friends - that's never unappreciated and always gets a good return. IM ain't enough, foo - that gets stale.
I hope that you're at least having fun on a regular basis - all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. Try somethign new every once in a while, but for the most part stick to growing yourself in God and your studies.
Take care, John Shen the 18 year old.
To a strangely energetic, yet worn-down John Shen, 19 years old:
I hope this letter finds you with no more white hairs than a year before. You might want to sit down at a desk for this one.
At what should be the peak of my high school career, I've just been called to go above and beyond even more. I'm going to the Physics Olympics Program in three days, which promises to be frightening, exciting, and eye-opening all at once. That holds the majority timeshare in my mind. How I'll miss my friends, family, and former life holds a close second, and related is filling out/picking up my senior pictures for memory. Third is the other homework I've yet to do to ace my classes, because I was, am, and still will be an incorrigible procrastinator. Fourth is what I'm going to do over the summer - Dr. Li's looks like a good option, only because it's flexible time for good pay. No way I'm going to bus tables or cashier at Regal Theater - I could spend $$$$$ with where I'm going, yet I imagine you're running a bit low right now. Fifth is how * lucky I am right now, and how much I appreciate God's blessings, in spite of that I'm not as close to him as I want to be. Sixth is what I'm going to play for the advanced guitar class on Thursday, seeing as how I still can't pull of Leaves that Are Green - S&G with any fluency. I'll probably do Bianco Fiore and When I Fall - BNL, because I'm sappy.
Seventh is how awesome this song I'm listening to now sounds, Deep Tree - it's a remix of pygmy chants(!) with some new wave techno, and very cool. Not normally something I'd go for now, but I'm not sure a year from now. I'd imagine you still have the same tastes in music as you do know, but a bit expanded to some techno-ish stuff. Tell Ning when you bump into him next that you still think 'hard core' hip-hop sucks, especially Tipsy, from that Game Over dude...
Well, what else is really important in life? Let's talk about growth, because nothing else is as important as how you've changed from where you've started. Starting from 8th grade, about October. Yeah, you know what I'm talking about, still, right? Serves you right that you named your Dramatic Arts character with the same name - except for the H in T. What a sap I was. Don't ever write another allegoric story again - stick to memoir and realistic fiction(Compilation, The Fourth Genre; Robert Cormier, I Am the Cheese).
My social maturation lagged behind my physical one by about 2.5 years, but I'm mostly caught up now. Big realizations came about in February of 9th grade, after a year of what with T/H, selflessness winning over laziness. Then a very long, slow, quiet decline into social stagnation, bottoming out at middle of junior year, while I honed my other skills - music, math, landing the 90.1%, art, rebellion, R&E(?!), physics, writing, computers. Relocating some identity, priorities, respotting my place between me and God in 2003, RSI, culminating in college apps. Tough, but win-win choices, then, and still now. Great fun traveling as a second semester senior now, visiting colleges, competitions, and such, reaping what I've sown in high school in every aspect. Some bittersweet feelings now predominate the landscape, but still quite positive on the current and future forecast. That's it, in massive generalities, from 1999-2004. I'll let your memory fill out the important details. Along the way, I've never been able to break fourth place in competition at the national level in anything, but frankly, I don't care a whit.
Now, how are you doing? I'm obliged to do some self-prediction. First off, you will still be writing in this LJ with about the same frequency that you have been. Your writing should be good enough by now that you're fast, but still sensical, and tamed enough structurally to not abrade the senses. You'll probably complain more about classes, although they won't be too challenging to you. You're still not cocky, despite temptations. Your circle of friends will expand quickly, but you'll have the same depth problems that you do now, because you misallocate time for studying what you already know. Music will be a bigger part in your life - you won't be in acapella, but you will be in a musical.
Like I said, classes won't be too hard, because you're underperforming. You'll have a research job, but not volunteering. If you are doing something new, it's because you got excited on impulse. Otherwise, keep on trucking - consistency is what you need now. You'll be moderately to wildly successful in whatever you do, because you stick all of yourself in it, with the possible exception of relationships with the ladies. You're playing basketball right now, and DDR, and getting better at only one of the two.
Your disarming honesty is becoming more and more guarded - it's on its way to losing its power. You should keep in touch with your parents more, don't neglect them. And while you're at it, send some update emails to some close friends - that's never unappreciated and always gets a good return. IM ain't enough, foo - that gets stale.
I hope that you're at least having fun on a regular basis - all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. Try somethign new every once in a while, but for the most part stick to growing yourself in God and your studies.
Take care, John Shen the 18 year old.