Okay, strictly speaking it's not quite true that "life will be just fine". The Darwin Awards stories quickly put an end to that fantasy. Still, beyond a certain point, worry becomes counterproductive, and it's okay for me to trust my future self to do the best he can with the best I can give him.

This perspective might've helped me over the past ( Read more... )

Sophomore year, I co-taught AP music theory for ESP's Delve program. I owe a lot to a much more competent coteacher and just-in-time formal instruction for anything I managed to achieve there.

That said, I had some problems. I struggled to get our two students to engage with the material (while one engaged his fingernail painfully with a folding ( Read more... )

Hey, artists! Has anybody ever told you to "learn the rules before you break them"?

I think this is extremely poisonous advice.

As a young artist, it hurts to hear that your work has no value until you spend years learning the right way to do it. The implication that you should refrain from even trying until then is nothing but discouragement.

I ( Read more... )

Yesterday my freshman advisor asked me whether I intended to go on to grad school. Now, "intend" is an interesting way to say it-it's better than the more commonly used "plan". The problem with "plan" is that it connotes control of the future and knowledge of what to expect. Given the uncertainty of the future and the often vague nature of ambition ( Read more... )

With the conclusion of final exams (and therefore of the school year) comes a rush of emotions-happy memories, regrets, and some less easily categorized thoughts. Now, before the arrival of grades colors my feelings, I should take a moment to do that thing I do at the end of every school year.

Academically, I still seem to be afloat, even if not ( Read more... )

I am about to leave for an orchestra concert tour in Europe, followed by Mathcamp (again). So that you're not all left in the dark about the past few months, I've attempted to summarize the year below. Other perspectives will follow if I can remember to post them.

This year began with college applications dominating our thoughts to the point of ( Read more... )

There were a few things I didn't like about this year, chiefly that I had huge troubles keeping up with everything I wanted to do. Maybe I'm just really bad at managing my time. For instance, in spring, when I should have been outside marveling at buds and flowers and leaves and such, I was paying no attention to the life outside, but instead ( Read more... )

So today was my last day as a Junior in high school. I'm ecstatic that it's over. Now it's time to get back to music, art, video games, astronomy, and whatever else I had been planning to do before all this homework.

As usual, I have summer assignments:

• Two books to read (English)
• A report to type on lab procedures and then some problems to work ( Read more... )