How to be Me?

Warning: This instruction manual is not suitable for all students. 

Let me begin by saying that it is tremendously difficult. What a person needs to build this character/personality is focus, unlimited work ethic, and utmost academic devotion, hence the fact that it will not be for everyone. To become who I am, a student in high school, one needs to put all attention on work, work, and work! There seems to be no end. All else, including sleep, becomes secondary.
  First, I am different than others; “unique” is what I would call it. However, this difference seems to put me at an unhappy balance. In order to become me, the first and most important step is to become a workaholic, in an academic kind of way. Even though it seems like an absurd idea, it is necessary for what comes next. I believe that to be successful, in today’s world, one needs to be in a constant state of learning, studying, and being educated. Today’s society, at least in America, does not make that easy for students because this amounts to having no time for anything else but school. Therefore, being a workaholic from the beginning eases a person into the hardships of daily life at a high school. The student comes prepared, armored with brain, pencil, and paper, to battle the ultimate adversary.
The next step in being me is to be consistent and focused. Implementing the new idea of nonstop-work is to be strictly followed everyday. There are NO excuses! This is called consistency; there are no breaks in the daily, rigorous, and monotonous routine. Sometimes, there is no time to even enjoy a bowl of ice-cream. Staying focused is very beneficial and can possibly grant you extra minutes of sleep.
To be me, it is important to understand what my daily routine consists of. For example, this will be a short recount of today, September 25th. I wake up in the morning at 5:45. This a fixed time; a good student never oversleeps. By 6:45 I am in school, and my day officially begins at 6:50 when I walk into my first period class, history. The mercy rule does not apply, even in those early morning hours. I get out my notes and start studying for the ‘possible’ quiz we might have. The rest of the day seems like a systematic brainwashing, but fear not, I do not lose focus. After I get home, I start doing my homework. Thankfully, I've been going to the gym lately, so there is at least one activity that doesn't require thinking too much. I continue my homework for the rest of the day. Dinner, becomes my only other activity in which I don't have to use my brain too much. Hooray! I go to bed at about 11:00 and the process will start over the next day.
In conclusion, it is exhausting and definitely an uninteresting day. However, only a brighter future awaits from putting so much effort into the present. In continuation about being me, the last major step is perfectionism. This doesn't necessarily mean getting absolutely everything correct. I believe that perfectionism is trying your best; it is the stride towards the perfect that counts. This is partially why reading and note taking become the worst homework assignments. They take an eternity to complete for I want to include every detail I can and have perfect notes.
In brevity, becoming a workaholic begins the journey. To progress on the path, consistency needs to be achieved. There is no slacking allowed, period! The final steps, or rather the “finally I'm done”, of the adventure are perfection. After consistently working everyday, a student needs to make sure he or she has produced extraordinary work. So, to all students: have a wonderful high school experience.

The End

United States so Great?

America, the great! America, the wonderful! America, the …! The United States of America has an extremely short history as a country when compared to the rest of the countries around the world. Is seems then, that it wouldn’t have enough time to develop like certain countries have over the many centuries. Countering this belief, the U.S. began development with an advantage: it was born within modern times. Stating this shows how truly great America is. Within such a short time span in history, democracy has been created, a full military defense established, and an advanced economy set in motion. This is truly remarkable compared to the amount of time it took certain European countries to achieve a similar state. However, commercializing and development haven’t entirely created a better “New World”. As a frequent traveler to Europe, specifically Poland, I can validate that European nations surpass the United States in many ways. Scenery, food, and education all form great contrasting points showing differences in culture, tradition, and actions taken between Poland and the United States.
1997 was the year my parents moved. To their surprise, Beechmont Avenue, a busy street of Cincinnati, was nothing like what they imagined. The commercialized hub, infested with multiples of car dealers, auto-repair shops, and other stores, was an ugly road fenced in by hideous looking electricity poles and cable lines. Greenery was scarce, practically not existent at all, near the road. This was only a suburban area, so the urban center of Cincinnati seemed even more strange and gray. From those times, not a lot has changed. How could a land of so much promise look like this? This very well shows the actual disadvantage of a country being born in the late modern era. Cities and suburbs of Poland differ severely. There are sections within the cities where cars do not drive. Instead, beautiful cobblestone streets are lined with antique buildings and filled with people and life. The suburbs are filled with colorful houses made of stone, brick and wood logs. It is not like the plain sidings of houses in the U.S. There is variety and creativity. The most important feature, however, is the underground electricity. This instantly creates a much improved picture, or scenery. In fact, only rural areas still have above ground electricity.
The old sectors of Polish cities are filled with restaurants, which add a heavenly aroma to the atmosphere. Polish cuisine and culinary tradition are great examples of the enormous contrast between America and Poland. Primarily, Polish food is healthier. A wide range of imported American products is seen in modern Polish supermarkets, but the traditional foods are not only healthier, but undergo a morally superior process of being made. What I mean by morally superior is simply how the food products are created. For example, the well-known American hot-dogs are sometimes made in a process that is utterly revolting. In Poland, generally, the food processes are much cleaner and involve more “real” meat. To exemplify product healthiness it is easiest to take the example of the common bread. In Poland, it is a tradition to consume home-made, or store baked, bread that is very nutritious. It might even contain up to ten different kinds of grains! Compared to the common American white bread, it is about four times heavier as well, suggesting the thickness and good quality of it. America the wonderful… but also wonder bread?! America, on the other hand has gone through an unfortunate period when the food industry started producing cheap and unhealthy food products. Artificial sweeteners and fructose corn syrup are literally added to almost all the foods. It is sad to find such an immense international power, such as the United State, with such a poor dietary habit.
Continuing my discussion on education from previous posts, Poland and the U.S. contrast on this point as well. Differences begin from every-day structure. American schools are focused on giving students as much information as possible, without acknowledging the consequences. There is a single break in the day for the young kids and none at all for the older ones because so much of the day is spent on teaching. Most courses in high school are based on a year, meaning they last for a year and are not repeated again. The education system does not prepare students well for their future jobs because career training starts in college. All these methods differ from what is instituted in the Polish system. Students get more breaks throughout the day not only in elementary school, but also in middle and high school. This allows the students to be “refreshed” for their next classes. More movement also means they will be able to learn better. The course system in Poland does not just teach students a subject and moves on. It is a process. From elementary school through high school, students are introduced to more and more complex topics in the subjects. For example, mathematics is not split into the general Algebra I, Geometry, Algebra II, etc.; it is a course that is steadily built upon year after year including formulas and theories from all of the different categories combined. Essentially, education is not organized subject by subject, but as a simple to a complex study of the overall. Lastly, career planning begins early in Poland. This allows for students to start choosing paths as early as the beginning of high school. Different paths divide the time spent on subjects differently. For example, if the career choice is in mathematics, then there will be more time spent in this area than in language arts. This is not to say that language arts is entirely wiped off the schedule. It just shows that language arts is taught to a level of necessity for ones future.
Scenery, food, and education are just a few of the matters in which America differs from Poland. All the differences are, however, subject to one influence: time for development. Poland has had the centuries of existence to build the foundations for beautiful living spaces, healthier food production, and a better education system. America has only had 200 years to accomplish this. So, perhaps, the most important contrast between the two is their age.

Reform for Education

  School, nowadays, is not the same as it was back then. In the past, school systems were much easier on the student; they allowed students to have a life and a good time outside of the seven hours a day, five days a week of education they received. In today’s world, it is very difficult for some students to find time for themselves, like reading a book for pleasure or going out to the movies. Some, in fact, find themselves going to school twice a day: in the morning for lessons and in the afternoon for homework and studying. It is like a CEO’s job. The CEO, or student in this case, never stops working!
  This has become an outrageous situation because it is hurting students more than the government or school authorities know, for it is they who are imposing these conditions on the students. The school is simply tiring out the students physically and mentally; it is taking away their lives as well. As difficult as it is to comprehend, it is the truth. Students do not have time for themselves anymore.
  A student enters the building, but there is something wrong. He almost trips on the stairs as his heavy backpack is making it hard for him to balance in those early morning hours. His eye shadows seem to be bigger than his eyes themselves. He does not walk normally, but drags his feet as he makes his daily routes across the building. The stairs are a killer, for there is five floors. In class, he slouches as his eyes close by themselves. This is reality. It is physically what most students look like, at least those who try to earn good grades. The physical exhaustion they endure is taking a toll on their behaviors and appearance.
  Teenagers are in a dangerous situation with their physical health at risk. The large amount of studies after school cut down on the amount of sleep a student will receive. The student mentioned before is getting less hours of sleep than the doctor's recommendation, an occurrence well known throughout high schools across the country. Therefore, the shadows underneath his eyes, get darker and bigger as the days go by. Weekends seem to be a salvation, but soon they become a very short break in the extensive learning period of an entire week. This phenomenon results in mental weakening meaning a decrease in academic performance. The exemplified student cannot gather focus and attention for all his classes.
  This, however, is not the only problem. The nation's school system is putting students in a difficult position. Although colleges and universities require good grades for scholarships, they also want to see résumés filled with clubs, sports, and other extra-curricular activities. These two requirements oppose each other. How can the poor student have time to accomplish all these things after school if he needs to do all his work and study at the same time?! As mentioned in the beginning, the student’s life outside of school is taken away.
  This leads to a severe problem our nation is facing. The condition of students is worsening, as new course methods and material increase in difficulty. For example, AP tests our now harder than in the years past; this is proven by statistical records of less students receiving fours and fives. The important question to ask is does this type of rigorous educational routine have an impact for the future of these students? It does not. In fact, it does not make sense. A student could have nothing in his future career to do with chemistry, and yet in high school, he needs to try laboriously to get a good grade so he can get a scholarship to the college that is training for his type of job. Essentially, it is work that could be avoided if the educational system was reformed.

A Creature of Procrastination

       It was the last month of my freshman year. I had worked hard all year to complete my assignments on time, to put quality effort into them, and to earn good grades. However, the creature project in my biology class was the one that pushed me to my limits. As I said before, it was the end of the year and, naturally (I think this happens to most people), I became slower and, most of all, somewhat lazy in my academic work. I found myself the day before the creature project was due with half the work done! This was not a sixth grade drawing and summary of an invented animal. It was a thorough analysis of the environment, adaptations, and significant developments of an animal that had to be drawn with particular detail as well. Essentially, it was a drawing with an analytical essay, as expected from a high school course.
       The time was slowly ticking away as it got darker and darker. Obviously, I had other homework which I finished beforehand, but this left me little time to finish the one thing that was the most important. Midnight came around and I had finished the illustration of a very good looking desert lizard. I also completed the other sections except the two longest parts: the adaptations and environmental interactions. Suddenly, my mother came into my room and told me that I could not stay up so late and had to go to sleep. Frankly, I was devastated. How on earth could an A+ student bare to get a C on his final project of the year? I formulated a very good plan. Instead of skipping school the next day, my determination gave me the belief that I would somehow finish before that last period biology class.
        It was four in the morning the next day. Like a zombie, I stood up, turned of the alarm and showered. Thankfully, nobody had woken up. The cold shower felt very uncomfortable in that early morning, but I knew that was necessary in order to keep me awake. I turned on the computer and started typing as fast as I could, and finally, an end product was reached by the time my dad and brother were waking up at six. I was very proud of completing those four pages of analysis. Unfortunately, I only had time to revise once. At least I knew it was going to be C grade material.
       The rest of day was one of the hardest I have experienced. It was the first time I had gotten four hours of sleep on a school night and my eyes were literally closing in every class. Paying attention seemed like an impossible task. However, I managed not to make a fool of myself and I did not completely fall asleep. In biology, I turned in the binder as if nothing had happened. Two week later the grades were in. Those two weeks were full on anxiety and I was checking Progress Book, where all the grades were, non-stop. Finally the day came. This was the biggest surprise yet: I had gotten a 98% and my teacher asked me to use my binder as an example for future students. She certainly did not know what an enormous amount of procrastination lay hidden in that binder.
       Hello fellow readers and welcome to my blog. My name is Daniel and currently I am a junior, still in the same school. This secret has stayed with me for a long time now. I do admit to being a procrastinator; however, this is a case that happens not very often. As the story tells, I work hard academically to be an excellent student. My methods might not be ideal to follow but are anybody’s methods ideal? I like to think that everybody is a unique individual and whatever helps a person achieve the best results is the strategy they should follow. Pressure might be some people’s motivation, but ironically I do make a strong suggestion to use time wisely.
       Now that you know a little about me from an academic standpoint, I would like to reveal some more details about myself as a general introduction. My favorite sport is tennis and I absolutely love playing it. Like most teenage boys, I enjoy playing videogames. Traveling is a must for me and my family and I go on amazing vacations each year in Europe. I have been playing the piano for about ten years now. I hope you enjoy my further entries, in which I will reveal what changes I believe should take place in America’s educational system and how this would prevent sleep-deprived student like me on the day I finished that project.