<p>This will be in the same vein as as my SAT progress thread. This will be a place for me to share what I'm doing, how I'm doing it, and random stuff. This will be the place where I am held accountable by my followers to my goals. I found that really effective in my SAT progress thread; I'd type "oh, I'm going to do some math practice now," and then I'd feel guilty if I had posted that but did not actually do any math practice :p. </p>
<p>And oh yeah, please hop on this thread and post your goals and your progress so we can all keep up with each other and have fun achieving all our goals!! </p>
<p>Summer goals:</p>
<p>Academic:</p>
<p>1) Three online courses (Marine Sci., Earth Space Sci., and Physical Sci.)
2) Self-study BC -> be able to ace Calc BC tests by end of summer
3) Self-study Stat -> be able to ace AP Stat tests by end of summer
4) SAT II Bio, Math II -> double 800s in October
5) Bio project -> the grade distribution in the last one was clustered in the D-F range; about 2 people got Bs or As.
6) Summer reading for Contemp. USH -> know WWI inside out
7) Summer reading for Lit (Heart of Darkness) -> know book inside out
8) Self-study Lit -> be able to coherently write Lit essays by end of summer
9) Volunteer hours -> need 150 hours total
10) Draft college essays
11) Thoroughly read all the required reading for Lit throughout the year before hand
12) Complete all Calc BC homework this summer -> already have homework problem list for BC teacher :)
13) Complete all Stat homework this summer -> must obtain AP Stat homework problem list ...
14) Complete major Lit essay this summer -> no clue about how to even start
15) Complete all math projects this summer -> yes, we have major projects in BC
16) Grant applications for club I'm in -> omg ... </p>
<p>Personal:</p>
<p>1) Driver's License (I don't even have a permit) -> must read drivers handbook, and pass test
2) Workout -> jog; get ripped (currently 5'11, 175 pounds, average build). I currently jog about 1/3rd a mile every night and workout a little bit.
3) Be hedonistic -> girlfriend (?) lols</p>
<p>My current goal is just to get through the online courses. Then, I'll start working on the other stuff seriously. I'll pretty much be done with my online courses by Friday of next week ... thank GOD.</p>
<p>“Second, use a ton of big words. Sanguinary, pernicious, deleterious, and lucubrate are words I’ve recently dropped. Here are a list of good words to drop in your writing to sound sophisticated. I’ll even include definitions and example sentences.”</p>
<p>…so I guess I’ll share with you how I write.</p>
<p>The Tips</p>
<p>First, write late at night after taking a jog or working out. You’ll be in an exercise-induced euphoria thanks to your endorphins. This is the best time for creative writing. </p>
<p>Second, use a ton of big words. Sanguinary, pernicious, deleterious, and lucubrate are words I’ve recently dropped. Here are a list of good words to drop in your writing to sound sophisticated. I’ll even include definitions and example sentences. </p>
<p>IceQube’s top 17 (special number to IceQube) words:</p>
<p>1) Sanguinary - bloody or involving bloodshed. Staring at the computer is sanguinary for your eyes.
2) Pernicious - subtly harmful. Or just plain harmful. The pernicious poison raced through my veins and induced a coma.
3) Deleterious - bad or harmful. Coal mining is deleterious for the environment.
4) Lucubrate - study hard (at night). Do not confuse with lubricate. I lubricated the axles on my truck. Before doing that, I lucubrated all night with the car’s instruction manual.
5) Insidious - this word more closely means subtly harmful than pernicious. The insidious toxin raced through my circulatory system and induced vomiting.
6) Sagacious - wise. The sagacious sage subtly hinted that the young neophyte was more than just slow.
7) Delineate - to explain thoroughly. She delineated the intricacies of her encryption algorithm with panache.
8) Intricacies - subtle details. The female mind has many intricacies to which males are ignorant.
9) Panache - swag. I walked with panache toward the woman perched on a seat in the bar.
10) Internecine - mutually destructive. Cheating is internecine to both parties’ egos.
11) Peruse - to read. I perused through the forum posts and found only IceQube’s posts worthy of my attention.
12) Vituperative - bitter; caustic. His vituperative diatribe bordered on defamation.
13) Saccharine - overly sweet; treacly. The saccharine letters emotionally scarred her.
14) Treacly - see above.
15) Angst - a feeling of profound anxiety. I realized that I was only a drop in a body of water - totally insignificant in this universe - and as I had this epiphany, a wave of angst washed over me, invoking an immense physical response as I writhed and contorted on the floor while drooling and losing control of all my sphincters - OK, TMI.
16) Epiphany - realization. I enjoyed the song “Bartender” from T-Paine’s album, Epiphany.
17) </p>
<p>Use parallelism on every level. It is especially impressive when you use parallelism to name synonyms of words. It makes you appear more educated - no, sagacious. Example: </p>
<p>She was a goddess, a deity, a celestial being … </p>
<p>Fourth, use dashes. Dashes bring the reader to an abrupt pause. Use this to good effect. Example:</p>
<p>Could he - or she - be in another calc class somewhere on this Earth? </p>
<p>I used dashes in the above example to bring the reader to an abrupt pause and to set off “she” to emphasize the fact that it is a heterosexual male writing the post. Another example:</p>
<p>Have you ever wondered about whom - and where - your one in a million person is?</p>
<p>Yet another example:</p>
<p>Have you ever wondered where that person would understands all your nuances, that person who tolerates all your eccentricities - is?</p>
<p>Fifth, use LOTS of subordinate clauses, and vary sentence length. Short abrupt sentences mixed in with sentences the length of paragraphs add spice. </p>
<p>Perhaps the saddest part is that the people I describe above are the most successful people - the ones with the most friends, the best grades, the most leadership positions, the athletics, the extracurriculars, the science fair awards, the history fair awards, the you-name-it. But I know that I’m no one.</p>
<p>Sixth, use a clincher. </p>
<p>*Yeah, people mistreat me. Fortunately, I can reciprocate :). *</p>
<p>^Scary, isn’t it? Clinchers draw the reader in. </p>
<p>Seventh, avoid ending sentences in prepositions. Although this is not a real error, following this tip makes your writing sound more formal. </p>
<p>Eighth, use erudite philosophical and literature references. Here is a cheat sheet of philosophical references:</p>
<p>1) Kierkegaard - love is irrational. Why do we put ourselves at risk of emotional harm when we could just avoid all the highs and the lows that come with love? A clear tip-off that I’ve been talking about love is whenever I mention “irrationality” in my post.
2) Existentialism - existence precedes essence is the premise. The implications are that the world is a moral vacuum, and that one must forge meaning in his or her own life.
3) Immanuel Kant - categorical imperative. Think of his moral philosophy as the Golden Rule. Look up the three formulations of his categorical imperative if you are not clear.
4) Tess of the D’Urbervilles - my favorite phrase is “crass obtuseness.” Thomas Hardy uses this phrase in discussing how our perfect counterpart - the “one in a million,” as I phrased it - is out there but wholly ignorant of his kismet (destiny).
5) John Donne - love his elaborate conceits. </p>
<p>Ninth, use proper grammar. Get your whos and whoms straight. Also use “he or she” when necessary. Finally, use only “he” or only “she” to drop subtle hints about whom you are speaking of.</p>
<p>Tenth, use a thesaurus. I’ll admit to having to use a thesaurus. It’s gotten to the best of us. So don’t be afraid to pull out a thesaurus. </p>
<p>Eleventh, study how IceQube writes. IceQube recommends dissecting these specimens of writing. IceQube believes that the below referenced pieces of writing exemplify his powerful grasp of the English language. </p>
<p>The first two are more philosophical. The latter two are more didactic (good word, look it up!)</p>
<p>Y’all are so ambitious. Is it really that easy to get ripped over a summer, especially if you’re trying to memorize a dictionary and master new languages while prepping for 800’s on tests and volunteering at hospitals?</p>
<p>I would suggest focusing on three things and actually getting them done.</p>
Self-study chem, MIT open course ware. I’m on the 4th lecture right now.
Self-study organic chem, textbook and solutions manual.
Summer reading for AP Lit. Just 3 books. </p>
<p>Personal:
Get driver’s license. I’m 17 lol
Hit 150 bench press and 70 BB curl. I’ve been slacking off with the weight training since APs. (I’m 5’9" and 140 lbs, and yes I’m a girl who likes weigh-lifting, don’t hate :P).
<p>@IceQube, I benched 80 when I first started. Now I do 120 (10 reps). For some reason, I can shoulder press more than I can bench press (most people can bench press more than they can shoulder press. </p>
<p>is it possible for girls to bench over 200 without looking like the Hulk? XD</p>
<p>Sophia how can you shoulder press more than you bench? I usually do like 80 on the shoulder press for reps and I do 125 or 135 on the bench for reps.</p>
<p>Anyways, what about squats and dead lifts? Those are master-race exercises.</p>
