<p>Yeah, I agree, but our society is often very insensitive, ignorant, and judgmental. Just look at all the people that are ready to sacrifice the nation's civil rights and liberties on issues like racial profiling and immigration. You sound like a really amazing/insightful person Kelsi and I really hope that I get a chance to meet people like you this summer.</p>
<p>Oh, is the documentary thing for NHD Ryan???</p>
<p>That's so true, unfortunately. I find it sort of disgusting (and certainly disgraceful) how people treat each other so often. It's human nature, I suppose, and something of a zero sum game, but I tend towards idealism and am often disappointed.</p>
<p>Regarding meeting people-- I hope we all do! Three-ish more weeks... Thank you for the compliment, by the way, though I don't know if it's truly deserved (especially when compared with so many of you-- I sincerely hope that about one hundred people in this final applicant pool aren't as incredible as everyone on this board; I really would like to get in, after all).</p>
<p>You have a fair chance of getting in Kelsi from what I've seen of your writing ability and thought process on the CC boards. But I guess it's all relative for now especially since we don't know the strength of the entire TASP finalist applicant pool. GAHH!!!</p>
<p>I tend not to be idealistic since I have essentially given up hope that events/policies situations are going to be shaped perfectly without an outside intervention or folly. As far as my thoughts on American society today, I feel sad to think that we're a society based off of rhetoric and verbosity instead of action. We just had to wait for 11 million illegal immigrants to settle in this country and for the healthcare/social security system to come to the breaking point before we thought about the consequences. I try not to single out a specific figure, such as a President, to blame contemporary problems on but rather feel that out problems today from immmigration to national security derive from decades of failed government action and a sense of complacency.</p>
<p>Enough of my rambling for now.:)</p>
<p>Heh, it's okay. I think it's probably true-- how could such major things develop in the course of a few years only? This isn't to put my support behind the current government, because frankly it isn't there in the slightest (for reasons related to the problems you mentioned and others), but one would be thinking on too small of a scale if one entirely placed the blame on a single administration. We as a people are responsible, like you say (and like my current US history teacher berates us for every day)-- too much apathy takes its toll eventually. People can talk and talk all they want, but unless they do something, very little will change.</p>
<p>evilasian- yep, the documentary is for NHD. in addition to being a history nut, i'm an NHD fanatic too. this is my fifth year competing. lol.</p>
<p>sooo, while we sit in TASP limbo, does anyone have a xanga/myspace/livejournal/etc? It might be a cool way for us to learn more about each other. </p>
<p>My livejournal is livejournal.com/users/<em>babybritain</em>
I also have a shiny new myspace, although I hope I won't be using it too much (i still can't believe i got sucked in, lol)- myspace.com/minderbinder89</p>
<p>So how about you kids?</p>
<p>I just deleted my Xanga; blogger at:</p>
<p><a href="http://www.monde-libre.blogspot.com%5B/url%5D">www.monde-libre.blogspot.com</a></p>
<p>Mindy(savoirfaire)...congratulations on winning the National Peace Essay Contest for the state of Virginia!!!!!!:):):) When's your big trip to Washington???</p>
<p>Big trip? It's only half an hour away... but it's in June.</p>
<p>mmmkay im restless. QUESTION GAME TIME!</p>
<p>if you were a food, what would you be?</p>
<p>An apple. Healthy AND delicious. Well, either that or oreos, but they supposedly cause cancer like 99% of everything in our world these days. lol.</p>
<p>And evil<em>asian</em>dicatator, let's say that if I gave you 5 more guesses, you still wouldn't get my name right. :]</p>
<p>Sorry to disrupt the game, but there's an element called "tellurium."</p>
<p>I spent an hour of AP Chem trying to make a "telluride" ion (theoretically) but I don't think there is one.</p>
<p>God, I would be jambalaya. The only thing good about the South is cajun food.</p>
<p>Sugar snap peas. On the outside, they're all innocuous and green and sort of lanky (if one can call a vegetable lanky)-- predictable, let's say, in general-- and then you bite into them and they crunch and are so refreshing and surprising (big peas inside? little ones? you just don't know!) and wonderfully delicious-- not quite so predictable after all, perhaps, and certainly full of new depths, in contrast to the pod, anyway! </p>
<p>Fresh sugar snap peas, if you can't tell, are also one of my favorite foods, in addition to being a handy metaphor of sorts.</p>
<p>:D That's pretty neat about the chemistry, Ryan, by the way.</p>
<p>O God, my interview is in 4 minutes and 29 seconds. Im kina nervous now, though I haven't been the whole day/telluride application process</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>Good luck H20Poloer!! I got nervous about 15 minutes before my interview :D</p>
<p>good luck (although it's probably too late now), and be sure to let us know how it goes!</p>
<p>overall the interview went alright. Two questions really caught me off guard and I know I could have articulated my points and arguments better. My interview took almost 2 hours and I'm not sure if that is a good thing or a bad thing. Anyway, I learned that there are 3 others prospective TASPers in my state, so i'm just hoping for the best now. Its AP prep time...crap</p>
<p>Ahh, I know what you mean about the whole feeling you could have said something better. Every few days now, I think of some utterly brilliant way to answer one of their questions that I didn't do so well on back them. Well, best of luck to everyone! :] 3 weeks to go! (Is there some reason that they choose to send out decisions during AP testing?)</p>
<p>it seems unusually and creatively cruel to me....</p>