<p>Well, for me it's a number of reasons.</p>
<p>My entire life, I've felt out of place, like the odd girl out. In fourth grade I was always the girl who would sit in the back of class reading "the secret garden" although the school libarian had labelled it suitable only for 6th-8th graders. I was always the one who got the highest grades although I didn't put in as much effort as I thought I should. By 8th grade, I was fed up of being the girl who eats alone in the cafteria. Slowly, my grades went down, and stayed down. I stopped visiting the libary and eventually, I even started to make friends my own age. For the following four years, I hardly read any books. I spent fridays watching movies or organizing sleepover parties. My intrest in books was relpaced by my intrest in M, one of the most good-looking guys in our grade. I spent too much time figuring out what I can do to make people like me. I obssesed over materialistic things that don't really matter and I made sure I knew every single trend out there. Sometime after my sixteenth birthday the dreadful truth hit me. I'd spent so much time trying to make people like me, But do I like myself? Who am I anyway? Am I happy with the way my life is going?
For the next few months, I felt lost. I realized my life had no direction, no purpose. I pretty much had no reason to live...unless if I were to spend the rest of my life gossiping or prankcalling. I told my mom how I felt and she advised me to turn to god. After around 9 months of soulsearching, I acknowledged that the last time I was ever truly happy was 4 or 5 years earlier, back when -as a child- It was enough to please myself rather than please others.
Soon enough, I started proritizing. I took 4 APs and 4 AS's in the same year, all of which I scored As (or 5s) at. Taking a rigoros courseload made me feel good about myself. The material was quite intresting, (except for AS maths- I suck at pre-calculus!!!) which encouraged me to work hard and excell. My classmates were all very serious and hardworking indiviuals, most of them were also quite intellectual. Those were the people I felt I was able to get along well with. I felt that I could actually have a deep, meaningful conversation with such people, without being critisized for using a 'big' word or not wearing that Bersheka skirt the right way. I was also quite suprised by the quality of teachers that were appointed to tutor AP/ AS subjects as opposed to those that taught mandatory material.
I also started to get heavily involved in student life. I started a school-affliated organization called the Creativity Campaigain, whcih encouraged students to to get involved in school activities (asides from sports, because in my school sport are the only actvities that are "cool" anyway). We worked with kids in 2nd grade onwards, organizing diffrent events and competitions- from wrting to gymnastics- we did it all. We also published a 40 page monthly newsletter in which we posted pictures of people who have excelled at diffrent activites. When it came to writing, poetry and art we would publish the actual material with the name of student who did it written next to it. I tried not to include the same 2 or 3 people from each grade ever month. As a matter of fact, I completely avoided it. I tried to write the names of everyone who had gotten involved or had done something somewhat meanigful contributing to the student life community. By the end of the year, I noticed a change in the mentality of many students when it came to extracurricular involvment, especially among the students in the younger grades (the fickle ones!). Teachers constantly used the "Creativity newsletter" excuse when it came to encouraging the students to do their homework. It has been constantly reported to me that numerous teachers have said this line to their students:
"If you do well on your essay, I will get Yasmin in grade 12 to publish it in the creativity newsletter,"
Maybe the reason that line always works is because I always do just that?
By the end of the year, the CN was 120 pages fat. My school director got a call from the regional director asking her if I can attend a regional seminar along with the Head prefects of all the other afflaited schools in the region . I was very suprised at the invitation since I had never been a prefect-let alone a head prefect- in my school. However; I attended anyway. There I found out that I was expected to outline CN, it's purpose and how I carried it out inorder for the other head prefects to carry out the same thing at their schools. At the end of the seminar, the regional director shook hands with me, and told me that he thought the CD/N was one of the most inventive ideas he'd ever heard of.</p>
<p>WOAH...I think I've gotten way off-topic here.
Anyway, I think you get the idea that I was alot happier with my life in the second half of the story. In order to stay happy, I belive that I need to be surrounded by competitive, intellectual indiviuals- like those I took the AP classes with. When I'm surrounded by people like that, I feel the urge to excel. It gives me some sort of motivation, I guess. Being taught by worldclass, noble/ pulitzer/ whatever-other-prize-there-is-out-there winners, would also add to the experince. In addtion, I'd get a pretty good paycheck for the rest of my life- not that I'm doing this for the money or the prestige of course.
I doubt I'd ever get accepted to Harvard or something, my grade 10 and 11 grades are wayy too low, although I am considering attending that optional year 13.
I dont get how anyone could possibly even think of comparing a typical state-school education to an Ivyleague one.</p>
<p>Why do I have a feeling noone's going to read this post?</p>