19!

I've begun my last year as a teenager. Wow! I can hardly fathom that I've made it this far. Heck, I remember when I went to kindergarden and I thought I was SO grown-up.

The highlights of my teenage years (I stole this idea from Laura btw- check out her blog here.)

13- I was in 7th grade, trying to figure out the big scary new Jr. High. It really was new- it was West Point Jr. High's maiden voyage. I got contacts. I was in Brigadoon (with the above-mentioned Laura).

14-8th grade. Didn't do the musical, but I did mock trial! I didn't do much this year- not sure why.

15-9th grade. Had my first crush, and first lead in the musical (those stories are very connected). I did NAL, and found my inner nerdom. Pretty much a crazy busy year, but very worth it. I dyed my hair for the first time.

16- Sophomore. I got lost in Cleafield High. I did the musical ( I was a wine glass and a bar maid). Had more crushes, met more people, and started driving. Dates slowly started happening, and I had fun, even though I got super nervous. I started hanging out with guys instead of girls. I thought I wanted to go into medicine.

17-Junior. Slowly got over the nerves for dating. I helped start a new school, Syracuse High. I was the editor of the yearbook, even though I had no experience. I did choir and the musical, and more AP classes. Took an online Spanish Course (?). I realized that the best thing I could do with my life is write and edit. I learned how to kiss.

18-Senior. This year was fun. I got to know all the teachers, got away with tons of stuff, ruled SHS as the first graduating class. We didn't have seniors the year before, so it was exciting to be the top dogs. Twice. Kept singing in madrigals. Did an internship with the Standard Examiner and still did yearbook. Really got obsessed with grammar. Concluded I was born to do something with the language arts. Ended a relationship with a guy I'd dated for a while. He was cool, but it was over.

19- Freshman. At the bottom of the totem pole at the University of Utah studying Linguistics instead of English as planned. Dated a really cute guy for a while, got dumped, and survived relatively happy. Met people from all over the world.

I can't wait to see what else is in store for me.

-ME

Online Spanish

An exciting event occurred on Friday- I finished my online Spanish class.

I'd been laboring through that torture for two long years and it was about time it finished. Now don't get me wrong, a foreign language is great, but enough is enough. I spent over 180 hours on it to earn 4 semester credits. Actually, it really does equal out to be saving me time in the long run, but it didn't really feel like it.

I went through Rosetta Stone, (cleverly named after the Egyptian artifact that featured the same text in three languages, two different versions of Egyptian and Greek. This was a breakthrough because now archeologists could decode Egyptian). The program is unique, but not really. You learn the same way you learned English. Your mom pointed to her nose and says, "Nose!" in a very high pitched voice and eventually you get what a nose is. Rosetta Stone does the same thing. There are a few variations on the same lesson, but basically a word or phrase comes up along with four pictures. One of the pictures matches and you click on it. If you're right, then an encouraging bell sound ensues along with a smiley face. If you're guess is incorrect, there is a blaring horn.

I would also do speech comparisons. Somehow, the all omniscient computer could tell if my feeble attempts to speak Spanish could be decoded by a native speaker. It all sounded the same to me, but the helpful meter was kind enough to show me how close I was to getting the pronunciation right.

The biggest trial with the whole online thing was the sheer stupidity of computers. Sometimes my lesson wouldn’t show up after I completed it, and let me tell you how frustrating that is. I could spend up to an hour on a single one and to have it not count is infuriating. When a teacher doesn’t put something in the computer, you can reason with her, but a computer listens to no one but itself in such matters. At other times the internet would randomly loose connection and I would be left stranded.

There were pros, too. I could work on it at two in the morning, (although I don’t recommend it), and anywhere with internet access.

Overall, I am grateful it is over. I couldn’t have done it alone, my parents helped me a ton. If you’re considering enrolling in such a class, I hope this article helped you in your decision. And if you need any tips, hints, or suggestions, give me a ring. Just say, “¡Me puede ayudar!”