Ugh... Frankenstein.

     Lets just start this off with... I hate "journal" type books. I can't stand them. Maybe it's just cause I am so used to the action packed straight-to-the-point sort of books, or what ever other reasons there may be, but I can't stand these types of books.
     For our AP Literature class, we are reading Frankenstein. When we were told it was an epistolary, I gave a reluctant sigh and claimed that I was gonna dislike this book. I already do. Our teacher tried to convince me that I would like this book (mostly by telling me I was wrong), but I knew I was gonna hate it anyways.
     Those of you who have been on my blog since Day 1 may have seen my post about Jules Verne's novel 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. This book is written in the same way that Frankenstein supposedly is, and I suffered through trying to read it. Here's a quick recap of that review though. I somewhat liked the book, although it was dry the entire time except for a few good moments that the action picked up. Besides that, it felt like a scientific review of the various plants and animals that existed in the ocean written in a log of observation. It makes sense, seeing how Arronax is literally an aquatic scientist on a mysterious new submarine; who wouldn't record everything they see in that situation? Still, I disliked the book.
     Moving on, I read the first... Fifty or so pages of Frankenstein today. It managed to somewhat hold my interest throughout thus far, but I will not lie, I glazed over a few parts. It's so hard to keep focused when all the book is describing is some second-hand story recorded in a letter to this guy's sister about how a Russian woman and some other guy fell in love but it didn't work out. Snore.
     Once the book got out of the "letters" portion (which was the first four "chapters" of the book) it got somewhat interesting. Only somewhat. Thus far, we are only seeing Frankenstein reminisce about his childhood, but Shelley is also revealing how the good Doctor became interested in the science of creating life. An older friend told me this weekend that the book does get better, it's just slow in the beginning. So here's to hoping that they're right. Otherwise I feel like I am just gonna slowly drag on through this book and suffer the entire time.
     So far, I really want to know the relevance of the first few letters in the book. Who was the man that was travelling around? Striving to explore the great unknowns of the northern pole? Is this just a random sub-plot? Or will it tie in eventually? At this point in the book, I don't know yet. Guess we'll find out, right?

Hobey ho,
-- Nate


(Word Count: 485 words)

Well Shoot, You're Friggin' Hilarious.

     Well today I was the butt end of a very cruel joke. Felt like sharing this with you all tonight.
     Some students at my school thought it would be the cat's meow to go and give my number to my history teacher, who would then proceed to tell me that all my homework due Friday would now be due Thursday because I was going to be absent on Friday.
     I'll give you some background real quick. The college here is doing a huge day-long tour of the campus. You can talk with the students, see what the campus is like, check out the housing, and get info in areas where you are most interested in majoring. This college is the most real possibility for me at the moment; my friends are all going, it's extremely affordable, the campus is nice. A whole shebacle of useful things. I really wanted to go the campus at the end of the week to seal the deal and know for sure if this is where I wanted to go. But is it really worth missing school for? Not really. Is it necessary? Yes.
     Back to the story. So I was told at 6:30pm that my homework is due tomorrow (Thursday) rather than Friday or whenever I get back. Well that's just fudgemuffin wonderful. So I spend the next hour working on some pretty boring questions that I have to do, and messaging the rest of the people in my group about helping me out so I don't fail this class (I already have a low B, I do not need another C).
     Well someone on facebook immediately fessed up to what happened and let me know. At this point, I was pretty furious. I'd already gotten half the work done and now I am being told that I had wasted my time. I worked a little more, waiting for a response from the other person who I was told was also involved in this. That took another hour.
     When this other person finally got back to me, she acted innocent, like nothing happened. She advised me to not do my homework, which was already mostly done, and that something strange was happening.
     How about you tell me something I don't know.
     So I went along with it, wanting to see how long they were gonna try to play this game. At this point, I was frustrated beyond belief. I had wasted half my night and most of my free time freaking out about this stupid homework, while also looking forward to the large stack of homework I had despite this stupid Government stuff. A pile of English reading, a blog post (oh look how nifty), and the ever increasing pile of work I have to do for Journalism. I went out and I took a nice thirty minute run to wherever the end of the street took me and back. She finally called me up and told me it was a joke.
     How about you tell me something I don't know.
     So now here I am, nine o' clock at night working my ascot off to get my English and Journalism homework done. I may not even get any sleep tonight, seeing how I think this will all be done by two. Might as well just stay up the next three hours filling out scholarships cause my mom won't stop pestering me about THAT.
     Here's the point of this post.
     Good prank. You're fricken hilarious. I really appreciate you adding to the mountain of stress which I already have to climb. So I appreciate you making that challenge a little harder.
     What goes around comes around.

(Word count: 613 words)

Act 5 Analysis - Hamlet (and Stuff)

Oops look who's feeling kind of lazy.
Here is the second draft of my expanded analysis of Act 5 in Shakespeare's play Hamlet, Prince of Denmark.

            In his play Hamlet, the Prince of Denmark, Shakespeare develops a connection between the loss of innocence that we all face as we carry on through our lives and the same loss of innocence that Hamlet experiences when confronted with his deceased childhood jester, Yorick. While formulating this scenario, Shakespeare also furthers the plot of the play to escalate the action and prepare the reader for the final exposition.

            Throughout the play, it is evident that Hamlet has a sort of childlike innocence surrounding him; he falls madly in love, and then casts the same love away; he speaks in riddle and rhyme, and acts in unusual manners. Hamlet has nothing on his mind, aside from the revenge he vowed to take against Claudius for the murder of his father. Hamlet does not accept that his actions will result in unnecessary consequences which aren’t revealed until the final scene of the play. It isn’t until the penultimate scene in which Hamlet’s composure is finally torn down and he realizes that death is cruel and unfair journey; one he realizes he must eventually take. The “gambols and songs and flashes of merriment that were wont to set the table on a roar” that once pleased Hamlet are all but gone, with only a jawless “chapfall’n” skull to prove Yorick’s existence.

            Hamlet wants to share this knowledge with his “lady”, which is implied through the text to be Ophelia. Shakespeare used this entire scene to try to share with his audience the concept of how innocence may be lost. Thousands of situations arise, but it is in that moment, in the face of death, that acts as the breaking point for many people. It is until this point that Hamlet believes his jape to be nothing but child’s play. With his façade finally shattered, he faces the realization that his actions will have, and already had consequences.

           Loss of innocence is a theme that Shakespeare likes to connect into many of his plays. It’s a reminder that eventually, everybody dies; Hamlet’s realization of this subsequently leads to the tragedy, and eventually his death, that occurs in the final act of the play.

That was easy.
So small little blurb cause I feel bad.
I had an okay day today, it was gray and overcast. It sort of made me melancholic and... I dunno. I felt neutral. Some things were said on the bus to me that didn't make me too happy, but I guess I got over it quickly enough.
Some times it's hard to make yourself believe you are cared about. I feel that sometimes I am worth not even an ounce of effort to some people, and I get in these huge internal debates about what sort of impact I am making on that person. I dunno. Anyways, that's my little blurb. Skills Leadership Meeting this week, which should be fun.

Hobey Ho,
--Nate

(Word Count: 523 words)

Angst, Anxiety and As-

-sho... Well you get the point.
     Man has this been a fun week. I hardly even have the patience to write this blog post because of how fun it has been.
     Oops. Is my sarcasm showing again? Sorry I try to hide that. Doesn't always work out. Whatever.
     But boy has it been a fun week, I mean with all this joyful college fair stuff? My family has been a huge bundle of fun. On top of them telling me the best I can do is drop out of high school (oh but it was "sarcastic" they say. Mhm that's the first thing on my list of things I really wanted to hear right now THANKS), I have to worry about somehow paying the funds to actually get into college, and get a good education. I guess it's either that or being a bank teller or something as equally stupid.
     This week has been a huge debate of whether AP classes and similar varieties of education are worth it. I mean, I've been told and told AND TOLD to challenge myself but the more I think about it the more I wonder WHAT WAS THE FREAKING POINT?
     "Oh you are paying $90 now to save $1,000 later! It will be worth--"
     Let me stop you right there. There are SO many things wrong with this statement.
     Lets start on the AP test. Sure. So I'm paying $90 for a test I am not even sure I am going to pass, and some colleges don't even exempt you from a class with a 3 on the stupid thing. Well, there goes $1,090 down the drain.
     Next, lets just look at the type of student I am. I will admit, I am not the most motivated student. I am above average, but I am not the best. "Challenging" myself by taking these AP classes really does nothing for me. I get a B or sometimes a C in the class, which has no benefit. Sure, I passed my two classes last year, but at what cost? Lets take a look.
     UNR will give you $5,000 a year if you can get a 3.5 UNWEIGHTED GPA in your core classes; English, Science, Social Science, and Math. Hmm, it seems our school only offers AP courses in these subjects! How useful. As I stated earlier, my GPA gets hit pretty hard by the fact that I take AP classes. My core average runs about a 3.1. So $5,000 gone. The Silver-and-Blue scholarship ($2,500) is for a 3.3 unweighted GPA in all classes and a nigh perfect score on the ACT/SAT. A 3.4 GPA puts you at a next-to-perfect or a nigh-perfect ACT/SAT score. My unweighted total GPA? 3.3/3.4. So I gotta shoot for am ALMOST PERFECT ACT or SAT score (of which, for your information, I will not be taking until December. Thanks padres. Like I had $80 to spend on these stupid tests).  So you see my problem? The next level of scholarship is the Nevada Pride level. At this point, I have a pretty wide range of test scores and GPAs to get this one. This scholarship is the one I will most likely be getting. $1,500 a year. Woo. So why am I bitter?
     Cause it's unfair. I'm gonna be saving only $600 on college courses thus far (my 3 on the APUSH exam doesn't count unless I got a four). I have this strong STRONG belief that if I had taken normal classes rather than AP/Honors, my GPA would benefit. By that, I probably could have hit 3.5 and gotten the $5,000 Presidential. So $600 taken off the first year cause my lousy 3 on the AP English exam gets me three credits, then I am saving -$19,400. Whoa, that's a nice number. If I pass all my exams this year, then it only puts me up $2,000. I am still down by over seventeen-thousand dollars. See where my problem lies?
     So my question I pose to you my dear friends, is what is the point of working so hard? Sure, I challenge myself, but my grade does the suffering. And by my grade suffering, I am gonna have a lot harder of a time getting through college. If I can't get through college, then ALL that hard work was wasted as the credits are naught. For me, this is a losing battle.
     A losing battle that at this moment causes a lot of anxiety, a lot of angst, and seems to be making everyone a bit of an asshole.

(Word count: 781 words)