Skip to main content

Why taking AP Chemistry was the best thing ever

During the how to write your college essay video, the person kept emphasizing the importance of showing growth. That got me thinking about my own growth. Trying to pinpoint a specific moment in my life where I felt like I grew was difficult. Sometimes I look back on my past self and cringe at my actions, so I do know I've grown. But pinpointing a single, truly pivotal moment was difficult.

I know for a fact that I grew from 9th to 10th grade because of the difficult classes I took. I know for a fact that I grew over the pandemic because I started actually doing my homework. But these were all periods of my life, not exact moments. So I continued thinking...

During my sophomore year, I took AP Chemistry. Near the beginning of the year, we covered thermodynamics. By that point, we had already gone through three unit tests, and most of these tests were manageable. If I memorized how everything was solved, then I would get a decent grade on the tests. Going into this test I thought the same, so I did my normal preparations. Nothing serious.

During the test I vividly remember cruising through, feeling confident. I finished the MCQ and felt fine. FRQ time and I was feeling fine. Then came the last problem. I genuinely had no clue how to solve it and I felt hopeless. I had to find the enthalpy of reaction, but the chemicals weren’t on the formula sheet. I even asked Mr. Moore if there was an error in this question because I didn’t remember him teaching it in class. And then it clicked. I had to use the net ionic equation from last chapter. And in that moment, I felt like the smartest person in the world because I found my own solution. And I did grow from this. From that test on, instead of memorizing solutions, I made sure I understood the concepts. I would figure out the solutions on test day. Instead of stressing the night before and staying up until midnight memorizing all the solutions, I went to bed early and felt excited. 

After this class, I realized I really loved problem-solving. It was probably one of the most satisfying things I’ve ever done. I even started seeking out challenging problems online just to recreate the same feeling. 

Now that I look back on it, the times when I grew were the times when I felt hopeless. And I guess it made me realize that the only way to grow is to feel hopeless. I can only grow if life sucks. But I guess that's what's beautiful about life. When life sucks, I'll grow.





Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

what is art

     I think of art as a skillful creative expression. It’s something that humans create based on their identity. The way I experience art in my daily life is with sports, specifically soccer. Based on my definition of art, I believe sports should be called an art. Not really the result of the game, but more the act of playing. When Neymar must beat his man, he does it in a creative manner that is true to his Brazilian trickster identity. When Jamal Musiala is dribbling, he does it in a creative manner with quick feet and incredible agility. In soccer, even without the faces, names, or numbers on the back of the shirt, the players are still recognizable because of their distinctive style. No two players are alike, they must come up with their own style and their own ideas on how to best execute a play.      What about with another sport? Maybe something as dull as darts? Would that be considered art? I think it is. At first glance, darts seems to lack that ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Dear Poet Letter

Dear Allen Ginsberg,      For a school project, a group and I had to find a poem, annotate it in 9 different ways, and present our findings to class. My group chose your poem, A Supermarket in California. While this letter comes from a school assignment, I truly did find immense beauty in the way the message was delivered.      What stood out to me was the journey, the journey that both you and Walt Whitman somewhat took. In your mind, you went from the streets of California, to the superficial supermarket, to the “black waters of Lethe”. Yet at the same time, in the physical world, you start and end at the same place. I loved that. I loved the way you changed the way a typical “journey” is supposed to be, and used that to further emphasize your message. It was brilliant.      I would also like to take the time to ask a few questions. Your poem feels like a train of thought. It's a free meter and it has no rhyme scheme, so I would like to ask...
Post a Comment
Read more

Poem

I decided to make my poem on not wanting to write poetry because I don’t want to write poetry. Here’s the first draft. I did the first draft as it came to my mind. Do i fr gotta do this I’m forcing myself to write Words come from the abyss To make this poem alright I just need to finish this blog Get to nine lines I’ll be like a dog I’ll follow all the guidelines Just give me a good grade Now the first thing I noticed when I went back is that I rhymed lines with guidelines. I don’t think that’s how the rhyme scheme is supposed to work. I don’t think I’m supposed to rhyme the same word with itself. So I decided to change that. I also thought the ending was a bit weird and I wanted to play more into the dog thing. I felt like it was a good joke as well because according to the Chinese Zodiac I’m a dog. I also changed the last line because I felt like it would be better if it was a more abrupt ending. To connect with breaking, I didn’t mean to write out “Do i fr gotta do this”. I was goin...
Post a Comment
Read more