Post-Near-Mortem Reflection
I have established somewhat of a tradition in this blog of giving my thoughts at the end of each school year, so I will subject the reader to yet another dose of verbose and vague ramblings. If anything, I would call this year climactic and disappointing. I have reached the first pass, and the other side of the mountain is beautiful, but the meadow and glassy lake are still farther off than I had imagined. Although I had long suspected it, I finally realized what an incredible waste high school has become. This year was a ton of work and it was hard at points, but it never felt as though I was probing my cerebral limits. Nevertheless, I've pushed far enough to glimpse college--the glorious temple of learning that lies before me--and yet I must return to another, and particularly wasteful, year of slogging. That is not to say that this year was a waste however. Indeed it seems that I have accelerated my pace of learning to a rate I have not before achieved. And I think that if there is one thing I have learned this year that is really important, in the sense of being significant for overall living, it is that I think I have finally learned how to learn. Anyone can sit in a class and absorb a lecture and learn processes for doing this, and most people can think too, but I think there is a certain general art of learning. Once one has a grasp of this art, one is capable of learning or teaching oneself almost anything given enough time. Maybe I'm full of nonsense, but I think that this art or "technique" of learning has been probably the most significant thing I have figured out in years, and it is what I remember most from this year. Of course memorable too were the speech and debate marathons that ran for days on end, and the innumerable physics and calculus parties conducted in Jonathan Kadish's basement, and the time I drove with Leeor illegally when he repeatedly bumped into the car in front of us while trying to pull out of a spot in front of an outdoor cafe downtown... and then there was the time at the state speech and debate tournament when Ian--actually, I don't need to repeat that incident. Needless to say, there have been more than a few memorable experiences that encapsulate the zeitgeist of this year--whatever that is supposed to mean.
Fin.
Almost.
I figured out the classes that I'm going to take at Wilson next year, for anyone who wants to compare:
P. 0 - Leadership
P. 1 - AP Spanish 9-10 - Coleman
P. 2 - AP English 7-8 - Meiner
P. 3 - AP Java and possibly systems dynamics if I have time at the end of the year - Fisher
P. 4 - AP Chemistry - Penk
Depending on how much you like to program, I really ended up enjoying Systems Dynamics a lot at the end of this year. You should try to maybe go back and forth between Java and Systems, like maybe one lesson Java, one lesson Stella, or whatever. They're both worthwhile courses, definitely try to get the most of both of them.
And, What? No Lady Rod? What happened? You'll be missing out my friend, that class this year was priceless.
What about 5 and 6?
Java is a mostly a waste of time (although not as much a waste of time as C++). Most people will never have the need to program, since programming is a profession, like plumbing, which is better left to vocational training. You'd be better off with a brief introduction to Python, which is simpler and more elegant, and an introduction to the physics of transistors, integrated circuits, nano technology and bioengineering.
I think I might end up with Meiner 2nd and AP Chem, instead of World history and Meiner 4th. Which would mean we'd have 3 classes together next year. Oh, and speaking of our class-together count, I believe we have bother forgotten about freshman biology.
AP Chem over AP World History? AP Chem really isn't AP Chem: it's Advanced Chem.
World History is not an academic class like both of you might want, it's low on actual content and high on fun stuff or so it was this year.
And I would argue that programming like C++ and Java or in some form are really good because it teaches you logic.