My summer is coming to an end. This has by far been the best summer I've had in my short 16 years. My heart has been touched by God in so many ways, and He has shown me His plan for me. So please, pray that I use the strength and confidence He gave me this summer, and all the good memories with my friends, to have a wonderful and successful school year. School starts on Tuesday, so this has been on my mind. This summer has been character shaping for me, and I don't want to fall back into the same routines I had before.
Here's my schedule, so you have an idea of what my classes are like! Although I don't want summer to end, I have to admit, I'm a little excited to be starting my junior year.
1st Honors Astronomy
2nd Honors English Literature
3rd Honors US History
4th Trigonometry (1st semester) Pre Calculus (2nd semester)
5th Honors MPS Chamber Singers :D
6th Honors Spanish 3
Again, please pray for me! Thanks and God bless you all!
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Friday, August 6, 2010
My Kind of Town, Chicago Is
Last night I got home from my fantastic Chicago trip! I really got a chance to bond with the other AIT kids; especially Olivia, a girl I'm good friends with who is a year above me at my school and in my choir this year, and the AIT kids who I didn't know as well but will be in the program again this year. There were many laughs and jokes and naps in the car and it was all around a wonderful experience.
But of course what I specifically want to mention is the college visits we took. We toured the music schools of Northwestern, DePaul, and Roosevelt University. They were all really interesting and cool, but from getting a taste of all 3, Northwestern is still top choice. Roosevelt has a music conservatory, which is not what I'm looking for. I want to study music in college but since I don't want to have a musical career, I need the whole college oppurtunity. That brings up something I forgot to mention in my last post. Northwestern not only offers but encourages students and especially music students to double major or even do the dual degree program. A third of their music students are involved in those programs, and this is something I'm really interested. The dual degree is different from a double major. It takes five years rather than four, but you actually receive two degrees, rather than one degree with two majors. This also means that, while applying, even if you don't get into the music school, you still have the chance to be accepted into the other school you applied for. This is good for me, because even if Northwestern didn't accept me into the music school, I'd still want to go there. DePaul University offers all this, but it is not common and not encouraged. Their vocal program is also a little too competitve for what I'm looking for, but their music school is very good. I loved the campus, because even though it was right in Chicago there were different buildings and a campus vibe, but I'm not interested in what DePaul has to offer me.
So that's that! Northwestern is still looking really great, and I feel like I can study music there without having to go on with it as a career. I believe that I'm visiting U of I next week, so there will probably be lots more to tell you about soon! Till then, God bless you!
But of course what I specifically want to mention is the college visits we took. We toured the music schools of Northwestern, DePaul, and Roosevelt University. They were all really interesting and cool, but from getting a taste of all 3, Northwestern is still top choice. Roosevelt has a music conservatory, which is not what I'm looking for. I want to study music in college but since I don't want to have a musical career, I need the whole college oppurtunity. That brings up something I forgot to mention in my last post. Northwestern not only offers but encourages students and especially music students to double major or even do the dual degree program. A third of their music students are involved in those programs, and this is something I'm really interested. The dual degree is different from a double major. It takes five years rather than four, but you actually receive two degrees, rather than one degree with two majors. This also means that, while applying, even if you don't get into the music school, you still have the chance to be accepted into the other school you applied for. This is good for me, because even if Northwestern didn't accept me into the music school, I'd still want to go there. DePaul University offers all this, but it is not common and not encouraged. Their vocal program is also a little too competitve for what I'm looking for, but their music school is very good. I loved the campus, because even though it was right in Chicago there were different buildings and a campus vibe, but I'm not interested in what DePaul has to offer me.
So that's that! Northwestern is still looking really great, and I feel like I can study music there without having to go on with it as a career. I believe that I'm visiting U of I next week, so there will probably be lots more to tell you about soon! Till then, God bless you!
Monday, August 2, 2010
Purple Haze
I've had a hard time writing this post, but it's long overdue! I visited Northwestern University back in June and it was simply... perfect. I honestly had no complaints, and I loved everything I saw and heard. Actually, that's why I've had trouble with this post. Because it's basically going to be me ranting on and on about how wonderful Northwestern is! Not having visited any other colleges yet, I can't really compare it's perfectness to other schools. So I don't really know how much I love it. However, I do know that it's an amazing school that will be near the top of my list no matter what.
Where to begin? I guess one thing that I really like about Northwestern is all the oppurtunities they offer in your education. Enrichment oppurtunities. Northwestern is one of the top schools in the country, but it doesn't stick its nose up at working and job experiences. They get you smack dab in the middle of the "real world" by offering various iternships and workshops. The journalism school, for example, has its classes set up their own newspaper with a real office (they use run down buildings in Chicago) and the students go out and report stories happening around that neighborhood. They also send their students to an internship to any number of magazines, newspapers, or television stations. They offer study abroad, something that I'm really interested in. And what I didn't realize is that people don't just study abroad for the language that they take! I can choose any country they offer to study abroad, which will probably be good for what I eventually want to do with my life (mission work). The music school approaches their students at a conservatory level, but you still have to take other classes. Northwestern has everything to offer me, which is great because I don't know what I want to major and minor in yet. But if I go to Northwestern, everything I'm interested in will have a strong program. Their music school is extremely good, they have one of the best pshycology programs, they have the best journalism school in the country, etc. I could go their with an undecided major and feel safe, because I know that I can get a fabulous education no matter what I decide.
The setting also really appealed to me. To those of you who don't know, Northwestern University is located in Evanston, IL. It's about 12 miles away from Chicago. That in itself is awesome! It's really cheap to get over to Chicago, and it doesn't take long at all. And even though Northwestern has an urban setting, it's not as if it's in Chicago. It's in Evanston. So you are in a city. There are streets and other people and buildings and stores. But there's also a lot of trees and walking space. There's even a beach! Northwestern is right on Lake Michigan, which I just think is the coolest thing ever. There's a mix of new and old buildings. It's not too small, but not too large; you can easily walk to anywhere on campus, but it still gives you a nice workout. It's exactly the kind of campus I can picture myself at, a blend of everything. Big and small, landscape and streets.
An obvious pro for Northwestern is that it's in state. Only about 5 hours away from home, I would definitely have the away from home experience, but I could easily get home if I needed to, and I would be able to visit for more than just Christmas. In state tuition is also something I'm looking for, because I want as much financial aid as humanly possible for my college career. Northwestern offers great financial aid; its students graduate with the least debt of any of the Big 10 schools. They also admit students without knowledge of their financial situation, so that they really are letting in the people that deserve it and then helping as needed.
This will sound cheesy, but the final reason that I went crazy for Northwestern is the people I saw there. They seemed like the kind of people I could be friends with. Dumb, right? All of those students could have been horrible people, just acting nice to prospective students. It's not dumb to me, though. I am a reserved person. I'm not that girl who can make friends with everyone she talks to. I wish I were, but that's just not me. I have a small number of very deep connections, and don't connect well with most people. The people at Northwestern seemed like people I would like; artsy, smart, motivated (you have to work to go to Northwestern; it's a seriously good school), goofy, and genuinely good people. This really is important for me, because without friends, college is going to be really hard for me. And my gut insticts about people tend to be correct.
There are a million other little details that made me fall in love with Northwestern, but if I listed all of them, this post would turn into a novella! Again, I can't judge how much I like it compared to other schools, but that's about to change. Tomorrow I am leaving on a 3 day, 2 night trip to Chicago with the Artists-in-Training (the singing program I'm in). We are seeing an opera, going to Navy Pier, eating Chicago style pizza, taking an architectural boat tour, all those fun Chicago things. But we're also visiting Depaul University, Roosevelt University, and Northwestern! I will take plenty of notes and really pay close attention. I'm truly becoming interested in all that college has to offer me. My future seems so full of oppurtunities, I can barely contain my excitement! Just thinking about possible majors and career choices makes me feel all warm inside. I've never felt so excited about my future before this summer, and I know it's because God has showed me what His purpose in my life for. It makes me want to take a hold on every oppurtunity possible.
So wish me luck for the next 3 days! I'll make sure to tell y'all about it this weekend.
Where to begin? I guess one thing that I really like about Northwestern is all the oppurtunities they offer in your education. Enrichment oppurtunities. Northwestern is one of the top schools in the country, but it doesn't stick its nose up at working and job experiences. They get you smack dab in the middle of the "real world" by offering various iternships and workshops. The journalism school, for example, has its classes set up their own newspaper with a real office (they use run down buildings in Chicago) and the students go out and report stories happening around that neighborhood. They also send their students to an internship to any number of magazines, newspapers, or television stations. They offer study abroad, something that I'm really interested in. And what I didn't realize is that people don't just study abroad for the language that they take! I can choose any country they offer to study abroad, which will probably be good for what I eventually want to do with my life (mission work). The music school approaches their students at a conservatory level, but you still have to take other classes. Northwestern has everything to offer me, which is great because I don't know what I want to major and minor in yet. But if I go to Northwestern, everything I'm interested in will have a strong program. Their music school is extremely good, they have one of the best pshycology programs, they have the best journalism school in the country, etc. I could go their with an undecided major and feel safe, because I know that I can get a fabulous education no matter what I decide.
The setting also really appealed to me. To those of you who don't know, Northwestern University is located in Evanston, IL. It's about 12 miles away from Chicago. That in itself is awesome! It's really cheap to get over to Chicago, and it doesn't take long at all. And even though Northwestern has an urban setting, it's not as if it's in Chicago. It's in Evanston. So you are in a city. There are streets and other people and buildings and stores. But there's also a lot of trees and walking space. There's even a beach! Northwestern is right on Lake Michigan, which I just think is the coolest thing ever. There's a mix of new and old buildings. It's not too small, but not too large; you can easily walk to anywhere on campus, but it still gives you a nice workout. It's exactly the kind of campus I can picture myself at, a blend of everything. Big and small, landscape and streets.
An obvious pro for Northwestern is that it's in state. Only about 5 hours away from home, I would definitely have the away from home experience, but I could easily get home if I needed to, and I would be able to visit for more than just Christmas. In state tuition is also something I'm looking for, because I want as much financial aid as humanly possible for my college career. Northwestern offers great financial aid; its students graduate with the least debt of any of the Big 10 schools. They also admit students without knowledge of their financial situation, so that they really are letting in the people that deserve it and then helping as needed.
This will sound cheesy, but the final reason that I went crazy for Northwestern is the people I saw there. They seemed like the kind of people I could be friends with. Dumb, right? All of those students could have been horrible people, just acting nice to prospective students. It's not dumb to me, though. I am a reserved person. I'm not that girl who can make friends with everyone she talks to. I wish I were, but that's just not me. I have a small number of very deep connections, and don't connect well with most people. The people at Northwestern seemed like people I would like; artsy, smart, motivated (you have to work to go to Northwestern; it's a seriously good school), goofy, and genuinely good people. This really is important for me, because without friends, college is going to be really hard for me. And my gut insticts about people tend to be correct.
There are a million other little details that made me fall in love with Northwestern, but if I listed all of them, this post would turn into a novella! Again, I can't judge how much I like it compared to other schools, but that's about to change. Tomorrow I am leaving on a 3 day, 2 night trip to Chicago with the Artists-in-Training (the singing program I'm in). We are seeing an opera, going to Navy Pier, eating Chicago style pizza, taking an architectural boat tour, all those fun Chicago things. But we're also visiting Depaul University, Roosevelt University, and Northwestern! I will take plenty of notes and really pay close attention. I'm truly becoming interested in all that college has to offer me. My future seems so full of oppurtunities, I can barely contain my excitement! Just thinking about possible majors and career choices makes me feel all warm inside. I've never felt so excited about my future before this summer, and I know it's because God has showed me what His purpose in my life for. It makes me want to take a hold on every oppurtunity possible.
So wish me luck for the next 3 days! I'll make sure to tell y'all about it this weekend.
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