Journal 14

     We had a math test this morning. I thought that I didn’t take it seriously, so I only got 680. I hoped that I could get 750 on the real test. This week was a good one for seniors because I could focus only on SAT stuffs without school works pressure. To postpone camp to this week was a wonderful choice. The daily schedule for this week was to do some practice test, but there were not many of them. Sometimes did too many tests right before the real test was not a wise choice because we might mass up the whole things. In school, I did what teacher told us to do; at home, I reviewed the vocabulary list. SAT vocabularies were difficult and hard to memorize, so I had to continue to review in order not to forget them. Melissa and I hoped that majority vocabularies would come from Paolo’s vocab list. I tried to relax myself this week that I went to bed early and woke up early. The test on Saturday was quiet important because I partly decided my future. I kept telling myself to calm down and caring when I did each question. Good night! It’s time for bed.

 

Journal 13

     There were only four days left for the test on this Saturday. I went to bed early this week because I needed to get more energy. My emotion was kind of down today, but I didn't know why. I just felt some people were too expedient. They wouldn't care whether the things they did were sincere or not because they only cared about whether they got what they want or not. What kinds of people were good students? People who got over 2400 on SAT test, 120 on TOEFL test, 4.0 on GPA, and used some shamelessness ways to get what they want could be called as good students? Why some people would think that good students were only for high-academic people? Although some students didn't show their works in front of you, they did all the works what teacher told them to do. On the other hand, some students tried their best to flatter you and behaved very fake. Every person should get even chance because no one said that high-academic students could have more opportunities than any other students. I really didn't like people who thought they know you very well, but they, however, didn't understand you at all.

 

Journal 12

     Surprise! I got 1910 on SAT Reasoning practice test today. I should get this high score because I took it before. I could kind of remember the questions but not the answers. I still needed to spend time figuring out the correct answer. For this test, I got 540 on critical reading, 650 on writing, and 720 on math. How a wonderful score huh! I was so surprised that I only got 3 wrongs for the questions I did on critical reading. I knew the general idea of each passage, so I could quickly spot the correct answer. Today’s score was even higher than my dream score, which was 1850. For my dream score, I had to get 450 on critical reading, 650 on writing, and 750 on math. The most important thing was that I should avoid making careless mistakes, which would affect my score a lot! In this week, Ms. Pamela didn’t want us to do too many practices. We only needed to review the tests we did before and focused on the wrong questions. In writing section, I noticed that the questions I usually did wrong were the same type of questions. Before the real test day, I should relax myself and sleep well in order to have enough energy on the test day.

Journal 11

     I could get good grades on practice tests, but why I couldn't also get such good grades on real test. There were only five days left for the coming SAT Reasoning test. Majority people were nervous, but they still could show their potential on the real test while I couldn't. I didn’t do well on real tests was because I was too nervous. The universities wouldn't know this face. They just wanted to see our scores. I kept telling me that I must calm in order to see the key words for each question. The biggest problem was that I made lots of careless mistakes when I was too nervous. “Being too nervous won’t help me at all.” I thought that I should keep this sentence in my mind. I disappointed today’s score. I failed writing and math sections. I wasn't good at critical reading, so I needed to gain more points on the other two sections to balance my total score. Unfortunately, I failed my math and writing sections. I couldn't stop worrying because the REAL test is coming soon. Today’s test result would be very close to the one on this Saturday because today’s test was the real one in May 2011. There is another test tomorrow. I hope that I can do well on that test.

Journal 11

     I felt the pressure was getting heavier. The pressures on tests were the heaviest, especially the results of those tests. I told myself that this was my second senior year, so there was no reason for me not to get good grades. I could tell that I improve my math and writing sections, but reading was very limited. It was hard to improve reading a lot in only one year. I wanted to get at least 450 on critical reading. Although this score goal might seem very low to many people, I could get a high total score if I really reach this score. I kept memorizing vocabularies everyday because I would forget them quickly if I didn’t review them daily. I could felt that my parents also worried about my situation, but they didn’t ask me. Maybe they didn’t want to put more pressures on me. I had a plan that I wanted to give my score report as a birthday gift to my mother in November. It would probably be one of her most meaningful present. She must be very happy when she a good grade on the report card and she would definitely proud of me. Go Pamela Chang! You can do it.

Journal 10

     I had three quizzes today, so I went to bed late last night. For History of American Music class, we needed to review what teacher said during classes. Actually, it was not a big and hard quiz. It should be very easy, but I spent more time on other two quizzes. I probably didn't get a good grade on this quiz. AP Human Geography class, I had to memorize all the provinces in India. It contains 27 of them. I didn't hear most of them before I saw them yesterday. Words of these provinces were hard to pronounce and spell them correctly. I thought that the best way to memorize them was to read out loud first and later filled them into a blank India map. After few time practicing, I finally memorize all of them. I got these provinces all right on the quiz. The biggest quiz was British Lit’s one which I spent approximately 2 hours to study, but the quiz was not that hard. Majority of the questions were not at difficult level. I hoped that I could get at least 90 percent questions correct. I want to go to bed early today, however, I still have to study tomorrow’s quiz.

 

Journal 9

     Today Mr. McCool gave us an interesting topic to write. The topic is "What do you think people like to hear the details of a story, and not just a synopsis or summary?" I think that the biggest missing part of a summary is detail. Details are very important to a story. They are like a frame of the story, so a story can’t form without it. Summary is to conclude the main point and grab the big idea from a story. On the other hand, details are descriptions or examples of the story. People tend to hear the details of a story, and not just a synopsis or summary because it is hard to completely understand and involve to it. For example, the story of “Three Little Pigs” is about how they build different houses to protect themselves and prevent the big bad wolf’s coming. We can’t feel anything by hearing this brief description of the story. However, we might have more pictures in our heads if there are more details, such as how these pigs build their houses, how their personalities different from others, and how their actions when face with the wolf. Those details provide more information about the story, so we can quickly understand what the story is talking about. Storyteller and writer can use some exaggerated words to attract readers. Therefore, to make a story interesting is to add more details.

 

Journal 8

     This semester is very important for seniors. We must to do every test and quiz well in order to get enough high GPA. My goal is to get at least A- for each class. The current of my AP Human Geography is 87.2, which means that is it only B+. I have to get 90 on every single test; therefore I can have chance to get higher GPA. SAT reasoning test is coming soon that there are only ten days left. I am so nervous, but I try to tell myself that I won’t get a good grade because I am nervous instead it is helpless. I might do some careless mistake and mark the wrong answers easily if I am too nervous. I have practiced SAT everyday since the beginning of this semester. My brother will take the PSAT test at the end of September. I gave him a practice test last weekend and taught him some basic writing skills. He is good at math, so I tell him that he should at a high score on math part. I was surprised that he just asked me to give him the SAT vocabulary list. As his hard working, I believed my brother could get a good score on his PSAT test.

 

Journal 7

     In college research essay class, Mr. McCool asked us about self-discovery. He wanted us to write down how we think about it. To me, self-discovery can be defined from many angles. For instance, sometimes an author’s article makes me think about myself and recalls my memories. Those actions help me to think more about myself, so things from other people can inspire me a lot. I have taken both Chinese and English journals everyday since two years ago. I did take journal when I was young, but it was not continuous. I strongly believe that I can learn more about myself through take journal because it forces me to think deeper. Writing journals are like brainstorm and critical thinking. My journals are very simple that each of them is less than 20 words, but they still help me to reflect myself. My mother encourages me to write Chinese journals because she wants me to keep writing them to practice my Chinese. I have left local education system and joined American’s since four years ago. Writing Chinese journals does help me not to forget those words in Chinese. I will keep writing journals because they also help me release my emotions and reduces my pressures.

 

Journal 6

     I didn’t go anywhere this weekend, however, I stayed at home because there are only 12 days left for SAT Reasoning Test. I tried to finish my homework before Sunday evening that I could have more time to study SAT. My biggest hope is that I won’t have any careless mistake on the test and at least get 1800. I really don’t want to take the test in December because I will very busy in that month, and I need to take TOEFL and SAT subject tests in November. After these heavy works, I can relax a little bit. I really want to get 1800 on my SAT Test! I believe that I will make it. My grandmother came to my house on Saturday. Her coming helped to moderate my pressure. I always felt warm and comfortable when I spent time with my family. Sometimes something bad happened to me, but I would feel better when I see my family members. It was important to have a good relationship with your parents. Beside friends and lover, or other non-family members, parents were the biggest support to us. Not everyone felt comfortable to share things with parents, but at least you had their supports which were forever.

Journal 5

     I’m so tired today because I went to bed late for two days. That’s a senior’s life. I did a writing section during my study hall. This was my second time to do this section because I did it in summer. I got a higher raw score than the previous tests. My writing’s raw score was finally over 40. That was a good news. I knew that I couldn’t get this kind of high score for each test. I think that the thing I should do now is to completely understand the wrong questions. It is very important to figure out the wrong questions. I hope that I will get this score on the real test. There was another thing happened today. After school, I went home by bus with Sharon Wu. The rain was becoming heavier and I forgot to bring my umbrella. I called my mother to pick me up, but she was in the down town. If I still walked home without having an umbrella, I must wet by the rain, so I decided to stay at Sharon’s house for a while. I just knew that Sharon’s house was near my English cram school when I was in elementary school. About thirty minutes later, my mother came and drive me home.

Journal 4

     OMG!!! I have a lot of homework today. I can’t go to bed before 1 a.m. Maybe I should say something good to let me forget my pressure of the homework. What day is today? Today is ……Melissa’s seventeen-year-old birthday. I wrote her a birthday card yesterday night. I was thinking that I should give her this card in the morning when I saw her or gave her during the lunch time. Ariel and Irene gave her a cute crab balloon before Melissa walked into homeroom, so I decided to give Melissa her birthday card. I was so embarrassed while she was reading the card because I wrote “Finally 18.” Actually, it should be her seventeenth years old birthday. I didn’t believe it when Melissa told me I was wrong because I thought that she make a joke on me, but Maxine said “Really, it’s her seventeenth years old birthday” then I knew that I was wrong. Melissa kept laughing at me and I was so embarrassed. I didn't have to time to buy her a gift. Maybe I will give her few weeks later. After my friends, Caroline, Rachel, Jack S, Enya, and Esther, graduated from PAS, Melissa is one of my best friends who I can trust. Again……HAPPY BIRTHDAY Melissa!!!!!

Journal 3

     I really want to watch movies! BUT I don’t have time to go to movie theater. “You Are the Apple of My Eye” and “Seediq Bale” are two movies very popular in Taiwan now. “You Are the Apple of My Eye” is a romantic comedy that the director of this movie recalls his beautiful during the high school years. “Seediq Bale” is a historical movie that native Taiwanese fight with Japanese. I am too busy to watch these two movies, actually there are more, so I will immediately watch them right after I finish my college application. College application……everytime I say this word the pressure is becoming more and more. Not working hard definitely gains nothing, so I should work extremely hard to get a high enough score on SAT and other standardize tests. Oh I forget to mention a good new. I got a good score on writing section today. I know that my biggest mistake during the test is careless mistakes. The best way to solve this problem is to read each word carefully. It is easy by saying but hard by doing. I force myself to make sure that I do read EACH word and not skip any detail. I hope my hard efforts will bring me a good score.

Journal 2

     Today is Moon Festival! Chinese people have BBQ with family or friends and eat moon cake with the full moon in the sky at night. I have eaten a lot of moon cake since last weeks. Sometimes my dad received some moon cake from his friends, so that’s why I have a lot to eat. Although I didn't have BBQ this year, I still enjoyed time staying with my family. I also bought a new book today. Actually it’s not a real book that it’s a “Journal.” This journal book is written by Rachel Renee Russell. The author creates a story by writing journals. I bought this book not because I have to write journal for British Lit class, but because I can learn some American cultures and daily use of English from this book. There are vocabulary lists on each page, so I can also learn some new terms. The main reason to buy this book is that I want to improve my reading skill. Sometimes I can’t finish reading on time during the test, but I understand what the story is talking about if I have extra time. There are no challenge stuffs and knowledge inside the book, however, I can practice my reading’s speed. My goal is to finish the book by the end of this week.

 

Journal 1

     Majority people might think that it is time to relax on weekends. To me, weekends are the most busy days for the whole week. Sometimes I not only need to do my works but also have to participate family activities. For instance, one of my aunts got marry on Sunday, so most of my family members went to Taipei for her wedding party. Each time when I meet family members, I enjoy every moment to stay with them. During the wedding party, I met lots of people who I hadn't seen them for a long time. I remember that when I was young, I liked to spend time with my aunts because they all very kind and funny. As time pass on, everything is different. I would quickly ran to hug my aunts when I saw them. Now I am a teenager that I know I should behave like an adult. I can't still do some childish things. Although I really want to run to hug them, but I only can chat with them and tell them that I miss them so much in my mind. Sometimes I want to go back to my childhood that I can directly express my emotions to my aunts, but it's impossible.