Thanks a lot! I think in the summer, I will be going away to basic training for national guard which will provide tuition for college. I hope I pass the military entrance processing and the ASVAB which I’m hoping to get at least a 56 on. You need a 32 to enlist, but for certain jobs you need a high grade. The highest grade is a 99 which means you scored better than 99% of other test takers, yet few people get 59 or higher. I hope to go into computers, radio communications, medical or military police. The SATs may be rescheduled to Feb. 20th, so I’m not sure if I’m still taking the test that is out of 2400 points or out of 1600, but I think it will be the 2400 points because the new test won’t go into effect until March 5th which is another test date. The new SAT doesn’t give much points for the essay since colleges don’t look at it much, but if you complete the essay (you get 50 minutes instead of the usual 25 minutes for the old SATs), you get your score separately. The new SAt has more math points added especially for probability and statistics, logical reasoning and algebra and geometry. I am nervous about the new SAts because I took the PSATs which were a reflection of what may be on the 1600 SAT and I got a 1060 on it. For the PSATs in sophomore year, I got a 1290 and they were reflective of the old SATs. I am nervous about the logical reasoning and probability and statistics questions. It snowed 2 ft in Brick, NJ today and the snow was moderately heavy to shovel, but I enjoyed it. The weather channel is debating to call the storm “Monster Storm or “Storm Jonas.” Nature is always so beautiful, I always like rain and snow, it’s always nice to hear the rain on the window pane and also to look out into a snow storm and see a winter wonderland. Also, I’ve always liked the snow more than the wind. Every time it snows, I feel like I have more energy because the cold is easy for me to workout in and the beauty of nature is breathtaking. Also when there is a thunderstorm, I often find myself feeling connected to the static energy of the lightning and experiencing mental clarity and psychic awareness. I also count the seconds of lightning and thunder and calculate how far away the storm is. I love to see patterns in nature and often am excited when I hear news of a meteor shower, lunar eclipse or other astronomical event. I am currently reading Girl, interrupted by Susanna Kaysen to prepare for senior year psychology class. I feel bad for those patients at Mclean mental hospital in the 1960s because they experienced harsh treatment like seclusion, shock therapy and also ice bag therapy. The book is a memoir of Susanna Kaysen’s. I felt sad when Jim Watson offers Susanna to run away to England with him and start a new life, but she is hesitant because she doesn’t know what the real world is like. Everyone at Mclean hospital has some mental disorder of varying degrees. One character Lisa seems almost normal as she is always trying to escape the hospital for a sense of freedom, yet she is always admitted back because she has no money and not sure how she can survive. Lisa barely eats and sleeps and is calmer at night and I feel sorry for her. The only form of entertainment for the patients at Mclean hospital is the tv which only features bland things like depressives and things. I think Lisa knows more about the world than the other patients and she has a sense she wants to be part of it, but isn’t sure how. In the novel, Lisa says “Lisa never watched tv and had scorn for those who did. She believed it made people like more like robots than they already were.” (Kaysen 21). Lisa seems to understand the condition of the patients in Mclean hospital and how they just drift through life and aren’t sure how to live in the real world. Also Lisa says “It’s a mean world out there. There’s no one to take care of you.” (Kaysen 22). Lisa seems to understand the world more than the other patients in the hospital and how people have to fend for themselves and those who can’t are locked away. Girl, Interrupted is a very moving book exposing the sufferings of people who don’t know what the real world seems like. There is one character, Polly who tried to burn herself and Susanna thinks she is courageous since she never complains, smiles and doesn’t talk, but Polly is like a comforting presence for others. Susanna believes that Polly built herself a new skin of scar tissue that never wears out to cover and protect what is underneath; she burned the sadness out of her. Yet, Polly makes me sad because she like the others is also covering herself, hiding in a world of darkness not really in reality. My teacher (ap world history teacher will be psychology teacher next year) is always asking us to analyze and see point of view. What do you think of my take of the book so far? Also let me know what you think of the book so far, if my words have given you insight into it. Thanks for everything!