Parties and Tennis Camp

So I had my sweet 16 on Friday. It was AWESOME!! Everyone had a good time (seemed to have or told me they did, anyway) and I had a great time. A better time than anyone else.

And now I hang out at tennis camp for seven hours a day, five days a week, in the hot sun. Sure, it sounds like torture, but it's actually fun when you have plenty of friends there.

I just like playing sports, not so much watching them or obsessively keeping track of all the key players. I find that boring and something people get way too caught up in. Like, this one guy in Poland, got SO pissed off that Poland lost to Germany in the Eurocup that he threw his TV out the window. That's a waste of a good TV.

My favorite tennis shot is the volley. I am a beast at those, but since I have not played in a year, they aren't very terrifying. I'll show the other players next week and maybe I will get moved up...

If the cocky jerks do not get to me. There are so many cocky people there and the cockiest are the worst players. I really should not be talking, but it's true! They try to make crazy, pro shots, a cheap immitation of Federer and those people, since they shots either attack the net or never go in. It is rather amusing.

My middle finger hurts because I jammed it. So that's my blurb until it gets better.

College + Standardized Tests + Ideals = CRAPPER THIS IS SCARY!

I just got back from college tour. I saw about 13 or 14 colleges in 5 days. My favorites were: University of Delaware, George Washington University, Georgetown (which everyone seems to like), and Lehigh University. My mom thinks they are all bad except Georgetown. With all due respect, Georgetown in unattainable. So, I will give a brief overview of why I like them.

University of Delaware has a gorgeous campus and it seems easy to navigate. It has the best study abroad program to all continents, including ANTARCTICA! They have over 125 majors too, many of which I'm interested in. And no core curriculum, which is AWESOME! I like independence. And it has 15,000 students and I want to be anonymous, but not to the point of ignorance where people cannot help me with internships.

Upon which note, I move onto GWU. It is GREAT for internships. Both campuses are located in Washington, D.C., so there are many important government jobs to do. The student body is about 10,000, so yay for anonymity! And it is a top-10 college in the country. So if my mom thinks it is a bad school, SURE IT IS!

And then there's Georgetown. Lovely European-like campus and great facilities, but completely unattainable. They judge students according to Ignatian ideals and I know I definitely do not adhere to those. Except for grade-wise. But the numbers for their SATs and ACTs are just disgusting because I know I will not be able to make above a 700. And it is really depressing.

So, Lehigh gave us a really realistic picture. Since kids applying on Early Decision made up half the student body, that decreased the chances for regular applicants to get in. I really liked the campus, because it is on a mountain and I like mountains. The study abroad is really good too, unlike most schools we looked at. The academics are good too and have programs that I will be interested in. And tennis is a major sport there, which makes me happy.

I have no clue if I have a shot at any of these. Hopefully I do. Mr. Hanley cannot stress enough that there are more kids applying and how it is more competitive and whatnot. That is so discouraging! Oh well.
It's worth a shot, no?

Birthdays and Happiness and FEK YOU COLLEGE BOARD!

Okay, so...I love my school. Really, I do. It is awesome, I met the love of my life there. And he gave me the coolest birthday present ever: blue roses. They are m-effing awesome! Did you know that there is no way to get them naturally (except for genetic engineering, but that is not entirely natural)? Yeah, planters pretty much dye the flowers blue having them sit in blue coloring liquid for a few days. And they are gorgeous! Do you not agree?

But tests royally stink.

And so does the ever-present reality that I need to start thinking about colleges.

And the ever-present reality that my parents think that I am too dumb on standardized tests to get anything worthy of the schools I like, such as Oxford and Yale. Why do I like these schools?

Well, Oxford is in England. Tolkien taught there, C.S.Lewis was part of the writing club there (the Inklings). England is the coolest place ever. The style in London is so punk/hardcore that it baffles me to the core in excitement. I went there when I was going into seventh grade and I fell in love! Greatest city on earth! I need to revisit the Tower of London and London Dungeon, now that I have more guts to not freak out at anything.

And as for Yale...well, the University of Connecticut and Trinity are close by. My boo is going to UConn but he's wait-listed for Trinity (I hope he gets in). But that is sort of stupid. However, I also enjoy the idea of going to an Ivy League school, as weird as that sounds. My parents want that too, even though they are using a poor method of encouraging me to go. Too bad I will not get to visit it on college tour. Maybe I will find another school I like. Something closer to home...and him.

Being in love does strange things to people. You will not know until you are in it yourself. It is easy to observe, and it really looks odd. But it is the GREATEST feeling ever.