One Small Step For Man, One Giant Leap For Mankind

There is a strange feeling in my stomach. Not until this very moment, on this beautiful spring night, have I realized the vast importance of AP English in my life these last two years. It truly defines my high school experience. Without this class, high school would have been a breeze. In only two years, we have all risen to the challenge... the most hazardous and difficult adventure on which man has ever embarked. Many said this could be the worst disaster a student has ever experienced, to which we respond- "With all due respect, we believe it was our finest hour."

To every single person who took on the challenge: It has been a privilege working with you.

This is John Shoemaker signing off.

My AP English Exam

Harding, Amy, and Algernon peer over my should while I take the test and add comments as they deem necessary.

(Following my first essay)

Harding: "Why this is incredible" (58)

Amy: "I can count on one finger the number of times this sort of thing has happened to me" (229)

Harding (In reference to my essay topic over psychoanalysis): "You have already simplified all the work of Freud, Jung, and Maxwell Jones and summed it up in one analogy" (58)

Amy: "Okay, and you're going to have to forgive me here, but I guess I'm going to need a little more explanation" (88)

Algernon (To Amy): "You look perfectly ridiculous" (30)

(The three glance over their shoulders and notice Schiferl working diligently behind me– they address him directly)

Harding: "I had judged from our encounter this morning that you [Sam] were more intelligent" (59)

Algernon: "Really, if the lower orders don't set us a good example, what on earth is the use of them?" (23)

Amy: "Irony is a luxury the doomed can't afford" (230)

Harding: "That's certainly a pleasant analogy, my friend" (58)

(They lose interest with his essay and turn back to my work)

Algernon: "I hope... I shall not offend you if I state quite frankly that you seem to me to be in every way the visible personification of perfection" (38)

Amy: "You're not crazy" (224)

Harding: "Yes, you're becoming sly. Just like the rest of us" (193)

Amy: "It's exciting"

Everything About Everything Matters Matters

The book Everything Matters by Ron Currie Jr. reminds me of Mike Tyson in his prime– if you don't pay close attention it will bite your ear off. Currie depicts the action so gracefully that Michelle Kwan would be jealous. Junior, the dynamic character Currie introduces to a curious audience, fights through trials in life that we can actually somewhat relate to, instead of the problems in a mental ward or an aristocratic society in England. Relationship problems, over-intelligence, and alcoholism pretty much sum up the daily concerns of both Junior Thibodeau and an AP English 12 student. In most books, I am able to group together a section of about forty pages that could use a nice ripping/shredding; however, I am able to honestly state each and every page held my upmost attention. Humor emerges from unexpected places like when Reggie attempts to suck his drink with "swizzle sticks" and Junior responds with a simple declarative: "You stir with them" (107). It reminds me of when Ms. Serensky simply states "be smart," which seems like the most blatantly obvious statement ever, yet it always seems to snap me out of a daze full of stupidity. Furthermore, Currie preforms the impossible task of making me feel close to the characters in a book. I feel as if I grew up with Rodney: from his days in the "Adolescent Recovery Unit" to the big leagues, I stuck with him (52). Lastly, the situational irony created at the conclusion of the novel when the family lies "huddled together, silent and relaxed" almost brought a tear to my eye, and Currie, assuredly, attempts to utilize pathos in order to draw content out of a skeptical reading faction (302). An excellent piece with a fantastic ending is rare in the literary world today and we must, as a society, cherish rarities such as Everything Matters.

Top 10 Most Thrilling Academic Moments of My High School Career

10. When I mastered the art of the A- in my sophomore year– I ended with four grades between a 92.1 and a 93. The opening of my report card was "a mighty awesome sight" (One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest).

9. My passage of the AP Chemistry exam after a year of utter confusion. "It's still hard for me to have a clear mind thinking on it" (One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest).

8. Never feeling a sense of rejection– after each thrilling opening of my college decision letters. I was lucky enough to go 4/4 and, after each one, I let out a blood-curtling shout because "I been silent so long now it's going to roar out of me like floodwaters" (One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest).

7. My first 7- on an essay. Bottom line, it opened a new realm of possibility for my writing career: "They're out there" (One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest).

6. When I participated in the terribly over-emphasized and overly important ACT. I received a 33 (that happens to be my favorite number which was thrilling in its own right) and possessed the ability to coast through the rest of high school because these tests are taken into way too much consideration for college... although I'm not complaining. I guess it's true what they say that "everything matters!" (Everything Matters).

5. It was pretty cool when I received Rotary Student of the Month because the recognition from my teachers means a lot to me. Throughout my high school career I have always "bear in mind that every choice will have consequences" and this award exemplifies that my decisions have been decent ones (Everything Matters).

4. When I realized the only class that required actual "home" work was AP English, that was pretty thrilling. My nights became a lot more relaxing because doing homework at school is "infinitely preferable to the one dreadful alternative" (Everything Matters).

3. The last multiple choice bubble I filled in on my AP Calculus exam was definitely one of my most thrilling academic experiences, because I knew I had 3 months of pure bliss and eating "delicate exotic fruit" (The Importance of Being Earnest).

2. When I receive a 5 on this year's AP English Literature exam. That's right. I'm calling it right now. "I may not write accurately... but I write with wonderful expression" (The Importance of Being Earnest).

1. I got into Duke. That was pretty thrilling. Thomas and Alex are both attending. That is also pretty thrilling. "The good ended happily" (The Importance of Being Earnest).

Favorite Poem

My favorite poem I have ever read is, and will always remain, "This Is Just To Say" by William Carlos Williams. Primarily due to the fact that the author's name is fantastic- who wouldn't want to have their first and last names be almost identical? However, the true reason this poem reserves a special place in my heart is because of Dominic's eloquent yet comical reading of the piece. The way he emphasized each line made me feel as if I were the one that just lost my plums to a greedy outsider. When I am chosen by Ms. Serensky to read a poem aloud, "I do my best to give satisfaction" to the entire class but fail miserably many a time, like when my British accent was not up to par (Wilde 13). Dom captured the moment, "I don't really know how to explain it," but something magical filled the room when he closed with a dramatic "so sweet, and so cold" (Currie 42). At the time, I may have scoffed at an intense depiction of such a simple, and short poem, but now I have this strange feeling that I must put down with ink: I'm "filled with the creeping feeling of having done something for which I should be ashamed" (Wilde 103). I needed this blog to release my true feelings about the excellent portrayal of a shameless person who has recently stolen some treasured plums. Bottom line: this was the shortest poem we read all year which I adored, but the way it was read made it truly special.

My Favorite Day in AP English

My favorite day in AP English was when we learned how to write analytical essays properly. I have been able to utilize the tools and procedures surrounding this task in all my other classes, enhancing my ability to convey thoughts and opinions. For example, I analyzed the differences between the Chesapeake and New England regions during my United States History exam last year. I enjoy writing a clean essay that ends with a respectable audience and purpose. I remember leaving class that day feeling as if my writing abilities were now limitless– it was like I was "touched on each side of the head with wires" (Kesey 69). The encompassing white boards were full with notes and structured soapstones. The parallel between a soapstone and an essay just clicked in my mind, and I thought "this is one of those mercifully rare moments" (Currie 68). I realized that day, when I took diligent notes throughout the period, that I now contained the ability to analyze any piece of writing I ever come across. Most people do not receive the opportunity to learn the ins and outs of writing a well-organized, concise analytical essay and I am grateful for the experience as well as the knowledge. I thought to myself, some of my fellow students "never talk anything but nonsense" yet now I will contain the ability to analyze even the most remote dictations and speaking styles (Wilde 19). As I walked out the door, I truly possessed a newfound ability to utilize in all my future endeavors.

Opposites Attract

Lady Bracknell finds herself seated next to Reggie Fox, on a swelteringly hot day, at a local pub. The following conversation ensues. (Quotes pulled from The Importance of Being Earnest and Everything Matters!)

Lady Bracknell: "Good afternoon" (8)

Reggie: "What are you sweatin' for?" (116)

Lady Bracknell: "From what cause I, of course, cannot say" (8)

Reggie: "You should follow my example" (117)

Lady Bracknell: "Do you smoke?" (12)

Reggie: "Don't make no difference" (123)

Lady Bracknell: "I am glad to hear it. A man should always have an occupation of some kind" (12)

Reggie: "Ain't never thought about gettin' a job" (109)

Lady Bracknell: "That is satisfactory. What between the duties expected of one during one's lifetime, and the duties exacted from one after one's death" (13)

Reggie: (Utterly confused attempts to change the subject) "You ain't even old enough to be in here" (107)

Lady Bracknell: "I beg your pardon" (48)

Reggie: "Just go ahead and keep sittin' here... if you think I'm kidding" (122)

Lady Bracknell: (Perfectly flattered) "You may kiss me!" (48)

Reggie: Well maybe I should just propose to you.

Lady Bracknell: "To speak frankly, I am not in favour of long engagements" (48)

Reggie: "Least you finally bein' honest" (113)

The two leave the pub and head back to Reggie's apartment located two blocks down the street.

Reggie: "I been thinkin... about what you and I been discussing" (106)

Reggie proclaims that he would like to cook the dishes for the wedding– a special spicy dish his mother taught him.

Reggie: "I'm gonna get real weird with it"

Lady Bracknell who never has eaten anything her entire life that was not prepared by a chef, finds this proposition out of the question.

Lady Bracknell: "You must be quite aware that what you propose is out of the question" (49)

She stands up and storms out of the apartment leaving Reggie to wallow in self-pity.

Just another day in the life of Reggie Fox.