9th grade. June.

Tamarind:

So much has changed in a short amount of time. I took the SAT Biology Subject Test, which I feel confident about, since I took it a week after my Biology final at HP.

I also took a practice SAT and a practice ACT last weekend. My approximate scores were 1850 on the SAT and 27 on the ACT. Decent, primarily because of the math sections, but neither of those scores is good enough for most of the top-ranked schools on my list, especially not combined with my average-ranked GPA. Big Apple University, Southern Private Ivy, and DC University all have a 2100 SAT average.

My scores would be good enough for Midwest State University, and this school I just got interested in, Medium Private University in Florida. I met the Medium Private Admissions officer at the college fair in May, and she was really nice. Since her booth was in the back, I was practically the only one who talked with her. It didn’t help that her school was out of state, too. So many of the Admissions officers from states like Kansas, Louisiana, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, anywhere outside of California sat alone for a long time at their brightly colored tables. Even the Arizona officers looked like they were waiting for lunch.

I have to do better. I want to keep my options open to everything, including scholarships. So, I’m going to study before I take more practice tests, and I’m going to increase my scores. I’ll ask if there’s a prep course I could take at SVCC. My filing job in the admissions office and my Algebra and Architecture classes don’t take up that much time, and I might be able to get an employee discount on additional courses, so I could swing it.

Lilo:

The dream board is working! I put a fruit smoothie on my board and I got a blender. I put a picture of my gym on the board and I started going to my gym again. Admittedly, those are small items, but I made them happen.

I don’t have a better career, more money, or a gentleman caller yet. But this weekend, my friends and I will be attending a wine tasting event. If I work the room right, I could knock all three of those off my list.

Grover:

Even though I passed all my classes (with a C average, but who’s counting?), Mom and Dad are making me go to summer school. At St. Francis. Since it’s Catholic school, will I have to wear a uniform? Not fair. It’s summer! This is the worst!

9th grade. March.

Tamarind:

After many phone calls and discussions and bus maps, I’ve decided what I’m doing this summer. Well, somewhat. I’m taking two classes through the pre-college program at South Valley Community College: Algebra II (which will keep me on track to take my AP Calculus classes later) and Intro to Architecture (which will help me with my career). SVCC also has on-campus summer jobs, so I applied for a bunch of them. Now I wait and see if anyone wants to hire me.

I applied for some other jobs, too, based on their distance from Mom’s house or a convenient bus stop. So basically anything inside the boundaries of Hennessey Park. Our public transportation system is excellent as long as you want to travel within our small town. Mom and Dad said they would drive me wherever I needed to go, but they have their own real jobs during the week, so whatever I did would have to be on the weekend or weeknights. That might not work for whatever company decides to make me their employee. So I told my parents I’d come up with a plan and tell them what it was, so that I would not inconvenience them. I can take care of myself.

Lilo:
One of my friends told me about this book called Meeting Your Half-Orange, your media-naranja en español. It’s supposed to be like The Secret, except believable, and mostly about finding what you want in your life through the power of active attraction. You identify what you want, write it down, and tell other people about it. Then what you want finds you.

You can also make a dream board. I put pictures of the stuff I want in my life on my board. Better career. More money. Happy children. Gentleman caller.

Let’s see if it works.

Grover:

While Mom and Tamarind were out doing something boring last week, I read part of Mom’s Orange book. I’m not looking for a life partner, but I would like to do better in school.

One thing the book said I should try was doing less to achieve more. I can do less. A lot less. I can’t really do more. I do my homework and I study and I ask questions and I get Cs.

So, this month, for all my classes, I’ll do just enough to get by. Better grades, here I come.