I'm Right?

 Today, as I worked on a crossword with some of my esteemed AP English classmates who I will not mention here, I claimed that the answer to the clue "Pretentious, informally" should be "hifalutin."  They quickly shot me down and claimed that I was wrong, citing one time last year where I claimed that a simile could exist without using "like" or "as" (don't ask).  But here, for you, I have proof:


According to The Free Dictionary: 
high·fa·lu·tin or hi·fa·lu·tin
 adj. Informal
Pompous or pretentious

This marks one of the many times when I have been right, but no one believed me because everyone thinks that I am crazy.  Fore some reason, everyone assumes that I like to make up facts.  Well, I don't.  I just have a vast store of useless knowledge, and no one wants to believe most of it.  I face laughter for many of my correct views.  Some other examples include:

1. The existence of crested newts
2. The fact that Volpone was talking about physical gold in that AP reading we did
3. It's better to peel bananas from the non-stem end
4. There are different shades of black depending on the mix of warm or cool colors

Occasionally, though, a new bit of knowledge destroys my world.  As when I learned that peppers are actually a fruit, not a vegetable.  Seriously?

 This is a crested newt.  IT EXISTS.

Essay v. Data Sheet

less work, more tears, fewer points.

Senioritis: The Epidemic?

I've been talking a lot lately about senioritis, between conversations about how "I just don't care anymore" and "well, I'm already going to college."  We all complain incessantly like it's a real disease.  So I thought I'd look up some "official" definitions of the word.

A quick search yielded these results:

• Wikipedia: "Senioritis, from the word senior plus the suffix -itis (which refers to inflammation but in colloquial speech is assumed to mean an illness), is a colloquial term used in the United States and Canada to describe the decreased motivation toward studies displayed by students who are nearing the end of their high school, college, and graduate school careers."

        Hey look!  Canadians have it too!  And college kids!

• Urban Dictionary: "A crippling disease that strikes high school seniors. Symptoms include: laziness, an over-excessive wearing of track pants, old athletic shirts, sweatpants, athletic shorts, and sweatshirts. Also features a lack of studying, repeated absences, and a generally dismissive attitude. The only known cure is a phenomenon known as Graduation"

        Agreed... I have devoted my senior year to wearing sweatshirts, though I don't know if I would call my usage "over-excessive"

• College Board: "Don’t do it"

       ...Thanks?

• Dictionary.com: "Did you mean senhoritas?"

        ...No.


On one hand, the lack of desire to do anything productive provides a real problem.  On the other hand, most of us still put in a fair amount of effort, compared to other students in the US.  Most people I know have between 2 and 4 AP classes.  Many seniors at other schools fill their schedules with art classes, "Sewing," "Child Development," "Basket Weaving," and of course, lots of free periods.  So while it hits us, it doesn't pack quite the punch that it could.  It would be way easier to slack off in Basket Weaving than AP English.  Unless Ms. Serensky taught Basket Weaving.

The Awkward

Just last night, my younger sister and I were having a discussion with my mom about school dances and getting dates, which ended with us telling her that most of her suggestions were "awkward."  She then said something along the lines of "I don't know what it is with you people and your awkward.  We never worried so much about that."

This got me thinking.  Describing things as "awkward" has become somewhat of a trend with our generation.  It's not even always a bad thing; sometimes, situations are just... well... awkward.  The word has become something between slang and fact.  Spurred on by a phone call that woke me up this morning, I decided to make the following list of awkward situations:

1. Your boss calls your house and wakes you up, leaving you to talk to him while half awake.  Not mortifying, but awkward, since everyone has that weird "I'm asleep" voice after waking up.
2. You forget someone's name and try to subtly recall it.  This happens to me all the time at work, since I have to ask for people's names for orders, and I panic when a classmate or vague family acquaintance comes in and I momentarily forget their name but don't want to look like an idiot by asking.
3. That thing that happens when you're walking down the hall and try to sidestep to avoid someone, but they step the same way, and you do a sort of back and forth sidestep routine before one of you finally stops.  Or, sometimes, you actually walk into them anyway.
4. You start talking the same time as someone, especially in English class, then you both say "go ahead," both start talking again, and then one person has to just keep going.
5. You're watching a movie in school or with your family, and there's a sex scene.  You don't want to stare transfixed, but you don't want to look away like you can't handle it.  You usually end up laughing which just seems worse.  Similarly, when there's a dirty joke in a movie, you have to quietly hide your laughter in school or around family.
6. You don't hear what someone says, so you ask them to repeat it, but for some reason you don't hear again, you eventually just laugh or say "okay" ...then find out they were asking you something important.
7. A college that you didn't apply to calls you and says that they received your SAT or ACT scores and are waiting for your application.  When you tell them that you have already applied to all of your colleges but thank them for their interest, they ask where you have applied.
8. Someone is in the middle of an important story over the phone, and the call drops.  If you are the listener, then you have just missed a necessary detail of the story.  If you are the speaker, then you hear silence on the other end after sharing an important secret and assume the other person is judging you.
9. You tell a coworker that you can't cover their shift, then have to go in to work to get your paycheck and see them there.  Similarly, you tell a friend you can't hang out with them and then see them when you go out.
10. You have to tell a teacher you are dropping their class.  There is no easy way.

Boom.  Awkward.

Got any more?

(On a side note, I would totally suggest watching College Humor's Awkward Rap... if that isn't awkward to suggest over a school blog.)