Week Twelve is here Folks! Now that I think about it, I am going to REALLY and oddly miss calling you guys folks as I tell you what week it is of the Genius Hour project. I have finally narrowed down the options and it would appear the top pick is to be announced in class soon! I have the spreadsheet pretty much done and I am quite proud of it. Speaking of the spreadsheet, the time to request that I do research on a certain college or university has officially passed. While nobody really came to me with a request, that is perfectly okay. It is just possible that nobody really knew what certain college or university to request and that is perfectly fine. I know that looking at options can be extremely overwhelming but it is okay because we are all in this together, folks.
Now, I know I have often talked about all the life lessons this project has taught me in blog posts rather than the choosing of colleges and universities. While I had not set out to post about all of that originally, I sure am glad I did. This project’s process (at least concerning the stuff I have written about on this blog) has not quite taken the direction I expected it to, but I think I am glad with the way it has turned out! I look forward to presenting in class and I cannot wait to hear from everyone else too! I think there will be some really cool things shared. For example inspiration based on faith, learning more about architecture, cooking and baking and so much more! I will continue my college journey, but I’ll miss my weekly updates. I hope you have enjoyed them as much as I have enjoyed writing them!
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Week eleven is here folks! I really cannot believe how far I have come in my journey. It has been such a whirlwind of research. The more I learn about my selected colleges, the more I realize that I need to see them in person. While it is really helpful to know if each theater program requires an audition or not, whether housing is required or guaranteed for four years, the ratio of staff to students, and the like, it isn’t the same as actually being on campus in person. It is hard for me to envision if Hollins University’s small size might be a plus or feel confining or if Emory & Henry’s rural location would be charming or suffocating without actually being there. My mom and dad have been talking about scheduling my first college visits for spring break. So, I plan to sit down with them using my handy-dandy spreadsheet and select a few good candidates. I’ll have to be a bit more selective on the visit geography because I hope to be cast in Children of Eden with Spring Theatre and if so, will have rehearsals over spring break. We won’t be able to visit any schools that are more than a couple of hours away, but that leaves me plenty of options.
I think I’ll start to get a feel for the types of colleges that are best for me after just a few visits. For instance, is an intimate liberal arts college the best fit or a large public university? Would I rather be in a far-away, out-of-state urban environment or a beautiful mountain town right here in North Carolina? Maybe it won’t be as easy as I imagine to narrow down my list once I start to visit, but the sooner I start visiting, the sooner I’ll know. I have to admit, I’m a little nervous about visiting college campuses with real college students walking around. I’m just fifteen and they are real adults! Well, they are sort of adults. My two older sisters are in college and I can assure you they are not all that mature! Maybe I’ll post an update after I’ve set foot on a campus after my first visit! As the end of the project comes very near, I have been narrowing down my options for colleges and have a top pick or two. I am not giving anything away as I think that I want to save that for the final post on this blog, week 12. I would also just like everyone to know that if you have a college or university you would like me to research, PLEASE LET ME KNOW NOW. I do not mean to rush any of you but I still just need to make sure everything is in place for narrowing down ALL OPTIONS, even the options introduced to me by other people looking for the right college for university.
That is also a big reason why I decided to have college research be such a big part of my Genius Hour project. As you may recall, my dear readers, some of my earlier posts on this blog have discussed not only focusing on the colleges and universities that have theater programs that I think would be best for yours truly, but also lending a small helping hand to my fellow students who are trying to find the best college or university that is the very best for them and their future. The theater program dreams of yours truly have only been enhanced during my time working on this project and I am really hoping that it is enhancing the dreams and goals of my fellow classmates. By setting the little goals I have with this blog in fact, like making sure my posts are always on time and researching another college and its theater program, has had me feeling more faith in myself. In an earlier post, I talked about my worries involving the future, but I realized I can do it. One should never underestimate the power of setting multiple little goals for themselves to accomplish. It is hard to believe we’re already on week nine folks! If you have been following my post for these past few weeks, you will know that I have been learning lots of things besides JUST learning to find the best-for-me theater programs, though that IS my primary mission. I have learned about myself and other people. I’ve learned how one can function, what my preference is (as I said, there are things about myself that I didn’t know about that have gotten revealed through this project!), and how we all, as people on this Earth, are not so different as we think we all are. Now, don’t think that I’ve been straying from my initial project, loyal reader, I’ve certainly been narrowing down my options.
I also feel as though this process has turned into less of a project for just me and turned into a way to help other people. As I have said in previous posts, if you are in my class with me, feel free to let me know if you want me to research a certain college or university that you are interested in. This way, I might be able to see what other people are looking for in a college or university and find out how they are planning on choosing the right school for them to learn at. I also have a spreadsheet with college research on it (mainly focused on theater program research but still college research nonetheless) that anyone can view, just feel free to ask your truly! I know I am not a hero or a member of a proper research team. I do not run any official college research site. When someone asks you how you know about a certain school, your answer will most likely have an answer like “Oh, I saw it on Princeton Review,” not “Oh, I found it on a blog post made by a really weird high school sophomore.” All I am saying I know I am not a perfect source, but the point is, I am trying my very hardest to be the best source I can be for you guys! Folks, as we approach week 8 of the project, I have been dealing with some emotions lately. I feel just a little bit scared about my future. Not just scared about what the future of this project will turn out to be, but also my future in general. I am scared that the whole theater program thing won’t work out and I’ll go through life completely unsuccessful. I know it is a big jump from plans not working out to destruction of one’s life. But my mind tends to exaggerate things a lot and goes to the worst case scenario. Of course, I know I should not let one thing have me crash and burn but even then, my mind still can’t help but wander to, “What if?” That is something that I feel like a lot of people think about, but usually never say.
That just seems to be one of the many things about being a person on this big wide Earth. For whatever reason, if one is to show even the slightest bit of even the most reasonable panic or worry, they are brushed off as nothing but a drama queen, that has been the issue my case, at least. I feel like that nobody really understands the mind of yours truly. (My dad just confirmed that)! There are times when maybe I DO exaggerate the situation but I really do feel like people never truly understand me or my problems or the things I worry about. Whenever I try to express my feelings, I feel like I just get brushed off. That is basically a summary of how I feel to give you guys a better understanding of where I am coming from and how it has been affecting me throughout the process of this project thus far. It has not ruined the entire project but it’s certainly kept me on edge. Sometimes, the stress is not necessarily something that is good or bad. Sometimes it is just something that helps keep me on my toes. What is important is that I am keeping it together. We are over the halfway mark and things are shaking up, folks! It seems like it was just yesterday that we started to hear about the Genius Hour project for the very first time. Something I have noticed is the amount of progress I have made in the project. There are still things to be done though. For example, my spreadsheet is still available for updating (come to me if you want to see a certain college or university researched and put on the list)! Then, I still need to get my options narrowed down. I need to face the facts that as much as I envisioned myself going out-of-state for college, the top two factors are this right now - 1) Can I get in? 2) Can I afford it?
It can be quite nerve-racking, not knowing if you will get into a college or university that you have applied to. From the way I see it, sending in applications for schools and scholarships is like the universe leaving the choice to a complicated coin toss, with heads being acceptance and tails being rejection. The coin is tossed many times because the universe can never get it to land on the side it wants it to land on. Sometimes it wants it to land on heads because the person seems qualified but then again there are so many good applicants and they can’t accept them all so then they hope for tails. Sometimes the universe decides not to hope for a side so it can be neutral and not have to flip it again. Then they land on a side, decide it’s not the right side, causing the process to start all over again. That is to say, I do not at all think the administrative boards at colleges and universities leave things all down to coin tosses, I just wanted to use a metaphorical approach to show how I think the simple process of saying “Yes” or “No” can get very complicated very quickly. Something that I can focus on though, is that I can find a place that is right for me and affordable. As Jon Bon Jovi and and my english teacher, Mr. Barker put it, “We’re halfway there! Woah-oh, livin’ on a prayer!” It is week six everybody and yes, I am most certainly living on a prayer. I feel quite nervous as we are approaching the halfway mark on the Genius Hour project. Fear not, though! Yours truly is not just using prayers to get by, but by also using something else, productivity. My spreadsheet has made productivity much easier. I am very thankful that I properly paced myself and have not waited till the last second to write, research or update. While I have posted blog updates on the due date, I have never been hunched over my laptop, frantically writing at 4:55PM on a Sunday.
That is just the thing about productivity. It is commonly thought that productive people are always working and on the go, 24/7. This is not really the case. Productivity, at least in my case, is doing the work little by little to get the job done rather than letting the work pile up over time, which is not good for anyone. Of course, I am not at all saying that I am completely on top of all my work all of the time. I am human. For example, I take five minute breaks that turn into ten minute breaks. I’ve found though, that with the correct time management and organization methods (that vary though depending on the person), one can find plenty of time to get everything fall into place. Another thing to know about being productive is accepting the fact that not every little thing is going to work out perfectly all the time. Hiccups might happen, plans might get sidetracked, and sometimes people overwork themselves. What is important though, is using the right tools (like a spreadsheet for the Genius Hour project in the case of yours truly) to make sure the work is correctly organized and achievable to help one achieve one’s goals and finish one’s projects. Honestly, without the right methods, I would not be able to get these blog posts done on time! Okay everyone, it is already week five! Right now, the top contenders for me are Converse College in Spartanburg, South Carolina and Wagner College in Staten Island, New York. There are, of course, a few reasons why I gravitated towards these colleges. For starters, as I said in my last blog post, I always imagined myself going out-of-state for college and these are both a fairly long way from home (sorry Mom and Dad). Then, there is the fact that neither Converse College nor Wagner College are on Princeton Review's top 20 list for college/university theater programs. In all honesty, that is completely fine with me. While it would be cool to attend one of the colleges or universities listed as a top 20 school for theater, it might put more pressure on the students to succeed. While pressure might be what some students need in order to achieve their full potential, that is not really how I, as people put it, “roll.” Nobody said that choosing a place for your higher education was easy, with this blog and my spreadsheet though, I feel like I am moving in the right direction.
I am organizing factors that people think about when trying to choose a college or university. I am keeping people consistently updated through this blog about theater and college and choosing (subjects that fit perfectly into my blog’s name). Honestly, I would be lying if I did not change my top picks for colleges...a ton. The thing is, I think the reasons for my constantly changing preferences include both my natural sense of complete indecisiveness (cynical, but true) and the fact that it feels like I am constantly trying to figure out what definite factors matter to me the most. That is something that I thought I knew completely from the start, however, the Genius Hour project has since completely proved me wrong. I know a few definite factors that you can see at the beginning of this blog post, like location and if they are on the top 20 list. I am working on it though, so expect definite answers soon! Okay everybody, it’s week four! I have finished setting up the spreadsheet that I talked about in the blog post for week three. If you would like to see it, just let me know! On the spreadsheet, you can explore the factors I have talked about in previous blog posts I have made. The spreadsheet will also likely be updated by yours truly in future weeks to come. I already have a few colleges on the spreadsheet, but if you know of a college or university you are interested in, tell me! As I have said before, that even though the primary goal I have with my Genius Hour project is choosing the college theater program that is best for me, the project can be of use to others too! What is important to me is making sure that someone could receive some help on getting information about colleges from my spreadsheet and/or blog posts, even if they only help a little bit.
That being said, let’s talk about my thoughts on choosing a potential college thus far. Right now, I am most interested in colleges out of state (like Wagner College or Hollins University), though cost might be an issue with that in the future depending on if it stays the same or not. A few colleges and universities on the list are schools specifically for women to attend (like Converse College and Hollins University), which I am interested in but have decided it may not be the biggest deciding factor. That is just the thing I have found with the categories I am using for the spreadsheet, they themselves can vary in different ways. Categories like cost and distance obviously vary, what about categories like student to staff ratio and the estimated amount of undergrad students per college or university? Categories like this can be a make or break deal to someone concerned about the size of a school’s campus. They can ask themselves, “Do I want a big campus or little campus?” As I said though, if you think my spreadsheet can help, just let me know, and maybe I can just help! Alright everyone, it is already week three! Yours truly has been putting those organizational skills talked about in my second weekly post to work. I never really saw the appeal of spreadsheets before the project started. I had used them a little before Genius Hour started, though even then it was just when I was first learning to use them and maybe when I didn’t have anything else to use for organization. When I started using a spreadsheet for the research on my college theater project though, I finally saw why they are so popular. The categories of my search and what I am looking for in my research work perfectly with the organization and formatting of a spreadsheet. The said spreadsheet I am working on right now will be available for viewing soon. This way, people can see information on a college theater program they are interested in or even find a new one to look into. The good thing about the spreadsheet I am making is that it technically does not even have to stop at just researching theater programs. While that is in fact, the primary goal for me, it does not have to be for everyone. Some of the factors that I have chosen, for example, researching distance from home, cost, estimated amount of undergrad students, the student to faculty ratio, etcetera, all can be shown to anyone planning on going to a college or university. I am not the only person who is thinking about my future. Posting a spreadsheet with information about colleges and universities might be able to help my peers a little bit. That being said, there are specific things on the spreadsheet, like is it a top theater program or not, that people can take into account if they so choose. I am at a stage in the Genius Hour project where everything is truly starting to come together. As I previously stated, I will have the spreadsheet up as soon as I possibly can and I can’t wait to see what you guys will think of my research! This is turning out to be both fun and useful!
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AuthorI'm a high school student researching theater programs for college. Archives
December 2019
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