<This is another free-writing post>
After a long vacation, a new semester has begun today. After seeing 18th wavers, I finally felt that this is my sophomore year which means more responsibilities for me. My roommates and I called six freshmen of the opposite room and briefly talked about the life in school. They all seemed kind of nervous, which reminded me of myself exactly one year ago. It took more than a month to finally get the hang of how school rules work, make some friends and realize that I am not here for a camp but to study as a high school student. The school environment is free and students do not feel they are restricted from doing what they want to improve themselves. It also encourages them to ask teachers to create new classes that are not provided as regular courses.
Some teachers in the school say that students here probably have the most time among other high school students in Korea. This sounds like students can study a lot in great depth with friends since students all live in a dormitory and can exchange help on others' weak subjects. But it is also easy for students to get lazy and slack off, thinking that they have enough time to finish their assignments. In most cases, they suddenly realize time has gone by so fast while they were playing computer games, playing sports, or just talking with friends.
In the last few days of the vacation, I have set up some goals for this semester. One of them was not to waste time doing something that will do me no good. It may provide a short period of pleasure (for example, when I play computer games with my friends), but the feeling of happiness does not last long, and soon turn into great regret and even self-hatred. That is why I am proud of myself for what I have done today; I went up to 11th floor with my friends and spent four hours studying mathematics. I did not listen to music while I was solving the problems, which is what I always did during the winter vacation. I knew that it would distract me from concentrating, but I kept on not focusing on the problems in front of me and, to be frank, wasted valuable time.
On retrospect, this winter vacation was another fiasco without carrying out the goals I set. But since I have done so well for today, the first day of a new semester, I hope I can keep this up and not lose my willpower. Whenever I feel the urge to spend time with my friends or indulge myself in 'entertainment', I will think of my future and my family. I will do something that will help me achieve my dreams later such as reading books and studying Spanish grammar, or 'intellectual entertainment'.
After a long vacation, a new semester has begun today. After seeing 18th wavers, I finally felt that this is my sophomore year which means more responsibilities for me. My roommates and I called six freshmen of the opposite room and briefly talked about the life in school. They all seemed kind of nervous, which reminded me of myself exactly one year ago. It took more than a month to finally get the hang of how school rules work, make some friends and realize that I am not here for a camp but to study as a high school student. The school environment is free and students do not feel they are restricted from doing what they want to improve themselves. It also encourages them to ask teachers to create new classes that are not provided as regular courses.
Some teachers in the school say that students here probably have the most time among other high school students in Korea. This sounds like students can study a lot in great depth with friends since students all live in a dormitory and can exchange help on others' weak subjects. But it is also easy for students to get lazy and slack off, thinking that they have enough time to finish their assignments. In most cases, they suddenly realize time has gone by so fast while they were playing computer games, playing sports, or just talking with friends.
In the last few days of the vacation, I have set up some goals for this semester. One of them was not to waste time doing something that will do me no good. It may provide a short period of pleasure (for example, when I play computer games with my friends), but the feeling of happiness does not last long, and soon turn into great regret and even self-hatred. That is why I am proud of myself for what I have done today; I went up to 11th floor with my friends and spent four hours studying mathematics. I did not listen to music while I was solving the problems, which is what I always did during the winter vacation. I knew that it would distract me from concentrating, but I kept on not focusing on the problems in front of me and, to be frank, wasted valuable time.
On retrospect, this winter vacation was another fiasco without carrying out the goals I set. But since I have done so well for today, the first day of a new semester, I hope I can keep this up and not lose my willpower. Whenever I feel the urge to spend time with my friends or indulge myself in 'entertainment', I will think of my future and my family. I will do something that will help me achieve my dreams later such as reading books and studying Spanish grammar, or 'intellectual entertainment'.
I AM PUMPED!
