Springs-Senior Thesis

aaaaAAAAA I'm stressed. I told myself I wasn't going to fall in love with a college, but that's what I did. UChicago is known for their quirky and weird prompts, and coming up with an idea for an essay was daunting. This is the prompt I chose: University of Chicago alumna and renowned author/critic Susan Sontag said, "The only interesting answers are those that destroy the questions." We all have heard serious questions, absurd questions, and seriously absurd questions, some of which cannot be answered without obliterating the very question. Destroy a question with your answer. Thought provoking, right? It's part of the reason I love the school. Luckily, I made a lot of progress today and even got Mr. Templet to read what I have so far. He gave me some really good feedback! This Winter Break is going to be a long of work because I still have 4 more supplements to write. Wish me luck.

Finished my essay today. Worked on minor improvements for the first half of class, but then I continued work on my actual thesis. I feel like I've learned a lot about the first half of the late-20th century, so during the 2nd semester I want to focus more on the last 30 years and recent history. I also really need to find a mentor. The biggest concern about my project is that I won't be able to find someone in my specific field. I've made a list of emails of people I want to reach out to, so I will probably do that over Winter Break.

Essay day! Back to college. I didn't realize how completely in love I am with UChicago. I know I'm going to get deferred from Harvard in a few days (no surprise there), so I'm working on my RD apps. But doing more research has made me realize that UChicago is the perfect school for me. I talked to my counselor about it and she said that I would fit in there. I read about the EDII program in class today, but I need to do more research about financial aid. But according to their net price calculator, its really affordable for me! We'll see what happens.

UT app is over!! Hooray!! We went back to working on thesis today as college work draws to a close. I finished up most of my progress paper today and continued finding some sources to use. I discovered a new study method called the Pomodoro Technique that breaks up time into chunks. It has helped me with my procrastination and I like using it in thesis class. I've been able to stay on task really well and I am making really good progress on the paper. Feels good! :)

As the deadline for the December 1 deadline is soon, I finished up the final touches on my three essays. I also continued working on my essays for the scholarship and honors program. I'm applying to both the liberal arts and Plan Two honors programs. I might reuse one of my essays for the Forty Acres scholarship but I'm not sure yet. I'm writing about the albums that I think represent me. I’m a contemporary music history buff: I spend hours upon hours of free time researching influential and innovative musical artworks of the last 50 years, many of which have influenced the person I am today (I’ll discuss four of them here). I’ve never been a decent vocalist, and I always thought you needed singing ability to create modern music; however, the ambient instrumental soundscapes of Sigur Rós’ Ágætis byrjun showed me that I can challenge my assumptions and create beautiful art without a typical musical background. Soundtrack from Twin Peaks by Angelo Badalamenti pu

Continuing college week! The deadline for UT is fast approaching and I had Mr. Correa read over my short answers. Hopefully, I can submit the whole application tonight. I wrote about my dream job (a presidential speechwriter), my school, and Plano Teen Court. Once I submit the app, I can gain access to the MyPortal system and finish up with the honors program application. I feel confident about my chances because I do have a 35 ACT but of course I'm still nervous.

I went back to college apps today. Mostly, I worked on my UT honors application. I am applying to the Liberal Arts honors program and the Plan II honors program. For the scholarship applications, I can basically reuse essays that I've already written so luckily I don't have much to do there. I am using my NPR and my 5 sentences essay about which albums have influenced me. By the way, The albums I chose are Agaetis Byrjun, Soundtrack from Twin Peaks, Abbey Road, and St. Vincent.

I decided to spend most of my time on my thesis today. I began working on the progress paper. I managed to get the first 1/4th finished, because I got caught doing more research and working on my timeline. I've started to move into political music in the 70s with the end of the Vietnam War and the Kent State Massacre. I'm really excited about where this project is taking me and all the new music I've been listening to.

I continued work on my UT application. I wasn't completely satisfied with what I had for my main NPR essay, so I worked on tweaking it. I also continued work on my short answers and began work on my scholarship and honors essays. The five sentences essay posed a challenge for me but I decided to write about albums that are meaningful in my life.