Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Nothing Prosperous Comes Easily...

To All of You Future AP Biology Students,

Learn from my mistakes! This class is by far the hardest class I have ever taken. This class will challenge you. It will push you. It will make you stay up on various nights because you want to get those last few things done so you're ready for that big test. You will get frustrated.

But this class will prepare you for your college courses to come...

As someone once said: "Nothing prosperous comes easily". I have found this to be so true when put into AP Biology context. There will be times where you will want to rip your hair out and wonder why on earth you ever signed up for this class. But trust me, though I did have those moments, every single one of them was worth it. You will be challenged and that is very valuable for those of you going on to college, but also to anyone going through life. Life needs some challenges to make it worth while.

Here are a few pointers to help you prepare for the rigor of this course:

1) STUDY CUMULATIVELY! Take out your notes/handouts/study guides and study them for five minutes every night! I know it's the last thing you want to do once you get home from school but it will help you in the long run. I wish I had done that because I would have felt much more confident in what I knew and it would have paid off for that HUGE final!

2)  ASK QUESTIONS! Don't be that one loner in class who doesn't ask questions or make contributions to class discussions. The only stupid questions are the ones that are never asked. Don't be afraid because I guarantee that there are at least two other people in the room with the same question.

3) UTILIZE YOUR RESOURCES! Mr. Landry put them up for you for a reason! Look over his miscellaneous, yet helpful, documents. Please use the extra credit guides, they helped me so much as a study tool and everyone likes a few extra points in the gradebook. There is a treasure trove of information if you take the time to look and study.

4) GET INVOLVED AND HAVE FUN! Don't sweat about things too much. Enjoy the fun times in class because there will be many. This class is and will always be one of my most memorable classes in my high school career. You can find concepts you can relate to and a lot of your peers will be supportive. Mr. Landry too. Enjoy it.

I'm not going to lie, this class was really difficult. But I am better prepared for my future because of it and you will be too. Rise to the challenge. And thanks to Mr. Landry and my 2012/2013 AP Bio class. Thanks for helping to make my senior year memorable ♥