For this post, I shall describe my goals for 2016. One of them, probably the main one, is to keep my grades at straight A's. The rest are mostly skating tricks, with one snowboard trick. One of them is a " rock to fakie" on the big halfpipe. Allow me to elaborate. A halfpipe is a ramp used mainly for skating or BMXing. In my case, skating. It consists of, hence the name, half of a pipe, with round metal at the top edges. The metal is called coping. There is a spot not to far away from either of my houses that has two of them. One is called a miniramp, just a small halfpipe. There is a much bigger one, however. That is the one I would like to learn a rock to fakie on. I can do it on the smaller one, but I have never tried it on the bigger one, because I only started skating them recently. before that, I had just stuck to the skatepark. A rock to fakie is a trick in which you go up one side of the ramp, get the center of your board on the coping, then come back down the ramp fakie. Fakie is a stance on the board in which you are standing switch and nollie. Switch means you are standing facing the opposite way that you normally do, with the opposite foot forward, making tricks much harder. Nollie is where you pop off the front of the board in stead of the back, so you would be going up the other side of the ramp fakie. I hope you understood all that. The next trick is a rock and roll on the big ramp. A rock and roll is similar to a rock to fakie, where you go up one side, get the center of your board on the coping, but instead going back down fakie, your turn your board and your body at 180 degrees to before you drop back into the ramp, allowing you to drop back in assuming your regular stance. The next one is a bit harder, so I'm going to learn it on the miniramp first. I can do the other two easily on the miniramp, and on occasion this, but I don't try it often. This trick is called an axle stall. To do an axle stall, you go up one side of the ramp, and get your trucks onto the coping. In skating, your trucks are the metal parts that are attached to the board and hold the wheels in place, and are used in many tricks. There is one at the front of the board, and one at the back. Anyway,you go up the ramp, turn 90 degrees at the last second before going into the air, and get both of your trucks stably on the top of the coping. Then you turn another 90 degrees and drop back into the ramp. The last trick is a snowboard trick. I live in the tropics, but I am taking a trip soon to go snowboarding with some friends. I have been snowboarding in the past, and it is very similar to skating. By the end of the time I'm there, I would like to be able to 360 off of a jump. I'm sure you know what a 360 is.
I already stated my main goal for 2016. That would be keeping my grades where they are, which is straight A's. One reason for this is because I am hoping for an academic college scholarship. I also know that it will help in my future. One example of how it will help my future is AP courses in high school. AP courses are college courses, taken in high school. AP stands for advanced placement, meaning the classes will be designed to be more challenging, for students who are further ahead and more skilled in certain subjects. I am in a version of those in my middle school, called honors. Often known to some of my friends as "nerd class". Honors is only provided for math and english. I am only currently in honors english, however I am waiting for news on my transfer to honors math, as regular math has been boring, and rarely presented a challenge for me. The honors english has, unfortunately, been a letdown. I was told I would be treated as a real world writer, and an actual intelligent human. I feel I have been treated as neither of these, and I have sadly learned literally nothing new whatsoever, and that is not an exaggeration. Back to AP courses, though. Taking AP courses can allow oneself to earn college credit before going into college, helping to graduate earlier. You can also do less courses in college, because you have already done them in AP. AP courses are the main reason I keep my grades where they are, instead of A's, B's, and possibly C's, which I'm told is the "average" report card. If keep my grades and overall school performance where they are, I'm told I will surely be eligible for AP courses. Being in AP courses and getting straight A's will also contribute positively to my resume, when applying for a job.
In order to get straight A's, I will continue to work as hard as necessary. Unfortunately, that means homework taking up most of my free time, and a lot of stress. But I set high expectations for myself, and I make myself meet them. I try to be an active participant in class, by trying to work well with partners, and volunteering answers. I don't quit my work, and I try to produce the best quality work I can. What's your main resolution?
My class is doing a photo a day challenge. The pictures here are my three best so far.
I was assigned to create two photomontages in class, and it was certainly a challenge. One of them was of another student, and another one was supposed to be of something that is meaningful to us, and I chose skating as the subject, because it is very meaningful to me, and a big part of my life. My photomontage is supposed to send a positive message. It is, as you can see, of a miniramp (a small halfpipe) with a skateboard and a pair of skate shoes. I used only a single board and nobody in the picture to show how skating is individualistic, and you don't need a team for it. You don't need to rely on anybody else for anything, and you can have your own style, skating however you like. There's no coach to tell when to stop or when you're doing something wrong. I also used the crowded farmers market it the background to contrast the one board.
