2020 - A DIFFERENT KIND OF DECISION DAY

May 1, this Friday, is Decision Day; that's the day that most selective colleges and universities have as their deadline for incoming freshmen to choose where they are headed off to school. This is usually a very big day in the lives of high school seniors, especially in the lives of ATYP alumni who frequently are choosing between elite schools all over the country.

In the middle of a pandemic, this might be...tricky? Difficult? Overwhelming? Insert your adjective here.

Most ATYP students see entering college as a significant goal. Even if you're the first in your family to go to college, gifted students are taught that this must be your path, that this is the road to take if you want to be successful. But what now? How do you make this decision NOW?

Many seniors may have already made their selection and thought they were set. Are you reconsidering your options? Was your initial choice far from home? Are your parents concerned about you moving away? Is money suddenly a more prominent issue than it was before?

For those who were waiting to hear from certain schools, and who waited until all admissions offers were sent out earlier in April, these questions and concerns may be playing a role in your thought process. Or you may be thinking about deferring for a year until the world sorts itself out.

Unfortunately, this blog post does not come with easy answers. It only comes with the acknowledgement that right now, these decisions are hard. Thinking this through and balancing the pros and cons will require maturity, self-awareness, and reflection about your needs, priorities, and goals. That's a lot to ask of 17 and 18-year-olds, even more so than in most years. 

One of the things we hope you learned in ATYP was how to work through a problem or dilemma and how to debate multiple sides of an issue, even if that debate is with yourself. The critical thinking skills you developed here should stand you in good stead as you determine which path to take.

What we really want you to know, and what we want our current students to understand, is that no matter what you choose and where you go, we are so proud of you. You have worked hard, you are taking steps into uncharted territory, and you are being courageous at a time when fear is our constant companion. We salute what you've accomplished and acknowledge the difficulty of this current task. 

All that being said - what did you decide? We would love to hear from all of our graduating seniors regarding their plans for next year! Whether you're attending college near or far, taking a gap year, joining the military, planning for trade school, or doing something else we haven't even thought of, we'd really like to know. You can tell us in the comments below or in a response on Facebook or Twitter.

Until next time,

Ms. Nan

STAYING TRUE TO YOUR VALUES, EVEN WHEN IT'S HARD

First, Dr. Kelly and I want you to know that we understand you are all – we are all – stressed out about what is going on with the quarantine. It’s a lot for students, families, instructors, and staff to take on, absorb, and deal with. We are right there with you, experiencing the same uncertainty, worry, and, sometimes, fear. It’s not easy to also be doing homework and trying to move forward in classes. We get it.

We also know that trying to do your schoolwork without having the friends in your class to talk to, maybe not feeling like you can get as much feedback as  you want from your instructor, or not asking questions as frequently as you want to might be adding to your stress. It might be tempting during this time to be a little…lax in your homework integrity. But please don’t be.

You may just want to hurry and finish your assignments so that you can relax the way that some of your friends are. You might be having trouble focusing because of, well, everything. The assignment may be difficult and you’re not sure how to get help. Whatever is causing you difficulties, copying and pasting from the internet, plagiarizing material, or copying a friend’s homework is not the answer now, any more than it was the answer before we were all forced to work from home.

So what can you do? Here are some suggestions:

• If you are doing research, rewrite quotes or paraphrase the material as you note it; it is much harder to accidentally copy something word for word this way (yes, you still have to cite the author).
• When answering a question or prompt in free-response fashion, close all the other tabs on your computer. Or better yet, disconnect from the internet. This helps keep the temptation at bay.
• Ask a friend to talk you through how they solved a problem or wrote a program – but do not copy down what they did. Make sure you understand the answer and write it down from your understanding of the solution.
• Read some of the earlier tips on organizing your time and your homework so you are in the best position to finish work in a timely manner. When you are less rushed you are less likely to take shortcuts.
• Use the help session! Tutors and graders are still available online for assistance; read the weekly email for directions and contact information.·         
• Your teachers are there to help you; all of them are willing to email and text with you, or talk on the phone if you need additional support. They are a great resource.·        
• Remember, it should be about the learning, not about the grade. Especially right now, we want you to be focused on continuing to feed your brain information so that you are intellectually stimulated. Getting the grade without learning is the opposite direction of where we want to go.

Over the course of this year, you have all proven that you are highly intelligent individuals capable of producing great answers and essays. Your own work. We are confident that you still have this capability, so we are asking you to continue to submit assignments that showcase your efforts, not someone else’s.

You’ve got this, we know you do. At the end of this year, maybe more than any other since this program began almost 40 years ago, you’re all going to be able to throw your hands up in the air and say “We did it! We didn’t quit! We didn’t surrender! We have conquered the challenge that is ATYP – and we did it in a way that makes us proud!” You just have to believe in yourselves the same way that we do.

Until next time,

Ms. Nan

FINDING PURPOSE IN LIFE - AND A BIG THANK YOU

When people ask you about what sort of career you want to pursue as an adult, the age-old "What do you want to be when you grow up?" question, do you also hear them ask "What are you passionate about?" Telling kids to pursue their passions is a very trendy way to talk about career goals right now.

What do you think? Do you think you need to be passionate about your job 24/7/365 in order for it to be a good fit?

I actually prefer the idea of finding a job that gives you purpose.

Dictionary.com defines purpose as:

1. the reason for which something exists or is done, made, used, etc.
2. an intended or desired result; end; aim; goal.
3. determination; resoluteness.

First, let's say I don't mean number one, because in general you are not your job and your job is not you, so your job should not be the reason you exist.

But what if your job helps you to live life with intentionality, to aim for something, to have goals that you find meaningful? Does that seem like work you would want to pursue?

If you can find this in your future employment you are one lucky person; certainly not everyone succeeds in making this part of their career. But your job is only one part of your day, and sometimes you can find purpose in hobbies, clubs, volunteering, or charitable works.

For instance, Charles and Lynn Zhang just created the Charles and Lynn Zhang Scholarship. The scholarship will cover the cost of registration fees, books, and calculators for ATYP students who qualify for free or reduced lunch.

 

The Zhangs both earned graduate degrees from Western Michigan University and run a Michigan-based fee-only financial planning and investment firm, Zhang Financial. In addition, the Zhang's two sons, Mitchell and Alex, are ATYP alumni. The Zhangs are supporters of many programs on campus, including the Zhang Career Center in the Haworth College of Business and the Zhang Legacy Collections Center. Lynn Chen-Zhang serves as vice chair of the WMU Board of Trustees, and is also president of the WMU Foundation Board of Directors. Charles Zhang has served as an adjunct professor of finance at WMU. 

While you can probably guess that the Zhangs have careers that are financially and professionally rewarding, you can also see that they have found purpose by giving back to their community. Their gifts are meaningful not just in terms of money, but also in terms of time and talent, and those are ways of giving that are especially priceless.

Henry David Thoreau wrote "Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined." So think about what gives you purpose, find a role model or two, and follow those dreams. We can't wait to see which path you take...

Until next time,

Ms. Nan

JOURNALING THROUGH QUARANTINE

If you're one of our English students, you know that we've been recommending (okay, in some case requiring) that you keep a journal during the stay-at-home order. Not only is this a great way to continue working on your writing skills, it's also a smart way to process what is happening in your life and in the world. As you journal, you think through everything that is going on - how it impacts you and your family, what you're seeing in the responses of friends and neighbors, how to think about new and different stressors, and also maybe what you have to be thankful for right now.

We actually recommend this activity not just for English students, but for EVERYONE - math students, AP Computer Science students, siblings, parents. You are living through history, and there's a good chance that one day you will want to remember exactly what this period of time was like for you. Or maybe you will want future generations to know. 

You might want to record the trivial and mundane - what did I have for breakfast? Am I eating the same foods for breakfast? Did we run out of cereal and couldn't get to the grocery store to buy more? Or you might want to discuss the bigger picture. What do you think about the government's response to the pandemic, good or bad? What about the activities and people you've missed?  What did you discover that was important to you?

There are many different ways to journal; you don't have to write in an old-school diary to keep an account of what is happening or how you're coping. You could also keep a digital journal - one that's private, or you could write a public blog. 

Or you could consider doing something more creative. You could keep a photo journal, with pictures cataloging life at home. Or you could be even more creative, with drawings or art projects that express what you're feeling right now. It looks like the person in the picture with the laptop might be combining two of these ideas - creating digital drawings that are both personal and extremely meaningful.

My sister Sarah recently came across journals written by her grandmother, many during WWI. They are a priceless look at not just her personal life, but events throughout that important time. Just think, in 100 years, your descendants could be reading about how you and your family existed during the pandemic! If someone were exploring your thoughts and ideas 100 years decades from now, what would you want them to know? 

This blog is sort of my way to journal about what we're living through and how we're coping. What's your way? Tell us or show us below!

Until next time,

Ms. Nan

GOING OLD SCHOOL: CAN THE TO-DO LIST WORK FOR YOU?

I talked a couple of weeks ago about organizing my week, and I guess that's going...okay. Let's just say that I seem to be accomplishing the tasks I need to accomplish, by the deadlines that have been set, so if that's the goal of the organizing I'll take it as a win. Just like you, though, COVID19 is forcing me to rearrange some of my priorities, and sometimes that means I have to move to Plan B, C, or D, and that weekly calendar ends up looking like scrambled eggs. Which is fine. I'm trying to cut myself some slack.

Of course, my calendar is not the only way I keep myself organized. I like to use lists. A lot of lists. If you could see my desk right now, it is littered with lined sticky notes with all kinds of lists on them. Work tasks to finish. Homework to complete. Topics to blog about. Christmas presents to buy (yes, I know that it's April!). 

Not everyone writes down lists, and that's fine. My husband rarely writes down the chores he needs to accomplish at home; I suspect the idea of a "honey-do" list seems too much like me telling him what to do. Some people can just keep a running tab in their head, and that's great, as long as you're not as old and forgetful as I am. I find that if I don't write it down, it doesn't happen.

But what I'm discovering now is that making my lists as detailed as possible is helping me to feel accomplished and better plan my week. Here are two examples. Example A is what my lists used to look like. It got the job done, but it was pretty general. Now I really need to see that I've gotten something done. There's something about crossing items off my list that makes me feel empowered. Like I'm productive. And I really need to feel like that right now. So I'm using lists that look more like Example B.

Example B is exactly the same number of assignments that I need to complete as Example A, but I have a much clearer picture of what I've finished and what I actually still need to do. It helps me understand how much time I need to have set aside, and how many blocks I need to have available in the weekly calendar that you're already familiar with. 

I know it might seem silly, but if I say "finish book," and I've only read chapter one of twelve chapters, I don't necessarily compute that I need to allot time for eleven more chapters. This way, I know EXACTLY how much more reading I have to do, and I can do a much better job of making my schedule work the way I need.

Another strategy that people use is to prioritize their lists, either high priority items A, next highest priority items B, etc., or just numbering the list 1-10 in the order they need to be accomplished. If you have research or an outline to do before you write a paper, the second way might be helpful. If you have math to do and your list is for a certain number of chapters to tackle each day and you just naturally complete those in order, you might not need to prioritize. 

And of course, you may want to put everything you need to get done - homework, chores, practicing the piano, etc., on one list, or you may want to use different lists for different types of goals. Sometimes I put my homework list and my home to-do list on the same sheet, but most of the time I divide them, because that's just how my brain works.

You may be saying to yourself, hey, I don't really have much of a schedule right now, I'm good. And you may be. Everyone has different styles. But if you're like me and occasionally think, "I have plenty of time to do... whatever," only to realize that you need three times as many hours as you anticipated, maybe you could give this a try. It might be better than having to stay up later than you had planned, or missing your families' Zoom Scattergories game because you've still got homework to do for class tomorrow.

What else are you all struggling with during this time? What could I talk about that might be helpful? Put your questions or concerns (students OR families) in the comment section, and I'll be sure to cover those.

Til later,

Ms. Nan

LEARNING SOMETHING FUN AND NEW WITH YOUR EXTRA TIME

It is 10:15 in the morning on the first official day of spring break.

You're already bored.

You can't travel, hang with your friends, sit in your favorite coffee shop, or go to a movie. You can only sit in your room and watch YouTube videos of zoo animal babies and reruns of The Bachelor for so long.

What's a quarantined adolescent to do?

In just 15 minutes of perusing the internet, I was able to accumulate the following list of skills you can teach yourself using online videos or basic instructions. Some of these may require you to have access to some sort of materials or equipment (like a sewing machine or knitting needles), but many use only items you can find around your house.

For instance, you can learn how to:

• draw/paint/create art
• cook
• dance
• play an instrument
• juggle
• knit/crochet/sew
• play poker (ask your folks first!)
• play chess
• program (codeacademy.com)
• create Minecraft simulations
• Marie Kondo your house (again, check with your adult before throwing anything out)
• invest in the stock market
• do magic tricks

You could also take up digital photography (borrow a camera from someone in your house or just use a phone) or calligraphy if you can find a pen.

I know you're all "I'm on vacation! Give my brain a break!" but many of these skills or hobbies are a lot of fun, give you a creative outlet, can help you earn some extra cash, or could prove useful right about now. 

For instance, I have always wanted to learn how to be a better photographer, and each summer I haul my camera along on vacation and attempt to take beautiful landscape pictures. But I don't really know what I'm doing. Here's a picture I recently took at Lake Michigan. It's fine, I kind of like it. But what if I knew more about lighting? About how to frame a picture? Using the continuous shooting mode? Could I become an excellent photographer? With a lot of extra time on my hands, this might be a good time to find out.

What about cooking? I can cook, but what if I got creative with what's available in my fridge, freezer, and pantry so that our quarantine meals went from "this is what we've got" to "LOOK WHAT WE'VE GOT!" Who knows, you could become a Cordon Bleu chef and make your family super happy as you try out all sorts of great recipes. Or maybe you need to learn how to make more than just toast and peanut butter first.

Dr. Kelly was curious as to how students could learn how to invest in the stock market. First, there are plenty of articles to read and videos to watch, including many directed to teens. Another great way is to use a virtual stock market simulation game. You can find several at https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/3-virtual-stock-market-games-learn-invest/. FYI, these are just like the activities we used in my high school economics class, only we had to look the stock price up in the newspaper every day to see how we were doing, as opposed to our phones letting us know every second of the day whether or not we were making money. To give you an idea how long ago that was, I made my stock pick based on the popularity of Cabbage Patch dolls. Y'all can look that up and figure out the year.

What have you always dreamed of doing? Okay, not skiing or tennis, at least not right now, but that you can pick up watching a video, reading a blog, and doing in the safety of your own home? Share your dreams, goals, creations, and pictures so we can learn with you!

Til next time,

Ms. Nan

STAYING HEALTHY DURING QUARANTINE

Staying healthy while quarantined needs to be a priority for everyone. Moving our bodies, staying hydrated, getting enough rest, and eating as balanced and nutritious a diet as we can will all help.

Personally, if I don't move enough, I don't sleep well. If I don't sleep well I don't have a lot of energy the next day. So I move less. It has become a vicious cycle and we're only two weeks in. It's not going to be pretty. I can't even put on my Fitbit because the numbers are so depressing.

So what can we do? There are no sports practices, the gyms are closed, and Mom just baked an enormous batch of banana nut muffins because she was bored. The great thing about quarantine in the age of the internet and social media is that loads of workouts and fitness routines are available, and many of them are free. FREE!!

For instance, on Instagram you can find @danalandgren, a great low impact workout, @blogilates, which has a 14-Day Quarantine Workout Plan and @orangetheory, with classes created by the same instructors who design their in-studio routines.

If you like YouTube videos, check out the wildly popular Yoga with Adrienne at
https://www.youtube.com/user/yogawithadriene.

Prefer apps for your phone or table? Try //fitonapp.com/, which lets you use whatever you can find for equipment from around your house, or Nike Fitness Camp at https://www.nike.com/ntc-app?cid=4942550&cp=usns_aff_nike_content&cjevent=f276d90b743311ea82af02070a240612

Amazon Prime member? You can find fitness videos streamed on that service. Just go to Prime Video and search under "Fitness." You can check the "Prime" box on the left to see which workouts might best suit your needs.

Lastly, it's supposed to warm up soon, so go out and take a walk if at all possible. Don't, you know, actually get within six feet of anyone, but try to enjoy some fresh air and sunshine. And MOVE!

Exercising is a great way to keep your mind and body healthy during this really trying time, so take a few minutes and check out some of the suggestions above. You can comment what works for you below, or when we post this on Facebook you can share pics of yourself doing your own favorite workout. We miss you all and want to see your faces!

Next week is spring break, so I will be posting about more fun stuff that has less to do with class. And if anyone wants to be a guest blogger, let me know. I'd love to do a blog about a quarantine playlist, but I'm guessing none of you want to hear about what I'm listening to, so either send ideas or offer to do it yourself or as a class project.

Until next time!

Ms. Nan