Senior Jeff Huynh, whose first choice is the University of Utah, has had to go through one of the worst things possible when going through the college process.

 “I got waitlisted and the feeling is horrible. You don’t know if you’ll be accepted or rejected.”

Many seniors go through the dread and stress of being waitlisted. It’s like being stuck in limbo with no way out, until a letter of acceptance or rejection.

In order to make the decisions a little easier, many seniors have or are going to check out the colleges they’ve been accepted to. Christina Bui, who has been accepted to American University , and visited the campus on Monday to familiarize herself with the college.

The stresses are high at this point in the year, and with exam time around the corner, tensions are mounting amongst the seniors, and college pressures are no help, but we wish them the best of luck in their endeavors.

The richly woven Gothic tale follows 16 year-old Gemma Doyle, a girl with an unconventional upbringing in the midst of the Victorian era. Raised by her mother in India, free from the constraints of London society, Gemma’s sixteenth birthday ends in her mother’s death, and exposes a secret that will irrevocably change the course of her life.

 After the tragedy, Gemma is shipped off to London preparatory school Spence Academy to begin her training as a proper English debutante, learning to curtsey, embroider, and hold polite tea conversations in order to prepare for her future role as wife and mother.  

Suffering from vivid and troubling visions concerning her mother’s death, she soon meets and befriends three other girls who also feel trapped by the societal constraints opposed on them. Headstrong Felicity longs for a life not ruled by her family and future husband, while beautiful and romantic Pippa dreams of marrying her true love instead of a wealthy older man chosen for her. 

Ann, Gemma’s roommate, is a scholarship student trained to fulfill a governess position for her wealthy cousin. Orphaned at a young age and mocked by the other girls, she desperately seeks acceptance and a life onstage as a famous actress. 

With the help of her visions and three friends, Gemma learns that she is a powerful priestess, whose magic allows her to open the Realms, a mystical world between worlds. Her power stems from a mysterious sect of witched called the Order, and while at Spence she discovers the history of the magic while changing her own life, and the lives of her friends.

 A Great and Terrible Beauty is a bewitching read, a fast-paced and darkly spun story that maintains a fantastic plot line while still inspiring empathy from the readers.  While Gemma, Felicity, Pippa, and Ann find themselves in situations far outside what is possibly experienced, the draw of the book is the change that takes place amongst the girls, the tests placed on their friendship, and the universal emotions they share. 

Each girl is forced to make difficult, and often nearly impossible choices, each is faced with her biggest demons and her greatest desires, and each experiences and strains against the boundaries placed on her freedoms and comes out stronger for it. 

The novel also does a great job of probing the darker underbelly of Victorian social life and the social mandates that bound women like the corsets they were forced to wear. Bray displays her storytelling prowess by sharing a compelling and mythical narrative that is eagerly absorbed for its fantasy element, but sticks because of its highly relatable human heart.

The goal of high school is to get into college. Well, once you’re there, then what?  Senioritis, that’s what. The “symptoms” for this tradition are slacking off in classes, skipping projects, and even school. Unfortunately, their years at Annandale are coming to a close, and they want to fill their last days with fun memories, not projects and homework. 

“I haven’t done any homework outside of school,”said Senior Kayvon Naghdi “Now, I just show up to class and do nothing.” 

“I’ve gotten lazier, and I’ve begun to slack off on my work,” said Senior Angel Jimenez. This approach brought on by many seniors is noticed not only by other students, but by teachers as well.

“Senioritis” is running rampant through the Class of ’10, even IB Candidates are affected by the “disease,” said Jonathan York, history teacher.

“It greatly affects me because I know I shouldn’t slack off, but at times I don’t feel like getting anything done,” said Senior IB Diploma candidate Christina Bui “I do eventually get the work done on time, but I procrastinate quite a bit.” 

For these hardworking students, “senioritis” will not take full effect until at least May 24, the last day of IB testing, but maybe even longer due to final exams.

This term though, is well deserved by all seniors. High school is said by many to be some of the momentous days of their lives, and for seniors, reflecting on their career here at Annandale will bring up many mixed memories. 

For many seniors, the Annandale Alma Mater sums this up by its last line, which reads: “So as we grow older, and think upon our ways, our high school, dear Annandale, will call to mind its days.” 

The “Four Year Run,” also the name of the drive towards AHS, is coming to an finish line for these students, and for many, seniors are planning to remember their last days as some of the best of their lives, for which “senioritis” can be held responsible.

“Break would have been more fun if I didn’t have to think about school,” said junior Katherine Yi.

The warm weather and newly found freedom made it tough for some students to concentrate on assignments given before break.

“It’s impossible to get work done. The weather was too great to stay inside doing homework,” said sophomore Nghia Tong.

Most students found themselves procrastinating, getting most of their work done on Sunday night. “I was too distracted during break so I quickly tried to finish homework the last day,” said sophomore Diana Nguyen.

Others found themselves managing their time making sure to find an equal balance between work and play. “Right when we got out of Spring Break I did my anthropology and English homework and on the very last day I did the remaining, in between I was having fun,” said junior Jodie Cha.

There also were the lucky few who got an entire week of relaxation and did not have to worry about school. “I spent my Spring Break trying to soak in the sun and hang out with friends as much as possible. I love not having to worry about school!” said junior Tatiana Daza.

With the many distractions students endured, many students proved to be unproductive when it came to school work.

“With school work you need time management, and I wanted my break to be crazy and I didn’t want to worry about work and managing my time,” said sophomore Glenda Sanchez.

AHS Seniors ’10 from A-Blast TV on Vimeo.

The Annandale High School Seniors class of 2010 tell us their plans for the next 4 years!

“I’m happy because I got into college. I’m excited and I can’t wait. It’s going to be different once I go, though. I’m not going to have the same friends once I go to college because we’re all going to different places” said Cornejo.

Others are simply ready to move on.

“Yeah I’m ready to go. I’m ready to go to college and get out of high school” said senior Mariam Oweis who will be going to either Emory & Henry College, Lynchburg College, or James Madison University.

“I’m really happy to leave high school and it excites me to start something different” said senior Abigail Cummins who will be going to New York University.

Many students are feeling anxious to graduate from high school and yet already can feel  the nostalgia they will get for high school. Whether they were fun or terrible, it is said that a student’s high school years stays with them forever.

When asked what he will miss the most about high school, senior Max Kirkman said, “Ms. Dion’s creative writing class.”

“Probably for me my biggest memories are band and track” said Cummins.

“Honestly, going to all the homecomings and games and everything being easy and carefree because at the end of the day your going home to your mom and dad” said senior Oweis.

Certainly, students know that high school is a place where they are given only a glimpse of what the “real world” is like. For many students, high school is comprised of numerous amounts of tedious home works that need to get done and “all nighters” that need to take place, however many seniors are only beginning to realize that college is where they must learn to take responsibility and work hard to attain success. But nonetheless, students are excited to begin a new and exciting chapter in their lives.

English teacher Kathleen Dion said when she was a senior in high school, “I felt a combination of fear, sadness, and excitement. I felt like there was a world of possibilities waiting for me. Be responsible, but enjoy yourself. It’s one of the greatest times of your life.”

Anxious, nervous, scared, excited, happy, proud, these are all the emotions that seniors are dealing with lately. It can be a confusing yet exhilarating time, but whatever they are feeling, many of them seem ready and undaunted to take that big step into the real world.

Unlike many of Barry’s previously published works, Guide to Guys is not a collection of his Pulitzer-prize winning humor columns from the Miami Herald but a full-fledged book that tries its best to explain to its readers (presumably females) why guys do the things they do. As examples, he recalls two men who launched themselves off a ski ramp in a canoe, and another who spends most of his free time building a giant trebuchet designed to hurl Buicks.

Amazingly, he is not making these stories up. He also covers such basic guy behavior as scratching and spitting, and teaches women how to form functional relationships with creatures just barely removed from their Stone Age ancestors.

As in all his works, Barry teases his subjects with a good-natured ridicule designed to expose the funny side of the truth. He depends not on macho excuses to explain male behavior, nor on sentimental and introspective examination into their psyches, but draws on the fact that like dogs or snakes, men are unable to grasp any well-defined moral code.

He reiterates the fact that, contrary to most women’s opinions, guys are mostly helpless at distinguishing the difference between acceptable and unacceptable behavior. He emphasizes the difference between guys and men, and the way they view themselves.

Men, when confronted with a raging river in the wilderness, will build a dam. Guys will have contests to determine who can pee the farthest off the dam. Men are doberman pinschers. Guys are labrador retrievers. A good example of a man would be Geraldo. A good example of a guy would be Katie Couric.

As with any book covering the specifics of a gender, Guide to Guys is filled with stereotypes. Barry acknowledges that not all guys are thick, emotionally clueless, sports-obsessed creatures, just as some women have the ability to get highly competitive about things like racquetball. But his endearing, blatantly stated, generally true observations are what makes the book so funny. Dave Barry’s Guide to Guys is a great read for both women who get a kick out of the male psyche and humor-centric gentlemen who don’t mind being compared, behavior-wise, to tapeworms.

After school, there are many clubs and extra-curricular activities for students . These activities range from the Red-Cross Club to the Science National Honor Society; also including much more cultured clubs.

Clubs can be defined (in certain cases) as an extra class. Some clubs incorporate learning new topics, not covered in regular classes, and it gives students some extra knowledge, that can be very beneficial for their future.

“I joined the Green Atoms at first because I care about the environment and love learning a lot to help it,” Said junior Olivia Ko. “What I have taken from this club is to think twice before I do things. This advice will help me in any situations presented upon me.”

The clubs also can be another form of an introductory to future occupations. Some students join clubs to get a better look at what they want to do when they get older. Experiencing these things can be valuable to letting students know what they are getting in, and also helping them learn more about the topics they are interested in.

To certain students, these clubs are just another thing to add onto their college application, and are not really in it for the education. But for junior Jake Dang, it is a tad bit different.

“I probably wouldn’t have joined any clubs [Key Club] if I didn’t care about my college applications.” Said Dang. “But in the end I’m glad I did because many of the volunteer events turned out to be somewhat fun and worthwhile. You feel good about yourself and who you are when you help your community.”

But for the students taking the initiative to learn more in their high school career, the knowledge is beneficial and actually helps them in class and out in the real world.

“I joined the Key Club because I wanted to be an active member of my community and to help the community grow and prosper. I don’t really see it as just another club to put down on my college applications; but it can be considered a bonus.,” said senior Semone Solomon. “Working with this club makes me feel good about myself especially after completing projects set up. This club taught me the values of learning and being a helping hand. It also gave me a broader knowledge of how the world really is, because we are exposed to many things.”

Students should take the initiative to join a club. Although students may think the clubs are useless and a waste of time, this can change; well it certainly has for other students.

Most students take their SAT tests in the spring, but others opt to take it earlier. The SAT will be administrated on May 1 and June 5. In the meanwhile, students have been preparing for the test that has a very heavy impact on their future college plans.

Some students are taking SAT prep classes while others are studying on their own by buying the prep books. “We sit and listen to the instructor yell and talk about math loudly,” said junior Caroline Hill about her prep classes.

There are many different classroom prep classes offered, but the most popular classes are through Kaplan and Princeton Review. The prices for these classes are hefty, starting from $500. The advanced and private tutoring cost much more. The high prices make some students choose to study on their own rather than sign up for a class.

“I don’t want to pay over $600 for someone to read me a book which I could just do by myself,” said junior Neha Sohail.

Others think the education and skills gained are far more important than the cost. “Classes are beneficial because it motivates me more rather than if I were to study on my own,” said junior Emily Farsani.

Some students find the SAT test to be their last hope to getting into college. “So I could get a good score on my SAT’s because my grades aren’t good,” said Caroline Hill about taking SAT prep classes.

Junior Tatiana Daza is first taking the test to determine if classes would be necessary or not.  Daza said, “I’m first going to take my SAT in May then see how I score to determine if taking classes is worth my time.”

It is also rare for AHS juniors not to take any course of action in terms of preparing for such a test. “I’ve never studied for anything and I’ve winged my way through high school so I’m not studying for the SAT and I’m hoping to have the same luck,” says junior Gabby Hankinson. She later adds, “Studying makes me anxious and nervous and it’s just a bunch of added stress.”

Regardless of whether students do prepare for this or not, the SAT has been universally known to be stressful to rising seniors in terms of college applications and future jobs.