I guess it's somewhat accurate to say I haven't slowed down since sometime around the end of junior year, between AP tests and June 16th. I was only home for about three weeks over the summer, which involved the amount of homework that would take me three weeks to do, with a weekend here and there for catching up with people. And school starting hasn't given me much time, either. Particularly the last week has been consistent in that I go to school, usually stay after for some event or another, come home, do homework, eat dinner, do more homework, and if I have time, I shower. Gross, I know. (Don't worry -- more often than not I do!!) The long, intense college search has also taken a toll on me, but my applications will be in soon enough, and I'm so excited for college that I really can't complain.

Despite the ridiculous amount of work, I have to say I've been pretty happy and lucky with the teachers and classes I've got this year. I spend about half my day in the bio room, where I take AP Bio, genetics, and work as a lab assistant for my teachers. They even have a little office in the back where they set up a little desk area for me to work in!! I'm starting to feel like that room is my second home, haha. I'm particularly excited because not only do we get to do cool things like fetal pig dissections, sequencing a part of my DNA and trying to trace my origins, and cloning African violets, we get to go on really interesting field trips. I can't wait to go to the Mudder Museum, Princeton for TIGER Talks, and the Coriell Institute, which I might look into getting an internship for next summer. I'm a big nerd, I know -- but I love it!!

Unfortunately this means something else -- I won't have much time for art. This is the first year of my entire life that I haven't taken an art class in school... and it's so strange. It just wouldn't fit in my schedule this year, and there wasn't much I could do about it. Every now and then I'll go hang out in the art room, but it's hard because I can't really be a part of it. I almost feel like art has become more of a hobby than a part of me, which isn't true. Perhaps I'll just have to take a year off and get used to occasional doodles and a painting or two. However, I definitely plan to continue art in college -- particularly ceramics. One of my dad's patients is a profesisonal potter and offered me time in his studio whenever I want -- maybe next summer I can spend time there and learn the wheel!! Ceramics is definitely my favorite, but I never had the time to perfect anything I learned. So please bear with me!! Thanks to all of you who continue to watch and comment on my work -- you are muchly appreciated. I'll try to keep in touch!

<3 Sharon