As the tension begins to mount, the competition for the better grade rises, there comes the constant checking of grades, from within school between periods and at home. Students seem to check grades as if their life depends on it. It’s an addiction, a drug that is approved and supported by parents, teachers, administration and the school system itself.

A good student is one that listens in class, studies at home and performs well on tests. Checking grades constantly at untimely hours of the day is by no means what is required or what is healthy for the average student. Students will even go so far as to check grades in class, followed by the frequent pleading and begging of the student to the teacher to raise their grade.

Quite frankly, a student should be satisfied in doing the best he or she can or at least the equivalent of the amount of work they put into it. Checking grades occasionally is acceptable if one wants to make sure the teacher inputted information correctly or for one’s motivation to do better, but when it becomes a source of addiction things have gone overboard.

Our school system, as well as the sculture we live in has become warped over the years. Generations ago, the mad rush for a perfect report card, or fury over the perfect grade point average did not exist to the level it does today. We live in a time where school is not solely for learning but rather to grant students a bigger step towards college, and later a successful career.

What students need to understand is that school is a place to learn, not to receive perfect grades. The human mind works on a trial and error basis, making mistakes is a part of learning. However, when it comes to school, the margin for making mistakes is slim to none. Students fret over the possibility of not getting the A they supposedly need. They worry over the possibility that their quiz grade won’t be put in AERIES immediately or that their project won’t get the perfect score they think they deserve.

Somehow, these students have the audacity to believe that these few points, shepherded closely by hovering parents or the students themselves, will grant them access to some sort of elite educational status that ensures a very bright future.

That bright future, at least bright by some people’s standards, is rooted in superficiality. While society portrays those obsessed with appearance superficial, the dogged pursuit of a perfect report card at all costs is also superficial.

The part that is humorous is that according to the Higher Education Research Institute at University of California, Los Angeles, out of 220,000 college freshmen who attend 1,555 four-year colleges and universities, 79 percent of them were accepted to their number one college. It would seem that higher education doesn’t especially have a addiction to grade greedy “perfect” students. What those students need to understand is that worrying and constant grade checking isn’t going to help anything. Instead of spending time fretting over grades, students who attend our school have the chance to include themselves in other more time-worthy extracurricular activities that will benefit in the long run.

Therefore, the pathetic steady guard of one’s grades not only harms the student who partakes, but also sheds a negative light on the American educational system that has somehow instilled into the minds of its students that perfection at all costs is a value to be sought. Perfection is unattainable, what is considered good and what is considered bad only depends on the one who is judging it. While one student may have perfect grades, another “less perfect” student may be actually helping the school’s environment by participating in sports programs, clubs and other extracurricular activities.

From this one can note that the feverish pursuit of perfection in academics is misfounded, although taught by the school system. Students are taught to get that perfect report card, as the letter A, the first letter in our alphabet, the sign of perfection, is given to students who excel above the regular level. However, excelling above the “regular” level isn’t what should be sought after for students. Students need to learn; that’s why they’re in school. They do not need perfect grades, a margin of error should be allowed, even accepted without consequence.

However, learning has fallen to second place in school. In its place is a drive for perfection no matter what the cost.

“It was a lot of fun, but I honestly didn’t think I was going to win,” Burns said.

Theater teacher Sue Raley must have believed she could. Raley chose her to represent our school. She was clearly well deserving, after having parts in many school plays, her favorites being “Brighton Beach Memoirs,” “Back to the 80’s,” and “Lend Me a Tenor.” She will also be starring in the upcoming spring play “Cabaret,” which starts on April 21st.

“I feel so lucky that I was given this opportunity. I am extremely grateful to her for giving me the opportunity, and I am so happy that I could make her proud,” said Burns.

She competed against the top actor or actress from 25 schools from around the area. The competition was narrowed down from 25 to five after the first round in which each actor or actress had to perform both a Shakespeare sonnet and a monologue of their choice. In the finals, each competitor was given a monologue on the spot to perform.

“It’s really exciting, and its great recognition for our entire theatre department,” Burns said.

Her acting career all started when she was in 3rd grade. She performed in community musical theatre, and from her first moment on stage, she knew that acting was definitely for her.

“I realized that I’m addicted to acting. If I don’t perform for a while I start to have withdrawals,” said Burns.

She has already launched her professional career, having been performing in Legoland’s daily show, Journey to the Lost Temple, since her sophomore year.

I didn’t know how to feel as I sat down; ashamed or scared. I felt both. Everyone around me was cool, calm, and collected except for me, surprisingly.
The meeting started, like any other, but a sober woman, and her man, shared that today was her tenth year alcohol-free. Everyone in the room was proud, and her husband cried tears of joy.
In tradition, they asked new members to introduce themselves. When the hot potato finally got to me, I spit my name out as quickly as I could. It was one of the most intense moments of my life and I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to say a single word for the rest of the night.
Older members began talking about their recent experiences. To them, coming to a meeting is meaningless unless they can vent to one another.
Some share just how glad they are that they can go to work, or wake up and remember what happened the previous night. Others shared what I wouldn’t dare share with a even a teacher, friend, or family member. One man worked up the nerve to apologize to his daughter for blacking out and neglecting her as a child. He laughed it off as if it were nothing, but it sounded like a gut-wrenching experience.
As one of the new comers, I sat in my own corner, and I slouched down so low it looked like I was drowning in embarrassment. One man was asked to share on his first night. He began by barely putting the words together, but once he let go of all of his ‘defenses’ everything came out. He revealed how he grew up and began to cry about everything he regreted.
Finally the man explained just how close he was to ending his life. The others among him embraced the man, and thanked him for his courage. The room felt like a weight had been lifted off everyone’s shoulders. It was like everyone found some sort of freedom.
As the meeting closed, and I was desperate to leave, a gentleman offered to sponsor me. For those that don’t know, a sponsor is someone who will check in on your sobriety and how everyday life is going. He offered to trade phone numbers, but like all the new people I declined his offer.
I slowly walked out the door and after I got to end of the block I ran with my tail between my legs to my car. I wasn’t sure if I was going to hell for what I’d done or if I was going to even forgive myself for sitting in with some of the most honest people I had ever been around.
I was really forced to look at my own life and see if I needed to make a change in my lifestyle. This was an event that broke so many of my morals and ideals that I live on. It has made me reconsider what true values are. I was there to “get the story” and was changed by the experience.

The tournament was hosted by Fox TV and PokerStars.net. The winner of the Million Dollar Challenge would win $1,000,000. But first, they would have compete through several challenges: a qualifying tournament, a video competition, a match against a celebrity, a match against a professional poker player, and finally a match against World Poker Tour champion Daniel Negreanu.
Buth began by competing in an online poker tournament of around 10,000 participants. After hours of playing, he finished in the top ten, qualifying for the video competition. He then submitted a video, along with the other nine competitors, explaining why he should play at the televised tournament for a chance to win $1,000,000.

The video showed Buth tearing off a t-shirt revealing a wrestling singlet with poker chips taped to his nipples. His brother “Disco Dennis” and a fellow wrestling coach made an appearance on the video edifying Buth and his passion for poker with lines such as, “When my brother was first born, his first words weren’t ‘Daddy’. They were ‘All In’, baby!”. This video can be seen on YouTube.

The producers liked the video, so Buth continued on to the tournament aired on the Fox Sports Network where he faced UFC Champion Tito Ortiz. The first few rounds went well for Buth, at one point beating Ortiz 36,400 to 3,600. With 94 percent to six percent odds against Ortiz who went all-in, Buth was just about to win. But miraculously, the cards played out in Ortiz’s favor. After a few more rounds of a brutal match between Buth and Ortiz, Ortiz unfortunately won. This game can be seen on the video Web site Hulu.

“It didn’t go as well as I would have liked, but it was a great experience,” Buth said.

The producers gave Buth a bag, a shirt, and a set of poker chips as a consolation prize with a stunned apology for such an unexpected result.
Had Buth won, he would have donated money to the struggling wrestling program at Cal State Fullerton, the college he graduated from.

“You have to remember where you came from. And so if I did win that million dollars, I would’ve loved to donate money to make sure that the Cal State Fullerton program stayed alive.”
Half of the team came to support and watch Buth compete.

“I wish I could’ve won of course, but Cal State Fullerton got national recognition. I was glad I could give them some air time nationally,” Buth said.

In an email to the staff Principal Kyle Ruggles proclaimed the teaching abilities of Emmerson.

“David does an outstanding job teaching chemistry.” Ruggles wrote,” “David is consistent with providing an instructional program that gets students involved with chemistry. When providing instruction, David gives students the chance to learn from each other by working in teams to complete labs and other course work.”

Emmerson, along with teaching regular and Ap Chemistry also is the advisor for the O2 For Life club, set up our school’s composting program and organizes the annual Science Extravaganza.

“The hard work, excitement and energy that David displays translates to a high degree of motivation among students. As a result, students develop an enjoyment of learning in a culture of high expectations and engagement.” Ruggles wrote

The runners up for the Teacher of the year, which is decided by teachers and staff were Pat Richardson, Tiffany Sejut, John Close, and Christopher Greenslate.

Since my applications were submitted in the beginning of January I’ve acquired a new obsession with checking my email and mail. I feel my phone vibrate with an email and I have to read it immediately because it could possibly be from one of the twelve schools I applied to. If a college title appears in the list my breath lightly catches in my throat.

Part of the anticipation I feel about acceptance letters lies in my fear that my applications are incomplete. Since applications are submitted partly online and partly from the school I fear that all my papers won’t appear in the college file marked with my last name. My fear of this has only been increased by the fact that I had the pleasure of receiving four incomplete application notifications already. Naviance hadn’t sent any of my transcripts or recommendations because it wasn’t linked to my common application username correctly. I remember opening the letter marked with the bold letters of academic superiority with pounding heart and the sinking of my stomach when the letter revealed my application incomplete. Though I was able to remedy the situation, it gave me a small glance into the fear of breaking the seal of a college correspondence letter.

At this point I have heard back from three of my backup schools but I’m still anxiously waiting to hear from my first choice The University of Southern California and my other top schools. I can’t even imagination the excitement I’ll feel if one day the pile contains an envelope with the words “Welcome to the Trojan Family!”, I may faint. So much work goes in to the application process and then it’s over and done with and all one can do is wait and imagine the best and worst possibilities.

I feel the wait for acceptance is in some ways worse than the actual application process because as seniors we have no control over the situation after submission. The next four years of our lives lay in the hands of foreign admissions advisers. All of the thought we put into constructing ideal students in our applications and research on the size and major we want in a college could be wiped out by one thin envelope full of condolences.