I've seen many posts on these boards about things reaching beyond the game of Dungeons and Dragons. People have talked about personal issues; friends moving, arguments, revelations, dissappointments and achievements. There have even been mentions of deaths.
So, I thought that it would be appropriate, as a member of the great Paizo community, to announce that I am now officially a high school graduate. At a ceremony on Sunday I was recognized as Salutatorian of my class of 66 people, with a GPA 4.022.
After the event, droves and droves of those in attendance congratulated me on the address I gave, claiming it was not only the best speech of the day, but one of (if not the, according to some) best graduation speeches they have ever heard. It was a great day all around.
I love hearing some about the lives of the people on these boards; we've all read their posts and opinions on the game, but that small amount of the personal life that seeps in goes a long way to make this board a true community, not just a glorified advice column or gaming site.
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Congrats man!
And yes, you're right. A lot of such themes have been talked about here (or via eMail).
My Great Event happened on Friday, 2nd of June at 11:26 CET, when my Son Ben was born! I hope he will be a roleplayer as well and get as much friends through this hobby, or knowledge and fun as I have!
Even if he is not yet 4 days old, I am already sure that being a father will become my greates adventure so far!
Congratulations!
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Congrats man!
And yes, you're right. A lot of such themes have been talked about here (or via eMail).
My Great Event happened on Friday, 2nd of June at 11:26 CET, when my Son Ben was born! I hope he will be a roleplayer as well and get as much friends through this hobby, or knowledge and fun as I have!
Even if he is not yet 4 days old, I am already sure that being a father will become my greates adventure so far!
Congratulations! Bro, I got a 3yo and a 1yo. If I can do it, anyone can. The next two months will be a hell of sleep deprivation. You can get through it. Then, the kid'll start sleeping longer.
*does the happy dance for Saern and Dryder*
Congrats to you both! One thing begins as another ends, such is the cycle of life and living.
Both my grandmother and uncle passed away last year, and this weekend my family and I climbed to the top of a mountain and spread their ashes to the wind. It was a good thing, as the location where the mountain was at was on a family friend's ranch where the family did our deer and elk hunting. It was where my uncle and grandmother were happiest, so it wasn't a sad thing, it was a closure sort of thing.
Bella Sara Charter Superscriber
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Saern - Congratulations. Graduating in and of itself is an achievement, and graduating at the top of your class is terrific. If anyone was smarter, they didn't work as hard, and if anyone worked harder, they weren't as smart. The intersection of ability and effort are to be commended.
Now for the advice you didn't request and probably don't need. Enjoy this summer with your friends. I'm sure you've been told and are well aware that everything changes after this, but you won't understand the truth of that statement until you're on the other side of this period. Play D&D, have fun, and enjoy the final days of being truly young.
Dryder - Congratulations. You may think you are tired now, but you aren't. You won't know tired until you can say "Last night was a good night, I got to sleep from 1 am until 4:30. It was terrific." They get more fun after the fourth trimester (i.e. those first three months after birth). A high school gaming buddy that I see far too infrequently (he still lives in MI, I live in CA) once told me that you will never hear anything in your life more beautiful than the laugh of your child. I hope his words are as true for you as they are for me.
Sheesh. Too much sappiness. Eberron sucks. Drow are for munchkins. Read the damn rules.
There. Much better.
Oh, that last line just made my day!
Congrats man! May you surpass all your challenges with equal success.
Congratulations to Dryder and Saern!!! You guys rock--Dryder, I just saw Ben's picture on the were_cabbages group, that is one cute kid!!
Saern--the whole future is in front of you (insert inspirational deep meaningful life enhancing quote here)....seriously, good job, dude!
you will never hear anything in your life more beautiful than the laugh of your child.
Very true...unless the laughter is followed by breaking glass and the words every parent dreads "oh oh!"
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Great job, Saern. I wish I could've heard that speech.
Dryder, fatherhood is the greatest accomplishment that I have ever achieved. The rewards are greater than anything you can imagine. That said, you will have lows. The 10th night of sleep deprivation will make you wish you had a tall bridge in your yard to jump off of. The time when you spend an hour getting everyone ready to go and you grab the babe who promptly throws up more than his Hewards Handy Stomach Chamber could possibly hold all over you, him, the floor, etc. will make you want to grind your teeth to nubs. The first time that he decides to show-off his artistic talents on his room's walls with something creamy that was found in his diaper you will start looking for the gray hairs (and clorox wipes, lots and lots of them!). All the hard times will seem a bit overwhelming......but......the smile on a face when he is rough-housing with dad, the first time they pick up a crayon and you swear they have more artistic talent then any other 2 year old ever in existance, the first time they use a 3 syllable word correctly in a sentence, the first time they trully return a hug or give you a kiss, those are the times that will be etched into your brain and make life so much cooler than you ever imagined. I never thought my heart could have the amount of love in it that I have since my kids were born. Sometimes a cute little 4-5 word phrase will make your heart wanna burst with joy and a look will bring a happy tear to your eye. You are blessed. Soak it up. Smile at the crap covered walls and think about how cool that story will be to tell at his wedding, graduation from art school, or the birth of his child.
Payback is a b**ch! Congrats.
FH (the Sappy)
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Saern, Congrats. I was a little surprised to hear that you graduated from high school. You show a wisdom beyond your years on these posts.
4.022????
(Breaks out the +2 walking stick.)
Back in my day, it was impossible to get over a 4.0 -- I took two AP courses and they were weighted the same as every other class.
Have you posted your speech? I would be interested in reading it.
Dryder -- Congrats to you as well. I had my #2 son at the beginning of this year. I could talk about what is to come but I don't think that I could say it as well as FH did. "Throws up more than his Hewards Handy Stonach Chamber ..." -- I was rolling when I read this. This happened to my wife once -- it happened to me no less than 5 times. There is nothing that can describe the feeling of being covered in your son's discharge and being scared to move for fear of making a bigger mess. I should send Lilith my son's renditions of Spider-man and the Hulk -- he might give her a run for her money in the art department ;)
Saern and Dryder -- good luck in the future.
Well, the speech was a little unique to our class. See, my school is K-12. When I started, the elementary and high school were separated by about 50 feet, and when I got into the 7th grade, they began a project that combined the two buildings. So, my class has an unusual amount of history, as many of us went all the way back to the very first day of Kindergarten. So, I looked back and did a quick walk-through of all the major things we had done as a class, followed by a short little inspirational finish. I combined humor and sentimentality and everyone liked it. However, the speech was high personalized to my class, and would lose about 95% of it's meaning if posted in a public forum.
As a somewhat humorous sidenote, my rendition of the speech was augmented a little by the poor performance of the other speakers. We had a graduation practice last Thursday in which our principle went on and on, raving about the new sound system our school had installed, and how all the speakers would be crystal clear and there would be no echo. My last name starts with B, so I was in the first row, right in front of all the said speakers (classmates, teachers, and school board members) and I could only understand about 20% of anything that was said. Our auditorium isn't big enough for all the family that comes in, so we have to do it in the gymnasium, which is acoustic (sp?) suicide, and the massive air conditioning fans drone on and on so loudly. Everyone else rushed through their addresses, but I had practiced, took things slow, and came through coherently.
But the compliments I recieved on my speech (many from people I didn't even know, and one even called my house afterward just to tell me how good it was), leads me to believe that it really was that case that I was good, not everyone else just sucking. :) In fact, I know it, as I got a 760 out of 800 on my SAT (Math score was... less impressive....), allowing me to skip two introductory college writing classes, and I made it to the Top 10 Finalists in a state artistic writing competition earlier this year.
I'm perty good wid werds.
As far as the 4.022, I did take a few AP classes, which were weighted, and I also supplemented my high school classes this year with morning classes at a local college (since I had literally exhausted every class my school had to offer to someone of my ability, so it was either take study halls and typing classes, or get an early start on college; no brainer). So, right now, I've just graduated high school and have half a year's college credit already under my belt. Still, I'm not completely sure how my high school graded the college classes (three A's and a B due to technical difficulties on my computer's part), so exactly how I got the 4.022 is somewhat of a mystery even to me (the valedictorian had 4.14).
My plans for the summer? Absolutely nothing. Well, other than D&D, of course! Oh, and going to see King Tut in Chicago in July.
Dryder- All the best wishes to you and your burgeoning family. Though it will (hopefully!) be years down the line for me, I do look forward to the day I raise a family of my own. I've been raised to regard life, and thus children, as about the most sacred thing there can be in this vast cosmos in which we live.
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Bella Sara Charter Superscriber
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The way you tell if your speech bombed is if no one says anything about it. As I was working on my high school class speech I got the idea suck in my head that kindergarten should be acknowledged, and so I wrote this speech about how it took 13 years to finish school. Of course, I never bothered to explain that the thirteenth year was kindergarten (and in retrospect, it's more like 12.5 years than 13 years). I'm sure there were a lot of parents wondering how long it took me to complete high school.
When I gave my law school speech, I omitted any reference to the amount of time to complete the program, just to be safe.
And I see now that in my earlier post I was thinking salutorian = validictorian (particularly with the high gpa). Nonetheless, congratulations and good work. Where are you going to college?
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Searn--I have a bit of advice for you myself.
I just finished up my junior year at college and will be graduating after the fall semester next year. My school costs over $30k per year and I almost had to transfer to a cheaper school last year because I didn't think I could continue going here. It doesn't help that, when I graduate from here, I enter into a one-year Master's program that'll cost me $23k.
When I came to college, the Physics program (which is what I'm majoring in) didn't start until second semester and that was even only one class. It also took me until second semester sophomore year to figure out a minor, so I had a lot of catch-up to do. Anyway, at the end of this school year, I had all the credits I needed to graduate (actually, I was one credit short, but that would have been easy to take care of... yay for yoga or ballroom dance or something crazy). The only thing that kept me here was the fact that I still hadn't finished the requirements of my minor or major.
So, without further adeiu (which I can't spell), here's the advice: If it doesn't stress you out to take a course overload every semester (which, by the sounds of the college courses you've already taken, I don't think it would), you should graduate a year early. Firstly, this saves you lots and lots of money. Secondly, I know I was feeling done with my undergraduate education by the end of this year and was ready to move on, so I can assume you might feel the same way at that point. And hey, if you don't, it's not like you HAVE to graduate early even if you have your requirements done with. I definitely wish someone had given me this advice when I had started... I could have started my life a year early.
Actually, PhysChic, that's the first good thing I've heard about trying to get through college early. Everyone else I've talked to who tried regretted it. However, despite my academic achievements, I'm quite lazy and not into rushing things at all, so I'll be going to Indiana University for all 4 years, and then probably into a Masters program.
Another interesting side note- IU is where LSD was created. Just thought I'd mention that.
I'm looking at the prospect of going to college ten years after I graduated from High School...it's not a pretty one. :( Once you stop, it's hard to pick it back up again. I'd still take a deep breath and enjoy the summer - you'll probably never get another summer vacation like the ones you had in school again. :D
Congradulations are in order...well done Saren. I would advise to take your time going through college as an undergrad. Unless you already have serious career goals and personal aspirations (which in my experience very few college freshmen have), you will be spending your four years at IU figuring those things out. Take your time and enjoy college life, maybe join a fraternity, get some internships under your belt, choose a wide range of electives, get to the IU basketball and football games...otherwise take advantage of the multiplicity of opportunities afforded a self-reliant student.
I also highly recommend considering a masters or masters to PhD program at a different university (as it seems you are already thinking in that direction). Whatever it is you choose to do as a profession, your schooling should funnel your interests from the broad (grade school to HS), through undergraduate coursework, and finally to very specific programs in higher education. This applies for both pragmatic studies like business, engineering, education, etc AND the humanities like sociology, english, history, etc.
Onward and upward Saren!
As ever,
ACE
(PS, have a great summer...they are never again like those you experience in HS)
I'd still take a deep breath and enjoy the summer - you'll probably never get another summer vacation like the ones you had in school again. :D
Heh, quoted for truth...my sentiments on this couldn't be any further from Lilith's!
As ever,
ACE
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I'm looking at the prospect of going to college ten years after I graduated from High School...it's not a pretty one. :( Once you stop, it's hard to pick it back up again. I'd still take a deep breath and enjoy the summer - you'll probably never get another summer vacation like the ones you had in school again. :D
Been there done that. Once you get over the fear of looking like a goofy old putz, it's all good. Studying is easier when you are mature enough to actually appreciate it.
Your mind is more focused too, because you know what you're doing, what you want, and how to deal with people like an adult.
Congrats Saern & Dryder!! Enjoy the ssummer, you earned it.
I'm looking at the prospect of going to college ten years after I graduated from High School...it's not a pretty one. :( Once you stop, it's hard to pick it back up again.
Go for it! I tried college for a year after HS and I just wasn't ready for it, my concentration, maturity, etc., were not there. I wasn't involved or engaged in college life.
Later, years later, I went back. I was working full time and earning my bachelor's took nearly 7(!) years. Best thing I ever did--I went from a former C+/B- HS student to graduate with my BA magna. I also decided to throw myself into the experience the last 2 years; I quit my high-pressure corporate job, took 18 credits, and before the smoke cleared I was also DJing a radio show, was the Editor of the school paper, and studied for a time in England.Fear of being the "old student on the block" nearly kept me away from one of the proudest achievements of my life.
Your mind is more focused too, because you know what you're doing, what you want, and how to deal with people like an adult.
So very true.
I started college in 1986 and graduated in 2001. Looking to start graduate school soon as a 40 year old.
I had to attend one class during the day during my final rush to finish up. Not only did I feel old, I also looked old because I had to split my work day to attend this class and I would show up to class in a coat and tie.
The class discussed historical events (it was a poli sci class) and the professor would look at me for my perspective, since I was actually old enough to remember these events when they occurred ("how did you feel when Reagan was shot?")
"Wow, that happened in 1981--that's the year I was born" was one comment I heard.
Boy did I feel old. I think Saern is mature enough to do well in college even without the seasoned appreciation of age.
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(...) Smile at the crap covered walls and think about how cool that story will be to tell at his wedding, graduation from art school, or the birth of his child.
Payback is a b**ch! Congrats.FH (the Sappy)
As my wife and me are probably the two biggest CALVIN&HOBBES fans in the universe, I am sure we will cope well with 'crap covered walls' and stuff like this. We once talked about how cool it would be to have a child like Calvin... Now I think half of Calvin would be good enough! ;)
In fact, when I had my graffiti-time, my parents were shocked after I had finished "bombing" my room! Boy, my parents almost put me in jail for that ;)Thanx for all the kind words FH and all the others of course! As one of my friends said:"Don't be surprised if your son jumps off of high walls, if you bought him a Superman-shirt before!"...
And about feeling old - Just today we had a discussion at work where Duran Duran came up (you know, the band from the 80s?!). One of our trainees just said:"Duran Duran? Never heard of!".
Boy did I feel old that moment!!!
Congratulations Saern! It was such a good feeling for me to be done with HS. If you are anything like me or most of the people I know you will enjoy many of the aspects of college. Just being able to chose your pace and direction are great. My recommendation is just to make sure you keep up on your reading and studying (sounds like you already do). College is more and more about tests and less about homework and such which makes studying very important. I’ve thought that I could cram for a test many times, and been mistaken almost as many times :)
Congratulations to you to Dryder! There’s little I can tell you since I’m not a parent myself so I will just wish you happiness and good luck.
My condolences Lilith. I’m glad you were able to spread the ashes of your loved ones in such a meaningful place, although such partings are at best bittersweet.
On the note of vomiting children...
Once when I was a little tyke and my mom had me at church I decided to vomit all over the man sitting in front of us. Good thing for my mother he was wearing a nice thick suit as she was able to clean up the mess before he noticed. Or maybe he was just trying to pretend it didn’t happen ;)
I have to say that I really enjoy threads like this one. It just goes to convince me more and more what a bunch of neat and colorful people are here at Paizo.
Saern:
I saw King Tut in LA. It was freaking awesome. I hope you have a blast.
To the school returnees:
I echo Scylla. I was a HS student who got decent grades off of smarts, but didnt apply myself. I coasted through a JC and dropped out, and lost some time. I went back to school 2 years ago, went into a University, and I just made the President's List. Sometimes you need some time to get your mind right and apply yourself.
Saern, college is awesome. Make sure you don't treat any class like a joke. You sound like a smart person, so you should be fine, but make sure you swing for the fences. Always apply yourself and try to be the smartest person in the class. It pays off. If you are really into writing, I will give you some advice: do it every day. No matter what. I'm not really good at it, but I write alot, and if you don't make yourself sit down and hammer out work, you'll get rusty. You need to keep with it. Make it part of your habit.
BTW, what majors did we have from everyone in here? I'm all about History.
My condolences Lilith. I’m glad you were able to spread the ashes of your loved ones in such a meaningful place, although such partings are at best bittersweet.
Thank you! It was, as you said, bittersweet. One death was a happier ending, while the other was bitter. I'll probably post photos of the mountain and marker later this week on my website.
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Well, first off congratulations to Saern and Dryder.
Saern - being top of your class is great. I'm glad everyone enjoyed your speech. Me, I slept through the one at my highschool graduation lo these many years ago. Good luck in college, and don't let them brain wash you.
Dryder - A new kid is cool. My little brother and his wife just had their first kid at the beginning of May. From everything I've heard, you're in for some fun times.
And I guess that brings me to my own happy announcement. After about 4 1/2 years together, I finally popped the question to my girlfriend last week, and she said yes. I know, I know, you're all wondering "WTF! How could she agree to marry some walking corpse?" Well, let me just say "That's why I love her". And who knows, a couple of years from now I could have my own little zombielings running around gnawing on the other kids in pre-school.
Oh yeah, and as far as college - I have a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering. I was working on my Masters, but work got in the way.
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Well, first off congratulations to Saern and Dryder.
Saern - being top of your class is great. I'm glad everyone enjoyed your speech. Me, I slept through the one at my highschool graduation lo these many years ago. Good luck in college, and don't let them brain wash you.
Dryder - A new kid is cool. My little brother and his wife just had their first kid at the beginning of May. From everything I've heard, you're in for some fun times.
And I guess that brings me to my own happy announcement. After about 4 1/2 years together, I finally popped the question to my girlfriend last week, and she said yes. I know, I know, you're all wondering "WTF! How could she agree to marry some walking corpse?" Well, let me just say "That's why I love her". And who knows, a couple of years from now I could have my own little zombielings running around gnawing on the other kids in pre-school.
Oh yeah, and as far as college - I have a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering. I was working on my Masters, but work got in the way.
Tiny zombies, cool! Your plan to increase your minions numbers is now coming to fruition.
Congrats, zombie! A good woman can do wonders for any walking corpse!
FH
Both my grandmother and uncle passed away last year, and this weekend my family and I climbed to the top of a mountain and spread their ashes to the wind. It was a good thing, as the location where the mountain was at was on a family friend's ranch where the family did our deer and elk hunting. It was where my uncle and grandmother were happiest, so it wasn't a sad thing, it was a closure sort of thing.
I'm sorry, Lilith. We did the same thing with my wife's grandmother's ashes. While hiking that same mountain we found the brass plaque that they had left behind in the spot where they spread her grandfather's ashes in 1989, so it turned into a more joyous occasion, for no one expected to find that plaque still in place after so many years.
This thread shows once again what I like about these messageboards: The people posting here are polite, genuinely helpful, and care for their fellow man or woman. Sometimes it seems to be an extended family in which the wisdom of the older ones is respected and the antics of the young ones are tolerated within reason. Of course, there are heated arguments from time to time, but it would be unnatural otherwise.
I just had to say this.
Stefan
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Tomorrow my boy turns 3!!!
He was born on June 8, the date of the Viking raid on Lindisfarne; what a fitting birthday for him.
Advice: skip the second birthday party altogether; it was just a horrible 2-y-o tantrum/barbarian rage fest; so save yourself the money and the heartache. I live in cautious fear of tomorrow. It can be good or bad, it all depends on his mood at the time. We'll see.
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Bella Sara Charter Superscriber
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And I guess that brings me to my own happy announcement. After about 4 1/2 years together, I finally popped the question to my girlfriend last week, and she said yes. I know, I know, you're all wondering "WTF! How could she agree to marry some walking corpse?" Well, let me just say "That's why I love her". And who knows, a couple of years from now I could have my own little zombielings running around gnawing on the other kids in pre-school.
Finally an excuse to use the half-zombie template!
BTW, what majors did we have from everyone in here? I'm all about History.
Bachelors in History - UCLA, Masters in Business - Boston University
But some of the best actual learning (in structured "learning" environments has been from ROTC, Army, the martial arts studio, and PADI) all groups, at least in my experience real broke down what was necessary to helping someone master the material, rather than simply putiing you in a room with someone who know a lot about the subject. Though I did have some instructors in both my undergrad and graduate programs that were really good.
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And who knows, a couple of years from now I could have my own little zombielings running around gnawing on the other kids in pre-school.
Why am I getting Dawn of the Dead remake flashbacks?
Oh, and your kids don't have to be ghouls to gnaw on the other kids, or parents for that matter...my wife and I both have battlescars.I think it's the my great great great grandfather's werewolfisms remanifesting.
BTW, what majors did we have from everyone in here? I'm all about History.
Criminal Justice...Bachelor of Science from Park University.
I'm seriously considering getting my M.A. in History though, because I just love the subject and would love to teach it.
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Finishing up my BS in Physics, then spending a year getting my Master's of Arts in Teaching Physics. It's almost like an MEd, but the cirriculum I go through is a tad different. Should be done with it all summer of 2008, then on to a career somewhere (hopefully, one of the places I've really wanted to teach).
BA in Biology and English, MA in English Lit...wish i could go on for a PhD but work won't allow it.
As ever,
ACE
Well, I'm pretty good at BS, so I'm not too worried! :)
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Congrats to Saern and Drider for their recent joys!
In answer to the education question: MA in Archaeology/Applied Anthropology. I may go on for a BS in Chemistry, but no real plans for that now.
Lillith, sorry for your grandmother and uncle's passing, but I'm happy you got to have the beauty of sending off a loved one in a serene way. I've done similar and it's amazing the feeling of closure it gives when it feels like the loved one is going back into nature rather than just being planted (although, I do know one friend of my grandmother who wanted her ashes mixed in with the flowerbeds she loved tending).
When my time is up, my wife and family have my standing orders...Cremation and then scattering my ashes from Powell Point in the Grand Canyon. I interned there out of college and fell deeply in love with it. That's right, I'm an archaeologist who doesn't want to be included in the archaeological record!
As an important note...remember the teachings of the Dude and Walter in the Big Lebowski, always take wind direction and velocity into the equation... :-P coff, coff
Congrats dude, getting out of high school is such a relief!
As an aside, I note that you have a GPA above what is supposedly the max: 4.0. I've been told that administration calculates GPAs in a funky way so that in the end the numbers are lower than they should be. Seeing as how you're the smart one here, do you know why this is? Why would our educators want us to think that we're dumber than we are and create inconsistancies like have a 4.2 GPA?
I do believe the over 4.0 GPAs are due to Honors or AP classes. Most schools award an additional grade point for these classes due to the increased challenge. I graduated with a guy who had something insane like a 4.4 or 4.5 because of so many AP classes.
This is possible when you have all As, plus As in honors classes.
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Bella Sara Charter Superscriber
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Congrats dude, getting out of high school is such a relief!
As an aside, I note that you have a GPA above what is supposedly the max: 4.0. I've been told that administration calculates GPAs in a funky way so that in the end the numbers are lower than they should be. Seeing as how you're the smart one here, do you know why this is? Why would our educators want us to think that we're dumber than we are and create inconsistancies like have a 4.2 GPA?
The true 4.0 scale has been dead in high schools for over a decade. The extra point for AP classes is stupid in my book. It lets you game the gpa system a lot more (someone who takes AP courses and ungraded courses like study hall does better than someone who takes AP courses and non-AP graded courses), it makes it hard to compare apples to apples between high schools for the average person, and colleges recalculate your gpa using a 4.0 system, so it's not like you're fooling them (they do take into account the difficulty of your ciriculum, just not in the gpa).
The only benefit I see is that it gets people who might not take the harder AP courses to take them, but I think that the incentive to get college credit for passing the AP tests is a sufficient without adding the point.
They goosed SAT scores back in 97 too. It's impossible to compare the SAT score of someone who took the test pre 97 and post 97. The post 97 scores are higher by 50 to 100 points (not because the kids are smarter or the test is easier, but because the grading system has changed).
I suppose the other people that really benefit are those below a 4.0 on such systems. They can boast that they have a 3.9 or such, and while in the world of logic and reason, that gpa would indicate a consistent string of A's with an occassional A-, in the bizzaro world of high school AP courses the kid probably has a mix of A's, B's, and a few C's.
They just redid the SAT again last year. My class was one of the first to take it, in our Junior years. They added an essay component, which frightened a lot of people, but given my lingual skills, I loved. They annoying part was that it had to be hand-written and done in 25 minutes. When you rush me with a pencil, don't be surprised if you can't read a word. They graded me well on it anyway, though.
I actually just got my transcript today in the mail and saw that they didn't include my A from U.S. History in college! I'm going to take this up with my school- it would be hilarious if there was a post-graduation reversal of Salutatorian and Valedictorian (though not for the later!).
As far as how my school calculated my GPA, I'm not sure. They were never big on communication between administration and students. I do know I got less than 5 B's throughout high school, and regardless, I'm extremely happy with the way things have turned out.
Oh, and Sebastian's right- my AP and Honors classes counted as a 5.0 for GPA purposes when I got A's in them, and 4.0 when I got a B. I agree that it seems a little wonky, to put it scientifically. :)
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My high school actually had a 4.0, 5.0, and 6.0 system, in which 4.0 students generally consisted of people who either were attending high school because they were forced to, or chose to take select "4.0" classes in subjects they considered too challenging.
5.0 students were your average "good student," mostly enjoying the education they recieved but not seeking honors or AP classes.
Thus leaving 6.0, which consisted of said honors and AP classes, as well as the upper-level language courses. I was a 6.0 straight-shooter, but had friends (and even a younger brother) who dabbled in 5.0 classes for overly difficult subjctes (Math & Science)
In my case, I just ended up with two GPAs, weighted and unweighted, though I'm absolutely positive Saern's would trample mine :). We had nine valedictorians and I was a solid .3 (weighted) GPA beneath any of them.
Kyr,
Your mention of your learning experiences made me smile. I too like to consider my Tae Kwon Do and PADI training as much as my college degree (Criminal Justice, though I'm now pursuing a degree in Education - History).
Well, I'm pretty good at BS, so I'm not too worried! :)
Get A B> A. and you become a Bad A$$ instead of just full of B.S.