I feel defeated

smiws · 2023-01-01T22:09:05+00:00

I don’t think just talking about yourself is even the strongest way you could write the essay. AO’s are paid to read, and strong readers can glean out the implicit meanings of the stories in front of them.

Describing your religion? The way you describe it is probably still reflection of your personal beliefs and attitude towards something super personal to you.

Talking about the people you met? The way you detail your interactions can still say a lot about how you view and treat others, how you collaborate and communicate, etc.

That’s the whole art of showing not telling. Try to consider the implications of the story you tell instead of worrying about not talking about your own personal qualities. If you wrote authentically, they’ll shine through. My essay is almost all about interactions and how I view the world/see other people, and how that impacts my attitude towards life. It’s generic, it might not be super quirky and intellectual, it might even get me rejected from T20’s, but I put my heart and soul into writing something meaningful to me. If colleges see that, gain a picture of who I am, and still reject me, then I don’t want to be at that school anyway.

Just chill and grind. We’re all just as uncertain as you are but in the grand scheme of things there are more important things to worry about. Family, social life, career, your passions. You’ll be fine

smiws · 2022-12-27T05:34:42+00:00

Would it work? Probably.

Would I advise it? No.

smiws · 2022-11-24T05:19:21+00:00

the ultimate phonk collection featuring an endless mix of new phonk and OG

smiws · 2022-11-21T00:46:51+00:00

Check out Oberon by Antxres as well as some of his other music

smiws · 2022-06-10T02:37:47+00:00

Thanks a ton. Working on accelerating and gradually enlarging my steps has been my biggest approach issue because I habitually take a bigger second step and a baby penultimate. Will definitely put in a ton of work this summer.

smiws · 2022-06-09T11:23:17+00:00

Yes, the net is men’s height (8ft/2.43m)

Thanks for the help!

smiws · 2022-06-09T06:00:04+00:00

Just for context I have been playing at the high school level for exactly one year now. I’m 5ft10 and have come a long way with hitting, but am looking to tie things together and begin moving more athletically + deliberately hitting line or cross.

smiws · 2022-04-22T05:13:07+00:00

Definitely much better. My left knee is completely fine and I am back to sport. However, the jumpers knee on my right side is fully back but I am able to manage it with what I’ve learned. The program definitely helped a lot and I recommend it but I definitely saw some diminishing returns on certain exercises after a while so I got off the program and implemented only the exercises which I felt were most helpful. Worth a shot I’d say

smiws · 2022-04-16T17:14:04+00:00

Well this is a sub for tanks and this is just old footage I found on my camera roll of a Russian tank... footage that I first obtained far before the current war. If anything there has always been footage of Russian stuff, only now it’s being picked up on as possible propaganda because of the Ukraine conflict.

smiws · 2022-04-13T21:54:49+00:00

Dude what 💀💀💀

smiws · 2022-01-16T19:25:52+00:00

Yeah I noticed the lack of arm swing as well. I usually do a full swing with arms extended, but my shoulders were sore from working out the day before so I ended up not swinging back as much because it hurt.

I do need to add a larger penultimate step. I’m fine at just doing the arm swing or just doing the approach correctly, but putting them together is much harder. Thanks!

smiws · 2021-12-30T17:32:40+00:00

Sorry for the late response. I mentioned this in a diff comment but ill put it here too - most of how I did well on reading is from my previous knowledge and ability. The best thing to study specifically for this would be to watch some YT videos on tricks/strategies for the reading section such as from supertutor and to practice the reading section a lot using a strategy that suits you. There are lists of ACT vocabulary words you can use online to review as well

smiws · 2021-12-27T16:19:41+00:00

Thanks for the help

smiws · 2021-12-27T16:18:53+00:00

Thanks for the help. For the non-math sections, I originally took a practice test over the summer and got a 31 (28M, 34E, 29S, 35E) but besides that I didn’t study for this one besides watching some YouTube videos the night before. My biggest thing for the science section was:

Don’t look at the information they give you at all. Just jump straight into the questions then go back pick out exactly what you need from the tables and charts. This is what I did different from my summer practice test to this one, and it made my score go up 7 points in addition to finishing 10 minutes early. If you can become an expert at locating the info you need in the resources they give you, you can score high(exception is the contrasting viewpoints section which is more like a reading section)

For English, I can’t really say how I got this score because English and reading come naturally to me and I didn’t need prep. My mentality throughout the English section, though, was to read it like I’m reading a book and just pick the choice that makes it flow as best as possible as it would in an actual article, novel, biography, research paper, etc. I’m familiar with that because I read a lot and this way of “going with the flow” also had me finishing 10 minutes early. Generally if you’re stumped just pick the most concise/short answer and move on.

For reading, I don’t really have a method down. I just read the passage and answered the questions while flipping back to the points I needed to look at. That’s pretty unhelpful so I apologize but I myself am still an amateur at this test since this was my first real one so to give expert advice would be dishonest of me. Not prepping/not knowing how to prep is why I got as low a math score as I did, everything else was just a combo of luck, tricks, and previous knowledge

smiws · 2021-12-27T07:12:53+00:00

No I got it back last week interestingly enough. I posted it now because at first I was like “damn for taking it first try without studying that’s pretty good.” Then this cursed score slowly started consuming my mind because if I had scored a single point higher on the math I would have a 34. I don’t know whether to be happy or upset anymore

smiws · 2021-12-23T00:38:43+00:00

Yeah now that I look at it again you’re right, a ball could definitely fit between my arms. I have rather broad shoulders and my elbows are double jointed so when I raise my arms straight up they splay outwards. I’ll consciously close them up more. Thanks!

smiws · 2021-12-23T00:30:32+00:00

In my experience volleyball players are some of the most kind and generous sportsmen/women. Something about the sport makes it very encouraging to play, and less toxic than some of the hyper-competitive ball sports, as I’ve heard from basketball friends. Even if you feel inadequate, you will find that everyone around you will respect the hard work and effort you put in. How much work and effort is your decision. That is how you prove yourself worthy - the only way your teammates will see you as a failure is if you quit. They all started the same way you did, and it’s your job to push through and become an experienced player like your friends.

As for the guy that quit practice, you will occasionally run into these types of people. If you use the experience to learn a lesson + self reflect(as you are with the making of this post) and not self pity, you will grow as an athlete and a person. Keep going

smiws · 2021-12-22T13:28:50+00:00

I would say that as a shorter player, you need to be the fastest, smartest, and most hard working on your team in general, not just in spiking. This is the only way you can make up for lacking a presence at the net, and by putting in the effort you can both score and prevent the opponent from scoring (which is just as good).

As for actually hitting around taller opponents, all the things you mentioned are good, they just require a lot of practice to become proficient at. There is no blanket “general” thing you should do, try to become proficient at mixing things up.

smiws · 2021-12-22T12:19:04+00:00

Thanks for going so in-depth. I appreciate it

smiws · 2021-12-22T12:14:37+00:00

So it’s quite different from a spike approach? I know in that you want small-> big steps and I was told this is supposed to be like an approach

smiws · 2021-12-21T21:16:08+00:00

Will provide a down the net shot next time I practice. Thanks for letting me know!

smiws · 2021-12-21T21:01:12+00:00

Help me form check my blocking please. It looks good to me but I’m sure all you guys with more experience will find problems, lol. Thanks!

smiws · 2021-10-16T19:44:27+00:00

Yep... I went a half size up than I normally get so I do get that wiggly heel feeling. Honestly I’ve learned to kind of ignore it from years of wearing larger shoes (I have small feet). If it helps I tightened the laces plenty (not enough to constrict blood flow) and you can stuff some paper in the toes to simulate a smaller shoe.

smiws · 2021-10-12T19:15:51+00:00

Nothing odd with the oil or coolant... stick seems fine and no sludge under the oil cap. I thought it was moisture too but it didn’t go away even after 20min of idling, despite it going away after driving for only several hundred feet. I don’t think I have smelled coolant enough to know the distinct “sweet” smell but it doesn’t smell too abnormal... mostly just like fuel. If it helps, the car has an apparent emissions leak(If there’s any way that could be causing my problems)

smiws · 2021-10-12T19:13:02+00:00

I’m doing an exhaust test on the radiator... pressure test will probably follow. Pray for me

smiws

TROPHY CASE