A brief overview of educational experiences and future aspirations

As I mentioned in my introductory post, I am not a standard high school student. I have actually never been a typical student. I started school officially in 1996, as a 5 year old homeschooler in 1st grade. After 4 years, studying at home and at co-op, I started attending Private School #1. My mother got a job there teaching art, and my brother also attended there, as a 1st grader. Private School #1 hit some hard times round about 8th grade, at which point other schooling options were explored for me, and a rather appealing opportunity presented itself. For any who may not be aware of the International Baccalaureate program, it's almost like an AP situation, but a bit more elitist, and definitely more of a work load. I was accepted into the IB program at a local high school- at first I was unsure of whether I wanted to actually do it though. Entering the public school sytem for the first time as a 13 year old 9th grader definitely sounded a little awkward, but I realized that I could always drop out, but this was my only chance to join the program. So join I did.

I despised it. It was a combination of culture shock, busy work, loneliness, and just plain mean people. The proverbial "last straw" came right before Christmas Break after recieving a 37 on my math test and encountering some vicious cheerleaders. I didn't even finish out the year- come January 2005, I was back at Private School #1. There wasn't really a 9th grade there, but I was labeled a "Directed Study Student" and stationed in the library with another girl to study away. It wasn't a very productive year- I did get to disect a fetal pig though. that was pretty interesting.

The next year my friend Cat and I went to Private School #2 as 10th graders. Our class was (and still is from the accounts I have heard)... ecclectic, hated by faculty, mostly under-achieving, yet bundles of fun. However, the next year, I became tired of it all. Not to mention my grades were nowhere near the way they were in middle school. Following in the footsteps of a classmate, I decided it would be a better use of time and money to just leave and go to college. Instead of getting a GED like my friend, I became a homeschooler once again, and began classes at Community College last year. There's a program at this school that allows high school students 16 and older to take classes there for both high school and college credit. It is working out nicely, considering all I really need to graduate is an British Literature class. My mother, a graduate student, also needs this class, so this very month we are studying up together for a CLEP test. Once I pass that, I will be officially done with high school.

My future aspirations have changed countless times, but the current plan is to attend Community College for another year to recieve an associates degree. Afterwards I want to go to culinary school. It's super expensive, but I'm convinced it's my goal and I shall find a way.

Ultimately, it would be amazing to have my own restaurant. Be it fine dining or a humble bakery, my place is in the kitchen and I'm proud of it. Perhaps some day it'll even land me a decent guy (they say the way to a guy's heart is through his stomach... no luck yet).

Restauranteering would be a way to combine all of my biggest passions... my art and interior design interests (restaurants have to look pretty too), my love for children (Saturday morning muffin workshops), even my love for animals can be adressed by this endeavor (a jar of fresh-baked doggie biscuits by the cash register, duh).

Until then, it's my mission to build up a decent resume for scholarship applications. Recipie contests, volunteer work, perhaps a decent food related job... (any suggestions or opportunities anyone is aware of would be greatly appreciated).