TOW #30: Letter to a New APELC Student

Dear Brand-Spanking-New APELC Student,

Take a deep breath and calm down. Seriously, it's not that bad. We all know that our beloved Wissnation (a term I use with little pleasure) is fond of telling younger students about how terribly unbearable Advanced Placement classes are. I'm not sure if it's because we just like scaring you or because we're wusses. It's probably a combination of both, but either way, don't listen to us, them whoever. If you play your cards right, you'll do just fine in APELC. That's my first piece of advice.
Regarding the summer work: you should start it on or before August 1st. Otherwise, you'll have too much to do in a short span of time, it will all come out horribly, and you will probably get a bad grade. This problem can be exacerbated if you have more than one AP class, so watch out. Also, when you start being a productive member of society earlier in the summer, you'll be well prepared in time for the school year, when you have to be productive all the time. After you turn in your summer work and get your grade back, don't get too disheartened if you get a poor grade: you can learn from your mistakes, and if you do well later, you can make up for the low summer work grade. On the other hand, if you do well on the summer work, don't start acting cocky. You're not hot stuff. I got a 7 (88%) on the summer essay, and while that seemed to bode well for me, I struggled on later assignments. So did other people who did well on the summer essay. How you do on the summer assignment doesn't determine your future in the class, so don't get too built up or brought down by it. 
On that note, do not tie your self esteem or your sense of self worth to your grades. Trust me. 'Tis a bad idea. You are much, much more than just a grade, a class level, a score, or a GPA, and things like that don't show who you are as a person. A person might get good grades, but that doesn't necessarily mean anything about their personality or character. If how you do in school has a huge influence on your self esteem, you're not going to feel very good about yourself when you do poorly (almost everyone does at some point, it's life).
APELC is not a class for the lazy, the faint of heart, or those who don't like English. To do well, you have to be interested in the subject matter and be willing to put in the time and effort to get a good grade. You can't really put APELC on the back burner, skip readings, or start essays the night before; you won't be prepared for class, and your grades will be, frankly, bad. All of the things you'll have to do in this class, even the things that seem like pointless busy-work, will help you get a good score on the AP exam and to do well in the class overall. Just take the work seriously, no matter how boring it is or how much time it takes. It'll be worth it.
Some final pieces of advice that apply to APELC students also apply to junior year students. First, find something that will keep you sane. You need something that will always make you feel better, less stressed, and more balanced. I recommend TV, music, or a game, or some other kind of relaxing hobby. Second, sleep at least six hours a night, because less is just plain unhealthy. Third, eat a variety of healthy foods so that you have a lot of energy. Fourth, always have a sweatshirt in your locker because our school is old and cold. 
I repeat: take a deep breath. Take a lot of them over the coming school year. Good luck.

From, O'Neill K.

TOW #29: The Failed Effort to Make the Rich "Just Like Us"

Jackie and David Siegel are not well-known to many members of the general public, but they are two of the most significant movers and shakers of real estate and business. David Siegel founded the enormously successful timeshare company Westgate Resorts. He, his wife Jackie, and their large family are based on Orlando, Florida, where they endeavoured to build Versailles, the biggest private home in the United States. However, David ran into financial troubles during the 2008 economic recession, and construction on their home was stalled. The Siegels and their troubles were detailed by director Lauren Greenfield and compiled into the 2012 documentary The Queen of Versailles. The documentary is narrated completely by the Siegels and their associates, so the opinions and views of the filmmakers are not directed shown to the audience. However, the documentary portrays the Siegels as hardworking people, not the greedy vampires that many would assume them to be; despite their wealth, the Siegels faced similar financial issues that a lot of families did during and after the recession. This idea can be extended to all of the other wealthy people that complained of financial problems. The Queen of Versailles does make the Siegels and others of their class more likable and relatable, but the fact is that their troubles are not similar in magnitude or importance to those of normal families. In the way they are portrayed in the documentary, the Siegels are not much like the typical viewer, despite their middle-class backgrounds.
In The Queen of Versailles, David and Jackie explain their rise to financial success. They both came from the middle class and started small: David owned a small real estate business, and Jackie worked at IBM as a computer engineer. Surprisingly, they are extraordinarily modest about and generous with their wealth, and serve as an excellent example of the "American Dream". However, David owns a timeshare business, and it took a big hit in 2008. The business and the family lost a lot of money; so much, in fact, that the Siegels had to stop building their home, had to sell a major company building, and worried about continuing their lifestyle. These worries echo those of many more typical Americans, as thousands lost their jobs, their homes, and their futures. Despite this superficial similarity, the Siegels cannot relate much to normal Americans. When normal people make a lot less money than they used to, it can mean skipping a car or house payment, or even being unable to put food on the table. For the Siegels, it meant buying fewer toys for their children for Christmas (they still received dozens each), having to put their unfinished mega-mansion (which was larger than anything a normal person would dare to dream about) on the auction block, and downsizing their housing staff. In 2008, middle-class people lost their livelihoods; the Siegels just had to downgrade their lifestyle to something a little closer to the average, at least the average for the rich. The stakes are, in many ways, bigger personally for the average American than for the Siegel family.
Throughout the documentary, the Siegels show off all of the things they are able to have and do because of their enormous wealth. David has a fleet of cars, portraits of him and his family painted to look like royalty, and a golden throne. Jackie has diamond and gold jewelry galore, a $17,000 pair of Gucci crocodile skin boots, and is the hostess of a party for all of the Miss America contestants. One of their children has a room stuffed with beanie babies, and they all have several exotic pets. While all of this extravagance may be interesting to watch, it is not relatable. As I watched the documentary, I personally did not know what this lifestyle was like, except for the fact that it seemed rather nice. I could not relate to the way the Siegels reveled in their material possessions, as neither me nor anyone I know live like the Siegels do. It was a good tactic of the director, Lauren Greenfield, to try to make the Siegels seem like normal people, but because they are at the far end of the social spectrum, her efforts failed.
The Queen of Versailles, is, frankly, a fascinating documentary overall; after all, who doesn't enjoy looking at how the other half lives? However, while the Siegels may not have the stereotypical snooty attitudes of wealthy people, they are not relatable to viewers. When viewed under a microscope, their economic problems are not similar to those faced by typical Americans during and after the 2008 recession. Simply put, everyone has problems and all problems are bad, but not everyone's problems are equally bad. This is where the portrayal of the Siegels in The Queen of Versailles fails.