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.
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