A happy ending?

As promised, an important development in choosing my classes for next year.

Yesterday morning I went into the Guidance department before school. Ah, cheery Guidance, only here to give me a hard time, right? Of course not. Guidance counselors are there to help you whenever you need it!

With that in mind, I asked the lady at the desk, "Can I get a form to see a guidance counselor?"

"No," she said.

Hummina-whaat? Did she just say I couldn't talk to a guidance counselor? I felt threatened by that statement! But I didn't ask why, I think. I pressed on, though.

"It's about changing my schedule for next year," I said, or something to that effect.

She directed me to the office of one of the guidance counselors, who basically told me that there was nothing he could do at this point to change my classes because he didn't have the authorization code to log in, and that it wouldn't be till next week. Down the hall another guidance counselor (I think she was actually my official guidance counselor, based on my class and/or last name) said that I needed to have my changes in course requests in writing, signed by my teacher (presumably only the teacher involved).

Armed with knowledge, I went to my first period -- World History -- and asked my teacher to switch me out of her AP European History class. She asked me to do the writing and just have her sign it. I did. She asked me why I didn't want to go for AP Euro, and I told her that I didn't really like her class, it was too much work. She said that AP Euro was basically this class but with more reading. Considering we hardly do any reading at all, it couldn't be that bad. I told her I would rather go for AP Psychology. She said that that class was only going to be a semester long, and not a whole year as previously thought. She said she wouldn't make me do anything I didn't want to do. She signed it and told me I was making a mistake.

The words kept haunting me: "You're making a mistake." No one likes to be told that, especially if it might be true. If she's not lying, I figured, it can't be that much work. And she will cook a dinner for her students before the AP exam, which determines if you get the college credit. But the main thing was the revelation that AP Psych was only going to be a semester. That means it would only be one of my electives and not both. (Remember when I picked a garbagey class for that last spot? Well, I hope I like journalism. Actually, I think my English teacher teaches it, so I'll have to ask her how it is. It can't be that bad if it's from her, but it's probably more writing than I'd want. But I'm going to have to write anyway, because all my other classes will make me write too.)

Taking only AP Psych means I would only spend one semester in an AP class, and it would be my only one (if I had my way). Having only one AP class -- and just a semester-long one, at that -- would belittle me in the eyes of my peers. (Heck, everyone in my history class was egging me on to take AP Euro after I defiantly said that I wouldn't. They had all given in to the teacher's urgings and wanted me to do the same.)

I told her later that I'd think things over again. So here in front of me I have this handwritten note to Guidance, written in my crummy printing and signed by the teacher. Should I choose to turn it in? We'll see. But the decision seems to have become a lot less difficult.

Ask Jordon!

stephanie: what is some secret stuff you dont want to tell your boyfriend but you need to.

I'll answer your question before I say a few things.

First, I might have thought this was fake if it weren't for a particular search query that resulted in a hit for this site a few minutes before this Ask Jordon was sent.

Second, I can't get over the fact that I keep dispensing love advice here. I guess people figure by reading my site that I'm so cool, I must be in a relationship. The girls must be fawning all over me, right? I'm reminded of a quotation attributed to humorist Dave Barry: "I can win an argument on any topic, against any opponent. People know this, and steer clear of me at parties. Often, as a sign of their great respect, they don't even invite me."

Third, your answer. There are quite a few secrets you might not want to tell to your boyfriend. There are some ones that would seem rather obvious to me sitting at the computer typing away. For example, if you're allergic to a certain food, make sure he knows that before he makes you a romantic meal. (I dunno, it might be a secret. Better than dying of exposure to peanuts.) If it's more serious of a secret, like you've got the hots for someone else, you've got to let him know, because he won't take kindly to your cheating on him.

Actually, if you actually want to make it work, there should be no secrets. Tell him all of them. If it means that you could break up, then so be it, I guess. It would be better than living a lie.

And finally, as a word of caution, don't go all "heartbreaker" on him, that'll probably just make him depressed and he'll write songs. Hey, I'm just trying to make the world a better place.

(These suggestions are not intended to replace actual advice. As a girl, always consult another girl for relationship advice. I cannot be held responsible for broken relationships as a result of your revealing any or all of these secrets that might or might not even apply to you.)

I've had this link in the queue of featured links for months, but coincidentally it's relevant to today, which is Earth Day. Ever seen that famous photograph of the earth? See, it's so well-known that I don't even have to describe it for you. It's just "that picture." When you think of seeing Earth from outer space, that's the image you think of: a view of Africa, the Middle East, and Antarctica.

The photo, gracefully bestowed the official title "AS17-148-22727" by NASA, is commonly known as "The Big Blue Marble." It was taken on December 7, 1972, on the last manned lunar mission. Since then no humans have gotten far enough from Earth to get such a view. Anyway, here's information about The Big Blue Marble.

The best thing about the photograph, which may just be one of the most widely distributed images in history, is that, being the work of a U.S. government employee (specifically, an astronaut working for NASA), it is in the public domain. You can pretty much use and modify the image at your will.