<p>For those who are unaware; I’ve been quite the scrooge lately, especially in the political threads. </p>
<p>I’m sorry for being a “know-it-all” hormone-charged teenager. I cannot deny the importance of this website. Collegeconfidential is the premier site for college servicing, so I really don’t want to jeopardize that privilege by being banned for harassment. :P</p>
<p>I promise to tone down the anger…and if necessary, stay clear out of controversial threads.</p>
<p>thanks!</p>
<p>I wasn’t aware of any missteps. Probably we’ve not been sharing the same threads. But I do know that sometimes the most sincere and contrite thoughts come at 5:47 a.m.</p>
<p>I’ll add that even for adults, you can see some who start out hesitantly in their early posts and get more courage, while others (like me) came on a bit strong and had to figure out how to temper their phrasing and consider others’ viewpoints. So even adults have an “arc” of understanding over time. Believe it or not, this site has helped me (at an age triple yours, probably) to become more diplomatic, here and in real life. The feedback you get from quiet corners teaches you a lot about diverse opinions. </p>
<p>I appreciated reading your post above, and hearing your thought process.</p>
<p>Looking forward to reading some of your future posts…</p>
<p>EDIT: Adding, there’s a way to express very strongly held opinions and passions without insulting others. If you can learn to do that, you’ve really got a life skill that will carry you far. A good way for awhile is to read and lurk, find some people whom you admire and see how they phrase things. No need to give up your opinions or become a milquetoast. It’s all in the phrasing. I try to reread my posts to weed out: insult, condescension, sarcasm. They backfire.</p>
<p>My husband always says that it’s not a mistake when at first you error…it’s a learning opportunity!! Apologizing is one of the most mature things that a person can do- and so many times I believe some big problems could have been solved early on with an apology.</p>
<p>You learned a great lesson and reminded all of us of to be thoughtful as well.</p>
<p>Good job!!</p>
<p>Congratulations. Growing up means being able to to admit mistakes. We all make them. We are human. And we are all entitled to our opinion. Your opinion can’t be ‘wrong’.</p>
<p>You are very gracious and mature to offer these words to us. Lessons well learned will surely be helpful as you move through life. Good for you! Lorelei</p>
<p>Some people in person are charmingly obnoxious; unfortunately on line one might just see the obnoxious (I haven’t connected your screen name with anything negative so I don’t know what you are apologizing for specifically). </p>
<p>I am very impressed by the overall level of civility at CC. Thank you for resolving to be a good poster in the future!</p>
<p>Good job!</p>
<p>And I love the “Friends” reference in the thread’s title! :)</p>
<p>I think two traps people can sometimes fall into on CC are to be too smart-alecky (and hide behind the anonymity of a user name) or try to be way too clever and witty (which you usually realize about 10 seconds after posting instead sounds just plain stupid). Sometimes you can do both in the same post. As a new member, my initial posts made the first mistake. I had an issue with an OP, but there was an appropriate way to respond and one that was irresponsible. Unfortunately, I choose the latter, and now I’m sorry for what I wrote. I hope I’ve learned a lesson. People do write things that are so outrageous or just plain wrong that they need to be called on it, but you can state strongly held views and make points without going into a “You’re a moron” mode. That usually results in a similar response, and then you find yourself in shouting match with someone you have no idea who they actually are. Be responsible with the first post, then you won’t have anything later to regret. My new motto.</p>
<p>Well, yeah, I was quite offended when I offered up one of my kid’s SAT scores which dovetailed with her first grade IQ score when you were questioning the validity of both IQ scores and SAT scores, and whether they were correlated. (I do think some of the IQ subtests are related to achievement, by the way, rather than intelligence, although in my kids’ cases, their scores related more to their alertness and memory of facts presented in school, because I was too busy to teach them anything, and they were in regular public schools, not fancy prep schools). I was stating a fact, you assumed I was “bragging”. That seems to be an issue for you. </p>
<p>And you are so right, doing well in college really does relate a LOT to commitment. It’s easier if you are ‘smart’, i.e. have a good memory and even good reasoning ability, but knowing how long you need to study to do well on a test (and doing it) if your memory isn’t as wonderful is the key to good grades.</p>
<p>My advice is to relax with a good book frequently. That’s what I do. Just take a break from the rat race thru reading something entertaining–fiction or non-fiction.</p>