My College Applications are Done

Lately my mother has been on my case with college stuff...and I'm not even a senior. I realize getting into a good college is ideal for everyone, and I too want to get a good education so that I can then get a good careeer, blah blah blah. But already my college counselor has come in and discussed our future. I'm barely 17; my future right now is what I'm having for dinner tonight. I don't want to look into colleges that I like; I'm just trying to get through the school day. For me, there's a lot of pressure to be looking at colleges already; not only from parents but from peers. It's scary to hear of students who have been preping for ACT tests or have been going on college visits since they were in junior high. What is the need to be looking into our future this much?

The First Amendment!

Today in class we discussed our opinions on citizen/student rights. One of the topics was whether or not it was okay for newspapers to publish articles that contained false information. My group was torn in half. Two said that it was false advertisement, so therefore should be limited. Another group member said, however, that newspapers have the freedom of speech and press and so this act should be protected. I feel, too, that people have the freedom to write or say whatever they want. But at the same, writing false statements about people or things could be harmful to others. So I came up with the conclusion that it should be prohibited unless causing harm to others.
There are other topics like this that have caused controversy, like wearing shirts with obscene writing on it. Do you think it's okay for newspapers to publish false advertisement or for citizens to wear shirts with obscene writing on it?

To Take the Test or Not?

Yesterday during school my advisor mentioned that I was the only one in my advisery not taking the PSAT test. I didn't think anything of it. But then later that day I realized that I was the only one of my friends not taking the PSAT. And while talking to one of my friends about the PSAT, she sounded surprised at the fact that I had opted out of it. That made me start to worry. I had always thought that this test was no big deal. Yeah, there's a possibility to earn a scholarship, but you have to be pretty dang smart to get one of those, and I knew I was not a candidate for that. But this test does give you an idea of what your SAT scores will be; kind of like the PLAN test. Which got me thinking, should I take the SAT test?

My parents have always told me not to follow what everyone else does, but it worries me considering this has to do with getting into a college. I realize that getting into a good school is ideal to everyone, but are the SATs really that important especially if less and less colleges are looking at them?