I need directions in Barcelona and where to spend New Year there?

I'm in special education. Will that hurt my chances of getting into a selective college?

• I'm Thomas. I spend half the school day in special ed, and I'm in 10th grade. Here is my schedule and grades right now: Special Ed English: B- Concert Band: A, Jazz Lab: A, Wellness: Starts on Jan 20 Geometry: C-, Practical Biology: Starts on Jan 20 Special ed Social Skills (not to be confused with regular ed Social Studies): A I've always wanted to be on high honor roll (3.6 or better in my school district) ever since 7th grade, when my GPA was first reported. But my GPA has been getting lower every year ever since. In 7th grade, it was a 3.5. Now it's down to a borderline 3.0. I never cared about my grades, until now. Back in July 2011, my Uncle Drew was able to get himself a custom built 8,000 sq ft (5,000 if the basement is not included) house in Avon, NJ. It has a bar, 100" home theatre, basketball court, elevator, library, a private dock, balconies on the 2nd and 3rd floors, a built in sound system on all floors, a fireplace in both the family room and master bedroom, a wall safe, and let me tell you, my family was euphoric when they first laid eyes on this house! Immediately when I evaluated the cost of the house in my mind using mathematics and comparisons of other houses in the area (looks to be about $3 mil, property taxes $35K-$40K), I immediately thought "Get a house like this considering the work I'm giving my teachers? What do I think? I'm on drugs!?" Uncle Drew claims I am just as capable as him to build a house no less than his as long as I work like he did. I WILL NOT settle for less than what I am capable of. I was well aware that goal took Uncle Drew about 20 years to accomplish, so I set a shorter goal. To get into an AP class in my junior year. I talked to my guidance counselor about that, but she has reason to believe I'd fail that class if I was involved in that degree of academic rigor. In that kind of environment, you either do college level work or you fail. Showing the college admissions guys what I am capable of is only one of the reasons why it would mean a lot to me if I was challenged to that extent. The reason why I get less than phenomenal grades in Geometry and Special Ed English is because until recently, I did not spend any time outside the school building studying. I thought I could remember all the important stuff without sacrificing my time listening to my favorite songs like "New York, New York" by Frank Sinatra for example. Before the Summer of 2011, when the teacher said my homework was to study, I considered that equivalent to no homework whatsoever. That was true in elementary school, but not high school. Additionally, when I got a test or quiz, I just smiled pretty and hoped for the best. Hard workers NEVER have an attitude like that. Two of my classes are special ed, English, because in 9th grade reading, I fought the teacher daily and was very resistant to directions, and Social Skills because I have autism. Additionally, I do not participate in any extracurricular activities. While the regular students only have to take English for 18 weeks, I have to take it the whole year. I would have loved to take a couple 9 week courses this year, for example, Business Administration and Desktop Publishing. I could have earned more credits in my sophomore year had I wasn't put in English for the whole year instead of half the year. I started playing the trombone in 4th grade, and never got a grade lower than an A- in Concert Band ever since the year that started it all. It's the only class I show positive attitude in, and it's the only class that I take the work I'm assigned very seriously. Up until this year as a sophomore, when I got a D or even an F on a quiz or test, I'm like "If I fail the quiz, I failed the quiz." The straight A students almost never get grades like that on their quizzes, but when they do, they get heartbroken. I never cared about my grades until now. My mom believes I'm wasting my free education. She also said to me that if I do not significantly improve my grades, the best career she recommends for me is a tour guide. A career like that won't likely bring any excitement throughout my family and friends, if they're even still interested in being mine. By any measure, a job with a selective applicant pool is under all circumstances more captivating than a job where the employer can hire just anybody who has to depend on a low paying job just to live like everybody else. I'm thinking about going to a nationally recognized selective college, like NYU. A job I'd love to get is one that involves innovation at Facebook's new engineering office in NYC. I am very creative, and I always enjoy designing stuff. I know my grades need to be better to have a life of that caliber. What do you think about everything I just said? Please be as detailed as possible.

• Answer:

  I say live your dreams mate NO college can ban you from their school because you have attended special educational courses that is discrimination.