Duncan Wingfield Assignment 7

 To be perfectly honest with you I've barley thought about college at all. The idea of having to be such a make big decision like that is completely terrifying to me and I'm not sure what I want to do and even less sure where I want to go. I know for sure I either want to go into a science or something creative. Biology and astronomy are super interesting to me and I wouldn't mid doing something with those but I doubt I have the proper work ethic for a science like that. Something like writing or filmmaking is also a possibility but I really don't know and need to start looking. I haven't put any thought into what college I want to go to but I know for sure that I don't want to go to any of the ones that are constantly flooding my inbox.

Assignment 7: In One very Short year- Henry Adams

 https://docs.google.com/document/d/1tMx0Itim_POJ3UJ-X0GS2wa9cvrb0Qtvro1iJ-tko9w/edit

Assignment 7- Katie Taylor

 The fact that my college days are soon approaching haunts me. Yet there's a voice in my head that cannot wait for the day to come. Over the past year and a half, I've gone on college vlog binges on Youtube every so often. In a way, I wish for my college days to not be so stressful, and to rather help me decide what my life is going to be and become my own person. I want to experience that Ivy League- aesthetic of going to a very distinguished school, yet I also want to be able to integrate myself into the community around the campus. This has made me focus on colleges around big cities, like NYU, Georgetown, Penn, and the schools in the Boston area. I've also had the thought of completely ditching the US and going to the University of British Columbia, or a "uni" in Britain. I have big dreams for myself, such as being a filmmaker/writer for TV, a politician, or a criminal justice lawyer. I've always been enchanted by the most prestigious, distinguished schools as well, since my parents went to Duke and UChicago. They are now college professors, which further increases my interest in college. It's been a blessing and a curse having my parents be professors, because they can help me in my college search and gearing up for life at college, yet there are constant "talks" in the living room about a grade I have or if I copied someone's homework or not. They are very big on academic integrity, which also works out to my benefit, because it causes me to never want to cheat. 

So I guess what I'm trying to say is, I want an excellent education, but I also want to be able to experience life in a city. Of course, I'd want to have lots of fun, but not in the frat party way- more like walking around the city with my friends. I'd want my school to give me a well-balanced education, in case I decide to change my career completely. Liberal arts programs would be nice. Of course, my school's got to have old beautiful buildings, along with a magnificent library reminiscent of Hogwarts. Other than that, as long as my schools provides an excellent education and prepares me for success, as well as giving me connections, great experiences, and lifelong friendships, it's the one for me.

Assignment 6

 My favorite subject and the subject that is going to hopefully eventually become my career is psychology. I love psychology and understanding the brain and how it creates emotions, keeps us alive, and just goes about its every day. In my book "How emotions are made" it spoke about something interesting that I never thought of. We never take our brains perspective of life. Our brain is trapped in a dark little space surrounded by bine no access to the outside world other than through the senses that are connected to it. I just thought this was super interesting. The book also talks about how our brain is predicting the entire world around us to keep us alive. If the brain was a reactionary organ only activating parts of the brain when triggered we would all be dead as we wouldn't have enough time for the brain to process the stimuli, send out signals to the body, and complete the action. So to adapt, the brain became pre dictionary and now at any given moment predicts the odds of something happening and how to act based off of past experiences that it has to cross reference. All of this is new and super interesting to me and I wish I could better explain it over typing but that is difficult for me. Psychology will always be super interesting for me and learning new things about the brain and how it works.

Chen - Assignment 3

Almost every single summer of my life my parents take me back to China for a good 3 weeks to 2 months. It is a very different environment there, lots of things such as google and every single western social media and website is banned there. For the longest time going back to china was a punishment for me because I couldn't access anything, then I got a VPN and it was better. I still didn't really do much touristy, I just lived with my aunts and uncles and did stuff with my cousins. My parents got summer jobs in china where the flight back was paid for so it wasn't exactly a treat for me because they just left me at home and I would be doing whatever I was doing in America but stuck with my dysfunctional family in China. I did get fully immersed in the culture though, which was interesting. They live in very high density housing, but the buildings in a neighbor hood are all the same height and architecture, usually around 30 floors. It looks very tacky, but that is just my personal opinion. I also personally think China is a very dirty country, if you leave the touristy areas that are very well kept there's always mysterious puddles and substances and people spit on the ground everywhere. Even in the cities there's stray animals everywhere, nobody takes care of them, they do what they want wherever they want. The pollution is also horrible, everyone in my family buys air purifiers and puts them inside their homes because the pollution outside is just awful. The people there are also just generally more rude, in my opinion, people are always yelling at each other and everyone pushes each other around, especially on train stations. I can't even count the amount of times my mom got in the train and someone pushed me to the floor so they can get in the train, then the train door closes and leaves me at the station. Once, on a plane a man kept sneezing and coughing and didn't cover his mouth once and when I looked at him funny he said, "what are you looking at stupid kid" but in Chinese and with more vulgar language and I went back to reading my book. I have actually gotten my phone stolen once and money stolen right out of my hand in three separate occasions. People never follow traffic laws, there are so may different types of sketchy vehicles on the road that it's not safe. People jay walk everywhere, I have witnessed 3 separate hit and runs. All these experiences and more that I probably can not go into detail on a blog post have helped me be thankful for my life in America.

Chen - Assignment 4

One long held belief that I had since I was little is that you don't need anyone else in your life, you just focus on you, help yourself, help no one else. My parents were brought up on this belief from within Communist China. They taught me since I was little that it is childish, irrational, and unreliable to rely on the help of anyone else. You should be able to do everything by yourself, things like help are a fantasy that never happens in the real world. They taught me that all other people aren't trust worthy and the whole world was working against you. They also said that asking for help was a sign of weakness and never show weakness. For all of elementary school I just did all my work by myself and didn't really ask questions, in school settings I would try to learn it all by myself and never ask anyone including the teachers questions. But as I grew older that same approach wasn't exactly working, sometimes I would get lost and would have to ask a teacher. Every time in middle school I had to talk to a teacher after class I called it in my head the "walk of shame" but I soon realized that it's okay to ask for help. Sometimes people are there just to help.

Chen - Assignment 2

I started reading more over quarantine, especially the first two months, where I was absolutely bored out of my mind. I began rereading the Rick Riordan series, the Percy Jackson series. The first time I read it, I was fairly young, around 5/6th grade when I read the series so there was a lot of it I didn't understand. I read it at a more surface level not understanding a lot of the jokes and underlying themes and ideas, I just understood the overall plot and not the little details in the plot. Reading it again gave me a whole new perspective on the book, it was also interesting as I hadn't read it in so long I almost forgot the entire plot, so it was kind of like reading a totally new book. I also reread some of the Calvin and Hobbes comics that I had laying around the house. This was also very interesting as even though I already read them, it’s been so long I almost forgot what they were about. It’s also interesting because there were some more adult themes and understandings that I did not grasp on to when I was younger, but it’s interesting that I do now. My mom didn’t let me leave the house to get more things like from the library so I mostly read what I already had lying around the house.

Emma Snyder- Assignment 5

 I don’t watch a lot of television, but every night after my parents have had dinner, we sit on the couch and watch something. Usually it’s some stupid show like “My 600 lb Life,” or “Dr. Pimple Popper,” or something like that, but we also watch a couple actual shows with storylines together as well, like “What We Do in the Shadows.” The extent of TV I watch is basically that. I’m not a big Netflix/Hulu fan and if I do watch it I prefer to watch movies rather than shows. For awhile in eighth grade I got really into South Park but it’s been awhile since I’ve ever actually watched a show and like tuned in every week. I also used to watch “Dance Moms,” which was a reality TV show and I guess those are kind of the shows I like to watch because the people are so stupid! Everyone in this show was so nasty and they argued about literally the simplest things and I liked it because it was fun to make fun of especially when you’re watching it with other people. I’d do the same thing with those TLC shows but then I also like to watch those gross shows as well like “Dr. Pimple Popper,” and “My Feet are Killing Me,” where they do actual surgeries and it’s really gross and me and my parents like to cringe at those as well. I don’t really get those super TV show fans cause like I said earlier, I prefer to watch movies because you can start and finish it within around two hours and get the whole story, however with a TV show it’s more of a long commitment. Basically I prefer movies over TV shows and I don’t feel like it should be that big of a deal. 

Emma Snyder- Assignment 4

 I remember at some point I struggled with my idea of religion. My mother brought me up as Christian. We never went to church or anything but she always did (and still does) have us read bible stories from a large children’s bible book every Sunday. Strangely enough I really don’t remember what caused me to stray from my idea of religion. Maybe a year ago I stopped praying every night (which was always done previously) and actually thought, “does this even matter?” I think what put the idea there was my boyfriend. I asked him about what his religion was and he said he was atheist. I guess that’s what got me thinking but I’m not sure what else contributed to it because I know that couldn’t have been it when I think back on it now. I just remember that when I gained my faith back it was actually more so because of my anxiety of not having a prayer to rely on each night as if I didn’t ask someone to make sure everything was okay every night then it wouldn’t be okay. That was something I struggled with for a bit but I like to think I have it figured out now.

Emma Snyder- Assignment 3

 I’ve not done a lot of traveling. The only place I’ve been with my family is Ohio where we go to Kings Island and stay there for a few days. The only other two places I’ve been other than here are Washington DC as a fifth grade field trip, and Chicago, Illinois as an eighth grade field trip. While my Ohio trips with my family are fun and allows us to grow closer, I think that those field trips have taught me a lot more. Obviously because we went to museums and I literally learned more actual information, but also because we got to be in a different environment without our families and be more independent. The Chicago trip especially allowed me to become more independent but also to build on my relationships a lot more. Even just the 5 hour bus rides to and from wherever we were going were easily one of the funnest parts because it was at least 5 straight hours of being with your friends and we made the most of it by playing games and talking and it especially got me to become closer to my friend Morgan, and also my boyfriend. And then for example while we were in Chicago, we went on a boat where we had dinner and just looked out at the water and it’s one of my favorite memories. We got to watch the sun set and watch the Chicago city line together which was actually kind of bittersweet because this would be one of our last big moments together before high school. I still have photos from that trip on my phone and what it also taught me was about a big city. Chicago and Lexington are quite different in size and I remember being absolutely amazed at all the sights. Chicago really solidified all my relationships and the memories are some of my favorites I’ll ever have.

Emma Snyder- Assignment 2

I’d like to pretend this isn’t true but I’m not gonna lie, I don’t think I’ve read any books in the past year which I know sounds really bad but hear me out. Last year we took seminar as an English class, and that didn’t require us to read any actual books so I think that was the main reason I haven’t read much recently because nothing was forcing me to, and I was busy with so much other school work that I didn’t make time for it. I think the last actual book I read was To Kill a Mocking Bird at the end of my ninth grade year, which I actually really enjoyed. Now that I’m thinking about it, Duncan actually got me a book I’d wanted called Penpal last year that I did start briefly but never finished it. I’d heard it as an audio book before so I already knew the story but I just never made time to read it again. I have had to read though. I’ve done theatre and we do read through dog scripts and you know I like to annotate them and stuff and make notes for myself so I don’t know if that counts but it’s some reading I’ve done. Of course also in seminar we had to read and annotate many texts, some of which were easier to get through than others. I also had to read our world history textbook and take notes on almost every chapter and it could be a little dense at time. I guess I just haven’t done much reading recently and I’m actually glad that I’m thinking about it because now maybe I can make a more conscious effort on trying to read more. School assigned reading I really dislike though usually. I typically don’t really like reading unless it’s a genre I enjoy (horror and historical fiction oddly enough because I do not like history) but I’ll definitely try to read more and make more time for that after realizing it’s been awhile since I’ve actually read a book.

Church Assignment 7

 Personally at a young age of junior in high school I am still unaware of where I want to go to college. I think knowing my financial situation puts me in a mindset of knowing that more than likely I'll be going to Uk. Not that there is anything wrong with UK. I've thought about majoring in biology and chemistry and looking more into virology and bacteria. Although as I continue to take these AP science classes I consider the possibility of not majoring in a science career, but instead possibly a business major. As I continue to work in a restaurant and get more involved in the process behind running the restaurant it puts me in a situation of considering majoring in a business career. But, a dream that I have considered is going to Georgetown and joining their Oxford Honors Program. This is a highly competitive honors program inside of Georgetown College that allows students to go to Oxford college and study there under their professors for 1 or 2 semesters their junior or senior year. This seems like a dream as it would give me an excellent education while also getting to see more parts of the world. Although this is only a dream and more than likely will not happen.

Assignment 6 - Grace Barnett

 I find that I don't really do a lot for myself, I am pretty busy with schoolwork and when I am not working I am probably watching something. I have had a lot of interests over the years and many of them have not stuck. I would like to try and learn how to cook but a while back I tried to make cupcakes and when it came to adding the water, I read the direction as 2 or 3 cups instead of 2/3 cups... so not my finest moment. I do enjoy reading and sometimes I think I would really like to write a book. As I have mentioned in a previous blog, I absolutely love to travel. I don't do any traveling given the current state of things but it would be a dream if I could spend my life just traveling around the world. I think I would like to live in the Netherlands for a while and then settle down in Europe, I might like to live in Canada or Alaska as well. I don't like the feeling of being tied down and I am the type of person that would get up and go anywhere given the chance. 

Assignment 5 - Grace Barnett

 I personally watch TV as a sort of get-away from all the daily stress that I have or to relax. I tend to watch more movies than I do TV just because I guess I don't have the attention span for a series and I get bored quickly. A show that I do love is Parks and Rec and I recently watched Avatar: The Last Airbender and it was really good.  I also really like to watch documentaries because I find them pretty interesting, especially crime documentaries. I love Parks and Rec because it is consistently funny and I think that the characters are really different and well-developed. I also love documentaries because they're real stories and sometimes I find it interesting to try and imagine what it would be like to live in their shoes and go through all of their experiences and how that differs from my experiences and personality.

Assignment 4 - Grace Barnett

 Although my parents and I don't really have differing views, my grandparents and I do. My grandparents are very traditional, where you could say that I have a more "modern" viewpoint. For example, we differ quite a lot politically, but it is not too the point where we cannot have civil conversations, we both respect each other and each other's viewpoint. But as I grew up and formed my own opinion on things, it was difficult for me because I had always believed in their opinions because it was all I knew. But once I was able to find information on my own and create my own opinion it was very eye-opening. I think it is very important for every young person to step outside of their family's viewpoint and make a decision for themselves and educate themselves. My grandparents know my opinions and even though we disagree a lot on things we still have mutual respect between each other but I have just become more independent when it comes to my opinions and my ideals.

Assignment 6- Koen

    I am interested in many things. I love math, science, and technology. When someone asks me what I want to major in college, I don't give them an immediate response. I quickly scurry to what subject I do best in at the moment(math) and say that is what I want to study in college. Restricting people's interest into one category is something I dislike about our education system and our society. As I watch my older friends prepare for college, they don't even have an idea for what they want to study. They go in and write convincing essays that please the colleges but leave them unsure of their commitment to them. The constant reminder from parents and teachers, telling them "it's getting close, you should make up your mind" just forces students to choose something that satisfies their elders. This monumental decision in one's life should not be forced or directed. Key decisions like this should be made at one's own time so they would not regret decisions in the future. There are too many cases where people spend years of their lives studying or working in a career that won't fulfill themselves. Our society encourages this rushed decision and it creates more and more unsatisfied lives. There should be a methodical way of thinking about one's interest affecting their college life so it won't be rushed. I appreciate the colleges that give students the option to be flexible with their interests and even change through multiple majors. For a student going into the next big step in their life, their decisions for what they will be should not be pushed by parents or teachers, but it should be their own.

Duncan Wingfield Assignment 6

 I love aquatic life. The vast biodiversity that exists all over our planet's oceans, lakes, and rivers is truly astonishing and every individual creature is just so fascinating to me. I'm especially interested in underwater creatures that aren't fish; the ways things like crustaceans, cephalopods, turtles, mollusks and jellyfish have adapted to life underwater seperate from fishes is just so cool to me. I especially love jellyfish (which aren't really fish) as their simplicity really makes me wonder what it even means to be alive, these creatures branch very close to the base of the tree of life and give us a bit more insight into how life on earth even started in the first place. They don't have brains or eyes, no real direction in life other than to just eat and reproduce and it's so strange to think that at one point creatures like this was all there was on earth. Really the evolutionary history of life as a whole is fascinating to me, just the idea of all these creatures from before our time is awesome to me.

Duncan Wingfield Assignment 5 Prompt 1

 I haven't really watched much live TV since we cut our cable in like 2014. Since then I've relied on Netflix, Hulu, and now Disney+. I definitley like the streaming setup better to standard TV model, especially when it comes to commercials however I feel like the streaming model gives you too many choices at once whereas standard TV just has stuff playing all the time. Some shows I really like are Breaking Bad, Dark, Legion, Twin Peaks, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, and Samurai Jack. Samurai Jack has exceptional art direction and action scenes and is all around just a great time and in later seasons when the show starts exploring its charachters in higher detail it really pays off. Because I started watching it at such a young age I'm sure I'm overlooking some pretty big flaws but it will always hold a special place to me. The Clone Wars is in a similar situation as it was very much a big part of my childhood however looking back I can confidently say that a majority of the earlier seasons really suck and it takes the show a while to get going. Legion and Dark are in the same camp of being really cool sci-fi that border on surrealism, while Legion is much more fun and imaginitive Dark exudes pure dread at every second.

Assignment 6 - Palmer Lee

I have many interests, many of which aren't eternally significant by any means, and I get hyperfixated on one before moving onto another within 3 weeks. However, the one that's stayed with me the most consistently, and the one I get most passionate about, is LGBT+ rights. This topic is very close to home for me, as I'm gay, and live in a world where it is a viable legal strategy in most states to say that the reason you murdered an LGBT+ person was because you "panicked" - this is known as panic defense. I do a lot of research on reasons as to why a person would be homophobic (a lot of which comes down to religion, or it supposedly being 'unnatural'), and then do some more research to find counterarguments (mistranslations in scripture, or the fact that most species exhibit homosexuality). A lot of this information I didn't know beforehand, I always thought that it was only humans.

Ghazzal Hammad- Assignment 6

Truthfully, I don't really have any particular interests. Sometimes there will be something that catches my attention for a while, and I'll be invested in it for a while before moving on. However, I can safely say one thing that has always interested me is crime. What interests me so much is not necessarily criminal activity, but more specifically the way that crimes are solved and analyzed.  I think it's so intriguing to see the way that detectives and special agents take tiny clues and put them together to find the criminal. There are so many different aspects of crime solving, too. Of course, there's the generic police work of gathering clues and evidence and compiling a list of possible suspects. Then, there's forensic analysis. Forensic work and analysis is honestly so interesting and complex. There are so many components to it, and it's so advanced, but it so successful and useful. It is truly an amazing field. Then, there are things such as psychological and behavioral analysis, which helps find criminals by using their M.O. and evidence to identify possible motives and triggers. The way this works and is so successful is beyond me, but I love psychology, so I thoroughly enjoy learning about behavioral analysis. There are hundreds of other components of crime solving that are so fascinating, and it is so interesting to learn about. While it is probably not something I would pursue, it is a very intriguing field and one I love to read about and watch.

Assignment 6- Zent

I have a lot of interests. Well let me rephrase that, I have a lot of revolving interests. I can get wrapped up in something for a while and then just suddenly not really care about it anymore. But, one thing that I have always been really interested in is movies. Particularly the filming and producing of movies. Freshman year in english, we did a film unit and learned all about different camera angles and sound devices that help tell the story. These are things that most people don’t even notice, the cutting between shots in a scene or when the music fades away, but I love to see how different directors and filmmakers make different choices to tell the stories. This really interests me because I think it's crazy how one decision about a certain angle of one camera can completely change how the plot is supposed to be perceived. I love telling stories and the fact that directors and producers of movies get to tell stories through their works to tons of people makes me really interested in the whole process.

Sara Anderlich- Assignment 6

    The intellectual experiences that have meant the most to me probably all happened in an English class. I love writing, reading, poetry, analyzing different pieces... and I love that there are so many different things you can look at. Writing can be an essay or poetry, but it can also be a song, with or without lyrics.  

    For me, English class has always been a place where I've learned to open my mind to the world. There are different ideas authors mean to get across and there are different perspectives to be aware of. Every piece of writing you read is going to have a personality and becoming mindful of that can be so immersive. It's (writing, reading, analyzing...) an experience that I can hardly describe. I love poetry because of this and I love music for the same reason. In a way, music is spoken poetry. You can't just read something and glaze over it, it's something you can't help but feel. It evokes emotion. In other words, I feel like English can require empathy to understand. There are so many stories, whether in a fantasy world or the author's background, that are yet to be explored with everything you read, but yet you have to pay attention to what the narrator is saying and why they're saying it. It's amazing to me, and I love being able to compare my thoughts with others. That is, if they show a similar interest.

    It's also important to note that English class has opened me up to so many more books and stories that I otherwise would know nothing about. It's part of the way that it opened my mind. Specifically, in recent years, I loved They Cage the Animals at Night, To Kill A Mockingbird and Romeo and Juliet. They were just stories that otherwise I would probably know little about, and I'm thankful to have read them. 

    

    

Aiden Beach-Assignment 6

 I have a wide spectrum of interests, but I’m mainly interested in anything that has to do with coding or mathematics. I also don’t like to start projects, but I do like to add small changes to already made projects until they are something better. However, coding is different. There are, however, projects that I like to start and projects that I don’t like to improve on. Coding is a project I can start, since coding just feels like one giant math logic problem to me. It isn’t really much of a project, and saying this is stating the obvious, but essays about a topic that I care to pay no attention to or know nothing about are projects I do not like to start or renovate. Even if it’s a topic I take interest in, I’ve still never been good at creating a structure for an essay, and oftentimes when I finish an essay, I have no clue on how to renovate it since I had trouble writing the draft in the first place. That’s why I like coding, the structure is just a combination of logic puzzles, and once you get the code to work, you don’t have to worry about how the code might come off as biased or if your rhetoric is good enough. Once you find the structure you want, there’s only one answer to solve for.

Assignment 7: In One very Short year (College app)

October 15^th 2020 you will be hitting “enter” on the keyboard sending your application across the country silently speaking “pick me, pick me, pick me.”  I’d like to know how you hope to use your ideal college education:  This is an opportunity to discuss why your ideal College is the perfect place for you to achieve your goals. It also allows you to discuss your motivations, passions, values, and perspectives on learning. Discuss what excites you about the overall experience at your College. Look toward the future and how your college’s educational experience will support you. Can you articulate the value of an education from your ideal college? Your response will convey your aspirations, temperament, leadership, and potential to succeed at your College.

Due Sunday, October 18 at 11:59 pm

November 1st is the last day to make up Blogs 1-8

Rukavina- assignment 6

 I don’t really have one particular interest that I obsess over all the time but I rather go through phases where different topics interest me more. This year I was really interested in money and how it works. I wanted to be able to understand what people were talking about whenever they started to rant about taxes or the stock and housing market. I knew what these things were but I never really fully understood everything about them. So I asked my dad about investments and how shorting a stock works. Although now I understand these concepts and don’t think about them as much, I still think it’s a really interesting subject.  I also was really interested in learning about how the behavioral analysis unit of the FBI was started earlier this year after I watched Mind Hunter on Netflix. This show basically explains how the unit came about and you learn about the guy who started it. After I finished the show I looked up everything I could about the guy who started it and even read some of his books he wrote. While I read a lot more about this subject for a few months than I normally do, I’ve always been interested in it since I was little.

Assignment 6: Create Your Own Adventure - Henry Adams

 https://docs.google.com/document/d/1tMx0Itim_POJ3UJ-X0GS2wa9cvrb0Qtvro1iJ-tko9w/edit

Church- #6

 What am I interested in? That is an interesting question. Well to answer that question you have to understand that I barely have any time during my day let alone my entire week to do anything but school, work, and sleep. So I don't particularly have time for myself to find interests in things. However I do like work and I find it interesting to watch the restaurant run and everyone doing different tasks. So you could say that I'm interested in running restaurants. There is definitely other interests I have that I want to do in the future, or at least I could rant about for a good while. One thing for sure it drugs. I mean I understand why we have drugs for medicine and I agree with that, but why are cigarettes a thing in our world. It is a useless part of our world and is just giving unnecessary money to these companies. Plus it just leads these people to be economically poor and usually getting more sick later from putting toxins in their body. The same goes for all recreational drugs though. They make laws that say its illegal but there is still access to the drugs if people want them. Personally I just don't understand the point of wasting your money on something that might make you feel better for a few hours and then you'll miss the feeling and want more. It's all pointless. Anyway.. I also think viruses and bacteria are cool. I just want to find out more about where they came from in our world and how they interact with the body and how to make vaccines. We've been living in a pandemic of covid-19 for 7-8 months and yet we still don't have a vaccine and its still not safe to go to school. I just would find it interesting to be the virologists studying covid-19 and trying to figure out how to stop it.

Assignment 6- Katie Taylor

 I have a lot of interests. They come and go, but usually there's a period where I get really into something and then drop it a month or so later. Earlier this year I got really into architecture, but then lost interest not long after. I took up drawing for a while, which I'm not bad at, but I haven't found the motivation to continue. I suppose in this way I am like a nomad. A few things are permanent, however. I could talk about jazz and instrumental music for hours, and I could rant about everything that goes into marching band for a while, too. (I know, kinda embarrassing) Another common theme I take interest in is comedy TV shows. I'm watching Community right now, and I'm loving their brand of humor, especially the characters Shirley, Abed, and Pierce (although Pierce is kind of a terrible person). I like Glee because it's right on brand for my humor, and it also has just enough drama to draw me in without getting tired of the characters fighting. Plus, it's got fun musical numbers. I love gossip, so anything related to celebrity culture is fascinating to me. The whole concept of being a celebrity is fascinating to me. I could go on for hours about celebrities I like, and what I imagine it's like to be famous. I definitely do not want to leave this Earth if my name is not remembered and admired throughout history. My dream life would to become some sort of TV writer/ producer, and have a nice apartment in the East Village in New York, a cozy yet grand house in Beverly Hills, and a country house somewhere remote. I've thought about completely going off the grid before. I kind of like to wallow in my loneliness, so I think I could get along just fine on my own. Last summer, my family took a road trip throughout California, Arizona, Nevada, and Utah. I could never imagine going the rest of my life without seeing the beauty of places like Yosemite and Zion National Park again. Something inside me wants to explore and soak up as much life and fame as possible, and another part of me wants to live alone in the middle of nowhere on a ranch in Texas and live a romanticized country life. Well, I went off on a few tangents here, but I guess along with interests mentioned earlier, I really like to dream. 

Assignment 4- Butler

My parents had a lenient method of raising me in that they didn't force any beliefs onto me or my sister. They did of course raise us to be good citizens and all around people however, they didn't make us go to church, take on a certain religion, or lead a certain lifestyle or passion. I think this is good because we found passions and now hold beliefs that we care about in a more deep and unbiased way and I think that leads to us being happier in life. Now I do disagree with some beliefs like if someone is being biased against someone for selfish reasons or biased against a religion. For example, i will challenge a political belief but I may not rub it in someone's face or get riled up about it because it rarely helps. The only time i will really outright oppose an idea or belief would have to be if someone is unjustly forcing that belief upon others or myself because at this point i feel it is important to step in because if nothing is done, nothing will be done.

assignment 3-Butler

When i was a kid i was afforded the opportunity to travel to Ireland for 3 months due to my fathers’ work and I got to see so much. I got to visit castles and small villages in more secluded parts of Ireland and Scotland. However, I think one of the coolest experiences was being able to actually say in a castle overnight. The family had inherited said castle and then renovated and turned it into a hotel yet kept much of the authenticity. The halls lined with original suits of armor and weaponry, the walls made of the original stone, and there was even a torture room which people could walk through and see all the well maintained gruesome contraptions. Although it may seem scary or whatnot it was a very cool experience and a real peak back into time. Another cool thing that really changed my perspective was the fact that when we were there we found out that both on my moms and dads side of the family we had ancestors who owned castles and we actually got to visit these castles. It was a great experience to be able to learn about our past as a whole and our family history. One thing that in the end and probably even as i got older that i realized is that i should have been more in the moment and less alienated to all the amazing things around me. It would be a blessing to take a trip like this now but as a child you tend not to see things on the greeter scale and end up taking things for granted. Try to be in the moment, as they pass sooner than they come. 

Assignment 5 - Palmer Lee

I don’t watch much live television, except maybe something like House Hunters if my mom has it on and I happen to be in the room. I usually use streaming services such as Netflix or Disney+ in order to watch shows and movies. I prefer that to live TV, because I feel like the advertisements and commercial breaks are overly long and annoying. I would understand one or two, but seven minutes of advertisement in a thirty minute time slot seems like a little much. The fact that awards shows relating to pop culture such as the Emmys get more recognition than something like the Nobel Prizes shows our society’s interests. We’re more focused on entertainment than we are physics. This isn’t necessarily good or bad, as different people are interested in different things, and that’s okay. But, I do believe that just because something typically has more people interested in it than something else doesn’t mean that the ‘something else’ shouldn’t see the light of day.

Assignment 3- Ben Belin

 

One experience that impacted my view of the world was when my family and I went on a trip to Israel. I was pretty young when we went, it was when I was in the 7th grade. I remember landing there and being blown away from how different everything was. You could walk down a street and have rows and rows of vendors trying to sell you different items. They also had some pretty incredible food there. If you have never had the chance to try falafel you should definitely look into getting some. One of the most exciting moments of the trip is when I got to meet one of my third cousins who lives in Israel and who I had never met before. Although he spoke very little English we still had a ton of fun together. I remember whenever he would try to tell me something in English and forget the word he would run over to his dad to ask about the translation. I am a big fan of meeting new and interesting people so that part of the trip stuck out to me. We also got lost in the desert at one point while traveling to climb Masada which was a bit scary. Another highlight of the trip is when we went to the Western wall which if you don't know was part of the an ancient Jewish temple that was destroyed. 

Zent-Assignment 5

 Prompt #1:

I do watch TV shows. I watch all different kinds of shows, but I watch them all for pretty much the same reason, to get away from reality. I watch the shows to see how other people live their lives or to see a story line play out. I love shows with lots of action and multiple storylines going on at once that all connect in the end. Or TV shows that have many people fighting for one goal to save everyone. These shows keep me entertained and waiting to see what will happen next. Shows that don’t do these things leave their viewers with so many questions and lots of unhappiness. I hate shows that leave big gaps in the plot or rush through telling how something happened. These things make it hard for the audience to understand what is going on and want to finish the story.

Assignment 5

Personally I don't watch live television I only watch shows from streaming services such as Netflix or Hulu. The only time I will watch live television is when a live event is happening that wont be shown on any streaming services. I do find enjoyment in watching shows from Netflix and other streaming services because some of the shows are really interesting. Some of the shows I've really been enjoying currently are 'The Boys" and "The Umbrella Academy". I find these shows to be a good escape from my real life being able to let my mind wonder in a world that isn't my own. Main stream television is a huge advertising panel with entertainment stuck in-between with it. Its more commercials that tv itself and  that's why I choose to not watch live television and rather shows on streaming services. Also, with the people knowing more about the Grammys than the Nobel peace prizes, while I don't agree that that's how it should be sadly that's how our society is because the popularity of movies and actors are greater than the popularity of scientist and the sciences they study. 

Assignment 5- Katie Taylor

 Why do you watch TV? Why do you not? What shows do you love or hate? Why do you love or hate them?

In recent years, I haven't been much of a TV watcher, but I suppose I watch it because it provides some sort of stimulation when I have nothing else I want to do. The reason why I don't watch as much anymore is due to social media. It became some sort of instinct to choose the shorter, more action-filled videos on places like TikTok over a 30 minute show. I know what social media does to you- ie, shortens your attention span, yet I still can't quite kick it. 

My favorite kind of TV show is a comedy show, but not like Friends or How I Met Your Mother. My type of humor is more present in shows like Community, Arrested Development, 30 Rock, Parks and Recreation, and even Glee. I don't know enough about each type of comedy to know what that niche is essentially called, but it would be safe to say that that style is my favorite. Shows I dislike include Stranger Things, Riverdale, and Friends. I guess I'm not as much into drama and fantastical scenarios than I am to simple comedies. 

Assignment 5-Aiden Beach

 To answer the first prompt, I simply watch TV because it is a form of entertainment. I mainly watch anime, but I do break off and watch shows such as Breaking Bad and The Walking Dead. Out of all the movies, shows, and channels I can think of off the top of my head, the only one I hate is Hallmark. For me it feels like every single one of their movies have the same exact format, and nothing bad ever happens. They don't try to convey a theme or evoke emotion.

To answer the second prompt, although many advertisements are sent through TV, TV isn't only an ad shower. As to whether or not TV is an inane use of time, different people prefer different forms of entertainment, but altogether, watching TV is not a waste of time. As I said at the beginning, TV is a form of entertainment, so saying that watching TV is time wasting is similar to saying that reading a book or playing a game is a waste of time.

Assignment 6: Create Your Own Adventure (College app)

What interests you? What is your point of exigence? What's on your mind?  What do you want to chat about? Rant about? Learn about? What intellectual experience (course, project, book, discussion, paper, poetry, or research topic in engineering, mathematics, science, or other modes of inquiry) that has meant the most to you: 

'Cause really, isn't it all about you? <wink wink nudge nudge>

This response allows you to discuss something that is important to you and to demonstrate how you think about intellectual problems. This is an exercise in creative and critical thinking. It also provides a platform for you to convey your enthusiasm for learning. What excites you about this intellectual experience? How did the experience challenge your preconceptions? How did it impact your way of thinking? What was your reaction? How did it change your perspective?

Ready...

Go!

Due Sunday, October, 11 at 11:59 pm

November 1st is the last day to make up Blogs 1-8

Ghazzal Hammad- Assignment 5

 I never used to be the kind of person who watched TV often until the pandemic hit. When I was younger, I used to read whenever I had free time. As I got older, I started reading less and using social media more. Whenever we started quarantine, I figured I needed something more entertaining to pass the time, so I started some new shows. I do enjoy watching TV; I find it quite interesting, especially when shows have good character development and intriguing plots. Some shows I really like are Brooklyn 99, Criminal Minds, and NCIS. I love the characters and plots in all 3 shows. As for shows I hate, I can't really say there is one. If I really hated a show, I probably wouldn't have watched more than a few episodes of it. There have been a few that I started watching and almost immediately stopped because I lost interest. My freshman year I tried watching Supergirl (per the recommendation of multiple friends) and stopped halfway through the pilot episode. For me, it was just really boring and did not grab my attention at all. However, to be fair, pilot episodes are normally not the most interesting because they simply establish a base for the rest of the series. 

    The one thing that can be bad about TV is how addicting it is. Whenever I start a new show, I sometimes become so invested that I will binge it. I think everyone is guilty of this, at least a little. Similar to reading a new book series, I get so indulged in shows that I want to know how it ends, or what happens, or which characters die or get married or leave the show; as a result, I end up watching way more episodes than I should.

Assignment 5- Gaby Rondel

I watch TV because it is entertaining, which I guess is what most people would say. But that is the point of tv, to entertain me. My favorite tv shows are crime shows. I like watching a crime being solved, sometimes I solve the crime with the detectives or FBI agents. At some point, I even wanted to become a detective (thank god I grew up). I can’t say that I really hate any tv shows. I don’t like reality tv, I think it is really dumb. But besides that, I will watch and enjoy (at least the first few seasons) of pretty much anything. Most tv shows I watch (with the exception of New Girl and a handful of crime shows) I really enjoy the first few seasons and then I get really bored and can’t stand watching the show anymore. I am not sure if I get bored or the show gets boring but it usually seems to happen. 

Sara Anderlich- Assignment 5 (prompt 1)

 To be honest, I really don't watch that much TV. For one, we don't have Cable. Two, I find that it's really hard for me to get invested in a show. Don't me wrong, I've loved the shows I have seen. This includes Gilmore Girls, Pretty Little Liars, Death Note, Erased, Stranger Things (I've only seen season 1), The Fosters, and a jumble of others. I really like watching mysteries and dramas, but I can't do it on a day by day basis. This is because, like how I read, if I'm going to start a show, I'm watching it until I finish. I don't do anything else. This makes it impractical, but I can't really get invested if I'm not watching it constantly. I'm a binge watcher and a binge reader, I don't like to stop once I start, and if I'm not in that show watching mood, I'm not going to. It's how I play computer/video games too. I guess it could be an anxiety thing where I feel like I'm wasting my time, but I'm not sure. Overall, this is why, for the most part, if I'm going to watch something, I choose YouTube. Though it's the equivalent timewise of any show I could spend my time watching, it's easier for me to jump around and watch whatever. This way I'm not getting invested in a long story where it would be harder for me to stop. 

Assignment 5: For the Love and Hate of Television - Henry Adams

I Have had issues with blogger. Here is a link.

It leads to my google doc with all my blogs.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1tMx0Itim_POJ3UJ-X0GS2wa9cvrb0Qtvro1iJ-tko9w/edit

 

Assignment 4- Gaby Rondel

 A few days ago, after dinner, my family and I started talking about things we heard that day and the news we had read. At some point in the conversation, Natalie Portman came up. And my dad said, "Oh yeah, did you guys hear that she is the new Thor?" Crickets (or rather cicadas at our house). “No, that’s not possible” I knew that this wasn’t possible because Chris Hemsworth had extended his contract and Natalie Portman played Jane Foster. But then I started thinking, what if because Thor joined the Guardians of the Galaxy at the end of Avengers Endgame, there was some way of making Jane Foster the new Thor. A billion theories started going through my head trying to come up with an explanation. Eventually, I realized that this was crazy and that there was no way. So I did some research. Turns out my dad was wrong, he either read the article incorrectly or he was reading fake news. The result? I texted him a copy of an article that read something along the lines of “Natalie Portman will reprise her role as Jane Forster in new Thor movie Thor: Love and Thunder."

Assignment 5- Lin

Watching TV is something millions enjoy in their free time, and it should be. People watch all kinds of material on TV including news, sports, dramas, and action movies. For me, I also enjoy watching TV and its wide variety of shows. Recently, the Emmy Awards was broadcasted and thousands of people watched as they saw their favorite celebrities get chosen for awards. It was also recently that the Nobel Peace Prize for groundbreaking research and discoveries in Physics were announced on television. It was disappointing to see how the number of viewership was not a large as the ones for the Emmys, but when it comes to TV, I feel like it is up to the people to decide what they want to watch. Although Nobel Peace Prize and its impact on the world truly outweighs the Emmy awards, but TV is a platform of entertainment and information. Whichever interests the individual is what they are going to watch.

Rukavina-Assignment 5

 I watch tv mainly for background noise while I do homework or as a break from studying. I know that you shouldn’t watch tv when doing homework but I’m convinced it actually helps me stay focused on my work for some weird reason. My favorite tv shows include Criminal Minds, Boy Meets World, and Bones. I think these are some of my favorite tv shows because there are a lot of seasons and you don’t have to watch the episodes in any particular order. Which helps me not get too involved with the show while I’m doing homework. My favorite genre is mystery which is another reason I love these shows so much. Boy Meets World is an exception to this because it is not a mystery show but it is still one of my favorites because I watched it with my sister when I was little. I despise any police detective shows besides Criminal Minds and NCIS because I am a ride-or-die fan for those shows.

Assignment #5- Church

 I watch tv when I can because it gives me a distraction from the world. I watch a lot of drama shows because they make me laugh and I watch medical shows because I find that the science part of it fascinates me and intrigues me since I want to go into medicine. However often times during the week I don't watch a lot of tv. I switch between work and school so often that there isn't time to watch tv. However with streaming apps like Hulu, Netflix, and Youtube it makes it easier to watch tv whenever you want.  I mostly find myself occasionally rewatching Netflix shows that I've already seen and I think sometimes its purely for the background noise while I'm falling asleep or doing homework. Most of the shows I watch are Greys Anatomy, Lenox Hill, American Horror Story, and some other random shows. I like these shows mostly for the engaging of my mind and making me think about medicine or about the creepy parts of American horror society. I really don't hate these shows because I don't keep watching a show if I hate it I just stop.

Sara Anderlich- Assignment 4

As someone with anxiety, I'm constantly questioning and rethinking why I believe what I believe. It's a constant and overwhelming cycle that never seems to end. I'm a lot better now, but in the past I've overthought my decisions in nearly every scenario from what I should've said to what I should've done or worn...It's insane. Anyways, I think what really got me out of that was challenging what I was overthinking. it started with little things where I would try and use logic to convince myself that it was nothing I needed to worry about. In other words, it was allowing myself to do certain things and realizing that no one actually noticed or cared. I really don't feel like giving examples just because of how personal some of this is, but I do feel like I have overcome being so self-conscious. My anxiety still exists, but it's different now and not as controlling in such minor areas. I'm hoping that in the future I can continue to successfully challenge myself to overcome this. It's always going to be a part of me, but I really want to get better. 

Assignment 4-Aiden Beach

When I hit eighth grade, I started questioning my family's political beliefs. I didn't believe their political views exactly, but I did believe that political views depend on who believed those beliefs before, instead of knowing what the belief itself stands for. This causes my family to often be extremely biased and to not let go of their opinion even if they know they aren't just expressing their political point of view, but instead shouting statements that can be morally incorrect and make other people feel very uncomfortable. I started questioning my family's beliefs when other students I talked to started forming their own opinions not based on what their families believe, but on what they believe. By the end of eighth grade, I reached a conclusion that I do not have to form my own opinion based on what other people believe, but instead on what I've experienced throughout my life.

Assignment 5: For the Love and Hate of Television

The Emmy Awards (aired recently) are kind of a big deal. Not a big deal in that life-altering-kind-of-way, but a big deal in the sense that a lot of celebrities dress up, that a lot of companies pay more money in advertisements, and a lot of people stop watching reruns.

The Emmys are not the only award extravaganza of the season though. During the first week of October, without the advertising, paparazzi, or celebrities, the Nobel Prizes are announced. But how many people are listening? With the Emmys comes television's fall lineup, but what does the common person get after the announcement of the Nobel Prize in physics?

So, what are your thoughts? Choose one or two or all of the following prompts:

Why do you watch TV? Why do you not? What shows do you love or hate? Why do you love or hate them?

OR

Does TV provide a good form of entertainment? Is it just a convenient delivery system for advertisers to send their messages to the masses? Is it an inane use of time? Can it be all three?

OR

What does it say about our society that the Emmy's have so much glitz and attention and the Nobel Prizes are quietly announced in the news? Is this bad? Good? Appropriate?

Check out these sites for more information:

Turn off your TV

Television and Health

Positive Benefits of TV on Toddlers and Children

Due Sunday October 4th at 11:59 pm

November 1st is the last day to make up Blogs 1-8

Assignment 4

 As kids grow older they then begin to form their own ideas of the world and create their own opinions and this ideas can sometimes disagree with their parents. An experience I had with this was when it came to religion. My parents both grew up christian as their parents made them go to church and they adopted these beliefs. However, as i grew up i began to not believe in religion nor do I want to swipe it all under the rug so i identify as Agnostic. This contradicts my parents beliefs about it but they still respect me for my own ideas. I believe there is no way an all powerful being can save, lead, and help everyone in their daily life. Life is a messed up game of luck and random events and how we choose to deal with them mentally. However, people who do choose to believe in religion I will not disagree with them and tell them there isn't one as it is impossible to explain the unexplainable without there being some all powerful being that could have caused the explainable. The outcome of this thinking was a very mutual agreement of my parents disagreeing but still respecting my beliefs as i am at the age where i am more independent and can choose what to identify with. 

Ghazzal Hammad- Assignment 4

 Growing up, my parents and I tended to have very different thoughts and views on many things. Because they were raised in Pakistan, their lifestyle and upbringing was much different than mine in America. Their parents were stricter, their culture was entirely different, and their daily routines were nothing like mine. As a result, my sister and I often butted heads with them. Growing up, something that they were always very strict about was how often I could go see my friends outside of school. They often told me that I didn't need to be hanging out with my friends, and that I could just have fun doing something at home. They told me that since they never got to see their friends when they were younger, I couldn't either. Obviously, this made me upset, and while I tried to be calm about it, I would normally end up arguing with them about it. It made me feel excluded in a sense, and I just didn't understand the logic behind it. Why couldn't I go see my friends -- just once every few weeks -- when they all got to see each other every weekend? 

    As I grew older, my parents eventually started loosening up. Now, they are much more lenient and are more understanding. Looking back, I think I was in the wrong. I was obviously super young, and sending me to random peoples' houses whenever I wanted to go would probably not be the best choice. 

Blog 4; On second thought -Henry Adams

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1tMx0Itim_POJ3UJ-X0GS2wa9cvrb0Qtvro1iJ-tko9w/edit

Assignment 4 Duncan Wingfield

     As a kid I had never really had a pet. When I was very little we had a really old dog but that was about it. My little brother had been begging for a dog for basically as long as he had known what they were but I had always been opposed to the idea, I liked being different from everyone in not having a pet and I didn't want my brother to get what he wanted. His begging became more and more prominent until I was in 7th grade when him and my mom came back from an average shopping trip with a puppy. At first I was very upset with them, partially because I didn't like my parents setting the precedent for my brother but mainly because I just wasn't expecting it. This challenged my ideas of how I veiwed my life as I had always seen it as not having room for a pet. The change in life and thinking that the puppy caused me to change and adapt to how I thought about things  and became very attatched to the dog.

Zent- Assignment 4

 My brother, Carter, is two years older than me. Which means everything that affected him at whatever age he was at was later going to affected me when I reached that age. When Carter turned 16, we had one family car and a van that was running on its last life. Our parents were majorly against getting him a car. Claiming he didn't need to drive anywhere anyways so he doesn't need one. But, Carter and I both knew that that was not the case and that he will need and really want a car. I knew at that time that this was not a good thing for either of us. If Carter didn't get a car that meant that I would definitely not get a car. So, Carter and I both pushed the idea of getting a car for us and we convinced them. What really changed their minds was that Carter couldn't take me to school if we didn't have a car and then down the road I wouldn't;t be able to take my younger sister to school if we didn't have a car. 

Rukavina- Assignment 4

 While my parents and I don’t differ in opinion over many political topics, we do have different thoughts on social media. My parents make out social media as more of an evil than a revolutionary source that connects millions of people. I believe that social media helps us educate ourselves and stay connected with one another but my parents feel as though it separates us even more. However, as I get older each year I can see why my parents and I might start to view things differently and why they might feel the way they do. Since my parents grew up with a lot less technology with me I can see why they might think this about social media but I still believe it is very helpful to the world. While my parents and I may argue over a topic like this, they still respect my point of view and let me believe whatever I think is best.

Assignment 4- Church

 Something that my parents taught me that my view points have changed on is self care. I don't think my parents meant for this to be taught to me, but growing up in a family where my parents are always stressed and working and never taking time for themselves, taught me to do the same. I use to find myself struggling between three sports and school and never was taking time for myself. This caused a diminished mental health and a terrible personality. However as I've gotten older and starting working while doing school, I've realized the importance of taking a break from work or school and giving yourself days to relax. In all honestly I feel like this actually makes you more productive when you go back to work.  All though these breaks could be as easy as a couple hours to yourself or even a few days off. It doesn't have to be going on vacation, it can merely be the idea of not doing school or worrying about school.

Assignment 4 - Palmer Lee

There have been a number of times where I’ve questioned a belief. For example, up until about 7th grade, I thought I believed in the Christian God. It wasn’t until I started the confirmation process at my church that I started to question this. By the end of the year, I had pretty much determined that I didn’t really believe in God as he was portrayed in the Christian faith. I did still end up getting confirmed, and am a member of the church, but it was mostly because my mom peer pressured me into it. Another time I’ve questioned a belief was my sexual orientation. I thought I was straight until, again, about 7th grade, when I realized that I could be bisexual. Then I thought I was pansexual, then asexual, and now I’m fairly confident that I’m lesbian. But, I still don’t know for sure, and by next year I may have found a different label for myself.

Assignment 4- Katie Taylor

Upon reflection of my transition into a teen, I have questioned some of my family's beliefs. My family is quite democratic/liberal, and I am too, so political views were not disputed often in my family. 

When it comes to religion, however, I find myself sticking out a bit from my family. My family is not super religious, and I don't think anyone in my immediate family truly believes in God, but we still go to church whenever we can. I enjoy it, as my church is beautiful and old, and I feel so classy whenever I'm there. I also really enjoy the community that my church fosters, of course. However, I am not so sure about organized religion telling people what to do. Personally, I find that a lot of churches are not properly interpreting the word of God, and in that have excluded many different types of people. I believe in God, or some kind of being, as I like to think that nothing is random and there is a purpose to life. I think everyone should worship what they want, when they want, and I wish that aside from the community aspect, churches should work to become more open-minded, etc. It's funny- I actually think I'm more religious than my parents and sister, despite having a bit of an anti-religion phase in middle school. 

Another way I differ in my parents' thinking is my opinion on social media. My parents make it out to be a place full of terror and horrible people who will steal your identity and where you'll rot your brain. I personally think that on apps like TikTok, it's nearly impossible to me fooled by someone when they've posted videos of themselves and their face before. I've made several internet friends, all of whom were wonderful. I guess what I'm trying to say is, I should be able to call internet friends my "real friends". I am not stupid enough to get fooled by someone on the internet, and I wish my parents would recognize that. 

Assignment 3- Katie Taylor

I visited Montgomery, Alabama in February 2019 with my family and other members of my church. This trip was designed to educate my mostly-white church about Southern history, especially the Civil Rights movement. It was fascinating to see two different narratives colliding in one town- the Confederate States of America's capital, along with a huge center of the Civil Rights movement. The trip, especially our stop at the Equal Justice Initiative, reminded me of how recent the Civil Rights movement was, and especially how there is still injustice against black Americans. Thanks to this trip, I became more aware of my racial privilege, and have become more conscious to the social issues surrounding us today. I go to new places with wide eyes, and soak in as many interesting new sights as possible. This experience can help my learning by helping me be more introspective on what people from different backgrounds may feel about a certain topic.

Assignment 3 - Grace Barnett

 I absolutely adore traveling and if I could that is what I would do for the rest of my life. I have been blessed with many opportunities to go to some cool places but I think one of my favorite places that I have been was to Alaska. I went back in 2016 with my family because it had always been on their bucket list to go. One thing that I learned while being in Alaska was how people had a different relationship with their environment than people do in Kentucky. I feel like in Alaska, they really respected the environment and took care of it as a way to say thank you because they relied on it so much for things like fishing and hunting. It was also really cool to see the different cultures represented in Alaska. There was a lot of Native American culture in Alaska and it was interesting to have a small insight into their traditions and art. It is definitely a place that I would love to go back to. 

Assignment 2: Grace Barnett

 Over the last 12 months, I have not read many books even though I do enjoy reading. I guess that whenever I do have free time I don't necessarily feel like picking up a book and reading it unless it is raining outside then that makes me want to read. Some books that I have read are The Sun is Also A Star by Nicola Yoon and I enjoyed this book which is a teen romance kinda but it is a pretty easy read. Another book I read was We Were Liars by E. Lockhart and it was really good and I decided to read it because it was recommended to me multiple times. I also read the first book of The Mysterious Benedict Society series again because I read it when I was younger and I remember really liking it and it is about a group of gifted kids that kind of get recruited for this mission. That's all the books that I can think of that I finished, but I have started The Beautiful and Damned by F. Scott Fitzgerald. I have enjoyed the book so far but there are times when I feel tired of reading it, but I want to finish the book. 

Assignment 4- Koen Lin

     One belief that I had for a long time, and I still think about this now, is the idea how you don't need anyone to be around you or help you. For a long time, I would think how one could just go on with their daily routines without interacting with people. Over the years, I have seen and experienced the need for interaction with others. It creates a community where you are able to share thoughts, feelings, and ideas. In that sense, I have also realized how building relationships with others and networking are key skills that are necessary to be successful in the future. The more diverse your connections are, the more opportunities you are able to get whether it comes to friendships are job opportunities. In general, being more open to ideas and getting to know everyone you meet will allow one to create this series of relationships that will eventually create a community where they can help and inspire you.

Blog #2- Katie Taylor

If I'm being honest, I rarely read outside of required reading for school. The books I can remember reading this past year were Little Women, The Great Gatsby, Tina Fey's memoir, Amy Poehler's memoir, and maybe one more that I'm forgetting. I used to have a love for reading in elementary and middle school, and I feel bad because sometimes my parents bring that up when shaming me for spending so much time on electronics. For me, books I genuinely enjoy are usually ones that are written by a funny person. All around, I enjoy comedy the most out of any other genre. Funny enough, (no pun intended), I also really enjoy classic pieces of literature. I adored Little Women and The Great Gatsby. Reading about drama from 100+ years ago just really makes me think about how different but still the same we are after all these years. I want to read more classics, but honestly they are like a hit-or-miss for me, and that kind of scares me off. For example, I remember when I tried to read Old Yeller and I almost fell asleep halfway through the first page. I guess that means I like books that are pretty fast-paced- whether that means through jokes or drama. So yeah, that's basically my two main types of book. 

Assignment 3

 In my entire life time I have only been out of the country once as far as i can remember. It was during a trip to Alaska where we had to spend a night in Canada before taking a boat over to where our cruise would be. Surprisingly in that one night it was my first time ever having sushi and an earthquake struck a city near where we were staying. We woke up in the morning and just heard an earthquake hit so that was cool news to hear. The sushi was also alright nothing life changing at all really tasted like fish and rice. One thing I did hate was that nowhere had sweet tea that was eye opening to how much people are missing out on with sweet tea. Unsweetened tea and putting sugar into it just doesn't hit the same. Other than my Alaska trip I mainly just travel to Florida for Disney world and the beach and sometimes to Memphis and New York to see my siblings. Nothing exciting going on in those places just a nice change of scenery and how people interact with each other differently than in like Lexington. 

Assignment 3- Gaby Rondel

My family loves to travel and it is what we save up for so that we can travel as much as possible. My favorite two places that I have been are Spain and Israel. I probably love them so much for the same few reasons: 1) The food (the food is amazing) and 2) the history. The history part is what I found really fascinating. Growing up in America, it seems like history starts two or three hundred years ago with the colonization of the New World, but going to Spain and Israel and seeing architecture from the 1000s or even from before the common era was not really eye-opening because I knew it existed, but eye-opening in the sense that history didn't really feel real until I was there walking through it. These experiences gave me a greater appreciation for not only history classes, but learning about the past in general. It no longer became memorizing facts or something I dreaded (although I still dread certain topics), but something I was actively interested in doing. 

Howdy

Hi, my name is Jimmy Chen. I live with my two parents and a fluffy white dog named Ollie. I have a sister but she's long graduated college and works in Los Angles. My academic goals this year are to get straight A's and get good scores on my AP tests. I play violin and tennis outside of school, my personal goal is to get better at violin and hopefully sit in the first 2 rows at Allstate and get into All Nationals again this year, where it is hopefully in person at Disney Land. I also hope to get into a good summer music program like IU or Bowdoin and hopefully win the CKYO concerto competition which I doubt will happen. I also hope to get better at tennis, which I've played for a while off and on with lots of breaks in between (I've been off more than I've been on) but I hope to be able to play some matches this year in the spring. During corona-staycation I finally persuaded my mom to get me Xbox live which is a very important moment because I could play console games with other people and I got game pass which is also a perk. I also enjoy listening to music, the most memorable experience I had with music was probably when I went to L.A. one of my friends there took me to see Gunna, which (aside from all the Gunna memes) was pretty epic.

https://www.thewiltern.net/events/gunna/#.X21BWWhKhPY

Assignment 1 - Grace Barnett

 Hi, my name is Grace Barnett. I play lacrosse for Henry Clay and this will be my 5th year playing lacrosse. I would say that I am more of an English and history person rather than a math and science person, but my main goal for this school year is to maintain straight A's and get a good score on my AP exams. Some personal goals of mine is that I would like to do more reading and try not to procrastinate as much because I have a nasty habit of pushing off my homework until the day it is due. I did not really have any meaningful moments during my Corona-staycation rather I was reminded how important family was. One thing that Geeks me out is Harry Potter; my favorite of the series is probably the Half-Blood Prince. Some things that I like include; rain (if I could create my own world it would rain every day), I like otters/sloths, and I have always wanted a hedgehog. I have a brother named Noah and a sister named Emma, Noah is 10 and my sister is 20.  I don't really have a favorite website but one website that I go to when I am bored is Webkinz. ---> https://www.webkinz.com/ 

Also here is a picture of my brother from like 5 years ago that makes me laugh:)

Duncan Wingfield Assignment 3

 I'm not particularly fond of traveling as I hate packing, long car trips, airports etc. I also haven't really traveled that much, furthest I've been is maybe San Diego. I went to San Diego with my family over spring break in 7th grade. It was the first time I'd ever been somewhere that really felt different. Most other places I'd traveled too had still felt relativley similar to home but San Diego really felt different. I remember the thing that really set this realization for me was seeing a palm tree on the side of the road on our way from the airport to the hotel. There was nothing particularly special about it but just seeing this completley alien looking tree in such an unassuming place really hammered in the difference. I'd seen different kinds of trees than what I'm used to in person before but they were always in special gardens or something like that, this tree was just out off the road. No one had ever tended to it or stopped to take a picture of it, it was just a normal tree. This really hit me with the realization that there's so much more to the world than what I'm used to.

Duncan Wingfield Assignment # Two

 Over the past year I haven't read very many books but I have read Thrawn: Alliances by Thimothy Zahn and The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K LeGuin. Thrawn: Alliances is a Star Wars spin-off book that really interestingly juggles two stories happening at two different times. It's well written and enjoyable but nothing that's like groundbreaking. The Lathe of Heaven, however, does feel groundbreaking. After my mom had been nagging me for years to read it I finally did over the summer and I'm very glad I did. It's a truly unique sci-fi experience that's quite unlike anything else I've read.

Assignment 3 - Palmer Lee

The summer between seventh and eighth grade, I went to a summer camp called Duke TIP. It was for people who had scored well on the ACT, and gave these kids the opportunity to experience some of what college would be like for three weeks. The one I went to was in Davidson, North Carolina, and I got the opportunity to be around other people who had similar interests as mine. While I was there, I learned a few more advanced concepts, and I learned that just because people have the same interests doesn’t by any means show that they have the same, or even similar, personality traits. This camp also revealed a more social side of me that I didn’t realize I had before. Since then, I’ve been more willing to talk with new people. This experience may enrich my educational environment by allowing me to approach more difficult topics in a different way than I would’ve before I went.

Asignement 3- Henry Adams

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1tMx0Itim_POJ3UJ-X0GS2wa9cvrb0Qtvro1iJ-tko9w/edit

Assignment 3- Church

 Oh the places you'll go

When I was in seventh grade my family went on a vacation cruise to three different islands on the coast of South America. The one the really changed my idea of the world  was Belize City, Belize.  The other two islands were full of tourist shops and restaurants and really just reminded me of being in Florida, but when we got to port in Belize City, it looked so different. There was many different stands set. up all along this dirt road. There were stray dogs and cats just roaming around that I was told not to pet. It was so different from any place I had ever been to in the United States. My family was suppose to go snorkeling somewhere 15 minutes away from the port. We had payed a taxi driver to take us. Surprisingly we all got into this beat up van. On the way there the driver explained to us that there was only one stop light in the entire city and it was broken at the time.. He also explained that every day families set up and took down their stands to try and make money to support themselves. After that experience it made me really think about what I was taking for granted in my life. Including the food I eat, the house I live in, the kind of work I do for money. It made me wish that there was a way I could help them and support them even if its just donating money to their small businesses.

Assignment 3- Koen

 One experience I've had around the world is getting to visit Hong Kong, a cultural hub for international affairs. My mom's family is from Hong Kong so I usually visit there every other year. Hong Kong is not like any other place. The people there are Chinese descendant, but they speak the dialect of Cantonese which is vastly different from traditional mandarin. If there was one word to describe Hong Kong, it would be "Rushed". Everyone walking to the metro in the morning and the afternoon looked rushed. Everyone had somewhere to go work. Like New York, they had little time for small talk with new people. They just had somewhere to be. But, after the work day, the city had a vibrant mood for relaxing and talking with friends. They would go to local bars or walk the streets shopping for food. I fell in love with Hong Kong and the diversity when it comes to people, foods, and cultures. Hong Kong truly represents the international setting which I hope to be a part of some day.

Ghazzal Hammad- Assignment 3

 A cultural/travel experience that has changed my life has been in Pakistan. I have been to Pakistan a number of times because it is where my parents are from and it's where most of my family lives. While I have been brought up in a very Pakistani household, going to the country itself has been a whole new experience altogether. Although the country is very interesting and the culture is amazing, there is one very important thing I learned from my experiences in Pakistan: hygiene is a privilege. In America, it is so normal to be able to shower whenever you want; to be able to buy lotions and perfumes and smell as nice as you please; to have clean water almost everywhere you go. In Pakistan, that is not the case. While it isn't a 'poor country', there are not enough resources to be able to provide clean water all the time; as a result, not everyone has access to it. There are also a large number of people who simply cannot pay for good hygienic products. For many people, it comes down to spending your money on food or deodorant, and the obvious choice is food. Being in Pakistan has helped me realize how privileged most of us are in countless ways, and it makes me more aware when I interact with new people from different places. 

Rukavina- assignment 3

 Although I haven’t had a traveling experience impact my life that much, an extracurricular experience that has is my swimming experience. My years of swimming have shaped my current and future life the most. I learned to swim when I was four years old and have been on a swim team ever since. Over the years swimming has helped me learn how to manage my time and to work hard to achieve my goals. With two hour practices every day of the week except sunday, I have had to work school around my swim schedule since elementary school. This has helped me prioritize my school work and work ahead so I don't end up doing it all on one day. Swimming has also taught me how to work hard toward my goals and not give up. This helps me in school whenever I struggle when learning about a new subject. Instead of giving up on whatever I'm learning, I work through it and figure it out what I'm having trouble with. Overall, swimming had led me to create higher goals for myself and taught me to work hard to achieve them. 

Sara Anderlich- Assignment 3

My experiences with travel are few and far between. I've been to Wisconsin, Florida, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Colorado, North Carolina, and Tennessee, though none of these vacations are extremely recent and I was never there more than two weeks.

The most relevant for me to discuss would probably be Tennessee and Colorado. I wouldn't say that I learned anything new as I never spoke to the people outside of my family, however there was a strong sense of culture. 

Music City, Tennessee, is remarkable. It's full of country and rock music, so if you don't like that, I wouldn't visit. I remember going last year (2019) for an ELO concert. I didn't know much about them, but my mother and stepfather wanted to take the trip to see them live. It was really interesting for me because it was much more crowded and memorable than Lexington, where I  have lived my entire life. There were so many gift shops and little parlors where people would sit in the window and play live. It definitely made the place seem more alive as each store or restaurant you passed had something different to offer. It let me visualize another way of living, where you payed attention to what was going on around you. It wasn't all happy and the more you looked, the more you would see that. There were so many alleys and nearly everywhere you look there were people in poverty.. adults and children that were homeless. It was a city with both worlds. 

Colorado on the other hand, at least where I was, was so much more serene. When I went, we had a cabin up in the mountains and I remember going out at night and actually being able to see the stars... so many stars. It was incredible and part of me wishes that I wasn't there for a family reunion with 30 some people. It was the kind of place you would go to really sit down and be at peace, and I would love to go there again, by myself or with one other friend. 

I wish I could say more or call on some of my grandfather's experiences. He's been nearly everywhere in Europe, one of his most recent excursions where he walked the Camino. Being as religious as he is, and also a philosopher, I know that that experience was something that gave him so much more to learn, as well as a new perspective. I do plan to travel in the future, maybe walk the Appalachian trail, but as of now I don't think I've even scratched the surface of what there is to learn and explore. 

Zent- Assignment 3

One unique traveling experience I have had is traveling to Costa Rica. My dad sells coffee for a company that is based in Costa Rica. Most of the company's coffee is grow at a farm in the countryside of San Jose. My dad goes there many times through out January and February to show clients the process of picking and packaging the coffee. When I was nine years old, my entire family went to the farm for two weeks during the summer. We flew into San Jose and took a four hour car ride through the mountains to the farm in the countryside. While there, we got to explore the farm and meet the people that live and work there. The farm is on the top of a mountain and a small town surrounds it with the people who work there. It was really cool to be in a place where I didn't know anyone but they all knew my dad and who I was. It made me feel connected to all of these people I didn't even know. Mostly everyone there spoke no English so my dad had to translate. I got to learn about the way of life of the workers and their culture. We ate Gallo pinto and picked our own oranges to make orange juice. I am really glad I got to experience this other culture and a place where my dad goes often.