The Hard Life of a Middle Kid

The Hard Life of a Middle Kid

Most people think it’s hard to have a brother or sister. They’ll complain about how it’s annoying to have their younger sibling get all the attention, or have their older sibling get all the cool new stuff. Well, I “get” to complain about both. I’m the middle kid. I have a sister that’s five years older than me, and a brother that’s three years younger than me.

I have two friends that are also middle kids, and sometimes I feel like they’re the only people that understand my struggles. My friends that have one younger sibling complain about how annoying and bratty their younger sibling is. My friends that have an older sibling complain that they have to have hand me downs and that they don’t get new things, ever. They say they feel for me, but they don’t really understand, they just think they do.

My brother gets all the attention and I have to sit there while my parents interrogate him about his day, not looking at me once. Or, they’ll talk to my sister, who’s applying to college, about when the decisions come out, not even asking me how I did on my math test that day.

As much as I hate being the middle kid of three, I know that some people have it worse. During the American Revolution, people had about 7 or 8 kids. I’m glad that I’m not the middle kid of 7 because those unlucky kids probably didn’t get very much attention, if any.

I know I’m very lucky to be living in the time that I do and to have so many great things in life. I know I shouldn’t be complaining, but sometimes I wish I wasn’t stuck in the middle. I also know that studies have shown that middle kids grow up to be the happiest in life, so I have that to look forward to. I hope that I grow up to be very happy, and that my time in the middle gets better.

Source:

Why Women Have Fewer Babies. www.livescience.com/4333-women-babies.html.

The Only Girl

I am going to ask you to do something in just a moment here. Imagine you sitting in a room, playing a somewhat stressful game which you have a time limit on that wrings your brain out, against a scary looking opponent on an early Saturday morning. Pretty bad, huh?  Now imagine that you are feeling like your life depends on winning this game. While you sink this in, imagine you are the only one of your gender type in the entire room, playing that game.

Chess. An art, science, game, and sport. From what I described above, it may seem like there is an impression that I dislike chess. But that is simply untrue. Sure, sometimes I do feel about chess that way, but most of the times, I adore it. Playing chess is not a chore, or something I have to do, but I choose to anyway. However, there is no avoiding  that dreaded feeling of when you think you will lose, or when you are scared to play against that big adult man whose rating is greater than yours. And those feelings are when I lose the game, before I even sit down at the board.

Over the years I have played chess, the one thing I have learned beside strategies, tactics, and different plays, is that you need to play the position. NOT the opponent. All those years of me being afraid to lose have mostly passed over. Losing and winning. There will always be one or the other. And when I win? Great! Moving on. When I lose? Not so great- but the amount I learn from analyzing my losses is tremendous, and it teaches me more than I can ever learn from another book. After all-

"If you are not strong enough to lose, you are not strong enough to win."

So there are ups and downs in chess- let's talk about what I LOVE about it.

Chess is a mental game of strategy, tactics, and thinking. It is probably the most beautiful, unique game in the world I come from. Beautiful in the way that each game has its own twists and characteristics. Each position has its own... personality. And each and every single game is completely different, with countless different positions, which makes sense because there are countless types of people in the world. Chess has many deeper meanings and ideas. One basic strategy is to get all the pieces into play. You cannot win by only using one or two of the 16 pieces you have. You need defenders, attackers, and protecters. Sometimes, its the little things that cost you the game. The way the chess pieces move around the board, how they can come together so beautifully, how each piece is important and significant on the board in its own way, and how sometimes, there are pieces that obstruct your plan, displaced, until you need to move them in a better place. Sometimes pieces need to be sacrificed, or removed. Chess really models how todays world works, or should work. Does it not?

"Life is a game of chess. Chess is a game of the brain."

There are countless other lessons that chess can teach. Patience. Strategy. Time management. Simplicity. Being able to see 3-5 steps ahead. Learn from your losses. Not to be afraid of a loss. Forethought wins. There is always a better move. Its okay to be independent and move in silence- only to speak to say Checkmate.

Now, I'm going to talk about another aspect of Chess. Being the only 7th grade girl to be at tournaments. And even if there IS another girl, the ratio of boys to girls is drastically bigger. All the chess books I have are written by males, and all the games inside the books are played by 2 male grandmasters. Its never a girl. Ever.

I have always wondered why not many girls play chess. Are they all ashamed? Nervous? Think that Chess will never be a "girl" sport? Uninterested? Why is it that at every tournament there are so many more boys than girls??! I mean seriously- search up chess grandmasters and ALL of them are male. Let me tell you that Chess is a game for everybody of every race, gender, status, and age. If any girl wants to play, they should feel free to love it, and participate without any judgments from anybody else. They should be proud of what they are passionate about, and let no one else effect that. There are only 12-14 woman grandmasters out there, out of the other 500, who are males. Does that not strike anyone else as crazy? Unacceptable? Well it does to me. And I hope, one day, I will become one of the 12 best female chess players in the world, and that others will be inspired by reading this post and seeing what any girl can do.

Every chess Grandmaster was once a beginner- and every pawn has the potential to become a                                                                             QUEEN. 

Car Crashes

Car crashes, they happen all over the world. So what causes these car crashes? What are car companies doing to avoid them? How does alcohol influence people’s ability to drive? These are all questions I have asked myself. So why do car crashes happen?

photo credit

In order to answer this question, we should know how car crashes happen. The number one cause of car crashes is not drunk drivers, speeding, or running red lights but by the number of distracted drivers. In 2013, three thousand one hundred and fifty people died in distraction-related car crashes and 42,000 people were injured. In 2016 263 drivers ages 16-19 were involved in distraction related fatal crashes in the U.S.Why teens ages 16 - 19? The reason is teens of this age group are usually the ones who are involved in distraction related crashes because the parts of their brain that control their decision making is not fully developed until early adulthood. Therefore they are more likely to crash.

Now that we know what causes the most car crashes we can move onto which distractions caused the crashes and how we can avoid them. To begin with, we can all be off our phones while we drive. Even if we are just talking on the phone, or using voice to text, the part of our brain that should be focusing on not crashing the car is instead focusing on talking on the phone, or thinking about what we're going to text.

photo credit

The more advanced technology gets, the more car companies build that tech into our cars. The way most companies are starting to make self driving cars is by using cameras, LIDAR and radar. What if the cameras get foggy? What happens if the LIDAR laser is broken? What if the radar stops working? What if all of these things happen at once? Then what are we supposed to do? Even though there are upsides to self-driving cars there are still disadvantages too.

Now the third step of figuring out why crashes happen.Alcohol. I have wondered for a long time why alcohol affects people's driving. It turns out that the alcohol slows down the neural connections in your brain. Alcohol also affects the amount of oxygen in your blood. This is called oxygen deprivation or hypoxia.Hypoxia usually starts with the inability to perform normal physical activities, such as climbing a short flight of stairs without fatigue or driving your car. There are other symptoms that come with hypoxia such as lack of appetite, vomiting, headache, distorted vision, and fatigue.

photo credit

Now how many people die from car crashes each year? Well in 2015 five thousand three hundred and sixty seven pedestrians were hit and killed either by the hit or later from injuries. Each year there are fewer deaths and fewer injuries. With the exception of 2007, there were still fewer deaths but there were 9,000 more injuries.So why are the numbers less each year? Well, car companies are using more and more technology to create a wider and more accurate system for detecting other cars and pedestrians. With this new technology fewer and fewer people are hit by cars. Although this helps in some ways it is also not helpful because the tech teaches us to rely on that teach but like I said earlier what happens if we are taking a nap in a self driving car then the LIDAR and radars die and the car crashes? Would the person in the car die because they weren't paying attention? Or what if during your nap the car is forced to make decision that isn’t in its programing? Or that only human brains can think logically enough to solve?

After learning about these crashes what can we take away? Well for starters we can be more aware of the effects alcohol has on us. We also know that the cause of most crashes is distraction related and the most common distraction is our phones so we should stay off of them while we are driving. Thirdly we learned why it is that teenagers ages 16-19 make such bad decisions about driving.

The fun of the procrastinator

Procrastination, what a interesting thing . it always seems like the right thing to do at the time, until the day before the test. then you realize that hey, maybe i should not have taken so many of those "breaks" or all those "days off". so why do it? well, there are a lot of reasons. The biggest being, its just boring, something else is more fun. when people procrastinate, they always find a reason for why they are doing it so thy can convince themselves, even if subconsciously to not feel guilty. But there are reasons to do the work, like if you wait till the last day before a project is due you learn a lot less about the subject the if you did it in 10 minute chunks over multiple weeks(this has been proven to be the most effective study habits by 100's of study's). So, how do you break the loop? its actually very simple. instead of convincing your self why you should not be doing something  all you need to do is convince your self that you should, which is much harder than it seems but it is one of the only ways to stop procrastination.

African American Women Making a Difference

Madam C.J Walker was born on December 23, 1867, in Louisiana. Her mom Minerva Breedlove died in the year 1874 and her dad Owen died the following year. The causes of her parents' deaths are still unknown. She was 6 years old when her mom died and 7 years old when she became an orphan. She lived with her sister, Louvinia, and brother-in-law. They moved to Mississippi in 1877. Well, there Walker was forced to pick cotton. Walker married Moses McWilliams at age 14. After they got married they had a beautiful daughter she was named A'Lelia. A'Lelia was born on June 6, 1885. Moses died in 1887 when A'Lelia was 3 years old. After Moses died A'Lelia and Madam Walker moved to St. Louis, Missouri. In Missouri Walker found a job as a cleaner. She got paid $1.50 a day. This was barely enough money to send A'Lelia to school. While in St. Louis Madam Walker met her soon to be second husband Charles Walker. In the 1890s, Madam Walker developed a rare scalp condition that made her lose almost all of her hair. After this, she decided she was going to experiment with home remedies and store-bought remedies to try to improve her hair condition. In 1905, Walker was hired as a commission saleswoman by Annie Turnbo Malone. If you don't know who Annie Turnbo Malone is she was also a famous African American inventor. Walker moved to Denver, Colorado in 1907, where she invented a hair treatment for African-Americans. Walker and Charles traveled the country together selling her products and showing how they worked. The next year Walker opened a beauty school and a factory. Just two years later after her major investments, the company was booming. Walker and her husband Charles broke up in 1912. Walker moved to Harlem in 1916. Harlem was an important African-American neighborhood. It was home to musicians, writers, and artists, in New York City. On May 25, 1919, at age 51 Walker died from kidney failure and complications of hypertension. She died in Irvington-on-Hudson, New York on an estate that she had built for herself. After Walker died A'Lelia Walker was left with ⅓ of her mother's estate. During 1998 the United States Postal Service decided to make a stamp of Madame Walker. This was part of their "Black Heritage" series.

Bessie Coleman was born on January 26, 1892, in Atlanta, Texas. When Bessie was little her favorite thing was to listen to stories about the Wright brothers. The Wright brothers were famous for their knowledge of building and flying some of the worlds first airplanes. The annoying truth, in Bessie's time and today, was men thought that women should not be pilots. But even worse than a female pilot was an African American female pilot. After Bessie completed high school, she went to Oklahoma Colored Agricultural and Normal University, now known as the Langston University, for one year. Then in 1915 she went to Chicago, Illinois. Becoming a pilot was really hard for Bessie. Bessie was not allowed to attend American aviation school, because she was an African American woman. Bessie was told to go to the international aviation school in France. Bessie spent her life savings to learn how to speak French. She took a class at the Berlitz school in Chicago. Bessie left for France on November 20, 1920. A famous quote from Bessie "I knew we had no aviators, neither men nor women, and I knew the race needed to be represented along this most important line, so I thought it my duty to risk my life to learn aviation and to encourage flying among men and women of our race, who are so far behind the white race in this modern study," In France it took Bessie seven months to learn how to fly. After she did Bessie was given an international pilot's license. In 1921 the Federation Aeronautique International gave this to Bessie. When Bessie returned to the United States she became known for her impressive stunts and was named "Queen Bess". After this name was given to her she continued to face the restrictions the United States kept showing her African American family. In response to the racism she was shown, she said: "The air is the only place free from prejudices." Bessie Coleman died April 30, 1926, in  Jacksonville, Florida. Bessie was 34 when she passed away. Bessie died because her plane was not working properly. She had three unexpected stops on the way to the show and on the final stretch Bessie was not wearing a seat belt. When the plane took an unexpected drop and spiraled toward the ground Bessie fell out of the plane and died upon impact. Her passenger was not able to take control of the plane and died upon impact as well. The plane exploded and that was the end of Bessie Coleman. This year on Bessie's birthday, Google decided to put a sketch of her  on their banner.

          These African American women made differences in so many lives but they are not as different as it might seem. They were both African American women which as hard enough as it is. But on top of that these girls both had hard childhoods. Madam C.J Walker's parents died and her first husband died and she had a three-year-old child. Bessie Coleman had to face being told over and over that she could not do what she loved it was a white man's job. They also both died at young ages 51 and 34. Despite all of these things these women made a life for themselves and made a difference to others.



Credits:
Madam C.J Walker photo
Newsela Madam C.J Walker
Walker Wikipedia (when Walker's daughter was born and her first husband died and this link too)
Newsela Bessie Coleman
Bessie Coleman's death
Bessie Coleman photo

The Effect of Soccer on My Life

To me, Soccer is a lot. When I'm in school, theres a lot of pressure from my mom, my teachers and everybody else to be perfect. When I step onto the field, I don't have any pressure from anybody but my teammates, which I embrace. When I first joined my team, I attended forest heights and my team was only me and like 6 other teammates. Since that day, I have stayed with the same coach, we have bounced around different teams, won tournaments and most importantly gained more teammates. Teammates are really important, they can make or break your team, they are also really fun to be friends with. Me and my teammates have attended different schools since first grade. Most of my teammates go to west sylvan while I go to Catlin Gabel. I have stayed in touch with them, during practices and games and on social media. I have gained so many friends from soccer and so many valuable experiences, including traveling from state to state with my team to compete in

tournaments. The experience of doing competitive soccer is very valuable. I got to work on my teamwork, my sports skills, the coaching is really good. The competitive experience is also very fun, tournaments are really fun and the more games, the more fun. Traveling with your team is also a really good experience, you get to talk to them for the entire car ride. Competitive soccer is more then just soccer, in the bend tournament, we had a pool party and you can hang with your teammates whenever you want. It's really fun to do competitive soccer and I would recommend it to anybody considering doing competitive soccer.

the list of how to be brave

They all tell you                                                 

The same thing

The therapists:

“Breathe

Ground yourself

Take a deep breath in

And a deep breath out”

In

Out

In

Out

8:00 am

Bell rings

Breaks my foundation

Or at least dents it

In

Out

In

Out

I tell people

Drama is my favorite class

But I have to act in every class:

I HAVE done all the work I need to

I DIDN’T fail that math test

I LIKE that movie

All lies

I’m a good actor

In

Out

In

Out

I like the rides home best

When there is a reason

Why I can’t

Do what they tell me to

Even better than the car

Are the people who aren't

With me every day

Five years ago:

My biggest fear

Was walking up the street

Knocking on their door

Often run home crying

Still scares me

I watch my footsteps

One step

Then two

One

     Two

One

      Two

In

Out

In

Out

It’s easier now

To be with them

They don’t know

What I need to do

What claws at me

Most think it’s weird

One hundred people

Don’t scare me

But walking in

A bag of food

In one hand

For the class to eat

That horrifies me

One

     Two

One

      Two

In

Out

In

Out

Here it is

The definition:

distress or uneasiness of mind caused by fear of danger or misfortune

earnest but tense desire; eagerness

a state of apprehension and psychic tension occurring in some forms of mental disorder

But that does not define it

It can’t

Not the raging racing heart

Not the tears that seem to paint your face

Not the breathing that should be going

In

Out

In

Out

In reality

it goes all at once

In out in out in out in out

Like a beating drum

That is my anxiety

It will always be

Matter where I am

But I won’t let it stop me

Because I am brave

So I don’t need to be fearless

I’ll remember to breathe

(In

Out

In

Out)

I WILL be alright

(and that is not a lie)

The Evolution Of Stage Lighting

There have been many stage lighting methods that have made stage lighting what it is today, e.g. Candle, Oil, And Gas. But I am going to be focusing on Electric stage lighting and the technologies around that. In 1878 British inventor Joseph Wilson Swan patented the world's first incandescent electric lamp. This was a big deal because then people could have light whatever time of day they wanted without fire. In 1879 Thomas Edison (1847-1931) receives the American patent for his incandescent lamp. In 1811 London's Savoy Theatre  installed the world's first electric lighting system. In 1903 the Kliegl Brothers installed an electrical lighting system with 96 resistance dimmers (and 20 additional dimmers for house lights) at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City using manual dimming technology developed in the late 1800s. Overall electric stage lighting was much more safe than any of the other lighting methods at that time. 

Then the electronic dimmer was invented, it was a much smaller than the manual dimmer but didn’t have any memory so therefor couldn’t save looks or scenes to be recalled for later use. Then the computerised lighting console was invented this was a big deal because then you could recall scenes using low voltage signal. Being able to recall scenes was a big deal because then you could bring up multiple lights to preset levels using one slider or button similar to submasters on today's lighting consoles. Eventually you could also program automated fade or wait times on those scenes too. 
In 1986 the U.S. Institute of Theatre Technology developed the DMX 512 protocol as a standard interface between consoles and dimmers. DMX is still used today as a primary way of communicating with dimmers and lights today. DMX is programmed by telling the console how many channels the fixture will take up depending on the properties of the fixture. For example red, green, blue, white, (mostly in LED fixtures) and dimmer would each take up one dmx channel. So a simple rgb light now would take up 4 channels. The introduction of queuing lighting consoles made it so you could record cues into the lighting console and then recall them by just pushing go every time you want to go to the next cue. 

The computerised consoles are much more complex now and with the invention of led color mixing lighting fixtures you are able to control what color comes out of a lighting fixture by just tapping the color that you want it to turn on the console, and then it figures out how to mix that color and it does it automatically.

A led color mixing fixture

The ETC Element, An computerized automatic color mixing console

Before automatic color mixing consoles you mixed the color by hand using sliders (one controlling red LEDs, one controlling green LEDs, and one controlling blue LEDs and sometimes one controlling white LEDs). You can mix pretty much any color you want with red green blue and white. LEDs also have a much longer life than incandescent bulbs so you don't have to change light bulbs. These were just a few of the many revolutions in lighting design.

Climbing Has Changed

Climbing is a sort of known sport these days. There are many different types of it. That includes bouldering, sport, and speed climbing. These disciplines are only for competitive climbing. There are a lot of other types of climbing outside of the competitive realm. There is free climbing, free soloing, trad (traditional) climbing, aid climbing, and of course, bouldering, sport, and speed. For the competitive disciplines, the observers are not allowed to tell the climber any beta or how to get up the wall.

Bouldering is many individual, short routes or “problems,” that are attempted without a climbing rope but with landing mats below for protection. In bouldering competitions, the competitions are scored by checkpoints. For all checkpoint holds, other than the finish hold, control shall be awarded where the competitor has made use of the handhold to achieve a stable or controlled position; or to control the momentum of a climbing movement; or while in a calm or controlled position and where the use is deemed helpful to advance in the problem. In bouldering, control of the finish hold shall be awarded where the competitor has made controlled contact with the hold with both hands while in a stable or controlled position. The checkpoints are labeled 5, 10, 15, 25 (25 is the top of the route). Four is the maximum amount of checkpoints, but there are routes with less than four. If the competitor falls off the route, s/he gets 0.1 points subtracted from their total score. Upon the completion of his/her attempts of a problem, the Judge shall inform the competitor as to which point, on the route, s/he was scored. Bouldering is fun for the untrained because they don't have to know how to tie any knots.

Sport climbing is when routes are climbed on lead or top-rope, with the competitor belayed with a climbing rope from below. These walls are tall; they have to be at least 25 feet high.

Climbing Rope

For lead, each quickdraw is clipped sequentially. Lead and top-rope are sub-disciplines to sport climbing. The type of sport climbing is not optional. The competitor has to be 13 and older to climb on lead. Otherwise, you have to climb on top-rope. Leading is when you take the rope with you and clip into quickdraws on your way up. Top-Rope is where the rope goes from the climbers harness up to the top of the wall and back down to the belay device. For lead competition routes, the route shall be considered 'successfully completed' if it has been climbed to the top and if the rope has been clipped from an appropriate position into the carabiner on the final quickdraw. Additionally, the competitor must demonstrate control of the finish hold. For top rope competition routes, the route shall be considered successfully completed if it has been climbed to the top and if the competitor has successfully demonstrated control of the finish hold. Competitors are not required to match hands on the finish hold for lead or top-rope.

For speed climbing, the routes are attempted on top-rope or with an auto-belay. They are timed for speed. The faster the competitor is, the better. There is a national set speed route for competitors 13 and older. For competitors younger than 13, they don't know what speed route they will be climbing. Other than that, speed climbing is rather self-explanatory. The climber climbs up a wall as fast as they can, nothing more.

Bouldering, Sport, and Speed are all very different. In the next Olympics, in 2000, climbing will be one of the new/accepted sports. The only unfortunate part about it is that one person from each country has to run/do all of the disciplines. This is very hard because Bouldering, Sport, and Speed are very different. Not just one person can do all three disciplines. The Olympics needs to have one person for each discipline. Luckily though, in the 2024 Olympics, there will be one person per discipline, it's great!

Coming from a climber, having climbing in the Olympics is an honor. Also, being able to teach younger children to climb and have fun on the wall is a great experience. The evolution of climbing has come so far from where it started. It started from the climber placing their bolts, outside (which is dangerous), to now, where we can climb indoors, even when it's snowy and rainy out.

This is a rack of cams going from small (left) to large (right)

Climbing started to be a thing around the 1880s. It was a sport for hippies and daredevils. To climb in the 1880s, climbers would climb up with a hammer, bolts, bolt hangers, and some clips. They would go to where they think would be an excellent place to hang their rope, and then they would hammer bolts into the wall. Then they would hang off of that bolt placement. Then around 1960-1980, people started to think about finding better and fresher ways to climb. This new way of climbing was called trad climbing. Trad climbing is where you climb up the wall, you have gear hanging to you, and you can put that gear into the small, medium, or big cracks. The older types of equipment were called hexes (hexcentrics) and later on the cam was invented. The hex is a camming device that uses pressure to hold you up, nothing more, and the cam is a spring-loaded camming device. Both the hex and the cam were removable, and they left no trace on the rock. The climbers made this new way of climbing because they were climbing in places with lots of cracks on the wall. This place was Yosemite. They also did this because the old way was putting holes into the wall. Putting in those holes would make the wall not last as long and start crumbling away a ton faster than it should have. Most climbers nowadays either stick with trad climbing or climbing with bolt hangers already set into the wall. There are some climbers though who do something called free soloing (Free Soloing is not advised). Free soloing is where you climb up thousands upon thousands of feet of wall with no rope in sight. Alex Honnold just did a big free solo. He climbed El Capitan and its 3,200 feet of sheer granite.

This is a rack of hexes (hexcentrics) going
from small (left) to large (right)

"People who know a little bit about climbing think, 'OhYa, he's totally safe,' and then people who really know exactly what he's doing, are freaked out," - Tommy Caldwell

That quote from Tommy shows that you can/will get more scared for Alex if you know what climbing is or what he is doing. Otherwise, you would have no idea what he is doing, so it wouldn't scare you. Also, the filmers of anything free solo related are also really scared. They would be having hard times trying not to imagine their friend falling through the frame to their death. That's the reality of free soloing.

Climbing has come a long way since it had started. Climbing went from being a sport for hippies and daredevils to a sport that is for the family and the adventurers.


Sources:
Rulebook - BOULDERING SPEED SPORT - readkong.com. https://www.readkong.com/page/rulebook-bouldering-speed-sport-4767851

Gamer Girl

I love video games. I always have, and I always will. Ever sense I was young, I've loved to play video games. I even come from a family of gamers: My mom, dad, and sister all play video games. But being a girl who games can be hard. For starters, I'm one of two girls in my class of 65 people who play video games in their free time. And by video games, I mean computer or console, not mobile games like Candy Crush. Second, none of the boys in my class who game can seem to relate to me, because we don't play the same games. most of them play games like Fortnite, while I'm more interested in story-rich RPG games, such as Iconoclasts. Third, the fact that I prefer games that aren't violence centered seems to contribute to a stereotype about female games. But I'll always love playing video games.

I was first introduced to video games around the age of two. Me and my sister would play educational video games like Pajama Sam, Freddi Fish, and Putt-Putt. We would sit together, me, my sister, and my mom, and we would play for hours. Then, when I was five, our whole family started playing games together on our PS3.
We started by playing Little Big Planet together, a video game centered around imagination with an option for up to four players. Every night, we would go downstairs and play until I had to go to sleep. Sometimes, if I couldn't go to sleep, I'd go downstairs at around midnight to find my parents still trying over and over again to finish a level without dying. We would also play one player games like Ni No Kuni, Portal 2, and Ratchet and Clank, and just switch off who got to play. However, my sister was very possessive of the controller when it came to Ratchet and Clank. Then, when I was six or seven, I started playing games with just my sister. We replayed games like Little Big Planet, Ni No Kuni, and Portal 2, and also played new games, like Little Big Planet 2 and Puppeteer. Then, when I was about ten, we got a PS4, and we played some new games, both as a family, and just me and my sister. We played games like Tearaway, Unravel, Horizon Zero Dawn, and Little Big Planet 3. Then, when I was 11 or 12, we got a PS VR headset for Christmas. On it, we played games like Moss, Eagle Flight, and Thumper. We also got a Nintendo switch last year, and me and my sister play Mario Odyssey and Snipperclips. Throughout my life, video games have been a special bond between me and my family. We play games together as a way to connect with one another. It's something that we all enjoy.

"Video games foster the mindset that allows creativity to grow" - Nolan Bushnell

I also play games on my computer. I enjoy playing games that are story rich, with well thought out plots, backstory, and characters. I have played a lot of games and recommended a lot of them to my friends, such as Iconoclasts, Rakuen, Undertale, Don't Starve, and OneShot. All of these games are well thought out and interesting to play, with immersive plot and relatable characters. I enjoy RPG games where I can really connect with the main character. Unfortunately, most people see gaming for boys, and that if girls do game, they like cute, mindless games. And the stereotype goes both ways - boys supposedly only enjoy violent games. People seem to look at me sideways when I jump into a conversation about a game that I've played or seen. Sometimes, though, me and my friends can talk about games without judgement.  I have recommended many of my favorite computer games to my friends, three of which are guys, and whenever one of them plays it, they usually enjoy the games that I've recommended. Yes, I'm a girl, and yes, I don't enjoy violent games, but video games shouldn't be looked at like a mindless way to pass time, or an evil, violence inspiring tool of destruction, it should be looked at as a way to connect with people. A way to tell a story, to share an idea. They should be able to be enjoyed by all people, of any age and all genders.

Image credit:
https://www.amazon.com/Dualshock-Wireless-Controller-Charcoal-Black/dp/B005MMFIOO
https://leviathyn.com/2018/02/26/5-coolest-facts-las-gaming-scene/

My trip to Europe

I am a kid who loves to travel and go on adventures to other countries with family, but during the summer of 2018, this one particular trip blew me away!

My dad is a lawyer and has the law group Chenoweth Law group (https://www.northwestlaw.com). My dad usually doesn't go very far very often, but this one client had him go all the way over to the Netherlands! My dad took advantage of the situation and flew me over on a plane, so I could go to Europe. When I first landed I saw my dads beaming smile, but I was exhausted since I had zero minutes of sleep on the 8-hour flight, (at least it wasn't the week to month trips on boat people had to go on in 1700)  but I was still happy to be in Europe, and get to have this awesome trip. In a few days, we were in the Netherlands, we went on a boat tour, bike tours, and lots of walking.

After several days in the Netherlands, we soon took a train to Cologne Germany, I got out of the train station, as I turn around, my mouth drops at the sight of a gigantic structure blocking out the sun completely. This was the Kölner Dom, a huge cathedral was built in 1322, this cathedral is so old that there are broken and damaged parts from bullets in WW2!

After three fun days at Cologne, we took a train to Paris, France, where we went touring all over at the best places in France. In one day we walked to L’arc Du Triomphe, and on the way, we looked at other smaller cathedrals that were also really cool. After all that, we went to the Eiffel Tower, and waited in line, until we could get in and walk around the grounds, this one day, we walked around for about nine miles, but then the next day we went on another bike tour and checked out some more really cool places in Paris.

Europe is an amazing place, with a deep history running through it, and if I ever get the chance to go again, I would take it without a doubt and see what other parts of Europe that there is to see. I love to visit and explore new cultures, and traditions, and know more about the people we share this world with. By taking this trip not only did I have a blast and a half, but I learned more culter, like about the Kölner Dom. If you have never

been to Europe, then get on the next flight there.

Benefits and Doubts of a Lifer

I can't dive into other people's minds, but I imagine what they might see. The thought of being a lifer at Catlin would likely bring enchanting images into peoples minds, through its years of joy and friendship, it isn't only that. Memories are messy and beautiful, 9 years of being at Catlin gives a lot of room for them. They are simple and complex, from the disturbing singing of preschoolers to fourth grade, watching my two best friends wrap themselves in caution tape for a photoshoot. It took years for me to get there, and years for me to arrive here. In 10 years I know I will look back on this age and wonder how I thought, thinking of my past self and how I was different. I know I will think and see a different image of myself than everyone else does because that is my mind, my experience, my point of view. That's the downfall of being a lifer, there is no fresh start, there was no switching to schools where nobody knew my history, who I have been and how I have changed. Reputations stick with us, as they do from the first 7 seconds, the average amount of time it takes to get a first impression of someone, according to several sources linked below. So although being a lifer is filled with joy and time for the strengthening of friendships, it is also full of cons. Regardless of the stress and lack of immediate connection, someone who would come into our class years after they shed their old traits, would have a no cage, called a past. The years of connection though, are also benefits, and I wonder if I would have the friends I have now if I had come to this school a moment later. Being a lifer can allow time to find move through friendships, as hard as it can be. Having a part in the community since day one can also allow for an advantage in the academic field since you have had years to learn how the school works, and you are on the same learning course as you always have been. Experience in other schools can be helpful academically as well though and can allow for a chance to expand a friend group when switching to another. That chance, having friends inside of school and outside of school, can be exciting and grant a wider range of people in your life. In the topic of other schools academic and social convenience when switching, I have found that academic advantage doesn't play in as much as social change. Change as well happens academically though, you could be hearing about a project previous students had completed, and when you reach their point that opportunity goes away. Take for example FAME, which went from movies to wheels. That sudden difference will change a path you predicted to be on, which has both its pros and cons. In the end, I think I would change my past if I had the chance, I would have rather had time at another school, before coming to Catlin. I would want this because it would grant me the benefit of having a new reputation, new friends as well as old from in and out of school, and a little more difference in my life, as well as view.

Sources...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_impression_(psychology)

http://www.executive-impressions.com/blog/not-waste-7-seconds-first-impression

https://www.businessinsider.com/only-7-seconds-to-make-first-impression-2013-4