Febbo Week 5 - Not Much Time Left

     For the past 2 months, I have been training 5-6 days a week to get myself ready for the Crossfit Open. The Crossfit Open is a 3-week competition and every Thursday during those 3 weeks, a new and different workout is released and you have to perform the workout and submit your scores. You are placed based on how you perform in the workout against thousands of other people all in your age division.

    I only started taking Crossfit seriously about 2 months ago, so I've been working hard to train and get myself ready to compete in my first ever Crossfit Open. I have surprised myself and my coach in my result and abilities in many of the workouts. However, I have also had rough days and it was hard to even get through the workout, but I know I have to push myself to get better. Even with those rough days, I love having the gym as a way for me to work on myself for a couple hours out of the day. It is also a good way for me to relieve any stress I might have from school or work.

    The first day of the Open is March 11th, so it is approaching very quickly. I am both very excited and very nervous about this competition. I know I will go out and perform the best to my abilities and that is all I can control. I can not wait!!

    

The rise of the DCEU

    It is no rumor that DC''s adaption of superheroes in live films have not exactly hit the mark with all fans in recent years. The DCEU, or DC extended universe, is the current cinematic universe in which this new era of Dc superhero's reside.   While all the films in Christopher Nolan's Dark Night Trilogy were undeniable masterpieces, DC has not had much success in establishing an agreeable cinematic universe in the past couple of years.  With train wrecks like Suicide Squad and Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice,  a cohesive universe between different characters seems nearly impossible, and with such a monumental animated movie empire, it is a shame that DC has yet been able to crate a universe in which fans are comfortable with the direction of the future of the franchise.  With its dark and serious approach to beloved characters, deeper connection between film and audience has never been so strained   

However, an ember of life was sparked when Wonder Woman made its debut in 2017, arguably one of the best screen adaptations of the beloved comic series.  With critic and fan approval, the film hit every mark in that it conveyed a meaningful message without placing blame and discouraging certain demographics, it payed roper homage to the history of the character, the new aspects of the character and her origin were refreshing and did not disrespect the history of the character.  The future for the DCEU almost seemed promising.    Joss Whedon's Justice League  put a damping on the new hope, the plot seemed forced,  the direction of the heroes ultimately proved to insult or dampen the potential for decent character arcs, and the project itself seemed to have no consideration for the fans and their input on how to possibly save the DCEU.  

After the bitter feedback from fans, the DCEU was almost dismantled as producers at Warner Brother's nearly threw in the towel and discontinued current and future productions. Then, he arrived.  The film, with god like courage, mythical dignity, and shocking creativity, breathed life into the DCEU once more. His film had all viewers screaming his catchphrase in hopes of attaining his power, he is SHAZAM!  Shazam!, like its successful neighbor Wonder Woman, conveyed a heartfelt message, payed respect to the character and fans, and encapsulated what the character is about while also making hilarious and entertaining changes to adapt to present day situations.  

Wonder Woman 1984 was definitely a marvelous continuation of the Wonder Woman film series.  Beautiful and vibrant shots, heart driven plot, and stunning human elements round out this film as a dignified sequal.  The film worked hard to include convincing character arcs that worked perfectly with one another.  This film obviously did not leave out Diana's arc as she truly became more human that she ever has been in any film we've seen her in before.  A daring but rewarding move that worked excellent for this film.  Slowly, Wonder Woman becomes more like her comic book personality while also maintaining the unique flavor Gal Gadot's performance provides.  She becomes the revered yet compassionate warrior fans know and love.  

Ironically enough, one of the main focuses of Joss Whedon's Justice League was performing a daring move to resurrect Superman in a completely different form from the procedure presented in the comics.  Although it was a relief to see everyone's favorite Kryptonian flying faster than the speed of sound again, his return was unsatisfying.  The irony stems form the new film Zack Snyder's Justice League having almost the same premise as revving superman.  A failure can be redeemed or made even worse by reviving it and braining ti to light again.  However, the trailer for this film was an absolute spectacle.  A breath of relief was shared among many fans as Zack Snyder's cut seemed to be more comic driven and inspiring.  The goosebumps from seeing Superman in his black suit (worn originally in his revival comic where he hibernated for a long duration and came back even stringer than before)  The DCEU has been having great success in redeeming itself of its past sins,  Zack Snyder's Justice League might just be able to bring the universe home.  

Tayi Week 5 - Independence

 All my life I have been under the influence and supervision of my parents. The most time that I have spent away from them was the better half of a week, and even then I was still with other family members. My parents have always wanted me to become proficient in the medical field, and my top priority is to make them proud. That being said, the medical field is extremely competitive and I need some advantages that would help me stand out. Since my dad is a doctor, he got me the opportunity to shadow a medical professional that “is really important.” I guess that means he is a doctor that is extremely influential? Maybe he performs open-heart surgery daily? Either way, this is an opportunity I need to take.

The only issue, as insignificant as it is, will be that I have to travel to California alone. I won't even be able to fly across the country with anyone I know. I will be staying in California with one of my dad’s friends that I have never met, for more than half the summer. It's not a big enough issue for me to not take the opportunity, but I know for a fact that I'm going to get homesick quickly, due to the fact that I will be separated from my family for what feels like the longest time.

A lot of things are going to be different without my parents around. The atmosphere will be super uncomfortable for a while. I’ll be eating different foods. Living under different rules. Forcing myself to act professional for weeks. I think I'm going to become exhausted very quickly. Fortunately for me though, I will be able to experience something new, something that I have never experienced before: independence. Highly desired by kids, largely admonished by adults. However, I will look on in adulation of the medical career that I hope will flourish in the future.

Kane week 5- Anticipation for spring

    I'm super excited for the spring season to arrive! I can't wait for some of my favorite activities to come back. Along with this, spring is the season for regrowth and rebirth. It takes the brown of winter and replaces it with the vibrant colors of spring. In this season I enjoy spending time outside. I love to go on runs, hikes, fish, and taking the top off of my jeep.

    Running and hiking are some of my favorite things to do regardless of the weather, but in the spring, it is even better. The trail by my house goes past Penn pump park, Bushkill Park, Crayola, and Hackett's park. Running 8 miles during this time is a perfect opportunity to get out and see the changes spring brings. I love to go hiking at jacobsburg as well!

    Fishing is another hobby of mine during spring. I usually go with my brother to our favorite fishing spots and spend hours there. We both enjoy bass fishing a lot more than trout fishing, but since there is a creek in our backyard it is more convenient to fish there for trout. Of course, we catch and release, but it is still awesome to see what we can catch!

   One of the biggest reasons I'm excited to spring is to take the top off my jeep. That's the whole reason I got a jeep and I love to drive around and play music. I'm looking forward to this the most. 

Hope you are looking forward to spring too!

White Week 5, Why You Should Watch, Made In Abyss

 White Week 4, why you should watch, Made In Abyss

White Week 4 - Stuff to binge

https://foxexclusive.com/5239/made-in-abyss-season-2-is-a-must-watch-for-anime-lovers-release-date-updates/

    Before I start I would like to ask you (YES YOU) if you are ok with reading subtitles, if not, I'd recommend that you go and learn how to. I ask this because If you are genuinely going to watch this because of my amazing persuasion, I'd want you to get the best possible experience.  Now, to be frank, I just finished Made In Abyss (MIA)  just about a week ago, that being said I probably won't ever forget about Made In Abyss for a long time. I found out about this show over a year or two ago and kept it on the back burner until I felt like watching a good show.  I heard all kinds of reviews of the show and ultimately decided that when my life (in terms of excitement) is at a stalemate Ill watch this show or some other one. And seeing as we are in times of boredom and almost being coupled up this is the show that even though you're still coupled up makes you feel anything but that. It's a show that fills for me and many others a sort of hole in our body one that is longing for exitement and exploration. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0It9iBOKff4

    Exploration and the excitement of it is in a nutshell the central idea of the show. You follow two proganonist, Rico and Reg whom together try to decend the layers of an vast abyss.  The abyss is spit into layers much like a cake and each layer has a sort of charm or ecosystem that makes it unique.  And in these layers are vast expanses with creatures unknown to you and the characters of the show.  The lure for a lot of people in the show is money or exploration and to return it back to the surface.  But the trip down is dangerous and filled with uncertainty as you are no longer the top of the food chain.  And once you have made your quarrel leaving is on a mother level of hard.  Remember the layers I was talking about, well they have a distinctive problems associated with them.  Much like a scuba diver reaching the surface too quick the characters in the show are troubled with decompression sickness at the first layer, nausia and numbness of limbs in L2, loss of balance and hallucinations L3, bleeding from eyes ears etc L4, confusion and self harm L5, and loss of humanity or death L6.  As explorers they can go past the 6th layer but its impossible to make it back up alive. With the show following this is makes the characters face an new atmosphere every time they go deeper and it presents near endless opportunities. 

https://miabyss.fandom.com/wiki/Abyss#

     With the premis out of the way I'd like to talk about the shows other strong points and then give you my consensus of the show. To start the art in the show is phenomenal, near jaw-dropping, It at no pint lacks in any way and it helps out the universe of the show a lot.  It makes environments, monsters, you name it, feel so lively and fitting to where they are at. Next the characters all have distinct personality and are very memorable, not one character I felt lacked a sense of design/pourpose and it fit well with thier JP voice actors. To continue the music in this show is great the OP is bangin and some of the ''filler'' songs also bang, I also love how they incorporated certain sounds into scenes (while sometimes not noticeable) its there and helps build subconsous exitement/awe.  Sub stories are also great, they helped move along the M plot and at no point was there any unengaging filler story. I don't want to talk about the show anymore as its packed with content that's hard to talk about without spoiling it and I really wouldn't want to spoil too much of this show to someone interested. I see it as ,''look,'' if you are bored and want some exitement in your life this is the S++ tier way of filling that void.  I found the show to be great, even if you don't watch anime or don't watch tv the story is thrilling and for someone like me it kept me engaged so much so I want to read the Manga now.  SO, I urge you if you have time (I know you do) to watch Made In Abyss, as I highly belive that it will be an almost instant classic for you. 

(note) this is viewable on prime video and is 13 eps long (there are like 3 movies but they arent in America yet)

Zhang Week 5 - Ups and Downs of Snowstorms

  The recent snow storms brought me a lot of relief and happiness at first. I had more time in my hands, so on the first day it snowed, my parents and I were able to go out to walk in the neighborhood and a nearby trail while the storm went on. Right after stepping into the streets, it became impossible to see through the flakes falling through the air. Even though I bundled up really well, my face started to burn from being completely frozen and it became painful to continue walking. Despite it being so chaotic, everyone had a lot of fun and we were happy to be able to experience our favorite part of winter for the first time in an entire year. 

Unfortunately for me, that was the peak of the snow storm. I still had some spare time, so I did end up going on walks, but they were not the most pleasant because the snow slowly turned to slush and ice on the roads, and in one part of my neighborhood, the plowing system is especially bad, so piles of dirt-streaked snow lined the streets and lawns. To add to that, school work and other responsibilities also began to pile up for me, making me feel panicked and suffocated as I tried to complete work in my room while snow continued to fall outside of my window.

Of course, the snow meant that going to school was impossible. And, in most other circumstances I would be extremely excited about this. However, this semester is a little special for me, because I have classes and study hall with my friends, and that means I'm with them for half the school day. Being with my friends in school makes me really happy, so missing a day is pretty disappointing.

However, even though the snow seems to come with a few negative things, I know I will miss it once it's gone—especially when it's extremely hot in the middle of the summer. I hope once I've completed most of the work I'm responsible for, there will still be some snow left for me to appreciate when I'm in a freer mindset.

Henchy Week 5 - Long Term Effects of the Pandemic

     This is something that I was reading about the other day that I thought was interesting.  Obviously, in the current situation, everyone's lives are significant changed with masks, insane schedules, limited social lives, etc.  A year into the pandemic, with little sign of it breaking, it seems as if this may be our reality for at least another 6 months to come.  However, what is most interesting to me is what life will be like after the pandemic.

    Once the pandemic is technically over, and by over I mean all government restrictions have been lifted, there will probably be several changes to the everyday American life.  Firstly, a ton of people will probably continue to wear masks voluntarily.  Personally, the masks already give me headaches after a long day of school (or maybe that's just my classes.  Who knows?), but some people will become very worried about catching other viruses, bacteria, or even common colds.

    This is the most obvious effect of the pandemic, but there are many other 'hidden' ones.  Consider money.  For many years, some groups have pushed for the extermination of coins in our economy because they seem to serve minimal purpose.  With the rise of online shopping, this may become a much more realistic push?

    Many have had to work from home so much during this pandemic.  Could this be the start of a much large online-working culture?  Many people may be allowed to work from home once or twice a week, even all week.  These adaptations to an online work culture could allow for post-pandemic flexibility with work times, and this may give all of us more options when it comes to completing work and attending all of our responsibilities.

    Another change I have considered is environmentalism.  Some have argued this pandemic has actually helped humanity in the long run by allowing the environment to recover from all of the CO2 emissions (while there might be a statistical argument for this, it seems a little heartless to me to call this pandemic "worth it" to save the environment, but to each their own).   This pandemic may be a kick-start to more environmentally-friendly views.  It has raised awareness about our crippling environmental situation.

    These are probably only some of the effects of the pandemic.  There will be many others that we do not even realize until after the pandemic actually ends.  Our lives will truly never be the same as they were before COVID.

Mask Image

Vaughn Week 5 - Are Electric Vehicles Actually Better for the Environment?

 Are Electric Vehicles Actually Better for the Environment? 

Last week my blog was about electric  (EVs) and how countries are starting to enforce laws that encourage the use and production of them. During my research, I saw a couple articles that brought up the debate regarding how much better EVs actually are for the environment. It turns out that EVs probably aren't as environmentally friendly as you initially thought, and this is due to the way in which they are manufactured in. 

Both conventional cars and EVs both start from raw materials being extracted into smaller components that will be used to build the vehicle. However, towards the end of the process, EVs actually generate more carbon emissions than conventional cars. This is because the batteries that power these EVs tend to use many rare earth elements such as lithium, nickel, cobalt, and graphite. Mining rare earth elements cause harm to surface vegetation, soil erosion, and acidification. As the demand for electric vehicles increases, so will the demand for all of these elements. However, what happens when these batteries are no longer in use? 

Most of the EVs batteries contain lithium-ion, which can be recycled, but they often aren't recycled as the process is difficult and recycling centers often will not have the proper processes to handle it. Although some of the components are recycled, for example, Tesla claims they recycle 60% of the components from lithium-ion batteries. 

However, overall EVs are better for the environment. They emit fewer greenhouse gasses and other pollutants, even after the manufacturing and production process. 

In conclusion, EVs still have their cons, but a ton of time for improvement. After the manufacturing process, EVs are very environmentally friendly, once the process becomes cleaner, I hope to see an explosion in the use of electric vehicles, and hopefully a much cleaner environment. 

Lithium Ion battery

Blackham Week 5 - Second Semester

    While we’ve only had three in-person days for the new semester, my schedule is a lot easier than last semester. My second block class was replaced with a study hall for both days, and I also have the first block study hall on Thursdays. This is especially nice because I only have two classes for that day and don’t have to come to school until 10:30. Since I have a first block class on Tuesdays, I just sit in my car during my release block and do some of my homework since it’s not worth the time to drive home. 

    Out of the three release blocks, only one is an actual study hall. The other two are for cyber Junior Seminar and cyber Personal Fitness. While it’s only been three weeks, I really enjoy taking these as cyber courses. I find that I am still able to learn the material but can learn it in half the time from the comfort of my own home. I was homeschooled for four years before middle school, where I learned a lot on how to teach myself new concepts with the resources given. Because of this, I prefer to have more freedom and choices involving classwork. For example, my Mondays are always super busy. I get a pretty large homework assignment from every class. I love that my cyber coursework is due at the end of the week, so I can complete it on my less busy days. 

    While I need the social interactions from in-person school, I’ve noticed how much time is often wasted in classes - especially during a normal year. With the hybrid format, teachers now make the most of class time and leave busy work for our at-home assignments. I’ve said this in a previous blog post, but in a lot of ways, I really like hybrid school. 

Harclerode Week 5- Visiting Colleges

     It's that time! I've started visiting colleges. These days, however, college visits are not what they used to be. Now, basically every college only offers virtual tours. This is understandable, given that COVID probably wouldn't allow for in-person tours, but it is still frustrating. So, my family and I have decided that if I would really like to physically visit a college, we will! I take the virtual tour, and then we drive to the college I had just "toured." So far, I've toured and visited Cornell University and Johns Hopkins University. 

    I actually visited Cornell a few months ago. After taking the virtual tour, we drove to Ithaca, NY. We went in October, so the fall leaves were beautiful when we went there. We walked around the campus for a bit, and it was so pretty. The college town was nice too-- it had some great places to eat. We also went hiking while we were there and saw some great waterfalls. Overall, I really liked it there, and I could see myself living there. Cornell is an amazing school, so it is definitely one I am considering.

    We visited Johns Hopkins more recently. It was a lot colder, and the weather wasn't great while we were there, but I still enjoyed it. The Johns Hopkins campus looked really nice with all the snow. Not many places were open in the city, but the harbor was very pleasant; I had some of the best crab cakes ever in one of the restaurants there. Since the university is located in Baltimore, MD, it did not really have the small-town vibe like Cornell did. If I were to end up going there, though, I think I could get used to the big city lifestyle. With its amazing programs for pre-med students, Johns Hopkins would be a great school for me to attend, especially considering I want to be a pediatrician.

    Thinking about college is really stressful, but I find enjoyment in things like this. Visiting the place where I might end up living for four or more years of my life is exciting to me. I could be walking around the campus of my future school, and I wouldn't even know it. Hopefully I am going to get to visit more colleges, both virtually and physically, really soon.

Vakiener Week 5- Piano Lessons

    When I was seven years old my mom me to tell her something that I never wanted to do. So I responded with the idea of taking piano lessons. At the time I thought that taking piano lessons would be long and very boring and it just didn't appeal to me at all. A week later my mom picked me up from school and told me I had a "doctors appointment". We arrived at a small house in Bushkill where I had my first piano lesson.

    At first I was angry at both my mother and the teacher who was teaching me. In fact when she asked me during my first lesson why I wanted to play piano I said I didn't. However as my first moth of piano was ending I realized that whether I wanted to continue or not was ultimately not going to be up to me, so I decided to make the best of it. My piano teacher was definitely one of the reasons that I decided to try more. She was very kind and patient and I thank her for that constantly because I can only imagine having to deal with a 8 year old who hated ,playing piano for an hour at at time. As the first month turned into a year I was gradually getting better. This was when my teacher told me about recitals.

    Up until this point I was happy to suffer alone. That being said my teacher had yet to tell me about the recitals. My teacher was very involved in the community and as a result she was able to get all of her students places to preform. Over the course of my 8 years of lessons I preformed in over 16 different recitals and as my skill improved my love of playing the piano increased as well.

    In 9th grade I made the decision to stop taking lessons. And while I still spent lots of the years not entirely enjoying my experience I still am still happy I took them. I think taking piano lessons was definitely a interesting hobby to have and a skill that taught me how to dedicate time to a task and how to forge through the things that I don't like doing.

Rosynek Week 5- Chickens

    Around Easter of last year, we bought 6 chicks from Tractor Supply. Unfortunately, we ended up with 4 roosters and 2 hens. One was so hostile that every time my mother or I went outside of the house and it heard us, it would run to attack us. This year, we are down to 3: our two hens, Rico and Olive, and our rooster, Tilly. 

    It has been quite a learning experience having these chickens and caring for them. When they were little, they all lived in a really large box with fresh shavings, food, and water every day. They were incredibly spoiled. I would always hold them every day, mostly Rico. (If you are confused why our chickens have opposite gender names, we didn't know what gender they were until they grew up.) She was the sweetest and would sit on your shoulder, your lap, and always cluck to you. 

    Present day, almost a year-old Rico, now runs to me as soon as she sees me outside, and comes to our front door to peck on it for bread. She is basically a dog who will follow you around and likes to have attention. Our other hen, Olive, is friendly but doesn't like to be pet or picked up. She prefers to lounge and eat (don't we all). 

    Even though we gave our other roosters away to farms where they could have their own hens, we still face a problem with Tilly. Tilly only likes my father. He dislikes me and other unfamiliar people. He will come after your shins if you get too close to the girls and he will chase you around. I have learned to never turn my back to him. We never figured out why the roosters dislike me. Some suggestions were that they didn't appreciate me taking the hens away from them or picking the hens up, or that they did not think I was part of the "flock." 

    I find chickens really interesting. As much as I'm always chased around by them, I've discovered a lot about the species. Our hens stopped laying eggs regularly in the winter because it is so cold. Their activities mostly consist of free-ranging where they forage for food during the day and the hens follow the rooster around the yard. They never leave home, as if they know invisible boundaries. They understand certain words and they know their names. If you raise them with a lot of attention and spend a lot of time with them, they can basically become dogs. We get two eggs a day, at most. However, very frequently our eggs are double and triple yolked. We get two eggs a day, at most. However, very frequently our eggs are double and triple yolked. 

    I'm grateful that we still have our three chickens, but I am hoping that in the Springtime we can adopt a few more hens. 

Level week 5 - The need to explore

     These past couple of months have been hard for my family. We were always that family that would never be home during the summer because we were away. Now COVID has put that on pause and it has been hard. Ever since I was little I remember going somewhere at least once a year. For example, we would always drive down to Florida for winter break, or try to visit my family in France in the summer every year. 

    I never realized how important traveling was for me until I began to itch to leave the house. I wanted to be anywhere and go anywhere that wasn't my house. I noticed that it also started to take a toll on my mom. She was always the traveler in our family. When she was younger she would go on group trips to Kenya, Greece, and so many other places which really sparked her fire. She then began to plan one trip a year. When we were younger, my siblings and I, my mom would bring us all as a family. We went to Iceland, Wyoming, Bahamas, France, Canada, London, and many other areas. 

    When we started to get older it became harder to plan a trip with everyone's different schedules and lives. This did not stop her from having her one trip a year. My mom and dad started to go on trips between the two of them. While we were at home they went to Australia, India, South Africa, Brazil, Argentina, Peru, and so many other locations. This made me so jealous when I was younger. 

    Now it is a different type of jealousy that I have. Now I hope to be able to do the same that my parents could do for us and themselves. I want to be able to show my children how amazing traveling is and hopefully spark the same fire that my mother put in me. Traveling puts me at peace. No matter where I am going, who I am with, or the circumstances. I am always happy. 

    I am incredibly lucky for the start that I have had with traveling. I have been to many great locations such as Israel, England, Greece, Iceland, Jamaica, Prague, Italy, and some more.  I want to see so much more and visit so much more. Traveling is definitely going to be apart of my life when I am older. 

Allen Week 5: My Inner Houdini

    I was an interesting child to say the least. We were all unique in our own special way during our childhood and we still are unique today. I was unique because of my cruelty towards my parents in the form of giving them miniature heart attacks any time I walked into the room. I scored major points on the cardiac scale when it came to my mischief. You may think that you were a mischievous baby, and you probably were, but you need to understand, I had my own way of presenting my mischievous side that was second to none (not that that is a good thing). I was not about embarrassing my parents in public (though I was very good at that too), I was about making their world as stressful and scary a place as possible.

    I may have been better than Houdini when it came to masterful escapes. The only difference between me and him is that once I escaped, I wouldn’t bask in the glory of an audience’s applause. Instead, I would do something incredibly stupid (not one singular thing, for I had a plethora of “faceslap” moments in my arsenal). From a very young age, I could easily escape my crib. I would climb out and open my door to be faced with the dreaded baby gate. I had no trouble scaling this baby gate as I had done numerous times before. I actually seemed to like it because I would walk out my door and press myself against the baby gate on the other side of the door frame. Then in a moment of sheer incompetence (or brilliance, depending on who you ask) I would close the door behind me so that I was trapped between my door and my baby gate. I would be completely stuck, unable to turn around and open the door again, and I didn’t have enough room to climb over the baby gate. My parents would come up the stairs shocked that I had escaped my cage only to trap myself in a new one. They would then open my door so that I was free to enter my room again. This however was not my plan, and I would simply reach back and pull the door closed again behind me. My true stupidity was shown from a young age, and I can say that I was truly “unique” (though not necessarily in a good way).

Credit

Ernst Week 5- Reading and True Crime

         I used to love to read all the time. It used to be one of my favorite hobbies. But ever since we started reading for school, I stopped enjoying it as much. I have been forced to read so many boring, unfulfilling books that I stopped doing it on my own time. 

        However, since we got to somewhat pick our own book for our class this year, I was excited. I picked In Cold Blood by Truman Capote. It’s about a murder case from 1959. On November 15, in Holcomb, Kansas, the Clutter family was brutally murdered. The four members of the family, Herb, Bonnie, Nancy, and Kenyon, were robbed and killed. But who did it? The book follows both the detectives trying to solve the murders, and also the serial killer(s) themselves. It includes the process of what happened before, during, and after.

The book is both thrilling and interesting and I have really enjoyed reading it so far. I definitely recommend reading it if you like true crime. I knew I would like it because I like learning about stuff like that. I listen to podcasts and watch documentaries. My favorite podcast is called Crime Junkies and I listen to it all the time. I used to want to be some sort of detective, but now I want to be a criminal lawyer. 

Ellis week 5 - My Fainting Experiences

 

        A lot of my friends already know this, but I have fainted multiple times in the past couple of years. It’s a really weird experience that is almost impossible to explain to someone who has never gone through it. In literally every movie when someone passes out, they always wake up saying, “where am I?” That always seemed like such a cliche until I was the one waking up asking the same thing. One second you are standing, and the next you are laying on the ground with everyone hovering over you. 

        If fainting isn’t bad enough, I have the tendency to do it at the absolute worst times. Two of the times it happened, I was in my bathroom doing my hair. I was standing in front of the mirror for a long time and my knees were locked. Next thing I knew, I was on the tile floor. Thankfully, there was someone there to catch me both times. 

        Another time, I was singing Silent Night at the Christmas Eve service at my church. Once again, my knees were locked and I had been standing for a long period of time. I remember getting chills, my stomach hurt, and my vision got super blurry. After that… nothing. I woke up feeling really sick, my mom right over me, and the woman behind me who had her bracelet stuck in my hair from when she tried to catch me. 

        Although those stories are fun to tell, the worst one was when I fainted for the first time. I was in 5th grade rehearsing for a chorus concert that we would be performing later that night. For rehearsal, we would sing in front of each grade to get a feel of an audience. I was on the third (highest) riser, and started to feel really weird. Again, this was my first time fainting so I was very confused. Next thing I know, I am falling onto the girls in front of me and waking up on the floor holding my knee. No one thought I fainted, they all just thought I fell, so everyone was concerned with how nasty my knee looked. (I think it single-handedly broke my fall, so it was extremely swollen for the next few weeks) I was sent to the nurse for an ice pack, and it wasn’t until later that we connected the dots when I went to the nurse feeling sick. (nausea is a common side effect of passing out) When I explained everything that happened to the nurse, she called my mom and said I most likely fainted. It was really scary for a 5th grader to hear that. 

    After a while, we learned that the reason I faint is from locking my knees, so I have gotten really good at not letting that happen anymore. However, I have a feeling fainting is not just a part of my past, and it will probably happen a few more times down the road. For now though, those stories are pretty fun and interesting to tell.

Voloshen Week 5- Running Mindset

                                       

     I have been running for the past four years. I compete in both Cross Country and Track for Nazareth and I absolutely love it! The pressure of race day, the silence at the start line, and the feeling that you gave everything you had after crossing the finish line. Running is truly apart of who I am and it has helped me through so much. One of my favorite things about it is that it's an individual sport. Yes, you do count on your teammates to win a meet, but when it comes to your personal accomplishments and goals, only you can hold yourself back. Many runners and coaches say that running is 80% mental and 20% physical. Though running may seem tiring and torturous, your body can handle it. Ultimately, it all comes down to your mindset. Even professional runners, such as Mary Cain, have said that when they had a bad mindset, they lost the race before the gun even went off. 

    I believe that mentality is so important, especially because I have experienced a bad mentality's effects firsthand. Usually I am able to stay positive, motivated, and confident through my competitive drive, but since our Track season was cancelled, I had to find my motivation elsewhere. My mindset shifted from "running to be the best" to "running for my health and well-being". For months this kept me motivated, but I found that when the Cross Country season started, I wasn't as competitive. It felt so much more difficult to push myself than it had in previous years and I almost felt lazy during my races because I didn't want to push myself. Eventually, cross country ended, but with a not-so-great race. I took some time off to reset and figure out where my mind was. I'm still not in the same mindset I was a year ago. Fortunately, normalcy (and a track season) are around the corner and I may be able to regain my competitive drive again. 

Moore Week 5 - Are SATs Needed?

 

I don’t think anyone enjoys or looks forward to taking the SATs, I know that I don’t. I’ve already taken the SATs once, earlier this year in November, and now I’ve signed up to take them again for May. Honestly, I’m not even sure if I have to take them because some colleges have already announced that the class of 2022 will have the option of submitting our SAT scores or not on our college applications. However, I’ve signed up to take them because it wouldn’t hurt to have the option of giving my score.

On the other hand, I would much rather not have to take the SATs and I’m sure the majority of high school students would rather not take them either. The class of 2021 had the option of taking them or not, which I’m sure was a huge relief for them. 

Although, I feel like this situation shows that we don’t really need the SATs for the college application process. If colleges can look at other parts of our application like GPA and past grades instead of the SATS, why don’t they? 

The whole purpose of the test is to predict how well students will succeed at college, but there’s been some research that contradicts the validity and reliability of the test. Some studies have shown that GPAs are a much better predictor of student success than SATs. Others have shown that the SATs can only predict the success of some students at certain colleges, rather than accurately predicting everyone's success. Since colleges all have different ways of grading, one test can’t accurately predict how well all students will do at any college. 

In the end, I just think that the SATs are an outdated test that isn’t really needed. It’s stressful for students and isn’t accurate for every student. Plus the class of 2021’s college application process has shown that it’s possible to not need the SAT to get into colleges

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