1. Lions 2024

    In a world filled with many governments, each had to have its authority to maintain and keep peace. Some of these governments may not want to reach this standard. Others would like to be isolated and live off the little resources they have. But of course, each government wants control and with this control brings great responsibility.     If the leadership of the country does not give orders, the country will fade away. If the leadership of the country does not respect its citizens, the country will fall apart. If the leadership of the country does not handle foreign affairs, the country will be ruined. If the leadership of the country does not maintain its GDP or economy, the country's banks will be bankrupt. Even with all these conditions, many governments are able to function and thrive. One way to do this is by having an independent government where the leadership takes care of all the tasks. Another way is to share authority among many parts of the government to share the

Throughout the years while growing up, almost all of us are taught about how selfishness can be a bad thing, and how we should always be selfless and strive to help others. With this teaching, many of us begin to feel extremely guilty whenever we choose to do something for ourselves rather than helping others. For example, it is generally considered selfish to consider your own happiness at the expense of someone else’s happiness, to cut off people who seem overbearing, and even establish healthy boundaries. With the fear of selfishness, we second guess almost anything as we wonder how it will affect others or their happiness. Society has been misusing the term in order to convince us to stop worrying about ourselves and to always focus on other people’s happiness first, even if we are negatively affected . Some actions might be selfish, but they are needed for our overall well being; this is known as “healthy selfishness”.  Healthy selfishness is having respect for your own health, ha

  You’ve probably heard of the phrase “mob mentality” before. When you hear this phrase, what comes to mind? It may be choosing to side with a group of abusers instead of helping a victim, or going against your morals to participate in something you know is wrong just because those around you are promoting it. Why is mob mentality so strong, and is there any way to avoid it? An excellent example of the power of groupthink was when, in 1935 , Solomon Asch conducted an experiment testing to see how easily others would go against their better judgment in order to fit in with the pack. This was set up by putting a participant in a room with seven others who were actually stooges, meaning they had pre-rehearsed roles in the experiment. This experiment involved participants looking at a picture of a single line and picking out which line matched its length among the other lines as shown below. It’s quite clear that B is the line that’s closest to the target line. Both A and C are much shor

        Expectations, societal stigmas, judgements, boundaries, and openness - all of these relate to one common sentiment: vulnerability. The stereotypes that have formed around vulnerability and my experiences with the feeling of being vulnerable have allowed me to realize what a complex paradox vulnerability truly is.            Strength and vulnerability are two things that have always been seen as extremely contrasting. The pressures and influences of society force us to see an inverse relationship between strength and vulnerability; when strength increases, we usually imagine that our vulnerability towards things decreases, in turn making us stronger. However, this inverse correlation is quite contrasting from reality, in which we see that there is a positive direct correlation between strength and vulnerability.           As I was reflecting on my Person of American Significance over the past few weeks, I couldn’t help but notice how Marilyn Monroe perfectly embodied the paradox

The United States began as a small collection of colonies that would miraculously defeat the greatest empire in the 1700s. The assistance of France in the Revolutionary War would diminish the US’s reputation as a military power all the way to World War II, despite the US’s strides in industrialism, population, and resources. The US military was ranked seventeen on the eve of World War I, but the subsequent Cold War raised the US into one of the two superpowers in the world. The United State’s military strength plays a deterrent role in global affairs. I seek to explore the extent of America’s arsenal, with the most notable weapon being nuclear bombs. Under physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer, the US pioneered nuclear weapons in Los Alamos in 1945. Since then, others came to be recognized as nuclear-weapon states, with multiple nuclear arms control treaties dictating the nature of proxy wars in modern conflicts. Russia has the most nuclear warheads, with an arsenal numbering nearly 4,500. T

In this AP English class, we had recently been asked to write an argument about the attainability of the American dream. However, in this blog, I wanted to take a different perspective on that topic—how does the American dream affect us? Pioneers settling the Great Plains. Young entrepreneurs starting new companies. A young man overcoming hunger and injury to pay for his family’s home—the first land his family ever had to their name. These people fought against social and environmental barriers to work toward their dreams. What are the similarities between their dreams? They wanted to achieve success or prosperity through nothing but hard work and dedication, essential examples of the American dream . The American dream has different meanings to every person in this country. Some people want to fit into an ordinary life. They wish for a comfortable life with their family and a nice house in the suburbs. Others want to rise into stardom. Wealth, fame, extravagance, material excess—they

    The Power of Rejection      One month ago, I attended a job interview for the position of lead lifeguard at Aqua Adventure. Since this blog is about rejection, it’s no secret that I got rejected. Hearing the words, “First of all, I wanted to thank you for coming to the interview,” after two weeks of anxious anticipation has to be one of the most terrible and despondent situations I have experienced. I even had to pull over while driving because I couldn’t see through my tears anymore.       Although I had doubts at first, I still went into the interview with confidence in knowing that my two years of experience working there as a lifeguard, water safety attendant, and swim instructor would give me a running chance against the rest of the candidates. Therefore, e ven though I discovered in the end that the 2/5 applicants who were hired were over the age of 18 and realized that they favored more mature applicants, I was still completely dumbfounded at how I got rejected . Grasping th

Sports has long been a foundational part of the American social fabric. Starting from the time of mass consumerism in the 1800s when professional athletics first got its start, sports have consumed the energies of millions of Americans year after year. There are many reasons why people find professional sports special: for some, it provides a sense of community to escape from the grind of daily life. For others, it allows them to see someone do something they do for leisure for a living. And for all, it acts as one of the times when differences can be set aside and worries can be held in abeyance while fun and excitement prevail. While sporting memories undoubtedly hold a special place in the hearts of residents of every nation on Earth, this blog will focus on what is in my opinion the three most powerful moments in American sports history. The first powerful moment comes from the beginning of arguably one of the darkest times of human history: Hitler’s reign over Germany. In the 1936

We live in a world that glorifies grand gestures and large displays of power, it can be easy to forget the great impact that small acts of kindness can have. However, it is normally these somewhat insignificant actions that have the power to make a great difference in the lives of others. From simply listening to a friend speak a offering a helping hand, small acts of kindness have the power to brighten someone's day. My dad used to always tell me “You give a smile, and you’ll get back a smile.” However, as I’ve grown up I realized that this isn’t always true. Even if we do our best to spread kindness and positivity, we may come across people who are unwilling to reciprocate the same kindness. Whether it may be because of personal challenges, different perspectives, or other negative circumstances, not everyone responds to kindness with kindness. Ultimately, while the reciprocity of smiles may not always hold, but the intrinsic value of spreading positivity will always remain stron

       As any avid member of the sports community would know, the dynamics of the team - especially its players - have a large impact on the team's performance. Especially certain people who have supported the team previously and are a critical member of the social atmosphere of the team. In any social situation, if the central figure leaves from sight, the rest of the team disappears within a short time. Unfortunately for many professional teams, one integral player joining another growing team could be life or death for success.     The impact of players on their teams is unreal. This is shown clearly by an important figure in football: Tom Brady. Tom Brady had left the New England Patriots after 20 seasons to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The sudden loss of, at one point called the "Greatest of All Time," caused the New England Patriots to lose traction as Sports Illustrated mentions "the Patriots never really recovered after Brady's departure."      In an ar

The world we all live in today is filled with so much noise that it can be difficult for some to find a peaceful moment of silence. Wherever we go, schools, stores, airports, gyms, and even our homes, there always seems to be some kind of background noise or chatter that disturbs the peace. Silence is always considered as a bad thing, as it is constantly associated with being isolated from everyone else. There seems to be a collective idea that if you are silent, you are considered weird, socially awkward, or simply lonely; I always feared this judgment myself, until I realized the true benefits and power of remaining silent. Everyday when I get home from school, I always feel relieved that I could get away from all the noise, and find a moment of stillness and silence with no background noise or distractions. This moment of stillness is crucial to understanding the hidden benefits of silence, which include promoting self-awareness, relieving stress, increasing concentration, informati

  When we started reading Everything I Never Told You in class, I realized that the events of the book were a great example of the power of language, specifically communication. Their family dynamic displays how essential sharing information between family members is and the consequences that follow a lack of healthy communication.  For instance, only after calling a few girls that were supposedly Lydia’s friends when Lydia had gone missing, the family realized that Lydia had not been good friends with any of the girls that she supposedly had been keeping in contact with for the past few years. Her father, James, recalled that “he had never seen a ticket stub” after all the times Lydia asked if she could go to the movies with her “friends.” It must not have been an easy feat for Lydia to keep such a big secret from her father and the rest of her family.  I did some research on the effects of keeping secrets, and I found that, unsurprisingly, withholding information from others does com

          As I was reading  Everything I Never Told You  this week for our AP Language and Composition class, I noticed how much weight the secrets and the words we don’t let out carry. Thinking about the small portion I have read of the book so far, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of intrigue and question why we keep secrets and words we want to let out bottled up inside of us when language and speaking with others are supposed to be a form on communication.            Words have such great power, especially when we want to simply communicate a complex thought, feeling, or message to others. Yet we unnecessarily complicate things by keeping secrets, lying, and not telling others what’s truly on our minds. Theoretically, it would be easiest to say whatever’s on our minds, especially since there are no restrictions that stop us from expressing our opinions. However, it often feels like there’s something innate that’s subconsciously affected us, not allowing us to express our emotions a

In the ever-changing world where media plays a crucial role in forming social perceptions and norms, representation is essential. It’s not just about being able to see yourself on the screen, but also about feeling understood and accepted. For many teens of color, especially those of Asian heritage, there is a lack of representation, or they feel misrepresented in the media. When they do see characters that look like them, going through similar challenges and accomplishments, it can be affirming.  In a survey conducted by Variety, it was found that “63% of respondents said they feel TV series and movies are more accurately reflecting daily life” now that there are “portrayals of diverse characters being on the rise.”This showcases the power of representation in media. For example, Mindy Kaling's hit TV shows like "Never Have I Ever," have played a large role in enhancing brown representation in the entertainment industry. The show focuses on the life of a brown girl named

 Complaints of people at the dinner table not focusing on their families have evolved. It went from people being engrossed in their novels to newspapers, radios, and today, their phones. Entertainment has played an increasing role in our lives. Considering that mass culture once did not exist and most could not afford anything outside of food just a few hundred years ago, society’s emphasis on entertainment today is surprising. A lot of this is due to the average growth of wealth, technology, and a capitalistic society that, despite its criticisms, provides a level of individual autonomy. I want to examine how the various forms of entertainment have such a large impact on our everyday lives.  Today, the main forms include social media, television, and sports. Transferred instantaneously through the internet, the Digital Age has enabled entertainment to reach a wide audience. This has furthered the sense of a united group and the illusion of a cyber world. The speed at which information

Stability in Strength In one of my previous blogs, I wrote about the power that lies within perseverance and resilience when it comes to athleticism. However, I find it just as important to argue the other side, about the equally as important role that strength plays in sports as well. In the 2024 Winter X-Games that took place just over two weeks ago in Aspen, Colorado, many fresh and young athletes were brought into the spotlight with their incredible skills. Nevertheless, a large number of reigning champions still dominated most of the categories. Chloe Kim, a Korean American, who has been in the snowboarding scene for quite a while, took first place in the halfpipe category. Born in the year 2000 and earning a heaping total of 12 gold medals at the mere age of 23 (5 more in past Winter X Games, 2 in the Winter Olympics, 2 in the Winter Youth Olympics, and 2 in the World Championships), Kim is undeniably one of the top female snowboarders in the entire world.      Her success can b