1. Lions 2024

     We all imagine the day when we will forget the past, all the memories stored in our heads of all the times we have been embarrassed or made mistakes. The usual phrase comes up, "Oh, who cares about that," but in reality it is quite important. It is a time of life where we learn and develop. Sounds familiar?     As a baby, we have taken small steps at times. Just like on July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong said on the moon, "one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind" on television nationwide ( article ). The context of this message is different but it expresses the same concept. One small step for a baby is one giant leap for their experiences of walking stability as an older, more mature human being. The step marks the time when the individual can truly say, I have been able to walk; I have been able to achieve something of great value starting the day I was born.     But the baby steps are not the only important part of our lives. It is also our first day o

On March 8, 2014 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 was scheduled for an overnight departure from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. The flight took off shortly after midnight, and just shortly after takeoff as the flight reached the end of Malaysian airspace, the pilot said: “Good Night. Malaysia Three Seven Zero.” This was the last spoken communication received from the aircraft and soon after, the plane mysteriously vanished from radar over the South China Sea. What was thought to be a few days of searching for the final location later turned into one of the largest, most expensive searches in human history with thousands of miles of ocean searched with the support of many different countries around the world. Ten years later, on March 8, 2024, there has yet to be any conclusive proof of what really happened on March 8, 2014, and the haunting memory remains.   Onboard flight MH370 were 227 passengers and 12 Malaysian crew members. The flight had passengers from around t

(Image Credit: Curious George Goes to a Chocolate Factory ) There are fifteen of them - small, thinly spined, alternating between the colors of baby blue and light yellow. Almost every day, I reach for them on the top of my wooden shelf, making sure that they’re all in order and neatly organized. This is my most treasured possession - my most nostalgic book set: the most spectacular Curious George The Monkey Collection.  It’s amazing how books, especially the ones we read in our childhood, have such a great impact on our lives. The memories I have from my childhood aren’t just the fun and nice ones spent with my family and friends; a lot of them are the countless books I’ve read - from the short picture books of my nostalgic Curious George series to long chapter books like The Inheritance Cycle or Harry Potter .  Out of all the books I’ve read, there’s no doubt that this simple Curious George series will be held the most dear in my heart. Despite this just being a simple picture book,

  The POAS presentation is no doubt quite a big event in our lives at the moment. Although going up in front of the class and presenting your figure involves so many factors, from public speaking skills to possessing a clear understanding of your person, one aspect of presenting that makes me extremely nervous is memorization.  Memorization has always been something tricky for me. For as long as I can remember, school has expected us to memorize various things, often because they would be important in the future. For instance, the character tests and Chinese school always got me struggling. I could not remember all the strokes of the various characters, and, when I did, I still sometimes ended up doubting myself and confusing one stroke with another. Over the years, my ability to memorize concepts did not get much better, and I still stress over deciphering between all the little details that I must retrieve from my long-term memory.  This most recent assignment, the POAS, heavily invo

As I was studying for a test, I started thinking about how amazing it would be if I had photographic memory. It would mean I wouldn't have to work so hard studying! So, I decided to look into it more. I wanted to know if it was real or just something from movies. It got me really curious, and I began to read up on it. I wanted to find out if there was a way to remember everything easily, like a picture in my head.  First off, let's define the term. Photographic memory, also known as eidetic memory, refers to the ability to vividly recall images, sounds, or objects with exceptional clarity and detail after only a brief exposure. Picture this: You glance at a page of text for a few seconds and can recall every word, every punctuation mark as if it were etched into your brain like a photograph. So, does photographic memory truly exist, or is it just a figment of our imagination? While there's no denying that some individuals possess remarkable memory abilities, the concept of

Scented Memories      Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Dry-Touch SPF 55 Sunscreen Lotion—that is what I would tell someone if they asked me to describe my summer.       A few days ago, I was organizing my bathroom drawers and cleaning out my expired sunscreens, and I couldn’t help but uncap one and take a whiff. The moment the pasty yet sweet smell of the Neutrogena sunscreen entered my nostrils, I closed my eyes, and for a second, it was as if the weather was 80 degrees and I was at Aqua Adventure, reapplying sunscreen for the fourth time of the day in the breakroom. But then I open my eyes, and I’m back in my bathroom.       The way such a simple item was able to teleport me to an entirely different season was really interesting to me, so I did a bit of research. I found an article written by Harvard talking about the science behind it, and they included a quote stating how “ smell and memory are stored as one memory .” This scientific phenomenon is known as the Proustian memory effect, talkin

On March 13, 2020, students in Fremont went home like every other Friday. Little would we know, we would not go back to school in person for almost a year and a half. For us 11th graders, we had part of our 7th grade year and all of our 8th grade year online. It was an interesting time, when for better or for worse, none of us knew what would happen next. And in the end, what followed was a deadly pandemic that shattered American families and upended our whole expectations and experiences as teenagers and pre-teens. In a recent New York Times interactive article , Catherine Pearson shared the early pandemic memories of select American families. Reading the article provided me with a reflective experience, and I wanted to take this opportunity to share some of their most powerful memories. A medical worker from Connecticut, Johanna Wallace, shared that “While driving to work at the beginning of the pandemic, I couldn’t help but wonder: was this how I was going to die? I am an emergenc

I was about three years old when I first watched Castle in the Sky , directed by Hayao Miyazaki and drawn by Studio Ghibli. I remember loving everything about this film, from the gorgeous, steampunk animation to the heart-felt mystery. The aspect that stuck with me the most was the theme composed by Joe Hisaishi. To this day, it is the most beautiful melody I have ever heard, and it has left me stranded in a feeling of longing. I concede that multiple factors have driven my love for Castle in the Sky ’s theme outside of Hisaishi’s musical brilliance. While many recent fans of Studio Ghibli have reported the nostalgia evoked by this composer, I am also influenced by the genuine passing of time. Much like how studies show that the sense of smell and memories are intertwined in the brain, this theme immediately calls me back to my past perception of the world, free of worry and disappointment. In this period, I only remember the bright, clear noons and the cozy Christmas nights. The laugh

Thomas Edison. Henry Ford. Steve Jobs. These inventors have shaped our lives with their groundbreaking creations, and they are now remembered as some of the most influential people of their times. But who is William Eno? What about John Loughlin? These men invented some of the most ubiquitous items in our lives. They are so common, so deeply integrated into our everyday habits that we do not even question where they came from. The stop sign . The school desks we spend hours sitting in. When was the last time you ever paid attention to these items? Have you ever considered a world without them? Would every intersection on the roads be one of two extremes—littered with obtrusive stop lights or an uncontrolled chaos? It takes a very conscious effort to remember, to honor these men for their inventions. They have shaped our lives just as much as the inventors at the top of this blog, but they receive a fraction of the respect. And this raises many questions. Are the people we remember the