15: Tyler B. -- Equivalent Exchange

 

One of my favorite animes that I had finished last year is Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood. A show about 2 boys in a alternate version of 1910’s Germany called Amestria, where limbs can be replaced by metal parts called automail, and people can learn alchemy, but there is one rule that governs the laws of alchemy. The law of equivalent exchange, that in order to create something, something of equal value must be given up. The 2 boys, Edward and Alphonse Elric, attempted to use alchemy to bring their mother back to life after she died due to an illness when they were little, using their absent fathers books and lessons from their strict teacher, they, Ed especially, nearly mastered the practice of alchemy around the age of 11 or 12. Upon gather all the materials that make a biological human, the boys were ready, this would be a good time to mention that human transmutation is forbidden and taboo in the laws of alchemy, but all they wanted was to see their mom smile again, they didn’t get that. Instead, Ed had his leg taken by a entity only known as Truth, as punishment for committing this crime against nature, but Alphonse got the worst of it. He lost his entire body, forcing Ed to bind Al’s soul to a old suit of armor and sacrificing his arm to do so. After this ordeal Ed gets a new metal arm and leg, becomes a state certified state alchemist, “dogs of the military” as their called in the show. But Ed only does it for one reason, to research a way to get his brothers body back at all cost, to find a philosophers stone. Though he gets Al’s body and his arm back, it isn’t with a stone (due to it needing multiple human sacrifices and Ed refuses to go that far) and comes with a price (He loses his ability to use alchemy, that he willingly gives up to get his brothers body back), they eventually accomplished their goal.

But Fullmetal Alchemist, as much as I would love to just talk about the show, asks us a real question that we can apply to real life. What is the value of a human soul? To Ed at first, it just meant adding DNA to their transmutation, but after he is forced to ask that exact question, what could you exchange that equals a human soul? It asks us to put a price on what makes humans human, if that’s even possible. To me? No, you can’t put a price a the soul of a person, that is what makes your traits, personality and drive. There are even scenes in the show that show us what some characters views on a human soul is, a perfect example is when Ed and Al go to learn from Shou Tucker, the Sewing Life Alchemist, who created a Chimera (a monster that is usually a mix of animals) that could talk. He claims that his wife ran out on him 2 years ago, Tucker has a little girl named Nina and a big fluffy dog called Alexander. We later find out in one of the shows most horrifying scenes that 2 years ago Tuckers wife didn’t run out on him, but instead he fused her with a animal to create his talking Chimera. In order to keep his state certification he had fused together Nina and Alexander in one of the most sad and terrifying scenes in the whole show. This shows that Tuckers view on his daughters life was that she was a tool to be used to get him a paycheck. This show has so many great topics to talk about and I might do another blog on a character, but this shows main question that follows Ed and Al through the entire series hangs over everyone, even in real life. I suggest you think about it, what really is the price of a human life, and can you put value in it?

Word Count: 672  

15 - Lilly T.: Best at Their Worst

“The mark of a great athlete is not how good they are at their best, but how good they are at their worst.”

To be good at a sport, an athlete must train hard. It takes time and patience to get good at the sport, but people tend to judge the success of an athlete’s training based on their best performance. In reality, a good result of their training is shown when an athlete is at their worst. 

How an athlete performs at their worst shows how strong and resilient they really are. To keep going and fight through the exhaustion and bad conditions during a game means that the athlete knows what their limits are. An athlete who is always successful in what they do does not know how far they can go in their worst condition because they have never been there before.

I know how hard it is to keep playing in bad conditions because I used to play tennis. During the summer, it would get really hot outside, and it would cause the students to give up after a certain amount of time. However, I pushed through the hot and exhausting session. Through this, I realized that I should appreciate the days where the conditions were good, and worked hard on those days. In the end, I became a decent tennis player. I quit after a few years, but that was not my fault. :P

Athletes who have trained in bad conditions know how to play in those conditions. They show their best effort through them. 

Word Count: 260

15 - Grace B. A Taste of Victory

 

There’s a goal for everyone. Whether it be academically, athletically, artistically, or internally there is always something that we want to accomplish in our short lives. Now it may seem small to others but it could be the greatest success to you, and your opinion is the most important one. Now mine was beating our rivals, Vacaville High School, in a softball game.

Back in 2017, Will C Wood used to be the top dog of Solano County in softball. Our school softball team became the MEL league champions and ultimately, the school to beat. Now unfortunately since then the winning came to an end and that champion team wandered off, graduating, and starting their new lives where school softball was only a mere memory, but a story to tell. 

Coming into high school was a confusing time for me. I had hard times and sad moments, but creating a sisterhood with a team who’s only focus is to improve on the game allows me to escape from reality. This season our team had a rough start. Not having many experienced players coming through our school made us work even harder. Everyday we push ourselves to do the best we can to be a better team the day before. Finally our hard work paid off.

Wednesday night, we played Vaca High and we were excited to battle back after losing to them for 5 years. Our energy was high and so were our spirits, and in that moment all of our heads were focused on taking home the win. We played a good game, defensively we were consistent making crucial plays to hold runners. Offensively our bats let us down because we couldn’t make something happen, we couldn’t test them. Even then when we were down runs, our team however acted as if we were winning. Yelling and screaming for joy as someone made a good play or if they made a mistake picking their heads up to help make a change. 

It was the last inning. We were the home team so we had our last at bats and the score was 5-0, Vaca High with the lead. Anyone else in this position would have been down on themselves with no hope for a victory, but that wasn’t us. We had a late start to it, but finally we started hitting. Each hit was extremely crucial allowing us to move runners closer and closer to home plate to score. I’m proud to say that I contributed to these runs bunting one to third and being safe at first. While the girls behind me reeled me around the bases to score with their big hits. We brought the score to 5-5 with 2 outs. If we scored the last runner standing on second base, we win. If not, we go into extra innings and the game could’ve had a different outcome. The batter hit a line drive to right field and the runner ran all the way around the bases scoring the last run leaving the final score 6-5, us. 

We won. After all that hard work trying to change things, we finally did it. We jumped on the field, crying and laughing because we were on top of the world. It started to rain on us as we celebrated our win. It all felt like a sign. That with hard work and dedication we can have a taste of victory and no win is too small to celebrate. 

579

15 - Alejandro M: The Effects of Concussions

 

You might’ve had one in the past, especially if you’ve played a sport before. I have never, fortunately, therefore I don’t have any experience on what you feel when you get a concussion. In the US per year, players of sports and recreational activities receive between 2.5 million and 4 million concussions. Each person can experience a concussion differently and it all depends on how the brain responds when something strikes it.

The brain’s tissue is made of a vast network of 90 billion neurons, which relays signals through long axons. These axons have a spindly structure and that makes them very fragile where they can stretch and tear quite easily. As these destroyed axons begin to degenerate, they also release toxins causing the death of other neurons. All this is what causes a concussion.

Some effects of a concussion include blackout, headache, blurry vision, balance problems, altered mood and behavior, and many more. Sometimes, people who get concussions can experience post-concussion syndrome, or PCS. These people may experience constant headaches, learning difficulties, and behavioral symptoms that can be in effect for months or years after the injury. 

People sometimes just continue their lives normally without fully healing their previous concussion, which will later most likely cause even more damage. An overload of sub concussive hits can lead to Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, or CTE. People who suffer from this can experience changes in their mood and behavior that begin appearing in their 30s or 40s and can even lead to memory loss which may result in dementia. 

With all this, some people might want to be extremely careful about hits to the head. But it isn’t always easy to just give yourself time to heal, especially if you are doing some type of sport. 50% and 80% of concussions go unreported and untreated. All these hits can be dangerous for not only your present-self, but your future-self.

Word Count: 317

15. Kaiyue L. - The Money lesson

An education is so important in today’s world. We go to school our whole lives and learn math, science, and English, but schools fail to teach us life skills that we will need to carry with us after college. A lot of the life skills we fail to learn in college are necessary to successfully navigate through hardships and careers.

One of the important topics school fails to pay attention to is the importance of handling finances responsibly. It’s obvious that money is valuable in this world. Many college courses teach students how to handle money in the career world. While college classes such as accounting, finance and business teach accounting procedures, that’s not the end of the equation when it comes to all things money-related. These classes, while useful in the academic and business sense, fail to teach how to handle personal finances, saving or investing.

Finances are understandably one of the major causes of stress for adults. Everyone can relate to this stress; even the wealthiest people have felt financial pains at one time or another. Debt and/or a lack of savings can cause considerable hardship on a person’s life. And it doesn’t just cause daily stress. Financial problems can lead to divorce, poor health, depression, and bankruptcy. However, most of them could be avoided with basic knowledge, such as understanding the importance of an emergency fund, learning the dangers of credit cards and high interest rates are critical, as well as the importance of paying them off, and start saving early for retirement. 

Most American students are self-taught when it comes to personal finances. Of course, while we should let our students learn and live independently and figure things out on their own, financial mistakes can be life-altering. Why shouldn't we, as a collective society, prevent the future generation from starting off on the wrong foot?

Wc: 313

15 - Charlene H: The Depiction of Mental Health Issues in Moon Knight

Media Analysis (TV show character)

I love talking about both Marvel and mental health, which is why I have plenty to say about the 2022 Disney+ show Moon Knight. At the time I’m writing this, four episodes have premiered so far, and this analysis ignores the mysterious last 15 minutes of the fourth episode.

The first episode introduces the audience to Steven Grant. The episode gives a sense of confusion for both the audience and Steven himself, as the settings and context of the scenes change constantly with no explanation. Steven soon discovers, mainly in the second episode, that he has another identity: Marc Spector.

These separate identities are a result of Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID), where the brain fails to integrate different aspects of personae, memories, and consciousness. The identities are called alters, usually formed during childhood as a way to psychologically escape from prolonged trauma. Steven and Marc are the two alters; one is meek and socially awkward while the other is aggressive and confident.

Some parts of DID are exaggerated in Moon Knight, such as face-to-face discussions with an alter through reflections. However, that doesn’t mean Moon Knight doesn’t portray mental health in a genuine manner. Fans online have said that the show does not stigmatize DID. The cast and crew have also stated that they put a lot of effort into tackling DID seriously and respectfully, hoping that Moon Knight ultimately has a positive message about mental health.

Moon Knight addresses symptoms of DID. The first episode does a fantastic job at making the audience feel what Steven feels: confusion. When it comes to DID, a person’s alters may not always cooperate with one another, and when that person switches between alters, they experience memory gaps. The constant change in setting in the first episode is indicative of Steven’s memory lapses and lack of control over his life. Additionally, the first episode depicts derealization and also makes the audience feel a similar way; the scenes with Arthur Harrow, the main villain, convince the audience that those scenes are not a part of Steven’s reality when in fact they are. DID also brings significant distress to a person’s surroundings, and Steven tells Marc in the second episode, “I can’t go on a bloody date. I can barely keep a goldfish alive. I lost my job. It’s been you. It’s always been you, eating away at parts of my life like a parasite.” In the same scene, just before Steven makes that statement, he has feelings of depersonalization. Basically, Steven doesn’t feel like himself; he feels like the passenger of his body rather than the driver.

Steven initially didn’t know about Marc even though Marc already knew about Steven. Steven didn’t know that the strange disturbances of his life were a result of his other identity being in control. Despite the guy being born as Marc, Steven is more of the show’s protagonist, whose perspective adds more layers of bewilderment and psychological horror to the gradual unfolding of the plot. Upon meeting Marc, there is tension between the two alters, as Steven and Marc have different objectives, motivations, and responsibilities. Now, Steven must learn to come to terms with Marc’s existence and problems, and the two alters try to work together harmoniously. Their story is one of identity, emotional truth, and acceptance. 

Word Count: 549

15-Krishna:PE

 

I do think PE should be required as well as weightlifting because it is important to know how to better yourself physically and also have the knowledge how to. 

Being physically strong is important not only to keep yourself healthy but working out can have many positive mental effects too. When you want to workout you are surrounded by like minded people creating a relationship through a shared passion. 

When you start to see results over time you will gain confidence but seeing the results and knowing it took your own hard work and dedication can impact other aspects of your life in a positive way. 

I believe that showing someone the benefits of physical activity shown through PE is important for highschoolers to understand. Although it is not shown well because the benefits are not explained, I think that being a PE teacher is just as important as being a coach on a sports team. The only way kids listen is if they have a connection to the teacher, that is how PE teachers could do better.  

WC-178

15 - Antonio L: A Fresh Start

 A Fresh Start

My 4th grade year began with me being in Tennessee. George Whitten Elementary to be exact. It was a generally small school with portables for extracurricular activities like Music. (I can only remember music.) 

Since it was my first year there after leaving California, I tried my best to be recognized as a cool person by my other classmates. Example of this was when we went on bathroom breaks. My 4th grade teacher didn’t allow people to talk in the bathrooms at all, but there was this one classmate named Johnny (or not, I think that was his name) who allowed us to talk.

  My 9 year old mind then imagined that as a cool act, an act I imitated with great confidence. However, this act of gaining respect and acceptance didn’t work out well, as I got in trouble for letting my other classmates talk while in the bathrooms. I think one of them told our teacher, but looking back at it 8 years later, I think that it was probably a tad bit racist, since there was nothing to gain from it. (Partially joking)

Another thing about the school was the land around it. It didn’t have farmland acres of grass, but it did feel like it. No fake grass that was too dark of a green, nor was it too yellow that it looked dried up and had coarse dirt underneath that’ll be the equivalent to hitting the sidewalk when deciding to fall back onto it. There was even a little hill-like area near the front of the school, along a road where the bus carried me to and from the apartments I stayed at.

A part of Tennessee I miss a lot was the snow. Though it wouldn’t call it snow per se. It was more like taking a freeze ray over your entire neighborhood and drizzling down some snow. Snow also meant no school which was a cool and bad thing honestly because I would’ve loved to go out playing during snowy weather with my friends at school, like on TV. 

I wasn’t an instant hit in my class, but my intellect got me well known there. However, I also felt like 4th grade was the worst year of elementary school for me. It just felt so odd for me to gain the trust of people I’ve known for a few seconds while people had bonds that have lasted longer than the founding of the U.S.

My grades were also worse than I thought, though I was still smart. It was more of an adjusting year, full of me getting accustomed to Tennessee and how I’ll change how I act towards others. Looking back now, I realized how better of a person I am now because of the mistakes I made back then, though the enlightenment for different things came at different times for me. 

I know I wasn’t as descriptive as I wanted to be, but there’d be too many words, and more untold stories of my 4th grade year, a fresh start for me. 

Word Count: 511

15 - Lucas V: The Lawrence Hall of Science and Mini Train in Berkely, California

    On August 12th, 2017, my whole family went to The Lawrence Hall of Science in Berkely and it was pretty interesting. That visit was pretty memorable as time with family was precious and also because of tons of cool things in the facility. There was even a mini-train that I rode that was just down the mountain from The Lawrence Hall of Science. That experience will be near the end of this narrative. Back to the Hall of Science for now.

    The first things first, the drive and the parking. These two were pretty boring but the parking part was stressful as there were tons of people visiting and barely any parking space. After parking, the family brought out the traveling kit which is a stroller, camera, backpack(filled with clothes if it was cold and also water bottles), plus some backs for miscellaneous items like merch. After that, we went around the entrance of the building and there was a big statue of a whale right at the front. There was also a nice sightseeing spot to look at San Fransisco. The pictures that I will provide at the top are all pictures from my iPod Touch as I wasn’t responsible yet for an expensive phone. After snapping some quick photos, the family began to wander inside to get tickets to go inside.

    Inside the building, there were tons of stairs as this facility is literally built on the side of a huge mountain. Some of the stairs were swirly pretty nice. With using a stroller for my younger sister, my mom had to go through an elevator which was a hassle but was comfortable(I sat in it when I was tired of standing). The exhibits inside were pretty interesting. There were exhibits on insects, aquatic animals, and also space(there are probably more). What was cooler was the fact there were tons of interactive experiments that you can do in almost all of the exhibits.

    After looking at all the exhibits inside, my Dad wanted to bring the family to a spot that is relaxing and also fun at the same time. This place was in a woods kinda area that had a mini train. It was very tiny and looked pretty cute. It had all the same functions as a full-size train which was unique. There were tiny cabooses that could fit up to 2 people on them. The ride was very smooth but the smell of coal burning wasn’t the greatest. The whistle that was in the front of the engine sounded very cute.

Word Count: 429