Kaiyue L. - Queen's Gambit: Talent vs Hard work

Over break, I've pulled several all-nighters bingeing on Netflix as my way of escaping my personal problems by over-fixating on fictional characters' lives. 

I felt a little skeptical about Queen's Gambit at first, despite hearing really good things about it from my friends (mainstream shows just bores me out of my mind). But with nothing else to watch, I still gave this show a try. I ended up loving it, it definitely surpassed my expectations on multiple levels. 

Based on the novel of the same name by Walter Tevis, the story opens with the young Elizabeth "Beth" Harmon, an orphan in a Kentucky orphanage in the late 1950s, and her discovering her astonishing talent for chess while developing an addiction to tranquilizers provided by the state as a sedative for the children. Haunted by her demons and fueled by cocktails, narcotics, and her obsession with chess, Beth transforms into a skilled and glamorous outcast while rising to the top of the male-dominated world of competitive chess.

However, this show isn't about chess. This show is about Elizabeth Harmon, and her passion happens to be chess. This show is about her journey as a person. We are presented with the desires that are driving her: from having to learn in the basement from the janitor, to the adoptive mom who won’t buy her a chessboard, to being a woman, to not being respected, to not having money, to undermining her own career, all these conflicts, these obstacles that get in the way and force her to make choices. It builds so much character.

This film shows growth, emotional growth, life growth, and growth in Beth's achievements. I like the fact that the film shows that, yeah, natural talent is great and it will get you somewhere, but you still need to put in the effort, time, and hard work in order to make it blossom.

Wc: 308

8-Krishna C: Alone

 

Alone, lonely, single, these all have negative connotations because of society, this teaches kids that being alone isn’t a good thing and that they need someone to feel happy, validated, or less lonely. I recently taught myself how wrong I was. 

I had a problem being alone, I didn't know how to find self love, confidence, or how to be emotionally alone because it wasn’t something that I was taught when I was a kid. I would be in relationships or always talking to someone just to fill a hole in myself. The hole that would make me feel safe, loved, and less alone. 

Recently I noticed a problem I had where I would put other people's needs above my own during relationships and I would lose sight of my personal goals because I felt happy just having someone there so I wouldn't move forward with life. I would be stuck. I knew it wasn't healthy because every time I would end things I felt like I needed the person and I would feel empty after.

Once I noticed this problem that I would stop making time for my own goals, I attempted to stop that cycle with my next partner. I was able to achieve my goal for a few weeks but once I really started to fall for the person I fell into that hole again, and it scared me once I realized I was back where I started. 

I ended things with the person and took a step back to really check myself. I decided the only way I could change is to force myself to be alone and face my fears of not having anyone to reassure me, love me, or care for me. I needed to be there for myself. Although it took some time, eventually I was able to see myself happy without anyone. I was able to reassure myself and be truly happy. I was able to fill the hole. I am happy. 

Now that my goals have become a lot clearer for myself I don't want to go back into a relationship at all. I would say that it is because it isn't what i want right now but If I'm being honest it is partly because I am scared to fall back into that whole, so for now I plan on working on myself and my future alone. 

WC-396

8 - Lucas V: A Watch That Was From My Uncle

  

    Back in second or third grade, I received an item that is very important to me and I use this item every day whether I’m at school or out of the house. This item was given to me by my uncle on a Saturday for a family dinner at my grandparents' house in Oakland. This item was a G-Shock GA-100 watch. Since my uncle doesn’t use watches anymore, he gave it to me. Before I got this watch, I did have those cheap watches from Walmart, so I was familiar with some of the functions on a watch. The day I got the watch, I immediately put it on my wrist. It had tons of functions like water-resistance, shock-resistance, a stopwatch, digital-analog and date, alarm, and other functions(including an orange light where the 6 analog hand is and glow in the dark analog hands). It was very advanced at cool at the time I had received it. As of right now, it is $100. This would mean that back then when it was first released in 2010 in Japan, it was very expensive. This model was also very popular back then.

    Now back to when I got home at the end of Saturday. I remember that the watch had my uncle's cologne so I had to air it out. That smell lasted for like five months. After wearing it every day at school, eventually, it went away. That Monday after receiving my watch, I showed all my friends and they were amazed because it was pretty expensive at the time and I owned one. From that day on, I have kept it in decent condition. There might be some dings and scratches, but everything inside works. The only time I repair it is when the battery dies which has been changed maybe three times. It’s a wonderful watch and I hope to keep it forever.  

Word Count: 315

8- Khiem D.: Abstract Apathy And Agonizing Death

 

Abstract Apathy And Agonizing Death

Hello, welcome to my first and last core memory blog covering the very cheerful topic of death. Now to start off we rewind back to the begone age known as 2019 when my grandfather fell over, shattering his frail bones on the hardwood floors of his home. This kick started a chain of events that basically started a clock for when he would eventually die. In the years after this fall he would be administered into a retirement home and also diagnosed with Altzheimer's, could be related with the fall, could not be, I’m a bit hazy on the facts. We visited him a couple times and each time he just seemed to get worse, barely alive and what little neurons still functioned could barely put together that he was talking to his children. Yet he always remembered my name, every time. As expected of somebody in that pitiful state he would die, and we grieved of course. With his death came introspection, I began to think about it, think about the fact I didn’t really feel anything about it.

Admittedly I never really had a deep bond with him, hell I didn’t even realize he was missing fingers the entire time I knew him up until near the end of his life. Yet I thought about it often, still do whenever my mind wanders; I think about how my impact in his life could be enough to elicit a faint memory whilst I didn’t even grieve at his passing. Then I thought of my close ones, friends, family, and wondered if I would grieve at their passing. It’s the doubt that eats away at me the most, the obvious answer should be yes yet I don’t think I will and I’m not sure how I should feel about that. So I just carry on, wait and see when the time comes for the answer to reveal itself one way or another. 

This memory has just stuck out to me, I assume because it’s still fresh in my waning memory, plus the added bonus that I had a lot to say about it. The memory kickstarted many ideas to occupy my thoughts like the fear of losing my memory and how I wish to spend my mortality. Also gets me to think about how much I write about all the doom and gloom in the blogs so far, maybe I’ll write about something a little more cheerful later on (Doubtful). Until then that is the end of my blog and because I can’t think of a way to end this here is a link to cute animal pictures

https://www.reddit.com/r/Eyebleach/

WordCount: 437

8 - Charlene H: Working Towards Superhero Diversity

Everything’s an Argument: Do we need more diverse superheroes?

I love Marvel. I have watched every MCU movie and every MCU Disney+ show. I have MCU posters, stickers, clothes, and accessories. I can hold a long conversation about the MCU with anyone without preparation. I have also watched some non-MCU Marvel films.

I generally don’t think about social identities when it comes to fictional characters. However, I still think diversity and inclusion are necessary.

While I don’t think I will ever see a person who completely resembles me, I’ve always had feelings of satisfaction whenever I see someone on screen with similar physical and cultural attributes as me. Let’s take Shang-Chi, for example. When I heard it was the first Marvel movie with a predominantly Asian cast, I was excited. Or when Ned’s Lola spoke Tagalog in that one scene in Spider-Man: No Way Home. She may not be a superhero, but the brief Filipino representation warmed my heart.

I know a lot of people wonder “Why does increased diversity even matter? I care more about the story and the writing.”

I agree story and writing are important, but proper representation is important as well because it creates a positive impact on different groups. It makes people feel proud of who they are or what they identify as. It gives people feelings of reassurance and self-confidence. Not to mention, when different groups are portrayed in a positive light, people are more likely to respect and accept them in real life.

This is especially true for superheroes. Superheroes show integrity, perseverance, strength, courage, and leadership. They risk their own lives to protect and save others from potential danger. Superheroes inspire, empower, and give hope to people. As a result, many people look up to superheroes as role models or who they aspire to be. 

Mass media, including film and television, is a powerful tool of communication that can select and shape how messages are presented. Media can greatly influence people, especially impressionable children, in both direct and indirect ways.

While lack of representation needs to be addressed, it is important that whenever there is representation, it is done correctly. Misrepresentation and stereotypes are harmful. When underrepresented groups are portrayed in a negative light, the inaccurate depictions can increase implicit bias or even create negative and unrealistic societal attitudes toward those groups.

Representation needs to be genuine. Lines like “The women are always saving the men around here. You might want to think about changing the name to X-Women” are dumb, unnecessary, and should not exist. Superheroes should never be solely defined by their race, gender, sexuality, etc. They should be complex characters with strengths, flaws, responsibilities, and conflicting motivations. Superheroes need to grow in response to their experiences. If the story has little to no conflict, or if the superheroes don’t have flaws or weaknesses, viewers will find it hard to appreciate the story’s events. Audiences find seemingly perfect characters unrealistic and not relatable.

May I also add, a diverse cast does not make a movie or a show “woke.” When it comes to the real world, diversity is normal. It’s what makes us human. Not everyone is cisgender, white, straight, and able-bodied. People will always come from different cultures, backgrounds, and experiences, and these differences should always be embraced.

Word Count: 540

8 - Alejandro M: The Extremely Unexpected Gift

 

We all love joyful surprises. Whether it’s surprising someone or being the one who got surprised, these surprises are always something that can cheer you up. Now these surprises can be even better if gifts are involved. This is what happened when I unexpectedly surprised my best friend with a gift.

I am known to be a very quiet and serious person, (for most things, but not for all) therefore many people don’t ever expect me to show many forms of gratitude, or any kinds of emotions. But it’s Christmas time, so maybe that got me into the holiday spirit. My best friend had asked me if I liked this one jersey he planned on buying. This NBA jersey has one of the best colorways a jersey can have. At that time, I wasn’t planning to get him the jersey so I had told him that he should get it if he really did like it. But then he started questioning whether to buy it or not. This is the exact time my inner Santa turned on.

I really was not planning on getting anybody Christmas gifts as that is not my thing, but I had to show some gratitude to the best friend I’ve had for my high school time. With him questioning himself on whether to buy it or not, I started to persuade him not to get it. This started to work out perfectly. He would not talk about the jersey for a while. During this time, I would buy the jersey and wait for it to ship and wait for the right time to give it to him. I had to get some help with his girl by also trying to make her persuade him into not getting it anymore.

So, time continued to go by. My gift had come, and he had not mentioned the jersey once throughout the time. The time had come for me to bring the jersey to school to give it to him. It was during the small break in between periods in finals week. He took forever to appear at the place where we always hung out, but he would eventually appear. I would kneel, like if I was proposing, and asked if he would like to accept my gift. He was shocked, as were our other friends. Nobody expected me to do something like this. But here I was doing the unexpected. He obviously liked it a lot since this was the jersey he always wanted.

With this being one the only gifts I have given, this is for sure the best gift I have given. I in return received a Giants jersey from him. Maybe I should show more gratitude to the people around me and gratitude could be sent back to me.

Word Count: 465

8 - Antonio L: My Point of View On Perspective

 

My Point of View On Perspective

Perspective is like asking the fabled question “Is the glass half full or half empty?” People will always be divided with their views and analysis of events.

Not everyone agrees with one another, so there will always be divided views on topics. To solve this issue, majority rule became a standard to solving debates. 

That’s why with every choice made by people, not everyone is happy about it because of their own views and perspectives on the matter.

Another way to put it is like this, let’s say you had the option to either stop world hunger, or cure cancer, and you could pick ONLY one. Depending on everyone’s point of view, this may be a conflicting choice.

Since every person comes from different backgrounds, everyone has had different events in their lives that might’ve swayed them to pick one over the other. And deciding who benefits from choices made and the aftermath or possible outcomes of the other choice also determines decisions.

There are rare moments in life, where everyone is in agreement with one another. Of course, these may be with less impactful decisions and don’t bring much to the world, like deciding what you’ll eat for dinner tonight. 

Even as I’m writing this, the reader already has their own perspective of what was going on through my mind as I’m typing this, but not many people will have the same view, unless they agree as a means of similar interpretations or building likeliness with another person and trying to be more relatable with them. 

“A house divided against itself cannot stand,” a quote by Abraham Lincoln can go along with the views of perspective as well. A united group has no chance to exist in the future if its people aren’t understanding of one another. Nations can fall as quickly as they grow, and my view on perspective is that people will always be in disagreement amongst everyone, and that there will always be one person unhappy with choices that are made.

Word Count: 335