Attack on Titan Vol.9

     Attack on a Titan is a manga series. Mangas are Japanese comic books. It was also adapted into a very popular anime series. The book series is about three friends: Eren, Mikasa, and Armin. They live in a world where humanity is at the brink of extinction and that's because of Titans. Titans are giant humanoid creatures that eat humans. Humanity enclosed themselfies in three, 50 meter tall walls that defend them from the titans. The more wealthy people live in the most inner walls while the poorer people live in the outer walls. So the main characters live in the outer walls and when they're 9 years old, the wall's gate gets breached open by a giant titan dubbed the Colossal Titan. When this breach happens, Erin's mother ends up getting eaten by a Titan right in front of Erens eyes, and this sparks Eren's determination to join the army, when he's a teenager, where they go pass the walls to 'attack titans'.

      So I recently read the ninth volume of the on going series. This is concidered to be in season two territory as volumes 1-8 are season one of the anime series. Season two just started airing and the first two or three episodes (I forgot) are volume nine of the manga. This started off right after volume eight as it should and is the start of season two after a cliff hanger. In this volume, we get an in depth start on the construction of the walls which was a big question at the start of the series. Eren, who just had a huge fight, is resting from that and makes only a minor appearance. Rather, we get more of a focus on some other minor characters and their adventures right now. I recommend reading this series as the entire series has gotten praise for its story and characters.

Summit Opinions

     So this year our school introduced the Summit Learning Program. This pilot programmed only had a group of kids, including myself, that did this new way of learning. Basically, the student becomes their own teacher as they do self-guided playlists that they take notes on in order to take a test. However, there are some inevitable problems to occur especially since this is a new program. So, I like how we can take tests on our own and learn what we want to, but it's poorly executed due to notes being required. Also, a lot of the times, I can't comprehend the amount of work we have as it overwhelms me and the rest of the class. We have personal learning time (plt) and I hate it. This is the time where we take tests on our is quite annoying since it's strictly personal ownly...in a class environment. I hate not being able to ask help for notes from my peers since I'll get in trouble for. It's fortunate, however that next year, there will be three groups of kids in summit instead of one. This, I can an imagine, will be better res more people to aid each other.

Summer Plans

      Subjectively speaking, summer time is amazing. This summer, I hope, is going to be amazing like before. I most likely will do what I did last year. Last year, I went to the beach for like 4 days straight. It was like the first week of summer, so it was a nice start. The only problem was that it was generally boring since it was just my close family. Maybe this year I'll go more often and have more people with. Another thing I want to do is go to Six Flags again. I talked about it in my previous blog but now I'm hooked. It's just so fun since I love roller coasters due to the thrill isn't gives me. Also I'll be able to go on hurricane harbor this time around since the weather was too cold when we went as a grade. This year, I hope is going to be better than ever before especially since I'm going to High School next year and I want this to last till then.

Six Flags Made me Glad

     Last Friday, the 8th graders went to Six Flags Great America. It my first time going since I was like 3 years old, so it was a new experience basically since I couldn't recall anything. The weather was horrible due to the rain and low temperatures. Due to that, I only went on 3 individual rides. These rides include: The Dark Night,  X-Flight, and Demon, which I went on twice. The other ride, which I don't conicder to be a roller coaster, was the Battle of Metropolis. The Dark Night was the fist one I went to so out might imagine that I was scared but I surprisely not scared at all. The X-Flight was my favorite of all since it was a smooth experience. The Battle of Metropolis was a blast since it was full of jump scares. I ended up getting first on that. Overall, Six Flags was amazing, and I plan on going again sometime in the summer.

A Frightened Future

     Next year I would be a freshmen pain highschool. The thought alone scares me but I have just enough confidence to feel a bit comfortable. With a new school to go to, I plan on starting fresh by 'identifying' with a new self.  By this I mean to have a new mood to school and try something new. Perhaps I would join some clubs like improve or theater. Who knows? Definitely not me? Sports is a mixed bag for me since I enjoy it and have a competitive spirit, however I find myself uninterested due to the towering opponents that seems to get bigger and bigger as time went on. But I'll at least try though, which seems to be all I care about in order to feel a little accomplished.

(Below is a TED talk about trying something new for 30 days. The audio is very quiet)

Lord of the Flies

      Lord of the Flies by William Golding is a classic novel due to its harsh themes and conflicts. In the book, we see young, British boys as they get stranded on a deserted island after their plane gets shot down. We see the boys, ranging from 6 years old to 12 years old, as they try their hardest to survive, maintain civilization, and get off the island. However, while trying, they lose their innocence, as they fight the biggest problem; themselves.

     I can definitely see how this book aged well. Golding successfully shows the true human nature in  us all. We’ll crumble down with no society as we convert to savages just trying to survive. That's what I love about this book. How Golding portrays humans as violent beings and how the corruption of power can go so far. However, some classmates of mine strongly dislike the book and I can kinda see how. I hated the book at one point too, and that is because I didn't think outside the box and think about the meanings of these characters and symbols. This, something that Golding does especially well. I suggest any young adult to read this book due to its themes and since it's a "must read" classic.

The Headphone RANT

     Broken headphones are the worst. Every time it happens, a piece of my soul breaks, as I contemplate how and why it broke. What I've found is that it's never the headphone speakers but the headphone jack, rather. Now, it's frustrating since headphones typically are carried with, especially in pockets. So it's confusing how earbud creators make them very fragile. I have soooo many broken pairs of earbuds. A lot of them I can easily identify the broken wire part or the popped earbud. Maybe someday, when I'm familiar with it, I can fix these pairs of earbuds...hopefully.

Begin to the End

      This quote, by Henry Ford, relates to me since I'm only human which means I make mistakes like anyone else. This may seem obvious that humans makes mistakes but with me, I rarely make mistakes. Not trying to brag or anything, but my mistakes are drastic and can cause a butterfly affect for hatred, specifically towards me. This quotes explains how, as humans, we should acknowledge our mistakes, learn from them, and build upon them and think smarter so that mistake doesn't happen again. "...this time more intelligently."

Best Weekend Ever!!

     So like a week or so ago I slept over at my cousin's house. My cousins are three boys: one that's 11 and two babies who are like 11 months old. The reason why I slept over is because I still needed to get a birthday gift from them since my uncle is my godfather so I typically get a special gift from them. So my birthday gift came extremely late but that's okay since it's better ate than never. I ended up getting some Attack on Titan mangas volume 9-12. I'm currently reading Volume 9 and plan on doing a blog about it. Anyway, my absolute ng from sleeping over was that I was able to play like 6 hours total of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. It's sooooo goood!! I just couldn't comprehend how amazing it was and I discovered so many new things I didn't know about the game despite not getting spoiled. Overall, this was an amazing weekend to spend due to many things that I needed to do finally being accomplished.

Life is a beauty

      In the film, Life is Beautiful, it tells the touching story about a man during the holacaust and his family. It tells the story of an optimistic, Jewish man trying to get with his crush. The movie then turns an uncomfortable change in mood as himself, his crush who he started a family with and their young son go to a consentration camp. The similarities are pretty close, from the gas chambers, the train, and the elderly and kids who couldn't work to be sent off to death. The work they had was also very cruel which, unfortunately, was how it was back then. In short, the movie did a fair job at replicating how it was during the holocaust.
      The main character creates humor is this movie which deeply changes the tone of the holocaust. Despite troubling moments, he manages to stay completely positive and perseveres for the sake of his son who is hiding from the guards with him, since he would have to be killed if he got caught. He especially stands out since everyone else is depressed which you can't really blame them for feeling like. Overall, the movie takes the viewer through an intense roller coaster of emotions throughout the movie.
      The name of the film, Life is Beautiful, doesn't lie. There are some very beautiful moments in this film. For example, even though the main character tries his hard east to hide the terror from his son, he then finds out and it's beautiful  how he does all this work so his son can be happy. A second example, is when the main character's family finally gets reunited for a rather controversial ending. All in all this movie was beautiful as the title suggests.

Homesick Butterfly

Regret

     Regret happens a lot in life. A big one I've had happened back in 5th grade. So myself and two other friends had our 3DSs during recess and we got caught. Only one of us got caught and he got in trouble for it. I felt bad since it was my best friend and he looked prett vulnerable since we like never get in trouble so we were not used to it. If I could've done something else it would probably be to stick with him so he wasn't alone. Perhaps we could've improved a reason for why we had our 3DSs but unfortunately that was in the past.

PROPANGANA

     This piece of Nazi propaganda is showing how Adolf Hitler is showing open arms to the youth. Then tended audience may be parents or kids themselves to show that Nazism is to support. It's showing an innocent side of Adolf Hitler which may alter someone perspective by showing that he's the good guy. Due to this, this can be extremely effective and can support Nazism by growing supporters since they seem to focus on the youth. In my opinion, this is just smart advertising in a way. I don't agree with Nazism no way or fashion but they do have a smart way of gathering supporters however by focusing on the public audience.

Celeb I would like to chill with

     If I had the opportunity to hang out with a celebrity or famous person, then I would have to choose Sir Bobby Bryson Hall II aka Logic the rapper. I chose him to hang out with because he honestly just feels like a chill guy to play video games with or pool or talk about music or something like that. I follow him on social media and he likes the same geeky stuff that I like such as videogames or movies. Maybe an interaction we would have would be how he can help me improve on solving a Rubik's cube so I can become faster and more consistent as well. He's also really dedicated to his fans and talks to them like a normal person and not like he's self centered. Some question I would have for have for him would be about his new album coming out in the fall and just to ask about inspiration for the album or how's it coming along. Overall, Logic seems like a really chill, normal dude to hang out with for a while and get to know more about him.

15 that makes me HAPPY

Happy moments occur to all of us. Some of these moments, for me, include:

• Coming home from school to find one of my favorite lunches prepared 
• Finishing all my school work before a long weekend to enjoy
• There just being enough ice cream to go with my pie
• Watching a movie in class 
• Beautiful weather that I can enjoy with family and friends
• Having just enough money for that gift I wanted
• Getting everything I had on my Christmas list
• The radio plays a long streak of my favorite songs
• Dropping my phone thinking it'll be damaged, just to find no scratches on it
• Finding that stash of old toys in the attic and bringing back memories from the past
• My parents saying yes to a game I want
• Being acknowledged for the chores I do
• Winning a close basketball game 
• My favorite team winning a championship (cubs)
• Beating an extremely difficult video game. It's so satisfying!

Disclaimer: The structure of this blog post isn't a top 15 list but instead I'm just listing 15 things that make me happy. That's because making a top 15 was honestly hard to determine which one is better than another.

Perseverance

      Recently, my class watched a a short, encouraging video which revolved around the true life of a man with no limbs. He explained his struggles, when he was younger, when he had a lot of self doubt. He strived through it however, and grew self respect and confidence to live through and not give up despite being incapable of many things by default. He did these things by believing in himself. This connects to my time when I persevered just at a much larger scale. In ELA, we had a previous essay that we had to do. Now I was confused pretty much the whole, long unit until the last couple weeks. So it was a big struggle to write. I ended up writing a long, thought out essay that took about 6 hours.

Favorite Super Bowl commercial

     I personally am not a fan of American football but the super bowl gives me a weird exciting feeling, especially the commercials. This year had a lot of powerful super bowl commercials that I mostly agree with, however, the ad for the the Nintendo Switch was my favorite this year. The Nintendo Switch, for those who don't know, is the new Nintendo console coming out on March 3rd. The reason why this was my favorite is because it introduced my mother to the Switch and her reaction was mostly positive. My father already knew about it and was saying how cool and innovative it looked. Hopefully this persuades my mother to help me buy it since she was loooing impressed by how it's a hybrid console that can be played at home and on the go.  

Best Advise

     The best advice I ever received has to be from my mom when she told me numerous times, when I was younger, that my parents aren't made out of money. When hearing this back then, I didn't think much of it until I got older. I was, however, able to interpret what she meant, and I eased off on what I did in order to lower the electricity or water bills. Now that I'm older, I took that advise even further and have been really careful with wasting food, electronics usage, and water usage by turning off lights in rooms that no one is occupying and making sure food doesn't go to waste and stuff like that. I plan on telling my future kids that same advice since it helped me and I hope it helps them.

Worst Argument

     I once had an argument with my older brother about headphones. I explained how beats headphones have one good thing about them; the aux cord. He argued that that's not true due to his aux cord breaking on his headphones, leading to him having to buy a replacement. I compared the beats aux cord/headphone jack to other brands. I prefer that beats uses a hard material for the headphone jack and that it's a right angle thus making it durable, while other brands use soft materials that go straight up, thus allowing them to bend and hurting the internal wire. But my brother's headphone jack on his beats are different then mine and it broke which lead to him yelling that beats doesn't make good headphone jacks/aux cords.
     I ultimately don't know who won. It's believe it's safe to say that the best part about my pair of beats is the headphone jack since it's durable compared to the rest of the headphones. But me saying that beats makes good headphone jacks doesn't work with my brother's pair. The worst part is that we were arguing in a Bakers Square but we were a bit quiet and kept our peace.