Category: School Life

Part 228 – How to Successfully Fail at Wastrelmaxxing

Rovija Khapre 0 Comment General Topics, My Stories, School Life, Social Responsibilities
Part 228 – How to Successfully Fail at Wastrelmaxxing

I’d like to think this whole ordeal started by teaching my parents what a ‘lazy bum’ was. 

The term grew on them so much that it’s been my unofficial nickname for the summer–jokingly, of course. This led to a discussion of a blog and how one such lazy bum, and many in my similar situation, spend this particular summer. Like any writer, I spent a lot of time brainstorming the serious unseriousness of a catchy title to gain motivation and a general outline. This led to the idea of ‘wastrel summer’ and from there ‘How to Successfully Wastrelmaxx’. 

As I began typing up my first draft, I had a dilemma; everything I talked about was the opposite of being a wastrel!

You see, the best time of your life will not be in your twenties, being young, wild, and free, or as a kid with childhood innocence, but rather the summer before you head off to college. A solid three-ish months of having very few demands before the harsh reality of corporate demands and adulthood hits you as you take on college. 

With this, you’ll take it upon yourself to do everything but stay home and do nothing. The only wastrel part of this is spending money and gas on going places and doing things with your friends, especially if you’re like me and have no job. (Ultimate bum behavior I know.) 

This is the summer of bittersweet memories and ultimate freedom as you try to cram in dozens of hangouts with your friends every day and hour. After 9 months of counting down the days towards graduation, you’ve got nothing to do. Absolutely nothing. There’s no annoying inner voice in your ear nudging you to wake up and prepare for an APUSH LEQ or finish the Biomed research paper haunting your computer.

There’s an unlimited number of opportunities awaiting. Grad party hopping bleeds into summer party hopping; late-evening poolside hangouts complete with pasta bowl runs; karaoke sprees at the Asian Plaza while grabbing KBBQ; binging the latest movie releases post-Six Flags; the agenda is packed. With no fear of a surprise test on Monday or even an early curfew–and as we are now big kids with licenses and jobs–the hours can stretch from late afternoon to early night. 

The only time you’re pulled from this stupor is when you have orientation; notably, it is the most serious thing you truly need to prepare for or even be nervous about all summer. For weeks before your visit, your inbox is absolutely swamped with emails and a multitude of links about registration and campus resources. And if you’re an unlucky STEM major like myself, you’ll have the pleasure of facing the dreaded math or science assessment. 

Apart from the great hell that is registration, as everyone battles for choosing courses in no more than five minutes or so, you find yourself coming home with burnt orange coursing through your veins (if you’re a Longhorn!), very pleased with your future four years and possibly slightly peeved at your academic advisor. 

After that, you truly have no other worries, as you can continue dilly-dallying for the rest of the summer as before!

Okay, I lied. 

There is a singular, looming threat to our ‘wastrel’ summer that you can’t ignore forever. With the prospect of spending most of your time–and gas money–on outings, you actually need a job. If still unemployed, at least you’re still productive in searching for local and even future on- and near-campus jobs. 

So truly, how can it be a wastrel summer when you spend it doing everything but being idle and unachieving? 

After twelve tedious years of working tirelessly, what harm is there in basking in the sweet success of labor we have finally achieved? Yes, to your parents it can be a ‘wastrel’ summer of doing nothing productive as opposed to the previous years, but this is the summer of pure relaxation, regeneration, and reconnaissance! 

And that is exactly why I had to scrap my original title. This isn’t a guide on how to be a lazy bum; it’s a testament– this is ‘How to Successfully Fail at Wastrelmaxxing.” 

Part 217 – Anatomy of a 32 hour day: Rebirth and Change

Rovija Khapre 0 Comment General Topics, My Stories, School Life
Part 217 – Anatomy of a 32 hour day: Rebirth and Change

This is part 2 of ‘Memoir of a wanna-be insomniac’. 

As much as I had feared junior year, it became my absolute favorite year of highschool so far. Deep down, it was more of a subconscious decision to enjoy this year and prevent myself from falling into a pit of wallow as I did last time. 

With the 32 hour day I ended up convincing myself I wasn’t allowed to enjoy my time; I was meant to focus solely on pulling myself back together, working hard, and getting good grades. It mostly consumed me, and made me feel worse about myself, essentially making the situation worse to a point I just wanted everything to end. I wanted to run away from my problems and start over, thinking my life would return to normal afterwards. 

The closest I had to running away was traveling, and pretty much just being constantly away from my house over the summer. I went to Korea, Japan, and Australia, and shortly afterwards went to Ohio for an internship. It was a refreshing change of pace, and really a much needed one. I didn’t have to worry about tests or grades or even worry about impressions. I was free to really be myself. I think that’s when I started to truly smile again. The change of environment made me realize that I needed to change. Rather, I couldn’t let myself fall into such a spiral again. 

I quit Orchestra. A difficult decision, but it was either stressing over excessive rehearsal schedules or using that regained time to get other things done. The answer was the latter, so I dropped Orchestra. I knew with the upcoming year I would be put in advanced classes again, with peers I didn’t know. With the loss of Orchestra, that also became one more class I wouldn’t know anyone in. So I made a decision to prevent that from pulling me down. 

I made new friends. I met two wonderful freshmen in my Compsci class and we became a pretty close trio really quick. I started following people I saw common in my AP classes on Instagram as an initiative to get close to them. I started making the first move, reaching out to join groups with them, talking more, all of that to stop myself from feeling lonely. I started warming up to my teachers; talking to them freely and whenever I could to get closer to them and feel more welcome in class. I hung out with people I knew but didn’t talk to as frequently, getting close and creating closer bonds with them than I had the chance to in my previous years. In all, I made sure I didn’t spiral again by making myself more established within my classes. I continually felt like I couldn’t reach out or talk to people I knew because of my own silly restrictions and perceptions. I shook those off and took a step forward, out of my comfort zone. But even more than socializing, I changed how I studied. I felt looped up in the same cycle of pushing myself to spend more time reviewing and revising, caught in the same strategies and techniques. I wanted to change that, and looked into other ways to study. 

Physics was an eye opener for me. I knew it was a hard subject, and AP Physics C Mechanics is especially a difficult course in general. BUt the struggle I faced in class was beholden to what I had experienced before. It took a few too many 70s and a 63 to make me realize whatever I was doing was inevitable and I had to look for different strategies. That’s how I gained a tutor. Slowly but surely, my grades improved. They weren’t up to par with my expectations and how well I usually do in classes, but I was happy to be improving, and rather, actually understand a little more about the subject I was learning. What’s more is that I got a second whiteboard. It’s a little silly, but I really wanted a second, slightly larger whiteboard than the one I already have. I had found that teaching topics to myself and using the whiteboard method really helped with certain subjects, so I wanted to buy a larger whiteboard so I can write more. Another thing I started doing was making flashcards. Although the idea came to me in the second semester just before my first macroeconomics test, they became really helpful when preparing for the rest of my tests that semester, as well as a really good quick review just before my AP exams. 

It’s really the small things that can make a big difference. Of course, there still were days that I would find myself sleeping at 10:30 and waking up at 3, sometimes even 2:30 just to study for a test, but it didn’t feel like a daily requirement to do so. It  was sometimes just a feeling of dread for a test given I didn’t study that well the night before, and I wanted to review the material to solidify it in my mind. As rough as it was, it was worth it. 
In all, what really happened in junior year was that I was able to control the 32 hour day. It’s like one of those cliche fictional movies where a brilliant scientist creates a piece of technology that is revolutionizing, but instead consumes them and makes them a villain. That’s essentially how my life became, but instead the 32 hour day consumed me to become my own enemy, pushing myself down in an attempt to pull myself up. 

Upon entering junior year, I made sure to prevent that, regaining control of the 32 hour day. I spent time with my friends and family, balancing both my academic and social life rather than giving one up for the other. I crossed my own boundaries, and took a step outside my comfort zone to explore and try different things. I made small changes to my daily life and routine, and really, that was all that I needed to pull myself back up. And really, more than that, I took advantage of the 32 hour day to live every second as much as I could, without feeling regretful it was gone. It’s cliche, really, but sometimes the most cliche things are what work the best. 

Part 216- Caring and Imperfections

Rovija Khapre 0 Comment General Topics, My Stories, School Life
Part 216- Caring and Imperfections

I wrote this essay exactly a year ago today in one go. What started as just a concept that popped in my head when getting ready, became a reflection and breakdown of my metal state and mindset at that point in my life. This essay is very dear to me for many reasons, but mainly because writing it finally let me express all the things I wanted to say that I could not for months. It is a raw reflection of who I am. I wanted to share it now, seeing how much I’ve grown since then, and relating it to the dark side of the 32 hour day. So I now present to you, “Caring and Imperfections.”

Discuss an accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked a period of personal growth and a new understanding of yourself or others.

Caring and imperfections: how you don’t see something until you do see it

Sometimes you spend your whole life looking for something, only to realize that it’s right in front of you. Sounds a little cliche, and it is. My whole life has revolved around others. I rarely liked to be selfish or believed myself to be, and I often spent my time focusing on the benefit of others. In a way, it was beneficial. I allowed myself to meet new people and grow., But I also got trampled on easily. This is not the story of either of those events. This is the story of now. Who I am now; not the past but the present. 

Recently I’ve been struggling. Struggling with myself, my internal thoughts and emotions, and my external presentation and demeanor. My biggest enemy is my mind. The same mind that I felt to be on my side throughout suddenly turned itself against me. Where did the cracks begin? Where did I start to feel like I was falling- slipping even? Beyond my sense of willpower, by my help, by my desire to get back up?

I felt insecure; I wasn’t good enough—classic teenage burnout; classic teenage meeting with reality. I told myself it was fine. We’ll get better. We never did. It started a spiral: another event, a loss. I couldn’t change myself or become the person I wanted to be. I let myself down, and those who expected the bare minimum from me. I promised myself I would do better. I haven’t. I try to talk and feel left out. Subtle details that should be glossed over get over-analyzed. Response timings, response length, reactions, and conversations. I have to keep myself alert, I shouldn’t let myself get too comfortable. I’m sixteen, I don’t need to participate in old childish traditions anymore. You’re right, I need to learn how to be an adult now. Why should I expect so much when I shouldn’t be. Maybe we’ve spoiled you too much. The fears become reality with every word you say. You don’t deserve half the praise you get. You don’t deserve to act all high and mighty with a simple perfect score when you can’t even achieve the important things. Stop thinking of yourself as good; you’re not even half as good. You don’t do enough to be considered good or to the level of others. You act like you can do so much but you can’t; pathetic. That rings. It echoes in my mind often, a little stronger on some days than others. I sometimes feel helpless, I can’t do anything about it and maybe I should quit. Just give up. 

What’s interesting is that I saw two things about myself; one, all my imperfections, and two, how much I care. I said my life revolved around others, and it still does. I still care so much about other people, maybe more than myself. I care about whether they have a bad day or not. Whether they achieved that thing they’ve been excited about. Whether they could do their best and if they were happy. I wanted them to be happy and to help them I started to crumble. I cared too much about others and making them feel good, I started to feel bad when I didn’t get anything back. I thought too much about it. I felt that no one cared when I did. I wondered why. I felt that it was all my fault and that I ended up caring about them more than myself to make it better. It did not. In this, I could see myself cracking more and more. Everything came out, flooding out. Every mistake every thought every idea. But what came out of it? 

It’s a terrible way, but it allowed me to see all the sides of myself I never would have considered. I could see everything. All my flaws, all my faults, all my insecurities, all my imperfections. I took it the wrong way. I embraced them willingly but with the wrong intentions. It’s because I cared too much that I allowed myself to see who I truly was. The opposite of everything I thought. And yet, I still don’t see it. Because, even if I cared too much to see everything that I was, I was still and still am caring too much to let myself forget about it. 

I was and still am the same person who cares so much they can’t stand their friend’s suffering. I am a person who cares so much that I feel something bitter within myself when someone else gains the attention I believe to have gotten. I’m a person who cares so much they find that giving gifts is the best way to express their feelings. I’m the person who cares so much that they give away cupcakes on their birthday. I’m the person who cares so much that they decide to give up in an attempt to stop themselves from caring too much. I’m the person who cared so much, they didn’t want to ruin something so beautiful for a simple thought. I’m that person who cared. 

Part 215- Anatomy of a 32 hour day: Memoir of a wanna-be insomniac

Rovija Khapre 0 Comment My Stories, School Life
Part 215- Anatomy of a 32 hour day: Memoir of a wanna-be insomniac

“Anatomy of the 32 hour day: a memoir by a wanna-be insomniac”’ is a post reflecting on my experiences as a current highschool junior and the lifestyle and struggles I personally experienced during this period. Every highschool student is different, and while my experiences may vary differently from another, several parts are shared collectively within most. This will be broken into two parts: This post detailing my struggles, and the next as how I overcame them within my junior year.

The biggest problem for anyone, especially high schoolers, is a lack of time. There’s never time to do anything anymore. Despite waking up early and sleeping late I don’t have time to do anything. I’m still busy, still behind, still needing more time to do stuff. If I had enough time I could be invincible; I would be on top of the world, and could do so much. Someone asked me that actually. If I had any power in the world what would  I do; I easily answered that I would have more time. They then took that ability away, and I was at a loss of words. All  I really could ask for or wish for was the ability to have more time on my hands. (I don’t consider time travelling as a possibility, given I’d think too much about the paradoxes and the stress it would give me to not be seen, manage the logistics, etc. etc.) So that’s why I was at a loss. 

Time becomes an essential at this time in our lives. At this time, I’ve lost both my maternal grandparents and I didn’t have enough time with them. I’m a junior entering my senior year, and I feel like I don’t have enough time to boost my GPA, nor do I have time to redo some things I’ve done. I feel like I’ve lost time with my friends, making memories. It’s gotten to a point where I try to make more time for myself, thus creating my own 32 hour day. 

The 32 hour day is purely metaphorical, just to refer to my desire to create a longer day for myself, while ending up being exhausted by it altogether, maintaining the 32 hour day 7 days a week.  The way to create a 32 hour week starts with sleep. Or rather, the lack of sleep. 

Circadian clocks

My mother studied circadian rhythms when she was doing her doctorate. I was very young at the time, but she would come home showing me Western Blots of her experiments, teaching me advanced biology I could hardly grasp, and presenting her defense to me and my father. It’s only today that I have a better understanding of the subject. Circadian rhythm is a natural, 24 hour cycle that regulates the body’s physiological and behavioral processes. It’s essentially your internal body clock that controls your sleep-wake patterns, body temperature, and hormone release. I’ve always had a weird body clock. I wake up early and sleep early, up and out before others would. I was always known to be asleep by 8:30;  no matter where I was, I would be ready for bed and fast asleep once it was 8:30. Even today, even though I don’t sleep at 8:30, I tend to get tired around 9-9:30 and turn in before 10. While it is a blessing that I have such a manageable sleep schedule, it becomes my biggest curse. 

Taking advantage of circadian rhythms

I take advantage of my body clock, and force myself to wake up earlier to make more time for myself. As a kid I used to wake up at 5, sometimes 5:30, getting the perfect 8-9 hours of sleep. In middle school, I changed that to 4 am in the morning. At 4 am I’d promptly wake up and start studying before it was time for me to start getting ready. At that time, my schedule was still pretty normal. I ended up going to bed before 10, allowing me to get a good amount of sleep even while waking up early. That stayed the same throughout my freshman year. But then sophomore year hit, and things got problematic. 

Sophomore year was my junior year. I was already taking advanced classes, but this year it was a level where I was in junior or senior heavy classes the majority of the day. The jump from a partially lenient freshman year to a junior year-like sophomore year was daunting, especially when I had to start accommodating rehearsal times into my busy schedule as a member of my school’s varsity Orchestra. 2 hour rehearsals on Mondays, 1 hour rehearsals on Tuesdays, 7am Friday morning rehearsals took over, followed by an extracurricular or errand I had after that, and so much schoolwork. I found myself having less time to get assignments done or to study for tests, much unlike my less hectic middle school and freshman years. Especially with my circadian clock, I found myself getting in barely an hour of work before feeling drowsy and needing to sleep. Even with waking up in the morning at 4, I only got 2 extra hours to complete what I needed to do. To say I was stressed is an understatement. 

I was anxious every other day. I dreaded my AP classes because I was often the only sophomore in them. I had no friends in most of my classes, and felt like I was burdening others by telling them of my struggles. There were so many new things to me I didn’t know how to succeed at everything, evidently seen in my first quarter grades. It was a major blow to my pride, not knowing or doing well in most of my classes, and I knew I had to change something. 

I started waking up earlier. 4 am mornings slowly changed to 3:30 and later 3 am mornings. I woke up at 3 on Fridays to make up for the hour I lost for morning rehearsals, and set alarms for myself at 2:45 so I would wake up on time. On weekdays I slept late, sometimes going until 10:45, once 11 with the hope of getting some sleep for an early morning. My circadian rhythm suffered, and I’d be subjected to this irregular pattern even on weekends. I’d be up naturally by 6:30, regardless of sleeping early or not. I’d be working as early as I can, limiting myself to lying around in bed until 8 before I got ready and sat down to finish my work. And yet, it sometimes was never enough. I’d always end up with a lack of time. Regardless of how many early mornings and late nights I’d pull, of time on the weekends and denying myself time to relax, it was often never enough. 

Side effects and such

The 32 hour day isn’t the prettiest thing in the world, nor is it the most ideal way to get stuff done. I’m constantly stressed, working on assignment after assignment, with other extracurriculars and activities wedged in between. I’m pushing myself to spend too much time on something, not enough time on something else, and to constantly do more and be more to get the results I need and want. I’ve  got a 95% success rate, and like my built perfectionist try hard self, I’d wish for that to be a 100. I’m always working or doing something that never gives me time for myself. I rarely catch up and finish shows or get time to read a book. I’m tired and irritated, often screaming like a madman in the middle of whatever at home (to my parents off guard dismay) at random times in frustration, and sometimes lash out unwillingly, knowing I’m being stupid and a brat but just hoping for it to be let  go at that moment. It’s just a constant cycle of working and doing things without much rest in between and can be difficult to get out of. 

The 32 hour day hurts even more when I end up falling. When I put myself through so much, and try as hard as I can to juggle everything and do well in everything I make time for, I suddenly fall. Especially when it’s something I’ve greatly anticipated. A physics test I tried so hard to prepare for despite my continual struggles, or a standardized test I worked so hard to prepare for over the course of months and felt good about when finished. My parents say that the result doesn’t matter and instead your effort does. They say that if you’ve worked hard that’s all that matters, but it still hurts. It hurts the most when something you’ve worked and sacrificed so much for doesn’t end up going the way you hoped for. It hurts even more when you realize you have to put yourself through all that again, and even more because you didn’t succeed the first time. It hurts when you feel like you worked as hard as you could that first time and failed, and now don’t know what to do to pick yourself up again. That’s the vicious side of the 32 hour cycle. How you’re never always guaranteed success, no matter how hard you try or how many times you put yourself through the 32 hour day. It’s truly one of the worst feelings in the world. 

The wanna-be insomniac

One of the biggest driving factors that caught me in this cycle was fear. Simply put, I’m  afraid of many things. I’m afraid of failing. I’m afraid of failing a test, or even getting below a 90. I’m afraid of not meeting my expectations, my teachers’ expectations, or even my parents’ expectations. I’m afraid of falling behind compared to my peers, to those who are much smarter than me. I’m afraid of being overconfident, of letting success get to my head and being my achilles heel. All of these put together made me keep pushing myself further and further into this cycle unknowingly. What’s more is that I soon slowly started to be afraid of sleeping. I was afraid of giving myself the privilege of a few more hours of rest at the expense of getting 2 points higher on a test or getting a good grade on an assignment. That essentially led me to sleep less, or set multiple alarms through the morning to prevent myself from being too drowsy and unproductive in the mornings. If I wanted to wake up at 3, I’d set a 2:45 alarm. Even if I slept past 3 I’d still be restless knowing I wasn’t as sleepy as before and would force myself to get out of bed to start working.

A guilty thing I’d like to admit is that sometimes I’d sleep a little late on purpose. If I went in at 9:30 I’d sleep at 10:30, even if I was in bed by 10. I selfishly gave myself a little longer to be awake and bask in the moment of knowing the day was over, and I could relax. I knew once I closed my eyes the next time I opened them I’d have to start working, so I gave myself a little extra time to do whatever, just to enjoy that minute to myself. 

With this, one of the more unfortunate byproducts of the 32 hour day  has been the fact that I’ve stopped dreaming. As in, actual dreaming when I’m asleep. I think that primarily revolves around the whole lack of sleep part. Sleeping slowly has become a burden to me. It prevents me from doing enough things, makes me drowsy and uncoordinated, and is my nemesis. Had my body not needed sleep, I could be truly invincible. I could study for longer, really hone down key concepts and practice problems; get that one assignment from the projected 92 to maybe a 95; read more of the assigned English book I’m only 5 chapters through when I was supposed to be finished a week ago. I’d always push for more to fight off the time sleeping. Sleep now became a matter of closing my eyes for a few hours that would satisfy my parents before I could be back at it again. That’s how my life became and is. Now when I sleep, it just becomes me knowing I was able to close my eyes for some time, not having to do work, allowing me to quickly recharge. I don’t think I allow myself to indulge myself in sleeping, so I don’t dream as often anymore.

 In fact, sometimes I wish I had been an  insomniac. I wish I just would never fall asleep. I wished I could sleep in erratic patterns, so each period of rest was short. I wondered what it would be like, unable to sleep, so much time in your hands while the world rested. I already knew how it felt with early mornings- the quiet of a dark house, no one stirring for another hour at least. I wondered what it would be like to experience that for a whole period of time. I would have so much time to myself, so much peace and quiet and be successful. Or at least I thought. Insomnia can be dangerous if not treated, even fatal, and so I never wish I would unwillingly be subjected to insomnia, no matter the temptation it illusively gives. 

I could go on about the 32 hour day and a more in depth explanation of its impact. (This was initially 14 pages long – about 6.1k words of me just emotionally ranting and info dumping that I decided to cut it down to the main idea.) The 32 hour cycle is vicious and probably one of the worst ways to manage the stress of school, extracurriculars, and lack of time. And yet, I’ve found it to be the best way to manage everything going around me. As I said, my circadian rhythm is a blessing and a curse. Nothing will be according to how we want it to be, such as circadian clocks and assignments, but we can always work around it so we can succeed. That’s what the 32 hour day is to me. 

Feature Image credits: https://saminasleep.com/articles/what-you-need-to-know-about-circadian-rhythm/

Part 175- Using AI in schools

Rovija Khapre 0 Comment School Life, Science and Technology , , ,
Part 175- Using AI in schools

So there’s been huge news regarding students using AI-based websites such as ChatGPT to complete their work for them. This includes using it to write essays and do assignments they should be doing themselves. Now, I’ve just recently discovered ChatGPT and even discovered it is restricted by my school. Funny story actually. I started using a different device at school than my school-issued one, and I had ChatGPT pulled on up one of the tabs to experiment with it. I accidentally clicked on the tab at school, it refreshed, and popped up as restricted for Academic Fraud. So yeah, it’s banned at my school. At many schools, actually. But that’s besides the point. The whole point is, really, how we could use AI such as ChatGPT at school for BENEFICIAL purposes. No I don’t mean to get a wonderful and fake report card from cheating in order to get a new phone. No no no. I mean, to have a TRULY MODERN way of learning using ChatGPT and other such resources. So let us begin.

The advancement of technology has become a major breakthrough in our lives, and yet we’re still working on improving it. Technology is outdated when it becomes inefficient and a faster method to do something is found. Every new technological invention is made to be faster than the current, yet will get replaced by a newer faster version. Take writing for example. We used to write essays and papers by hand, and spend painstaking hours creating something to perfection. Especially at a time where ink was commonly used. Imagine how many times the U.S. Constitution could have been re-written due to a spelling mistake. After quills we had pens and pencils. Then typewriters and after that, computers. Computers started advancing and becoming smaller and more powerful. We now have speech recognizing devices like Alexa or Google Home. There’s even development in Natural Language Processing and Neural Networks so we can use our thoughts to write. Technology will never last in one form forever. It’ll keep advancing and soon the world will as well. People will need to keep up with this in order to survive. Those who didn’t will go extinct. (Not literally but you get the idea.)

So how does this relate to ChatGPT? Well for starters, we can’t ignore the presence in technology in our lives. It’s everywhere around us. However, simply banning it our trying to prevent it from being used isn’t working. Schools are trying to ban the use of ChatGPT and other similar sites to prevent students from cheating. Is that really necessary though? Although ChatGPT can be used to generate essays and do work for students, it can also be used as a supplement to help enhance the learning experience.

Schools are made solely to teach kids. To make them proficient in the basics of where the current world is today. It’s preparing us for the world by kind of, fueling us with essential information. They want us to learn and then test us to make sure we’ve understood that concept. But the way everyone learns is different. Some can pick up on things quick and ace the topic while others need more time. Even when explained it can be difficult to understand. Sometimes the questions asked aren’t answered and students are left worse than they began. ChatGPT can solve that. It can provide one-on-one tutoring to help them learn at their own pace and even provide practice tests and answers to help them understand. ChatGPT can take the most difficult thing and simplify it in a way you could understand. Perhaps it’s easier written like a poem or maybe composed like a song. ChatGPT could do that and create something truly remarkable that will benefit you.

ChatGPT could even be used for research assistance. They can help students find and organize research needed by providing summaries, related articles and more. Ever had a difficult time finding an answer to one question? How many articles or websites would you have had to search through to either give up in defeat or finally get it? ChatGPT can help with that. It can quickly pull up exactly what you need. Now, as ChatGPT is an AI model, and like all AI, is imperfect, something’s may be incorrect. AI can only do as much as it is told to do. Hence, it can only have information up to the amount it’s been programmed with. ChatGPT is limited to knowledge up to 2020 (as far as I know) so recent events may not be provided. Even still, it may mess up. Like, earlier today just for fun I asked ChatGPT to list the members of SEVENTEEN in order by age. It took about three tries for it to successfully list all 13 members by age. The first time it started off almost 4 members late and repeated some of them. The second time one member was missing. After correcting the AI for a final time only did it successfully do what was asked.

Instead of banning AI websites like ChatGPT altogether, maybe they should create a feature that disables them. ChatGPT could be used to learn about new topics and develop a full understanding of them, but turned off when it comes to testing. Simply copy and pasting isn’t learning. If one uses ChatGPT in a way it should be intended- to answer questions and fill the gaps we are unfamiliar with- then is it really that harmful? I don’t think so. Is it wrong to try and learn? In certain circumstances yes, most likely, but otherwise?

As a way to conclude this post I wanted to share some other AI websites I found that are similar to ChatGPT, except with their own respective characteristics.

  • ChatSonic (The underlying technology behind ChatGPT but going beyond ChatGPT’s limitations)
  • Rytr (A way to generate ideas to help get started on a post)
  • WordTune (A way to articulate your thoughts or when they sound awkward)
  • Essaybot (I would consider this one cheating as it gives you a pre written paragraph re-worded, but otherwise this is an option)
  •  Talk to Books (Exploring ideas by getting answers from books)
These were some quick websites I found on the internet. I’m not trying to promote the use of AI websites to do your work. Instead, I’m trying to explain it’s benefits and how it can be used to enhance our learning and working process in order to be more successful. That is not equivalent to copy paste. Anyways, I hope you all have a wonderful evening and I will see you next post. Bye!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Part 170- High School & Homecoming

Rovija Khapre 0 Comment School Life , , ,
Part 170- High School & Homecoming

 So I had my first homecoming. As in, I attended my first homecoming. Not that I was the one invited for homecoming. Confused? Me too. 

So lets break it down. Homecoming. Pretty much means what you would expect. Coming home. More specifically, the coming home of our prestigious alumni. (Insert singsongy voice) Homecoming is an annual, American tradition where people, towns, high schools, and colleges come together to welcome back former members of the community. I’m not disrespecting if that would still apply to us since we don’t really live near colleges. It might just be the welcoming back of former students, teachers, and community members. Maybe. I’m not sure. I’m new to high school, ask a senior. (Or someone more cultured than me) 

Homecoming usually takes place near late September to early October, and is built around a central event such as a banquet or dance, and most often, a game of American football. Yes the game that isn’t really football but is, hence the name American Football. Call it non-soccer, or non-football football. Anyways, many common activities that take place during this time include a parade featuring aspects of the school such as sports and marching band, a football game on the home field, coronation of a homecoming queen and/or king, and a dance that takes place the day after the game. I had my first homecoming dance last night. So that’s what I meant by attending homecoming. 

The first homecoming-like event was the University of Missouri’s 1911 football game where alumni were invited to attend. This was centered around a game and parade, and from this, it became an annual event. Homecoming usually has a backings court which is a representative group if students. My school’s homecoming court was Lord and Lady (Freshman), Due and Duchess (Sophomore), Prince and Princess (Junior), and then King and Queen which is Seniors. We also have His and Her Excellency which consists of two teachers/staff. I know, a little excessive. It’s a fun tradition though.

For my first homecoming experience, I have to say it’s as really exciting. My favorite part is the decoration I’m not sure how each school does it, but we had every sport, fine arts, club, and such decorate a window or a section of a wall. There were balloons and streamers, colorful pop outs, familiar cultural references *cough cough BTS cough cough*, and so many other cute decorations. I loved how each group had something unique and true to what they do, and I loved seeing the school decorated and glammed up for this. The spirit week for homecoming was also super exciting. Monday- Where did all the time go. Each grade had a different theme such as freshman as little kids and seniors as senior citizens. Tuesday- Dress up with another person. Have another person dress you up in a crazy, cool, or fun outfit. Wednesday was a favorite artist, celebrity, album day. Thursday was a pajama day, and Friday was a Hoco shirt (special shirts sold for Hoco ‘22) and Mums/Garters. Now. What is a mum? 

Frankly, I have no clue. This is apparently a Texas high school tradition, and is very popular. (Of course it is.) So a mum began as a “sweet Texas token of affection given to a girl by her date in honor of the high school homecoming football game and other events.” ( Schumann, Natalie. “How Giant Homecoming Mums Became a Texas Tradition.” Country Living, 20 Sept. 2020, https://www.countryliving.com/life/g28035883/homecoming-mums-tradition-ideas/. ) Boys would accent a chrysanthemum bloom ( which became the unofficial flower of homecoming events) with ribbons and ornaments and give them to a girl. These would be small and pinned on to clothing. However, over time, not only have they been worn around necks, but they’ve also grown in size. On Friday I saw a mum wider than a girl’s torso, with huge decorations. Some covered their entire torso and were heavily adorned with ribbons, bells, stuffed animals, ruffles, multiple artificial flowers, and such. Some even had lights on theirs. 

Source: {https://www.mymomsmums.com/pricing}


On home games, we have a pep rally during school. This usually consists of some stunts and tumbling performed by the cheer team, a bit of dancing by the Dazzlers, the band/marching band performing, a little about the football team, the drum line coming out and being the absolute coolest (my favorite part of you couldn’t tell), class chants, and a finale of singing the school anthem(?). I’m not sure if it’s the anthem. It’s more of a song, not a fight song, but it’s sung at the end of games and pep rallies. Pep rallies are the best. Except for the fact that literally no one in my grade wants to cheer along or participates in the class chant. I don’t know if other schools do this- they probably do- but each class has a special chant for all four years of high school. I think it might be because we’re new and we want to seem cool but in reality it makes us look like wimps and spiritless. Like, come on guys. You can do better. We’re the biggest class ever seen. We’re loud. Show that off! Stop being so shy. But yeah. That’s it. 

Now, final dance. Prom. I won’t be able to go to prom yet since it’s for Juniors and Seniors, another two years before I can, but it is something I’m looking forward to going when I can. Prom, short for Promenade, means (according to Merriam-Webster) “…a ceremonious opening of a formal ball consisting of a grand march of all the guests.” In th past, it was meant as a way to promote social etiquette for university’s senior classes as they finish their studying years and enter society. Over time it has now become something for high school juniors and seniors. It can often be seen as one last way for the class to have fun together before the year ends. The main reason I would want to attend is because one, it’s a final memory with my grade, and two, it reminds me of my 8th grade dance from last year. 

Homecoming. was really nice and I had a lot of fun. However, it was the entire school invited, and my friend and I could barely find people we knew. We had fun together, but not as much fun as we could have with other people. Last year’s dance was only 8th graders, and it was at the end of the school year. At that time, we were finishing the last of our final exams, and it was very easy-going at that time. We also knew each other very well, having bonded together over the past 3 years. It was really comfortable, and it was easy to enjoy. Homecoming is pretty early in the year, and we only started interacting with our peers. (Freshman I mean) Since two other middle schools’ 8th transitioning to 9th grade students were joining us at high school, we had classes with new people. It was 6th grade all over again. It would have been nice to have a dance at the end of the school year, where we had closer relationships with others and could enjoy better. But at least I got to go/ decided to go. Super happy I did. I was considering not going for some time but I’m really happy my parents convinced me to. It helped set up future expectations for the upcoming years. 

Firstly, wear comfortable shoes. As pretty as high heels look under a nice dress, they are absolute PAIN when dancing. I took off my heels around the last 45 minutes and my feet have never felt more relieved. It was so much more comfortable to jump and dance flat footed. A bunch of other girls wore white adidas, Nikes, and converse under their dresses as per fashion, but also because of this reason. Now, understanding why, I’ll try that next time. Second, the dress codes aren’t as strict as last year. There wasn’t a lot of action taken on revealing-ish dresses and so a lot of people wore short dresses, had open backs, low necklines, and the guys even took off their shirts near the end. (Ok that was weird to admit.) I mean, I get that it was super hot in the Student Union with everyone dancing, but c’mon man. There’s kids here. Have some decency. Lastly, I need a date. Not for a relationship or anything romantic, but for someone to carry my stuff for me or provide jackets if it’s too cold. And also if your friends abandon you and you want someone special to talk to. Maybe. Yeah. That’s it. (I kinda had a date to our dance last year. We went as ‘friends’ and had fun together. I kinda abandoned him a bunch of times to dance and meet other people.  (Sorry) But hey it was fun. *AHEM* Too personal. (HAHA) Anyways, yeah. School dances are fun. I understand why people make such a big deal out of them. I would say that a lot of people choose not to go because they don’t have a date. I think that’s incredibly stupid. I remember saying something like that for a dance in 6th grade. I missed out and regretted it ever since. School dances are just ways to have fun. 

It doesn’t matter if you don’t have a date, or no one you know is going. Just have fun. I can argue for the no friends going part, but I guarantee someone you know will be there. I have personal experience. The least likely people you expect will be there, and you can have fun with them. Just enjoy yourself. That’s all that matters. Just have fun, make memories, don’t do any funny business, and have a great time. That’s what should count. 

T

Part 162- Dallas Holocaust Museum Trip

Rovija Khapre 0 Comment School Life, Social Responsibilities , , ,
Part 162- Dallas Holocaust Museum Trip

So this quarter in ELA, we’ve begun learning about the Holocaust. Or really, we’re learning more about the Holocaust. It’s been more than halfway through, and we’ve talked about many different themes and factors that contributed and could be seen in the Holocaust, as well as the novel we’re focusing on, Night. We’ve talked about genocide, propaganda, cruelty and inhumanity, and even silence. To get more involved regarding this unit, we’ve had a major summarize project to do on the book Night, and just this Wednesday, we- my entire grade level- went on a field trip to the Dallas Holocaust & Human Rights Museum.

I’m not going to give a step by step explanation of my trip, as that would be boring. However, I wanted to share some of the things that caught my eye and really interested me. For example, how the museum is split into three wings.

The Holocaust/Shoah Wing, Human Rights Wing, and a Pivot to America Wing. Although the main focus of this museum is about the Holocaust, it also incorporates a section about human rights, something which the Jews had taken from by the Nazis, and how the rights of people are restored in America over the course of history.

First, the Holocaust Wing. I would say one of the most interesting things to see was a map of all the concentration camps. When we think of the Holocaust, the most common names such as Auschwitz, Auschwitz-Birkenau, Buna, and many others come to mind. But we don’t really comprehend that there were more than 1,200 until we get a visual. Seeing all the concentration camps put onto one big picture was really eye-opening. It was put into context and I was pretty much just shocked at how many there were. Another thing was the propaganda.

 

 

Obviously this isn’t an immediate effect, but rather something continuous over some time in order to really sway the opinion. But seeing the posters and commercials of the propaganda at that time really is interesting to look at. It was fascinating to watch and read about the views and ideals that the party and Hitler were trying to enforce, and seeing how that slowly changed the public’s opinion and led to the crimes made against the Jews. Hearing about the Holocaust makes us think about the cruelty of teh Nazis and Germans against teh Jews. We have this sense of, not necessarily disgust, but resentment towards them for their actions. We don’t realize that some of these people were swayed and “manipulated” to do so. Although they were the ones who ended up being swayed and carried out Hitler’s orders, they were merely influenced by someone who took advantage of power. Some people, though, didn’t need swaying and did so almost proudly.

I also liked the small details in between the sections. For example, displays of the clothing worn- The Boy in Striped Pajamas reference- and the different versions of the yellow star the Jews were forced to wear. There were also artifacts of stamps, shoes, and even silverware that was made or used. There was even a ‘shower head’ from the gas chambers, as well as a solid form of Zyklon B. ( Displayed and secured of course) There was also a part about religion, and how leaders of different religions- like the Pope- responded to this situation.

My other favorite part of this wing was the box car they had. You were able to sit inside and watch a video on the deportation of Jews. Reading books and listening to testimonies of survivors about deportation and the journey isn’t broad enough to understand how poorly they were treated. There were very few, if not no windows, and no room at all as at a time hundreds of people were shoved into one car at once. Being able to sit in one and actually picture and see how many people would have fit in it is really something. Watching the video and imagining the situation while sitting inside is a new level of understanding, for me at least. I was able to picture the conditions they had and try to visualize how it must have looked like when they got in the cars. The Germans carelessly shoved them in, and promised them it would be a few hours, when it was really days. ( In some cases, 5 or more) Another thing is the sound. I never thought about how it must sound inside. I’ve read about the space and conditions, but never about how LOUD it was. In the video, a survivor talks about how loud it is inside the boxcar. Some people were praying, some were singing, some were crying, and some had gone mad. And one by one, people would be dropping like flies. The only times the doors opened would be to take out the dead. Otherwise, they were inside.

The Human Rights Wing was, I think, the smallest. This mainly was about what happened after the Holocaust, like the formation of the UN, and some of the activists such as Eleanor Roosevelt. The thing that stood out to me was the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. There was a 3D visual of the rights people from different countries put in. There were many similar to the first 10 amendments in the Constitution. However, what really intrigued me was that the United States did not sign the UDHR until 1992. Why? Because one of the rights was that everyone was equal. At that time, however, a big issue was slavery. I’ll get back to this part later when we move to the Pivot on America Wing.

The other part of the Human Rights Wing was the 10 stages of genocide. I absolutely loved how it was made. ( The exhibit to be clear.) It highlights the 10 main signs of genocide and how they can be seen throughout history all over the world. The ten stages are:

  • Polarization
  • Dehumanization
  • Organization
  • Preparation
  • Extermination
  • Denial
  • Persecution
  • Classification
  • Symbolization
  • Discrimination

I think what really amazed me by this exhibit was how you could define something so…brutal into these 10 stages. How do you even classify that? That’s what really amazes me. How people are changing, or trying to change. Genocide has been- not exactly common- but present throughout history, and even today with the Uyghur Muslims in China.

However, it’s never been seen as a problem. It’s never been addressed or seen as a problem we need to fix, until the Holocaust happened. I think that was a major turning point in history that really made people stop and think. Although our world is not perfect, and there are still many injustices being faced by people today, we’re working towards solving this to not repeat the past.

The final wing: Pivot to America Wing. This wing was made to show how hindu rights are changing in America. Similar to the other wings, it included testimonies and interactive displays and kiosks that talk about making a difference. Most of the displays were about slavery, as that is a big part in American history. There were some activists who were working or worked on creating foundations and improving the lives of many others who faced injustice. I think there was one on Native Americans, but I unfortunately did not get much time to see the entire wing. During our field trip we were given a packet to fill out as a grade. However, under the worry that it’ll be graded, I ended up spending my time trying to get everything filled out. Because of this, I ended up not being able to actually read and learn more about the wings. I was – and still am- upset and disappointed it turned out this way, but I am hoping to go again and be able to actually learn this time. It really was an excellent experience and I really enjoyed the trip. I really just wished we didn’t have an assignment, as that prevented a lot of students, including myself, from learning properly.

The final part of our visit was a film called Voices of Courage. This was a “documentary” or a collection of interviews put together of Holocaust survivors that live in Dallas today. The one thing that stood out to me was the interview with a man from the military who liberated those in the camps. You always hear about the survivors’ experience, but never about the liberators. That was a new perspective. He explained that when they had entered the concentration camp, they were cautious. They had no idea what was happening. They were expecting Nazis seeing the barracks, but instead they were shocked to see Jews, malnourished and abnormally thin and sick. They had no idea what was happening, and seeing all these Jews completely surprised them. Listening to how the Jews were overjoyed and crying seeing their liberators was just devastating. They had been taken from their homes, dehumanized, starved, and lived under the fear of being sent to the crematoria everyday. They became malnourished and frail, most of them becoming living corpses with decaying skin and frail limbs, and hoped everyday to be saved. Most of them lost hope, and now they were finally saved. After going through all that, it must be overwhelming. They’ve lost almost everything, including their own identities.

Something I want to add is that the world is changing. I mentioned before that we’re working to stop genocide and injustices in human rights, but never exactly how. We’re doing so by speaking up. Let me backtrack to the very beginning. Remember when I mentioned a summative project we had to do over Night? Well, our main idea in this entire book is about silence. “…to remain silent and indifferent is the greatest sin of all…” . This is our main quote. The Holocaust could have been stopped before if people had not remained silent or indifferent to wards the crime. By remaining silent, the crime is only being increased and fueled to continue. The Jews didn’t know what was happening, and that made their death even more painful. Yes, they had warnings, but those were unclear as no one could confirm what was really happening. The world was too preoccupied by the war, and didn’t notice them. And those who did notice, chose not to say anything. This is what helped the Holocaust continue.

However, after the Holocaust, people began to deny it ever happening, and that it was a myth. In response, Holocaust survivors decided to speak up. If people forgot about the Holocaust, it would be bound to happen again. In Night, Elie Wiesel- a Holocaust survivor- himself writes that it is their responsibility to speak out about this so that the future generation don’t have to go through another Holocaust again. Similar to the UN. The United Nations is dedicated to protecting human rights after witnessing what happened with the Holocaust. That’s why the Uyghur Muslim genocide is a problem that the countries are trying to stop. To prevent another Holocaust from happening, and because the Uyghur Muslims are facing injustices against their human rights.

I really enjoyed this field trip. I haven’t been on a. Field trip in like 3 years so it was really fun to go on one again. I also definitely enjoy the museum. I really liked the experience. I haven’t been to a history museum in a one time, and I think that I was able to learn a lot about how the Holocaust has influenced and changed our modern society today. I really really hope I can go again though in order to go through EVERY exhibit and read through everything again so I can actually have a good experience, but other than that I really liked it. I was able to see so many new perspectives in the Holocaust, be Abel to listen and hear about teh small details and events that went on between the event, how the UN was formed and why it’s important, 10 stages of genocide which I didn’t even know existed, and got to get a brief introduction on how this has helped shape our society today, So, I hope you all have an excellent weekend, and also got to learn something new through this post. Bye!

https://www.dhhrm.org/exhibitions/holocaust-shoah-wing/ – Museum link for more information and picture of the wings

 

 

Part 161- Native Americans and History

Rovija Khapre 0 Comment General Topics, Law and Justice, School Life, Social Responsibilities , ,
Part 161- Native Americans and History

So in History we’ve started a new unit. We’ve finished Madison’s Presidency, War of 1812, Industrial Revolution, and Monroe’s Presidency. Now, we’ve started Jackson’s Presidency. We’ve only just started the unit, so I’m still learning. However, we did a brief insight on what the unit covers. One of the things that stood out to me- well two- were the Indian Removal Act and the Trail of Tears.

The Indian Removal Act authorized President Andrew Jackson to negotiate land-exchange treaties with tribes living east of the Mississippi. The treaties enacted under this act’s provisions led to the reluctant-and often forcible- emigration of tens of thousands of American Indians to plots of land west of the Mississippi. This is more commonly known as the Trail of Tears. The Cherokee Indians, and many other tribes, were forced to leave their lands and travel from North Carolina and Georgia through Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, Missouri, and Arkansas. More than 800 miles ( 1,287 km)- to the Indian Territory. It’s said that President Jackson did so for the good of the Natives, and so they would be able to live away from the colonies and not be affected by them. However, if that was the intention, then why couldn’t the Natives be transported by train or cart? We had just gotten out of the Industrial Revolution at that time, and had developed all these amazing, efficient ways to travel yet we forced the Indians to travel by FOOT on a 116 day journey, and on which more than 4,000 out of 15,000 Cherokees died of cold, disease, and lack of food? We were doing this for their better good, yet we ended up killing a fourth of their population! And for what? The land we promised them, eventually was taken away. Again! By the US! Couldn’t we have provided them with food or clothing or even better transportation in order to help them safely reach their destination? It’s called the Trail of Tears because of the tears shed for the loved ones lost from this journey. However, this is only one event.

 In the past, the Treaty of Hopewell was signed in Georgia, protecting Cherokee Native Americans in the United States, yet we sectioned off their land. Then there’s the Treaty of Houston, in which all of their land outside of the borders previously established is given up. All within 6 years. 

The Battle of Timbers was the last major battle over the Northwest territory following the American Revolution. Then we have the Louisiana Purchase. France pretty much just sold it to us without caring about who lived there or not.

In 1814, US forces and Native American allies attacked Creek Indians who opposed American expansion and encroachment of their territory. The Creeks cede more than 20 million acres of land after their loss.

After President Jackson, President Martin Van Buren did a similar thing. In order to speed up the process of the Cherokees leaving their land, he enlists 7,000 troops to hold them at gunpoint and marches them 1,200 miles. GUNPOINT! Firstly, we strip them of their own land without their consent and force them to walk 800 miles to new land. Then, because there are still some left and we want to speed it up, we ( the US) decide to make them march 1,200 miles at gunpoint. How absurd is that?! 

Not only that, we start passing acts that forbid them from leaving their reservations unless they have permission. We basically trap them in a plot of land smaller than they once had, just because we want to settle further west and expand. What happened to ‘the good of the Indians’?

Daily living on the reservations was difficult. It was almost impossible for tribes to maintain their culture and traditions inside a confined area. Not only that, feuding tribes were carelessly thrown together, and Indians who once were hunters, struggled as farmers. They were forced to get out of their spiritual beliefs by converting to Christianity, learn English, and wear non-Indian clothing.

Although the intention of this was to help the natives improve their quality of life by assimilating into white culture easier and faster, it really didn’t do anything. As the land owned by the Indians grew smaller and smaller, more land was opened to white settlers and railroads. Much of the reservation wasn’t even good farmland, and many Indians couldn’t afford the supplies needed to reap a harvest.

After all this, in 1934 a new act was passed. The Indian Reorganization Act. It was passed with the goals of restoring Native American culture and returning surplus land to tribes. It also encouraged tribes to self-govern and write their own constitutions and provided financial aid for any reservation infrastructure.

Today, modern Indian reservations still exist, and fall under the umbrella of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. The BIA is a United States federal agency within the Department of the Interior, and is responsible for implementing federal laws and policies related to American Indians and Alaskan Natives. It works with tribal governments to help administer law enforcement and justice; promote development in agriculture, infrastructure, and the economy; enhance tribal governance; manage natural resources; and generally advance the quality of life in tribal communities.

Despite that this is meant to help the Natives, I can’t help but feel it’s ironic. I mean, before they literally pushed the Natives as far as they could to help the US develop and expand, and this led to the reason they suffered and could barely survive. They did this without caring about the conditions there or how it could affect their lifestyle, and now they have an entire agency that helps advance the quality of their life. It’s basically like, okay we’re gonna take all your land despite the kindness you’ve shown, expand our own country and develop it first, and then we’ll create this agency to help you have a better life and help take care of your tribe. If only we had never pushed the natives, we wouldn’t be like this.

Even though we have an agency that helps the tribes, living conditions on the reservations aren’t ideal and are often compared to that of a third-world or try. Housing is overcrowded and often below standards, and many people on the reservations are stuck in a cycle of poverty. Health care is provided on reservations, but it’s underfunded and, in some cases, practically non-existent. I get that the BIA may be doing as much as it can to help the natives, but this is really ridiculous.

We’ve pretty much forced them to adapt and live in a home smaller than what was theirs, and get used to our modern society while they’re still struggling to survive and improve their living conditions. While it’s a good thing that we’re trying to fix our mistakes by helping them, it really just seems a bit ironic to me.

Another thing I want to add is the Worcester v. Georgia case. In this case, the Supreme Court ruled that the Cherokee nation was a “domestic dependent nation” with no rights binding on a state. That being said, they should be able to do what they want, right? Well, no. Even though they lost in court because they were ruled as a distinct nation, they were never treated like one. They were practically treated like animals as they were forced to move and give up their land. The land that was rightfully theirs first.

But why would this have happened? Why is it that now we started caring instead of back then? Well, the same reason why slavery existed. Because of the race and color. The Europeans fought with each other for territory. They didn’t just take it and say, oh this is mine now. Why? Well because they were mostly of the same color. They looked similar. They were white. But when they come to the New World and see the natives of a different color ( darker than them) they think it’s okay for them to ignore the natives. The color isn’t the same, so why should they care? It’s because they’re different that settlers pushed them back. If the natives weren’t, most likely there wouldn’t have been the same problems as there were in history.

But, even after all the problems and challenges they’ve had to go through in the past and even now, the natives continue to hold onto their heritage and thrive as a community. I admire that. Although they’ve experienced pain, and suffering, and gone through so many hardships, they continue to persist and pass down their traditions and beliefs. They continue to, and forever will. They’ve never given up, and that’s truly remarkable. 

I feel guilty knowing how the settlers pretty much kicked the natives out of their own homes. It’s upsetting how this part of history is skimmed over and not thoroughly understood. I know slavery and the actions with the natives are two different things, but they are similar in some ways. Recently, people have been taking out evidence of the Confederate to erase that part in history. If they’re taking that out, then shouldn’t they remove everything we did to the natives as well? Or at least bring it to light, as that’s what we’ve been doing with the BLM movement.  I find it hypocritical.The United States is always trying to defend human rights and speak out against genocide. However, what people don’t realize is that what we’ve done to natives in the past is similar. For example, Uyghur genocide in China, or the  Holocaust. I know that these topic are far more brutal and much much more worse than the history with Native Americans. It does not come onto the same level as them. The Holocaust was a genocide of European Jews, of which over 6 million were killed. Extermination through labor in concentration camps, mass shootings, gas chambers, extermination camps, and so many other ways to implement the persecution. In China, the Uyghur genocide is being done through state-sponsored internment camps, forced labor, suppression of Uyghur religious practices, forced sterilization, etc. I don’t even know how to describe them. It’s horrible. Although I cannot compare it to the situations with the Native Americans in the past, it is only slightly similar. It’s hypocritical of us to speak out and do so much to change all the racial persecution and discrimination in the world when it’s what we’ve done in the past. We need to change this. The United States is the land of the free. It’s shown in a good light. We’re always trying to make a change and show ourselves as a protector. But how do we do that if we never protected the people who welcomed us on their land. Who helped us survive and actually helped us grow? This brings up another thing. Thanksgiving. The whole idea behind this holiday is ironic. We celebrate Thanksgiving as a reminder of how the Native Americans helped us and treated us kindly when we arrived on their land. To be thankful. In reality though, we’ve never returned their kindness. We took it for granted and drive them out of their homes. While there are thousands out there suffering, and living in poverty, we sit at a table with the original Thanksgiving meal, thanking them for their kindness. How ironic is that. I don’t mind Thanksgiving. At least we’re acknowledging their kindness. But ho ware we going to repay it? That’s what we should  be doing instead. On Thanksgiving, instead of sitting and having a grand meal as a tradition, isn’t there something else we can do? A way to show we’re actually thankful? Maybe help get them out of poverty? Or even give back a proper compensation for all the land we’ve taken from them? Maybe not just in money, but if possible, in the land that is left?I only mention this because I think this is also an important part of history we should understand. We need to understand how 13 colonies grew to a country. Not just by the presidents and wars, but also by how we took the land from others. We need to know our mistakes and be able to fix them, or at least compensate for them in order to move on and progress. That’s how we understand history. 

Part 160- This week…

Rovija Khapre 0 Comment School Life , , ,
Part 160- This week…

This week’s post is another weekly school story/ breakdown. Well, more like a short light-hearted one-sided conversation. Hah. Well, let’s go!

Oh my god, was last week a daze. So last week was Thanksgiving break. One full week of no school, hours of free time, and no work. Something truly looked forward to every year. Well, so was I. Was. In the future, at that point I still will, but given how the after effects of this year’s break were, ehhhhhh. Not really.

Almost every time there’s a long weekend or a break at least 4 days long, I forget everything. Literally. I can never seem to get back into my schedule. Maybe this happens to everyone, but I’ve experienced it multiple times lately. Following Halloween, we got Monday no Tuesday off from school. On Wednesday, when I returned, I forgot my ID. I was panicking so bad because I was terrified some teacher would find out I didn’t have it and would make me stay outside until I did. I remember hearing a story in 5th grade of a boy who didn’t wear his ID and couldn’t go to school unless he found it. I was fortunate enough that my dad was able to bring it to me before school started. The next day, I forgot my chrome book. So once again I had to call one of my parents to drop it off. After a few days, it was normal again. However, this week was also a disaster.

So, on Monday I forgot my chrome book. And in the first half of the week I thought I lost my violin tuner. When I was reviewing for my quiz on Wednesday, I forgot all my proofs and theorems in Geometry. Oh and then I had a hard time reviewing for my Brain Function Test on Friday because I couldn’t get the Olfactory Bulbs/tracts and Optic nerves/chiasms right. I also completely blanked out on my math test for a good 5 minutes before I was able to get into my senses. ( I still got a 104/105 though. Disappointingly, I lost 1 point in a very minor and frustrating error.) I also messed up on one question of my math quiz and didn’t read my writing correctly , so I messed up and lost 2 points.

Before the break begins I’m so relieved and joyous and grateful I get a break. I mean, do you know how much work you get before the break?! Like at least 6 assignments and 3-4 quizzes or tests before. It’s such a relief when you finally get a break. But then it ends and you feel so drained. Breaks are helpful, relaxing, and exciting, but also annoying, troublesome, and tiring. Although I get a lot of time to myself and can feel good in that moment, it’s really difficult to get back into that same work mode again.

After seeing what happens after a 4 day break and full week break, I wonder what’s going to happen after winter break. I’ll be leaving for winter vacation a week early so I’ll miss the last week of school for the 2021 year. So after missing 3 weeks of school, I’m most likely going to be in the grumpiest and most sour mood to exist when I return. I’ll probably have forgotten everything and will leave the majority of my stuff behind at home. Can’t wait for that. It’s funny. I just get back into my regular schedule and routine, and then it’s going to break again.

Apart from that, I’m super excited for the next few weeks. This Monday I literally told myself that days pass by really quick, and it’s only this week full of work before I get free days. Well, less work-filled days. See, next week after Tuesday, as far as I know I have the next few days a bit casual. I may have a quiz in between, but otherwise, it’s gonna be great. Next Thursday I have a Winter Orchestra Concert which I am super excited for. It’ll be my first time performing for a live audience in almost 2 years. I unfortunately wasn’t feeling well the day of my Fall concert so I had to miss that. However, this time it’ll be great. I also get to perform as concertmaster for my orchestra, and I am really excited. Especially with the pieces we get to play. Jingle bell rock, Harry Potter, and Ode to Joy. Ode to joy is a kind of tradition each year where all orchestras play a part of the piece together. Jingle bell rock is pretty simple. But Harry Potter is the best. We did a run-through of the whole piece on Tuesday and it was so lit. It’s one of the harder pieces we are playing this year, so it’s a new experience. Because of that, it makes playing it even better. I cannot wait to play it in front of an audience. It’s so energetic in the end as the tempo increases, and it’s definitely an adrenaline rush just from listening.

Also, we have Holiday Tours on the day after. This is also a tradition with our school where we go around and play for the elementary schools nearby and show the kids there how great the fine arts department is. Band, Orchestra, and choir perform there, and it’s really exciting. When I was younger, it was something I always looked forward to and loved, and I’m really excited that Iget to be a part of it this time. I never imagined I would be in that same place of those musicians who I admired, and would be able to play for kids who would do the same in the following years.

Then, the evening of that Friday I have my first All Region rehearsal. It’s my first time getting into All Region and I’m looking forward to that as well. Compared to All District, I’ll be playing with kids from all over the region of Texas. On Saturday we’ll have one final rehearsal before we put on a concert. Then, on the following Monday I will be leaving for an early winter break. More details on that will come later. But anyways, it’s gonna be great. So many Orchestra live playing days. I’m really looking forward to next week. 

Oh and one last thing. I got to dissect a sheep brain. Twice. It was pretty enjoyable. A lot of people when they see organs or have to dissect body parts they get disgusted and cannot look at it or stand the smell. For me, it was fine. It looked pretty normal. I’d say the most amusing part to me was when my other teammates were completely disgusted by the smell while I was unbothered. It smelled like dead fish, and was oddly normal. The first of the two dissections was a labeling one where we had to dissect and label the interior and exterior of the brain. This included the cortexes, cerebrum, cerebellum, brain stem, lobes, hypothalamus, corpus callosum, and thalamus. The second day was a mystery disease activity. Our team’s patient had a problem in the Central Nervous System- more specifically the hypothalamus- so we got to dissect another brain to root out our problem. I found it most fascinating how you could see where the problem was inside the brain. Although there was a mix up with the labeling when they were being sent and we got a different group’s brain, it was fascinating to see how the part where there was a problem/disease was most prominent. Here’s a picture down below. 
So yeah. Sheep brain dissections helped me get out of my exhausted state and progress through the long week.

Other than that nothing else really happened. About 87% of my week was just me being done with everything and exhausted, 8% was me being excited for cutting open a sheep brain, 3% was me manifesting the excitements of next week, and the remaining 2% was me thinking life is good. I dunno. Sometime between the week I started feeling good and told myself everything was all right. I have no idea where that came from, but it’s positive reassurance that is comforting to know. That’s pretty much how my entire week went. I hope you have a wonderful weekend, and an excellent evening. Bye!

Part 158- The Journey…

Rovija Khapre 0 Comment School Life , ,
Part 158- The Journey…

It’s been 9 years, and the journey has finally come to an end. Well, partially. Let me be more specific. After 9 years, my journey on the Kumon Reading program has finally ended. It ended some time ago in August, but very recently, something very exciting has brought it up. But before that, let’s travel 9 years back to where it all started.

2012-2013:

I don’t remember the exact details of when I first started Kumon, but according to my parents, it was around when I was 4. I had first started the reading program, and my dad says that this was so I could be able to read. Reading doesn’t necessarily refer to books or text comprehension or just words in general, but instead, it means to recognize something and understand what it means. In math, you read numbers and graphs, you can read different languages, signs, animal tracks, etc. All these are based on the basics of reading, and that’s primarily why my parents wanted me to start with reading before math. Skip forward a year to 2014.

2014:

I don’t remember much of 2014 as well, but there is one specific memory I have. Before I share, let me explain how the programs are structured. In Kumon, there are5th-grade5th-grade different levels, and they each focus on different skills. While both Programs are organized slightly differently, they both have a similar structure of what should be focused on in a certain set, and both have more content in the next level based on what was learned.

Anyways, I’m not sure the exact year this happened, but, after a few minutes of intense calculation and photo searching, I believe it would have been sometime in 2014. I remember how one day, I was told that I would no longer be sitting with the Early Learners, and would have to sit with the older kids. I was pretty much confused at that time, but now looking back, I think it was because I had passed the Early Learning/Developing Skills levels. After that, I remember having to sit with the older kids and do my work instead of with my friends. I think sometime into 2014 I began the math program as well. ( And a side note, it was the year I first started learning the violin as well.)

Another memory I have about Kumon doesn’t exactly relate to the program itself, but how it’s helped me. I remember when I was in 1st grade, we were taking a quiz and I remember it being in addition. Vertical, aka ‘stacking’, the addition of 3-digit numbers. I very specifically remember how I already knew how to do this and kept saying it to myself when I first saw the paper. I’m not sure if this is entirely true, but I think I was the first to finish and was surprised to see my classmates struggling. I do not know what my 7-year-old brain was thinking, but that is what I very clearly remember of that year.

2015:

2015 is one of the years I have specific memories from. I moved from Ohio to Texas in 2015, started writing a blog very shortly after I moved, and began a new school in a new state that year as well. It was a spur of fast-moving changes that were overwhelming and complex at that time. Anyways, before I had moved, we had taken A LOT of Kumon packets with us so I still had that habit of Kumon, and to keep me working until school started, or we found another Kumon center for me to attend. I remember lying around in an apartment with piles of Level CII packets around me. I remember working on a made-up story about a woman called Petite Mama who lived far away and sold crops. Fascinating what the brain remembers, isn’t it?

I do remember when I started at a new Kumon Center. It was a new building, a new Instructor, and I was terrified. I eventually got used to it, and slowly started picking up from where I left off at my previous center.

2016:

There was only one change that happened that year. My mom started working at the Center so she could take over. Because of this, two things happened. One, I would have to start going to after-school care, which I dislike very much, and two, I would no longer go to the Center run-person. Since my mom worked there, she would bring me the packets regularly.

Another thing that happened was that I was chosen to take the CBE (Credit by Examination) test for math. I think that at that time, they wanted to see how it would go, and for that, there were 7 kids, including me, in 3rd grade who were chosen to take it. Out of that, 6 of us passed, and in 4th grade, we all took 5th-grade math. From that moment until now, I’ve been taking accelerated math, and am currently taking Geometry in 8th grade.

2017:

4th grade. The main part of 4th grade was 5th-grade math. It was a bit complicated as I was taking math a grade higher than normal, and because I had only learned the previous course over a few months. It was really fun though. I enjoyed taking it. I have a memory from this year as well. We were learning fractions, and I couldn’t help but beam through the entire lesson as I had learned how to use fractions long before. I just couldn’t help but feel good that I knew something others didn’t. Not in a smug, “Haha, I know more than you do!” way, but more, “Oh, I’ve learned this before!! I know how to do this!” way. It’s like when you know what something means or can do something that others haven’t, and the teacher lets you show the others or be an example. It was one of those moments.

2018:

Okay, 2018 was a terrible year for me. I’ve mentioned and complained many, many times how much last year brought me down and how much it set me back, but I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned that this had happened previously before as well. It wasn’t for all subjects, but more for math. I struggled HEAVILY that year, and most of my grades consisted of B’s and C’s. I don’t remember a time I ever got a 100 that year in math.

There was a point I got a 54 and had to completely redo the test to pass. I remember the amount of embarrassment and shame I felt on myself that day, as I could feel my classmates watching me, sitting there with tears rolling down, as my teacher explained what I did wrong to me. Although it was in a corner of the classroom, I could feel them watching my every move. It was the most humiliation I felt that day, and I was so ashamed of myself. I prided myself for being in accelerated math, but I had dropped so low I didn’t even know if I should still be proud or not. When I told them, I knew I had let them down and was frustrated with myself. I just couldn’t bring myself up from where I was that year. Although it got better, I was still so low and doing terrible that year. The best score from that year was 94. After that incident, my dad said that I had to get above a 90 to earn his trust back. I worked the best I could and managed to get a 94. It’s not one of my best memories of that year, but it was the fuel for my determination to not slip again the next year.

I also had some problems in Kumon that year as well. In Kumon, there are achievements you can make such as G by 4 or J by 6. They’re reaching specific levels in or before you reach a certain grade. In this case, I was aiming for G by 4. The problem was, I kept failing the test. This happened mainly because I didn’t do so well in the packets. Both for math and reading. Every time I got corrections back, it would just be red pen after red pen on each page. I went easy on everything. I had no real interest in doing it and didn’t bother to do the corrections no matter how many times my mom told me to. I think because I kept struggling in Kumon, I developed that habit when working, of not paying attention to my work, and that affected my grades that year. This set me back some time in the Program, and I do hope it never happens again.

2019:

After taking that vow to never drop so low in math again, I aimed to work hard and do my best in middle school. It was a new year, a new school, and a new environment. I wanted to start over and put my best effort into Kumon and my academics that year. One particular thing I loved about Kumon that year was that it had started teaching me algebraic functions. However, I didn’t do it…properly. I’m going to confess something I know is wrong, and I have kept to myself for some time now. I had looked up the answers for Level J several times. I had done the work though.  Looking back I regret it, as it was a reason I was set back once more, and because it is wrong. 

 Although I tried to compensate for it, it doesn’t fix the fact that I could have done the level once, and correctly.
2020:

We all know this year. Ah yes, the year you all know. The year where I did not push myself and was very relaxed when working. Yeah. I don’t think you need more explanation. For Kumon, it went well. I started level J for reading and was almost done with my second attempt at Level J for math. Math was slow because of that extra time, but Reading went by really fast. I completed Level J and started K that year. A little more than halfway through the school year, I completed Level J and started Level K. And that brings us to this year.

2021:

At the start of this year, I was on Level K for math, and Level L for reading. Was. Meaning, I finished Level L this year. I finished it this August5th-grade5th-grade and completed the entire Reading Program. Looking back, it has been an incredible journey to get this far. I’ve gone through so many ups and downs during this, and it only feels like yesterday where I was on level FI. Time goes by so fast, and who would have known that I would be done with the Reading Program after 9 years. I’ve done all the levels, and seen every part of it to get here, and now it’s over. I still have math, and that’ll take who knows how long. ( It finishes at Level O) Right now, I’ve completed Level K, but I’m stuck on reviewing it before I test. ( Maximum and Minimum are giving me a hard time.)

I’ve slowed down a bit since school started, in Kumon, but I’m trying to bring that stamina and determination to complete the Program back. After I complete the Math Program, I’ll be done with Kumon entirely, and have done both Programs from start to finish. This is my goal. I’ve already gotten everything else completed in the Math Program, and completion is the only thing left.

Apart from just completing the Reading Program, something even more amazing has happened. So, in Kumon each month there are certificates that come. Based on your grade, Level, and Level place for that month, you get a ranking along with other kids in that same category. I recently got mine, and I have “ranked 1 out of 4098 students in 7th grade in the USA, by reaching L 200 by August 2021.”

Ever since I’ve received my first award, I started aiming for higher. There are 4 “ranks”. Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum. I first started getting Gold, and that’s when I decided to work harder to get Platinum. I’ve started to get all Platinum for a few years now and to be honest, I’ve never thought further about my ranking. However, after seeing what my rank for August was, my new goal for math is to climb higher and rank 1st for math as well. In August, I ranked 848 out of 9302 students in the grade by reaching K 180. It’s okay, but it could be better. It could go higher, and now I want to work so it becomes 1.

Reading ranking

Math ranking

Kumon has helped me come a really long way. It’s helped me in so many ways other than just Math and Reading. It’s helped me learn to work independently by learning new concepts and understanding them myself, working through difficult problems I may not understand, and applying what I already know to go further. It’s helped shape my working style and method in order to get things done efficiently and correctly. Although I’m relieved I’ve finally finished the Reading Program, I know I’ll miss it. Maybe long after I’ve completed both programs, I’ll still want to go back and do Kumon again. It’s been, and still is, a part of my daily life for a very long time, and I want to keep working and doing it until the end. I’ve gotten this far already, and giving up would be a waste. So, I’ll keep working to complete the Math Program.