Schema Builder 1: Watching home videos from the past

I've spent this past week digging through boxes in the attic in order to find a bunch of our old videos. I've always wanted to get through all of them, but I've never had enough time. However, I now have all the time in the world thanks to quarantining!

To be honest, I have never laughed and cried so hard in my life. Watching these has made me do a lot of reflecting and questioning. It's opened my eyes to what life was like between my parents and all of the moments in time I don't remember. For example, I had the opportunity to watch clips from my parents' wedding (yes, I actually found those). Just watching it made me realize how much I didn't know about my parents and that day in general. My dad had to explain to me how difficult the wedding was because he and my mom were fighting the night before they were supposed to exchange vows. Looking back, however, he commented that the fight was something insignificant that they made a huge deal out of. My parents agreed that it was nerves that truly made that day as miserable as it was for them, but overall it seemed like they had a good time. 

I also got to watch videos from my early childhood. Some of the moments brought back many vivid memories that I wish I had remembered early on. One of the videos was Thanksgiving at my grandparents' house in 2006, which I didn't remember at all until watching this video. At this point in time, I was three years old and we had just become a family of five. My younger brother, Everett, had been born four days prior to Thanksgiving that year. Because of watching this moment, I can remember having dinner at the big dining room table at my grandparents' old house in Long Island, and I remember holding my younger brother on this big brown leather chair that sat in the corner of the living room. It's crazy how many moments in life we fail to remember! 

Schema Builder 2: Renee, Current Quarantine Complaint

Although boredom is (fortunately) still the most pressing issue in my life currently, something new that's been bothering me I realized, is that this pandemic is taking place right in the middle of my favorite time of year. Yes, we can take walks and spend time outside, but the whole situation is putting a serious damper on what I'm usually most looking forward to. I want to see my friends more than anything, especially now that the weather is nice and there is much more daylight. Of course, as soon as we are getting out of the annual seasonal depression from the winter, we're in a pandemic (hooray!) I'm just hoping that it ends or slows down sometime in May so I still get the last of the spring season.

Something positive however that came out today, however, is that prom is not canceled rather postponed until mid-July. I'm so grateful that it's not canceled in general even though I'm not sure how doing makeup along with pictures in the blazing heat will go, but we'll find out. It's way better than canceling all together because I think all of us that are going will need that after social isolation. I am also extremely upset at the news that we won't be returning to school. I thoroughly enjoyed my junior year and wasn't ready for it to be over. I feel even worse for the seniors in that regard, as well as the uncertainty graduation holds.

I hope everyone is staying safe and has been going outside for the spring weather but is practicing social distancing so that we can see our friends even sooner. If anyone has any ideas on how to fully embrace the warm weather to come in unique ways, let me know. It's really hard to be happy when we're in such a dark time. I think we all are itching to go do things; even those of us who are usually home-bodies. We are not meant to be alone or with the same people all hours of the day, every day; so matter someone's situation, we are all being affected by the pandemic in our own way.

Stay safe!

Sydney Schema Builder #2: Walks

Walks are very underrated. Before this mess started I really didn’t go on many walks. I got all the exercise I needed from dance, marching band, and personal fitness. Not to mention I didn’t really have time to walk even if I wanted to. Now that I’ve had the time, it’s been really nice to just walk around with my dog.

Not only are walks great for physical health, but they’re also just very relaxing. I enjoy being able to just be by myself for a little while and listening to music. I also get to see a lot of the kind people in my neighborhood who just smile and wave.

Although I love taking my dog Ivan with me on these walks, he is also quite the trouble maker. He is both famous and infamous in my neighborhood. All of my neighbors absolutely love him and many will call him over to give him treats, or they’ll even ask if they can walk him. Everyone in the neighborhood knows him as a happy and friendly dog, and everyone is always happy to see him.

On the other hand, the dogs of the neighborhood can’t stand him. For whatever reason most of the dogs will just start barking nonstop until he is gone. The dog across the street has an especially bad rivalry with him as both of them will sprint to the others yard and pee just to make the other dog mad (don’t worry both us and our neighbors think it’s really funny).

The only real downside of taking Ivan on these walks is that he really likes to mark his territory everywhere. This means that if I say that I’m taking him for a walk before I let him do his business he will refuse to go until we actually start walking. This is very frustrating because I really don’t enjoy walking around and needing to stop every 2 mins to let him do his thing.

Even though he makes things more difficult, I love having my walking buddy around. He makes it much more enjoyable and fun. I also highly suggest that everyone goes on some walks (preferably when less people are out) because they really make quarantine a lot more tolerable.

Liz Schema Builder 2: New Recipe!

This week I decided to distract myself with some baking. I wanted to make something I hadn’t made before, and I was really in the mood for something sweet. I decided to make cinnamon rolls.

Now, I love baking, but something always seems to go wrong for me when I do it. I was determined for these to go right. I read over the recipe, and the only ingredient I didn’t have was yeast. Luckily, my grandmother lives next door and was willing to lend me some. I got started, and while my yeast was activating, I realized I couldn’t find the dough hook for my kitchen-aid mixer. After frantically searching with my mom, I had to defeatedly call my grandmother and ask to borrow hers. So I finish my dough and set it aside to rise. It actually doubled in size like it was supposed to, which was a relief! I went to make the cinnamon-sugar mixture, which is when I discovered that I already used all our butter, and I didn’t have enough cinnamon. At this point, I was really frustrated. I decided to make a make-shift mask and run to the store because I was just missing too many ingredients. After my quick run to the store, I finished up the cinnamon rolls and left them to rise. They didn’t rise like they were supposed to, but oh well, I just popped them in the oven.

Now I’ve never made these before, and I wasn’t sure how to tell if they were done or not. So I left them in the oven for the recommended extra time (cause my oven never seems to bake things fast enough) and took them out. They looked really good to me! Flash forward to a little later, my family and I are eating the cinnamon rolls, and mine is so raw in the middle that I can’t eat parts of it. I took mine out of the middle of the pan, so my family was able to enjoy theirs, but it made me really sad. Next time, I gotta make sure I’m more prepared to bake!

Schema Builder 2: Fishing

With quarantine keeping me away from my friends and other activities I usually do. I have found myself with a lot of free time. So my dad and I have been going fishing a lot more this year than any other. Since we have been cooped up in our house for a while it's a nice excuse to get outside. I happen to really enjoy fishing too. It's an activity that I normally don't get to do because of school and sports on the weekend. Since the corona virus stopped both of those things I'm able to fish in peace.

I don't think fishing is very popular nowadays, but I think its very relaxing. The sound of the water and birds chirping creates a peaceful environment. Even if we don't catch anything i'm still happy because fishing is therapeutic. On the other hand though hooking a fish is exciting and you feel satisfied if you catch it. So it's a win win activity I like to say. Sometimes we wake up early and go out so that we can fish alone which is my favorite. We usually catch and see only trout, but rarely well find a bigger fish called a palomino which is a larger golden fish. We saw one the other day it was about 24 inches long, sadly it wasn't hungry.

The season just started a few days ago so i'm excited to keep going out through the spring. Also my friends and I are planning on going out soon which is going to be fun. I think fishing is a great quarantine activity because you can find fishing holes that no one really goes to. So you will still be practicing social distancing. It's important to get out and get some sunlight so activities like these are very helpful during these times.

13/Schema Builder #2- Julie: Listening to Music - Barbershop

On one of my many sleepless nights, I was watching Youtube and fell into the depths of the different kinds of music that are available for public consumption. First, going from Broadway songs of shows I have never heard of to random a cappella groups, I eventually stumbled upon the amazing world of Barbershop music. Before this experience, I knew of the Barbershop style, but I have never seen a professional performance. Once I did, I was absolutely blown out of my mind by how fascinating it is. 

Though Barbershop is a specific style, each group and their individual members all have their own personality that enthralls any audience (and me). The four members work together to perform music that resonates and makes the piece sound beyond beautiful. During their performance, the quartet not only sings, but they act, dance, and interact with the audience and judges (if there are any), so instead of just listening to the music you can watch how the group interacts with the piece. Also, in my opinion, make the music a bit more fun.

While listening you can find a wide variety of songs available in the Barbershop style. There are the original barbershop songs, which created the genre, but then you can find versions of popular songs throughout the ages and parodies that the quartet groups created. So far, I love listening to all the different groups and the unique ways they present their music. As of now, I like to specifically watch and listen to the groups called: Instant Classic, The Newfangled Four, Signature, and Main Street(pictured below).

Coming upon this type of music has opened a new way for me to experience music, and I quite enjoy it. Listening to this type of music is very relaxing and allows for a good laugh when it comes to parody songs. This find just shows one of the many ways people can enjoy the different ways music can be performed. I recommend going out of your comfort zone when it comes to music because you never know what you actually might like. I know now that if I ever want to listen to something a bit different I can always look for some good old fashioned barbershop, and know that I will enjoy the music.

The Barbershop Group Know as Main Street

Nigohosian Schema Builder 2

In my quarantine generated boredom, I had no idea what to do. I was just so tired of doing the same things in hopes of keeping myself entertained. On a whim, I decided that I would try making food for a change. I wanted to make something relatively simple that did not require many ingredients, as I had no idea what we had on hand with limited shopping orders. After compiling a list of all of the ingredients that we had, I decided on making guacamole after a bit of research. I ended up finding a recipe online, just modifying it a little bit. It didn’t seem too complicated to make so I decided to give it a try. 

To make it I just needed three avocadoes, two jalapeños, half of a tomato and onion, some lime juice, cilantro, and salt. It didn’t really take long to make, I just had to cut up some of the ingredients and just mix them together in a large bowl while seasoning to taste. The final result ended up being pretty good, with everyone enjoying it. It was a nice experience being able to make something that I could enjoy and share with others. I would maybe try to do this more often, but it might be a challenge with a shortage of ingredients due to the current circumstances. Maybe in the future, I can find new recipes to try and make, but for now, this may be all that I can do.

Schema Builder #2: Conquering my Fears

I have a legitimate fear of making decisions (yes, you read that right). I'm such a laid-back, easy-going person that I simply just avoid making decisions at all costs. The reason for this is mainly because I hate the idea of hurting others because of stupid decisions I make, which I have made plenty of in the past. Also, I don't want to make a bad decision because I know it will affect me later. Anyway, I decided (yes, I actually decided on something) to experiment with this problem and make a difficult decision every day for a week. These were the results:

Day 1:
I made the decision to do this. Which was actually really hard. I contemplated over it all day, but then I remembered that I need to do a schema builder for this class so then I just kind of forced myself into this whole mess.

Day 2:
I finally picked a painting for my room! My mom has been bothering me about it for months and I finally decided on it. It's a giant waterfall that's going right across from my bed where I can see it, and it's absolutely beautiful. I have no regrets.

Day 3:
I picked out the plants we're planting in the garden for this spring. We have green beans, tomatoes, and squash to name a few. In terms of flowers, we're also doing marigolds, zinnias, and carnations. They've already sprouted and I'm really excited to see them grow.

Day 4:
I helped my mom pick out the new pillows for our couch because it originally came with pillows that we didn't like. So we picked some blue and grey ones that match our light grey couch perfectly. We also decided on a new painting to put above the fireplace as well as a new coffee table. It's really nice to see the whole room come together.

Day 5:
I made the decision to actually ride my bike for once, even though I'm a little too short for it and I can barely get on it. On the plus side, I actually had a lot of fun. My sister and I went to this small little area by a creek and we picked flowers.

Day 6:
I decided on the dishes we would make for Easter. My family and I had a "porch Easter", where we dropped off different foods we made for each other on each porch. We made mac and cheese, along with these cute little Easter egg nests made from rice crispies, coconut flakes, and chocolate eggs.

Day 7:
I made the toughest decision of all, which was trying out for drum major. I was unsure about it because drum major tryouts can get pretty intense and some people take it very seriously, to the point where it gets really competitive. Even so, I'm just trying out for fun and I think it will be a good experience.

All in all, this was probably one of the toughest weeks I've had in a while, but I learned a lot from it. I've discovered that making decisions isn't always about the future. Sometimes it's better to think in the moment. Also, I feel as though decision-making is an important life skill and we should all work harder to become better at it. Our decisions are what alter the course of our life, and a lot of times it's the small ones that make the biggest difference. You may think that a decision may result in a bad experience, but we end up learning from those events at the end of the day. I've learned that decisions are their outcomes are apart of life, no matter what the cost. It's important that we can learn from them and live happier, more successful lives.

Kadison Schema 2 - Brother

Recently, my mom (and my younger brother and I) were cleaning out our “junk room”. You know the type: suitcases, clothes, old toys, books I used to read, art pieces from grade school were all just sitting around in this room over our garage. Within this room, there was a particular item of interest: the Wii. My brother, Kolby, saw it and hooked it up to the TV and asked me if I wanted to play with him. I didn’t have anything else going on, so of course, I said yes. He picked out the game “Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga”.

The Wii in general gave me flashbacks to when I was young, and I’m pretty sure this was one of the first games we had for it. I still remember sitting on the floor in my cousin Travis’s house watching him play through the game. While it had been forever (probably 10 years) since I played the game, I somehow had snapshots of memory in my head about what certain parts of the levels looked like.

While Kolby and I were playing, we realized how many hidden secrets we somehow still remembered. We also, surprisingly enough, didn’t really fight at all. We argued, of course, but we didn’t get into any heated discussions. It was actually really nice. Kolby and I also worked together to figure out some “cheats” to the game; there ten “minikits” hidden in each level, and most of them are meant to be collected on the second play through when the player can switch between other characters. However, we could often figure out ways to jump onto things that were not meant to be jumped on, and collected the minikits anyway.

Playing this video game made me realize how much I miss just hanging out with Kolby, and how much we’ve both grown. I remember having to ask my cousin for help completing certain levels because they were that difficult for us, and now all of them seem like a piece of cake. It’s amazing to me how much both of us remembered from a time when we were so young. Although Kolby can really irritate me sometimes, I’m glad he’s my brother.

Schema Builder 2; Alanna

Something other to do;):


       Recently, I have taken up exercise during this quarantine. Before the virus, I worked out and went to the gym but it is different. I started trying new things that weren't just cardio and weight lifting. I did a dance video, yoga, and even pilates. I focused so much on the health/weight loss aspect of working out that I didn't realize it could be fun and calming. The quarantine has opened my eyes to become more open-minded. I was always a person who would pick one thing, stick to that, and just do it 24/7. I was MISERABLE. I never thought I could get the same workout from running 3 miles as to doing one dance routine (I do look a little stupid doing it though).
       I did not want to use this time at home to sit and do nothing. Most of my day is sitting and doing pointless things because I obviously cannot work out all day, but the one hour of it changes everything. I feel accomplished, relaxed, and healthier. I didn't get this chance while we went to school. I would start my day at 6, sleep-deprived, sit for 7 hours, go to practice, and then go home and have ZERO energy to workout. So although this quarantine isn't happening for the right reasons I decided to make some good come out of it. ( Also found out yoga is NOT my thing, and I am way not zen enough for it)

Schema Builder 2 VanHise- Journaling

Prompt: Write in a journal every day for two weeks (and then write your reflection on the experience).

I started journaling on and off in the 6th grade after my mom let me go to Barnes and Noble and pick out a journal. My whole life I've been oddly obsessed with journals and sketchbooks, and to this day I can't leave the store without spending at least 10 minutes staring at the huge wall of journals they have by the checkout area. Journaling has never been a consistent part of my life. I go through bursts of time where I'm writing every night, and then months go by without a single entry. About a year ago I decided that each night I would write down one insignificant happy moment in my day that I didn't want to forget some day, and I kept up with that journal for months.
However, these past few months (probably 6-7) I've started writing in my notes. I have a locked note, and whenever I have something to say, I log in, type in my password, and write whatever is on my mind. To anyone else it would make no sense whatsoever. It's jumbled, confusing, and all over the place, but it's my raw thoughts. It has its ups and downs, and includes song lyrics and poems randomly placed in. I don't write in it everyday, but sometimes I'm jotting my thoughts down multiple times a day.
I've found that this mismatched form of writing, that makes sense only to me, is comforting in a way. It allows me to see me without any filters, and it allows me to be honest with myself in a way I haven't been before. It shows me how I've grown and how my thoughts have changed over time. I've learned through this that its important to document happy moments as often as the sad ones, if not more. I've learned that my most insignificant thoughts and ideas mean something about who I am. It's allowed me to figure myself out a little more.
If you're someone like me who has a thousand thoughts and emotions that are sometimes hard to grasp, or your thoughts fly by at the speed of light and you never get the chance to truly think about them, then try this. Let it be messy and unorganized. When you read it back it'll make sense, I promise. And if it doesn't immediately, eventually it will.

Connor Schenma #2

Well, don’t I just feel so special? In the midst of a global pandemic that threatens the entirety of our lives and has put countless people out of work, I, a 16-year-old student, am officially marked as “Essential Personnel.” I am right up there with police, medical, and all other emergency first responders. Apparently, it is essential for people to need to not cook at their own houses and to have someone else make their coffee for them. 

Get a grip, people. Pull yourselves together.

I am normally a very irritable employee. I told my boss in my job interview that I hated people, but I could fake it for him. Truth be told, I really do fake it for him. A lot. During normal times I’m always fake and use my service voice non-stop and still want to go home and faceplant into my bed. Of course, there are opportunities to break character when it’s someone you know. I always capitalize on them and wipe that fake smile off my face and take the time to sigh and scowl. I find my sass levels go through the room during these short breaks. All that built up venom I just need to release. I once told one of my regulars that I only guessed his flavor (caramel) because he was a blonde caucasian. Customer service during times of peace is already a nightmare from a nightmare. Customer Service during a time of crisis is definitely an experience. 

For starters, have you ever tried to work a Dunkin Donuts drive-thru alone with absolutely no milk in the store?  Manning the store alone is hard enough, but having to work at a coffee shop that doesn't have any type of milk whatsoever during the $2 latte sales is something else. Our supplies always meet our demands. Now that everyone is asked to please stay home and not go out for stupid things like donuts, we run out of stock faster than we can get it in. One week I ran out of large iced cups. I almost ran out of caramel syrup. We run out of donuts 2 hours before we close, and never have the kinds people ask for. Our normal busy day supplies are not meeting our busy pandemic demands.

My theory is that these ignorant, incompetent, panicked people are so scared that we might close and not open up the next day, that they order 5 drinks just to get them one last time. Then they do the same thing every single day. These people are so afraid of getting sick that they come to Dunkin Donuts in full protective gear and order 6 drinks and 3 sandwiches like we are going to be the safest bet. When I work, it is mostly me by myself in the drive-thru. I handle money and make drinks. I wash my hands all the time, but if someone with the virus comes and pays in cash, I now have it, the next drink I make has it, everyone who gets change now has it, and it will spread like a wildfire. Drive-thrus are not as safe as these places are claiming to be. Even wearing gloves, you will still spread the virus. Drive-thrus spread the virus quickly and silently. We need to be closed to take this virus out as soon as we can, but we won’t do that if everyone keeps buying things non-stop.

What really upsets me is the actual essential personnel who come through. They are actually still working and risking themselves for us, but they can’t even get their coffee because we have no supply and our lines are way too long for them to waste time in. One of my customers works for 911. She used the app to order 2 lattes, one hot one iced. The hot was for now and the iced she was going to put in the fridge and save for 3 am when she was working the 911 emergency hotline. I had to wait for her to tell her that I can not make any of the drinks she already paid for on the app because there was not a drop of milk in that store. The crazy people used it all before with their 6 iced lattes each. I wrote on her receipt that she is owed her 2 lattes and gave her a free large iced coffee because she probably needs it more than most people.

My overall observation is that fear is controlling people and in the panic of this outbreak, they are indulging themselves in luxuries because they don’t want to go without them. As harmless as it sounds, it is actually foolish and kind of selfish because it is actually making the problem worse. Working customer service during a pandemic is not an experience I would like to ever have to have again. People are panicked and see this as an excuse to be extra rude and extra demanding. Dunkin Donuts needs to close down. We are not essential. People can cook for themselves and make their own coffee. It isn’t fun, but I don’t care in the slightest.

Pull yourselves together and learn how to use a coffee pot.

https://youtu.be/ZpBlgWDQVU0

Sydney Schema Builder #1: Timing

Life has been weird for a while. I’ve been getting more sleep than I have in the past 10 years, yet I’m also way more tired than usual. I have seemingly a seemingly infinite amount of free time, something that I haven’t had for so long since I had so many activities going on, yet nothing to do.

I had always assumed that more free time was a good thing because I always have a packed schedule where some days I struggled finding time to eat let alone do homework or sleep. Yet here I am bored out of my mind. All the things I normally enjoy doing in my free time now are more boring than watching paint dry.

Even with this surplus of time, I still find myself running out of time to do things like school work or once again making food. As strange as it is due dates seem to come out of nowhere and all of a sudden I have a project that’s already overdue that I didn’t even know that I had.

Now I know some may say that this is my own fault that I didn’t keep track of things and yes I will take some of the blame for that but at the same time, it’s been a difficult task to juggle. Unlike most people who have 4 or 5 classes, I have 7 since all my classes were every other day. This means that I have to keep track of 7 different teachers constantly sending messages, projects, homework assignments, tests, quizzes, essays, etc.

Normally I’m able to manage since I get the assignments at a normal rate not to mention being in school and being taught what I need to do for each one. Now my teachers all assign things at different times on different days. Some things are due at 10am while others are 3pm while others are midnight. Each class has its own schedule and it’s nearly impossible for one person to keep track of it all.

I know people have been saying it’s a difficult learning curve for everyone, but with how much time we have left in the school year, I’m starting to get the feeling that the rest of school is going to be one big curve.

Schema Builder Adria- Decorating My Bible!

Over break my mom has been restricting our technology use-- no TV until 3:30 and we still turn our phones in every night. And even though sometimes I get bored and just want to turn the TV on at 11AM, I can appreciate the boredom in a way. I have been trying out new crafts and listening to more music, going on more walks and bike rides. Being stuck in the house really does breed creativity. 

So one night as I was scrolling through Pinterest as usual, I came across so many cool bible artboards and decided I should try some myself! I chose a couple of my favorite verses and composed them across the page. At first, I was nervous about writing over my brand new pages (as I made clear earlier in our discussion about annotating, I am obsessed with preserving my books) but I actually enjoyed it more than I expected, and the outcome was 100% worth it.

I guess my point is that I take back what I said about how the physical book is just as important as the content. Although I still believe that my way of caring for my possessions is by preserving their physical pages, I think that I found a new way to care for them too. And by making my bible, or any book for that matter, a work of art, I feel that it becomes more appealing to read.

With that being said, I would HIGHLY recommend making some art out of your favorite book-- it is totally worth "ruining" the page.

Liam Schema Builder 1 - Trumpet

With some of the excessive time I have had in isolation, I decided it would be a good idea to learn trumpet. I’ve been pretty successful so far, meaning that I think I could play at a middle school level. This started with Mr. Hilborn’s march madness challenge, in which I endeavoured to play as many parts as I could. Since my brother plays trumpet there was a horn readily available, so that was the logical choice. After the first week, I thought it was pretty easy. I was at a good beginner range, low G to high G, and despite being a woodwind player was advancing rapidly. After the second week, I had discovered a newfound respect for higher level trumpet players. Advancing beyond a mediocre level on trumpet is hard. It takes a lot of time and practice to achieve. Whenever a trumpet player complains about their embouchure hurting, I won’t think poorly of them at all. Despite the effort and pain that trumpet can be at times, it comes with some benefits - it is fun to play and you are almost guaranteed to have the melody. Adding it has really filled out my instrumental repertoire, and leads me to a question. What instrument do I learn next?

Stephan Schema Builder 1: Importance of Sleep

I decided to do a TED talk for my schema builder and one that caught my interest was about the importance of sleep. As of now, sleep is not really an issue with this whole Coronavirus deal as I can get all the sleep that I need, but none the less I still thought it would be interesting to see how important is it that we get a full night of sleep.

While watching the talk it was amazing to see how much sleep we get affects our entire body, from our learning and memory to our cardiovascular health. Lack of sleep can lead to higher cancer risk, higher Alzheimers risk, and can even have an effect on your DNA. I realized that sleep was an important thing, but what I did not realize was just how important it was. I often chip away at the amount of sleep I get each night by working on school work and whatnot.

I decided that if or when we go back to a normal school day, I would make sure that I try to get as much sleep when I can. I realize that this won’t work every single night, as situations arise that can’t be predicted, but most days I can be precautious and make sure that I get everything done so I don’t have to sacrifice sleep. As of now, I can only hope that I eventually won’t lose sight of the benefits of sleep in the future. All I can do now in quarantine is set up a regular sleep schedule that I can maintain and make a habit going forward in hopes of better sleep in the future.

Emma Schema Builder 1

The other day I was finally allowed to go to a hiking place called Illick’s Mill Park. It’s in Bethlehem, and it has a waterfall, a stream with ducks and geese, and a hiking/nature walk area. I wanted to go somewhere other than Jacobsburg because I always go there, and I wanted to change it up. My mom let me bring my friend there too because it was the day after his birthday.
We couldn’t find the trail at first because I parked on the road that Waze told me to. After a few minutes of discussing where the trail could be, a guy came out from his house and knocked on my window. He told us the actual directions, and I quickly found the right place to go. The waterfall was really pretty with a little bridge overlooking it. I took pictures by the waterfall, but none of them turned out really good. I also fed the geese some bread and cheerios before I left. We didn’t have time to hike because it got dark, which sort of disappointed me. However, I was just very happy that I was able to do something other than stay at my house.
Being outside surrounded by the waterfall and trees was a really great experience because I have been stuck inside mostly other than the occasional outing to the grocery store or on a short walk with my family. This experience has definitely taught me to value my freedom more, especially being able to go in public places and see my friends. I would recommend visiting Illick’s Mill Park if you are tired of going to Jacobsburg all the time and want to take cute pictures by a waterfall. Have you been hiking so far during this quarantine?

Renee, Schema Builder 1: Inception (Academy Award Winning Movie)

Along with many other things, there are certain movies I´ve wanted to watch recently, but I couldn´t find the time. Although this pandemic is full of unknowns and fear, a positive has been being able to do things with all the free time the quarantine provides. I´ve watched a few movies and shows so far (TIGER KING!!!!), but my favorite by far was Inception. My dad had always been pushing for me to watch the movie, as he loves it too, but I wanted to wait until I was around this age because I heard it was complicated. I can confirm, that going into the movie knowing almost nothing about it, you do need to pay attention the entire time.

Leonardo Dicaprio is also one of my favorite actors, so I may have been a little predisposed to like the movie off the bat, but after watching and reading reviews after, it is definitely a well-respected film. It was directed by Christopher Nolan, who is known for making in-depth movies that can be hard to figure out watching through the first time.

I won´t give anything away, but from the insane storyline to the cliffhanger ending, I loved the film the whole way through. I would highly recommend this to anyone who likes movies that make you think, or some type of psychological science fiction. I think I honestly need to watch the movie again to catch some things I may have missed.

I am in need of new movie ideas so feel free to give me some!

Liz Schema Builder 1- The Trials of Gabriel Fernandez (Documentary)

During the first week of quarantine, I watched The Trials of Gabriel Fernandez. It’s a documentary that dives into the case murder of Gabriel Fernandez, an eight-year-old boy that died from child abuse in California. In the documentary, you find out his story, and all the ways it could’ve been prevented. You also see the trial of Gabriel’s killer. It was honestly really sad and I had a hard time watching parts of it. However, I thought it was really interesting and informative, and also brought up points that not everyone thinks about in cases like this one.

There were two interesting things about the trials of Gabriel’s murder. First off, the defendants were being tried not only for first-degree murder, but the jury had to decide whether or not they deserved the death penalty. It’s not very common for people to get the death penalty in child abuse cases, at least not in California (where Gabriel and his family lived). However, since the defendants were being tried for first-degree murder with the use of torture, I can understand why they chose to go that route. The other thing that was interesting and unexpected in this case was the fact that four social workers who were involved with Gabriel were also being tried for neglecting the child and falsifying government records. Throughout the documentary, it was made clear that this was an unprecedented decision and there were a lot of mixed opinions about it. They couldn’t talk much about the actual trial of the social workers, because it is taking place right now (or at least when the doc was released). However, they talked a lot about why they were also being charged, and one of the social workers actually talked in the documentary about his story and why he felt he shouldn’t be to blame.

I thought it was really interesting that the social workers were also charged, because not only is it uncommon, it also sheds light on the fact that there are issues within the system that prevent children like Gabriel from getting the help they need. Hopefully, things can change, because no child should be denied the help they need and die at the hands of their parents.

I definitely recommend the documentary to anyone who’s interested, just be warned though that there are many pictures of the abuse that was done to Gabriel, and it can be hard to see.

12/Schema Builder #1 - Julie : Watching an Award Winning Movie - 1917

Many of my fellow classmates have grandparents and great-grandparents who were involved in World War II (WW2) in some way or form. I, myself, have only heard stories of how my great-grandparents on my mother’s side survived the evils of the Nazi Party and the beginning of the Iron Curtain. I am also lucky enough to be able to listen to my mother’s stories of how the Iron Curtain affected her childhood. Being able to listen to all these stories about life in Poland sparked my interest in its history especially during times of great conflict.

My belief is that the only way to truly figure out how a historical event affected society you have to hear it from someone directly involved. Though due to the passing years, it is getting harder and harder to listen to first-hand accounts of survivors of World War I (WW1) and WW2. With this, a spike in books and movies about soldiers and survivors of both wars have been becoming more popular to spread the story of true history and not only that of what is given in textbooks. 

Recently, a movie came out called 1917. This is a story handed down through the generations of one family until one day it was made into a movie to be shared with all the world. It is a WW1 movie which highlights the struggles of two men trying to save 1600 men in an eight hour period. It shows the true struggle of the journey to cross enemy territory and save their fellow soldiers, instead of reading in a textbook that two men stopped a slaughter of fellow soldiers. The movie allows for people to feel and see the pain and anxiety of the two soldiers whereas in a textbook you would never get to.

Being able to watch 1917 was an amazing experience in general. Both the story, directing, and acting were phenomenal. When I first saw the trailer for 1917, I was beyond ecstatic and knew that I wanted to watch this movie. While watching, I was engaged with the story and hanging on the edge of the seat the entire time. I was happy that this story was able to be shared with the world because if you think about it there are so many extraordinary stories that the world will never truly know about. Also, the movie was heart-wrenching to a point I have never felt while watching any type of historical war movie. It truly portrayed the actions and emotions that had to happen to fulfill the mission these two men were sent on.

I wish that when looking at history people looked for the smaller stories that helped the overall event to pass. There is so much that needs to happen for a major event to pass and usually there is an interesting story behind each and every small step taken. It is also important to note that all small actions lead to something greater and more historically noticeable in the future. Telling stories of our past will only help and strengthen those who are creating our futures.

Kadison Schema 1 - Painting

I have never been particularly good at anything art related. When I was younger, I enjoyed doodling in my notebooks and painting during art classes. When I started getting older, and grades started mattering more, I became frustrated with myself when I would try to do anything art and it wasn’t the way I pictured it in my head. This eventually led me to avoid all art classes when I got to high school.

During field hockey season, we had a team bonding exercise that involved painting on a small canvas. We had to paint a background and letter with words we wanted to be as a team. I found that I still really enjoyed the activity, especially because there was nothing (like a grade) at risk. My mom must’ve gotten the hint somehow that I enjoyed it because I ended up getting ten 8”x10” canvases for Christmas, but I hadn’t had time to actually sit down and paint until this quarantine.

The hardest part is figuring out what to actually paint. I had to pick something relatively easy/simple because I obviously don’t have a lot of skill yet, so I ended up googling a lot of “easy painting” ideas. Once I figured out what I’m painting, the rest came relatively easy. It was actually really relaxing being able to just focus on something that didn’t have consequences if I messed up.

Once I finished painting, I got this weird sense of pride. Even though I know my paintings aren’t particularly creative or good, the satisfaction of completing it felt amazing. They won’t really be special to anyone else but me (or possibly my family/friends), but it’s still really cool to think I created something worthwhile on my own. Painting, and art itself actually, can be a messy process. With all the demands life can give us, it's super refreshing to be allowed to mess something up. I would definitely recommend painting to anyone who has the supplies during this quarantine.

These are my two favorite paintings I've done so far.

Schema Builder: Interstellar

I recently watched the movie Interstellar while in quarantine. The movie is a science fiction adventure through space and time. It won multiple awards including the academy award for best visual effects. I thought I would write about it because it made me want to learn more about space time.

In the movie, earth is on the verge of being inhabitable so scientist try to discover habitable planets through a worm hole in our galaxy. As the movie goes on the main character finds out he was sent on a one way trip to humankind's new home. After exploring a few planets the idea of time becomes relative. Days are longer or shorter depending on each one. The crew then made a mistake on a planet where days are extremely faster than earth time sending them into the future. Last in an attempt to return to earth, the main character enters a black hole. I won't give away the rest of the movie.

The movie brought up ideas and concepts about the speed of time in space, wormholes, and black holes which I found very interesting. I ended up looking even deeper by watching YouTube videos about those things. The movie in my opinion was good and just made me think about things I wouldn't have before watching it. What are other movies that are similar or make you think deeply?

Schema Builder- Passionate Minds

Passionate Minds

Over the break, I did a lot of reading and research in the early hours of the morning when my mind was spinning too fast to sleep. I read about the Grateful Dead, Vietnam, Van Gogh, and religion among many other things. Throughout my early morning informational sessions, my friend and I would facetime and talk about whatever it was he or I had discovered. He was doing just as much, if not more, research as I was. After doing a little reading on the French Revolution, he suggested a book titled Passionate Minds written by David Bodanis. 

The book explores the lives of enlightenment writer and philosopher Voltaire and the rarely heard about Émilie du Châtelet. But more specifically, the love affair they had together. The book explores the relationship between the two, both passionate and intellectual. In fact, much of the passion they held for one another was through the ideas they would ponder and share. What many people don't know is that Émilie du Châtelet was a brilliant mathematician who loved to study the stars and planets in the night sky and wrote math equations to describe the gravitational pull of the sun. Although she is rarely credited for it, her extensions of Newton’s laws are what made Einstein’s equation E=mc2 possible. She also helped Volatire shape many of his opinions on current French society along with religion. 

This novel took me a long time to get through. The writing is not terribly hard, but much of the book is letters and accounts from Voltaire and Émilie’s close family and friends. It's also hard to keep many of the supporting characters straight because they are seldom mentioned but important to the storyline. The book allowed me to dive deeper into what French Society in the Enlightenment era was like for a female. She was looked down upon, even by her own mother, for wanting to know things and educate herself. Her high society friends shook their heads at her for thinking their petty gossip was stupid and shallow. Voltaire was the only one, aside from her late father, who encouraged her thinking and was amazed by the capabilities of her mind. I had just learned about this part of the world’s history in class, and it helped me understand a lot of what the people in France were feeling on a more personal level. I highly recommend this book to anyone who has some free time this quarantine season.

Schema Builder 1: A VERY long walk

Hey guys! This weekend my dad and I woke up and, out of pure boredom, figured we'd go on a walk. When starting, we were not envisioning a 4-mile nature walk, but maybe just a stroll around the neighborhood. Instead, we got the 4-mile nature walk. My dad does not live in Nazareth, so I am not exactly familiar with my surroundings at his house. Therefore, this was a pretty interesting walk. We were not planning on going this far but he decided to take a trail that was a long longer than we expected. It was a ripe 30-degree morning and let's just say I was not exactly excited to walk in the freezing cold but that took a turn. He ended up bringing me to this path with a river, abandoned tunnel, and a bunch of cute dogs being walked by their owners haha. Not only did I get to experience some cool parts of a place I don't get to explore much, but I also was able to spend some quality time with my dad, who I also don't see much. We talked basically the whole walk, shared jokes, told stories, and gossiped. I know it seems pretty cliche, but it meant a lot more to me than I thought it would. It was nice to stop in time and take a break from school and my worries and to just spend time with someone important. By the time we got home, our cheeks and noses were BRIGHT RED from the cold and we were complaining about the length of the walk to my step-mom but we both knew we wouldn't take it back.

Connor 12: Well This is Just Swell..

  As I awake from my 2-week siesta, I am informed of everything that has been and will be going on with the world. The Great War, Plague, Famine, and Death of 2020 to name a few. All I have to say about that is a sarcastic, “Swell,” and a slow side eye head nod. I am not exactly sure what to do at this point. I have spent the last two weeks confined to my bed, only to leave it to sustain my human needs. I have been awake for less than a day now, and already my room has been cleaned and re-decorated. What now? As a whole, I have been pretty content with this whole situation. I hate the human race, so not being able to interact with them has been a blessing in disguise. Of course, I miss my people, and texting and calling are nowhere close to being the same as seeing them in the flesh, but I know they will all still be there when this is over or when this goes Walking Dead style and I pick them up to join my crusade to fight the zombies. I feel like this is a sort of test for me. I have been social distancing for my whole life, so this is honestly like if I was given a test on the basics of wearing all black or how to be a sarcastic b*tch all the time. I have never wanted to talk to people, so this government mandate that they can’t talk to me either is muy bien. My only source of human contact has been through my job. I thought it would be good for me to get out of the house and interact with some people for a change. I was wrong. Have you ever worked a Dunkin Donut drive-thru alone for 4 hours straight during a pandemic? These people have the audacity to flaunt their plastic gloves at me and get upset when I don’t return the favor, then pay in germ-filled cash to buy their exposed child a donut. We have been extremely busy despite the “stay the hell home” order. All I have to say is the nasty people who are so ignorant of the world around them and thus still bother me at work are gonna get a visit from my good friend Karma. Karma and I met a few years back at the National B*tch Convention, and have been good friends ever since. My overall reactions to this state of the world as of early 2020 are mixed. Everything is currently terrible and has little chance of getting better. Though this may be the case, I honestly feel fine. Things will sort themselves out over time. I plan on using this time to my advantage. The world is in crisis, but I will not be joining it this time. I am content with myself at the moment and will use this as an opportunity to evolve as a person and become a better version of myself as the world does the same.

Alanna 11; Stress Class 101

The time of year when the stress piles up is coming upon us. Between getting your grades up for finals, AP tests, SATs (for some), prom, and our extracurriculars, it is the recipe for stress. I have the SATs Saturday, ACT in April, 3 AP tests in May along with prom, and any finals I have to take after that. It seems as though from now until the end of school, I don’t get a break. Personally, I think they pile way too much onto students at the end of the school year, but I understand it is inevitable. Although we cannot avoid it, it still sucks a whole bunch and I am here to help you.

Lately, I have been trying this new tip, that most likely should have been common sense, yet I still was amazed by it, to help with my stress. In psychology, we talked about anxious and healthy achievers and checked off some characteristics of each that fit us. Unsurprisingly, I got 1 of a healthy achiever and 4 of an anxious one. A girl in my class raised her hand and said, “ I talked to my psychologist about my stress over school and finished work, and she suggested that instead of working right when I get home from school, take 2 hours to relax”. TWO HOURS!? Yes, my thoughts exactly. My day is as follows: get home, do homework, do extracurriculars, go home, do homework, eat, sleep. Given the circumstances, I thought this was crazy to waste 2 hours of precious time. However, I put away my ignorance and tried it. The results were insane. Instead of studying for the 4 hours after school, I cut that in half, and I did better on my test! I found that I was less overwhelmed and mentally exhausted, so, therefore, I did better. Although to start I was more stressed over the fact I wasn't studying enough, that feeling faded after I started getting results I wanted. I also began to find it easier to finish things efficiently and in a timely manner because I was more focused on the task instead of dozing off.

 I highly recommend you try this if you, too, are one to overly stress over your amount of schoolwork along with other responsibilities.

Are you one to stress too much and overcompensate your ability to work?

Kadison 11 - Negativity

As I'm sure everyone knows, 2020 has been full of a lot of negativity so far. World War III was very possible, Australia was on fire, Kobe Bryant died, and now millions of people are, for lack of better words, freaking out over the coronavirus. In today’s world, it’s getting harder and harder to look at the bright side of things and stay positive, especially when there are a million different views being pushed upon everyone.

I generally consider myself a positive person. I like to look at the positives of situations because that’s how I personally motivate myself to get through tough times. I’m usually open to other people’s opinions and views and I understand that there will always be something out of my control. I also know that some people are always going to be pessimistic no matter the situation. If people want to look for a downside in a situation, chances are they’ll find one. Although I always prepare for the worst, I can’t help but hope for a better outcome. Constantly thinking about how awful people and the world can be stresses me out, and I’d honestly rather not think about it. I find that saying the worst can and will happen increases the chance that it actually will happen. 

However, I’ve started to realize that most people aren’t being negative simply to be negative. Just like how looking at the positives can help me, being ready for the negatives can help other people relieve stress. Preparing for the worst can help stop people from being disappointed or distressed. The issue that tends to arise is when negative thinkers start pushing this negativity onto other people. When people, including myself, are stressed, they can end up taking it out on the people around them. Trying to find a balance between relieving your own stress while not stressing out other people can be hard, if not downright impossible sometimes.

With sports, drama, field trips, and other enjoyable activities being canceled, it is becoming more and more difficult to not push one’s stress and negativity onto others. For us teenagers especially, the coronavirus issue could be one of our most worrisome experiences yet. But to my other positive thinkers out there, don’t worry; high school isn’t over yet. We still have plenty of time to make the most of our last year and a half, even if it means going to school online for a bit.

Do you tend to think positively or negatively, and why?

Connor 11: "Ok People, Pull Yourselves Together."

The year 2020 has definitely been an experience. Despite the fact that it’s only early March, this year has been jam packed with multiple midlife crises. I have had a plethora of new experiences already, and I feel like I need a minute to reflect on that and move on. To put it into words by the wisest being I know, I need to “pull it together.” As a coping method, I have decided to try something new to see if it helps me through this insanity. I know that some people go through a breakup or large life-altering event and dye their hair, so I decided to try that out. My hair is purple now.
During the summer, I bleached my bangs and decided to dye them blue. After the dye washed out, I was left with light brown highlights to accent my dark dark hair. My plan was just to dye the highlights a vibrant dark purple, however it ended up only making my whole head appear one reddish brownish black color. Either way, it was a successful crisis hair dying, and that is all that matters.
Crisis averted. It’s time to go back to being mellow, passive aggressive, and calm. Maybe I should find a better way to deal with problems so I don’t end up with weird tattoos or something. Maybe I should take up meditation? All I have really gained is now my hair is a different color, but it has helped me feel a little more calm. We’ll see how long that lasts.
 

MeiLi 11- Struggles as a Teen

Many of the recent articles we have been focusing on in class deal with the struggles teens face in todays society like the pressure from school, the pressure from peers and family, and even the pressure placed on themselves by themselves. We've talked about grades and the stupidity of the American schooling system. We've also read articles on mental health disorders. 

Im bringing all of these things up because in my head they all very closely relate. I was thinking about the current friends I have that struggle with mental health issues and diagnosed mental disorders, as well as people I knew as far back as sixth grade who had a bad mental health. No one can give an answer as to why they feel the way they feel and how their struggles started, all we have are guesses. Studies have shown how an imbalance of chemicals produced by neurotransmitters, such as serotonin and dopamine, in the brain play a very dramatic role in wether an individual has a mental disorder or not. But the question that always comes back to mind is "Why so much in our generation?"

When talking to my mom about it, she said it was not a main focus that most children and teenagers had to deal with in their day to day lives. Not as many people were diagnosed clinically depressed with anxiety and OCD disorders, and the number of cases of bipolar and schizophrenia were significantly lower. We threw out many theories and talked for a good two hours with my Aunt, and we came up with a few main possible reasons. First, parents today are too focused on protecting and coddling their children, valuing their happiness over the many times positive outcome of struggle and failure. Second, there is a genetic difference between the generations that causes our generation to be more susceptible to some type of mental illness. Third, the pressure teens feel on themselves grows too hefty a load to cary.  Forth, the increased cultural trends over the last 10-20 years such as drinking and smoking. And last but not lease (although the most common and annoying one) fifth, social media. Personally, I think each and every one of these options contributes to the larger reasoning behind the rapid increase in mental health issues, but it seems as though there is more to it. 

What do you think is the leading contribution as to why mental health has gotten so bad in adolescents within the recent past?

Adria 11: I won't home school my kids and here's why

Long story short, I don’t believe in homeschooling. With the exception of special cases, of course, I believe that it:

1. Does not prepare kids for real-world situations
2. Accustoms them to being alone

No matter how much we all complain about waking up early and spending 7 hours in a building, I think we could all agree that going to a physical school teaches us a number of life skills. We are faced with the challenge of making new friends, which is one that we must be familiar with in the workplace. We do a lot of group work, which builds communication skills also needed in the workplace. Even waking up as early as we do and having a set schedule benefits us in ways we cannot yet envision. Overall, my main concern with homeschooling is that it keeps kids sheltered. In fact, I have a friend who is cyber schooled and was homeschooled for most of her childhood. She is unfortunately extremely socially awkward, and it shows when she is faced with a situation that we may face on the daily. She only leaves her house twice a week, both times to go to church. Although she is not technically being limited, I find that she is only because of her obliviousness and lack of access to opportunity. 

Being isolated from society is, in my opinion, never the right answer simply because of these repercussions and loss of awareness. The act of going to school is not just an academic education, but a social one. It amazes me how much we have all grown from timid and shy preschoolers making our way through a lengthy three-hour school day to socially mature (for the most part) young adults. 

On that note, do you know anyone who is home or cyber schooled? If so, how do they react in certain social situations? Would you agree with me that they are limited, or do you believe they have the same if not more opportunities?

11 Julie - Lacrosse

     After some consideration, I decided to join the school’s lacrosse team.  This decision was kind of sporadic, but so far, I do not regret it. This year is the first year that I am playing lacrosse after playing field hockey for seven years. During field hockey, I play as a goalie, and I would never change that for the world. However, I decided to play in the field for lacrosse instead of as a goalie.

     With starting a new sport, many new things came to light. One thing is that I am totally in over my head with the number of rules that I have to learn. While the coaches try to explain the rules during practice, they continue to explain that everything is easier to learn while watching a game. Other players continue to say that each referee has their own interpretations of the rules which throws a whole new spin on trying to understand them. I don’t know if I will ever fully understand the rules, but this does not discourage me.

     Another thing that I noticed, was that with the different position I am playing there is a lot more running involved. This might seem stupid to write, but as a goalie for field hockey, I would stay on one side of the field right by the cage, and this did not involve a ton of running. Being a field player for lacrosse requires a lot more running then I have previously done. I knew that there was a lot of running going to be involved, but I never fully grasped this until our first week of practice. I don’t mind the running during our drills now that I have gotten used to the rhythm of practices.

     Although I am confused beyond belief, I really enjoy playing lacrosse. I love playing on a new team of girls who keep encouraging and helping me no matter how many times I mess up. I can’t wait to see how my first game of lacrosse will go.

What is something you didn’t know about a new activity you started?