Train of Thought

    Every time I open a comment section on social media, I see at least one saying that really pushes my buttons. Whether it be "No ❤️", or "Um child anyways", the overused sayings just get funnier and funnier every time I read them. Using one of these or any of the other sayings popular on TikTok ruins a conversation, just how having a wet sock ruins the rest of your day. Almost never do they add anything to a conversation (unless said conversation is discussing how annoying the sayings are), and they only serve to get on my nerves. The sayings often serve as a weak excuse of a comeback, and ruin any sort of friendly roasts. The worst part of these sayings? They absolutely refuse to die. Every time it seems as if they fade away, a new surge of No❤️ begins bringing with it a resurgence of my annoyance towards it.  After looking at Google Trends for activity in the sayings, I came to the unfortunate conclusion that these sad excuses for comebacks are in no risk of dy...

After knowledge extinguished the last of the beautiful fires our worship had failed to prolong, we walked back home through pedestrian daylight, to a residence   humbler than the one left behind. A door without mystery, a room without theme . For the hour that we spend complacent at the window overlooking the garden,   we observe an arrangement in rust and gray-green, a vagueness at the center whose slow, persistent movements some sentence might explain if we had time   or strength for sentences. To admit that what falls falls solitarily, lost in the permanent dusk of the particular. That the mind that fear and disenchantment fatten   comes to boss the world around it, morbid as the damp- fingered guest who rearranges the cheeses the minute the host turns to fix her a cocktail . A disease of the will, the way   false birch branches arch and interlace from which hands dangle last leaf-parchments and a very large array of primitive bird-shapes. Their pasted feat...

 A word that I find beautiful is symphony. Symphony by itself rolls of the tongue like silk, and ironically, the sound is  the meaning. Symphony can be used to describe an orchestra or a compositional work, and within the word hide soaring melodies and trembling lows. As a little kid, I would often fall asleep to the sounds of my mom practicing for her next concert as a professional musician. The notes she played would work their way up the stairs and into my room, where they filled me with serenity and peace. Now as an adult (technically), the word symphony brings me back to the magic and wonder only a child's eye can see, and I get part of the same serenity I fell asleep to oh so many times growing up. Now as a musician myself, symphony also reminds me of the nerves that always return before a big solo, the anticipation of wanting to deliver the same quality I listened to as a kid. I find moist an ugly word, as it somehow reminds me of a dark, dank basement. Whereas symphony...

      In my book club book, Demian, the main character is influenced by multiple parties. The most obvious mentor shares the name of the book, and is shrouded in mystery. A different character, Franz Kromer, could also be seen as a mentor, however Kromer drags him in a negative direction. This led to me realizing that a mentor isn't always necessarily a good influence, and the importance in being able to distinguish the two. In the book, Kromer is an obvious negative influence, and is even associated with the "forbidden" realm rather than the bright and innocent one Sinclair was raised in. In the real world however, the influence people have on us isn't always as black and white. In our desire to fit in, we often associate with people who don't have our best interest in mind, and we become distracted from our path to success. Like Sinclair who just wanted to show off to the other boys, trying to fit the mold at all costs can cause consequences. At the same time, f...

 One of my favorite things with the first semester was the free reading time. I don't typically read much during my regular life, so having a time carved out just for reading let me experience books I otherwise wouldn't have. In general, when we read books in class we dissect them to their smallest pieces, which somewhat takes away from the overall enjoyment of the book. I found the class workload extremely manageable, even with my other APs. I found blogging to be overall enjoyable, and really liked the more freeform style they adopted towards the end of the semester. I personally really like the Harkness discussions and found them to be some of the most enjoyable class periods. Hearing other peoples ideas and bringing new thoughts and life into a story gave me a new appreciation for whatever piece we read. I think the grading system motivated me to try and find original thought rather than just echo the ideas of others. With online learning it can sometimes be hard to stay mo...

Like clockwork, when the holiday spirits begin to glow my dad beings to tell of Christmas in Germany and what it's like. He tells of the magical Christmas markets with the sweet smells wafting over stands to tickle your nose, of the presents delicately unwrapped on Christmas Eve, and of the precarious tradition of real candles on the tree. With his stories, my dad passes on a little piece of our cultural heritage as German Americans, retelling those memories we've never had the chance to experience. While we've been to Germany many times to visit family and explore other European countries in the summer, we miss out on much of shapes the culture. As the much-awaited day slowly creeps closer on the calendar, CDs filled with German Christmas carols spin along, with merry children's voices singing "Oh Tannenbaum" -  "Oh Christmas Tree". Storytelling is a way to not only learn but also to bond, growing closer to the storyteller and the story alike. Germa...

    ` When playing games with a couple of my friends, I found myself judging their skill at the game. "Wow, they're so bad" I thought to myself. At the time, we were playing as a group, and began to lose the game we were playing. I have a pretty competitive mindset, so when the tides turned against us I began to analyze what the possible culprit of the loss could be. Rather than focusing on what I could do to improve, I blamed my teammates, a common pitfall in all group sports or activities. We as people are quick to push the blame away from ourselves, even if it clearly could've been our own fault. We make judgements on a day to day basis, be it in a game or on the road, but regardless of the medium, excuses as to why we aren't to blame always exist. "Well, he should've seen me coming!" could be a common excuse if you cut someone off on the road. Making judgements of others doesn't diminish who we are as people, but it is important to focus intr...