Ten Things I Wish I Knew

Ten Things I wish I Knew before

Becoming a Lifeguard

11.      Be prepared to be bored.

While I was a lifeguard, I would spend a couple hours a day watching over a nearly empty pool. I didn’t have a way to entertain myself while watching over the patrons of the pool.

22.      You have to deal with unruly patrons.

On multiple occasions I was verbally abused by patrons who didn’t agree with the pool rules. I didn’t think that this would happen when I was training to become a lifeguard.

33.      Get to know your calmer patrons.

While a lifeguard, I got to know some of the nicer patrons. This was nice because I was able to strike up conversations with them. Towards the end of the summer, they also brought us things like food to show their appreciation.

44.      Try to get along with your coworkers.

If you don’t get along with your coworkers, you summer will suck because you spend so much time with them. Luckily, I knew mine and got along with them very well. This led to a relaxed and fun summer with little to no drama.

55.      Remember to practice your skills.

During the summer, you will probably have to rescue someone. At this time, you may have to call on what you learned while training. I had one rescue this summer and jumped into the pool using the wrong jump. I still rescued the person and he was fine, but I also scraped my knee on the bottom of the pool.

66.      Carry water.

This is super important because the sun is constantly beating down on you while you’re on guard. You need to replace all of the liquids you sweat out by carrying a bottle of water with you at all times.

77.      Have sensible footwear.

As a lifeguard, you will spend a lot of time on your feet. I didn’t know this, so my feet hurt quite a bit during the first few days of working. After that I wizened up and bought some comfortable shoes that allowed me to be on my feet all day.

88.      Be prepared to react.

While you may spend most of your time just waiting and watching the patrons, you will have to jump in. You CANNOT freeze up because there is a real chance someone could die. Luckily, I didn’t freeze up and saved my patron.

99.      Ignore your technology.

During my breaks, I was usually on my phone or iPod. This is not a good thing because even though technically I’m on break, I still have to help in an emergency. It is best to just do something else like eat a quick snack while on break or just relax.

110.  Listen to your Mate/Captain.

Your Mate/Captain is your boss. They are the people who write and decide schedules. It is best not to get on their bad side in case you need a favor later on in the summer. They all write your reviews at the end of the summer, so you should listen to them. 

Chapters 9-12 Edits

So these are the edits I made to a book that  helped write in my writing class.

Antonio Romo

Honors Interdisciplinary Writing

Chapters 9-12 Edits

Chapter 9

·         Page 65:

“I reached for my alarm clock but instead all I found was a phone where my alarm clock would have been.”

The instead seems unnecessary and interrupts the flow of the sentence. Get rid of it.

·         Page 65:

“I guess this person doesn’t have 20/20 vision like me.” I muttered under my breath.

The period at the end of the quote should be changed to a comma. Then it will reinforce what she muttered under her breath.

·         Page 65

I got out of bed and stepped over various pieces of clothing and shoes and walked slowly out of the room, hoping that I wouldn’t run into anyone from this family.

This seems like a run-on sentence. A period should be placed after the shoes. Then a new sentence should be started.

·         Page 65

She looked so familiar but I couldn’t place a name to that face.

The so is not needed and that could be changed to the.

·         Page 66

I walked up the stairs and saw an Asian girl waving at me but I didn’t know her…

There should be a comma after me.

·         Page 68

I basically lay there for the next period and then the bell rang.

The verb tense shifts in this sentence. It should be laid.

Chapter 10

·         Page 70

The house was quiet, but a soft glow from light downstairs illuminated the hallway, so I figured that someone had woken up already.

I think that the light part doesn’t make sense. There needs to be an a.

·         Page 71

Stepping outside, I realized that I was in Beverly—usually the homes in this neighborhood were older, but Olivia’s house had a more modern feel that I was admittedly fond of.

The usually should go after the were.

·         Page 73

“Something weird’s going on and I think you know it.”

I’m a little unsure about this sentence. There could be an about after the know.

·         Page 75

In the moments I stood watching Joey from across the room, I felt a tireless yearning and unconditional affection, but looming not too far off was a foreboding cloud of hopeless despair.

It seems like a run on sentence to me. There should be a new sentence after the affection part.

·         Page 77

I regarded sarcastically the iPod’s shuffle feature’s…

Regarded should be switched with sarcastically.

Chapter 11

·         Page 82

I looked down at Nia’s body and tears fell down heavier and more frequently I feared I would be stuck and never be able to be myself again

There is a period missing after frequently.

Chapter 12

·         Page 83

Today I woke up to the alarms of a phone and alarm clock, one after the other set for 6:30 AM.

There should be an an before alarm since there is an a before cell phone.

·         Page 83

My body sat itself down at the desk and my hands immediately began working its magic and fifteen

Its should be changed to their because it is talking about the hands and there are two of them.

·         Page 87

However, it was interesting to live a peaceful life of a privileged Asian girl.

I believe the a after live should be changed to a the. It makes more sense that way. 

Honors Interdisciplinary Writing 2013 Final

So these are the questions that I made for the final exam for the class.

12) What is the definition of remonstrate? A)To reason or plead in protest   B)To acknowledge or give in    C)To use force to try to persuade someone    D)To yell during a demonstration

13) In The Joy Luck Club, what element does Rose Hsu Jordan lack? A) Wind   B) Water         C) Wood   D) Earth

14) In Fences, what did Troy almost die of in 1941? A) Tuberculosis   B) Pneumonia                  C) Cancer   D) A battle in World War 2     

15) What did Jing-mei/June do that disappointed her mother? A) She stopped playing piano      B) She dropped out of college   C) She got into a fist fight with Waverley   D) A and B

16) What is the definition of numinous? A) Great in number; A large quantity of    B)Supernatural, mysterious or awe-inspiring   C) Very bright, blinding    D) Bland, boring

1

Steve Jobs' Commencement Address

Steve Jobs’ Commencement Address

            I enjoyed this speech for a number of reasons. I liked how he told the students not to be brought down by the world. That they should persevere. I liked how he told them to stay naïve. I don’t think he was going with a negative connotation, but with one that hoped that they would still marvel at the wonders of the world. He also said that everything would work out in the end and it would only make sense when looking back. I liked this because it told me not to freak out about every little thing and keep moving forward.

David Pogue TED Talk

David Pogue TED Talk

            I thought this TED Talk was neat. I already knew some of the shortcuts, but the ones I didn’t know pleasantly surprised me. I know that I am going to use the ones that I didn’t know about in conjunction with the ones I know to save time.

David Blaine TED Talk

David Blaine TED Talk

            At first, I didn’t like this TED Talk. Blaine sounded incredibly boring and unenthusiastic. But then it started to pick up when he starting to talk about what he was trying to do. Holding his breath for that long just seemed insane. I’m not sure if he can hold his breath for 44 minutes. If he can do it, I will be incredibly surprised. Sadly, I did not get to finish watching the TED Talk.

Tony Robins TED Talk

Tony Robins TED Talk

            I thought this TED Talk was interesting. I liked how it started off right away and went to the subject of emotions and decisions. The talk got me thinking about how I react to my emotions and decisions I have made

Fences Questions

Here is the link to a set of questions about the play Fences by August Wilson
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/15zeMGXmGV4SLYXw4tEq76tMjASyWfkpJ1EaZUYIzmG0/viewform

The Artist

I really liked this presentation because of how it was able to change. I thought his story that changed when it shook was a brilliant idea that could be used by so many people. His art isn't grounded in reality, but it is creative and expressive and I think it is great that he can do that.

‘If I had a Daughter’ TED Talk

            I listened to this TED Talk and I must say it is one of the best ones I have ever listened to. In the beginning when she started, I felt empowered and optimistic at the same time. I felt like the world was going to throw everything it had at me, but that I would be able to handle it. If I fell, I could pick myself back up and keep moving. 

Art Fair

Whitney Young Art Fair

            Today, my high school hosted an art fair. While I was walking through the halls looking at everyone’s piece, I saw this one. The instant I saw it, I felt more relaxed. I thought it was a beautiful piece that had an incredible calming effect on me. Its title is “Blades of Glory.” The artist’s name is Patricia Helbin, and even though I don’t know her, I really like her piece. I believe it was done with watercolors. It has to be my favorite piece in the entire art fair. 

This is the link to the picture

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1PEK04T_C-80PCWA6yL46HurSD7dQhMsjYusMmYc7kAE/edit?usp=sharing

COD TED Talk Presentation

This is my presentation about Call of Duty: Black Ops II Multiplayer

COD Video for a TED Talk

This is a video i made for a TED Talk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9nuQx6t0tA

Robot TED Talk

Robot TED Talk

            Today, I was able to enjoy a TED talk that made me smile. It was a TED talk about a robot that can interact using an iPod touch or iPhone device. It connects to something like a rover that can interact with you. I thought it was really cute and I laughed because its name was my last name. The little robot is called the ROMO and I laughed when I heard that. Plus, you can control the robot and play games with it by using another apple device.

Vehicle TED Talk

Vehicle TED Talk

            So I watched this really cool TED talk about a longboard with a motor. I thought it was a really cool idea and I’m pretty sure I would buy one. It uses a really small, really efficient motor to propel the board. It can go forward and backwards and you lean to direct the board. You use a hand control to direct and I really want one if these longboards now.

Joy Luck Club Questions

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1UFq-wETxjKnhE0x3NMTa2Et41cbMoGN3Zl-MeyNwfxc/viewform?sid=6b97d235e61cbd33&token=46Ny_D0BAAA.fj1lwb4I6GBPRGar4_D68w.UV-OPGDoBIRd9EvhZ9GXpw

Antonio Romo

Call of Duty TED Talk

            Call of Duty multiplayer is an incredibly fun game that the American youth is playing. This TED talk is here to help you survive in the world of COD multiplayer for Black Ops II. So multiplayer is when players go up against each other, whether it’s on a team or solo. These players are fighting against one another with many different types of weapons and attachments for these weapons. They are fighting to achieve many different objectives in many different game modes. But enough about that. Now it’s time to start on how to survive.

Step One: Determine which player you are

            When broken down, there are only two types of players. There are slayers and there are objective players. Sorry that the latter doesn’t have a cool name. Slayers are people who running around the map killing anything on the enemy team. These people usually go solo and are in the game for the kills. Objective players are people who do whatever the objective of the certain match is. They will capture points of flags or whatever to help the team. This TED talk is going to be geared towards slayers.

Step Two: Pick your primary weapon

            To be a slayer, you will need a specific type of weapon. In COD, there are six types of weapons: assault rifles, submachine guns, shotguns, sniper rifles, light machine guns, and riot shields. When playing as a slayer, you are going to want to pick either and assault rifle or a submachine gun. Sniper rifles and shotguns don’t fire fast enough, light machine guns are too heavy, and riot shields make you get in close and don’t kill quick enough. Assault rifles and submachine guns are the way to go. Assault rifles fire slowly and do damage, but are a little slower to move with. Submachine guns fire quickly with less damage, but you can move faster with them. Once you have chosen, you can move on.

Step Three: Pick your attachments

            When playing as a slayer, the most fundamental attachment you will need is a silencer. A silencer keeps you off the map the shows where people are firing their un-silenced weapons. This keeps the enemy from knowing where you are most of the time. The next attachment is up to you. I personally go with fast mags In Black Ops II, this attachment lets you reload your weapon faster. This is invaluable in a tough gun fight as you can get back in it quicker.

Step Four: Pick your secondary weapon

            In Black Ops II, there are three types of secondary weapons: pistols, launchers, and special. There is also a knife attachment, which does not take up a spot in your Pick-10 system. A good slayer will go with either a good pistol or stay with his knife in order to put that point somewhere else.  One good thing is that the pistols can be silenced and the knives are already silent.

Step Five: Pick your perks

            Perks are things in the game that help you out. One can only attach three perks at a time, unless you use wildcards, but I’ll talk about that later. One good perk that is good for a slyer is a Tier 2 perk called Scavenger. This lets you pick up “scavenger packs”, which resupply you. It resupplies your ammo and equipment. This is good since you don’t want to run out of ammo during an intense fire fight. A great Tier 3 perk is called Engineer. This lets you see the equipment of enemy players. You will be able to see things like claymores or bouncing betties that the enemy has planted. These are proximity mines that are very deadly to players like you. One of the best Tier 1 perks for a slayer is called Ghost. This keeps you off the mini map as long as you are moving. These are great perks for slayers.

Step Six: Pick your Equipment

            Equipment is things like explosives. One good thing for players is C-4, which is the most destructive device in the game and can be thrown. They have a very large blast radius and are great for slayers. Another good piece of equipment is flash bangs. These non-lethal grenades blind and deafen your enemies for a short period of time. This gives you a good amount of time to get in there and kill them.

Step Seven: Pick your wildcards

            Wildcards are things that let you customize even further. They can do things like add a third attachment to your primary or a second attachment to your secondary. They can also add a second perk to each tier. One great wildcard is one that unlocks a second Tier one perk. Another good perk for slayers is Hardline, which makes it easier to reach your point streaks.

Step Eight: Pick your point streaks

            Points are things you are awarded for doing things like getting kills or completing objectives. Point streaks can either help your team or hurt the other team. Slayers are usually geared towards hurting the enemy team. They use lethal point streaks that kill enemy players. You can pick whichever ones you want.

Step Nine: Finding the right play style

            There are many ways to be a slayer. The best tactic that I have used is a simple one. Basically, you work your way around the side of the maps. You do this to avoid most players and kill any stragglers. Once you have worked your way around the sides, you set up in their spawn. The spawn is where the players go after dying somewhere else. From here, you can kill many players when they are off guard. You can use you scavenger perk to never run out of ammo and your Ghost perk to stay hidden.

Step Ten: Go forth and win

            Now that you know all of these things, you can go forward and have a successful career in COD multiplayer.  

TED Talk Review

            So I was watching this TED talk about how the brain develops over life, and I quite enjoyed it. It showed how the brain developed and it talked about the prefrontal cortex. I thought her arguments were also well presented. I thought it was a good TED talk overall. 

MatheMagic

            So I watched this TED talk, and at first, I thought it was kind of cool. The man was multiplying numbers in his head that most couldn’t do. But then he got to a larger number which took over a minute to solve. I could have done this in seconds with my calculator. Plus, he was showing us what he could do, not teaching us how to do it. 

Underwater Views

            This was my favorite of the three videos that we watched because I thought that it was just amazing what these creatures of the sea could do. I was astounded by how adept at camouflage that they had evolved to be. Looking at how the octopus could blend into any environment in a matter of seconds was crazy. Looking at their insane abilities has made this my favorite video. 

“Violent” Videogames and People

Amidst the many tragedies that have befallen this country in recent times, like the Sandy Hook Massacre, many are quick to point fingers. People need to find something to blame these tragedies on. One of the easiest scapegoats to pick on is violent videogames. Violent videogames have received a bad reputation as something that increases aggression and makes people want to commit crimes. This mindset is used to try to say that videogames are bad and evil creations that make bad, terrible people out of ordinary citizens. But the truth is, there is no solid proof that violent videogames cause increases in the levels of aggression in people.

Violent videogames have been criticized in the media as something that makes regular people more aggressive than they already are. But no one has ever thought if this was actually the reverse. Many more people play these “violent” videogames and do nothing than those who play these games and go on massacres. Nobody has looked at these videogames as an outlet for the frustrations that people feel. Ethan Gilsdorf, a writer who works for COGNOSCENTI, says “Could it be that violent video games are an important outlet for aggression? That, on the whole, these games and “play violence” let us express anger and aggression in a safe way? Perhaps violent video games aren’t only “not so bad,” but actually help keep the real-world killings where they belong — in our imaginations, as harmless fantasies.” Gilsdorf thinks that violent videogames are actually an outlet for many people and that they are a great tool for keeping many people from snapping and causing tragedies of their own.

Another problem with the saying that videogames cause aggression is the possibility that aggressive people are attracted to aggressive videogames in the first place. Kataku.com, a website devoted to gaming news, compiled a list of 25 studies on videogames and their effects, along with their conclusions. In one of them, a study of 76 subjects aged 12 to 16 had their heart rate and blood pressure checked in the beginning. After that, the subjects played either a violent or nonviolent videogame. The study found that “prehostile subjects showed no difference in heart rate or blood pressure playing violent or nonviolent games.” While this does not definitively disprove that videogames cause aggression, it is enough to cast doubt on the assumption that videogame make people more violent. Another study, this time of 117 college students, played one of three videogames. The videogames had varying degrees of hostility in them. After the session, the students filled out a Buss-Durkee Hostility Inventory and Eyesenck Personality Questionnaire. When the questionnaires were assessed, the scientists found that “these was no linear pattern in aggressive affect change across three games that contained varying levels of violence.”  Studies show that videogames have effects on people, but there is no definitive effect. Some studies show that people become more violent with these games and others show that these games have no effect. These studies are trying to answer the question “What effect do violent videogames have on people in this society?” Sadly, not a single study has been able to definitively answer this question.

Violent videogames have been a scapegoat for the media to blame the tragedies that have happened to this country. The media tries to use studies that show that there are negative effects on people. But what the media doesn’t show is contradictory studies that show that there is no effect on people. These studies are buried and never see the light of day while the negative studies are thrust into the spotlight for the country to see.

            Violent videogames do not have a negative effect on people. They have not been proven to cause aggression in people. Yet they are blamed as making people more aggressive because they are an easy excuse that makes sense to many people.  Videogames have received a terrible reputation that they do not deserve because the government and the media need an excuse to blame tragedies on that have no real causes.

Sources Used:

http://kotaku.com/5976781/25-video-game-violence-studies-summarized

http://cognoscenti.wbur.org/2013/01/17/video-games-ethan-gilsdorf

http://globalpublicsquare.blogs.cnn.com/2013/01/12/dont-blame-the-video-games/

The 3 Best Tech Gadgets

1. Gadget #14

This gadget is a transparent film that can recharge a battery through solar power or an ambient light source. This “photovoltaic display” costs a little over a dollar to make and could get rid of the annoyance of dead batteries. The product is made by a French company called Wysips.

2. Gadgets #7

Sony’s Xperia Tablet Z is waterproof adding a whole new environment in which you can use it. It is a great feature that will also save many users from having to get a new tablet due to water damage.

3. Gadget #12

Ford has joined forces with Spotify to enable its cars in Europe to be able to stream music while driving using just voice control. This is a great feature for people who need their music and also a great safety feature. Since only one’s voice is needed to operate the app, this will let drivers keeps their eyes on the road.

   The 3 Worst Tech Gadgets

1.      Gadget #6

This technically wasn’t even a gadget, so it had to go all the way to the bottom. HTC didn’t have any new ideas and just went with a parkour display to try to impress some people and distract from their lack of innovation.

2.      Gadget #2

This is a cane that uses GPS to track the user. Not to generalize, but an old person is probably not going to care about tracking their movements using GPS. This just seems like a gadget without a fan base. IT was made by a company called Fujitsu.

3.      Gadget #3

This is a phone that has the special quality of making the screen black and white.  It also has a color touch screen, which makes the black and white screen obsolete for anyone who isn’t feeling nostalgic for a time when the screens were black and white. This phone was made by YotaPhone. 

The Five Worst Things About Being a Teenager

            Being a teenager is one of the most difficult times in life for the seven billion inhabitants of this planet. It is a time of new feeling for everyone living though this time. And many people don’t know how to deal with it and end up suffering. The five worst things about being a teenager are the pressure, being treated like a child, the uncertainty of the future, society’s views, and not having enough time.

            One of the worst things about being a teenager is the seeming lack of enough time to do everything you have to or want to do. When a person becomes a teenager, everything starts moving faster and one finds out that there is not enough time to do everything. Veronica Skital, an 18 year old senior, says “The worst part of being a teenager is juggling between school and work.” It is difficult to manage and one of the most important lessons for teenagers is learning how to manage time. Marlene Lenthang, a Whitney Young senior, says “The worst part of high school is trying to balance work load with fun, at times the work is just too much.” All of this culminates into one of the toughest obstacles that teenagers have to overcome.

            Another difficult thing teenagers have to deal with is the fact that many are still treated like children. These people are transitioning into young adults yet they are still seen as children by many people. According to Matthew Scott, 18 year old man, “the worst part about being a teenager is being treated like a child, when you have already grown up.” In the eyes of society, teenagers are still seen as kids even though they are much closer to adulthood. Ga Liu, 18 year old student, says “the worst part of being a teenager is having your parents baby you when you want to become an adult”. In this way, society is holding teenagers back and this makes it an even tougher time for them.

            One more thing that makes teenaged life even more difficult is society’s views of them. Society thinks that teenagers are lazy and only waste time doing inappropriate or immature things. Then society goes so far as to command these teenagers to conform to what they think are suitable behavior. According to Jasmine Grayson, Whitney M. Young High School senior, “the worst part of being a teenager is that education begins to be so important and people begin to create standards that they expect you, the teen, to achieve.” Society thinks that teenagers are rebellious and need to be shut down, and this clashes with the mindsets of teens, making it even more difficult.

            Another difficulty teenagers have to deal with is the uncertainty of the future and the fear that not knowing brings. This uncertainty scares many teenagers and makes them hesitant of moving forward. Frank FioRito, 18 year old student, says “the worst part about being a teenager is needing to think about your future, even if you have no idea what you want to do.” This realization that the future is upon them scares them and frightens them from taking action. Brian Scheff, a junior in high school, says, “The worst part about being a teenager is not knowing what you want in the future yet having to plan for it.” Teenagers have to bumble their way through this time. They have to bumble because they are young and do not like having to ask questions. This hesitancy to ask question makes the uncertainty of the future even scarier.

            The most difficult thing about being a teenager is all the pressure they feel. The amount of pressure one feels skyrockets when they become a teenager. They have to deal with everything listed above and more. Essence Townsel, 17 year old student, says "the worst part of being of a teenager is carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders while trying to still live your life." Teenagers have to deal with an insane amount of pressure and still have to act like functional members of society. This is the toughest thing about being a teenager.

            Being a teenager is one of the toughest times that a person can grow through. There are numerous obstacles that one must face and overcome in order to fully reach adulthood. These obstacles make it seem like this is the worst time in one’s life. The five worst things about being a teenager are the lack of time, being treated like a child, society’s views, the uncertainty of the future, and the pressure. These make a teenager's time the hardest in their life.