Travel Log for This Summer: Yellowstone National Park

Rickymgb: Website

Yellowstone National Park was the first national park of the United States, established in March 1, 1872. The park has 3,468 square miles. There are lakes, canyons, rivers, mountain ranges, and tons of wildlife. There is a super volcano below Yellowstone Lake that causes large amounts of geothermic activity. There are more than 300 geysers (such as Old Faithful and Steamboat Springs (the tallest geyser in the world) as well as hot springs, mud pots, and fumaroles.

Yellowstone has wildlife you most likely won’t see normally. During my trip to Yellowstone, one of the most unique animals I saw were bison. I posted a picture of bison on Instagram. Even though they may look like they are in peace, bison will become aggressive when you get too near them. They are brown furred mammals with horns that are pretty big, taller than the average human being and even a car. They have huge heads and massive shoulders. They weigh 1000 to 2000 pounds. Bison are usually found in herds. During my 2 days in Yellowstone, I probably saw 100 bison. Because of the bison, Yellowstone is special.

Yellowstone has a lot of nature. One of the main things contributing to the nature are the geysers. I stopped by for a while to see them. I posted a picture of one of the geysers and again posted it on Instagram. Geysers are hot, so don't go near them. 20 visitors have died because of being burned by geysers. Yellowstone has nature, but even nature has its tradeoffs.

Yellowstone isn’t a very modernized place. The residential area has wooden cabins instead of hotels. In the national park itself, there's no WiFi. Luckily, there was WiFi in the cabin I stayed in (so I was able to post some of my Yellowstone pictures on Instagram). Yellowstone is not the ideal place to go to if you really like modern technology. Clearly, Yellowstone is a place that doesn’t interest everyone.

The best way to get to Yellowstone is first by plane. Then, to get to the national park itself, you'll need to drive there.

All together, for me, going to Yellowstone has been a good experience.

One of My Passions

Chris Willis: Website

One of my passions is dancing. Although I don’t take dance classes anymore, I still really enjoy dancing. I am even planning to take some dance summer camps this summer to continue pursuing my passion of dance. Dancing is very special because it is one of the few things out there that can be both a sport (because dance makes people more fit) and an art. It also has many benefits, such as releasing stress, and helping gain confidence in front of others.

Dancing is a form of exercise, so don’t say that dancing isn’t a sport. In fact, dancing makes you in shape, lean, stronger, agile, balanced, coordinated, and flexible, so it is a great workout. You see, these are qualities that athletes need to be successful. In that way, injuries, back pain, and balance problems can be more likely to be avoided. Dance has great health benefits, and there are even dance teams (like there are sports teams). Dancing is quite competitive after all (awards are given to the winners), which is a quality in other sports as well. According to the author of the article “Glossary of Human Anatomy Terms,” a dancer’s core involves a balance of stability and strength between the abdominal muscles, the back muscles, the pelvic floor muscles, and the diaphragm. As a result, dancers have good posture, better muscle tone, relief from back pain, and an increase in stamina. In addition to making you stronger, dance is also a form of aerobic exercise, so it is vigorous enough to elevate heart and breathing rates. As a result, the cardiovascular system is improved. You also burn a lot of calories when you dance. For instance, according to a picture on Pinterest about Dance vs Calories in 1 hour, jazz dance burns 500 calories in one hour and both tap dance and ballet burn 450 calories in an hour. According to an article called “How Does Dance Affect the Body” by Tammy Dray (who specializes in topics such as health and wellness, has credits in various publications, certified personal trainer, and nutrition consultant), dancing on a regular basis can help lose weight as much as other forms of exercise would. This prevents obesity from happening.

Dancing is also a form of art, visual arts to be specific. I like many things from the arts. Dance is an art movement of the body, consisting of many different sequences of steps and is played with music. Dancers move rhythmically to the music. According to the eBook Dance and the Lived Body: A Descriptive Aesthetics by Sondra Horton Fraleigh, “the movements in dances have aesthetic and symbolic value”(Horton 49). Because it uses choreography, dances tell stories that don’t involve using the mouth, which is just like any type of art. Art is self-expression, so dancing allows me to express myself. Through the choreography and facial expressions of a dancer, the dancer can completely change his/herself into another character. This, I feel, is quite similar to theater, which is also an art. (Like dance, theater is a visual art.) Not only is dance an art, it also has a lot in common with other types of arts.

Dance releases strong emotions, such as anger and stress. Ofelia de la Valette, a woman with a passion of dancing, said that “Dancing is like taking a mini vacation from the stress of the everyday - you have to be in the moment.” Depression is diminished when dancing because it makes people let go of everyday problems and just be themselves, thus making people more relaxed and not worry about anything. According to a 2008 study in the American Journal of Health Education, dance was found to increase life satisfaction. In that way, people can have happier lives when dancing. Dancing makes you feel free, as it is expressing your true feelings and inner self, so it is a hobby for enjoyment. This is great for the body and mind because it helps refreshes brain function. You have to be focused on your dance moves to make sure that they are accurate. As a result, dancers are more attentive and focused. When there is less stress, there is more happiness. People prefer seeing happy faces rather than angry (or any other frown and/or bored) faces, and dance is a great exercise that can be enjoyed by people. Dance relaxes people mentally and physically, which is why tenseness goes away. People can just be themselves and be calm.

Dance can also help gain confidence, making dancers more happy and satisfied.

For example, I remember dancing in the middle of the whole eighth graders (they formed a circle, and there are people in the middle who show off their dance moves) who were at the dance called The Black Light Dance on Friday, February 19, 2016 in the middle school I went to known as JLS Middle School (this had been during the eighth grade extra half hour of the dance). I did many different dance moves. People applauded and “ey’d” when I had been dancing. Some people even complimented me, saying that I was a good dancer. Dancing made me feel free, and helped me express my dance self. Now, people know a bit more about my dancing. I had really happy feelings when the dance ended. That dance resulted me in gaining more confidence in front of others. It’s clear that dance helps gain confidence. Once you are confident, you can do many dance moves with a smile on your face without looking at your feet the whole time. The more confident you are, the more applause and praises you will receive when doing your dance moves. This also increases the satisfaction of the dancer. Clearly, dancers are more happy and satisfied.

I hope to once again take dance classes some day (hopefully when I am a sophomore in my high school because I’m pretty sure that that will be the time that I can choose to take dance instead of an actual P.E. class and/or take dance classes in a dance studio). Dancing is an exercise, a sport, a form of art, a stress reliever, and a confidence gainer. It’s no doubt that Meghan Trainor’s song “Better When I’m Dancing” (a song from The Peanuts Movie) is true to me and many other people out there because “we can do this together,” as people can dance together. Dancing really pays off, and anyone can dance. Dancing brings people together, and you can make a lot of friends by signing up for dance classes. Dance captivates people everywhere because you can dance almost everywhere and at any time.

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All Middle School Students in California Should Not Be Required to Take a Computer Programming Class

Ministryof. "Hassanhelash.jpg." Photo.
Wikimedia Commons, 5 May 2015. Web. 16 Apr. 2016.
<https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hassanshelash.jpg>.

Steve Wozniak said, “Our first computers were born not out of greed or ego, but in the revolutionary spirit of helping common people rise above the most powerful institutions.” Computers are now incorporated in people’s daily lives. They have many different purposes, such as emailing family and friends, making websites, and computer programming. Even middle schools have computer programming electives. Some people say that computer programming is essential, but I think that all middle school students in California should not be required to take a computer programming class because not everyone is into computer programming, it is hard to memorize all of the computer programming coding concepts, and not every occupation involves computer programming skills.

First of all, computer programming is not every California middle school student’s interest. Some like creative writing, while others are into theater. In my school, there is only one period for computer programming, however, there are three or more electives in the art field. This means that computer programming is not a very popular elective to take. According to a graph on the website http://www.childtrends.org/ by the U.S. Department of Commerce, Economics, and Statistics Administration, on average, home computer access and home computer use has increased. However, only 78.5 percent of middle schoolers have computer access at home, and home internet use is 57.1 percent. Although many middle school students have a computer at home, they do not necessarily want to know what happens behind all the making of a website. It is clear that computer programming may be the future, but the future is still far away.

Then, it is hard to memorize the computer programming coding concepts. For example, why is a color’s name represented in something like #ffffff? Why doesn’t computer programming use the actual name of the color? In my experience, when I was in the Computer wheel during sixth grade, I remembered asking the teacher questions when doing computer programming. Computer programming is not for me. Clearly, computer programming is not for everyone. According to the article “Why is Coding So Hard?” from the website http://www.codeconquest.com/, finding tutorials on how to code just will not be enough to learn to computer programming. It takes up a lot of time to be a professional computer programmer. If middle school students are required to take a computer programming class, then the time is wasted if a student is not into it. Computer programming is basically learning a new language.

 Finally, not every occupation will involve computer programming skills. For instance, athletes do not need those skills. All they do is to just play their sport and compete against other teams. This means that computer programming is not for every occupation. According to the article “21 Jobs in Tech You Don’t Need a Computer Science Degree For” from the website http://skillcrush.com by Kelly Orrela, there are many jobs that do not require a computer programming degree, like a digital marketing specialist or a business development manager. It just does not feel right for computer programming to be taught in middle school, as even a digital marketing specialist does not need those skills. The future may be about computer programming, however, there will still be jobs that do not involve computer programming coding concepts.

In conclusion, Middle school students in California should not be required to take a computer programming class. It is not everyone’s interest, as the making of a website can be boring. The computer programming coding concepts are not easy to remember, and it takes up a lot of time. Finally, not all occupations involve computer programming, such as a fashion designer, acrobat, and janitor. People may use computers every day, but that does not mean that they have to take a computer programming class during middle school. Even though Steve Wozniak says that computers rise above the most powerful institutions, it does not mean that computers are the most important thing we have as an everyday object.

December 11: An Impressive Day

Today, December 11, had been an impressive middle school day for me. Around 2-3 months ago, my dad told me to be impressed with myself before impressing others. I sure did impress myself (and others, I think/hope) today. I got my symphonic band t-shirt today. It is pretty amazing. After school, I went to my middle school's film festival, which had been great. One of my friends submitted a video for the film festival, and I was in it. Near the end, the filmmakers (including the people starring in other people's videos) went up on the stage in my middle school's cafeteria. I was pretty happy up there. When I got home, because I did well in math, my dad awarded me with Peanuts characters Linus, Peppermint Patty, and Schroeder stickers.
Ah, if only any other day could be like today. :)

Peanuts characters (for the ones I got for stickers: Peppermint Patty
is at the second to left, Schroeder is at the second to right, and Linus
is the rightmost character)

How Summer 2015 Went for Me Part 2

 I learned about things like the four Ymca core values and child abuse facts. Also, there was a swim day. My Ymca camp and El Camino went to the same swimming pool place, but Northwest went somewhere else. In the place I swam, there was a diving board and a water slide. Also, there was a deep end of the pool, but you had to pass a swim test to go there; I'm pretty sure that it applies to going on the water slide and diving board too. I passed the test and went on the water slide, the deep end of the pool, and the diving board. At first, I was a bit scared to go on the diving board. (Before the swim day, I never had been on a diving board before.) With a help with a few people from camp, I went on the diving board. It had been a good experience, and I hope to try again soon. By the end of the camp, everyone received certificate and a Leader in Training shirt for completing LIT I.

The LIT II camp had five people, but only four showed up. (The one that didn't show up was the one who was "out for medic" in LIT I. I was told by my counselor that she was attending a different summer camp during that week I did LIT II.) Once again, we were combined with El Camino and Northwest and met in the same school as we did in LIT I. All of us got purple folders. Some things I've learned are public speaking tips for teens and including every type of person. Sadly, I got the stomach flu on Wednesday of that week, probably because of the lunch my family and I had four days before that Wednesday. It was my brother who first got it. Then, my dad got it, and then it was me. I returned to LIT II on Thursday, which was the swim day (all LIT II camps go to the same swimming place) for LIT II. My mom suggested that I don't swim that day, just in case if I threw up again. (One symptom of the stomach flu is throwing up.) She decided that I bring a book with me. Friday was popsicle day, but I decided to not get one because I didn't want to throw up. I got a certificate for completing LIT II during the end of the camp.

On the night of the day I completed LIT II, my cousin from Shenzhen, China came to my house to visit for a month. (He left on the night of August 3, the first day of my journalism summer camp.) Two weeks later, my cousins from New Jersey came to my house to visit as well, but they only stayed for a week. (During that week, they also went to Yosemite). It had been almost ten years since I've last seen them, so it was great to see them.

My LIT I folder

August 2 was my brother Anthony's birthday. He turned 4 and had an Angry Bird themed birthday party. There were Angry Bird balloons, napkins, cake, masks, jump house, etc. Some of his friends from his school came. Also, my friend from Fremont and her brother came. Even one of my cousins from San Jose came too; I never expected it because my parents didn't tell me. Anthony received birthday presents from friends and family. With the exception of the card, my present from Anthony was nothing like any of the others; it was digital and created on the app called "Notes."

Anthony had an Angry Birds birthday party

My LIT II folder

During the August 3-7 week, I attended a journalism summer camp (called Camp MAC) at my future high school, which is Palo Alto High School (shortened to Paly). In the camp, there were different groups; I was placed in "The Dish." I was given a pen and a Professional Reporter's Notebook. I saw some recognizable faces from people who are from my middle school, which is JLS. The camp was fun, and I learned types of writings such as fashion and editorial. Not only there was journalism in the camp, there was also activities. One activity I liked was the inverted pyramid challenge. That challenge was placed on my group's magazine cover.

On August 12, it was Jump Start Day for JLS, which was 2-5 P.M. It was also 8th Panther Camp counselor orientation, but alas, I wasn't selected to be counselor even though I did the Panther Camp counselor application. Three days later, I went to my best friend from my elementary school's (the one I went to for the second semester of 3rd to 5th grade, as I moved to Palo Alto in the winter of 2010) house. She got me an Instagram account, we played a game called The Scrambled States of America, and went on her trampoline. It was a lot of fun.

Instagram Logo

Scrambled States of America Game

My notebook in Camp MAC

Magazine for my group, which includes
a piece of all of me and the other people
 in my summer camp's writing

My LIT II certificate

My LIT I certificate

How Summer 2015 Went for Me Part 1

Summer has flown by so quickly. It felt like that yesterday had been the first day of summer. I've done all sorts of things this summer.

On the first evening of summer break, my mom, brother, and I went to a farewell party of one of my brother's friends in his preschool. Some of his other friends went there too.
During the day after the farewell party, my mom, dad, brother, grandma, and I went to Los Angeles by car. When we got to Los Angeles, the traffic was pretty bad. We stayed there for an evening. During this time, we went to the Hollywood Walk of Fame. On the next day, we went to Universal Studios. After that, we went to San Diego. San Diego's traffic was way better than Los Angeles'. We stayed there for three nights. In San Diego, we went to Legoland and SeaWorld. Everything in Legoland is made out of lego, even the hotel there. Also, Legoland has more rides than shows. SeaWorld is the opposite. On the day after we visited SeaWorld, we drove back home. It was a long trip, and we got back to Palo Alto at around 8:40 P.M.

Two days after I got home, I went to one of my friend's house. The friend whose house I went to also has a twin sister, and her babysitter was there too. The babysitter drove my friend, her twin, and I to Town and Country. She got a sandwich, while my friend, her twin, and I got smoothies from Jamba Juice. When we got back to my friend's house, we played a game called Forbidden Island, which is a teamwork game. I've never played it before coming to her house, and I felt like it was a good game. After that, my friend, her twin, and I fed vanilla to my friend and her twin's pet parakeet. We also did art on a machine that spins.
For three weeks, I attended three different Ymca summer camps in Palo Alto. On the June 15-19 week, I did mini golf. On the June 22-26 week, I did Leaders in Training One (LIT I). On the June 29-July 3 week, I did Leaders in Training Two (LIT II).
In the mini golf camp, there were five people in total, however, we were combined with two other Ymca mini golf camps (El Camino (in Mountain View) and Sequoia (in Redwood City)). We went to each mini golf place by bus. On Monday, we went to Golfland in Sunnyvale. On Tuesday, we went to Neptune's Kingdom in Santa Cruz. On Wednesday, we went to Golfland in Milpitas. On Thursday, we went to Subpar Miniature Golf in Alameda. On Friday, however, for some reason we did not go mini golfing. Instead, we went to Levi's Stadium. (It was only the Palo Alto and Sequoia Ymcas that went there. El Camino went to a swimming place.) It was okay, and I learned more about football. I also got a learning playbook.
The LIT I camp only had four people. Again, we were combined with two other Ymca LIT I camps, but it was El Camino and Northwest (in Cupertino). Every day, we met in an elementary school part of a Cupertino School District. We got folders, but each Ymca LIT I camp got a different color (mine's orange for Palo Alto).

The Levi's Stadium football learning playbook

One of the stars I saw in the Hollywood Walk of Fame

Legoland entry sign

SeaWorld logo

Logo of Universal Studios