Mrs. Ho's AP Lang - 11

  Today, on November 20th, The Donna Klein Varsity Basketball team has its first game. I’m so excited and nervous to play in an actual basketball game for the first time in a year.  However, the nerves for basketball and football season are completely different. In football, I have started at corner for 2 years and I know 100% what to do and where I’m gonna play at all times. Part of the reason I love football is because I get to actually root for my teammates. When we score a touchdown that makes my job on defense easier as the offense now needs to catch up. Although I still root for my team to win during basketball season it's a lot different. On the basketball team, I don’t start and I might not even play for the whole game. Because of this, I root much less for the players on the court. If the point guard does something good, sure I'll cheer but, it hurts my chances of going in the game. Basketball is also heavily geared towards individual statistics because everything in ...

  When I was a kid I loved playing phone games. Angry Birds: Star Wars, jetpack joyride, and Clash of Clans ruled my childhood. I probably spent hundreds of hours on those 3 games alone. What happened to games like these and why don’t the younger kids play them anymore? An important reason is that kids have a much shorter attention span than us as kids. This is because many kids nowadays have grown up from birth hooked on the internet. Around 67% of kids who spend 2 hours a day on electronic devices have attention problems. Many more of these kids are being created with how relevant electronics are. When I was 10, my mom only let me have 15 minutes of screen time on school days and an hour on weekends. My sister, who is 11, has only the restriction of having to complete her schoolwork first on school days and none on weekends. Kids are more prone to having attention issues and that's why games like Angry Birds and Temple Run, where the gameplay isn’t super exciting or varied, aren’...

I think we can all agree that movies have not been the same since 2019.  I have always loved going to the movie theater with family and friends and watching a great film.  Whether it was an Adam Sandler comedy, or an Avengers Marvel movie, I was always intrigued in the movies I decided to attend.  As for recent, I think the last time I went to the theater and actually truly enjoyed the movie, was the most recent Batman movie, which came out in 2022.  Which is a long time considering when I was younger, I was going to the theater every other week.  In my opinion the reason for the good movie production is simple, Hollywood is out of Ideas!  They have not been able to produce any new series hits and have failed to get people excited to go to the theaters.  Many people are outraged by the lack of good movies and theater sales have dropped because of that.  The main problem is that Hollywood is too busy focusing on sequels for previous movies, instead...

Last week, we had our first in class timed essay and let's just say it did not go according to plan.  Going into the first essay, I was focused on completing the essay within the 40 minutes and have a great thesis, that can be backed up with enough evidence.  The essay was both a success and a fail, as I finished in time which was one of my concerns, but I did not get specific enough and tie enough evidence back to my thesis.  I realized that even though I had the evidence the most important thing to explain is why the speaker uses that choice.  This generally is what destroyed me because I had the evidence, but did not get specific enough and just left everything vague.  Fortunately,  I am confident that next time will be better,  since this is my first AP essay and the best way to improve is through practice and experiences.  On this essay, I received a 2.5, which is not too good of a score, but at least I will have the revision in order to fix ...

With the various amounts of streaming services, such as YouTube, Netflix, Hulu, Max, and more, you would think the possibilities of films to watch are endless! However, lately, this has not been the case. I find myself scrolling for hours, and still, nothing catches my eye. Possibly, this is due to the algorithm. It may not be calculating as well as it should. Though, I don’t feel this is the case. I think there is a major lack of TV series and movies to view across all platforms. Even when they do come out with new releases, they tend to lack substance or an interesting plot. What I have noticed a lot is that the creators and directors are trying to create “relatable” content. Still, it just ends up being cringey (and in my opinion, overly politically correct). With such curated/censored content it destroys the reality and relatability that they were trying to achieve. The sadness of it all is, unfortunately, that it is extremely difficult for a “classic” to be made in this day and ag...

           Last season, the New York Giants were one of the most underrated teams with new head coach Brian Daboll. The historically bad Giants who hadn't had a single winning season since 2016 were projected to only win 3-4 games out of the 17 games played that year. They ended up winning 9, losing 7, and tying one, making the playoffs as a wild card team. They then beat the 13-4 Vikings in the wild card round but got smothered by the Philidelphia Eagles in the next round. Daboll ended up winning head coach of the year and the Giants upgraded numerous weapons including the acquisition of Darren Waller, one of the best tight ends in the league. With all that said, now, the underdog Giants, were supposed to be great this year.     Or at least that is what was thought. It is now week 9 and the team has fallen apart. They have the worst offensive line in the entire league, their starting and backup quarterbacks are both out for the season, and they a...

    I haven't actually listened to a lot of Noah Kahan songs, but I have listened to a lot of Hozier songs. I want to specifically discuss Hozier's new song, Northern Attitude, in heavy detail. It's not actually Hozier's song, but he is featured in it. It's a song by Noah Kahan, who you might know from his recently popular song, Stick Season. I don't know what other songs he sings, but oh my god. This new song. It's so amazing and if anyone argues with me they're wrong. The reason I'm even listening to it is because the Andrew Hozier-Byrne sings in it. And when I say listening I mean that I am in a perpetual state of listening to this song, always playing, even if it's just stuck in my head on a loop. The song is just such a good vibe. Like I have no other way to describe it because I'm not going to spend my time actually interpreting the lyrics as if I have nothing else to do besides wonder what some dudes were thinking when they were writi...

      In my opinion, the best show that I have ever seen in my life is Naruto. The show is just so inspirational and creative that I just love it. The characters are funny and the music is good. There are other shows like Death Note that are only 37 episodes but a really good show. There is Hunter Hunter which is also a great show. The real question is why don't people give anime a chance?      People who I ask always say that anime is just weird and won't watch it. I understand them because I used to be the same person. When my brother watched Naruto I just thought he was weird. When I gave it a chance, I was totally wrong. I really enjoyed watching Anime and when I tell other people that I used to think it was weird before watching it they don't care. Maybe people won't all like it, but if people don't want to watch anime because they think it's weird, they are wrong. Yes, the shows sometimes may be childish, but they are so creative to the point where no...

  I don’t need extra time. My whole life I have finished tests quickly and almost never needed more time. Although I don’t need it, plenty of people do and they should, obviously, be given that time. My issue isn’t the extra time itself but how it is structured. Most classes, because of time constraints, have extra time during lunch or 4th period. Because of this, many students see some of the test, leave the class, and are able to use their phones until the actual test starts. This creates an unfair advantage for the people who have extra time. I’m not mad at the students for cheating because if anyone had the option to look things up while taking a test, they would take it. The system makes it significantly easier for extra time students to do better on tests. This leads to many students who don’t need extra time getting it anyway because it helps so much with tests. Although I think this will never happen, extra time needs a new system in place to prevent students from cheating....

Rylan Frydman - Week 8: TRAVIS SCOTT Circus Maximus Tour      Travis Scott is currently on a worldwide tour called The Circus Maximus Tour. His shows are centered around his recent album, Utopia . This is Travis's 4th studio album and it is off to being one of the best albums released this year. Furthermore, his tour, following his Astroworld Tour in 2018, is leaving fans with the experience of a lifetime. I Visited my brother at ASU two weeks ago and during my time there, I attended one of Travis Scott's shows in Arizona. It was one of the best experiences of my life. Me and my brother were on the floor, which meant mosh pits and craziness. When we walked into the stadium, the setup was massive set, almost looking like a mountain all across the floor. We were surrounded by so many people and the second he came on, it was a fight for survival every song he played. It was truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that I will never forget. Songs such as FEIN and Hyen...

         About 2 months ago I switched from wearing glasses to contacts. The reason I changed from glasses to contacts was that my basketball coach said I needed them to play varsity.  I have been using glasses for almost 8 years and the switch to contacts was weird. The first time I put contacts in was at the eye doctor. In order to leave wearing your contacts, they make you sit in the office until you are able to take the contacts out yourself. That was the most stressed I've ever been in my life. I spent 2 hours there with multiple attempts at taking off my contacts going into the top of my eye where the doctor had to take them out. Eventually, I managed to take them out and thought that I would never wear contacts again. After a week or so of putting contacts in, I realized that even though It takes a long time to put contacts in, it was much more convenient than wearing glasses. I never had to pick up my glasses while playing a sport, adjust them ...

       What is girl math? Ingenuity. Budgeting. Simply living in this capitalistic economy successfully. How does one apply GirlMath practically, you ask? I'll answer that with everyday GirlMath examples.  I'll give examples of what I like to call individual GirlMath. I define this as GirlMath applying to one person, the buyer. The reason I make this distinction is because I will give examples of Inter-mathematical GirlMath later. But first is the most common definition of GirlMath...     Let's say, hypothetically, Bath & Bodyworks is having a sale. They are usually running some kind of sale, today it's buy 3 get 1 free on all full-size body care products. You are already planning on buying both a body spray and body wash, so you might as well get a body lotion so that you can get a free body scrub. And then when you total up the price, yes it does end up being more than 50 dollars, but it's body care. And since this is all going to be used practic...

We are just one day into college basketball season, and the freshmen stars have already began shining in their debuts.  Usually freshmen start the season off slow, as they are just getting used to how the game is played at the college level.  These players are coming from high school, where they are used to being the top player on the team let alone probably the state, putting up crazy statistics, where now they are on a team full of players that were in their position as well.  So far, in my lifetime, I have never seen freshmen play as well in debuts as I saw yesterday in a jam packed college basketball day.  Most teams kicked off their seasons.  The first star that shocked me was the number 1 overall prospect, Isaiah Collier (Pictured Above), who plays for USC.  They took on Kansas State in one of the better games of the night, and Collier took control of the game.  He was easily the best player on the floor and look like he was a senior who has play...

  Let's play a guessing game... Category: Holiday. The day is brisk and cheerful, but the night is cold and eerie. Costumes in all shapes and sizes; cute, scary, boring, extravagant, you name it. And of course, the most important part, sugar is shared amongst everyone you can find. Did you figure it out? Drumroll, please! Halloween! If you guessed Purim, I feel bad for you. Halloween is one of my top three favorite holidays. I’m always planning out my costume a year in advance, and figuring out where I’ll be and when. I don’t just enjoy the holiday, but the whole entire Halloween “culture” (if you will). Especially the aspect of scary movies. A good horror movie is legendary; films like Scream, The Excosist, The Conjuring, Hereditary, Midsommar, Us, X, Jennifers Body, Happy Death Day, American Psyco, and more, have gone in the books as some of the most successful movies ever! However, it's not just the ones that will make your skin crawl, but the classics that are wholesome and...

      Obviously, everyone knows about what is going on in Israel. Hamas has attacked the Jewish people in order to scare us. Yes, it might be scary, but we need to be the strongest we have ever been in times like this. Now is the time to turn to unite with each other as we fight off many evil people who are always hating on us Jewish people.      What can we do though if we are not in Israel? There are many things we can do. One thing I have seen many people do is post on social media. What does that do though? Well, followers who aren't Jewish are able to see the tragic things happening and can also be affected by the times. Followers who are Jewish can see the posts which will make them want to unite with other fellow Jewish people. Another thing we can do is pray. Praying to Hashem every single day can have an effect on a person's life in Israel. We pray to Hashem in order to remain holy and hope that miracles will happen to us Jews. What Donna Klein has...

       Yes, you saw that right. The moment everyone has waited for. The original Fortnite map is back!       Around 2018, Fortnite was all anyone talked about. It was the most popular game by far and took the world by storm. Every day kids would come home from school and play with their friends. However, the game started to lose interest around the 8th season and it stayed this way for about half a year. Then Covid hit and people turned their heads back to Fortnite. Fortnite was not only a super fun way to waste time, but it had turned into a way to hang out with friends without really being able to see their faces in person. People called this Fortnite's second prime. Fortnite not only had an all-new map but there were huge new features - such as bosses, new guns, a new rarity, etc - and numerous live events that kept players engaged. However, similar to before, this "second prime" began to fade. Fortnite went a little too far, making the game wo...

    I r ecently started watching a show called The Crown. It is about the British royal family over the course of the 20th century. I am incredibly fascinated by history, and I love watching movies and shows about it. Before starting the show, I knew embarrassingly little about the royal family. I had no clue who was what or why Megan was so controversial, but after becoming so invested in the show, I have learned so much about them. One of the main reasons why I love the show so much is because of how well-written it is. These characters that are being portrayed are larger-than-life people, and sometimes it is hard to imagine that such legends were even real, but the show cleverly shows their humanity without ever letting us into their heads. It’s brilliant how the writers get you to care for these people, but every so often, they remind you who they really are and their duties.     T he show has also given me a greater understanding and appreciation of what it mean...