Scientific Calculators are my Worst Enemy

I hate parabolas. They require so much work just to figure out some weird squiggly line and its components, even if I’m using a graphing calculator. I imagine the elderly people feel the same about using phones as I feel about using the Casio fx-9750GII. The abundance of buttons and menu options makes me want to throw the calculator to the floor. Navigating the intimidating box to find anything requires all my brainpower, so there are no brain cells left to solve the parabolas themselves. Every time I type in something wrong and the screen says, “Syntax Error,” I just want to square up with the creator of Casio. The last straw before I give in is always when I have to adjust the View Window. I can’t even make up some outrageous scenario in real life where I’d need to find the vertex, the axis of symmetry, x-intercepts, y-intercept, the wideness, or narrowness, or the direction in which a quadratic.

Skateboards vs Scooters

You’re at the skatepark for one primary reason. That is, to skate, of course. As you’re finally about to drop in on a ramp you’ve been struggling with for what seems like forever, a tiny human on a scooter zooms past, causing you to fall straight on your butt. You get up and shake it off as merely lousy timing. But as the day continues, stinky middle school boys riding glorified segways continue to get in your way. This is a skatepark, not a scooter playground. This leads you and your friends to debate the superiority of skateboards or scooters.  This conversation is entirely unnecessary as the answer is obviously skateboards. Scooters have their limits. Sure, you can do bunny hops and some other mediocre tricks, but that’s about it. However, Skateboards offer an almost endless list of tricks you can do, ranging from the basics to pro-level moves. Not only do you already look incredibly cool with a skateboard, but you get easy transportation too! Essentially, scooters are for the less mature and delinquent. And well, no one wants to be that, so grow up and buy a skateboard!

IB Learning Through Google Meets

Coronavirus is a complete game-changer at this point. The number of safety measures that are being taken is enough to show how devastating it is. Everything involving many people crowding into one space has been canceled or postponed, which is momentous for high school students attending the IB program. 

The IB program is well renowned for pushing its students to participate in activities outside of school, but with coronavirus going around, it’s questionable how that will be accomplished. Currently, the in-class assignments are the main focus of the IB classes. There’s a challenging amount of work received, but that’s expected from the IB courses. The workload is manageable if you manage your time well enough, but the pace will pick up quickly. Many things won’t go as planned, but the only option as of now is to sit tight and play along.

*Writers are listed in order of appearance.