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I think that we make history. For example, Benjamin Franklin made history. History didn’t make him. He made history with his inventions. Take the lightning rod, for example. It saved many peoples’ lives, and made history. The electricity would be conducted into the ground, where it could be safely “removed”. His ingenuity helped him create many other inventions, many of which made history. Another example is Martin Luther King Jr. History didn’t make him either. He made history with his rallies and speeches on letting all people have equal rights. Take his “I Have a Dream” speech, for example. It influenced many people to support Dr. King. In the speech, he stressed the idea of a world in which everyone would be treated fairly. His great and powerful speeches helped African Americans gain their rights and their freedom. He is one of the most famous civil rights characters in the history of the U.S. – which proves that he made history, and history didn’t make him. To sum up, it

What happens when you make a mistake? Do you learn anything? Or do you think you learn more when you have a success? It’s obvious that we learn more from our mistakes than our successes. I have two examples – chess and academic worksheets. The first example, chess, definitely proves that we learn more from our mistakes than our successes. When you make a mistake and lose, you say to yourself: “Now I know that I shouldn’t play that way next time.” And the next time you play, you won’t make the same mistake. When you win, you say to yourself: “YAY!!!” You don’t really learn anything from cheering for yourself. The other example, academic worksheets, also proves that we learn more from our mistakes than our successes. When you make a mistake, you learn from it. You don’t just ignore it. You see what you got wrong, and that helps prevent future mistakes similar to the one you made by letting you remember the cause of the mistake. But if you don’t get anything wrong, you don’t learn a

如果你最后又连着两个没得的分，减去 2 个分，然后得到你的总部分数。 如果你最后只有一个没得的分，减去 1 个分，然后得到你的总部分数。 昨天我跑了一个叫“ Pacer ”的体育考试。在这个考试里，大家都在开跑线准备，然后开始跑。没半个 40- 米来回是一份。首先几个来回都很慢，但是过了一会儿它就变得很快。如果你有两次没有在声音之前跑完的话，你的考试就完了。你的总部分数就是你考试完的那个分数减掉一或二个分。很多人都会说自己没力气，然后去喝水和休息了。但是有些人，很坚强，继续跑了很久，最后得到 100 分（最高能得到的分数）。我跑得还行吧，跑了一个 93 分。我和一个叫 Mallika 的女孩都得了 93 分。我的朋友， Kevin Zhang 跑了 100 分。他跑得很快，我觉得他下次还是会拿到冠军。下次我也真取得到 100 分！

Today I read an article about Nick D’Aloisio’s application, Summly. Summly sums up articles and gives you the summary. You can also click on a link to read the original article. One reason I think Nick was successful is because he had a clear idea on what he was going to do and a creative mind. He didn’t have any “uhh”s or “umm”s when he was talking about his application. He knew what he was going to do, how he was going to do it, etc. He had the idea to create this app – which proves he has a great, creative mind. Another reason I think he was successful is because he had a lot of supporters. These supporters helped him by giving him money and letting him hire employees and lease office space. This helped him by letting him work with more people and get his project done faster. Otherwise, he might have not even finished his project because of an insufficient amount of money. To sum up, I think Nick D’Aloisio’s app Summly was successful because he had a creative mind, a clear g

Yesterday dad, my two little brothers, and I drove to Whole Foods Market for dinner. My dad saw a new “Eastern Market Café” section, and so I decided to try it out. I ordered a BLT sandwich (Bacon-Lettuce-Tomato). Many other people were already at the counter, and I saw some woman carry away a delicious-looking sandwich. The chef, who was obviously a new guy – you could tell from his uniform – told the woman the sandwich was called a “Reuben”. I decided to let dad “test drive” the “Reuben”. We waited for a while, and then the chef handed me a sandwich. It looked good, but it had no bacon, lettuce or tomato. When I asked, he gave me bacon and apologized. Once dad got his Reuben, he said he wanted some lettuce and tomato. The chef acknowledged it and went to work on some other sandwich. He must have forgotten – my dad asked him again after a while – and he apologized again and gave us the lettuce and tomato. Then, because he thought he had made us late (he looked like he was about

Do you know what fast food actually contains? The answer to this question may influence you a lot, too. But do you like fiction? You may or may not, but the two books that have influenced me the most are “Chew On This” and “The Magic Tree House” series. “Chew On This”, a nonfiction book, is about the disadvantages of fast food. It tells all about how people die every year from  undercooked  burgers, disease-infected patties, etc. Also, it tells about the bad conditions that the livestock suffer. They are fed extra-fattening food that is made from many chemicals, and then are shut in cages that allow for no walking space at all. In the end, they are cruelly slaughtered at mass slaughterhouses, where many workers are forced to work long hours in dangerous places, while being paid very little. The book made me generally avoid fast food. I was amazed by some of those facts. “Chew On This” encouraged me to read more nonfiction. “The Magic Tree House” series is a fictional one, and is a

My favorite activity outside of school is skiing. One reason I enjoy skiing is that it is very fast-paced. I like fast-paced things because you don’t have to wait very long for the excitement, unlike baseball. I can race down the mountains and have a lot of fun, instead of waiting, waiting, and waiting. Also, I can visit the mountains a little more if I ski. I enjoy the mountains for their fresh air and abundance of trees. The air there is very clean. The air in Sammamish is very clean, too, but the mountains are even fresher. It is very refreshing. Also, I enjoy seeing all those trees. I feel good that there are still places that haven’t been ridded of plants to make houses. All in all, my favorite activity outside of school is skiing because it is very fast-paced and refreshing.

I do think science can go too far in its advancements. For example, the application of nuclear technology to a bomb went too far. One of those bombs, detonated in 1946, killed over 160,000 people. That’s definitely too far. I don’t know anyone who would be cruel and harsh enough to let that kind of devastational impact drop on somebody. That same bomb also caused a lot of sicknesses and cancers that spread through the city. Originally, the bomb was destined for Tokyo. That would have killed way more than 160,000 people. Also, I think computer hacking went too far. In countries all over the world, people launch  cyber-attacks  at major networks. They try to ruin the system. That is an example of science going too far. They can render computers useless with that kind of technology. This devastates people, as many of us today like to use the computer a lot and cannot think of life without it. I definitely think science can go too far for two examples – the nuclear bomb and compute

I do think I live in interesting times. Before entertainment existed, life was what we would call “dull” - no games, no books, nothing. There wasn’t anything that we do normally these days. It was all about making weapons to hunt animals, or other life-sustaining things. The world was progressing very slowly, and electricity and other things we call necessities today had yet to be discovered. In history class, we have all learned what it was like long ago – everybody cooking food, making weapons, etc. There was no phone or TV! What has happened now? It looks like the universe has hit the gas pedal. We now have computers, refrigerators, microwaves, rockets, and even cars! Technology is developing very fast, and there are so many new things each day. We live in a very fast, bright, and even “artificial” world now. I look around in New York City, and I’m surprised! There’re so many bright lights, loud noises, gleaming buildings, among other things. Compared to a long time ago, tod

Imagine you have grown up into your adulthood. What would your ideal job be? My ideal job would be an architect for many reasons. One reason is that I would have a lot of experience after a few years on the job. I would not be replaced by younger people then because experience is more valuable in this career. I would earn more. Another reason is that I would be happy and content helping others. I would feel happy that I was helping others design their house and make it unique. I would also feel content thinking that I was helping the world, bit by bit, by designing houses and making the owners (and myself) happy. I would like to be an architect because it would be a win-win situation for everyone!

Do you think personalities change? I think people’s personalities do change over time, for many reasons. For example, kids can start out nice and caring and then turn out like a bully. They could be born into a great, caring family, and be really nice. But then they could get influenced by a new video game or a friend’s actions and then become angry at everything, if they  didn't  handle the event well. They could feel that nothing went their way, and become angry. After that, they could just become mean kids that stole things and  harassed  people, even though they used to be caring. Another example is of a kid who could start out like a bully and then turn out great. The kid started out in a family that did not treat him very well. The kid would be very mean, and he would raid people’s lunchboxes, bully them, try to make their lives miserable, etc. After that, though, he could be influenced by somebody who cared for him and recognize his mistakes. Then, he would become a ki

Here are my answers to some questions: 1. What people have inspired you in your life? One person who have inspired me are Steve Jobs. He inspired me because of his persistence in his career. He also inspired me with his desire for perfectness. Steve Jobs inspired me in many ways. 2. Where are your favorite places? One place I like is Singapore. It has a clean, fresh, and modern environment that I like. There also are many interesting attractions. I enjoy the combination of fresh air and attractions. 3. Do people change over time, or do our personalities remain the same? I think our personalities do change. For example, people can start out as great, nice kids, but then turn into bullies. People can start out mean and then realize their faults and become nice. It's just a matter of what influences you have in the outside world. 4. What would be your ideal job? My ideal job would be an architect. I want to be one because as I got older, I would not be replaced like many o

One mistake I make is getting frustrated if I can’t figure something out. I get tired, and think I can keep going, but I actually need to rest. I get really annoyed at myself when I make a mistake after a while, and then I get frustrated. One example of this is me building Legos. I like to build Legos, so I try to build for as long as I can. After a bit, though, I get tired. I want to keep going, too, though, so I don’t stop to rest despite warnings from my mom. I keep building, but then I find out I have made a big mistake and have to go all the way back to the start. I get really frustrated but still I refuse to stop building, and that just makes it worse. I think I should improve by taking breaks once in a while. Resting on the bed will help me calm down a bit and help prevent frustration. Another example of this is me coding on the computer. I like to code, and I try to do some every day. I can get annoyed, though, when my code  doesn't  work even though I think it should

I have recently watched a video on the Wall Street Journal on how to become an innovative leader. Rosabeth Moss Kanter of Harvard Business School, Kim Campbell, and Charlie Wells talked about how to innovate and be a good leader. I learned a few things about leading a company and coming up with good ideas. One thing I learned is that if you are the leader of a company, you should have people express their ideas or hatch new ones more. You should put up a suggestion box, where people not only from the high-ranked parts of the companies but also the low-ranked parts can write suggestion. Some people are smart, and have good ideas. They’re just afraid of suggesting them to the executives because they’re afraid they’ll get fired. You should also organize events for people to meet other people they don’t know and let them talk a little. They might come up with ideas that will benefit the company. Some people just need to be with other people to have good ideas. Another thing I learned

Prompt: If you could plan your perfect vacation, what would you do? If I could plan my perfect vacation, I would have to do many things. I would need to bring clothing, rent a car, and do much more. First of all, I would pack some clothing and lotion. One thing I would bring is sunscreen. Sunscreen is a necessity because nobody knows when the sun might come out. Another necessity is clothing. I would need some clothing to change into, especially if there isn’t a laundry in the hotel. Finally, I would need moisturizing lotion to keep my skin from cracking. The lotion would make my skin feel better. Also, I would have to arrange for tickets, rooms, and rentals. I would need airplane tickets, to get to my destination. It would be the fastest method of travel. Another thing I would have to do is book a hotel room. I would need a place to stay. The final necessity is a rental car. The car would be my mode of transportation. To sum up, I have to make many preparations and plans for

One of the fondest memories  I've  had is the memory of Destination ImagiNation . Destination ImagiNation is an activity where kids come up with a short skit for a challenge, like how many regulation-size golf balls we could put in a wooden structure the team made. The memory is of our competition in March. My team and I were really nervous. We got ready to perform, and prepared all the props that we made. Then, we entered the stage. We moved our home-made equipment in, and waited for the “Go” signal. Then the skit started. We started playing our parts. It actually turned out to be fun! Around thirty seconds before the end, our timekeeper  didn't  notify us, and so we  didn't  have the chance to end the skit the way we planned. I still liked the skit, though. This memory is among my fondest because we got third place in the Regional competition. I felt like all the work I had paid out had finally been balanced out. I enjoyed the moment. I liked being with my friends, t

One famous person I think I can learn from is Steve Jobs. I could learn many things from him, and I know of two that I could learn about the most. One of them is persistence. Steve Jobs was very persistent. He  didn't  want to stop working on anything he started. He started the iPhone, and never stopped working on it until it was complete. He was forced to put some projects on hold sometimes, but was always itching to finish them. He also kept his argument. When he was arguing, he persisted in keeping his side of the argument. He never gave up on winning the argument. One example of this was Steve Jobs’ trips to  Hawaii   Even when he was there on vacation, he was thinking about how he could improve his current project. Sometimes, he even flew back to California to make some changes. I'm not very persistent, and so I need to work on being persistent in my work and keeping my argument. Another thing I could learn from Steve Jobs is flawlessness. Steve Jobs desired making

Have you ever made a mistake? You probably have. One mistake I made was not being able to calm down. After I came back into the house to do homework after a long exercise outside, I found that I  couldn't  calm myself down. I had bounced around a lot outside, and I kept bouncing around, even though I was inside. I felt like I had a sugar rush. After some homework, I started daydreaming about when I could go outside. I really wanted to go out to play again. I  couldn't  focus. This was my mistake because my homework turned out really bad. I  couldn't  do anything without umping on the bed. I  couldn't  think clearly. This made me not understand simple thing like 3+2. Obviously, my mom found a lot of silly errors in my homework like “10(5+4)=100”. I even went to bed bouncing around – it was all because of my mistake – not being able to calm down. I think I can improve by planning ahead better, and doing something quieter like reading instead of exercising.

Prompt: Do you agree or disagree with the statement: “Free speech on the Internet should be protected at all costs”? I disagree with this statement for many reasons. One reason is that naughty troublemakers would say bad things on the Internet. They wouldn’t say anything while out in public. Once nobody was watching, though, they would start saying bad things on the Internet. Another reason is that the Internet would become corrupted. The Internet would be full of bad or inappropriate information, so nobody would use it anymore. Nobody would earn any money from their advertisements. The change would be bad for everyone – nobody would have such a wide and useful information center again. All in all, I obviously don’t support the statement: “Free speech on the Internet should be protected at all costs” because it would change the world – in a bad way.