Mrs. Ho's 10th Grade AP Lang 2022-2023

     It's almost time to "fall back." In a few months, we'll "spring forward." The annual practice of moving our clocks ahead an hour, then behind an hour. Some people enjoy this practice, whereas others do not. Twice a year, we take our clocks off the wall and move the hour hand back or forward. This is called Daylight Saving Time. As annoying as this may be, there's one thing that's just as consistent as the clock change itself, whether or not we should.      M any people have very strong opinions about this subject. However, it generally depends on where you are. If you live closer to the equator, the more likely it is that you'll find people who oppose it. However, the further you move from the equator, the more likely it is that you'll find people in opposition to the practice. Why is that?     First, it's important to understand how and why the practice originated in the first place. It is a common notion that founding father and sc...

     Funny enough as it may sound, I tend to get tons of blog post ideas from tik tok. This week in particular, though, it was like a floodgate of ideas was opened. Earlier this week, I saw a video about the correlation between Philadelphia baseball teams winning championships/world series and economic recessions. As interesting, and seemingly real, as this theory might be, I am no economic expert and figured finding a better blog post idea might be in my best interest. The next inspirational video I saw came a few days later, although it was far from the good kind. It was a tik tok discussing the dark and perverted actions of the former Roman emperors, one story even mentioning an emperor who used to sit in a fountain at Capri and have little kids nibble at his feet/legs like fish. Talk about all sorts of disgusting. Anyway, I thought a high school AP English class was not the place to discuss these gruesome accounts. Then finally, this morning, I came across a tik tok a...

     I was fortunate enough to live and travel all around the world starting from a very young age. I was introduced to a variety of cultures and traditional practices that have deeply shaped who I am today. Following my move back to America, my understanding of cultural diversity placed a striking contrast to that of my peers. I felt as though my classmates lived in a bubble of American culture; an unfortunate oblivion to the beautiful traditions of around the world. Of course, we must take into consideration of financial circumstances in regard to travel. Traveling is certainly not a leisurely expense, and in no way am I attempting to dismiss those who have not had the financial opportunity to travel. Instead, my intention in this blog is to bring awareness to the value of recognizing humanity’s diverse nations. Immersing yourself in foreign environments will expand your pallet of valuable knowledge and deepen your understanding of those around you.     ...

October 25, 2022        Growing up in a family of seven with four siblings, I quickly adapted the qualitative skills that come with caring for children. Through my experience with my own siblings and my time spent teaching and volunteering in youth groups within my community; I developed a deeper understanding of children's behavior. I have also seen the personal results that come with spending time with children. In my time as a youth leader and ballet teacher, I have found that children are clever and argumentative, yet they lack responsibility and independence. No matter how confident a child may seem, he/she will always need an older figure to look up to and rely on. To properly take care of a child, one must fulfill this role as a reliable and dependable figure. This alone requires a substantial amount of self-confidence and maturity.       Naturally, I am well aware of my own siblings; knowing what instigates them and what excites them, what...

       Earlier today, my friend and I were both brainstorming ideas to use for this week’s blog. She brought up an idea that regards Santa Claus, which she ended up writing about. Her very well-written blog tells a story that implies that believing in Santa is good for a child’s innocence and that they should continue to believe in him. I gained inspiration from my disagreement with that and decided to write somewhat of a counterargument.       While I never believed in Santa Claus when I was younger, there were other figures that my parents used in parallel to how Santa is used on children. Santa is thought of as a jolly person but is commonly used as a manipulative way to encourage kids to do good. If they are bad, Santa would put them on the naughty list, and they would receive no gifts. This brings forth the idea in children that they will always be rewarded for doing good, which is unmistakably a bad idea to have. Additionally, allowing your ...

Often, we don’t form any emotional attachment to our devices, especially when they stop working. I, along with most of my peers, am lucky enough to be able to purchase a new electronic device every few years or so, due to it not working anymore. Once we buy the new device, we discard the old one without a second thought. However, I have never heard of someone abandoning their device for months on end, and returning to it with unwavering loyalty. Such a complex and human-like relationship is uncommon for things that, well, aren’t human. However, when it comes to my Asus Chromebook C204, our relationship was definitely as complex as a human one. My story begins in seventh grade, when we were given computers rather than iPads for schoolwork. At first, I was so excited to be given a computer. Gone were the days where I had to write essays on an old iPad. This Chromebook was a touchscreen, meaning it could also be used as a tablet. Although it had this feature, I didn’t even use it for the ...

 I am fortunate enough to have the best older sister in the world. My sister, Paris, is nine years older than me, so many would assume that we wouldn't have a close relationship or wouldn't be able to relate to anything. But my sister is most certainly my best friend. Even with a nine-year age gap, she is the first person I want to talk to at any time. She was always my biggest role model growing up and that has never changed throughout the years.  I was nine years old when my sister left for college. I felt as if I didn't have enough time with her, enough time to get to know her, and enough time for her to get to know me as I was growing up. Whenever she would come home to visit, she would say how I changed so much since the last time she saw me. She missed a big portion of my childhood while she was away at college. Sometimes I feel like I took our time together for granted. Fast forward to 2020, my sister decided to visit home before finishing her senior year. Unfortun...

  As members of the United States of America, we have the right to freedom of speech thanks to the first amendment. For the most part, the first amendment is a glorious amendment. We are allowed to say (almost) anything we want without getting arrested. However, there are problems with the first amendment. Thanks to that amendment, we all get to hear many wrong opinions from people. Some people may say that opinions are subjective, and therefore, they cannot be wrong. I disagree with this because some people say the most outlandish things that make zero sense. I was at a sports game recently and heard someone casually say in conversation that white chocolate is better than milk chocolate. I’m sorry, but that is incorrect. It isn’t even really chocolate; it is mostly cocoa butter and sugar, that’s it. Milk chocolate tastes way better than white chocolate, and it doesn’t even compare. I began to think of wrong opinions that I have heard before, and a lot of them were spoken by my you...

Over the winter break of 2021, I was a counselor at the JCC camp. I was assigned to a group of girls from 4-7 years old. Although the camp was at the Jewish Community Center, not all the girls were Jewish. I was eating lunch with my group of kids one day when one of the Jewish girls came up to me and told me that she was really worried because her little sister told some of the non-Jewish girls that she knew Santa Claus wasn’t real. I panicked because I didn’t want these girls’ faith in Santa to be ruined, as I knew how important it was to have a big imagination as a child. So, as any counselor would do, I told a white lie. I approached the non-Jewish girls who appeared to be mortified because of the new information they learned: Santa Claus wasn’t real! So I told these girls, “no, Santa is real,” with the most confident tone I could. I continued to tell them that I am Jewish, so I don’t celebrate Christmas, but that I have a non-Jewish friend who does celebrate Christmas and she saw S...

         While walking to my next class, I approached a sign that was informing us about a possible alter in the dress code within reach. Obviously, this made me and many other students upset knowing what we can wear to school is already very limited. While I do believe that certain restrictions on what we choose to wear to school is crucial, I often find myself pondering if some of the rules implemented surpass a certain extent.            Dress code is a big issue in many schools that both students and teachers need to understand. To start, there is no doubt it restricts students, primarily girls, from expressing themselves through what they are most comfortable with wearing. Reinforcing high schoolers with strong limitations on what they are allowed to wear reduces their freedom of wearing a style they are specifically interested in and feel the most confident wearing.    Many peo...

When thinking of my favorite food, undoubtedly, my mind turns to the mix of thin crunchy crust, steamy hot tomato sauce, and gooey cheese, Pizza. Those three components bind together to make the most delectable dish of all time. Pizza can come in any shape, size, or form to create the most fabulous, most flavorsome dish. Pizza comes with all the room for customization, resulting in the most desirable meal. Whether it's parents with a more sophisticated palette who prefer mushrooms and grilled peppers or kids of ‘Gen Z’ who only want to eat the pepperoni off the cheese, it's perfect for everyone of any age. You may be thinking, what about the people with a lactose intolerance or celiac? Pizza has accommodations for all. Pizza can be made with almond flour, and without a doubt, you will still get that mouth watering crunch that comes from a regular wheat-made crust.  As someone who is captivated by the art of Pizza, I have come to the conclusion that your pizza toppings descr...

  Coming into sophomore year was more difficult than I expected. While I knew taking AP and honors classes would be difficult, I didn't realize how drained I would be until I found myself constantly stressed with tears in my eyes while studying for tests and doing so much work. On top of that, everyday I had volleyball practice after school which consumed even more of my time. However, volleyball happened to be the one thing that kept me going daily. This was my second year being on the high school volleyball team at RHS and my time on the team has impacted me so much. The 2 hours I spent on the court daily made school less of a burden and gave me something to look forward to during the day. While I'm not going to a D1 team or to any college for my volleyball skills, the sport and more importantly, my teammates, have helped me clear my mind on even the worst days.  I truly think that team sports are so important. I've been a part of many throughout my life and whether I...

    Whether you realize it or not, everyone knows about superheroes. From knowing that someone once said something about responsibility, to knowing the street address of Mary Jane-Watson's great-grandfather, everyone has some sort of knowledge in relation to superheroes and such. There are very common comic characters that everyone knows the name of; like Batman, Superman, or Spiderman. A character that many may not  have heard of is Deadpool. I'm here to state why, though he may not be the most well-known, Deadpool is in fact one of the greatest comic book characters of all time because of his individuality and unique abilities.     When I say that Deadpool is unlike any comic character, I mean it more literally than you would think. He breaks the 4th wall, he makes life just one big joke, one time he even stopped a girl from commiting suicide by making fun of her. Because he talks to the audience, everyone in the universe thinks he's insane (but realistically ...

As teenagers in high school, the assumptions made about us seem to be non-stop, absurd, and endless. Every adult always assumes that because we’re young and haven’t experienced “the real world” yet, that we are immature and always doing dumb things. While on one hand, I can see where they’re coming from, I feel like most adults, especially those who are complete strangers to us, don’t give us credit where credit’s due. They always say that we’re too young to pave the way for our future, but is that really true? From day one, society has painted teenagers as rebellious young adults who are so-called disgraces to their communities. 50 years ago, you never would have seen someone like Greta Thunberg, a young woman advocating for our planet, speaking worldwide, and it’s not because teenagers back in the day didn’t care. Simply, it’s because, from the getco, teens have never gotten a chance to speak their truth. I mean, what do we know, it’s not like our brains have fully developed yet....