Month: January 2023

My hero is my mom. She is an amazing person in so many ways and I can wait to express them with you. The first reason she is a hero is because of the way that she perseveres. After going off to college, she knew what she wanted to be, a doctor. However to become a doctor you need to go through medical school. This means that you need to try really hard in college to even get accepted. She worked super hard and after turning in her application, she didn’t get in. she didn’t let this ruin her dreams though. She instead went to work for the army as a doctor, and ended up working with them during 9-11. This was an eye opening experience for her, and has always inspired her. During this time she also met my dad, the love of her life, on a vacation to San Diego. She later got excepted into medical school and worked her tail off to get her to the position she’s in today, working at a children’s hospital as a pediatric neurologist. Another reason she is my hero is because she is hardworking. She has worked many days and hours at her job at the hospital, and never seems to stop. You can’t get this woman on a vacation without her having to bring her work laptop! I’ve watched her try really had at her job, and it has given her many opportunities to go higher and higher up in the hospital. She hasn’t only worked hard at work, she also works hard with us. She takes me and my sister to soccer practice and games, even if she ends up having to do her Zoom meeting in the parking lot! On days that she’s at home, she works the entire time, and still ends up making us a delicious dinner. She is very hardworking and it inspires me to work hard too. The last reason my mom is my hero is because she is always thinking five steps ahead. After going through college and medical school, she has decided to get her E.M.B.A, which will allow her to move even higher up in her job. Although it is rough, we all know it’s for the best, and that she deserves the best. She also thinks ahead with us, she knows that doing charity work and philanthropy is important for college and in general, so we are already starting now. The more philanthropy you do, the better and I love how she thought fo both me and the people in our city at the same time! As you can see, my mom is not only an amazing person, she is worthy of being my hero.

This year I am going to focus on being calm. The first reason I chose this word is because I get really strong emotions sometimes. It could be anger, sadness, being excited and many others but sometimes they just get to much for people to handle. Staying calm will help me control more emotions and be less overwhelming. The second reason I chose calm is because it will make school more calm as well. I tend to over do things in good and bad ways and I want to make sure that my work stays calm and not be all over the place. Sometimes my notes look crazy and I just want to calm them down, so I do them again and they make more sense. I want to do this in all aspects of schooling so that this will hopefully make me a better student. The last reason I want to be calm is because of sports. I can get really into the moment and think about how my teammates feel. I want to stay more calm so that my brain can think straight and help me play better. As you can see I hope 2023 will be a calm year in many aspects to of my life to help me become my best self.

This December, I read The School for Good and Evil: Quests for Glory by Soman Chainani. The students at The School for Good and Evil thought they’d found their Ever After when they’d killed the School Master and rebuilt the foundations of their school once and for all. The students were moving on with their lives and each had an important role in their Ever After. Little do they know that their world is about to grow bigger, and so are their stories. In order to graduate, the students must complete their fourth year, which is known as Quests for Glory. These quests are very dangerous and unpredictable, considering that the students must complete this part on their own. However the stakes are also very high. If the students succeed, they will be showered in adoration from their world, but if the students fail, their world will be obscure forever. Agatha and Tedros thought that their Ever After was set in stone as the princess (and soon to be Queen) and the King of Camelot. Their quest is to return Camelot to its former glory together as the (soon to be) Queen and King. Sophie is now the Dean of Evil at the School for Evil, and her quest is to mold Evil in her own image. Although these new lives started well, they all seem to feel themselves growing more alone. When their classmates’ quests turn to chaos, they decide that someone has to lead both Good and Evil and save them. Soon a new threat comes to the surface, and if Good and Evil can’t manage to work together, neither side will prevail. 

I would recommend this book for many reasons. The first one is that you get to see love in different ways. There are many couples in this book, and they each show their love differently. Some prefer to go out for a fancy dinner together while others cook and eat together outdoors. Some talk about their feelings and thoughts together while others hide them all. Some love each other no matter what and would never leave while others manipulate their love just to get what they want. I love reading all of these love scenarios and seeing what goes right and what goes wrong. I like knowing what events happen for love to fall apart or stay strong. This makes me have a lot of emotion for every one and makes me like this book even more. The second reason I would recommend this book is because there are so many plot twists. You never know what will happen and that thrill is very exciting. Something can be going as planned but then plummet into madness in an instant, and something can be going terribly only for a beam of light to shine through all the darkness and make it better. A bond that you thought was strong might break and cause them to be alone. Someone might get extremely hurt and die, causing sadness for all. This is very exciting and causes me to enjoy this book.

My favorite character in this book is Agatha because she has an endless love for Tedros and will support him no matter what, and also because she will suppress whatever feeling is necessary just so that her boyfriend will succeed. I know that Agatha’s supportive because the text states, “She always assumes that Tedros would pull Excalibur from the stone eventually. Sooner or later he’d jolt the blade free or he’d figure out it was a clue to another puzzle or riddle and then he’d solve it. She’d yet to consider that Tedros might never complete his father’s coronation test … that the sword might stubbornly hang in the balcony from the rest of their lives, an eternal reminder of his failure. In which case, Tedros would never feel like a true king. He’d be trapped in this cycle of shame and isolation, so different from the gallant, open-hearted boy who once looked to her as his partner. But what can I do to help him? Agatha thought, gazing out the window at the rain. This wasn’t like a Trial by Tale at school, where she could sneak in to save him. The sword was Tedros’ test and his alone. And yet if she could help him somehow … wouldn’t that fix everything? … ‘I care‘ Agatha said. ‘Do you?’ said Pollux incredulously. ‘Based on what I see, you don’t. Tell me why I should believe you care about your wedding-‘ Agatha looked at him. ‘Because I need to remind Tedros that we were happy once'” (73 and 76). This shows how kind and supportive Agatha is of Tedros. She wants to help him no matter what, even though all the facts say that she can’t. She was willing to yell at her own teacher just to support him. Agatha is suppressing all of her feelings of hatred for these classes that she has to take and the life that she has to live. All she feels is the distance between her and Tedros growing, and the sadness of her not being able to be with him. Her supportive trait makes her a great companion and an amazing friend. At this point in the novel, she is finding ideas to help him even though she knows it is going to be hard. I love how much she is willing to try for her love, even though at the moment he isn’t trying for her.

My favorite quote from the book is, “Tedros scooted across the cloud, silky white fibers tickling his legs as he moved next to Agatha, who was crying into her palms. Gently he put his hand on her back. ‘I love you, Agatha. No matter how stupid I can be, nothing will ever change that.’ ‘I could only bring myself to write one letter -to Hester- and it was full of lies. I couldn’t let anyone know how you were treating me,’ Agatha sniffled. ‘That’s why I didn’t write anyone else or ask about their quests. Six m-m-months. You made me feel so alone.’ ‘I didn’t want you to worry about me,’ Tedros said guiltily. ‘Y-y-you made me worry more’ ‘I told you I was stupid.’ ‘S-s-stupider than a tree s-s-stump,’ Agatha piled on. ‘Stupider than a tree stump,’ Tedros conceded. ‘Stupider than one of Rafal’s zombie villains with no brains.’ ‘I don’t know if I’d go that-‘ ‘It wasn’t a question.’ Tedros smiled and rolled back his eyes zombie-style, playfully sinking his teeth into her neck. Agatha yelped and shoved him away, but she was snickering now too” (93-94). I love this quote because I love seeing Tedros and Agatha bonding. The two of them always have couple issues. Always. It’s funny because these issues are pretty much always Tedros’s fault. Agatha has always thought that you need to talk about your feelings to get through hard situations, and it always works. I really like seeing the characters get up after falling down, I like seeing what they can accomplish together rather than separately. To see the two bonding this early in the book is great. I like watching the two have fun together and keep on growing the strong love that they have. Although they might not have their real Ever After yet, seeing the two love each other and be happy is good enough for me.