CAS Blogs

 For Chinese New Year it is a tradition to clean ones house. My grandparents always do a deep clean of their in house holy house. This means that the grandkids are the little helpers for the day. Although cleaning is a pretty basic skill, my grandparents love having this time to teach their grandkids the art of cleaning. One thing my grandfather was very avid about teaching was how to mop. With a swiffer. I usually just go in a line and make sure not to step on what I had previously cleaned. He taught me to get low so that I can get longer strokes and press harder on the floor. When it came to cleaning the Holy House tables we would wipe them down with water and then spray it with some cleaning solution and wipe it. My grandfather taught us the right amount to spray so that the wood wasn't too wet as well as how to make sure to use large strokes so so that there aren't streak stains when the water and cleaning solution dries. Although I do know how to clean, I always learn litt...

 For my senior year, my friends and I decided that we wanted to plan a fun independent A-term as a send of for us. We are still figuring out what exactly to do. We are in the very beginning stages of planning. Because this is not planned by the school or run by the school, we need to plan how we will survive where we are by ourselves. We have first created a doc where we have laid out all the connections that we have in other cities and countries. We will then try to narrow it down to one international and one domestic option. Because of COVID we don't know if we will be able to travel internationally so it is best to be prepared. We also have to figure out a learning outcome of the trip. However that is a bit farther into planning. Hopefully we can finish by the end of this semester.

 I was volunteering with the Boys and Girls Club of Houston through GHCF. They were trying to make Thanksgiving meal kits for under privileged families. I decided to hold a food drive in my high school community to get as many donations as possible. I put out a basket labeled thanksgiving donations and sent out an email to the whole school including the middle schoolers and made announcements at both schools morning meetings and padlets. However the first week, the basket still only had the mac and cheese that I donated. That is pretty disheartening. I did not give up. I sent out more emails encouraging people to help these families celebrate Thanksgiving. I appealed more to the emotional side and urged people to be empathetic and realize that without these food kits, these families probably wouldn't be able to have a Thanksgiving meal. I added some more of my own donations to the basket to show people that there are donations so they shouldn't be scared to put something in the...

 This year is my senior year which means (cue dramatic music) college interviews. Interviews are scary in general for anything. To prepare I decided to practice with Mr Dorsey. We ran through some practice interviews. I did not know what to do. I just made sure to take deep breaths through it and answer honestly. The one big thing I knew about interviews is to be genuine. Many people just say what they think they want the interviewer to hear but if you don't believe in what you're saying then you shouldn't be saying it. That is the only thing I know about interviews. After some practice interviews I got some feedback from Dorsey. He told me to keep eye contact which has always been a problem for me. He also said to make sure to have a lot of background and explanation which he said I was already doing pretty well. Basically not only say the what but the why with anything no matter how nuanced. My mom also gave me some feedback giving me ideas on what I can say about my lead...

Last year and this year me and my classmates have been having the issue of an absent math teacher. It caused added stress to our already stressful senior year. I decided that this needed to be addressed by the teachers because this isn't a personal issue this is something that is affecting the whole school. I talked to my advisor today about the issue and forwarded her an email he sent us yesterday about cancelling the lesson less than an hour before we had it. Ms Harrison, my advisor, agreed that this was a problem and took it to the head of school. This decision to speak up about this issue could be seen as selfish by some and even Mr Grisbee. This is because I do not know his home life, many times he cancels because he has to take care of something at home. However only a few times does he specify that it is because of his child. If this was an issue just affecting me and I brought this up to my advisor instead of talking to Mr Grisbee directly then it could be said that I was b...

 I have previously written three other blogs about my A-Term that I planned, I am writing one last one to go over the aftermath and effect it had on some students and myself. Personally this A-term helped me become a better teacher. Due to the fact that I knew my classmates the best, my fellow coaches expected me to take charge a little more to help explain things to them and familiarize them with the way of the gym. This helped me come out of my shell a little more and be more comfortable in an authority position. It mostly helped me learn to be more comfortable talking in front of a big class. Just the other week I started the class at jiu jitsu. This is a big deal. This is where the head coach calls for everyone to line up, then attention and then take the class through their warm-up. And I did that! I projected my voice and I felt comfortable. However I do still have some things to work on such as being more professional. Sometimes I am not as strict sometimes with the kids as ...

So I am in youth leadership organization called GHCF and we just finished our spring semester cycle about veterans. However there is a group of researchers who are doing a national study of leadership service programs: see what works what doesn't and all that good stuff. They said that our group is very different because it is led by young adults and they wanted other programs to do that because it is very helpful for the kids to learn these skills. They asked Eesha and I to help because we are the presidents and Ashton because he has been in the group the longest. We had to help plan the interviews and meetings with the youth leaders. However it was a bit hard because this is the end of the school year and the end of our cycle so the youth leaders were getting busy and so was I. It became harder for me to finish the work that they asked me to help them with. But I, with my great time management, found time to meet with them and finish the work before the meeting with the rest of t...

This week I realized how the Post Oak way of teaching that promotes a lot of group work is super beneficial. Recently I was able to see how it is helpful and what happens when someone does not have that same social kind of education that helps you learn how to work with people. Working together with someone can help you learn more about yourself as a person. It really helps you know yourself and how you will react to certain things in a work environment. It also helps you learn how to deal with different kinds of people in a work environment. For example I have always been the person who does the majority of the work in a group project and through practicing more I have learned how to be more patient and organized with my group. I have also learned to communicate. That one seems obvious but communicating is hard. Whether communicating through text, email or in person it is very important to communicate in a group and also maybe make a checklist of what needs to be done so that it can b...

 So in my family you have to make a case like in business for things you want. Well only big things such as technology. So I had to make a case for an iPad and then a phone. My sister had to as well. She got her iPad in middle school like me but her phone in highschool whereas I got it in middle school. So there is no set age to get this kind of stuff, you can get it whenever you want as long as you make a good enough case. Now my little brother, Cooper, recently got an iPad yet he had to make no case. So unfair. The youngest siblings are always the most spoiled which is super frustrating to the older sibling. Now he is trying to make a case for a phone. Which is annoying to me because he already got an iPad without a case and now he wants to try to get a phone in 7th grade when I got mine in 8th. I know it probably doesn't make sense but this is just what we can categorize as sibling rivalry. Doesn't make sense unless you are in their shoes. Anyways last night while I was driv...

 A little background. I planned an A-term about martial arts and there was a "fieldwork experience" part which is what I will be talking about. Now I put quotations around fieldwork experience because I guess it is counted as the fieldwork experience for that A-term but I'm just used to experiences where we go to an actual field in Jamaica or something. Anyways I already wrote a blog about what it was like planning it in the moment but I thought it would be cool to kind of reflect after the A-term to see what I should do or not do in the future when planning these kinds of activities. So things that I think worked were: zoom, that was very useful and the coaches definitely interacted with those students and didn't overlook them. I also think that my scheduling was very good so that even though they were exercising for two and a half hours they still had fun and did different things. Things I could've done better is definitely prepare the students. I prepared them ...

 This semester in GHCF, we are learning about veterans and non-profit organizations that help them. Before this I never really knew much about the problem. I knew it was an issue but I didn't really understand the scope of it. This semester we are learning more about this problem in Houston and the different non-profits that are trying to help. We decided we wanted to focus on non-profits that helped them with mental health problems as well as ones that are trying to integrate them back into society via jobs or another way. As the vice president of this group it is my job to do some research on each organization as well as find a few statistics and facts to present in a fun way at our group meetings. While doing this I found out that some of the places had programs specifically for women and two were helping only women because they had a higher risk of PTSD and a harder time in society in general. I thought this was horrible but interesting. As a woman, I've always been interes...

This semester I have to start my EE. Cue dramatic wailing. Although I will say that I am glad we get to choose our topic because it makes it easier to research something that I chose and am passionate about. The downside is that our initial research is very open ended because we don't yet have a set question. So using my finding I have had to try to create a question. Sounds a lot easier than it is. But in doing this, I've learned how to find good resources and also find general information to help narrow down my question. For example I found out that a good way to get a feel for the topic you want to explore and help narrow down your in depth search is to look into statistics. Now sometimes statistics are hard to find for certain topics however if you can't find sufficient statistics for me that is a sign that there isn't much research on that. But if you find enough statistics on things in between you can make an argument to connect them. What I mean by this is if I a...

 I don't exactly know if planning an A-Term is counted as service work but I don't know what else it would be categorized under so we're just going to go with it. Anyways my A-term has gotten approved. Yay. However there is still a lot of planning with my coaches and the teachers. Although I could procrastinate and just cruise for the planning, I should instead hammer out the details for each day and talk to my coaches to plan each lesson. You'd think the work would be over once it got approved but that is the exact opposite. Now I have more work because I have to figure out all the details so that we won't be running around like chickens without heads. I also have to talk to the teachers for this A-Term. I don't know exactly who they are which isn't good so I also need to find that out. This probably sounds like a checklist more than a reflection but I am just writing what comes to my mind. I think that I've already come this far so ironing out some mor...

 So I have decided that I wanted to learn how to spar. I already know how to spar in jiu jitsu but I want to learn how to spar in boxing and hopefully work my way up to kickboxing. I decided this with my sister, who takes the lessons with me, because I want to be able to defend myself whenever possible and also I want to be stronger. Sparring is a good way to get there and bonus I get to be an asian black widow. That's what my parents call me. I thought it may be a bit easier because I am more experienced than my sister at boxing and I have sparred in jiu jitsu before. Turns out that does nothing. It's all about thinking on your feet and muscle memory. You have to be able to follow your body because in a fight you don't have time to think. Now I knew that so I thought I would be able to do that. Turns out thinking on your feet in boxing is a lot harder than jiu jitsu. For me at least. It started slow but with just two weeks of lessons, I have improved a lot. I think it was ...

 I have decided that this is the year to plan an A-term. I always thought that having a martial arts A-term would be super cool so I thought that this was a good year to do it. First I had to come up with a rough plan. I went over to my jiu jitsu gym and talked to my head coach who is also my boss. He is one of the nicest most genuine people I know. He loves his job and he truly believes in what he teaches whether it is the effectiveness of a move or how to increase your self esteem. He taught me that martial arts isn't just about beating people up like everyone thinks, it's about bettering yourself and becoming the best person you can be physically and mentally. I wanted to show everyone that side of martial arts. So I went over to my gym and asked him how I would do that. He gave me a great book about how to be a better person and become a winner. He also gave me different ideas on how to teach martial arts physically and philosophically. Once I got some new ideas, I got to w...

 I have been employed! I got a job at my jiu jitsu gym. This is a dream come true. My first job is doing something I love. I feel so grown up. I have only gone a few days so far. For most of it I have been learning how to work with little kids. Now I was a junior instructor which is just a kid volunteer instructor, so I did already have some experience teaching children, old and young. Even some adults. So I feel like I did a good job and it come naturally. My strengths that I and my boss have noticed is that I am compassionate with the kids and I am able to connect well with them. My boss says it's because I have a tender heart, but I think it's mostly because I am a total kid at heart. Maybe it's both. But I will say I am good at connecting with the kids. Although it is covid and I have to wear a mask while teaching, I've learned that if the kids can see my smile while I am teaching them then they are more open to listening. Although I am good with the kids that is no...

 This blog about considering the ethics of choices and actions is going to be deep. Recently I just had a philosophy J-Term class that went into many things one of them being moral ethics. We also got to watch some episodes from the Good Place. Which I have seen before because it was one of my favorite shows but then we had a seminar to go super duper in depth into the different moral philosophical things that were brought up in the show. One thing that really stood out to me was how one of the articles we read about the show was how people who make a choice or commit an action with good intentions but a bad result doesn't mean that they are bad people. It was the doctrine of double effect that the result and the intention should be judged on different scales. So that if the consequences were bad it shouldn't be blamed on the person who had good intentions. Now that doesn't mean everything you do with bad consequences is your fault because you should think about the consequ...

Every Christmas I have to make presents for my family. I am not allowed to buy them. As the best gift giver in my family I have a lot to live up to each year. This year I decided to try something new. Jewelry making. This has always been something I thought was a super cool skill because you can be artistic and use what you make. Anyways I've been learning how to use the wires and beads to create sophisticated looking designs. It is very difficult because I am self teaching and doing original designs which makes it even harder. However, it is turning out very well. I am pretty proud of myself. I am getting the hang of it and they are all original designs. For making earrings, they were difficult to make because they are dangles it is sometimes hard to do a design with the wire because it keeps moving but you are using both hands to design the wire. But I have found shortcuts so that I can anchor the wire to an easy place on the earring so that the wire doesn't keep moving out o...

 This week we had our last meeting of the semester for GHCF. During this meeting we were going to decide the final grant money to give each of the three non-profit organizations we worked with: A 2nd Cup, United Against Human Trafficking and Center for Success and Independence. They were all organizations that geared toward helping human trafficking through spreading awareness, helping survivors, etc. A 2nd Cup is a local Houston coffee shop that I suggested we partner with because I had already worked with them before. United Against Human Trafficking and Center for Success and Independence are both large anti human trafficking organizations, however Center for Success is mostly about helping survivors mentally with therapists. Which is great but they are mostly for helping not only survivors but also anyone with a mental disability or issue that need help. This is very good and noble but it didn't match the issue of what we were focusing on this cycle. So in the end we gave $5,50...

 I would like to think I am a good driver. I also think that when getting a flat tire that it is almost never the drivers fault. It's just one of those unlucky events that happens and all you can do is fix it. Anyways, I say this because I got my first flat. Now I didn't know it was flat but when I went to go pick up my friend, it sounded like my car was dying. Once I picked up my friend we were driving to run HEB but we both decided to pull over to check out the car. Turns out I had a flat. Unfortunate. Now my parents always told me to call AAA if this ever happens but my friend knew how to change a flat and said that they will teach me because it is an important life skill. So we did. I learned what a wheel lock is. I learned how to use a car jack and most importantly I learned some tricks to help me unscrew the tire screws even though I am a small person. I also practiced problem solving. We had some trouble screwing up the car jack so we hooked a few screw pole things and m...