High School Transition

I am currently a freshman at high school and I just finished my first semester. Your high school years are supposed to be one of the most important years in your life for many reasons. One reason is you meet a lot of new people and make a lot of new friends. Another reason is if you are successful academically then you have a very high chance of getting into a good college. Well since I have a lot of time still remaining in my high school career I will talk about the hardships of transitioning from middle school to high school.

Going into high school I was very confident in my ability to get all A’s, I thought it was the exact same as middle school. In middle school I found it very easy for me because all the homework assignments were just completion grades, all the tests and quizzes you could study the night before and get a very good score, and there weren’t multiple tests or quizzes on the same day. But later I realize I was very wrong. The first few weeks of high school were exactly what I envisioned, homework was completion points, there weren’t that many tests/quizzes, and I could study the day before and still get good scores. But after those weeks things got more difficult for me, the tests and quizzes got more difficult and I had to know the subject very well instead of procrastinating on the last day to study. I started to get lower scores than I usually got and I started to panic. Not only that, but finding time to do everything was difficult for me. I had a lot of clubs before or after school and that really messed up my schedule for studying and finishing up my homework. Towards the end of the semester, everything started to pile up because it was Finals week. During the last 2 weeks of the semester, I spent a lot of time studying for Finals and Finals were a lot easier in my opinion compared to the Unit tests we had in other subjects. I think the reason for this was that the Finals questions were not as specific and were more straightforward. Also, I spent more time studying for Finals than the Unit Tests. Now there were a lot of good things in high school like I met a lot of new people, our school hosted a Homecoming Dance and that was very fun in my opinion, I went to a lot of the school football games and the experience was very fun. In Middle School, there were some dances and sports games you could attend but they weren’t as fun and a lot of people didn’t anticipate it as much compared to High school.

Heading into next semester I am planning not to procrastinate as much hoping I get better scores on tests/quizzes and I am planning on managing my time a lot better since now I know when my clubs are. To incoming freshmen reading this blog, don’t be too stressed out about high school but at the same time do not procrastinate since that was a very bad habit I got into in Middle School.

History of Coding

Coding has changed human civilization forever. You see coding every day even though you might not notice it, that’s how impactful coding is. For example, when you text someone on your phone, the computer doesn’t understand when you click on the letter so coding helps the computer understand, and then the letter will appear on your screen. That is a straightforward example. Without coding, 90% of the things we use today won’t be available. But how did this invention start, and when did it start? Let’s take a deeper dive into the History of Coding.

Coding was first invented in the 60 A.D and was created by the brilliant professor Mr. Heron of Alexandria. He was an astonishing mathematician and engineer. One of his inventions was the puppet machine, in which to work you had to pull a few strings for the puppet to do something. This machine inspired the basic code. There weren’t many other inventions that altered coding history but 1800 years later, a coding genius by the name of Joseph Marie Jacquard changed Coding forever. Joseph created a machine called the Jacquard Loom, which basically made carpets, rugs, and blankets of different colors. Then the machine would copy the same thing over and over again, which invented the program called loop. 

Towards the end of the 1800s a mathematician in London, UK named Charles Babbage created the first computer called the Analytical Engine. He dreamed of creating a machine that could calculate numbers quickly, but he gave up midway and wanted to make a better machine. That became the Analytical Engine. He didn’t have enough money to build the Analytical machine so he couldn’t finish it. Another mathematician saw this idea and was intrigued by it. Her name was Ada Lovelace. She came up with a theory called a program that didn’t exist then. But again coding went quiet again for some time until World War 2 started. Another mathematician by name of Alan Turing was on the allies side in World War 2 and his job was to break the Axis side code. He and his coding team broke the code by creating a machine. Now the Allies knew Germany’s naval movements. In the later stages of World War 2, a man named Tommy Flowers, who worked with telegraphs made a programmable computer using those telegraphs. That machine was known as the colossal l. It helped during important wars. People didn’t know about this computer since 1950 since it was top secret.

In the 1950s, computer programming languages started to take off. The first programming language was called the short code, which was created by IBM. Then a few years later, they built a faster version of the short code called the speed code. Ever since computer programming languages started to take off, the job was in high demand. There were more languages added to coding over the years and computers have also advanced, which made coding a lot easier for a lot of people.

Coding has been essential for human civilization for a very long time. It started out very simple, like a lot of great inventions but over time people realized coding could be revolutionary and made it more complicated. This was when coding really started to take off and thanks to coding the world in terms of technology have advanced at a very high rate. Coding is still evolving, which will result in technology advancing even more.

Hiking Blog

 The Great Smokies is a great place to visit and has a lot of entertainment and there is hiking opportunities.

I have gone to the Smokies 3-4 times before this year but we never went hiking on those days. But for the first time, my dad and I went hiking. We went to this waterfall in the Smokies called the Rainbow Fall which is one of the most favored destinations among hikers. It takes 2.7 miles to get there so we knew we had to be prepared.

Before we started hiking we ate grapes and omelets. During the hike, we brought 3 water bottles and 3 granola bars. The funny thing was we didn’t even need the granola bars during the hike. During the hike, the animal we saw was a deer. But we saw many small waterfalls and streams which looked very beautiful. Also, it was so calming because there weren’t any cars and we could only hear nature which sounded beautiful.

Once we reached 3 hours later it felt like the Rainbows Fall was waiting for us. This was one of the best experiences I’ve ever had. It was really calming, fun, and exciting. I recommend all of you should at least try going hiking once because it feels like you’re in a completely new world that is more peaceful and less stressful.

NBA 2020 Season Review

 

2019-2020 NBA Season: Season for the ages

By: Aahan Kar

 

Beginning:

The 19-20 NBA free agency was bizarre. The most prolific players in the league were switching to new teams and for the first time in a while the league was balanced. This season was one of the most anticipated seasons in NBA history.  The two teams that changed the most were the two teams in LA, Los Angeles Clippers and Los Angeles Lakers. Both added superstars to their teams. The Laker acquired Anthony Davis and the Clippers acquired Paul George and Kawhi Leonard. Both were ranked as the best two teams in the NBA. This season had so many different storylines, Lakers, Bucks, and Clippers contending for a ring, how Steph Curry would do without a super team, Raptors looking to defend their championship, etc. Opening day Clippers cruised against the Lakers. But after that game Lakers were so dominant with LeBron and Anthony Davis leading the way. In the first five games, Stephen Curry was playing horrendously but he got a severe hand injury and was out for most of the year. 

MVP Race:

On the Eastern Conference, the Milwaukee Bucks were dominating as usual with Giannis Antetnkoumpo leading the way. The MVP race at the beginning of the season was really close but later LeBron James and Giannis would be the clear top 2 for MVP. Giannis being number 1. The Lakers once again faced the Clippers on Christmas Day but lost once again in a close matchup. It seemed at the time Clippers were much better than the Lakers. There were a lot of surprising teams though, the Miami Heat, Nuggets, Celtics, Mavericks, and the Raptors. The Nuggets young superstar Nikola Jokic was getting better and was considered a top 10 player, the Miami Heat were making a run as the best Eastern Conference team with Veteran superstar Jimmy Butler and young star Bam Adebayo leading the way, Luka Doncic growing so fast and making himself one of the best players in the league and it’s his second year in the NBA, the Raptors lost superstar Kawhi Leonard but are playing well without him, and the Jayson Tatum who was a disappointment last year but now is growing into one of the best players in the league.

NBA All-Star Weekend: 

The regular season was good but then came All-Star weekend. One of the most anticipated weekends in the NBA season. The NBA decided to change up the All-Star Game. The viewership was going down since the All-Stars were giving no effort. Also, the NBA wanted to honor Kobe since he passed away. They completely changed the rules and people were wondering how it would be. This All-Star game was rated one of the best all-star games in NBA history. 

COVID-19:

After the All-Star Game, it seemed as if Giannis would win unanimous MVP which has happened only once in NBA history (2015-16 Stephen Curry) but the Lakers were playing the Clippers and the Bucks The Lakers already lost to the Clippers twice and lost to the Bucks once. The Lakers beat both of them and the MVP race became a lot closer. But it still seemed like Giannis was going to win the MVP. After a couple of weeks, an NBA player tested positive for COVID-19. Then more and more players started getting positive results and the league had to shut down. After a couple of months, the NBA was back but they had to play in a bubble in Orlando, FL. No team could travel and if players went out of the bubble they had to pay fines. Only a few teams were invited to the bubble and the teams that made the bubble were in the playoffs. Each team played 8 games before the playoffs officially started. 

NBA Playoffs: 

The Los Angeles Lakers were playing the Portland Trail Blazers in the first round and won in 5 games. The Utah Jazz vs the Denver Nuggets was one of the best series in the entire playoffs. The Nuggets were down 3-1 against the Jazz but came back and won. The Clippers were struggling against the Dallas Mavericks but ended up beating them in 6 games. The Houston Rockets vs Oklahoma City Thunder went to a game 7 but the Houston Rockets ended up beating them.  In the Eastern Conference, the Bucks beat the Orlando Magic in 5 games, the Miami Heat beat the Indiana Pacers in 4 games, the Toronto Raptors beat the Brooklyn Nets in 4 games, and the Boston Celtics beat the Philadelphia 76ers in 4 games. Some surprising series were the Clippers/Mavericks, Rockets/Thunder, and Bucks/Magic. These games were surprising because most people predicted it wouldn’t be a close series but the weaker team fought really hard but they ended up losing. Even though the Bucks beat the Magic in 5 games mostly everyone predicted the Bucks to beat them in 4. Nevertheless, the stronger team ended up winning and advanced to the next round.

2nd Round: 

The Lakers were playing the Rockets and won in 5 games, but the Denver Nuggets vs the Clippers was the most surprising series in the playoffs. The Clippers were up 3-1 and in one of the games they were up more than 16 points but Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray put up historic numbers and came back 3-1 upsetting the Clippers. At the time Clippers were considered the best team in the NBA but a young Denver Nuggets team with a bright future beat them. In the Eastern Conference, the Miami Heat upset the Milwaukee Bucks in 5 games. Jimmy Butler led this young Heat team to the Eastern Conference finals and he put up great numbers throughout the playoffs at this point. Young superstar Jayson Tatum led the Boston Celtics to victory defeating the defending champions the Toronto Raptors in 7 games. 

Conference Championship: 

The remaining teams were the Los Angles Lakers, the Denver Nuggets, the Miami Heat, and the Boston Celtics. LeBron James and Anthony Davis led the Lakers to the NBA Finals winning in 5 games. Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo led the Miami Heat to the NBA Finals beating the Celtics in 6 games. 

NBA Finals/Conclusion of the season:

The Finals were set, Los Angeles Lakers vs the Miami Heat. Both teams fought hard but in the end, the Lakers ended up victorious winning their 17th franchise Finals. Tied with the most Finals win with the Boston Celtics. LeBron James won Finals MVP once again. This season was unique, odd, and exciting. No year in NBA history was this different and we got to witness history.

LeBron James Biography

 

LeBron Raymone James is a renowned NBA superstar and widely considered the greatest of all time. Born in Akron, Ohio, on December 30, 1984, to a single mother, LeBron never knew his father. Born into a poor family, LeBron considered sports as the only way out of their penury. He worked hard every single day, honing his skills at basketball and football, playing both sports at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School for four years before dropping out early to play in the NBA.

 

LeBron made it to the NBA but was drafted by a bad franchise – the Cleveland Cavaliers. LeBron was enormously successful on an individual level within the first eight years of his NBA career, winning two MVP Awards and making five All-Star teams; however, he had no team success. He then had to decide between staying loyal to his home team or moving on to a better one. In 2010, his decision to leave the Cavaliers and join Miami Heat fostered an immense amount of hatred toward him in his hometown: his jerseys were burnt and everyone prayed for his downfall. LeBron was motivated to win his first title, but performed poorly in the Finals. He played dreadfully throughout the series and the team ended up losing. His critics enjoyed his downfall.

 

However, during the next season, LeBron was more motivated than ever, reaching the NBA Finals again and dominating. This led to his first Finals MVP Award. The critics had been silenced, but LeBron was not done. In the next season, LeBron won the MVP Award and another Finals MVP Award. However, he failed to achieve a three-peat. LeBron then returned to the Cleveland Cavaliers and promised them a championship. In the first season of his return, LeBron played worse than usual. In spite of that, he reached the NBA Finals again. Even though LeBron put in an all-time performance in the Finals series, he couldn’t lead his team to a win, and the critics started talking about his many losses in the Finals.

 

In the 2016 NBA season, the defending champions, the Golden State Warriors, were enjoying one of the most dominant seasons of all time, having won 73 games out of 82, with Stephen Curry leading the way. There was talk of Curry being the best player in the league. Meanwhile, LeBron led the Cavaliers to the NBA Finals to face the Golden State Warriors. In the first four games, the Warriors were up 3-1, dominating LeBron and the Cavaliers. No team in the history of the NBA had lost a series in the NBA Finals after being up 3-1. LeBron changed that, as his incredible performances in the next three games resulted in the Cleveland Cavaliers becoming the NBA champions, with LeBron being awarded his third NBA ring and his third Finals MVP Award. Over the next two years, most players but LeBron had left, resulting in the Cavaliers becoming one of the weakest teams. Although LeBron would lead the Cavaliers to the NBA Finals in the next two years, they were unable to win more championships.

 

In 2018, LeBron decided to join the Los Angeles Lakers. The move was questionable, as the Lakers were rebuilding and not contending, and although he was a fantastic player, LeBron had aged over 16 seasons. Unfortunately, he suffered a groin strain mid-season and sat out for most of the season. Critics resumed claiming that LeBron was not the best player in the world. The Lakers made several trades during the off-season, including signing one of the best players in the league. LeBron’s motivation had never been higher, and he performed very well, placing second in the MVP Awards that season and winning the Finals and the Finals MVP Award, becoming the first player in NBA history to win the Finals MVP Award with three different teams.

 

LeBron boasts one of the greatest, if not the greatest, basketball careers of all time, with four NBA championships, four Finals MVP Awards, four regular-season MVP awards, and 16 times All-Star, amongst other accomplishments.   

 

LeBron is more than a basketball player – he is also a kind and caring man. He founded a school for children unable to afford tuition. He also donates to numerous charities such as the Boys and Girls Clubs of America, After-School All-Stars, the Children’s Defense Fund, Gabriel’s Angle Foundation, and ONEXONE. LeBron has always cared for his mother and credited her. “My mom and I have always been there for each other. We had some tough times, but she was always there for me.” LeBron met his future wife, Savannah James, at a basketball game between his and Savannah’s high schools. They got married in 2013 and now have three children – LeBron Jr. (15), Bryce (13), and Zhuri (5). Both LeBron Jr. and Bryce play basketball while Zhuri does gymnastics.

He is my favorite athlete and a major inspiration. He worked hard and get where he is today, working his way up from nothing. He is also one of the most criticized athletes in the world and his ability to ignore these criticisms is a great quality. He taught me that anything is possible because he was down 3-1 to one of the greatest teams of all time and still won that series, demonstrating his grit and determination to achieve the impossible.

My Reflection of the Last Dance

 My Reflection of the Last Dance

Last Dance is a 10 part documentary made by ESPN. The 97-98 Chicago Bulls team allowed cameramen from ESPN to record them so they could make a documentary in the future. This documentary was about the 97-98 Bulls mindset in this season and how hard it was for them to win one last championship ring. Before the start of this season, the Bulls had won 5 championships and were eyeing their 6th.

Last Dance premiered on ESPN on April 19, 2020, and ran for 5 weeks with 2 episodes per week. This blog is my first attempt at a documentary review.

Episode 1-3:

In the first three episodes, Jordan, Pippen, and Rodman talk about their journey in basketball and the adversity they faced to get to the superstar level. For Dennis Rodman, he was always short so he wasn’t that good at basketball, but at age 21 Dennis Rodman hit a growth spurt that no one could’ve expected. So with his new height, he started going to the basketball gym every day and he learned how he had to hustle for everything so he used that to get to the pros. Scottie Pippen, he was always underlooked and he had to struggle with that in his early basketball career and his NBA career. When Scottie was in his prime, he was one of the best players in the league, but was not getting the money he deserved. He was one of the least paid players on the team. This led to Scottie Pippen demanding more money or he won’t play. But Scottie ended up playing. Michael Jordan was very athletically gifted but in high school, he didn’t make the team so he used that as motivation and worked harder than ever. The next year he was able to make the team and in the future, he became the greatest basketball player of all time. These three episodes were really interesting because everyone knows these star players when they succeeded but they don’t know how hard it took them to get to the place they are in today. Also, it is also very compelling to know what they’re mindset was when they faced these adversities.

Episode 4: 

This episode shows how the Bulls were doing good but they were always one step short of making the NBA Finals. So the Bulls fired their head coach Doug Collins and Phil Jackson, who was the assistant coach, got promoted to head coach. Michael Jordan and Doug Collins' relationship was very good but when he got fired Michael Jordan was very mad. So, Michael Jordan and Phil Jackson’s relationship started out very rocky. But Phil Jackson was the missing piece for the whole puzzle and everything started to click for the Bulls. They started winning championships, and Michael Jordan and Phil Jackson’s relationship became very strong. 

Episode 5:

Since Michael Jordan is starting to win rings, his popularity is starting to grow and Michael Jordan’s shoes and ads are starting to gain recognition around the globe. But with his popularity, there are some problems. People are following him everywhere and he is starting to become tired of his popularity. But this doesn’t stop him from winning the Olympics gold medal and Jordan getting his second NBA ring. 

Episode 6: 

Sam Smith wrote The Jordan Rules, which exposed Michael Jordan’s gambling problem and how bad of a teammate he is. This book creates a wave of problems, Michael Jordan is blaming Horace Grant for telling Sam Smith about these things and their relationship gets broken. Also, his reputation is damaged. But this doesn’t stop Michael Jordan's main goal; three-peating. Michael Jordan ended up three-peating but he is exhausted-physically and mentally.

Episode 7:

Michael Jordan has just three-peated, but after a couple of weeks, terrible news comes out. Michael Jordan’s dad has passed away due to murder. This takes a huge toll on Michael Jordan since he and his dad were like best friends. This causes Michael Jordan to retire from basketball since his father always wanted him to play baseball. This causes the Bulls to move on from Jordan and make Scottie the leader of the Bulls. He does really well but no one could replace Michael Jordan so they get a second-round exit. Michael Jordan starts his baseball very well but he can’t hit sliders. This causes him to get struck out a lot and a lot of people start to criticize him. 

Episode 8:

Michael Jordan comes back to basketball which energizes the Bulls, but Michael Jordan is extremely rusty since he hasn’t played basketball for a year. They end up losing to the younger Orlando Magic’s team in 6 games. Michael Jordan has more motivation than ever to be the best player in the world so he works extremely hard. 

Episode 9:

The Bulls beat the Indiana Pacers and the Utah Jazz to win the 1997 championship. Steve Kerr was a big piece for them to win that year. But those teams are more motivated than ever to beat the Bulls. 

Episode 10: 

The Pacers are giving the Bulls an extremely hard time in the Eastern Conference Championship and the Pacers think they can beat the Bulls. But the Bulls end up winning the series in 7 games. They have to play one more series to three-peat the second time, but they are extremely exhausted. The Jazz however is extremely hungry to win their first championship. But the Bulls end up winning the championship in 6 games. This was the end of a dynasty and perhaps the greatest dynasty in basketball history.

In conclusion, I would rate this documentary a 10/10 because I got to hear what the players thought of other players and their mindset. In addition, everyone including myself thought it was easy to win multiple championships since these great players made it seem like that. But we were totally wrong and this documentary shows that. After every game, players are exhausted but their 82 games in a season plus the playoffs so it’s extremely hard to make it out of the regular season. But for this Bulls dynasty to win six championships is truly incredible and we might never see anything like that happen again.

Watch Last Dance on Netflix.com.

My Book Reflection: The Mamba Mentality

The Mamba Mentality is an exceptional book to read. This book was written by Kobe Bryant. Kobe Bryant was a former NBA basketball player and was one of the greatest players to ever step on the court. Kobe Bryant has many accolades throughout his career such as a 5-time NBA Champion and an 18-time all-star. His jerseys (#24 and #8) were retired by the Lakers.

This book teaches the readers how to play the game at your absolute best. In the book, Kobe shared many of his life stories, and how he always wanted to be the best basketball player in the world. Also, he tells you that if you want to be great at something you have to prioritize that above everything else.

Kobe Bryant states, "If you really want to be great at something, you have to truly care about it. If you want to be great in a particular area, you have to obsess over it. A lot of people want to be great, but they’re not willing to make the sacrifices necessary to achieve greatness.”. This quote has really inspired me. I want to be great at basketball, but it doesn’t happen easily. It takes a lot of hard work and dedication to be truly great at it, and if you want to be the best at something you have to work harder than everyone else.

At first, this book seems like a book for basketball enthusiasts, but that's not true! Most of his examples are about his basketball career which one can apply to anything in life. For example, if you want to get a good score on a test, you must take extra time studying even though it might be boring. I consider that to be the main message of The Mamba Mentality. You should always try to be the best in what you do even if it takes more effort. This book has inspired me a lot and it was cool to know Kobe’s mindset in his games.

I would rate The Mamba Mentality a 10/10 and I would recommend that any reader in any age group read this book.

7/14/20

 

Make sure to check out the book @  The Mamba Mentality