6. Pretzels 2025

When I tell people I play Valorant or League of Legends , it’s like they remember it forever. In their mind, I just instantly turn into this guy: Credit: Medium Then we have text conversations: “sorry bro i cant come tomorrow :(“ “yea cus ur prolly playing league of legends…” “im not free on sunday sorry” “what r u doing on sunday? satisfying your valorant addiction?” But no, I’m probably off volunteering, or spending time with my family, or already hanging out with another friend, or dedicating time to schoolwork, or maybe I just want some time for myself. I literally only play video games at night on Friday and Saturday. I know why people think that everyone that plays those games have a crippling addiction and don’t have a life—many popular streamers tend to have that lifestyle. People literally fly all the way to Korea just to play on Korean League of Legends servers (because apparently people there have higher skill level), which I think is just crazy… For me, video games are jus...

Okay That’s it. Simple, right? Wait wait wait. Add a period, and now it’s suddenly not just okay —it’s an entire mood shift . K. Yeah, if you’ve even been responded with just a “k,” you know what I mean. It’s more than a reply. It’s a statement. It’s basically saying “I’m done. I’m not arguing anymore.” It’s like a digital door slam. Sure. Um, but is it though? Sure is alright, right? Yeah, except when you know it’s not. There’s hesitation. Maybe the other person wants you to work for it? Maybe it’s now your turn to feel the heat of a single-word response. Maybe they forgot that “communication is key”. Oh.  Even worse. Every conversation seems fine until this is dropped. It’s like you got hit with a jab, but the pain just stays and lingers. What does it mean? Elaborate? Are you disappointed? Confused? Bored? At a loss of words? Angry?  “...” Oh, you know this one well. The ellipsis. The ultimate boomer suspense tool in texting. Imagine a “Hey we need to talk…” or a “Hi ther...

Last year, I went with my Dad to visit one of his long-time customers who lives in Atherton. After being left shocked by the $21 million house and multiple maids who greeted us (who would've thought that was a thing in the Bay Area), I sat down and listened while my Dad mostly talked about business-related topics with his customer. After a quick discussion at the end about myself, the host went inside and gifted me two books: The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg and The 5 Minute Journal. That same day I sat down and got engrossed in the book and began writing daily 5-minute journals—or that's what I should have done. Instead, I came back home and tossed both books into my bookshelf after reading the first two pages for them to collect dust.  Only during this winter break after one of my friends also suggested the book did I begin to give the book a shot. It was well worth it as I felt the book was genuinely perspective-changing.  The book covers the science behind habits and...

Previously, I had talked about the importance of power in tennis and now I wanted to discuss another passion I have which is music. Music requires a balance of the melody and supporting sounds in a band setting. The melody, often played by the flutes or clarinets, carries the backbone of the music and is the most important part of the piece that needs to be heard. However, sometimes inexperienced players will play the melody too quietly or play the supporting instruments too loudly. This power shift results in an imbalance in the music and often leads to unpleasant sounds or a different feel from the music. For example imagine the iconic Jingle Bells theme drowned out by crashing cymbals or that one obnoxious player who thinks he or she is the main character of the music. The music will obviously not sound correct, and it will lead to disaster. For an example take a look at this Jingle Bells performance (start at 2:11 for the performance). Obviously you can tell it is Jingle Bells; ho...

When you fall sick, any worries and problems that may have initially seemed overwhelming disappear. All that matters is your health. My parents have always told me that despite the numerous issues life may throw at you, nothing else matters as soon as you get sick. At that point, the only thing that truly matters is getting better. This lesson truly hit this past week. After stressing about the 3 tests this week and the 5 next week, I suddenly got a terrible fever and all those tests meant nothing (for the time being). I like to think about this moment like a magician snapping his fingers and everything other than staying hydrated and sleeping vanishing into thin air. It was a sudden shift in priorities I had barely any control over. It is also for this reason that my parents have always pushed me to exercise and maintain healthy habits. It is easy to overlook their advice when you are feeling fine. I also make excuses to myself when I am healthy. "I'll sleep earlier tomorrow....

  I didn’t eat the leftovers.  I didn’t eat the leftovers.  I didn’t eat the leftovers.  I didn’t eat the leftovers . Four different meanings. One sentence. Not the same sentence.  Right? In one word, it’s all about emphasis . In more words (anything to hit the minimum word count), the art of communication relies heavily on emphasis, which is composed of inflection, speed, volume, and pauses. But, emphasis does not have to be verbal—in fact (see what I just did here with the em dash?), it can be used in written rhetoric through the modification of syntax, diction, and style. We, the proud AP English students, should know. We’ve been analyzing rhetoric since—dare I say—we’ve been in diapers (see what I just did there with the hyperbole?). But, in all honesty, emphasis is—to put it frankly—pretty darn important. I mean, can you imagine if we didn’t have varying degrees of inflection and volume in speech? Or if I wrote my blog in a long, boring, mundane, tedious...

A few days ago, I received a text from my sophomore friend Cassidy, asking for advice on her junior year course registration: “Eunchan, would I survive if I took AP Lang along with four other APs next year? Would I die or is this doable??” This reminded me of my sophomore self begging other juniors (now seniors) to check if my selected courses seemed manageable around this time last year. I was scared that I would regret my selections and suffer for the next school year, but what seemed even scarier was colleges thinking my courses were not rigorous enough and giving me 94948 rejection letters. According to a survey done by the City University of New York, it is reported that most students in AP classes undergo “high levels of stress and burnout ” and “lose confidence in their ability to competently complete college courses."  As the college admissions process becomes more and more competitive with acceptance rates decreasing every year, it seems like many students(including mysel...