Community: Tennis teams of WHS

My tennis community feels more like a family then a community.  It started back in my freshmen year of high school with just one person.  That person is Michiru Aita.  If he never had the inspiration to play and learn about tennis, then the whole group would never have started.  He asked several of his friends to play tennis and none of them were interested.  I was a friend of his, but wasn't a close friend at the time.  He asked me to try it.  I was skeptical at first, but I went along with it.  Possibly one of the best decisions I've ever made in my life was joining tennis.  From one person to two people, then two became ten, ten became twenty, and the community kept growing I've lost count. 

Both the boys and girls tennis teams helped each other out.  We helped each other with fundraising, helped out during practices, supported each other in games, and etc.    If the teams did not support each other, I don't think I would even be thinking or writing about this right now.  Tennis would just be a hobby to me if we didn't have this group of support. 

At the moment...

What are some of the things you learned about yourself as a student or a professional in Module I?  Did you surprise yourself in any way?  Were you proud of yourself?  Were you at all disappointed in yourself?  Why?

I learned that I can be a very consistent person who is willing to try new things.  An example is when Christian and I showed Juan Jones what Year Up is all about.  I usually would not take the challenge or take the initiative to volunteer myself.  I couldn't believe I did that.  I have been more outgoing than I usually am and have been consistent with it.  I do all the work, show up on time, show up every day, and have gotten no infractions.  I am proud of what I have done so far.  Everything I have done has given me happiness and success.  I aim to continue with what I have started. 

I have been more social, but there is definitely room for improvement.  I feel like I have a lot of catch-up to do in socializing with everyone.  Sometimes I can't find the right words to say when greeting, speaking, or saying goodbye to someone.  I need to be more comfortable when I talk to someone on the spot.

It Depends

My neighborhood is quite peculiar.  The street I live on is quiet.  It is so quiet that I get scared because of its quietness.  On the other hand, the street behind my house is active.  The street I live on is not very active.  We don't have any get-together events or anything like that.  All we do is say "Hi" to each other.  We know each others names and just a little about each other.  Each house, more or less, keeps to themselves, and I attended schools that were not around the neighborhood.  Both of these factors has shaped me to who I am and led to me being quite solitary.  It was difficult for me to connect with people at my schools because I did not live nearby.  I did not connect with any kids around the neighborhood because I did not attend any schools near my house.  I disliked having this disconnection with society.  It's probably the reason why I cannot socialize as well as others.

People naturally have the need to socialize with others.  I didn't converse with others as much as other people because most of the time I stayed in the house.  This led to the proliferation of online gaming and interest in technology.  Growing up, I spent hours on my computer playing MMO's (Massively Multi-player Online).  I only had one real-life friend to play with most of the time, and other times, I played by myself with random people.  Those random people became good acquaintances in the games I played.  Since I was on the computer most of the time, I developed skills as I went on.  From installing/uninstalling programs, learning computer terms, typing fast, to learning internet terms, and etc., I gained a good amount of interest in technology.

In the end, my surroundings influenced me to who I am.   If I never lived in such a quiet neighborhood, I would never have been as solitary.  I may have been a completely different person if I did attend a school nearby.  The possibilities are endless.

Reflection on "The Poverty Business"

The companies named in "The Poverty Business" exacerbate (worsen) the opportunity divide by ruining people's lives.  People go to work to make money and to improve their economic standing.  Those companies take advantage of low-income workers just keeps them in the same position or worse.  The workers can not improve.  They are stuck in massive amounts of debt because of "good" deals the companies offer.  This keeps people on the bad side of the divide or gets people to the bad side of the divide.

Because we live in a capitalist society, I can't really blame the government for this issue.  It is morally and ethically wrong to take advantage of the poor, but not lawfully wrong.  If the company is scamming a person, then the law can step in.  Unfortunately, many companies find loopholes to get the "best deal possible" for themselves and the person.  The only people who can change this issue are the companies, and the consumers.  Consumers need to be able to look at contracts and deals, and be able to critically think about what he/she is doing.  He/she needs to be able to look at the long road and not just that shiny new car or whatever the item is.  The consumer also needs to be able to look at themselves and see if he/she can afford the item.  Companies need to actually help low income workers instead of giving fake help; they need to work with the consumer and be able to profit without messing up the person's life.  Companies need to care about customers. In the end, companies and consumers point fingers at each other saying it is the other one's fault.  It depends on the situation as well.

I am Benjamin Shiu

Like the title says, I am Benjamin Shiu.  I love to play video games.  Video games mean so much to me that I mention it on my second sentence in this post.  I grew up with video games.  I remember when I was three years old, I played this device called "Gameboy."  It took four double A batteries, it was grey, big, and the screen showed only black and white (wasn't really white, it was a yellowish white).  I played this racing game on it, and I remember going the wrong way and not realizing it.  Now, fast-forward through time, we are at 2011 and I play the PS3.  People say that playing video games are a "waste of time"; if it was a waste of time, then darn, I've wasted a lot of time (other than that, anything can be viewed as a "waste of time" because whatever you do takes time).  But because of games, I am who I am today.  The theme of "progression" in a video game and "beating" the next level, has been influenced to me in real life.  I need to progress throughout my life.  I don't know about "beating" the next level, but I see it as overcoming challenges that are thrown at you.  With those two thoughts said, this is the mindset that keeps me going.  I must progress in life, and I must overcome challenges.  If I don't, then I will be left behind and stuck in a hole.  I hope to become successful in my life, and make a difference, however big or small that may be.