Minority

Guess I’m leaving the board game post off for another week cause I feel like it. Anyway (or anyways, don’t really know what to put anymore after a friend said they preferred just saying ‘anyway’ when I hadn’t even really noticed that they were interchangeable (basically, interchangeable, anyway. (see there I’m pretty sure you could only use ‘anyway’ and not ‘anyways’ but maybe I’m wrong))), today’s topic is how I feel like I’m in this cool minority. Not because of my religion, or gender identity, or race or etc. etc., but instead because of what my hobbies/interests are.

I’m talking about a few specific topics being: Great grades, Anime, Board Games, Tennis, and twenty one pilots.

Obviously there many people in each of these categories individually, but having them together makes me feel as though I’m part of a select few.

Let’s start off with Board Games, for example. As the people who read this blog know, you will be very hard-pressed to find someone who knows and plays board games other than the Monopoly etc.

Same with Anime. I’ve been kind of surprised by the amount of people in my various classes who aren’t into anime. I expected more. Sure, I’ve found, like, two, which, granted, is still two more than board game players, but is still not a lot. (I’m pretty sure those 5 commas in a row are correct).

Tennis is obviously in a similar boat. Sure more people know about it, but still, not a lot of people play it, or give it the respect that I feel it deserves.

Twenty one pilots (beginning of a sentence, so I guess it’s fine to have twenty capitalized) is definitely the most known/respect/renown thing out of these, but how deep it is is still kind of obscure. A lot of people know twenty one pilots due to their smash three songs (Ride, Heathens, and, of course, Stressed Out), but how many of those people know about their other albums (AKA not Blurryface (so Vessel, Regional at Best, Self-Titled, and, if you count it, No Phun Intended)) or their hidden gems that aren’t even in an album (AKA, one of the best songs ever created Coconut Sharks In The Water  or the things they sometimes do that aren’t, you know, music (a prime example being What’s Your Story).

And of course, the final thing is having straight A’s. Which isn’t really a thing you know about or do, but more of just ‘have’. So it’s in a slightly different area, but it still applies to me, so it counts.

Anyway, point being, I know/have all of these things. A thing that I think very, very, very few other people also have.

And I feel as though there is a similar thing between them. The fact that you (referring to the general populous of the world) don’t know about them. That if you don’t like it or, at the very least, respect it, then it’s because you’re ignorant.

You don’t like board games? Well, what board games have you played? Only Monopoly, Risk, and very few others? Yea, you don’t know what you’re talking about.

You don’t like anime? Well, what anime have you watched? Only Naruto and Sword Art Online? Yea, you don’t know what you’re talking about.

You don’t like tennis? Well, have you ever played tennis? No? Yea, you don’t know what you’re talking about.

You don’t like twenty one pilots? Well, have you listened to any of their songs? Only Stressed Out, Ride, and Heathens? Yea, you don’t know what you’re talking about.

Not bashing on any of those games, anime, or songs (well, except Monopoly, I’ll always bash on Monopoly) it’s just that that is a very, very small sample size of all that you could be getting. Ex. A person doesn’t like board games because they’re long and boring. They are making an opinion off the fact that Monopoly and Risk are usually long and boring (of which I tend to agree). However, they are spreading it to all board games.

The same analogy/idea could be spread to the other topics as well.

Don't feel like rereading the post again for mistakes, so I'm posting it.

Got this in the mail today

Too bad we don't have the console yet. It might be a while before it gets in stock :(
Was tempted to lick the cartridge (look it up), but have decided against it, maybe...

Classes, things, stuff etc.

Sitting in Chemistry writing this. I’m already done with the Brain builder and Lab (finished the lab the other day in class and thought the Brain Builder was homework). Don’t really know what exactly to write about. I have ideas for some posts I just don’t have an urge to do them right now. One is on updating my board game list. I think I’ve got the list pretty much updated now I just have to make a post about it and change the list itself. Should have probably done that early since it is now already March into the year (excited for March Madness btw!). It will probably be my next post. The other post that I need to do is Anime pt 2. Watched several anime since I’ve last fully talked about it. Also, have some interesting statistics on the amount I’ve watched.
My schedule next year for school is going to be pretty rough. Said that about this year (which, for the record, hasn’t been nearly as bad as I thought it was going to be), but next year seems a lot scarier. If the A.P. classes get enough students I’m planning on taking: A.P. Physics, A.P. Stats, Honors Pre-Calculus, Video Production III, and, the main cause of my future problems, A.P. US History. Video Production doesn’t really have homework, so I’m fine there. I’m hoping that it will be similar in A.P. Physics. I hope that my mathy mind can tackle Honors Pre-Calculus and A.P. Stats (although A.P. Stats, I’ve heard, isn’t exactly a ‘mathy’ class). So with those mostly out of they way it will leave me with the workload that A.P. US History puts on its students. Homework from the other classes still exists, though, so it won’t be my only source of homework. I’ll still have a decent amount from the other classes.
Need to catch up on some reading. I need to read Ranger’s Apprentice since I told a friend I would. Need to catch up on some Brandon Sanderson. Need to read Snapshot, Edgedancer, and finish Mistborn: Secret History. Excited to read them, but they’ll probably have to wait until Summer.
Need a haircut in the near future, hopefully sometime this week/weekend.
Yep.
That’s about all, I think (I swear, I use that phrase so much more since I’ve read Mistborn. Go Sazed!).

Trying to do Everything

It’s annoying when you have lots of stuff that you could be doing, you just don’t feel like doing it. It’s like when you get assigned a project, the weeks between when you get it assigned and when it is due are terrible because every time you do anything for your own entertainment, you think about how you could, and probably should, be working on that project.
But now the problem isn’t any specific project, it’s life in general. Every time I do anything for entertainment I feel as though I should be doing something else. “You should be reading your scriptures or studying for your upcoming math prize exam (it’s like the previous one that I won (which is on my mom’s blog), but this time it’s bigger (the whole state) and I really want to win first place in the state (at least place) or write the paper that’s due soon or write a blog post or work on scouts or work on chapter notes or study Spanish or whatever. You don’t have time to entertain yourself!”
Anyway, let’s talk more about the math competition, cause that’s pretty cool, I guess. The one that I won was pretty interesting for several reasons.
First off, I didn’t really expect the story to get puffed up the way it did. All the people who went got recognized and put into the newspaper when all you really had to do was show up.
Second off, won $65. It was pretty nice. Depending on what happens Thomas and I are thinking about getting a Switch with Zelda: Breath of the Wild. We’ll see if our plans ever go through.
Third off, the fact that I won the Algebra II section. I knew that I was good at math, but it’s good to get some reassurance. I got 15% higher than 2nd place and 25% more than everyone else (in the multiple choice section, I don’t know about the free form). But the next step is the state-wide one I mentioned earlier. I really want to get 1st on that so I can know that I’m actually really decently pretty good at math. One problem with it though is it (I’m pretty sure at least) is over all of Algebra II (and below (so, Algebra I and Geometry)). The other competition was only the semester of Algebra II and below (once again, I’m pretty sure, not 100%). With help from a couple of teachers and Thomas, I’ve been studying some and practicing for it. Got a couple of the tests they used in the past, trying to do the problems, getting problems explained etc. We’ll see what I can do, the test is on March 8th. Since I won’t exactly know everything the test is on, I don’t really know what’s going to happen. There is money involved in this competition also. In the past, they have given $25 for the winner of the school and then more money if you place in, like, the top 5 or 6 or 7 or 8 or something like that in the state. Previously it was $200 for 1st place and then less for 2nd and less for 3rd and so on. If I can win, and if we decide to get the Switch, I’ll have more money to contribute to the cause.
Meh, whatever. I been watching quite of bit of anime recently, which deserves its own blog post, I would say. It’s preeeetttyyyy gooooodddd.

Writing about Writing

I’ve thought about writing (well, I guess typing, which in the context of this blog post actually makes a slight difference) about this subject for a while and am now getting around to it. Looked at my ideas for my next blog post and decided that this was my best option since I should let the ideas (with the exception of one) age a little bit longer (saying that makes me want to play Viticulture). The other ideas mainly dealing with lists and favorites and such. Think it’s best if I let my opinions fully formulate before talking about them.

Anyway, the topic of today, other than random stuff that I’m probably going to interject randomly, is how much I enjoy typing/writing. Specifically, blog posts. There is kind of this ‘hump’ of effort I have to get over, but once I do and I start writing my blog post it is really enjoyable. (The ‘hump’ of effort being, I actually have to start the blog post, kind of annoying when I have/want to do other things. (kind of like starting a board game you know will take a certain amount of time, and you aren’t sure if you have time so you keep putting it off until you actually don’t have time (because it’s the end of the day (the analogy made sense in my head (I guess it’s kind of hard to put some thought process down on paper))))). But writing my blog post is only part of it. I think it’s the typing that I really like. I have pretty good Words per Minute (whenever I take a test, I normally get between 60-70 wpm), so it feels really good having my fingers bounce off the keys and such. The way the Chromebook and our computer keys sound when pressed is really nice too. Gives a satisfying noise. Makes me want to type really fast. But it’s also about creating something. Revising it. Making it your own. Double checking it for grammatical errors--of which I’m sure I still make a few--and then posting something I’m decently proud and happy with. Also, I’ve never really thought about it since it never comes up during school conversations or whatever, but I like the idea of being able to tell someone that I have a blog that I put onto (decently) regularly to. (Depends on your definition of ‘decently’, I guess.) But it also has this strange feeling attached to it. The fact that someone, other than my family and a couple other people, could just look up my blog and get access to everything I have written. Someone could read the entirety of this blog and figure out part of who I am, without me even knowing it. Kind of like someone reading your journal (although not as personal (although personal in a different way (it’s like a journal that I’m okay with people reading. I post things here that I would never write into a journal, there would be no need (partially because I have this blog, but I think you get the idea, maybe))). Of course, the interesting thing is that basically none of this applies to a school assigned paper (I think the only thing applying is the fact that I still get to type). Don’t know what makes the big difference between the two. Maybe has to deal with how, with a blog post, I chose to make it, I chose the topic, and I chose to publish it. With a school paper, I kind of just go off what they give me. No gigantic creativity leaps that I have to make. Even when I’m not assigned a specific topic, I still feel limited. I can’t literally write about whatever I want. Guess that’s why I call this blog that. Because here I have the freedom of writing whatever I want.

Anyway, that’s the blog post this week, might/probably will come next week with another one. Might be the other blog post that doesn’t involve listing things, so I can let those things sit around a little while more. Maybe. Might be a list post instead.