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Lauren 16 - The Impact of Modern Technology on Memory

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As I cli cked the button to begin the FRQ portion of the AP English Language and Composition exam this morning, I was preparing for the worst. I thought to myself, What if they make us write about the extent to which beekeeping has impacted the global economy? Will they give us a dull RA prompt? What will I do? But as I clicked through the questions, I felt myself breathe a sigh of relief. It’s not that bad , I told myself. F ast forward to two hours and fifteen minutes later and the test indeed wasn’t as disastrous as I thought it would be. I felt that all the questions (other than the argument prompt...) were very much doable and similar to what we had practiced in class. O ne of the more notable memories I have of taking the test was skimming through the various articles for the synthesis prompt, which was about the value of GPS services and mapping technology in facilitating daily life, and finding a very interesting perspective on the issue. While looking through the different sou...
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Abhiram Gunda 16 - The Father Movie Review

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     It’s been a while since I made a movie review style blog but recently I saw a surreal and brilliantly made movie called The Father that fits perfectly with our unit's theme of memory. I do want to put out the warning that the movie covers topics like dementia so if you're not comfortable reading about such topics then don’t read the rest of the blog.  The movie “The Father” is made from the perspective of a person with dementia. The movie explores the confusion and disorientation someone with dementia must feel. Another tv show that explored this is the show “Grey’s Anatomy” in which the main character’s mother suffers from dementia. In one episode, the main character’s mother regains memory and tries interacting with the world that has changed so much since her dementia worsened.  The movie The Father takes a different approach from Grey’s Anatomy because the story is from the perspective of Anthony, a patient with dementia who refuses to believe that he h...
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Yashuj Week 16: Sporting Events

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I have not been to as many sporting events as many have. I have had my fair share, however—an Oakland A's game in 2018 and a Golden State Warriors game in 2024. Though there have only been two memorable sporting events in my life, the memories I have made from them are everlasting, hinting at the environment that surrounds these events. The A’s game was by the grace of my mother’s company who had provided our family with box seats as part of a co mpany event. As my first ever professional sporting event, this was a great deal of excitement for me and quite honestly set the standard fairly high. I remember specific details, such as the chilly breeze entering through the opening of the box and the seemingly-infinite storage of Sprite cans in the minifridge underneath the cabinet. I also remember the warm mac-and-cheese served as well as the free A’s hat I received which still hangs on my wall to this day. The hat serves as a reminder of the event, perhaps the reason why I have not fo...
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Avi Kumar 16 - AP Tests and Memory

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       As I head into my final AP test tomorrow, AP Computer Science Principles, memory has never seemed more important in my entire life. These past two weeks have pretty much been the most I have ever studied in such a short amount of time, and it has completely changed my outlook on memory. After scavenging for the best ways to memorize facts that I’ll most likely never need to know ever again, I have come to have a new appreciation of how much of a profound role memory plays in my day to day school life. I would bet my life on the fact that my parents have never had to use the Lagrange Error Bound once they got their jobs, yet here I was not three days ago fighting to commit each and every one of the meaningless rules of the bond to my memory. I feel like I’ve stored a lot of meaningless information in my memory these past two weeks. When will I ever have to know that Henry Clay ran a corrupt bargain? When will I ever have to integrate a function on my way to ...
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Lucas #16: Old friends

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Yesterday, I took the AP Biology exam—hours of pent-up anxiety, bubbling nerves, and scribbled answers. But surprisingly, the most indelible experience lodged in my brain was not the exam itself. It came afterward. I attended the MVROP Career Fair with the afternoon class, even though I am usually with the morning class. It felt like anything else, just something to sit through quietly and maybe pick up a pamphlet or two. Then I saw a face I immediately recognized, and my face lit up like never before—my childhood best friend, Kaitlyn. We were friends in grade school—when middle school awkwardness and high school angst were mere concepts unfamiliar to us. But after I moved to a different school, I had not seen her. At all. No calls. No texts. We did not have social networking then. She simply dissolved into the mist of memory. But in the hallway yesterday, I spotted her. And for some reason, without so much as a second glance, I knew she was still the same. The memories came floodin...
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Myra Week 16 - High School

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Recently, the topic of memories has brought me back to the same concept: high school. As junior year gradually comes to its end, the anticipation of senior year and all of the memories that are yet to be made overwhelms me with excitement.  We’re constantly being told that these are the best years of our lives, so the reality that it’s coming to an end honestly scares me. I’ve made so many memories this year, such as spending long hours doing homework at Suju’s with my friends, shopping sprees at Valley Fair , going to school events like Night Rally, and watching the Homecoming game at Tac Stadium.  I’ve made more memories than I can even comprehend in high school–some of which have been permanently engraved in my brain since the beginning of freshman year. I honestly never thought I would be sad to graduate from high school until junior year. I’m a firm believer that life is so much better when you go through it with your friends, and that’s what this year has been all about ...
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Lucas Week #15 - Life’s Better with Friends

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There is a bonus to doing what you want to do. Maybe a roller coaster that drops your stomach or the buzz of a concert that washes over your ears in waves—those are peak moments. I used to do them by myself. I went to concerts and theme parks alone, and I'm here to tell you, I enjoyed myself. There is a liberating sense in doing what you want, where, when, and with whom you want. Then I started sharing them with the people that matter to me the most: my friends. And unexpectedly, the peaks were even higher. It wasn't that the activities themselves were so different—it was the energy that came with them. Screaming on a ride with someone, laughing at a joke told in line, dancing to a song with someone who adores it just as intensely as you do… all of it is amplified when there’s someone there to reflect it back. What I’ve come to understand is that a friend turns moments into memories. Sure, you'll remember the concert—but now you’ll also be reminded of your friend’s tears o...
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