Sunday, September 2, 2012

...

Hello, my name is Jacob Ward. Of course, most people in the school just know me as that, "one quiet kid." Well, I can't say that isn't my fault to be honest.

Since this is my junior year, I will try much harder to achieve my academic goals, which are as follows: earn an A in every class and get at least a 32 on the ACT. They are simple goals that most people in the Academy hope to achieve, and I suppose you could call such goals a cliche, but there really is not much beyond that that I hope to achieve this year.

The most meaningful moment of my summer vacation... well, it would easily be my trip to Japan, but that spanned two weeks, so it's not really a moment. We visited Nagoya, Tokyo, Osaka, Hiroshima, Suwa, and Kyoto. The temples and shrines were all beautiful, and the people were incredibly nice and polite. For those that don't know (which is more than likely most people), I've been self-studying Japanese for a year and a half. I know how to read Hiragana, Katakana, and a few Kanji (all different forms of writing). I also have what I deem a decent vocabulary, and I understand basic sentence structure and grammar. Going to Japan allowed me to test what I had taught myself, and while I was able to translate a few signs, understanding natives was near-impossible with my beginner-level Japanese (although, I would say that I have surpassed a Japanese 1 level). Now, before I end this paragraph, I just want to state that unlike quite a lot of people that I've seen on the internet, I don't like Japan simply because of its anime and video games (although, I do enjoy both, the latter more than the former), but instead because I have taken quite an interest in its culture and history. I had a very enjoyable time, and I hope I can go back there some time in the future.

Being someone who prefers to observe, rather than take part in, if I could have a super power, I suppose it would be complete invisibility, as in the ability to not only alter the light and wavelengths around me, but also to mask any sounds I make or faint odors (and when I say that, I mean an odor that only a dog could pick up on). I would feel much more comfortable in class, and finding a place where I can get a moment of peace would be much easier. Now, I have an alternate answer for this: if we are considering a world where other people besides me obtain super powers, then my answer would be border manipulation, which includes both conceptual and physical borders. For example, by manipulating someone's personal border of life and death, I could kill them without even blinking. I could also essentially travel to any place or time at any moment simply by manipulating the border between where I am and my destination (basically, imagine a rift opening up, me stepping through it to my destination). Border manipulation is considered by some to more or less be the ultimate power that one could have, and in a world where others can also obtain super powers, it would definitely be the power that I would seek. Of course, in a normal world scenario, I'd just stay with the much less audacious invisibility.

Lastly... what "geeks" me out.... Hmm, well, to put it simply, the activity that many adults consider a waste of time, video games, specifically Nintendo games (personally, I dislike first person shooters; the only ones that I have thoroughly enjoyed have been the Metroid Prime Trilogy). Ever since I was three and started with good old "Pokemon Snap" on the Nintendo 64, I have been hooked on these things. In fact, I was hooked to such a degree that when I was in second grade and Christ the King decided to show the second grade classes several health videos that made me realize my current lifestyle may make me grow up to be fairly unhealthy, I decided I could pick between unhealthy foods (including candy) and video games. I have not eaten candy since second grade, but I am currently excited for the Wii U's release this year. Seeing video games evolve as I get older has been astounding. I started with a game that where there was nary a circle or curve in sight, and now there are beautiful games (by a technical perspective) like "Super Mario Galaxy 2," (by an artistic choice), "Okami" and "The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker," and (by great animation) "Sonic Colors." Of course, once in a while, I always go back to my Nintendo 64 and play some of the older games because no matter what console generation one looks at, there will always be spectacular games that everyone interested in the medium as a whole should at least try once. Also, just to give a hint on how to get me to talk so much that you'll want me to shut up (surprising coming from me, right?), just ask about "The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask," which is by far my favorite video game; it's also a Nintendo 64 game.

On a more... academic note, Japanese culture and language interests me very much as well (big part of why I went to Japan this summer). Actually, funnily enough, this interest initially began with... video games (no one could have seen that one coming). I believe I was at Disneyland and playing "Pokemon Silver." At that time, my thought process could be summed up as thus: Am I playing Pokemon? If yes, yay! If no, why aren't I playing Pokemon, and how can I start playing Pokemon? Yes, Pokemon was a gigantic part of my life, just like most kids born in the 90s. Anyway, while I was playing my game, my dad started talking to me. He asked, "Do you know where that game was made?" I replied with a simple, "No," because I was five and hadn't learned much about the real world, even though I knew the geography of Kanto and Johto (not the real world ones) like the back of my hand. He then went on to say, "That game was made in a country called Japan." I think I said, "Cool," as I defeated a wild Pokemon, but this conversation planted a seed curiosity in my brain that would sprout into the great interest I have in the country today.

A website that I often go to is zeldainformer.com While it is a "Legend of Zelda" fan site, it also often posts other news about Nintendo (and the game industry as a whole). While the validity of some posts are somewhat questionable, I find it to be a very solid website for that kind of stuff as a whole.

I've heard a saying along the line that a person is the sum of his or her experiences. Well, here are all of my experiences, so I think this picture is quite appropriate for expressing who I am. Now, before anyone reads this and judges me poorly for enjoying video games as much as I do, hear me out. Main stream video games have not been around for long, and like other young mediums, have been harshly treated and are only beginning to become popular among "regular" people. They are following the same path as many other trends, such as rock. There has been much research put into video games, and they are not as much of a waste of time as many think. I would not say that it would be a stretch to say that my healthy vocabulary is a direct result of playing heavily text based games such as "Pokemon" and the "Legend of Zelda" series. I even learned to read with the help of the previously mentioned "Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask." Video games have truly had a very positive influence on me, and contrary to popular belief, they may be the reason why I try to be nice and polite with others in the rare moments when I speak. It is for these reasons that I believe this picture truly represents me.

As a disclaimer, I want to state that video games aren't the only thing I enjoy as I have several other interests, but they have been with me for as long as I can remember, so that's why I consider them to be an important part of my life. Of course, their importance will diminish as I get older and have to worry about such things as a job and maintaining a house, but I don't believe I'll ever "outgrow" them; I mean, I don't think people tend to outgrow what they enjoy doing in general (like sports or watching TV), so why should I outgrow what I enjoy doing?

Anyway... wow... this was much longer than I intended it to be to be completely honest. I suppose I simply just got carried away. As you can probably see, I am much more comfortable with typing out my thoughts than saying them. In fact, those who communicate with me online say that I can put a lot more emotion into my text than my speaking. Well, if you got all the way through this, good job! I'm not quite sure why you decided to take the time to read this overly long blog post, but thank you for doing so; I appreciate it. Lastly, I apologize to everyone that has to now scroll through about 1.2x more than they did before this in order to see the directions for the first blog.

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