A Puzzled Penguin

hazy winter light rests on brick walls a camera rises out of habit pale branches reach through the open circle of sky puddles along the road catch an orange blur years seem to pool in the melting ice along familiar paths vivid red steel waits where the steps converge a  place where laughter was held long stairs lead upward; someone pauses even the river keeps one bright color moving through the gray nearby, the water turns in patient, endless patterns towering cliffs and surf feel like scenes from an old film we loved in glass and steel, the clock still waits behind newer walls near the harbor, a ferry moves with the same quiet certainty even the Tribune letters glow as warmly as before silent heros pass, their purpose steady nothing disturbs the stillness of a figure resting on a bench in drifting mist, a crowded boat pushes forward together city signs and closed doors blur into streets we knew by heart oval reflections bend the skyline into a memory of movement low steam rises fr...

canon iso 400 55mm f5.6(please buy me a better lens) 1/250 s Gender roles bring certain expectations on certain people. Most people have a negative connotation with the term, but I would disagree. In my life, I always wanted a big brother. One that could tell me what was ahead of me, one that I could annoy, and one that I could be completely honest with. I’m blessed that I have found one.  They say you should never meet your heroes. Michael met me July 15th, 2023. At first, we didn’t talk much, and to be honest I didn’t notice him at all. When I got to school, I soon realised that we were in the same Chinese class. Michael didn’t suddenly become a big part of my life. It happened subtly and slowly. Through small conversations, shared moments, and just being around each other, he became someone I could rely on. He never forced advice on me or tried to act like he had everything figured out. He just listened to what I had to say, and that mattered more to me than anything he could ha...

I t’s been a rough week. I’ve been stressed, geeked, and tweaked. I also realised that I possess zero self control, Yikes. Part of it is because I realized I am incapable of looking straight at people and holding a conversation, another part of it is watching Lalaland and wishing for a different ending until an ungodly time (6:13am). But most importantly, this week has been a rollercoaster for the seniors.  My tennis coach, who is usually quite apathetic, even said that he felt nervous for the kids because a significant amount of their future will be set. College seems so close but far. In one year, we’ll be opening our decision letters and most likely get disappointing answers. All I want to be next year is normal, to have a quiet year. Yet, I don’t feel like normal, because being normal means you’re also perfect. I mean for normal distributions, it has requirements: it has to be a symmetric, bell shaped curve following the empirical rule. Maybe it’s not even the desire to be norm...

When I think about my childhood (or even what happened last year), I tend to only remember the bad parts. In fact, the only memory I have of the 5-year old me was when I locked my family out of our hotel room… it was embarrassing to say the least. Many of these embarrassing moments still come to haunt me, and I’ve never known why.  Thi’s memoir reflects this almost too well. When she writes about her childhood, she doesn’t begin with the bright parts, or even talk about them much. Instead, she begins with the fear she felt from her father and the distance inside her own home. The bad memories become the base of which the rest of her childhood and novel grow upon.  The Best We Could Do is an interesting book to say the very least. So far, I haven’t been “wowed” by the book, and I also haven’t been able to care so much for the book. Maybe it's the writing, maybe it's my lack of empathy, or maybe it's my lack of understanding. However, I still feel intrigued by this book, beca...

  Scene 11 November 9, 2025 Outside it’s 36° F. In the news: It is day 39 of the United States Government shutdown — the longest in history. The unemployment rate is at a 3-year high. In Troy, police search for a suspect in a Shell gas station armed robbery. Every human is fearful of two things: death and the unknown. For me, that “unknown” has a name: AI. It’s strange and intriguing to think that something created by the US could outgrow the US. There is a constant talk about education and how essential it is to our lives. However, isn’t the intended purpose of education is to get a good job in the future? What happens when AI will take jobs? AI, as it turns out, is a very very very broad term. AI, which stands for artificial intelligence if you didn’t know already, is just a process in which a computer solves a problem by mimicking human behavior. These have been out for a long time (to be specific 1955.) For years there was not that much of a significant impact. However, ...

My week could be summed up like this: “I work like a dog, day and night, living off of coffee from a pot.” Wow — if you know you know (summer reading???) Anyways, as I think about this past week, I cannot help but realize that I need to sleep more. Some could say that just like Gatsby was reaching for the green light, I was reaching for more hours of my beloved beauty sleep. This week, I have come to the realization that no one is as good as they seem. In front of every person is a mask of what they want to be seen as. Some people are like this more than others. Unfortunately, I’ve learned this a bit too late, and it was not pleasant. Before I keep on going, I want to make it clear that I am not excluded from this description of the natures of people. Over the past month, there was a “situation” going on. Actually, this situation has been ongoing for the last couple of years, but for the sake of simplicity let’s just say it was one month. Anyways, during said situation, I made a few co...

  He heard the phone starting to ring — once, twice, three times. At last, it stopped. Gatsby stood and stared across the Bay towards the green light. In his head, all he could hear was “You can’t repeat the past.”  For the first time, he stood still. He knew he couldn’t do anything. Gatsby was afraid to lose Daisy. His entire life was centered around Daisy, the longing to be with her, her status, and her money. But none of that mattered anymore. For the first time, he had self control. It felt good. He heard Nick's voice again: “You can’t repeat the past.”  This time, he didn’t argue back. Ever since he got back from the war, he thought of ways to get her attention, but none of that worked. He thought about calling her, he realized that there was nothing he could do. He put down the phone and went outside. The night air was cool and damp. He stood on his marble balcony and looked at the green light one last time. For years, the light amazed him. Now, it seemed like...