1. Risso's Dolphins 2026

Abhay Patel Mrs. Smith English 11AP  26 August 2026 Blog Q#1 Week 1 The Hobbies That Make Me Me - published (08/26 9:40pm) Most people probably have a few things they do when they have free time, but I think our hobbies say more about us than we realize. When I think about what I spend most of my free time doing, I notice that my hobbies show different parts of my personality. I think that one of the easiest ways to figure out who I am is to look at what I actually choose to do when nobody is telling me what to do. For me, that usually means playing Valorant, playing cricket, or going somewhere with my friends. I play Valorant a lot, probably more than I should, if I’m being honest. There is something about being able to immediately go into a game and wanting to win that I really enjoy. Sometimes I can relax and have fun, but then one bad round happens, and suddenly, I start caring about the game too much. But this is a big part about why I like it. I like the feeling of being able...

“What do you do in the play?” My go-to answer is, “I’m in the running crew!” Very rarely, I’d say, “I’m AHSPA’s Assistant Props Master, and I help manage the running crew, props, and work closely with our Stage Managers and Director!”  Admittedly, sometimes when I tell people what I do in theater, they look uninterested. However, I do understand that when theater is brought up, what happens behind the scenes isn’t always something most people focus on. Consequently, it’s common for people to overlook what backstage crew does, but I still never felt the need to justify my position. To me, it’s always been clear that my role as AHSPA’s Assistant Props Master is a title that I love and cherish, and there hasn’t been a moment where I regretted spending my falls and springs in the theater.  I don’t believe that the small talk word limit or even a long, deep midnight conversation can ever fully measure the love I get to experience everyday in theater. The chaotic giggles we can’t co...

Outer Banks (OBX) is a highly popular Netflix TV show that just released its fifth season. The first time I watched it, I was instantly hooked by the action and vibrant characters. Although each season comes with new mysteries, the main storyline follows a group of teenage friends from the Outer Banks, a chain of islands in North Carolina , who get caught up in various races for lost treasure. Along the way, they have dangerous run-ins with the law, crooks, and a group of kids from the other side of the island. The show is filled with a rich cast of characters, each with a distinctly different identity. However, the one thing that connects the OBX kids is their status: being a Kook or a Pogue. Kooks are the rich kids; they grew up accustomed to country clubs and trips to the Bahamas. Pogues are the poor kids; many do not have enough money to live an up-and-up lifestyle. The show defines characters by which group they are a part of, and it becomes an integral piece of their identity....

Yesterday, on August the 24th, I had a bad day. I felt the weight of loneliness and being unseen, because I felt that nobody understood me as well as I wanted them to. However, something very interesting happened to me that night. When I close my eyes at night, at first, there’s nothing. All I can sense is the soft hum of the air conditioning, the satisfying yet foreshadowing scent of pen ink and textbook pages, and the feel of my retainers forcing my teeth to go back into their original position. Then, completely naturally, all of it fades away as sleep starts to crawl in. In most people’s dreams, you would see the most utterly random things. One of which could be a donut with a lasso riding a unicycle trying to chase you down because you took a bite out of its friend. In the land of dreams , nothing is bound by the chains of reality. That night, I was lying in bed, that familiar feeling of relaxation settled in around me. I didn’t see any nonsense that a regular dream would have. I ...

Chaitra Ambati  Mrs. Smith English 11AP  26 August 2026                                                                          Chaitra Week #1: Just My Luck When bad things happen to me, I don't really care. I have an everlasting faith that everything will just fall into place for me. It's as if the universe bends for me to be okay. Every time I should have tripped over or gotten an answer wrong, for some reason, I get away with it and simply go about my day.  I observed this especially when I worked at a camp in the Redwoods this summer. While I was there, I felt increasingly connected with nature as I got more disconnected from the internet and "the real world." Having time away from the stress of school and the lingering fear of my future cleared my m...

I’ve recently become aware of the different ways I act around different people. When I went to a summer camp in North Carolina, I met and talked to many new people as I normally would. Then I flew to visit my grandparents with my mom, and it felt like my brain completely recalibrated itself. I was finally able to be “myself” again, becoming more energetic, unfiltered, and probably changing in many more ways I don’t even realize, without worrying about how others perceived me. Obviously, people act differently in different circumstances. A funeral and a wedding, for instance, or talking with a teacher versus a friend, each demand their own appropriate behaviors. Online articles such as this included similar explanations to my own, too. So, I attributed the differences in my behavior at the summer camp and at home to varying familiarity levels. However, I noticed differences in my language and communication even between people I’m similarly close to. It made me wonder, are these varianc...

“it’s hella hot,” I texted my friend. They responded, “yeah idk why. i thought it would be hella cold.” Hella. What a funny word. It reminds me of freshman year, when a teacher told me that using the word ‘hella’ was an instant, telltale sign that someone was from NorCal. To me, the word was just another word, and I didn’t feel any different from someone who never says ‘hella.’  This brought about the question, “Who do people think I am?” Not when I’m using professional diction to try and impress my AP Lang teacher, not when I’m speaking a mix of Chinese and English, Chinglish, to my parents, not when I’m trying to sound like a confident leader in a team huddle, but when I really spoke , without any filters. One could definitely tell I’m a teenager, especially when I talk with my friends, or giggle at the occasional 67 joke. However, this made me realize, the “filters” I thought I used also speak volumes about myself. Outside of being a teenager in California, I am a student with ...