Category: journalism

Stuff having to do with the world of journalism.

My Recent Duolingo Escapades

godgoldngloryLeave a comment

As of recent, I have been on my grind. It is not nearly as much as other people, I am aware of, but I have now obtained a 30-day streak on Duolingo learning German. I started this journey in an attempt to be able to communicate with my German friend, as I basically could not talk to her at all due to the language barrier. No I’m kidding, she actually has a slightly better grade in AP English class than I do. I still want to be able to try to talk to her in German, however, just because I think it would be pretty funny and she would probably laugh at me for my pronunciation and grammar. Honestly, after doing a minimum of a lesson a day for an entire 30 days, I should probably know more than I do. I basically can just order in a coffee shop and know very basic phrases and familial vocabulary. I also know random animals like mice and owls, which I’m not sure are a super relevant topic of everyday conversation if I were to be plopped in the middle of the street in Germany right now. The ultimate goal is not fluency, which I’m not sure is even possible through Duolingo alone, but I am hoping I can get somewhat proficient after some time.

I Reimagined The Cast Of The Language Learning App Duolingo As If They Were A Part Of The Pixar Universe (11 Pics) | Bored Panda

PC: https://www.boredpanda.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/sketch1688901820147-64aa9fdf500bd-png__700.jpg

Toon blast

progstenLeave a comment

Red, Blue, Yellow, and Green blocks are all you need.

The rules are simple. Match two or more of the same color to complete the given task. Some call it an off-brand candy crush, and some call it the world’s greatest game. It is simple, but the simplicity of the game makes it fun.

About 4 years ago, my 8th-grade self made a decision that affected my life more than I could ever imagine.

As many in my generation go through, I bought many mobile games in my day, going from one form of short entertainment to another whenever I got bored. While this was an extremely unhealthy childhood, that’s not what this blog is about.

As another day passed, I got another ad on one of my many mobile games. Just as normal, I await for the x to appear in the top corner of the ad when I end up clicking on the ad on accident, causing the app store to open; the game that appeared was Toon Blast.

At first glance, I thought it was nothing more than an off-brand Candy Crunch, yet I decided to give it a try. So off I went, playing a new game like many times before. However, as I played more and more, I found myself spending much of my time on the game.

Eventually, time went on as I cleared level after level, reaching far into the 2, 3, 4, and even 5 thousand levels.

As I look at those thousands of levels cleared, the only thought I tend to have is if I have wasted part of my life on something inconsequential.

Probably so.

pc: https://play-lh.googleusercontent.com/gtbXJIRh-y3vS3885bqy-4y8noqfzFym7Ep47eoZuZs_6wd5lc4L0_sWp66lMmD7Olw

Change

progstenLeave a comment

It’s that time of year again when school is coming to a close. For some, this is something to celebrate as summer is just around the corner with no school work weighing them down, no test to spend all night studying, and more time to focus on all the hobbies they have been missing out on.

For those people feeling this way, the change is small.

Some, however, are starting to feel a new kind of weight befall them as the days slowly start to count down. As each lunchtime passes and each period goes by, the looming sense of an end to an era is starting to form around their minds. Some parts of them wish that they could spend just a few more moments in this fleeting time of their lives surrounded by friends and memories, while the other part is ready to move on. As time continues, these two parts pull on each other, causing more and more emotions to come forth as time passes.

For these people, the change is big.

There is no cure for change, but without change, there is no growth; without growth, there is no future. Change isn’t something to be stopped because it’s what makes you, and one day, you will return to those places of your past and appreciate all that’s brought you change.

but I still remember.

urmom8beanLeave a comment

I still remember our car rides and all the songs we’d sing. I still remember our ice cream trips. I remember our spot and walks on the beach. I still remember our humor and how angry it would make Mom. I still remember our basketball practices, and you coming to every game. I still remember looking for you at church and running up to you to give you peace when you came. I also remember the brunches and donuts we would have after. I still remember you showing off your bike pictures, and the videos of you calling out my uncle at the top of the mountain. I still remember going to my tias house and how much they loved seeing you. I still remember how happy you made everyone when we went to Mexico. I remember how happy you made anyone you met. I still remember how much you cared and how heavily you loved. I still remember how much you ate and how much you loved it. I still remember how nervous you’d get when we’d go swimming, and how you wouldn’t let me go in the deep end in case anything happened. I still remember how you couldn’t swim. I still remember teaching you, and even when you were scared you still cracked jokes. I still remember your stories of ovs at night. I still remember your voice, I have all your voice messages saved. I still listen to them. I still cry every time. I still remember your smile and your laugh.

I still remember you. te amo

tu hija

Story pin image
PC: me

Is beauty only skin deep

purcyLeave a comment

I always think about that one episode of Girl Meets World where Farkle and Smackle debate about whether Beauty is only skin deep.  I always thought that that was inspirational, but I think about the way that I feel naked without my nails on or my eyelashes. I think about the way that other people will perceive me if my outfit isn’t good enough. I feel like my personality is uglier if my hair is messy.  What is outside of my body seeps in through my skin and affects my soul. It affects the way that I project myself. I speak differently if I’m wearing a dress, than if I’m wearing sweatpants. I make different decisions if I’m wearing mascara rather than fake lashes. Smackle won the argument by saying that beauty is only skin deep but I believe that if I looked different I would be a fully different person. We act according to how we have been treated our entire lives and we are treated based on our looks because that is the first thing that people notice about us.

AP test

kittenqueen3Leave a comment

Recently we have been preparing for the AP test in AP World History. This is so scary to me because I am not a good test taker and I do not like having a time limit. Time limits stress me out and I rush through my work resulting in my work not being the best it can be. Which in turn disappoints me. Last year during my history class final I put a sticky note over the time limit. This is the first time I have had to take a cumulative test in high school. To be so honest I barely remember what we learned back in August so the fact all that information will be in one test is so intimidating. There is a few sections to the test but the most scary for me is the multiple choice. I am always stuck between two answers and whenever I realize it’s been the same letter a few times I get very weary. I always feel like there is no way the answer is C three times in a row. The test is may 15th so wish me luck and next year I will write about my experience and my score.

PC:”Pencil and test paper“/ CC0 1.0

Why Do We Run?

bigfootLeave a comment

While volunteering for the Mountains 2 Beach Marathon, and seeing runner after runner desperately reach for water, I wondered this very question—“why do we run?”

Why do we do the very thing that is considered punishment for many athletes for our own pleasure?

Why, despite the blisters and the stitches and the aches, do we start that Strava run?

Why do we get on that starting line, knowing that in a few minutes, you’ll be wishing you didn’t?

To be honest, I wish I had an answer.

In more ways than one, running humbles you. It humbles you when you realize that all the pain is caused by simply putting one foot in front of the other. 

But I guess that’s what I like about running—the simplicity.

Out there, it’s just you and your running shoes. Sure, you could invest in the newest Nike ZoomX VaporFly and the Mojave Run Plus Sports Headphones, but by no means do you have to to start running. Anybody can run(mostly). 

Sometimes though, I do regret getting myself into this. Like during this run, for example. 

PC: my strava

Quaran-tunes

bigfootLeave a comment

Recently, I revisited my quarantine-era playlist, and let me tell you, it was LIFE CHANGING.

It’s crazy how music can bring back such vivid memories and feeling from a certain part of your life.

Lets go over a few songs:

Song #1: Hot Rod – Dayglow

This was THE song for me during quarantine. I would get on my bike, play this song, and ride around town, with the sun beams burning the back of my neck. During quarantine, it was really, me, my bike, and this song against the world.

Song #2: Green Light – Lorde

Now, I’m not going to go over the masterpiece that this album is, because I could write a whole other blog about that. Specifically though, I would listen to this song on long car rides, or when I was stuck at home, laying in my bed, staring at the ceiling.

Song #3: Ain’t It Fun – Paramore

Quarantine wasn’t very fun. But this song made it a little bit better. The intro itself brings me back to the era of dalgona coffees, and the “Say So.”

Song #4: Corduroy Dreams – Rex Orange County

Now, every Rex Orange County song was a quarantine song, but I think I listened to this song the most. I remember listening to this song while walking home from “work,” whered I helped my parents out with the restaurant.

Finally,

Song #5: Maniac – Conan Gray

Do I even have to explain💀

PC:ALL PICTURES FROM GOOGLE

Junie B. Jones

bigfootLeave a comment

My name is Karin H. Hahn. The H stands for Hasegawa. Except I don’t like Hasegawa. I just like H and that’s all. 

If that line doesn’t sound somewhat familiar, well for one, I’m heavily disappointed, but two, it’s from one of my FAVORITE series, Junie B. Jones.

This line, which opened every single book in the series, will forever be ingrained in my head, for multiple reasons.

One, I’ve read and reread this series numerous times between the first grade and probably the fourth grade, admiring the spunky girl who talked to her stuffed animals and gave herself haircuts with craft scissors.

Second, as a kid, I resonated heavily with Junie B’’s resentment for her middle name.

Growing up, I wanted a middle name like Rose, or Mary, or another one of those basic white-girl middle names that every other girl in my class had. 

Over time though, I’ve grown to like my middle name.

I like the meaning of it—”long valley river.”

I like how it connects me to my heritage, to my mom’s side of the family in Japan.

I like the way Karin Hasegawa-Hahn flows.

I just have to get used to people mispronouncing it. 

I’m betting that it’s going to be mispronounced at graduation. 

I’m looking at you, Mr Floyd.

PC: pinterest

My Fig Trees

bigfootLeave a comment

“I saw my life branching out before me like the green fig tree in the story. From the tip of every branch, like a fat purple fig, a wonderful future beckoned and winked.”

This quote, from Sylvia Plath’s novel, Bell Jar, is, my per-say, “Roman Empire.”

Especially as a senior in high school, there’s so much weight on you to figure out what you want to be.

And it becomes so easy to categorize and label yourself, like “I’m a STEM person,” or “I want to be an engineer.”

But truth be told, I have no idea what I want to be. Or actually, I have too many ideas on what I want to be, and I have no idea how to choose. For example,

I want to be a film score composer, where I can make music  that makes people feel the thrill of a car chase through a dystopian wasteland, and the enigma of navigating a mind-bending world of dreams within dreams.

I want to be a teacher, and share the excitement that I get from successfully integrating a function. 

I want to be an astronaut, and journey into the hauntingly beautiful bounds of space.

I want to be a surgeon, and work with the intricacies and the ins and outs of the human body. 

I want to be an architect, and shape the skyline with my designs and structures.

I want to be a nature documentarian, where I can harness my inner David Attenborough through immersive storytelling and beautiful panoramic shots.

I want to be… 

“I saw myself sitting in the crotch of this fig tree, starving to death, just because I couldn’t make up my mind which of the figs I would choose. I wanted each and every one of them, but choosing one meant losing all the rest, and, as I sat there, unable to decide, the figs began to wrinkle and go black, and, one by one, they plopped to the ground at my feet.”

PC: pinterest