[BC] Ohai UC's

I've spent my entire life using electronics and other technology on a regular basis. My peers and I were always quick at adapting to new toys or tools that would be placed in front of us. As I grew older, better and faster electronics were being pushed out into the market. Noticing this steep incline of advancing technology I began to realize that I had no idea how the things I used worked.

To suddenly be self-aware, to mentally realize that I've been living the "ignorance is bliss" lifestyle truly upset me. My hunger for knowledge of the how and why grew insatiable. At an early stage of my life the world of Science was revealing itself to me, and I graciously allowed it to become a part of my life. To understand, not just use, became my drive for performing well in school, especially in the sciences.

As I continued to age and mature I became aware of how my family was actually quite involved in the science community. My grandfather Alfred Redfield, who used to work with horseshoe crabs, but now with some sort of magnets, has really inspired me to pursue this dream of mine. To discover amazing secrets that our Universe, and our minds, hold. Ever since I was a child I found it hard to talk to my grandfather, but whenever I am in his presence I am continuously awed by his intelligence and demeanor. See my grandfather's prowess makes me yearn to be as apt in my own field.

Humans are a species that fascinate me like no other. For quite awhile in my life I wanted to study the human brain along with human behavior. We are very complicated animals that act in a manner unlike those of other animals in nature. To understand why that was possible eluded my young mind. However, since entering high school my aspirations have changed from understanding human brains to understanding what we actually make. Things that we have made, and are capable of making, simply leave me dumbfounded. What truly interests me is the amazing electronics we make, specifically computers.

Computers seem so much more powerful and faster than humans who have created it. From "simple" calculators to the blazingly high speed computers that our military uses, each one was designed then programmed by humans. I'm astounded by the incredible things we can accomplish using computers, so much so that I am doing everything within my power to obtain more knowledge on the subject. I want to know how this thing, that people rely on everyday, operates and functions. I feel my human obligation to advance our technology and improve a device that's already evolving to new levels monthly. I feel the drive to create a computer or program so mind boggling that it will, in itself, inspire a whole new generation to ask the questions, how and why.

[CE] Protest

This report brings about familiar feelings within me. I'm not going to lie and spout that I came up with the phrase, "All these countries are rising up, fighting for their education, but when are we going to?" I've been clearly brainwashed by Mr. Sutherland, but in all honesty I have done nothing to show my concern for the turns my educational future seem to be taking. 

As a student, I'm jumping through all of these hoops that I'm being told to jump through. I believe because I havn't been fully exposed to it. Currently I am trying to make the most of what I have. At this point in my life  I see that focusing on school work, which takes up much more time then others would assume, gives instant rewards( ie good grades).

I feel like Protesting is the main things someone like me would be able to do, and at this point I don't see how I could muster up the time and effort needed to be behind that. When I've asked a couple of my friends how they would feel to protest with me, they told that they felt as if they wouldn't make a difference. This constant reply has really brought my spirits down, and sadly I'm starting to agree with them. Unless we can muster up a nations worth of action, I feel as if my efforts will be easily squandered.

While I believe education is something that needs serious reforming, I am lost as to what I can do, without hindering my own educational competitiveness, to change our educational system for the better.