Entry #2: The World of Gaming

 When I was three years old, I was introduced to my first virtual game, Angry Birds, on my dads phone while I was waiting in the lobby to get my haircut. I still remember how much fun I had by dragging my finger on the screen, hoping to knock down the enemy pigs buildings. I didn't care about the phone model and specifications, or trying to spend money on the game, or creating the perfect username, I just played for the joy and entertainment of it.

The world of gaming is very special and unique. The way humans are able to play games and entertain themselves without moving or going outside is very fascinating. I see it as one of humanities greatest accomplishments. Today, there are over a billion gamers in the world, all playing the millions of games created by developers. These people all have different stories of how they were introduced to the gaming world and how they got into the different games they play, and they are always memorizing to hear. This is why I love to share my life story of gaming to others. 

After the original Angry Birds game I started playing in 2012, I discovered other versions of the Angry Birds games based on my favorite movies. I remember how excited I was when I discovered Angry Birds Starwars, Transformers, Racing, and Space, all made by the same company. This was mainly because I had completed all the levels of the original game and had nothing else to do. 

From 2012 to 2015, I was still a toddler, but I was still discovering so many new virtual experiences. I continued to finish the angry birds games. When I visited my Aunt, I was met with a new big screen device called a tablet, which I had never seen before. Since my Aunt was baby sitting me, when she had to cook food, she would pull out her tablet and have me play Temple Run. This was a game where you had to slide your finger to dodge obstacles as you are being chased by a gorilla. This genre of games eventually inspired the most downloaded mobile game in history, Subway Surfers. Between these three years, I discovered popular games such as Fruit Ninja (my moms favorite at the time), Halo 3 (my first interaction with a shooting game), and got my hands on my first handheld console, the DS. 

The DS was my first interaction with Nintendo. I got hooked with the games Super Mario, Mario Kart, and Mario Party. I played them every week with my brother, which will become a trend with the games I play later on in my life. We always got really competitive, and we surprisingly still have them after all this time. Below is a picture of my old DS, still able to run Super Mario with minor glitches.

I also started playing on the Wii around the same time which introduced me to one of my all time favorites, Wii Sports. This game allowed you to move the controller which would cordinate wth the motion in the game. On the Wii, I was also introduced to lego games, such as Lego Starwars, Indiana Jones, Batman, and Lord of the Rings which all 100%

In 2015, discovered Supercell games, which I still play today. I started Clash of Clans in 2015, Clash Royale on its release in 2016, and Braw Stars on its release in 2018. I still play all three with my brother today, and have mastered all three of them. I feel like I could go pro, which brings me to my next topic, Esports.

Esports is basically professional sports but for video games, each sport for each respective game that hosts it. I feel like I could play in the Brawl Stars and Clash of Clans Esports, which earns players big cash prizes if they win. If only I had time. Below is an example of the registration area and advertisement for the Brawl Stars esports page on the Supercell website.

From 2015 to today, I still continue to play these three supercell games. I have also played Roblox from 2016-2023, Rocket League from 2021-2023, and my first and favorite story game, The legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild and its new sequel from 2021-present. 

Overall, gaming has been my longest hobby, and I have been gaming for 12 years. The world of gaming has a very special place in my heart, and I will continue to play for as long as I live. I may even go pro sometime if that is the career choice I choose. I will always reccommend gaming to others and continue to dominate my brother in the games we play.

Entry #1. My Favorite Hobby

 I have picked up many hobbies in the past couple of years that I still continue to participate in and do. My favorite hobby that I had picked up a three years ago is cubing. Cubing is a term for trying to learn to solve puzzle cubes, mainly the Rubix cube and other versions of it, as fast as you can. They are solved by matching the colors on all sides, which involves turns of all of the faces and rows. I love the challenge of learning different algorithms so solve each of the different puzzles you pick up. The Rubix cube, being the most well known, becomes really easy to solve consistently once you recognize the patterns and steps to solve it. Below is a picture of my unsolved Rubix 3x3 cube. 

Some puzzles are easier and others are harder than the standard cube. For example, the standard rubix cube is called the 3x3 cube. There is a smaller version called the 2x2 cube and much bigger versions spanning up to 20x20. There are also pyramids, shapeshifting puzzles, and many more shapes.

The main attraction of the cubing community are the competitions. Online or in person, people try to solve the different puzzles as fast as they can with a timer that they start and stop themselves. The people with he shortest times for each puzzle win. 

 I have never gone to a competition before, but I still enjoy the hobby, timing myself to solve each of my puzzles faster. I also love the feeling when I finally learn how to solve one of my puzzles. Of the seven I have, I have been able to successfully solve six, and have learned to consistently solve four of them. The idea of learning new skills and techniques are what makes this hobby very enjoyable, and sometimes addicting. Even if I do not compete, I still time myself using the popular online timer cstimer.net to test my skills and try to improve my records.

Overall, cubing is my favorite hobby that I have recently picked up over the years. I will continue to practice my skills and learn to solve new puzzles. Whether you are at home, at school, or travel, you can bring your puzzles with you to enjoy this hobby anywhere and pass time. Friendly competitions with friends and family are highly recommended. There was never a time where this hobby wasn't exciting and joyful for me, so I recommend this to anyone out there willing to try something new.

All About My Thoughts On Blogs

 I have lately been introduced to the world of blogs. I have heard the word before, but never cared too look them up or do some research. So, this was something new to me, and different experience on the web. I first learned that blogs are a place where people share their ideas and stories on pages which were commonly filled with more pictures then words. Nearly a picture every paragraph. 

Professional blogs contain articles in a newspaper vibe, or some with a casual professional tone, commonly used with sharing a recipe or hobby. Professional blogs contained different writings and pictures all over the main page, with places to donate or little built in shops and advertisements. An example is entrepreneur.com, one of the first blogs I've discovered. It contains multiple pages of information for entrepreneurs, which is the main audience. The webpage is designed for that audencie to have a great experience in reading and interacting with the blog.

It contains multiple pages of information for entrepreneurs, which is the main audience. The webpage is designed for that audience to have a great experience in reading and interacting with the blog. For myself, I found the page too messy and boring, and there was too much text and images scattered all over the place to the point where I did not understand what I was looking at or where I should go.

Unlike professional blogs, casual blogs are not so all over the place with the pictures. Its usually a person sharing family pictures with their friends and family. Its in a fun, casual tone, because they are designed for people they know and that are close to them, rather than the unknown. A great example of this that I found was a blog named shootingallens made by a woman to share her family life to others. I really enjoyed how the wording was so playful, especially when talking about her kids and vacations.

Judging by the format and organization, or you could say the picture to text ratio, I believe that she made this blog to share pictures of her family experiences and the text serves as clarification with funny jokes or remarks. I definitely liked this style much more than the professional blogs I visited. 

Casual blogs seem more of my type, and I actually enjoyed reading about other families life stories more than learning about different products or ways to improve your business. Hopefully not a way or sign of me procrastinating. 

I see blogs are a great way of sharing information, but I do think. they are strongly competing with other popular apps and websites such as Instagram. Blogs seem much older, but you know the saying, "old is gold."

Overall, I really enjoyed my first experience of viewing blogs on the web. They were a whole new place of stories and information I have never discovered, and I am happy that I have come to find these hidden treasures. Outside of school, I am now planing to make my own blog about my adventures across my life.