Category: Junior Literary

Yep, that’s the concept of this blog. We’re going to look at art. No, it’s not my art, and I’d like to credit u/wiseduck12 on reddit for posting this beautiful work. Now, I could go straight into depth and explain all of the cool little references that are buried in it, but first I think we should view it at its face value. I mean, look how cute it is. And they’re all taking a nap together and the Bees are so fluffy. To be honest, I’m writing this because the next video game element I’m going to write about is music and I need to go re-listen to a bunch of stuff. But that’s for later. Let’s now appreciate this art. So cute. Anyway, let’s dive into it. To start its image from the game Hollow knight from within an area of the game known as the hive. The image is cool because normally the bees would attack the player. However, there is a perk that allows you to be friends with the bees, and they won’t attack you. There are also many different references to other chambers in the image as well. On the wing of the big bee sits a little figure which is the grimm child; spawned in by the player when equipping the grimm child charm. On the horns of the knight we can see a little version of himself which is from the broodmother charm, and to the left of the knight lies a little spider from the weeversong charm. What makes it better is that it depicts the main three bee enemies: Hivelings, Hive Soldiers, & Hive Guardians. I like it. Its nice

So anyway the government. What are we doing anymore? Public executions. Really. This is who we are. A country who supports the tactics of terrorist groups. The same groups we constantly condemn and say are terrible people. It’s funny because the only reason they aren’t going to stream it is because the guys are in a wheel chair. Man, isn’t it funny that this government has said that they were going to do something and then turned around and said “yeah we’re not going to do that.” Gas, groceries, no more war, a certain file that should have gone public years ago. We got to get rid of him, man. It’s getting really bad. Also who are they hiring anymore? A man who gets drunk on an aircraft carrier who rants about shooting some guy and filming it so he can show his kids, and a woman who looks like a robot. I know you know who I’m talking about. There is no way that that woman is real. Either there was some freak accident that turned her into something straight out of a death note, or she died in the freak accident and they replaced her with a robot. Honestly, I think it’s time to jump ship.

I love sleeping. Like, genuinely. I love getting into bed after a long day and knowing that for the next eight hours, give or take, I am not required to do a single thing. No homework, no conversations, no pretending to be in a good mood when I’m not. Just me, and whatever weird dream I have  

The only problem is that I hate actually going to sleep.

I can spend an entire day yawning in class, practically begging for a nap, and the second I get into bed, suddenly I’m wide awake. I have thoughts. I have questions. I have memories. And God forbid I remember something embarrassing I did three years ago.

But once I’m finally asleep? Best feeling in the world.

I think my favorite part is waking up and realizing I still have time left to sleep. There is nothing better than opening your eyes, checking the clock, seeing that you have another hour, and rolling back over. Actually, scratch that. There is nothing worse than waking up from the best sleep of your life just to realize you have to go to school.

And don’t even get me started on naps. Naps are amazing.

I also think there’s a certain comfort in going to sleep at night. Not even in a deep, philosophical way. Sometimes I’m just tired of looking at people. Tired of talking. Tired of thinking. Tired of having to decide what to wear tomorrow and whether the person who left me on delivered hates me or is simply busy.

At night, I don’t have to figure any of that out. I can worry about it tomorrow, which is a problem for tomorrow me.

Tomorrow me is always dealing with my nonsense, though. I really should apologize to her.

And honestly, I think that’s why sleeping is so good. It’s a break from being a person for a little while. You don’t have to be interesting or funny or smart. You don’t have to answer anyone. You don’t have to know what you’re doing with your life. You just get to lie there and exist, which sounds pretty nice when you think about it.

Sometimes I wish I could explain to people how much I love being in bed without making it sound like I’m depressed. I’m not necessarily sad. I’m not necessarily happy, either. I just like being comfortable. I like being warm. I like having nowhere to go and nothing to do. I like the feeling of being so tired that my thoughts finally start getting quieter.

And maybe that’s lazy. Maybe I should be doing something productive with those hours.

But I spend enough of my life worrying about what I should be doing. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with enjoying the few hours when I’m allowed to do absolutely nothing.

Anyway, it’s getting late, and I have things to do tomorrow.

 Hey guys! Today we are going to continue to talk about what was discussed in the Congress of Vienna and the dynamics of the group.

If you were here last week then you know we ended the blog talking about the new political map of Europe established by the congress of Vienna.

The Conservatives within the group wanted to restore the past monarchies. In which they mostly did. Yet, the power each nation gave to their monarchs differed from nation to nation. For instance, the Enlightenment desire to restrict the power of monarchs could not be stopped in Britain and France. In these nations, Constitutional monarchies were formed. This meant the monarchs had to share power with legislative leaders and were limited in power by constitutions. Austria, Prussia, Russia, and others took a conservative approach and restored absolute monarchs. While Britain and France took a more liberal route, all nations recognized the monarchs of each area as authentic and deserving of power, a practice called legitimacy.

Austria, Prussia, had taken a conservative route with absolute monarchs. They formed a group called the Holy Alliance. This group championed a Christian religious identity and the old system of absolute monarchs. While Britain and France had taken a more liberal path by establishing Constitutional Monarchies, all nations faced the risk of revolutions rising up again. To protect themselves from future tint Cancer of Europe was formed between the nations that had various monarchies. They asserted that, if revolution broke out again, in any area, they would unite to crush the rebellion.

In the absence of Napoleon, the brother of King Louis the 16th, Louis the 18th, took control of France. Yet, many feared this would usher in the old institutions that were challenged by the Enlightenment, such as absolute monarchies. Napoleon utilized this opportunity to assert he wanted to remove the monarchy from France to continue the French Revolution. He returned and took power declaring himself to be emperor. The members of the Congress of Vienna pledged to stop Napoleon and refused to allow him to regain power.

Furious that he had escaped his exile, Britain launched an invasion of mainland Europe. At a village in Belgium called Waterloo, they attacked Napoleon’s forces. At the Battle of Waterloo, in 1815, to help Britain, the Prussians also invaded. Napoleon was eventually defeated and had to give up power. Once again, Napoleon was exiled, this time to St. Helena in the Atlantic Ocean. His rule had brought with it the deaths of millions and horrific wars that plagued the European people. He died in exile and never again was able to gain power in Europe.

That’s it for today guys… See you next time!!!!

Ok I have nothing else to talk about so we’re gonna discuss spotted and striped hyenas

The spotted hyena

Everyone knows spotted hyenas. When hyenas appear in media it’s a spotted hyena, and it’s the main type everyone knows. Despite being the most well known, it’s the most different from other hyena species.

Spotted hyenas are social animals, they live in packs (or clans) of up to 80 members. Usually these clans are matriarchal, meaning females dominate over males. They live in ranks, females are almost always at the top of these ranks. Cubs inherit their mothers rank, so on rare occasions males can co-lead or lead a clan by that status; Though, usually males disperse from the clan they were born in at about 2 years old. Females most often stay in the clan they were born into all their life. Spotted hyenas social structures have been observed to be much more complex than other mammals, taking in a number of social factors into ranks rather than basing off of who’s the biggest and strongest of the group.

They’re the most widely dispersed out of the Hyaenidae family, living across various regions and found all over Africa. Unlike the other hyena species, they’re mainly predators. They have been observed to have no preference in prey, only mainly avoiding giraffe and African buffalo. They seem to be mainly crepuscular, though their waking hours are flexible and can be seen during both day and night.

Physiologically, they differ the most from the other hyena species. They possess no spinal mane and no stripes, which makes them a main outlier. They look more similar to African wild dogs than their cousins, though they belong to entirely different families; African wild dogs belonging to Caniformia and being true candids (more closely related to wolves, domesticated dogs, foxes, etc.) while spotted hyenas are apart of Feliformia  (more closely related to cats, meerkats, mongoose, etc.). The reason for their similar looks is convergent evolution, evolving in similar environment and gaining similar traits because of it.

striped hyenas

The less well known species of hyena, and my personal favorite. They resemble Aard wolves and brown hyenas more than spotted hyenas, and no one seems to know any of them.

A large factor setting striped hyenas apart is their secluded behavior. They live either solo or in pairs with a mate, having no need for social structure. There have been cases of groups living together in certain areas though. Their vocalizations are far less vast than spotted hyenas, though they laugh and chatter as well.

 They are entirely nocturnal, leaving and returning to their den in complete darkness. They are scavengers, usually feeding on decomposing carcasses of animals rather than hunting; though they have been observed hunting smaller prey rather than large prey like spotted hyenas. They don’t seem to be strictly carnivores, eating both insects and plants.  

Physiologically, striped hyenas are slimmer and carry more fur than spotted hyenas. A main marking of them is the long black mane that runs down their spine, as well as the black stripes that run down their body against their gray fur. Their ears are a lot pointer than the rounded ears of spotted hyenas, as well as a slimmer face rather than a broad head.

Theres a lot more to say about spotted hyenas because they do seem to be more intelligent than the other species but pls I love them both. Hit that like and subscribe button if I should cover Aard wolves and brown hyenas next.

That saying is engraved in my mind from elementary school. Whenever somebody was rough-housing a little too hard and tears rolled in, the teacher would yell that across the room. Personally, I took that seriously (and still do). If I don’t know you, don’t touch me. But recently, I’ve been wondering… why can’t people understand that phrase?

Fair warning, this blog is talking about sexual assault, rape, and mainly what many people refer to as “The Cornell Seven.”(I HATE that description. It’s too PG for those monsters.) No, I’m not censoring rape. No, I’m not saying “SA”. I am NOT censoring a real problem, and if you have an issue with it, now is the time to click off my blog.

Anyway.

I discovered what happened by scrolling through TikTok. I stumbled upon a video about a Jane Doe with a lack of context, so I assumed that they were referring to the creepypasta. More videos popped up about Cornell University—a college I considered applying to—and a Jane Doe. A small feeling within told me to look up what had TikTok in an uproar about recently.

To put it simply, seven boys, part of a fraternity, raped a young woman whose identity is unknown. I am not prone to being extremely emotional, but I actually teared up when I found out what took place. My tears began to dry up and were replaced with a burning rage soon after. The comment sections were divided between those who I believe have common sense and empathy versus those who lack both characteristics.

“ShE ShOuLdN’t HaVe BeEn DrInKiNg,” as if that could have kept her safe anyways. I’m not saying that she was destined to be gang raped, but what I am saying is that as a society, we need to stop blaming the victim and persecute the predator. Alcohol and drug use are not consent, nor does it evoke thoughts of harming someone else. In my opinion, if you did something outrageous while under the influence, you thought about doing it while sober (“drunk actions are sober thoughts”).

This situation becomes even more insane because the “Cornell Seven,” as some people call it, has FIFTY-SEVEN other men who are guilty. The other fifty men didn’t rape her, but they let it happen. In a group chat, inappropriate phrases were thrown around to describe her, and the fifty people either ignored it or laughed at it. And you wanna know what Cornell University did? They made her rapists write essays as a punishment. ESSAYS. I write essays and poems and novellas and novels for FUN. They also forced Jane to continue her classes in person, where she would see them every… single… day. If that ain’t torture, then I don’t know what is.

This is why many women—like myself—are wary around men. Why girls find completely different routes to walk home on, why we give people our live location, and why we say “text me when you get home.” Too many stories like this go viral, and when they do, predators tend to defend predators out in the open.

“He has a bright future, don’t ruin it for him.” SCREW HIM AND HIS FUTURE AND YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Some people are also insane or stupid enough to try to figure out who Jane Doe is. First of all, that is heavily illegal; second of all, that is extremely creepy; third of all, that is so DUMB!!!!!!!!!!!! Almost every woman you pass by IS Jane Doe. One in THREE women will experience some form of sexual assault or even rape at least once in their life.

Again, this is why I say, as a society, we MUST hold these monsters accountable. Too many people are comfortable with defending a rapist and uncomfortable when the victim speaks out. And the worst part is it could happen at any time. Infants, elderly, teenagers—it doesn’t matter. Nobody is exempt, and sometimes it feels like no one cares.

No, I don’t have a call to action. No, I don’t have any advice. I just wanted to air out my feelings about this whole disaster. I know this blog might be a bit much to some readers; I tried my best to contain my rage and keep it “school appropriate.”

I do pray for Jane Doe to find peace and to be safe as she sues and hopefully wins. Screw Cornell, screw the justice system, and screw all fifty-seven of those men. Matthew Ingalls, Diego Sarabia, Winston Lee, Scott Kretzschmar, Scott Norris, Gillio Lopes, and Jonathan Newell need to be held accountable.

The title may indicate that I’ll be talking about Identity V, but I am not talking about that game. Instead, I am talking about my own identity.

I go by a lot of names here at MSA, most know me by my nickname, Kiki, others know me by my birth name, Kiara. Few know my preferred name, Yimmi, and those few also use the nickname Timmi for it. My name with others varies depending on who you’re talking to. Ke, Kiki, Yimmi, Kiara, and Timmi. It makes me feel displaced honestly.  I have no set in stone name I can proudly claim. 

My pronouns have a similar problem. I’ve claimed she/they, but everyone uses she by default. I suppose it’s warranted as society conditions only masculine or feminine identities though it’d be nice to be seen as someone in the middle at times.

My own heritage has a problem. I claim indigenous origins, yet I have Caucasian blood making up half of my body. All my life I’ve been disconnected from my own culture. I don’t know how to bead. I don’t attend festivals. I don’t know how to play stickball. I speak only English. I know how to cook non-indigenous dishes. I used to attend football games. I used to know how to play basketball. I’ve been dragged from my own heritage; it fills me with a dread on how I can ever claim it.

As for myself, I’m not interesting. Nothing about me stands out. I’m quiet so I don’t have to deal with people, I play one singular game for majority of my time, I pay others to make art as I don’t have the skill nor motivation to, I look longingly at things I can ever hope to possess, I only talk of the game I play or some stupid, unheard of band that no one I know will listen to even if I beg them to. My introverted tendencies aren’t born from social incapabilities. I can talk to people, I can try to hold out conversation, but it’s too much trouble to keep someone interested in continuing without me saying or doing something outrageous.

Is it a useful skill to talk with people? Obviously. It’s just the question on will those people be interested enough in continuing. Or are they too consumed of talking about themself that it drives me out. Even in the field I plan to go into requires me to talk, but only in clinical settings. It’ll be easier as there’ll be prompts for me to follow. I can only hope the patients will cooperate. Who knows? Maybe in the future I’ll return to some rinky dink apartment after being attacked by patients, and I have to file for a case.

Speaking of fields, I know what I want to do, but it’s the matter of how it’ll reflect back onto me. I want to be a mental health technician that watches over patients in inpatient facilities, but my family recommends me to be something higher than that. Maybe a psychologist or psychiatrist? I’ve taken engineering classes before, and I have a hobby in drawing, so my family recommended me to be an interior designer or an architect. Neither interest me. In all honesty, no career path interests me. I used to want to be a programmer, but that fell apart easily once AI became a thing.

It’s an endless cycle in my mind of finding ways to paint a picture of an uninteresting person who only exists in the background of people’s lives. I might be viewed differently in the eyes of my peers and adults in my life, yet I feel only I dictate how my personality is. This quickly turned to a self-deprecating type of post. It may be my only post of this nature since I don’t want to be moping on here all the time.

What are your thoughts?

So soon it will be my birthday, and I know the title might just make it seem that I’m waiting for some big surprise or seeking attention, but genuinely I don’t want to celebrate it. If there is anything I hate more in the world than the government, it’s probably when I celebrate my birthday at school. It’s basically the equivalent of celebrating a birthday at work. It’s seen as this terrific thing to all the students and teachers, and yet I still have to show up. And here especially. At least at my old school I could fake sick and do whatever I wanted. Here if it was my birthday and i decided to sleep and extra ten minutes Mr. Moe will probably get in my room and drag me out of bed. Oh, and don’t get me started on singing happy birthday. Singing it with five to ten people at a party, fine. The whole school singing happy birthday to one person, yeah im out. Even when it happens to other people I still don’t sing. The embarrassment of already having 89 people singing your name is not going to change if the number is 90. And what is this thing about having to sing happy birthday. Sure I understand it acts as the acknowledgement of the person’s “special” day, but what if I don’t sing I go to hell. I think we, as a community, have to change the happy birthday song being mandatory BS and change it to a nod of acknowledgement. Yeah I nod, that’s fair and simple. Besides, men do it all the time to each other, so I’m sure that everyone else can figure it out just fine.

Now happy birthday in school is already pretty bad, but what’s worse is when your friends or family tell the waiter at the restaurant that it’s your birthday. And they think it’s cute. ITS NOT, ITS NOT CUTE ONE BIT. It’s bad enough when about 50 people you know sing you happy birthday. It’s ten times worse when fifty drunk men at the sports bar of a Texas roadhouse singing it. Even if it’s for a joke i dont want to do it. I was with friends back home and they tried to put me through that and I almost walked. Now looking back at this I can see that this kinda seems a little gloomy and down, but I feel that I’ve reached a point where my birthday is just another day. I no longer have that child-like mentality about it. For the past four years my birthday has gone by and I treated it as just another day. The only real time I actually celebrate my birthday is when I’m with my family, and I can’t even do that here. So in about three weeks from tomorrow I don’t want to hear any happy birthday songs or anything. I will accept a small gesture or a slight nod because by God if someone starts singing happy birthday to me at 7 in the morning I’m throwing hands.