Like all other beaches, Omaha Beach had sand, rocks, and water. But this beach was different. This one had a history. Last summer I went to Paris, France for a seven-day trip with my whole family, and we experienced all of the traditional tourist sites of Paris. Some of my favorites were the Louvre, the Eiffel Tower, and the Arc De Triomphe, but the part I was most excited for was our day trip to a region 2 hours outside of Paris, called Normandy. Visiting Normandy allowed me to learn about World War II and America’s opposition to the Nazis. When Adolf Hitler was the leader of the Nazis in the 1930’s and 1940’s, his aim was to conquer all of Europe. At the same time, the Nazis also led an effort to kill millions of European Jews in the Holocaust. The German military began conquering different parts of Europe, including France, and they built bunkers and army bases to defend their territory. In 1944, England and the US joined together to try to free the French from German control. With help from other allies like Canada and England, the U.S. devised a plan called Operation Overlord in which they aimed to attack Nazi armies in France. Once Germany successfully took over France, they used the bunkers to store ammunition. Our family toured one bunker into which a Nazi soldier carelessly loaded ammo, setting off a bomb in the bunker and destroying it. The importance of Omaha Beach is that it was the destination of England and the US when they were attacking Germany. They put out misleading signals to make the Germans think that an attack was going to happen elsewhere in France. But really, on June 6, 1944, more than 150,000 soldiers landed on the beach, and caught the Nazis by surprise. They had to confront seasickness and overcome wind and poor weather conditions to make it onto the shore and then had to run onto the beach to fight the German soldiers. The bravery they had to show will always stick with me, and I am grateful for all that they did for our country. Though many died that day, it was a turning point in the war. As President Barack Obama said, “So much of the progress that would define the 20th century, on both sides of the Atlantic, came down to the battle for a slice of beach only six miles long and two miles wide.” Omaha Beach in Normandy, France, is a popular tourist destination because of its extensive history. While we were there we saw many plaques, memorials, cannons, and even toured a cemetery where many of the soldiers who were killed are buried. But for me, the time I spent on the beach in Normandy will be an experience I will always remember.
Young Bloggers
Why You Should Play Chess
Chess. The generations-old game of strategy, cunning, and skill. Of maneuvering pieces with intent and strategy with a goal of achieving a key objective: checkmating your opponent. And yet, even if I put it like this game of masterful skill testing the very limits of your brain and strategy on the battlefield, you still wouldn’t play it. Why? Ask yourself for a bit. Think about it… Ready? Well, may it be the stories of the inglorious and slow victory, or the linking of it to nerdiness, there is always more to chess than it seems. Much much more. So, without further ado, let’s dive in. To start off, we need to understand the history of chess. Every great game has a special origin story to go with it. Chess is no exception. Historians mostly believe that the ancestor of the chess we know today is a game called Chaturanga, which was developed in India. The game was brought to Europe around 1000 A.D by Persian traders. It was then slowly modified. First, the piece’s names were created, and movements were outlined and fixed. Then, the game evolved to incorporate a series of moves that together, would form a gambit, a simple sacrifice to gain a positional advantage. The game in the early 1800s incorporated an attack-centered strategy, with sacrifices and the bloodshed of pieces considered as normal, adding excitement to the game. However, as the game progressed to the late nineteenth century, the strategies switched to much more subtle and conservative versions that we widely see today. So? Why should I play chess then? Well, chess has a lot of benefits. And one of them, the first and foremost most important one, is that chess is fun. Addictively so. Why? Well, partially because it combines the element of anticipation with your intense drive to win, and your mistakes only make the game better, with even more suspense involving if the opponent will see your intent or even dreaded openings in your defense that could potentially lead to disaster. Also, you will find out if you introduce your close friends to chess, and kind of secretly boast a little, they will be pressured to join in, and soon you will be racing to get the highest rating or make a brilliant move. This will pull more people in and make you feel more connected. Another strong reason is that chess improves your cognitive skills. However, it isn’t as related to IQ as you think. That is a common misconception. Rather, chess focuses on improving your concentration, pattern recognition, algebraic and geometric thinking, problem-solving, spatial reasoning, and critical thinking. It also boosts your confidence and improves your memory. After a while, when you get used to the game, you can match patterns you see could potentially turn the tide of. Also, if you are really into chess, you may memorize dozens of chess openings and a slurry of variations. However, if you are more on the casual side, like me, chess improves your critical thinking and reasoning skills as well as your problem-solving skills. You will learn how to gain the upper hand in a relatively even game, or get out of bad situations and emerge victorious. Either way, chess will heavily benefit your cognitive thinking and reasoning by quite a lot, and will show its worth in the short and long term. Finally, chess will ultimately result as a positive hobby because it teaches you how to handle victories and losses and that there are consequences for every action you take. In some games you may come out with a smashing victory, but in others, you may be humbled by a stunning loss. Either way, chess will teach you that there is a silver lining for either path, too. If you win, then you win! Congratulations! However, if you lose, there is always something to learn about it. Your loss may be caused by anything from a one-move blunder to a gradual loss in positions and pieces. Chess will show you that singular moves, no matter how trivial, can save entire games, whether for the good for you, or the bad. One good way you can learn from your mistakes in games is from chess.com analysis. Once you make an account, it will let you see your move’s effectiveness and what it did to your position through both a virtual coach sending feedback to you and a 1-7 move rating. Also, a chess engine, the best in the world, will also review your game with a bar at the side determining your chance of winning every move of the game. However, nothing is perfect, and chess has huge downsides too. Playing such a competitive game can be fun, but it can also be extremely frustrating and stressful. Some describe chess as “mental torture,” which may be true in some cases and positions. However, let’s not even go that far. If you lose a few times in a row when you start out, you might feel quite embarrassed and even stop playing the game. One person I know said he even quit chess after losing the state championship! However, in a different scenario, let’s say that you catch on to chess quickly and are a natural at it. There is another problem here. You might become too fixated to chess, addicted to it, obsessed with it. You may start to detach from the other parts of your life, such as family or school or homework. You might feel anxiety and be snappy and irritable. When you feel like you are thinking about chess more than about school, your family, or your social life, it should be time to take a break. That being said, chess is a magnificent game of strategy with a long history. It is a world-renowned game and one that will benefit you, from anything from improving your cognitive skills to teaching you the value of small moves and how to handle winning and losing. And most
Kung Fu Tea: Boba at its Best? By Sydney Kesselheim, 11
As I walk in the doors of Kung Fu Tea, located in Brookline, Massachusetts, the scent of my favorite drink, bubble tea, floats into my nose. I step up to the counter, where a nice cashier greets me and asks me for my order. I crave Kung Fu milk tea with boba and mango popping bubbles. Cashiers at this location usually make it in under a minute and a half, and I usually don’t have to wait very long to get my delicious drink. The cashier gives it to me and says “Have a nice day.” Then I sit down on one of the fluffy chairs, and enjoy my boba tea. The milk tea is a perfect mixture of milk and tea, and delights my taste buds. The boba is soft and gooey on the outside and firm on the inside–just the way I like it. The mango popping boba’s thin gelatin exterior comes off, and the mango juice inside explodes in my mouth. So many images appear in my head when I think of bubble tea. But what is it? First, the milk tea normally consists of milk, black tea, and sometimes fruit. The bubbles are made by mixing tapioca starch and flavoring together, rolling the dough into small balls, and simmering in a pot of boiling water. The mango popping boba is mango juice with a thin and easy to break gelatin exterior. Aside from all that, bubble tea is also the most amazing and sweet drink ever created. People in Taiwan, the place of origin for bubble tea, certainly know how to make a delicious drink. As I’m sitting in the shop, I research how Kung Fu Tea began. Kung Fu Tea’s website describes its values as patience and expertise. Kung Fu Tea explains, “With the Kung Fu spirit (and the principles that it involves), you can achieve mastery in your careers, hobbies, personal lives, and more. Keep this in mind: without the struggles, there wouldn’t be any progress.” This means that to achieve great things, people have to face their challenges. Kung Fu Tea’s quote also means that people should persist throughout hard times. Kung Fu Tea is not only an amazing destination for bubble tea, it also tries to instill important lessons about taking risks and doing your best. Their motto shows me that even if I don’t succeed, it’s trying my best that matters.
