first

The date is the 20th of April, 2022.

This is my very first blog entry. It is a small exercise recommended to me by my friend William to reflect on life a few times per week. Because I am using blogger to log my thoughts, I do not expect anyone to ever lay eyes on this entry so think of this as me talking to a brick wall. With that being said, I expect great things from this blog. 

I initially created this blog with the intention in mind to track research papers that I read and my thoughts and analysis on them as well as to explore and share my thought process behind anything that excites me. I think adding a third section, genuine casual blogging, would fit perfectly with the rest of the blog. 

We are only half-way into this week yet so much has happened. 

My mind has fallen victim to the persistent thought of debate. This weekend, I am participating in the Tournament of Champions, one of the two most prestigious debate tournaments each year (the other being the national tournament). I might argue that this is even more prestigious and exclusive as the requirement to qualify to this tournament is through acquiring at least one gold bid. Gold bids are obtained by reaching deep outrounds, or playoffs using layman's terms, at a national circuit tournament. On the other hand, qualifying to the national tournament requires you to be one of the two best teams in your state. In some states this is much harder than a Gold bid, but in some states, such as Washington, it is easier when the local competition is less rigorous. Washington has historically never done well at the Tournament of Champions. Not one team has ever broken in Public Forum, my debate event, in the decades of its existence. I do not expect us to do that great but I will not be surprised if we do. This is one of the disadvantages of being a small debate school. Interlake is notorious for being very academically rigorous, having award winning club teams like robotics or science bowl. Even though their debate team has brought home their own fair share of awards and trophies, Interlake continues to neglect its team. Many times we have tournament cancellations because the faculty in charge of finances does not like us. Compare this to the east coast teams that I will be going against this weekend. These schools have hundreds of teams compared to our seven. These schools have several paid coaches that drill debate knowledge and technical skills into their debaters compared to our high school senior that stopped caring ever since she was admitted into her dream school ED. 

If there is anything everyone knows about debate, it would be the countless hours needed preparing for each tournament. TOC (Tournament of Champions) is no different. My partner and I started intensely prepping last week during our spring break up until now. Because both of us are rather busy individuals, the only times we can meet up to discuss strategy and work collaboratively are at night. This causes us to stay up. This week, I stayed up until 3 A.M on Monday and 2 A.M on Tuesday. Functioning during the day is hard considering I also have to wake up at 6 A.M for Jazz Band. What's even more dangerous is when I get back home, where at any moment I will just crash. On Monday I fell asleep for an hour at my desk with my face on my keyboard after drinking an entire can of coke with the specific aim of staying awake. Caffeine is overrated and I am frustrated. Even so, this is nowhere enough to extinguish my passion for debate. Our current topic is debating whether Japan should revise Article 9 of their constitution to develop offensive military capabilities. Simplifying it, Article 9 says Japan can never have military for offensive purposes and can only attack in retaliation. On affirmative (saying Japan should), I have dedicated my time to creating a Taiwan argument. I argue that Japan should revise so that it can protect Taiwan in the case of a Chinese invasion. Of course this brings in the relations between China and Taiwan because I need to prove a Chinese incentive to attack Taiwan and start a conflict. Because of this, I have done extensive research on the historical tension between China and what they consider a rogue province in Taiwan, China's economy, and Chinese nationalism. As somebody with both Taiwanese and Chinese blood, I really like this argument and process of learning and retaining knowledge on my two home countries. 

Aside from debate, everyday I am also burdened with Interlake's infamous coursework. While some of my teachers, particularly my Chinese teacher, have been nice enough to not assign as much homework considering APs are just around the corner, other teachers do not share their rhetoric. My physics teacher just yesterday announced in class that we would have three classes over the next two weeks, the first of these starting tomorrow. Similarly, my APUSH teacher has been assigning us long arduous readings and questions all week with an AP period 8 quiz this Friday as a fabulous cherry-on-top. 

As for clubs, elections are coming up as the school year is nearing its closure. I am planning on running for officer positions in three clubs, debate, deca, and jsa. Tomorrow I will give a speech for vice president in front of the entire club. My current script was written up two weeks ago in five minutes and I have yet to revise it or have it peer edited. The rest of my day is packed. I have a meeting for an organization I co-founded (used to be Saints Sounds) from 8:30 - inconclusive. Most likely my debate will go from inconclusive - 1 or 2. I just came out of a Bellevue Youth Council meeting before jumping straight on my computer to write this entry. The script I will have in my hand tomorrow will most likely be the exact one I have prepared right now. I hope I can think on my feet and sway the audience with my exaggerated expressions and emotions. My competitors include a very well-known policy debater whose brother was president a few years back and a speech squad captain who held an officer position this year. I on the other hand am a freshmen with no prior leadership experience in debate. On paper it does not look great for me but I have a secret trick up my sleeve: charisma. I intend to watch some Malcolm X interviews today and train my voice to have a deep and persuasive baritone. With those two elements I have vice president in my pocket.     

My fingers hurt now. This will be the conclusion of my first blog entry. I had fun!

-Clarence