This year, I learned to take life a little less seriously. Outwardly, I think I come off as an unserious person because of my sense of humor, but I do struggle a lot with anxiety and stress, especially when it comes to school. My friends and I have talked a lot about the false sense of security AP Lang gave us because it was so easy compared to AP Lit (big thank you to Mr. Williams for that).

Even when I was writing my college essays, my dad would always grill me because my work read like a college dissertation. My voice, instead of showcasing my own personality, showcased the personality of an aging, tenured physics professor.

Last year, I saw my senior friends in AP Lit writing their blogs and always thought to myself it sounded more like a burden than an assignment. Yet, they became a highlight of the class for me. I started to write casually, inserting humor and my personal writing style into my posts, and it seemed like people enjoyed them! I started off with a theme of architecture, which is what I want to study in college. However, as my blog posts started crossing the 1000 word threshold, I realized I should take a break from the research-oriented stuff and stick to what I know best: making a fool of myself for other people’s entertainment (this is an exaggeration but not really). At that point, we only had two blog posts left, but I decided to explore topics that would have been better off left unexplored: Tom Cruise and Shrek 2. Thankfully, I achieved my goal of making people laugh, and it honestly taught me to take life less seriously. There is always room for little pleasures, and it is better to make something you and other people get joy from rather than making a “perfect” product.

If there was one thing I could tell incoming seniors, it would be do not take multivariable calculus or AP Physics 2. I did not take the former, and unlike most of the other decisions I’ve made in life, I really don’t regret it! I did, however, take the latter, and regretted it every single day. Also, let yourself live a little! People say junior year is the most stressful, but senior year comes with the stress of college applications, holding out till spring break when you can let senioritis take over, and of course the looming demon that is student debt. 

If you spend every minute of your life filling out the Common App or tweaking your personal essay, I promise you the results aren’t going to be what you expect – Harvard’s admission rate is 5%. I’m not saying to set your expectations low, because you should always aim high for yourself and try to reach your potential, but don’t let college take over your life. Have a few safety schools that you are guaranteed to get into, because it will give you serious peace of mind to know that you have something you can fall back on.

I realize that no juniors will be reading this, but I’ll say it for myself and everyone. Don’t let other people dictate the rest of your life. I was at a party earlier this year and after I left the room to get food, the rest of the people there asked my mom if I was going to do engineering or pre-med. When she said “neither”, I swear I heard a collective gasp. It was frustrating in the moment, but funny later when I realized that nothing they say has an impact on me – they are the NPCs of my life. 

In general, and especially during college application season, people like to insert every little opinion into your life, whether it is a word you change in a supplemental or what you are going to major in. In the end, it’s your life, so take it into your own hands and hold on tight.

This is possibly the worst idea anyone has ever had in the history of humankind – other than the Naperville North traffic flow. If there ever really was a zombie apocalypse, I would honestly just give up and accept my fate – do I really want to spend the rest of my life in hiding, having to forage in the woods for berries instead of foraging in my fridge for parmesan cheese? But I was asked this question one day, and in the ~1 minute I had to come up with an idea, this is what I got: bunk with the most unhinged, definitely-has-a-nuclear-bunker celebrity I can think of. The obvious choice for this would be Tom Cruise, Scientologist supreme.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Look at his eyes…his soulless eyes… they’re devoid of all human emotion.

Let’s cut that nightmare fuel with a quick flashback – I was nine, my brother was thirteen and in his zombie phase. He showed me a 5 second clip from World War Z of zombies piling on top of each other to breach a wall. I couldn’t sleep for about a week after, and he’s probably the reason I’ve gone 17 years without ever watching a horror movie. So when I say I’d suck it up and die, know that yes, I’m a coward, but I’m also realistic. I held a bazooka once at Cantigny Park, but that’s the extent of my weapons expertise. Don’t even get me started on long-distance running.

So back to my soon-to-be best friend Tom Cruise. I’ll break this up into individual steps just to ease the burden of absurdity you’re about to endure.

Step 1: Retail therapy

I’m not sure what brand I’d choose (Prada, Louis Vuitton, Gucci, etc.) but I want to choose something garishly expensive, ugly, and eye-catching (so probably Balenciaga). Also, it has to come in a set of carry-on and check-in luggage (this is VERY important). If the world is ending, I don’t think my parents would mind helping me in my survival master plan and spend a few thousand on a designer luggage set.

Step 2: Your package has arrived

Well, I should have added a zeroth step: convince my parents this isn’t ridiculous (which it is) so they go along with step 2. I get into the check-in suitcase, and my parents and I embark on a road trip to Tom Cruise’s house. I know he probably has seven, but we’ll figure out where he’s at somehow. Granted that I have at least a few hours between finding out there’s been a zombie apocalypse and the zombies reaching me, I should be able to figure out how to get onto the dark web and find his address. For legal reasons, this is a joke. I don’t care about Tom Cruise’s home address.

Step 3: Home sweet home

In Hollywood heist format, my parents put on obviously fake mustaches and jumpsuits (my dad would definitely agree to this) and drop off the suitcases (with me!) on his doorstep. Hypothetically, Tom Cruise sees the luggage, thinks “Hmm. Thanks Balenciaga for the ugliest luggage set I’ve ever seen. I’ll take it!” and brings it inside his house.

Step 4: Let’s hope I have a winning smile

Well, obviously he’ll notice an abnormality when the check-in suitcase is a couple pounds too heavy, so he will open it, and ergo find me. Here’s where things get risky. Knowing Tom Cruise and Balenciaga, there’s a chance he will think I’m part of the PR and it’s some weird avante-garde conceptual art political statement thing and take me in. If he doesn’t, which he probably won’t because why would you take in a 17 year old child that you find in a luggage PR gift, I’ll have to use my fast wit, infinite charm, and pearly whites to convince him to let me stay. Easier said than done.

Step 5: An unbreakable bond

If steps 1-4 go well (heavy emphasis on the if), I’ll have an in. At this point, I convince my new best friend Tom Cruise to let me stay in his top secret Scientologist bunker with him. He obviously says yes because, as I said before, we’re best friends, and we live out the rest of our days in a bunker the size of an airplane hangar with all his A-List celebrity friends. Tom Cruise’s birthday is a day after mine – so we would obviously get a vanilla chocolate marble cake for our joint birthday party and watch fireworks for July 4th (okay maybe not fireworks but definitely distress flares). Side note: I googled the current list of Scientologists, and turns out Nancy Cartwright (voices Bart Simpson), John Travolta, Michael Peña (Luis from Ant-Man), Elisabeth Moss, and Marisol Nichols (not quite A-List but she was on Riverdale and went to North which is a bizarre combination and merits entrance into the bunker) are all Scientologists. What the heck.

Step 6: Post-apocalypse income

Assuming the zombie apocalypse happens before I go to college, I’d eventually come out of the bunker years older and without a college education. This is by no means a hindrance to my possible success, but you should know I’m a lazy person, so if there’s a way I can make money in a post-apocalyptic world without going to college, I’m in. If I’m spending years underground with famous people, hopefully they’ll trust me enough to give me their autographs. Again, it’s Tom Cruise’s bunker, and he probably has a LOT of famous people there. Lots of famous people = lots of autographs = lots of money from selling said autographs to teens who are into the “vintage aesthetic” (if the apocalypse takes 15 years to blow over, I’m sure an autograph from Jerry Seinfeld would get me at least 20k).

Step 7: Die knowing that I tricked Tom Cruise into saving my life

Sweet, sweet victory.

If you’re still reading this, either you’re my assigned commenter or you have an extremely strong sense of self will. Either way, I’m so sorry and I hope you see now why I’d let the zombies take me. This is the alternative.

 

Doric, Ionic, Corinthian, blah blah blah. If a column doesn’t have a turtle at the bottom, I don’t want it (this joke will make sense in a couple of paragraphs). As you can probably tell from the title of this post, today I’ll be presenting a deep dive into the work of Antoni Gaudi. Considered to be one of the most influential architects of the 20th century, you’re bound to recognize his work, even if his name doesn’t ring a bell. On that topic – even though the word gaudy didn’t come from Gaudi and his extravagant works, some people still say that his style is unnecessarily garish – with which I wholeheartedly disagree.

This past summer, I had the opportunity to travel to Spain with my orchestra to perform. With that, of course, came sightseeing. I had heard Gaudi’s name being passed around before, mostly from people who told me I couldn’t die without seeing his work, but I really didn’t know who he was or why everyone was obsessed with him. If you are facing the same problem, here is his (abridged) life story.

Antoni Gaudi was born on June 25th, 1852 (Cancer king!) in Reus, Catalonia, Spain. As a child, Gaudi often had poor health, and because of that, spent time thinking about nature, which would later influence his designs. In 1870, Gaudi moved to Barcelona to study architecture, where he was an inconsistent yet brilliant student. At the peak of his career, the masterpieces just didn’t stop coming, and Gaudi began to receive universal recognition for his work. Unfortunately, Gaudi was hit by a tram in 1926 and passed away shortly after.

Barcelona was truly Gaudi’s canvas. Some of his most famous works, including the Sagrada Familia, an international architectural landmark, call the city their home. Today, faithful reader, I want to lead you through my favorite (and hopefully now, your favorite) designs from Antoni Gaudi.

Let’s start off with a bang. The Sagrada Familia is a massive church in Barcelona, Spain. At 565 feet, the church is one of the tallest buildings in Barcelona. The craziest part about the Sagrada Familia is that it is still under construction today – building commenced in 1882, which means it has taken 140 years and they still aren’t done. When I found out, I thought to myself “that sounds like some Anjana-level procrastination”, and while, yes, I watched Breaking Bad for longer than I wrote this blog post, wars, dictators, and constantly low funds have elongated the construction process immensely. The design has four sides (the northern one is the last to be completed, and estimated completion is in 2026), each one with multiple towers and detailed scenes carved straight into the structure that depict stories from the Bible. The inside of the church has stained glass panels and a beautiful ceiling with the columns converging at the top to create star shapes. The devil is really in the details, a theme that is common to all of Gaudi’s work. On either side of the main door of the most famous façade (pictured to the right) are two columns with seemingly identical turtles at the base. Yes – turtles (you made it to the joke! Thanks for sticking with me). The column closest to the Mediterranean sea has a sea turtle at the base and the inland column has a land-dwelling tortoise at the base. Why he did this, I have absolutely no idea, but you have to admit it’s pretty darn cool, at least cooler than having some boring curves and ridges at the top.

While the Sagrada Familia has to take the cake for Gaudi’s architecture, I want to show you my personal favorite Gaudi design – Casa Batllo. It is incredibly organic and sculptural, with traditional Catalonian mosaic tiles forming a dragon on the facade of the building, a theme that is continued up the surface with the scale-ish shingles. The stunning building is a perfect example of the Catalan Modernisme style of architecture, of which Gaudi is a frontrunner. The interior of Casa Batllo will literally transport you to a vibrant, organic world.

Even just looking at pictures, it’s honestly sad that we regressed to copy-and-paste McMansions. On that note, why don’t we see new buildings today that look like Gaudi’s? Well, actually we do! Kind of. Honestly, tastes have changed. I have always been a fan of historical architecture and the kind of buildings that would blow your socks off just by looking at them because they’re so bold. And I know I said I was a McMansion hater, but I guess I’m in the minority, because they’re everywhere. Especially in Naperville (please stop building new houses with white siding and black windows, it’s killing me). Anyways, some people just want a house, not a piece of art – and that’s totally fine! There are buildings like Studio Gang’s Aqua Tower here in Chicago and Zaha Hadid’s Serpentine Sackler Gallery that take the same organic forms, but translate them to a more user friendly, modern style that fits today’s trends. In the end, while Gaudi may not have survived to see his greatest work completed, it’s safe to say that his legacy is carried on through some great pieces of architecture today.

 

Works Cited

Casa Batlló. “Casa Batlló.” Casa Batlló by Antoni Gaudí, Barcelona, 2022, www.casabatllo.es/en/antoni-gaudi/. Accessed 27 Oct. 2022.

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The world seems like it’s going to end pretty soon, doesn’t it?

 

Sorry, I know that’s a pessimistic start to my blog post. Maybe the end of the world is a bit of an exaggeration, but it does seem like everything around us is going downhill. I’m going to narrow our scope down to just natural disasters, but there is still plenty that’s happening. Flooding in Mississippi and Pakistan, heat waves in Europe, wildfires in Oregon and California, and Hurricanes Fiona and Ian. 

 

Almost every time I see a headline about another tragic natural disaster in the news, it’s always “unprecedented”. But really, these disasters are completely precedented. Climate change is literally changing the way our world works, and this means changing the way natural disasters work. They’re coming in increasing frequency and intensity, and this is a trend that will continue for the foreseeable future.

 

This probably won’t come as a surprise, but the house you’re living in isn’t exactly helping the situation. In my last post, I told you to look around. Let’s revisit that, except instead of going outside and staring at a building, I want you to find the closest vent. Yup, the vent. Put your hand over it. Is any air coming out? Is it hot or cold? Chances are, you answered “yes” and “hot” to both those questions.

 

Congrats! You’re causing climate change. Don’t be worried though. I mean, we should all be very worried, but the amount of carbon dioxide that Exxon Mobil releases is enough to compete with quite a few of your lifetimes, so you’re really not at fault. But combine that with all the air conditioned homes in the world, and we have a problem. Most homes and apartments in America have traditional heating and cooling systems that run off of fossil fuels. No matter how you kept cool this summer – excluding watching the new Stranger Things season in your birthday suit – it probably wasn’t sustainable. Very few homes are. Fortunately, there’s a solution for this – science.

 

The other day, I found an old book at home about sustainable architecture (perks of having a parent in your prospective career field that hasn’t given away a book since 2013), and when I opened a random page, I was met with a pretty bizarre picture.

 

It looked something like this, and I think the best way to describe it would be if an alien spaceship had a baby with Antonio Gaudi’s architecture (I’ll do a whole blog post on him later). It’s all organic lines, neutral colors, and natural materials. Come to think of it, if this style had a motto, it would be “Organic and all-natural! It’s not Whole Foods, it’s Earthship Biotecture!” When I first saw the word “Earthship”, I was expecting a sleek, metallic, multi-million dollar home. Instead, I got something 100% different – and 1000% better.

 

Earthship biotecture is an architectural style pioneered by American architect Michael Reynolds in the early 21st century. It’s the ultimate sustainable home, using natural materials and passive methods to stay a cool 70 degrees year-round in the extreme, arid Taos climate.

 

The Earthship style has six design tenets that all its homes live by: Repurposed materials, solar heating and cooling, solar electricity, water harvesting, sewage treatment, and food production.

 

All the homes are made from recycled and natural materials – most notably used tires packed with dirt. As you can see in the picture below, glass bottles in the walls offer a stunning, kaleidoscope effect, with the added benefit of passively cooling the home. The homes are also encapsulated by earth, again cooling the home and preserving the natural landscape.

 

The aspect of the Earthship style that intrigued me the most at first was net zero heating, cooling, and electricity. Be forewarned, I had to take a few minutes to process this because it is the single coolest thing I’ve read all month (sorry, William Faulkner). But first, I’d check out this video to see the building process.

 

 

When I talked about the tires, I forgot to mention that they’re 300 pounds each. This might seem excessive, but don’t forget that the only thing holding up the structure are these walls, with no concrete foundation (fun fact: 8% of global CO2 emissions come from concrete!). The blueprint for an Earthship home has three sides of tire walls and one south-facing window wall, and the idea is that the sunlight coming through the window will heat the floors, and as the day approaches evening, heat initially trapped in the tire walls will leak into the home, heating it for the night. Now think about your vents. Pretty stupid, right?

But it’s 2022, and I know I can’t live without electricity. In an Earthship home, you don’t have to! With ultra-efficient appliances installed throughout the home, solar panels are enough to cover all electrical needs, which is still only 25% of conventional homes.

 

Being in New Mexico, water collection is a major issue. All water used in an Earthship home comes from rainwater runoff or snowmelt. Beyond that, used water goes through four steps before the end of its cycle: interior plants use and treat the water until it’s clean enough to be used for flushing. After it travels to a septic tank, the water is finally used by exterior plants. The interior plants are actually fresh produce that residents live off of.

 

I know this is already an excessively long blog post, but I could honestly write about Earthship architecture for hours. It actually functions as a sort of neighborhood, where resources are shared – yet it’s still so sustainable! It’s a very different lifestyle than our Napervillian utopia, but all it takes is some getting used to. So to anyone reading this: if I go off the grid in 15 years, you know where I’ll be. In fact, you should come join me – me and my glass bottle walls would love to have you.

 

Works Cited:

EarthshipGlobal. “Earthship Biotecture Michael Reynolds.” Earthship Biotecture Michael Reynolds, 2022, www.earthshipglobal.com/. Accessed 14 Oct. 2022.

Earthship Biotecture. “Earthship Global Model: Radically Sustainable Buildings.” YouTube, 29 Nov. 2011, www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2so9hyNWxc. Accessed 14 Oct. 2022.

Ramsden, Keegan. “PSCI.” PSCI, 3 Nov. 2020, psci.princeton.edu/tips/2020/11/3/cement-and-concrete-the-environmental-impact. Accessed 14 Oct. 2022.