I'm Parker Castleberry, and I need a place to express my mind. This is that place.
My rants, random thoughts, writting, 3D art, and whatever else I see fit.
The "Story" Page is some art and parts of my writing
The "Middle Corner" is my creative, both visual and textual, gallery
- Make cheezy puffed snacks with test answers on them called"Cheet-oes"
- Have a pet cat named Schrödinger
- Make a "Politics, The Card Game", so that I could literally play the racecard, among other cards
- Make two stone tablets that read "Thou shalt conserveenergy, Thou shalt conserve momentum, etc."
- Becomegrand ruler of the world using an army of robots
- Drive around the world in a nuclear-powered car
Since I didn’t write anything to my friends or about high school on my senior page (Because I thought sunset robot mountain aircraft hand was just awesome), and its something I wanted to do, I thought I’d publish it in a different way. I’m sort of in a melancholy mood right now, so instead of not simply thanking my friends or sharing my happy moments in high school, I’ll also share my regrets, things I wish I did or didn’t do.
It’s an emotional roller coaster driven by grades & friends and fueled by hormones & adrenaline. It’s the real beginning and certainly not the end of one’s quest to find oneself. Superficially deep and rare deep relationships are formed with friend and girlfriend alike.
Drama grasps circles of people, gossip spreads like a nasty virus and immaturity reigns until people grow up, gain some life experience and mature (just as its time for them to graduate).
What do you get if you put a bunch of horribly insecure awkward teenagers lacking identity, good judgment and prudence in a pressure and stress-filled environment? Good reality T.V.? Possibly. High school? Definitely.
Cliques, break-ups, AP’s, drama (I know drama is a cliché, but its appropriate. A bunch of people pretending to be people they’re not and the creation of conflict between these characters), the pains of life. High school was hell.
Yet there are a few redeeming qualities. I got a real chance to satisfy my craving for knowledge with whatever I wanted, I was made stronger by the numerous obstacles and challenges that presented themselves all along my path. I did have friends and form a few meaningful relationships in all that. There were friends in unexpected places too. Free blocks in Dr. Young’s and Mrs. Chelukhova's rooms were always fun.
Like rays of golden sunshine poking through the stormy clouds, there was happiness in the awkward pain.
Times like (in no specific order)
Free blocks (Rocky IV!)
Econ and Ethics
Notes and learning in AP Bio
Winter ball, with Jesi, playing Bakura and dancing
Science in the southwest ECS with Grace & Evan, and cool telescopes
The times with Amaya, especially at the beginning
A few non-dates with a certain person
Acting in Once in a Lifetime, discovering some new talent.
Seeing myself have a large piece in and in making two lit journals
My birthday party watching Pirates of the Caribbean
Knowledge bowl matches, the state finals, and a special one at Fountain Valley
Working on that sundial
My trip out to California over spring break
The Galapagos
With these good times, a few real friends, nice teachers, learning and the Galapagos, high school was really fun.
I can only conclude one thing about high school: it’s the most fun interesting miserable hellish experience of my life.
I set out to talk about my regrets, the more I think about it, and the more I can only name a few.
Not getting more involved in art
Not getting to know people better and spending more time with them
Not working really hard at my grades for college
Really though, all of these don’t matter too much anymore. Its over. I’m done, I’m out of here.
I shall miss friends, girlfriends, ECSs, teachers & classes, and good riddance to grades, girlfriends, awkwardness, immaturity and cliques.
When asked by Jessica James to give a video message I only had a few moments to think about what I was going to say (unlike now when I’ve had a while) but I think I summed it up quite well when I said “I’ll miss high school and I’m really, really glad its over.
I hate change. Not Obama change, but the kind that jingles in your pocket and is anywhere from $0.01 to a few bucks in metal.
They say the penny costs more than 1 cent to make. I propose to fix that problem, as well as fix change in general.
I have a two-pronged plan
My first suggestion: Lighten it up
Possibilities:
Reduce the size in diameter and thickness, saving weight, bulk and material for production.
Add a central hole. Many types of foreign coinage have this feature. It would save on metal, lighten the coin, and allow for coins to be carried on a string.
Who says you need to make coins out of metal? Sure metal is durable, and has intrinsic value, but that’s an outdated concept. Nearly all of our money today is fiat, being worth anything only because it’s widely accepted. A durable plastic would suffice for the durability.
My second suggestion: Reduce the amount that we need
I was recently in Ecuador, which uses the American dollar as its currency. Down there, if something says it cost $1.00, you can hand the guy a 1-dollar bill and be done. Make amounts in 25-cent increments; cut all this $19.99 business. Build taxes into the prices of goods, so that when something is 5 bucks, its actually 5 bucks.
With my suggestions, my pockets would be lighter and the government would no longer lose money with the penny and might even not need such a coin at all.
