3. Hector's Dolphins 2026

The Inflation of Talent In the Music Production Scene      Name five music producers you know of at the top of your head. You may think of BNYX , Metro Boomin , Dr. Dre , Pharrell Williams , Kanye West , or even Mustard . Are they talented musicians? Sure. But I am not here today to tell you that these are the most talented producers that ever existed.  Music as an art continues to grow through multiple sub-genres and production styles. Through this process, names get signed, and waves of decade-defining sounds emerge. Kanye West utilized chopped-up soul samples and incorporated groovy drums that easily inspired many subgenres of today. BNYX with his melodies, Pharrel Willaims with his “swag” drum swings, and Metro Boomin with modern trap drums all pioneered sounds of their own and made records that charted globally with millions of listeners around the world.      ( One of Praizewa's Tracks )          Y...

Imagine a ship sailing across the sea for hundreds of years. As it faces nature's elements, the wood starts decaying, so one by one, they are replaced with new wood planks. Eventually, every single original wood plank on the ship has been replaced by a new one. Now the question is: Is it the same ship? This mind-boggling ancient thought experiment, known as The Ship of Theseus , was first introduced by Greek biographer Plutarch . Over a dozen centuries later, English philosopher Thomas Hobbes makes his own contributions to the original paradox of the ship of Theseus. Hobbes proposed that if a second ship was built from all the original planks, how do we decide which one is the real Ship of Theseus? However, this paradox really has nothing to do with ships. Rather, Plutarch and Hobbes aimed to confront one simple dilemma: what constitutes identity? Human identities are complicated because we change constantly. Our cells are constantly dying and being replaced. Our brains make hundr...

One thing about me is that I’m really bad at art. Naturally, I chose AP Art History for my art elective. As soon as I saw an option that didn’t require me to make art, I took it.  AP Art History covers 250 artworks from different civilizations spanning over 30,000 years. It’s a lot. One piece that I like is the Ambum Stone . I t’s from Papua New Guinea, made of hard lava rock, and was created circa 1500 BCE. It’s a pestle that was used for rituals that presumably aided fertility because it has a large, round belly.  Photo of the Ambum Stone from Wikipedia While the piece appears smooth, peaceful, and comfortable, the recent history behind it is the opposite. As I said, this piece is from Papua New Guinea; it reflects beliefs and styles of people from Papua New Guinea. Therefore, if you wanted to see the Ambum Stone, you would go to Australia. The Ambum Stone is in the National Gallery of Australia. It was found by 2 European boys in Papua New Guinea, who then sold it for 20 ...

Superstitions. People have mixed opinions about them. I am sure that, for some of you reading this, you may not believe in them. Others, like me, are strong believers in them.  The superstitions that I follow have been passed down through my family to me and my older brother, and they play a relatively big role in shaping my everyday life. There are too many for me to go into detail about here, but I would like to talk about two of my most impactful superstitions. For many of the Hindus reading this, you may know about the bad luck that comes with cutting your nails or hair past 6 PM . My family takes this belief to the next level, as we also do not cut them on Tuesdays or Fridays. You might think to yourself, “Oh, well, that can’t be that bad. Right? It’s just two days of the week.” I cannot tell you how infuriating it is to have overgrown nails on a Tuesday, or after 6 PM, with a whole afternoon of free time but still having to wait until the next day, when your whole schedule is...

Pranav—Week 3: You're a Good Man, Arthur Morgan                                 Arthur Morgan's Death. Image from Red Dead Wiki     Who are we when the person we want to be conflicts with the person the world expects us to be? We can spend years living by the expectations placed on us, even when they no longer reflect the person we want to become. What truly defines us is not where we come from, but the choices we make when given the chance to change. These expectations were embedded in the world of Arthur Morgan , from the video game Red Dead Redemption 2 . Arthur was a member of the Van Der Linde gang, and society expected him to be a ruthless, cold-blooded outlaw, when he just wanted to be a better person. Arthur started off as a typical Wild West outlaw, robbing, shooting, and travelling across the dusty landscapes of the American frontier. He never had a father, so h e looked up to the ...

I am taking sociology this year, and honestly, it’s already messing with my head.      We recently started discussing a concept that perfectly illustrates how language doesn’t just describe who we are, but truly creates it. What label did you wear in middle school? Source: Wikimedia Commons In sociology, there is a concept called Labeling Theory , which basically argues that people’s behavior is heavily influenced by the terms used to describe or classify them. It suggests that if society repeatedly attaches a specific word to you, you eventually internalize it and start acting out the expectations of that word. If you think about it, this is the ultimate collision of language and identity. A label is just a word, a random string of letters we invented, but society uses these words as rigid blueprints for our personalities. Think back to elementary or middle school. Were you labeled the “gifted kid,”, the “troublemaker”, the “class clown”, or the “quiet one”? Sociolog...

11th grade truly is a magical year in life.  I recently read an article that suggested that by the time you're 18, half of your perceived life is over. This is because our perception of time changes as we age, the early years of our life can take up a disproportionately large portion of our perceived lifetime. For instance, when you're 1 years old, one year is 100 percent of your life while when you're 35 years old, one year is only 2.86 percent of your life. Hence, it's scary to think about that at 18, your half way done with life. Of course, there are many other factors to take into account when calculating your perceived lifetime, but this study serves as a frightening reminder that life is short.  This is what makes 11th grade so special to me as when you're at the ripe age of 16-17, you somehow feel both young and old. You not only feel like an 81 year old man reminiscing about his memories, but also like an elementary student’s first summer vacation. Life goe...

     Trends, we all indulge them—in how we dress, where we go, what we eat, the music that fills our ears. As a society, we conform towards what’s accepted as normal and follow racing lines towards inclusion. We fear judgment that comes with divergence—with liking what others don’t, with disrupting the quiet consensus of our social circles. Born with the ability to ideate, we’re coerced into containment.       In the early 2010s, individuality in fashion and music rose to staggering heights. Every outfit worn and every song released felt genuinely expressive in a way that feels increasingly rare today. There was no “wrong” way to dress, no singular “right” music to listen to. Back then, more statement pieces were worn and the brands being put on would always certainly mean something sentimental to them or resonate with them . People would share music over apps like Grooveshark and listen to artists like Skrillex and Young Thug —now written off as to...

“Do you like your name?” My grandfather asked me this question randomly when I was 12. Hesitantly, I answered, “Yes.” "Miroua" is the name of a dessert. It’s a Jewish dessert of stewed quince (a really crunchy pear) in a spiced sugar syrup. My mother grew up eating it in India once a year. Miroua is derived from the Arabic word “ murabba ,” which means jam. As with any language, pronunciations change in different places over time. So murabba in the Middle East became Miroua in Kochi, India. Photo of murabba from Wikipedia Turns out, she really liked the way it sounded, so that’s where my name came from. It’s not even her favorite dessert, otherwise my name would be chocolate mousse cake. Now, while chocolate mousse cake wasn’t considered a viable option, Tilottama was. No offense to all the “Tilottamas” out there, but what do you mean of all the names to ever exist, it was either Miroua or Tilottama?  I’m just not a fan of the way it’s spelled or the way it sounds. To me, it’...

     (Popular Attack on Titan wallpaper from "wallpaper engine," an app on steam).   Pranav — Week 2: The Reality of Freedom      How does one achieve true freedom? Many individuals have asked this question countless times over the last few decades. Renowned author Hajime Isayama had the same question. On September 9, 2009, Isayama wrote a manga, later adapted into a television series, called Attack on Titan . This Manga revolved around Eren Yeager , a boy whose world began to crumble once these giant figures known as Titans began to wreak havoc in Yeager's village. Eren’s identity was further established through peers. The characters Mikasa Ackerman , Yeager's closest companion who stood by his side his whole life, and Armin Arlert , Yeager's best friend, further defined Eren as a person and helped establish his complex identity. When the Titans invaded Shiganshina, Eren, Mikasa, and Armin’s hometown, they wiped out 75% of the town, including thei...