![“[Building nerf blasters] became this outlet of creativity for me that hasn't been matched by anything else. The process [of] making a build complete to your desire is such a painstakingly difficult process, but I've had to learn from [the skills needed from] soldering to proper painting. There's so many different options for everything, if you think about it, it exists. The best part is [that] if it doesn't exist, you can build it yourself," Ishaan Parate said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/DSC_8149-900x604.jpg)
![“When I came into high school, I was ready to be a follower. But DECA was a game changer for me. It helped me overcome my fear of public speaking, and it's played such a major role in who I've become today. To be able to successfully lead a chapter of 150 students, an officer team and be one of the upperclassmen I once really admired is something I'm [really] proud of,” Anvitha Tummala ('21) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Screen-Shot-2021-07-25-at-9.50.05-AM-900x594.png)
![“I think getting up in the morning and having a sense of purpose [is exciting]. I think without a certain amount of drive, life is kind of obsolete and mundane, and I think having that every single day is what makes each day unique and kind of makes life exciting,” Neymika Jain (12) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Screen-Shot-2017-06-03-at-4.54.16-PM.png)
![“My slogan is ‘slow feet, don’t eat, and I’m hungry.’ You need to run fast to get where you are–you aren't going to get those championships if you aren't fast,” Angel Cervantes (12) said. “I want to do well in school on my tests and in track and win championships for my team. I live by that, [and] I can do that anywhere: in the classroom or on the field.”](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/DSC5146-900x601.jpg)
![“[Volleyball has] taught me how to fall correctly, and another thing it taught is that you don’t have to be the best at something to be good at it. If you just hit the ball in a smart way, then it still scores points and you’re good at it. You could be a background player and still make a much bigger impact on the team than you would think,” Anya Gert (’20) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/AnnaGert_JinTuan_HoHPhotoEdited-600x900.jpeg)
![“I'm not nearly there yet, but [my confidence has] definitely been getting better since I was pretty shy and timid coming into Harker my freshman year. I know that there's a lot of people that are really confident in what they do, and I really admire them. Everyone's so driven and that has really pushed me to kind of try to find my own place in high school and be more confident,” Alyssa Huang (’20) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/AlyssaHuang_EmilyChen_HoHPhoto-900x749.jpeg)
Scrolling down their Facebook newsfeed, students are greeted by statuses posted with a link to http://ask.fm/username. The site has become a growing trend and is popular especially among freshmen and sophomores.
Founded in 2010, Ask.fm is a social question and answer website that originated in Latvia. Users invite other users or nonusers to ask, read, or like questions, which can be received anonymously depending on the user’s preference. Ask.fm is similar to Formspring, another internet-based Q&A social website founded in 2009.
A number of freshmen and sophomores began joining and sharing their own Ask.fm’s on Facebook due to its increasing popularity among the underclassmen.
“I saw that everyone had one, and it seemed pretty cool and fun,” Sanil Rajput (9) said.
According to Dhanush Madabusi (9), Ask.fm is an entertaining experience.
”It was definitely enjoyable answering all those questions, coming up with witty responses,” he said.
Sophomore Christina Andrus, however, plans to delete her account because it is too time-consuming.
“I like getting questions, but I might delete it because it takes up a lot of my time and is distracting,” Christina said.
Although Ask.fm accounts are popular among the freshmen and a portion of the sophomore class, there is little participation from the juniors and seniors.
“Everyone I see using [Ask.fm] is underclassmen,” Molly Wolfe (12) said.
Junior Rohith Bhethanabotla, who is not a member of Ask.fm, believes that the scarcity of upperclassmen following the trend is due to its resemblance to Formspring.
“I feel like we had our time with Formspring a few years ago, and that phase died,” he said. “I’m not sure what the difference between Ask.fm and Formspring is, but I can say that as juniors we definitely had a Formspring craze in eighth and ninth grade but no longer.”
On the other hand, Kristen Park (9), an Ask.fm user, thinks that more students are joining Ask.fm because of the unpleasant experience that developed from the Formspring period.
“I think a lot of people experienced cyberbullying since anyone [could] ask anonymous questions. Let’s just hope that everyone has matured enough to enjoy [Ask.fm] unlike Formspring,” she said.
Likewise, Namitha Vellian (9) also wishes for her experience to remain free of intimidation.
“I just hope I don’t receive hate like I did a couple of years ago on Formspring,” she said.
Despite its resemblance to Formspring, many underclassmen continue to hop on the bandwagon and join Ask.fm.
