![“[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)
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![“[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)
Chinese New Year spirit event takes place
The seniors and sophomores perform their routine during Wednesday lunch’s activity. Each grade made paper dragons and choreographed a dance for the judges. With students and teachers watching on the sides of the walkways in front of Manzanita Hall, the performances were a great way to celebrate Chinese New Year.
As part of a class competition, students made a paper dragon and then choreographed a dance routine to present to the judges on Wednesday during long lunch to honor the upcoming Chinese New Year.
They had thirty minutes to construct a unique design with paper and cardboard and less than five minutes to display it. The Chinese National Honors Society thought it appropriate to spread awareness with the holiday a mere two days from Wednesday.
Officially the first day of the Chinese calendar, this tradition has endured for many centuries and has many myths associated with it. The festival was originally supposed to be a veneration of Chinese religious figures and ancestors. Today, it has permeated across the globe; even nations that do not have a Chinese majority recognize the festival.
Students are especially fond of the red envelopes they receive during the festival.
“I like getting money in red envelopes,” Kevin Zhang (11) said in regards to the money he receives from elders. “I enjoy celebrating Chinese New Year because it is a chance for me to connect with my parent’s friends and relatives in China.”
In addition to fostering an opportunity to spend time with family and friends, the Chinese New Year is known for its food.
“Chinese new year is really predicated on the family and food is usually a large part of celebrations,” Allen Huang (11) said. “So dinner is very special on chinese new year filled with treats like sticky rice and fish and dumplings.”
These Chinese specialties prepared for the festival each have their own significance. For example, feasting on fish supposedly brings wealth, as the sound of the Chinese word for the food, “yu,” resembles that of the word for prosperity. Similarly, for noodle-lovers, the longer the noodle, the greater one’s longevity.
Allen added that another distinguishing feature of Chinese New Year is the color red; adorning this color is symbolic in Chinese tradition for warding off all evils and bad spirits.
As an added bonus, students enrolled in the Mandarin classes were offered extra credit if they participated in the festivities; with spirit club also helping, the Chinese New Year activity tried to encompass as many students as possible.
Many, regardless of whether they possess Chinese background or not, are highly anticipating the event this Friday.
“I think the holiday and recognizing it is an important part of the multicultural society we pride ourselves on maintaining at Harker,” Vikas Bhetanabhotla (12) said.
Various celebrations for the festival are being all over the Bay Area, in popular locations such as San Francisco’s Chinatown, and are expected to gather massive crowds on Friday.
Vedant Thyagaraj is the Science & Technology Editor for Harker Aquila. He is currently a senior and has been on staff for the past three years. Vedant...