![“[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)
New fitness apps for summer
Moves, Argus, and Human are apps that can help users keep fit in the summer. They have features which allow users to track various aspects of their activity.
As summer approaches, it is important to continue to stay active. A great way to do this is by using fitness applications, which can track the time, distance, and other aspects of exercising.
Sarah Baz (9) finds fitness apps especially helpful to keep track of activity.
“I think they are good for people who do sports or are trying to get healthier,” she said.
Here are three new fitness apps, which are sure to help with staying fit.
Moves:
Moves, which was acquired by Facebook in late April, is an app that tracks a user’s activities throughout the day whether they are running, walking, or, cycling. At the same time, the app creates a timeline of the user’s day showing when they walked, ran, or cycled, where they were, and what time it was. The app also tracks the amount of calories a user burns based on information that the user enters about themselves and how much they exercised.
Monica Thukral (12) describes how she would use the app.
“I would totally use Moves because I have a dog and I take her for walks, so I would be able to track how many steps I take,” she said.
Human:
Human is a design-focused, simpler app in this category, with the main goal of encouraging users to move for 30 – 90 minutes each day, specifically focusing on the ‘Daily 30.’
Rachel Cheng (9) talked about how she believes the app is beneficial.
“That seems pretty cool, maybe that would be a good idea so that people can be more fit,” she said.
The app can track duration, distance, average speed, and top speed of the activity, and allows users to share this information via social media.
Argus:
Argus is a more complex app than the previous two, with a variety of features to help users manage their health completely. The app tracks daily steps and calories along with mapping the activity, creates a food diary of a user’s meals, monitors sleep cycles, and includes a heart rate monitor.
The app attempts to take the place of a fitness wearable by providing the user with its wide variety of features.
Shivani Gohil (10) talks about why she would consider using Argus.
“That’s so cool. I think those are so useful,” she said. “I would totally download it.”
Although many students enjoy using technology to help keep fit, some prefer to not to utilize it.
“I don’t use technology that much, I kind of go old school and just exercise,” Jordan Goheen (9) said.
Other fitness apps include Fitbit, Runkeeper, and many more featured on the app store.
Alexis Gauba is a reporter for The Winged Post. She is a freshman, and it is her first year on the staff. Alexis is on the varsity girls golf team and...