![“[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)
Valentine’s Day. That excessively red and pink heart-filled day of the year which brings angst and worry to almost every high school boy who has a special someone in his life. The pressure to shower girlfriends with creative gifts and do something different can be even greater than the pressure to win the first Homecoming game on Davis Field.
On this “day of love,” girls have exceedingly high expectations of all boys, not only boyfriends, and the best that we can do is to meet them, but more often fall far short of the mark. No matter how hard we try on this day, we seem almost destined to fail.
Often, enough is not enough. And that message is relayed by the girlfriend’s best friend. It seems that our hearts (and wallets) are not big enough on this day. The box of chocolates is not big enough, the flowers are not fresh enough, or the message in the card is not sentimental enough.
However, on Valentine’s Day, some of us even seem to be gullible enough to believe it when our girlfriends say, “I don’t want anything.” What is this double speak, and where can I buy a decoder?
Luckily for us guys, there are no more hours on Valentine’s Day than any other day of the year. When it’s over, girlfriends return to their normal semi-high expectations of us.
My advice to the other guys on Valentine’s Day: Whatever you’re planning to do for your “special someone,” multiply it by ten, and even that may not be enough. Either that or find the decoder. And if you do, please let the rest of us know.
