![“[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)
Kick Back with Kushal: Underdogs once more
February 5, 2021
Boy, oh boy, has it been an interesting first 20 games for the Golden State Warriors. After two absolute thrashings in the Warriors’ opening games against the Brooklyn Nets and the Milwaukee Bucks, basketball fans diagnosed the Warriors with terminal Grade A suckiness and predicted at least another year before the Dubs returned to true playoff contender status.
Well. It certainly doesn’t look like that’s the case any longer. Sure, we may not be first, or second, or even third, but we don’t need to be – in order for us to be a contender we need to continue to sit at least the eighth seed which will be enough for us to squeak into the playoffs. Now, that’s not to say that we’re going to win the championship this year, much less even get to the Finals, but it shows that even when we’re searching for our identity as a team, we are strong enough to go toe-to-toe with some of the league’s best teams.
Which teams, you ask? Good question. Just a few weeks ago, we defeated the reigning champions – the Los Angeles Lakers, and even before that we defeated their counterpart from Los Angeles – the LA Clippers. But, honestly, that’s not even the most noteworthy ability of our Golden State Warriors.
You see, we didn’t just beat two of the arguably best teams. We came back, despite us being down deep in double digits. Let’s start with the Clippers game. Down by 21 points in the third quarter, our team simply refused to let up and stop fighting. Everybody pitched in – and I literally mean everybody, from the guys in our second unit who kept us in the game and trimmed the Clipper’s lead to our Steph Curry-led starting lineup. In the end, our efforts paid off with a 10 point victory.
It was the same story against the Lakers – we were down 19 points, but the Dubs clawed their way back in the fourth quarter, rallying behind the unselfish leadership of Steph Curry to overcome the deficit and win by two.
Ultimately, I guess what I’m trying to say is – even though we may not be the best team in the league anymore, we’re once again the underdogs and we will scratch and claw for each win if we have to, and hopefully in the end (maybe not this year, but definitely next year!), we’ll be back right where we left off in the Finals three years ago, with Steph hoisting up another Larry O’Brien trophy.
