![“[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)
Book Blog hosted its third annual book swap on Thursday and Friday. The club displayed books outside Manzanita Hall at lunch and outside Nichols Hall after school.
Students and staff browsed a selection of over 40 titles sourced from previous years’ book swaps and Book Blog members’ own collections.
“Our goal is to encourage reading and get some books off the bookshelf,” Book Blog member Urvi Singhvi (10) said. “People can get rid of old books in a way that doesn’t create waste and benefits the community.”
Book Blog joined Cake Friday, a monthly tradition started by members of the administration to distribute cake on the last Friday of each month. Passerbyers could visit the book table after taking a slice of cake. Accordingly, Cake Friday distributors asked people to name their favorite book as they received their slices.
“We haven’t always paired up with Cake Friday, and it’s a relatively new tradition,” Book Blog member Tara Nemati (11) said. “But having Cake Friday with us definitely brings more foot traffic on the main day of the event.”
Book titles ranged from popular fantasy like Stephenie Meyer’s “Twilight” to political fiction like Harper Lee’s “Go Set a Watchman” to self-help like Simon Sinek’s “Leaders Eat Last.” Senior Alicia Ran visited book swap on Friday and traded her copy of “Yves Saint Laurent and Fashion Photography.”
“It was really nice to see other people enjoy the books that I got to enjoy,” Alicia said. “As soon as I put down my book, I saw the person next go, ‘Oh my god, that’s so cool,’ and I think that’s just the magic of the book swap.”
