In this post, I will be sharing with you a topic that I am rather passionate about and would like to share! I do hope you enjoy reading my blog! I would like to talk about the beautiful game Animal Crossing: New Horizons and how it has helped the players in this pandemic, especially me. New Horizons was released on March 20th, 2020. And I was super pumped up because I am long time Animal Crossing fan! I remember telling my eighth grade teacher about this game and we both discussed our excitement for the release. Of course, back at that time, everyone thought that there would not be an extension to our spring break just because of some virus being spread around... well boy were we wrong. I was rather shocked to say the least when we were told that we would not be returning to class for the rest of the school year, so I had to update my teacher about my animal crossing adventures through our online teams meetings. And when I think back to that time, I now wonder how animal crossing has made such a huge impact during this pandemic. I now question, how did this game help others during this strange time? With my brain filled with knowledge from my researching and my body high on Starbucks' Sweet Cream Cold Brew, I am ready to answer that question. To start, one of the game creators (Yatsuya Eguchi), has mentioned that this series was partially inspired by homesickness. And when playing, you can really see the aspects of "comfort of your own home" being placed in this game. The game itself is calm, easy and fun, I myself get homesick really easily but I received so much comfort from this game that it allows me to slow down and calms my anxiety. This could be a reason why millions of the games players has expressed their thanks to Nintendo because it gives them peace of mind, which is really what anyone wants during this mentally draining period....

A passion of mine is sneakers. In the following article that i read, i learned about how a Adidas is try make recyclable sneakers for commercial use which will be 100% biodegradable. All materials will be very stylish and will resemble running shoes. Even thought these shoes may be a little bit pricey, all materials will be recycled from the sneaker once worn out. This is a very good idea considering the fact that throwing away your shoes after wear is very bad for the environment and can be very harmful to animals and the Eco system. Adidas is still designing these models and they are set to release in the next 1-2 years, for about 160$. Adidas strives to make a good impression on the free market by using big words like, Eco-friendly, recyclable and was eliminating. There has even been rumors that Adidas is planning to make almost all of their shoes out of recyclable material in the next 2-4 years. This will take a lot of work to find materials that are non waste and that also give the consumer the same feel when sliding their foot in a pair of these amazing shoes. In my opinion, this is a pair i would buy personally just because i would really like to make a change in the world even if its small....

Alphonso Davies is my favourite soccer player. He is 20 years old and plays left-back. He was born on November 2, 2000, in Ghana's Buduburam refugee camp, which was created for Liberians fleeing civil war like his parents. His family moved to Edmonton when Alphonso was 5. His parents were hard workers, and he was taking care of his younger siblings at the age of 10. Alphonso felt like he belonged on the soccer field. He started playing at Free Footie in Edmonton, a league for elementary schoolers whose families cannot afford recreational sport. He played soccer at St. Nicholas Soccer Academy and for the Edmonton Strikers youth club before enrolling in the residency program of the Vancouver Whitecaps, one of Canada's top-flight teams, at 14. After convincing his parents to let him leave, he moved to Vancouver. Alphonso Davies made his Major League Soccer debut for the Whitecaps at 15, and in 2017 making him the youngest player to appear for the Canadian men's team. At 17, he signed with one of the world's best teams, Bayern Munich. This deal paid the Whitecaps at least $13.5 million in transfer fees, a record-setting deal for an MLS player at the time. Bayern Munich is considered the most powerful soccer team by many people. Bayern Munich is the winner of the 2020 champions league season. Soccer fans have already done the math. Davies will be just 25 years old, in his prime, when the world cup comes here in 2026. Davies is one of the handful of young stars in Canada. He was recently put in the dream team of 2020 by Champions League. He tops out at 36.51km/h making him the fastest player in the Bundesliga....

Taekwondo is a sport i've been doing for about a while now. It's a type of martial arts that has been created 2000 years ago and is used for safety. In Taekwondo we have rules and regulations where you'd have to stick to your word or else a lot can happen. If you do not follow those rules and regulations you will be kicked out permanently, could be reported to the police for usage of weapons and you could be put at charge or even could go to jail. You should not be using any sort of those techniques outside of the Taekwondo gym unless you are in a dangerous situation and in need of, otherwise it should not be used anywhere. In Taekwondo a starting belt is white and a very advanced one is black. Black belts take years to achieve. It takes more than 6 years to achieve a black belt and once you are a black belt, then comes in the "Degrees". If you are doing bad in school, it will affect your Taekwondo class, because it is apart of the rules, to get good grades. Some other rules are to respect your parents, teachers, and family. A representative to me who impacted me is Elizabeth Evans. I recently learned about her and she is one of the toughest competitors in Taekwondo. How is she a representitor? She represents us woman. How? She stands for woman and goes on about how woman are strong and how she advises that Taekwondo can change a womans life and how us woman need to know how to protect ourselves. I do agree with her because in society us woman are very judged and we are a target and it is very sad but Taekwondo gives you that confidence and you feel safe once you know how to protect yourself. In Taekwondo, demonstrations are done, many attacks are shown and you learn how to react to them and what to do. I advise you to join Taekwondo as it can change your life!...

One of my passions is farming, I know it sounds a little weird, but I'm a little weird too. Ever since I was in grade 2 or 3, I have wanted to be a farmer, and be in the military, like I said, I am a weird kid. Farming is special to me because I have grown up with a garden in the back, and my mom always coming up with ways to fit more plants in our backyard, and me helping her. There is something special about eating only food you have grown, and being completely self sufficient in that kind of way, I don't think you can get that with anything else. And watching something grow, that you planted, and then getting to pick it and eat it, it will always taste better then if someone else planted it, your hard work finally pays off. I am passionate about organic farming, farming without the complications and extra chemicals cluttering it up. Food wasn't originally made with these chemicals, so why d we add them? The answer is complicated. First we have to understand what are pesticides, and what makes something GMO. something categorized as GMO, contains Genetically Modified Organisms, what that means is scientists can change the DNA makeup of a certain organism, giving it benefits from other organisms to help it do better in its environment, kind of like giving it superpowers, but its not all good. Changing how something is made is complicated, its not always going to go right, when you add something from another plant to the plant you are trying to improve, making it bigger, prettier, look more perfect, hardier, etc.. Those new added parts can contain allergens that people wouldn't think would be in it, making it difficult for people to find what they can and cannot eat. So after improving the DNA of lets say, corn, now the seed is changed, but its still not good enough. Next they add insecticides and pesticides to help it grow without having to worry about insects and pest destroying your crop. But these chemicals are used to kill of the pests, they weren't made to be eaten by humans, that not their purpose. Having the chemicals sprayed on the food, put into the soil and however else they can put it in, the plant is now covered in chemicals that have the potential to be hazardous. In addition to all this, the water that goes through the soil is now contaminated by the chemicals, spreading the pesticides to places that they aren't supposed to be, lakes, rivers, water supplies, other peoples soils. You just cant contain it anymore. But if you think of it from a large scale farmer, they have to produce lots of food, all the time, they grow large quantities of the same thing. On farmer might grow only potatoes, one might grow only peaches. There is another problem with this other them the GMO problem. Have you ever seen a rainforest with only one kind of tree, and regulated animals going in and out? The answer is no, everything in the environment works together, that why its such a big deal when one species goes extinct, everything suffers. picture it like everything is a gear, they are all connected, turn one and everyone turns. that like an eco system. there is variety. You need that in order for an eco system to flourish, you need things that have deep roots, shallow roots, medium roots so that each part goes to different parts of the soil. You need things that help with everything, because every plant does and helps with something different. When you have biodiversity you have lots of insects, organisms, the things you cant see, all of these things aren't there when you only grow one crop, it exhausts the soil, and nothing goes back into the earth, then they add more chemicals because their crop isn't growing as fast as it used to and it becomes cycle that's hard to break, it takes years to do, lots of money and patience and time, and these large crop farmers don't have the time or want to do it. why should they? Life is going well for them in the moment, as long as they meet the supply demands, why does it matter? Just to sum all this up because its pretty long, there are a ton of different reasons why farmers use pesticides and insecticides, and Genetically Modified Organisms. But most of them connect back to time, convenience, and money. Why work harder when you can work smarter? But for how long is that working smarter? And for how much longer can the earth take it? It seems not that long, and we need to break the cycle....

Art is one of my biggest passions, including drawing. I’ve always had a talent for drawing and the arts have interested me my entire life. The article I read explained the different techniques of drawing that are used by professional artists. The first paragraph describes the importance of freehand drawing. Freehand drawing is essential for all types of art, each time I begin a new project, a create a light sketch or draft of my plans, I'd say it’s a necessary step.  Often, the free-handed sketch may look terrible but one thing I’ve learned from years of experience is that we have to trust the process because usually, the result is worth it....