The phenomenon of people within online gaming forums discarding the commonly accepted social norms of civil discourse and actions and its effect on real-life social interaction. This is a very interesting quote, but mainly very relevant in the 21st century where technology continues to grow and grow with every year that passes and new pieces of technology are released. I don't believe that this phenomenon actually has any effect on real-life social interaction since it is typically only centered around one area; the internet. This happens all over the internet, and while many will speak out about it, there are most likely many more that will internalize the incident, and not share it with others around them. It's a strange thing, how people can suddenly turn into another person when given the anonymity that the internet provides. It's why I don't believe that this issue has any effect on real-life social interaction; when interacting in real life, I think it's hard to really completely hide your initial reactions to things and the person you really are, since it may slip out suddenly. But on the internet, there is a veil of anonymity. You can become anyone you want, can choose whatever mask you want to wear, and go out interacting with others. It's possible to be either the vilest person someone has ever encountered during their time on the vast internet, or be the sweetest and make someone's day. I believe this phenomenon tends to happen within online gaming forms, because of the rush that certain games can cause a person to feel - especially ones with action and strategy. While playing the game, the player can get really into the mechanics and gameplay, trying to make sure they survive and quickly thinking of ways to progress, it gets the adrenaline pumping. While on that adrenaline high, it's possible that some people - if they end up ultimately losing - will lash out at others through forms. But, I don't believe that it's only games; simple discussions on online gaming forms can get out of hand too, especially when it comes to characters and lore. Some people will believe a theory they've found or something they thought of themselves, so solidly that they just won't allow another person's opinion to null whatever theory they had. While I personally don't have any experience in these vile gaming forum discussions, I have read stories shared by others on social media platforms that I follow, and - sadly - this phenomenon isn't only limited to gaming. It happens on many other forums, and on many other platforms around the internet. It's sad and infuriating when people are pushed out of fandoms, places that are supposed to be a safe space for people with a collective interest in something to come together and gush over how amazing their interest is or theorize something together - all because people just forget that these things aren't real.

I'd say that I've grown a lot over the past two years, starting near when Covid became a larger threat, and we were all told to quarantine ourselves for our protection. My growth really started during a typical quarantine day when I decided, bored out of my mind and have been feeling a little numb for weeks, that I was going to watch a BTS music video. I was scrolling on youtube, searching for something to watch as it'd become my new fixture during quarantine where everything I usually did suddenly became mind-numbingly boring, and one of their videos popped up on my dashboard. I thought of my cousin, and the countless other people around the world that are always singing their praises, and decided to watch the video. The song was titled 'Black Swan,' and it was a song that really ended up speaking to me. It was a weird feeling, watching this video, listening to the music, reading the lyrics, and feeling as though I'd suddenly been seen. Feeling as though these emotions I've had have suddenly been recognized by another person and put into proper words. But that was only the beginning; then I read an article that'd recently been posted about them, and I was hooked. I was officially a BTS stan, an ARMY, and I started watching more and more videos about them, trying to understand them, and how they started, and learning more about each member as I went along. As I did, I kept coming across this phrase and belief they always try to push; Love Yourself. I've always struggled with accepting myself for who I am, for how I look, ever since middle school really. I would always portray that I was fine, but inside I really wasn't. It's something a lot of people wouldn't understand, my mother didn't understand when I told her, since a lot of people have no problem with loving and accepting themselves - but there are people out there who struggle with that, for whatever personal reason that may be. But, as I continued to learn more about BTS, and think really hard about myself and properly process my feelings, after a while, I grew to love and accept myself. Sometimes, I find myself wishing that I'd found BTS sooner, that I'd been more curious and interested in them whenever my cousin texted me ranting on about one of the members. But then I'll remember something another BTS fan said, something along the lines of 'you don't find BTS; they find you. you find them when you need them.' And then I think, that yes, I really did need them then, during quarantine where I could feel myself slipping into some place dark. And now, here I am. I've grown; I live more in the present, I try not to overthink every little thing I do (although sometimes that still happens, I manage to catch myself most of the time), I try to be more spontaneous, to not analyze every passing thought I have, to write down my most intense feelings instead of bottling them up. I love myself, and in loving myself I accept the things that I don't love about myself and try to change them for myself. I've learned that it's hard to accept yourself, the good things, but especially the bad things - but I have to keep reminding myself that I'm not perfect. I'm human, I have flaws, and I make mistakes. I just need to work towards bettering myself and not repeating those mistakes.

I am a recent high school graduate, and my hope is to be able to attend a four-year college in Maryland at the end of my gap year. I specifically really want to attend McDaniel College, a college in Westminster that I've really grown interested in attending ever since my first visit there, and the visit from an admissions counselor at my high school. I'm aiming to obtain my Bachelor's degree, although I don't completely know exactly what I want to study yet - maybe something in the STEM field, or Psychology. I have always wanted to attend college because I believe from my experience with high school that college is something for me and that I will do well there. Additionally, my mother has always wanted me to attend, as she wasn't able to fully attend college because life took her elsewhere and she was never able to return. So I want to do it for myself mainly, but also for my mother. To be truthful, I have a very poor memory, so if I have faced any obstacle in my life, I don't completely remember it. But, on the note of poor memory, it is something that has always been with me. An obstacle I've had to learn to cope with and understand how to beat. Forgetting is something that has always scared and annoyed me. Scared me because I don't want to forget everything I've done in my life, I want to remember what I did yesterday, the fun I had a week ago with my friends. And annoys me because, when learning in the classroom, I constantly need to reread everything, to really make it stick to my brain, or else it'll just fall off and I'll never get it back again. It annoys me whenever I have an idea for something, but then I forget it before I can get it down. It took me until my senior year of high school to realize I'm a visual learner, that I can really completely understand or envision something unless I see a proper image of it for myself. My memory is something I have always struggled with. In school, it was my biggest obstacle, until I learned what I needed to do in order to overcome it.