On this Wednesday, I replaced the burned-out driver's side headlight on my car, continuing my enjoyment of fixing my own things and making my car truly mine (L.O. 1, L.O. 4). This is part of a longer pattern I've built up of handling my own basic maintenance rather than defaulting to a shop, and each job adds another piece to my mental model of how the car actually works as a system (L.O. 1). The main challenge was that on my car, the headlight assembly is notoriously overtightened from the factory, so removing the old lamp required far more torque than expected and took considerably longer than it should have (L.O. 2). I had to stop, look up what other owners had done in the same situation, and work out an approach that wouldn't strip the bolt or crack the housing, which forced me to slow down and think about the problem properly rather than just pushing harder (L.O. 1, L.O. 2). Getting it done was satisfying not just because the light works again, but because the version of me from a year ago would have given up and taken it to a mechanic, and being able to push past that initial frustration is the kind of incremental growth I'm tracking with these activities (L.O. 1, L.O. 4). It also reinforced how much of car ownership is really about patience and willingness to look things up, not raw mechanical talent (L.O. 1).

On this Monday after school, my girlfriend and I took her dogs out for a walk and got ice cream afterward (L.O. 4, L.O. 5). The weather was so perfect for early March, and after months of cold and dry temperatures, getting outside in actually decent spring weather was a welcome change (L.O. 4). What I didn't expect going in was how much I needed this kind of time after the past few weeks of schoolwork. Even something as simple as walking the dogs was a great (L.O. 4). Working together to manage the two dogs and coordinating where to stop is the kind of low-stakes practice in working with someone else that makes the bigger collaborations easier (L.O. 5). 

On this Friday, I went skiing with my classmates at Montage Mountain in Scranton (L.O. 3, L.O. 5). Montage was a mountain I hadn't been to before, so getting used to the slopes and runs was an adjustment, both in terms of the layout and the snow conditions, which were noticeably icier than what I'm used to (L.O. 1, L.O. 2). They also had us take a ski lesson, which gave me the chance to build technique and skills more deliberately than just free skiing would have (L.O. 1, L.O. 2). The instructor pointed out a few things about my form, particularly how I was leaning back rather than forward into my turns, that I would never have caught on my own, and being open to that feedback rather than just defending what I already do is something I'm working on more generally (L.O. 1). Going with classmates also made the experience what it was, since we pushed each other to try harder runs and stayed out longer than I probably would have on my own (L.O. 5).

Despite the severity of today's snowstorm, I drove out to pick up ingredients, which was probably the most demanding winter driving I've done, as the snow was freshly layered, and unplowed roads and low visibility required a level of attention that more routine snow driving doesn't (L.O. 1, L.O. 2, L.O. 4). I had to adjust my speed and following distance constantly, anticipate that other drivers would handle conditions worse than I would, and trust the car's traction without over-correcting, all of which I've read about but had never really had to apply at the same time (L.O. 1, L.O. 2). What surprised me was how much mental fatigue this kind of driving creates compared to the same trip in clear weather, and getting home without anything happening felt like a real accomplishment rather than just a routine errand (L.O. 1). Once I was back, I used the ingredients to help make a bolognese from scratch, which was a good way to make use of the snow day (L.O. 1).

On this Sunday, I took a day trip to New York City (L.O. 3). I drove there, which was good practice navigating highway and city-adjacent driving, including the usual traffic heading into the metro area (L.O. 1, L.O. 2). Once in the city, I used the subway to get around, including checking out the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree and the Macy's at Herald Square, navigating the transit map to move between different parts of Manhattan efficiently (L.O. 1, L.O. 2, L.O. 3).

On this school half day, a few other IB students and I decided to go to the Franklin Institute (L.O. 3). After stopping at Panera to get food, we walked over to the museum and explored its various exhibits (L.O. 4). Notably, spent quite a bit of time in the physics exhibit, Sir Isaac's Loft, improving upon my physics knowledge with fun and interactive demonstrations (L.O. 1, L.O. 5). We continued exploring the museum until around 4 PM, when we all went home, and we are now looking forward to another outing (L.O. 3). 

On this random Saturday, I made the whimsical decision to visit Lancaster (L.O. 3). I hopped in the car with my sister and drove 2 hours westward on I-76. After dealing with the expected and storied I-76 traffic until the King of Prussia interchange, where 76 becomes designated as the PA Turnpike, we casually cruised and after $6-7 in tolls, exited at U.S. 222, going southbound to downtown Lancaster (L.O. 1, L.O. 2 - driving skills), where we stopped to eat at a Greek restaurant and walk around the charming downtown. Following our meal, we looked around and found a farm about 10 minutes away, where we stopped and bought milk, which we had to pasteurize ourselves upon getting home (L.O. 1, L.O. 2 - Knowledge of Biology), and enjoyed the relaxing atmosphere. Once the sun set, we began our return on the storied Philadelphia Pike, passing horses-and-buggies on our right, then taking U.S. 30, once part of the old and important Lincoln Highway (L.O. 1 - Knowledge and Application of History), eventually exiting onto U.S. 202 instead to make a quick stop at the mall, before finally returning home almost 12 hours later. 

On the Monday of this 4-day school weekend, I decided to go for a quick morning jog. After a strange and stressful turn of events over the weekend, as well as a day of important meetings ahead, this run was necessary. I go on runs frequently, both for my physical and mental well-being, and this continues my regular series of runs (L.O. 4). The fresh cool autumn breeze was just what I needed on a morning like this, and after a quick run until right before the trail curved, I returned home and prepared for the rest of my day.

Woke up on Monday morning, thinking that I had overslept and was late to school. Turns out, school was closed today, and I decided to continue my walk from yesterday, further exploring the newly discovered trail and making my way to the stables as I had planned (L.O. 3, L.O. 4). Using my newfound knowledge, I went to the stables and stayed with the horses. As much as I wanted to take one for a ride, I didn't have the time to, and I wasn't sure who to ask, but petting the horses and being around them was still very fun!

I woke up bored and full of energy on this Sunday morning, and decided to go for another walk in Pennypack Park (L.O. 4). During this walk, I decided to explore other trails, and ultimately found a path that allowed me to get back to where I started by going in a circle, rather than going backwards. While this was a nice discovery, I did accidentally get lost in somebody's backyard while trying to stay on the trail, and ran into a few fallen trees (L.O. 2). Additionally, I found another trail which led to the stables, but decided not to pursue it now and note it down for the future, which ended up being the following day (L.O. 3, L.O. 4).

After participating in Central's annual 5K, then using my afternoon to work on my Chemistry IA in the poorly ventilated lab, I was exhausted and decided to go out for fresh air. As always, I went out to Pennypack Park, this time joined by my sister, and we went on a brief walk (L.O. 4, L.O. 5). Although our walk was rather brief, we tried a new unpavaed trail, as well as back trail to get back home, which required climbing a steep unpaved hill, but was ultimately rewarding as it allowed us to exit the park closer to our destination, and get more work in by climbing (L.O. 1, L.O. 2).

After getting home from school on this long Monday, I decided to go out for some fresh air. I decided to go out to Pennypack Park, which I am familiar with and already take walks on, but rather than focus on walking, I decided to focus on taking in the nature around me (L.O. 4). Even just in the section of the park near the entrance that I typically use, it was really interesting to notice and pay attention to the habitat there, as well as infrastructure. Looking at weathered bridges that have been there for possibly centuries, and seeing the higher water level after the rain earlier that day and week sparked my curiosity as to how this is symbolic of larger issues of old infrastructure and global warming (L.O. 1, L.O. 5).

I was bored on this Sunday morning, and decided to go for a walk on the Pennypack Park trail. I do this pretty regularly, and as the weather starts to get nicer, I will be doing it even more frequently (L.O. 4). The walk itself was very relaxing, and while I mainly stayed on the main paved trail that I am all too familiar with, it was good exercise, as well as endurance and speed training, walking from the entrance on Winchester Avenue to under the Holme Avenue Bridge, and back (L.O. 1, L.O. 4).

After a friend returned from their trip, we decided to go out one night. After getting dinner, we walked around and looked for other things to do. We didn't plan to go ice skating, but we walked by the City Hall Ice Rink and decided to give it a go. I had only recently learned how to ice skate a few weeks prior, and wanted to work on my skills (L.O. 1, L.O. 4), and my friend was interested in learning how to ice skate. It took me a few minutes to get the hang of it again, but after that, I proceeded to spend about half an hour or so teaching them how to skate forward, and then how to turn, and they picked it up pretty quickly (L.O. 2, L.O. 4). We stayed on the ice for a few hours, way beyond the time period allowed by our tickets--though they didn't seem to mind--and continued working on our skills while having fun (L.O. 4).

Following a long and interesting day, I was bored and decided to go for a walk in the park near my house. I tend to go out for a hike in the park around once a week (L.O. 4) as it is a nice way to relax and also good regular training for my longer hikes (L.O. 1, L.O. 4). It was very cold--it had been below freezing for the past week or so, and it had only just gotten barely above freezing, making it just bearable enough for this walk. It was a nice, solo walk where I took my time to immerse myself in the nature around me, think, as well as explore the frozen creek with multiple centimeter thick ice. 

Following the first full school week after winter break, I needed to decompress. I decided to go out on a walk in Pennypack Park, and decided that I needed more adventure. I regularly go for walks in the park because it's convenient for me, it's good exercise, training for endurance in longer walks, and it's a nice way to relax (L.O. 1, L.O. 4). This time, I decided to go follow an uncharted dirt (well, snowy) desire trail for more adventure. I didn't know where I was going, and how to get back home once I did follow it, but I certainly had more fun on the walk, and navigating home using the compass on my phone and a very rough GPS location due to interference from the trees was a fun challenge (L.O. 1, L.O. 2).

One random winter weekend, my sister and I decided to go to New York City. I looked into the train timetables and tickets, and made a plan of what things to see and do (L.O. 3). We executed this plan on Sunday, arriving at the World Trade Center PATH train station. After exploring the Oculus, we took the subway to SoHo and went shopping, and then walked to the West Village, according to plan. We then took the subway to midtown, exploring Herald Square, Grand Central Terminal, but the restaurant that we planned to go to was full and had a multi-hour long line, which we didn't want to wait. Instead, my sister and I found a nice restaurant in the Upper East Side and decided to go there instead (L.O. 2, L.O. 5). After that, we got ice cream (even though it was below freezing) and started our return home. Penn Station was packed, and as a result of a last minute track change and issues with my electronic ticket, we almost missed our train, but we made it back home just as planned (L.O. 2, L.O. 3)!