Well..It's been a LONG time since I posted here. Might as well post now, since senior year is almost over.
It's been a long four years, since I was a freshman going to high school. Long, but fun. I remember going into school saying, "I'm definitely going to do math team and quiz bowl. I might skip Accel Bio, and blah blah blah." Of course, the one thing missing from that sentence is Science Olympiad, which arguably is my favorite activity now. Heck, it's not even an activity, it's a way of life.
Back in freshman year, I didn't even think about doing Science Olympiad. I had horrible experiences in 6th grade, with a failed team, and I didn't even want to consider doing SO MUCH SCIENCE. Plus, I hated science. I was a math person.
Reluctantly, I joined since "ALL MY FRIENDS" were doing it. My first event ever was Junkyard Challenge. My friend and I calibrated a scale to measure the mass of an object, and we had the whole thing correct...until the actual competition, when we measure from the wrong object. So we could have gotten 1st. We ended up 5th. I think I also competed in something else that meet, but I'm not too sure. I think it was just Junkyard Challenge. I'll have to go through the events sometime and make sure...Yeah, I just checked. I only did Junkyard at Boyceville. Then I went into Regionals doing Picture This, which we epically failed at. I think we got 8th, or somewhere around that. Needless to say, I wasn't on the state team. So for that year, I did absolutely no studying events. In fact, I don't remember ever spending time on Science Olympiad freshman year.
Sophomore year was a whole different story. At Boyceville, I think I participated in 3 events? Mission Possible, Forensics...and I think that was it. Yeah, MP and Forensics...and Fermi. Mission Possible had a special place in my heart. After the experience of Freshman year, I wanted to do building events. For some inexplicable reason, I thought building a Rube Goldberg machine made the most sense. Not a mousetrap vehicle, or a tower. A Rube Goldberg machine. I was insane. But at least I had two other friends with me. I don't know how many hours we spent on MP, but it was like work. We usually met four times a week, and would work around four hours, just figuring out how to make something like an electromagnet work. We would have music in the background, like Michael Jackson, or dance music. It was also my first experience with k-pop. I saw Super Junior for the first time. At that point, I thought it was hilarious. Now, I think it's amazing. But, that's going off topic.
So Sophomore year, I wanted to do Forensics as well. No clue why I wanted to do it, but I did. I think it might have been the crime solving aspect of it. Dunno if for sure though. I went into Boyceville more ready than last year, and I still outright failed. I think I got 6th in MP, which was the highest in MV, not bad. Forensics I bombed with 22nd place. So, finally, after the Regional meet, we learned that a majority of the seniors and juniors were going on the band or orchestra trip, which was conveniently on the day of state. Whoopdeedoo. So, I get put on the state team. And at this point, I'm fairly mediocre. I don't recall winning a single medal that year. But I get put on the team, since we're the only "fairly successful" MP team there is. "Fairly successful" meaning like 5th place was the highest place we ever got. AND to top it off, I get put in this event called Remote Sensing? I had never heard of Remote Sensing before. Luckily, we get some old notes from some friends, and hope we do ok. Also, sophomore year is when I meet this freshman who is crazy about Science Olympiad (I won't mention his name here, but if you know him, then you'll know who I'm talking about.) We basically strike up a friendship via this activity, and he basically changes my life.
Back at the state tourney, we're just failing left and right. I have no clue what to do in Forensics, Mission Possible fails like four times, and in Remote Sensing, we're facing off against arguably the three smartest high schoolers in the state. Needless to say, I'm not confident. And I find myself to be right. We finish terribly in MP, Forensics, and 3RD IN REMOTE SENSING?!?!? That was the beginning of a very fruitful relationship.
Junior year, we bossed. I took up around 5 events, and again spent a TON of time on MP. I win 3 medals at state, all gold, and then at Nationals, I get 6th in Remote Sensing, and we have a perfect MP run, and finish 20th. Overall, the team finishes 15th, the highest ever for Mounds View, and for Minnesota in a decade. Amazing.
Senior year. So, we go into senior year knowing we have a giant target on our backs. We are destined to win the state championship and boss at Nationals. So, at the first meet, Boyceville, our collective four teams DESTROY the competition. We get fourth, which is pretty good for not stacking our teams. At River Falls, we are amazing. We finish first over Menomenie, who beat us at Boyceville, and Nationals last year. Needless to say, we're at a huge high. I'm doing well individually as well, getting three gold medals at River Falls. and a 3rd in Fermi. At Regionals, I do ok, getting a gold in Remote Sensing, and 2 thirds. At State, we crush the competition. We tie the record for lowest team score at state, and we beat the competition by over 80 points. I do suffer personally, with only a 4th place medal in Forensics--and an 7th place in Remote Sensing, the worst I had ever done in that event. Come Nationals, we work our butts off. I don't believe I had ever studied that much for an event, but I did. We created a new Thermo box, and I actually read a textbook for Chem Lab, as well as watched plenty of videos. Basically, I feel the most prepared for a competition that I've ever had. Now, Nationals was at Orlando, and while Orlando was nice, the venue was pretty meh. The dorms were ok, and the Opening Ceremony was pretty lame, with exception to the speeches, which were pretty good when compared to last year at Madison (NEVER EVER TALK ABOUT MANUFACTURING). But on competition day, we just tanked. Everything didn't feel right. Tests were either too easy, or too hard. Building events just broke down, and in general, everyone didn't feel good. During the awards ceremony, we only get one medal. I didn't win it either. I only managed an 11th in Remote Sensing, and I absolutely bombed Write It/Do It, with a 46th. Surprisingly, I got 22nd in Forensics, which was a lot better than I expected. But as a team, we finished 22nd, which was terrible in comparison to the year previous. A lame ending to a fun career.
When I look back, junior year may have been the most successful, but senior year was definitely the most fun. I spent so much time on Science Olympiad, and while it may not have paid off in the end, I hung out with some of the most amazing people ever. The friendships I made in Science Olympiad definitely impacted my life, whether they were with people across the country, or with my friends at Mounds View. I've never been so involved as a non-leader in a leadership position, and while I didn't score medally as I would have liked, I have become so involved in my events. In Thermodynamics, I actually helped when I wasn't part of the event. Same with Gravity Vehicle. In Remote Sensing, I actually look up news about satellites despite the fact that I have absolutely no interest in going into aerospace engineering. It's amazing what one activity can do to you.
I don't think I can ever convey the true effect of Science Olympiad. After competing, I want to become a coach and an event writer. Science Olympiad has drawn me away from math, and brought me into the world of science, something which I extremely disliked. Science Olympiad has created friendships that would never have been made. Science Olympiad had been my life, and hopefully, it will continue to play a role in it later on. This year's team was arguably the best team I had been on. We bossed everyone except for the National competition, and still, we placed decently. We just flopped on a few events and that basically destroyed our placing. But I wouldn't trade this experience with these people for anything. Over the past few years, I have become so close with a specific group of people that they have become family. It's so amazing that right now, I'm still sad that Scioly will never be as big in my life as it was 3 days ago. I don't think there is anything else I can really say about Science Olympiad, except that I would become a super senior, just for the sake of this amazing program. As well as to regain my dignity, but that's a different story.
So things to take away from this post:
1. NEVER EVER THINK THAT YOU HATE SCIENCE.
2. Join Science Olympiad while you still have the time. Odds are there's something you'll like.
3. Always meet people. The people you interact with on a daily basis will become so much more stranger after you have sleepovers with them.
4. Mountain Dew in large quantities sparingly is good for the soul.
5. Going to sleep at 12 AM before a meet is unacceptable. If anything, 2 hours max is all you need.
6. Science Olympiad takes precedence over anything, except church.
7. Always take a leadership role if you can. It is much more rewarding.
And that's it. Science Olympiad will always be a part of me. And I don't think I'll ever be able to let this competing spirit go. As for next year's team, good luck. Better find some people to step up, and pwn some n00bz. DOMO!!
