Greetings, interlopers! After a sleepy winter season and a lazy spring, the Galactic Hub is waking back up to welcome in the beautiful summer (or winter, for our Southern Hemisphere interlopers). As bits of our glorious civilization have died or fallen into disuse, new content will bloom in its place, continuing the growth and fine-tuned evolution of our shared community. New stuff on the way!

Guidance Over Service

Before we get into that new stuff, I’d like to get some procedural (in the sense of “pertaining to procedures”) out of the way.
A centralized leadership structure was beneficial and necessary while we implemented new features, like the Colony Governor system and HubCoin. While the core governance structure of the Galactic Hub - myself as the final authority, Jordan as second-in-command, Italic as third-in-command, and post-Euclid Directors operating in largely autonomous fashion - will remain the same, the emphasis will be shifting.
Rather than encouraging our staff members to handle tasks for the Hublic - such as creating census entries, or being the primary individuals to host multiplayer events - we will instead be encouraging our staff to teach you to do these things on your own. These educated interlopers can, in turn, educate more interlopers, resulting in a more independent and confident population. The Hub functions best when it’s relatively decentralized in established features, with stronger leadership for emerging features. This is an approach we’ll be adhering to more rigorously in the future.
While the Council is still discussing the full implications of this emphasis-shift, one of the first things I’d like to make clear is: you can edit the wiki! You don’t need to ask permission first. If you make a change that shouldn’t be made, we’ll just revert it and contact you in the #wiki channel of our Discord - no harm, no foul. Most of the high-security pages are locked for edits. Don’t feel too worried about stepping on toes. On the other hand, if you’re certain you have no idea what you’re doing, please ask (in the #wiki channel) before taking a shot in the dark.
We may also be looking to expand the Council and other staff in the near future. We are also seeking comments for how we might revitalize our Chapters. The Apprenticeship program has been a good start towards this goal, but it hasn’t been fully achieved yet.

New Ziki City Renovations

Since the time of New Ziki City’s opening, the Arena District, Cuboid District, Mega-Convoy District, and Luxury District have all dropped out of existence. Whether it be due to temporal anomalies or Abyssal network sabotage, the time has come to renovate our grand Hubtropolis.
If you haven’t already completed it, please fill out our New Ziki City Citizen Survey!
So far, I’ve already completed a few changes to our Hubtropolis:

• MONTHLY REPEATING EVENTS in New Ziki City. We’ll cover those in more detail in the next section, but what this means is, every first Saturday of the month, every second Sunday of the month, etc will feature predictable, routine events which repeat every month. This should give interlopers interested in participating time to plan ahead - and if you miss an event you wanted to attend, you know you can always attend it next month! (Some events, specifically those which occur on the 5th Sat / Sun of the month, will repeat bimonthly or trimonthly as not every month will have a 5th weekend.)
  
• Construction of the Galactic Hub Triumph Dome, a massive PVP dome featuring areas suitable for 1v1, free-for-all, 2v2, or new Domination / Search-and-Destroy game modes inspired by Khyodee’s King of the Grid build. It may also be large enough for ship dogfights, but that will require testing. The broader (New) Arena District also features a large NipNip Dispensary with a comedy / poetry / etc-suitable stage, public transit to the Commerce District, and a larger public transit system under construction if we are able to reduce the overall complexity of the city. Until then, the larger public transit building will remain closed off.
  

There are also some things we’d like to add, but need volunteers to help run:

• More spotlighting of various types of talent and arts - comedy shows, ByteBeat raves, etc.
  
• Construction of hiking trails to show off the city’s more impressive vistas, caves, etc. For those unfamiliar, on hiking trails, interlopers are encouraged to disable their HUDs and navigate using only trail markers. This increases immersion by requiring more attention to be paid to your surroundings.
  

One thing was tested, and proved non-viable:

• Roads. This is unfortunate - I started building roads, and it’s not too hard of a task. But for some reason it caused issues with base uploads, even though they were far below the 3,000 part limit. For that reason, New Ziki will not have any new roads added, but future Hubtropolises might.

And finally, one future feature that I’ll need to mostly implement myself, as the person most familiar with it:

• NMS-RPG content (NPCs, quests, items, unlockable areas, etc) to new and renovated areas within the city.

Aside from this, New Ziki City is complete. We have used the entire system’s available complexity budget. New Ziki is the biggest possible city (in terms of part count) which can currently be constructed in No Man’s Sky. We did it!!!

New Ziki Repeating Monthly Events

As explained in the first bullet point of the next section, New Ziki City will feature repeating monthly events for the foreseeable future! Some events may be swapped out for other events depending on the availability of hosts. Also, Discord monthly scheduling is still a little buggy sometimes, so the dates listed below may not be exact - always check our Discord Event Calendar to confirm.
Additional details on all events can be found on our Discord Event Calendar.

Date	Name (Host)	Description
1st Friday	Social Event (HEAT)	Although the exact type of social event will vary month-by-month, the first Friday of every month will feature some event focused on socializing with your fellow interlopers.
1st Saturday	Market Day (GHTD)	Market Days are shopping events designed to be more convenient for shoppers and more lucrative for vendors. Shoppers can take advantage of special Market Day deals and more convenient shopping, as you don't need to arrange a meet-up like you normally would - the vendor is already in your session! Vendors can benefit from cross-traffic between businesses, which is not ordinarily possible.
1st Sunday	HUBTalks (HBS)	HUBTalks are monthly scheduled speaking events in the NZC Speaking Hall. Interlopers may give speeches on any topic pertaining to NMS, sci-fi, science, art, or technology. This includes comedy, performances, and demonstrations pertaining to those topics.
2nd Saturday	Sport / PVP (GHSL)	The second Saturday of every month will feature a non-combat sporting event, like Shield Wrestling or Traveler Hockey. Exact location within the city may vary.
3rd Saturday	Art Museum Day (710)	Art Museum Days give interlopers a predictable, pre-scheduled opportunity to add their own artistic contributions to the Museum of Interloper Art in the Art & Event District. Note that you may also add works at any other time of the month by requesting to do so.
3rd Sunday	Building Demo (GHBG)	The GHBG will provide a demonstration on a building technique or particular buildable object, structure, etc. Questions on base building will also be answered during this event.
4th Friday	Nightlife Event (HEAT)	This event will focus on NZC's nightlife scene, whether that means going to a ByteBeat Rave, hitting the NipNip Dispensary lounge, or doing a pub crawl in Downtown District, nightlife events are sure to be memorable - even if the memories get a bit hazy.
4th Saturday	PVP Event (GHSL)	Glory awaits on the 4th Saturday of every month, where warrior-lopers will compete in the currently-under-construction PVP arenas coming to New Ziki City. Various game modes will be featured, from 1v1 Multi-tool Combat to Boxing to Starship Dogfighting.
5th Friday	Restaurant Tour (GHTD)	Try some local cuisine during restaurant tours! Currently, all restaurants in NZC function as pop-up shops, like food trucks. Want to open your own? Contact 7101334 or italicinterloper!
5th Sunday	Group Hike (HEAT / Anyone)	Meet up at one of our New Ziki City hiking trails (which have not been constructed yet, at the time of posting) and explore the wilds with your fellow interlopers!

New Wiki

Thanks to Miraheze, the Galactic Hub now has its very own wiki! We will be discontinuing our usage of the Fandom Wiki due to excessive ads and other issues. Some select pages, like the main civilization pages, will still be updated for recruitment purposes.
https://nmsgalactichub.miraheze.org/wiki/Main_Page
All old Galactic Hub pages have been imported to our new wiki, meaning no hard work contributed over our years of Fandom usage will be lost.
The only slightly-negative change is that we won’t have access to the really basic pages - for example, pages explaining the concept of fauna, or pages for the various upgrades. However, most people joining the Galactic Hub will already be familiar with basic concepts like this. In cases where these pages are required, there is a way to link them to the No Man’s Sky Miraheze Wiki, which we are only loosely affiliated with
On the other hand, there will be many positive changes.

• Searching pages will be easier, as “Galactic Hub” prefixes will be dropped. For example, “Galactic Hub Multi-tool Catalog” becomes simply “Multi-tool Catalog”, because the entire wiki now pertains to the Galactic Hub by default. (Some pages will retain the prefix. For example, organization names, like Galactic Hub Star League, or base names, like Galactic Hub Capitol.)
  
• CalHub and EisHub will have differentiating suffixes for page names also used by the Galactic Hub in Euclid. For example, “Multi-tool Catalog (CalHub)”.
  
• The main page of the wiki can now serve as a directory to various types of Galactic Hub content. This, in turn, allows us to simplify the main “Galactic Hub Project” page to function more as an introduction to new citizens. On Fandom, we depended on this page to serve as an introduction and content directory simultaneously.
  
• RPG content now has a clear dedicated space, allowing it to be easily differentiated from more fact-based content. Use the “NMS-RPG:” namespace to search content pertaining to player-created narratives, or create your own narrative-focused pages.
  
• Guides now have a clear dedicated space, allowing them to be easily collated for use by new or returning interlopers. Use the “Guide:” namespace to search content designed to help explain concepts or techniques.
  

Note that, because Miraheze is an ad-free experience, it relies entirely on voluntary donations. We will occasionally promote those calls for donations to help guarantee the continued stability of this volunteer-run platform.
If you see any outdated content which needs to be updated, please post it in the #wiki thread of our Discord. A number of old pages - for example, the Colonies page - have been updated with current info!

New Census

Cheating a bit here as this is also part of the new wiki, but the Interloper Census is such an integral part of our history that this deserves its own section.
The Census has been considerably reworked. Instead of a bureaucratically-natured population count, it now functions as your public profile and service record in the Galactic Hub community. Check out the page to see what I mean!
Interlopers are encouraged to update the Census on their own, but Achievements need to be confirmed by the relevant authorities before adding them to your entry. If you add achievements without confirmation, they will be revoked.
The old function of the census - determining how many players are active in Galactic Hub space, and automatically listing all bases in Hub space - will be replaced by two new tools/pages:
The old census, which had the primary function of determining how many interlopers are active in Galactic Hub space, was abandoned due to ApexFatality’s Atlas tool delivering a far more comprehensive picture of how many bases are constructed in Hub space every year (over 2,000!) than the Census ever did.
The Bases page will now function as a non-automated a list of all player bases in Hub space. Because it’s not automated, it will be less complete than the Atlas tool. But unlike the Atlas tool, it will contain images and other relevant information helpful for base tourists.
We’re 4 months away from October, which is traditionally Hub Month, a month packed with extra events and a massive party for Founding Day on the 29th. Until then, we’ve got plenty to keep us busy in Hub space. Good journeys interlopers!

Needs to be talked about more.

Unlike other school districts in Michigan, the newly created DPSCD receives its full Foundation Allowance (Per Pupil Funding) from the state. Other school districts receive their Foundation Allowance from local property taxes and state allocations. Proceeds from Detroit’s local property taxes are being used to repay outstanding Operating Debt. The outstanding debt will be repaid in 2027, and the District will revert back to the traditional funding model.

So, what happens in '27? Funding drops and things get even worse? Or will the local revenue somehow match what we're currently getting? Is there any kind of plan to handle this?
Sidenote, all those incentive deals that put school taxes on hold, means we could have paid off the schools' debt sooner. These billionaires claim to be about improving Detroit's economy, wouldn't that have helped?
Speaking of the economy:

According to one estimate, the lifetime earnings of Michigan’s current K-12 students could increase by $27 billion if their educational achievement matched the national average.

&

Recent research on the rate of return for kindergarten readiness suggests that, for every one child who is well-prepared for kindergarten and was otherwise at risk for academic failure, Michigan saves $47,000.

Source: State of Michigan Education Report 2023
So if anyone was in doubt, education is not just a social issue, but an economic issue as well.
From 2022 Reading Trial Urban District Snapshot Report - Detroit - 8th Grade - Public Schools:

The percentage of students in Detroit who performed at or above the NAEP Basic level was 32 percent in 2022.

100% of our students should be at the "basic" level. There's no excuse. Not lack of parental involvement, not low teacher pay, not high class sizes. If our baseline efforts result in only 32%, there is something wrong with how we're doing education.
Our average scores are lower than Albuquerque, Atlanta, Austin, Baltimore, Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas, Denver, DC, Fort Worth, Houston, LA, Miami, Milwaukee, NYC, Philadelphia, and San Diego, among others. DPSCD needs to research what these other districts are doing differently and try implementing new strategies. Because I'm pretty sure the funding is similar.
The average student-teacher ratio for our district is 16/1. The per pupil expenditure is almost $18k.
The state itself isn't that great either, with only Alaska, New Mexico, and West Virginia performing significantly lower in 4th grade reading.
We have to discuss charters, because the funding disparity between traditional public schools and their public charter school counterparts in Detroit is $6,202 per pupil or 35.3%, but many poor and black students do better at charters than traditional public schools, as Stanford University found both locally and nationally.
So we need to look at what these charters are doing and see what we can bring into the public system. I've previously posted an article about how some charters just exist to steal taxpayer money, and while we may not agree with the concept, it would be foolish to ignore what they're doing better than public schools and not try to copy it or do it even better. Because some of the best elementary, middle, and high schools in Detroit are charters.
The second chart in this article shows the comparison for the last few years.
We need to bring in more elements from the Montessori method:

studies suggest that the practical life materials can be usefully introduced into non-Montessori classrooms to support the development of young children’s fine motor skills and attention, and there is ample evidence from the wider educational literature that certain elements of the Montessori method—such as teaching early literacy through a phonic approach embedded in a rich language context, and providing a sensorial foundation for mathematics education—are effective. It has not been possible in this paper to give an exhaustive discussion of all the elements of Montessori education that might be beneficial, for example the lack of extrinsic rewards, the reduced emphasis on academic testing and lack of competition between pupils, the 3-year age-banding that fosters cross-age tutoring, or the presence of a trained teacher in the early years classroom.
Montessori teaching methods have significant positive impacts on social skills and school results. Compared with other forms of teaching, Montessori’s approach enables students to better grasp social situations, solve social problems, and put themselves in other people’s shoes. Various features of Montessori’s approach are thought to encourage the development of social skills, such as valuing cooperation over competition, and encouraging mutual respect and sharing.

We need the Socratic method in every classroom.
And we need to get DHHS on board with administering HIPPY, which also has research backing its effectiveness.
I don't really have a thesis statement. Just keeping the topic going. But I'll end with this quote:
"Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire."

As I’ve used iPod’s throughout the years, and as my collection has grown, I’ve dabbled abound in trying different audio file formats with different generations, and lines of iPods.
I’m in no way an audio snob, or audiofile, and have always mostly been of the opinion that an audio player is likely to preform optimally when being used with file formats that it was designed for. I have found this to be true with many iPod models. I still test different formats just out of curiosity, mainly, though, just to amuse myself and see if indeed I can tell any difference at all. (It is more difficult to do with consumer-grade audio devices than a lot of people believe)
With players like iPods, I have come to the conclusion that the audio peripherals being used to experience, the iPod are the largest influence on the quality of sound from that experience.
Take a first gen iPod shuffle, for instance, with one of the most capable amp/dac SOC’s for driving almost any headphone. (STM-35xx) With duel-integrated push/pull amplifier for each audio channel, it sounds great, even on some lower impedance headphones, and has no perceptible distortion at all.
Use the included factory earbuds that came with it, however, and you’d think: “this thing sounds like crap, man”.
Anyhow, I’m digressing a bit now. On to what I wanted to share for this post.
Out of all the ipod/file format combos I’ve tried (I will list them at the end) with my closed-back studio headphones, I just discovered that with the last ipod classic to be released, the 7th gen, there is a noticeable, perceptive difference in the sound when playing back ALAC files. I’ll just call it a clarity in the upper frequencies, ones usually associated with semblance. (the harsh sssss on on the “s” sound of lyrics etc.)
It added something that I was able to perceive, and wasn’t even trying to at the time. (I usially load different file formats on to different ipods without labeling the formats and just use them daily)
Anyhow, that’s my long-winded way of saying that I’m surprised and probably more excited than I should be about noticing a difference in in the quality of playback in my music library, especially from only a different file format, which is usually hardly noticeable on this level of consumer audio players.
To my ears, at least, the 7th gen classic with ALAC sounds better than my Rockboxed 5.5 with ALAC. This is obviously subjective, and there is the external factor of the studio headphones that I usually listen on, and that makes a big difference, as I mentioned with the shuffle example.
iPods I’ve listened to different formats on.

• Nano, all gens.
• Touch 1st - 3rd, 5th gen.
• Classic, 4th-7th gen. (including 5.5, 80gb)

And Shuffle, all gen, but I don’t even try to get other formats than mp3 on those.
It’s worth noting that if you would like to hear the most distortion of any ipod i’ve listened to, listen to the Nano 2nd gen, something bass heavy, and select the EQ “bass boost”. Enjoy the obliterated rendition of whatever song you’ll never listen to with that combo again!

Please don’t take this down. I didn’t know who to ask. I’m not asking to be diagnosed, I just need some advice. Referring to if these are symptoms. What is the criteria etc
I have adhd. On a post explaining some of my challenges growing up due to undiagnosed adhd, many said that for some of my issues it sounded a lot like dyslexia. I know that adhd and dyslexia is common, but I’m not sure if I meet the criteria.
I know that post is long but if you wanted more of a background into my question/an in-depth explanation of my symptoms that’s the place.
Note: not sure if this matters but I’m male, Australian born in Australia, upper-middle class ,outer-suburbs of a major city and went to private catholic schools.
But to loosely summarise:

• as a 17y.o I don’t know my lefts and rights, and get confused often
• struggled learning to tie my shoe laces
• I’m pretty uncoordinated and I was never good at sports
• struggle to know what month is what number eg. September = 8? 9? I thinks it’s nine cba to look it up -sometimes when counting on my hands I will skip 6 and go from 5 to 7
• I had a hard time learning fundamentals in primary school (kindergarten -year 6)
• failed math in year 3, got a tutor which really helped with my math skills
• struggled with learning times time tables
• I think I took me a bit longer to learn the alphabet (I remember having to go over it a lot with my mum)
• I’m bad at spelling. Not insanely bad. I forget how to spell simple words. Forget suffixes occasionally and always capital letters
• struggled with my handwriting when I was younger (I write in messy cursive now + I draw)
• got in trouble in school. A lot of wrong time wrong place moments. Mainly because I never thought before I did something. I honestly don’t think I understood the concept. I still find this hard (sorry that’s not really relevant)
• also got average-ish to bad grades a few bs mostly c’s and the rare d (sus) in primary school reports

I’m sure there’s some more I forgot from that post and more that I didn’t include in ether.
However, when I got into high school (year 7-12.) I did really well. Got moved to advanced math and English class and I’m a top 20ish (out of 140ish) in my grade. I still struggle with most of the fore-mentioned issues.
Some further explanation:
I would say I am a fast learner now, and in NAPLAN (Australian test for year 3, year 5 and year 9 testing spelling, math, grammer and reading/comprehension) I would score way above average for reading, and for spelling and grammar I would score the minimum requirement.
My spelling is bad, but not insanely bad. I do occasionally forget suffixes, prefixes and always capital letters. I forget how to spell easy words. I think my main problem is that I write/think too fast. I will write a sentence, come back to edit it and realise I forgot a word or two, occasionally I will forget to write half a sentence. I don’t think I sound words out properly, if I’m writing a word I forgot how to spell I just write the letters that look like they should go there. Then other people sound what I wrote out, then question how did I think that’s how the word should be spelled.
I thought one of the main things about dyslexia was also reading. I enjoy reading, I have been reading a lot of “harder” books at the moment, for example, “notes from underground” and “metamorphosis” sometimes I’ll have to re-read a line or a page if I’m tired to grasp everything. I would say I’m an average speed reader.
Maybe the reason I scored well in tests is because I’m a pretty good skim reader. I see what the question wants, skim read until I see a key word, then put in the answer.
Anyways do these seem like symptoms and is it worth it bring them up with a professional. It costs a fair bit, so please don’t give the, “I think it’s always best to consult a professional, even if you meet 1 part of the criteria blah blah blah”

I was always a gamer. I've personally been playing video games since age 4, and I love them. I was always better than my cousins and friends, because I always believed video games were a test of wills, and I believe my will is unbreakable. I was introduced to Starcraft by a friend from my 8th grade middle school, Chad, who had let me borrow the disc and either forgot about it or didn't care to get it back for almost 6 months (I think). It was my first time being introduced to online, competetive gaming, and the first time that I wasn't the best around. I was instantly in love. I quickly realized clans were where it was at, all members sharing a prefix or suffix tag to symbolize their membership. So I went searching for anyone that would have a n00b like me.
I found Ultimate Races, {UR}, after personally playing a couple good 1v1s, or 2v2s with my closest friend of the clan, Hydra{UR}, who later used the name De(V)oN{UR}. His real name is Jay. He asked if I could join, after my incessant hounding. C-Zero{UR} was our leader. He was the best of us (at the time), and was exactly what you'd expect as a leader. The strong silent type, he wasn't prone to the chit chat of the rest of the clan, but I remember he was a beast with Zerg. Other members that I remember were Omar, who was like co-leader or underboss (Sorry Omar, I can't think of ur gamertag right now) and JRowan{UR}. My tag was Black_Lotus{UR}.
It was the time of dial-up modems, when there was no deep web or surface web, and everyone was using AOL. A time of Icq and Napster, and Winamp and .mp3s. I never wanted to be a pro more at any game (not even COD, and I was top 30 weekly in BO1 for Xbox 360). I literally wasted 5 years of my life playing almost 12-16 hours daily. I once made a girl sit naked in my bed while I finished a 50 minute game, that I expected to be over in 15. I shouldn't be that proud of admitting this, but I totally am. Cause we still banged, and she actually waited without much protest. I always loved how respected the elite, gosu players and clans of the times were. A time before replays, where u literally had to know a friend of a friend who was either participating, or spectating in order to get one of the coveted 6 boxseats to view a 1v1 between 2 legendary players. By boxseats I mean choosing terran, destroying your scvs down to 1 left with 5hp, and lifting off to a corner while the competitors allied and gave u vision to enjoy the show. God bless the person who invented the observer map, which finally offered 12 spectator seats, I think, in addition to whoever was playing, without requiring you be in the game, and which also revealed the entire map without fog.
If you werent privy to Clan -x17's channel (or clan chatroom), you probably wound up in the Ladder channel, where the famous SCers clan used to hang their hats. I believe it was SCCHeMy who got me the invite to obs a game of LiquidDrone Vs X'Ds~Kiwi, and I was giddy as a schoolgirl because X'Ds~ was the most famous clan I knew of, and Team Liquid was newly formed with few members, who were known by reputation to all be individual giant slayers. Drone was my personal favorite player, as a local server legend who was still seen and talked about often, because he mingled with the public. Honestly, I can't tell u what Drone did for the SC community, it's immeasurable. Eri, if u read this, you're my personal hero and the reason I gave my life to this game for 5 years straight. Because I wanted to wear the Liquidbadge so bad, and wanted to be good enough for you to personally acknowledge and respect me. Thank you for the drive, for the forums, and for personally organizing competitions and your own seasonal league that literally replaced battle.net's own ladder system. God I forget what it was called, but the entire world took part, with national flags and everything!! You ARE Team Liquid to me. Nazgul might've gotten more famous, and that always pissed me off because you were ahead of the curb before replays came around and stole everyone's secret build orders and caught up to u, but u took so much time into helping and building and giving back to the community that it's a shame your name isn't on a plaque in gold letters somewhere.
I was so excited when I was finally good enough, and kept good company enough, to be given the invite to Clan -x17's channel, where ALL the big boys played. Local legends like Maynard and X'Ds~Grrrr..., LiquidNinja along with LiquidNazgul, long before he donned the [pG], SCMarine and SCF!R3B@t~ (hope I got that right) and legit anyone who was anyone were there chillin' like it wasn't a big deal. Names that inspire greatness, that are in SC history FOREVER, and I was apart of it. Quietly sitting there in utter awe, hoping I wasn't noticed and banned for being a weak link, secretly bugging Maynard and Grrrr... for a match with my annoying whispers, chomping at the bit for a chance to test my prowess. I played X'Ds~KiWi in an online tourney once, TvZ, I think, me T. Got smoked. Might've been under my EchoOfDreaMs tag. I was upset because I'm a P player, but I had a really good TvP game, and someone tipped me incorrectly, saying he was playing P at the time, though I remember he played Z vs Drone. I wish I had just played my P, cause that's always been my race. And I take pride in that, because P was long considered the weakest of the 3 in tournament play, at the time having never won a championship since season 1 with Grrrr... That is, until Oops[Reach], the material toss, gave us something to believe in. I personally smurfed under the tag MaterialToss on U.S. West vanilla because I heard they called him that due to his insane macro and for hotkeying like 5 gates (I personally only hotkeyed 3 to 4 on keys 5-8).
I myself always believed my macro was phenomenal. It had to be, because my micro is what made me quit competitive play, and I ruled U.S. West under the name iDoMiNaTe, a tag I stole from [CREW]iDoM on U.S. East, cause the name was fitting. I never claimed to be him, and actually ran into [CREW]Arrow once on a rare East server appearance for me after moving West, and asked if iDoM still played and that no disrespect was intended. He told me he didn't personally think [CREW]iDoM played anymore, but I paid my respects. Your name on Starcraft was everything, and games and 1v1s were so hyped that many famous players, and make no mistake, I became famous on U.S. West in the vanilla community under iDoMiNaTe, played incognito on smurf accounts, and I would never claim to be another player.
I remember when I knew, without a doubt, that I was the top dawg around on pub servers, when familiar server players started challenging me. Ling...br00dling??? He was an active member and had some respectability, though he talked like he was amazing. He goaded me once, talking smack for a good hour, trying to get a game. He had remembered me from like a year or 2 before and was saying I was a nobody, and not that strong. Small thing to a giant, but I finally agreed to 1v1 him, and I mopped him in a PvZ in under 20. I look back now, and realize that was the highest form of honor I could've gotten, and what I must've looked like to Eriador (Drone) and Maynard a year or 2 before. Some months later, I saw him again and he had a link to a tourney he had played that he won (of course, showboating as always) with some player under the tag ThePrelate (iDoMiNaTe), as a runner up. I was personally offended that he thought or assumed it was me, cause it wasn't. I said something to him personally. Like dude, that wasn't me and I'm more than a litte upset u thought it was please take it down or fix it. He kinda shrugged it off, but that's how important your handle and identity on Starcraft was.
So now that I've given most of my history as an amateur SC player, I'll tell u why I quit. For 1, I met and played Artosis personally at the 2002, I'm pretty sure it was 2002, state qualifiers at Comp USA in Braintree, MA. HoVz, a name that disappeared into obscurity, had won the previous year in 2001, with Artosis coming in second at that time. I live in Lowell, MA, and Braintree was almost an hour and a half away for me, and I had to go through Boston to get to it. Anyway, I finally got there in 2002, playing under the name I had been most known as, iDoMiNaTe. My best friend came with me for moral support. We blazed a joint of some bomb skunk weed in the parking lot before it began, to settle the nerves amd take the edge off, and I came in reeking of some dank nugz. I believe they'd say that stuff was LOUD AF nowadays, and I got quite a few glares. Fuck em, I do what I want. I want to stress that I never enjoyed BW. I prefer the balance of original SC, casually known as vanilla. But I knew if I wanted to be pro, I had to play it. I got slaughtered by KiWi in that tourney, not just cause of the TvZ matchup, but also because I didn't have the right balance of units and he came in with more lurkers than I expected. Even though I expected some, the amount was overwhelming and I had marines with range/medics, and teched fast to science vessels with irradiate. I was missing a key component, though. If I had included firebats and had brought siege tanks, and waited to tech to vessels with irradiate later on, it'd have been diff. I think I lost to Liquid`Ninja in the same tourney, double elim, to a DT (Dark Templar) rush. He went right for my cyber core and it was a wrap. Looking back now, I personally believe my lack of BW play was known, as my name was known, and used against me.
I personally believe I played SlayersBoxer on vanilla once, under a smurf account of his. I had seen his replays and if it wasn't him, he had a similar style. My macro is incredible, not to toot my own horn, and I played a random public game at like 3am EST where we had barely 1 skirmish for an hour straight as we both just expanded and covered the map, and legit the sonofagun did what I used to do - when we had nearly mined the map, he gave me vision and he had expanded to a dropship spot that was on my side of the map, which gave him 2 mining spots over me, and about 55% to my 45% map coverage. U gotta understand, it was a PvT matchup and T have supply depots and bays and barracks and shit that litter the map, and are far more effective at drawing auto-attack than pylons and the occasional gate or photon cannon because they're MOBILE distractions as well as stationary, creating far more difficult obstacles to maneuver through. We had 1 big skirmish, and although he didn't gain ground, the one dropship base he had on me that I should've gotten to, was the last base unmined and I said gg and then typed "SlayersBoxer?" And he left. I swear it was him.
Onto why I quit. At the 2002 qualifier I had practiced BW exclusively for a couple months leading up to it. It was double elim. My first game, I had THOUGHT the map selection was gonna be the same as the year before, and it was a map I had never played. I scouted later than usual, focusing on my macro and fully believing I was unmatched in it with my personal build orders and nuances that I had never seen anyone, not even pros, use. Turns out it was a map similar to HoV, an air map, and although I found out relatively quickly, I had double robo'd with no stargate, intending reavs for PvZ with some dropship harassment, and he went mass muta and I was friggin' demolished, much to my chagrin, without any corsairs or scouts. Forget who I played first game, didn't recognize the name. Second game was vs Artosis, PvP, my personal worst matchup with toss, and he won. But I was sure that I was as good as him. I play on a laptop, and had to use desktop, and I wanted to prove it. So I found him on the servers, whispered him and told him who I was, and asked for a rematch saying I'm a lot better on my personal laptop. We played on the map Jungle. He won, but it was close. Afterwards he was like who were u again? And I told him what I was wearing at the qualifier, and he was like oh ok I remember, and then followed up with "u and I were the best one's there," which I very much appreciated him saying. Told him it sucked to have to play on desktop, and that I was thankful for the respect. U gotta understand how it worked back then, SC was the first professional game where players were sponsored and paid to play. Only the best from each state went to nationals. Second place meant nothing, and I didn't even come in second. Anyway, literally less than a month after the qualifier, a buddy of mine, his tag was something like Indig0, came to me on U.S. West outta nowhere. He whispers me like "yo I found the pro room, I'm a give it to u but u gotta be quick." Love him for that.
So at this point in SC, they had private server korean leagues and stuff, and I had personally thought the pros had left public servers for good. I joined a few of those leagues, forget the names, but enjoyed the legendary status and recognition and familiarity I had earned on U.S. West, where I was actively sought and challenged, and where I was known. Plus most didn't speak English. Replays were out over a year now, and the average players skill had gone up because of them, but I was still the best around on public servers. When the pros are on public servers, and the channel gets leaked, it gets flooded with scrubs and they move somewhere else, so I knew my window was short. I was literally at my peak, hadn't lost a serious game or best of 3 in forever, and I knew I wasn't gonna be better than I was then, so I had to know for sure whether or not I could compete with them. I kept up with and got the nod of respect from Artosis, so I knew I wasn't exaggerating my skill level in my head. So I joined the channel and sought a game. Please understand why it's an honor even to be allowed a match in SC from a pro player, and why they move channels and don't respond to whispers or challenges from pub players. If u aren't playing the very best competition, it actually lowers your skill level. Iron sharpens iron, if u will, which is funny cause that's who I got a game with.
I asked around humbly, stating I really need a game with a professional to see if this was something obtainable for me, or just a dream. I talked to a player, forget his tag, who said he'd ask around. I saw a player with a new account, but a famous tag. His name was Iron[pG], and he only had 9 games played. He agreed to play me, and the other player I spoke to who said he'd look around, joined to observe. PvT, a fav of mine, and it ended in 5 minutes. My macro and tech were right on par, better even, but he came with a dropship and single tank/2 scvs, and his micro literally crushed my initial 2 goons and the 3rd coming out. I tried my best to target him properly as he picked up and dropped his tank, alternating between the tank and dropship with my goons, but I just couldn't land a hit on his damn tank for the life of me. I almost got the dropship, but his scvs quickly repaired it. Another dropship came with 2 more tanks, and it was over. And I knew without proper training on micro from another pro, I would never get any further. I asked the obs what he thought and he said "at first, I thought u gosu" and that made me feel good, but I decided 5 years was enough, I had plateaud, and my micro wasn't nearly good enough. I mean in bigger skirmishes, I micro well enough. But my goon targeting vs drop ships totally sucked, clearly!
MY contribution to Starcraft, and this is a fact cause I've never seen anyone else with the build order, and I DID have countless replays to prove it, all lost in the annex of time, is a slightly faster variation of the usual 8 pylon/10 gate. The apm program that came out, bwchart, if that's still around and the cloud still there, I may be able to retrieve some old replays of mine by logging in. I watched that tourney they had when sc: remastered came out, with rematches of seasons 1-5's finalists, and didn't see Grrrr... or Reach use the build. I learned that by holding off on a probe for just a second count at 7, I could get a faster pylon. And by doing so, I could warp a gate at 9. So my contribution to SC:BW, apart from being a member of the community and an actual legend on U.S. West vanilla, is the toss build order 7 pylon, 9 gate. Even the pros don't use it. Or they didn't when I was active. I dunno I literally quit forever after losing to Iron[pG], whoever he was he was a pro for sure. I wish someone would've trained me in micro targeting. Those stupid micro maps with the rounds just weren't enough.
There's a lot that came from SC. Profession esports for 1, but also online regional qualifiers, TeamLiquid, and a community of dedicated players like I have never seen in a game since. I wish there was a memorial site where the legends of the game could be honored and remembered. I was in awe of you guys. And gals, even. h.ANG)Dodo I believe, I remember as being the first professional female player. Your name is forever in my memory. X'Ds~Grrrr... you made me fall in love with toss. Oops[Reach], u inspired me and made me believe macro was good enough to counter micro, and I overwhelmed my opponents in many games with superior map expansion and unit production. LiquidDrone you are my personal favorite player, and I got into pissing contests when other top players said u weren't that good, not understanding that at one point, u were amazing and ahead of the curb, and that u personally sacrificed time u could've spent honing skills to organizing and creating leagues those same players played in, or how humble u were. To my first clan, Omar and JRowan and Jay of Ultimate Races (not the coolest clan name), I literally lied and u guys allowed me to make a clan url page, when the web was still young and domain names were abundant, and websites were free to make. I took the time to learn html in order to create it, and I hope it's there somewhere, in the deep web, an incomplete but personal page just for us. And thank you guys for that little reunion we had where we found each other years later. To Artosis - I personally look at you and think to myself, that might've been me. Thank you for saying I was the best there that year, next to u. Your wiki is wrong, however. U didn't win states for NH, u won for MA, unless it refers to a later year. And to all the legends, I know my name deserves inclusion. I played with the best, I lost to them, but I was on the level. I learned from u guys, admired u guys, followed u guys, and I hope and believe that you guys, too, remember me and deemed me worthy. To CHeMy, thanks for allowing me to join the SCers, though it was for a short while and at the end of their reign. It meant a lot, and as a player I looked up to, and actually defeated in a few games as we shared a short friendship when I joined as SCRaVe, it helped me realize that I had become that which I admired. We're legends boys! Apart of history forever! And I'll never forget. If any u guys read this, I hope u reach out

Part of a fanfic project I've been doing where I basically re-enact subtitles for battleground locations for the DW games from 2-to-5XL, as the Orochi games stopped adding extra prefixes and suffixes to the location names (likely for good reason given the combined world's setting).
These said subtitles are seen in the stage intros, and I mainly try my best to take from the original Japanese versions to translate them into English without using their localized versions.
For any geology experts and/or those who have access to the original Japanese text versions of the classic PS2 era Musou games, please feel free to debunk and/or add to the info of these location subtitles.
This time, I'll be tackling Si Province, AKA Sili.

>司州 AKA 司隸 (Sizhou AKA Sili/Shishuu AKA Shirei)

>Si Province AKA Sili (Admin Province AKA Admin Servant)

• Very oddly enough, I mainly learned of the name Sili through the Three Kingdoms Monopoly-styled game, Rich Under Heaven 4, AKA Millionaire of Three Kingdoms 4.
• Another odd thing is in DW4, isn't not a selectable province as its own category of stages, yet Luoyang is instead the category. A number of Si Province stages are within the Luoyang category though. *Update: turns out, Sizhou is the name for the province during the Wei Dynasty. The Han Dynasty called it still Sili.

>司州, 河南尹 (Sizhou, He'nan'yin/Shishuu, Ka'nan'in)

>Si Province, He'nan Directory (Admin Province, River South Directory)

• This is actually the location for the "Yellow Turban Fortress" AKA "Yellow Turban Fortress Offense & Defense Battle" (黄巾砦攻防戦, Koukinsai Koubousen), despite it using the Guandu map (then again, Guandu is also in Si Province, but within a different prefecture).
  • By that proxy with the Yellow Turban Menace stage taking place in Xu Province, it's assumed that via a trifecta of provinces, both Si and Xu were respectively being tackled as the southwestern and southeastern fronts before pushing onwards to the central north at Ji Province.
• Localized as "Si Province, He Nan Yin" in the English versions of DW4.

>司州河南尹, 大谷關 (Sizhou He'nan'yin, Daguguan/Shishuu Ka'nan'in, Daikokukan)

>Si Province He'nan Directory, Dagu Gate (Admin Province River South Directory, Big Valley Gate)

• Original location, and the actual historical area southward of Luoyang there Sun Jian engaged Dong Zhuo's forces and defeated them with ease (NOT in the novel).
• By that proxy, the location of Yang'ren Castle (陽人城; Yang'rencheng/Youjinjou) should also be there; I'd like to imagine the castle being anywhere other than south/below of Dagu/Big Valley Gate should it ever be included in a Musou game as a non-DW9 stage.
• Here indeed I use the Traditional Chinese character 關 for "gate/pass" instead of the Japanese one 関 (which is NOT the same as the simplified Chinese version for the character 关).

>司州河南尹, 汜水關 (Sizhou He'nan'yin, Sishuiguan/Shishuu Ka'nan'in, Shisuikan)

>Si Province He'nan Directory, Sishui Gate (Admin Province River South Directory, Stream Water Gate)

>司州河南尹, 虎牢關 (Sizhou He'nan'yin, Hulaoguan/Shishuu Ka'nan'in, Koroukan)

>Si Province He'nan Directory, Hulao Gate (Admin Province River South Directory, Tiger Gaol Gate)

• Same deals for both of these locations. Initially I assumed He'nan to be a ministry 省 instead of a directory 尹.
• So the fun fact is, Hulao/Tiger Gaol Gate was localized and/or formatted differently across the games in these specific cases:
  • DW2/Shin Sangoku Musou 1: "司州, 虎牢関" in OG Japanese, and "Si Territory, Hu Lao Gate" as localized.
  • DW3/Shin Sangoku Musou 2: "司州, 虎牢関" in OG Japanese just like before and same with "Si Territory, Hu Lao Gate" in the localized release, but only in the Xtreme Legends AKA Moushouden release does it change the subtitle to "Si Province, Hu Lao Gate" onwards.
    • Sishui Gate is indeed mis-localized as the Fanshui Gate, and it's still called Sishui Gate (Shisuikan) in the OG Japanese script.
  • DW4/Shin Sangoku Musou 3-onwards: "Hu Lao Gate, Si Province" localized, but the OG Japanese versions have the full subtitle of "司州河南尹, 虎牢関".
  • For Sishui Gate in particular before Warriors Orochi and DW6, it was localized as "Si Shui Gate, Si Province", with the OG Japanese being "司州河南尹, 汜水関".

>司州河南尹, 洛陽 (Sizhou He'nan'yin, Luoyang/Shishuu Ka'nan'in, Rakuyoh)

>Si Province He'nan Directory, Luoyang (Admin Province River South Directory, Luoyang)

• Subtitle is absent in DW5 since Luoyang wasn't even its own stage. In DW4, localized as "Luo Yang, Si Province" for the stage, The Imperial Seal AKA Imperial Seal Scrambling Battle (玉璽争奪戦, Gyokuji Soudatsusen). Also of course, present in Dong Zhuo's Legend Mode, "The Ten Eunuchs" AKA "Ten Eunuchs Subduing Battle" (十常侍討伐戦, Juujouji Toubatsusen) and in the "Ten Eunuchs Rebellion/Riot" in DW5XL.
  • In this case however, it's been formatted merely as 司州, 洛陽 (Si Province, Luoyang), as perhaps Luoyang may or may not be within the same directory as both Hulao and Sishui Gates. I'm gonna need an expert opinion to know if Luoyang itself was in He'nan or not.

>司州, 洛陽城内 (Sizhou He'nan'yin, Luoyangcheng Nei/Shishuu Ka'nan'in, Rakuyohjou Nai)

>Si Province, Luoyang Castle Interior (Admin Province, Luoyang Castle Interior)

• The interior of Luoyang used for Diaochan's Legend Mode "Assassinate Dong Zhuo" AKA "Dong Zhuo Assassination Battle" (董卓暗殺戦, Toutaku Ansatsusen) and the Lü Bu's Revolt/Riot stage using the Nan'yang stage. Localized as "Luo Yang Castle, Si Province" in both cases.

>司州河南尹, 函谷關 (Sizhou He'nan'yin, Hanguguan/Shishuu Ka'nan'in, Kangokukan)

>Si Province He'nan Directory, Hangu Gate (Admin Province River South Directory, Box Valley Gate)

• The Hangu Gate made during the Qin Dynasty close to Luoyang.

>司州弘農郡, 潼關 (Sizhou Hongnongjun, Tongguan/Shishuu Kou'nou'gun, Doukan)

>Si Province Hongnong County, Tong Gate (Admin Province Vast Farming County, High Gate)

• I thought this was inaccurate until I saw a map by someone of DW9's take on China, and indeed, the DW4 Luoyang map set was indeed accurate; a bit of ways off from Luoyang's westward route, Tong Gate indeed bridges the route between it and Chang'an.
• The special intro cutscenes make it impossible to confirm the subtitle in DW3, but alas, in both the 4th and 5th installments, the full subtitle of "司州弘農郡, 潼関" is used. Localized as "Tong Gate, Si Province".

>司州弘農郡, 函谷關 (Sizhou Hongnongjun, Hanguguan/Shishuu Kou'nou'gun, Kangokukan)

>Si Province Hongnong Commandery, Hangu Gate (Admin Province Vast Farming Commandery, Box Valley Gate)

• A callback to the good ol' pre-Three Kingdoms days with this major pass that's around Guanzhong. Likely nearby Tong Gate given the commandery name.

>司州弘農郡, 函谷關鎮 (Sizhou Hongnongjun, Hanguguanzhen/Shishuu Kou'nou'gun, Kangokukanchin)

>Si Province Hongnong Commandery, Hangu Gate Town (Admin Province Vast Farming Commandery, Box Valley Gate Town)

• The Hangu Gate Town that was then made during the Han Dynasty, around the Ordos. Moreso a trading route rather than a solid chokepoint like the Qin Dynasty Hangu Gate.

>司州左馮翊郡, 臨晋縣 (Sizhou Zuoyingpijun, Linjinxian/Shishuu Sahyouyoh, Rinshinken)

>Si Province Zuoyingpi Commandery, Linjin Prefecture (Admin Province Left Proper Respect Commandery, Confront Advance Prefecture)

• Location not in Dynasty Warriors, and mainly based on Millionaire of 3 Kingdoms 4. Rather long for a 3-hanzi/kanji commandery, but alas. It's also pretty close within the Guanzhong region.

>司雍境京兆尹, 長安 (Siyongxu Jingzhaoyin, Chang'an/Shiyukyou Kyouchou'in, Chou'an)

>Siyong Border Jingzhao Directory, Chang'an (Admin Softening Border Capital Trillion Directory, Long Peace)

• While this never appeared in a game before DW6, it's safe to say with my research, this place is placed within the border of both Yong Provinces and Si Provinces.

>司州中牟縣, 官渡 (Sizhou Zhongmuxian, Guandu/Shishuu Chuumuken, Kanto)

>Si Province Zhongmu Prefecture, Guandu (Admin Province Mid Pupil Prefecture, Guandu)

• Pretty much the reason why the Yellow Turban Fortress stage reuses this very map due to being within the same province, though of course, different directory/county/prefecture.
• Note that the 牟 character can be said in pinyin as either "Mou" or "Mu", and same with the on'yomi being either "Bou" or "Mu". Games themselves prefer the former.
  • Using different characters, Zhongmou/Chuubou (仲謀) is Sun Quan's style name.
• Often formatted like so across the games:
  • DW2/Shin Sangoku Musou 1 and in DW3/Shin Sangoku Musou 2: "中牟県, 官渡" in OG Japanese, localized as "Zhong Mou Province, Guan Du". Changed to "Zhong Mou District, Guan Du" in 3XL's localization.
  • DW4/Shin Sangoku Musou 3: Oddly formatted as "Guan Du, Si Province" localized or "司州, 官渡" in the OG Japanese versions. No idea why the prefecture in the subtitle was taken out. Also shown that way for the "Campaign against Cao Cao" AKA "Cao Cao Subduing Battle" (曹操討伐戦, Sou Sou Soudatsusen).
  • And of course I can't confirm at all in the 5th installment solely cause there's always those special intro cutscenes between Cao Cao, Yuan Shao, Zhang He, Xiahou Dun, Guan Yu and Cao Pi that play.

That'd be all until further updates.
Updates:

• Chang'an seems to actually as I read on a page about Lai Junchen (for the 36 Stratagems), a location that's part of multiple counties/commanderies/prefectures at once within Si Province (thus it's likely jammed in the middle of all of them as the center or between a set of them).
  
  • Put Chang'an as a border-based place, as according to the SSGM4 Story Book from the treasure box, it's in Yong Province instead, and according to google when typing both Chang'an and Yongzhou together in hanzi/kanji in the search, is likely in Jingzhao Directory. THOUGH, it appears in both Sili and Guanzhong board maps in Millionaire of 3 Kingdoms 4, meaning that Jingzhao + Chang'an border between Yong and Si.
• Added in Linjin Prefecture and both Hangu Gates.
  

I've recently completed my third year of computer engineering at UofT, and I wanted to share my thoughts on the courses I've taken. I hope this will be beneficial to incoming first, second, and third-year engineering students. My area of depth is 6 (Software) and my areas of breadth are 4 (Control) and 5 (Computer hardware/networks).
Difficulty: How hard it was to comprehend course material and/or complete practice problems accurately. Keep in mind that difficulty is subjective but I tried to eliminate personal bias and be as objective as possible.
Workload: The amount of work to complete outside of lectures (labs, assignments, homework, studying for tests/exams).
All engineers take the exact same courses in their first year first semester and similar ones in second semester. I took these courses in 2021 during covid so some information might be outdated.
First Year Semester 1:
APS100 Orientation to Engineering:
Difficulty: 1/10 Workload: 3/10 Course Average: N/A
There is no technical material in this course. All coursework consists of Ethics analysis, creating a schedule for time management, creating your resume, and discussion board participation. During tutorials, the TA typically asks behavioral questions to the class and covers slides pertaining to engineering principles, the learning environment, test readiness, and related topics.
APS110 Engineering Chemistry and Materials Science
Difficulty: 6/10 Workload: 5/10 Course Average: B
This course blends elements of chemistry, physics, and mathematics, requiring lots of formulas and memorization. The assignments and online quizzes were moderately difficult. Not sure if he’s still teaching but Scott Ramsay was a really good professor. Really enjoyed watching his video demonstrations.
APS111 Engineering Strategies and Practices I
Difficulty: 3/10 Workload: 6/10 (Variable) Course Average: B
Students are organized into groups of 5-6 and are assigned the task of developing a solution for a client, following the engineering design process. Success in this course heavily relies on your team. Throughout the semester, there are several milestones where you need to submit large reports with your team, making it crucial to have capable teammates. Many teams resorted to last-minute cramming the night before each milestone (not a good idea). Additionally, there are two peer reviews, so make sure you contribute to avoid being perceived as an unproductive member. In most cases, you don’t need to worry about this though. You’d likely all be good friends by that point (and give each other a perfect review).
CIV100 Mechanics
Difficulty: 9/10 Workload: 9/10 Course Average: C+
The consensus among most students in my year was that this was the toughest first year course. It's incredibly calculation heavy, with questions that may appear straightforward in theory but require multiple steps to solve. Even a minor error can screw up your entire calculation process. The assignments are extremely time-consuming, and the quizzes pose significant challenges. I suggest you work in a group for the assignments. Furthermore, both the final exam and midterm were exceptionally difficult.
MAT186 Calculus I
Difficulty: 4/10 Workload: 4/10 Course Average: B
If you’ve taken IB or AP this course will be a breeze. Even without that background, it's still relatively straightforward. Very little on integrals, mostly derivatives, rates of change, and graphs. PCEs and WebWorks were trivial, and the midterm and exam were easy.
MAT188 Linear Algebra
Difficulty: 7/10 Workload: 7/10 Course Average: B-
The majority of the course revolves around relatively straightforward operations on matrices and vectors. However, it does introduce abstract concepts like higher-order dimensions, which may require some deeper thinking to fully grasp. Webwork assignments were slightly more challenging compared to MAT186's, and completing assignments took a while. Once again, you should work with a partner or as a group. Pay attention in the MATLAB practicals because you’ll be using MATLAB pretty often in future courses.
First Year Semester 2:
APS105 Computer Fundamentals
Difficulty: 6/10 Workload: 5/10 Course Average: B-
If you’ve taken programming in high school, you will likely find this course very easy (2/10 difficulty). The course covers simple programming syntax, along with basic sorting algorithms, without delving into more advanced concepts beyond linked lists and binary trees. I do know many people who struggled though. I think that this was one of the more enjoyable courses of first year. Edit: perhaps not as easy as I described. Make sure to get programming experience in the summer before first year if you don’t already have it.
APS112 Engineering Strategies and Practices II
Difficulty: 5/10 Workload: 7/10 (Variable) Course Average: B+
This course is essentially a continuation of APS111, but with the added component of being assigned an actual client with a real-world problem statement. Each group works with a unique client, and at the end of the term, you present your final report directly to them, along with your supervisors. As with APS111, the quality of your team plays a crucial role in your success. Another thing to note is that unlike APS111, there were multiple individual assignments to complete on top of your team reports.
ECE110 Electrical Fundamentals
Difficulty: 8/10 Workload: 6/10 Course Average: C+
Definitely one of the harder first year courses. This course marks your introduction to circuits. Topics covered include capacitors, Ampere's law, Ohm's law, Kirchhoff's laws, AC/DC circuits, magnetism, Thevenin and Norton equivalents, and more. The material is extensive and requires thorough understanding, as many future courses will build upon its concepts. Make sure that you understand the content well, given its foundational importance in subsequent courses.
ECE191 Introduction to Electrical and Computer Engineering
Difficulty: 0/10 Workload: 1/10 Course Average: N/A
Seminar course. You just need to show up to the lectures (one per week) and submit a 100-ish word report about what you learned.
MAT187 Calculus II
Difficulty: 6/10 Workload: 5/10 Course Average: C+
The workload in this course is comparable to Calc I, but the content is more challenging (obviously). It delves deeper into integrals and introduces concepts like ordinary differential equations and polar coordinates. But again, you’ll manage just fine if you did decently in Calc 1, and especially if you’ve taken AP math or IB HL math.
MIE100 Dynamics
Difficulty: 8/10 Workload 4/10 Course Average: C+
I personally found this to be the most challenging course in first year, but it seems that most people disagree with me. It shares similarities with CIV100, but you’re instead dealing with dynamic systems (moving) rather than static ones (not moving). Some concepts may prove difficult to grasp initially. However, if you focus on memorizing the relevant formulas and understanding when to apply them, you should be okay. Expect an emphasis on physics in this course.
Second year was the worst (for ECE) and a very big step up from first year. If you struggled in first year, you better lock in for second year.
Second Year Semester 1:
ECE201 ECE Seminar Course
Difficulty: 0/10 Workload: 0/10 Course Average: N/A
Another seminar course, except you just need to attend 7/10 lectures to pass. Most students just scan their Tcard at the entrance then leave right after. The lectures are pretty useless except the Magellan one where they show you how to choose courses for 3rd and 4th year.
ECE212 Circuit Analysis
Difficulty: 7/10 Workload: 8/10 Course Average: B+
This course provides a deeper exploration of circuits, extending beyond circuit solving to include frequency and sinusoidal analysis. Questions tend to be long so careless errors will cost you. Personally, I found the labs challenging, particularly because they required working with oscilloscopes at a higher level than I was used to, and I could not for the life of me figure out how to use that thing.
ECE241 Digital Systems
Difficulty: 7/10 Workload: 8/10 Course Average: B-
This hardware course focuses on the foundation of hardware. A lot of the content is at the fundamental level so it’s not too hard to comprehend. However, the main challenge lies in learning Verilog, a hardware description language. I hate Verilog. All the labs are done using Verilog, and frustratingly, the course provides no instruction on the language, nor are there many helpful resources available online. This lack of guidance made what should have been straightforward labs much more difficult. Thankfully if you are in CE, you’ll never need to take another course with Verilog again. The midterm was easy but the final was borderline impossible.
ECE244 Programming Fundamentals
Difficulty: 7/10 Workload: 7/10 Course Average: B-
This course is the sequel to APS105, delving into more advanced concepts like pointers, constructors, polymorphism, and inheritance. Many of these topics may feel familiar if you have prior programming experience, particularly from high school. Consequently, if you're already proficient in programming, as many computer engineering students are, you should be able to navigate through this course well. The labs were generally manageable, although a couple of them were time-consuming.
MAT290 Advanced Engineering Mathematics
Difficulty: 7/10 Workload 8/10 Course Average: B
In this course, you’ll learn a lot of miscellaneous mathematical concepts that will be relevant in future courses. The goal is to establish a strong foundation to facilitate understanding in third and fourth-year courses. There is also a quiz every week. They were terrible from a time management standpoint, but as long as you spent 3-4 hours per week completing the assigned textbook questions, you should be alright since one (out of two) of the questions on the quiz is guaranteed to be an assigned textbook question (at least, that was the case when I took the course).
MAT291 Calculus III
Difficulty: 9/10 Workload 9/10 Course Average: B-
The entire workload comes from studying for those damn weekly quizzes, much like MAT290. Personally, I found it to be one of the most difficult courses I've ever taken. Think of calculus 2, but now everything is in three dimensions, encompassing concepts like surface integrals, flux integrals, and more. Additionally, the course introduces abstract topics that I still struggle to grasp. Balancing the demands of this course alongside everything else was an incredibly stressful experience.
Second Year Semester 2:
ECE216 Signals and Systems
Difficulty: 8/10 Workload:7/10 Course Average: C+
I think everyone hated this course. It was so poorly taught and the midterms felt haphazard and unpredictable. I relied on the power of BS to pass (worked surprisingly). Other than working with many graphs and MATLAB, I don’t remember much about this course because it was so uninteresting.
ECE221 Electric and Magnetic Fields
Difficulty: 8/10 Workload: 5/10 Course Average: C+
This course serves as an introduction to fields, while also expanding on the principles covered in ECE110. Many concepts build upon intuitive ideas, such as the repulsion of identical charges and attraction of opposite charges, which can make seemingly complex topics less intimidating. There are also many procedures that you need to know to solve specific types of questions. The labs are generally straightforward. You just need to follow the steps on the lab worksheet and answer a few simple questions from the TA.
ECE231 Intro to Electronics
Difficulty: 9/10 Workload: 7/10 Course Average: C+
This course is basically circuit analysis but significantly harder. It combines everything you've learned about circuits thus far, introducing new topics on top of that foundation. There are so many new concepts to learn and the final pretty much tests you on all of them. I’ve encountered multiple scenarios where I saw two concepts that I thought were completely separate from each other being integrated into a single question on an exam. Also very calculation heavy. Despite my experience in this course, I must admit Khoman Fang was a great professor.
ECE243 Computer Organization
Difficulty: 7/10 Workload: 6/10 Course Average: B
This course is a direct continuation of ECE241, and surprisingly, I found it a lot more enjoyable than its prerequisite. The focus is on Assembly language programming, which I found to be way more understandable compared to Verilog. Assembly operates at a fundamental level, so you’re technically working with the most basic building blocks in programming. The labs often involved seemingly simple tasks like counting to 10 on a HEX display, but the nature of Assembly meant that achieving this could require hundreds of lines of code. I appreciated these labs as they provided a refreshing change from the usual programming tasks. Final and midterm exams were relatively easy.
ECE297 Software communication and design
Difficulty: 8/10 Workload: 9/10 (Variable) Course Average: B+
Despite the demanding workload, this course was one of my favorites. The main project involved collaborating in teams of three to develop a geographical information system (similar to Google Maps). Unlike other courses where teams are assigned, here you have the freedom to choose your own teammates. Starting off, your team is given only the OpenStreetMap database, and the APIs, granting you complete control over your project's design, functionality, and optimization. Performance enhancement and pathfinding algorithms were key components of the project. It's crucial for all team members to contribute effectively for success in this course; And trust me, this is not a one or two person project. To succeed in this course, all three members must be doing their share.
Third Year:
They say that third year is the easiest year for ECE, but that depends on what courses you choose. For me, it was only slightly easier than second year but still significantly harder than first year.
APS360 Fundamentals of Deep Learning
Difficulty: 8/10 Workload : 8/10 Course Average: B+
This course felt fundamentally very different compared to the other programming related courses. If you’re unfamiliar with deep learning, the content can be overwhelming but the inner workings behind AI are both fascinating and challenging to grasp. Fortunately, much of the coding in the course revolves around preparing data, setting up AI architectures, and training/testing models, rather than building an AI from scratch. While the labs are manageable, the final project can be very time consuming, particularly as training a single model can require hours or even days. Regarding this aspect, make sure you start early. Both the midterm and final exams were quite difficult.
ECE302 Probability and Applications
Difficulty: 7/10 Workload: 3/10 Course Average: B-
The first half of this course is very straightforward. Just an introduction to probability. The second half is where the difficulty quickly ramps up. Make sure you don’t underestimate the second half of the course. I made the mistake of assuming the material was easy after performing well on both midterms (midterms were very easy), leading me to neglect the final third of the course so I flunked the final. FYI, our marks were determined solely by the 2 midterms and the final.
ECE344 Operating Systems
Difficulty: 8/10 Workload: 10/10 Course Average: B
This course had the most difficult and demanding labs I’ve ever seen in my life. They are due every two weeks and some of them took most students more than 15 hours to complete. I’ve seen people staying up all night in the GB computer rooms to finish these labs. One positive aspect of the course if Jon Eyolfson is your professor, is that all lectures are both recorded and live-streamed, allowing attendance in person, online synchronously, or asynchronously. But if you have Ding Yuan, good luck. I heard he is not only bad at teaching, but also makes you program an operating system from scratch. The course content is quite interesting and the Midterm and final exams were fair.
ECE345 Algorithms and Data Structures
Difficulty: 8/10 Workload: 7/10 Course Average: B+
If you're one of those programming geniuses who have been doing Leetcode since like 3 years old, you’d have likely already learned all course content before you’ve even started the course. You could probably write midterm and final exams without attending any lectures. However, if you're not as experienced, attending every lecture, taking detailed notes, and staying focused is crucial. Personally speaking, some algorithms were incredibly difficult for me to grasp, while others were simple. Assignments typically include both coding and long-answer components, which can be time-consuming, but you can work with a partner.
TEP444 Positive Psychology for Engineers
Difficulty: 1/10 Workload: 3/10 Course Average: A-
This course overall was very enjoyable and a nice refreshing experience from the other technical courses. You go on excursions to various locations with your group and write reports. It's an excellent opportunity to expand your social circle and make new friends. If you aim for an A- grade (80-85), you can breeze through with minimal effort. However, achieving a higher grade (A or A+) would require significantly more work (like 5 times more, no joke), which is not worth the extra effort in my opinion.
CSC343 Introduction to Databases
Difficulty: 7/10 Workload: 10/10 Course Average: Unreleased
The content of this course is actually pretty interesting and is taught well. But the assignments were excessively time consuming. There are only three in total, but each one demanded such a significant investment of time to the point where I contemplated dropping the course altogether. You do work with a partner (going solo isn’t even an option if you want to complete the assignments) but even so, be prepared to invest 15-30 hours per person, per assignment (they also mark hard). Despite the workload, I do recommend taking this course because knowing SQL can substantially benefit you in the future. Just start the assignments early. On a positive note, the midterm and final were relatively straightforward.
ECE311 Introduction to Control Systems
Difficulty: 10/10 Workload: 5/10 Course Average: C+
This course didn't come with a heavy workload, consisting only of three labs and two midterms. However, I found the content to be very challenging. It felt like they condensed and combined every concept from every engineering math and physics course into one. Topics ranged from circuits and dynamics to Laplace transforms, matrices, Bode plots, and more. It didn’t help that Prof Scardovi didn’t record any lectures, has messy handwriting, and uses a damn chalkboard instead of modern technology like other profs do. The midterms and final were somewhat lenient compared to the lectures, but this course still ended up being my lowest mark.
ECE361 Computer networks I
Difficulty: 8/10 Workload: 9/10 Course Average: B
This course requires a lot of memorization compared to other courses. You’ll have to understand calculation processes but also memorize a lot of general knowledge about networks. A problem with this course is that some concepts that show up in tests are not adequately explained in lectures. By far the best way to study is to do past exams. Professor Valaee often recycles questions, sometimes even directly copying past midterms and finals (like he did in my cohort). Unlike other courses, there is no big assignment/lab for this course, but it makes up for it with quantity. There’s a quiz every week, a wireshark lab every 2 weeks, a programming lab every 2 weeks, and a midterm. The programming labs are already difficult by themselves, but this cumulative workload felt very overwhelming.
ECE472 Engineering Economics and Entrepreneurship
Difficulty: 7/10 Workload: 5/10 Course Average: B+
This is straight up an economics course, no engineering at all. You’ll learn about investments, equity, financing, and related areas. There are 4 quizzes throughout the semester, with quiz 3 (quiz 3 specifically) being by far the hardest (average in the 50s). Since you're able to bring your textbook to the quizzes and exam, my biggest tip is to write past quiz and exam solutions in your textbook, as there's a limited pool of questions, and new questions often resemble some kind of variation of past ones.
ECE421 Introduction to Machine Learning
Difficulty: 9/10 Workload: 7/10 Course Average: unreleased
While the course content itself may be challenging, surprisingly, the midterm and final exams were pretty easy. There's a slight discorrelation between the lecture material and what appears on the exams, but relying on past exams for preparation should be enough. The course leans heavily on mathematical concepts, much more so than APS360. The assignments were difficult and tedious but I recommend you work with others to complete it.
With that, I've covered my thoughts and tips for all the engineering courses I've completed. Transitioning into your next year in engineering, particularly if you’re transitioning from high school, can feel daunting. However, remember that you're not alone in this experience – many of your peers are facing similar challenges. If you need any more advice or have questions, feel free to reach out to me via DMs!

I hope this isn't a dumb question - I am the parent of a fourth grade girl who was diagnosed with dyslexia recently and this is all pretty new to me. I hope I'm missing something, actually, because I'm confused and pissed and sad.
This ended up being longer than my single question - I guess I am actually really pissed off and sad about the last nine months in general, and I am completely open to any feedback, advice, or ideas about what to do now and how to help my kid. This is the first time I wrote all of this down and the irony of writing a novel on a dyslexia subreddit is not lost on me.
I'm leaving it lol.
Cora has always been brilliant and weird and loud, but over the last few years, it became apparent that she was having a harder time....stopping. Stopping talking, stopping moving, stopping yelling - it was just endless and exhausting for everyone around her. (Except at school. She is and was perfectly behaved at school - she has literally never gotten so much as a note home about goofing off in class.) Cora hit a wall in third grade - the hyperactivity was finally wearing her out, too, and annoying her friends. She finally asked for some help slowing down.
She was tested for ADHD and the general host of common mental health conditions last fall, and to no one's surprise, was diagnosed with ADHD-combined type, as well as anxiety symptoms that the psychologist described as significant enough to warrant a GAD diagnosis…but that she strongly suspected were a perfectly rational reaction to the very real problems Cora’s impulsiveness caused in her life.
This was exactly my experience as someone diagnosed with ADHD as an adult. It turns out that the consequences of constantly losing my car keys, forgetting appointments, and impulsively spending money I didn’t have were making me anxious and stressed, not the other way around. I had expected similar results for Cora and I was glad this was happening now - she could skip the years of totally ineffective treatment and misdiagnoses that I went through before being diagnosed and successfully treated.
What we were not expecting at all was the additional diagnosis of "specific learning disorder with reading impairment" noted in the report. I had no idea what this meant. The psychologist did not use the word "dyslexia" in her written evaluation, a decision which resulted in another 8 months of confusion and (probably unnecessary) testing detailed below. She explained to us that Cora could have dyslexia, but that her testing wasn't granular enough to be sure - that there was a chance it was "something else" and the SLD diagnosis was an umbrella term that covered both dyslexia and conditions unknown. (I have no idea what she was referring to and the general weirdness about using the word dyslexia was something I noticed with the school, too. I am still confused by this and other interactions where I get the distinct feeling people aren’t telling me something important.)
It was almost September, so the psychologist recommended pursuing testing with the school; this seemed to be a reasonable next step. They would test Cora and determine exactly what was going on, if anything. This whole part of the report was very much characterized as an incidental finding - something to follow up on, but nothing alarming given Cora’s history of good grades.
"Maybe she was just tired after a long day of testing,” the doctor explained. “But it also seemed like she wasn't hearing certain letters correctly." Years of speech therapy had helped Cora correct all but a few minor issues - but combined with this potential reading issue, maybe an audiologist should test her again. Get her hearing tested, start medication for ADHD, and see what the school says about her reading - that was the plan, no big deal.
I wasn't worried, but I figured it couldn't hurt to see what other help was available. I learned that we have a branch of a big tutoring nonprofit in our city that offers Orton-Gillingham instruction at no charge - something I soon realized would cost hundreds of dollars per month at other centers. Free is good! I submitted Cora's application and the report from the psychologist (with the ADHD/GAD/SLD all clearly noted)….and we got a rejection letter a week later in the mail. Cora didn't qualify because the tutoring was specific to dyslexia, and the SLD with reading impairment was not the same as a formal dyslexia diagnosis. Fair enough, I thought - I figured we'd get the testing done through her school and could reapply if the result was a dyslexia diagnosis.
That....was naïve, lol. But the psychologist made it sound like a total non-issue, something schools did all the time. I sent the school psychologist and teachers the report before school even started, since surely they would want to schedule all of this right away! I didn’t hear anything for a few weeks – the start of the school year must be such a busy time, after all – but raised it again, report in hand, at a meeting with Cora’s teacher in late September.
“You….really want to try to avoid putting a label on things too quickly,” she told me, in a tone that implied there was much more that she was not saying. “She seems to be doing quite well in class. Let’s see how she does on the standardized tests we’re finishing this week and go from there.” I was definitely aware that I was missing something, but it seemed reasonable to wait for Cora’s test results if they would help inform next steps. Cora scored well above average, as usual; shortly after receiving these scores, the school psychologist emailed me to let me know that no further testing was warranted.
I still felt like I was missing something – spoiler alert, I was – but there didn’t seem to be anything else left to do. They're the experts and were totally unconcerned – only positive news - and Cora’s new ADHD meds seemed to be really helping. After that, everything did seem to be okay at school for a while. Cora liked her teachers and was doing well.
Everything was copacetic…except for the fact that Cora’s anxiety seemed to be getting worse without any tangible explanation. She complained about fourth grade being a lot harder, but again – her grades were fine, she was perfectly behaved, she liked her teachers….it was difficult to identify any problem that needed solving. Soon, Cora started getting home and isolating herself in her room for over an hour every day. She seemed stressed. Worn out. This went on for months.
And then she had her first panic attack on a Sunday night, seemingly out of nowhere. She wanted a mental health day Monday and was back in school Tuesday, seemingly her normal self.
The next Sunday, she had another panic attack, and this one was much, much worse. She lost control of her bladder. I was close to taking her to the ER. It was scary. That's when it all came out. She was DREADING school - her two hours of ELA in the mornings had become “torture.” She was white-knuckling it through the reading, writing, and spelling work, totally clueless as to why it seemed so much harder for her than for other kids, but so determined to get good grades that she had just burned. the. fuck. OUT.
She was home for days after this. The school tried to dismiss my concerns at first - it couldn't have been that bad, I was told. To be fair, my concerns were vague because I still didn’t understand the real issues or how to help Cora, either. Cora was clearly unwell and adamantly refused to return to school. I started putting everything in formal, written letters emailed to all of her teachers, the school psychologist, and everyone else who seemed potentially relevant. I told them I wasn't sending her back until they did something to try to figure out what was going on in ELA.
That was mid-February. We had a meeting before I would agree to send Cora back, where they talked about putting together the "interdisciplinary team" to conduct "extensive classroom observation.” They insisted that this process would take at least 60 days to complete. Cora reports that there have been three days where someone has essentially come to her ELA class and stared at her while she works.
We weren’t just waiting for the school, though. After the psych eval last summer, we had been slowly working through additional evaluations and appointments related to Cora’s hearing, speech, and language abilities. Basically, we were working our way from Cora's ears into different regions of her brain, trying to catch problems along the path that sound waves traveled - entering Cora's head as vibrations in her ear canals, winding into her brain as phenomes, assembling into a stream of recognizable words, converting into meaning in entirely different areas of her brain, and eventually emerging again via her speech. I had no idea so many tiny things could go wrong in that process, but they can - and we can get pretty damn granular in order to figure that shit out when there’s a potential problem. Cora had some weird results here and there - we now know that overlapping speech is basically her Kryptonite, which explains a lot of meltdowns at family gatherings over the years. But on the whole, her ears and her brain are doing fine, and she doesn't have autism, either.
We had been lucky to get hooked up with the best child development team in the area - they were wonderful, and the process of more testing and visits seemed to reassure Cora (and us, honestly) that there was more help on the horizon, more answers soon. She started low-dose Zoloft for the anxiety and seemed a little happier; her anxiety about school was starting to morph into resignation and frustration, which actually seemed healthier in a way. "It takes time," they tell us. Her breakdown was in February. They wanted to see the report from the most recent evaluations. Fair enough; although it is not lost on me that I am paying an outside team to do the school's job, at least it's getting done.
Two weeks ago, we finally got the team's report - and the written words, "developmental dyslexia." The lead psychologist is going to meet with the 504 team at her school - he is wonderful and immediately understood so many of Cora's concerns and needs. I'm not exactly optimistic, but it's at least possible that this may result in accommodations/extra help in school. Cora thinks he walks on water and is so excited that he's going to "stand up for" her.
The report is detailed and confirmed a lot of what we suspected. She's a really bright kid - IQ around 120 with sky high mathematics and nonverbal problem-solving scores. She apparently discussed "conundrums that are complex and abstract in nature" during her sessions, with a "recognition that there is not necessarily a solution" to these mysterious issues. (LMAO....this is my weird and wonderful kid.) The report describes Cora as "delightful" - funny, self aware, and highly motivated to learn.
Her reading comprehension score was in the 90th percentile, essay composition in the 70th - spelling scores came in at the 25th percentile, which was no surprise. Pseudoword decoding was poor - she's in the 14th percentile - and it got worse from there. Cora has an oral reading fluency in the 9th percentile, a basic reading score in the 7th percentile, and a word reading score in the 4th percentile.
In fact, the essay composition score was the only "average" score among dozens of measures of her reading, writing, and language abilities - comprehension was universally excellent and decoding was universally abysmal. It was hard to read. It felt like a gut punch - looking at the single-digit scores, I finally realized the insane degree of effort it must have taken to finish her work and look happy doing it.
The developmental psychologist leading the team told us that it was unusual to see that stark of a difference - that the severity of her impairments are usually associated with average comprehension scores at best. I have tried to wade through research about these instruments, but decided to take his word for it. Typically, the deficits in her basic reading skills would set off a chain reaction of lower scores down the line - but Cora had brought her grades and tests scores up from an already high start at the beginning of the year.
"It's no wonder her anxiety symptoms are increasing - she's completely exhausted," he said. "Imagine what she could achieve with the right kind of help."
I realized then why Cora's high scores and good grades, so impressive to everyone else, were such a source of consternation for her. That chain reaction was still happening, getting in the way of what she was actually capable of achieving. She knew it, even if the rest of us didn't - she could do better with the right kind of help.
I honestly feel sick thinking about it. She never told anyone she was struggling, never asked for help - not from us, not from anyone at school, heck not from her former-literacy-teacher grandma. No one had any idea. My husband and I had actually encouraged her to slow down a little in the weeks before her panic attacks, just out of a general sense that something was brewing despite her repeated insistence she was doing fine. Turn in the worksheet a day late, three sentences is plenty, relax. Unthinkable, Cora insisted, she was fine.
So she's back at school, nothing has changed other than the glacially slow 504 process of "observation" occurring in the background sometimes, but she seems to be a bit less stressed. I can't tell if getting pissed off about the situation is helping her deal with it, if the Zoloft is taking the edge off, or if she's just masking harder now. Maybe all three. 18 more days of school and Cora is counting. them. down. Her teachers and support staff seem generally bewildered by the idea she is or was ever struggling. They were caught totally off guard when I abruptly pulled her out of school until we at least got them to commit to the 504 process – but we had been blindsided too. They saw a happy kid who was thriving academically until her parents pulled her out of school and started a process that no one seems particularly committed to finishing. Sometimes I think they don't believe us at all. Maybe I would feel the same way in their shoes, I don’t know. I think they’ll listen to the doctor.
The entire point of this post, though, was to ask about Cora’s second rejection from the local tutoring program. With summer approaching and the diagnosis of dyslexia (versus maybe-dyslexia, maybe-whatever-else-could-be-included-under-the-SLD-“umbrella”, which I am still unsure is even a thing), I've been looking into all sorts of options for tutoring. Summer is a good opportunity to try to start getting Cora some meaningful help without adding yet another thing to her plate. She's excited. We can build some tools before next year - if we know what works for her, we can be better advocates from Day 1.
So I resubmitted Cora's application - I still had my original email and I just attached the shiny new report to that, explaining where to find the magic D word that I fully expected would finally open a door where Cora could get the right kind of help. This new report was more granular with reading testing, but the dyslexia diagnosis was the one really substantive change. It included Cora's ADHD and anxiety diagnoses, as did the report I submitted with our initial application, but with new information about medication and treatment for these issues - progress!
(I would like to point out at this point that ADHD and anxiety are firmly established as two of the most common comorbid diagnoses for kids with dyslexia, and that anxiety symptoms in particular can occur because of the challenges caused by dyslexia. My daughter had full-blown panic attacks at 10 years old largely because she struggles to FUCKING READ and no one was helping her. I know I am preaching to what little choir is likely left at this point in my novel. But especially as someone who was medicated/treated for depression and anxiety for 20 years before anyone agreed to test for, diagnose, and treat the ADHD symptoms that were causing me to regularly fuck up my life in really depressing and stressful ways…..this chicken and egg shit really hits a nerve.)
Anyhoo, it had taken 8 months and a lot of work, but I had finally done this one cool thing for her - Cora was going to get the right kind of help. The school year is almost over, but at least we had this one success. The obstacle that I’m still not sure was warranted in the first place – the lack of the word dyslexia in the initial evaluation – had been checked off what was now a giant list of obstacles in Cora's path.
And thanks to the generosity of people who had probably heard and experienced a lot of similar, frustrating stories, our family could focus on paying off the bills accumulated in the process of getting to this point instead of adding more to the pile. Free is always good, but sometimes free is a godsend.
Twelve hours later, Cora was denied again, this time via a brief email simply noting the GAD diagnosis in both reports. "Our tutors are not trained to work with children who are diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorders" and they "cannot meet her needs."
That was it. No further explanation. Just…fuck your anxious baby girl who is trying so hard and fuck you for trying. NEXT!
Oh, and P.S., fuck the really significant percentage of kids with dyslexia with comorbid anxiety diagnoses who are incredibly well researched and described in just…all of the fucking literature. Just all of it, honestly, for decades. Fuck those kids too.
People seem to treat the word "dyslexia" like it's the only thing that matters sometimes but also not something that should be ever said in other contexts, AND I'm pretty fucking sure that "SLD with reading impairment" is essentially equivalent to the word dyslexia because no one can explain what else might be under that "umbrella," and apparently it's nigh impossible to get meaningful help for my daughter through the public school systems anywhere in America, and giant nonprofits care about kids with dyslexia so much, but not the anxious ones, better lock the doors before those crybabies get their needs all over our tutoring center!
We will figure out how to pay for help for Cora, that’s a given.
But honest to fucking god, have you guys just been putting up with this shit the whole time? I'm so sorry.

Good morning neighbors,
I'm writing here because I'm desperate for help and insight when its comes to my daughter. She is 6 and a kindergartener.
She has a diagnosed mood disorder and were currently undergoing an autism diagnosis. She has an iep. She is currently only allowed to go to school from 845am to 12pm. She is sent home once a week for bad behavior (hitting teachers, hitting students). The lights, the noise, the over stimulation triggers her to go non verbal, hide under desks, hiss and growl like an animal and she'll begin to throw things or deliberately bother others.
Due to this behavior, her gen ed teacher struggles to maintain peace in the classroom. So, my daughter bounces from a para (whos working with 4th and 5th graders who evidently cuss at my child when she irritates them), the school counselor, the receptionist and the principal. I think they hand her a worksheet to scribble on. In 3 months, she has brought home one peice of school work. One of the staff told me, she's not learning here- she's just running around the school, not getting anything done (another issue she has is running out of the room).
I've asked the teachers, where do other kindergarteners go who are like this? Certainly there are kids similar or more challenging than her- where do they go?? I get silence. Nobody seems to know what to do with her.
They say the resource room isn't appropriate because the older kids are triggered by her and this could be dangerous for her.
So, I'm wondering if anybody reading this has been down my road before?
I'm a single mom, short on time and energy to fight for my child. I'm making enough to pay my mortgage and the bills, but private school is out of my budget.
Also, as a side note- she does not have these episodes at home anymore. The last time she had one was about a year and a half ago when we were staying in an air bnb (the environment triggers these episodes). I've taught her how to read at a 2nd grade level and how to do basic math using an abacus. So, she is teachable and she can learn in the right environment, with the right person. As a side note, I do work from home and have set up a little "school" next to my desk. I've been teaching her an extra hour a day to try to make up for what the school ia shorting her.
Another side note, over the years she's had two psychiatrists, two behavioral coaches (mostly coaching me so I can help her) and completed the Emotional ABCs program. I've read several of the "best" books and read countless studies. She is not on medication although I'm at a breaking point and seriously considering it because I'm feeling that the risk now is overshadowed by the potential reward (she's able to integrate into society).
I know this a lot of text, so thank you if you made it this far! Very grateful for any info or wisdom you can pass along.

Let's Decode What Depression Is And More

Today I will be going in depth about depression and decoding the word and reasoning with Numerology. We can already see that depression has a lot of repeated letters which shows there is too much of a focus on one thing and too much of something can usually hinder it or cause imbalance.
Let's break down the word DEPRESSION:
The word has E 2 times, S 2 times
D=4
E=5
P=7(16)
R=9(18)
E=5
S=1(19)
S=1(19)
I=9
O=6(15)
N=5(14)
Let's first focus on the obvious! This word has karmic debt numbers for the letters N, P, and S. Let's grab some context from a site that I will link below that explain what these karmic debt numbers mean in detail.
"The 14 Karmic Debt arises from previous actions where human freedom has been abused. Those with a 14 Karmic Debt are forced to adapt to ever-changing circumstances and unexpected occurrences. There is an acute danger of falling victim to drug abuse, alcohol, or overindulgence in sensual pleasures, such as food and sex. Moderation in all affairs is crucial to overcome this Karmic Debt." - credit goes to Karmic Debt Numbers in Numerology World Numerology
"The 16 Karmic Debt – in any area it appears in a chart - means destruction of the old and birth of the new. It is about the fall of the ego and all it has built for itself. It is a watershed, a cleansing. Things the ego has constructed to separate a person from the source of life, are destroyed.
Through the 16, reunion with higher consciousness may be achieved. This can be a painful process because it usually comes after much ego inflation, resulting in a struggle between the ego and higher ideals. Life will present challenges to your grand plans which you may resent and struggle against. It is a losing battle… and you will likely feel humbled in the face of the collapse that follows. However, humility is the key to later success, as you learn to follow the intimations of a deeper reality."
"A person with the 19 Karmic Debt will learn independence and the proper use of power. You will be placed in situations where you are forced to stand up for yourself (and often be left standing alone). One of the central lessons for people with the 19 Karmic Debt revolves around stubbornly resisting help from others. Much of your independence is self-imposed - you simply want to do it your own way.The 19 Karmic Debt can become a self-imposed prison if you don’t recognize the need for interdependence and the mutual need for love.Although you seek to stand on your own feet, you are inextricably connected to others and in need of the support and understanding that all people need - this is the most important lesson for the 19 Karmic Debt." And being personally connected to a lot of 19 energy, this is very true! There is one 19 person I watch on Youtube and he is using this energy pretty well.

DECODING DEPRESSION

Let's take a look at the word. You see it starts with the letter D which is ruled by the number 4 as the 4th letter in the alphabet. 4 energy is connected to privacy, home, family, discontent, restriction, and nonchalant energy. There is many more terms, but you can see where this is going. If you call certain companies toll free, listen to what they say you need to press number 4 for.
What just hit me as I looked at the word is the rest of the word after DE...PRESSION. Maybe there is something needing to be expressed(expression!) that isn't being expressed. All depression is, is suppression of something. D/4 can be suppression and withholding. That's why some jobs want you to fill out the W4 which is a withholding form! Depression comes when someone is choosing to withhold expression of emotions and genuine communication that can help. Taking caution to a whole new level and it ends up being destructive. 4 can point to dissipation which makes sense for destruction to mean what it means.
The word starts with the energy of 4 which is about withholding and suppression and end with the energy of 5 which can be conflicting.
All those letters and we only get to the number 5?!. This word is embedded with the energy of 1 and 9 which means that people who claim or feel depression CAN utilize their personal power to get themselves out of said depression. You have the right to process your emotions and once you do, you can start using your strength and power to overcome. Sometimes it starts with the mind.
Now, based on the letters and numbers with the word, let's see what numbers are missing!
We are missing 2,3,and 8! 2 gives a person a natural comfort within self. It can also make them loveable or easily cooperative with others. The energy of 3 gives a person natural optimism and majestic mental capacity. 8 gives a person a steadfast embedded powerful strength. This 8 energy gives a person unstoppable capability.
Getting over depression is about rising above a situation and having the capability of strengthening your perspective. Your confidence levels are something you have to personally master. Notice how depression ends with O and N which is 6 and 5. That's a backtrack. We're counting forwards, not backwards. 6 is about overcoming problems while 5 is the problems or insecurities. Depression ending with the energy of 5 is a thinkpiece. 5 deals with the uniqueness of a situation or action. You will have to do something different or new to wake up out of whatever this depression was about and understand that everyone's depression won't be the same!
numerology of depression
numerology and mental illness
numerology of death
numerology of death date
numerology mental plane of expression
depressed number meaning
what number represents depression
mental health numerology
numerology destiny 6
depression b
behavioral neurology of dementia
c numerology
what does depression numbness feel like
depression symptoms numbness
emotional numbness depression
f depression
gemini numerology number
gemini numerology
gemini horoscope numerology
numerology mental illness
am i depressed or numb
jungian numerology
numerology key
numerology 16 karmic debt
l depressed
what is the spiritual meaning of depression
o numerology
numerology ocd
psyche number astrology
psychic number numerology
psychic number 1 meaning
psychic numerology
q numerology
quotev depression quiz
what number means depression
r numerology
signs of depression numbness
u of m depression center
u of m depression clinic
virgo numerology number
virgo horoscope numerology
virgo numerology
x depression
symptoms of depression in young males
z numerology
zodiac numerology
zodiac numerology chart
zodiac number meaning
0 numerology meaning
numerology of 0
number that represents depression
1 numerology life path
personality numerology 1
1 numerology love
1 numerology meaning
numerology 2 destiny
2 numerology life path
numerology of 2
2 numerology tarot
2 numerology meaning
3 depression symptoms
4 signs of depression
4 symptoms of depression
depression 4
4 numerology tarot
5 depression symptoms
5 numerology tarot
numerology 5 destiny number
5 numerology compatibility
what are the 5 characteristics of depression
6 depression symptoms
numerology 6 destiny number
6 numerology life path
6 numerology compatibility
6 warning signs of depression
7 depression symptoms
what are the 7 signs of depression
8 numerology life path
numerology 8 destiny
8 signs of depression
life path 9 depression
9 depression symptoms
9 signs of depression
depression test
depression symptoms
the great depression
postpartum depression
signs of depression
clinical depression
manic depression
depression medication
depression definition
what caused the great depression
depression and anxiety
depression and anxiety medication
depression after birth
depression and obsession lyrics
depression and anxiety test
depression art
depression assessment
depression after surgery
depression and adhd
angle of depression
anti depression meds
anxiety and depression
about the great depression
a depression test
a depression or indentation
a depression created by deflation is known as a
a depression occurs when
a depression can be defined as
depression barbie
depression bible verses
depression brain fog
depression books
depression brain
depression background
depression brain scan
depression bingo
depression body aches
bipolar depression
beck depression inventory
best antidepressant for anxiety and depression
bible verses for depression
bipolar depression symptoms
best medication for anxiety and depression
burnout vs depression
birthday depression
black dog depression
baby blues vs postpartum depression
depression cake
depression causes
depression cake recipe
depression coping skills
depression clipart
depression criteria
depression chemical imbalance
depression chocolate cake
depression chat
causes of the great depression
causes of depression
chronic depression
clinical depression symptoms
can depression be cured
crippling depression
cns depression
celebrities with depression
catatonic depression
depression during pregnancy
depression definition economics
depression disorders
depression diagnosis
depression drugs
depression dsm 5
depression drawings
depression during period
depression dsm 5 criteria
definition of depression
do i have depression
do i have depression quiz
different types of depression
danakil depression
dsm 5 depression
difference between anxiety and depression
dax depression
disability for depression
deal with depression
depression era
depression era recipes
depression economics
depression episode
depression eyes
depression economics definition
depression era salad
depression era glass
depression examples
depression economy
edinburgh postnatal depression scale
economic depression
effects of the great depression
endogenous depression
effects of depression
existential depression
early signs of depression
ect for depression
exercise and depression
elevation and depression
depression facts
depression fatigue
depression fracture
depression f code
depression food
depression first trimester
depression face
depression feeling
depression from work
depression from social media
facts about depression
freezing point depression
functional depression
free depression test
fight depression
for anxiety and depression
for how long does postpartum depression last
for depression treatment
for depression tablets
for depression medication
depression glass
depression glass value
depression glass patterns
depression glassware
depression glass pink
depression gif
depression guidelines
depression glass green
depression genetic
depression glass for sale
great depression
geriatric depression scale
great depression years
great depression definition
great depression photos
great depression facts
great depression timeline
great depression causes
great depression recipes
great depression effects
depression hotline
depression help
depression headaches
depression hotline free
depression helpline
depression history
depression help near me
depression history definition
depression hereditary
depression how to overcome
how to help someone with depression
high functioning depression
how to deal with depression
how to overcome depression
how long does postpartum depression last
how to cure depression
how was the great depression caused
how to test for depression
how is depression genetic
how was the great depression
depression icd 10
depression icd 10 code
depression in teens
depression in children
depression in men
depression in dogs
depression in pregnancy
depression images
depression in the bible
depression in a sentence
is depression chronic
is it anxiety or depression
i have depression what do i do
is bipolar depression
in depression quotes
is postpartum depression
in the great depression
is depression seasonal
in depression meaning
is depression clinical
depression jokes
depression journal
depression joint movement
depression journal prompts
depression joint pain
depression jw.org
depression journal articles
depression jeopardy
depression jewelry
depression joint movement definition
jobs for people with depression
japanese song about depression
job rejection depression
january depression
journal prompts for depression
jimi hendrix manic depression
junctional st depression
job loss depression symptoms
jobs for introverts with anxiety and depression
j point depression
depression kitty
depression kanji
depression kids
depression ka hindi
depression kjv
depression kitty voice
depression ke lakshan
depression keeps coming back
depression kit
depression kills quotes
kinds of depression
keto depression
kids depression
kdrama about depression
kids in the great depression
kyleena depression
kitty depression
kabayan tropical depression
kill depression
know if you have depression
depression lamp
depression levels
depression loss of appetite
depression lyrics
depression landform
depression lights
depression lack of motivation
depression level test
depression loneliness
depression line
lowest dose of zoloft for depression
lithium for depression
levels of depression
long term depression
low grade depression
lamp for seasonal depression
la depression severe
list of depression meds
list of depression medication
list of medication for anxiety and depression
depression meaning
depression medication list
depression memes
depression medication names
depression meds list
depression meals
depression medication side effects
depression movement
depression medicine names
medication for depression
medication for anxiety and depression
moderate depression
major depression
manic depression symptoms
mild depression
movies about depression
meaning of depression
melancholic depression
depression nursing diagnosis
depression nap
depression neurotransmitter
depression nos
depression nursing interventions
depression nest
depression nos icd 10
depression nausea
depression not eating
depression number
nhs depression test
nhs depression
new deal great depression
nice guidelines depression
natural depression supplements
nursing diagnosis for depression
nostalgic depression
natural treatment for depression
no depression
nhs depression and anxiety test
depression of 1893
depression of 1873
depression or anxiety
depression on period
depression or adhd
depression on a topographic map
depression or bipolar
depression of 1837
depression of 1920
online depression test
overcome depression
of the great depression
of postpartum depression
on disability for depression
of men with depression
of depression and anxiety
on depression quotes
of children with depression
depression pills
depression pictures
depression poems
depression physical symptoms
depression palworld
depression pathophysiology
depression pie
depression pills names
depression psychosis
depression paralysis
postnatal depression
psychotic depression
prenatal depression
perinatal depression
pregnancy depression
post concert depression
postpartum depression treatment
physical symptoms of depression
poems about depression
depression quotes
depression quiz
depression quiz for teens
depression questions
depression quiz free
depression quotes images
depression quotes short
depression quiz buzzfeed
depression questionnaire pdf
quotes about depression
qattara depression project
quotes to help with depression
quotes about depression and anxiety
questions about depression
quotes from the great depression
quiz depression
questionnaire for depression
quotes about overcoming depression
depression reddit
depression room
depression risk factors
depression rates in america
depression relapse
depression resources
depression recipes
depression rehab
depression rates by country
depression rating scale
respiratory depression
reactive depression
recession vs depression
reddit depression
risk factors for depression
refractory depression
respiratory depression symptoms
reasons for depression
raynaud's disease and depression
recurrent depression
depression synonym
depression screening
depression symptoms in women
depression scale
depression statistics
depression screening test
depression songs
depression symptoms in men
depression support groups near me
symptoms of depression
seasonal depression
signs of depression in women
severe depression
signs of depression in men
st depression
signs of postpartum depression
songs about depression
situational depression
depression treatment
depression test free
depression test score
depression tattoos
depression types
depression test online
depression therapist near me
depression therapy
depression test elephant or tree
types of depression
tropical depression
treatment for depression
test depression
the great depression causes
the definition of depression
the angle of depression
the beck depression inventory
the depression cure
depression unspecified icd 10
depression unspecified symptoms
depression us history definition
depression used in a sentence
depression unspecified dsm 5 code
depression us history
depression unemployment
depression usa
depression uranium glass
depression unhappy wife letter to husband
unipolar depression
unemployment during the great depression
understanding depression
upsloping st depression
untreated depression
universal credit depression and anxiety
us great depression
unemployment depression
uplifting quotes for depression
uspstf depression screening
depression vs anxiety
depression va rating
depression vs recession
depression vs sadness
depression vs bipolar
depression vs major depressive disorder
depression vs adhd
depression vs burnout
depression vitamins
depression vs clinical depression
vitamin d depression
vraylar for depression
vitamins for tiredness and depression
verses for depression
vitamins for anxiety and depression
va rating for depression
vitamin d deficiency depression
vyvanse for depression
vaping and depression
vascular depression
depression wallpaper
depression with psychotic features
depression while pregnant
depression with anxiety icd 10
depression with symptoms of psychosis
depression wikipedia
depression ware
depression weight loss
depression worksheets
what was the great depression
what causes depression
what is postpartum depression
what is clinical depression
what are signs of depression
what are the symptoms of depression
what is manic depression
what is seasonal depression
what is the definition of depression
depression x ray
depression x script
depression xmas
depression xarelto
depression xpression reading
xanax for depression reviews
xanax for anxiety and depression reviews
xanax dosage for depression
xanax pill for depression
xanamem depression
xmas depression
xyzal depression
xanax respiratory depression
xarelto depression
xen1101 depression
depression years
depression years in us
depression youtube
depression years in usa
depression young adults
depression yoga
depression years in the united states
depression youth
depression you are not alone
yoga for depression and anxiety
yellow depression glass
years of the great depression
yellow depression glass patterns
youtube depression
youth depression
yoga poses for depression
yellow wallpaper postpartum depression
youtube depression copy
young men depression
depression zoloft
depression zomboid
depression zoning out
depression zepbound
depression zoom meetings
depression zone
depression zapped away
depression zaps
depression zone tool
depression zodiac signs
zoloft for depression
zyban for depression
zung self-rating depression scale
zoloft for postpartum depression
zoloft dosage for depression
zevia if depression gets the best of me lyrics
zyprexa depression
zoloft for anxiety and depression
zyrtec depression
zoely depression
depression 0800
depression 0.5
depression 007
08 depression ravelli
08 depression
09 depression
st depression 0.5 mm
tropical depression 02w
tropical depression 06w
tropical depression 01w
04.05 the great depression
0.025+ mv st depression
0.5 mm st depression
07.01 the great depression
04.05 the great depression option 2
0.05 mv st depression
.025 mv st depression
0800 depression
depression 1929
depression 1920
depression 1893
depression 1873
depression 10 code
depression 101
depression 1st trimester
depression 1 and 2
depression 10 year old
10 facts about the great depression
10 signs of depression
1930s great depression
10 best probiotics for depression and anxiety
10 facts about depression
1893 depression
1873 depression
1929 great depression
1 in how many people have depression
1920 great depression
depression 2030
depression 2 weeks before period
depression 2023
depression 2025
depression 2 question screen
depression 2 days after drinking
depression 2nd trimester
depression 20s
depression 24 weeks pregnant
2 causes of the great depression
2030 great depression
2008 depression
2 types of depression
2023 depression
2023 great depression
2008 great depression
2000 key depression in 15 minutes
2000 key depression passage pdf
2024 great depression
depression 3rd trimester
depression 38 cfr
depression 3 months after quitting smoking
depression 30 weeks pregnant
depression 3rd trimester reddit
depression 38 weeks pregnant
depression 30s
depression 33 weeks pregnant
depression 311
depression 3.0 case study test
3 causes of the great depression
3 facts about the great depression
3 symptoms of depression
3 types of depression
3 facts about depression
3 signs of depression
3 main causes of the great depression
3rd trimester depression
3 effects of the great depression
3 causes of depression
depression 40 year old woman
depression 4 letters
depression 4 year old
depression 40s
depression 4 months postpartum
depression 4 weeks pregnant
depression 40 year old man
depression 46 years old
depression 45 year old woman
4 causes of the great depression
4 types of depression
4 signs of depression
4 stages of depression
4 main causes of the great depression
4000 key depression means in wpm
4 symptoms of depression
4.3 worksheet angles of elevation and depression
4 months postpartum depression
4.05 the great depression
depression 504 accommodations
depression 5 stages of grief
depression 5 year old
depression 504 plan
depression 504
depression 5 facts
depression 5 weeks pregnant
depression 5150
depression 5 stages
depression 5 months after baby
5-htp dosage for depression and anxiety
5 causes of the great depression
5 stages of depression
5 facts about the great depression
5 symptoms of depression
5 facts about depression
5 signs of depression
5 effects of the great depression
5 htp for depression
504 accommodations for depression
depression 6 year old
depression 6 weeks pregnant
depression 6 months after break up
depression 6 months after birth
depression 6 months postpartum
depression 60 year old woman
depression 65 year old woman
depression 6 months pregnant
depression 6 weeks postpartum
depression 6 quarters
6 causes of the great depression
6 signs of depression
6 signs of smiling depression
6 facts about the great depression
6 year old depression
6 months postpartum depression
6 months sober depression
6 facts about depression
6 stages of depression
6 effects of the great depression
depression 7 months postpartum
depression 7 year old
depression 7 weeks pregnant
depression 7 months pregnant
depression 70 years old
depression 7 months after baby
depression 70
depression 7 weeks postpartum
depression 75
depression 7 months after giving birth
7 causes of the great depression
7 signs of depression
7 stages of depression
7 signs of high functioning depression
7 year old depression
7 types of depression
7 day meal plan for depression
7 months postpartum depression
7 effects of the great depression
7 ways to deal with depression
depression 8 year old
depression 8 weeks pregnant
depression 8 months postpartum
depression 8 weeks postpartum
depression 8 monate nach geburt
depression 8 days before period
depression 8 months after baby
depression 8 letters
depression 85 year old
depression 8dpo
8-5 practice angles of elevation and depression
8-5 angles of elevation and depression
8 year old depression symptoms
8-4 practice angles of elevation and depression
8 signs of depression
8 year old depression
8 symptoms of depression
8 months postpartum depression
80 mg fluoxetine for depression
8000 depression per hour means
depression 9 year old
depression 9 months postpartum
depression 9 symptoms
depression 9 test
depression 9 months pregnant
depression 9 months after baby
depression 9 weeks pregnant
depression 9 days before period
depression 9q
depression 9 questions
9 symptoms of depression
9q depression
9 year old depression
9 year old depression symptoms
9 months postpartum depression
9-5 depression
9 question depression test
9 foods that help with depression
911 maddie postpartum depression
9 causes of depression
​
​
​
​

hello! i am a first year teacher currently teaching 6th ELA at a title I school. many of my students are reading at or below a 4th grade level. this quarter was poetry and figurative language, and i have done so many things to try and get these kids to even somewhat remember the definition of the vocab words, let alone actually apply their knowledge. i have done interactive notes (TWICE!!), poetry writing with figurative language, review blookets, figurative language worksheets (made for 5th), i have looked at figurative language in encanto song lyrics to try and make it more relevant to them, matching activities, and so on.
these kids are NOT getting it. i am lucky if they remember what a simile is. today we took a quiz they were allowed to use notes on and so many kids scored below a 15/20 (what my school considers to be mastery). this is my fourth week of teaching this and i am at my wits end. any suggestions on activities or alternative methods that i can use to try and get this in their heads? i don’t even need them to be experts, i just want them to remember the definition of like 4 of the words.
as a heads up, we are focusing on simile, metaphor, alliteration, onomatopoeia, idiom, personification, irony, and hyperbole.

I’ve never used Reddit before so forgive me if I don’t know what I’m doing.
I am in my second year teaching at a 1-5 elementary school. I teach 15 classes (3 of each grade level) and 4th grade instrumental lessons.
Some general ed teachers brought to my mentors attention that I lack consequences and classroom management skills (none of them have been in my class longer than dropping the kids off and picking them up to really see what goes on in my classroom btw). And basically next year is my make it or break it year.
I’m seeking advice on classroom management and what types of consequences work.
Here’s what I’ve implemented so far: -worksheet packets for individuals misbehaving instead of participating in the activity -email home -fix it ticket where students write what they did wrong and why it’s important to change this behavior that then gets sent home to be signed by a parent or guardian -whole class apology letters
I am not allowed to take recess or hold kids after school since it’s elementary.
None of these teachers have spoken directly to me about this or have offered advice on what works for their classroom. They make it sound like my classroom is a tornado which is completely not true.
I don’t have much context other than that. But I am trying my best and hope to be met with some advice and compassion! I know the first few years (if not more) of teaching are difficult.
Thanks in advance!!

Here’s the context of my question. I’m an adult parent who really struggled in school. Around 4th grade I stopped doing homework assignments because I was already overwhelmed. When my parents asked if I had any, I would just lie and say no because at the time the tools didn’t exist for them to go online and check. However I was usually able to complete my in-class work and was a decent test taker so I was able to avoid completely failing subjects. I graduated with a 2.something GPA.
In high school teachers would get concerned about me. Once or twice I’d have to stay after class and answer questions about why the year started out so well but my grades always steadily declined. Was something going on at home? “No.” Well what’s going wrong? “I don’t know” (code for, I refuse to do homework but obviously can’t just tell you that).
Anyway, school for me was absolute hell for various reasons and, looking back with more mature eyes, I realize what I was doing was refusing to allow my daily hell to invade my safe haven at home. In adulthood we are encouraged to set boundaries. If my job is encroaching on my home life outside of working hours, we as a society tend to accuse the job of overstepping and I am told I should turn my notifications off once I’m off the clock. But isn’t the homework system (accidentally) training us to believe our “jobs” should be allowed to take priority in our off time?
Anyway, at age 21 I tried out the local community college then two years later moved to a University where I graduated Magna Cum Laude. The main difference being, “homework” assignments were much fewer and farther between in college because I wasn’t at school for a solid 7 hours a day taking seven classes every day who were all assigning me worksheets and text book problems every day.
Now that I’m a parent I see my kids struggling with similar issues. My daughter was nearly destroyed mentally by her 7th grade experience, being overwhelmed with everything going on at school and hours of homework time on top of it. She went to the darkest mental places a person can go at such a young age and is still working on coming back out of it three years later. I’m worried my son who is in 4th grade now is in danger of taking a path similar to mine.
So all of this leads back to my question, which is not meant to be accusatory or facetious, but can’t we just stop doing this now?
Edit:
Trying to respond to all of your comments, but at this point, I can’t keep up anymore ha ha. For those of you who gave me good thoughtful responses, even though I may have sounded like a total idiot coming in here with this question I just want to say I really appreciate you and I appreciate everything that you do to work with all these students and try to set them up for success. Some of you seem to have gotten a little bit offended by the question and for that I apologize. My intention wasn’t to try to value your profession or to try to tell you how to do your jobs. I just wanted to present my experience and ask why things couldn’t be different.

I just finished student teaching in 5th grade about 3 weeks ago. Immediately after spring break, I started in a 4th grade classroom as a long-term sub for a teacher’s maternity leave. I loved my 5th graders SO much almost immediately. They were so warm and welcome and mostly well-behaved with some mild behaviors from a couple of boys. They wanted to be at school.
However, in 4th grade, I have seven boys that are absolutely feral. The rest of them are chatty but otherwise respectful. To be fair, I was warned. They’ve been awful all year for their regular teacher and every related arts teacher. I was so excited to be offered the job and had on my rose-colored brand new teacher glasses. I just knew I could ✨love✨ them right out of those behaviors and our ✨relationships✨ would magically overcome any problems.
They all have behaviors that are wildly inappropriate and unpredictable. None of them take anything seriously and their personalities range from downright disrespectful to moderately rude. They LIVE to disrupt the class with anything from asking silly (“funny”) questions to “accidentally” falling out of their chairs to just holding conversations with each other from across the room while I’m teaching. One of them started rolling around on the carpet today during a lesson. Another emulated oral sex on a pretzel rod. I want to do fun things with them - we’ve tried morning meetings, silent ball, task cards to get in some movement, “jeopardy” style expectations refreshers, and more. They can’t handle any of it. They can’t handle a freaking brain break. I had to turn it off halfway through yesterday because, again, the boys dominate the classroom and ruin it for everyone by acting like wild animals, even after we reviewed expectations right as I turned on the video. I’ve resorted to mostly handing out worksheet packets for them to do (we’re deep in test prep) and then telling them to “read” on their devices (although only about 30% of them read- the rest openly play games and I don’t have the mental energy to fight them if they’re not being disruptive).
I’m really questioning my entire life right now. I gave up an extremely successful career to return to college as an adult to fulfill my “dream” of becoming a teacher but this is a nightmare. How is it that two sequential grades within the same school can be so vastly different? What kind of teacher finds her own students unlikable? Do they just not respect me as a “sub”? Things are going to get better, right?

Hi been following this forum for a while. My 11 year old stepdaughter who is in 4th grade has been in Kumon math for almost 3 months now.
She has a history of dyslexia diagnosed since three years ago. Her reading is vastly improved due to continuous Orton Gillingham tutoring, however we had to recently stop it due to cost and I feel more comfortable with her reading level (as far as decoding) at this point (of course there is still room to improve).
She still struggles with reading comprehension. Per the school, it's more at a 2nd grade level. And spelling and writing, it's definitely been a journey as far as teaching her grammar basics like proper sentence structure and spelling. I feel the repetition of basics may help like I see with the math program.
She's already gotten accustomed to the repetition of the math worksheets. I'm curious if anyone has tried the reading program. For us, math and reading together through kumon is much cheaper than traditional tutoring.

** BOTH SAT 4/13 AND SUN 4/14 *\*
Cactus & Succulent Society of NM Annual Show and Sale Albuquerque Garden Clubs, 10120 Lomas Blvd. NE *Free Admission* The show will display several hundred plants, including some of the finest specimens from many different private collections in our region, including our society's members. You do not need to be a member to exhibit plants. Please bring your very best cacti and succulents to be exhibited at this show. Please email cssofnm@gmail.com for more info on how to enter your own plants to the judged show. Entries are accepted at the Albuquerque Garden Center on Friday, April 12, from 1 pm to 6 pm. Remember that you may not retrieve the plants you entered until the show closes, at 3 pm on Sunday. In addition to the judged show, the society's annual sale brings in vendors, from various places, that provide a wide variety of cacti and other succulent plants available for purchase; they range from bargain starter plants to spectacular specimens. Some excellent specimen plants will be sold via a silent auction, which will be done at least one of the days. Bidders are urged to be present at the close of bidding to purchase the plants, and take them home. An additional special feature of the sale is a selection of some locally grown, hardy species for the yard---at least in Albuquerque, and, sometimes, further north. We will have 3 checkout lines for sale items, instead of the traditional 2 lines. We will accept cash, checks and credit cards

• Sat 10 AM - 4 PM
• Sun 10 AM - 3 PM

12 - 6 PM Duke City Foodie Fest 2024 Cliff's Amusement Park, 4800 Osuna Rd. NE Join us for our second annual DUKE CITY FOODIE FEST! 100+ local food trucks and vendors, live music, kids activities, food competition, and more! ONLY DESERT SUN EVENT PRODUCTIONS AND DELECTABLE BAKING CO ARE THE HOSTS PLEASE BEWARE OF SCAMMERS!
** Fri 4/12 *\*
Fri 6 PM Discovery After Dark National Museum of Nuclear Science & History, 601 Eubank Blvd. SE Join us for an evening of fun and hands-on experiments for guests ages 21 and over. Enjoy food and beverage trucks and the Nuclear Museum’s exhibits while you participate in hands-on science, technology, engineering, and math fun! (tickets)
Fri 6 – 8 PM "Lavender Haze" Swiftie Inspired MotheDaughter Date Night Pinspiration, 6271 Riverside Plaza Ln. NW, Ste D1 Swifties get ready to party! Join us for a “Lavender Haze” inspired night of craft making! Whip up your own lavender scented candle, lavender sugar scrub and Swiftie bracelets fit for a pop star. And that’s not all! Sip on a glamorous sparkling cider drink, play ERAS Tour Bingo (for prizes!) and jam to Taylor Swift tunes. The cost is $60 per couple and payment is due at registration. Note: All children must be accompanied by an adult. Let’s make some memories, Swiftie-style! Fee is non-refundable and if you register and are unable to attend, a studio credit will be honored for another workshop, crafts or our splatter experience. Seats are limited and registration is required, so reserve your seat today. All are welcome, moms, daughters, besties, and gal pals to join us for this amazingly fun event! This will sell out fast so register today!
Fri 6:30 – 8:30 PM Lighting the Way Our Abundance Journey Kick-Off Gala! Unity Spiritual Center, 9800 Candelaria Rd. NE Join us in this celebration for everyone to enjoy. We will kick off Our Abundance Journey with a gala! This event is for everyone including kids and teens. There will be tasty bites, D.J., dancing, a photo booth, reflection room, a Grand Prize, and more. Those in attendance will be given a ticket to be entered in the Grand Prize drawing so be sure to attend. You must be present to win! While we celebrate our abundance as a community we will ask you to reflect on how you might contribute your time, talent and treasure to the journey. We have a budget, but your participation will enable us to better create a realistic forecast. This will help us, not only with our current programs, but also how we might offer even more here at Unity Spiritual Center Albuquerque and reach out to the greater community. Kids, classes, groups, services, concerts, workshops, and more . . . all of these things offer exciting opportunities for happier more abundant living in keeping with Unity principles
Fri 7:30 PM April Monthly Meeting Rainbow Park Observatory, 301 Southern Blvd. SE, Rio Rancho Rio Rancho Astronomical Society members who traveled to witness the Total Solar Eclipse will share stories of their travel adventures and pictures of the event. Anyone else who saw the eclipse is encouraged to attend and share their experiences as well. The meeting is free and open to the public. Telescopes will be available for public stargazing after the meeting, weather permitting
Fri 7:30 – 9:30 PM Bluegrass Live with Juniper Roots Bow & Arrow Brewing, 608 McKnight Ave NW Enjoy local bluegrass-inspired Juniper Roots with their banjo stompin, high desert mountain vibes! *No cover, 21+
Fri 8 PM Baracutanga Juno, 1501 1st St. NW Dance to Albuquerque's #1 South American Cumbia group. Bandleader Jackie Zamora draws on her Peruvian roots and her sultry vocals to bring authentic South American Cumbia to Albuquerque with her group Baracutanga. Top notch musicians all around. In Juno's newly expanded indoor performance space. 21+. $10 at the door, or online/advance to secure your spot. VIP w/ reserved seating available
Fri 8 – 10 PM Pink Floyd Laser Spectacular KiMo Theatre, 423 Central Ave It’s the smash hit multi-media laser and light show featuring the music of Pink Floyd “as you’ve never seen before.” Laser Spectacular carries listeners away on a mind-expanding journey driven by cutting-edge effects, high-powered lasers, and large-screen video projection, all performed to the masterful soundtrack of Pink Floyd. The Laser Spectacular has become a must-see classic for Floyd fans of all ages. Doors open at 7pm. Show begins at 8pm. No flash photography or video taping permitted. There is no elevator at the KiMo Theatre. Accessible seating is available upon request in the orchestra section. Paid parking is available in garage just north of the KiMo Theatre on 5th St. and Copper Ave (tickets)
Fri 8 – 11 PM Goth Night & Dark Market: Spring Heathens Edition Tractor Brewing - Wells Park, 1800 4th St. NW We're celebrating spring as it was intended to be celebrated, with Goth music. Time to break out your Doc Martins, black nail polish, eyeliner, choker, and red lip stick because we're hosting a night of beautiful music for you dark hearts. DJ Riff Rat and DJ Suspence will be spinning one the ones and twos, Pepe El Monstrito will be providing sound, and Spectral Youth will be featuring some amazing local vendors
** Sat 4/13 *\*
Sat 8 AM – 12 PM Downtown Grower's Market: FIRST MARKET DAY! Robinson Park, 810 Copper Ave NW The Downtown Growers' Market is BACK! This vibrant community event connects local farmers, growers, artisans, wellness makers, and hot food vendors with the local community from mid-April to early-November. Bring friends / family or come solo to enjoy fresh food made on sight, a variety of seasonal produce, unique arts and crafts, live music, and special programming all in the heart of downtown Albuquerque
Sat 8 AM – 2 PM 2nd Saturday Tent Sale! Anteeks on Menaul, 8908 Menaul Blvd. NE Back lot tent sale! 2nd Saturday of each month. Come meet local vintage, antique & oddities dealers
Sat 8 AM Walk MS: Albuquerque Hoffmantown Church, 8888 Harper Rd. NE The new Walk MS brings the MS community together like never before and celebrates those who are at the center of everything we do: people living with MS. Whether you live with MS, love someone who does, or are a part of the wider community, you can proudly display your role in the movement and be celebrated for the important part you play. So, what are you waiting for? Learn more and to register or build your team and join the movement at https://ntlms.org/Walk2024 Don’t forget to use #WalkMS in your social media posts so we can share in the joy of your Walk MS journey!
Sat 8:30 – 10:30 AM MADAGASCAR JR Pancake Breakfast FUNdraiser for Cardboard Playhouse The Box Performance Space and Improv Theatre, 119 Gold Ave SW Catch a preview performance from Madagascar Jr before we hit the stage at the KiMo Theatre. All proceeds and donations will go to the general operating fund of Cardboard Playhouse Theatre Company. Tickets are $10 in advance and $12 at the door. We offer 2 hours of validated parking in the structure attached to the building. If you have questions or need to change any selections, please email [cardboardplayhouse@gmail.com](mailto:cardboardplayhouse@gmail.com)
Sat 9 AM Ellen Reavis Race for Autism Balloon Fiesta Park, 9455 Balloon Museum Dr. NE The Ellen Reavis Race for Autism our biggest fundraiser of the year! It is also a great way to raise your voice and join our force to create acceptance of Autism in your community. Create your team today and join us during Autism Acceptance month as we celebrate our community. We will be having a team t-shirt contest. Create a t-shirt design in honor of your team! You can drop off a t-shirt at the main stage or come to the stage at 12pm to be judged by the best emcee there is Sam Newton of Coyote 102.3. We will have a special prize for the winner! There also is prizes for largest team and biggest fundraising team! 5k race is a timed race. Participants will receive a finisher medal and a shirt (not guaranteed) The top 3 males and females will receive a prize for their efforts. 1 mile walk is untimed and is for those that do not want to be timed. A shirt is included (not guaranteed) The Star Walk is our time to honor those we are running and walking for! Open to any Autistic individual. Walk a short aisle as the crowd cheers you on just for being you! Each participant gets a t-shirt with their registration (not guaranteed) (register)
Sat 9 AM – 3 PM 31st Annual César Chávez & Dolores Huerta Fiesta NHCC National Hispanic Cultural Center, 1701 4th St. SW This is a free event, open to the public. Children are welcome. There will be a Kids Corner with activities and food trucks. Mariachis, entertainment, and the Si Se Puede awards ceremony. Headliner band: Mala Maña. 9am- Car Show, 10am- La Marcha, 12pm-3pm La Fiesta. Dolores Huerta is our special guest & keynote speaker. *Times are estimated, we reserve the right to make adjustments to the schedule as needed
Sat 10 AM – 1 PM Earth Day Clean-Up Pueblo Montano Trailhead, 4100-4112 Montaño Rd. NW Get ready for an awesome Earth Day Cleanup! Once we've rocked the cleanup, we'll head over to La Cumbre Brewery for a Raffle and drinks! Please be sure to register for this event - it's free & provides you with a complimentary beverage ticket. Plus it ensures we have the proper amount of supplies. We'll provide gloves, sunscreen, hand sanitizer, trash bags, bottled water & snacks. Come dressed comfortably, including footwear
Sat 10 AM – 2:30 PM West Mesa Community Health Fair West Mesa Community Center, 5500 Glenrio Rd. NW FREE Community Event offering families vaccines, health screenings, live chair yoga, lice kits, health vendors, pharmacies, health insurances, Medicaid/Medicare enrollment, food and clothing assistance. Food, music, jumpers, STEM challenges, games! Free parking will be available at the John Adams Middle School parking lot and Holy Rosary Church parking lot. For more info, call 505-836-3487
Sat 10 AM – 3 PM Community Celebration of Arts and Culture Sandoval County Administration Building,1500 Idalia Rd NE, Rio Rancho Creative New Mexico, New Mexico’s arts advocacy organization, and Rio Rancho Creative Crossroad. Free, family-friendly, events are occurring in several communities across the state during April. There will be over 30 vendors and non-profits on hand providing visitors with the opportunity to learn more about the diverse creative resources that are available in our community. “Dogs for a Cause” food truck will be on hand—so come hungry and thirsty! Funding for Art NM! comes in part, from a grant from New Mexico Arts, a division of the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs
Sat 10 AM – 4 PM Indigenous Market HomegrowNM Trading Post, 2715 4th St. NW, Ste 2 Another Indigenous Market here at the Post organized by Cleo's Blue Corn Kitchen with great vendors & delicious food! Can't forget coffee & baked goods
Sat 10:30 AM – 2:15 PM Abstract April New Mexico Ferments, 2506 Washington St. NE Apply the serotonin high of being creative in the freest way while transforming still life tableaux through the lens of your mind's abstraction a fun meditation in an artful setting! As always, all ages welcome to freely create with a 'chip in' local New Mexico charity jar available. Our April charity is Offcenter Community Arts Project
Sat 11 AM Spring Market ABQ Food Park, 6951 San Antonio Dr. NE Over 25 local artisans, enticing food vendors, exhilarating games, and live music for a day packed with excitement!
Sat 11 AM Phat Stax Block Party Phat Stax Nob Hill, 114 Tulane Dr. SE Join us for our 1 year anniversary block party! Local vendors on site! Music and Dancing! Come celebrate with us!
Sat 11 AM move thing: community dance project Los Jardines Institute, 801 La Vega Dr. SW FREE. No RSVP required. Collaborators: Los Jardines Institute, Jah Truebadoors, youth from South Valley prep, Alex Viteri Arturo, Valerie Oliveiro, and Jennifer Monson. Conceptual formations: Valerie Oliveiro and Jennifer Monson. move thing is a community-based dance project proposing that the multi-sensory, improvisatory, and choreographic structures of dance contribute to reparative projects in communities that have historically been impacted by toxic contamination due to resource extraction (Uranium and coal mining) and industrial effluents (chemicals, particulates, carbon monoxide, and heavy metals). Resisting all forms of purity, the work proposes that we are all constantly, inherently, and unevenly making up each other and all other animate and inanimate beings. If we imagine ourselves as soluble, always dissolving and reconstituting choreographically, could we move through toxicity and be with and/or absorb toxicity and find new / alternative / old / transformative relationships to its states / tendencies / behaviors / effects / violences / shifts? Could we find intelligences within our bodies and abilities to connect more deeply with the mechanisms for survival and support in sites and systems that we are a part of? move thing is supported, in part, by the Challenge America grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Campus Research Board’s award from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and the Puffin Foundation
Sat 11:30 AM – 2:30 PM April Pop Up New Mexico Ferments, 2506 Washington St. NE LadyJennD (Jennifer DeSantis) will be with Random Acts o Art! Join us for collage and Kombucha! I should have some new merch too! FYI - I am gearing up for a solo show at NM Ferments from May through the end of June
Sat 12 PM April Brew tour Sidetrack Brewing, 413 2nd St. SW Sidetrack Brewing, Gravity Bound Brewing, Boese Bros Brewing, Thirsty Eye Brewing. At Sidetrack, a DD will be selected, then we’ll head to the other breweries in the order listed. T-shirts, if ordered will be delivered. For safety, a breathalyzer is available, a DD will be established and a liability waiver will be signed by all participants. Safety is of utmost importance. We want everyone to enjoy their tour and arrive home safely
Sat 1 PM International Steampunk Day Celebration The Kosmos Restaurant, 1715 5th St. NW Sunday is International Steampunk Day. Let's meet up a day early for lunch to celebrate (505 Steampunk: Society of Brass and Steam)
Sat 1 – 3 PM Wine, Cider, and Mead Making Class Southwest Grape & Grain, 3401 Candelaria Blvd. NE An entry level class to teach you the basics you'll need to get started making your own wine, cider, and mead at home! Wine, Mead, and Cider can trace their roots back many centuries to various locations and regions. There’s a reason these beverages are still around, they’re delicious (and relatively easy to make!). Now, you can add the knowledge of the history and creation process to your repertoire. Join us for this informative class in which we’ll delve into each of these categories and leave you with an instilled sense of confidence to go home and make these timeless beverages (tickets)
Sat 1 – 3 PM KAJILLIONAIRE - a Lesbian Earth special screening of the wildly original Miranda July comedy! The Guild Cinema, 3405 Central Ave NE View the trailer. Dir. Miranda July - 2020 - 104m. Know your worth! From acclaimed writedirector Miranda July comes a profoundly moving and wildly original comedy. Con-artists Theresa (Debra Winger) and Robert (Richard Jenkins) have spent 26 years training their only daughter, Old Dolio (Evan Rachel Wood), to swindle, scam, and steal at every opportunity. During a desperate, hastily conceived heist, they charm a stranger (Gina Rodriguez) into joining their family, only to have their entire world turned upside down (tickets)
Sat 2 – 4 PM Paint Party Chill Zone Frozen Yogurt, 4320 Ridgecrest Dr. SE, Ste B1, Rio Rancho $10 per person. Join us at the Chill Zone and paint these comical springtime friends enjoying FROYO on an 8"x8" canvas. All supplies are included
Sat 4:30 – 7:30 PM ENCOMPASS // OPEN STUDIOS Harwood Art Center, 1114 7th St. NW Harwood Art Center and Escuela del Sol Montessori are pleased to present Encompass, a unique multi-generational art event that takes place annually. Featuring five exhibitions, open studios, hands-on art-making projects, live music, food trucks, and activities for all ages, Encompass is both a reflection of and an offering to our community; this year’s theme is Embodiments of Wonder. Encompass is Harwood’s capstone celebration for the year. This event will include Open Studios, food by Root 66 Food Truck, and our very own Wonder Fair! Harwood’s Wonder Fair at Encompass will feature live music by Casey Mráz, special guests the beloved Giant Puppets from OffCenter Arts and free artmaking activities and experiences for our community
Sat 5 PM Silver Lace Gala, Benefitting Running 505 Tramway Plaza Events, 9600 Tennyson St. NE Join us for this 21+ fundraising event, to support Running 505. An evening of fun, elegance, live music, dancing, great food, silent auction, and race entry raffle prizes! Dress code: white or silver (tickets)
Sat 5:30 – 9 PM A Very Merry Unbirthday - Alice in Wonderland Spring DANCE Grace Church, 6901 San Antonio Dr. NE DON'T miss Jeremiah’s Place Spring Dance! Free event for our Adults-Special Needs community. Dinner provided! Alice in Wonderland costumes Encouraged. Cafe doors open at 5:30pm. SO … Get your guardian/caregiver and head on over a FUN dance to kick off Spring 2024! Mad Hatter - Queen of Hearts - Alice who are you coming dressed up as? (No drop offs, guardian/caregiver must stay)
Sat 6 PM ¡Loteria! Game Canteen Brewhouse, 2381 Aztec Rd. NE We are so excited for ¡Loteria! at the Brewhouse! Practice your Spanish, have a drink, hang with friends and win prizes! Please arrive a little early to get signed in and set up
Sat 6 – 9 PM Nat'l Assoc of Latino Healthcare Execs Salsa Night Juno, 1501 1st St. NW Salsa dancing for a good cause, sponsored by National Association of Latino Healthcare Executives. Music by DJ Pedro and DJ Sizzle. $5 at the door or presales online, all ticket proceeds go to the organization. 21+ (minors ok with parents). Stay after for live Salsa with Calle 66
Sat 6 – 9 PM Gone Country Saturdays with DJ Gonzo Supreme Ponderosa Brewing, 1761 Bellamah Ave NW Starting with free dance lessons at 5 pm, followed by family-friendly entertainment until 9 pm. Come join us for an evening of music and fun you won't forget!
Sat 7 PM Selena Birthday Celebration Flix Brewhouse, 3236 La Orilla Rd. NW Don’t miss this Flix tradition! SELENA is the story of a girl who had the spirit to believe in a dream and the courage to make it come true. Join us for a birthday screening of SELENA! Admission includes a free slice of birthday cake (tickets)
Sat 7 PM Music in the Beer Garden Flock of Moons Brewing, 111 Harvard Dr. SE Join The Ukuladies, Chris Kill Duo, and Iain Cummings at Flock of Moons on on their beautiful Beer Garden for a fun Spring night of live music!
Sat 7 – 9 PM Pre-Freedom Fest Fundraiser Mary James Café, 11601 Menaul Blvd. NE Get ready for an evening of community, compassion, and cannabis at the Freedom Festival Private Pre-party and Cannabis Private Party! Hosted at the renowned Mary James Cafe, this event promises an unforgettable experience in support of the Freedom Festival and the Indigenous Cannabis Council’s effort to bring event access to those in the community who need some assistance in experiencing this captivating Cinco de Mayo weekend festival on 20 acres of reclaimed Indigenous land. **CBD Focus (3-5pm):** Embrace the healing power of CBD during our early bird session. Explore a variety of CBD-infused products, connect with Freedom Fest event coordinators & the team from The People's Ecosystem, participate in our silent auction and raffles. Your contributions will help us provide over 20 tickets and gas cards to members of our community facing barriers to attending the Freedom Festival. **Cannabis Private Party (7-10pm):** As the beautiful New Mexico sun sets, join us for a private cannabis celebration like no other. Indulge in herbal goodies, courtesy of our generous partners. Don't miss out on the chance to win celebrity giveaways and savor mouth watering creations by none other than Chef Charlene, a Food Network Chopped winner & co-founder of The People’s Ecosystem! Quench your thirst with some fire custom drinks from Mary James Café with the option to add high-grade infusions. ALL while supporting a worthy cause. **Why Attend:** 1. Support the Indigenous Cannabis Council's mission to empower our community, 2. Enjoy a night filled with cannabis, love, laughter, and delectable cuisine, 3. Contribute to providing festival access to those in need (tickets)
Sat 7 – 10 PM EQNX Jazztet Lizard Tail Brewing Industrial, 3351 Columbia Dr. NE Please come and join EQNX Jazztet as we stretch our boundaries again and perform at Lizard Tail - Industrial for the first time on a Saturday night! EQNX Jazztet is a jazz group that plays music from all genres; Jazz, Funk, Latin with a little bit of originals and genre-cross exploration just for fun. We primarily play in the style of "Blue Note Jazz" using a modern take to explore the music of today. We believe in having fun making music! This is a cool venue with a stage and lots of places to sit. It even has a patio. THERE WILL BE A FOOD TRUCK! No Cover! Great selection of beers and a food truck too. Michael Metz - Trumpet, Dan Kelly - Sax, Vic Romanelli - Guitar, Ian Davis - Bass, Steve Arbuckle - Drums. FYI: - This is not a Jazz Jam session. The regular jazz jam session occurs on Sundays from 5:30 to 8 PM
Sat 8:30 PM – 1 AM SABOR Latin Night - Saturdays! Bama's 1865, 6007 Osuna Rd. NE DJ Gabriel Goza will be serving you the saucy Salsa, Bachata, Cumbia, Merengue y Mas! Ample Parking, Safe Environment, Beautiful Venue, Good Food, Good Music, Good Vibes. 21+ / $10 cover, Salsa or Bachata lesson 9:00-9:45pm
** Sun 4/14 *\*
Sun 10 AM Acequia 5K Fun Run Sanchez Farms, 1180 Arenal Rd. SW The Fun Run has been a tradition for CESOSS for over five years. It includes a ceremony, food, and a 4 mile run along the acequia. The funds from this Fun Run will be used to support our current Cultivando Nuestro Futuro Leadership Institute Interns. We invite you all to join us to honor and celebrate acequias and acequia culture in the South Valley. A $30 registration fee is strongly encouraged. We are also accepting sliding scale donations. Please use this donation form to complete your registration. Organizations are able to register for a flat-rate fee of $120. This includes registrations for up to 7 participants in your organization, 7 t-shirts, 7 tamales and beverages for your team!
Sun 10 AM AND 11 AM Pride & Prejudice Brunch Flix Brewhouse, 3200 La Orilla Rd. NW This April, experience the greatest love story of all time. Sparks fly when spirited Elizabeth Bennet meets single, rich, and proud Mr. Darcy. But Mr. Darcy reluctantly finds himself falling in love with a woman beneath his class. Can each overcome their own pride and prejudice? Enjoy a complimentary glass of mimosa with admission and all-day breakfast items (tickets)
Sun 10 AM - 12 PM Christina Kent Early Childhood Center Fundraiser Topgolf, 1600 Desert Surf Cir NE Buy your tickets today! Join us for a fun family event filled with great food, an amazing raffle, and fabulous people. Christina Kent Early Childhood Center is a non-profit that serves the working families of Albuquerque with 5 Star, nationally accredited, and affordable child care. Tickets include continental breakfast
Sun 11 AM – 2 PM Drag Brunch Craft Republic, 4301 The Lane at 25 NE Mark your calendars for a fabulous Drag Brunch, hosted by Kalorie Kardashian! Don't miss out on dazzling performances and delicious mimosas! (tickets)
Sun 11:30 AM Wonka Historic Lobo Theater, 3013 Central Ave NE THE HISTORIC LOBO THEATER is excited to bring Wonka to the big screen! Showing Starts at 11:30 am Tickets are ONLY $10 for General Admission $25 Brunch and a Movie Ticket $21 Brunch Only ticket
Sun 12 - 4 PM Squidly Fest 2024 The Squidly Store, 514 Central Ave SE Join us for a spring pop up shop! Over 20 local artists and small businesses! Come shop local!
Sun 12 – 4 PM Plant Based Junk Food Bow & Arrow Brewing, 608 McKnight Ave NW We will be bringing out our very popular Crispy Chik'n Sandwiches and Loaded Fries. Our patties are made from a combination of soy, wheat, and peas. We are entirely nut free. We will be accepting cash or CC
Sun 2 PM Café Close Encounters Lala Coffee and Tea, 6239 Montgomery Blvd. NE This isn't your ordinary meetup; it's a journey into the mysteries of the cosmos! Remote Viewing Revelations: Dive deep into the intriguing world of remote viewing. If you've taken our in-person class, come share your mind-bending experiences and insights with fellow explorers. UFO Disclosure Updates: Stay up-to-date with the latest UFO disclosure news and unravel the mysteries surrounding unidentified aerial phenomena. Personal Encounters: Share your own extraordinary encounters with the unexplained and hear captivating stories from others who've had close encounters of their own. Theories & Speculations: Let your imagination soar as we discuss theories on what visiting non-human intelligences might be up to. Engage in thought-provoking discussions that'll leave you pondering the possibilities of the galaxy. Our last event was a cosmic blast! We took over the entire coffee shop, creating an atmosphere of intrigue and wonder. New friendships were forged, old ones rekindled, and a tapestry of personal experiences was woven throughout the afternoon
Sun 5:30 – 8:30 PM Jazz Jam Hosted by EQNX Jazztet Lizard Tail Brewing Industrial, 3351 Columbia Dr. NE This is a cool venue with a stage and lots of places to sit. It even has a patio. THERE WILL BE A FOOD TRUCK! Every Sunday from 5:30 to 8 PM. Jam starts after the 1st set. Get there early and make sure you sign in! Piano players, please contact me - we don't us a Piano so you can bring one or see if someone already committed to bring one.
Sun 6 – 9 PM Sunday Funday Karaoke Tractor Brewing - Wells Park, 1800 4th St. NW What brings the fun better then karaoke? Nothing! We got an all new night of karaoke for you singing addicts! Come amp up your Sunday Funday and sing a song with us! The Pop Up will be on hand serving up eats!

Hey, so I'm doing the good ol relearning. When I was a kid, I did good at math, then suddenly I didnt understand shit but the topics had to go by so fast i didnt have time to LEARN. Just memorize. Anyways, idk any resources rn, maybe like textbooks worksheets? Im planning to start with the basics, as a refresher bc i havent done math in years tbh. I might start to kinder but the time where I really didnt understand was probably 4th-5th grade. Any tips for note taking with math? Just anything :)

TLDR: I might have SDAM. Memories are mostly based on inferences, journals, or what my parents tell me. I have some specific memories, but they might not be accurate. I struggle to recall certain memories, like crushes or specific books I've read. My earliest memory is from age 8, but it could have happened later. I have some memories from different grades, but they are not very detailed or vivid. Dreams seem as real as memories. The memories I do have may not have been remembered in chronological order. I hoard things to help trigger memories. Cleaning and re-reading journals sometimes brings back forgotten memories, but they are not very clear. I remember more in the periods I journaled more. It's becoming an existential crisis for me.
I was originally was going to comment this, but it strayed far away from the original
This is something which I am still trying to learn about as someone who thinks they have SDAM. I know all cases are self-diagnosis, just haven't brought it up to therapist, and don't want to jump to conclusions, even after hearing about SDAM for a few months. Wanted this disclaimer.
I feel like my "memories" are either inferences based on known facts, journals I read afterwards, or from parents. I used to do a thing I was young where I would journal about previous journals events, which I don't even have access too,.... but I'm grateful I did that. Could be a sign I did the reviews due to forgetting that they happened even back then lol. Who knows
I've seen people say around the age of 2. However, my "first memory", if you can even call it that, is around the age of 8, when I lose a spelling bee. However, that has been brought up by my parents later, and I even think I journaled about it. Next one, I read the most amount of books that year memory. However, it's in the newspaper, you got a savings account, a trophy, etc. I remember smiling when my mom dropped me off for 2nd grade. Guess what? Found an assignment in my closet later on, which I had to have done at some point later on, which shows me being happy and mom taking a photograph....
What about the memories I should remember? Do I remember the crush I supposedly had? No. Do I remember a singular one of the books I read? Yes/No, only know the series I read due to still owning Magic Tree House & Rainbow Magic books. If I read other series, who knows, and who knows if I even read all on the bookshelf. Do I remember being best friends with this person I will call Julian (not real)? No, there's a photograph somewhere in my room likely of me being with him. I was always confused why he even treated me very nicely, since the beginning of "actual memories" (sometime in middle school, if they can be called that), and then my mother knew when I asked, but not me, that we were best friends...
3rd grade (2016-2017). I struggled learning how to write and handed out candy for Halloween with parents. I don't remember any specific event on learning how to write, and I still struggle to write till this day, so I just type everything, so another inference. Halloween handed out with candy? This may be my first memory. I remember that my parents and 3rd grade teacher was there. I can infer that I was dressing as Toad from Mario with red or blue spots due to the costume being saved. Can I relive it or do much past that? No, I don't even know where that memory even comes from. Now that I think of it, it could have easily happened in any other year after 3rd grade, as the presence of a 3rd grade teacher doesn't mean it didn't occur after that grade. May even have a document somewhere on the old computer if I go searching for it journaling, as I had access to the internet then. Social studies fair project? I have the physical version and digital version, don't remote much other than the paper of my speech which I can infer was awkward, as I have social anxiety, not much detail and could be reconstructed, not that vivid.
4th grade (2017-2018). I remember doing a PowerPoint on Poland for gifted. Why? Well, I still have it, but literally nothing else happened that year. Can't even remember her name and she was a gifted teacher and went to almost every day from 2nd grade - 5th grade apparently. I will have that answer once I find the old documents again of my evaluation, as I remember finding that a few months ago.
5th grade (2018-2019). I got in trouble for rolling my eyes, remembered as I had a t-shirt (I'm sorry, did I just roll my eyes out loud?). I could have easily gotten yelled at in the hall or classroom, but isn't the playground as I rolled my eyes coming inside is the story and is in journal. I remembered I colored in speech, still have the drawing in fact, though the teacher's name I can't remember, even if I had her for three years of speech. I can go on to list the rap battle (journal), the backpack I wore (in closet), the teacher (listed name in journal/searched online later to figure out if she was 4th or 5th and who was the other one if so), time management problem (multiple worksheets I kept and still have). There are more memories for 5th grade, but all I can think of top of my head are related to something else. I can't even remember a single friend name in this point of time from, but I can infer that they are likely the ones which I just happened to already be friends with at 6th grade that I can remember of, except the ones I forgot until parents told me (like Julian).
The dream I journaled this year apparently of flying to Brazil after missing the bus and then deciding to live there before canceling it to be in band instead is just as real as anything else in fact. Like the dream is as real as the reality, so how do you know what's real?
6th grade (2019-2020). I was ostracized from peers due to gendesexuality, figured out I was gay due to never liking a girl (not true, in fact, I think I am aroace, no attraction to anyone) snapped at someone for them telling me to help them with chairs, I was in student council, had other snapping for weird reasons, dated 3 people with no remorse (I would think I would, but I thought it was totally fine????), and told by everyone I need to apply myself and write better. These were all journaled and most of these are digitized journals, as I begun digitizing old ones last year to never lose the past.
7th grade (2020-2021). I became part of an unsavory friends group (maybe 6th grade, too lazy to fact check this rn), was homeschool due to COVID, groomed online, and a lot more stuff. It's all journal or it's all digital stuff I have access too. It's certainly not vivid and some is just like what I remember, rather than being something I see, though I do have some memories which I can see.
8th grade (2021-2022). Solidified my gender identity, able to grow hair long, public school again, wore a mask but got bullied for it, Julian was weirdly nice to me (wrote about it at time, thought it was so confusing, maybe they were trying to reconnect but I had no idea why they were talking to me), thought I was plural, played Minecraft (though I did play before this on Xbox, this is the first game I have saved on Minecraft Education edition and can remember somewhat). ALL journaled and not vivid.
9th grade (2022-2023). Started doing college courses, continued to struggle with handwriting, struggled to get through day but persisted for the college courses which allowed me to wear earplugs in library, had a corrupt teacher who "lost" my work, made first friend, diagnosed with disorder, some family moved in till November, which were all journaled about. However, I journaled less this year than other years due to trying to survive.
10th grade (2023-2024) More college courses, fought for accommodations with many incidents of them saying earplugs cause a fire hazard, created systems of self-government, had covid, started to meal prep, predicted a new "era", created safeguards, yellowjackets invaded room, journaled on why plushies were put away (interesting history with my inferences failing), overnight oats became favorite food, almost died from car crash, argued with parents about therianthropy and homeschool, started to expand my knowledge past psychology into other subjects, discussed SDAM the first time in journal (October 2023), debated dropping out, switched to homeschool for college, journaled about relationships for months to determine aroace status for 100%, became more comfortable in my skin, and more. Do you see how this is close to the longest paragraph, only with 3rd grade and 5th grade coming close, but those events weren't simplified and these were! I remember more when I journal more.
It's like my memories aren't like remembered in the order they originally happened. I think I may have realized this at some point and started hoarding stuff. I said this way before in the past. My mother always asks me to get rid of stuff, but if I lose the item, and don't journal about it, I may lose the ability to recall the little facts I do have. Everytime I check my unorganized files, try to clean my room, or reread journals, I remember something I forgot, but never truly see it vividly, it is a faint picture at best.
How do I deal with this. The more I think of it is becoming more like an existential crisis.

I’ve been watching a channel on YouTube that has lectures on the book we will be using for class, and I have been watching videos and taking notes on medical terminology, the prefixes, suffixes, and roots. My emt class is 2 months long and is in 2 months. I’ve also been using pocket prep. Do you guys have any tips or anything you wish you would’ve known for emt class? The minimum passing grade for my class is 80%. I’m kinda nervous 😣 I appreciate the help in advance 🙏🏽

I’m just at the beginning of my KanKen journey. A month ago I took the paper version of Level 9 at the Kumon Kyoshitsu where I do Kokugo worksheets (just like a little Japanese kid). It was pretty easy and this easy victory filled me with enthusiasm.
I wanted to immediately take more tests, but Kumon only was offering the tests a few times per year.
So, feeling impatient, I signed up for Level 7 (which is at the level of an elementary school student in 4th grade) in the computer version at the local computerized testing center.
The entire test-taking experience was very different from the paper version. On paper you can quickly check how many strokes are in a kanji (and then erase), but it’s not so easy in the computer version. Also, it simply feels and looks different when you write on a tablet.
It can be distracting to use a drawing tablet and keyboard when you are used to practicing on paper.
I am not sure exactly why, but I found myself blanking a lot on normally easy questions.
The cost of 3000 yen is very manageable for me, so I don’t mind taking and retaking the test until the computerized test becomes familiar, but you should be aware that the unfamiliarity can be distracting.