[Parody] The Guide To Cheating At The (UCSB) Rock Labyrinth

Have you ever wanted to reach the center of the UCSB rock labyrinth but fast? This guide is the way to do it.

Sure, it may bend the rules a bit, but there are no rules to this labyrinth in the first place (except to be respectful and not kick around the rocks/cause harm to it/destroy it). It's sole purpose is for it to be relaxing for you.

Unless you're someone like me -- competitive -- the purpose is to reach the center before anyone else.

And this is the ultimate guide on how to do that.

Before we start, it's important for you to take a look at this picture of the labyrinth (credit to this site for the photo):

Now that you've taken a general look at it, let's get started.

There are a few ways you can cheat to the center. One of them involves crossing over everything and going to the middle quickly. The other option is walking but when you see where it turns, you can just step over where you are into that area (where it leads) to make the process faster. 

The second option, in my opinion, is the best way to go. The reason why is because you can avoid judging gazes easily and be more stealthy. The first one you are sure to receive looks/glares from others and it will be more clear that you are cheating. The way you want to cheat is your choice.

Keeping that in mind, when you enter the maze, the first thing you'll realize is there's only one way to reach the center. 

First option -- This option is self explanatory. You simply just walk to the center without stepping on the rocks. This is the easiest of the two options, but it is trickier to do without getting caught.

Second option -- There are many twists and turns that you'll find when entering the labyrinth. To avoid walking to the edge and then back to where you basically started, simply step over them until you reach the center. This is how to cheat using the second option I shared with you. This takes longer than the first option, but it is easier to get away with it and not get caught.

In conclusion, I hope this helped you cheat this labyrinth in the future without getting caught/dealing with the consequences of judgemental glares. 

The "Shadow and Bone" Trilogy

(SPOILER FREE)

The "Shadow and Bone" trilogy (books) is a blend of romance, fantasy, and adventure. If you are interested in any or all of these book genres, I definitely recommend reading this book.

There are three books in the series: Shadow and Bone, Siege and Storm, and Ruin and Rising.

It takes place in another universe/dimension and follows a young girl named Alina Starkov. Alina has always felt like an outsider, she is insecure of the way she looks and is. Never did she expect to gain an undiscovered Grisha power.

Grisha are the special humans who have control of different powers. These powers include Heartrenders, Fabrikators, and Ethrealki. You can learn what powers they control as you read the book.

When Alina gains these powers, she doesn't want them. She just wanted her old life back, never did she want or expect to have these powers.

Anyways, she is told that she has a job to do, to close the Shadow Fold. The Shadow Fold is the area of their universe that stretches across the area and is full of darkness and monsters. If darkness were a real place, it would be the Shadow Fold.

She meets the Darkling, someone who possesses the power to control darkness. He was always seen as mysterious and evil, but Alina and him create a close and strong relationship as the book continues. 

The overall series is definitely worth the read and when I read it I couldn't stop. I finished the series within a short timespan.

You can learn more about the book series here.

Six Word Memoir -- Don't Let Your Fears Stop You

Don’t Let Your Fears Stop You

I remember a project I did in elementary school where we

had to present in front of the entire class. We got to choose what

our projects were, and I loved the idea of mine: it was something

I truly cared about and thought was important to address. I was

assigned to do so on a Monday, which I was not happy about --

as it was the first day back from break and the first day of presentations --

so I tried to get myself out of it. I have always been a nervous

person, and sometimes too nervous to do activities that are important

or matter to me. I didn’t want to present. I always get super anxious

when presenting a project in front of others, especially in front of

the whole class, so I was dreading that Monday, counting down the days miserably. I was eager to at least change the day. I already hated presenting in

front of others by itself, but on a Monday, right after a weekend? No

thanks. Having this mindset gave me enough confidence to push back

my presentation to a Tuesday or Wednesday. I talked to my teacher,

and he didn’t look too pleased and said, “You don’t have a choice on

what day you present on.”

Being the people pleaser I am, at the time I just nodded in
disappointment but went back to what I was doing. It was Wednesday,
five days before presenting. I understood, though, since we had been
working on the project for about a month and it was surely too late
to change days. So with that, I accepted defeat, or so I thought.

As the days slowly passed, it was Monday morning. My mom
urged me to get out of bed and prepare for school, but I had other plans.
I decided the night prior that I would fake being sick. It was easy for

me, I’d wrap a blanket over my head so it’d heat up. After ten minutes

of doing that in the morning, I took my temperature and the result

was high enough to be excused as a fever. I hadn’t really talked about

my project, so my mom was unaware of it, allowing me to stay home.

I knew I would have to present the next day, which I did, and it wasn’t

as nerve racking as I’d initially pictured. The moral of the story is to

not let your fears stop you from doing something you care about. Don’t

let your anxiety get in the way, keep moving forward. It may be scary,

but in the end you learn that you have to conquer your fears eventually.

It was a lesson that had to be learned, and I was lucky enough to have
learned it early in life.  

(note: I know that the way this is formatted/placed looks odd, the
original/accurate format kept glitching and wouldn't fit on the page,
sorry!)