Abdul Muhaimin - Power of the mind - week 1 - Power of hope

 On the 7th of December, I was given the opportunity to participate in the Berkeley Science Bowl (BSB). I woke up at 6 ready to try my best, using my one and only fleeting chance at glory and even though I did, that is not the purpose of this story. I won’t try to build suspense and waste your time on me and the story of our school because the true heroes of this tale are the four 14 year old girls who proved the world wrong, and made themselves the pioneers of their own destiny.


Imagine a room at Berkeley, and If you can't imagine one here is a picture (faces blurred for privacy). It was the first game and we went up against the A team of Canyon Crest High and our spirits were high, they were never higher. Well here is where we meet the villains of this story. They are a sinister syndicate of seniors stipulating stories as my team and I walk in. Here are the basic rules for the competition. Every round there is a 5 second toss up question and whichever team buzzes and answers first  will get 4 points and a chance to answer the bonus question for 10 points and 20 seconds. As the competition begins, we start losing fast and hard, not only are we not able to answer any of the questions.


 


We lost the second game too, our moods were not that good when we met the actual heroes, the A team of Monta Vista. We peek in the room to see 4 freshmen, the funniest thing about it is how 4 freshmen were chosen to be the best scientific minds of the entire school of 1751 students. How do you think they did? Well we got 80 points and unsurprisingly the ragtag group of freshmen got 12 points! Now I know we shouldn’t laugh at this or be mean to them, but you have to remember we had just been  crushed hard by the other teams.



Look in this picture ,there millions of stories in this picture, let me tell you one if you look at the 5 game what do you see? According to other sources, it was a battle between  Monta Vista and Canyon Crest, and if you look deeper you see how Monta Vista got 60 points  which is more points than they have scored against every other foe, and Canyon crest won, but only barely their toughest battle from their weakest fiend. This is a story I would love to learn yet I will never learn, a story with more drama than many shows. Now I beg you to think about your power, have you ever doubted yourselves, remember the power you have, think of the Monta Vista inside you and the 4 adolescent ladies who did the impossible.

Comments

  1. Michelle LiJanuary 22, 2025 at 5:15 PM

    Hi Abdul! Congratulations on being selected to participate in the Berkeley Science Bowl; it sounds like a great opportunity. I can definitely relate to the Monta Vista team’s hope in the quiz bowl. As a member of American High’s speech and debate club and competitor in Original Oratory, I’m aware that I’m not the best orator and that my school lacks resources to support my program—such as a trained coach, a supervisor able to visit every tournament, and a spot in TOC (Tournament of Champions). However, that doesn’t stop me and my teammates from competing in as many tournaments as we can, just like how Monta Vista’s team consistently lost their rounds but stayed to compete in the entire bowl regardless. I can attest to how powerful hope can be in situations like these; the confidence and internal peace that such a mindset provides make a huge difference.

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