Columns

San Francisco Bay: home of the Hyphy movement, Silicon Valley and fault lines threatening massive earthquakes every day.

Since kindergarten, we've learned how to duck under a table and cover our heads if the ground starts shaking. We know where to meet our families in case of an emergency and what should be in our emergency-aid kit (canned foods, water bottles and first aid in case you're slacking).

There seems to be a trend among the YouTube community of people starting their own daily video blogs, or "vlogs" for short. These intriguing videos are snapshots of many popular YouTube stars' lives, which create a vortex that I've been trapped in.

It was an intense wrestling practice. The room felt like a sauna. Sweat was steaming off of the hard-working athletes. The team was preparing for a tough tournament that they would attend the following weekend, and everyone was anxious. The only thing I remembered from that day was the face of the person I was wrestling. The rest was a blur.

In one's wallet, there are always a few key things to have. Along with the normal charge cards, cash, some kind of identification, a few people may have some useful business cards, phone numbers, and membership cards. I have all of these things in my wallet too. However, I have one more item that is of great importance to me: my trusty, reliable "Will It Lead to Trouble?"card. In times of need, it is supposed to help me make the right choice by asking me questions that can help me decide what is smart.

The Card

In a lone lit room at the corner of the house, the clock reads 3:42 a.m. Sprawled on the lamplit desk are several papers, an open textbook and an open capped pen. Ripped Tootsie pop and Hershey's kiss wrappers also scatter the surface of the desk. A teenage girl sits in front of her work. Her eyelids slowly begin to close. On the left side of her computer screen sits an almost blank Word Document that reads "Healthcare Bill Research Paper" across the top. On the right side of the screen, an intense game of Connect Four continues as the girl struggles to focus her eyes on the pieces. Wait a second, let's start at the beginning.