You probably have a computer. Maybe you have a laptop. Maybe you have a desktop. But have you ever wondered how these computers work? Well, if the answer is yes, then you're in luck.

With a computer, there are many different components. Without one, your computer probably would not work. Let's start with the thing that holds your computer together.

The first part is the motherboard. I compare this to a heart because it gives power and commands to all of the other components. Without a motherboard, your computer would just be a pile of components inside a case. None of the components would communicate with each other. Almost none of the components would omit power. Your components simply would not function.

If we have a heart, we have to have a brain. The next component is the Central Processing Unit, or CPU. The CPU, as I said, is like a brain to the computer. It sends the motherboard all of the commands. It makes sure that all the components know what they are doing at any specific time. Without your CPU, your computer wouldn't be able to do anything. None of the parts would have anything to do.

Next we have either the graphics card (GPU) or integrated graphics (APU.) These components are what cause the images that appear on your screen. They are also the most important part for gaming. A good graphics card can enhance your gaming experience.  GPUs and APUs are a little different though. An APU is built into your CPU. These are usually not very powerful. This makes sense because they have to share resources with another part, and they are small. A graphics card is kind of like a big card. It has at least one fan, and it is normally one of the biggest components. These can get very powerful, especially compared to APU's. However, recent APU's have been getting better. They are able to run some games at medium settings 1080p. A good example is the Ryzen 5 2400G. This has an APU that is semi-capable of gaming. What I mean by this is it can run games at 1080p low-medium settings. That is graphics units.

Next up we have the memory, or RAM. This is what holds all the tasks that are currently happening. The minimum you should have today is 4GB (gigabytes), but 8GB is recommended. The RAM stores tasks that are happening, like web browsing or gaming. It also stores some aspects of your operating system. Just remember this: RAM is short term memory.

Next we have storage. This is where your files are when you are not using them. There are hard drives, or HDDs, and there are solid state drives, or SSDs. Hard drives are much slower, but you can buy mass amounts of storage like 1TB (1 terabyte = 1000 gigabytes). SSDs are much faster, but the price reflects that. You can buy a 1TB hard drive for about the same price as a 128GB SSD. There are two different types of SSDs. There are M.2 and SATA. Hard drives are based on SATA too, but the drive itself is much slower. M.2 SSDs are the fastest storage type out right now. They are directly connected to your motherboard. SATA SSDs are connected to your motherboard using a SATA cable, which is slower. So to sum it up, there are SATA HDDs, SATA SSDs, and M.2 SSDs.

Next we have the power supply. This is your battery in a laptop. In a desktop, this is what is plugged into the wall. It is a box with wires going to your motherboard and components. It sends power to everything, maybe not directly, but it does. Most of the components get power through the motherboard, which gets its power from here.

Next we have the CPU cooler. Our graphics cards need cooling, and so do our CPUs. This is the job of the CPU cooler. It’s there to prevent your CPU from overheating. It simply keeps your computer from exploding.

Another part is the case. This is actually not necessary. Your computer doesn't need this to operate, but they are always included with pre-builts, and they make your computer easier to turn on and plug peripherals such as a mouse, keyboard, and webcam into (there are other examples). Think of it like the back of your phone. If it isn't there, it's just a motherboard attached to a screen. So it's pretty important.

          Next we have monitors. These are what you see your images on. This is not an internal component, but it's an important one. Without this, you could not see what's going on with your system. With a monitor, there are three main specifications: resolution, refresh rate, and response time.

First we have resolution, or res. This is how many pixels are displayed on your screen. The more pixels you have, the better your image is going to look. Right now, the standard is 1080p (or 1920x1080 pixels). The current high end is 4k (3840x2160 pixels). The mid range is 1440p (2560x1440 pixels). The higher the resolution gets, the harder it is to run your operating system and applications.

Refresh rate is how many times in a second your screen refreshes. The higher the number, the smoother the image. The current standard is 60 hertz (Hertz can be shortened to hz). The mid range is 144hz. Effective high end is 288hz. It's harder to run your operating system at higher refresh rates.

Then we have response time. This is how fast your monitor changes compared to when you send a new command (move mouse, type on keyboard, etc.). The current standard is 1ms. This is also the current high end. Some monitors have a higher than six ms response time, but not many. This mainly depends on your monitor and cable, not your computer.

Finally, we have your keyboard and mouse. These are what you use to control everything in your operating system. With a mouse, you move your cursor. With a keyboard, you type letters and characters into your operating system. With that being said, let's talk about what your operating system is.

There are three main OSs. They are Windows (by Microsoft), MacOS (by Apple), and Linux (by Linus Torvalds.) There's a good chance that you have heard of at least Windows and MacOS. The OS is what all of your apps and programs run on. Without the OS, you would be stuck with your UEFI, or BIOS.

The BIOS is built into your motherboard. The BIOS is where you can make your computer run faster. This requires extra power. This is called overclocking. Overclocking your system requires better cooling and a better power supply. It may be worth it for some, but definitely not all. Overclocking can void your warranty, so be careful. Overclocking is definitely not a necessity.

Finally for software, we have programs. This could be something like Chrome and Fortnite. It could be CMD (command prompt). It doesn't matter. Anything that runs on your OS is a program. Everybody uses programs. Think of programs as a mini operating system. They each function for a different purpose.

Between all of these components, your computer can function the way you want it to. Of course, computers keep getting better, but the core components will stay the same for a long, long time.

-Isaiah Kushner

Have you ever felt like everything in a moment depends on you? The pressure of a crowd of people watching you, waiting for you to mess up or succeed. Chills going up your spine because you know that you could blow it for everyone else. That’s how I feel running to the goal and stopping anyone in my path.

The game was on a soggy field that sprayed dirt everytime you sprinted. It was the last game of the season, and my first year on a real school team. The game had just started, and Coach put me on left defense to start. I would be in charge of Burnt Hills’ strong side. We lost the coin toss, so they had possession of the ball. This meant all eyes on the defense right away. Of course, with our luck they drove the ball straight down the field. We stopped it easily, but it gave them a huge head start. I ran back to defend the goal; if they got past our center defense I would be there. Them having the ball made me really nervous; it was a thrill, though. The feeling made adrenaline rush through me. Our team had a flawless season, undefeated with no goals scored against us. I didn’t want to mess that up.

Two goals were scored by halftime. That put us in a comfortable position. As a defender I got to play up the field, almost a midfielder. It was far more laid back; we were all talking on the sidelines, making up silly cheers. We even had a circle of air dribbling, when you pass the ball with a scoop or a flick. Basically everyone was super carefree. We celebrated the end of the season with a great win. I remember at the end we all ran to Sofia, the goalie, and had a big group hug. It really made us feel like a team. I felt bitter about the day. It was the end for these people I considered my friends, but it was also a sweet feeling because we had won a fair game.

This day was so important to me because it made me feel intense and confident in myself. That’s why I like field hockey. You’re a part of a team. It creates so much more than just the sport. These memories I make with other people change the way I looked at a sport.

-Makenna Fahsel

What do you think when I say Lego? Do you think of those little Lego guys with those faces that just stare into your soul? Or those times you were stepping on one of those bright red 2x4 pieces, just before landing into a bucket full of them? Maybe, but they have a purpose more than causing pain to your foot, or just the company attempting to make money. They are here because they are very important to your life. I know what you’re thinking, Duh. Lego doesn't save your life! It's a painful experience! That statement is WRONG. It has more value than what you think. Lego comes in different kinds of forms: Normal Lego, Lego Duplo, and Lego Technic. They represent the three important features of Lego.

 Duplo is great for the little ones because Duplo increases child development. The Duplo pieces are a lot bigger and brighter than the usual Lego pieces so that the little ones don't choke on them. There are different sets that have bright designs that the kids could enjoy, like an airport, a number train (which helps with counting), and a box filled with a variety of different styled Duplo blocks. This builds the child's creativity by creating stories with the blocks and Duplo people, creates goals when they start stacking towers, and predicting outcomes for when the tower knocks over. It’s very enjoyable to see a child developing his/her early mind with Duplo.

Normal Lego and Lego Technic increase brain power much more than Duplo because the toddler grew up into a kid. Kids can improve their creativity, develop problem solving, and work in three dimensions using Lego. I recommend you start out with the smaller Lego sets like the junior, and when they get older you can go and build the other sets. Technic takes increasing brain power for little kids to a whole other level. Technic uses interconnectable rods, parts, gears, and most importantly wheels (no wonder they call it the “studdless build”). The Technic theme has vehicles like excavators, trucks, and race cars.  Lego Technic requires motors in order to work and look awesome. This can help develop teens’ brains with motor skills, communication, and logic thinking. I have one Lego theme which is technically related to technic: Mindstorm. Mindstorm requires a lot of lines of code on a NXT Intelligent Brick (the main computer system of the mindstorm theme) in order to do anything.  Programs can be run on Mac and OS, and they provide a visual programming language for writing out simple lines of code and downloading them into the Intelligent Brick. It's a very complicated system of programming, but it improves communication and critical thinking.

Lego has more purpose than just increasing young minds. It’s also fun! Lego comes in so many themes, sets, and pieces. It has Ninjago, Ghostbusters, Lego Classic, Minecraft, and Lego Classic. It has big pieces, small pieces, long pieces, short pieces, red ones, blue ones, and the list just goes on and on; the amount of combinations is bigger than the molecules in the entire universe!

Lego can increase your brain power and is not a waste of time/money. Even schools recommend Lego to students. It can help your children become great thinkers and the youth become great builders. Now I want to ask you a question, what delivers more pain: Stepping on a Lego, or teaching your kids without Lego? One causes more impact on your life than the other.

-Griffin Elmore

YOU, yes, you!  Have you ever found something so cool, so amazing, so, you?  Something you like, no, LOVE, something you can see in your mind all the time, something you just need?  That’s how a collection starts.

A collection is something you take interest in, like, let’s say seashells.  You think they’re cool, so you might have a shelf filled with different seashells.  Maybe one’s from your Grandma’s home on the beach.  Maybe ones from your trip to the beach. Whatever it is, or however much you like that special ‘thing’, that’s what your collection is about.  Mine, however, is pigs.

Why would I collect pigs?  What’s so special about them?  Well, really, I don’t know. Whatsoever.  I started collecting pigs when I was really young.  I collected them because I thought they were interesting, but then it turned into more than just a few pigs.  And as any typical collection, when people notice it, they give you more of that something.

Usually on Christmas is when I would get more pig-related things.  But sometimes I’d get them from vacation, some from traveling, and even some from my (close) friends’ trips.  But that happens with any collection.  It turns from you collecting that “thing” personally, to your close friends and family getting them for you whenever they see it.  When people see something related to your collection, they think of you.  For me, whenever my close friends see a pig keychain,  they’d get it for me and say, “Zach, I thought of you when I saw this!” So then I thank them, maybe give them a hug, and put on a happy smile. That might just be the fastest way to grow your collection.

My collection has turned out to be very big.  If you give yours a few years’ time it too will grow big.  In total I’ve collected over 40 pig related items; most are gifts from others.  The best thing about collections, or at least in my opinion, is showing off the collection.  When it grows really big and grand, that’s when it gets interesting.  So when you have a lot of that thing,  you can show how many of that thing you have, how many different ones; there’s really limitless possibilities.

Why I chose pigs to collect is still a mystery to anyone, even me.  But, collecting special “somethings” can be a big part in your life.  Like how I collect pigs is a big story to tell.  But a collection isn’t just about telling stories of how you started collecting that special something, or what and where you’ve collected that thing.  It’s about what you think of your collection.

-Zachary Dumlao

Have you ever been in a contest? If you have, then do you recall all those feelings you had before and after? Nervousness is something we all have encountered, and if we pay attention, we can gain more experience on how to deal with it.

Every year my parents make me or my sister enter the art contest at the Dutchess County Fair, which is located in Rhinebeck. Most of the time, I don't like being forced into things, but I was used to entering this fair, and I knew just how good my art had to be. But this year I felt like I could really win! Something told me I could do it! Something told me I was going to blow the competition out of the water and win that first place ribbon!

Yes, I do understand that the competition will be difficult (like it is every year), but you have to have hope, right? Yeah, well, I'm having some doubts… actually just replace that some to A LOT! I can't help but feel scared, excited, nervous, giddy, pressured, and some light headedness. I even get this horrific thought that everyone else is better than me, and every time someone comes around and sees art they say, ¨Uh, that's hideous!¨ Just thinking about it makes me want to be a pill bug. Then I can curl up into a tight ball so nothing can harm me.

I remember clear as day the years that I was confident I was going to see a glorious, royal blue first place ribbon hanging from my art, but then when I took a peek all I saw was a dull ribbon that said ¨participation¨ on it. For me it was screaming, ¨look here at this sloppy mess!¨ There was that one year that I got third place, but that just wasn't good enough for me. I thought that I did excellent on my art, and I questioned what I did wrong for me not to win first place. It confuses me until this day why I keep on trying even when every year I get crushed. I’m guessing I just want that short, yet long lasting taste of victory. Oh, and yes, I will get it.

The car ride… oh my gosh, the car ride, I swear on my life it takes years to get to the the Dutchess County fair. I'm impatient enough, but when my emotions are riled up, then things get ten times longer than they really are.

My thoughts jumble up as the roads twist and turn. It feels like I am locked up in a chamber, and I can only dream about getting out. And being motion sick doesn't help a thing. My palms get sweaty and I start thinking the worst. I plan out how everything will go terribly wrong in my head and then stress over my predictions afterwards. It's not fun at all. I hate the car ride just as much as anything else.

Getting out of the car is nice… until I realize that I am even closer to my artwork than I was before. I want to book it all the way home, but I know I can't get out of this, and I shouldn't get out of it. I then see that it's great that I'm doing this, and how much it will help me with my art improvement. This is a great opportunity to get tips on how to do better and have more knowledge on what needs fixing. And also knowing what I'm doing right! And like I said, I should stay positive! Yes! I think, this will be an extraordinary time!

 I strut into the fair. I take a big sniff; it smells just as great as last year. I take a turn and look up at the tall, seemingly intimidating, white building. I tell myself quickly, ¨It doesn't matter if I get a participation ribbon, I know that I tried my hardest on it.” I take a deep breath in and make a small sigh. Then I take a step inside.

I look around for no reason, probably just to waste time. ¨Uh,¨ my stomach is stuffed full of butterflies. Everything looks the same as last year, the tall white sealing and slightly darker walls. I start to walk around and look at the different art. One piece of art stands out from the others; it is very good. Looking at it I can see how talented the artist is.

 It is beautiful; it is a painting of a Native-American man. He has a fearless expression and has a bold headdress with many beads and feathers. It holds lots of emotion. And of course it gets first place. I get a burst of jealousy. I stick my chin up high and glare at it. I stop and realize it is rude to make such a face. I also should not be jealous because they are much older, so they know more.

I look around, hair whipping, to make sure no one saw. I then start to look around again until I see it… my art hung up on the wall. I stare at it for a while. My body feels tense. I feel as if I am going to puke, but at the same time I am hyped. I am worried and excited about what kind of ribbon I will get. I slowly walk towards it and see… nothing? I get worried. I inspect the frame carefully, and then there it is, hiding behind the frame. I take a careful look at the ribbon. A tear rolls down my cheek when I see what I had gotten. Third place.  How? My heart skips a beat, no, two beats. I thought for sure it was worthy of first place! My sadness dominates all my other feelings. I just can't wrap my head around what I just saw.

When the day was over and we had to leave, I sat staring out the window the whole car ride, just thinking. Thinking, how could it be possible that I had gotten third place? Thinking, am I even a good artist ?  Thinking, should I have even of done this in the first place? This was the one year I felt my art had the greatest potential of winning. It was hard to know that something I worked hard on wasn't ¨good enough¨ for the judges. But at the end of the day, I knew that this helped me. It made me want to try harder on my art, learn more skills, and to one day get that first place ribbon.

Even though the Dutchess County Fair was emotionally and physically hard, it was a great way for me to improve my art and push myself to do better. And as you can see, sometimes what may seem bad can actually be good.

-Rachel Drozdyk

Imagine waking up one day and you’re video went viral. Thousands and thousands of views are piling up by the second. You are on top of the world. All thanks to one website called YouTube. YouTube is a website where content creators can create and upload any types of videos that viewers might (or might not) watch. I am one of those content creators.

I created my first ever YouTube video on May 5, 2018, titled, Best ASMR Triggers. My friends and I met up to go shopping on garage sale day in our town (Altamont). It was a very warm day, and you could feel the sun stroking your skin like a feather. We had a great time walking in town and viewing all of the random garage sale merchandise, such as old TVs, fidget spinners, somehow still being sold, and some jackpot finds, such as a (likely fake) 23 Carat gold Michael Jordan 1998 collectors card, which I quickly purchased. We had bought all of the useless garbage that our hearts desired when we headed back to my house.

Sweat dripping from our chins, we walked for about 15 minutes before we finally arrived at my beloved ranch. My friends and I strode into my house with all of our commodities and plans to mess around and hang out. What ended up happening was definitely something more than just hanging out. I had the brilliant idea to create a specific YouTube video, ASMR, using our newly acquired garage sale goods. ASMR (Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response) videos are composed of quiet, gentle sounds that are supposed to be relaxing and can give an individual tingles, which are tingles running down your spine caused by relaxing sounds from an ASMR video. However, we were going to create a different ASMR video, one composed of not relaxing sounds, like a fork against a coffee mug (we bought a Campbell's Soup Mug), or banging on the microphone. We thought that this video was a gem, an ingenious creation conceived from the minds of the elite. Obviously, this video was a very ill-witted video idea, but some very, very ill-witted ideas become popular on YouTube, so we gave it a shot.

One of my friends had to leave, so the only remaining friend and I went to film our masterpiece. After multiple, multiple takes and modifications of the video, we finally got through our whole video plan without laughing. He then left, and I was left wondering, what was I thinking? I still wonder that to this day. I did not have the footage of the video, as we used my friends phone to create the video. I was anticipating the video’s upload for hours until I finally got a notification, reading, “From Complete Random (our channel): Best ASMR Triggers.” I was excited to watch our video, and I was anticipating this low quality video to go viral. I watched the video and was in awe that I actually went through and created this video. After that video, I never planned to start consistently creating and uploading videos, but I just had the urge to film more videos, and so I did.

I enjoy creating all of the videos that I make, but I specifically enjoy creating videos that I have to make props for, such as the video titled, “CRAZY 24 HOUR RAFT CHALLENGE *GONE WRONG*.” I still remember the scenery, my fields tall with hay, the air thick with the smell of clover, and the feel of occasional breezes of cool, late summer air. For that video, my friend and I constructed a makeshift “raft” out of a $7 mattress and lots of duct tape. The raft took about ten minutes to construct and inflate, and then we were ready to deploy the “Random Raft” (the name of the raft). My friend had also ordered some inflatable rings that you could throw around in the pool and a paddle to steer the raft during its treacherous voyage in my pond.

With high hopes, we brought the raft to my pond and started filming. I explained what we were going to be doing, and then my friend, without any hesitation, jumped right into the “raft.” To our surprise, the “raft” actually floated-and floated well. We were able to fully extend our legs when lying down, and it was quite comfortable. My pond is not the largest pond, but we had plenty of room to row the “raft” around. The pond smelled like a landfill of eggs and decomposing rats, and it left a rotten taste in your mouth. There were many leeches slithering in the water like slimy sea serpents. There were also snapping turtles, frogs, dragonflies and plenty of mosquitoes and horseflies that lurk beneath the surface of my pond, which made filming more difficult. The mosquitoes and horseflies in particular were giving us a hard time filming, as they were constantly biting us, like there were tiny pins and needles poking you. As you might expect, we didn't actually spend 24 hours on a makeshift raft in a stagnant pond. We filmed for about an hour, taking turns between filming and going on the raft. This video, as well as all of our others, was lots of fun to create.

At this point, you may be asking, Why do you create and upload these YouTube videos? Considering the type of content that I make, it is a very valid question. I create YouTube videos to try and make others laugh. I like to have an impact on people, whether it be one person or multiple people, and I always want it to be positive. I try to create “funny” content on my channel so that I can entertain others. I love to entertain people, so I make these videos to do so. One comment on one of my videos reads, “the videos like best asmr sounds was amazing and had me laughing out loud the entire time.” Seeing that comment made me realize that when you make others laugh or feel good, you make yourself feel good, and that is something that I always strive for. No matter how awful my content may be, it satisfies me that some people actually enjoy our videos.

Finally, being a YouTuber is important to me because it lets me express my ideas and makes me get out of the house and come up with video ideas. I love creating videos, and I love it even more when other people like our videos. I like to have an impact on some people (even if it is an incredibly, incredibly small impact).  Also, making videos takes time. I have to meet up with my friend(s), then brainstorm and produce video ideas, then put those ideas into motion through a camera. After that, we have to make sure all of the scenes are to our liking, and make sure that the clips are in order. We take a thumbnail (the picture preview that shows up when before you click on the video) and either do the process all over again for another video or go home. Creating these videos gets me doing something, and makes me think of ways to entertain people. All of the videos I film involve physical activity and/or the creation of props, costumes or structures, which takes time and effort. Making videos gets me thinking, and it gets me physical activity, which opens up a creative side of my mind. Without YouTube, I would not even think about doing anything to have an impact, and being a YouTuber shows that anybody can have an impact today.

In conclusion, I am a small content creator on YouTube, but I still can make an impact. My impact may not be as large as others, but at least I can go to sleep knowing that I've done something. Some people can become famous within seconds on YouTube. And who knows, maybe that could be you.

-A.J. Castillo

We’ve all had challenges to overcome in our lives. Some more difficult to overcome than others. My skill is being able to be resilient overcoming my challenges. Resilience is important because without it, you will never grow and excel as a person.

The biggest challenge I’ve had to overcome yet is my grandpa’s cancer. It started with my mom telling me. I can remember, I had just gotten home from dance practice to find my mom slumped down at the kitchen counter, distraught. She had looked at me and said, “I have something to tell you.” Initially, I prepared myself for good news. Maybe we were going out to dinner, or she had a funny story from work to share. The news I got was much, much worse. “Sadie, Grandpa has lung cancer,” my mom said.

At first, I was in a state of shock. I didn’t even believe her. “For how long?” I asked. A month. He had cancer for a month already and she didn’t tell me sooner. Suddenly, a wave of anger came over me. Why hadn’t she told me earlier? I could’ve helped from the start! I was always the last to know things! In tears, I stormed up my worn stairs all the way to my room. Looking back, I wish I hadn’t acted the way I did. My mom was going through the same thing as me.

The next few months were tough. Going to chemotherapy with him and my mom was something I thought I’d never have to do. I remember walking into the humongous, extremely intimidating, white cement building with my grandpa, terrified. He and my grandma were so used to the whole ordeal of where to park and which door to enter, where to sign in, where to sit. It made me sad that the appointments were like second nature to them. When we arrived at the front desk, all the nurses greeted my grandparents by name. Even in the most dire circumstances, they were able to make friends wherever they went. My grandparents were such amazing people. I couldn’t understand why one of them deserved cancer. 

As time went on, my family grew closer and closer, all working towards one goal, getting my grandpa better. Cousins I had barely spoken to I was now seeing every weekend. My mom rekindled her relationship with her siblings over working out who would take work off to drive him to treatments. At first, I didn’t even want to talk about the whole situation. Then, I researched cancer a bit and got a better understanding of what he was going through with treatments and side effects. I also was able to get past my fear of the illness and help my family to do that too. Another thing I learned was to not overreact about little things, since I had found out the hard way that there are much worse things that could happen. Once we got rid of the stigma around cancer, we were better prepared to help my grandpa. It is still difficult sometimes, but my family and I were resilient towards the challenge, and we are overcoming it, step by step.

Resilience is one of the most important life skills to have. It helps you get through hard times and challenges. Having that skill has definitely helped me along throughout the years. Has there been a time in your life where you’ve had to be resilient?

-Sadie Blattstein