New York Times Summer Reading Contest 2022 - My Submissions

June 10 to Aug. 19 2022

Week 4 - Honorable mentions

Please, just one more, I hoped, straining to hear every name the teacher call out, hoping that one of them was mine. I sat in my school’s theater at the annual awards ceremony. As always, I wanted to get the most awards, but to do that, I just needed one more… To my disappointment, that award never came. Walking out of the theater, I was devastated when I realized someone had won more than me. I chose to ignore the fact that I had made a huge improvement, receiving two more awards than the previous year.

For as long as I can remember, I have always been competitive. In a way, over-competitiveness is like “locking horns”, as described in “When Antlers Tangle, Sometimes Both Animals Lose”. As I read the article, I imagine my competitiveness as the antlers of a buck.  “Fierce-looking antlers exist primarily for display. When animals try to use them as weapons, the consequences can be dire.” I realize that the same goes for being competitive. Having “dominant antlers”, or being competitive, is a good thing. According to David Petersen, “usually they manage to unlock them, but if they don’t, one or both of those animals is going to die.” However, being over-competitive causes conflict and other negative situations. After a conflict, both sides are usually worse off than before.

I look over to where I keep my awards. Instead of attempting to win the most awards, I will aim for getting one more.

Week 5 - “CRISPR, 10 Years On: Learning to Rewrite the Code of Life”

I peered out the window and noticed a girl walking her endearing puppy. I turned away, trying to get the image of the grinning girl out of my mind. I kept thinking about the fact that I would never experience the joy of having a dog.

This has happened thousands of times. I have always wanted to have a pet, but my allergies kept me from doing so. For years, I had yearned for a cure for allergies, and maybe…that cure is finally here.

CRISPR, a revolutionary gene-editing method, aims to solve a variety of issues, for example, as mentioned in the article, “Cancer biologists are using the method to discover hidden vulnerabilities of tumor cells. Doctors are using CRISPR to edit genes that cause hereditary diseases.” This technology precisely cuts out a section of DNA responsible for a certain problem, such as a disease. Just like a wound, the DNA heals back together – without the sequence for the disease. This had me thinking. Maybe it is possible for CRISPR to cut out the DNA responsible for producing allergens in an animal, thus creating allergy-free pets.

CRISPR has ethical implications, but if handled precisely and the repercussions are carefully evaluated, it will likely do more benefit than harm. This article inspired me to study gene editing technology so as to help people with allergies and diseases in the future.

I might finally be able to have a dog.

I shouldn’t get my hopes up, but at least I am motivated.

Week 6- https://www.nytimes.com/paidpost/boston-childrens/breakthrough-ep4-transcript.html?

No pain, no gain. Growing up, I frequently hear this phrase, but is it true?

I have been fencing for six years. Last year, I decided to train harder so I could fence better. The high-intensity training of more than 10 hours per week took a toll on me after a few months. It started as discomfort in my right heel but grew to a steady, throbbing pain. I initially ignored the pain, blaming it on a bruise on my ankle, but little by little, it started to restrict my movements in fencing.

I was diagnosed with Achilles tendonitis. This was a tremendous setback for me. However, later, I started to consider the possibility that I might be training the wrong way…

According to Dr. Kocher, tendonitis is an overuse injury, caused by repetition. However, if the athlete is not careful when constantly doing the same high-intensity sport, there is a higher chance of getting an acute injury, such as an ACL tear. “And it's[an ACL tear] almost as impactful on these scales as getting the diagnosis of cancer,” Dr. Kocher revealed. If I am not careful when fencing, I might get seriously injured, which I want to avoid at all costs. After a month of healing from Achilles tendonitis, I was out of shape. I can’t imagine the effects if I stop fencing for years. “…the “no pain, no gain” attitude should be kicked to the curb,” Zakiya declared, and I wholeheartedly agree.

Instead, I should train smarter, not harder.

Week 7 - https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/19/science/penguins-evolution-fossils.html

I remember staring into the zoo's penguin exhibit. They didn’t shiver despite the freezing temperature. How do they survive in the cold? That was the only thought that pondered in my mind. 

According to the article “How Penguins Beat the Heat and Went South”, their layers of plumage insulate them from the weather of minus 80 degrees Fahrenheit. It is eye-opening that they can thrive in such weather. How they adapted to Antarctica is even more surprising. Ancient penguins lived along the equator during Earth's warmest times. They migrated to the south during global cooling, and the cold sped up their evolution.

I wondered, if climate accelerates evolution, then penguins will adapt to global warming, right?  Wrong. Daniel Thomas, a paleontologist said, “Warming temperatures will impact the biogeographic ranges of penguins, the species they rely on as food and the species that, in turn, hunt them.” Global cooling took millions of years longer than global warming, so there is no time for species to evolve. If people don’t act soon, penguins will face extinction.

I decided to intervene, as my favorite species, penguins, face extinction. Personally, I am making my house “greener”. Decreasing my carbon footprints is the next step. People should be aware of the consequences of global warming and cut down their own carbon emissions.

I don’t want to live in a world without penguins, and I am sure you agree.