I choose the topic called Brain Magic by Keith Barry. First of all, the reason I choose this topic was because I like magic tricks, and I have a great background of magic tricks. I have seen Keith Barry on T.V. before and I am a fan of his work.

   This guy doesn't only play magic tricks on people, but also use some psychological experiment on them too. In other words he is using psychology to trick and entertain people. His first trick in the video was originally done by David Copperfield, and it was simple to reveal. The second one was about him driving a car while his eyes are covered, and there was a women next to him that was really frightened, but he still made  it until the end. I think I know a little about the secret of this trick. First of all, it is impossible that this was his first time driving in this road, so he have been practicing on this road without his eyes covered many times. He tries as much as he can to memorize the road, knowing when to turn or go forward, so he is kinda feeling the ground while driving. Plus, the women next to him was also helping, even though they never met. The girl's reaction helped Barry predict the road.

    The rest of the tricks were advanced for me to know or reveal the secret, but in anyways all magic tricks has an explanation. Even the most advanced magicians like David Copperfield, Dynamo, Cyril Takayama, and David Blaine use some psychological tricks, and there is no such a thing as "real magic".

     First of all, the spring break wasn't long enough for me to visit my family, but I had so much fun during it. My friends and I were planning to travel outside of California, since it started, but we couldn't at first. Instead we went to the theater and watched the movie called The Divergent. The movie was brilliant, and we all liked it, and I am planning on reading the book. We also went to someplace called Sky Zone, it was a trampoline park. We had a blast there and we were also exhausted, so we didn't only play, but also exercised.

     In the last five days of the break, my friend and I decided to leave California and go to Arizona to visit Grand Canyon and Tempe. I also had some friends there that I know them since I were in Kuwait. We used two cars to there because our number was huge. The trip took us 6 hours and a half, and we arrived at Tempe in mid night then rushed to sleep. The first thing we did was visiting Arizona science center, and it was good. The second thing we did was going to trampoline park and ice skating rink one after another. The day after we went to Grand Canyon, and it was a new experience for me. We reached the highest point, and took some awesome photos. Then we had to come back to California for the ALP.

     I have noticed that traveling from one state to other in America is like traveling from one country to other. The people in Arizona seemed different and the structure of buildings as well. Arizona State University had a huge campus, and the transportation there was so great.

     In 2314, all of the icebergs in both south and north poles started melting rapidly; therefore, all buildings, bridges, and streets started sinking. Skyscrapers the only shelter that humanity has were broken down due to the impact of flood. People were learning how to climb mountains in order to survive this disaster, but it was really difficult for some people. They also tried building ships, but the predators in the sea were hazardous because of the evolution of sea animals among all these years, there was also a new huge species of sea creatures that people didn't discover until this all happened. 

     However, the flood didn't stop that even the biggest mountains are sinking, so people had to leave earth until everything is over, or it might not. Fortunately, NASA predicted this disaster in prior; however, they built a fair amount of spaceships that is able to reach the closest planet, Mars. People rushed for these spaceships, but unfortunately there was no enough seats for all humankind, so only a small amount of people made it to Mars just to save the human race.

     If people thought about this before it happened, earth would have been rescued. This was all happened due to the reckless behavior that people used against the mother nature.

Sincerely,

The captain of NASA's spaceships :) 

During my childhood, I used to play soccer inside the house with my brother and cousin,and my parents were not happy about it.We had a big guest room that we mostly played in,and it was vacant at most of the time. My mother warned us not to play their, so that we won't break anything, but it was spacious that it urged us to play in there.

One day, when we were playing I accidentally kicked the ball right in the window and it broke, although the ball was light, and I was surprised and worried. I tried to act normal pretending that nothing happened, but it was so obvious that my parents knew about it the day after,"Who broke the window" my father said, then I quickly admitted about what happened, and surprisingly my father didn't yell at me neither did he punish me, for telling him the truth from the beginning.

     I liked all of these proverbs, and I can almost relate to all of them, but the best in my opinion is number 1 and 7, the ones that says "Rome wasn't built in a day," and "Skillful sailors aren't made by smooth seas". I can relate this to a lot of famous athletes and some musicians, in fact it can be related to any hardworking person. For example, Cristiano Ronaldo, one of the world's best soccer players, he used to take extra training for himself just to remain the best between his teammates, his father passed away when he was in an early age, but now he is a world class soccer player. There is a quote that I like that might have the same meaning, and it says "The sooner you step away from the comfort zone; the sooner you realize that it really wasn't all that comfortable." Eddie Harris Jr. 

    I also liked this proverb, "Write the bad things that are done to you in sand, but write the good things that happen to you on a piece of marble", this is a good method for people to live happily because people should forget about bad things that they have done, and move on, so that it won't distract them from having a happy life. Writing the the good things in a piece of marble gives people confidence, and has a positive effect in their life.

  The proverb, "He ran away from the rain and was caught by hailstorm" has a similar meaning from a quote that came from my religion by Imam Ali (as) and it says "Our affairs are attached to the destiny decreed by Allah, even our best plans may lead us to destruction". Sometimes we should appreciate what we have, and be thankful for god for everything, instead of being greedy, and try to get more and more. 

     

     My name is Mohammed Alshatti, I was born and raised in Kuwait, I'm usually quiet, but I like making friends, and I also love taking challenges, and I hate doing things in the easy way. I have spent my life trying new kinds of sport, and I also love watching movies, especially science-fiction and adventure, I'm also obsessed with video games. I have a brother that shares the same interests,and we always hang out together, and we have same friends as well.

     I have decided to study abroad in the US, because it's more challenging and has a good reputation, If i wanted to apply to a job in Kuwait. Leaving my hometown and family is so frustrating for me, but it will give me a lot of advantages, like being independent and responsible of my own actions, It will also give me a chance to learn more about other cultures. I specifically choose to stay at California is because of the perfect weather and the entertaining places that can be found there, I know that transportation sucks and gas prices are very high, but it's worth it.

     My hobbies mostly range in sports like soccer,skateboarding and most importantly parkour, I have been practicing parkour for about 4 years, and it became my lifestyle, and I always loved it. When I first found about it, I got so excited, so I knew that it's going to be my thing, and I'm still working to be pro. When I was 12, I tried to be a magician, but I failed duo to lack of confidence and courage in front of audience, although I used to be able to do an impressive illusions. I have been to a lot of phases, but at the end I've found myself better in parkour.