By: Jessica Garcia Saligan

Quinceañera is a tradition in Mexican and Southern European culture. It’s when a young lady, that is about to turn 15 years old, throws a big party to mark her passage from girlhood to womanhood.

While planning a quinceañera you need to start planning a year ahead to have everything ready on time. In the quince, the young lady gets to practice a performance. There are two performances; they do the first one to start off, and it is the Val’s. Val’s is a dance where you get to dance with your chambelanes. It is a way to start the party.

Right when they finish doing the Val’s they go on and do the surprise dance, in the surprise dance you will get to pick how many songs you want. A surprise dance is where you can show off your moves and dance the night away. It’s also a way you can bring people to the dance floor. Having a quinceañera is a way to create good memories with your loved ones, especially your family. It’s a memory you want to keep forever with you.

During these events a quinceañera is a very important, and one of the most beautiful moments, a young girl could, experience. Here are some traditions that occur during this special day.

The first is accessories and gowns. A puffy dress that she will have to choose on her own, along with her first pair of high heels, as well as a crown that either her parents or godparents have to buy her.

Also, you will get copas and a doll or a stuffed animal wearing the same dress as the quinceañera.

While dancing the val’s people will come in one by one and put the heels on the quinceañera. The heels represent your “first pair of heels” right after that you will get a crown. The crown means that you’re the princess of this special night. You will have a “mini you” come in and give you a doll or a stuffed teddy bear dressed as you. Back in the day, they would only use a doll but now most young girls are choosing a stuffed animal.

Then, there’s one more thing, there’s the ultimo regalo which means “the last present”. It’s the last present you will receive as a young lady. Right after you’re done with everything, you will get your copas, there’s either 16-18 copas, your quince court, your family, and your godparents. They get to go up with you and they make a toast to everyone including the quinceañera. Once everyone had made their toast, it is the young lady’s turn to make a toast and thank everyone for coming to her special day.

By: Reed Morris

Bezos and the Hockey Stick Rule

As most people in the world know, Jeff Bezos is one of the most successful entrepreneurs to have ever existed. Before Bezos was the billionaire we know today, he was working as a Wall Street employee in New York. One day, a document landed on his desk. It talked about how the World Wide Web was growing at 2,300% a year and said, “Anything growing that fast is going to be big. I decided to come up with a business idea where the internet could grow around it.”

This follows along with the idea that if you get into a growing industry early, even if you’re not the most skilled or experienced, you will see success. The basic idea is that if you have a wind at your back instead of against you, you will have greater opportunities and success.

Jeff Bezos has a basic rule called the Hockey Stick Rule (pictured above). The idea is that if there is a trend or industry growing exponentially (like a hockey stick) then it’s worth spending at least 5 hours understanding it. However, no one really wants to spend that much time reading a highschool news article, so instead, I’ll give you about 45-60 seconds per trend, and go through 10 of them.

The Evolution of AI

One of the most highly anticipated and active areas of technology is the evolution of Artificial Intelligence. There are a lot of people who fear AI, however, there are also a lot of people who are extremely excited about it and invest a large amount of resources into it. At the leading edge of this technological wave is (not surprisingly) Google.

Below is a graph showing the growth in number of parameters (the complexity) of different AI’s developed by different companies over the past 3-4 years.

In January, 2018, Ai2’s ELMo was on the cutting edge of AI technology and their brand new system contained 94 million parameters. Just over a year later, OpenAI broke the 1 billion parameter mark in February, 2019, with their GPT2 AI which contained 1.5 billion parameters. Now, Google’s Switch-C is in the lead, containing an astonishing 1.6 trillion parameters.

This field of technology is seeing extreme growth, and is sure to have an extremely large impact on humanity as a whole in the future. This also presents great opportunities for anyone interested in the field of AI or computer sciences in general. Already having a career, or beginning a career, in this field almost ensures growth and success in the future.

The Cost of Genome Sequencing

Another field of science that has made leaps and bounds over the past 20 years is the field of biotechnology. While biotechnology is making great strides in many different sub fields, the field that is showing the most growth and promise in the future is the cost to sequence a human genome.

Below is a graph displaying the cost to sequence a single human genome over the course of the past 20 years.

Moore’s Law: “The principle that the speed and capability of computers can be expected to double every two years, as a result of increases in the number of transistors a microchip can contain.” While the definition of Moore’s law is focused on computer technology, it is applicable to most fields of technological advancements.

In 2001, the cost to sequence a single human genome was around $100,000,000. This extreme cost made it extremely wasteful, inefficient and essentially useless for anyone other than massive scientific institutes. However, unprecedented advancements in this technology has dropped the cost to only around $1,000 dollars per genome. Right now, that is still pretty expensive, however it’s more achievable for a large part of the population. While this can be incredibly helpful getting rid of genetic diseases, and improving quality of life for millions of people, it does have its negatives.

The accessibility of this technology brings into question the legalities around it, as well as a lot of ethical complications. As this technology inevitably grows cheaper, large companies will have easy access to it, giving them the ability to require tests on their employees. This could be used to search for undesirable genes regarding work ethics, health issues, and other factors undetectable from the surface. While this technology is fascinating, and can be used in numerous positive ways, there also has to be a lot of work put into keeping its use in the right hands, and avoiding invasions of privacy by massive employers or governments.

College Tuition: The Disruption of Higher Education

Another worrying trend that presents great opportunities for improvement is the cost of college tuition in relation to wages. The cost of colleges continues to rise yet minimum and average starting wages almost stay stagnant.

The graph below displays the percent change in tuition costs VS wage costs since 1987.

Over the past 35 years, tuition has almost doubled whereas minimum wage has only grown roughly 25%, and starting wages haven’t increased at all. This presents a massive and daunting issue to Gen Z and Generation Alpha. As the next major generations to go through college they will have to deal with this drastic increase in costs. While this presents some serious concerns for the future, it also presents great opportunities for a new era of higher education.

With costs of college tuition exploding, there has never been a better time for the disruption of higher education. There are already many resources in the world that can provide similar knowledge and experience to that of traditional college. This is another field that presents great opportunities for future careers. Anyone with promising ideas regarding improved and cheaper means for higher education have a very long but successful path ahead of them.

Global Surface Temperatures Rise

Another trend that has become a completely unignorable issue, is the rise of global surface temperatures. This is one of the most disputed topics in politics around the world at the moment, when it really shouldn’t be. Looking at basic data, such as the graph below, anyone should be able to realize and acknowledge the absolute severity of the predicament the human race has gotten itself into.

The subject of global warming has been examined in many other news articles and so I don’t feel the need to repeat information available in much more detail through other resources, so I will link some very detailed and reliable resources below.

• https://climate.nasa.gov/evidence/
• https://www.britannica.com/science/global-warming

While global warming is a massive global issue, it presents a lot of opportunities for fixing the way the world gets its energy. The first major step will be trying to shift global economies away from being almost completely oil based, which will be no easy feat. The world needs to drop oil for more renewable resources. One of the most prominent of those being the use of solar energy.

The Affordability of Solar Energy

The cost of solar has plummeted in the last 10 years. This is an extremely good thing as the cheaper it becomes the more people will be willing to accept it. Since 2010, the cost to produce 1 kWh (Kilowatt) has been slashed by a factor of 5 across the board. This growth of solar technology has by far surpassed what experts believed would happen in the early 2010’s.

Below is a graph displaying the cost of solar compared to those estimates.

Solar technology is a very quickly growing industry and will continue to grow into the future. This is another industry where, if you are in this field, or are interested in getting into the field, there will be a lot of opportunities in the future.

Another huge achievement of solar technology is that it is becoming so extremely cheap that estimations show it reaching the lower bounds of fossil fuel costs. Once the cost does dip below that of fossil fuels, the switch to solar will be undeniably more beneficial than sticking with fossil fuels.

Below is a graph showing this data compared to the previous graph.

Solar energy is world changing and is a surefire way to help reduce carbon emissions and global warming. If you are interested in this field of technology, get on board now as it’s only going to grow.

The Decline of America’s Sleep Schedule

On a completely alternate note, something I think we can all relate to, is that Americans are getting less and less sleep every year. Most people are aware of this because most people live it every day. Since 1942, the percentage of Americans that got more than seven hours of sleep has gone from over 80% all the way down to just over 50%.

While this is kind of a worrying statistic, it offers a lot of opportunities for people looking for solutions to this problem. Recently, sleep aid apps and sleep assisting medications have grown exponentially bringing in huge amounts of revenue. While this is not world changing news or even very shocking for that matter, it’s still something that we need to keep in check and find solutions for in the future.

The Cost of Lab Grown Meat

Another big advancement in the sustainability of the human race is the increasing affordability of lab grown meat. The meat industry is a huge contributor to global warming, and other environmental damages. As most people know, there is no way that the entire population of the world will be able to go vegetarian or vegan, so we have to think of other ways to get people meat without actually using large amounts of cattle. One way this can be done is by using lab grown meat.

Below is a graph showing the decrease in cost of making one kilogram of lab grown shrimp.

In 2013, the first lab grown burger was served at a conference in London. The burger cost $330,000 to make. Now, in 2022, it costs around $9 to make the same burger. The speed at which this industry is improving is astonishing. This is another area of science that is inevitably going to be a huge part of everyday life in the future. If you are interested in biotechnology, this field and other biotech fields are bound to grow and be an integral part of humanity’s future.

The Population Cliff

Over the past 70 years or so, the world population has been struggling to stay stable. This is a problem that is very serious and is up to the younger generations to solve, but it also offers some opportunities for global improvements.

Below is a graph that displays the decline in global fertility rates.

This presents serious issues for the future generations. As Gen Xers and Millennials age and slowly slide out of the global workforce, there won’t be enough new Gen Z workers joining the workforce to replenish the system and support the older generations. If a solution to this problem is not found in the next decade or so, there will be serious economic and social consequences.

One solution that has been presented in recent years, that solves 2 problems on a national level, is the loosening and restructuring of the United States immigration system. With a lack of workers, the US economy cannot survive very long. An influx of immigrants that are quickly put into the workforce could present a stable and successful solution to this real and daunting problem.

Drop In Global Absolute Poverty

The world is slowly but surely rising out of poverty. Over the past two and a half decades, the percentage of the world’s population living in extreme poverty has decreased from 36% to just around 12%. During a single generation, more than 1 billion people around the world rose out of poverty.

The graph below shows data from 2017, and projected data for 2040.

There are a lot of opportunities with this trend as well. People rising out of poverty will need housing, work, and other basic necessities and the world needs people who are in the industry of providing those things. As the number of people around the world with disposable income steadily grows, low to medium cost products will become more and more in demand, creating a much larger and booming economy.

This is an all around positive trend that needs to be supported and needs to keep going. If these predictions are accurate, then a much healthier and prosperous world could be within our reach.

Below is a link to a live graph of the same data that better shows the trend throughout history. It’s definitely worth taking a look at.
Live Graph Over History

The Cost of Space Travel

This is the trend that I am most excited about. If you have read any of my other articles you will notice a trend in some of my writing. Space travel is a hugely exciting and important aspect of human exploration. In recent years, with companies like SpaceX and BlueOrigin, the cost to send a kilogram of matter into low earth orbit (LEO) has decreased exponentially.

Below is a graph displaying past data, present data, and future projections.

Space travel is a recently booming industry and has nowhere to go but up (pun very much intended). As prices to launch to space decrease, the commercial and civilian uses of space travel will explode. Universities, and less well known tech companies, will be able to afford launching satellites into orbit. This will help advance space travel and exploration to an extent we have never seen before.

Like many of the other trends, this is one that you want to hop on as soon as possible. Although both rocket science and space exploration have been around for decades, the near future will bring a whole new era of opportunities that was not available before.

Final Notes

There are a lot of things happening in the world that are hard to understand and follow. These are just a very small amount of those things. The list of possible topics that have an equal level of impact on society is too big to go through in one article. I truly hope readers can learn something from this and perhaps get more involved in one of these fields.

I will close out with a challenge of sorts. If you read through the whole article and there was something that really did catch your interest or spark your imagination, I challenge you to take those 5 hours to learn more about whatever topic it was that you were most interested in. Thank you so much for taking the time to read this article. I hope there was something, even the most minuscule fact, that you found interesting and can take with you into the future.

By: Abi and Thalia

In the Merriam Webster dictionary, the definition of manifestation is: “to make evident or certain by showing or displaying”. This is what manifestation is.

A person has to put their intentions towards something that they want to see happen. It is the simple act of attracting certain things such as a new partner, more money, better health, better grades, etc.

According to ‘The Life Blog’, it is very important to understand yourself when manifesting. You must spend time reflecting and asking questions to yourself. Many do this by journaling and answering prompts. According to ‘Oprah Daily’ and her advice, after setting a specific intention with what you want, you must ask for what it is you want and write it down on paper.

Writing it down is not the only possible way to set your goal, you can also meditate, visualize, or have a vision board. After, you must start working towards your goals and be thankful for what you receive. It is very important for one’s self to believe in themselves and what they want.

According to ‘Self Made Ladies’, the concept of manifestation/Law of Attraction has been around since the 20th century. The term was first used in 1906 by William Walker Atkinson in his book, ‘Thought Vibration or the Law of Attraction in the Thought World’. Atkinson’s book introduced many concepts of The Law of Attraction, such as concepts of thought, vibration, and energy. He also mentioned manifestation and wrote about it in a detailed way. Atkinson was also the first to explain how important and powerful love is when manifesting one’s desires.

Angel numbers are a repetitive sequence of numbers. Angel numbers can have great meaning for some people. Some see it as their life path number. According to ‘Novalee Wilder’, who is a numerologist, license plates, addresses, bank account numbers, prices, phone numbers, and time stamps can all be a place where one can find angel numbers. Wilder also states that angel numbers are part of a spiritual awakening.

“Angel numbers change according to the guided messages they are trying to deliver to you, if the same numbers keep on appearing time and time again, then until this message is received, the numbers will be repeated,” explains Shawn Stone, who is a psychic medium.

These messages can mean a variety of different things and it is up to the person to decide what it means. According to Wilder, you do not have to be psychic to receive messages from angel numbers, anyone can receive these messages they just have to be open to engaging with their intuition.

Usually, there is always a message behind each angel number, sometimes multiple meanings, and it is up to you to discover what that meaning could be for you. According to ‘Babe skills.com’ you just have to trust your intuition that each sequence of numbers is always right.

When you come across angel numbers, it is important to pay attention to your thoughts and feelings when you see the particular angel number, and see what you notice about the moments in which you come across angel numbers. This could help you understand your message better and more clearly. 

Some more common angel numbers and their meanings are: 11:11 means you are on the right path and your life is fully aligned and going the way it is supposed to, 555 means you have great changes ahead of you, 888 is the angel number of abundance in all forms, this could mean you are a magnet for health, love, money, or all three of these things. Again, all numbers can have more than one meaning, so it is important to trust your intuition on what you think the message for you could be.