Anxiety and the Stock Market

So every  morning I walk downstairs to eat breakfast before school. And since it is so early in the morning, the only channel I ever watch is the news. And as we all know, the stock market and the economic crisis in America has been the central issue of all news broadcasts. Although this crisis has not yet directly affected me or my family, I know there are thousands, maybe even millions of Americans who are in severe economic trouble.

I also know that I am a giant "stresscase" sometimes, and I can't imagine having to deal with the stress of a nationwide economic downfall. I read an article from CNN about this very topic the other day. In the article, it says that women are twice as likely to be come more of "worrywarts" than men! This is mostly because of the differing hormones in men and women. 

Also, the article tried to inform the reader of when it is necessary to get help from such anxiety. Experts say that one needs to seek help for anxiety issues when their anxiousness begins to interfere with other aspects of that person's life. For example, their work or their relationships. They say if this is happening, then that person should seek medicine, talk therapy, or both.

This was a very shocking statement because years ago I got to the point of stress that I had a peptic stress ulcer in my stomach! So did I need treatment? I doubt it. I was only in seventh grade, and I am very chill about most things now. But this brief research does make me wonder how many people are going to be looking for help in these stressful times in America, and whether or not those people are going to be able to afford the help for the anxiety our economy has brought them!

Cube Competitions!?

I was walking around my obviously unfinished basement over the weekend when I stumbled upon none other than the infamous Rubik's cube. I was immediately captivated, since I had never really faced this puzzle. The Rubik's cube has been portrayed in dozens of movies, and like in "The Pursuit of Happyness" the actors always made the puzzle seem so simple.

However, after nearly an hour of twisting and yelling and getting completely frustrated, I had only completed a full red side of the cube. I deemed it hopeless and abandoned the mesmerizing activity.

And then when speaking to my friend Adeline about how frustrated I had been since I hadn't been able to complete it, she told me her brother used mathematical formulas to figure out the cube and was even in Rubik's cube competitions. I immediately understood that there would be a formula for solving the cube since it obviously has direct correlation to geometry.. but competitions?! There are competitions for Rubik's cubes?! That just seemed absurd.

So of course, I did some research.  And not only are there competitions but there is the WCA, the World Cube Association.  And this association is in charge in creating Rubik's cube competitions all over the world! I immediately envisioned a dark room with two people twisting away at the colorful puzzles. Ha! But after searching through the WCA website, I found there are some pretty intense regulations! For example, the audience (are there really crowds at these events?!) have to be at least one and a half meters away from the competitors. Also, lighting is extremely important. They must be white lights so the competitors can easily distinguish the colors of the puzzles! That is too intense for me. 

So I guess there are thousands of people around the world that find solving this infamous puzzle trivial and completely easy.... but for now I have given up and I am not eager to start twisting away again!