Author: jackmaster190

  • One of the many lessons people learn in life is: Does humanity make its possessions and things that give it power or does it shape them? This lesson is made prominent among many others in the first installment of Phase Two in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Iron Man 3. It is the primary lesson of the film as after Aldrich Killian, AIM CEO and the film’s main antagonist, destroys Tony Stark’s personal life and home, he is left with a malfunctioning and nearly broken suit for most of the film. However, Stark is able to adapt and wage war against Aldrich Killian, the man responsible, through using his ingenuity and intelligence, whether it be starting a fire to stop Killian’s henchwoman Ellen Brandt or using hardware supplies to make weapons to assault Killian’s mansion, among other things. Stark also learns to rely on other people, most importantly kid mechanic Harley Keener who helps fix his suit. This reflects on how the world created its own forms of entertainment such as virtual platform concerts and conventions after COVID-19 shut down everything, reflecting humanity adapting to situations that are beyond their control. By the end of the movie Stark realizes:

     “My armor was never a distraction or a hobby, it was a cocoon, and now I’m a changed man. You can take away my house, all my tricks and toys, but one thing you can’t take away – I am Iron Man.”

    Tony Stark and Harley Keener’s bond
    Iron Man’s ingenuity on display when he attacks the Mandarin’s Mansion.

    This leads into the next major lesson of Iron Man 3, that sometimes we create our own demons. This is important because at the beginning of the movie, Stark’s focus on Extremis at a New Year’s Eve party led Aldrich Killian down a path of villainy, even going so far as getting infused with Extremis and becoming no longer deformed or disabled, but also becoming more arrogant as well as psychotic. To that end he comes up with a master plot to own the war on terror by experimenting with Extremis on other people and creating an anonymous figure known as the Mandarin who claims responsibility for the failed experiments in the form of terrorist attacks. His descent into villainy and desire for revenge on Stark is explained in this dialogue:

    Sometimes by rejecting or ignoring other people and making mistakes, they come back to ruin us. This serves as a prominent theme over Stark’s journey in the franchise as it was his own negligence in making weapons that caused him to stop making them and use his suit as a force of good. In the real world, we have created “our own demons” by covering up military casualties in events such as bomb strikes, not acting with enough momentum and action to stop tragic events like school shootings or bombings, or accidentally allowing harmful chemicals to create incidents such as nuclear meltdowns or oil spills

    Finally a major real world lesson that is integral in Iron Man 3 is PTSD, or post traumatic stress disorder. This is important because following his near death experience in The Avengers, Stark becomes more focused on building suits because of his fear that the world will be destroyed. This drives him more and more away from his girlfriend Pepper Potts and causes him to act more erratic in public. This one line defines it perfectly: “Nothing’s Been The Same Since New York.”

    Overall, despite its flaws, Iron Man 3 has many great lessons that are commonly shown in real life. However the three most essential ones include that we sometimes have to rely on ourselves and not our possessions and the things we take for granted, creating our own problems, and PTSD. These are important because in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic which was caused by inaction early on, we had to adapt when everything was shut down and we couldn’t do the things we normally did in quarantine and with restrictions. Many people also got PTSD, whether it be from death of a loved one, losing their job, and other circumstances. However, like Iron Man 3, the pandemic showed people we had the power to fix our mistakes and prevent anymore tragedies like that while also teaching them how to think outside the box and make their own fun when COVID shut down the world.

  • We have been building a beautiful retreat house upstate and our coach Christine bought all of us a beautiful camper van so we could go back and forth and have camping experiences and help build a retreat house to mentor others. Unfortunately, last week, somebody sideswiped our van with four of our service dogs in the van. We have been through a lot this year; luckily our service dogs were not injured. However, the van will take at least two months to get repaired with an extreme amount of damage and is not drivable for the entire summer. What do we do?

    Displaying IMG_0466.heic
    The damage done to our original camper van

    We found a beautiful Thor that would really help us and we feel like that his insurance company should reimburse us for the destruction of our summer mentoring program. We were also planning to use our van to document our first summer trip as a group. We were looking forward to that, especially with the loss of our dog Molly due to negligence on a farm. We really hope that amends are made by repairing our summer schedule as soon as possible.

    Our potential replacement camper the Thor Motor Coach Hurricane 34J

    How are we going to obtain this goal? We would love to rent the Thor through a website known as RV Share, but we don’t know how to raise the money to repair the damages due to this unfortunate incident. Maybe with a wing and a prayer, someone will sponsor us for our summer activities to continue.

    Blessings from the Team at Autisticana

    Update Does anyone live to their truth ?

    Let the readers know…

    We were so excited that American National promised to do the right thing and rent us a summer camper van after their client destroyed ours. Two of their workers Amy and Ryan said we will do everything we can to make up for this, and the loss of your camp and make your autistic kids happy.

    The kids were ecstatic to hear those words and in the end they were empty words.

    Farmers insurance lied and gave the kids nothing! Not a camper not a dime for lost wages, just false promises and the kids have been forever upset.

    Our summer has been destroyed and we still strive to be integral and make lemonade out of lemons.

    We were waiting on farmers insurance in New York to follow through on their word? They get a big ZERO ! They act like they cared about the loss of our summer adventure, and that they cared. The truth IS they cared about nothing!. Let the reader decide:

    Does anyone have integrity anymore?

    Or is everyone out to take advantage of disabled people and just tell them what they want to hear?

    We are here to show the world integrity and stand tall to truth and advocate for ourselves, to get what we need to do to make all our lives happier, and to help others with the same love and compassion that we show each other.

    To Farmers Insurance, you should be ashamed of yourselves. You wasted two months and ruined our camp and ability to get anything because of your false promises from day one.

    We will hopefully turn around to a great group after a few months of tragedy and the right vibration and the real caring people that are really out for the good of the population will come forward and help us rebuild our camp and our camper to have the summer that we deserved, so we could help ourselves and mentor others to do God’s work. American National you should all be ashamed of yourselves and your false promises. Let the readers know…

    Written by the team at Autisticana

    We say what we mean and mean what we say…

    Let it be known that American National let us all down after their countless false promises.

  • Phase One of the Marvel Cinematic Universe

    When people watch movies such as Star Wars & Jurassic Park, they are mainly about watching it for the action, the iconic lines, and the hilarious memes that result from them. However, there are certain people who watch movies for the lessons they can learn from them, and me and my friend Dr. Christine Grimaldi are some of those people. That has been the case when me and Christine Grimaldi started watching (most of) the first six films of the Marvel Cinematic Universe movie franchise, better known as “Phase One”.

    During the course of the genesis for the franchise, Iron Man, we witnessed businessman and playboy Tony Stark change as an individual through learning powerful lessons such as not knowing whether his inventions will be used for good and that you can always fix your mistakes. This was the case when he invented a piece of technology to preserve his life after being fatally wounded by shrapnel and realizing that his missiles were being used to kill people. Stark also learns not to waste his own life when building the Iron Man suit with fellow prisoner Ho Yinsen, who is fatally wounded when they are escaping from their captors.

    In Iron Man 2, we continued to learn even more lessons about life. The prominent themes here are revenge and treachery. This is the primary yet petty goal of the main antagonist Ivan Vanko, who makes it his mission to get revenge on Tony Stark and disgrace his legacy; this is because Tony’s dad Howard caused his equally immoral father Anton to get deported back to Russia for selling arc reactor designs on the black market and his life to be reduced to alcoholism and humiliation. However, Anton got the last laugh as Ivan used Anton’s knowledge to develop his own powered suit. Revenge is also the focus of Stark’s arrogant business rival Justin Hammer, who wants to develop his own Iron Man suit drones for the military after Stark humiliates him at a Senate committee meeting, even recruiting Ivan for the job and betraying him later. Family bonds are also a great lesson, as Howard Stark is able to pass on intelligence to help his son save himself from arc reactor poisoning. This shows that people can help teach each other in different ways, whether it be helping them out or just using them for selfish gain.

    Over the course of Thor, we learned about family and how it can be destroyed. This is shown when Loki learned the truth about his heritage as one of Asgard’s enemy races, the Frost Giants. This, along with his resentment towards Thor, caused him to come up with a plan to commit genocide and gain his family’s approval after millennia. Another fascinating lesson we learned was about humility. This was Thor’s primary struggle after he was banished and stripped of his power for “leading a coup” against the Frost Giants without thinking. Through meeting humans such as Jane Foster and realizing that as a leader it was his responsibility to protect others, he regained his powers through defiance against the Destroyer armor, even without his powers. Another side lesson was learning that what we think are just conspiracies and myths and stories may just be real all along, as demonstrated by Erik Selvig’s words “It’s not a bad thing finding out that you don’t have all the answers. You start asking the right questions.” This is important because it has allowed scientists to discover the mysteries of the universe and inventors and technology companies to ask what can make their products better for others, as well as people asking how they can improve themselves on a daily basis.

    During Captain America: The First Avenger, we learned about the struggle between good and evil and that even the most weakest of people want to do good things. This is prominent between Captain America and his nemesis The Red Skull, whose respective moralities are boosted by a serum. Captain America becomes more powerful enough to fight the Red Skull, who becomes even more evil and ruthless and deluded by mythology and mysticism. This goes to the point where Red Skull becomes insane and wants to overthrow Hitler and take over the world with the help of HYDRA, Hitler’s own science division. This shows that when people are granted with special weapons and privileges, their intentions will decide how they impact their goals and success. The final movie, The Avengers, showed that sometimes people need to work together despite their differences and flaws as well as personal secrets and ambitions. The eponymous team battling Loki reflects on organizations such as NATO and the United Nations who work together to combat bigger threats such as wars sparked by dictators, pandemics, and other major threats. It also shows how some people are willing to sacrifice themselves for their allies, shown when Iron Man nearly dies saving the world from Loki’s invasion, in a callback to Iron Man and Captain America’s feud early on.

    Over the course of the first six movies in the MCU, me and Christine have learned many great lessons that reflect on what has happened in the real world and other media. These include sacrifice, learning from mistakes, how hubris can destroy you, and that sometimes the most imaginative of things can be real. Real world issues we have encountered include business corruption, betrayal, and wars. Going into Phase 2 and 3 and beyond, we hope that we can see more lessons and real world issues that humanity and the world continue to face today.

  • By Jackson Beach

    Persistence is important especially when accomplishing world records.

    Tenacity is one’s ability to stay determined on the way to completing a goal. Such examples are when people try to break world records, finish exams and projects on time, and also when trying to be the best they can be. These show that people won’t give up even when their goals seem impossible. However, tonight, I was at my most persistent.

    Recently, I have thought of a plan to watch Disney+ over the computer with my friend Dr. Christine Grimaldi whenever I am not at her house. However, there is a black screen issue when we screen share that prevents us from seeing what is going on on the screen due to anti-piracy measures which is frustrating. I tried playing a movie and then screen sharing according to a Reddit blog, which did not work on both Opera and Firefox. I then tried to watch the same movie on 123WatchMovies.com which had very poor quality.

    I was on the verge of giving up when I found another Reddit blog. It said to disable hardware acceleration on Google Chrome. I followed the instructions and then shared my screen on Disney Plus on Google Chrome. Much to my excitement and happiness, Disney+ was working. I decided not to watch the movie tonight because of the value of my greater victory, in no small part thanks to what I can accomplish with the power of tenacity and persistence when things seem hopeless and impossible.

  • By Jackson Beach

    Sammy the Sun is one of the moral support centers for Mindfulness Island. He constantly shines his rays to energize the inhabitants and encourage them to put aside technology for physical activity. However, what really makes him a good friend to the other mat characters is his charisma and positive attitude. He finds the light to always make a good impact even in the worst times of darkness.

    Sammy the Sun became this way because of a terrible tragedy in his life. When he was five years old, he lost his older brother Stan when he radiated too much energy and didn’t leave any reserves for himself. For more than a year, the sun didn’t shine and Sammy and his family became enshrouded by darkness. However, Sammy realized he had to work harder and maintain balance in order to bring the light back to himself and his family so the light could shine on Mindfulness Island once more.

    To this day, Sammy uses his rays to help others out of the darkness when they are struggling while making sure he has enough energy for himself. Sammy constantly teaches others how to maintain balance in their lives through giving to both themselves and others. Sammy replenishes his energy every night by meditating and encourages others to do the same. This way, he will have enough energy to radiate his friends while maintaining enough reserves for himself.

  • by Jackson Beach

    During any person’s life, they usually experience impactful events that alter the trajectory of their life. These include making friends, going to sports games, and getting accepted into their dream school.

    However, some of these events can negatively impact a person’s life. When this happens, people usually convey emotional responses known as trauma. Trauma can cause great emotional strain and damage to a person’s life and well being. Causes of trauma include injury or loss of a loved one, just like what has been happening to our coach and friend Dr. Christine , with the death of her dog Molly , which was caused by negligence, and no regulation of farmlands on Airbnb, which we have investigated a few other environmental negligent cases from this company as well. Yet there has not been any accountability on their part. We have called many times for an interview and they work hard to ignore us.

    In the worst case scenario, this kind of trauma can result in a psychological condition known as post traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD.

    PTSD happens to people who have experienced a shocking or scary event.

    Symptoms can include nightmares, survivor’s guilt, anger, and other forms of emotional distress.

    Other examples of PTSD are soldiers who have suffered injury or loss of comrades in wars such as both World Wars and Vietnam. During World War I, PTSD or “shell shock” which was first encountered in soldiers who were trapped in trenches in horrible conditions and no nutrition and hearing horrible noises of war such as explosions.

    PTSD has also happened to those who have killed innocent people during times of war and has caused them to realize that the US government and army is truly to blame for their troubles.

    Other examples of PTSD include successful celebrities who have been in career ending car accidents, people who have been addicted to drugs and alchol and suffered from drug abuse and addiction, or people who have lost loved ones to COVID-19.

    Soldiers with PTSD

    Although our friend and coach Christine is dealing with trauma right now, I hope it does not develop into PTSD.

    This is because she has good friends by her side that will help her publish books in Molly’s memory. She is also dealing with her trauma by working to make her other service dogs recover from being sick after toxic exposure.

    Molly will have a legacy in our heart that will live on in all of us, and will be read in our books across the United States and the world.

    We are working hard to make airbnb responsible for fatally poisoning our dog with chemicals, until they develop environmental regulations world wide.

    Avoidance is not being Accountable!

    Note To Self

    Trauma is a defining part of a person’s life, as it helps them become better people by allowing them to help others who are dealing with emotional issues such as distress, nightmares about their mistakes as individuals, and anger.

    Dr. Grimaldi’s Takeaway

    I am so proud of Jackson and the person he has become. He is logical and sympathetic while simultaneously being a critical thinker. Molly was our team’s mascot and the loss of her has created a tremendous amount of trauma for me, the kids, and our Autisticana team. These kids have stood by my side for the past month teaching me what I taught them, “that we are stronger as a team than we are alone and when one person falls, we will lift them up. “

    We will work together in Molly’s memory of making Airbnb and other parties accountable for the emotional distress they inflicted on all of us as a team.

    When Jackson came to the office today, he and his mom gave me a beautiful gratitude bracelet . I immediately said to myself and to them, “How can you be grateful when you are in so much pain?”? How do you find gratitude in a time of your life when so much trauma has happened?” The gratitude comes from having people around you in the most traumatic time of your life.

    We will now use this pain to open up new sources of creative writing on grateful memories and how memories can make you smile in the toughest of times. We will find a purpose in our Molly’s unnecessary death for something that could have been avoided with disclosures and awareness .

    “Molly’s little miracles will be published soon“
  • “Molly in the animal hospital in Ventura California”

    In Norfolk, Virginia, there is an organization centered there named People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. It is an organization that focuses on fighting animal cruelty and abuse in four areas: experimentation, entertainment, eating, and wearing clothing. It also fights against activities involving animal cruelty such as chaining dogs in the backyard and killing animals seen as pests, among other forms.

    However, there is an issue that the organization should focus on more: the mistreatment of animals through poisoning, especially at resorts and rentals that use lots of harmful pesticides and chemicals without any disclosure.

    “The day Dr. Christine fell from dizziness and burning eyes from the exposure to sulphuric acid on the farm, and Molly came running to her rescue”
    “Christine and Molly help their new friend Paul after he had to say goodbye to his dog”

    This is because my good friend Dr. Christine Grimaldi recently lost her dog, Molly, through this form of mistreatment.

    Early on in the year, Christine traveled to California to finish a series of books, as we all are co-authors, and we are using her four dogs as main characters(Molly being the lead) in the books. We also work diligently to develop our blog called Autisticana, which focuses on our group of young adult friends with varied interests. We thank Dr. Christine for being our team captain.

    Molly was an integral part of our team as she served as the team’s mascot, and went with us on adventures and learning excursions that we do on a regular basis before we write about it. For the first few weeks before this tragedy, we were fully focused on writing our empowerment books. We were on a roll.

    Dr. Christine decided to rent a strawberry farm to create with us, owned by California-based Adohr Farms through the popular home rental service Airbnb in Camarillo. We all thought this would be a beautiful place to work and create peacefully. Who would have thought?

    It was there that Molly became ill with pulmonary edema and cancerous cells through a deadly combination of constantly spraying pesticides and sulfuric acid tanks. After one month into their stay, Christine and all the dogs started getting sick, unfortunately, Molly got it the worse. This beautiful dog was never sick a day in her life and was always by everyone’s side. When this happened, Christine rushed everyone to the vet and had friends fly in to drive them all home immediately, with Molly on oxygen.

    Christine with Molly in California

    However, despite this trauma, Dr.Christine kept her hope alive and did everything possible to save her beloved friend Molly, such as making chicken soup with herbal medicine and taking her into her salt cave to help her breathe. This still wasn’t enough to heal her beloved Molly, and she was forced to put her down.

    This made Christine so angry at Airbnb to the point where she is currently trying to sue them for not being accountable to guests, especially for animals’ safety on rentals with land that has been infested with pesticides and other fatally harmful chemicals. Her ultimate goal is to make Airbnb be unable to use farms as a form of rental property because of their lack of safety precautions. The fact that these travel platforms are willing to get people sick for money, is enough of a reason for us to make them accountable for multiple counts of murder and negligence. We even investigated them, and this has happened in the past with Airbnb guests, yet they continue to not have any regulations.

    Christine has even started a petition through change.org to hold Airbnb accountable for murdering Molly and making herself and her other dogs sick and now depressed.

    “Molly’s last day eating healthy chicken soup that the Autisticana crew cooked for her with love”

    By reading this post, I hope PETA will take notice and decide to have its legal team be a part of Christine’s fight to hold Airbnb accountable for animal cruelty via chemical poisoning and avenge the deaths of Molly and countless other pets. PETA’s legal team is no stranger to successful legal victories, from freeing a chimpanzee stuck in a roadside zoo full of dust to terminating Seaworld’s orca attraction. Their success has been bolstered by the Freedom of Information Act, which allows them to gain access to records of illegal animal cruelty activities and has pushed for legal jurisdiction which will allow for animals’ protection after they have won these cases.

    PETA’s work has been successful to the point where they were the first animal-based group to win Corporate Counsel’s Best Legal Department in 2017. With their help, Autisticana and PETA will become widely famous for being part of a battle in the war against animal cruelty: keeping animals safe from chemical poisoning and banning Airbnb from using rentals that help worsen this cruelty against animals.

    Note to Self: This reminded me of Joe Biden’s own advice “for those who have lost loved ones during this pandemic: there is a black hole caused by their loss, but their memory will bring a smile to their lips before a tear to their eyes.”

    “Molly, known as “The Goose” will never be forgotten and loved for eternity. She made thousands of people smile and knew just the right time to approach them. She was so compassionate, funny, fresh, and kind and was always willing to lend a paw or two.”

    We pray for Dr. Christine’s healing during this time and want her to know that as a team, we will help her get through this. As she taught us, “We are stronger as a team than we are alone. I am proud to say, we stand by her words, and am proud to be one of her News Makers @ at Autisticana.org

    With Love.

    Jackson Beach

    President

    Author, Editor, and Friend

    Dr.Grimaldi’s Take Away

    ” I am so blessed to have such a wonderful group of young adults in my life.

    I always try to keep my glass half full, so I can be the change I want to see in the world.

    This tragedy has been the worst tragedy for me and the loss of my Molly has made it hard for me to take a breath.” It is not how many breaths we take but the moments that take our breath away. That was Molly for me.

    The lesson I learned from all of this is to hold onto precious memories. We are all here for a special reason. Molly was my reason for so long and was a jewel to everyone that met her. She knew when someone needed special consoling and would be the first to sit on their lap.

    Through all of this pain, I try to find the blessings in every moment. I am beyond devasted by her loss and the negligence that caused this. I hope in Molly’s honor, her name will live on, and that this tragedy could have been prevented. I hope this brings awareness to @Airbnbtravel

    and platforms like these.

    I am in grieving mode and am so grateful to have this wonderful team at Autisticana around me.

    Blessings to you my sweet Molly Goose, my heart will be forever broken but, I thank you so much for sharing your gifts with the world and caring for so many people.

  • One day, everyone in Indoors Island was playing indoors, watching TV, or using technology. This was because all of the residents either felt very lazy, were very paranoid about getting sick or hurt, or did not care for being outdoors at all. However, Sammy the Sun noticed this and started to become very angry and bitter at the citizens of Indoors Land for wasting the beautiful day on activities that were keeping them stuck inside and their own internal paranoia and fear. Suddenly, Sammy put aside his anger and decided to spark happiness and motivation in the residents of Indoors Island.

    Sammy used his amazing solar heat generated from being constantly happy to send an astral message to the residents of Indoors Island. “Hey everyone! Would you like to come out and play and be truly happy?” Sammy excitedly asked. All of a sudden, everyone in Indoors Land were very confused because being outside was not part of their way of life. They had never experienced any activity outdoors and whenever they heard of those activities they turned away in disgust and fear. However, they decided to trust someone as charismatic and joyful as Sammy the Sun.

    All of a sudden, the doors of every single business, house, and building in Indoors Island opened up and all of the island’s residents came flooding out to spend time with Sammy the Sun. Sammy the Sun used his immense heat to create yoga mats for everyone and they spent hours doing poses and breathing which caused their paranoia and negative opinions on being outside to go away. The islanders were inspired to do activities such as swimming, bike riding, and hiking now that they had gained a new perspective on life and mental happiness. The islanders then compromised to spend time each day outdoors and indoors in order to be truly happy.

  • Madeleine Albright, Secretary of State from 1997 to 2001 under Clinton who passed away on March 23, 2022

    Recently, the US has suffered a tragic loss in its political community. Madeleine Albright, Bill Clinton’s Secretary of State from 1997 to 2001, passed away on Wednesday, March 23, 2022 from cancer at the age of 84. Albright stands out as a political figure because she was the first woman to ever hold the position of Secretary of State. This meant that she was responsible for administrating the President’s foreign policies. However, there are many interesting things about Albright that made her very special as a political official.

    Albright being sworn in as Secretary of State under Bill Clinton, February 17, 1997

    First and foremost, Albright was only one of two Secretaries of State to be born outside the US, the other being Henry Kissinger. She was originally from Prague, Czechoslovakia, where she was born on May 15, 1937 as Maria Jane Korbelova. Throughout her growing up, she and her family suffered from oppression at the hands of the Nazi Party as well as Communists. In 1948, after spending her first ten years living with her family and constantly fearing for their lives, the Korbelovas then headed to Denver, Colorado in the United States of America, although they would move to Washington DC in 1962, a symbol of Albright’s future.

    Before her tenure as Secretary of State, Albright worked in several political stints, such as US Ambassador to the United Nations from 1993 to 1997 where she was a strong advocate for American interests and increased involvement in the UN’s activities and a Democratic Party foreign policy advisor to 1984 vice presidential candidate Geraldine Ferrero and 1988 presidential candidate Michael Dukakis. However, in 1997, Albright was chosen by the US Senate and President Bill Clinton to replace the retiring Warren Christopher as Secretary of State.

    As the first woman in this political position, Albright took the role in stride, being an ardent supporter for military intervention and above all democracy and human rights. Some of her achievements include successfully leading a movement for NATO bombings in order to stop the Albanian genocide in Yugoslavia by Yugoslavians and Serbians (“Madeleine’s War”) in 1999 and partaking in failed attempts at a deal with then-North Korean leader Kim Jong Il to end North Korea’s nuclear program; despite this she became the first highest ranking US government official to visit North Korea.

    After Clinton’s presidency, Albright continued to be involved in politics; aside from starting her own DC based consulting firm, she also was involved in Hillary Clinton’s 2008 and 2016 presidential campaigns. Albright also wrote several books over her life pertaining to foreign affairs and was the 2012 recipient of the US Presidential Medal of Freedom. Although Albright is now gone, she will forever be remembered as one of US politics’ most influential and respected figures, which is helped by the fact that growing up in a country under poor conditions and mistreatment of other groups of people helped shape her into the person that she would become.

    Learn and Burn

    While I was doing the tree pose on the mat, I realized that through standing strong and tall and tackling adversity while growing up, people can grow up and do amazing things, such as help citizens of other countries that are going through similar situations regarding what they had to endure earlier on in their life.

    Note To Self

    Women are one of the world’s greatest gifts!

    Dr. Grimaldi’s Takeaway

    As a positive psychologist, I am very proud of Jackson and his ability to always keep a half glass full, even in tough times. I admire his passion for current events and world news as he studies it every week. I also love to listen to his takeaway on each piece of news he is studying because he doesn’t favor one political party, but uses his own critical thinking to come up with his own opinions. He stands tall and is not influenced by social media, news channels, or others’ opinions. I love his ability to relate to successful and powerful women as he does not define them by their sexes, but their ability to do the right thing and stand up for others around the world. Jackson has a passion for learning as a neuroscientist. One of the ways to keep yourself and your brain healthy is to keep learning and be curious about all subjects, an ability which Jackson has.

  • BA.2 variant of the highly transmissible yet less deadly Omicron variant of COVID-19.

    Currently, the world has started to return to a normal lifestyle after two years of suffering under the COVID-19 pandemic. Masks, vaccine mandates, and restrictions are starting to become distant memories of the past as people have been starting to hang out and get together without any fears of catching this once in a lifetime virus. People all around the world have been going to clubs, movies, restaurants, and schools and doing the stuff they missed doing over the course of 2020 and 2021. However, one problem in particular still remains.

    Friends hanging out together, something which has not happened as much since March 2020.

    During December 2021 and into January and February, the world was forced to brace against a massive assault against COVID-19’s mutant variant, the Omicron variant through various tactics, such as mask and vaccine mandates, avoiding mass gatherings, and staying home if sick. These were all essential maneuvers, especially as the Omicron variant was spreading during winter, which is known to be home to the annual flu season. However, as it has always been throughout this pandemic, the people of the world were able to stop the Omicron variant as it had against COVID’s other variants, especially the danger of the Delta variant.

    The Omicron variant of COVID-19, which was first identified in South Africa in November 2021, on the edge of winter.

    Now, as the world is returning to normal, there have been reports that a subvariant or “stealth variant” of Omicron, BA.2 has been rapidly spreading around the world. It has been responsible for current surges in China, the origin of the pandemic, as well as Europe. It has been also responsible for a current uptick of cases in several states, such as New York. This has caused one big question on everyone’s minds: Will this stealthy offspring cause yet another surge of coronavirus cases and derail the US and the world at large’s long awaited “return to normalcy”? Time will tell, but if this scenario ends up happening, the world will be ready with its COVID fighting protocols.

    Learn And Burn

    While I was holding Warrior 1 today on the Kids Fit Mat, I learned the lesson of what it’s like to have strength and to keep your immune system up in the time of COVID variants. I realized that keeping my immunity up as I was doing yoga is really the most essential part of my whole pandemic.

    Note To Self

    Don’t get too overwhelmed reading about these variants. Just keep moving forward.

    Dr. Grimaldi’s Takeaway

    I am so beyond proud of all my kids who have worked with me through this pandemic making lemonade out of lemons! They have learned how to really share their gifts with the world during the isolation they have been forced into for the past two years. They are all so unique and wonderful and I am so proud that we have brought together a wonderful team of creative authors that were formed during this pandemic and they chose love over fear and continue to do so (i.e. they chose to walk through the darkness to get to the light as a team of all abilities).