It’s a Tuesday morning. Tuesday is believed by many cultures to be a day of bad luck, and some days I would attest to that, but this Tuesday is not like that. Instead, the birds are chirping and the rays of sunlight are trying to reach into the cavernous room I consider my “office,” but they can’t; because my blinds are closed as an attempt to protect my eyes—fragile to natural light—as a result of overexposure to LCD lighting.

It’s here in the office that any sort of intellectual thinking is prohibited… except for all those other times when I pondered the surreal existentialism of the universe and, far worse, when I struggled to fathom my math homework.

In reality, though, the office is my sanctum sanctorum—a place for me to be as I am, as I was, and will be. The Japanese say we have three faces: one for our friends, another for our family, and finally one for ourselves, the latter being the truest form of our being. It’s here in the office where I can portray my own face freely and proudly without fear of persecution. It’s here where I am not just Vinicio Corral, editor of Uptown Maven, but also Vinicio Corral-Gutiérrez: an immigrant, a scholar, and a total science nerd.

Here are some other facts about me: I probably drink more milk than I should, I am considering marrying a dog, I have to restrain myself from crying when there are French fries around me, and according to the head of the World Language department at school I’m that one annoying friend that’ll text you in the passé simple. She didn’t call me annoying I just added that in there because it’s true.

I’m also perplexed by the human mind and how easy it is to manipulate it. The brain is, after all, the greatest invention to ever be invented—now and forever—, and I believe it’s important to train it to achieve its maximum potential. And so, when Mother Maven (Uptown Maven, if you will) asked me to guest-write on her blog, I decided it’d be best to pursue a quixotic project: something bewildering, but also enlightening… something that would not only challenge me but also the reader into a state of cerebral euphoria.

It is, however, summer. And summer is neither a season nor a time to be questioning the principles of the human brain. In reality, I don’t think I’ve used my brain that much this summer. If anything, I’ve damaged it greatly by spending around 70% of my time watching Netflix. The other 20% I’ve spent reading, a good 5% eating, and a final 5% exercising. Should I be exercising more? Yes. Will I? No. It’s really hot outside and I’m a runner so…… those two don’t go too well together.

Now, as the curtains above summer begin to drop, it’s time to get back into a regular scholastic rhythm. It’ll soon be the beginning of senior year for which I am not at all ready for. Luckily, I have my office—otherwise known as my brain—to provide me solace for now. I’m slowly putting the pieces of the puzzle together on the floor of my office. What will happen if the pieces don’t fit or worse, if there are any missing? That, Maveners, is a bridge I’ll cross when I get there.

Your Editor, Vinicio