Developmental Psychology

The Study of the Lifestyle

Psychology is known to have many branches, like science itself. Each branch delves into a specific topic, and each brings out a new story to explain what happens in our lives. This is particularly true for more well-known branches, like counseling and clinical psychology.

But did you know that there is one branch that delves into how we grow as our age continues to add up each year? Taking into all the factors that affect the thing we call development, like our lifestyles, this branch is developmental psychology. An interview with one such psychologist, Dr Fred Travis from Maharishi University, stationed in Fairfield, Iowa, led me to understand more about this certain branch.

I met him at a seminar HELP University was holding regarding how to alleviate stress in college students and he brought up Transcendental Meditation, which he recommended to all of us since, in his words, it helps us find ourselves. Curious to know more, I decided to email him, and we got to talking. I ended up interviewing him, wanting to learn about his profession and what kind of person he was.

When I questioned him about his research on TM and asked him about his research, he said that I was right and not right at the same time. He went on to explain that he was interested in the development humans go through from childhood, with some additional looks at sleep, exercises and meditation, with a focus on TM due to how others are only to deal with life, instead of helping someone’s development.

Upon being asked about his branch, he clarified that it was developmental neuropsychology, which brought me to ask about why he had become interested in psychology. He said that he had always wanted to know about the motives behind actions. “You have a thought, and then you act,” he told me during that interview. He wished to delve into it even more, to look at the base of those thoughts, and what causes the different perspectives people adopt when faced with the same problem. To put it simple, he wanted to see it from their eyes while understanding why there are many various ways to look at something.

I then asked why he had chosen developmental psychology, because it didn’t make much money, and he laughed while saying that if he had been into making money, he wouldn’t have taken his current profession, before he admitted that it was what interested him. Another factor that had come into play was due to TM, by which he had experienced a transformation. “I wanted to know the basis of our mind. I wanted to research what’s happening to our body when we meditate,” he said.

When he heard my next question, which was about universities best for psychology and what they should do in order to have it as their major, he quickly started explaining the major branches of psychology (and any discipline, as an extension); basic and applied. Basic, in his words, is understanding how the mind functions, and thus his branch, while applied refers to counseling, coaching and therapy.

He went on to tell me that he is one of a group of researchers taking meditations models and applying them to therapy, saying that by exploring the range of inner experience and its associated brain functioning while meditating regularly, counselors will begin to understand why people are experiencing certain things, and how this new information will help personalize their sessions by giving them certain things they can do, be it behavior, activities, or meditation.

His suggestion about choosing universities was to read the published papers. “If it’s too narrow you probably don’t want to go there,” he said during the interview. He added that it would probably teach certain topics, such as information processing, motivation, or conditioning. “What I think is important is a broader education,” he admitted. “I had training in neuroscience, social psychology, developmental psychology and information processing.”

The topic of supporters came up, and he quickly said that it was his family. When I offered a quote that said, “We start and end with the family.”, he seemed to like it, and stated that it means that one is so important due to being part of a family, while embracing your and others’ relatives. This then led to my next question; about whether he had ever collaborated with anyone for research. He confirmed it, listing Scandinavia and the USA as places where he’s collaborated with others. Meanwhile, he had given lectures in China, Mongolia, India, Australia, Malaysia, Israel and Turkey, to name a few.

His answer to why was that you have to be sure to study both the body and brain as well. “The mind doesn’t just float around. It sits in the body, and your bodily states and conditions can affect your mind and feelings,” he explained. The brain’s physiology also gives us a concrete language for description. His preference is to use brain language to talk about the experience gained during meditation, so they can appreciate the feeling by hearing how our brain works. Consequently, he advised me to study the brain, body and mind, which can be fulfilled in the form of cognitive science, given by most programs in modern psychology.

When I inquired about his college education, he explained that he he was currently the head of the Maharishi Vedic Science Department, where they begin by saying that consciousness permeates the world and universe. Using Transcendental Meditation, one can feel this level of consciousness. He further said that they looked into how this field is reflected in the world we live in.

He then launched into an explanation about a mandatory course every student in his university has to take, known as Physiology is Consciousness, where they learn the effect paradigms have on our perception. There is learning about the creation of paradigms through events that occur in our life (He added that this was where the family came into play as a main factor.), states of consciousness, why we sleep and dream, and perception. “The brain changes dynamically from birth to 25 years old, and after age 25 it continues to change with each new experience,” he told me.

He admitted that he had gotten his PhD from his current university, then did a two-year post doctorate study on basic sleep research. During that post-PhD study, he delved into some questions, such as why we sleep, how we recover from sleep, and how long does it take us to recover from losing a certain number of hours for sleep. Once he was done, he came back to Maharishi to become the head of the brain centre as a researcher and teacher.

I took that chance to ask him what kind of advice he would give to aspiring psychologists such as myself. He immediately answered with meditation. “Meditation techniques are ways to explore inner subjectivity, more specifically your inner self,” he said. “Modern science doesn’t give us techniques to do that. They teach us about our behavior and what underlies them. When you meditate, you explore and understand your whole self.”

As for the type of meditation, he didn’t hesitate to recommend Transcendental Meditation. He expounded the main difference; while other types involve thinking and doing to some degree, TM, as the name suggests, allows you to transcend and experience your rawest self, when there is no business to attend to, when there are no miscellaneous thoughts. In this state, you are “just awake and alert, but in deep silence”, and this allows you to feel who you are universally. Thus, your perspective on situations will change.

Due to the pandemic, I wanted to know whether Dr Travis had started any new hobbies in this time. When I asked, he answered that due to it, he had taken up the task of remodeling his house. He had just refurbished an oak bookcase that morning by taking off the old varnish. In addition to that, for Christmas, he had mailed the parts of a coffee table, complete with pre-drilled holes, to two of his daughters. Since he had also sent them a video on how to assemble it, they had fun putting it together. While he still teaches classes, most take online classes as opposed to the little who come to school with masks, which does not make it easier for the student.

The final question came in the form of what he hopes to achieve through his research, and, as an extension, his dream for the world. His answer was quite deep. He had said, “I want everyone to realise their deep inner nature (their silence, calm, and wholeness) and how they’re connected to others. They don’t think according to nationality, but think, ‘The world is my family.’ and that we are all connected. We have differences, and we want to sustain & nurture the different cultures (in that, he seems to have meant festivals, languages, and perspectives), but each country shares that same basic feeling of liveliness, of health, of creativity. We are united in that. Differences should be nourished, because it makes the world stronger. And it makes people more unique. It allows people to be themselves, and not try to look like what they watch on the movies or TV, but to really be who they are inside. From my research, I hope that by giving brain patterns of meditating experiences, people will wake up, and say, ‘Oh yes, meditation is useful, important, and very valuable in this age.’”

Indeed, in the end, developmental psychology is still a part of psychology, and it is a branch that should be more well-known to the world. I hope that this article has helped you broaden your understanding of the subject.

Let's give love to this psychology branch!

Lunar Traditions

What the Chinese descendants do during the Lunar New Year

Chinese New Year. A holiday that is quite familiar to those living in countries like Indonesia. How can it not be, to be honest? With all the temples available to the Buddhists in the country, it is no wonder that this rings a bell for Indonesians. While some cultures follow the Gregorian calendar, the Chinese look at the movement of the moon instead of the sun for their calendar. As a result, their new year comes late. Chinese New Year is associated with family gatherings, red pockets (hong bao or ang pao works too!)… Basically a time when a huge family can come together and spend time together away from their busy schedules.

However, what do the Chinese do on this holiday? In order to understand this point of view, I asked a longtime Buddhist family member, my dad, Dr Edy Waluyo, about the traditions handed down from his ancestors. He was quite enthusiastic to do the interview, although it was mostly answered in Indonesian because his first language is not English. Consequently, I have translated them so it would be easier to write this article.

The first thing I asked was regarding the things he usually does on this holiday. His answer to that was cleaning the house up (or what is commonly known as spring cleaning. Fitting, considering that the new year is also seen as the start of spring.) and preparing everything for prayer. As these traditions were handed down from generation to generation, he believes that they should be conserved due to their age. His favorite traditions include gathering with the whole family and spending time together. Then, when asked whether he would like to see these passed down, he agreed, saying that it can help nurture family relationships, especially with those from the extended family.

Due to the pandemic, he is resolving to do his religious activities at home, which doesn’t really affect his beliefs, shown as I asked him about his religious beliefs. His answer was quite interesting. “A belief is a thing that is done everyday, while religion consists of rules and norms that must be followed because they have been made by the gods of said religion,” he had told me. As a result, his beliefs are mainly rooted in his heart, and his opinion is that every belief is the same.

I chose to then ask him how he would explain these traditions to someone with no basic knowledge of them, and his response was to let them know what traditions are; inherited activities that are based on religious norms. Because it had been taught by our ancestors, it should be done in a family even though they may have different beliefs. He believes that the most important thing is to “accept and respect each other”; a statement I agree with.

While more conservative people would not be accepting of diversity, I’m glad that my dad is not one of them. I hope that this will help you understand more about Chinese culture and its stereo- erm, I mean, traditions.

Maths in the Eyes of a Maths Teacher

To most people, especially students, mathematics may be seen as a horror subject. Despite the fact that there are a lot of people who enjoy this subject, it is also undeniable that there are those who don’t enjoy it. However, what actually goes on in the mind of the teachers who teach this so-called hated subject? An interview with one such teacher, who chose to go under the alias of Mr. Kairos, reveals a possible answer.

Mr Kairos knew he wanted to be a maths teacher from his high school years shown through his talent in teaching and his interest in maths, desiring to focus on that for his career. One of the main things that highlight his teaching style, discipline, was taught by his previous teacher; a lifestyle he wishes to pass down to his own students, alongside honesty. He holds both beliefs in teaching and his day-to-day life, with the addition of trying not to hurt others in his life. His chosen career has affected his life as a person, which is shown in his personality. “Being a teacher means you have to set a good example to students,” he explained. “Gradually, it became my main personality trait.”

When it comes to teaching maths, he has three points that seem important in his eyes:

1. Complete understanding of the subject.

2. A teaching style that focuses not on the teacher, but the students’ comprehension. “It’s not good if the teacher is smart, but not in teaching students,” he clarified.

3. A liking to Maths. This is so the teacher can spread positive energy to their students.

In addition, when asked what advice he had for mathematicians and fellow maths teachers, he had told them to work harder every year. “Find a way that can be understood more by the students,” he had said. “And always try to do what is best for them.”

“Being a teacher means you have to set a good example to pupils.”

~ Mr. Kairos

His interest in maths is reflected in how he answers questions. “I try to stay calm all the time when I’m doing this, especially if it’s hard, because if I panic, it will be hard to concentrate on the solving,” he answered when I asked him this. To prove his love for maths even more, he wishes to deepen his knowledge in it, saying it’s due to his love for the subject, while also hoping that he can learn more and more.

In this pandemic, his enthusiasm hasn’t waned at all. In fact, going to school to teach despite the pandemic is proof of how serious they are about working optimally, he said. He tries to push his students to ask whether they don’t understand anything. Why? “If the students have no initiative to ask, then they are closing off their own opportunities, and even us teachers can’t do a thing,” he explained.

In these dark times, teachers who try their best to help their students despite their own problems are truly role models to us. Mr. Kairos is a true role model to his students, least of all me. With this, I hope that we can all learn from him and try to decide what we want to have as a career the way he did; by finding what we are passionate about and nurturing it.

When We Ponder on Goals

What We Want to Pursue; Why do We Do This?

“You can be many things as long as you want to.”

~ Toke

Life goals; we all have those. Defined as one’s idea on the things they could achieve in life as a way to balance out the perceived lack of self-esteem, life goals keep us going. When the name is tweaked to personal goals instead of life goals, it can mean our individual objectives which we strive to achieve. Each person will have different goals, which matches the notion that each and every one of us are different. An interview with an individual who has found her calling, Oladehinde Abisola Atoke AKA Toke BLEEDING PEN, reveals that meaning to be subjective.

Her life goal, which she identifies as someone’s aim, or what someone strives to get, was found through love and affection. “I figured the joy I feel at the talk of acting or actresses,” she said. From there, she realised she wanted to be one, and it has been her main goal ever since. She also aims to be a published author and receive a great certificate from school. Her life goals began a long time ago, when she was a toddler at the earliest of her memories, even though she can’t remember the exact time. She has also expressed interest in other life goals, admitting, “[because] It is good to always have others means of living.”

Her plans to achieve said goals involve relying on her instincts and God. “There is no use in being a goal getter when you have no plans of getting the goal,” she explained when asked. God has been helping her through rough patches and she believes, “He won’t stop.” Aside from that, she also has support in her mum, other people who care for her, and social media.

When asked why she tries to motivate others to do the same, she answered that not having a life goal could result in wandering. Using the analogy of boarding a bus, she said that if we don’t get off at the right destination, the bus will stop as it reaches the end of the line.

To those who are searching for their purpose in life, she says that they should keep searching and trying. “One day you’ll see,” she said. “So just keep pushing and you will be surprised when you start breaking bars.”

“It is said that Rome wasn’t built in a day, so you don’t expect everything to work for you in a day.” — Toke BLEEDING PEN

Toke is truly an inspiration to those around her, and I am glad that I have been given the honor of interviewing this amazing person. May this article give you the strength to try searching for your life goals too!

A New Hobby for Writers! Baking Inspires

Baking opens up my head to new ideas.

Tirola

Baking is seen as a girly hobby, even though there are amazing male bakers around the globe. The profession demands a high level of creativity and problem solving, so it’s not a shocker that amazing bakers with said high creativity have grown famous. However, did it ever strike you that writers could benefit from baking? Did it ever click, that for some people, baking could walk hand in hand with writing? After an interview with Tirola, I got to see the positive effects of baking for writers. Let’s see how it helps authors!

She took up baking after a school practical, which made her realize that she loved it. Despite being a rookie at it, she can make a good amount of treats such as cakes, pancakes, and doughnuts. She usually makes these when she’s either bored or craving some treats. This process usually takes up around two to three hours at home with her oven, so while she would consider this profession as a part-time job, she wouldn’t go for a full-time one.

This skill was self-taught through Youtube videos, recipes she had found, and the good old way of trial and error. As a result, she advises beginning bakers to stay focused. “You won’t get it all at once,” she had said. She had also added that being creative and trying new things helps, saying, “No one knows it all.” However, to her, having fun with the process is the most important thing about baking.

The inspiration she gets while baking is a lot. “I can’t even start to explain it, but one thing I can say is that baking opens up my head to new ideas,” she had said. Not only that, she recommends this hobby to writers because it helps writers not to stress out over treats you can’t have. “Food is a friend of the body, and there is nothing like wanting a treat you can’t have,” she explained her reasoning.

Tirola continues to write beautiful poems which may be attributed to her love for baking, so if you agree with this point, start learning how to bake! I hope this article has helped!

Demi-boys

An Unfamiliar Concept Explained

Before thinking about your actual gender, one must realise that gender is not binary, or only consisting of two types. Instead, it is a spectrum, like a rainbow. There are many terms to describe each part of the spectrum, and “demi-boy” is one of them. Described as someone who partially identifies as a man, it’s considered part of the non-binary group because it doesn’t fit into the moulds of male and female society had created long ago and attempted to keep formed. However, gender identity doesn’t necessarily mean the gender you were born with. You may have certain things when you are born which makes others think of you as a certain gender, but you don’t have to fit in. After all, you were made to stand out. That is the belief I have, and it has allowed me to identify myself under non-binary. It was then that I managed to get in touch with an old schoolmate, who now identifies as such, and has changed their name to Nat. Unable to pass up the chance, I requested an interview, which was approved of. As a result, this article was born.

The first question I asked was regarding their identity and its meaning. They answered demiboy, before explaining that to them, it was a term for those who are non-binary, yet they feel like some parts of them are masculine. When questioned how they had gotten to it, they retold the story. They had gotten into Twitter, where putting pronouns was a normal thing. Once, they had stumbled across an account using they as their pronoun. Upon doing some in-depth research on it, they had realised that there are more than two gender identities. With this information, it gradually clicked that they didn’t feel like they were a complete man. While feeling mainly gender-neutral, there were times that their masculine traits came out, which was what led to their identifying as a demi-boy.

When they were contemplating this, they would overthink about how people they knew in real life, like their family, would react to this. However, after a while, they came to the decision to stay in the closet to most, but not all, people. I was one of the people who knew, and they were relieved that they were accepted. Aside from that, they also had taken in other factors, like their own feelings about themself, and which gender identity felt the best for them. As a result, they came to see themself as a demiboy; the most comfortable identity in their eyes.

As for coming out, they had told their online friends, including myself. While they wouldn’t mind telling everyone else, they wouldn’t understand it, and thus they had decided to keep it quiet for now. Unlike in real life, though, they have been very open on it, especially with the settings on their social media space, specifically Twitter and Tiktok. However, other netizens were super supportive, and they have admitted that they felt prouder of themself because of it. “Basically, you are valid,” they had said. Due to their new identity, they had chosen he/him (due to their masculine feelings), xe/xem, bun/bun, cloud/cloud, and boba/boba, because they liked the feeling they gave them.

Curious about said pronouns, known as neopronouns, I inquired about it. They quickly explained that these pronouns were first made in the nineteenth century for neurodivergent people, those who had a very complicated relationship with their gender, but now they can be used by nonbinary people who feel like they could use them.

Their message for fellow members of the LGBTQIA+ community was to remember that “your feelings are valid and no one can ever change your sexuality”, and while they are not sure regarding the future for the acceptance of those in the same community, they said that even though some may stick to religion and won’t change, they have hope that more people will begin to accept the community. They advise the gender curious to take it slow. The gender curious will find their identity one day. “Don’t pressure yourself to find your gender. You can always go unlabeled,” was his final statement.

I hope that this will help clear things up about one of the many gender identities this world can have. May this article be informative and useful to you.

It’s Not Just You; How A College Student Overcame the Workload

An interview with EndieStories

University may seem like a piece of cake on the screen, but it is much more brutal in real life. The gruesome workload and overloading amount of information required to pass the course tends to weigh down on people heavily. Every course has it ups and downs, but there are those who can persevere through the harsh circumstances and come out on top. A talk with EndieStories, a fresh June graduate from university, reveals how he managed to get through university, and his tips on how to get through the stressful times associated with lessons in this tertiary study.

Endie’s course was a two-year extended diploma course in Film, TV and Special FX. Since his university is in the U.K., the system’s different from what I expected, and so are the lessons they learn. “I learned how to use film equipment like cameras, tripods, microphones and boom kits, lights used on film sets, and so on. I also learned how to edit, learned about different shots and framing techniques and what they mean in the context of the film, and also learned about different types of films and how to film them,” he had explained when asked regarding it. The workload wasn’t that bad due to the freer system in the UK; they only got work once or twice a week. What probably helped was that he just did the work to avoid worrying about it. “As long as it got done, didn’t need to worry about it.”

However, his last year proved to be a challenge as he struggled with working alone on the projects. “I was so stressed about it not going well and getting all my documents finished before my begin filming deadline came. It got so stressful, I got angry a few times and threw my pillow to the wall a few times,” he recalled that time. Thankfully, he did get through with it, and even got a good grade at the end of it!

When the stress was clouding his mind, Endie usually chose to do stuff that relaxed him, such as listening to calming music, playing a video game called Doom Eternal, taking a break, or chatting others up on Discord. Discord provided Endie with a support system too, since his friends were always ready to help him if he asked for it.

Despite all the stress college provided Endie with, there were things that he missed about it too, such as going to college and spending time with his friends during the pre-pandemic era. A habit of theirs was to walk home together and chat, making jokes here and there after and before classes. However, he has hopes about this degree, believing that it can help him through the film industry. “I hope that it’ll help develop my filmmaking skills and help me get a job in the film industry, starting off small and then working my way up,” he had affirmed.

Speaking of the pandemic, though, a lot of things had changed for Endie, and one of them is online school. Like everything in this world, he believes this notion has pros and cons. He considers working from home safer considering the climate in his place at the moment, but he does have complaints about working from home, namely loneliness once in a while and uninvited guests during a meeting. “Working from home can lead to family bursting in during calls, which is a bit of a hassle to deal with,” he admitted. Aside from that, however, he says that there are advantages to working from home. First, he can do his work whenever instead of a set time of work like how it would be pre-pandemic. Secondly, minimal distractions at home allow him to focus. Thirdly, he can work in his own environment, a place he’s really familiar with. Those seem to be valid points, honestly speaking.

To those who are struggling like how he had before, he has a good amount of advice. First of all, you should try and get through everything with a clear and positive mindset, because negative mindsets lead to incredible amounts of stress. Secondly, take regular breaks. Thirdly, keep yourself occupied and your brain working. If you need some help, ask anyone that you trust and anyone who could help you, such as a guidance counselor, therapist, friends, and family. Sound advice if I’ve never heard it.

In the end, university may be tough, but with the right tools and determination, you might just get through it! Do your best, and don’t give up!

Misunderstood by the Media

The Truth about Dissociative Disorders

TRIGGERING STUFF MENTIONED!!! Proceed with caution!

Depictions of dissociative disorders, most notably DID, are prominent in media in today’s world as we begin shifting our eyes to mental health. Voice 4, a Korean drama, is a recent drama that had an antagonist with a condition like this. However, most portrayals of this disorder have been proven false, especially when we are facing those who have this situation yet go through daily life normally; a far cry from what the media seems determined of stigmatizing it as. An interview with the Crystal Collective, an OSDD/DDNOS [Dissociative Disorder Not Otherwise Specified] system, and books I’ve read on DID have provided valuable information in my quest to understand the situations that not only led to this disorder, but also how their daily lives may be. Be warned, the contents of this article will have triggering subjects, but it’s all to deepen our understanding of this misunderstood condition.

To Crystal (which will be used to refer to the state when the system’s body doesn’t feel like any of the alters specifically), OSDD, or Other Specified Dissociative Disorder, is a condition where different personalities, or alters, share the same body. Alters are meant to help the host in many situations, such as traumatic experiences or day-to-day life, according to them. The main difference between Dissociative Identity Disorder and OSDD is that OSDD alters don’t have as many amnesiac episodes as DID. At the time when the interview was being conducted, the collective consisted of 14 main personalities who can be contacted by one of them, Lily, through a mental space the Collective called headspace. No one fronting and just being… empty is a relatively normal thing, with Crystal describing it as “not knowing who you are and not identifying with anyone”.

Crystal says that every alter is similar to the host personality, but there are distinct features that help set them apart, such as cursing. The collective also has a sexual protector named Alex, who doesn’t really interact with some of them, including the host, due to how much they restrict her from doing certain things. The reason they have multiple protectors, though, is due to the mental and verbal abuse they had enduring growing up in a bad situation.

Despite all this, Crystal is hoping that in the future they can help others, be it through online resources or even working at an orphanage, which is an awesome aim. They have also expressed that they don’t plan on integrating, a common treatment for those with DID and similar conditions where the personalities, for their own reasons, and that is okay. This disproves the age-old beliefs that everyone with dissociation doesn’t have to be a villain, and that DID in itself is a fascinatingly complex situation that everyone should try to understand and accept instead of forcing them to hide out of fear. Integration should be a choice instead of an obligation but I haven’t seen anyone with OSDD in media, and it’s a sad thing because we have too many stereotypes that lead people to misinterpret people with dissociation in a bad way. However, their message to those out there who struggle with the same situation is mind-blowing; “It'll get better eventually, don't give up.” Indeed, they’re an inspiration to us all, and I really hope they can live a better life.

Someday, he wants others to realise that self-love doesn’t have to mean hurting others in order to feel better. Asking for boundaries in a way that won’t offend others is something he wants to see at one point in his life, especially since helping people is considered important to him. To him, vulnerability without the cost of lost pride is so so important as a way to provide a safe space for discussing hard problems.

He advises those struggling in the world to find their place at their own pace; the decision is not for others to make. A great way to start the process of healing and growing would be finding your inner self, tapping into the peace reserves inside of you even when it’s hard, because someday, there will come a time when you will have genuine supporters who can motivate you to be a better person with their warm hope.

Oh, Heart’s Hopes, Where art Thou?

Bakugan has really stepped up its game when it comes to representation, primarily prominent in the reboot’s characters, such as Wynton and Troxx. Both of their VAs were allowed to bring their heritages into their voices when voicing these characters, and the results were great. What makes Bakugan stand out even more to Julius, though, is how it did the diversity casting before the trend hit last year! His personal suggestion is to allow open interpretation; letting the voice actors bring in a fresh wind to the character. In fact, he says not to have a last name for the character until the VA is chosen! Playing silly and funny characters also helps, apparently. He actually enjoys voice acting the most, especially the funny and charming roles, preferring it over theatre which he had learned in university. He had found it very restricting, since it mainly focused on Shakespeare, so he considered using a microphone instead as it doesn’t require that big of a reaction. He likes the fact that he can be an Asian guy that isn’t judged on the screen for his ethnicity without the need of some sort of accent or even caricature of actual Asians. Bakugan has definitely come a long way in those terms, and yet representation in anime doesn’t work the same way as it does in cartoons. There is a bit of a limit on anime since they have a set track for the story, while cartoons are free to get creative. A diverse cast has become an important thing for shows, and more voice actors with rich heritages are being sought out.

However, he remains a fan of the franchise, and he has his own hopes for the plotline of the series. One idea related to the character he plays is a large-scale brawl of Magnus versus Dan. Taking time to let other members of the AB shine as their own individuals and as heroes would help a lot as well, not to mention the gender inequality on the team, with a ratio of 5:1 between the boys and the girls. He also wishes for Athena and Emily to be members of the AB in order to showcase gender balance on the team, considering the legacy series had 3 guys and 3 girls, one of who was even transgender in their own way and made a powerful impact on kids watching back then. To him, Magnus gave him the confidence he needed, nurtured the love he had for voice acting and allowed him to do what he felt passionate about, so Bakugan has changed his life both literally and metaphorically. [Though he’s scared to ask for more heads on Nillious.] Connecting with fellow fans and chatting with the other voice actors who are also fans of the franchise first and foremost allows him to have so much fun with the anime that brings joy to him.

Bakugan learning from Disney and Pixar as they’ve gotten more creative with their works is something he would really like to see too, actually! He finds their trend of diversifying their stories within the past decade or so has brought a smile to his face, especially for the future generations. “It's amazing to think that children can watch something and not feel like, "Oh if only I were a white prince or princess.” It's a very bright note in our future and I'm always happy to see what Disney and Pixar do next,” was his answer to the final question.

At the end of the day, the smiles every Bakugan fan gets upon seeing Magnus on the screen, undoubtedly one of the favourites of the reboot series, makes his voice actor happy as well, and while his own struggles are not light, he still faces life the best he can and it shows the strong mentality he has. Hopefully, this article has allowed you to understand the problems we face in our society today and deepen your desire to deal with those problems instead of worsening the situation or pretending it doesn’t exist. Being aware is one thing, but taking the steps to help is another thing, a hard step that is required to help the world be better.

Following Your Passion

Having become a BakuMaster acknowledged by Spin Master themselves, I have had the pleasure of interviewing Haru Ren, fellow Bakufan and brawler, about his beginnings and his love for Bakugan.

The channel started out not as a Bakugan channel, surprisingly. Instead, its beginnings were as a Cardfight! Vanguard channel. Haru himself had joked that if he hadn’t gotten back into Bakugan as an adult, he wouldn’t save any money; he would have used it on Vanguard instead. That was thankfully not the case thanks to Cimooooooo, whose Bakugan videos convinced him to return to the TCG after his interest in Bakugan died out in favour of Yu-Gi-Oh. He was hooked, for lack of a better word. Of course, saying that he got back would mean he was interested in it as a kid, which is true. “Watching the original series as a kid, remembering Drago fighting Hydranoid in that last battle with Masquerade, [so] you can imagine my excitement when years later I get the opportunity to speak to the voice of Drago himself Jason Deline,” he had said. In fact, his interview with Julius Cho, the VA of Magnus, was what helped him gain traction as a BakuTuber, and, eventually, a Baku Master. Julius is a brother to him now, and the chance to know him is something Haru won’t ever take for granted. He still remembers when he got the email from Spin Master offering the title to him. It meant that his input was important to SM and he appreciated that a lot.

On that note, he had always been into content creation. His interest in video editing and media, in general, allowed him to bring his experience over to the channel he and his friends started. Ever since the Bakugan reboot came out, though, the channel has really become his own, and the memory of video editing during his high school years came full circle alongside his interest in Youtube (mainly in YouTubers such as Freddie Wong, Penguinz0, and Rooster Teeth) after he and his friends began the channel for fun, but him inviting Dawson really kicked them off.

Of course, the start wasn’t glamorous. Making a name for yourself in the midst of hundreds, maybe thousands of YouTubers was tough, but Haru said that persevering with what he liked gave him good things in return. “As I always say, follow your passion and life will reward you,” he had said to budding Bakutubers who are starting out. He’s really passionate about the TCG, which was proven when he brought up #WeWantCards, a movement between TCG players that asks Spin Master for consistent card releases everywhere with set release dates to support the growth of the TCG once every 3 or 6 months. Still, he only regrets not starting up the Youtube channel sooner, and he would tell his younger self to start a good sleep schedule because while he treasures sleep, he prefers to meet his self-imposed deadlines.

How the creation of a video usually goes for him is pretty random; while he does try to finish up everything during his free time, new ideas sprout up as he works. “What can I do to make this video good?” or “What if I did this?” are some notable questions that might lead to new videos. It’s this routine that gives birth to the various things that pop up during Only Elite Bakugan recordings or even the analysis videos for certain Bakugan characters.

Of course, with that said, Haru has some plot points he wishes to change about the anime. He highlights five specific points he would alter to make the story deeper and more meaningful for fans. In Battle Planet, for example, he said that Shun’s dad shouldn’t have escaped death by sheer luck. Instead, with the loss of his father, Shun’s character development would have been much more meaningful. Meanwhile, in Armoured Alliance, Sabra should have been made from copied data from Nillious, having been taken when he was going for Drago. This would have paved the way for a character arc for Magnus where he “questions his true path of being a Bakugan brawler,” in Haru’s words, while also corroborating Sabra’s origin story.

Geogan Rising had a weird partnership happen between two individuals who didn’t have much in common, mainly Gregorius Reed and Viloch. “Make Reed have more of a motivation to join Viloch because the partnership was very one-sided with no substance. It made Viloch's betrayal of Reid very flat and uninteresting,” was what he had to say on the matter. If not, he even suggested getting rid of Reed altogether. Another dynamic that needed work in his eyes was the one between Dan and Athena Monde in Evolutions. The set-up for Dan’s dark character arc that wasn’t brainwashing (as it had been in Armoured Alliance episodes 39 to 40) was present. “Dan should've gone through a dark character turn in the 4th season where the elemental storms cause him to go crazy with power because the Awesome Brawlers were making friends with Athena and he would feel jealous and insecure of losing his friends,” he offered. “Dan should've gone through a dark moment because he would've been afraid of losing his friends and being replaced by Athena and having to be shown that he was never alone.” All of these suggestions were pretty awesome, and had they been implemented, I feel like the storyline would have been much more meaningful to viewers.

Honestly, though, who would have expected that watching the original series and playing the card game when he was younger during summer camp with his brother and some other kids would pave the way for a legend in the Bakugan community? A true fan at heart, Haru Ren is a reminder to us all that following your passion is possible if you put in the effort and time slowly but surely!

Commissioned to Draw: The Perspective of a Freelance Artist

Art, for most people, is a passion. A hobby. To them, hobbies shouldn’t become a source of stress. However, for a select few, this passion has been turned into a source of income. Commissioned artists have been on the rise lately, and I have had the honour of interviewing one of them, Jake Burner, about his experience as a commissioned artist.

It all began with a dream. Or dreams, to be exact. Jake has several projects he would like to see brought to life, but his main dream job is a freelancer for game character design. To fulfill this dream of his, he studied Game Design at university. “I learned a few new techniques in Illustrator and Photoshop, which I've actually been using since early high school. Mainly Illustrator though, I use Photoshop to add in after effects like shading and lighting. And I also touched on the Unity Engine, which I've recently gotten back into by following some lessons on YouTube, since I have gone a bit rusty. I also learned Maya, though I plan to use Blender instead cause Maya costs money and Blender is free, so…yeah,” he explained. Of course, he began small by promoting it on his own server. This attracted the attention of a particular requester who had been eagerly waiting for this chance. A Legacy Bakugan from a fanmade faction was born, and the rest became history from there.

Of course, when it comes to the process, Jake says that setting up media for the money transfers wasn’t easy, especially on PayPal. IDs and bank documents were two of many other things required to set up the account, and the numerous verifications needed took a week or so to complete. Despite this, he states that he doesn’t regret this. He encourages fellow artists to do it too and says that even if there is a slow start, consistency is key, Keep doing it and you’ll be noticed by more and more people. Granted, he did struggle with the uncertainty of using PayPal, but otherwise, he hasn’t gotten any unruly customers and it’s been going smoothly. He has commissions open to those who want fan-art, OCs, crossovers, humans/anthro/mechas, and mythical creatures or animals, not to mention certain ships. All this and more can be seen in the commission sheet he gave as an example to aspiring commissioned artists. “List down your prices, what kinds of art you can and can't do, etc. Also, show some examples of your art,” he said when asked about the components of a commission sheet. This usually goes to anywhere he can post it, such as DeviantART, Facebook, and Instagram. He only started this year, of course, so there aren’t a lot of requests, but he’s slowly getting there.

In terms of future goals, he has decided to save up to get a new gaming laptop considering that his current one is 8 years old unless he gets a new one for Christmas. However, beyond that, he’s unsure how to proceed. Still, he encourages artists with the skillset and passion to go ahead with it, although he warns of tough roads ahead. “But as long as you keep doing what you're doing, you'll eventually get noticed by more and more people,” was his final statement on the matter, representing how passions can be used to gain money, and how one’s determination can shine through, even when no one thought it was likely.

Mastering The Building Blocks of Card Games, Decks

The story of a deck-builder and how his passion led to more

While not too much a mainstream thing these days, TCGs are still pretty popular, and the main component to any of these is a deck. Depending on the game you play, building a deck that you can use to play to the best of your ability is no easy task, but some consider it a fun process. TheoryofEeveelution, or Eevee for short is one of them.

His journey to becoming a deck-builder began with Yu-Gi-Oh. Curiosity stemming from the anime led him to find out more. While originally he didn’t get the rules, only knowing Duelist Kingdom, he fell into the word of TCGs once he found out about the rules of the game, even becoming less inclined towards school rules following in favour of playing the game. Magic the Gathering followed up, and soon he was a TCG player for various fandoms, Buddyfight included until its discontinuation in June 30, 2021(1). As of right now, he has decks for Yu-Gi-Oh, Vanguard, Pokemon, Digimon, Bakugan, Magic, and even Megaman.

The metagame, or the popular decks believed to provide surefire ways to win with their power, was never exactly Eevee’s thing when he built his decks. Sure, he did focus on power at first and added strategy along the way as he grew, but in general, his main style was to make decks based on his favourite cards and then make them competitive. The one “exception” to this rule was Blackwing from Yu-Gi-Oh, although the motivation leaned more towards being a favourite of his. He even explained the thought process behind his Yu-Gi-Oh deck to me, “I love to swarm the field with monsters quickly and I love the versatility the deck has. [After all,] I built it with swarming in mind. Also, it's the first and only deck in Yu-Gi-Oh that I've made [which placed] top cut at a Regional (3rd place).”

That being said, when asked to compare decks in shows to the real deal, he had joked that Yugi or Joey would have pretty much lost in a real duel, saying that the only few good ones from Yu-Gi-Oh had been Varis in VRAINS and Crow from 5D's/Arc V. While most of those decks were beyond fixing, he did comment about how he wouldn’t make a deck centered around one monster alone, as Yugi and Dark Magician had. Instead, Polymerisation with only one fusion requiring specific monsters from the deck and synergised decks like the above examples were recommended. He doesn’t have many regrets about getting into deck-building, unless one considers the price of certain cards.

Every single top deck out there started as just an idea. Every deck is rogue until it tops at a big event. If you work at it your deck could be the one at the top

- Eevee

On that note, though, when it comes to deckbuilding, he says that balancing all the elements of the game could lend itself to a great deck. For example, for Vanguard, he would use the formula of 17 Grade 0, 14 Grade 1, 11 Grade 2, and 8 Grade 3. Meanwhile, when playing Yu-Gi-Oh, “I tend to build with around half the deck being monsters (18-20) and the rest Spell/Trap cards. Also easy to summon monsters to allow for fast Synchro/Xyz/Link summoning.” This ties into a unique mechanic only Yu-Gi-Oh has, which is the Synchro/Xyz/Link summoning, allowing you access to the Extra Deck, a special 15-card deck that is home to special monsters which can be summoned via special cards. Should a card from this deck be sent to the Graveyard (Yu-Gi-Oh’s expression for the card pile that has already been used), it either stays there or gets banished, but if it’s instead returned to hand or deck, it will instead go to the Extra Deck. An example Eevee gave was Compulsory Evacuation Device, a Trap Card that can make a monster card on the field return to the opponent’s hand. If this is used on a Fusion, Synchro, Xyz, or Link Monster, it will return to the Extra Deck instead. (2)

Building decks has been great fun for him since he has to build up strategies, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have his own challenges. He plans on playing with decks that don’t seem to have that much potential to win against top decks, which of course provides him with a growth mindset; while the possibility of failure is there, it’s never held him back from stepping up to the challenge. He kept on trying and it’s brought him successes, even when he was starting out and struggling with finding his balance. He’s found that simple balance matched his style the most, which allows him to focus on making the deck work for him or someone else who he builds for. Building decks for others, to Eevee, allowed him to see their perspective, taking their battling style into account and allowing him to make combinations otherwise not seen in his own decks to maximise their chances of winning in a fight. He’s even been compared to Omori Baku from Buddyfight, a well-known deckbuilder and main character in his own right, because of this!

When it comes to playing with his own decks, though, Eevee can’t really describe it, but admits that it feels natural due to the deck being tailored while considering his strengths and weaknesses, allowing him to maximise his chances of winning during a game. However, he advises all prospective players not to follow the metagame, since it wouldn’t make it as fun as it should be for TCG players. Instead, he offers the idea of working with what you WANT instead of what you NEED, then making the deck competitive with your own unique twist. “Every single top deck out there started as just an idea. Every deck is rogue until it tops at a big event. If you work at it your deck could be the one at the top,” was what he said to close off the interview, and honestly? That couldn’t be truer.

(1) https://www.crunchyroll.com/anime-news/2020/06/15/future-card-buddyfight-ends-card-game-production-in-september

(2) https://yugioh.fandom.com/wiki/Extra_Deck