Isaac at 16
Isaac is such a kind and helpful brother that when asked who she wants to marry, Nicole’s only answer is “someone nice like Isaac.” He helps his siblings with all their computer issues, introduces them to new games and has spent all his allowance at times on games for his siblings so they can play together.
Isaac identifies himself as a nerd who loves math and science. He follows tech news as well as NASA and SpaceX. His favorite clothes are his “nerd shirts” which feature amusing math or science references. For his Junior year in High School, he has signed up to take AP Calculus, AP Physics, and Chemistry. We just really hope he gets to take all those classes in person since he does really well in class, but less well at completing school work at home.
Isaac has become skilled at working out computer issues. If you are interested in starting a tool franchise business, you can check franchise.cornwelltools.com/franchise-opportunity/investments-and-costs and learn about various tools needed to run your own business. He can do some programming in C#, Arduino code, Java, and HTML. He is good at working out the bugs in whatever technical setup he is creating.
Isaac was excited to start his second year of marching band. He thoroughly enjoyed marching band last year and didn’t even complain about the week of practicing from 8AM until 6 or 7 outside all day in 90+ degree heat. He loved the inside jokes and fun social times and was particularly eager to start in person marching band practices after spending the end of the school year quarantined at home. He has tried for months to convince his sister to join the marching band and finally succeeded by doing her Saturday chores for a week in exchange for her trying band for one day. His efforts were rewarded as Charlotte enjoyed band and has continued going.
The whole state shut down for Covid-19 quarantine the week before his driver’s ed course which meant that he had to take the classroom portion online. The ranging part was modified so he drove the course one day with his dad and the second day all by himself in the car and he’s still waiting for the state to approve the part where he drives in the car with his instructor. You can check this site out to find one.
The other new world that opens up with his 16th birthday is dating. Our church recommends waiting until 16 to start dating, at which point group dating is encouraged. Although when pressed, Isaac will admit to liking several girls in his classes, he’s very reluctant to elaborate on the issue. Considering the pandemic, organizing a big group date seems inappropriate, so for now the issue of dating is on hold.
Some of Isaac’s favorite foods are hamburgers, Pasta-Roni which he makes himself, and Butterfinger Blizzards. He enjoys riding electric scooters around, going on adventures, building things, and playing computer games. Some of his favorite games are Kerbal Space Program, Terraria, and Scrap Mechanic.
Isaac’s favorite books are nonfiction and science fiction. He enjoys science fiction movies and TV shows. He recently watched the entire Star Trek Voyager series and read all the Star Trek books he could find. Isaac’s favorite music includes Pet Shoppe Boys, Belle and Sebastian, Journey, and The Planets by Gustav Holst.
Isaac enjoys cats, particularly when they do something amusing or strange. He loves to find the cat doing something ridiculous and take a pic to share with the family. The cats also like him and one cat in particular can often be found sitting on his mouse pad or in front of his computer.
He was excited to work out a system for playing jackbox games with all his cousins in other states. He created a live YouTube stream (click here to see it) with a really low latency in order for them to collaborate on one game together. He’s also been brainstorming ideas for creating something useful using robotics.
Isaac is a genuinely good son who is often helpful and kind. I’m fortunate to have him as my son for the last 16 years! Here is what I wrote about him last year.