Student writing : Beatrice, a 7th grader from TX

I was introduced to the Rubik’s cube two years ago when one of my classmates brought one to school. I bought one soon after and started to learn how to solve it. I learned and memorized the different algorithms to solve a Rubik’s cube within a few weeks. After a lot of practice getting the algorithms down, I started to focus more on speedcubing and trying to decrease the amount of time it took for me to solve a Rubik’s cube. I got my first speed cube for Christmas that year and my times kept getting faster.  Over the course of two years I have learned different methods to solve the 3x3 cube and have learned how to solve all of the other puzzles that I own.My time for the 3x3 has dropped from two minutes to twenty seconds. I love the challenge of solving different Rubik’s cubes, especially the bigger cubes and the oddly shaped puzzles.

I started forming a collection of different Rubik’s cubes and twisty puzzles The collection now has a 2x2, eight 3x3s, two 4x4s, a 5x5, a 6x6, a 7x7, a pyraminx, a Rubik’s twist, the Missing Link sliding puzzle, a mirror cube, a gear cube, a siamese cube that I made out of two 3x3 cubes, a wooden puzzle, a ghost cube, and a 3x3 “cube” shaped like an egg. My favorite puzzle that I have is the ghost cube. What makes a ghost cube different from the other puzzles that I have is that in order to solve it you have to misalign the layers of the cube to turn them as well as the fact that the pieces are oddly shaped.

I like to bring my cubes with me everywhere I go. I bring them to swim meets to pass the time and a lot of kids like to come over and try to solve them. I also bring them to piano competitions to warm up my hands and to have something to play with while waiting for the results. Last year I brought a couple of cubes to a piano camp I attended during the summer. Many of the people at the camp were amazed at how fast I could solve the cubes. At the end of the camp, besides piano awards, they also gave out fun awards as well. I ended up getting a Rubik’s award which was a nice surprise.