Dear Scratch, I am forever grateful to have been introduced to you by @TheDogLover796 and @TheAmazingDog1234 in late 2020 and early 2021. I started on @4DSloth14 as a member of the 4DSloths class, and over the past five years Scratch has changed my life in ways I never could have imagined. Even though I've been on and off over the years, Scratch introduced me to computer science and STEM, and without it my life would be very different today. A few months after joining, I created my first project, Laser Shoot! It was a simple game where you dodged lasers as a watermelon. The coding wasn't great, but it was my first game and meant a lot to me. During the rest of the 2021 school year, I also spent time playing multiplayer projects such as Among Us by @TimMcCool and Cloud Platformer Multiplayer by @griffpatch. Toward the end of 2021, TDL introduced me to the SDS. I created "Space a Platformer" (which can still be found on @4DSloth14), and it was added to the SDS. Reaching 945 views felt incredible at the time, and it was around then that I truly fell in love with Scratch and computer science. I continued creating projects, many of which were added to SDS studios. In 2022, for the Road Trip SDS studio, I created Highway Dodge, which became my most popular game with 1,499 views. At the time, that felt like a huge achievement and the feeling created is something unimaginable. When I graduated from elementary school, I asked middle school counselors about clubs involving coding. They recommended Science Olympiad. Although I never wrote a line of code there, it helped grow my interest in science and STEM, and it remains a club I participate in today. I hope to continue to be active on scratch (no guarantees) but no matter what, I will take the things I've learned here with me into my personal life. Thank you, @--Slothy--
I'll answer the questions here: 1. Why do you create with Scratch? - I create projects on Scratch to share with the community and enjoy coding. I appreciate the platform’s simplicity, even though I may not have as much capability. I still enjoy interacting with the community and coding on Scratch. 2. What kinds of projects do you enjoy making most? - I’ve always enjoyed creating simple games. If you look at my past projects on @4DSloth14, you’ll see that it’s what I primarily create. Math-based things are a close second. I think applying math makes it fun. 3. What has Scratch helped you learn? - Scratch introduced me to computer science, and without it, I wouldn’t have learned how to code or what it is. 4. What does the Scratch community mean to you? - The Scratch community is a place where I can create and share projects. I enjoy viewing others’ projects and meeting incredible people here. 5. What are some of your favorite memories on Scratch? - My favorite Scratch memories were creating projects with friends and participating in ScratchE on the forums although my graphic design skills at the time were questionable. 6. How does Scratch help you express your ideas, interests, or passions? - Scratch allows me to create anything I desire, whether it’s games or other things. 7. If you could add one new feature to Scratch, what would it be? - I would love a place on the front page for ALL of the official Scratch studies such as SWC, SDS, PPTBF (Does that still exist?), and more. This way, newer scratchers can learn about all these amazing resources open to them. 8. If you were Scratch's CEO, what would you do? - Engage with the community! (If you’re reading this, @Champ99, could you grant access back to my account, @4DSloth14? I lost access to it after my scratch class ended.) 9. What do you hope Scratch will be like in the future? - Keep it free, don't lock it behind a paywall and keep it as a place that promotes computer science and learning. Credits: Childhood by Scott Buckley | www.scottbuckley.com.au Music promoted by https://www.chosic.com/free-music/all/ Creative Commons CC BY 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
