DO YOU BELIEVE IN MAG IC ? • B11 lluruwh Perry I Knstillu Kiser Senior Josh West taught himself magic tricks since his early teen years by reading books in the library and watching live performances and videos on the Internet. West also had mentors at a magic shop in Little Rock, Arkansas, from whom he gained insightful tips and tricks. According to West, he was always intrigued by magic, but one basic trick from his dad or grandfather initially sparked his interest. "I think from a young age, I always liked the mystery of magic," West said. "My dad or my grandpa used to do basic tricks. I don't know if in my middle chool or early teenage years I started to go to the library to pick up books and read a lot about it. My family obviously hate my magic because I would always learn a new trick and practice with them. They were good sports and helped me practice." Junior J ess West,Josh's sister, said as his magic phase continued, she realized he had a great talent. "He would always go through different phases growing up, and at first I thought that it was a phase and he would stop after a month or two after he got tired of it," Jess said. "He kept with it, and he was actually getting really good. I always liked (the magic tricks) because he would do (them) for myfriends." J ash would perform for their family for practice, and they were able to point out ways Josh could improve his tricks. "We were alway his test ubjects," Jess said. "We knew how he would do SC'nior.!osh H'l'sl pc•rfm·med 111ayic shou•s ut.firnctio11s for sei•c•ro/ soci(I/ clubs on cumpus. I l'hoto hy Becca Riley his tricks because we saw him do it so often, so we were able to point out to him how he could make his tricks better. I always thought it was really fun that he always had this random skill to whip out at random times. In high school, he was known as the guy who could do cool magic tricks." Senior Michael White, one of Josh's roommates at Harding, said he was impressed by Josh's talent and that he would often perform them when hanging out at their house. "(All ofour roommates were) hanging out in the kitchen and Josh pulled out his cards," White said. "We picked one and he was trying to guess which card we initially pulled, and then after a few fail d attempts, he threwthedeck against 1io PEOPLE the window, and behind the blinds was the card taped behind the window. We were all so confused until we looked at the window and saw the card. We definitely went nuts." According to Josh, watching people's reactions to his tricks are motivation to keep doing and learning magic. "When you're a child, you think everything is magical, and you think magic is real," Josh said. "When you get older, you learn about physics and you learn about how the world works and you think that's not possible. But magic, it is possible. I remember doing a silly trick to my friend, and you see that look on their face, that sparks that feeling. That's what brings me back to it, and why I keep doing it."
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