Uprising would like to acknowledge the land on which we gather is the seized territory of the Ioway, Sauk, Meskwaki, Wahpeton, and Sioux People. Indigenous lands weren’t ceded through efforts of “good faith” by the United States Government, rather they were stolen from Native and Indigenous Peoples through coercion and dishonesty.
Both the State of Iowa and the United States Government carried out acts of genocide, ethnic cleansing and forced removal as ways to acquire land. Despite centuries of theft and violence, this remains Indigenous land - it will always be Indigenous land.
Native and Indigenous People are not relics of the past. They continue to share their talents and gifts amidst a backdrop of ongoing colonialism. We celebrate you.
Sustainable Promise:
Uprising promises to publish our magazine in the most sustainable manner possible.
We have switched our printing process to a more environmentally friendly company using a recycled paper alternative. We also vow to use only secondhand or borrowed clothing for styling in our editorials.
We acknowledge that in order to ensure a future for Uprising Magazine and our Earth we must modify our processes as environmental issues increase in severity globally.
Lastly we are committed to furthermore learning and growing as it relates to publishing our magazine in a sustainable manner.
Design Directors CJ McCracken and Elliana Van Noort
Designers Hallie Cech, Olivia Drilling, Marissa Katko, Hope Lubbert, Ainsley Miller, Carlos Romer, and Chelsey Surprenant
Publication Directors Erin Hamlett and Dani Sunseri
Writers Olivia Drilling, Ella Hanner, Izzy Loeffler, Giselle Moreno Alfaro, Emily Newby, Nathalia Pizarro, Payten Reese, and Olivia Zirtzman
Marketing Directors Hannah Doellinger and Rachel Robinson
Marketing Committee Hallie Cech, Nicole Luong, Faith Nielsen, Sydney Singh, and Alexis Wurzer
Photographers
Ryder Bates
Ellie Dove
Bella Markley
Maci Swanson
CJ McCracken
Dani Sunseri
Elliana Van Noort
Erin Hamlett
Hannah Doellinger
Tristan Dumkrieger
Rachel Robinson
Nathan Kasal
Lily Munnik
Dear readers,
Uprising from the very beginning has been a space for all types of students at the University of Northern Iowa to come together and collaborate to create something unique. This cohesion of diverse students pursuing different paths is what has made Uprising what it is today, which inspired us. Issue 20 challenges the boundaries of purity and separation by celebrating hybridity, fusion, and the dynamic nature of combination.
Focusing on identity, art, fashion, and society, amalgamation represents the fusion of differences, which can be harmonious, sometimes tense, but always transformative. Artist Spotlight showcases individuals whose art not only enhances but has transformed their identity as individual artists. Bagel Steak & Bluff Street encapsulates how individual members of two Cedar Valley bands come together to create and perform, showcasing their amazing talents. Amalgam takes an alternative look at the theme of Issue 20. Commonly used in Dentistry as a mixture of elements, Issue 20 explores this while tying it to the overall meaning by using fruit, candy, and natural features to change the reader's perspective of the models featured in this photoshoot. Feminine Divine focuses on the relationship between Mother Nature and the featured models. Nature to most is just the background, but within this shoot, nature is fore grounded. With the purity of the white, worn by the models, Mother Nature stands out. Tied Together truly envisions the meaning of Issue 20 through the joint effects done by the photographer and the integrated design, tying the fea tured models and the entire shoot together.
As you flip through every page, we want each reader to examine how diversity and contrast can coexist, interact, and evolve into a uznified whole. From the photos, to the words, to the design of every page. Every element ties back to what this issue is about and how it has brought Issue 20 to life.
This is Amalgam.
she/her Editor in Chief
EL8.
18. Which Band Member are You?
OF CONTENTS
Bagel Steak & Bluff Street
20. My Vine
22. Feminine Divine
32. Butterfly Effect
34. Glass Women
35. Artist
CONTENTS
36. Artist Spotlight 46. Braided
48. Tied Together
58. Reflection of Self
59. Feeling out of Tune
60. Amalgam
69. Girlhood
70. Solitude
72. Games
75. Behind the Scenes
WORDS
ERIN HAMLETT
PHOTOGRAPHY
RYDER BATES
DESIGN
CJ MCCRACKEN
Bagel Steak
& Bluff Street
It’s standing room only at The Octopus tonight. Bluff Street and Bagel Steak are two of the bands slated to play, and the community has come out for them en masse. We’re compressed like sardines in the narrow room, shoulder to shoulder under the pink and blue lights. When sound checks are finally over and the first band climbs onstage, anticipation fills the air. My foam earplugs are a weak defense against the bass that vibrates my shirt, the cymbal crash that makes my eyes water, and the roar of the crowd screaming along to “Mr. Brightside.”
Bluff Street and Bagel Steak are just two of many bands that have been popping up around UNI’s campus over the past year. They even share two members - Braden Sabin on guitar and the occasional vocal, and Breven Biermann on bass, guitar, and vocals as well. Both bands are made exclusively of UNI students: Bluff Street is led by vocalist Riley Jane, and aside from Braden and Breven, includes their drummer Julian McGuinty. Bagel Steak’s other members include Ian Shelton on vocals and keys, Cyrus Guizar on drums, and Leo Burchett on bass.
Both bands weren’t always playing shows to full houses. For Bluff Street, it all started in a booth at Culver’s. “This part is important,” Breven told me, “It was supposed to be at Raising Cane’s, but they were closed on Sunday.” Lead vocalist Riley Jane has been singing and writing music since she was ten years old - about anything and everything. But Riley needed a band to back her up, so last January she started scrolling through the UNI School of Music Instagram for potential mates. “I just picked Braden from the bunch of followers, and then he knew Breven and Julian.”
For both bands, community was right at their fingertips - all anybody needed to do was ask to join in. “I met Cyrus first…we got together and jammed one day…Then I met Braden in my guitar class… Then I met Leo in Jazz Combo…I met Ian in a music class…” Breven recounted to me between bites of his mid-practice meal. “We all got together and played, and it was good.” For Bagel Steak, it all started as a jam sesh in Cyrus’s grandparents’ basement. “Right over there,” he pointed at the cramped space behind leather couches lined with band posters and crystal glassware. “It definitely started like, ‘let’s jam sometime,’ and then somebody was like, ‘bro, what’s the name of our band?’” As it turns out, Bagel Steak’s name was kind of an accident. The group laughs embarrassedly. “Our old bassist, she had a list of band names…and she said Bagel Snake one time, and then we all misheard it as Bagel Steak…all of us except Breven, apparently.”
Bluff Street’s name was more intuitive. “It’s the street with the house we practice in.” Riley Jane tells me. They had a few other ideas, such as “Riley and the Janes,” or even “Balls in a Blender,” but Bluff Street is what stuck. “I like Bluff Street,” Breven says, “it’s snappy...and it sounds artsy.” Their first practice was also a major success, except for the drum sound. “Can I tell her about the drum sound?” Breven asks Riley for permission before turning back to me. “So, we use like, electric drums, through his little speaker…the first time Julian hit the crash cymbal it literally sounded like a car crash, like it was so terrible.” The band laughs with him. “It was like, scary, I jumped.”
Bluff Street knew the band had motion when they first played at XBK in Des Moines. “I was like, ‘there’s people here that’s not my family.’” Breven laughed. For Riley, a big achievement was Pride Fest. “That was like a bucket list for me…so when I did that it was really, really exciting.”
Both bands prioritize having fun and entertaining the crowd.
Bagel Steak’s first show at Cooper’s Taproom was a dream. Braden said, “I honestly left that first show thinking like, ‘this is one of the best shows I’ve played.’” Other members
chimed in, “It had a massive turnout. It was fun, we realized we were in a fun band…it’s contagious, it’s terminal.”
When asked where they find inspiration, both bands were in agreement: “Everywhere.” Riley Jane specified that she pulls writing inspiration from artists such as Olivia Rodrigo, Sabrina Carpenter, and Taylor Swift, but that Bluff Street’s sound harkens closer to artists like Beach Bunny or even Green Day. “All my songs are written about real things that happen,” Riley stated. “Inspiration comes at me whether I want it or not.”
I asked Bagel Steak what they tend to write about. “Drugs. Women. Bagels. Nice days outside. Drunk driving,” they laugh. “We don’t do any of this, by the way. We don’t go outside.” Their members listen to many genres, from “emo-screamo” and jazz to Bob Dylan and Engelbert Humperdinck. “I’ve heard everything,” Breven states. “Name every song,” Cyrus counters.
Both bands have standout favorites to perform. For Bagel Steak, it’s “Helter Skelter,” by the Beatles, and for Bluff Street, it’s “Valerie” by Amy Winehouse. “Helter Skelter is fun, but I think our originals are my favorites,” Braden says.
Both bands write and perform original music.
For Bluff Street, it all starts on Riley Jane’s ukulele. “I have a million two-second voice memos on my phone when I think of something.” She writes lyrics, starts working on the melody, and then hands it off to her bandmates. “They explode, they make it crazy,” she tells me with reverence.
When I asked about the uptick in on-campus bands, Ian said that it’s been less of a phenomenon and more of a return to the natural order of things. “Covid killed a bunch of stuff, it kind of killed the scene in Cedar Falls a bit…the scene wasn’t created, it just ebbs and flows, and we just happen to be caught in the tide.”
For Bluff Street, Breven chimes in. “People like to play…it’s not even a desire, it’s a need… they don’t care that there’s 40 other bands like them, you want to be the one to do it. It’s more fun to do it than watch somebody else do it.”
I asked Bluff Street what their band means to them. “Attention.” Breven jokes before Riley Jane takes over. “I use songwriting as a coping mechanism…that’s how I process a lot of my feelings. I love being on stage, I love performing, I love to make people laugh…I like sharing my music and connecting with people.”
When I asked Bagel Steak, Cyrus was the first to pipe up. “This is the first real band I’ve ever been in…school really blows, so when we are actually able to practice…I really enjoy it. We all love music, so it’s like really fun when you get to do it with people that you love…I love you guys.” The band shares a heartfelt moment before he continues: “The real world isn’t very nice sometimes, but Bagel Steak is always nice.”
Bluff Street and Bagel Steak are streaming on all platforms.
Keep up with them on Instagram at @bluffstreetband and @bagelsteak
Which Band Member Are You?
Guitar Lead Drummer
Sarah's
crafted coffee, cocktails + tastes
M Y V I N E
Some of the closest people in my life I have met by what seemed like chance. We make a million decisions every day, some smaller than others: what to wear, where to go to dinner, when to do your laundry. These decisions are made without a passing thought, but each one builds and leads you to another moment. Each decision a vine moving and wrapping with each moment, decision, fated meeting. This vine growing unpredictably with great certainty.
“Do you know what he said?” I asked.
“No,” my soon to be friend responded.
This moment in my dining hall dish room changed everything. I didn’t know that at the time. I just knew I was quiet, and the other person I was working with was too. But from that moment on, we created the best memories and made working there for that one semester fun. People talk about having choice, and sure, I had the choice to work there. However, I would never dismiss fate. My now friend and I found out walking home from work that we lived in the same door and down the hall from each other. We both laughed and thought it was wild, and I remember thinking, “What are the odds?”
I still think that every time I think of how I met my boyfriend. From that little moment with my friend, it sparked a huge change in my life. I found my friend group and created some close bonds. Created the fondest memories. My dish room friend took me in, and I started hanging out with her friends, and then they became mine as well. We hung out constantly, eating dinner and watching movies after we were done with class. What I didn’t anticipate was meeting the love of my life.
My boyfriend was dating someone else at the time we met. The ironic part, I heard his girlfriend at the time talking to one of my friends about wanting to break up after two months and I barely knew him. I felt bad, but it didn’t really affect me. I remember that night of his breakup, we were both sitting on the floor. He was watching Howl’s Moving Castle while I was doing my homework, his head leaning against the couch behind him. I was sitting in front of my two other friends at the coffee table. I vividly remember looking over at him and just wondering if he was okay. I was so concerned and I barely knew him. Time moved on, and it was nearing the end of the semester. I was talking to all my friends more and more, creating stronger bonds. I started to get to know him better. We all went home for winter break, and everything changed. All of us stayed in touch and talked constantly. More and more I talk-
ed with my now boyfriend, and one day I finally realized I had a crush on him. I finally let myself like him over time and his adorable smile. I talked to him about everything constantly. I would always check to see if he was the one snapping me. The whole break I was ready to be back in Cedar Falls, and later I learned he was too.
Once we all got back, as a group we decided to go to HuHot. Another friend and I offered to drive everyone to the restaurant. Because of the negative January temperatures, my car battery died. I was with two of my friends, we walked to another car, and I was calling my mom. We tried to figure out what to do, and I became more stressed because we were so far behind the group. We finally got there, walked in, and the world stopped. Our eyes met and I remember feeling it in my chest. I knew at that moment that my feelings were real and maybe more than just a crush. I know I smiled to myself and pleaded to myself that I got to sit next to him. By the grace of the universe my two other friends I walked in with sat in front of each other. Leaving the seat next to him open. And the rest is history.
After dinner my friend drove us to an O’reily’s so I could grab a jump pack my mom bought me over the phone. Because of a box in one of the seats in the back of my friend’s car. My boyfriend and I were shoved together in the backseat. I was in the middle and our legs were almost overlapping and shoulders touching. I remember feeling so safe and excited. The rush of being that close to someone that I had liked for a month. We all had so much fun on the way back to our dorm laughing. We all watched Atlantis: A Lost Empire and as a gift from the universe, I got to sit next to him again. We were in sync saying stuff at the same time, laughing, moving together. I’m not sure how we didn’t know we were meant to be together at that moment. Or maybe we did but were too caught up in our own feelings for each other.
I want to believe that every decision I’ve made has led me to where I am now. But I cannot dismiss fate. I cannot dismiss how people have entered my life at the perfect moments. I cannot dismiss the way I was connected to my boyfriend. I cannot dismiss how everything has fallen into and out of place. I cannot dismiss the lessons I’ve learned from people, good or bad. Everything always happens for a reason, whether that was by choice or not. Everything is tied together, intersecting in the most meaningful ways like vines wrapping around each other.
PHOTOGRAPHY
ELLIE DOVE
DESIGN
ELLIANA VAN NOORT
Feminine Divine
The How a Middle School Research Project Saved My Life Butterfly Effect
The Butterfly Effect can be defined as a phenomenon where small changes in initial conditions can lead to unpredictable variations of future events. It is often associated with the work of American mathematician and meteorologist Edward Norton Lorenz. He believed that, for example, the specifics of a tornado’s formation and direct path could’ve been altered by the flapping of a butterfly’s wings weeks prior.
It is one of the most intriguing phenomena that has come into the spotlight of popular culture in recent years. You may recognize the Butterfly Effect from the story of how the events of 9/11 urged Gerard Way to form My Chemical Romance, whose music and aesthetic inspired Stephanie Meyer to write Twilight, which served as the inspiration for Fifty Shades of Gray, and the film’s star Dakota Johnson’s confrontation with Ellen DeGeneres led to the gradual downfall of Ellen’s talk show and career.
As a frequently paranoid individual, I’ve always been fascinated (and terrified) by the idea that one minor change or decision could change the course of everything.
When I began middle school, I joined a club called National History Day. Each year, students create a project about a historical person or event that fits under the national theme and explain its impact on history and our world today. Our teacher provided us with an overwhelmingly extensive list of possible topics, few of which I knew anything about. The one topic that stood out to me was Rodgers & Hammerstein - the legendary songwriter/composer duo responsible for mu-
sicals like The Sound of Music, Oklahoma!, The King & I, and more. That previous summer, I had attended a theater camp where we put on a mini-production of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella, and I left fascinated by their process of writing and creating some of the most iconic shows in musical theatre. Despite my teacher’s prodding to choose a different topic, I stood my ground and stuck by my decision because I knew it felt like the right choice.
Looking back, I realized that that moment - choosing to do a 7-something month research project on musical theatre pioneers - was the “small change” that would alter the events of my future.
While deep-diving into Rodgers and Hammerstein’s works and the rich history of musical theatre, I became enamored with modern musicals. Specifically a quirky little musical called “Be More Chill” that deeply resonated with my middle school self. My love for this musical got so strong that I opened a Twitter account to interact with other fans and, more importantly, members of the show’s cast.
As I mindlessly scrolled through Twitter one night, I saw an ad pop up on my timeline for the newest tour announced by Billie Eilish. I was pretty unfamiliar with her music, but was shocked to see that she was actually going to perform in my city the following year. It was at that moment that I felt this strange, almost destiny-like feeling that I needed to be at that concert. Destiny aside, I fell in love with Billie and her music almost instantly. Even though the aforementioned concert got can-
celled, I was able to make it through the pandemic largely because of her. I would listen to her music and pray for the day I could finally see her. It was also due to my obsession with Billie that I discovered a whole world of other artists, like Conan Gray, AJR, Ben Platt, BLACKPINK, and so many more. The pandemic’s gradual end allowed me the opportunity to see so many of these artists (including Billie Eilish!) live for the first time, sparking my fascination with live music and concerts.
When it came time in my senior year of high school to start making decisions about colleges and majors, I honored the promise I had made to myself in middle school and decided to be a theatre major. My love and passion for theatre and performing had grown so much over the years, and I figured making it my major was an obvious choice. I was beyond excited to immerse myself in this college experience.
My tune changed the moment my parents drove away after helping me move in. I realized then that I was absolutely in no way ready to deal with this completely new, overwhelmingly big, and insanely confusing new environment alone. I wasn’t starting off on a great foot either, as I was still reeling from my friends and I not speaking that summer and moving my older sister into an apartment hundreds of miles away. It was hard to create a “fresh slate” for myself when I didn’t really know who I was anymore.
Freshman year didn’t start off as badly as I thought it would, but I soon found myself realizing that I was miserable in my major. I felt out of place every time I walked into the building or any of my classes. I was struggling to come to terms with the fact that I was starting to lose interest in the very thing I’d loved for years; the very thing I wanted to do for the rest of my life.
Music had been my rock that year, and while it was comforting to have on in the background, the songs I listened to did little to comfort the fact that I was scared, deeply homesick, and grieving the loss of my biggest passion. I don’t really even remember how it happened, but somewhere in the midst of my emotions, I found the music that echoed my feelings and gave me the assurance I desperately needed. I was scrolling through my vast Spotify library to randomly pick an album to put on while I did my homework. I ended up selecting My Chemical Romance’s The Black Parade, an album I had only heard a couple of songs off of years ago.
The rock-opera album tells the story of a terminal cancer patient who, as they approach their inevitable death, surreally examines their life, the decisions they’ve made, and how they’ve affected other people, for better or for worse. As the patient grapples with their health and their past, they ultimately accept their mistakes, as well as their impending death and the uncertainty surrounding it in the album’s climactic finale track, Famous Last Words.
I got no work done because I was in shock the entire time the album played. For the first time, I felt like I had finally come out of the weird, lonely fog I had been in for months.
Its lyrics and message were the exact things I needed to hear at the time: you should accept the mistakes and the bad experiences in your life. You're allowed to be scared and upset about them, but also use them to help you move forward. Following that experience, I began to slowly ease myself into a normal college life, changed my major, and now hope to work in music journalism or the live music industry after graduation. Thinking back on the beginning of my freshman year, with all the uncertainty, horrible thoughts, and terrifying feelings I encountered, I know that I can confidently say that that album saved my life.
Earlier this year, I found myself thinking about the Butterfly Effect and realized the choice I made all the way back in sixth grade is still affecting my life and experiences today. That’s the thing I love about the butterfly effect; it unknowingly weaves itself together over time, using the strangest combination of events and occurrences until it creates an authentic tapestry of your life. I think to some extent, everyone has experienced this effect even if they don’t realize it. If you think hard enough, you can probably connect a bunch of random events, interactions, and decisions to who you are today. For me, it’s really beautiful to think about how a middle school research project, musical theatre, and Twitter not only led me to the album that saved my life, but also where they will lead me next.
GLASS WOMEN
WORDS
OLIVIA ZIRTZMAN
DESIGN
HALLIE CHECH
you saw me in modge-podged pictures on watercolor paper. pen ink bleeding across cold-pressed pigments, song lyrics dancing along the page, glossy like the glue clinging to me. a second skin.
you knew me walking with acrylics that tarnished my palms, palettes tainted with dried, peeling paints.
Artist Spotlight
Emijah Jones
Website: www.emijahstudio.com
Instagram: emijahstudio
The pieces in the photoshoot are from my most recent and meaningful project -- studying abroad in Europe. The pieces explore cultural exploration and capturing some of the most lifechanging memories of my life thus far. A lot of research went into planning, sketching, color theorizing, and actually painting each piece. These are some of my favorite works to date and the whole experience of leaving the country for the first time has put such a huge impact on my artistic and academic life so I placed all of that into my paintings! Also title references: “La Siesta” - the woman with blue hair rollers and a white night grown, “Sleepover al Acuario” - the little girl sleeping with all the fishies (fun fact: this was a last minute idea and I painted this in 2 days!), “ Bossa y Pompeii” - this is a self portrait of me looking out of a train window in Italy at the volcanic Pompeii.
Leah Presnall Artist Spotlight
Email: presnall@uni.edu
Instagram: @leah_christine
Large circular piece- Title -En Tondo. This piece is an oil painting of forms rich in color, resembling clouds. The circular frame however seems to give the viewer the idea that they could be looking at a planet.
Piece with two birds- Title- Ritual. An oil painting of two birds performing a ritualistic dance. Sculpture- Title- Perseverance- This is a plaster, foam and wire piece that shows two hands reaching towards each other out of the rubble. This piece is very much a commentary on the horrors of war, but also the perseverance of people to find hope and maintain connections with those who mean everything to them.
Painting with a headless girl- Title- Floating. This piece is an oil painting where I have taken the body of Venus from the painting “Venus, Cupid, Folly and Time” by the 16th-century artist Bronzino. I then created a new world around her form by using my imagination and still life imagery.
Artist Spotlight
Kylie Edmundson
Email: edmundsk@uni.edu
Instagram: @kylie.edmundson
“Steller’s Jay” is a lifelike sculpture of one of the most recognizable birds from my home state of Washington. The bird is perched upon a decaying tree stump complete with fungi growing along the trunk. It is stoneware painted with acrylic.
These three tall ceramic containers are made of porcelain and decorated with slip and a green underglaze inlay. Each one has an image embedded in it - one with fish, another with a dragon, and the last with a bird.
Artist Spotlight EmilyPaulson
Email: paulsead@uni.edu
Instagram: paulson_emily15
I brought my favorite art pieces, most of my art has something to do with farmland or chickens and the pieces I chose reflects that exactly. My Chickens which are literally a pair of chickens, a rooster and hen, made out of clay and glaze. Big Bird is a stippled/pointillism piece making ink dots into a royal rooster. Field is a pastel drawing of the landscape down the gravel road from my house. You see vast empty corn fields and the grass blowing in the ditch with a sign, and smoke billowing in the distance.
Artist Spotlight
Ramon Martinez
Email: martirbc@uni.edu Instagram: ramoooon.m
The large one is loosely based off a Mayan myth, with lots of Giger inspiration, the smaller one was a layered process of multiple drawings on one paper. The big cube one was a class project. I try and make my pieces as visually explosive or interesting as possible, I hide tons of little things throughout all my works.
BR A I D E D
A braid consists of three chunks of hair intertwined with each other. The process involves crossing over a section from one side, And moving it towards the middle; between the two pieces.
I learned how to braid when I was a little girl [roughly ten]. My mom would take me and my brothers to our local fair where fake cardboard people with three rope strands to imitate hair stood.
I watched my mom work her fingers e ortlessly to create a twist of rope. I admired her. I wanted to be like her.
When I tried to replicate the art that she created, the “braid” ended up choppy. It took me three times as long to even come close to the work she did. She was still proud of me in the end.
My mom continued to take me to the cardboard women the following years after. I was determined to finish a braid while still making it look pretty.
I began growing apart from my mom at some point in middle school, as most teenage girls do. As a girl, I would beg her to braid my hair after showers. At some point, I didn’t need her to do my hair anymore.
I never liked her touching my head anymore. There was a shift between us that put a stunt on how close we were.
In middle school; I started the journey of Finding what extracurriculars worked for me. Show choir caught my attention.
The only problem was that I had to do my own hair for the shows. But the fair teachings did little to help because real hair wasn’t as simple as three tiny ropes.
Even though my mom and I didn’t talk the way we used to, She would still wake up with me at 5:00 AM to braid my hair and wish me luck before I left.
I’m in my first year of college now. This is the longest I have ever been away From home and my mom.
I miss the way she used to brush my hair And when I asked her to put my hair into the tightest ponytail possible. The times I used to dread the most are the times I crave.
And though technically I’m an adult now, I still go home on my breaks and lay my head on my mom's lap.
I no longer ask her to pull my hair up or to put it into a braid for the next morning. But I’ll let her massage my hair.
Mothers and daughters are braided into each other. They come together and they separate. But at the end of the day, we’re part of the same braid.
Tied Together
PHOTOGRAPHY
BELLA MARKLEY
DESIGN
ELLIANA VAN NOORT
WORDS
Being in love with music is like real love, never think about where it could take you. having an idea of the feeling just by the title, roses in springtime, over too soon guessing what someone is feeling. They may seem fine but deep down they’re out of place. It’s like an out of tune instrument the notes clash crashing thoughts drowning in dissonance. Sometimes,
I deal with being out of tune. Not feeling that I’m in the right place. I offer a smile that’s not a real one. Bearing pearly white teeth. Having a different sound than the rest of the orchestra Perfect. I have to be the perfect daughter. The perfect student At the top of the class. Time is running out to sing something that feels right. Playing a song that fits my life.
Everyday I meet new faces, each month I meet new acquaintances. Yet I always find myself wondering about if my friendships will change. At a certain age we get lost in our daily routine. As if they were in my life for a one of a kind experience, in which I needed at that point in time. I know they get tired of seeing the many phases that change. I get irritated and then the next day you will see me lost in a gaze. Not many witness the many versions of me as my friends do.
Where I am always unconditionally loved. Friends that share soft spoken words and loud laughs. Friends that helped me gain my femininity back even when I felt so lost after a heartbreak. At some point this meant so much to me. That love never quite fades.
As I reflect on who I am, I realized how they make up the many pieces of me. It is their music recommendations I still listen to in my car. The snacks I see at the grocery store that I know they absolutely would lose their mind for. Their funny stories that come to mind when stuck in quiet spaces that make others think I am losing my mind in real time.
It is only natural for me to think about when they will be gone. We all have our own plans to work towards. But for now I will sit around to enjoy it. The presence of an unavoidable twin flame. Because their best qualities are still here. They make up the best parts of me.
PHOTOGRAPHY
BELLA MARKLEY
DESIGN
AINSLEY MILLER
“I’m just a girl”
Is a phrase said by so many women, It makes us laugh, ties us together. Bonding over silly jokes and phrases reminiscing over past memories girlhood.
Being a girl’s girl yelling at a random man for touching your friend at a bar walking in a group to make sure everyone gets home safe holding your friend’s drink so she doesn’t lose it or get drugged girlhood.
The anxiety of walking alone at night or being cat-called or followed or accosted because you did or did not smile at him girlhood.
Pushed down for just for existing hated on for being too feminine or not feminine enough wear a dress and you are asking for it wear baggy pants you are ugly, not worthy of love girlhood.
Calling your partner because you feel unsafe walking to work being taught to watch and be aware of your surroundings keeping your head on a swivel turning to extinguish the fear of a phantom noise girlhood.
your biggest fear isn’t spiders or the dark but instead its the violation of trafficking or rape the horror sitting in the back of your head people tell me that I am property, am I not a human too? girlhood.
Men not understanding the Barbie Movie
“I’m just a girl” being tarnished by insecurities and being used against you
“Boys will be boys” is now used as a defense for heinous and ridiculous actions
men not wanting to understand what it’s like growing up as a woman girlhood.
Is fighting for who you are who you want to be who your kids might be fighting to live. girlhood isn’t fun, its fear.
GIRLHOOD
Solitude
As I look around, there is no one like me.
The complexion of my skin and the textures of my hair. The sound of my beating heart trickles beneath my skin.
I am just another being walking past.
I can’t help but foresee that I am in complete solitude. I walk with purpose in mind and a shield on my back.
I walk straight ahead, and there I see faces looking my way.
I don’t seem to be different, but I am.
I can’t help but wonder what it would be like if I were them and they were me.
I sit in silence, the weary feeling of not belonging, but I keep my head held high, and I start to ponder.
I reminisce about my family and my culture.
As a Mexicana, a phrase being said is “Estudia para que puedas llegar lejos y cumplir tus sueños.”
A vigorous phrase rooted in our culture and our people. Our parents, who came here with little but worked relentlessly to give us a chance to enhance our future. Something we should never take for granted.
Estamos en el colegio viendo a dónde la vida nos suele llevar en una sociedad donde se siente solo.
La división que nos aparta uno al otro.
Una sociedad donde nos dicen cómo debemos hablar y dónde podemos vivir
Si supieran que somos la alegría cuando escuchas música, que empatizamos con todos, que tener una educación es un privilegio, y que los colores de nuestra bandera mexicana son más que verde, blanco, y rojo.
WORDS
GISELLE MORENO
DESIGN
AINSLEY MILLER
Mientras miro alrededor, no hay nadie como yo. La complexión de mi piel y las texturas de mi cabello. El sonido de mi corazón latiendo se filtra bajo mi piel. Soy solo otro ser que sigue caminando. No puedo evitar prever que estoy en completa soledad. Camino con el propósito en mente y un escudo en la espalda.
Camino hacia adelante, y allí veo rostros mirando en mi dirección. No parezco ser diferente, pero lo soy. No puedo evitar preguntarme de lo que sería si yo fuera ellos y ellos fuesen ser yo. Me siento en silencio, con el sentimiento cansado de no pertenecer, pero mantengo la cabeza en alto, y empiezo a reflexionar.
Rememoro a mi familia y a mi cultura. Como mexicana, se dice la frase: “Estudia para que puedas llegar lejos y cumplir tus sueños.” Una frase vigorosa enraizada en nuestra cultura y nuestra raza.
Nuestros padres, que vinieron aquí con poco pero trabajaron duro para darnos una oportunidad de mejorar nuestro futuro. Algo que nunca debemos dar por hecho. Estamos en el colegio viendo hacia dónde la vida nos puede llevar en una sociedad donde uno se siente solo. La división que nos separa unos de otros. Una sociedad donde nos dicen cómo debemos hablar y dónde podemos vivir. Si supieran que somos la alegría cuando escuchas música, que empatizamos con todos, que tener una educación es un privilegio, y que los colores de nuestra bandera mexicana son más que verde, blanco y rojo.
Soledad
Quiz Time
Life isn’t linear. It’s full of messy twists and life-changing decisions. Some days you’re the main character and other days you’re working on the subplot. Take this quiz and find out if you’re in a canon event, an original experience, or just building lore.
1. It’s Saturday night, what are you doing?
A. Texting an ex...
B. Going out to meet new people
C. Movie night with friends
2. What artist did you listen to most growing up?
A. Taylor Swift
B. Nicki Minaj
C. Justin Bieber
3. You just got broken up with. What’s your next move?
A. Stay in bed watching every sad rom-com you can handle
B. Make a slideshow of why they should take you back
C. Repost cryptic TikToks
4. What team are you?
A. Team Conrad
B. Team Jeremiah
C. Team Who?
5. What does the color teal mean to you?
A. Don’t remind me! It was a phase!
B. It was popular, but I never had anything teal.
C. What do you mean teal?
6. What’s your go-to shoe?
A. Worn-out sneakers
B. Cowboy Boots
C. Platform Uggs
7. What’s on your TikTok for you page?
A. Influencers
B. Brainrot
C. How-to videos
DRILLING
DRILLING
Results
Mostly A’s: Canon Event
You’re living fate. The stars are aligning and you’re the main character.
Mostly B’s: Original Experience
Own it! Create your life, be bold, and stay unpredictable
Mostly C’s: Building Lore
You may not be the focus right now, but you’re world building. Keep it up!
Down:
Crossword
1. band consisting of artists Cyrus, Ian, Breven, Braden, and Leo
5. Uprising Issue Number
7. co-editor in Chiefs Nathan and ____
Across:
2. used to tie things together
3. phenomenon about the consequences of small decisions
4. band with the song “I only want the boys (who don’t want me)”
6. this issue’s theme and term for a metal cavity filling
