The Lodge, Vol. 3, Issue 2

lights

The

Lodge

Vol. 3, Issue 2 Dec. 11, 2018

ABOUT US

The Lodge is dedicated to serving as an authentic voice for the students of St. George’s Independent School.

We at the Lodge strive to be an open forum for student expression, to act in the best interests of the student body and to embody the principles of journalistic excellence. The Lodge is affiliated with the Tennessee High School Press Association and the National Scholatic Press Association. The Lodge is funded by advertisers, donors and St. George’s Independent School and is published once every eight weeks during the school year by schoolprinting.com. The Lodge prints and distributes 300 copies of each issue to 600 students and faculty on the St. George’s Collierville campus. Bylines indicate the primary writer(s) of each article, and additional contributors are indicated in the shirttail. The Lodge provides free advertising for student clubs, events and activities and paid advertisements for local businesses. The Lodge welcomes letters to the editor and article submissions. To submit a letter, article or request for advertising, email our staff at thelodge@sgis.org.

STAFF

Editors-in-Chief

Emma Bennett ’19, Evan Dorian ’19 Editors

Laura Beard ‘19, Cary Robbins ‘20 Designers

Kaitlyn Bowman ‘19, Will Brown ‘19, Andrew McDowell ‘19 Illustrator

Crystal Baggett ‘19, Sierra Sellers ‘20 Reporters

Claire Rooney ‘19, Mimi Young ‘19, Spencer Cotham ‘20, Maggie Emmendorfer ‘20, Snowden Farnsworth ‘20, Dean Campbell ‘21, Owen Hewitt ‘21, Callie Hollis ‘21, Jack Lange ‘21 Advisor

Dr. Margaret Robertson Cover photograph by Laura Beard

CONTENTS

6

108

Spectrum of Celebration

14

20

22

ATHLETES IN ACTION Junior Allison Evans practices her liberty stunt before the state competition.

Photo by Mrs. Camilla Evans

Senior Jaylen Spears practices with Coach Eddie Martin.

Photo by Andrew McDowell

Senior William Irby swims the butterfly during a practice.

Photo by Claire Rooney

4 The Lodge

The competitive cheer team had a great season last year, finishing seventh in the nation in their division. Junior Landry Wirth is proud of her teammates and their growth this season. “I’m really proud of how we did at our state competition,” Wirth said. “We were the smallest team by quite a bit, and we went through a bunch of hardships this year, but we managed to place 4th out of 15 teams.” The cheer team did have a smaller group this season with only nine cheerleaders, but the team is optimistic for the years to come.

The St. George’s wrestling team is practicing every day in hopes to make it to state. Sophomore Joshua Taube, who has been wrestling for three years, placed first in his weight class in their first tournament of the season. He is looking forward to a possible state tournement trip. Taube has a positive outlook for the wrestling team this year. “The team’s looking great,” Taube said. “We’ve got a lot of new people. They’re looking great and are catching on real quick. Also, we have our veteran Jaylen Spears who is definitely shining this year, just like every year.”

The St. George’s swim team started the season off with a splash at their first meet.

They started out pre-season with workouts, in addition to practice in the pool, to make sure the team was in the best shape possible for this year. Senior Mary Miller Goldberg is looking forward to competing this season with the team. “Our boys are going to be pretty good at state,” Goldberg said, “and the girls are looking to place pretty high in the relays.” The team is dedicated, both on an individual and group level, to work hard to make it to state and finish the season on a high note.

By Snowden Farnsworth, Mimi Young, Callie Hollis, Claire Rooney, Spencer Cotham, Cary Robbins, Jack Lange Design by Andrew McDowell Illustrations by Sierra Sellers

Freshman Lauryn Denton prepares to shoot a free throw during a girls varAlmost all the players on the sity basketball game. girls basketball team are new this Photo by Andrew season and are bringing their unbridled McDowell enthusiasm. Katie Schaefer, who has been on the team for the past four years, is looking forward to the new group. “The school is trying to build the program up because we don’t really have a lot of older people right now,” Schaefer said. “So we can shape things up, and I’m glad I get to be a part of that.” So far, the team is working hard during practice to improve their skills and foster team bonding.

Sophomore Jack Fogelman defends against fellow sophomore Mason Gronauer during basketball practice.

Photo by Andrew McDowell

The boys basketball team is working harder than ever before to play with as much confidence as they can with a majority underclassmen team. Senior Kyle Gasaway is optimistic about what this season has in store for the young basketball team. “I love my teammates.

There’s no one else I’d want to play a game of basketball with,” Gasaway said. “I feel like we use everybody’s strengths to our advantage, and we’ll hopefully share that.”

The winter cheerleaders have been working hard on improving their performances this season. “We were saying that we wanted to have multiple halftime performances, so we wouldn’t do the same thing every time,” senior Maria Sallee said.

Sallee has been on the winter cheer team since ninth grade and is one of the captains this year. “I think we’re working on making it more exciting and entertaining to come to the basketball games,” Sallee said. The winter cheer team has a bright season ahead of them.

Junior Kennadee Carlton cheers on the boys basketball team during a game.

Photo by Mimi Young

The Lodge 5

For some students, it all comes crashing down in the winter

I

By Evan Dorian t’s the most wonderful time of the year.

Or is it?

What if the holiday season, generally perceived as being an epicenter of happiness, a hub for celebration and time with family, is actually what brings some people down this time of year?

In a survey conducted by the National Alliance of Mental Illness (NAMI), 24 percent of respondents who have a diagnosed mental health issue believe their condition gets “a lot” worse, and another 40 percent believe their condition is “somewhat” worse during the holidays.

“The holiday season beams a spotlight on everything that is difficult about living with depression,” one respondent to the survey said. “The pressure to be joyful and social is tenfold.”

For survey respondents, finan-

6 The Lodge

cial issues were apparently the greatest stressor, with 68 percent reporting feeling stressed about financial strains. However, financial issues do not always manifest in the same ways to young people that they do in adults.

For adolescents, loneliness, feeling too much pressure or facing unrealistic expectations from friends and family may be the reasons for a stressful season. Adolescents in particular are also susceptible to stress – a study by the New York University Child Study Center found that 54 percent of girls who suffer from depression feel more depressed during the holidays, and the same is true of 19 percent of boys who suffer from depression.

While some stressors, like exams, affect almost all students, others, like the loss of a family member, the challenges of complicated family dynamics or an ongoing

struggle with depression can feel particularly isolating around the holidays. Ultimately, these factors can make the season feel more like an avalanche than a rush of holiday cheer.

Loss

When current senior Austin Wall lost his father to cancer complicated by pneumonia in 2015, his life changed forever. And for him and his family, the winter holidays have lost some of the joy generally associated with the season. Losing a family member is never easy, but adapting to the reality of missing that person during times that others use to celebrate family is especially difficult.

“The best way I can describe it around the holidays for a little while or life in general was just gray,” Wall said. “It didn’t seem

very vivid. It wasn’t like I was super depressed or anything but stuff didn’t affect me the same way it used to.”

According to NAMI’s survey, 55 percent of respondents said they tended to reminisce about “happier times in the past contrasting with the present.”

Missing family members during the holiday season can be a particularly grief-filled struggle.

As people see others celebrating all winter long and enjoying the company of their families, the sense of loss can introduce stress, especially if people feel pressure to appear happier than they are.

Wall does not feel pressure to feel happy or positive – he prefers to live as normally as he can and address his emotions as they arise.

The winter season, as well as other times often marked by cheer, sometimes induces sadness.

“[Sometimes] I’m really sad, and I get back to my feelings, but actively, to be honest, I really don’t think of my dad a whole lot,” Wall said. “And that’s a good thing and a bad thing. I think of him all the time when I’m home, but it’s not lasting and it’s not sad, it’s just a quick little flash of memory and then I’m happy about it, or I’ve got feelings about it and then I just keep going.”

Wall is not able to ignore the grief of losing his father, but he finds solace in reflecting on the time he had with him.

“I’m not jealous of other people that they have their dads, but I am sad that I don’t have the same experiences that they do now, but I’m not jealous of it because the stuff that I did have with my dad was super awesome,” Wall said.

“Now that I’m getting more open with other people’s lives and other people’s experiences, I realize that I’m really blessed to have had him as long as I did and that he was a great dad and he was a great guy.”

Coping mechanisms for those who lose a loved one or experience other forms of grief may take the form of structured counseling or may be as simple as taking time to enjoy simple things.

“Music is a really good [coping mechanism],” Wall said. “My dad was the one who got me into music. I learned to sing before I could talk, and he used to tell me a story that when his band was creating a CD, he would be listening to the songs in his van on his way picking us up from school and dropping us off from home, and he would tell us that me and my sister learned the songs before he even

did. Music has always been a part of my life, and it’s always going to be a part of my life.”

Whether it is music or interactions with close friends and loved ones, Wall knows there are always ways to cope with loss.

“Friends, church, people I can relate with,” Wall listed as outlets he has used to help him cope. “A few people actually came out after my dad passed away and said ‘I went through the same thing you did, if you ever need someone to talk to,’ and that was always really encouraging.”

Coping mechanisms and practices to follow in order to living a mentally healthy life are readily available to anyone who experiences loss, but there are some aspects of grief that never go away and can even be highlighted by the holiday season.

“Christmas is always kind of just, you know, it’s Christmas, I mean, we’re not sad about it,” Wall said. “We find ways to have fun, but it’s not the same.”

Separation

Family matters often induce stress, and when a family situation includes divorce, the holidays can prove especially challenging.

According to the American Psychological Association (APA), between 40 and 50 percent of married American couples divorce, so plenty of American children, including many at St. George’s, can relate to the issues that face children of divorced homes.

Junior Mary Virginia McWaters, who goes by Boo, is a child of divorced parents.

“It’s hard,” McWaters said.

“The whole break is difficult. Basically all holidays are because I have to split them back and forth.”

While McWaters is quick to say that she loves spending the holidays with her family, she said she doesn’t like missing out on some of the special traditions in each household.

“On Christmas Eve, my mom’s side of the family has a big Christmas dinner, and on Christmas night, my dad’s side of the family has a really big Christmas dinner, and you might think that that’s a perfect deal because it’s not on the same night,” McWaters explained.

“But on Christmas night, my aunt has this thing with just my aunt and my mom since they’re the two sisters, and my grandparents come, and we just eat food and hang out, and it’s chill. And my dad’s side of the family has something like that with my uncle and aunt, and they do that on Christmas Eve, so I don’t like missing out on that stuff too. Like if my parents weren’t divorced and they were still together, I would get to experience all of it.”

McWaters said that maintaining a good attitude is key to enjoying the holidays, no matter what the situation.

“It makes holiday stress easier by having positivity,” McWaters said.

No two families are exactly the same, however, and sometimes conflict between family members can make the holidays uncomfortable as well as inconvenient.

One student, who chose to remain anonymous, explained how a difficult conflict within a family complicated the family dynamic.

“Basically my mom and my dad don’t really get along, and me and my sister are more comfortable at my mom’s house rather than my dad’s,” the student said. “I wish I could enjoy over there. It’s this big complicated deal, and we’ve tried to make things better over there and they just haven’t worked out. It’s a really long story but basically I just get stressed out and get anxiety about going over to his house.”

The student would prefer to have a more flexible and easy-going holiday schedule that ensures comfort during the winter season.

“It’s kind of frustrating because in the holidays you want to be with people you’re comfortable around because that’s what the holidays are about,” the student said.

“The whole break kind of is difficult. Basically all holidays are because I have

to split them back and forth.”

Illustrations by Sierra Sellers

The Lodge 7

“Have your people. Whether it’s your parents, or your siblings, or your friends, your teachers, your counselor, have the people that you can go talk to.”

As this story suggests, stress often stems from difficult family situations, especially in the winter season when travel, shorter days, and time spent with less appealing family members clouds the generally positive mood of the holiday season.

Upper school counselor Mrs. Elizabeth Bran understands that some students feel that their family dynamic can make their enjoyment of the season a challenge.

“If they’re children of divorced homes, navigating time between parents can be stressful, and even if their parents are together, a lot of times you have family that comes in town and that can be stressful and students get displaced out of their bedrooms so that grandma can stay there,” Mrs. Bran said, “and then with family in town, their parents are stressed and it can go in a direction of everyone worried about taking care of everyone else and miss the point of all being together.”

Mrs. Bran emphasized the importance of self-care for students who feel stressed out by the holidays.

“There are a lot of different strategies depending on the situation,” Mrs. Bran said. “One universal one is to take time to care for yourself, to make sure you’re eating right and getting rest. But whether you formally practice meditation or mindfulness or not, to take moments to calm your spirit, to think about the things that are important to you and the ways that we’re blessed.”

Depression

“The holidays aren’t exactly the most wonderful time of the year,”

8 The Lodge

said senior Will Brown.

Brown, who suffers from depression, recognizes that others who suffer from similar symptoms and face similar circumstances may not see the holidays as a time free of sadness, and he wishes people would be more understanding and compassionate for those who suffer from depression.

“People need to understand that sometimes people just ‘can’t’ in moments,” he said. “They can in the long run, but sometimes we falter, we fail, and we can’t help it. We try hard, we do. We try hard making it through the day. We try hard making it through the week.

We try hard making it through a month, and it’s hard. But we make it through. We make it through another month and eventually another year and eventually another decade and eventually we live our lives and it’s good...but sometimes I still falter and it’s okay.”

Brown sees that not everyone understands his situation.

“I think I do a pretty bang up job of explaining myself,” he said.

“Of course, there’s still people who won’t believe or won’t buy it.

But it’s something you’ve got to experience sometimes. I feel most pressured by the people who don’t understand or don’t know, and people who say, ‘why aren’t you happy?’ I figure if they did have family with mental illness, they’d be a little bit more caring and a little bit a little less crass about the situation.”

Brown recognizes the stigma around mental illness, and whether it is society as a whole or a person’s immediate surroundings who impose it, he understands how suffering people feel obligated to act a certain way at times.

“Last year, I was tired of being asked ‘what’s wrong?’ and all that,

so I’d say I’m fine, and I’d put on a smile, and I’d pretend to be happy,” he said. “It was just a facade the whole time. I think there are a lot of people who do that to deal with the pressure of depression, you smile and you pretend and you fake it because sometimes it’s easier to fake emotion than to have to deal with people asking you all the time.”

Like many people who suffer from depression, Brown struggles with physical symptoms.

“I don’t wallow in my bed because I’m so sorry for myself,” Brown said. “I wallow in my bed because I just can’t get up. My brain won’t let me. Sometimes I feel trapped, and it sucks so bad.

My emotions sometimes take control of me, and I say and do things I don’t want to say or do.”

There are ways people can keep themselves afloat physically and emotionally when difficult times hit. Dr. Stewart Burgess, a child psychologist and psychology teacher, understands that students are often inclined to keep working and putting pressure on themselves to succeed, despite symptoms of depression.

“If you think about when you’re cooped up, just in a building, in a classroom, doing cerebral brainiac work for a long period of time, just walking outside, even if it’s cold, and getting some deep breath of fresh air is a super stress reliev-

er and gives you mental energy and clarity when you come back,” he said.

Dr. Burgess and Mrs. Bran both emphasized the importance of sticking to healthy routines.

“Getting the right amount of sleep and keeping it stable, keeping a schedule that you do not veer too much from as much as possible, has been associated with much lower stress, better physical health and sense of well-being,” Dr. Burgess said.

While Dr. Burgess offered input on the best practices for unconscious rest, Mrs. Bran explained how best to navigate stresses during waking hours.

“Trying to refrain from negative thinking is important,” Mrs. Bran said, “and then sticking with your routines of getting exercise or doing the things you love to do – if you love to read, or if you love to paint, or sing, or whatever, don’t lose sight of the things that make you happy and make sure that you’re building enough of that into your day as well.”

Sleep and any kind of meditative practices are important, but physical and emotional wellness can be particularly difficult to achieve during the winter, when darkness and cold bring people down.

“Most of us have that experience of gray days, feeling a little more ‘blah,’ and maybe feeling

“There’s always someone who cares for you.” like we have a little less energy,” Dr. Burgess said, “and if that happens in a prolonged period of time, where you’re not getting some nice, bright, normal sunshine and stuff, then that can really affect people. It can bring in more sad feelings and more sense of fatigue.”

Mrs. Bran echoed this sentiment, reminding young people that there is a difference between true depression and moments of temporary sadness.

“I think it’s important, for teenagers especially, to understand that most teenagers go through sort of low spells,” she said. “So, [don’t] panic if you just feel ‘blah’ for a short amount of time. At the same time, pay attention to how long it’s lasting so that if it is something more serious, if it is something that you may need support, to make sure you’re recognizing that as well. Have your people.

Whether it’s your parents, or your siblings, or your friends, your teachers, your counselor, have the people that you can go talk to.”

There are scientific, health-fo-

cused methods to tackle depression, but there are also intangible aspects of the illness that cannot always be addressed with coping mechanisms or specific practices.

When such situations arise, as they often do in winter, Will Brown does his best to look for ways he can feel uplifted and shared his thoughts on how to do so.

“We can do this. The holidays are a good time of the year. Enjoy your family. Enjoy meals and allow yourself to make mistakes.

Allow yourself to be vulnerable.

Your family’s there for you… they love you dearly. And if they don’t someone loves you. There’s always someone who cares for you.”

Brown assures those in doubt that there is a positive end in sight.

“It’s hard but it’s possible to make it through,” he said. “And yeah you have bad days, but there are so many better ones.”

Full Disclosure: Will Brown is a member of the editorial board. The Lodge has taken significant steps to ensure that this article remains unbiased.

Snowden Farnsworth, Jack Lange and Cary Robbins contributed reporting to this story.

If you or someone you know is struggling with feelings of depression,

seek out help from our school counselors, call the National Suicide Prevention Hotline at 1-800-273-8255 (https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/) or reach out to a local behavioral center.

Elizabeth Bran, Upper School Director of Counseling and Guidaance Phone: 901-457-2012 Email: ebran@sgis.org Amy Michalak, Middle School Director of Counseling and Guidance Phone: 901-457-2129 Email: amichalak@sgis.org Daybreak Treatment Center Phone: 901-753-4300

The Lodge 9

Where Do Christmas Trees Come From?

(Asking Fir a Friend)

By Emma Bennett

L

et’s say you’re a Christmas tree, or rather, a Christmas tree seedling. You’re going to want to be planted alongside some sister seedlings in a place where you can soak up the sun, roughly seven feet from your fellow tree friends. That’s about 350 million tree friends, by the way, planted all across the United States.

Depending on the kind of Christmas tree you are, you could end up in any of the fifty states. If you’re planted in the East, you’re most likely a Balsam fir, sporting a near-perfect, cone-shaped figure. If you’re in the Northwest, you’re probably a Douglas fir, requiring only minimal shaping to get that ideal cone figure. If you’re a Scotch pine, you can grow just about anywhere, but you’re nowhere close to resembling a cone before trimming.

As much as you want to be in someone’s home decorated with ornaments and low-heat LED lights, you have a long journey ahead of you. You still have eight to 14 years before you’ll be fully grown to the ideal height of seven feet, after which you’ll need to be harvested and finally bought by that nice family. You don’t even know about the business side of the $1.03 billion industry you’re a part of (you’re a tree, after all), but you’re about to learn.

While it’s easy to think of certain kinds of trees as seasonal, the business behind them actually requires year-round preparation. Mr. Charles Bartlow has been involved in the Christmas tree business for over 50 years and currently helps run a Christmas tree lot for Boy Scouts (BSA) Troop 50. The tree that your family buys in December was actually ordered back in the summer.

“I start looking at prices on Christmas trees and quantities [in] April [or] May, and I have a formal order in place for the first of July,” Mr. Bartlow said.

While the official order is placed in July, Mr. Bartlow said he begins researching which trees are projected to be popular as early as January.

“It’s a seasonal business, but it’s around a year-long business on my side,” Mr. Bartlow said. “I also do research in January and February of new trends. What’s the best-selling tree this year? What it might be next year?”

Since Christmas trees take eight to 14 years to grow, it is important for farmers to Photograph by Laura Beard

10 The Lodge

do research in order to predict what trees will be popular. The ideal Christmas tree has evolved over time, making research that much more imperative to sellers’ success.

“Over the years it’s changed.

Back when we started, it was Scotch pine. Then we’ve come into the Balsam firs,” Mr. Bartlow said. “Now we’re into Frasiers, and Nobles, and Crans, and Normans, and Douglas, very little Pine.”

Mr. Bartlow credits television to the changing preference of a Christmas tree. Television advertises a perfect cone-shaped Christmas tree, so that’s what people look for.

“They all want the perfect tree now, the perfect shape, and that’s hard to get,” Mr. Bartlow said. “There is no such thing as a perfect shape, but they visualize a perfectly cone-shaped tree.”

While a cone-shaped tree is the most popular, both Mr. Bartlow and Mr. Alfred Lange, The Home Depot Merchant of Live Goods, agree that the most beautiful Christmas tree is relative to the buyer.

“That’s really in the eye of the beholder,” Mr. Lange said. “It’s a personal preference.”

As a live-goods merchant for The Home Depot, Mr. Lange is in charge of ordering Christmas trees for the nation-wide home-improvement company. Though Mr. Lange and Mr. Bartlow are both involved in the Christmas tree business, there are differences between how the two have to prepare for the selling season.

Being a local business, Mr. Bartlow’s lot sells fewer trees, around 425 each year. The Home Depot, on the other hand, sells a few more.

“We sell close to three million trees at Christmas time,” Mr. Lange said.

While The Home Depot has seasoned employees working in the department, Mr. Bartlow’s lot is run by a slightly younger generation. Daniel Larrabe is a member of BSA Troop 50 and helps work the lot chiefly run by Mr. Bartlow.

Larrabe has helped the past couple of years now, having started when he was only 10 years old. Working on the lot has taught him the differences between the types of Christmas trees.

“Frasiers hold ornaments really well, and they have short needles.

Grands have long needles, but don’t hold ornaments well,” Larrabe said. “Nobles are kind of a mix between the two. They have medium needles, and they hold ornaments okay. Nordmans hold ornaments very well, but they have a lot of gaps in between the branches.”

The Home Depot gets most of its Christmas trees from North Carolina and Virginia, but where stores get trees from really depends on where the store itself is located.

“In the Northeast, they also get their trees from North Carolina and Virginia, also a few farms in Vermont or Canada,” Mr. Lange said. “On the West Coast, the majority of the trees come from Oregon, Washington state or Canada.”

Mr. Bartlow got his trees from Oregon and Washington this year but has gotten them from Nova Scotia, North Carolina and Michigan in the past. Since he doesn’t have to worry about store locations, picking where to order the trees is much simpler for Mr. Bartlow.

“It’s wherever the supply is,” Mr. Bartlow said.

While Mr. Bartlow’s and Mr. Lange’s businesses are drastically different in size, they have more similarities than one might think.

Both Mr. Bartlow and Mr. Lange view Christmas-tree shopping as a family tradition.

“I think it’s a fun business in terms of all the different types of business we do because it’s so family-centered,” Mr. Lange said.

“I think both the growers take great pride in the fact that their trees end up in people’s homes to celebrate a holiday, and I think the stores really embrace the selling season.”

One of Mr. Bartlow’s favorite parts of the business were the relationships he developed over the years of being involved in the business.

“I liked the selling side when I was a kid,” Mr. Bartlow said. “I remember one lady always wanted her Christmas tree to have a perfect bottom. So that was a running joke for years that she couldn’t find her Christmas tree with a perfect bottom.”

Mr. Lange shares Mr. Bartlow’s fondness of connecting to people, citing it as one of his favorite parts of the business as well.

“Most of the farms we deal with are family owned and multi-generational in the business,” Mr. Lange said. “In many cases, it was a grandfather or great-grandfather that started the business, and now there’s a third or even fourth generation working on the farm, so that’s an enjoyable part of the business is meeting the families,

and understanding their capabilities, working with them to make the most out of the season in terms of opportunity for sales.”

While the farms are a crucial of the business, responsible for 98 percent of Christmas trees grown, they are also beneficial for the environment. For every tree harvested, one to three seedlings are planted, meaning more trees are planted than they are harvested.

“The farm is constantly in a state of growth,” Mr. Lange said, “and is only harvesting a small amount of their trees each year.”

Not only do farms contribute to a healthier environment, but the trees themselves are a renewable source. Unsold trees can be donated to wildlife programs that use the trees to create habitats for animals in normally barren places.

“Any trees that’s not used goes to the Tennessee Wildlife, and they use it for habitat: fish habitat, rabbit habitat, quail habitat,” Mr. Barlow said. “Basically, it’s recycled again.”

Life as a Christmas tree isn’t that bad. You get to travel the country, make a family happy, teach a Boy Scout a lesson and give a fish a new home. So regardless of what kind you are, you can be proud of what you’ve accomplished in your life as a Christmas tree.

A Christmas tree waits to be bought from The Home Depot. Businesses bought their trees to sell back in the summer.

Photographs by Emma Bennett

The Lodge 11

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Illustrations by Crystal Baggett, Emma Bennett, Evan Dorian, Owen Hewitt and Sierra Sellers

Your Least Favorite Holiday

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Written by Maggie Emmendorfer, Evan Dorian, Owen Hewitt and Laura Beard

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Holiday Lo

(Sorry Trader Joe’s)

Christmas Day NBA The first game of the day should be a high-flying one, with Giannis Antetokounmpo soaring all over the court.

If we’re lucky, we might even get to see him take off against a weak Knicks defense, like one of Santa’s reindeer.

This is a matchup of teams that have been wildly underwhelming, much like finding coal in your stocking on Christmas morning.

We’ll see which backcourt can be the difference maker in this one.

This game is a clash of Eastern Conference rivals.

The Sixers will try to deafen a rowdy Celtics crowd, and Ben Simmons will be giving away crossovers like good ol’ St. Nick, while Kyrie Irving racks up steals like the grinch.

The Warriors have become something of an NBA Ebenezer Scrooge, stingily handing out losses for Christmas presents. LeBron and the Lakers are going to try and put some joy in their hearts, and scrape out a Christmas miracle win.

Both these teams’ home cities may often look like the North Pole, but make no mistakes, these small-market squads are going to show up on Christmas day.

Look for Jingles (Joe Ingles) to make a big impact on this one.

Bucks @ Knicks – 11:00 a.m.

Thunder @ Rockets – 2:00 p.m.

76ers @ Celtics – 4:30 p.m.

Lakers @ Warriors – 7:00 p.m.

Blazers @ Jazz – 9:30 p.m.

12 The Lodge

odge podge Your Favorite Holiday Beverages

day Foods Gefilte Fish

22.2%

Peppermint Mocha

Other

7.1%

10%

Apple Cider

10.6%

Cranberry Sauce

20.1%

Egg Nog

10.6%

Hot Chocolate

61.7%

Fruit Cake

24.9%

Do you open your presents before the holiday?

40.1%

37.7%

Keep the magic alive.

NO OPENING.

I shake the box.

15.5% Maybe...

6.7% Yes.

Your Most Hated Christmas Songs

13.7% 14% “Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer”

“I saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus”

17.6% 20.4% Other

“All I Want for Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth”

34.3% The Chipmunk’s “Christmas Don’t Be Late”

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Spectrum of Celebration T

By Snowden Farnsworth and Dean Campbell

he winter holiday season is often associated with Christmas and the traditions that come along with it. There is always talk about Christmas trees, Santa and gifts from relatives floating around in conversations and in advertisements.

Because of this, other winter traditions can be overlooked and people tend to know less about them. During the winter holiday season, it is important to acknowledge that not everyone has the same beliefs or celebrates in the same ways, if at all.

Photos by Callie Hollis, Dean Campbell and Laura Beard with assistance from Angeline Heger

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Freshman Iris Delahoussaye celebrates Three Kings Day. “It’s in a sense kind of like Christmas, but on a smaller scale.

It’s a little extra celebration with the Nativity. It’s about the wise Iris Delahoussaye men because they brought gold, frankincense and myrrh. That night, they come and visit certain children and give them gifts. So what you do is you take a little snack for the king’s camel, like carrots, apples, small fruits like that, and in return, you get just like a gift under your bed. That’s really all there is to it.

Our family had an opportunity like a year or two ago where one of my sister’s friends happened to spend the night, so it was nice sharing that with her and she got to learn a little bit about a different culture.

Each Sunday, there’s four Sundays and the Christmas season, month of December, and we

Maggie Murphy

celebrate Advent. So each Sunday we have a lesson about the story of Christ and his coming.

And on Christmas Eve, we have a service, a candle lit service, it’s dark outside and we each light a candle and we sing songs and different passages in the Bible leading up to Christ’s birth.

“My parents are immigrants from Guatemala. We don’t wake up on Christmas morning to open presents and play with your presents and then have Christmas dinner.

Luis Lopez We make tamales, and the whole family gets together, and eats tamales, laugh with friends, watch a movie, etc. We all stay up until midnight, and then at midnight little kids get to open their presents.

Everybody says Merry Christmas and hugs each other for good prosperity. On the 25, we don’t really do anything.

You can’t like recover from like staying up all night. [We] eat leftovers and we sometimes will go out with friends.”

Senior Oscar Higareda celebrates Reyes Magos.

“It’s a tradition my Oscar Higareda parents kind of carried on to us. The three kings that were visiting Jesus in his bed, and they brought them gifts. In Mexico, instead of celebrating Christmas they do Reyes Magos, so they put their shoes out by the door, and they get toys or candy or something like that.

Ours isn’t really a big thing because we celebrate Christmas too. It’s usually just candy. It’s fun to keep the tradition going.”

“Four years ago, I went through this process of doubting, and I had an agnostic phase.

Miles Masters The first Christmas season was sort of hollow.

My family still celebrates Christmas, and I do too. It was a hard season to get through, but afterwards going into the future, going through that process allowed me to address Christmas, which I had not thought about before that point. [Christmas] is a big event for me, [but] not religiously. While there is the religious side of the holiday, I’ve been focused on the familial side.”

“My mom is Jewish, and my dad is Lutheran, so that’s why we celebrate Christmas [in ad- Sarah Liebmann dition to Hanukkah]. I’m so big on everyone coming together and gathering.

I’m sure other families feel the same way, but I would say that the biggest difference is that we don’t take a religious [approach to it]. On Christmas day everything is closed because everyone is celebrating Christmas. The only things that are open are Chinese restaurants and movie theatres. We would go and get food and then go to a movie afterwards.”

Mrs. Gwen English, the new Upper School art teacher, celebrates the Winter Solstice.

“Some friends of ours have a Mrs. Gwen English dinner where they celebrate the shortest day of the year. We all get together and have a candle light dinner. It’s really just about being together. There is no religious undertone to it, just the fact that it’s winter. [We are] trying to celebrate that season. We celebrate the Persian New Year, which is the first day of spring. My husband’s Persian. All of our holiday traditions go way back to our current spiritual path but also are cultural.”

Sophomore Mason Gronauer is Jewish.

“We celebrate Hanukkah.

It’s a little bit different than Mason Gronauer Christmas.

But we still get presents. It’s eight days and pretty cool. My family, at least, we wait till the last day till we get presents. Our whole family comes together, and we all open them together. We usually have a dinner right before that. We usually go to services whenever there’s a holiday and then you know, my family has a big dinner after the service. It’s always good to see my family.

“We have a festival called Diwali, which is a festival of lights, so that’s our main celebration Surabhi Singh for the year, but during Christmas it’s just like up to me whether we want to celebrate or not. When I was younger, my parents used to celebrate Christmas just for me just so that when I went to school I wouldn’t feel left out. But I since I grew up kind of celebrating, it’s not really a big deal.”

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Exam Stress: Do’s and Don’ts

By Cary Robbins and Dean Campbell Illustrations by Sierra Sellers Layout by Kaitlyn Bowman

Exams are here, and that means stress. Here are some tips on how to perform better by caring for yourself.

Stick to a routine Hey, is your life going off the rails? Try a routine. According to Northwestern Medicine, people who do not follow a routine often run out of time, while having a routine helps people can stay on track.

“People who set routines tend to stick to them better,” Dr. Stewart Burgess, a child psychologist and psychology teacher, said. “The times when you most need to take care of yourself are the times when you feel like you don’t have enough time to do it.” Create a schedule and a to-do list, then stick to it. Having a daily routine will bring your stress levels down, and you’ll sleep better at night. Overall, having a routine means less stress and more productivity. Doesn’t that sound great?

Take a break

During exam season, the scent of exhaustion is in the air. Taking a break while you’re studying can help with that. If you are working for too long, it might be time to take a break. If not, all that information you’re trying to learn might go to waste.

Studying for long periods of time can be stressful as well. Although some people think cramming information will help the next day, taking “movement breaks” are actually beneficial for your mental and emotional health. “Adults typically have a 40 minute window of time where you have sustained attention,” Dr. Burgess said.

“Then at that point, it would be really beneficial to stand up, walk around, stretch, do something different for just a couple seconds and restart again.” Breaks are awesome because it means you can study better and remember more information.

Don’t try to cram In order to study effectively, try the SQ3R method: survey, question, read, recite and review.

In this method, a person first surveys the whole chapter and headings to see what is being studied. Next, read the summary of the chapter, and then start asking questions to gain a deeper understanding of the subject. “You’re not going to be able to cram it all in at once and be as effective as if you look at it from high elevation. Then come in and start to answer a bunch of specific questions,” Dr. Burgess said. “Put it away, come back to it, relearn it, come back to it, review it again.” Having this routine will also be more efficient in learning what all you need to study for each subject, resulting in better grades. Who doesn’t want that?

Remember to sleep Doesn’t feeling sleepy suck? We can help change that with a few tips. If you feel drowsy during the day or even experience “microsleeps,” brief sleeps while you’re awake, you are most likely not getting the correct amount of sleep. “If you’re getting three or four hours of sleep, you are significantly disrupting your REM sleep and some of your deepest cycles of sleep,” Dr. Burgess said. “In addition to that, you will feel more stressed and perform a little less well, in terms of your focus.” According to the National Sleep Foundation (NSF), taking 30 minutes to relax and disconnecting from electronics before heading to bed can help you fall asleep. The average teenager needs at least seven hours of sleep, but most studies show that nine hours is ideal. Please sleep. It is a crucial part of existing, and there are also a ton of positives to getting a healthy amount of sleep.

Don’t eat your feelings “Stress eating” is real. Many people suffer consequences of overeating when they are stressed. According to Harvard Medical School, at first, stress will turn off a person’s appetite, but having too much stress will produce a hormone called cortisol, which makes people want to eat more. “If you’re hungry, if you’re tired, and if you are already stressed, it’ll make you feel more stress and more likely to kind of melt down,” Dr. Burgess said. “If you know you’re under pressure, then you need to make sure you’re eating and drinking enough.” Try to keep a healthy balance throughout the day. This would include a good breakfast and healthy foods like vegetables, fruits and nuts. Stress eating is something you need to be aware of coming into exams. Try preparing some healthy food before a long study session.

Don’t be too hard on yourself When you’re stressed, remember you’re going to be okay. In order to help yourself through this stress, you need to first realize when stress is causing a problem and identify its causes. “People who approach their work as a challenge, and they think, ‘okay, that’s going to affect how I approach this,’” Dr. Burgess said, “they tend to attack the challenge better, report less stress and have more success.” Last but not least, don’t be too hard on yourself. These exams are hard, but as long as you try your best and work your hardest, you will be okay. Just remember in the grand scheme of things these exams aren’t the end of the world.

If you or someone you know is struggling with feelings of overwhelming stress, remember adults can help! Reach out to Ms. Elizabeth Bran (901-457-2012, ebran@sgis.org), Ms. Amy Michalak 901-457-2129, amichalak@sgis.org) or another trusted adult.

One Beard To Rule Them All Junior Alan Henderson spent the month of November growing his beard for the competition. His hard work paid off because he won the competition.

Beards, braids and body hair battle it out for Baptist Cancer Research

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By Laura ~Beard~ and Snowden Farnsworth or those looking to have a luscious beard like Upper School Biology teacher Mr. Sam Abrams, he has a few words of advice.

“Keep it groomed. Don’t just let your beard grow and never trim up your neckline. Don’t be afraid of grooming products. There’s nothing emasculating about that because if not, you’re just going to look trashy, and you’re going to look terrible,” Mr. Abrams said. “There’s nothing attractive about looking like a mountain man.”

Mr. Abrams holds onto a wealth of opinions about men’s facial hair, but ultimately he has a single motto for those wishing to grow out their beards in the future.

“There’s effort that goes into it if you want it to be an actual thing, but like with anything else, you have to put a little bit of effort into your look,” Mr. Abrams said. “A little bit of effort goes a long way.”

The Medical Sciences Club has been selling

18 The Lodge

wristbands since October. People who bought these wristbands were allowed to grow out their facial hair during the month of November and were able to take part in the contest on Dec. 6. The money was donated to the Baptist Cancer Research Foundation.

Grace Higley, a leader of the Medical Sciences Club along with Samantha Patton, believes in the potential of the contest to be something great for the school while the emphasis is still placed on the fundraising aspect.

“A lot of it was less based on the contest and more focused on raising money for the [Baptist] Cancer Research Foundation. The contest just kind of goes with it because there was a big association with cancer patients,” Higley said. “With the contest we really just want to have fun. I know a lot of people said they’re not going to buy wristbands because they can’t grow a beard, but the bigger point is to just be able to have fun.”

The contest has a growing history within

the school. Recent alumnus Hudson Beaudry spearheaded the contest last year but credits fellow alumnus William McBride for starting it. The contest has been adapted with each new change in leadership, but the spirit behind it remains.

“Initially it was made to help not only St. Jude, but you could also bring in shaving supplies the first year that it happened. The shaving supplies would have been donated to Memphis Union Mission or some sort of mens’ charity. The other money would be donated to St. Jude,” Beaudry said. “But I ended up just changing it to only St. Jude because the shaving supplies thing was a little vague. So five dollars [that year] ended up being the better option.”

The contest benefitted all involved, from those at St. Jude to the St. George’s students who wanted to have more flexibility with the school dress code for a month.

“I enjoyed the fact that we were able to do-

nate so much to St. Jude,” Beaudry said. “It felt like we were really making a difference in the community while giving St. George’s students options on how they wanted to look during the month of November.”

This year, additions have been made to the contest categories such as longest beard, best mustache, most like a fictional or famous person, braids and buns and best pigtails and freestyle.

“I like having different categories. Some people can’t grow mustaches, but they can grow like super long beards like Abe Lincoln,” Abrams said. “I’m excited about it. I think people will get into it.”

These changes allow for more competitive participation for those unable to grow beards,

meaning mainly all the girls of the school.

However, for those able to grow facial hair like junior Andrew Helfenstein, the build-up to the contest has been reassuring.

“I just get encouragement from teachers, like saying way to go and supporting the cause,” Helfenstein said.

In the course of the contest, an incentive was made to boost wristband sales. Teachers have volunteered to be shaved at the end of the contest period if 100 wristbands were sold. Mr. Sullivan and Mr. Abrams decided to participate in this; however, Mr. Abrams realized he had some mixed feelings about it.

“I’m not worried, I’m just scared I’m gonna have a fat face,” Abrams said. “That’s the thing that I’m most scared of is just a chubby chin

and jowls. I don’t want that.”

With the results in for the Medical Sciences competition, it turns out Mr. Abrams will soon have to adjust to a beardless life, but in a surprise announcement, those of the upper school can now grow out their facial hair without fear of referrals.

“We’ve been talking to students a lot with the dress code conversations and understand the struggle that exists with having to shave and how that affects people differently,” Mrs. Underwood said. “As a result we are not going to require guys to shave anymore. They still need to have neat, short, trimmed beards but shaving won’t be required by the school anymore. Oh, and no neckbeards.”

Junior Alan Henderson shows off the beard he grew out for No-Shave November. He received the best beard award.

Freshman Ella Grace Cornpropst smiles during the judging of the competition. Her french braid won her the best braid award.

Freshman Iris Delahoussaye dresses as Bellatrix from the “Harry Potter” series for the competition. Her commitment to the character with her wand and hairstyle won her the “most like a famous person/fictional character” award.

Upper School english teacher Mr. Zachary Adcock shows off his own beard before judging the competition. He spent the afternoon judging the students’ hairstyles.

Senior Paulina Hutchison creates her own beard with her long hair. This creativity charmed the judges who awarded her “best bun.”

Upper School chemistry teacher Mr. Ethan Sullivan proudly poses to show off his signature beard. He offered to shave his beard if 150 wristbands were sold.

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Left: Sophomore Velton Baggett showcases some of his original songs. Baggett performed three songs total, leaving the crowd hungry for more.

Right: Senior Danielle Chandler sings Amy Winehouse’s “You Know I’m No Good.” This was her first time performing at Coffee House.

Bottom: Sophomores Haley Lambert, Wes Smith, and Carsten Haddad sing “Baby” by Justin Bieber.

They nailed the song, even Ludacris’ section.

Serving Up Coffee and

Creativity

Photographs by Laura Beard

Annual Coffee House showcases student talent

By Spencer Cotham

F

or the past three years, right before St. George’s closes for Thanksgiving break, the high school students come to school to find their dining hall covered in string lights and beanbags.

Then, while holding mugs of hot chocolate and coffee, they watch as their peers perform at the annual Coffee House. Performances range from singing and playing instruments to students showcasing their original poetry.

Coffee House was started in the 2015-2016 school year by the Poetry Slam Club as a way to provide students an outlet to showcase their artistic talents.

Originally, Coffee House was a relatively small event, but as it grew, many students stepped out of their comfort zones and decided to perform. For junior Hanna Gilmore, performing at Coffee house last year was one of her first times performing in front of a large audience.

“Last year I was really nervous to perform,” Gilmore said, “because the last time I sang in front of a crowd was in fifth grade. But after doing it, I realized I enjoyed it, and it felt really empowering. I ended up joining the Modern

20 The Lodge

Music Ensemble because of it, and it made me want to come back and perform this year as well.”

Gilmore sang Billie Eilish’s famous song “idontwannabeyouanymore” while playing the piano and brought the house down with applause.

Performing in front of a crowd might seem daunting to some, but other students have no problem with putting themselves on a stage.

One of these students is sophomore Velton Baggett, who used turntables and self-written raps at Coffee House. Before he performed, Baggett was calm and collected.

“I’m not nervous at all because I’ve done this before,” Baggett said.

Most of the performers were not nervous about being on stage. Most of them had already performed at Coffee House or had experience performing in front of an audience. “I’m used to performing, so it’s not too scary,” senior and Modern Music Ensemble veteran Elianna Hills said.

There were some performers who did not have any previous experience, however, such as freshman Iris Delahoussaye.

“I’m most nervous about messing up, especially because it’s in front of all the students,” Delahoussaye said. “That’s what I’m most nervous about.”

Delahoussaye conquered her fears and put on a great show. Coffee House has proven to be a safe space for student performances since the audience is made up of students themselves.

Coffee House has become an outlet for students to showcase their skills that might be overlooked in a different environment. Students that perform are putting themselves out in the open and showing the community how much talent might be hidden under the surface.

Gilmore said that Coffee House helped her discover her love of performing.

“I didn’t really expect Coffee House to be something that I would enjoy when I performed last year, since I had never done it before. But after, I realized that being on-stage was something that I really enjoy, so I’m really glad I got out of my comfort zone.”

What started out as just an idea by a club has grown into a beloved tradition at St. George’s school year.

Editorial OPINION POLICY: The Lodge opinion section is a venue for the free expression of the student views at St. George’s Independent School. The opinions represented in this section are those of the authors alone and do not necesarily reflect those of the Lodge staff or of the St. George’s community at large. The Lodge strives to be an open forum for the thoughtful and deliberate exchange of comment and criticism and therefore welcomes letters to the editor. Letters to the editor will be printed in the opinion section of the newspaper, should not exceed 300 words and must be signed and accompanied by a verifiable email address. These letters will not be printed if the content is judged obscene, violates the privacy of others or encourages physical disruption of school activities.

STAFF EDITORIALS represent the opinion of the editorial board. The following count represents our editorial board’s stance on this editorial. Letters to the editor in response to the editorial are encouraged. The Editorial Board: Laura Beard, Emma Bennett, Kaitlyn Bowman, Will Brown, Evan Dorian, Andrew McDowell and Cary Robbins.

Agree: 7/7 Abstain: 0/7 Disagree: 0/7

The Spirit of the Season Finding a way to be grateful over the holidays

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he holiday season is depicted as a joyous time, with a break from school finally leaving you time to sleep in or catch up on your Netflix shows.

With winter comes a chance of snow due to dropping temperatures and longer nights. But as happy as parts of the season are, there seems to be a subtle sadness lying just beneath the facade of Christmas lights and decorations.

Serotonin is a neurotransmitter responsible for reducing depression and anxiety, so a decrease in serotonin leads to a higher chance of depression. As the sun drops below the horizon, people’s moods can fall as well.

For some people, winter is marked by celebration and time spent with family, but as Evan

Dorian’s “The Avalanche” in this issue explores, not everyone experiences holiday happiness to the same extent.

While a positive attitude cannot cure every sadness (and depression certainly requires outside help), it can be a way of staying emotionally grounded when the winter months begin to bring you down.

So look towards these coming months with a positive attitude in order to increase your chances of enjoying the season! Take time to appreciate the little things.

The smell of fires, the nip of cold in the air, warm tea in the evening, decorating a tree – all of these things make up the holiday experience. Let yourself feel the spirit of winter and enjoy it when you can.

If you’re a fall athlete, appreciate the fact that you no longer have to practice in 104-degree weather. If you’re a senior, appreciate the fact that you are almost done with applying to college. If you’re involved in theatre, appreciate the fact that the musical will be starting soon. If you struggled to keep up grades in the first semester, appreciate the fact that you get a fresh start in January.

There is always something to be grateful for, so focus on what is going well for you. Spend time with people you care about.

Whether you realize it or not, people care about you too. There are always people around you who can make things a little bit better.

Use your time on break to take care of yourself (check out Cary Robbins and Dean Campbell’s

“Exam Stress: Do’s and Don’ts” for tips that work even after exams are done), but also to take care of others. Realize that there are problems in the world outside of your own and use your extra free-time to try to solve them. Reconnect with old friends, make amends with estranged family members and give gifts to your loved ones.

You could even volunteer at a local charity – no one is too young to help others. Service is an important part of the human experience, and there’s no better time to take part than the holiday season.

Positivity is contagious, breeding both self-confidence and success. Remember that this holiday season.

CORRECTIONS AND RETRACTIONS: The Lodge strives for accuracy in all articles. However, mistakes are sometimes made. When this happens, you will see corrections here.

Issue 1, Cover: We neglected to credit junior Sierra Sellers for her illustration on the cover.

Issue 1, page 7: We listed Ms. Temiika Gipson’s title incorrectly. Her official title is Shelby County Circuit Court Clerk.

Issue 1, page 8-9: We neglected to credit senior Mimi Young and juniors Snowden Farnsworth and Maggie Emmendorfer for their work on “Newsgryphs’ guide to voting in the Tennessee midterms,” and a special thank you to the campaign of governor -elect Bill Lee for the use of a photograph of the candidate.

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Opinion Every year, many people in the nation partake in the annual custom of making New Year’s resolutions. These can include, but are not limited to, going to the gym, going on a diet or travel. Although it may seem like a light-hearted tradition, there are many controversies surrounding resolutions.

Some see it as a joyous holiday tradition, while others find it an unproductive waste of time.

The Time is Now

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By Callie Hollis

very year I make New Year’s resolutions.

Then, I either forget all about it, or I make a feeble attempt that peters out by the end of January. I’m sure most of the people reading this are familiar with this seasonal pattern.

According to U.S. News, only 20 percent of those who make New Year’s resolutions succeed. This statistic leads many people to believe that New Year’s resolutions are a waste of time.

But don’t lose hope! There are still benefits to making them, even if you don’t succeed. By figuring out what we are doing wrong, we can fix our mistakes.

Illustrations by Sierra Sellers

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One of the biggest mistakes in making a resolution is setting an unrealistic goal. People whose resolutions fail may also be making their goals too broad. In either case, people will not accomplish their goals without putting effort towards them first. People assume that simply setting a goal is good enough and do not put any more effort into achieving their resolution.

There is an obvious fallacy to this way of thinking. If you plant a seed but do not water it or provide optimal sunlight, how can you expect it to grow? This applies to making resolutions too. Without setting specific goals to follow in

order to achieve your resolution, it’s easy for people to push off what they want to accomplish, sometimes procrastinating until next New Year’s.

“Procrastination is one of the number one reasons resolutions fail,” Tim Pychl, psychologist at Carleton University in Ottawa, said in an article by Popular Science.

Yes, procrastination is an epidemic common across the nation. Don’t get me wrong, I procrastinate as much as the next person. Everyone procrastinates from time to time, but we all know that it’s better that we don’t. With either of these mistakes, failure is inevitable, leading to the incorrect conclusion that resolutions do not work.

Fear not, we can fix our mistakes together. If you want to accomplish your resolutions, you have to make sure you know everything about whatever it is you want to achieve, whether it is researching weight loss programs or setting and sticking to a budget.

According to the Miami Herald, making specific resolutions increases your chances of achieving them. If you set a goal to go to the gym more often, consider making the goal more explicit, such as going to the gym twice a week for three months. This encourages you to make a calendar, set reminders and keep up with your progress which will lead to success.

A key component to success is your attitude. According to a study by the American Psychological Association (APA), being optimistic increases confidence

and energy. Positive people are more successful because of their positive attitude. Having a positive attitude towards your resolutions can increase your success.

Another helpful component to resolution-making is getting your friends involved. According to John Norcross in an interview with National Public Radio (NPR), it is beneficial to tell your friends about your resolution. “Once you get into January, the willpower begins to slip and that’s when we start counting on other people,” Norcross said. Friends will help you stay committed to your goals, and you might even inspire them to join you.

When making a resolution, there are some important things to remember that will help your resolution be a success.

Make sure you identify what you want to achieve. Make it detailed and do not leave any loopholes.

Research how what you want to do might affect you and how long it will take to achieve what you want. If you want to grow out your hair, research how long that will take. If you want less acne, find out the best medicine to use and how much it will cost.

The New Year’s season is the best time to achieve your goals.

They aren’t pointless because they can be beneficial, even if you fail.

This year, try to get your friends involved with your resolutions and have fun with it. Start up your fireplaces, make some hot chocolate and make your resolutions a reality!

Opinion

It’s Time to Stop

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By Owen Hewitt ew Year’s for many signifies a fresh start. Maybe for you it’s a time you like to set a few goals for the new year. Maybe like 37 percent of Americans, according to a survey done by YouGov, you want to eat healthier or save some money.

And because the new year is a time for unbridled optimism, maybe you set these goals a little too high off of a whiff of the fresh wind of the new year. Or maybe you feel obligated to make them and rush through making them without thinking through the specific steps to meet those goals.

New Year’s resolutions have become a worthless cliché.

They’re something two-thirds of Americans say they’re setting, but in reality, according to Business Insider, 80 percent of those people either give up or forget about them

by February. Even past that, only eight percent actually get to a place where they feel like they’ve accomplished their goal. Setting yourself up for failure is never a good thing, especially when that failure has the opportunity to set a tone for the rest of the year.

The shoot-for-the-stars and land-on-the-moon argument for why making New Year’s resolutions isn’t detrimental is easily argued against, as the American Psychological Association (APA) says that failing resolutions in the first three months may increase anxiety. And failing early doesn’t just affect the beginning of the year. Reminders of failed resolutions can increase hopelessness in the fall and winter months, as

the arbitrary time for goal-setting re-approaches.

A major cornerstone of many schools’ educations is to not set students up for failure, but rather to put them in a position for success. If you’d prepare thoroughly for an assessment in school, then why would you rush through something used as a self-assessment? If you feel the need to make New Year’s resolutions, then they have to be well-thought-out goals that target a specific sector of your life that you view as an issue or something that could be improved.

It can also help to set goals in increments. Set little check-ins for yourself throughout the year, so instead of trying to clear a 50-foot wall in one leap, space out a few shorter hurdles that get taller and taller. It’s much easier to get back up from stumbling over a small hurdle than it is to get back up after running face-first into a giant wall.

The most important piece about making resolutions is to get back up. It’s one of many reasons that keeping a resolution set at the same time as two hundred and seventeen million other Americans is so difficult. When we’re failing, but the people around us are also failing, it makes us much more complacent with that failure and gives us a way to rationalize giving up. And while failure is okay and a part of human life, the goal is to not fail, but rather to improve, which is going to require some getting back up somewhere along the way.

New Year’s resolutions are hardly taken seriously anymore.

They’ve become a staple for standups and sitcoms like “The Office,” because to most of America, they’ve become a joke. If you’re serious about self-improvement, you shouldn’t wait until the very end of the year to set yourself unachievable goals just because everybody else does it. Anyone can set a goal for themselves any day of the week, month or year. If you see a change that can be made in your life, why wait until Jan. 1 to try to make it?

Self-improvement and care is something we should all strive toward. There is always room to grow, but it’s important that the

space is filled effectively and not just with empty words and promises. When those resolutions aren’t taken seriously anymore by the person that set them, that’s when they become detrimental to that person’s well being.

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