Huntley HS Voice Feb. 4, 2022

V the O I C E

February 4, Volume 25, Issue 8 Huntley High School

Meaning of Life

meaning of life

Together we aim to define the

Meaning

February 4 ISSUE 2022

of

LIFE Since 2007, The Voice has published a Meaning of Life issue every year inspired by Esquire magazine. We intend to showcase the unique lives and stories within the Huntley community.

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Meaning of Life

Maddie Amburgey

Interviewed By Kate Alvarado

cover designer \ resilient \ sophomore

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very kid draws. I’ve been doing it my whole life but I started to get more serious around middle school. Art was an expression of things I found interesting. Sometimes I would draw characters that I either made up or were from forms of media that I liked. It was a good way to get my [creativity] out.

I had a pretty good childhood. I didn’t have many friends at first, but along the way I found my place and met a lot of new people.

I was told that I really liked playing with toy trains. We had a big table and I really liked building the little blocks to push the trains through them.

My parents used to have this big chunky iPad and my neighbor and I played as many games as possible all day.

I remember not wanting to be friends with them because they were a year younger than me.

It was kind of weird going to high school and middle school before them and being without your best friend, but you get used to it.

An elementary school teacher told [a friend and me] that we should make comics together. At first I just thought it was a good idea, but we never did it. Then a few years later, [we] started making comics and realized we were doing what he told us to. I just remember that teacher being really important in my artistic birth.

I saw [the fliers] for the contest and I found it interesting because I’d never done an art contest before. I wanted to celebrate the new things at school, and the cafe was opening, so I incorporated that.

My friend was there and I thought it would be cool if I took a picture of her and used it as a reference. I spent a few days sketching and planning it out .

I went over it with multiple friends to find a good meaning that went with [the cover]. Then I worked for a few days with the lines, colors, and filtering that went on top.

After they sent out the winners, I had two emails but only read the first one. I was a little disappointed but I also didn’t think I was going to win.

Then when I read the second email, I was really surprised because it was something I didn’t even know about, but I still got something back.

When a new issue of The Voice comes out, I see it everywhere. It’s in everyone’s backpacks or I see people walking with it. I think it will be really cool to see people holding my art and having it around.

I have a few story ideas here and there that I haven’t done anything with. I want to take them seriously and revisit them when I have the resources. I hope to see them grow into something real.

I make little short stories and put them on the internet or share them with my friends. I use WebToon and Instagram @maddieleaf to post my work. Typically they have romance

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Photo By Jake Habel

but it’s mostly comedy.

Sometimes when I find little pieces of paper, I put them in my sketchbook next to my drawings. It’s really important to me to look back at them, even though my art wasn’t as good back then, and remember when I’ve been.

Whenever I’m worried or stressed, I tend to draw without thinking. Sometimes that can be a really good distraction. I find it hard to express my emotions at times, but we’re getting there.

I struggled with anxiety. It was pretty bad, but it’s been getting a lot better over the past few years. I learned to use a lot of personal methods to realize what makes me anxious.

I try to step away from it and rationalize that anxiety is just a feeling.

Oftentimes in high school people ask where you’re planning on going or what you’re going to do after high school.

That’s definitely something I worry about and have on my mind.

As far as a role model, I never really fixated myself on anyone specific. I was really independent and did things on my own.

Quick Facts Favorite painting \ Alone Together Favorite artist \ Ricky Montgomery Favorite song \ hours Favorite candy \ Kit-Kat Favorite animal \ dolphins

I want to travel the world and see it all, but I like that cities have a lot of movement and bright lights. It just feels very alive to me.

You need to accept the bad parts of yourself in order to embrace the good parts. It’s the only way to move forward.

At the end of the day you need to realize that, good or bad, they are a part of you. By recognizing that, you can be a better person and spread the good things.

True happiness is being at peace with where you are in life, how you view yourself, and how you view others. Just finding harmony in all aspects of your life.

Don’t be so hard on yourself. It just wastes energy when there are so many other things you can do with your time.

The meaning of life depends on the individual because there can’t be a single meaning that fits everyone. I think we’re meant to learn about ourselves and those around us.

To be happy, we have to discover new things and find our little place in the world that’s right for us.

HUNTLEYVOICE.COM

Meaning of Life Interviewed By

Emily Chong

Ruhi Gulati Photo By

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Jake Habel

optimistic \ tennis player \ junior

he most influential people in my life are my parents. They were born in South Korea and came here when they were nine and eleven, but had a difficult time adapting. They were so brave to come to a new country, especially when they did not know the language. My mom was poor and received threats because she did not know how to speak English.

Even though I think my problems are big, their [problems] were even larger, yet they did not complain. They just went along and persevered. I am so fortunate for everything they have done for me.

If I had 24 hours left to live, I would probably get a chocolate cake from Portillos. I would say bye to all of my family members. I would pick up Raising Canes and get chicken tenders and french fries. Those french fries are so good. I would probably also play tennis for the last time, just for the fun of it.

Quick Facts Favorite book \ Wonder Favorite artist \ Mariah Carey Favorite film \ A Dog’s Purpose Favorite candy \ Dove’s Chocolate Favorite animal \ Dogs If I could go back in time, I would go back to 2012 because this was the year my grandpa died. I would spend those last couple months with him. We were really close, but he lived in Michigan so we would not see him that much. I remember after a six hour long drive [to Michigan], he would hug us and take us to Target to buy our favorite books. He would also play games with us even though he was really old. He was the sweetest, and there was nothing he could have done wrong.

If I could live anywhere in the world, I would want to live in Pennsylvania because it is not only the safest place, but the housing is so cheap there.

My nickname from Kindergarten through first grade was Aera. Since my teachers could not pronounce it right, I begged my parents to switch back to Emily. I did not mind having a unique name, but it just bothered me when people could not pronounce it. People would make fun of me and say “Arie.” Now, I prefer Emily for people I am not close with, but I prefer Aera for people who have known me for a longer time.

On my sandwiches, I put ham, mayo, pickles, turkey, salami, and salt and pepper. I get them from Potbelly. I started February 4 ISSUE 2022

liking it at the beginning of tennis season because the portion is the perfect size, especially after you are done playing a match. It is easy to eat too, especially since they wrap it so nicely. I ate Potbelly’s at every tournament and then I would also get Potbelly’s for my tennis partner.

Advice I would give to freshmen is to join many clubs and activities, especially sports. I was really hesitant about joining tennis, but it was probably one of the best decisions I made in high school.

I met such amazing people, and they made me feel so welcome. Even as a freshman, they did not know me, but they still invited me to their parties or to sit with them on the bench. It is such a welcoming community, and they are all so sweet.

One song that I never skip is “All I want for Christmas.” If it is on, I will listen to it even in the summer.

The number one thing on my bucket list is to watch a pig swim in the ocean. I saw it on YouTube, and it looked so cool. I think you can ride them too. I think that would be a funny story to tell someone.

The craziest thing I have ever done was when I accidentally broke my sister’s arm. She was skipping down the stairs, and she missed a step. I tossed a shoe- a plastic high heel- down the stairs and the heel was facing up. She fell on top of it and punctured [her arm]. I feel really bad since she had a rod in her arm, but technically it was not my fault since she fell. Also, I was 4 years old.

The meaning of life is about making your trademark on the world. Everyone has a purpose in life. My purpose is to become an orthodontist because I had braces when I was younger, and I realized the big impact my orthodontist had on me and my confidence specifically. I want to be able to give that back to the kids, so my purpose is to help others achieve confidence through their smile. The first thing you see in a per-

Emily Chong is dedicated to helping others, and making others feel confident with who they are.

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Meaning of Life

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Meaning of Life

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Meaning of Life

John Kalas

Interviewed By Natalie VonderHeide

light-hearted \ challenging \ math teacher

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hen I was in high school, I asked one of my teachers ‘how do you know what to be when you grow up? Without hesitating, he said ‘it’s very simple, take a look at the people who are happy, and do what they are doing.’

Being in teaching for many years, I can get appreciation for the beauty of math that I didn’t necessarily perceive as a student. When I was graduating from high school I had no idea what I wanted to do, but I thought I might be an effective communicator and I knew I had to do something.

I felt like math was a natural area for me to go into. I guess I thought I had an aptitude for it.

I still don’t know what I want to be when I grow up and I’m being completely sincere. I have a few more years that I have to teach math in order to get a retirement benefit and then I want to do something else.

I’m the fifth of seven children and my dad was a police man, my mom stayed at home, [and] we had one income.

That’s a big family for a civil servant, so we didn’t have an awful amount of money. My dad couldn’t afford to have people fix the car, so he learned to do it himself. My normal growing up was you do it yourself. Why would you pay someone if you can do it yourself? I bought a house, and my wife thought it would be a good idea if we had a bigger deck out back because we just had this little concrete patio.

I’ve never built a deck before, but I asked around and then I built a deck. Our basement was unfinished, and we had a couple kids on the way, so I decided to finish the basement and build a space where they could eventually have a place to study. At the end of the day, electricity is not that complicated. Plumbing is not that complicated.

When I graduated from college, a friend of mine had some connections in Europe, so we went to Europe for six weeks, and I was in Germany, Spain, Italy, and France. About half of those places we had places to stay with people he knew and some of the places we

Photo By Grace Watt

stayed in the equivalent of a youth hostel.

One time, one of my former student’s family invited me to travel to Mexico for Christmas. I was his cross country coach and it turned out he was amazing at cross country. I also had him in class, and he wasn’t a particularly brilliant student but I would help him whenever he needed help.

This probably sounds really strange but I would go to his house sometimes to help him. His mom would always make me something to eat, and she was just so glad to have found somebody who is helping her son. Her son had this kind of personal growth because it gave him a lot of confidence once he was successful in cross country and that kind of spilled over into other area. He mistakenly attributed to me, [but] the truth is I was just in the right place at the right time, but that got me a trip to Mexico.

The big challenges I’ve had are very minor compared to what many people struggle with. Having said that, I think mental health has been a challenge for me. In the winter time, it is a difficult time for me. I have a lack of energy, lack of motivation, I tend not to see things very optimistically and I spend more time than I am comfortable with being

Quick Facts Favorite book \ A Canticle for Leibowitz Favorite artist \ Keith Jarrett Favorite film \ Captain America Favorite candy \ Almond Joy Favorite animal \ Dogs

negative. That’s something I was born with and it’s been a challenge sometimes more than other times.

We don’t get to decide what happens to us in life. We get to decide how we respond to that, so we each have a choice to make how we’re going to respond to something. I think the reason why we’re here is to make each other happy. I always try to do the best at what I’m doing. And I’m always amazed to meet people who don’t always try their best at what they’re doing. I’m talking about when I go shopping, I try to do the best job shopping I can.

When I’m driving home, I’m trying to be the best driver I can be. When I’m talking with my kids, I’m trying to be the best parent I can be. When I’m teaching, I work real hard John Kalas teaches math as he and try the best I can. And that’s all you can do is to try your best. So I don’t know, that’s kind of a salad of ideas in there, felt it was his of trying to be the best person you can be and having the calling after purpose of the reason we’re here is to try and make people graduating high happy.

school

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Meaning of Life

Interviewed By Serafina Druetta

Hailey Sarallo

Photo By

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Alexis Cobb

outgoing \ dancer \ senior

y biggest influence when I was younger was definitely Audrey Hepburn, but lately I havwe been more into high fashion. Devin Carlson is a really big influence of mine. She collabed with Marc Jacobs, who is my favorite designer. I think I just like how her style is very colorful, and I think that is very “me.”

My favorite brand is Marc Jacobs obviously, but he has a spin off brand called “Heaven.” They do collaborations with different stylists. I am also a big fan of Burberry. I cannot afford Burberry, but something about the pattern is really nice, and I love the way it looks. The stores I shop most are Urban Outfitters and Zara. I am a gold member at Urban and have like 400 coupons.

I am involved in the musicals at the school, and I am a dance captain. Outside of school, I dance two days a week for about four hours each day. I have danced since I was 2, so I just can’t stop.

My favorite and least favorite classes is AP Music Theory. I love music theory and when I do it in choir it is so easy, but when I do it in theory sometimes I just absorb what she is saying into nothing. I do not know where this information

Quick Facts Favorite book \ The Virgin Suicides Favorite artist \ Andy Warhol Favorite movie \ Wizard of Oz Favorite candy \ Nerds Favorite animal \ Rabbits

designers. I think you could take a lot of inspiration from that. Also, [I would love to go to] New York because New York is high fashion.

My mom just tells me all the time to not worry about what other people think ever and just to be me, and I think I do a pretty decent job at that.

Sometimes, I feel like some of the stuff I wear is definitely absurd, but [my mom] always just tells me to not care about what anyone thinks and just be yourself because in the end that is all that matters. Your opinion is the only thing that is important.

In my free time, I read. I love to read. I [also] play the Sims. Sometimes, I will bring my laptop to school because I have third period off, and I will sit in a booth and play the Sims. The family that I have been playing is on the third generation. It’s really bad.

If I wanted to go shopping and wanted to save money, going to the mall would be better because I would not have to pay the shipping fees.

I love online shopping. Something about the mall is different to me. I just never go to the mall. I am always online shopping. I have all of the apps for the stores that I like. I will be in school, and I put like 20 items in my bag at Urban but can’t buy any of [them].

I think the meaning of life is to be yourself and do not let anyone tell you to do otherwise. Individuality is what makes us ourselves, and we are perfect that way.

For Sarallo, the meaning of life is about individuality. Her mom always reminds her to not care what others think and to just be herself.

went, but it is just gone.

I gain joy in life from my dog Olive. It is a stupid answer, but its true. I love her so much. Also, my friends and my family. I love making other people happy and that is probably my favorite thing. I get the most joy from seeing joy in other people and doing anything to make the people I love happy.

If I could travel back in time, I [would go to] the ‘60s, so I could put aside the racism. I could go to the protests and march in the Civil Rights movement, but I [also] think that the fashion in the ‘60s is so cool. If not the 60s, I would probably go to the early ‘70s because they are similar. I just love the mod and the big eye looks.

If I could be a fashion designer in any country, it would be Italy. I am Italian, and that is very important to me. I would just love to go to Italy. I think it would be so cool, and you would be surrounded by all of the other important February 4 ISSUE 2022

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Meaning of Life

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Meaning of Life Interviewed By

Cadence Niccum

Hailee McQueen Photo By

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spumky \ dancer \ teacher

Maritza Vazquez

’m the director of orchesis here at Huntley. I teach at two different dance studios. I coach at another school.

And I’m also the choreographer for the spring musical.

I’ve danced my entire life, almost 23 years. I’m very close with my family and always like to have a lot of major influences in my life, especially those who are my dance teachers, which I think is why I chose the career that I chose.

As a two time cancer survivor on top of that, that’s also had quite a huge impact on my personal professional life.

Contemporary and hip hop would be my favorite. I love dancing to and choreographing contemporary. But the things that I love to teach tend to vary even more.

I take my job as an educator very seriously. I work really hard to not only teach my students, but share and inspire my students. I hope to give some type of knowledge out there that will inspire students, whether it’s with dance, or if it’s just to pursue something else that they’re really interested in so that they’re extremely successful.

Quick Facts Favorite choreographer \ Travis Wall Favorite artist \ Adele Favorite dance style \ Hip Hop Favorite candy \ Twix Favorite animal \ Cat An embarrasing moment was falling in front of all my students, and telling them I was not going back on skates.

Also, in college, I was going up the stairs to go to the dining center, I tripped, fell on the steps, and I started to slide down them. When I went to get up I started climbing the stairs, and I tripped and fell again. Everybody just started laughing at me.

Beating cancer twice is probably my biggest accomplishment. I’ve gained perseverance and strength from that experience.

I started dancing when I was two and I trained in all different genres. Tap, jazz, ballet, hip-hop, lyrical, modern, and musical theater.

I started off dancing recreationally. As time went on I became a competitive dancer for studios, and then continued to dance throughout college. I’ve pretty much immersed myself in dance.

I am the person I am today because of dance and all of those people who played a role in my dance career including my students.

February 4 ISSUE 2022

For me to be able to shed light on it, to try and have a positive impact on those whose lives have been impacted by cancer meant a lot to me.

To have students recognize all of that and have a day where we just, we focus on all that was awesome. I hope that we can continue even if it’s not that specifically, but we can continue other events and fundraisers such as that.

Dance has always actually been my escape for that. It’s been difficult actually, because I can’t even find the time to really use that as like my stress reliever. That’s why when we are in class, and we do get our dance days, I’m thrilled to be there. I want to dance with my students, because it’s a great way for me to just kind of decompress. You find new ways of expression through.

I was performing in college during band day, which is this huge band competition that Illinois State holds. I was performing for redline with the big red marching machine, and I blanked out in the middle of the dance. I was in the completely wrong spot. It was just super embarrassing because the audience knew that person’s not supposed to just be running in the middle of the circle.

The first time I was diagnosed I kept as much normalcy as possible. I was still going to school and technically a full time student. I was keeping some type of dance part of my routine definitely helped to get me through it.

The second time was much harder, not only the treatment, and what all that entailed, but also my body changed a lot. That’s a really hard thing to go through.

My support system was definitely the thing that got me through it all. Looking forward to the future, and how things would be better, or how it could be different. I didn’t realize all the things I was going to learn from an experience like that, because I was so sad and upset at the moment. But there’s a lot of things that I learned.

My mom is a huge role model for me. She’s a single mom, she’s very independent, and hardworking. And that’s something that I’ve wanted, like, I just wanted to be her when I was younger. And I still strive to be that, you know, strong, independent woman that I see my mother be every day still.

I’d love to be in Newsies. Newsies would be fun. It has so much dancing. It’s so impressive. It’s amazing. It’s a lot.

It’s just very entertaining to watch, especially from a dancer’s point of view.

I think the meaning of life can be whatever you want it to be. I think it’s not the same for everyone and I don’t think it should be the same for everyone. I think it’s something that is unique to your person. Whatever makes you feel happy, successful, and makes you you.

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Meaning of Life

Cadence Niccum finds comfort and joy in the art of dance, and uses it to get her through life.

Cadence Niccum -

“Looking forward to the future, and how things would be better, or how it could be different.”

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Meaning of Life

Interviewed By

Colby Aschenbach

Luma Acevedo Photo By

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Jake Habel

energetic \ baseball player \ sophomore

rowing up, I moved a lot because my parents got divorced. After that, my mom got remarried, so we have been all around the McHenry County area.

There is not much else other than that.

I am very close with my family. For birthdays, we always get something to eat that they love.

I have two sisters. One of them is 17, turning 18 soon.

Her name is Kenzie, and the other one is 7 years old; her name is Harper. I have both my parents and two step parents. My dad’s name is Nate and my step mom’s name is Melissa. My mom’s name is Kimberly and my step dad’s name is Adam. I live with my mom, my step dad, my sisters, and our two dogs.

I play baseball outside of school and for the school. When I am not playing baseball, I like being with my friends and family.

I believe in God because I have had a lot of situations where I did not think I would make it out. There was a time at Thanksgiving where something happened, and I was just scared, but I made it out. The rest of my family was safe.

Quick Facts Favorite book \ Longest Yard Favorite artist \ Luke Combs Favorite song \ Hangover Favorite candy \ Kit-Kats Favorite animal \ Dogs My favorite memories growing up were vacations with my family, going on trips for baseball, and hanging out with friends.

Having a pacemaker has affected me because it restricts me from playing sports that I want to play. I cannott play contact sports like football, lacrosse, hockey, and any of those sports. I have always wanted to play football, so I guess it has restricted me a little on what I can and cannot do.

I got the pacemaker when I was 13 months old. I went to the doctor pretty regularly, and then it started slowing down to twice a year. Then, when I turned five or six, it was once a year. At seven, I had another seizure because the wires from the pacemaker that connect to my heart ripped out of my heart. After, I had to have another surgery to get a new pacemaker put in.

Ever since then, I only go to the doctor once a year because I do not need it as much anymore. A pacemaker is basically an AV machine that when your heart goes off rhythm February 4 ISSUE 2022

or beats off rhythm it shocks it back into rhythm. It shocks it to go back to normal.

My doctor thinks I am getting to the point where I might not need the pacemaker anymore because the last time I went to my checkup, he turned part of it off. There are different parts to it. There are two wire that go into your heart, so they put wires through your veins into your heart. Those two wires do something different, and there is more stuff connected to it, so you can turn part of it off.

The biggest personal change I have made is probably not being as shy and talking to more people. Most of middle school I was really shy and then towards the end of middle school, I started talking to more people.

I have two heroes: my parents. They help me with a ton of stuff, and they are always there for me when I need them.

My favorite subject in school is math and my least favorite is English. Math is my favorite because it definitely comes easy to me. English is my least favorite because I do not like reading.

I am just always happy when I am with my friends. It is always a good time; it is always happy and fun. I have a group of friends - there are some friends outside of it - but it is really just a big group of friends.

I would tell my younger self to always be there for people. You never know when people are going through something, or when they need someone. Always make sure you are there when they need you. During thanksgiving, when I went through something hard, I needed someone to talk about it with, [and] my friends were there [to] just talk to.

The meaning of life is to leave your past behind. You never know what will happen in the future, but you know what happened in the past and can leave that behind. Just move on to the next thing.

Since he was a baby, Aschenbach has lived with a pacemaker in order to keep his heart beating and keep him alive. His life experiences have taught him that the meaning of life is to leave the past behind and to keep on moving to the next thing.

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Meaning of Life

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Meaning of Life

Zak reflects on the meaning of life for her: getting to Heaven by being kind to others.

Olivia Zak “My mantra is always if I can touch one person with this show or with my work, then I am good.”

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Meaning of Life

Olivia Zak

Interviewed By Molly Balmes Photo By

creative \ actress \ junior

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he best advice I have ever gotten was the phrase “not if, but when I make a mistake.” My vocal teacher told me that. That one really stuck with me because I am always really nervous about making mistakes and messing up. I am such a perfectionist but having that idea of “if I make a mistake here” and thinking instead “when I make a mistake” took some weight off of my shoulders knowing I will not be perfect all of the time. I will make mistakes.

Between dogs or cats, if I had to pick, I would say I am more of a cat person because they’re more chill. Dogs are too crazy for me.

I would want to live in the ‘80s, ‘90s, or up through the 2000s because I love the style, and I feel like technology was not too advanced yet. [Not everyone was] addicted to their phones. Cell phones still existed, so you did not have to write letters and ride on a horse, but [people did not] have all of these smartphones, computers, and Instagram.

Also, I like their clothes, and I feel like it was a simpler time.

I do believe in God because so many things happen [that] to me it is not a coincidence. It is God; it is the Holy Spirit doing things. There has just been so many things in my life, and I see God in people. He has worked [me] through so many hard times, and He has made me stronger.

I would want to live in Italy because I am Italian, and I have never been there, and I think it is really cool. You [can] ride on boats. How cool is that? Your street is [the] water. I just love the Italian colors, culture, food, music, and language, so I think living in Italy would be really cool.

The happiest moment of my life is technically many moments but any time I get off stage. Every single time I walk off of that stage, whether the scene is over or after curtain call, I walk out to my family. That is always the happiest I am in my life. The amount of adrenaline [in my body is so high], and I love what I do so much. I take so much pride in the shows, so walking out and seeing people means a lot.

My mantra is always if I can touch one person with this show or with my work, then I am good. Even just walking out and people telling me I did a great job, I feel so warm after I get offstage and I’m walking out. I always cry, even if it’s just opening night because it’s the most fun.

I do not have a collection of something, but I keep my playbills from shows if you could call that a collection.

My greatest achievement so far is probably giving the eighth grade promotion speech. I think that really set me up for change. That was a big, pivotal moment in my life because it kind of showed me things and helped me grow into who I am. [It helped] how I stick up for myself and my confidence.

I would have never guessed that fourth grade me, who was having panic attacks in the bathroom all the time, would be able to stand up there in front of 3,000 people and

February 4 ISSUE 2022

Jake Habel

speak something with my own words. Writing the speech was a whole experience, so it was definitely a pivotal moment in my life.

If I could choose one thing to change about the world, I would change a little bit of society and how sensitive everyone is to everything. People are so offended by everything now. [Also,] I would definitely get rid of social media.

That is my number one. I just feel that [social media] is so inconvenient to society, and the cons definitely outweigh the pros in my mind.

One of my fondest memories was when my extended family would come over, and we would have pool parties in the summer. We would have chicken fights with all of the cousins. Since I was the smallest, I would be put on my brothers’ or someone’s shoulders, and I would get thrown around the pool. Anytime, someone could just pick me up and chuck me across the pool. I don’t know why that’s fond, but it’s a fun memory.

If I could have dinner with five people, I would start with Sebastian Stan because I adore [him] and Tom Hiddleston

Quick Facts Favorite book \ Enola Holmes Favorite artist \ ABBA Favorite film \ Tangled Favorite candy \ Gummy bears Favorite animal \ Dolphin for the exact same reason. I would [also] pick Elton John. [and] someone from The Beatles. I can’t pick one. This is going to be a chaotic dinner party. This last one throws me off; I want to say George Washington. Again, [it is a] chaotic group.

I would pick two actors, [so] I can learn from them. I adore their work. [I would pick] two singers who I think are incredible vocalists, write amazing songs, and have so much musical talent. Then, [I would pick] George Washington because I want to know what was going on back then. I want to know what happened in that history. I want Hamilton stories from George Washington. [I am] not 100% confident on the last one, but I think it would be funny. I also think it would be so funny to observe all of those conversations.

The meaning of life is to get to Heaven. To get to Heaven, [you should] be kind to others and be kind to yourself. Enjoy [these] moments because you never know when it’s going to be your last. I could only have 24 hours, so truly just serving others, being kind to yourself, making other people happy, and you will make yourself happy by doing this.

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Meaning of Life

Jazmine Tinajero

Interviewed By Jay Thompson

hardworking \ big sister \ freshman

M

y favorite place I have been to is my grandparent’s house in Waukegan because I used to live there, and I built most of my culture and community there.

Burrito is my favorite Mexican restaurant because it is not like taco bell where they sell fake Mexican food, but it is actually very authentic.

Prince Royce is my favorite artist because he is a Hispanic artist, and I can relate very well to his music.

My favorite show is “Grand Army” because it shows diversity in culture, and I can actually relate it in real life.

My quarantine habit is playing video games, and I got very deep into gaming during that time period. It also helped me deal with my depression at the time.

My parents never married. My mom was in America when I was younger but then she was deported back to Mexico.

My dad and grandmother on my mom’s side raised me.

I was born in Chicago, and I lived there until I was in kindergarten. Then, I moved to Waukegan to live with my grandfather on my dad’s side in fourth grade. Then, I moved to Huntley in sixth grade to live with my dad.

The oldest sibling I have is my half-sister, Bianca Tinajero, who is 18. We both have the same dad but different moms.

Then, there is the second oldest, my other half-sister Tamia Salinas, who is 16. I grew up with her, and we have the same mom but different dads. My half-brother, Christopher Tinajero, is 15 and lives in Chicago with his mom, but we have

Photo By Maritza Vazquez

the same dad. Then, there is my biological sister, Alyssa, who is 7 years old. She grew up with me as well.

I live at my dad’s house with my older half-sister Tamia and my younger sister Alyssa. I do bounce from house to house to live at my grandmother’s on my mom’s side and at that house, I live with my cousins, uncles, and aunts.

I just recently met my dad’s side of the family from Mexico, and they seem really fun.

I am not very involved in clubs and sports within the school because I try to focus more on my school work when I am in school. Outside of school, I am a very big gamer, and I love to play games like Call of Duty Cold War and Fortnite.

Another [hobby] I do outside of school is make and sell Mexican candy to my neighbors with my older sister, Tamia, in my free time.

My favorite subject in school is Spanish because it brings me closer to my culture, and it gives me a chance to meet new people in my ethnicity as well and speak to them in my native language.

I am a believer in God. I am also a Catholic and grew up in the church.

Quick Facts Favorite book \ Chi’s Sweet Home Favorite artist \ Prince Royce Favorite film \ Blended Favorite candy \ Pelon Pelo Rico Favorite animal \ Panda

Tinajero believes the meaning of life is a journey.

Between having a large family and embracing her culture, she works hard for the life she dreams of.

I collect a lot of things, beginning with crystals because I only want positive energy in my life. By collecting these items, I feel like I am claiming that energy. I also collect stuffed animals just because they are cute, and I collect Japanese items as well because I love their culture and I hope to go there one day.

If I could have dinner with any two people in the world, one would be my mother just because I would like to get to know her more and have an actual relationship with her. The other [person I would want] to have dinner would be with Doja Cat because she is fine.

The meaning of life in my eyes is seen as a journey. It has not been easy. I have experienced more hardships than others, but I still continue to be strong and hope for the future ahead of me, and I want to work hard for the life I dream of.

February 4 ISSUE 2022

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Meaning of Life Interviewed By

Courtney Fulton

Rae Habel Photo By

I

thoughtful \ resilient \ teacher

Maritza Vazquez

n high school people nicknamed me Kip which was a reference to my old last name.

I have a brother and a sister. My sister is two years younger than me and she’s a dean at Jacobs high school. She also lives in my subdivision! My brother is seven years younger than me and lives in Ohio.

This is my first year here being a Red Raider and I’m loving it. I’m just starting to get my feet wet and am testing out the waters here at the highschool. I used to coach boys basketball and track when I was over at Heineman.

My time is dedicated towards my kids. My daughter, she’s a fourth grader at Leggee and she’s a competitive gymnast for Hugs Gymnastics. So I’m traveling all over for her meets. My son is a kindergartner at Leggee and he’s all about football right now.

I was born in Davenport, Iowa which is about two and a half hours west of here, and also in the Quad Cities. Then when I was about five, my dad’s job for UPS relocated him and so I grew up in an area in Illinois about half an hour away from here.

they fall.

I would never change my career, but I always had an underlying want to be an undercover police officer.

I don’t collect much because I don’t like clutter in my house. But my kids have now started collecting things anytime we go on vacation. They collect certain shells that are found on different beaches, so I’m excited to help them with that.

Growing up, my favorite cartoon character was a Tasmanian devil. I have no idea why but I always got him on my folders and things for school. My friends would draw me pictures or stickers and it would always be of the Tasmanian devil.

It sounds so cliche but my friendships that I have made, especially in high school, are who I share my fondest memories with. The reason why is because we’re still friends to this day, and a big group of us every three years travel to a different location for vacation. When I’m with them we reminisce on all the positives and gather some of our fondest memories.

A great memory I have was when I played high school basketball and I had the opportunity to play an all star game and I got to meet Brian Urlacher. It was awesome!

There’s so many things right now that I would like to Favorite book \ Mine- Then she was gone change about the world, but out of them all I would have to pick social media. It’s tearing friendships and families apart Favorite artist \ Riley Green and I think it’s because of the views that are being shown on Favorite film \ Greatest Showman social media.

Favorite candy \ Snickers I wish social media had some sort of filter where only positive things could happen because I think that might Favorite animal \ Any soft animal help with mental illness.

If I could choose any superpower, it would definitely be I went to Rockford University, and lived in Rockford for teleportation. four years. I didn’t really come home a whole lot. Me and my If I could have dinner with anyone living or dead, one of now husband met in college, he played football there and I them would definitely be my grandpa. He passed away and played basketball and soccer. He then went on to pharmacy the last time I saw him was Feb. 14 when he came to my colschool. lege basketball game. I would want to have dinner with him because he had a big impact on my life, he was very work For a happy marriage you need to be able to listen to driven and was always friends with everybody. I would also each other and admit your faults and always find a way to laugh and have fun in life. Another important factor is leavlove for him to meet his grandkids. ing your work life at work and when you are home you focus My grandpa was a huge Cardinals fan. I wish he could have seen their new stadium. on your family and kids.

Growing up I always played school with my siblings and I will always live by the mottos “there is always room for improvement,” “today is a new day,” and “never ever give friends, I think at that point is when I knew I wanted to be a teacher. It was also the fact that people spend most of their up. life in school and it was easy for me to make a connection The meaning of life to me is living life to the fullest. You only live once, so do what you can to make you and your to it. family happy. It is also important to note that there are goI also had great relationships with my teachers, which is ing to be some disappointments in life and that’s okay, you what I wanted for other students. It is important to me that just have to find all the positives you can. they make that connection. I want to see them strive and succeed. I will always be there to pick up my students when

Quick Facts

February 4 ISSUE 2022

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Meaning of Life

The meaning of life is living life to the fullest because you only get to live once.

Courtney Fulton -

“[My grandpa] had a big impact on my life, he was very work driven and was always friends with everybody”

February 4 ISSUE 2022

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Meaning of Life

Interviewed By Maggie Photo Kirwin provided by

I

Lindsey Leigh

Lindsey Leigh

adventurer \ student \ first year

f I could live anywhere in the world, I would live here in London. It’s easy with the language, there aren’t really any barriers, and then there’s a bunch of easy access to a bunch of other places if you want to travel [cheaply]. I almost booked a ticket to Prague the other day [because] it was 10 pounds there and back, but I had to book a PCR test if I wanted to do that and it was about 50 pounds. The culture [here] is really nice and I like the hustle and bustle of the city, but I’ve never felt unsafe. I like the vibe, I like the business, and you’re never bored. With my career choices, it’s more exciting to be in one of the top five fashion cities in the world.

I am currently studying Fashion Marketing with Styling at Regents University London. I love the creative opportunities within the industry, but I knew I wanted to be more on the business end rather than design. I had to reapply to schools in April because the school I had committed to did not have any fashion related courses, so as you could imagine that was very stressful.

London because it’s not all the same [through] the city. You turn and there’s like a different area. We walked around the South Bank for a while, which is my favorite part. We walked around [the museum] for a while, and then down South Bank and got food at a Greek restaurant. [After] we just walked along the South Bank and took our time.

The biggest difference between American and European universities is that here we don’t have tests or quizzes, and we don’t really have homework. It’s nice though, because there are some tasks you can do along the way, but they don’t count towards your grade. A task is like homework. There’s only a couple of them, but it’s nice because you’re not stressing about a test or upcoming quiz or trying to get more done just to get it done by the due date. You can actually take in all the information you learn and focus, you’re not stressed, you’re just trying to take it all and then apply it to a project rather than [be] put under so much pressure to do a test in one day or one class hour.

In ten years, I’d like to have a job in the fashion business.

I know I want to live in the city, whether that be here or if I move back to the U.S. There are so many opportunities in London and I think, with me going to [school in the city], I’d like to start my career here. I’ll be working in London and Favorite film \ “Hercules” doing internships and things like that first while I’m going to school. So we’ll start here, and let’s see what happens.

Favorite food \ Sushi My bucket list vacation would be hiking in Patagonia Favorite artist \ Van Gogh which is in both Chile and Argentina. My brother and I have Favorite candy \ Sour Patch Kids talked about going on the Trans Siberian Railway [and] taking it from one side to the other. Personally, I like more Favorite animal \ Flamingo adventurous or historical trips rather than sitting on a beach.

The meaning of Outside of school I love exploring [London]. Even life, to me, is a period though I’ve already been here for almost four months, there of time in which you is still so much more to see and do. That’s one thing about have the opportunity being in a big city is you never really get bored. to explore and find I realized I wanted to attend an international school what you’re capable because I saw a TikTok of a girl from the U.S. [who] was of. Maximize your time talking about how she did it. She was talking about her exhere. Do everything periences here, and then I was like, what if I went to school you can and live your in London? [I] then watched more of her videos and started life to the fullest. You doing my own research. Then one day, I just walked into shouldn’t put so much my mom’s home office and said, “what if I went to school in pressure on reaching London, or the UK?” And that’s where it started. It was funny, your life purpose, one of my friends that I live with now saw the same TikTok, because if you focus so it was funny how both of our journeys started from that, too much on that you and then we ended up here together. won’t be able to live My favorite memory so far from living in London was in the now. [when] my friend Grace and I had to go to a museum for Lindsey Leigh’s life school called the Fashion and Textile Museum. We walked in London is filled all the way there and it was almost a two hour walk. It was really nice because we got to see a bunch of new parts of with adventure.

Quick Facts

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Meaning of Life

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Meaning of Life

Interviewed By

Erik Lachel

Samantha Webb Photo By Maritza Vazquez

dedicated \ father \ teacher

W

ith my teaching job, I don’t talk much about myself. My mother’s side resided in New Jersey and then eventually moved to Chicago; my mom then moved to Roselle. Half of the paternal side of my family settled in Illinois, the other half settled in Wisconsin. Eventually they moved from Chicago to Roselle. I grew up in Roselle for most of my life and I spent maybe three years in West Chicago as a kid.

The people that are important to me are my wife, Jennifer. She’s my rock. We traveled to Morocco, where I proposed. She’s pretty much my better half. Then I have my two boys, Liam and Evan. Evan’s awesome. Liam’s the hammer. He has a lot of the ADHD qualities that I have. We’re a collective unit and we spend a lot of time together. My father passed away. My mother is here, still in Roselle. My wife’s parents live in Hennepin. Falling out with my mom has caused me to be closer with the in-laws.

One of my fondest memories also involves my family, and I had been working at a chophouse. White-coated workers, coverings on the table, and nice wine. The whole 9-yards. I was doing the high end banquets there and made like $6,700 just in the month of December.

Quick Facts Favorite book \ Guns, Germs, and Steel Favorite artist \ Salvador Dali Favorite song \ Hours - again&again Favorite film \ Life Is Beautiful Favorite animal \ Siberian Tiger My dad was sick and you know, I just didn’t know how long we had together. The following year, I took the family to Hawaii. So, when my dad got sick, we really couldn’t afford to do anything. We were surfing, my dad was bodyboarding and we snorkeled. My dad and I were like 2 peas in a pod. In fact, the pictures we took, I still cherish.

A great deal of advice came from my dad. He told me to live the life I love and love the life I live. And if you find a job that you love, you’ll never work a day in your life. And I think I’ve done both. And I’ve tried to do both.

When I come here, to school, besides the struggles with the last two years because of COVID-19 and kids being remote, you know, I truly love my job. This is a house of sermons for me. I get to come in here and try to make better people when they leave, not just about learning but how to just be a better human being. So just appreciate the people that are in your life. Always be willing to listen to them.

February 4 ISSUE 2022

To be honest, there are days that I want to throw in the towel and don’t even know how I’m going to get to work and do it. Some days it’s just so tough to put a smile on my face and come to work, but I do.

I chose to be a teacher because I always had a passion for history when I was a kid, a social science mind. I think kids tend to gravitate towards certain things because of the way their minds work. I really enjoyed teaching anthropology and I created the anthropology course at HHS. When teaching traditionally, I started giving kids a lot of freedom. They would eventually be able to create lessons, essays, artifacts, etc. then the kids would present them and they would teach each other and I would just facilitate. They were working towards mastery of these things.

I want students to master their skills and show growth.

My own maturation is based on my students and being able to adapt to that and then the environment and the world that’s around us.

I am “feature worthy” because kids gravitate to me and they really like who I am because I always treat them with sincere honesty. It always goes back to sincere honesty. I treat all my students like my children, and it’s tough love sometimes, but I’m always honest.

I think every teacher is worthy of being featured. And I mean that because we give ourselves up to the next generation like we are always trying to better the collective whole society.

That’s why we do this job, we did it because we like to help people and we want to make society better as a collective whole.

We think changing and helping better the next generation is a worthy cause which is why I will treat you like an adult unless you give me a reason not to. And therefore, any person in this building is worthy of having a feature.

So, you have to admit. Teachers are the foundation for the next generation.

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Erik Lachel’s meaning of life revolves around guiding a new generation.

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Meaning of Life

Joi DeLeon

Interviewed By Ally Panzloff Photo By

outspoken \ cultured \ junior

M

y favorite subject is probably math, like Algebra. Numbers don’t lie.

The best thing about music is how every lyric can be taken differently to different people. You can interpret it however you want.

If I could live anywhere, I’d live in Italy. I just love the culture and the old architecture. The lifestyle is nice too, you walk everywhere in Europe. We don’t even have a lot of sidewalks here.

To be a good friend, you have to spend time with people.

If you aren’t with them, you kind of lose that bond over time.

Being a mixed kid is hard. It’s like “To Kill a Mockingbird” sometimes, you can’t go with the white kids but can’t go with the black kids. It feels like a constant identity crisis.

This area makes being mixed hard. In my opinion, it’s not diverse enough and there’s not a lot of people who relate to my culture. But that’s also cool because I feel like I look super unique. People ask, ‘what is she?’

My first words were in Tagalog, which is the Filipino dialect my family speaks. I speak English, and I can also speak Spanish, but it’s like Puerto-Rican spanglish. I can understand it all though.

If I had a million dollars, I would travel. I want to go to the Philippines, Puerto Rico, Italy, Colorado, Florida, and NYC. I’m not the type of person to run to God when bad things happen. I know most people in my culture do that, and honestly I probably don’t because I am so Americanized. I haven’t lost my faith, it’s just not the first thing I think about. Church as a kid gave me routine. I’d only go on Sunday mornings, but after I’d get to do whatever I wanted.

My godparents would take me to Claire’s or whatever I felt like. It was just like a good kickoff to my Sundays.

When I was little, we’d have huge family parties, minimum 50 people. We’d eat meat, noodles, soups, and tons of rice. There was always lots of rice.

Joi DeLeon’s believes her meaning of life is to be empowered by her culture.

February 4 ISSUE 2022

Amanda Hoglind

On New Year’s Eve, we’d go to my aunt’s house and play this game where everyone would contribute cash. Then my grandmother would crawl up into the loft and throw money down. It would start brawls, but it was actually celebrating a year of wealth and prosperity.

I feel like the media really focuses on Caucasian beauty features. And I’m proud of how I look because it shows my heritage and I pull it off, but sometimes I want to look like them too. But if I didn’t look like me, I’d be sad. I guess you always want what you can never have.

I realized I was different when I started school. I’d think to myself ‘there’s so many white people, where are the people of color?’ They don’t eat what I eat, or do what I do.

Their parents probably don’t do the same things my parents do. I feel like it’s my job to introduce people to my culture.

I take pride in my culture. I have Puerto Rican and Philippine flags in my rooms. I listen to Filipino music, like Leia Salonga, and Puerto Rican music like Gary Valenciano.

If I could tell the world one thing, it’d be to pay it forward. Karma is very real.

Quick Facts Favorite book \ Looking for Alaska Favorite artist \ Drake Favorite film \ Breakfast at Tiffany’s Favorite candy \ Dark Chocolate Favorite animal \ Wolf

In elementary school, I was really embarrassed of the littlest things. I was just over-observant of myself. I’ve learned to laugh at myself because you really can’t enjoy life if you can’t laugh at yourself.

American schools need to swallow their pride and just take after the motherland. UK schools are way better in my opinion, and we should use their methods.

If I could give incoming freshman advice, it would be to walk on the right side of the hallway and walk fast. Not like a tortoise pace, like the Flash. Also, don’t be so loud. You’ll find your friends eventually, I promise. You just got to take a chill pill and relax, because you’ve got four more years here.

I’m proud of the advice I give. I think I’m a good listener, so I just give a heartfelt response. The feedback is good, so I guess I’m right.

My biggest personal change was when I stopped eating red meat in seventh grade. I felt so much lighter and less sluggish once I stopped.

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Meaning of Life

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Meaning of Life

Junior Grace Swift preapres to graduate from Huntley High School at age 16.

Grace Swift “I think at the end of the day we all need to put effort into making some sort of impact on the world.”

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Meaning of Life

Grace Swift

Interviewed By Nikki Darnall Photo By

loving \ academic \ junior

W

hen we built our house in Huntley, my dad had his car wash to run, so we stayed at our house back in Nevada. I remember a good chunk of my life where every single one of my birthdays was spent in Nevada.

My mom gave [my brother and I] the option in kindergarten to go half day for as long as we wanted and then at a certain point she would have us go full day to get us ready for first grade. I decided to switch over with the words ‘I need a change of scenery’... I was 5.

I literally wrote a whole essay during the first semester in my English class, it was our college essay, about my academic downfall and then how I got back up to my standards now. I finally started prioritizing the actual important things in life instead of having an obsession with school. I have such a healthy relationship with my grades now.

One thing I am involved in at school are the fashion classes. I have taken every one the high school offers. I am currently taking Industrial Sewing, which is it’s first time running. I have my own machine at home, and I would like to say I can make some pretty cool stuff. I make lots of tote bags, which is super fun.

Graduating early was a last second thing for me. I think a month or two into first semester I was like ‘oh shoot I meant to talk to my counselor about graduating early’.

I took three high school classes in eighth grade, I was re-ally on that honors track to graduate early. I have just taken a normal class load, never taken a study hall, or given up a lunch period.

My plan is to go to MCC for the first year online, because I will save some money there, and I will be graduating high school at 16, because I have a summer birthday, so I will only be 17 when I start at MCC. I’ve come to expect really high standards for relationships based on my dad, and how my mom and I raised my brother.

My dad could be so tired after work and sitting on the couch, I would say ‘man I could really go for a bagel right now’, and he would just get up and make one right away, even if you could tell he doesn’t want to. I feel like everyone spoils me a little bit in my life, so I have come to have a higher standard of treatment from guys.

If I were to tell the world one thing, I think it would be to just love each other. I think if we were to all truly love each other, not necessarily in a deep way, but just have the mindset that ‘I’m going to be nice to other human beings’. I think just by reminding people to be kind, that would make a good portion of the world a better place.

My last meal would probably be a big mush of things.

I really love egg rolls, and I could definitely go for some Chick-fil-A. Probably some pizza flown in from Nevada, and definitely In-N-Out Burger flown in. Maybe a Jack in the February 4 ISSUE 2022

Josh Waters

Box fried taco. To top it off, definitely Taco Bell. I think these are all things that would make my stomach really upset but I wouldn’t care because I will be dead soon.

I think a reason that a kidnapper would let me free is because of my talking. I would talk, talk, talk, talk, talk. I can truly drive a person insane by taking. I fully believe in my power. I think I could just say some really crazy stuff, and I know how to get on people’s nerves.

One song I can never skip is “roll to me” by del amitri.

Harrison and I had to go to Home Depot the other day and I heard this song playing in the store and I thought it just had such good vibes. I also love “Dancing in the Moonlight” by TopLoader, I play it every day on my way to work.

Last year in October I went to Daytona and the place my boyfriend’s family and I stayed at had this little pool. Then there was a wall and some stairs and then the beach was like right there. So you could sit by the pool and look at the beach or you could sit on the beach and simply tan. I sat and read books there and was just very relaxed the whole time. I love the beach.

Quick Facts Favorite book \ The Joy Luck Club Favorite artist \ Taylor Childers Favorite film \ Mamma Mia Favorite candy \ Chocolate Favorite animal \ Giraffes

I am both a tomboy and a girly girl. I think growing up with Harrison and spending a lot of time with our boy cousins has made me more tough. I love to go fishing with my brother and I am not afraid to hold the fish, but I don’t like to touch the worms.

My mom is my role model. She is a very no nonsense gal who will jump into projects head first; like the church our family goes to, she helped build that, she was the lead person in charge.

In a lot of the meetings she would be the only woman in the room, and they would ask her ‘where is the coffee?’ and she would say ‘go find it yourself’. She raised me with the same independence which I’m thankful for.

I think the meaning of life is trying to make the world a better place in your own way. Even if it’s small, like a compliment about my outfit in the hallways completely makes my day. So I think at the end of the day, we all need to put effort into making some sort of impact on the world.

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Meaning of Life

Colin Lock

Interviewed By

Brenden Boyle

funny \ music enthusiast \ senior

I

mainly started going to the gym because all of my friends were going as well, and I have seen the results of them lifting so I wanted to be a part of that. Nowadays, I can’t go without it, and I absolutely love seeing the results that it gives off.

One of my greatest moments was Summer Smash. Summer Smash was a concert that me and my friends attended in the summer with a lot of rappers that I listened to, such as Lil Uzi, Lil Baby, Don Toliver, and so many more.

The event lasted for three days and it was the best weekend of my life. One of the best sets was Lil Uzi Vert. He played all of his best songs and the crowd was wild. I honestly think it was one of the best moments of my entire life. I would do anything to see him again, and I am for sure going to the festival next year.

I also went viral during the festival. Someone took a video of me sleeping during Coi Leray’s concert, and the video blew up on TikTok, reaching millions of views. I also was featured on an extremely famous instagram page called Rap. Here, I went even more viral. It was all around an experience I will never forget.

My favorite trip I have been on was to Daytona Beach. I went with all of my friends during Spring Break.

Music means a lot to me. It makes everything better, no matter what I am doing- school work, working out, driving-

Photo By Maritza Vazquez

music makes everything better. I don’t know what I would do without it.

I listen to Travis Scott all of the time. Rodeo and Astroworld are two of my favorite albums of all time, and his next album is dropping soon as well which I cannot wait for.

His music is great and I love his lyrics. There is something about him that is different from other rappers; his flow and overall style is one of the best in my opinion.

A song that I could never skip is “Escape Plan” by Travis Scott.

I want to retire early. I really don’t want to be stuck in a 9-5 all day, and retiring early means I could support my family and mainly give back to my parents who have done so much for me. I feel like becoming an investor would allow me to make critical decisions for passive income, and it is the best way to achieve financial independence. I have taken courses such as economics which really interests me, and I think it has even made me want to become an investor even more.

Quick Facts Favorite book \ Racing in the Rain Favorite artist \ Travis Scott Favorite film \ Transformer series Favorite candy \ Sour Patch Kids Favorite animal \ Cats

Colin Lock values the effort that he puts into his music while also finding a school life balance

Skydiving is one of my biggest fears. I personally have seen videos of it and it looks extremely scary, anything can go wrong at any point and there isn’t really anything you can do. I want to conquer the fear at some point, but right now it’s my biggest fear.

I appreciate my friends and family the most. The amount of memories I have made with the people that are the closest to me is priceless, and I don’t take it for granted.

Something that makes me a good friend is that I care about the people around me. I respect everyone’s opinions and I believe that is one of the most important qualities.

Enjoying life is one of my biggest goals, and it ties back into my meaning of life. I think that life is made to have fun and do things out of your comfort zone. If you’re not having fun, you aren’t doing it right.

While I believe in having fun, you also have to work hard.

I take pride in trying my best in everything I do, whether it be in school, music, or at the gym. I believe working hard is the first step to having a successful life.

If I had one day left I would say goodbye to my homies.

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Meaning of Life

Interviewed By

Travis Smith

Jess Smith Photo By

W

Jake Habel

determined \ programmer \ alumnus

hen I was just 12 years old, I knew I wanted my career to be related to computers in some way. I really did not know what that career would be, I just knew that computers were my passion. I always had such an interest in taking things apart and putting them back together, and the more I learned about computer science, the more my passion grew.

My greatest accomplishment was when I first took an independent research class where I had to develop and create something. It was pretty vague and at the time I had pretty decent programming and computer hardware skills.

My project was based on a good friend of mine, whose brother has a speech impediment. His brother actually wasn’t able to speak without using a physical external device called an AAC device, which are pricey.

This sparked an idea, I pretty much emulated what an iPad and an AAC does by basically using off-the-shelf computer parts and writing the software myself. I made something that pretty much did the same thing for about $150. I showcased that a cost effective alternative to something that

Quick Facts Favorite book \ One Hundred Essays That Will Change The Way You Think Favorite artist \ Ricky Montgomery Favorite film \ Star Wars Favorite candy \ Sour Patch Kids

Favorite animal \ Cats is prohibitively expensive to people is possible.

I was very inspired by both my parents by how hard they worked to raise my sister and I and to provide for us. Their dedication to their family and their loving guidance allowed me to really fulfill my full potential. Not only academically but personally to become who I am today. Growing up I was very fortunate that I grew up in a household with a strong moral compass with an emphasis on working hard to achieve your goals and dreams.

I don’t have a single personal hero. Everyone in my life is a hero and has inspired me in their own way. For example, my parents sacrificed a lot, to focus on raising my sister and I and to me that was very heroic. My fiancee Emily, has constantly motivated me and supported me to be extremely determined. And my sister has inspired me through all of her hard work and determination; not just in school, but just in who she is as a person. I am a firm believer that you February 4 ISSUE 2022

take on qualities from the people you are close too and are around a lot. From the people I mentioned, I have taken on some of the best qualities from them.

One of my difficult adjustments was the amount of change that happened after college. It was definitely really strange, no longer being a student, because at that point, I’ve been a student, for I think almost 17 or 18 years straight.

[It’s kind of weird going from having the responsibilities of a student to having a career.] I really enjoy my field of work, where I’m learning every day and I get to make a living doing things that I enjoy. But it is hard just trying to figure things out kind of in a non academic kind of world, if that makes sense.

A memory that really sticks out to me was after school, everyone in my friend group and their significant others went on a camping trip to Wood Haven Lakes and it was at a time when a lot of my friends finished their first year of college. It was the last time where it felt like we were still in high school.

It was kind of a turning point between youth and adulthood. People get busy and they start growing up, and sometimes you talk to people a lot less. Not saying I am not friends with them, but people grow apart while also being close. It’s something that is nice to look back at as a turning point.

One of my biggest mistakes growing up was not living in the moment enough. I always question: what can I do to fully maximize my success for the future? I feel like a lot of high schoolers and college students do that; since you are so focused on the future and it causes you to not appreciate the moment.

I knew I was doing this in high school, but in college I specifically made sure that I had time in the day to do things that helped me enjoy life and that was good for my own well-being. I made a conscious effort to do things that specifically impacted my life at the moment.

Alumnus Travis Smith talks about his advancements in programming after high school.

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“You have enemies?

Good.

That means you’ve stood up for something, sometime in your life.”

—Winston Churchill

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Meaning of Life

Interviewed By

Addison Drews

Maria Loiseau Photo By Maritza Vazquez

kind \ wrestler \ junior

W

restling is three hours every day, so that takes up way too much of my time. I also play soccer. Right now the high school season hasn’t started, so I go to open gyms, and I play for a club, and another team. Otherwise, I’m usually just hanging out with my friends.

I have three siblings. The youngest is Ashlyn, Logan, then Quinn. My parents are 44 and 45, and we all still live togeth-er. I also have a dog named Nala, she is the cutest thing ever. She is a German Shepherd/Boxer mix.

After high school I see myself staying somewhat close just because of my younger siblings. I want to be able to be there for them, but I also want to go somewhere south, somewhere slightly warmer. Also, somewhere in the suburbs for college.

I don’t know much about where I’m going for college, but I’d like that combination of being able to do things and not being in the city. Having lots of interesting stuff around me, but then it’s also kind of chill. Not Chicago.

Quick Facts Favorite book \ Narnia Favorite artist \ Green Day Favorite film \ Jumangi Favorite candy \ Reese’s Cups Favorite animal \ Monkey My upbringing was very good. I forget most of it, but I can tell you I was definitely the happiest kid ever. It was good. My brother Quinn and I were best friends. We did everything together. We really liked puzzles, but he only let me do the outside pieces because I sucked at them, and I sorted the pieces. That was my job. My brother and I were really close. There was a drift, and we’re definitely not friends or besties anymore. Now it’s a combination of either insulting each other, or we’re good.

My favorite memory was with my mom’s side of my family where we all went to Disney World. I mean, this was 18 people, all at Disney World for a week. We have little cousins who were so excited about Cinderella’s castle. It was just a really cool experience. We all stayed there for five days.

If I had to go back in time I would go to the Renaissance.

Just because it’s got to be the coolest thing ever to actually be able to experience essentially our whole current culture everything was built on. That has got to be the coolest.

I enjoy history. I like learning about Roman times, and the Spartans, and then also the Renaissance, so essentially February 4 ISSUE 2022

everything before America’s history.

I have depression and I would say one of my biggest mistakes was not mentioning it to anybody for a long time.

It started around eighth grade. If I just said something in eighth grade, bam, we fixed it.

It was less of a self realization to be honest and more of one to let others help me. I don’t always have to be super independent, and that’s a majority of my personality, just basic independence. Maybe I need to let people help me.

If I had 24 hours to live I would go on vacation with all my family and friends. We would find somewhere awesome.

Maybe somewhere with mountains. We would go to Florida and go on the lake. We would go cliff jumping. We would do all the stupid things that you’re not supposed to do. We would try skydiving and scuba diving.

My family is a pretty close family in general. Mostly my moms side and my cousins, just because they’re more my age. We all hang out. They are like a country family. So it’s lots of fishing.

Love equals happiness is how I view my happiness. As long as you have people who surround you that love you, and you love them, that’s all you need. You’re working to make each other’s lives better. That’s all you really need to be happy.

My family is that source to me, especially the fact that I have little siblings. Just kids in general are just weirdly happy. Nothing to worry about. You’re always laughing with them.

What made me who I am, I couldn’t tell you. Honestly, it’s everybody. We have cumulative experiences that kind of shape us. I’d say for me, maybe it is just the combination of the family I grew up with having younger siblings definitely made an impact.

When you’re the older sister, you watch them, you have that responsibility, and it gives you that beginning of putting other people before yourself. It was always more important to keep them safe and make sure they are doing good rather than focusing on myself.

As long as every single person is helping each other, everyone’s being helped as well. I’d say that’s life. It’s this connection between everybody where if everybody is working to help others, you’re helped and there’s this positive bond. I mean it is kind of my goal to always be doing that.

Like I said, I’m trying to manage that by having other people help me too.

I don’t know about the meaning of life, but I can tell you that my personal view is that the reason we’re all here isn’t necessarily for ourselves. We want to have great lives, but I say it is more important to make the lives of the people around us better.

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Meaning of Life

Junior Addison Drews participates in wrestling, this being her first year on the team.

Addison Drews “We want to have great lives, but I say it is more important to make the lives of the people around us better.”

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Meaning of Life

Tom Kempf

Interviewed By Brittney Burak Photo By

energetic \ ambitious \ father

I

n terms of school I’ve been around a long time. I was originally a teacher, then an union president, a dean, and now an associate principal here at Huntley High School.

I have a lot of different experiences and I can tell you a lot of the history of Huntley High School and how we’ve evolved.

I went into education, probably for some initial selfish reasons. The summer off sounded like a good gig and I definitely knew I wanted to get into coaching and I knew this was an avenue to do that.

I was a football coach for a while. But as things started to shift when I got the promotion to be the dean and then to my current role as assistant principal.

It was more about making a bigger impact. I had a great relationship with kids. I did student council too so I was very well connected and I really wanted to expand on that relationship.

In my current role, I interact with a lot less kids than I did as a teacher, but the ones that I do interact with are usually on a monumental scale because something big is going on that I can help with.

It’s about trying to make this place better for everybody.

Amanda Hoglind

Being part of the change and decision making can really create some of this new environment that we’re hoping for.

Outside of work I’m pretty unique in the skill set that I bring. I fix people’s houses as an electrician, a plumber, and I can remodel. I do a lot of that for teachers and colleagues here so I have a very hands-on skill set that a lot of people don’t necessarily know about.

I’m opening a kayaking gig side hustle in the summer and taking people out for kayak tours.

My favorite place I’ve traveled to is Costa Rica. It was one of those school travel club trips and it was the only one that was kind of adventure based. It wasn’t all about the history and the architecture.

This one was whitewater rafting, kayaking, and zip lining. It was really fun and the weather was great. It was nice to go to Costa Rica in March and it was a nice recharge.

Being in the rainforest, the volcano, and kayaking in the Arenal volcanic lake is something I’m never going to get to do again in my life.

My house was always the hangout for both my sister and my friends growing up. My dad purchased some land

Quick Facts

Tom Kempf in front of his office while repping Huntley spirit wear.

Favorite book \ Ready Player One Favorite artist \ Garth Brooks Favorite film \ Star Wars Favorite candy \ Reese’s Favorite animal \ Cat adjacent to our house and built us a baseball field, with the backstop and everything. We had a pool and a volleyball net, so there was a lot of quality time, old school, outdoors, playing in the woods, trails, and dirt bikes.

Something that brings me the most joy in my life is playing with my kids. When I come home and walk in the door my son and my daughter scream “Daddy’s home” and come running forward.

My motto is to take advantage of every moment you’ve got with your family and friends, life is short.

Take advantage of the opportunities that life gives you because you never know what tomorrow brings.

I want my kids to make good choices and I want to mentor them and coach them into being awesome people that will also leave a mark on this world.

The meaning of life for me is all about giving back to my family and raising my kids with good values, to be a good quality citizen, and leave a legacy that I would be proud of.

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Meaning of Life

Alansari overcomes adversity as he pursues a medical career.

Malik Alansari

“I would tell the world to be kind to one another because there is a lot of hatred.”

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Meaning of Life

Malik Alansari

Interviewed By Austin Zenaty Photo By

kind \ medical student \ senior

I

a m Arab on my dad’s side of the family, and my mom’s side is caucasian.

My family has two brothers, a sassy sister, my dad, and I did have a mom but she passed away in the middle of summer break.

My favorite subject is the medical classes I am taking, and my least favorite is English.

The reason my mom passed away was because she had stage 4 ovarian cancer. It ended up spreading to her lungs and other organs.

My mom’s death impacted me by me having to take care of my brothers when my dad’s not around.

I was born in Elgin. I have lived in Lake in the Hills, Woodstock, and now in Huntley.

I have loving parents that always supported me. My mom was the one who supported me the most when it came to the thing I wanted to do, and grow up to be.

I want to study Zoology of some kind, and be a veterinarian. I want to first attend MCC for two years then transfer to another college for a medical degree.

Some things I really enjoyed doing with my mom was going to sporting events with her. I remember when I used to do wrestling in elementary and middle school. Seeing her cheer me on from the sidelines kept me going.

My fondest memories would be going to holiday parties and hanging out with all my friends and family. I really enjoy their presence and spending time with them.

If I could live in any time frame I’d prefer the past because I could see my mom again.

If I could go back in time I would probably go back to when I was a kid because I remember every experience being new and enjoyable.

My superpower would be mind reading because it would be fun to do and see what everyone is thinking about.

The people I would have at the dinner table would be my cousin Haley, my mom, my dad, and my two brothers. I picked them because I feel like it would rekindle old memories.

What I really loved about my mom was that she was really funny and good at telling stories. I remember every time she would tell a story it would be very long but she put so much detail into it on the spot. I remember being able to visualize exactly what she was talking about just based on how she described the event.

I would tell the world to be kind to one another because there is a lot of hatred.

The thing I miss the most about my mom is getting to see her face every morning. She used to wake me up for school every morning before I started using alarms. I didn’t really think much of it at the time but it really did make my

February 4 ISSUE 2022

Jake Habel

mornings better.

My last meal would be my grandma’s Arabic food because I love her cooking.

Advice I would give freshmen when they enter high school is to make as many friends as you can so that when you’re out of high school, you can have a lot of lifelong friends.

My favorite memories with my mom are from when we’re going on vacation with her. One of my favorite vacations I went on with her was the Royal Caribbean cruise. We went to Haiti, Jamaica, and Mexico. I remember having so much fun hanging out at the pool with her and going down water slides.

My family has been impacted by my mom’s loss by not having a mother figure around all the time. Our family dynamic has been thrown off a bit.

We don’t get as much attention as we used to because my dad works most of the time.

I’ve had to take over the role of being a parent to my brothers and sister in some ways.

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Quick Facts Favorite cartoon \ Family Guy Favorite artist \ Nicki Minaj Favorite film \ Grown Ups Favorite candy \ Heath Bars Favorite animal \ Tiger

Malik Alansari is in the medical academy where he is in classes to eventually enter the Zoology field.

He hopes to become a veternarian in the future.

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Meaning of Life

Interviewed By Bailey Lim

Ryan Considine

Provided Ryan Considine

hard working \ overachiever \ senior

H

a rd work is putting everything you got into something. If you work toward something, it will benefit you later.

My grades have paid off by helping me get accepted into a college I have been looking forward to.

My hard work has opened opportunities to go out and see the real world or at least the sides I am interested in.

I value family. I have grown up with them always around me, leading me through my first 18 years of life.

Friends can never be replaced or outmatched. Simple objects should not hold nearly as much value because at the end of the day, an item should not be more important than the people in your life.

Growing up, I did not have the most confidence with the amount of pressure being put onto me. Doubting oneself can lead to the lack of performance in both sports and academics.

I have always pushed myself to succeed because failure is not an option in my household. I grew up with an outstanding older sister, she set the bar for my performance

Quick Facts Favorite book \ Green Eggs and Han Favorite artist \ Trippie Redd Favorite film \ Spiderman 2 Favorite candy \ Starbursts Favorite animal \ Dogs high. I grew up with a mentality to always try and do better.

During the pandemic, my high school experience was all about adapting to new environments.

Due to being remote through my sophomore and junior years, everyone had to adapt and get used to the new learning environment. Plenty of people struggled, including myself, but without a choice, I had to do my best to keep my performance high.

Even getting COVID-19 was difficult for me. Getting the virus has held me and others back from doing the things we wanted to during our short time in high school. It made me mentally and emotionally struggle, but soon after came the realization that I have to get over it.

I don’t feel like I have been given an advantage nor a disadvantage in this learning environment.

Growing up, I lived in different locations in Illinois. In my previous school, I feel as if I did not get the same opportunities as I do at Huntley High School.

My old school had a slow learning environment and it February 4 ISSUE 2022

was more difficult for me to outperform and stand out academically. Moving to the new school threw off my pace and I struggled but eventually gained a better work ethic.

I cherish some of the memories I made inside high school.

During my sophomore year, I remember gaining recognition from the principal addressing a project I had put together for one of my classes.

One more important memory I have from high school is team bonding. The relationships I’ve built with my teammates, coaches, etc., have played their own role in forming the person I have become today.

My motto is you get out what you put in. I feel like the best analogy I can use to describe how I live my life is what goes around comes around.

If I go out of my way to help someone else, I know good will come back to me in its own form.

Everyone has importance in their own way. After adapting to the new pace of learning, making new friends, and working hard to get good grades, I have realized the importance and significance of adults.

Teachers have guided me through the roadblocks of my learning experience and counselors have helped me enormously with course selection.

Everyone who has played a role in my life in high school has helped me narrow down what I want to do in my life and what I want to learn more about in the future.

One major accomplishment that signifies growing up is when someone first starts driving and their decisions seem more impactful.

Life is about expressing yourself in your own way.

The meaning of life, I think, is personal aspiration. What one strives out to be is important, meaning that they create their own footprint in life.

Considine studies hard in his room during remote learning in order to achieve and reach his goals of a high GPA and getting into college.

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“Find ecstasy in life; the mere sense of living is joy enough.”

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October 31, 2021 – All Sa

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Meaning of Life

Phalguni Desai

Interviewed By Emilia Schwartz

kind-hearted \ ambitious \ teacher

M

y n a t ive language is Gujarati, but I know Hindi and English as well. I went to a school that was an English medium school. Someone could speak Spanish at home then come here and everything is in English.

Not everyone spoke English but all the textbooks were in English. Except all the kids spoke different languages because they all came from different states. Every state has their own language, its sort of similar to a mini Europe.

I’ve always known English. The school also had a three language formula so as well as English, I also learned Hindi from the school.

My fondest memory is the place where I grew up, Porbandar, India, the “Town Of Gandhi” for 7-8 years. It is the only dry state in India. It is a western and coastal state. It was a small township because the company that my dad got a job in was way out in the city. There was a small township with all the employees’ houses.

In the township, we had a hospital and a shopping mall, we had our school there. Everything was in a gated community. But everyone knew everyone else, it was a very safe place. You could be out at night because it was a small gated community. There was a security guard and nobody else from outside came in. The whole place felt like a family.

My greatest accomplishment was when I was applying for jobs here, people told me that my skin color and my accent would make it really hard for me to find a job.

They told me that no one would want to hire me because people are not used to it and people will think you are uneducated. But I am here now and I have been teaching since

Photo By Jake Habel

don’t know how people dressed in the ‘80s. Or if there’s a movie reference or a song playing. Those types of things I don’t know.

It’s a new country and I’ve learned a lot of things. I still might not know what happened in the ´80s but I do know what is happening now.

Advice for students, I don’t think my answer has changed over the past 16-17 years: be grateful for what you have.

In the country where I’m from, public schools don’t look like this. They don’t have the same kind of resources as we do here.

It’s so easy for us to be like “this sucks that we don’t have this.” Sometimes students lack perspective and I’m not blaming anyone; it’s just that students have not been exposed. You have it so much better, and are much better off than so many other students.

Main goal is that I am leaving a mark on students when they come in at the beginning of the year. I know that they are leaving a mark on me.

I really do believe that they were supposed to play a role in my life and I was supposed to play a role in theirs.

Quick Facts Favorite book \ Catch-22 Favorite artist \ Robert Ludlum Favorite subject\ Chemistry Favorite candy \ Twix Favorite animal \ Her cat Oreo

2005.

I have acclimated well. I am not really My inspiration is my parents because they came from good at making very humble beginnings. It was very hard for them but they connections in a bumped up in their careers. They did the best that they sense. Like when could and I learned resilience from them. someone says “oh My parents both had their careers as teachers. In India as it’s an ‘80s thing.” I I was growing up, I always saw my mom talk to students.

When I was a kid I got pocket money from helping Phalguni Desai students. So, when I was in eleventh grade I was teaching teaches Chemistry seventh and eighth graders. after getting her I got my teaching degree in India and used to teach masters in Biology math and science to middle school students. The school in India. She now that I taught at had a looping system, so I would teach sevovercomes enth grade and then next year teach sixth grade.

When I first got a job here I wasn’t working directly with judgement and students but I knew that that was what I wanted to do so I predjuice in started teaching science here.

Huntley

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Meaning of Life

Interviewed By

Olivia Pawlak

Megan Pawlak Photo By

I

Josh Waters

driven \ gym fanatic \ junior

n school, I am in the principal’s student leadership council, Silver Cord, NHS, and Link Crew. I also like to lift and run.

My entire family are all immigrants [from Poland] except my brother, little cousins, and I. Most of my family lives in Poland, and they are all very supportive. I love spending time with them.

My mom came to America when she was young, and my dad came when he was older. Being Polish, I had to grow up with a parent who did not really understand English yet.

While I was growing up learning English, my dad was learning with me. I literally remember both my dad and I reading the same picture books together.

My brother and I were in the same preschool class so that we would have each other. I would try to make friends but I couldn’t speak English so it was hard. Overtime, I caught on to the word patterns and I was taking English second language classes to learn fast.

Quick Facts Favorite book \ One of Us Is Lying Favorite artist \ Shawn Mendes Favorite film \ Polar Express Favorite candy \ M&M’s Favorite animal \ Elephants Every night after school, my parents would take me and my brother swimming. We would be swimming and playing in the pool for an hour. We went all year round.

Something that no one knows about me is that I sleep with my baby blanket, and I have since I was born. I have also worn a necklace with Mary on it since I was born.

My greatest achievement is getting my first job as a lifeguard. I always wanted to be one since I was little. It was more strict than I thought with constantly being supervised but, I always looked forward to it.

My biggest personal change was that I stopped dreaming and wishing for things I wanted to do and started actually doing them like going to the gym. I also started being more active in my religion by reading the Bible and paying more attention in church.

Something that holds me back is the fear of other people judging me or what they are thinking. I don’t care about it as much. I also worry about the future. I think about if my decisions are or aren’t the best for my future. It’s difficult for me to figure out if my decisions are realistic.

It is worse to never attempt something in the first place February 4 ISSUE 2022

[rather than never trying] because you never know until you try something. I always thought I would be bad at something, but then I ended up loving it. I had that with weightlifting.

I live by the saying, “change happens when the pain of staying the same is greater than the pain of change” by Tony Robbins.

To me, a good friend is someone who is honest with you, but also super supportive. They give you the same effort that you give them.

Two things on my bucket list is that I want to do the Wellness Body Building Competitions. I also want to go on a cruise.

My dream job is to be a fitness influencer. I would love to have my own gym and athletic wear clothing line.

In 10 years, I see myself in Arizona and starting up my job after college. I want to meet a lot of new people and friends.

Instead of focusing on having a family, I want to focus more on the people around me. You can also go on a lot of nice hikes there which I love.

A piece of advice I would give my younger self is “don’t be afraid of failure or what other people are thinking of you.

It’s best to just try it.” I felt that when I started posting about my hobbies on social media. I created a makeup account and started posting fitness content.

True happiness to me is being grateful for the blessings you have in life. When I acknowledge the good things in my life, I am nicer to myself and the people around me.

To me, the meaning of life is finding the things that help you find your purpose in life. That’s like trying new things and not being afraid of going out of your comfort zone.

Keep your family close and make new friends so you can have support along your life.

Pawlak believes the meaning of life is finding the things that help you find your purpose in life.

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Meaning of Life

Junior Olivia Pawlak finds happiness within fitness and body building.

Olivia Pawlak “I would love to have my own gym and athletic wear clothing line.

February 4 ISSUE 2022

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