Final vol9 issue 8

Vol. 9 Vol. Issue91 Issue #8

Mill Creek

CHRONICLE April/May2017

Senior Trip to France

Senior Edition

College Hacks Alumni Advice

Baseball

bullet Tennis and Senior Sport journaling The new Spotlights Organizational Golf fad

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22

Spring Break in France

Bullet Journals MASTHEAD Editors

Kaitlyn Neher Ashley Baptiste

Staff Writers

Allie Bolton Jordan Dudley Abigail Key Christopher Kline Vanessa Medina Maggie Mitchell Bailey Monroe Faith Montgomery Madeleine Moody Michelle Ortiz Collins Sainovich Kayla Salemi Will Sowders Adviser Mrs. Nora Neff Cover Design: Kaitlyn Neher, Ashley Baptiste Cover Photo Credits: Michelle Ortiz Pictured in Cover: Mackenzie Roach Photo Credits left to right: Maddi Moody, Camilo MuĂąoz, Michelle Ortiz, Yearbook Staff, Abbie Key

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Senior Throwback

16

12

Tennis Highlights

13

Baseball Golf season review Updates Other stories included...

6 I-85 Collapse 11 Panic at the Disco Concert Review 18 Hawk With A Story 20 College Dorm Hacks 22 Summer Jobs

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Dance Show

*The Chronicle is a student publication of Mill Creek High School. It is distributed to students, faculty, staff, and the Mill Creek community. The statements and opinions expressed in this publication are those of individual writers and do not necessarily reflect those of the entire Chronicle Staff or Mill Creek High School, its students, faculty, staff or administration. Content is edited and designed by student editors.

Senior Staff

Allie Bolton

Christopher Kline

This fall, I will be attending Furman University in Greenville South Carolina and I have already signed up for The Paladin Regiment Marching Band. I want to major in communications and have big plans for my future including writing books and screenplays.

This May, I’ll be taking over as an editor at TheSixerSense.com, covering the Philadelphia 76ers on the FanSided network, a Time Inc. subsidiary. I’ll also be pursuing a degree in journalism or English in the future. Good luck to the staff moving forward - I expect to see continued growth.

Editor’s Notes

Jordan Dudley

I will be going to school at Wake Forest University in the fall, and I couldn’t be more excited. I plan on studying Political Science and International Affaris, and I hope to study abroad in Spain. I really enjoyed working on staff this year, and I hope the best for Chronicle’s future.

After this year, I will be attending Georgia College and State University. I plan to continue writing for GCSU’s literary program, and I look forward to teaching English at the post secondary level in the future.

Cell :

540-588-5967

Email :

kim@kimhymesphotography.com

Will Sowders

photos: Magic Moment

Taking Newspaper as my elective for three years of high school is an experience I would not trade for the world. I have loved every step of the way including transforming the publication into what it is today, uncovering my competence for design, and realizing my love for all aspects regarding literary publications. I am honored to have held the position as co-editor my junior and senior year, and my position on staff has brought me many opportunities. In the fall, I will be attending the University of Georgia, and I hope to become a part of the journalism program or be a staff member for one of their many news publications. I hope you all have a great rest of your high school career, and don’t hesitate to call me for help. Hope to see you all soon!

Kaitlyn Neher Best Wishes, Kaitlyn Neher I am so thankful to have had the opportunity to be a part of the newspaper staff and to have been co-editor my junior and senior years. Throughout these four years, I have made so many great friends and learned so many new things from design to business skills. Thank you, Mrs. Neff, for being such a great adviser as well as a great friend to all on staff. And to the rest of the staff, thank you all for dealing with my serious case of senioritis that I had all year. I have made so many great memories with you all that I will always remember.

I cannot wait to see what direction you will take The Chronicle in. Shoutout to Collins (my lunch buddy).

This fall, I will be attending Georgia State University and I hope to continue my Journalism career there.

Ashley Good luck to next year’s staff, and feel free to call me Baptiste for anything!

Best Wishes, Ashley Baptiste

Josh McKay - Head Instructor The Test Experts, LLC 404-941-5674 (main) 404-597-0857 (cell) www.thetestexperts.com https://www.facebook.com/TheTestExperts/

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Highway I-85 A

Who would have thought burning bridges would cause more problems?

fter spools of high density plastic conduit erupted into flames beneath an I-85 overpass that stretched above Piedmont Road on April 1, traffic en route to downtown Atlanta received a major blow. Per the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the highway collapsed within 45 minutes after local firefighters were notified, as the intense heat caused the steel beams supporting the concrete to collapse. The reported culprit -39-year-old Basil Eleby -- is being held on a $200 thousand bond after being cited for first degree criminal damage to property and first degree arson.

Traffic heading downtown will likely be slowed for the foreseeable future, as the Georgia Department of Transportation said it will “take at least several months to repair,” according to Fox News. As of April 6th, the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) stated that the desired date for reopening in June 15th.

Crews have been working on a virtually continuous basis to repair the fallen highway, operating both during the day and after hours.

At an April 3rd press conference, Governor Nathan Deal said that crews were “working at a record pace,” while also detailing his hopes that their pace would remain constant as “[officials] strive to restore and rebuild [that]

important stretch of interstate.”

Deal also asked for additional funds from the U.S. Transportation Department, which came in lieu of $10 million transferred from the feds earlier on, per Fox 5.

The GDOT has also implemented a myriad of plans in an attempt to accommodate the increased traffic that’s projected to occur. MARTA is being stressed as a viable option, while their parent organization -- the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority’s Xpress program -has collaborated with Gwinnett County Transit to add new express services in the mornings and afternoon. Those services will run through six different Gwinnettbased Xpress Park and Ride lots, while connecting them to MARTA stations in Chamblee and Doraville, per the Atlanta Business Chronicle.

Atlanta mayor Kasim Reed suggested that the city handle it like the Centennial Olympic Games, which he dubbed “the closest comparison we have to what we’re facing over the next several weeks.” He noted that “during those two weeks, every every employer, community and individual adjusted their behaviors.

We should take the same approach in response to the Interstate 85 collapse.”

The collapse has caused massive

By: Christopher Kline

headaches for some travelers, with Scott Seeburger, who was traveling from Michigan to central Florida, stating that the traffic was “really bad every step [of the way]” when traveling through downtown, per WMAZ13. Multiple lanes have been cut off from construction purposes along the stretch of road affected, while the traffic itself reaches points of marginal movement throughout the course of the day -with rush hour providing the most prominent example.

Mill Creek’s science department sponsored a recent field trip in which those traffic concerns came to fruition. Mrs. Perry, Zambo, Morris and Mr. Harper escorted several students from the Oceanography, AP Environmental Science and AP Biology classes to the Georgia Aquarium, where the return trip required travel via I-85.

Multiple lanes of the highway were closed, forcing vehicles to condense into fewer lanes as travel towards the collapsed portion transpired.

The busses left the aquarium at 2:50, yet still experienced hefty traffic prior to the typical Atlanta rush hour. Two busses attempted to utilize side roads to maneuver around the collapsed portion of the bridge, yet still were engulfed in traffic that delayed their arrival back at the school until after 6:30 that evening.

Reilly Floyd, a junior who was

on one of the buses who remained on I-85 throughout, stated that traffic through the area was affected “pretty greatly,” while also detailing that the bus’ route back to the school was “different and longer” than it would typically be.

The bridges’ collapse in and of itself was something that sparked controversy in Atlanta. AJC reporter Alan Judd wrote that “two of Atlanta’s most intractable problems -- traffic congestion and chronic homelessness -converged,” upon the evening of the fire. Upon investigation into Google Maps footage, the area in which the plastic conduit was stored -- the same conduit that provided a breeding ground for the fire -- was guarded by merely a chain link fence. The padlocked gate that closed the area off was often rendered useless as well, as the gate was often bent open. At times in the past, it was even left open entirely, per the AJC. The Maps’ imaging from September 2014 shows the gate both open and unguarded, while the plastic conduit was stored at some point between July 2011 and April 2012. Between April 2012 and November 2016 (the most recent photo), the conduit appeared to have gone untouched.

Their latest photo also shows the gate hanging open in an easily accessible manner, despite being chained together.

The man who started the fire has been arrested 19 times since 2000, according to the AJC. Eleby was allegedly smoking crack prior to igniting the fire, then followed that by placing a nearby chair on top of a shopping cart, reaching underneath it and starting the flames that eventually provided the catalyst for I-85’s collapse. He was released on a

$10,000 signature bond Tuesday morning, which requires him to get residential drug and mental health treatment, while also preventing him from contacting witnessed directly or indirectly, as well as disallowing him the privilege of traveling within 1,000 feet of theALL PHOTOS: Google Maps Screenshot

collapsed portion of I-85 unless he’s accompanied by his lawyers or investigators.

Eleby’s next court appearance is set for June 16th, the day after the targeted reopening of I-85.

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PHOTOS: Camilo Munoz, Bonnie Tosa, Sarah Simler, Erika Johnston

C'e st la Vie Personal reflection by: Will Sowders

Spring Break 2017 was especially eventful for the AP French students here at Mill Creek. Along with teachers Meghan Primm and Sarah Simler, our group of 14 ventured nearly 4,000 miles to Nancy, France where we participated in a “cultural exchange” program and stayed with host families at a partner school in the Lorraine region of France. “I was surprised by how quickly we bonded with our hosts and how strong our friendships grew by the end of the trip,” said Bonnie Tosa, one of the many who stayed with host families at their houses rather than at the school.

We were allowed to shop and explore with our hosts and ultimately act French. “One major shock of the trip was how much freedom we were given to go and experience the true French life for ourselves,” said Bayla Thompson. With a guided tour around Paris, our group was able to experience really every aspect of Parisian and French life. Walks around St. Michel and Montmartre, climbs to the top of the Eiffel Tower, an extensive excursion through the halls of the Louvre, and a

stroll down the Champs Elysées were all included in the three day stay in Paris following a school week at Emmanuel Héré High School in Nancy and trips to Strasbourg towards the German border on Tuesday and Metz on Wednesday, a rival soccer city towards the North.

As one of the fourteen on the trip, I can truly say that it was the time of my life. All of the students there appreciated the architecture, the art, and the French lifestyle that was present in every waking moment. Speaking French for an entire week is quite a task, but also very rewarding, considering most of us have been studying the language for four plus years.

Ultimately, standing underneath the Eiffel Tower and seeing the Mona Lisa in the Louvre reminded all 14 of us why we take French. It’s for the culture and the language and just the ability to speak French. Those nine days were more of an inspiration to take French in college than any amount of classroom grammar practice could have ever provided. We can't wait to go back.

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ON BROADWAY Dance Program’s Spring Show

By: Abbie Key

Mill Creek High School’s Dance Department presented , “On Broadway” on April 27th, 28th and 29th. All shows started at 7:00 p.m. This Dance Show featured many songs from a wide range of popular Broadway productions such as: Hamilton, Mulan Rouge, Once, Dreamgirls, Footloose, Hairspray, Annie, Finding Neverland, Dirty Dancing, Cabaret, Chicago, Cats, Phantom Of The Opera, Legally Blonde, Les Miserables, High School Musical, Take The Lead, Memphis, Waitress, Grease, Burlesque, Wicked, A Chorus Line, Charity, Sweet Charity, and the Lion King.

Freshman Alex Kopcznski is in the 5th period dance class and was featured in numerous dances. ”I loved being in the Lion King because I like the movie and

being a part of the dance is a great way to live it out. I also enjoyed being in the dance show because I get to show the entire the school how hard we worked and how passionate we are about dance.” says Kopcznski.

There was a lot of practice that went into the production of the show. Everyone involved in a dance or the production aspect had to stay after school almost everyday for rehearsals. Jennifer Starkman, in 7th period dance and a student choreographer, is in 11 dances and choreographed 5 pieces in this show. She has had to stay after school everyday in the month of April. “I loved being able to be in this play because I got so many opportunities that I wouldn't have gotten anywhere else. This is the main place I get to choreograph

and it’s wonderful. I also love the fact that Mill Creek gives so much support for the dance program.” says Starkman.

The Senior Piece featured all of seniors in the dance department.

The seniors choreographed and show cased their own individual talents. They performed a piece from the Broadway show, “High School Musical.” The songs featured were: “Bop to the Top”, “Fabulous”, “Get’cha Head in the Game”, “Bet on It,” and “We're All in This Together.” Mikayla Broomfield, a senior in 5th period dance, says, “I loved being a part of the dance show because everyone is always so nice, and I loved seeing all the other dancers.”

PHOTOS: Abbie Key

Concert Review

By: Allie Bolton and Bailey Monroe

On April 12, Panic! At the Disco came to the Infinite Energy Center. They came on their Death of a Bachelor tour. Their stop in Atlanta was one of the final shows in the tour.

Opening acts Saint Motel and Misterwives, two B list indie pop bands whose music style echos Panic’s own, started the show.

Panic! At the Disco came out singing “Don’t Threat me with a Good Time,” which was wellreceived by the crowd. The song is fast paced and loud, easily getting the crowd ready for the rest of the energetic set.

Part way through the first set, lead singer Brendon Urie disappeared from stage, appearing on the other side of the venue playing

and singing his acoustic version of “This is Gospel” on the piano.

Instead of returning to stage the discreet way he left, he instead climbed down to the floor and walked through the crowd, still managing to sing with the band despite having so many people touching him the entire walk back.

Before the concert began, nearly everyone in the crowd received a paper heart. Different colors were distributed based on section to be placed over phone-camera lights to form the Pride Rainbow during “Girls like Girls and Boys,” Panic!’s primary LGBTQ support song.

orchestration of the rainbow. He then sang a cover of “Bohemian Rhapsody,” which he introduced as, “a song by my favorite gay person of all time.”

Near the end, The crew surprised Urie by stopping the show to in celebration of his 30th birthday, or his, “dirty thirty,” to quote Urie.

The crowd sang “Happy Birthday” as the crew blasted confetti and brought out a birthday cake. At a loss for words, Urie simply said, “Play the d*** song,” with a laugh, to which the band began playing “I Write Sins Not Tragedies,” Panic!’s breakout song.

After the song, Urie gave a speech about his support of the LGBTQ community and thanked the audience for their enthusiastic

The final song was “Victorious,” the first song on the touring album and an appropriate ending to the concert.

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PHOTOS: yearbook staff

Tennis & Golf: seasons of success By: Maggie Mitchell

Tennis

Coach Schroer is the Varsity coach for the girls and boys varsity tennis team. Both the girls and the boys varsity teams have had a competitive and successful season.In preparation for region and state both teams practice every day after school for about 1 1/2 hours.

“The girls finished second in the region tournament and the boys finished third,” said Coach Schroer.

Placing high in the region tournaments allowed both tennis teams to advanced to the state tournament.

The girls varsity tennis team competed against Walton at state on April 25. "Even though we lost, the team played great," said Madeline Hill. Hill is a senior on the varsity tennis team who has played for Mill Creek all four years of high school.

"I've always dreamed of playing tennis in college," said Hill, who recently accepted an opportunity to attend Saint Joseph's University, and play on their tennis team next year.

Golf

The golf teams has had a very competitive season so far. Jeremy York is one of the coaches for the girls varsity golf team. The girls golf team practices from Monday through Thursday for 3 hours after school at Hamilton Mill golf course.

“My parents put me into golf when I was younger and I have been playing for 10 years now,” said Annika Blanton. Blanton is a senior this year, and has played for the Hawks since freshman year. Her plan for the future is to play college golf.

"We want to win region and state," said Blanton. As we go to press, both the boys and the girls teams have one more match, on May 9, to determine if they are heading to the state tournament. Both state matches will be held May 22 and 23, at Chateau Elan Woodlands. The Hawks last took the state title in Girls Golf in 2009.

‘04 ‘06 ‘08 ‘05 ‘07 ‘09 Remember When...

By: Kaitlyn Neher and Ashley Baptiste

Remember when light-up sketchers and Rugrats were all the hype? Or what about when your favorite shows ended on Nickelodeon and Disney Channel? Here is to the times when the last year of the “90’s” kids played on their Nintendos and listened to “Crank That!” on their iPod nanos. Here is to the most memorable and popular technology, TV shows, books, movies, and songs from 2004 through today. Let’s reminisce.

TV SHOWS (END)

Mcguire 2004 Lizzie Rugrats

Powerpuff Girls

MOVIES Incredibles Mean Girls

2005 Dragon Tales

Narnia Batman Begins

2006 Jimmy Neutron

Cars High School Musical Ice Age Ratatouille Transformers

Grey’s Anatomy (Pilot) Phil of the Future

2007

Kim Possible That’s So Raven

2008 Zoey 101

Twilight Camp Rock

Home for Imaginary 2009 Foster’s Friends

Princess and the Frog The Blind Side

2010

Toy Story 3

Suite Life of Zack and Cody

Jonas

2011

Suite Life on Deck Hannah Montana

Harry Potter: Deathly Hollows 2 The Help

2012

Wizards of Waverly Place

Avengers The Hunger Games

2013

Orange is the New Black (Pilot)

2014 2015 2016

Wolf of Wall Street Monsters University Frozen

Good Luck Charlie

American Sniper The Fault in our Stars

Parks and Recreation

Jurassic World Star Wars: The Force Awakens

American Idol

Finding Dory Star Wars: Rogue One

‘10 ‘12 ‘14 ‘16 ‘11 ‘13 ‘15 SONGS Yeah!

By: Usher Hollaback Girl By: Gwen Stefani Unwritten By: Natasha Bedingfield Crank That!

By: Soulja Boy Single Ladies By: Beyonce Apologize By: Timbaland ft. OneRepublic Tik Tok By: Ke$ha Party Rock Anthem By: LMFAO Call Me Maybe By: Carly Rae Jepsen Thrift Shop By: Macklemore ft. Ryan Lewis Dark Horse By: Katy Perry Upt0wn Funk By: Bruno Mars One Dance By: Drake

TECHNOLOGY 2004 Nintendo DS Motorola Razor 2006 Nintendo Wii PlayStation 3 2007 iPhone 2009 Nintendo Wii Fit 2011 Nintendo 3DS

BOOKS 2004 Nintendo DS Motorola Razor 2006 Nintendo Wii PlayStation 3 2007 iPhone 2009 Nintendo Wii Fit 2011 Nintendo 3DS

3/24 vs Mountain View (W) 12-1

3/22 vs Duluth (W) 11-1

3/20 vs Duluth (W) 11-1

3/17 vs Discovery (W) 11-1

3/15 vs Discovery (W) 10-0

3/13 vs Norcross (W) 7-2

3/10 vs West Forsyth (W) 4-3

3/8 vs Collins Hill (W) 4-3

3/6 vs Collins Hill (W) 4-3

3/2 vs Brookwood (W) 8-1

2/28 vs Parkview (W) 4-2

2/25 vs Northside (W) 11-3

2/25 vs LaGrange (W) 5-1

2/24 vs Loganville (W) 3-1

2/20 vs Lambert (W) 5-3

VARSITY BASEBALL By: Faith Montgomery

ALL PHOTOS: Courtesy of the yearbook staff

THIS SEASON

Mill Creek’s Varsity baseball team finished their regular season on April 21st 16-2 in the region and 27-4 overall. In the first round of the playoffs, Hawks’ Baseball faced South Gwinnett who went 14-12 overall and 8-7 in their region. Steve Kirk, outfielder and pitcher, prior to the game said, “In the playoffs, we might stretch out a first-round win, but South Gwinnett’s a pretty tough team. So, we just have to make sure our pitchers come out to play and we hit the ball well, and I think we’ll be able to make it to the second round.”

As for how the regular season went, Kirk says, “We’ve had a lot of ups and downs this season,” “but, mostly ups,” adds Jay Pendley,

another pitcher and outfielder for the Hawks. “So far this year, we’re not playing as a team like we should be, which is causing us to lose some important games,” says Pendley.

“But, we’ve had a lot of good stuff from our pitching staff; they’ve gotten really strong for us which has been key this season,” says Kirk. However, Kirk added, “Wednesday we took an L,” referring to their April 19th loss to North Gwinnett 2-1, “but, tonight we bounced back,” in reference to the last region game of the season against Peachtree Ridge where Mill Creek handed a loss to the Lions at home, completing the Hawks’ regular season with a 6-2 win.

OVERCOMING OBSTACLES

“Playing for the school is a lot of work since there’s practice everyday. I don’t mind it; it’s just a grind,” says pitcher and third baseman Davis Sharpe. “Baseball is just a game of adversity and you go through slumps, but it’s nice to know that my friends are there to encourage me when I’m not playing well and they just build me up when I need it," says Sharpe, which is a common theme for the players.

Jay Pendley says, "My favorite part about playing is just being out here with all of the guys. We just have a special bond with each other, like brothers; we’re all relentless."

4/21 vs Peachtree Ridge (W) 6-2

4/19 vs North Gwinnett (L) 2-1

4/17 vs Mountain View (W) 9-2

4/14 vs Duluth (W) 6-3

4/12 vs Discovery (W) 13-1

4/11 vs Hillgrove (W) 5-2

4/7 vs Collins Hill (W) 9-0

4/5 vs Peachtree Ridge (W) 9-2

4/4 vs Peachtree Ridge (W) 11-0

3/31 vs North Gwinnett (W) 6-2

3/29 vs North Gwinnett (L) 6-2

3/27 vs Mountain View (W) 4-0

“I love competing, going out there, having fun, and I love getting better and playing baseball.

After high school, I’m going to Clemson to play baseball and to get an education. I hope to play after college, but we’ll see.”

-Davis Sharpe, 11

“My favorite advice someone’s given me about the game came from Coach Jones the other day. He said, ‘Practice like you’ve never won, and play like you’ve never lost.’”

-Ridge Stanton, 12

“Sometimes playing on the team gets hostile if we get mad at each other we take it personally. We just say in between the lines we’re together, we’re a team, we’re brothers.”

-Jay Pendley, 12

Hawk with a Story: Young Author Grace Nebel

By: Michelle Ortiz

Sophomore Grace Nebel, one of the winners of Alternate Ending Publications’ contest, is publishing her first story along with nine other participants in the anthology novel: Twisted FairyTales.

On December 10th, Alternate Ending Publications began accepting submissions for a new short story anthology project. The theme was fairy tales with a modern twist. Submissions were open to any author between the ages of 13 and 19.

Arias Michaels, owner of Alternate Ending Publications, says, “the goal of this project is to give young authors the opportunity to have their work published and gain valuable experience in the publishing industry...

As an added bonus it looks awesome on a college application. Once the project has been published,”Arias further explained that they “will organize an event where all contributing authors will be invited to sit in on an author signing, meet their fans/readers, and sign copies of their first published work. Paperback copies will be available for purchase to the public.”

So naturally, young Nebel took this opportunity as a step towards her writing career and submitted her own version of the old folk story, Hansel and Gretel.

“I wrote the rough draft during November and had a few close friends read it for me during December. The company got back to me in February, and we worked nonstop until last week (April 9th) on just about all aspects

of the publication- head-shots, publicity, editing, author bios, the whole shebang,” said Nebel.

As for the book, Nebel says, “it is true to its name.” The novel “is an anthology written by young authors who took classic fairy tales and put a modern spin on them. All I can say about mine is that not all hotels are equivalent to relaxing vacations…”

“There are 10 of us around the country getting published May first, and we all are using this opportunity to publish full novels in the (hopefully near) future,” says Nebel. She hopes this will pave her way to career as an author. Currently she is writing her “interpretation of what would happen when the four horsemen of the apocalypse actually brought the end of the world. It’s pretty fun,” says Nebel.

The anthology is available for sale on Amazon in paperback and Kindle editions, as well as through other online outlets.

Search for it by title or by it’s assigned ISBN: 1545345368.

Images couretsy: Alternative Ending Publications

COLLEGE DORM HACKS Organization tips, alternative uses, and extra hacks to help keep your dorm functional, organized, and efficient.

CODE D

CORD S

By: Jordan Dudley

Charger cords can be a hassle to separate and identify quickly, but one creative and attractive way of organizing your cords are to grab a shoe box and a power strip. After decorating your shoe box, poke your needed number of holes into the side of the box and voila! You now have a cord organizer.

ELIMIN ATOR

DIY SP E AKER

ODOR

If your dorm room has an odor and you can’t seem to find the source, grab a few scented dryer sheets and place them on a fan in your room to permeate throughout and fix that smell.

Although there are many people who have portable speakers, super easy and affordable substitutes that can amplify sound while in your dorm is to place your phone is a glass cup or design your own speakers by cutting a slit in a toilet paper roll that your phone can fit in, then cut out holes on the side of two plastic cups, assemble accordingly, and now the volume of your phone is several times louder.

E X TRA

HACK S...

PHOTOS: Jordan Dudley and Sociaety19

Showering in college is already a hassle because you may have to share with 3-30 other people.

A tip for making your shower more enjoyable is to customize your shower head. Using an old bottle, poke the number of holes the would best fit your fancy, and screw/fasten it onto the shower.

O I TAPE WASH RGAN IZATIO

Living in a space with another person can become tricky, especially when roommates have products or items that look similar.

To help to differentiate, use washi tape to color code your things. Washi tape is sold in various colors and designs which makes it fun and easy to organize.

Closet space in your standard college dorm is incredibly limited, but one way to make room for more of your clothes is to recycle soda can tabs. Use these tabs by hooking them onto one clothes hanger and then loop a second hanger onto the soda can tab that you hooked onto the first. This hack doubles the amount of space that you have in your tiny closet.

COFF EE

POT C O O KI N

G

N

Coffee is a must-have in college for many students, but you can put your coffee pot to work by filling it with water and boiling hot dogs, noodles, or other snacks within.

SNAC ANIZE K O RG R

Door shoe holders are a great way to organize your shoes, but another way to put those to use are to put snacks, utensils, cleaning supplies, or even clothes in the pockets. This organization tip will help students to store smaller items in a place that is easily accessible.

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BULLET JOURNAL

Photo credits: Madeleine Moody and Jordan Dudley

By: Madeleine Moody

A DIARY, A PLANNER, A SKETCHBOOK?

A creative outlet that provides organization to life: a bullet journal. The bullet journal’s intended use is to be a personalized version of a planner- the owner of the journal has free reign to be as creative or minimalistic as he/she desires. Wait, journal does not mean dairy in this instance? It’s an anomaly! Although many students at Mill Creek, according to survey results, believe bullet journal implies simply bullet pointing important details in a journalwhich is not a completely incorrect thought- the journal is actually a “customizable and forgiving organization system- the analog system for the digital age” according to creator Ryder Carroll.

Ryder Carroll designed the journal as a written way to track and organize just about everything in his life instead of using the emphasis cell phone.

The journal has gained major popularity and although the original is a very minimalistic style with the basics- future log, monthly spread, daily spread, key and index- many people have turned the journal into a creative outlet to be as artistic and orderly as they would like. Sound intriguing?

For more detailed information go to bulletjournal. com.

TIPS, TRICKS, & HACKS

1

Use the journal for anything and everything! The most important part of the bullet journal is the content. The journal acts as a second brain, some might say, so include as much information about your life and events as necessary. You, the owner, have full control .

2

Use stencils! Obviously depending on the owner he/she decides how they want their journal to look but it is definitely recommended to use rulers and other stencils to aid in straight lines and a neat design, nothing makes a person want to use something more than the neat, creative aspect.

3

Have the right materials! The staple notebook is the Leuchtturm 1917 dotted but any journal will do. Also invest in writing utensils like pens and markers that will not bleed or smudge and will be precise on the page, to insure a neat layout on each page.

ADD YOUR OWN PERSONAL TOUCH...

MONTHLY SPREAD

The monthly log consists of a drawn in month calendar view and space to incorporate important events or tasks throughout the month. The monthly log is intended to be brief and simply a reference page. When beginning the monthly log title the page the name of the month and begin drawing the calendar view of the month, the design is completely up to the journal owner but a simplistic style is numbering the days vertically along the side of the page and adding the first letter of the day correlated to the number beside it, leaving plenty of room for event planning. The picture above is also an example of a monthly log.

The Bullet Journal does not have to simply be a planner. There are so many additional spread ideas that will fill the journal with amazing creativity and tracking outlets. The picture to the right is a perfect example of a personal touch. It is a bucket list but the title is drawings instead the typical words and the list is not extremely organized and perfect, but that is the fun of it. There are so many other spread ideas as well, for example a quote wall, wish list, mood tracking mandala, traveling destinations, memories board...and so many more. Have fun and be creative with it; its all about the owner.

WEEKLY SPREAD Similar to the monthly log, the weekly log follows and goes into detail for each individual week throughout the month. The picture to the left is one example of a weekly spread, but there are so many other designs for this page. The most important part is to have the days of the week and enough room under each day to write down the events and to-dos of the day. As for the remainder of the page anything can be added, like a weather tracker for the week or a meal tracker or mood tracker or grade tracker or just an inspirational quote, once again this is simply up to the owner.

KEY AND INDEX The key and index are essential parts of the journal, both occurring within the first few pages, they are meant to be the logistics and overview of the internal journal.

The key, as pictured to the left, lays out each individual symbol used throughout the journal and its meaning. For example, the typical symbol for a task is a dot so the key would picture a dot and next to it it would say “task.� The creator goes into detail of each recommended symbol and its meaning on bulletjournal.com but the symbols are a personal choice as well. Immediately following the key is the index where it is recommended to leave at least three blank pages to write down each spread and the page number following as a quick reference to where important pages are.

Summer Jobs Unusual Ways to Make Money This Summer By: Vanessa Medina

1 Camp Counselor If you love to spend time with kid’s, you can spend the summer singing songs and making crafts as a camp counselor. Remember to keep in mind that these jobs fill up in advance long before the summer.

Research the camp' websites to find out more details and information.

2 Party Prince/Princess You can look for a character company in your area that hires teens to work as performers. You can work at children’s birthday parties and events. You can earn around $40-50 plus tips. Another thing to keep in mind would be that this job might require an audition.

3 Mystery Shopper This is a job many teens have not heard of or thought about. A mystery shopper’s job is to go into stores and make sure that employees are following the required guidelines for that store or that they are not rude to customers. In this job, you will work for a company but it is very selfmanaging because you can set your own hour that you want to work.

4 Crowd Funder If you have a big project that you would like to get off the ground such as an album, invention, etc.

You can possibly fund it through Kickstarter. If you do want to start up a Kickstarter account you will need an adult to set it up and receive paychecks for you but other than that it is a great way to make money.

5 Dock Keeper If you are competent with boats and enjoy being outside on the lake, check out dock keeping. This job allows you to maintain the dock while also keeping an eye on the boats docked. This job offers an hourly wage as well as tips.

7 Transcriptionist

6 Article Writer Many websites accept Pitches from teenagers for articles and personal essays for money. You can try websites such as Rookie which specifically aim at teenagers.

There are transcription jobs available on the internet. So, if you are good at transcribing, handwriting or audio, this is an interesting way to make money.

8 Proofreader 9 Author It is doable to make money off your own novel if you have written your own book. You can look for an agent to publish your book or with the help of an adult you can self-publish your novel on kindle and make money with each sale.

11 Amusement Park Worker You can visit the website of an amusement park in your area and apply for a job serving drinks or popcorn. Jobs regarding concessions or admissions pay hourly and sometimes offer discounts to that particular place.

Just having good grammar can land you a job as a proofreader.

You can look for companies that hire teens as proofreaders to read documents.

10 Twitch Twitch helps you make money by livestreaming your video games. All you must do is run a few advertisements through your games as you play.

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ALL PHOTOS: Michelle Ortiz

CONGRATULATIONS CLASS OF

2017