The 3A Team An essay collection by Star Friend’s English 9 class Fall 2021
Writers Ankith Bhogavalli Kelsye Brown Ally Cabrera Javier Chavez Lukas Corsnitz Jasmine Cruz-Hernandez Anderson Davis Isabel Doran Matthew Doran Gracie Flowers Kimberly Gonzalez-Sanchez Pearson Johnson Desmond Kozlowski Kevin Larson Jonathan Lopez-Bautista Mario Marquez-Gomez Abi Moore Amelia Newman Jes Nguyen Chase O’Keeffe Emma Roark Adam Rosenfeld Akyera Serrrano-Haines Max Smith Sarah Stern Braxton Vargas-Aguillon Aisha Vasquez Cruz
Ankith Bhogavalli Even more so than money, time is the most powerful and valuable item in this world. Once a wonderful moment has passed, it is gone forever and will never return because time only moves forward and not backward. It is true that if one individual does not recognize the worth of time, time does not recognize the value of that person. If we squander our time, time squanders us as well. "Time and tide wait for no one," that is true. Time only provides us one chance at a time, and once we've lost it, we'll never get it back. It's a fantastic thing that doesn't have a beginning or an end. It is a tremendous force that causes things to be born, grow, deteriorate, and die. It has no limitations or bounds, thus it can move at its own rate indefinitely. At any point in our lives, none of us has control over time. It cannot be evaluated or critiqued in any way. Although most people are aware of the value and necessity of time, many of us lose patience in difficult situations and begin wasting time. Time never stops for anyone, and goodwill is never shown to anyone. It is believed that time is money, but I believe that we cannot equate time to money because money can be repaid in any way, however time can never be repaid in any way. Time is more valuable than money and other valuables in the universe. The unique attribute of nature that "Change is the law of nature" is demonstrated by the ever-changing time. Because nothing is independent of time, everything in this world changes with the passage of time. People believe that life is lengthy, but the truth is that life is too short, and we have so much to do in our lives. Without wasting time, we should make the most of every moment of our lives. Schoolwork, household tasks, hours of sleep, waking time, exercise, eating, and other daily routines should be adequately planned and managed according to the time. Working hard should be enjoyable, and good deeds should never be put off until later. We must recognize the importance of time and use it wisely in order to be blessed with time rather than ruined by it.
Kelsye Brown D is for December December might be the title of this memoir but it is the story about getting my first dog! I had been asking for a dog for Christmas for three years straight! Then on a really cold day in mid December my parents had just said we were going for a drive when we saw the car pull into an animal shelter! I was beyond stoked! My parents had finally agreed to let us get a dog in 2013 because my sister and I were finally old enough and they thought it was a great time and so did I. My parents had already gone to look at a dog that they wanted, apparently my mom wanted a small dog, let's just say it didn't go that way. We walked in to meet a 100 pound Great Dane mix. I was in love from the start! He was only six months old, had a bunch of energy and was as excited to meet us as we were to meet him. My sister was a little scared at first but once he calmed down we were certain this was the dog for our family and the newest family member in our house. So we filled out the paperwork and took him home! It was so amazingly overwhelming to see him realize we were his new family, he had a home and he was loved! The first week was a little strange for everyone to get used to but the whole family settled into this new member in the family really fast. Looking back at the year it is now he is eight years old. We also have a second dog and so much has changed throughout the years but looking back at all of this he will always still be my angel. He is the best thing that has happened in my life, has been with me through good and bad all these years and he is the best dog I could have asked for when I was six.
Ally Cabrera 'Beside You' has to be one of my favourite songs. It's written by the Vietnamese artist Keshi, his real name being Casey Luong. The song is about wanting to pursue love but not being able to. Specifically because that person he's interested in is already taken. They met at a party and in the beginning of the song he says 'It's just you and I, and no other guys we got no interruptions and we both feeling the vibe' stating that they are obviously alone in a specific room at the party. He's basically encouraging the girl he met at the party to cheat on her boyfriend with him. This is stated in the end of the first verse and entirety of the second verse (also basically the entire song) where he says 'Say I'm not your type but I know what's on your mind we can talk about nothin' or we can see what it's like don't lie, baby, don't lie his love never felt right switch sides and I'm beside you if you say it's alright' In an interview he had with Genius breaking down the song, he states that talking about nothing is always something. Talking about nothing with someone you just met is obviously better than doing nothing. Of course it starts off awkward, but eventually it sparks a friendship. 'Seeing what it's like' is basically saying that they could either talk about nothing or they could sleep together and see what that's like. Although he does state he's asking for consent at the end of the second verse, he's encouraging this random girl he met at a party that he'll probably never see again to cheat on her boyfriend because he doesn't see a connection between them. Continued on the next page …
'You say this ain't love, but it's still the same love make love, anything' to sate ya don't be shy, you decide say, can I make you mine?' If I'm being honest I think the girl saying it isn't love is the right take on the situation. You can't just randomly meet someone at a party and call it love at first sight. 'The same love' he's talking about is the same old love this girl has with her boyfriend. It's boring to her which is why she's in this room or away from the main area where everybody's at with keshi. 'Make love, anything' to sate ya' , the meaning of this line is obvious enough. I don't really relate to this song so I don't understand why I like this song so much. I assume it's because I've had people who were in the same situation as the girl trying to get with me instead of the other way around. Even now that I look back at some things I might relate to this song more than I want to admit. I think I like this song not because I can somewhat relate to it, but because keshi himself and all the songs he writes or puts out are relatable in some way. The thought of wanting to be intimate (not sleeping with someone) and the ability to be vulnerable with someone is something anyone can relate to which I think is the entire point behind this song even though it's about cheating. The performance of this song is beautiful in itself. He has that specific capability to express feelings through his voice and body language. Even if you're not capable of understanding the song or the story behind it, the performance makes you feel something you can't quite understand either. The story behind this song is straightforward yet not and I think that's the beauty this song holds.
Javier Chavez Spiderman. Spider-Man is a superhero created by writer-editor Stan Lee and writer-artist Steve Ditko. He appears in American comic books published by Marvel Comics and in movies, television shows, and video game adaptations set in the Marvel Universe. Spider-Man is the alias of Peter Parker, an orphan raised by his Aunt May and Uncle Ben in New York City after his parents Richard and Mary Parker died in a plane crash. Lee and Ditko had the character deal with the struggles of adolescence and financial issues and gave him many supporting characters, such as J. Jonah Jameson, Harry Osborn, romantic interests Gwen Stacy and Mary Jane Watson, and foes such as Doctor Octopus, the Green Goblin and Venom. In his origin story, he gets spider-related abilities from a bite from a radioactive spider; these include clinging to surfaces, superhuman strength, speed, agility, reflexes, and detecting danger with his "spider-sense." He also builds wrist-mounted "web-shooter" devices that shoot artificial spider webs of his own design. When Spider-Man first appeared in the early 1960s, teenagers in superhero comic books were usually relegated to the role of sidekick to the protagonist. The Spider-Man series broke ground by featuring Peter Parker, a high school student from Queens behind Spider-Man's secret identity and with whose "self-obsessions with rejection, inadequacy, and loneliness" readers could relate to. While Spider-Man had all the makings of a sidekick, unlike previous teen heroes such as Bucky and Robin, Spider-Man had no superhero mentor like Captain America and Batman; he thus had to learn for himself that "with great power there must also come great responsibility"—a line included in a text box in the final panel of the first Spider-Man story but later retroactively attributed to his guardian, his late Uncle Ben Parker. Continued on the next page …
Marvel has featured Spider-Man in several comic book series, the first and longest-lasting of which is The Amazing Spider-Man. Over the years, the Peter Parker character developed from a shy, nerdy New York City high school student to troubled but outgoing college student, to married high school teacher to, in the late 2000s, a single freelance photographer. In the 2000s, he joins the Avengers. Doctor Octopus also took on the identity for a story arc spanning 2012–2014, following a body swap plot in which Peter appears to die. Ultimate Spider-Man, which features the adventures of a teenaged Peter Parker in an alternate universe; and Ultimate Comics Spider-Man, which depicts the teenager Miles Morales, who takes up the mantle of Spider-Man after Ultimate Peter Parker's supposed death. Miles later become a popular superhero in his own right, later brought into the mainstream continuity, where he sometimes works alongside Peter. Spider-Man is one of the most popular and commercially successful superheroes. He has appeared in countless forms of media, including several animated and live action television series, syndicated newspaper comic strips, and in multiple series of films. The character was first portrayed in live action by Danny Seagren in Spidey Super Stories, a The Electric Company skit which ran from 1974 to 1977. In films, Spider-Man has been portrayed by actors Tobey Maguire, Andrew Garfield, and in the Marvel Cinematic Universe by Tom Holland. He was voiced by Chris Pine and Jake Johnson in the animated film Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. Reeve Carney starred originally as Spider-Man in the 2010 Broadway musical Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark. Spider-Man has been well received as a superhero and comic book character, and he is often ranked as one of the most popular and iconic comic book characters of all time and one of the most popular characters in all fiction.
Lukas Corsnitz H is for Hats. Hats is a very broad and basic topic but the hats that I will talk about here are very special because I got them at different places that I have gone with my family. The three that I will talk about here are a Washington Nationals baseball hat, A Donald duck hat, and a groundhog hat. The first hat that has always been important to me is my Nationals Hat. The reason why this hat is so important is because I got it at My first Washington Nationals Game. I had always wanted one and when I went to the park I saw the team shop and went in and bought one. My family went to the game because on the day that we were coming back from Ocean City when we found out there was a game so we decided to go. After I got the hat I wore the thing to death. I still have the hat to this day even though it does not fit me anymore but It is something that I will never get rid of. The second hat that is important to me is a Donald duck hat. This hat was one that I got when I went to Disney world. When I first went down to Florida I saw someone wearing a Donald duck hat around and as soon as I saw it I told my parents that I really wanted to get one. The next day my family went to Magic Kingdom. That night there was a fireworks display and during that My mom and I went into one of the many shops there and I found one that I liked and bought it. For the rest of the trip I wore that thing nonstop. I also still have that one to this day and it still fits me and I still wear it. Continued on the next page …
The final hat that I am going to talk about is a groundhog hat. This hat is one that I bought when I went to groundhog day in Punxsutawney Pennsylvania. What Groundhog day is is on February 2nd of each year in Punxsutawney Pennsylvania. A group of guys called the inner circle gather at a place called gobblers knob and a groundhog named Punxsutawney Phil comes out of his borrow and if he sees his shadow that means spring is right around the corner. If he does not see his shadow that means six more weeks of winter. It is a Pennsylvania dutch superstition and even though it is silly it is a lot of fun. For years my family has always watched it on TV and we always see these groundhog hats on TV. One year we realize that it will be on a Saturday and decide that we are going to go to it. When we got there I decided that I am going to buy a groundhog hat and after the event we went into the town where I bought my hat that I really wanted. I also still have the hat to this day. All of these hats are special to me and I will never get rid of any of them because it is an item that I can always remember these trips by.
Jasmine Cruz-Hernandez Edith, Isn't that a pretty name I think it is. My older sister's name is, Edith-Jamileth Cruz-Hernandez. She is my only full blood sister because we have the same parents unlike my other siblings. She was born on March 13, 2006 she is eighteen months older than me so in school she's one grade above me. Edith is smart so she is not in average math, My parents are always proud on how good she is at school. In 5th grade she had all A's so she was put in a math higher. Edith sometimes doesn't like being in a non average math class but I know she can do it. I tell Edith everything, we are very close in age so we have a lot in common. One thing that does make me sad tho is the fact that I don't actually know a lot about her. She doesn't like telling me things, to be honest I think it's my fault. She always tells me I have a big mouth and I know it's true too, so I won't blame her. I just wish she would tell me more, I tell her everything but I barely even know my own sister. Another reason I think she doesn't tell me anything is because she always says I don't listen and I feel bad when she does because sometimes I do really try my best she just never tells me right. Growing up Edith and I would share everything, and I mean everything. From Pets, to Christmas presents, to even some of our friends. We both hate sharing tho, it's never fair Edith always ends up having more than me. Edith and I have what we call online friends which is just friends that we meet online. We have never actually met any of them but we are really close to some. Usually when we make friends online we both end up becoming friends with them. Sometimes Edith doesn't like me having the same friends as her but it just ends up that way. My mom always tells me not to defend Edith when she lectures her, She always says that Edith is unfair with me and doesn't care. I personally thinks that's not true. Edith might not be 100% fair with me but she does care about me, she does a lot for me and a lot of people don't notice that. I think she is very misunderstood and no one knows. Everyone always tells me to take care of her when we travel or Just do anything, It should be the other way around tho. She's older than me and way more mature. I think they say that just because she was clumsy when she was younger she would always get hurt and stuff, but she's not like that anymore. Continued on the next page …
Just by looking at her you can tell Edith is a introvert. She hates going out and interacting with people she doesn't know. I don't want to diagnose but I'm pretty sure she has social anxiety, It's pretty obvious to be honest. I am a part of a lot of activities but Edith is the total opposite, she doesn't like to do activities and my mom calls her lazy for that but I don't think she is, she just really doesn't want to go out. Edith is not the most fit person and that's another reason my mom calls her lazy, my mom always tells me to encourage Edith to do more. Sometimes she gets a little mean but I think she has a reason, she just wants Edith to be healthy. My sister really hates her name, I don't know why I think it's very pretty and unique. Sometimes I do really feel bad for her. She is very misunderstood by everyone especially my family. Edith is the closest person to me of course because she is my sister. We are closer than normal sisters just because we are very close in age and have a lot in common. We basically go everywhere together one reason is because we have the same parents and the second is because we both hate going places alone, even tho I feel like she doesn't like having me around I always need her. To be honest I don't know if I could live without her, she does a lot for me and I am very grateful for that. We loved each other a lot when we were younger and I wish it could be like that again. I'm so grateful to have her as a sister and I would never want to see her go. One day, Edith will go to college and we will be apart for a while. I remember when we were younger and we would end up separating I would always cry. Edith wouldn't, but I know she missed me even tho she doesn't show it. I hope when we are younger we will be as close. I love my sister so much.
Anderson Davis My dream job is to become a malware analyst. Some responsibilities would include having first-hand knowledge and experience in understanding malware, managing computer networks, setting up security systems to protect business work environments. Other responsibilities can include designing ways to detect malware and mitigate it. This can be accomplished by using industry-standard detection tools techniques developed through experience. I will have to go to a good school and get a good education before I become a malware analyst. Most malware analysts are expected to have a bachelor's degree in cyber security while some have gone through little schooling and have learned it on their own but with many years of experience under their belt. Analysts must know high and low levels of programming and must understand how operating systems work. A piece of good working knowledge in programming such as Python, Java and HTML is very beneficial when understanding how things work related to programs. There are also many software utilities that have been designed to assist malware engineers in their jobs. I will need to have an IT certification to have access to that field. There are several certifications such as GREM certification (GIAC Reverse Engineering Malware), or CISSP (Certified Information Systems Security Professional) These are industry standards certifications that give a broad base for understanding security and malware situations, but there are also many more certifications out there. I will make very good money from this job and my salary will go up as time goes on. A malware analyst can make anywhere from $115,000-165,000 dollars a year starting out. While experienced Malware analyst can make up to $235,000 per year. Malware analyst positions are a much needed profession because computer security issues which are challenging are constantly changing. Satisfaction of the job comes from maintaining security and problem solving because most malware engineers are very good problem solvers.
Isabel Doran One of the most difficult things starting out in high school was actually having to meet so many new people. I do not have a problem with social interaction and have made many good friends here already. The problem is, I have never actually experienced this before. At least it didn't feel like it. That is because for my whole primary, elementary, and middle school life I was at the same place. I started attending Holy Spirit, a catholic private school in the Fairfax area, when I was in Kindergarten. When you are in Kindergarten, you have never have to worry about making friends. It kind of just happens. And since I stayed at this school all the way until the end, there never really felt like a beginning for any of my friendships. I had always known the kids in my grade. Going to a private school also meant a very small number of kids with 60 for the whole grade and 30 for the class at its peak. So naturally, going in to a high school with over 1000 kids meant in a completely new area meant meeting lots of people. It is definitely a shock compared to grade school, but one that I could easily manage. Still, it can be really tiring keeping up with so many different people whereas in Holy Spirit, I had my grade and my class in one small school and that was it. This is most prevalent in middle school especially. Holy Spirit's middle school section was in the basement of the school, having 6-8th grades in the one little hallway. All 8 of the middle school teachers resided down there as well. Lockers were in our homeroom and the desks actually had space to put stuff in. In 6th and 7th grade, we would switch around the rooms each period, only mixing around grade classes for math and science. 8th grade was when the pandemic hit and things were a little different. We never switched rooms. Instead, the teachers would come to us. We also never mixed 8th grade classes either. I was with the same 18 people all year. This was both a curse and a blessing. On one hand, I had a strong bond with my class and laughed more than I ever have being in there. On the other hand, it started the divide between two classes. The classes were divided on math scores. While I have a pretty keen understanding on English, Spelling, History, and Science, I struggled a bit with Math. So my class, known as 8T, was in the lower math class. Not horribly low. In fact, we were taking the normal math course for 8th graders. It is just that the other class, 8A, consisted of kids taking the above average math course. So in actuality, I was exactly where I was supposed to be for Math. In Holy Spirit's eyes, this means we were the lesser class. We had kids who excelled at Language and Arts, History, and who were more in tune with emotional intelligence. It made for a bit of a rambunctious crowd, but honestly creative and good-natured kids. For Holy Spirit, this was a nightmare and there were teachers, specifically my math teacher, who treated us differently. Meanwhile, 8A as a whole developed a bit of a superiority complex. I could go on and on about the many things that happened over the school year because of this, but I will just leave it at that. Continued on the next page …
For the change of workload, it did not go up in high school. In fact, it actually went down. At my old school, having 4+ homework assignments and 2 tests to study for a day was normal. And while there are a decent amount of assignments here, it is the due dates that really make the difference. Here, an assignment will be assigned to be "due" in a few days or more when in actuality, you could do it two weeks later and get full credit. At Holy Spirit, if you don't finish it the day it is due, it automatically goes down to a 7 or in some cases, 0. Plus, due dates are usually the day or two after it is assigned. Tests and quizzes were frequent and we also had many assessments. In conclusion, the grading was pretty rigid and black and white there and that is why even though assignments here are lax, I usually do them the day they are assigned out of habit. Even with taking all the honors I could possibly take and doubling up on science it still does not even come close to the magnitude of Holy Spirit.
Matthew Doran Chicken wings are absolutely one of the best foods I have ever eaten. The first time I had them as a child, they didn't taste very good to me. However, since then, I have grown to have a very high spice tolerance and my perception of chicken wings dramatically changed. Ever since then, they have been among my favorite foods. The best chicken wings I have ever eaten were at Buffalo Wild Wings. True to their name, they do not disappoint when it comes to customer satisfaction. You can choose between traditional and boneless wings, and I won't lie, they are both incredible. Additionally, the range of sauce flavors they have available is astounding. The chicken wings are always served in a bold, flavorful sauce that truly highlights every part of the wing. And it's not only the sauce that makes these wings great. The other defining feature of Buffalo Wild Wings' chicken wings is the fact that you can mix and match sauces. You don't just have to choose one sauce for each wing. You can get 20 wings and put 20 different sauces on each one. This, combined with the relatively quick service (dependent on the amount of people in the restaurant at the time), is what truly makes these wings the best. Now, don't get me wrong, I also love other people's chicken wings. The only chicken wings that I don't like are the crappy ones that come in a large bag for $3.50 at Martin's. Those ones taste like they were put in a microwave for 90 minutes and left to fester for a year. Other than that, I like just about every type of chicken wing. Every time I see chicken wings on a restaurant menu or anything similar, I make a push to try and get them. All of this is why chicken wings are easily my favorite food 9 to eat.
Gracie Flowers Have you ever felt isolated or depressed? The COVIID 19 pandemic certainly brought to the table things that were previously not discussed as much. During the lockdown I became very lonely and it started to get hard to look forward to things. Issues like depression that came about from social isolation is only a small part of the mental health crisis today. How can the average person become more informed about mental health issues? Mental health means "a state of well-being in which the individual realizes his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to his or her community." You could read WebMD or Mayo Clinic, but if you are a teenager there are books that have weaved mental health issues into a story. For example, Girl in Pieces is an excellent book that discusses these issues. As a matter of fact, this teenage fiction book written by Kathleen Glasgow has earned the Amelia Bloomer booklist award. My goal in this essay is to discuss the components of mental health and how it affects people of all ages and lifework. You may think Mental Health issues only affect a few people, but in reality mental health is more pervasive than what you think. Continued on the next page …
Mental health is affected by many things. For example, food can impact mental health. The difference between eating healthy and unhealthy foods and how it affects your mental health is big. The article, “How Foods May Improve your Mood” states when you eat healthier the happier you will be. The science experiment in the article showed a group of people who ate healthy foods and compared them to a group who ate unhealthy foods for 12 weeks. The results from the group who ate healthier became happier, less depressed, and even some of the people had no signs of depression. The group who ate unhealthy did not get happier. They even discovered that people who ate healthy spent less money on food. The typical amount of money spent on unhealthy foods was one hundred and thirty eight dollars a week and the money spent on healthy foods was one hundred and twelve dollars a week. Overall the experiment proved that eating healthy causes better mental health. There are other things that can affect mental health besides diet. An effect on mental health can be a major change in your life such as becoming a parent, losing a loved one, or even just aging. Some things that you do that affect your mental health are the choices you make, behaviors you choose, and the quality of your relationships. Overall, there are many things that can affect your mental health, and it can happen in a matter of seconds. We age every second there is in life and you might think that there will not be any difference in the matter of a day, but that is not true. Every second of your life brings new things and that causes different things to be affected.
Kimberly Gonzalez-Sanchez F is for Food. My favorite food has to be pasta, tamales, pupusas? no wait,ugh, all three are so good it's hard to choose. Let me start again, my favorite food are tamales. I like tamales because there is a variety of tamales to choose from. There are tamales made from elotes or corn, tamales made from pollo, or chicken, tamales made from frijoles, or beans, they are known as tamales pisques. If I could eat a food forever, It would be tamales. Tamales bring happiness to my life. It sounds weird now that I type it out. I enjoy eating tamales with my family and talk about how our days went. I love making tamales with my mom. She gets mad at me for putting too much ingredients inside the tamal, but I’ve started to learn the exact amount that you have to add in them. My mom says that making tamales was hard at first, but she made them so much to a point where it was easy to make. The smell of fresh-made tamales are just, oof. I seriously love the smell that tamales leave behind. There is so much work put into making tamales, in my case, you have to buy banana leaves, cut vegetables, make a special flour liquid, aluminum foil, and so much more ingredients. After preparing the ingredients, you take the aluminum foil and the banana leaf to put on the table. Then, grab a napkin and put it under the aluminium foil and banana leaf. Next, you want to grab the special masa [flour] and pour it on the banana leaf. You now want to grab your cut vegetables, frijoles, or whatever you are going to put inside it and place it on top of the masa. Now that you have finished, you want to grab the aluminum foil and grab the left side and right side and tuck them behind the front. It's a complicated concept. I wouldn't be the best at explaining the process, but that's sort of the process. Now that you're finished making them you have to boil them in a pot on the oven to cook them. They're not good uncooked, I wouldn't recommend it unless you want a free invite to explosive diarrhea. Eating tamales during Christmas just feels so nice. Especially with your chocolate abuelita. Most Christmas's I spend at the aunt's house with my 5,000 cousins. Okay, I might be exaggerating but I have TOO much cousins. Most of them are younger than me, though. I do have a lot of step-cousins who are older than me. Anyways, there are always arguments on which types of tamales are the best. I think that the best tamales are tamales de pollo.
Pearse Johnson Goldie is the name of the dog I had as a kid. She recently passed away about 2 months ago at the age of 12, but I always make sure to carry on the great memories I had with her. When I was 2, I was with my family trying to find a dog for us as we had recently moved to Winchester, VA. We looked and looked but could not find the right dog. This is until we found a cute labradoodle puppy. We were told she was the mutt of the litter and had been previously taken back to the place because of a small deformity on her tail, but we still loved her. We took her home, then decided to name her Goldie. Though I annoyed her as a kid, we still loved each other. She kept me happy in rough times, and always boosted my mood. I loved her with all of my heart. I would give away everything I have to just see her one more time, but all I have now is memories. I remember the nice chill days, where I would play and have fun with her, the times I would laugh while she chased me, and the all around happiness in the area she was in. She always kept me comforted and company when I was scared or sad. I could always rely on her to be my friend when I needed her most. She was an amazing dog, though she did not seem perfect, she was. I will never forget Goldie and all the times I had with her and my family. We will keep her in our hearts forever.
Desmond Kozlowski Ye is Kanye West's tenth studio album. He released it at one of his worst mental states and it is my favorite album of his. The album is short, being only twenty three minutes long and only having seven songs on it. Even though it's so short it is probably the piece of art that has connected with me the most and it is one of my favorite albums. The album does a wonderful job of setting the mood with it's first track I thought about killing you. In this track Kanye does almost free verse poetry with a light instrumental. This song talks about him wanting to kill himself and others even though he loves himself. I feel this really captures what this album is about. The album is about Kanye's bipolar-ism and general mental state and his self-destructive behavior. This is visible from the first time you see the album cover which is a beautiful mountain backdrop with the words ``I hate being bipolar, it's awesome" scribbled over it in a contrasting neon green and un-neat handwriting. From this bizarre opening track the album leads into yikes, an upbeat song with what may be considered less lyrical importance. Though it still serves an important reminder as to kanye's fluctuating mental state. With Kanye feeling almost manic with his upbeat vocals and talking about his power and drug use. This song's instrumental furthers its lyrics' manic feelings by feeling incredibly bouncy. The next song on the album is all mine. Which ,in my opinion, is the worst song on the album. It keeps this album's experimental feel with a high falsetto chorus and an interesting instrumental. Only its lyrics are nowhere near as good as any other song. In this song kanye describes his various addictions and sounds very manica After this low of the album, the album almost peaks with wouldn't leave. This song is basically a love letter to a loyal woman and features Kanye being self reflective about his mistakes and how his wife chose to stay with him through them. This song specifically describes one of the central themes of the album which is self destructive behavior. This theme of self destructive behavior is further expanded on in the second to last song.Going from all mine to wouldn't leave is also one of the most interesting track shifts I've ever heard in an album. This is because all mine is very upbeat and panicked sounding. All mine is also objectifying. So to go from those features to a calm reflecting Kanye I feel relates back to this album's central focus. Kanye's bipolar disorder The next song on the album is No mistakes. This song is upbeat but it doesn't sound panicked like yikes or all mine. It's upbeat in a more optimistic way and features Kanye talking about how things have been going bad for him but they will start to look up. After All mine two of some of the best songs ever remain on the album that being ghost town and violent crimes. The next, and second to last song is ghost town. This song ghost town reaches the peak of Kanye's suicidal thoughts. It features a chorus which describes hurting yourself to see if you still bleed. It also has a chorus about trying to make someone love you but only pushing them away. This particular chorus makes more sense to me if you look at it through the lens of trying to love yourself. Aside from the lyrical content, to me the song itself just sounds good. It's aesthetic being really different from the rest of the album as a rap rock song. vulnerable song and it's probably one of the most personal songs I've ever heard. In this song Kanye talks about how his daughter has made him see women in a different light and how he now looks down on his misogynistic thinking. In this song I also believe he overcorrects with the way he talks about his daughter as almost patriarchal. I see people say this as a criticism of the song. I don't really get this though because the reason he makes good music is because he's struggling. So him over correcting and acting like he owns his daughter only makes the song better as kanye struggles to be a father. In conclusion, Ye by Kanye West is one of the best albums ever. It focuses on self harm and Kanye's mental state and I've never heard a more intimate album. Aside from it's meaning to me emotionally, I also think it sounds beautiful both instrumentally and vocally.
Kevin Larson Speaking of basketball, B is for Basketball. I played almost every day during recess at my elementary school. It is in my family. One of my aunts played basketball, and she was really good. My dad played in high school. My grandpa loves the game. My uncle on my grandma's side is really good and he coached my cousin who is around 20 years old and is in a division two school. I have been around basketball my whole life. I played for my middle school team in sixth, seventh, and eighth grade, and in eighth grade I also played for a small team for eight weeks then for a travel team for about six months. I am currently playing for the Handley team and I hope that I can pursue it in the future. It is a very important thing to me because I enjoy it a lot. I hope to grow and learn and become very good at it. I think basketball is the best sport because it is fast, action-packed, and fun. You can play around with friends easily, or be more competitive and join a team. It is a great game because no matter what happens, you can play around with your friends. You can make new friends, see old friends again, and no matter what happens, you will have a good time. It’s a great form of exercise and you need to be very athletic and smart to be very good. You can have a great time while playing, no matter what’s happening, and it is usually pretty fair because they have fouls so you can be able to play without always getting hurt. Basketball, in my opinion, is the best sport because of the overall great experience you have with your friends and playing the game, and that you can make and meet friends while playing, and a lot of people do. It may not be your favorite game, but it is still amazing. It connects people and you don't have to know who you play with to still have a great time.
I have a cool story to tell now. The clock is winding down. You’re up by only two points. If you make this shot, you secure a win, and if not, you could lose. The point guard is dribbling the ball down the court, you’re whole brain is working, and you’re nervous. As the guard is coming down and you get into your position, you see the point guard sprint towards the basket. He goes for a layup but passes to you at the last second, and you go up. You get fouled and the ball spirals around the rim, and around, and around, and then… it falls out. If you make your free throws, you win. You go to the line and make the first shot, and everyone cheers, then you get the ball for your second shot. Everyone goes silent. You do your routine, and as you go up for your last shot, time slows. You see the ball glide through the air. You can hear your heartbeat and feel your knees are shaking. The ball hits the back of the rim and bounces, hits the front of the rim, hits the back, then it… goes in! You got it! The other team takes it out, 7 seconds left. They take it down and you guard hard man-to-man defense. They shoot a quick three and it hits the backboard and misses. You get the rebound and hold it, going into a small ball and wrap around it. The buzzer goes off. You just played one of the most intense games of basketball you’ve ever played ever and won. Basketball is my passion.
Jonathan Bautista S is for Stranger. What is a stranger? Its someone you don't know right? Just because you don't know them suddenly your the normal one and there the strange one. The thing is in that person's eyes your just as much as a stranger as them. So what do you call them? What I would see is not a stranger but instead a possible acquaintance or something more. We pass by people everyday yet we think nothing of it. Maybe you think "oh she has a nice sense of style" or "Wow he sure is fit" but not once do we ever tell them this to there face, all we can do is have thoughts, but the second you do say sum BOOM a spark has been lit. That person now knows you exist, They notice you, and a connection has been formed whether its good or bad its still a connection. Now you see, just one interaction can turn a person you knew nothing about into a friend. Sure, it takes a bit of confidence to just approach someone a start talking to them but if you take that tiny step than who knows you could be unlocking someone that could change your life, even if they hurt you that pain taught you a lesson in the end and helped you grow as a human. Everybody who comes into your life is for a reason. There may be cases where you tried talking to someone and they just either plain out ignore you or have no interest and that's fine. If someone doesn't see eye to eye with you stop forcing them to and move on to someone who does. There are 7 billion people on this earth at least one person will see eye to eye with you, But of course I will not listen to my own advice because I'm nothing more than a stranger to you.
Mario Marquez-Gomez B for Birthday History My birthday every year always falls in every September 24th and every year it's full of amazing gifts. What do I mean by gifts you may ask? Well, it comes down to my experiences in my birthday. I recently earned money, because of my birthday, as a gift. It was enough money to pay for what I needed when when it was time for the Youth Event we had in my church. The best birthday experiences I'll never forget are my recent birthday, when I turned thirteen, and when I turned twelve. First, let's talk about my recent birthday that happened in September 24, 2021. It made my day so much that I will never forget what happened that day. First, it was a day like no other, I was preparing for school like always thinking about plans for that day. When I came to school, it was like a normal A day like I experience every other day. People were saying happy birthday to me which made my day. Later in my Algebra class, I got a call from my middle school teachers and they said happy birthday to me and made me happy to see them and talk to them. It wasn't until later after school, I was calling Brayan on the phone and he had to hang up because he was going to "do something" when later on, little did I know they were surprising me. When I got home, I changed to my formal dress clothes and waited for my dad so we can go "eat at a restaurant" until we got to the church and it was where they did my birthday surprise. It made my day so much that I had a good time in my birthday party talking to people I know from church, school, and people that live in my neighborhood. That's why I will never forget that day of my fourteenth birthday. Continued on the next page …
Additionally, my thirteenth birthday was also a blessing and I will never forget that day in September 24th, 2020. It was during the pandemic and the school had an A Day and B Day Schedule for Hybrid Learning. Since my last name is Marquez, I was placed on B day and my birthday fell in an A Day but the teachers didn't stop and were finding ways in order for them to say Happy Birthday to me. When I was at home, I saw a police car and the voice was Mr.Roark and he said "Mario," and I was getting changed so I hurried up and said hi to my teachers and they gave me a water bottle and a pen as a birthday gift. I was happy for the gifts and said thank you and it show that teachers are there to support you whatever they can to make you happy. That's why I will never forget that day of my thirteenth birthday.
Finally, my twelfth birthday took place in September 24th, 2019 and it was a fun experience I will never forget. I was in Daniel Morgan Middle School in seventh grade and I was doing plans to have an Oreo cookie party, since I loved oreos in that time, and Mr.Roark and Ms.Wheeling did a really good job setting up my birthday in a way that made my day. That same day was picture day and that meant that I can come nice and formally dressed for my birthday. My seventh grade picture day photo is still iconic to this day since there hasn't been any change to it the last one and a half years. It made my day when my classmates also said happy birthday to me and made me happy that day. When I got home, I had a birthday party with our neighbors, family members, and people we know, and the gift I got from that birthday was a computer that I never use. I'm still thankful and will never forget that day I got the birthday gift and I'm thankful for the teachers I had back in middle schools for planning all of it out. Continued …
There are birthday experiences I will still remember to this day. My recent birthday is one of those events that made my day. My thirteenth birthday which was during the pandemic. My twelfth birthday which was in the same day a picture day and before the pandemic occurred. I'm grateful that I experience amazing recent birthday because it show people are showing their kindness for me and supporting me the best they can. I give thanks to everyone who wished me a happy birthday that day and thank you to all of my teachers in Daniel Morgan for all that you have done for me.
Abigail Moore Addiction is something that, without knowing, most people have. it looms through their day to day life haunting you and everyone around. Addiction comes in different forms, can seem impossible to break free from, and messes with your mind. Addiction is something that just happens, it's not something you choose to have. For example, say someone got into a bad car wreck and where in the hospital with severe injuries. The doctor prescribes them with painkillers to relieve some of the long lasting pain, but the relief catches them like a fish hook catches a fish. In other circumstances it can be as simple as someone needing their phone or a certain food. You often hear in the news about people overdosing, things like that happen more often than they should and often stem back to the same reason. Addiction. The intense grasp addiction holds people for years on edge, draining them till they aren't themselves anymore. It's so hard to get over an addiction that some people just quit and give in, either diving back into the addiction full force or taking their lives. Reasons like this is why schools and workplaces should inform people about the dangers of addiction. Just because you think you'll be fine with an addiction, you wouldn't. It messes with your mind, your memory, your relationships, your future. Not only will it mess up your life in the moment but also during recovery and sometimes years in the future. For example a teenager that smokes with feel the long time effect, they may devolve lung cancer or a heart disease. That's why when you put something into your body, even if it may seem insignificant it can have a big impact on you, your body and others around you. It's important to stay informed about addiction. It can be the world's worst disease and a killer. Reaching out to someone when you think you or someone close to you is addicted. You can make a difference before it's too late.
M is for Marbles By: Amelia Newman
Whenever someone asks if I have any hobbies, I always mention that I collect marbles. I remember being interested in marbles ever since I was young, because my mom's side of the family had marbles, and I would play with them, rolling them down a red wooden marble chute when I would visit them. When I was around 6, I got a gift (I don't remember who from) of a "collection" of 100 marbles. They were just simple cheap, many different single color cat's eye marbles, with one large boulder marble and a couple of medium shooter marbles. I really enjoyed marbles, I liked looking at them, but mostly I loved feeling them. I loved the feeling of them rolling around in my fingers, the smoothness, the weight in my hand. I now attribute that to the fact that I am on the spectrum, and have different sensory perception. I slowly began collecting more marbles, finding them in mason jars in antique stores. Opening a jar of marbles I found and bought was always so thrilling because you never knew what you would find. Of course, most of them were milky white with colorful swirls in it, but occasionally you would find a clay marble, or a Swedish marble, or a mardi gras marble. I fully admit most of my knowledge about marbles to be from my mother, which is another reason why they are so special to me. I never knew that my mother collected marbles, and after she died my grandma and aunt found her old collection in storage, and gave it to me. It was a unique feeling going through her marbles, and we would have a chuckle every once and while because she organized them so specifically, with a handwritten chart at the bottom of the marble drawer categorizing the marbles with their names, and also names that she made up herself, as a teenager. I have her set of "bumblebees", her "greenies", and her "special reds". To me, those red marbles look normal to me, but something about them was special to her, and though I don't know what, it makes me think about them in a different way. Continued on the next page …
To me, every marble is special. Every marble deserves to be looked at, admired, appreciated. To me, it's like a soul that needs a little love, a little attention. That's why it hurts my heart a little bit to find a broken marble in one of my new jars I bought. I believe each marble has a story behind it, it's own history. It's always a mystery, I have no idea where they came from, even where my mom got her marbles. That's why I don't like to "play" marbles, because that means that a single marble doesn't have much value, it's just a side piece that helps you win. Every once in a while, or when I find a new jar of marbles at an antique store, I visit my marble collection. I go through all of my marbles, feeling them, rattling them around my hand. Admiring single marbles, giving each a turn, a feel, a gaze. I feel a certain energy of some kind, different for each marble I hold. Holding a handful of marbles makes me feel sort of powerful. Most importantly, going through my marbles reminds me to pay attention to the little things, to give each small thing love and care, and to never wave off a group of anything as "all the same". Because they're not. Though they all may be of the same type, same size, same color, each one is different. I think we all need to be reminded of that sometimes.
Jes Nguyen The Black Skirts - Everything, A song that's composed to sound nostalgic, a love song with lyrics that you can imagine happening. Its low tempo, cluttered and muffled instruments along with soft vocals created a perfect combination and was pleasing to the ears. I remember listening to it for the first time, most people (who had listened to it for the first time) thought there was a problem with the sound system as the song sounded a bit "out of place." But I thought otherwise, when I first listened to it I remember humming along with the tune and finding it comforting, a nostalgic feeling for something I'd never gone through rather. It made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside, like someone was wrapping their arms around me and holding me in comfort as we swayed in a rhythm. I never knew what being in love felt like and I was never quite interested, but this song made me wish I were in love. It made me want to experience what being in love is like, I wanted to know how it'd feel like spending an eternity with someone you cherish, how it'd feel like waking up to them by your bedside, how it'd feel like to share feelings and experiences with each other. Everything, I wanted to know. Truth be told, I forgot about this song for a while. I went from listening to it every day, to listening to it every few weeks, those few weeks turning into a month, and a month turning into several. It wasn't until I had met someone a friend of mine introduced to me. A classmate of hers, their name was Syl. I don't know what it was, but something in me felt rather different when I first met them. I suppose an example to show what I was experiencing would be when Priyanka first put on that pashmina of her mother's. As she puts on the pashmina, her world turns all colorful and vivid. It was a place full of palaces, and tigers, and yummy food, and with an elephant accompanied by a peacock who would talk to her about India. That's what I experienced, although it wasn't as clear and vivid as Pri's experience. I was confused, puzzled, lost even. I wasn't sure about my own feelings, so I brushed it off for a while since Syl and I hadn't interacted a lot. After a long period of silence, we started talking again one day in October and slowly adjusted to each other's presence. As we talked more we started to realize how similar in personality and common interests we were, it was almost like we were destined to meet. Talking, and talking, and talking.. we got to know each other more and more, gradually getting closer and closer in terms of friendship. About a week or so after we started interacting more, a song popped up in my mind. The song that I had long forgotten about, the song that made me want to experience something dreamlike.
"You're my Everything, my everything."
Was I, a person with no interest in love, falling in love with my friend's friend? It sounds like a cliché story plot for an American love story, I know. But I could not stop thinking about them whenever I listened to that song, nor could I stop thinking about that song whenever I hung out with them. The lyrics, the instruments, the imaginable scenes, everything. Everything made me think about them. I was planning to ignore these feelings, but I wanted to test the waters. I started by dropping ambiguous yet extremely obvious hints, drawing doodles and plastering song lyrics onto my things. I feared rejection, I feared losing the friendship we had. I grow an attachment to people too easily I'll admit. Whoever shows kindness towards me I'll attach myself to, and if they choose to no longer interact with me I'll just wither a bit inside. I'd much rather stay as friends, who would eve love me? I was just another sack of flesh roaming around the lands. They could find someone better than I, really they could. I'm not tall, smart, social, lively, or even likable, who would find someone like that attractive right? I feel as though I've made this unnecessarily long, so I'll cut to the chase. The song "Everything" by The Black Skirts holds a special place in my heart as it is what brought Syl and I together, a song that helped me confess, a song that made me happy. A special song with a special irreplaceable tune, it made me feel nostalgic about a life I had never lived. A life full of love and memories, memories like dancing with your significant other under the moonlight, laying under the night sky while holding hands, all that jazz. No other song or person had made me feel so, so special.
Chase O’Keeffe I think that the thing that the most meaningful item to me is most likely my T.V. Now I know what you are thinking "wow this kids so shallow that he loves his T.V. more than anything. However it's not the T.V. that I care about that thing could burn in a pit for all I care, but the reason that I love it is for the memories that it has given me. I remember during this time last year me and my family started a Harry Potter marathon and I remember that we all are such nerds that we were able to quote almost any line that appeared. Or each night when me and my mom will get home from rehersal and we go watch an episode of CW's the arrow. Or the countless times that my mother has forced me and my sisters to re-watch all of our Christmas movies. You know the type, the movies with a over exaggerated claymation character spewing Christmas cheer every witch way. See it's moments like these in my life that I don't think that any other device could provide. While playing video games with my friends is fun, I have so many memories of me and my friends, my family, my church group where we all would sit down watch something maybe eat some junk food and make a great memory for all involved. That is why my T.V. is my most coveted item.
Emma Roark One thing that is very important to me is soccer. Soccer isn't just a sport to me, it's a way to get away from things. Soccer is really the only sport I enjoy doing. I don’t really ever dread doing it. I always want to go to practice. I always want to play it . I have been playing soccer for about 10 years now. I started playing when I was 4 years old. My mom just put me in it for fun and for something to do and I liked it and kept playing it for a really long time. I played rec for a while then in the 4th grade i tried out for travel and i played it ever since. I play for blue ridge united. I have met so many new people playing soccer and I'm so grateful I get to play a sport that I enjoy. I also play for handley. I got to play in 8th grade because there weren't many girls in the beginning so they let us play. I really liked it. We had a really good season. We only lost 2 games out of the 12 we played so we did pretty good. Soccer makes me think of my family because we love soccer. Half of our lives are soccer because me and my sister both play and travel for soccer. So we spend a lot of family time with soccer because we are always together when we play the game. I have so many memories with soccer, some are bad but mostly good. Soccer has always made me happy. The feeling of scoring a goal, making good passes, doing good tricks feels so good it takes everything else away and just makes me focus on one thing. Soccer is my escape from school, drama, stressing anything that is hard in my life. I get to get away from it with that hour and a half practice or a 90 minute game. I never knew a sport could mean so much to one person.
Adam Rosenfeld Buttercup is one of my dogs and she has changed my whole family's lives in both good and bad ways. She is a small dachshund and our whole family loves even though she has caused some trouble. We got her after her owner had died and was a patient of my mom. Before that, she came from another owner who may have abused her, one that did not give her enough exercise, and one that bred her at too young of an age. Since she was bred at a young age her kids had health trouble and eventually died. Because of all the trauma she had gone through, when she came to us she was struggling with severe anxiety and some health problems. She tore up beds, couches, doors, and almost everything she got to. She also would pee everywhere in the house anytime we left her home alone. The process of training her out of these habits took a long time but we did it because we love her. There were times where we did struggle and almost even to the point of giving up but we came through. I am very glad that we kept her and now she has gotten so much better and is a great pet and essential part of the family. One story that shows determination an important trait of hers is when my friends and I built a barricade to block her from coming into the den where we were hanging out. We used a chair, pillows, boxes, and almost anything else we could find to keep her out but she just kept finding a way back in. Then we started to use couch cushions and I thought there would be no way for her to get back in. Luckily we went to check on her after a bit because she had begun to try and dig her way through the couch cushions to make her way out. Another time she did something similar was when we lived at our old house out on Apple Pie Ridge Road. We had to keep both my dogs in a gated area so they would not leave the property when we were gone. Buttercup decided to escape by digging herself under the fence through the dirt and she made her way out. Then we put wooden blocks on the bottom of the fence to block her way but she still dug a whole farther back and got out once again. Then after we put the wood down into the ground we came back and found her head poking out of the fence but her body still stuck. We went immediately to help her and after this, we invested in an electric fence around the property so she was able to roam free. From being bred to young to being run over by a car, Buttercup has been through it all. Although we cannot make up for the bad past others have given her we will continue to give her all the love and experiences a dog like her deserves. All the fun times we have spent with her have been amazing and something that I would not trade the world for. Her assertiveness, loving nature and determination make her the best dog I could have wished for.
Akyera Serrano I must say collecting things seems slightly odd, Well at least I thought before I
started collecting stickers. Well, not any ordinary type of sticker you find laying around or the random sticker your teacher throws on your paper when you've got a 100. I collect Fruit stickers like the little produce stickers you find on anything from apples, oranges, pears, bananas, and the list goes on, The point is they are everywhere and I honestly never thought much about them until coming across a random article and to be real I'm not a huge fan of reading unless if I'm not forced to but I'm a creature of habit and semi enjoy reading about controversial issues, I mean, who doesn't. The article by Dan Nosowitz talks about how these little produce stickers are a big waste problem. Despite their size, they are made from various products and can cause damage to the environment, Along with that, they are a problem for composting facilities, due to the fact that they don't break down. Ever since I read this article just to make sure I don't accidentally throw out my apple core with its sticker on it and cause more accidental harm rather than just throwing it away, every time I eat a piece of fruit with a sticker I'm reminded I can add this not so amazing non-biodegradable sticker to my growing collection I oddly feel very proud to look at them and say at least I'm putting them to use, Well I guess. maybe when these small but mighty stickers become biodegradable ill choose whether I want to keep collecting them or not.
Max Smith I is for injury. Injury is something that happened to you that most likely drew blood or bruised you. I have had some childhood injuries so here is one of them. So here is some backstory to make it make sense. My friend owns a house in a place called wintergreen, its in the mountains and we would go there every so often for the weekend or on a holiday, we had gone over there for the weekend and there was a festival up in the mountains and we had gone to hang out there for a bit. me and my friend were hanging out and decided after we ate it was a good idea to play tag, we started the game and it ended up with him chasing me around a truck and a trailer connected by a metal pole. it would be good to note that this was near the main tent with massive stakes sticking out of the ground. so we were playing tag and i was chasing him and he was chasing me and i tripped over the metal pole connecting the truck and trailer after trying to jump over it. my head whipped down and hit the stake sticking out of the ground on the corner of my mouth making me bleed everywhere. I very very luckily didn't get stitches we just had to go to the ambulance that was there and they gave me a butterfly band-aid to put on it to bring the skin back together. One more childhood injury i had was during a snow day when school was out. me and a couple friends were sledding on the hill in my neighbors yard. ( they let us use it because it was easier for us ton sled there instead of in our yard) so we said " oh it's a good idea for us to put cold water on the snow so it's even more slippery and to make a bump, which we did. we were having fun sledding and throwing snowballs when i go down the slippery slope and decided to go on my stomach on the sled. i go over the bump and boom, i hit my head and sliced open the bottom of my chin. I didn't realize that it was bleeding until I was in the garage and saw something drip on to my foot. I ran inside and asked my mom for a towel and to see how bad the cut was. she kept very calm but later in my life told me it was very hard to keep calm because the cut was scary to look at. She called my friends dad because he is a doctor and asked what to do. He said to take me to urgent care and see what they wanted to do. they took a while to take care of me but I finally got into the office and they said i would need stitches. The doctor said it would just feel like "just a little tugging". and i took that to heart. i said over and over as she was doing it "just a little tugging just a little tugging". and that is all it was. i got home that night and went to sleep. so I got hurt but got a rad scar out of it and a great story to tell about Injury.
Sarah Stern Mashed potatoes are a crowd favorite at big holidays, like Thanksgiving and Christmas. But, it's more than just a pan of food on a table. My mom has her own recipe that we make every year, and it's always a treat to make it (and eat, of course)! My mom, sister and I would always make them together every year. Even though my sister isn't around a whole lot anymore, it's still a continued tradition that me and my mom share, mainly during Christmas time. On either Christmas eve or on the day before that, my dad and I peel potatoes while watching Christmas movies as my mom prepares the ingredients and utensils needed to make the delicious dish. After we're done peeling, I help my mom cut the potatoes and put them in the pot. While we wait for the potatoes to finish boiling, we mix together the other ingredients. During that time, me and my mom listen to Pentatonix's Christmas albums and sing along. Another food we make during the Christmas season is my great-grandma's sweet peanut butter fudge, so as the potatoes are finishing up we look to make sure we have the ingredients needed to make that. After the potatoes are done boiling, I mash them while my mom re-mixes the other ingredients. Once they're all mashed, we put everything together and then (my favorite part) comes the taste test. After everything's done, we put them in the fridge to keep them fresh for Christmas evening. Now, while these potatoes do taste amazing, they mean a bit more to me than that. In a way, they symbolize something to me. It kind of represents that even though things change, some traditions can be kept and still mean a lot. The past couple of years have brought a lot of change for my family, but it's still a nice reminder that some things can be kept the same.
Braxton Vargas-Aguillon O is for outer space Outer space to me is the coolest thing because of how mind blowing it is. It's mind blowing because space is massive, there are many things we haven't explored, Every planet is different from any other one. I've even considered being an astrologist because I want to be the first to discover something new. The speed of light goes about 186,000 miles per second but since the observable universe is so big We've created a new measurement called a light-year specifically for the task of measuring outer space. One light year is about 6 trillion miles long and to put that in perspective if you were traveling at the speed of light constantly it would still take about 37 thousand years to travel one light year. but what's even more crazy is that the size of the universe is approximately 93 billion light-years long. Lets change the topic and talk about how small our galaxy is. Our sun has a diameter of 864,938 miles and it would take about 1.3 million earth to fill up the sun. However it would take about 3.69 billion suns to fill up the largest sun in the known universe. We have only explored 5 percent of the ocean similarly we have only explored 4 percent of the ocean. Now I don't really believe in aliens but considering we've only explored 4 percent of space I'm not putting the idea off to the side. However, it always confused me how we've only explored 5 percent of the ocean even though we've reached the deepest point of the ocean. I would've thought that by now we would know a lot about our oceans and the crazy part is that the percent hasn't been increasing. I have the same question with space as well since you would think space is so much easier to observe because it is a large and open space but I guess we haven't reached that level of technology. Continued on the next page …
Another big part of space are the planets that float around forever until the universe collapses. So far we have not discovered two planets that are identical. That's because each planet is unique in it's own way such as 55 Cancri e also known as the diamond planet because it is supposedly made up of diamonds and graphite. or Hat-P-7b where it rains rubies and sapphires. There are many many other planets that have unnatural properties but if i named them all it would take weeks, months, or maybe even a year to learn all the information. In conclusion outer space is the coolest because of how massive it is, how many things we haven't explored, and every planet is different from any other one. Also fun fact it appears that the universe is constantly expanding and scientists don't actually know how it's going to end but they theorize that one day the universe is going to stop expanding and it is actually going to start shrinking. Once it stops shrinking they say that it's going to cause another big bang which will cause more planets to be born and that there may be another earth among those planets.
Aisha Vasquez Cruz A is for Antonio, Antonio is my father he has let me down a lot. He is forty five years old and he is from Oaxaca, Mexico. I can write lots of things about my father but i don't think it will have so much good stuff. I was about ten or nine years old when my parents got into a fight. I never really know why they fought but now I do. I never had good memories with my father. I just remember him coming home late and intoxicated, not so fun seeing your father like that everyday. He was and still is an alcoholic. Fast forward to 2020, me and my dad had plans on making traditional food from Mexico on a Saturday. well i was waiting on a call from him that he was on his way to pick me up. I never got the call so called him along the lines of five times, he never answered. At this point of time I got worried and called my sister if he was with him. She answered but she didn't know where he went but she knew he left the house but he already had a couple beers in his system. In the sum of everything that I stated my sister and I connected the dots and though maybe they arrested him. because of the fact that he was drunk and driven me and my sister checked are the jails that he could have been at and bingo! We found him. Apparently he had two DUI's and had to be in jail for four months.
Continued on the next page …
While he was in jail he was sent to the hospital because of the fact he was drinking his body wanted more alcohol so he started to shake out of control. He got tested in the hospital and turns out he has diabetes. When he got out of jail he had to go to asap classes which is a group of people how used drugs and alcohol and are learning to be sober. Because of the fact that the place didn't have any one that could translate to my dad I had to go and listen too. I learned some stuff but my dad didn't. He didn't care about being sober he was still drinking and still is to this day. Thanksgiving was a week ago, my dad lives with my sister. She made dinner and my father decided that he would go help another family cook while me and my sister were struggling. He never came to spend time with us for thanksgiving. and i won't be expecting more from him again i never gave up on him and now he is making rethink my decision that i should have thought more months ago since he started drinking again right after getting out of jail. I do wish that he will control his drinking but me and my sister know that he won't ever stop i need my sister to not worry about him because that's all she thinks about. If he does it would be a miracle and I hope that miracle will happen soon.