UPROOTING THE OAK

Iam like the winding Live Oak, a magnificent tree, surrounded by many others. Its roots flow and snake across the fertile and life-giving soil, its strong branches swirl and hang low.

Safe At Home Base

There are various places in AthensClarke County that students can go to to escape the summer heat.

AG-ED

As CCHS FFA members’ passions grow for leadership and agricultural education, so do participants.

Generation Exceptional

CCHS Assistant Principal Tamika Henson uses her childhood experiences to help students today.

Flagging Down Success

The CCHS flag football team is preparing for their second season of competition in the fall.

Soul Of Esol

CCHS’ English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) is an extremely beneficial program that faces many organizational constraints.

Bye Bye Colonel

After teaching for 16 years, CCHS Senior Army Instructor Lieutenant Colonel David McMickle is retiring.

END-O-YEAR EVILS

The second semester of the school year is often the toughest for students and teachers to get through in one piece, something that shouldn’t be dismissed.

Emergency Awareness

Many students feel unprepared for school emergencies, something that needs to be addressed in society today.

My roots go deep, through my school, through my town. Going to college in Savannah, Georgia will ultimately plant me in foreign soil and it’s hard to leave all my friends and connections to a whole new community. I was born on the same street I went to elementary, middle and high school. I’ve made so many friends and met so many people. But it wasn’t easy. I was often known as the “shy one,” the “quiet one” or the “crybaby.”

In elementary school, I was a very sensitive child, so much so, whenever I was in a conflict or a social situation, I would shrink myself despite my relatively tall stature. Whenever someone I actually knew and hung out with was around, I would light up, my skin would grow tougher and self-advocacy wasn’t a problem for me.

That’s how it’s worked in my life. I look for familiarity within my environment to bring out my inner extrovert. I rely on my community that I’ve already explored to give me the social courage that many who know me now are so accustomed to.

Moving to Savannah for college is going to be hard for me. I’m afraid I’m going to become that little boy I was who would hide in his shell and behind his mom.

“Chronic anxiety can lead to serious mental health problems depression, substance use and even suicide. It can interfere with the ability to focus and learn causing school problems that can have lifelong impact,” a 2019 article from HealthyChildren.org states.

However, even though it feels like I won’t have my friends and family with me, I know our bonds transcend physical proximity. And I know that so many of my classmates will be going through the same fears as me, so I owe it to myself to just try.

As I move farther and farther throughout my life, I feel that I am more capable of connecting with the outside world as an independent person. My roots will always be in Athens, and I’ll be connected to them no matter where I go.