FLASH Junior Flash: Your School Your Story
Rocklin HS Journalism 1, 2017
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For this magazine, we hoped to capture the truth behind the statement “everybody has a story” by rephrasing it to “your school your story” to relate it directly to faculty and students on campus. Each of the production classes: yearbook, journalism and photojournalism, are required to do this assignment in differing ways to represent their form of media. This is the work of the Journalism 1 class with design editing by advanced students. Our goal of this project is to reach and tell the
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stories of almost every person on campus. We believe truly that everyone has a story to tell and is unique in their own ways. This also brings awareness to the real and serious matters on campus that people may not realize upon first glance. This is our hope to further connect our campus. Editor in chief of The Flash, Jessie Valverde
Affluent, intelligent, 15 su·preme
Supreme is a skateboarding shop/clothing brand established in New York City in April 1994. The brand caters to the skateboarding, hip hop and punk rock cultures.
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olbey Patel was the average teenager who had an interest in Supreme, an extremely successful streetwear company which releases everything in limited edition drops and rarely releases the same product again. Throughout the course of six months he went from having less than $20 and not even owning a Paypal account to having earned more than $30,000 entitled to his name through nothing but determination, hustling, and $400. However, along with the money came consequence. This began on his 14th birthday when he got around $400 in birthday money and had heard of the brand Supreme and decided that since he had the money he would check out some of their clothing. He ended up buying around $400 worth of Supreme retail with his birthday money. “So we discovered supreme and then with birthday money, I bought $300-500 worth of supreme retail,” said Colbey. He began wearing the Supreme clothing only to come to understand that everyone wanted it. The only problem was that it was difficult to acquire due to the fact that everything sold out on the website within minutes so if you didn’t live near a supreme store, which are only available in big cities such as Los Angeles, New York, and Tokyo. Colbey was able to get lucky and obtain most the clothes he wanted on Supremes website by shopping quick enough before everything sold out Colbey had then discovered a website known as Grailed. “Then I started getting eyes at the mall and I realized people wanted supreme, then my friend told me about this website where people resell supreme called Grailed. He said I should start reselling and i got familiar with brands like VLONE, Bape, etc. I got introduced to a whole new world I never knew about; High End Streetwear. I kept on looking at Grailed and everything was so high priced and i realized I could be doing this,”
Colbey said. Colbey did his research and realized that one of the articles of Supreme clothing he bought would resell which would make back all the money he spent on his first set of Supreme purchases. “The first thing I sold was a Denim Supreme Jacket for $400, practically making all my money back from that drop with one sell. I then sold the rest of my Supreme clothing and made $1500 easy,” said Colbey. At the time he did this through his friends Paypal, the one who got him into Supreme in the first place. So for a while he didn’t have access to the cash but once he had his friends dad go to the bank and pull it out and he finally got his hands on $1500 cash as a 14 year old he said it felt amazing. “My friends dad was doing all the packaging taking it to the post office, etc so they went to the bank since it was all on their account and they gave me the cash and so like any 14 year old this was huge to me I just turned $400 into $1500. So the first thing I knew was that I wanted to resell more and more and more.” Colbey recalled. However, after this he began to separate from his old friends and began to start hanging out with the friend who got him into this. He said he began getting extremely frivolous with his money and
began bad spending habits however he said he justified it with himself due to the next Supreme flip he did spending 1500, he made 6000 supporting his habits which proceeded to get worse and worse when the combination of friends who didn’t have good intentions, peer pressure, and money, he began to turn to drugs. This had an effect on his relationship with his parents, school, and his passion for football. However eventually his parents found out about his drug use and he decided to start thinking about his future. “It was affecting school so my parents caught me eventually and then I figured it wasn’t worth it, the fake friends, the drugs, the money, it wasn’t worth it. Then I started thinking about the future, I got way less frivolous, I started thinking about how i wanna save for a car and the goals I have,” Colbey said. Then he decided he would do one final flip. He wanted this so he could buy the car he wanted when he was 16. He bought 5000$ worth of Supreme retail. However after buying it, none of it was selling. He was terrified that he had just lost $5000. Then a miracle happened. “A huge celebrity was wearing one of the t’s I bought, then on Grailed everyone was flooding to my page since I had that shirt and I sold a single shirt for $500. After the popularity gain to my page everything else started selling like that rapidly. Then, I made 10k off that 5k, So I was upwards 30 grand in five months.” However after this Colbey wasn’t necessarily happy with it all. “As a teenager you want money freedom, etc. I had all of that, now the only thing I wanted was to go back, to be a teenager, not a 15 year old hustler. I want to get back on track with football, school and better my relationship with my parents. I feel like I grew up too fast and I’m thankful that I’m still in my freshman year of high school so I can do things the way I want to.”
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Sing with strings
Performing music to express her creativity and spread her passion.
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hen first asked “what is something people don’t know about you,” Morgan Menold said “Well I’d say most people don’t know my feet are two different sizes [she laughed].” During Morgan’s high school career, something most people DO know about her is that she is deeply emotionally and physically invested in her music and singing career. Morgan’s “passion” is music for reasons she calls, “cheesy.” She plays piano, guitar, she sings, she is in choir, musicals, and she even is a music teacher to children. It’s been Morgan’s dream to use music as her main asset in high school ever since seventh grade. Morgan uses her talent to teach other kids the way of music. Her varying skill points in music give her a great insight to most everything you need to know about music. Morgan had started teaching music in middle school, when her younger brother who was seven at the time, had an interest in learning the piano. “I had a lot of piano books, so I sat down with him and started teaching him.”
Lose
Her brother then told his friends his sister was teaching him piano, and of course, they all wanted to learn, too. So Morgan gave more lessons, and even started advertising herself through her neighborhood and school. “It makes me really happy to see my students every week and watch their progress. They come prepared and are always excited to show me how hard they worked on their songs, and I look forward to seeing them every week.” Music has given Morgan many opportunities, connections, and gives her something she can share with others. It has also given Morgan an insight to her future career choice. “I’ve thought about doing something with music or music education, but I’m not sure what I’ll end up deciding on.” Music makes Morgan happy and has opened doors for what she may do in the future– not to mention the relief from reality she gets when she plays her guitar. Morgan’s story may be seen as a cheesy one, but who doesn’t like cheese? by Kailyn J’Beily
it or music
Boy pushes away school to achieve greatness in music
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adrian Hernandez is a 15-year-old freshman that goes to Rocklin high school. He came from Spring View Middle School with his best friend Austin Saturn. Austin now goes to Oakmont High School. Austin and Dadrian met in the 6th grade at Parker Whitney Elementary. They both went to Spring View together in the 7th and 8th grade. Dadrian started to slack with school and his grades dropped. His parents were not really happy. He became to have
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verbal fights with his parents. He then had to go to Austin for support through those years. Austin had to go to Oakmont High making it difficult to find support Dadrian likes to make “Dubstep” and club mixes as a hobby. He can find himself doing this for hours on end and he likes to share his music to his friends and family. Dadrian does not just hole up in his room and make music all day. He will go out to the gym or even play in a sport that he is really good at.
Dadrian is into kickboxing. A very physical sport that involves hand to hand combat to eliminate the opponent. It’s not that Dadrian didn’t have other friends to talk to or hang out with. But soon enough he made new friends but none of them knew him like Austin Saturn. As of right now his grades are doing a lot better and his parents are starting to come back to him more and more. Austin Saturn is planning on heading to Rocklin High early 2017 for the second half of the year. And this is the story of Dadrian Hernandez.
by Joe Le Flore
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LIGHTS, camera, Ava “Y ou have to do everything you can, you have to work your hardest, and if you do, you have a shot at a silver lining.” This is a quote from “Silver Linings Playbook,” a favorite movie of sophomore Ava Bohlman, movie fanatic, and aspiring actor. “I think people see me in a different way from how I see myself. I am very independent but that means I am alone a lot of the time, and I think people often take that the wrong way. I don’t really know how I see myself.” Bohlman, known as an independent person to others, and not truly known by herself, has always had a love for movies and all things related. Her taste in movies ranges from old classics to Disney movies, and everything in between. From her love of film, came her interest in acting. Bohlman is currently in the
Musically
Movie fanatic tries her hand at acting school’s production of Footloose, as a part of the teen ensemble. Inside and outside of school, she has been involved in a myriad of plays. “If there’s a will there’s a way,” said Ava about her hopes for an acting career, and about life in general. This motto, very similar to the aforementioned quote from her favorite movie Silver Linings Playbook, is a belief she follows in several aspects of her life. Her passion for acting and for film has fulfilled what she says matters most to her, which is love. A belief she expressed is that people should be themselves and love who they are. “I definitely have people I look up to, but I wouldn’t say that there is anyone I would want to be. I don’t think anyone should wish to be someone other than themselves.” Ava Bohlman is a talented and ambitious actor, who dedicates much of her time to her passion, all of which she hopes will lead her to what she wants to be in the future– happy. by Emma Conway
magnificent
Turning a passion into a successful career.
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mong the students at Rocklin High, there’s always a few students that always have a special talent, whether it would be playing a video game, doing gymnastics, or playing an instrument, to name a few. Hugo Fiske, a seemingly regular freshman here at RHS, performs the latter for himself and others around him. He hopes to become a successful musician in the future.“Music is my passion, and I hope to become a big-time musician in the future,” he said Later on in his life, he wants to chase his dream of being in a band that goes on tour across the world. His music is played across the Rocklin and Roseville area, and others have said that his music in his bands helps others “pick themselves up off the ground and fly.”
Fiske’s music mainly comprises of rock and other genres similar to it, mainly because the music he listens to is those styles or genres of music. He plays the guitar and piano to help compliment his style of music. “I only play guitar and a little bit of piano so far, but I think that guitar brings out what type of music I like, as almost all of the music I like has at LEAST one guitar in it. The bands that I like are mainly focused on grunge and rock, like Nirvana, Green Day, The Offspring, Rage Against The Machine, thousand similar bands. They are the ones that got me into rock in the first place.” Fiske plays in three bands so that he can both play with a few of his friends with music that they all enjoy and to benefit charities that sponsor their concerts.
“We play rock music. We covered AC/ DC, Cake, Nirvana, and Metallica for our most recent concert, then we wrote two original songs. I don’t think they have much impact on the general public itself, but it has more of an impact on the charities that we’re raising money for. We helped someone out of human trafficking with the $500 we raised in one concert,” he said. By Hayden Essley
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Soccer smarts Student athlete excels in school and sports S
occer is a popular sport for kids while they are growing up but it takes a lot of dedication and hardwork to stick with the sport through high school. Freshman Cade Terry has loved soccer since he was only four years old. He has worked his way up becoming better as a player so that now he is on the Rocklin Rebels Comp as well as the freshman team. Despite his devotion to soccer he says that the most important thing that he has
learned is, “to always put school before anything else.” This idea has definitely payed off for Cade because in middle school he received an award for being one of the best students in his academy which he said was his proudest moment. According to Cade, “One of my favorite parts about soccer is just hanging out with my friends and playing as a team.” It became obvious that his friends enjoyed having him as their teammate as much as he
enjoyed playing with them after talking to Austin Clark. Austin is also a freshman and was the person Cade said had the biggest influence on him as a player. When asked about Cade, Austin said, “that he can always find a way to pump you up or pick you up when you are down.” With talent and that kind of compassion it is no wonder that Cade has found his place in the soccer community. By Natasha Henmi
Little big league
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Small man, big heart
tanding at five foot three inches his size is not the only thing that makes him unique. Chris Riker, sophomore, being known for his remarkable athletic ability on the court and in the field isn’t what he thinks is the most important to him. He says, “My family [is the most important], because they love and support me.” The most influential person from
Dream for the stars H
oping for a future in sports medicine, and with a passion for softball, Marissa Kale has a sports filled life. Marissa has been playing softball for 10 years now, and has been with our school team for all her years here at Rocklin High along while also playing travel softball. When asked of her favorite team that’s she’s played for, Marissa notes her Team California team from this past summer, saying, “went to Colorado and placed in the top five out of 50” and that “all of us got along really well and the coaches made it really fun.”
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his family is his mom, “because she taught me how to read and write.” His family maybe a big part of his life but, sports are a another thing that make him unique. “I spend most of my free time playing sports, and I would describe myself in two words athletic and intelligent.” Chris’s size may not be the biggest, but his heart is. By Max Herberger
An athlete with academic future
Softball carries Marissa’s time, but bigger plans are ahead. Marisa looks to a future in sports medicine, a branch of medicine that deals with physical fitness and the treatment and prevention of injuries in sports. Marissa is college bound, hoping to go college somewhere near, possibly in the San Diego/LA area. While a softball scholarship is possible to get her there, Marissa takes school seriously, taking difficult classes such as Anatomy and AP Environmental. by Aaron Schroeder
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Remember the name
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rom starting on a team above his age group to training with the US Olympic program, Rocklin could have a famous soccer player in the making. Jase Holmes, freshman, lives and breathes soccer. Jase jokes that “I love the sport more than my own family.” He plays on Rocklin’s junior varsity team, and already is one of the team’s leading scorers. In addition to playing RHS soccer and for a local competitive team Galaxy Blues FC, Jase plays on the Olympic Development Program (ODP) state team. “The ODP team is where the coaches pick the top players they think can play ODP, and the coach picks the final team from tryouts,” Jase said. Holmes was selected from thousands of players competing in the Northern California region to come to tryouts, and after the tryout process was selected for the team. “Then what happens is they pick for
a state team and I am in the process of getting picked,” he explains. The ODP team trains every Sunday up in Dublin, just under two hours away. On top of the ODP Sunday trainings, Jase attends high school practices every day of the week, along with playing futsal (a soccer like game on hardwood) with his Blues FC club. And that’s not all; Jase trains for about three hours a day on his own. He has been playing the sport since he was two years old. Recently, Jase has advanced further in his ODP journey and has made the ODP tournament team. This team travels to places like Arizona and Oregon to compete against other premier level soccer clubs. A squad is selected within the ODP program to participate in these tournaments. “I would like to play in Europe, and increase through ODP and play on the national squad,” Jase said. With all this high level training and a
Freshman soccer star works hard, striving for game, fame
daily soccer routine, there is a reason to remember the name Jase Holmes. by Casey Miller
Fighting through tough times
One player has to prove the most
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nthony Lerch is a freshman with quite the story. His time spent outside of school is on football, whether he’s going to practice or training in the offseason. He has been playing football for the Rocklin program since he was six years old. From football he has gained “friends and athleticism.” Anthony has one obstacle most don’t have to deal with when wanting to play football. He has epilepsy, “It is triggered by high heartbeat and adrenaline, making me dizzy,” he said. The effects of the seizures were “short term memory loss, worsened grades, and being teased of my health, it makes me sad when people make fun of me because I can die from the
seizures.” The epilepsy affected him playing football when “My mom pulled me out of the last game of the 2016 season when I had a seizure the week of the game”. Since Anthony Lerch started having seizures “(He tries) to have more experiences because he doesn’t know what could lie ahead for him. Anthony hopes, “Not to have any more seizures so I can drive when I’m 16”. But for now “I have to be more careful not to push my adrenaline.” No other football player on the team has to deal with this disease. His family and friends are helping him through this hardship. He has to work hard for football and avoiding a seizure. by Darian Skultety
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struggle is more easily understood when it is seen, but looking at Jordan Aspillera, this Rocklin High sophomore has been dealing with a life long sickness that not many of her close friends know. Since the 4th grade she has been struggling to breath through her nose and it was always running causing her to constantly use tissues. This lead to her losing her sense of smell in the 7th grade. When her condition never started to get better she started going to the doctors and they prescribed her over the counter medication, but none seemed to work. Last year her doctor gave her a referral to see an allergy specialist, and was told to do daily sinus rinsing and getting allergy shots once every two weeks. She was also sent to get a CT scan to see what was really going on in her sinuses, then that lead her to go see an ears, nose, and throat doctor. Basically the ears, nose, and throat doctor told her that her nose were
filled with Polyps and that she would need surgery to remove it. “ I went in for the surgery and he said that it was so bad I dulled out the blade he used to scrape them out.” There was so much Polyp in her sinuses, the doctor had to switch to a different blade to finish the surgery. But after the surgery she was able to breath through her nose again while having gotten her sense of smell back. Ever since the surgery she has been doing exactly what the doctors have told her–doing her rinse everyday and taking her medication. Unfortunately the polyp grew back slowly and the doctor doesn’t understand why. “If you were over 18 then you would be qualified to be studied,” said her doctor. After this she has been prescribed more steroids to try and prevent more polyp growth to appear. Currently there are still polyps in her
Diabeticdefiance G
arrett Wriston is a Rocklin High School student whose life has been heavily influenced by illness. In January 2010, he was diagnosed with diabetes, a metabolic illness that prevents the body from making insulin. “My mother cried and that made me cry... As a 9 year old that’s kind of a lot to take in.” When asked about his experience in the hospital, he said he wasn’t scared and actually came to the realization that he was safer in the hospital than anywhere else at the time. Nevertheless, the hospital treated him kindly and watched over him as a hospital should. “They gave me a blanket and they even brought a ‘stress’ cat in for me.” And when it was time for them to leave the hospital, his mother insisted on staying a couple extra days, just to make sure. When I inquired how diabetes has affected him today, he claims he’s learned to live with it, and not to let it impair him from doing the things he wants or
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How to feel when even doctors don’t know how to help you. sinuses and she still does her rinse, takes her medication, and gets shots every two weeks. The rinse helps her breath and smell but during the day, her nose is still really runny. Often times people ask her if she’s OK or if she has been crying but in reality she is perfectly fine, it’s just her condition acting up. This effects her singing also, which is hard for her because it is her hobby and her nose makes it difficult for her to enjoy something she loves. “First I was upset because I’m going to be like this for the rest of my life but now since I’ve gotten used to the rinse everyday I’ve accepted it.”. By Stacy Feng
Adjusting to health challenge
from eating the things he wants. The only challenge comes with dosing for insulin and the side effect illnesses of diabetes, such as ketones. “There have been many times where I’ve had to stay home because of illnesses like ketones. When you have ketones, it feels like your blood has turned to acid, it’s just awful.” Another hardship of diabetes is sleeping at night. When going to bed with high blood sugar, it really messes with your sleep. But in the end he says people haven’t really looked at him any differently, though partially because he doesn’t ever talk about it to avoid questions. “Most people don’t know I have it until they see me testing at my desk during school.” Though he has to stay home from time to time, he still won’t let that get in the way of his academics and plans to keep succeeding in school and defying his disability. By Parker Woodward
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Dealt a bad hand E veryone has a fear. Some fears are big, and others are small. For a freshman girl at Rocklin High school, her biggest fear is extremely scary. “The word cancer scares me to death,” 14-year-old Siena Giampaoli says. Anyone can get cancer, but it’s based on genetics and for Siena Giampaoli, her chances at getting cancer later in life are very high. She has between a 40-85 percent chance of getting breast cancer since she already has the gene in her. She also has a 16 percent chance of getting ovarian cancer. “In my lifetime I have known eight women in my family who have gotten cancer.” Siena explains that ever since she could remember her whole life has been about cancer. Two of her cousins have been diagnosed and six of her aunts have been diagnosed with breast cancer, sadly two of them died. Siena at a young age started seeing a pattern in her life as she learned about everyone in her family getting cancer she came to the realization that she might get it. Siena has seen the best case scenarios and the worst case scenarios with different kinds of cancer. “My cousin was very lucky. They found lumps and they cut off her breast and just like that she was cancer free. Thankfully today she is still living a cancer free life, and she is as healthy as ever. I am super proud of her.” Siena
recounts the best case scenario she has seen when someone gets cancer. When Siena was just 11 years old, her family took in her aunt and her two sons. Her aunt had been living with breast cancer for seven years, but the end was coming and she needed help. Siena remembers the horrible experience about her aunt, and that has left a permanent fear in her life. “I saw her two sons push her away, she had a weird smell to her, and she lost all of her hair. After the cancer had spread to her arm it was swollen and her skin was starting to tear and she was always just in so much pain. When you see someone that you love very much go through that much pain, it changes you. I try to be a better person and I pray that I do not get cancer just because I have seen some horrible things because of it,” Siena recalls the time living with her aunt. Siena likes to hope that she will not get it, but she has accepted the fact that it is very likely that she might get it one day, but she is very afraid. Siena said, “Some people, like my cousin, were very lucky and she was able to fight it, and she is still with me today, but other people, like my aunt, aren’t very lucky, and she fought as hard as she could, but she died. I don’t know what will happen to me. I will fight as hard as I can but I can’t say for sure how I will end up and that scares me to death.”
Head into med
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he medical field is a difficult and rough area that contributes to society everyday. This field is filled with innovations and new technology helping the sick recover. Despite these tests, freshman Hannah Lucho is willing to take up the challenge and do her part in this age of breakthroughs. “I want to have a PhD in Medicine. I want to become an emergency room doctor,” Lucho said. She got her inspiration from Patch Adams, a physician and social activist, who believes that joy is a part of the healing process. “Patch Adams inspires me because he enforced that laughter was the best
Living with a high chance of cancer Siena said, “Some people, like my cousin, were very lucky and she was able to fight it, and she is still with me today, but other people, like my aunt, aren’t very lucky, and she fought as hard as she could, but she died. I don’t know what will happen to me. I will fight as hard as I can but I can’t say for sure how I will end up and that scares me to death.” By Raquel Kimm
Using inspirations to assist in emergency situations
medicine” Lucho said. Becoming a doctor is a challenging and crowded field to get into. Though this doesn’t stop Hannah from working toward this desired career path. “I am doing a program that teaches students how to become firefighters. They also teach some of the medical things that I want to do,” Lucho said. Hannah is taking a class known as Principles of Biomedical Science that teaches students the medical field through an investigation on how a fictional woman named Anna, died. She plans to continue with Project Lead the Way to create a career path of success. By Vincent Casas
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rom putting makeup on her face to getting yelled at by a sergeant, Rylee Young is ready to join the army. She is a young 14-year-old freshman enrolled in JROTC, Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps at Whitney High School. Going to ROTC every blue day helps her reach her goal of doing combat for the army. Combat is a collective name in the army to those troops within national armed forces which participate in direct and total grounds. Rylee wants to do combat for the army as soon as she can. “Not a lot of people want to do that because it is extremely dangerous and you have to really get down in the dirt. I feel like I will be making a bigger difference in that branch,” Rylee stated. Not knowing where she is going to be sent for boot camp, Rylee is excited and ready to enroll in her dream career, doing combat for the army. Rylee will surely be serving our nation after her successful JROTC journey in high school. By Evelyn Garcia
Route to Rocklin
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atience is a precious virtue, but few have mastered it to the degree of RHS student, Maxim Kraft. For him, waiting is a part of life. He’s had 12 years to practice. Max and his family began their immigration process from Russia to the U.S. in December of 2001, but while many would become impatient, Max approached his situation with seemingly inherent logical insight. “We were thinking, ‘Next year they are going to grant us permission. Or next month.’ It would have been pointless to make any big purchases, such as a new apartment,” explained Max. Although their uncertain green card application halted everyday life in Russia, Max began his American education and frequently visited his Grandmother in Massachusetts. His exposure to the juxtaposition between the two countries amplified his impressions of his home. “I would see all the things that are actually really bad in Russia. I would notice all of the dirt on the ground and cigarette butts.” His logical and optimistic approach
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That thirteen percent Rylee Young hopes to pursue position in the army after high school
U.S. brings promise of bright future for RHS student
caused his hope to blossom. His visits to Massachusetts and his online education cultivated his love and admiration for the U.S. “It helped me because it kind of softened down the waiting and the adjustment. I would think ‘Very soon I will be in better conditions’” In March of 2014, he immigrated to the U.S.A. His long years of waiting ended, but his experiences in the U.S. had just begun. He lived with his grandmother in Massachusetts (an immigrant herself) until the natural bickering of relatives enticed his family to move to New Jersey and then Rocklin. “We didn’t get along with my grandmother, my dad needed a bigger place to work, and I had to go to school” His parents now rely on Max to help them with adjusting to the new country, specifically their language barrier. Max has the added responsibility of helping his parents file their taxes and communicate in the world. “I’m saying this blank is this, that blank is that. Basically explaining what
everything means,”Max replied. This doesn’t hinder Max’s elaborate schedule of extracurricular activities, which he takes very seriously. Max’s life in America is an adjustment he takes in stride, and to him, it’s just no big deal. by Julia Lynn
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Hillbillyheaven Lifestyle found in love for outdoors
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ost people in the Rocklin community get to know others that are just like them, but very few try to learn the true passion of someone that is uniquely different. Cowboy boots, large belt buckle and a camo sweatshirt are a combination that may not come to mind when thinking about a Rocklin High Student, but for junior Nick Delucchi this is a main part of his everyday lifestyle. Hunting has been apart of Nick’s family for generations and he loves to keep the tradition alive. Nick commented, “I love to hunt because I get to spend quality time with my family and friends.”
Instead of spending weekends at the movies or at a friends house, Nick loves to take trips with his family to Gridley for hunting excursions. With the love of hunting, Nick also is on the Varsity baseball team and must spend his time wisely in order to maintain his schoolwork. “With a busy schedule, I do homework whenever I can and try my best not to procrastinate,” says Nick. For Nick, hunting supplies him with great joy, and gives him an opportunity to spend quality time with friends and family without the distractions of phones, TV, and media. By Nic McLaughry
With open arms
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oving to a new school, 150 miles away, is a difficult situation for any student to endure. Jessica Bullock lived this reality when her family, comprised of her two siblings and parents, moved from San Jose to Rocklin. Her family moved into their new home the day before Rocklin High school began, which was also link day.
Fresh start for RHS freshman
“Link Day really allowed me to become comfortable with the school and meet new friends. After I attended Link Day, I drove up to my new house and the movers were still in front so it was pretty weird. The whole day was just so exciting and full of new adventures,”said Jessica. Meeting new people and breaking through the barriers of friend groups can be a very hard thing for new students to experience. Jessica was able to find her way in her new high school by relying on those she met while being on the cross country team at RHS. “Cross country really helped me become comfortable living here because everyone on the team was so nice and just seeing familiar faces during passing period and breaks really showed me that I was not alone.” Jessica conquered the typical trials of being the new kid at high school by attending the Welcome Back Dance, and many other social gatherings trying to find people that relate to her. “I honestly thought I was going to be all alone at lunch and just sit by myself the whole year but everybody was so nice and welcoming,” Jessica strongly believes that “everyday is a new opportunity to meet more people and make new friends.” By following that
life motto, Jessica has adjusted well to her new school and home for the next 4 years. “Rocklin High School has such an amazing vibe which allows students to feel safe at school. Kendall Milligan, alike many others, really helped me feel comfortable being new.” Jessica’s and Kendall Milligan’s friendship all began because of a simple joke told to break the ice. “Jessica and I met at lunch one day and she seemed super nervous and out of place so I walked up and said a really cheesy joke and then our friendship just went from there. I think laughter is the best way to make someone’s day better and I am really glad that Jessica didn’t just walk away and think I was some weirdo because she is a super strong and amazing person” Kendall Milligan said. “After I moved to Rocklin, I could not imagine myself going to school or living anywhere else. The friends I have made through sports and clubs have made moving a lot easier than I expected it to be.” Thankful for the culture of Rocklin High School and opportunities she has already been given, Jessica Bullock is feeling right at home and is more excited than ever for her future! by Allison Maranta
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Separation to appreciation
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ivorce is something that changes lives of families and sometimes even destroys them. It is hard to go by it and hard to even think about, but there are some families where divorce didn’t destroy families and they found they can have a stronger bond after the divorce. “Trying to get back from what happened when I was seven, when my parents got divorced. I mean we are still struggling a little bit now, emotionally. Trying to figure out what our next steps are like. We move on in life together and even though we still have the past on our minds, it made us all stronger as a whole.” Meeting with Aimee early in the morning she brought up the issue quite fast, when she brought up her divorce and how it affected her incredibly and yet her family is still pushing through and all deeply care about each other. The divorce obviously still affected her family and herself personally though, it’s hard to pull yourself out of that difficult pit. “I guess it affected me a lot, having
Teen and family going through divorce
to switch back and forth from different houses. Back when I was younger I thought it was okay, yeah it was sad, but now it’s more emotional since I know how the specific things that happened and having to deal with the stress of school.” Is what McCoskey said at the question of how it personally affected her when she was younger and how it affects her now. It makes more sense, thinking that at 7, not knowing the things that really happened yet knowing that it probably was not good and is sad. One of Aimee’s good friends, Alyssa Sabagala told how she saw Aimee was doing from her perspective. “I don’t know that much about what really happened but I think what happened was hard for her and family, but overall Aimee is a very uplifting person with a positive perspective and attitude on many things, and I doubt any situation will change how she is.” Aimee and her family have obviously been through a lot. As Aimee even said, her family, her father, mother and siblings
Home sweet home T ry to imagine what it would be like to have to move five times in only four years. That means five different schools, and five different groups of friends you are forced to leave behind. Not only that but five places you do not feel comfortable in. Some schools that have lockdowns at least every week.
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Now on top of all that imagine having a life altering disorder. Freshman Emily Fabela endured all this and more. From age 7 she was diagnosed with epilepsy, a neurological disorder that causes unpredictable seizures and other health problems. At the same time her family started a four-year span of moving all over the Sacramento area. Including areas that at times left Emily Fabela feeling very unsafe. “It was hard for me to adapt to moving a lot because I was meeting and leaving so many good friends.” said Fabela. Her epilepsy made it even more difficult. Just having to worry about having a seizure in school put more stress on her case. “None of my teachers knew about it so I kept getting in so much trouble because I would kind of scream really loud. I almost had to get pulled out of school.” Fabela said about her epilepsy troubles.
are sort of like one person that’s how close they are and how much they have gone through as a close and happy family. by Liz Michael
After four years of moving Rocklin becomes final destination The only thing helping Emily through these moves was the thought of moving for the last time and settling in a great town like Rocklin. “I think people that haven’t experienced living or being somewhere else would not understand how great of a place Rocklin is.” explained Fabela. Despite finally finding a solution to her epilepsy Emily still says the best moment of her life was when she moved to Rocklin. Even though she now does not have to worry about seizures anymore, knowing that she never has to leave behind friends, or worry about her and her family’s safety again was truly the happiest moment of her life. Fabela gives all the credit to her family. “I’m in an amazing city surrounded by amazing people and I don’t have to move anymore. My family is to thank for that.” said Emily Fabela. by Lauren Millard
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l b m c m m s s
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Passion for compassion
Senior reflects on overcoming obstacles and helping others.
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uring the summer bridging the gap between junior high and freshman year, many students are preoccupied with how they would like to be perceived as a high school student. They devise ways to reinvent themselves and transition into a new stage of their life. For senior Tyra Day, she was faced with an infinitely more difficult period of transition. Tyra spent her summer preceding freshman year dealing with her parents’ unexpected divorce and moving from Idaho all the way to California with her sister, mother and grandmother. In the midst of this emotional rift, Tyra was confronted with an even more permanent and damaging obstacle; her father moving to New Mexico. To this
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day, Tyra considers her father’s absence her single most prevalent conflict to date. “This was very hard for me as he is very supportive and encouraging of me, and is one of the most important people in my life.” It was very difficult for Tyra to adjust to these major life changes over the course of three months, and she was in dire need of a support group to simply talk and hang out with. After struggling to make friends during freshman year, she only realized that she was truly socially and emotionally sound at the Quarry Bowl sophomore year. Tyra recollects, “This was a big epiphany moment for me. Although I am not necessarily close friends with those same people anymore, they were my support system and I felt comfortable and happy around them back then.” Besides having an enduring support system and meaningful communication with friends, Tyra plays the cello, which serves as a coping mechanism when dealing with her internal conflicts. “Any form of communication is a good coping mechanism for me, music is one of them. Sometimes I put my struggles and emotions towards life to improve me musically,” Tyra elaborates.
Due to the struggles she has faced, Tyra is a very compassionate and kind individual who is always available to listen and be there for her friends, and she currently has a very steady support system. Her best friend, Ceara Clementi, acknowledges that the most inspiring facet of Tyra is “how she is so strong and is always there for other people”. Ceara also recognizes that Tyra occasionally puts others before herself, but she is mostly “self-sufficient and also caring”. Tyra’s conversational and empathic character, inspired by past struggles, have strongly influenced her career goal. She would like to become a counselor someday and give professional help to those in necessity of aid. She is determined to reach this goal, as her and her friends consider her to be “a very hard worker who puts a lot of effort into the work she does”. Tyra’s great drive, life experiences, and journey at RHS has transformed her into a mature, serviceable, and gracious young woman. by Mridini Vijay
How an artist overcomes tragedy to create beauty
Artists inspiration
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atalie Knight is a student at Rocklin High School whose life has been heavily influenced by art. Paints and pencils are her materials of choice she uses to create masterpieces that would make anybody’s jaw drop and make them wonder how a high schooler could create something so beautiful. Natalie is a self-taught artist and she has only learned from her experiences, which makes her art even more impressive. Art III is a class she takes to explore her artistic abilities and hone in on her skills by doing whatever comes to mind.
Natalie’s inspiration for her artwork stems from her family and the music she listens to. Natalie’s mother passed away when she was at the young age of two years old and has learned that art was a big part of her mother’s life, which has caused Natalie and her two older sisters to follow suite. She uses the skills she has acquired over her many years of drawing and painting to create something amazing that can be related to a particular song she has listened to. Her artwork is unique in the way that she can transform the lyrics of a song and make it a
reality on paper or canvas. Natalie plans on using her artistic talent to create permanent masterpieces onto everyday citizens by becoming a tattoo artist. She thinks that this would be a good career for her because she can relate to the tough times her clients would be having and be able to make them feel better using her artistic talents. This career is all about helping people show off their loves and passions and Natalie wants to help express these things by drawing them onto her clients for the world to see. By Zach Miller
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Dealing with
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dyslexia
Difficulties of living with reading disorder
ou are sitting in English class and the was not a surprise to her family when the teacher asks you to read a paragraph doctor announced her condition. out loud. Pretty normal, right? Well, to Although it has become increasingly freshman Haley Sanders and other dyslexic more common, with 20 percent of schoolstudents this could pose as a large problem. aged children affected, dyslexia is still “I have dyslexia so it’s hard to difficult to cope with, especially for a high understand things in the classroom, school student. Through her dedication in especially in language arts. I can’t read fast art, Haley is able to escape her challenges. and sometimes I won’t make my AR goal,” “I’ve been involved with art ever since said Sanders. I could pick up a pencil,” she comments. Dyslexia is a brain Pursuing art has boosted her based stimulation disorder confidence, as it is a subject Dyslexia is the most equally affecting both not affected by dyslexia. She common reading males and females. It hopes to one day study at the disability—20% of the San Francisco Art University causes difficulties in reading, spelling and population is struggling and become either a graphic recognizing words, yet designer or a digital artist. with this hidden it has not been proven Interestingly, many famous disability. Many remain artists were diagnosed with to decrease intelligence. undiagnosed, untreated, this disorder. Often called In fact, Albert Einstein, arguably the smartest and struggling with the the secret of Picasso’s and man to ever exist, had this Da Vinci’s success, dyslexia impact disorder. has been proven to boost Haley was diagnosed creativity and attention to with dyslexia in the fifth grade, but started detail in art. showing symptoms six years before. In Dyslexic students can also be judged her early Kindergarten years, she made a harshly at times, being labeled as “slow” or Happy Birthday banner for her mom as “not smart enough.” Teachers, though they a present. Her handwritten words were have good intentions, are often a little too spelled oddly, with some letters flipped. lenient on Haley. They talk differently to With her Dad also being dyslexic, it her than other students, and allow her more
time to complete school work. Despite this, Sanders remains her happy self. “I can always stay positive. When I am feeling down, I just tell myself to stay happy and then I feel better,” she said. One thing is for certain: though she has her challenges, nothing will stop her from achieving her dreams. by Kayla Poduska
Waking up from a nightmare How he got through a real life challenge
Not everyone has gone through something that changes their life forever. Rocklin High School has gone through the tragedy of cancer with Trevor Wildberger and Coach Stacie Starr. A 15-year-old freshmen named Zach Horner had to go through one of th biggest moments in his life that not everyone even knew about his mom, but sometimes we do hear about someone’s family member going through something. Zach’s mom was diagnosed with breast cancer and how he got through it
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all with his family was part of his story. When he learned about her disease he was devastated but he had his family and friends helped him get through it. “Our family helped us get through it all but after a month they had the operation and got the tumor out of her,” said Zach said. After that month his mother has been doing great she fought through it all and beat it with the help of family and friends with their support. \by Zachery Starr
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She/Her to He/Him Hardships of being a transgender teen
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y biggest struggle in life is probably people seeing me as a girl,” says Sam Michael, a senior at Rocklin High. Sam was born a girl but since he was 16 he knew he was genderfluid, then at 17 Sam knew he was transgender. Besides being transgender Sam is just a normal 18-year- old at Rocklin High. Sam aspires to be a storyboard artist when he gets out of school. There are a lot of pros and cons of being transgender, for being so late in his life, it would make sense for there to be a lot interesting situations he’d be stuck in being trans. Sam explains some of the pros and cons in his life about this situation, “The pros are, my self esteem went up, and I felt better about myself. Cons, I wasn’t born male so people always refer to me as a girl, and I am always seen as a girl, whereas I want to be seen as a boy.” Support in his family is important
to him, his sister Liz Michael is a very supportive person in his family and she accepts him for who he is, and that means a lot to him. Also Sam’s best friend Natalie has been there for Sam through all of the decisions he had made and she always supports him, and they have been lifelong friends, “She is my biggest supporter ever because she has stuck with me through thick and thin no matter what.” Sam being transgender hasn’t really affected his friends, he says that they knew he was trans before he did, and they accepted him for that, he thinks the hardest part for his friends was the pronoun change from Sam being a girl then to a boy. For Sam’s family it was a lot to take in, but they go used to it over time and still love him for who he is. It was a slow process for Sam to figure out he was trans but once he came to terms with it, it made him happier about himself
and that’s all that really matters. Sam Michael is just another normal student at Rocklin High with a story to tell.
FACELESS New beginnings for a new student
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oving 140 miles when you’re four years old isn't the best welcome into this world, moving away from all you friends and you first preschool. For Alexis Agustin, this was the first time she experienced the discomfort of moving schools. Then for the second time, she moved schools again during the end of fourth grade, moving to the old part of Rocklin. When Alex moved into her new school, everyone around her was rude and disrespectful to other people, so under pure pressure, she became rude, too. She became friends with another girl named Kennedy, and every day at recess they would wait for the younger kids to go use the restroom, and when they pester the young ones when they tried to use the restroom. “Moving from school to school and being under peer pressure to do rude things was what mainly caused me to act that way know that I look back on. When I was rude and disrespectful I thought it was because that was the cool thing to do any everyone was doing it, i didn't see anything wrong with it at the time.” After elementary school, Alex went into Granite Oaks Middle School and learned the difference between a group of people that were bullies, and respectful groups of people. She conquered her
evil side and become a part of a group filled with nice people and got straight A’s all through her 7th and 8th grades. “I could not imagine Middle School without my loyal group of friends who taught me how to be a better person. I went through some rough times during middle school and they have always been there for me and always help me no matter what problems I’m going through.”
The Flash | 14
Americandream
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ost people dream of going to another country, but Yeh is someone who has gotten the chance to live there. Yeh Huanying is a rare student at Rockin High School with a unique and unusual story. She is 14 and a freshman in high school this year. Yeh recently moved to Rocklin from China with her mom and brother. Yeh Huanying is taking on a whole new world and culture everyday. “I go by the name Joy. It is easier for people to pronounce and remember. I chose the name Joy because it’s what my Chinese name means. Joy means being popular and happy,” she adds. “My mother has been the most important person in my life. Ever since leaving China four months ago, she has taken care of me and taken care of everything. My mother brought me and my brother here from Hongal, China. I’m from Taiwan, but I moved to China when I was three years old.” “My family thought that education here is better. That is why we packed up and left China. I can not decided what the happiest moment of my life is, there is truly a lot. I feel happiest when it is my friends’ birthdays. These are my friends from China. I keep in contact with my friends from China by using social media or calling them on the phone.
In China, a traditional food we eat on a birthday is noodles. In our culture we believe eating noodles makes you live longer. Now in America, we will just hang out and eat birthday cake. The saddest moment of my life is when my grandfather passed away one year ago.” “If I could give advice to my younger self, it would be to study hard,” Joy continued. “Education is very important to me and my family. Studying well can change your life. I wouldn’t say my life is or isn’t what I imagined, I think so far my life has been good.” “My biggest struggle is coming here and having so much to learn, especially the English language. Another struggle I have, is the skill to make friends I learned a little bit of English in my country, and now I have to learn more! It’s never enough!” “There is one teacher who has made an impact on me and that’s my ELD teacher, Ms. Sellers. I think she’s a really experienced teacher who is good at teaching and she helped me change my curriculars. “ Ms. Sellers encouraged me learn Spanish as well as English. Ms. Sellers also makes me feel great about myself learning at my own pace.” by AveryDuBovik
Home away Teen travels between from home parents and aunt’s house
“I
Finding joy after lifechanging move
wanted to stay here so I could be with my friends.” Living without parents is challenging, but it makes the visit that much more valuable. Caroline Camacho is a junior at Rocklin High School while her parents live 530 miles away. Her parents moved because her dad got a job in San Diego, but Caroline didn’t want to move when she is so close to finishing high school with her friends. Now, Caroline stays with her aunt in Rocklin. Once a month, she flies down to San Diego by herself to visit her parents. “It is actually kind of fun flying except when random people start talking to you, but now I am used to it,” Camacho stated. Although she has to be away from her parents a lot, she says this has been a good learning experience for her. Caroline has become more independent and mature. Throughout this time, she has learned to drive, buy groceries be more responsible and clean up after herself. Her aunt doesn’t have to worry about taking her anywhere because she has her own car, so she can take herself anywhere she needs to go.
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“I want to go to college in San Diego so I can be close to my parents,” Caroline said. Camacho works hard in school and gets her work done so she can attend the college she wants. Every time she sees her parents, she hauls around all of her textbooks to make sure she is on top of things. Camacho prefers to be in San Diego because she gets to see her parents and grandparents, and because they live in a penthouse on a beach. “When I go out there, we have a lot of bonding time, and my parents always let me pick what we do,” Camacho states. The last time she visited her parents, they went shopping, went to the beach, and they crossed the Mexican border. Through all, Caroline talks to friend Alexa Galvez about what is going on and to keep her company. Her and her aunt were not as close when she first moved in with her, but their relationship is growing. It is hard for Caroline to be away from her parents for such long periods of time, but she knows it will all be worth it in the end. by Brianna Alston