Opinon
The Hutchinson Collegian Friday, Novmber 3, 2017
Page 3
Thoughts while nearly falling from a tree stand “Tree stand failures don’t happen to people like me.” That was the first thought of many that flashed through my head in the split second that I realized that my seat, 19-feet in the air, was disappearing beneath me. “Is this real?” Unfortunately, it was and unlike all the times I had considered the possibility of me falling from a tree stand before, you don’t actually have time to think about how you should fall to best minimize damage to your body. Your body simply fends for itself before you have time to process that you’re even falling in the first place. At least that’s what I experienced in the first quarter second of my encounter with a falling tree stand during the first bow-hunt of the year. My boyfriend and I headed out at five that morning and made it to the stand in the pitch dark ready to take down a trophy buck. Without a problem, and like the hundreds of times I had done it before, I silently made my way up the stand that was bought and verified to support two people. As I was sitting down, before I had time to attach
my harness and I was rearranging my crossbow on my arm to guarantee its safety, Cole made his way up the flimsy ladder next. And that’s when I heard the snap and gravity became all too real. Before I truly knew what was happening, I felt the metal platform beneath my legs give way and my arm, the only one without a crossbow slung around it’s elbow, scrambled to grab onto something sturdy but instead grabbed hold of the swinging safety bar that only hung by a loose hinge. The bar moved with my falling body, weighed down by hunting gear and I scrambled to grab the back of the tree stand that was more sturdy. During this first instant, before I made sure I had a good grip on the tree stand and wouldn’t fall into the foggy darkness below my now shaking feet, two thoughts crossed through my mind. The first already mentioned, “How is this happening to me? It only happens to people I read about in hunting magazines,” and the second being a thought of sheer panic and terror. Not of my falling and perhaps shattering of a variety of bones,
Columnist
Merissa Anderson but of the possibility that I would fall and my bow would misfire and kill the person below me that I hold dearest. Thankfully, the latter option remained as only a thought and was never made a reality. The platform I had been sitting on did not fall completely, it had dropped to a vicious angle and tilted sideways but didn’t fall. I was left with my thick-soled hunting boots teetering on the edge of a few tiny metal bars that were slipping more every second and one arm clinging to a bar with the other wrapped up in the sling of my crossbow. I would have loved to think that I would maintain composure in a time like this but I soon proved my-
self wrong when I realized that I was no longer falling but was instead panicking. Naturally, I screamed when I first felt my seat give way but even after the fact, I was whimpering in the tree and repeatedly asking if I could drop my bow so that I could get a better grip on the stand even though I knew that dropping my loaded bow was the worst possible option at the time. Cole, with his training as a firefighter, remained calm and explained to me how to get down. Slowly, and with as little movement as possible, I worked the bow back to my shoulder per his directions and got both of my hands onto the proper railing which freed up my feet to search for the ladder that Cole and fixed back beneath the stand. Carefully, I made my way down the thin and now wobbly ladder; it’s movement accelerated tenfold due to the incessant shaking radiating from my nervous legs into the stand. I breathed the biggest sigh of relief of my life when I felt Cole’s hands on my back as I neared the bottom of the stand and my shaking feet finally hit solid ground. In my attempt to make light of a situation that
Merissa Anderson/Editor
The platform to sit on had been yanked downwards and tilted sideways when the ladder snapped unexpectedly.
could have ended much worse, I joked that my screams surely had scared away all of the deer but despite this fact, he and I
relieved the stress of the tree stand failure the best way we knew how - we hunted, but on the ground for the rest of that morning.
Entertainment Pulse
My top five favortie pop songs 0f 2017 We are almost over in 2017, and already this year we’ve had several pop stars return to their respective glory. Here’s my picks for the top 5 best pop songs of 2017
1. “Praying” by Ke$ha
Few singers ever deliver that beautiful radio hit while also making us cry. But here, Ke$ha did. The singers return after a five year absent was more than triumphant, it was glorious. Her ongoing legal battle against former producer, Dr. Luke, caused her to pause on all new music endeavors. But yet, even thought a long departure from music is sometimes poison to a career, Ke$ha came back. And she came back better than ever. This song (which is about her sexual assault by Dr. Luke) gave us a Ke$ha we had never seen before. Gone are the days of the party girl singing about boys that look like Mick Jagger. Now we have the most human Ke$ha we’ve ever seen. Singing about a traumatizing experience, all while delivering her best vocals and making this into a song that is still pop radio friendly, takes more than just a performer, it takes an artist. Seriously, if you haven’t heard it, go listen to it. Then you’ll know I’m right in saying “Praying” is the best song of 2017.
Ke$ha
Demi Lovato
3. “Slow Hands” by Niall Horan Okay this song caught me off guard. I was never a huge fan of One Direction, so when they announced they would all be releasing solo music, I never expected to be a fan of any of them. But then, this gem debuted on radio and I was hooked. The song’s hypnotic beat makes it a song worthy of jamming to, but the lyrics make it a song of passion. Additionally, Horan proved he had one of the better voices of 1D (Sorry Harry Styles fans.)
Staff Writer
2. “Tell Me You Love Me” by Demi Lovato This song is from the album of the same name, and the album is by far the best of 2017. Demi proves time and time again she has the vocal powerhouse to outmatch the likes of Christina Aguilera but also the pop diversity to outdo fellow pop princess Miley Cyrus. This single specifically proves Demi has pipes. But the song also has those catchy cords that make it nothing short of a pop hit. Lovato got her first Grammy nomination last year for her vocals on Confident. But I daresay she deserves to WIN her first Grammy for this album and this song. Additionally, Demi deserves to go down as one of the best pop vocalists of the 21st century. And yes, I’m a big Demi fan.
Jack Greenwood
Niall Horan
Selena Gomez
4. “Bad Liar” by Selena Gomez
Say what you will about Selena Gomez. But the girl knows a hit when she’s got one. While “Bad Liar” didn’t match the commercial success of “Same Old Love,” it is still the most mature sound Gomez has ever released. Additionally, the song is actually pretty emotional for Gomez when compared to some of her radio hits. Personally, I enjoy Selena Gomez music and I’m excited to see her going in a new direction. This song definitely deserves its spot here.
Imagine Dragons
5. “Believer” by Imagine Dragons There is no doubt in my mind that this Imagine Dragons’ song is better than their most famous song “Radioactive.” While some may disagree, I dare argue that the more dynamic beat and rhythm and more diverse vocal range make this their best single to date. In addition to creating a great song, the band opened the creation of the music video to fans with an interest in video editing. Ethey provided fans with video clips that they could then edit and clip to the beat of the song.
Images from Twitter
From online high school in Kingman Kansas to HutchCC When I first tell people that I did three years of high school online, they are shocked and tell me that they would have never guessed that about me because I don’t act shy at all. In reality, I was terrified when I first started my college career. I had no idea what it was going to be like walking into a classroom again after three years of being an online student. Doing online schooling had its benefits. I was able to be home with my family, and I was also able to work a full-time
job that I had for over two years before I moved into the dorms. I learned a lot of self-discipline and self-motivation. I didn’t have a teacher reminding me about assignments and I didn’t have books for classes or physical homework. Online schooling also had its downfalls for me. I lost a lot of ‘friends’ when I left Kingman High School. I quickly learned that they weren’t even my real friends. I wasn’t able to participate in many of the school
Columnist
Emma Cox activities with the few friends that did stick around because I wasn’t considered a Kingman High student,
but at the same time I was. That didn’t make sense at all. I had to skip out on my senior prom, which wasn’t much of a loss to me considering I had no real interest in going. A lot of people assumed that my family dropped out when we left to do online but we proved them wrong by graduating early. When I decided that I was going to attend Hutchinson Community College, I didn’t know what to expect. I was going to be roommates with a complete stranger and didn’t know a
lot of people. When I went to my first class I was a little nervous, but luckily I had my brother in that class, so I had someone to talk to and I wouldn’t be sitting there all awkward like I normally would. When it came to us introducing myself to the class, I was like a deer in the headlights and quickly said what I had to say. I ran into the same situation with my other classes but I made it through. Sometimes, I find it hard to go places on my own, even if it is just to go to Rimmer Learning Center
to print something off, but I manage to convince myself to go. As the semester is coming to a close, I managed to make some good friends and get to know my surroundings more. I speak out more in class, and I’ve gotten more comfortable talking with new people. So far I have had an amazing experience and hopefully it continues on and I can continue meeting new people, making new friends and gain more experiences before I graduate from college.