Bard Fall 2014

Fall 2014 Interviews with Mr. Nelson, Jessica Fry, & more!

Featured Student Writer: Emma Richart

Taylor Taweel

Singer, Songwriter, Musician

Helena Ong Editor in Chief Tripp Robbins Advisor Riya Mirchandey Maya Varma Scott Stevens Avalon Edwards

Editorial Board Writing Editor Content Manager Publicity and Blog Editor Photography Editor

Reporters, Lauren Jacques Layout Designers, Samantha Frenkel-Popell Artists Kate Lazar & Bardicles of the Bardiculture Emily Finke Sophia Davirro Kaitlin Hao Chloe Lai Dani Wang Sylvia Chen Alyssa Chao Charles Hanson Emma Richart Jack Bowen Jessica Fry Matthew Nelson Ryan Dean Taylor Taweel Tripp Robbins Whitney Stubbs

Featured Throwback: Teachers’ Writing Featured Student Writer Throwback: Teachers’ Writing Featured Student Artist Interview Thowback: Teachers’ Writing Cover Featured Student Artist Throwback: Teachers’ Writing Throwback: Teachers’ Writing

Contents Fall 2014 Issue Letter from the Editor Helena Ong 4 Jessica Fry Kate Lazar 6 The Meaning Behind Urinetown Emily Finke 9 Fall Fashion & Styles Sophia Davirro & Kaitlin Hao

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Interview: Matthew Nelson Samantha Frenkel-Popell 12 Throwback: Teachers’ Writing Maya Varma & 14 Riya Mirchandaney Featured Artist: Taylor Taweel Scott Stevens 20 Fall Playlists Riya Mirchandaney 25 “Slutty Cats Are Not Your Problem” Avalon Edwards 26 “Is That Why You Dropped Physics?”

Emma Richart 28

“This one time at writing camp I Riya Mirchandaney found out my Meyer Briggs Indicator”

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Letter from the Editor

Photo courtesy of Disney

Dear Reader,

In 1989, Anna Wintour, Editor of Vogue, published her first September Issue. While she had been editor since November 1988 publication, I consider her September Issue as her final step into the position. And while in no way do I compare myself to “Ice Queen” Wintour, I like to think of this October Issue as my final step.

It is true that I began my term as editor last issue, but the experience was awkward, clumsy, and the beginning of a whole new learning experience.

Thanks to Maya Singhal, previous editor, it hasn’t been too hard, but like any new experience, it has it’s own set of challenges and for me, it’s important we maintain the heart of the Bard--which is to shed light onto forgotten elements, whether that be the arts or social issues we ignore.

For this issue we chose shadows as our theme. Initially, given the fall season, the shady gloom of the sky, and the upcoming spooky holiday, it would seem cliched. However, we’d like to take it further and weather not only through gloomy skies, but also the shadows that are casted in our lives. We’re trying to come back to the heart of the Bard and shine a light onto the arts and social issues that often fall into the shadows.

You may have recognize the image of Peter Pan’s shadow on this spread, and I think it says something about the parts of us that aren’t always recognized. Often times, we forget or leave behind aspects of ourselves that are equally animated, and spirited, and representative of who we are in order to perceived being of ourselves that is permitted into the operating spectrum of “normal” or “typical.” So instead, own it, sew back those shadows that gives you depth and let’s celebrate them.

Enjoy the October Issue.

Kthxbai

Helena Ong Editor-in-Chief

Dancing: A Lifestyle

A large number of girls (and a smaller number of boys) join a dance class in their early childhood, especially in this country, where it has become almost a rite of passage.

But very few of those girls continue with dance into their elementary, middle, and high school years. Almost overnight, dancers find that if they want to be successful in dance, they must attend classes that are more rigorous and require a higher level of skill and responsibility to memorize parts and work well with others.

By Kate Lazar For most, this is too much pressure compared with other activities they could be doing, and their dancing career ends right there.

Menlo School’s senior Jessica Fry was one girl that continued to dance even she reached a threshold of needing to commit more time and focus into dancing if she wanted to stand out from all the rest.

Fry’s mother put her into dance when she was three years old because, as Fry remembers “I had too much energy around the house!” Fry loved it, and has now stuck with it for 14 years. Beginning with tap and jazz, she combined those with ballet a year later, when she was four. Over time, her life in dance has evolved to include contemporary, lyrical, acrobatics, and hip hop!

Dancing requires a lot of time and energy in order to progress beyond the novice stage. Fry, you won’t be surprised to hear, spends a ton of time in her dance studio.

Let’s do a quick rundown of her schedule: Monday. 2.5 hours of pointe, a ballet technique that lets dancers perform on the tips of their toes.

Tuesday. 3 hours of contemporary, jazz, acrobatics, and tap. To elucidate; contemporary is a modern combination of styles, jazz is a modern style that has its roots in Caribbean and African American dance, and acrobatics is, no surprise, dance that involves cool flips and handsprings.

Wednesday. Ballet and lots of strength and conditioning.

Thursday. Fry teaches classes to younger dancers, and is given private lessons.

Friday. Fry teaches more classes, and works on perfecting solo dances to be performed in solo competitions.

Saturday and Sunday. Dance and dance until everything is learned and perfected!

On the weekends, as Jessica nonchalantly states, she lives in her dance studio, dancing from 10am-10pm.

Her schedule doesn’t slow in the summer. There’s not as much time for Fry to relax by the pool as there is for many people; she is busy attending high level dance intensives such as the Boston Conservatory and Juilliard Summer Dance Intensive.

Her schedule has largely paid off due to her success in dance competitions. Last year, she won the title of Miss Dance of America, in a huge national competition in which she was chosen from 28 other experienced contestants.

To give you an idea of how much dancing that amounts to; Fry wears down one pair of pointe shoes every three weeks!

How could anyone get their homework done with that kind of craziness each day? It’s true that Fry needs to be super organized and efficient if she wants to get her work done each day. This work is usually completed in a period from 3:00-6:00, and sometimes after 9:30 if she’s lucky.

Fry has gotten her balance of dance to academics down to a science, but it hasn’t been easy to perfect. In freshman year, she quit dance when her studio was being unsupportive of the students and unwilling to grant them permission to participate in other activities such as school plays. Fortunately, Fry’s favorite dance teacher started her own dance studio and this “rekindled [her] love for dance.”

Additionally, Fry has had her fair share of setbacks due to injury. Pushing herself just a bit harder than usual can result in an injury that takes her out of dance for multiple weeks or months, and cause her to miss competitions or have to relearn techniques. One such injury is ongoing; an Os Trigonum in her left ankle that becomes inflamed and pushes on her Achilles tendon.

This makes dancing in pointe shoes a bit more challenging. Additionally, Fry’s high pain tolerance once drove her to dance on a sprained ankle for multiple weeks, in all dance classes, including pointe, and was eventually compelled to see a doctor by her teachers. She had to miss six weeks of dance afterwards.

However, when asked of her greatest challenge in dance so far, Fry did not speak about challenges from injuries. Rather, she spoke about learning to compete not with other dancers, but with herself. Fry considers herself a very competitive person, and this serves her well in high stakes competitions. But if her competitiveness leads her to focus solely on other’s strengths and weaknesses, then she has forgotten that her own path to success in dancing might lead to an entirely different place than the person she is comparing herself to.

Fry says that dancing has been rewarding for her due to its ability to “turn incorporeal ideas or emotions into a physical manifestation.” Basically, dancing is an outlet for expressing thoughts. To Fry, dancing is not quite a sport or art form; saying, “dancers are athletes, but dancing is not a sport.” Sports tend to have clear winners in competitions, whereas the outcomes of dance competitions rely entirely on the subjective opinion of the judges.

In the future, Fry will keep on dancing and simultaneously navigate towards a career in science or math.

The Meaning

By Emily Finke

Behind

Urinetown

This fall, the Menlo Upper School is putting on a production of the musical, Urinetown.

In the musical, town where the characters live has a water shortage. Therefore, the people cannot have private toilets and must use the public toilets that you must pay to use. A private corporation, Urine Good Company (UGC), runs these toilets. If the citizens of this town cannot pay the fee or if they decide to pee somewhere other than the public toilets, they are sent to Urinetown. The audience discovers that Urinetown is not actually a place but rather, a symbol for death. The people being taken to “Urinetown” are actually being thrown off of a roof and killed. Having been oppressed and denied basic human rights, the hero, Bobby Strong, takes action and leads a rebellion against the company.

Urinetown is a very unusual musical through its use of literalism in the lines and lyrics. It

is typically considered to be a musical comedy, but its comical aspect comes through its cynicism. At the beginning of the show, two of the characters, Little Sally and Officer Lockstock, mock the show by breaking the “fourth wall” by telling the audience where the bathroom is.

Urinetown satirizes a typical musical through its storyline, song choice, and characters. For example, the number, “Snuff That Girl” is an imitation of the song “Cool” from West Side Story.

The whole concept of the musical is absurd, as it seems as though nothing like what happens in this musical could ever happen in real life. Nevertheless, Urinetown is a cold, exaggerated, reality check on our present-day society.

On the surface, this musical seems like a light-hearted comedy that sounds ridiculous.

However, this musical is a reflection of our world today. It is a clear example of corruption in authority. UGC takes advantage of an extremely unpleasant situation to earn money from people who have barely any money to begin with. The UGC starts out as a company that seems to have good intentions, but it is found out to be a very corrupt corporation that is based on bribery and lies. This leads to a rebellion, as when a higher power strips people of their basic human rights the people may become enraged and riot.

It is ironic drama teacher Steve Minning chose to put on a musical that takes place in a

town with a severe water shortage when we are in one of the worst droughts in California’s recent history.

Fall Fashion & Style

By Kaitlin Hao & Sophia Davirro

Sophomore Nicole Woo keeps warm with a seal grey sweater from American Eagle over her black romper from Forever 21.

As the day progresses and temperature rises, students can take off their warm sweaters to feel comfortable in their lighter clothing. Woo’s dark romper with a halter neckline transitions nicely into fall while she still stays warm for the

cooler weather with her fall sweater.

Dig those Uggs and knit sweaters out of your closets and place in your orders for pumpkin spice latte because Fall has arrived! We may still be basking in summer heat, but the arrival of Autumn is apparent in the student body’s fashion. The delicate palettes of pink and white of summer are replaced by rich tones of brown, red, and gold. Flowy lace dresses give way to warm, soft, and inviting fabrics. From the neck to the fingernails, the influence of Fall is everywhere!

Boots can be annually expected to be a big part of autumn style and fashion, especially leather boots, such as those seen on freshman Ashley Dreyer. Dreyer is seen wearing her brown leather boots from Nordstroms over a pair of light blue skinny jeans.

With all the new styles and fashion items they can wear as the fall season comes, students still like to feel comfortable and casual. Sophomore Alex Edidin doesn’t back down from enjoying comfortable yoga pants paired with a down vest from Uniqlo. The dark colors of Alex’s outfit sure suggest the transition from summer into fall, but puffy jackets and long sleeves make students completely ready for the cold season.

While the floral pattern sophomore Ashley Zhang delicately painted on her fingernails, make this nail art design appropriate for summer, the dark colors and strong stripes added into the design makes it fashionable for fall.

Nail art is a great way to welcome the fall holidays.

Sophomore Sophia Davirro incorporated classic aspects of Halloween pumpkins, silhouettes, plaid, and spooky trees s into her nail art design.

If you can’t find a good Halloween costume in time, express the holiday through your nails!

Not only did sophomore Carla Roever warm herself up with a plaid flannel from Abercrombie, but she also indulged herself in a maroon and red tribal printed infinity scarf to get into style for the colder weathered days at Menlo School.

Florals at Menlo still travel into the fall weather, as senior Julia Weingar paired her tank top from Nordstrom with a pair of jeans. Instead of summery pinks and whites, the earthy tones of her lavender, blue, and ochre florals transition nicely into autumn.

Junior Monica Juan is still in a summer daze: her Free People lace blouse is the very definition of summer and hints of neon green and pink reflect the sun’s brightness. Enjoy vibrant colors and lightweight clothing while the sun is out!

Interview: Matthew Interview by Nelson Samantha Frenkel-Popell Why did you come to Menlo?

MN: Back in the spring of last year, a conservative Catholic blog did a hit piece against me and against other theology teachers and chairs across the Bay Area. This caused quite a stir at the respective schools, so anywhere from Stuart Hall [San Francisco] to Sacred Heart Preparatory, to the Woodside Priory School where I was from. And this revealed to me a suspicion that I had about the changing face of the Catholic Church because of Archbishop Cordileone, who’s known as an Archconservative. He was appointed the new archbishop of San Francisco about two years back. A member of our community (a monastic) Brother Edward was instrumental in protecting our community from any sort of conservative expectation that we should indoctrinate students into Catholic ideology or that we should try to be a certain way in our curriculum or in our identity as the Woodside Priory School. So throughout this tumult, I came to the realization that this would no longer be a hospitable place to teach theology. I might be able to teach history, I

______________ ___________

“Yeah, cool! I’m the queer bohemian who once chaired a theology dept. at the Woodside Priory School!” ___________ ______________

might be able to teach literature, but as long as I wanted to pursue my love of teaching the academic non-sectarian cultural studies approach to religion, I’m probably going to have to do that elsewhere because this is no longer a place that it can be done. [...] The more I

learned about Menlo, the more I learned that this could be a wonderful place

for me to continue my career.

Did you feel like the pressure came more from the students, parents, or church?

MN: There is no doubt that the whole community was unanimous--from students, to parents, to alums, to administrators--most administrators anyways--that I should stay put, that they were going to fight, that the Woodside Priory School was going to remain a place where people could be free to be whoever they are, and I would be able to continue to teach the academic study of religion in a way that would be generative to all students – not just to students who identify as Catholic. So, I would say almost everybody was unanimous in trying to preserve that culture, and any pressure came from our board of directors, St. Anselm’s College in New Hampshire, and from the diocese of San Francisco. People who knew the least about who the Woodside Priory is were the ones who ultimately wanted to take Priory in a different direction, a direction I wasn’t comfortable in going [...and] I mourn the loss of that kind of robust pursuit, open inquiry of religion at Priory because I am unsure of whether that exists or not anymore, but I know for me personally that sometimes things happen for a reason, and that I’m here at Menlo discovering these passions, continuing these passions and new passions, meeting these students, making new friends and colleagues, and I am loving it.

______________ ___________

“I was driven more by a personal curiosity a new identity that had been foisted upon me.” ___________ ______________

Can you talk about some of the new projects and passions you are doing here?

MN: In addition to teaching world religions and English literature, which I’m loving, and working with a great team for both English 1 and World Religions, I thought that because of my experience last year – having been identified as a ‘queer bohemian’ because that’s what the [Catholic blog] article said, “A queer bohemian chairs the theology department at the Woodside Priory School” – I thought, well excellent! They took it from a blog that I had started for a post-graduate study class I was taking where it focused on technology and I put queer bohemian, but it was more of an inside joke to my classmates at the time[....]And the more I sat on that, I was like, “Yeah, cool! I’m the queer bohemian who once chaired a theology dept. at the Woodside Priory School!”

I became infatuated with the idea of bohemianism, bohemian culture, and the history of bohemianism, and I did a lot of reading and research over the summer. And it wasn’t lost on me that the Bay Area is more or less the epicenter of bohemianism in the United States. [....] I was driven more by a personal curiosity, a new identity that had been foisted upon me. [....] So I dreamed up Bohemians, Radicals, and Queers in the Bay Area [for Knight School] to reflect upon the question of whether or not this bohemian culture that is indicative of the Bay Area has been supplanted by that which bohemianism gave birth to the innovation in the tech industry that we know and love and enjoy today. So I wanted to consider whether bohemianism was dead in the Bay Area...or that it is really living and breathing, it’s just that it is hard to find where it is and we’re going go discover [where it is].

THROWBACK:

Poems & Essays by our very own teachers

Contrary to popular belief, our teachers are not actually aliens.

After an extensive and somewhat embarrassing search (for both parties) we have collected the poetry and writing of some of our teachers from when they were adolescents. Prepare to be dazzled, amused, and impressed at the very human nature of the folks who grade our papers with an exceptional ruthlessness.

Compiled by Maya Varma & Riya Mirchandaney

Ryan Dean

Four Beautiful Women The live inside a frame on the far wall of my sister’s bedroom.

Three stand sublime on a sloping hillside with what might be heaven in their aspect and Aphrodite in their eyes.

The sky around them is creamy, mellow, the Spring flanking them cool green.

No man waits among these maidens.

I like to visit them frequently.

I sinfully enjoy the tranquility of their picking windflower from ivied earth in April.

Weaving in and out of willow wands the wind whispers Innocence, Innocence to remind me that the painting is merely art.

Marble Floor Unpredictable.

Could have been linoleum – You wouldn’t settle.

Jack Bowen Artichoke Everything in this world has such a rough lining, Can’t see past the fiction or fight through the apathy, Opinions subsist for the purpose of comfort, Truth for most is merely secondary.

Chorus– Peel peel peel away the artichoke (and like it!)

Not every good thing hides within The heart is not the only part that you’ll desire, It’s the goal, as a whole, give it a chance.

You’ve gotta’ like the leaves to even make it to the heart, Don’t fight through the crap just to get a reward, Work hard and enjoy the start, That’s the key to a ripened end.

I got a girl, I got a book, I got a job– I got to take it for what it’s worth, You like the wrapping? Then take the wrapping, That’s the first step to enjoying the gift.

It’s the goal, as a whole, give it a chance

There Are Fish With Teeth There are fish with teeth in my tank lots of folks don’t want to see my tank they’d rather not look ‘cause sometimes there’s a half a fish bobbin’ around with the mouth still movin’ and that’s not fun to see but as for me I keep lookin’ ‘cause it may not be fun but it’s true

Tripp Robbins, 1983

The Shore Temples What man could I not be, Whose up of dreams not drink from, In Mahabalipuram?

Before me there is nothing that can stand.

Between the breakers and the sand There’s no foundation, Only momentary beauty.

Idle thoughts, But these are idle days Of iddly, fans, and Fansidar.

Who cannot do must be Still.

When I have been emptied, How will I be filled?

Charles Hanson

Whitney Stubbs

(An excerpt from a college essay on her generation’s obsession with and dependence on AOL Messenger.

To read the rest, click here) HOW TO FIND YOUR TRUE ONLINE SELF, WITHIN (OF COURSE) THE LIMITS OF WHAT IS SOCIALLY ACCEPTABLE AND TECHNICALLY AVAILABLE IN THE UNPREDICTABLE ECONOMY OF AOL SCREENNAMES:

To sixth-grade me, the chance to invent an AOL screenname is a socially sanctioned opportunity to do what I have dreamed of doing since age five: I can finally change my name. Though, by middle school, most people have grown into their names or (at the very least) have come to terms with them, I still think of “Whitney Stubbs” as a kind of stranger—the kind of stranger I dislike in advance, based solely on her name.

As a socially challenged, mythology-crazed twelve-year old, I fantasize about being re-christened something like Artemis or Jade. But, as it turns out, a lot of people must suffer from similar fantasies; trying to formulate an original screenname, I find that all heroines, nymphs, goddesses (major and minor), fairies, etc.—as well as every derivative of the word “Phoenix”—are already taken by other, older AOL users. No two users can have the same online identity. And though I know that by adding a trailing digit or two, I could succeed in becoming Artemis12, I refuse to compromise. To me, numbers at the end of a screenname imply that you are only one of any number of, say, Phoenixes—derivative, redundant. But when even the name of little-known Sir Accolon turns out to be taken, I lower my own creative standards and just add ‘s’: Accolons.

The reference to Arthurian legend is so obscure that, for eight years, no one sees it as anything more than an empty signifier (at best), the name A.C. Colons (at worst). “Why do you have ‘colon’ in your screenname?”

When people ask me now what it means, I lie that I’ve forgotten.

A large enough percentage of my friends have screennames composed of their real-life initials and birthdates to make me wonder whether my name-changing cravings are somehow abnormal. Certain people (whose real names I will not mention here) are either so comfortable with themselves or so unoriginal that they have settled for screennames like SamEStubbs or peterAchiarelli. Many screennames, like my own, seem to be a compromise between what you wanted, what was available, and what (retrospectively) you can excuse only as “seemingly funny at the time.”

Dooooogs: i wanted Dogs Dooooogs: but Doogs, Dooogs, and Doooogs were all taken newagebhikku: in jack kerouac’s “dharma bums,” he spoke of himself as a “old time bhikku”... newagebhikku: but i am not “old time” so...

RabidEmu: even though birds cant have rabies RabidEmu: in sixth grade, it made me laugh to think of an emu foaming at the mouth AwayatCamp81: I was just away at camp.

I find that users grow into their screennames the way teenagers grow into their noses. At some point, a screenname becomes a kind of face in itself: instantly recognizable, even from a distance, its one-of-a-kind curves, capitalizations, and spacing just so. When conversing with a given screenname, I never consider that anyone but that name’s owner might be typing back to me. Commandeering someone’s screenname strikes me as identity theft of the worst kind, comparable to skinning a person and wearing her face.

(Click here to continue reading.)

LOVE SWEET LOVE: Taylor Taweel By Scott Stevens

Soulful, bewitching, animated, senior Taylor Taweel’s voice box was born from a nightingale.

Throughout her time in high school, Taweel has been pouring out lyrics and tunes into songs, seven of which have been recorded and released as two albums under stage name “Taylor Grey.” Check out her work at taylorgreymusic.com, or find them via Spotify or iTunes.

One can judge how “Lovely,” her first album, compares to her latest. “When the Storm Comes,” for example, reveals a singer with much more restraint, who is capable of drama and storytelling, combining her new lyrical, vocal, and instrumental capabilities. Taweel explained, “the albums are a snapshot of who [she is] at the time,” and for a changing student with a changing voice, it is fascinating to hear her transition from bouncier ballads to more insightful songs.

Indeed, the songwriter, the electric guitar player, the oboist and all others may express their art in any manner they choose, but one of the richest wells of inspiration is the self. “With songwriting,” Taweel commented, “it’s just you.

You’re in charge of yourself and portraying yourself how you want to. On stage, it’s performing; it’s acting; and it’s being someone else.”

It will be interesting to see Taweel transform herself from the elegant, Taylor Grey into the grouchy Officer Barrel in Menlo’s fall production of Urinetown, which will show on

November 7th-9th. She rebuts any praise of her acting skills, but the cast can ssure you she has adapted her voice from song to stage well.

“the albums are a snapshot of who [she is] at the time”

The radio plays nothing but love songs, so celebrities singers romantic lives can seem distant, but listening Taweel, a songwriter in our own community, one cannot help but be curious about her inspiration. The lyrics such as the ones in “White Lies,” bristle with firsthand feeling. Like poets, songwriters have free rein to make up whatever narratives they want in order to broadcast the fervent feelings in their hearts and heads. Rather than an intriguing break-up saga, Taweel’s lyrics spring up from her imagination. However, such a process can make songwriting difficult, according to Taweel, “[songs] mostly just pop into your head,” as opposed to flowing steadily when the artist demands them to.

She doesn’t write them all at once. “I have different ideas to parts of a song or a whole song. I have a ton that have a chorus or a verse,” Taweel said.

Not only is she a writer, Taweel also plays both guitar and piano, allowing her to make her own melodies and chords for her songs. “I’ve never actually taken lessons in guitar or the piano, I’m self-taught, Youtube-taught, so I’ll sit down with the piano or the guitar and play things until they sound good. I appreciate theory, but sounding good is where I’m at,” Taweel said.

Taweel works with independent producers in LA who work for Sony and Interscope. She especially enjoyed working with professionals in the industry, mentioning that the producers “are probably [her] closest adult friends.” Taweel elaborated, “Kristen, who’s my favorite person in the entire world, she’s

the creative person behind everything, she knows everybody in L.A. She r reached out to a production company and asked them.”

As a student, it’s hard to find time for songwriting, but Taweel is doing an Independent Study in songwriting with chorus teacher Karen Linford. Taweel’s grateful “she get[s] to spend some time during the school day working on [her] songs, and [she’s] a lot more productive.”

When asked about the person who supports her songwriting most, Taweel replied, “It’d be my mom, since she’s been the one who’s allowed me to get plane tickets to fly to LA and do all of this.” She said her mother has understood her passion and helped her balance artistic work with school’s rigorous academics.

With college comes greater competition, so naturally Taweel has given tremendous thought as to how she will continue singing. “I don’t know if I want to major or minor in music per se, just because my music involves a lot of trial and error as opposed to structure and theory, it’s more free-flowing. But I find that liberating and that’s what makes it fun for me because I get to create, it’s not rigid. But I definitely want to continue to do this. If there are songwriting classes in the future, I’ll take them.I’m pretty sure I’m going to take a gap year next year, so I can work on songwriting.”

Fortunately, we can expect more from Taylor Grey after the college application season winds down. She hopes to “get two [songs] out in January or February.”

We asked Taweel about her opinion on a rock band at Menlo. To see this talented young singer stretch herself and perform in other outlets than in chorus, her albums, or the musicals would be sensational. She said, “I’ve never thought about it, but I’d be down.”

Look forward her new music and download her albums at taylorgreymusic.com!

Fall Playlists

By Riya Mirchandaney

#1 For the Grind: to combat work and the day-to-day A Well Respected Man-- The Kinks Every 1’s A Winner-- Hot Chocolate White Collar Boy-- Belle & Sebastian 3030-- Deltron 3030 Keep The Car Running-- Arcade Fire Lizstomania-- Phoenix Helena Beat-- Foster The People It’s A Corporate World-- Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. Rawnald Gregory Erikson the Second-- STRFKR Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots Part 1-- The Flaming Lips Le Poincenneur Des Lilas-- Serge Gainsbourg She’s Losing It-- Belle & Sebastian The Breeze-- Dr. Dog

#2 It’s Just a Box of Rain: for the carefree

Everyday-- Buddy Holly Elephant Gun-- Beirut Let’s Get Lost-- Elliott Smith Tire Swing-- Kimya Dawson In a Sentimental Mood-- John Coltrane, Duke Ellington There’s Too Much Love-- Belle & Sebastian After Hours-- The Velvet Underground Santa Fe-- Beirut Let Her Dance-- The Bobby Fuller Four Pen Pals Theme Song-- The Extraordinaires Heart it Races- As Played by Dr. Dog-- Architecture In Helsinki Knock Louder-- Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. Box Of Rain-- Grateful Dead

Photos courtesy of PartyCity

Slutty Cats Are Not Your

We’ve all seen (and probably judged) girls on Halloween who sport cat Problem ears and drawn-on eyeliner whiskers and claim it’s a costume. According to cult classic “Mean Girls” (2004):

By Avalon Edwards

“Halloween is the one day a year and slimmer. Store-made costumes for when a girl can dress up like a total teenage girls and women begin adding slut and no other girls can say the word “sexy” before the costume name, and manage to include a anything else about it.” miniskirt in each set.

Sexy costumes are not a crime.

Ten years later, the expectation for girls to “dress up like total sluts” is still strong in American culture. For several decades, “sexy” Halloween has been the norm. Growing up, girls are encouraged to dress as princesses, animals, and pirates. But inevitably, as girls age, the

available selections of modest

costumes options grow slimmer

Both women and men are entitled to their own sexualities and certainly should feel comfortable wearing whichever costume they choose on Halloween. The actual problem lies in the lack of more modest costumes made for women.

Undoubtedly, not every 14 year-old girl feels comfortable in a crop top, cat

Halloween, as Mean Girls may suggest, but actually intensifies.

I ask you to refrain from judging ears, and tail; they shouldn’t have to, anyone wearing a more provocative either. The lack of more conservative costume than you would feel comfortable costumes for women increases the in. A person’s right to express himself or expectation for women to put out a seductive image on Halloween. Those herself includes how they dress, and we should encourage Halloween to become who refuse to subscribe to this provocative agenda are labeled prudes a night for creative expression instead of and bores, while those who agree are sexist costumes and unrealistic expectations for women. called sluts and whores. This double standard not only inhibits women from “the act of making any wearing costumes they feel comfortable person feel guilty or in, but also promotes the widespread inferior for certain sexual objectification of women. behaviors.”

Attacking girls according to our opinions on the way they dress or how

Wear what you feel comfortable in, actively we perceive their sex lives to be wear what you look good in, but please, is called slut shaming, which is defined as please, do not call someone out on the “the act of making any person feel guilty sex appeal of his or her costume. or inferior for certain sexual behaviors.” They know, and they probably Slut shaming does not decrease on look damn good in it too.

Is That Why You Dropped Physics?

The simple experience of settling down to do homework looks like this for me: Sit down at desk. Grab pencil. Notice that pencils aren’t all facing the same way.

Straighten pencils. Run hand through hair.

Notice that hair is tangled. Go to bathroom to brush hair. See that towels on the hangers aren’t perfectly aligned. Fix towels.

Go back to bedroom. Notice that carpet isn’t straight. Fix carpet. See gum wrapper next to carpet. Throw wrapper away. Realize that backpack is full of gum wrappers. Clean out backpack. Sit at desk to do math. Realize

By Emma Richart

It isn’t like my eyes literally can’t see something. It was not something that I couldn’t realize on my own. Walking into a room and having someone tell you that your laugh is too loud when it’s the only laugh you have ever had is the same thing as having someone tell you that you can’t focus when it’s the only process of the mind that you have ever known.

The open window in the psychologist’s office distracted me from focusing on talking about focus. When the psychologist pointed out my distraction, I got extremely embarrassed, that’s for sure. But I also _________________ _________________ started to notice that I have had the symptoms of ADD since I was little.

“How can someone

The first experience of ADD behavior I remembered was my trip to Las Vegas measure her inability to when I was ten. The smoke of cigarettes was focus? Focus isn’t everywhere. My younger sister thought the smell was gross, but she was able to something that is visibly dismiss it. But me? The smell of smoke was apparent.” impossible not to notice. It was so present _________________ _________________ that it made me cry. Little did I know people with ADD are highly sensitive to these that pencil doesn’t have lead. Go upstairs things. If crying towards cigarette smoke to get lead. Notice food in pantry. Eat food. was a normal reaction, then it wouldn’t Go back downstairs without lead. Go back have been something that my parents paid upstairs. Go back downstairs. Finally sit back extra attention to. The second experience down to do math. Realize hair was never I remembered was how I would always brushed. Notice tangles. have to relearn every chapter when I was

ADD. Attention Deficit Disorder. I don’t studying for a math test. Even though feel I have a deficit in anything or that I have I remembered learning the material, I a disorder either. If anything, I cling to order. would basically know nothing by the time

How can someone measure her of the test. People with ADD can’t retain

inability to focus? Focus isn’t information easily, my psychologist told me, something that is visibly apparent. which brought her to talk about ADD pills in

more detail.

What’s in a pill? I have absolutely no notion of what’s in the pill. It’s an abstract experience for me. For all I know the pill I am taking could be pure sugar. No one has ever taught me the chemistry of the pill and what it’s made of or what it does inside my body or what types of things it releases to help me focus. To me, it is simply something that supposedly helps me. There are so many different types of pills that ironically, I can’t even remember the name of the ones that I am taking. I know that I am on a dosage of 32 grams, but I can’t explain at all what that means. I’ll be sure to look it up someday between my academic schedule, my sports, my friends, my extracurricular activities.

My psychologist then explained how I would have to take one pill in the morning and one at lunch, which I felt fine with at the time. I _________________ _________________ let my mom pay attention to the details, because I knew I wouldn’t be able to remember them “The shadowed part of anyway. myself which I denied and

Not knowing much about the medicine that I take is almost beneficial, because having to hated for having ADD has know what dosage to take or when to go pick up my prescription would be yet another distraction. finally come to notice the Every day I work hard and learn how to not good parts about my become easily distracted, or become a distraction to others. (Ironically enough, I got distracted disorder...” _________________ _________________ while writing that sentence, but that’s what something that I’m working on.)

It’s not the actual disorder that bothers me, or that I have to have someone else tell me that I can’t focus. The real annoyance comes from the bottle of pills I’m forced to carry around. The bottle is bright red and clearly reads “ATTENTION DEFICIT DISORDER.” It is so obnoxiously red, and the pills inside are so brilliantly blue, that, over time, I have noticed that even my friends without ADD are distracted by the bottle on my counter. You can only imagine, then, what the bottle is like for me. I know I get distracted pretty damn easily.

Sure, the bright bottle reminds me to take my medicine, even if I hate it, but it also reminds me of my “disorder” in the first place and that’s what is more frustrating. I know that the pills I take are necessary, but I wonder: will I ever take myself off them? Maybe eventually, but not for a long time. Although I have only had to take them for a few months, I can’t possibly think about how hard school was without the medicine, even though I have spent almost all of my life without it. Maybe think about it this way - having ADD is almost like living through Google glasses – you notice everything about everyone and you appear “different” to the outer world. The shadowed part of myself which I denied and hated for having ADD has finally come to notice the good parts about my disorder – how it significantly helps me with schoolwork, how I am more focused during class – and how to walk forward with courage and determination.

“This one time at writing camp I found out my Myers Briggs Type Indicator”

By Riya Mirchandaney

I did two important things during my three weeks at writing camp:I wrote poetry and I took the Myers Briggs test.

I had never heard of the test until I took one of the odd daily “electives” offered at camp.

Personality tests are enticing to me: partly because I like psychology, and partly because I’m unapologetically self-obsessed. The six or so minutes that consisted of clicking little “yes” or “no” bubbles were tense ones. This could decide the future of my introspection and self-confidence. What if I shared a personality type with serial killers or investment bankers? If this was a label I was going to be stuck with for the rest of my life, I would have to pick the right bubbles. I was finally presented with four apparently meaningless letters. INFP. Introversion over extraversion, intuition over sensing, feeling over thinking, perception over judgement: that’s me, apparently.

To understand ourselves better, we looked up personality portraits for our type. There were all sorts of cool ones for other MBTIs: “performers”, “visionaries”, “inspirers”. But I was the “idealist”. This was a little bit of a bummer for me because it sounded like a pejorative term for someone who won’t make a lot of money or grow out of their youthful naivete. But the more I read the description, the more I realized how true it was. I “do not like conflict, and go to great lengths to avoid it”; I am “flexible and laid-back, until one of [my] values is violated; I “do not like to deal with hard facts and logic,” and I am

most definitely “awkward and uncomfortable with expressing [myself]

“ This could decide the future of my introspection and self-confidence.”

verbally.” The realization was followed by relief as I learned that all of my major insecurities and frustrations were shared with approximately 4-5% of the population and were characteristic of one of the sixteen different ways to be a wonderful, confusing, screwed-up human. I liked that.

For the next couple months, I fostered a sort of obsession. Knowing my MBTI taught me why I make the decisions that I make. If I could understand myself so well, why couldn’t I understand the people around me? After pestering them to take the test, my family of introverts finally gave in, and I became aware that I was sharing a house with a very unhappy “duty fulfiller,” a “protector,” and a “scientist,” For a while, it was fun. We got to call out each other on our quirks and justify our own with our designated four letter acronyms. Then school happened. I couldn’t afford to be a dreamy poetry-obsessed idealist anymore. I had to write structured essays, meet with teachers, and learn the difference between slope-intercept and point-slope form. It was jarring, but I said to myself, “It’s okay, you’re an INFP.”

“The realization was followed by relief as I learned that all of my major insecurities and frustrations were shared with approximately 4-5% of the population and were characteristic of one of the sixteen different ways to be a wonderful, confusing, screwed-up human.”

That was probably the worst way to deal with my coping issues, so to speak, but for a while, that’s what I did. I was so emotionally invested in my personality type that I almost forced it upon myself. There was an aspect of personal growth that I enjoyed: I watched more indie movies, read and wrote more poetry, experimented with the horrors of visual art. These were all good, beneficial things, albeit impractical ones. But there is a fine line between my personality dictating my personality type and my personality type dictating my personality. With the constant awareness of my apparent nature as an INFP, I might have just crossed it.

I am an INFP. According to some sketchy website, I share my Myers Briggs Type Indicator with Holden Caulfield, Tina Belcher, Thom Yorke, and Frodo Baggins.

Although pretty happy being an INFP, I can’t say I’m not jealous of Hunter Brown (who wrote a blog post about Myers Briggs here), a “giver” who shares his ENFJ type with Helena Bonham Carter, Harvey Milk, and Leslie Knope. But the truth is, I will always be jealous of Hunter Brown. Always.

Sometimes being uncomfortable in a situation is better than avoiding it. Myers Briggs doesn’t say much about adaptability, but I can certainly write a five paragraph SAT essay if I try hard enough. I just have to accept the fact that I often get frustrated with logic, spend too much time thinking about the Beat Generation, and wake up late on Saturdays. And that’s okay.

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