Recapping the Hawk football season with scores, quotes, and plays.
PAGE FIVE & SIX
Rating our top four library picks from 2022, including descriptions of each book.
GE SEVEN & EIGHT
Lil Baby album review and helpful tips for when you're applying to colleges.
PAGE NINE & TEN
A review of the new Taylor Swift album, Midnights, and explanations to the meanings behind the songs.
PAGE ELEVEN & TWELVE
Sharing the way Hays students have become more sustainable.
Advice on how to produce higher-quality pictures.
Taking pictures at school events and 10 songs we can't live without.
A review of the 2022 Austin City Limit's music festival.
Ranking our top 10 artists' performances and sets at Austin City Limits 2022.
The Nation policy and pictures of our writers.
After a hard season last year, the Hays Hawk football team stepped up and worked harder than ever. This year Hawk football got extremely close to making playoffs, with a close game against the Seguin Matadors on October 14.
Hays Hawk's ended the football season with an overall score of 6-4 and placing 5th in district. There was an overwhelming amount of support from the Hays student section at the football games this year.
Starting off the football season, Hays Hawk football scored a 64-14 victory against the Akins Eagles on August 25 Hays gave high performances in their following games against Churchill, Cedar Creek, MacArthur, and BoerneChampion
Hays was challenged with more intense and harder opponents. But managed to give us an amazing ending to the football season by beating our rivals the Lehman Lobos on November 3.
When it came to the student section, there was more support than there had ever been, even at away games.
Hays' student section was brought together this year by new themes that were put together every game, the tons of chants, confetti canons, and signs that were made Although football season will be missed, it will be highly encouraged to show as much support for the rest of sports that happen at Hays High School
Following, we would like to give recognition to our players and their accomplishments from this past year.
With an amazing year, comes amazing achievements.
We want to share some of the statistics from the team's astounding performance with the end of this football season.
Receiving yards per game: Zach Obara- 43.3, Chris Bruce- 42.9, Kyree Payton- 16 9
Rushing yards per game: Kyree Payton- 157 6, Zach Obara- 92 7, Chris Bruce- 66.2.
Total touchdowns: Zach Obara- 15, Kyree Payton- 13, Chris Bruce- 10
Tackles per game: Michael Bischoff- 13 3, Dorien Hill- 7 3, Jamie Hernandez- 6.9.
Passing touchdowns: Tyler Mcinvale- 11
Receiving touchdowns: Chris Bruce4, Zach Obara- 3
Rushing touchdowns: Zach Obara12, Kyree Payton- 12, Chris Bruce- 6.
Quarterback hurries: Dillan Lofton13, Jace Thomas- 13, Matthew Melendez- 4
Football teams put much of their effort to make a name for themselves.
We hope that Hays students continue to show up and support their team for the upcoming years.
WrittenBy:LeeAnnPartin
ByAdamSilvera
This book wasn't the hype I thought it was going to be To give it credit, the end of the story, despite being spoiled by the title, is probably the best and most interesting part. The writing for this was slow, and the relationship between Rufus and Mateo was jumbled by the many, MANY points of view that just wasn't executed well. It was hard to get attached to the main characters because there just wasn't enough focus on their time spent together, when it could've gone into more depth.
ByAliceOseman
Loveless follows the story of Georgia, a new college student who's thrown into picking apart the mess of relationships, love, and where she finds herself in the middle of it Following Georgia, you get to see first-hand the journey into figuring out your own identity, specifically in a aromantic asexual viewpoint, which is rare! Oseman depicts the experiences in such a way that keeps the book lighthearted, while still highlighting the importance of Georgia's journey. This story is an important and eye-opening read, which I'd recommend to anyone as a 5 out of 5 star book
Loveless
ByBenjaminAlireSáenz
This book was so very beautiful. While the way that it's written in expressive and poetic-like words, and the timing through the book may not be for everyone, I think it is perfect. Focusing on two boys, Ari and Dante, the two grow a love for each other from the summer they spend together, and the secrets shared between them. This book invokes such a soft feeling of nostalgia and family, bringing a perfect feeling of "home" through the hispanic culture and imagery.
ByRickRiordanComing out on May 2, 2023, Rick Riordan's new novel focuses on the Solangelo duo, Nico Di Angelo and Will Solace, and their journey to save the titan Iapetus from Tartarus, still in mourning from their friend Jason. Percy Jackson fans nervously anticipate the release hoping for a personal look in into Will and Nico's relationship and the exciting story to come Knowing Rick Riordan, I'd definitely drop this on your reading list for an adventure-filled and even heartwrenching tale
On October 14th, Atlanta hip-hop artist
Lil Baby released his new album “It’s Only Me,” After listening to it for the first time, the album was a decent listen
But before I dive deeper into the album it’s important to go over Lil Baby and his success
Lil Baby is an Atlanta-based rapper that has been rising into the mainstream spotlight exponentially in the last couple of years. Known for hits “The Bigger Picture,” “Yes Indeed” with Drake, and “Drip Too Hard ” Lil Baby has gained a large fan base and has risen to the top with his second studio album My Turn peaking at number #1 on the Billboard 200. My Turn also had multiple songs in the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 Now onto his newest release” It’s Only Me.”
The album contains 23 songs with it being one hour and five minutes long. The album has eight total features including popular rap artist Future and that’s where our review begins.
Lil Baby found a music style that is more of a strength and ran with it, however this can lead to a feeling of repetitiveness or all of his songs sounding the same In order to counter this artists have features from other artists but the features on this album are not strong
With a total of 23 songs, which is way too many for a rap album, the eight features fall short and don’t help counter the feeling of every song sounding the same. This may or may not be a real complaint but the album does not contain a song that’s gonna get crazy numbers and be played everywhere. Obviously there’s no way to predict whether there will be that huge popular song, but that’s just my first impression. There are positives to the album, Lil Baby does his thing and the highly-thought-of flow is still present and consistent throughout the whole album
The production is also good and the album does a great job of providing songs that would be perfect for a hype video
Overall the album is decent with main criticisms being that it’s too repetitive and too long On the other hand the biggest positive takeaways are good production and Lil Baby’s rapping in general.
If I were to give a number rating after one listen, I would give it a 6/10
By: Nikki Davern
With the start of November, it is now officially college application season, which can mean many different things for the seniors who are preparing to go to college next year. For some, it means extra stress as they write their application essays, decide where to apply, and more, while those who’ve already finished their preparations breathe a sigh of relief as they meet the first application deadlines. No matter which camp you’re in, this can be a stressful time, as either way, you’re preparing for your life after high school, an intimidating idea for many people. Even if you’ve already submitted some applications, if you’re anything like me, you may be worried that your essay wasn’t good enough, that you may not get good financial aid offers from any colleges, etcetera, etcetera To help you get through this stressful, uncertain time, I’m going to provide some tips for applying to college Start early. You’ve probably heard this a million times, but if you haven’t started preparing your essay or other things you may need to apply, now is the time Seriously, it’ll save you so much stress down the line. You won’t be scrambling to meet deadlines, or worse, finding out that a deadline for a college you wanted to go to has already passed. Plus, you’ll have plenty of time to make sure your application is the best it can be and increase your chances of getting accepted. Speaking of, applying early will look good to colleges and you’ll likely hear back from them sooner. Prepare early, and your future self will thank you. Write your essay about something you’ll enjoy writing about. While you don’t have to do this, it will make things easier for you. I totally thought about writing a sob story to show them the “hardships I’ve overcome” or something, but I decided to write about my hobbies instead. It wasn’t the most fun thing ever, but it was about as fun as writing a college essay can be It made writing my essay less intimidating and stressful, so I’d definitely recommend writing your essay on something you enjoy or find interesting Apply to a good amount of colleges. Even if you have a dream college you’re set on, you may or may not get into it, so make sure you have a backup plan by applying to multiple schools, even if you’re not super crazy about them. It’s recommended that you apply to at least 5 colleges just to ensure that you get into one. If your list of colleges you’re going to apply to is less than this, it’s time to start looking for more colleges you’re interested in. By applying to multiple colleges, you’re increasing your chances of getting accepted to at least one and broadening your horizons.
I hope these tips help you as you prepare for your future. College application is definitely stressful, but try not to let the stress get to you too much. Once you’re done applying, you’ll feel so much better. Get those applications in so you can enjoy the rest of your senior year.
If you've ever heard of Taylor Swift, you probably know she's infamous for the many hidden meanings and Easter eggs in her music. Her album Midnights is no different.
The new album, which was released on October 21st, 2022, originally featured 13 tracks. The singer also made a 3 am version with 20 tracks. The album tells the story of 13 restless nights in Taylor's life, a journey through her terrors and sweet dreams, according to Taylor in an Instagram post.
The first track of the album, Lavender Haze, is about her partner of six years, Joe Alwyn Before the album came out, Taylor revealed on Instagram that lavender haze was a phrase she discovered from a TV show The phrase is commonly used to describe being in love Taylor also says that the song was about ignoring all of the comments and insight into her relationship with Joe to keep that lavender haze she's in With lines "I've been under scrutiny / You handle beautifully," she admires how Joe handles the critiques the media gives.
The second track of the album, Maroon, focuses on the highs and lows of her relationships Taylor uses wine as a way to show how this person affected her permanently. The lyrics "The burgundy on my tshirt when you splashed your wine into me," could be talking about an incident with her partner that she will forever remember. She also uses shades of red, like maroon, burgundy, rust, and scarlet to describe how she feels. Although Taylor uses many shades of red throughout the song, she doesn't actually use the color, which could be interpreted differently. Some people think it could mean that as she looks back on this relationship, she realizes her love isn't "red" anymore, referring to her older song Red She could be implying that red is true love, and it wasn't pure red, but instead, other shades, anything other than true love Some other people say her avoiding the color red could mean her love wasn't just red on the surface, but way deeper, to the point she could see more shades shining through She could have meant she was deeply in love
"EVERYTHING YOU LOSE IS A STEP YOU TAKE"- YOU'RE ON YOUR OWN, KID
The fourth track on the album features Lana Del Rey. Taylor said on her Instagram, "This song is about falling in love with someone at the same time as they're falling in love with you - sort of in this sorta cataclysmic, fated moment where you realize someone feels exactly the same way that you feel at the same moment And you're kind of looking around like wait is this real? Is this a dream? Is this for real? Is this happening? Is it really happening? Kind of like it would be if you were to see snow falling on a beach " In the song, she talks about how odd it felt to her, like the sight of seeing snow on the beach, but it was also beautiful to her
In the sixth track of the album, Midnight Rain, Taylor tries to justify why she didn't want to be someone's wife She talks about how she broke someone's heart because he was looking for the opposite of her She expresses her remorse for breaking his heart for her own career successes She uses the lyrics "Cause he was sunshine / I was midnight rain“ to compare their differences, and she uses similar lyrics like “He wanted a bride / I was making my own name” to explain why it didn’t work between them.
In the seventh track of the album, Question..? Taylor makes references to her previous work through questions The song focuses on hypothetical conversations with a past partner, possibly her way of working out the relationship At the beginning of the song, it samples Out of the Woods, a track in 1989 about her ex-boyfriend Harry Styles The song continues to reference some lyrics like "I remember" and a similar melody and vocals to Out of the Woods She also brings up other previous work The lyrics, "Have you ever had someone kiss you in a crowded room" indirectly relate to Dress, a song on her album Reputation
She also references Style with the line "Did you leave her house in the middle of the night?" In the chorus, the lines "Did you wish you'd put up more of a fight / When she said it was too much? / Do you wish you could still touch her?" Reference another song from 1989, How You Get The Girl All of the references led to speculations from fans of the song being about Harry Styles.
Moving onto the ninth track of Midnights, Bejeweled is a contrast to a song on her album Folklore, Mirrorball. Instead of reflecting on others' personalities for their own entertainment like she talks about in Mirrorball, she focuses on herself and only herself Taylor talked about her inspiration behind the song in an interview, saying "The song "Bejeweled" is a song that I think is really about finding confidence when you feel that it's been taken away, for whatever reason One of the things we love to do at night, 'cause we love to go dancing, we love to put on an outfit that makes us feel good, and we love to feel like we're still bejeweled " She uses the lyrics "Baby love, I think I've been a little too kind / Didn't notice you walking all over my peace of mind / In the shoes I gave you as a present," showing how one of her partners took advantage of her fame and didn't give her respect or love
Hays High School students explore the world of secondhand fashion in order to be more sustainable.
By: Gracie Gonzales
"Instead of looking for a certain item, try looking through every isle of the thrift store, be open minded "
-Aliya Sustaita (9)
"I love going to Pavement (secondhand shop in Austin), and going broke on Depop."
-Natalie Rocha (11)
"I thrift because I feel bad buying clothes from large manufacturers when I can easily purchase secondhand "
Josh Weleavert (11)
"I like to thrift because it is affordable and it's a challenge to search for the best pieces."
-Julia Perez (10)
"When I go thrifting, I look for something universal, that I can get lots of use out of. I also recycle, use reusable water bottles, and turn off all of my lights before I leave my room "
-Brynn Ballard (12)
Most people think that photography is only pressing a button on a camera, it can be, but if you want to take pictures like a pro, there’s a lot more that goes into it.
All professional photographers have a long process they go through before you see the final results. I will be explaining this process as well as giving a few tips on how to have pictures that stand out .
Tip: Never forget the details.Everythingfromthe setting to the makeup your model is wearing can affect howthephotoslook.Make sure you plan where you ' re shooting, outfits, poses, props, or any other materialsareneeded.
How to make photos stand out
If you want to take unique and interesting photos, all you need to do is trust your instinct. Don't think about what other photographers are doing, just do what feels good and natural to you.
It may be hard to create a good idea that gets your thoughts
going, so the first step is to come up with a general theme. Once you have one, start gathering what you need for the shoot. Your creativity will start flowing once you have everything in front of you or your idea could mold into something completely different.
Sports events have so much action that it is so easy to miss something. Change your settings to a faster shutter speed, open your aperture, and increase your ISO. Even though a lot of cameras have sports settings, I do not recommend using them because the lighting never looks good and the shutter speed still isn't fst enough to catch all of the movement.
pictures at school events
Taking photos at events are very different than photoshoots. Most of the action won't stop for you to take the photo; that's when I stress that you need to be prepared. Arrive early to fix the settings on your camera, so you're ready to go when it begins. Depending on the event also depends on what kind of lens you use. If you are at a football
game, you will need a zoom lens, but if you are at a theater production, you can keep a regular lens.
Communication is also key in getting good photos. I recommend consulting people running or a part of these events to know what the schedule is. You don't want to miss a photoworthy moment because you didn't know it was happening.
As we can all agree, online streaming has changed the music industry along with the everyday lives of many With streaming apps such as Spotify and Apple Music, along with a pair of headphones, we have the ability to constantly be accompanied by music I often times imagine what the soundtrack to a movie about my life would be, and although I will probably never know, I can narrow down the list of everything I've listened to into 10 songs I introduce to you 10 songs I could not live without (In no particular order)
1- Heaven or Las Vegas- Cocteau Twins Currently, Cocteau Twins are my favorite music artists, and although I love the vast majority of their songs, Cherrycoloured Funk is the first one I play when I enter the car. It's a perfect song to dramatically look out the window to 2- This Could Build Us A Home- The Garden
Off their 2018 album, haha, this song is one of my personal favorites from The Garden This song reminds me a little of the intro to a cartoon I love the fastpaced intro and the drums, the song has been on my playlist for over a year now and has never once been skipped 3- Close To Me- The Cure
I first started listening to The Cure after listening to Boys Don't Cry, shortly after I purchased a cd of theirs I love the claps and upbeat sound to this song, it really contrasts the dark lyrics being sung
4- Norman F'ing Rockwell- Lana del Rey
I am a huge fan of Lana and love many of her songs, but this is the Lana song I sing with the most passion
5- Blank- The Smashing Pumpkins Although the lyrics are repetitive, this song is SO good and sad
6-Clouds- Cibo Matto Cibo Matto's Steryotype A is one of my favorite albums of all time This song reminds me of the character BMO from adventure time, it sounds like her singing This song transports you to directly to cyberspace, definitely recommend
7- Yume Utsutsu- Lamp Lamp was my 2nd most played music artist this year,this is the first song of theirs I heard I chose this song because of the flute in the middle of the song and the lyrics, which are originally in Japanese but still beautiful when translated into English "Stagnant, my room today is stagnant I don't even notice the rain outside The opaque shadow of the room hangs densely on my fingers Ican'tfindthewordstorecallit" 8-LetYouBreakMyHeartAgain-Laufey Thissongissobeautiful,itis accompaniedbythePhilharmonic Orchestraandsoundssoangelic My momlikesthissongandIplayitforher whenweareinthecartogether 9-Xtal-AphexTwin Thissongiscrucialtomylife'splaylist sinceIlistentoitwhenIshower everyday SomeonePLEASEtakemeto anAphexTwinconcert 10-SeeYouSoon-Beabadoobee Beabadoobeeismytopplayedartistof thisyear Iwenttoherconcertandcried, thisisoneofmyfavoritesongsfromBea, Ilovehervoiceandthewayshedrags outtheword"soon"whensinging
By: Gracie Gonzales
Although Flume was a headliner I didn't really enjoy their music, it just didn't really have much to it and we ended up leaving back to our original spot cause we were bored.
Zach Bryans performance was pretty good and everyone else that saw it really liked it but I don't like country music so that's why it's a 9.
Red Hot Chili Peppers wasn't bad the first half but eventually something went wrong. They played Californication 4 times and forgot the lyrics to a song causing them to leave 30 minutes early.
Omar Apollo had some really good music that he played but since he just became a more popular artist everyone was there for his most popular song, 'Evergreen.' The song blew up on TikTok a few weeks prior so that was a big part of his set. He also played at the stage next to SZA and right before she went on so everyone left to go to SZA and get closer to her. It was super overwhelming to be around during that time because everyone was moving and I felt a little bombarded and crushed to say the least.
Austin City Limits (ACL) is a widely known music festival that happens annually This year ACL celebrated its's 20th year of bringing live music to a huge audience. In 2012 the Austin City Council unanimously voted to add a second weekend to the festival. This year weekend one occurred from October 7-9th and weekend two was the 1416th Approximately 450,000 people go to both weekends combined. Over the 2 weekends and 9 stages there is 100+ bands/artists.
My ACL experience this year was fun and laidback, although the lineup was considered worse than previous years there was a good amount of artists/bands that I knew. Throughout the weekend I got to see some bands and artists that i've been listening to for 2-3 years! They also had some pretty good food choices this year with Bao'd up, Four Brothers Venezuelan Kitchen, Amy's Ice creams and more! I really enjoyed sitting at my spot, eating and listening to the live music playing.
Wallows was really cool to see because I had been listening to them since quarantine started and the lead singer, Dylan Christopher Minnette, starred in 13 reasons why and he had a nice singing voice, but for some reason it was really loud and my ears hurt.
Lil Nas X had a really good performance, my stepmom and dad LOVED him. His dancing and outfit were really good, sometime through the show he brought up a kid and the kid started dancing with him. The vibes were very good and since it was the first big headliner I saw during the day I really just watched everyone walk up to the American Express stage.
When I was younger I used to listen to Pink a lot so I was kind of excited to see her at ACL and when she played I was blown away. Halfway through the show she connected to a bungee cord and started flying around the stage and the audience, she also had a really nice lightshow going on during the performance.
PinkPantheress played earlier in the day so not as many people were there and I somehow got to push myself up to the very front! That was honestly super cool for me because I had never gotten that far up at a concert before and I got to see her up close and got some nice videos as well.
"It's 8 o'clock in the morning now I'm entering my bed, had a few dreams about you, I can't tell you what we did."PinkPantheress Source: liliestradamx on instagram
SZA's performance was out of this world, her songs were amazing too, she opened up her set with All the Stars making the audience go wild Other songs she played are Broken Clock, Supermodel, Kiss Me More, Good Days, Hit Different, Go Gina, Drew Barrymore, Garden, Normal Girl and 20 Something During her performance she stood on top of a lighthouse and the highlight of her set was when she sat in her boat and sang a few songs SZA's guitarist, Melanie Faye, did an amazing job leading the instrumentals to SZA's song and she had some memorable guitar solos While I was there I enjoyed her music and her performance but I was overwhelmed with the amount of people there
Paramore's was definitely my favorite performance there, since quarantine began I started listening to them more and adding their music to my playlist. At ACL they definitely lived up to what I thought they'd be They brought a ton of people to their stage and it was backed up for awhile trying to get out The performance was good and they played some songs from their newest album 'This Is Why ' I got to get up to the front next to the screen that shows them zoomed in Honestly my favorite songs they played were Misery Business, Ain't it fun, Still Into You, Told You So and more
"You are but a phoenix among feathers
You're broken by the waves among the sea."
On Friday, October 14, two young activists entered London’s National Gallery, flung Tomato soup onto Vincent van Gogh's 'Sunflowers', and then proceeded to glue their hands to the wall proclaiming that art is valued above the environment. The intent of this vandalism was to spread environmental awareness and to provoke governments to support environmental protection, but this outrageous spectacle drew out only negative reactions and presented no correlation towards its cause. This was not the first bizarre protest targeting art, earlier this year a man disguised as an elderly woman jumped out of a wheelchair and smeared cake on the Mona Lisa Another incident took place in Australia, where two protesters glued their hands to the perspex covering a Picasso painting.
Instead of spreading awareness about our environment these protests are viewed as eccentric, unorthodox, and plainly childish. Will victimizing great works of art invoke a better economy or policies to fight climate change? Why victimize art to begin with?
While none of the paintings were harmed thanks to their protective glass, the displays of aggression towards art have upset many. In a Perspective by Philip Kennicott, chief Art and Architecture Critic of The Washington Post, He writes, " When I see activists attack art, I feel the same revulsion most people do and the sense of revulsion seems to be general and widespread… Throwing tomato soup on a Van Gogh won’t make me feel any more passionately about saving our planet, nor will it help me think more pragmatically about how to do that "
A Firstpost article explains the answer is simply for publicity, and that art is targeted because their argument slogan asks whether the preservation of art is more important than the preservation of the environment, but such a question is unreasonable, "We might productively think about art as a form of embodied culture — energies already released and captured in an object. If art is merely a symbol, or a commodity, or a luxury good, then it’s reasonable to ask whether we care more about art or the environment. But if art is embodied culture, we are compelled to consider its preservation and lasting value even during times of peril." writes Philip Kennicott. These activists say they are attacking art because they wish to make a loud, global, statement, and that they have, but is it really the right kind of statement to make a change?
The Nation magazine is the paper edition of the online student newspaper of Hays High School It is published each semester for the school’s students, staff and community. The Nation is an open forum for student expression. The Nation is not reviewed by school administration prior to publication, and the adviser will not act as a censor. Content represents the views of the student staff and not school officials
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LEEANN PARTIN
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