The
Elysian
E A G L E Volume 3, Issue 4 A Literary Magazine of Thompson Valley High School
Staff of The Elysian Eagle Ami Jones is a senior at TVHS and
Christina Lucas is a senior at TVHS
the Editor-in-Chief of The Elysian Eagle literary magazine. In her free time, she enjoys reading and eating bread.
and is apart of the Design Team. Christina considers herself to be an honorary Ravenclaw and expects that her letter from Hogwarts was lost in the mail.
Amelia Solt is a freshman at TVHS and is the Assistant Editor for the Write Life magazine. In her free time, she enjoys playing basketball, writing in her journal, and loves Rhode Island!!!
Alysia Lopez is a junior at TVHS
Emma Liakas is a sophomore at
Hazel Furney is a Junior at TVHS
TVHS and is the Marketing Director. She enjoys hanging out with friends and sleeping.
and is in the Marketing Team. She dearly loves her books and completing commissioned drawings for the Loveland community.
and is in the Design Team. She loves reading and her pets at home. She likes to look at animals in odd situations.
Jordan Goeppinger is a sophomore at TVHS and is in the Marketing Team. She is often found reading, writing, and staring off into space.
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Faculty Advisors: Jennifer Solt and Briana Jara
Table of Contents
Front Cover (photo by Yigithan Bal)..............................1 Staff Page (photo by Pixabay)...........................................2 Table of Contents (photo by Martin Péchy) ...............3 Letter From the Editor..........................................................4 October by Isabelle Clukey (photo by Efdal Yiliz)................................................................................................5 Frida by Hazel Furney............................................................6 Social Justice Warrior by Camryn Gerardy (photo by Hazel Furney)............................................................................7 Again by Shay Beckwith (photo by Free Nature Stock)...........................................................................................8 The Raven Comic Strip by Jenna Kinkaid...........9-12 Little Moments by Christina Lucas (photo by Pixbay)........................................................................................13 How You Know You’re Healing by Ami Jones (photo by Ryanna Burton)................................................................14 Ctrl Z by Amelia Solt (photo by)....................................15 Back Cover (photo by Yigithan Bal).............................16
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To the Reader
The year has gone by in what seems like the longest period of time ever while also passing by in an exponential blur, leaving whiplash and silence in its wake and uncertainty for a future about to come at 100 miles an hour. But in spite of all the struggles our community has faced in this past year, and prior years, we have thrived. We have grown and succeeded. In the face of terrible odds, we have won. This is the vision for our last quarter of our literary magazine. We want to express not only how much our staff has grown over the course of the year when it comes to design for the magazine, but also how the community has grown. We want to exhibit the wonder we have all experienced as we have chosen to develop our characters over this past year. We, as a staff, recognize the community’s resilience during times of trials and tribulations. The students at Thompson Valley High School continue to change and learn and thrive year after year. Over the course of the school year our literary magazine staff has learned how to develop a professional publication using design software that made us all want to cry into our Chipotle burritos. We have become stronger writers and stronger women. We have shared tears and triumphs, mistakes and messes, tea and the “hot goss” of the day, as well as hugs and aspirations. I, personally, am so proud of how the team has changed over the course of the year. We have learned from each other and for each other and I love all of my peers so much. We had many struggles this year. From losing two of our talented directors (Art and Marketing), to trying to find funding, to trying to get submissions, the class has not been without tribulation. But we took our problems in stride, not allowing any one of our peers to falter and fall without the rest of the team being the safety net. We are finishing off the year so much stronger than we started, as proud creators and writers. Our call to you is to continue to grow. The literary magazine staff hopes that our exhibition of Thompson Valley’s student creations has inspired you to thrive. Here’s to you, dear Reader. Thank you for being kind ears to our magazine. Until next time, friend. 4
Thank you, Ami R. Jones Editor-in-Chief
October I have driven these dusty country roads a million times All the while trying to sort through all your lies These waterfall tears I’ve cried I used to be so much more wise
This girl knows better now Her emotions to be dragged out and stomped on, she will not allow And that promise, she will hold like a vow
I don’t want you to say you wish you I was lost in all your confusion could take it back To call it love was just an illusion Because I know sincerity is something It goes without saying that our story your apologies lack is at its conclusion What we are, and what we are not, I am really tired of keeping track I miss the girl I used to be There’s no need for your playback She wasn’t so quick to agree It’s too late now, to me you are nothing She was so free but a flashback And unapologetically carefree Now I am gone She knew better than to chance And maybe someday you will realize trouble that you were wrong. Because she would be left amidst the rubble ~Isabelle Clukey Not able to distinguish good and bad, like seeing double This new girl I have become, is naive Damn, how easily she was deceived But for you she will not grieve It was not her loss when you decided to leave
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“Frida” By Hazel Furney 6
Social Justice Warrior By: Camryn Gerardy
When you see me behind a screen, you assume I’m texting my BFF about how hot Johnny from math class is. In reality , I am talking about the last school shooting and how scared we are to go to school the next day, about how we’re worried rights will be taken away and we can’t stop it, and about trying to make each other laugh despite all the horrible things wrong with the world. When I’m texting my boyfriend, you believe we are flirting or planning our next date. Instead, we are discussing the wrongs with some equality movements. Teenagers are perceived as dumb no matter how intelligently we speak. We are trying to improve the world and you call it “whining”. You call us “special snowflakes” and “social justice warriors” but can someone please Explain when justice became a bad thing? Our protests matter just as much as the ones that came before. In fact, they’re more than important; they are revolutionary. So you degrade us all you want, but we will not stop fighting. We will have equality. We will have rights. We will have justice.
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Again
Shay Beckwith When she pulled up to the house she felt the fear in her stomach as she always did when they got out. She heard the screaming blowing through the windows. She rushed inside to her bedroom before they could catch her. Her back slid down the door like the tears did on her face. She covered her ears and shook, not from the coldness of her room but the cold coming from the screams. Throwing her hands over her ears she hit her head on the door trying to make them stop. But she knew they had gotten out of her mind and hid inside her parents, making them the monsters she feared. She knew what she had to do. Slowly, her door creaked open as she stood and pushed it. She walked into the front room with her head tucked into her chest and her nails firmly stuck in her palm. She knew she had to stand and face the consequences of letting them out in order to put them back, in order to fix her parents. She needed to stand in front of Him and let the anger flow from Him into her heart. She had to let every hateful word, phrase, and name in so that the monster would let the people she loved go.
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The Little Moments By Christina Lucas
Notice the little moments. A crimson sunset after a cloudy day, A doe leading her fawns across an empty road, The perfect beauty of fresh snowfall. Notice the people around you. The friend who always has a compliment ready, The teacher who didn’t mark you tardy, The sibling, cousin, or young friend who admires you. Notice the small miracles. The time all lights were green on your way home, The homework you forgot to do that wasn’t collected, A song stuck in your head that came on the radio. Notice the details that make life beautiful No matter how awful it may seem And remember that there’s always something to anticipate As long as you take the time to notice it. 13
How You Know You’re Healing By: Ami Jones The refrigerated sections at the supermarket don’t feel as cold as they used to You start to remember the parts of your childhood that you had forgotten You want to read again, instead of getting swallowed by the sad music you play You count down the days to new achievements and successes The thought of not talking to him doesn’t sting like it used to You feel more present, as if the world around you is finally solid You look in the mirror and you recognize the face looking back at you; you are you again You bookmark recipes, and look forward to making and eating meals You see all the others around you and register the impact you have made You are grateful for all of your experiences, good, bad, traumatic or soothing
You can finally picture yourself at an old age
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Ctrl Z Amelia Solt
My fingers are hovering over the two buttons. Control and z. All I need to do is push down and that moment will have never occurred. Sounds amazing right? Made a mistake? That’s okay, just undo it and try again. The only problem is, you can’t undo your undo. Sure, you can just re-write the story but it will never be the same. You will change a word, use better vocabulary, put a period in the middle of a run on sentence. Do you really want to change everything? What if something was good? Maybe things are best when we can just remember them.
We don’t need to experience them again. They were good the first time and can be sweet in our memory. You can learn from your mistakes right? So why undo them every chance you get? All of this goes through my mind as my fingers rest on those two keys. My fingers slowly fall off and away from the keyboard and back into my lap. Sure, this wasn’t the greatest moment in my life, but it will shape me. It will help me become a better person.
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The Elysian Eagle Magazine is owned and published by Thompson Valley High School Write Life class. No person, party, or organization can copy or reproduce contents from the magazine or website without the consent of Thompson Valley High School. The authors and contributors of the magazine reserve the right to the copyright of their individual contributions. The contents of The Elysian Eagle Magazine and its website represent the thoughts and opinions of the student authors and is original content. The consumption of any or all content of the The Elysian Eagle Magazine will be at your own risk. The Elysian Eagle Magazine will not collect, retain, redistribute or sell any personal information provided from its readers. Any subscription to the magazine in print or online will be subject to the Thompson School District privacy policy. The Elysian Eagle has the right to change the theme, focus, and delivery cadence of the publication. We can also discontinue the project at any time. The Elysian Eagle Magazine is owned and published by Thompson Valley High School Write Life class. No person, party, or organization can copy or reproduce contents from the magazine or website without the consent of Thompson Valley High School. The authors and contributors of the magazine reserve the right to the copyright of their individual contributions. The contents of The Elysian Eagle Magazine and its website represent the thoughts and opinions of the student authors and is original content. The consumption of any or all content of the The Elysian Eagle Magazine will be at your own risk. The Elysian Eagle Magazine will not collect, retain, redistribute or sell any personal information provided from its readers. Any subscription to the magazine in print or online will be subject to the Thompson School District privacy policy. The Elysian Eagle has the right to change the theme, focus, and delivery cadence of the publication. We can also discontinue the project at any time.