The Searchlight April 2023 Magazine

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The Madonna-Whore Complex destroys the meaning of womanhood

By Kristyn Dentremont Editor-in-Chief

Society is teaching women there is a certain way to “act like a lady”

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In 1978, movie-goers sat in awe watching Olivia Newton-John transform her character Sandy in “Grease” from an innocent, loving and long-skirt wearing girl to a promiscuous, sexually desirable woman styling tight pleather pants.

Though she reveals this whorish persona with only about nine minutes left in the movie, she seems most desirable to her lover Danny Zuko, played by John Travolta, in these same nine minutes. On the surface, “Grease” is an iconic film that captures the essence of a once-in-a-lifetime teenage romance; however, it also manages to illuminate this prevalent, misogynistic dichotomy known as the Madonna-Whore Complex (MWC). Originally coined by psychologist Sigmund Freud, the Madonna-Whore Complex is a concept that separates women into two, non-overlapping categories: the virtuous, pure “Madonna” or the promiscuous, scandalous “Whore”.

Speaking as a young woman, I can say with certainty that this term devalues and objectifies women, and I fear that this complex will continue to influence future generations; nonetheless, I believe that it is important to understand the Madonna-Whore Complex and its prevalence in modern society in order to discover how it can be permanently terminated.

Clearly, the MWC is deeply rooted in its heterosexual male origins. As I previously mentioned, this is a concept used to categorize women, yet it was initially theorized by a man. The blatant irony of its creation immediately deems the MWC as polarizing, dehumanizing and painfully misogynistic as it forces women to have an identity based on their sexual activity rather than their womanhood. In the eyes of a man, the “Madonna” is worthy of being loved and married, but the “Whore” is the secret, lustful desire, which puts women at odds between identifying as the “virgin” or the “slut”; however, there is a caveat to both of these categories. The “Madonna” is presumably respected in comparison to the “Whore” as she is less “sinful”, but she is also known as the “tease” because she is unwilling to sacrifice her virginity to her partner. Likewise, the “Whore” embraces her sexuality and asserts her dominance, but her sexualness also makes her seem “dirty” in the eyes of a man.

As an insecure, impressionable 18 year-old girl, I find much discomfort in this ideology because I feel as though it dictates much of female development from a very young age.

For example, when shopping for an outfit for my first day of Graphics/ Kristyn Dentremont

sixth grade, I remember shopping with my mom in Hollister and finding this denim skirt with sparkles on the front pockets, and I knew I could not resist a sparkly piece of clothing.

Upon trying on this skirt that I fell in love with at first glance, I found myself feeling surprisingly uncomfortable and insecure.

The back was too fitted, my hips looked too wide for a sixth grade girl, and most notably, the skirt was not long enough to reach past my fingertips. At only 11 years-old, I found myself fearing that I was going to fit into a category where I would be considered “inappropriate” for my age. I do not condone little girls wearing promiscuous clothing in any regard, but I also do not support the idea that little girls, or anyone for that matter, should feel insecure at such a fragile stage of life.

While the name of this concept was unbeknownst to me at the time, I can now say that I, as a child, was influenced by the fear brought on by the Madonna-Whore Complex. I find myself disgusted to realize how much of an impact this dichotomy has on completely innocent people at young ages.

Back in 2020 when I was isolated in my house with nothing but my iPad and infinite hours to scroll through Amazon Movies, I came across this interesting film titled “Bombshell”. I was drawn to the movie because of the three beautiful blonde-haired, blue-eyed women on the movie poster with stoic facial expressions. Knowing very little about the film other than the fact that these actresses depicted three female broadcast journalists, I pressed play, intrigued by what I was going to watch. 15 years-old, at the time, I sat in disbelief as I watched a film about dozens of female journalists open up about being sexually assaulted by former CEO of Fox News, Roger Ailes. Female reporters, like those portrayed in “Bombshell”, are are expected to uphold this “appealing” image on television with kempt hair, perfectly blended makeup and styling a fitted dress with stilettos; however, this image gives women an unwanted sex appeal that attracts perverted men like Ailes. Consequently, women in this field— among other professions—are deemed “whores” because their appearances come across unprofessional. It saddens me and terrifies me to know that the Madonna-Whore Complex not only exists, but thrives, in professional environments, which makes me fearful for future generations of women.

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The importance of the years of Learning

to

grow

by

yourself

a

S e l f love, the concept of appreciating yourself for who you

By Isabelle O’C and fulfilling needs for self-happiness and selfEditor-in-Chi to understand the true meaning of self-love and the efWhen speaking on self- love it is crucial to recognize that not everymaking the journey that much more vital. At one point in everyone’s life, it is I believe that is the start of the journey of self-love. Being able to acknowledge self- dou It may take days and weeks to come to the realization and even longer to get oneself to ac ney at one point in their lifetime; some do without even knowing. With this being said, each jo When starting the journey, the most important step to take into account is respecting y fects how you interact and form relationships with others. Depending on yourself rather than oth ships. If you cannot have respect for your own self as an individual, then what type of respect look more confident. The confidence you feel will reflect the confidence and security you feel to in Pre-K should follow people for the rest of their lives; why do we think so many people still reme

In the simplest of words, nobody else can define your self worth other than yourself. Self-worth ple’s opinions of us define our own worth. By this, we think of ourselves in a certain , more d tle for what we think we deserve and are worth. In most cases, we settle and we do not exceed nor be so powerful and convincing that it is so easy to fall under the trap. Being able to recognize when alization. From this we have to reflect on the situation and have the maturity to understand lenging because it could very well be some of our closest friends’ influences. At the end of the day, h influence of others is that much tricker. At a certain age, teenagers have the experiences and maturit

For me, my journey started when I entered high school. Growing up, I lived in a household full of pe dog, and my nana. When I first came into high school my sisters were all in college, my twin sister alone, separated from my biggest support systems for the first time in my life. Starting high schoo me when I needed a friend. Nevertheless, high school was harder. There was not a day that wen went somewhere else for high school. There were just constant labels being put on people, and my whole life. It bothered me at first because I never understood the negativity around the lab themselves just to look or seem cool. I am so thankful that I always stayed true to myself in th and it took even longer to feel ok in my own skin in high school. But throughout everything aren’t doing what those other kids are doing doesn’t make you any less than them. Your Throughout the late teenage years, it is important to also learn what it is like to b ly, but more so as being alone. As a teenager, this may sound crazy because ess friends. However, finding a healthy balance between alone time and social time lowing high school, you are essentially on your own the rest of your life. Le your own will make loving yourself that much more possible. Treating you ing for yourself rather than others is crucial. Sometimes, it is ok to be selfi

The journey of self-love is really just finding ways to love yourself which goals and aspirations, and being able to achieve them is definitely part needs to love oneself and their wants and needs for their life is maki the components of life that have yet to be achieved but a near and something to strive for. For high schoolers specifically the of what is next after those four years. Many make it a go ahead of them and work towards attending college wh take different paths. While this is a goal to aspire for recognize the future is ahead but not right now is important. Rather than making career changin as seventeen and eighteen year olds, focusin making short term goals such as what to com plete this week in and out of school that will make you feel successful and accomplished for yourself can make for a more beneficial accommodation. Be in touch with yourself and your limits, never stray from where your gut leads you.

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f self love through late adolescence

and

define

your

own

self

worth

are as an individual respect. As a teenager, it is important fects that may not even be known to one’s own mind. body is able to appreciate themselves to their fullest potential, safe to say that many feel as if they did not or do not love themselves, and bt is one thing, but acting on it in a positive way is beneficial in the long run. ct on it, but acting is the goal. Each individual will go on their own self-love jourourney presents itself in different paths and ways in which are right for each individual. yourself. Self-respect not only brings out a happier side of yourself, but it actually afhers is a crucial point in respect and even the development of social behaviors and relationdo you think you deserve from other people? Self-respect just simply makes people feel and owards others. The “golden rule” of treating others the way you want to be treated learned ember this rule? By respecting yourself, you are in full control over what you allow into your life.

onnell ief

h is and can be a struggle for many people to come to terms with. We too often let other peoegrading way than we typically deserve. In the world more often than not, we automatically setr satisfy our full potential. For high schoolers especially the opinions and influence of others can just n others’ opinions are getting to someone and starts to make people overthink is the first step in rewho we are as individuals. Reflecting upon others’ opinions, especially negative, can be chalhigh school is a challenging time in terms of finding and realizing one’s identity. Doing so under the ty to realize who they are as a person, and who they want to be and how they think of themselves.

eople surrounding me at all times. I live with my mom and dad, my three older sisters, my amazing rs being freshmen and my oldest sister a junior. This was the first time in my life that I was really l as a scared freshman and having my sisters all abruptly leaving at the same time was hard on t by my freshmen year that I did not miss my middle school and at times I even wished that I for me it was always “try hard”. Now that I think about it, I actually have been called that bel and what bothered me more was that people were not acting or doing things unlike hose situations. It took me a lot of time to not care what other people thought of me g, I never forgot the words my dad told me “trying hard is cool, just because you hard work will pay off for you one day. You’re a good kid, the best I know.” e by yourself. When saying this it is not meant to read as being loneentially all of these years are spent in school with classmates and e is extremely crucial. It may be hard to think about but folearning to find independence and learning to be okay on urself with kindness, and doing things you enjoy dosh; we as people do not always have to be selfless.

h will improve your life. Being aware of life of that journey. A big part of fulfilling ing goals a reality. Being aware of future makes for hopefulness ere is always that thought al to plan their future hile others plan to r, being able to s equally as ng goals ng on m-

Graphic/Isabelle O’Connell

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APRIL

Is the internet the problem, or are we?

By Sophia Brownsword Editor-in-Chief

@usersophiabrownsword: Most everyone that currently keeps up with pop culture and internet feuds knows about the recent pop singer Selena Gomez and socialite Hailey Bieber drama. If you do not, here is your own personal 411: Selena Gomez and Justin Bieber dated on and off throughout the 2010s, allegedly ending for good in 2018. Later on that same year, Justin then got married to Hailey Baldwin, niece of Alec Baldwin. Jump forward to late February of this year, a video of Hailey and Kylie Jenner supposedly making fun of Selena breaks the internet. Somewhere along the way, teams were chosen faster than in middle school gym class on capture-the-flag day, and the internet was divided over another extremely superficial conflict. And of course, the internet drama to the alleged death threat pipeline begins, ending with Gomez enacting a ceasefire on her Instagram story, saying Hailey Bieber is now receiving death threats, and that neither ever meant for this amount of hate to stem from this conflict.

Now, if you are reading this and have absolutely no idea who the people I am referencing are, frankly, I am jealous of you. I wish I did not live online as much as I do, as much as I feel like I have to in order to keep updated on popular topics of conversation at school and among friends. The interesting thing about the internet these days is that we talk about how awful and negative it is for us almost as much as we use it.

Sometimes, I do not necessarily think

society needs to stop s petrators of intenet that the internet deserves the backlash that it receives. Its entire purpose was made to establish greater forms of communication and connection, and let us face it, entertainment. On their own, these founding principles stand as positive benefactors to our society, at least in the way they were intentioned to be used. And yet, there is still a dominant culture of toxic, negative and truthfully harmful behavior that exists on the internet. To me, this poses the question, is the internet the problem, or are we?

There are certain norms that the modern mass media has adopted surrounding language which contribute largely to our inability as a society to demand accountability from dominant groups. The media is much more likely to identify characteristics of perpetrators if they fall into marginalized groups than if they are part of the dominant group. The problem with this, other than the perpetuation of harmful stereotypes, is that when we do not call out dominant races, cultures, species, genders or other specific classifications, we defend these groups from culpability. I believe this idea relates to the internet toxicity discussion, because if we continue to blame the internet and spending time online as the reason that we send death threats to one another in comment sections then we fail to acknowledge the real perpetrators.

Sure, the internet makes it easier to send death threats to B-list celebrities that maintain large public platforms and uphold audience engagement, but the internet is not sending the death threats for us. We (not me, but you know, the collective “we” of media users) are

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ones that are saying these things. The shielding the true per- the death threats, the direct messages tell- rities’ eyebrows on the internet to kill (true story). Maybe growing toxicity: the users. ing people to kill themselves and all the themselves up in this toxic world has made us all other horrifying comments that people make are products of the posters, not of the platform. Celebrity-bashing existed a long time before social media and the resurgence of the internet, the only thing the internet adds is the ability to do all of this easier. While this fact does not make the internet innocent, I believe that it is time to call out those truly harboring this toxicity: internet users.

The internet has existed since 1983. The first social media site was created in 1997. It is 2023 now, and internet toxicity has become a very prominent topic of discussion. If the internet and social media has existed for so long, then why are we only just now beginning to point out the supposed harm that this invention has on our lives?

I also personally disagree with the notion that if we just stop using the internet, we will remove this great cesspool of overarching negativity from our lives. It is like saying if you remove the outlet of the negativity, the existence of the negativity will no longer bother you. But just because you cannot see something does not mean it is not there. And maybe this strong opinion of mine is stemming from the fact that I am an avid internet user, but nonetheless, I still feel as if blaming the internet for these problems would be naive.

Maybe, just maybe, the toxicity we blame the internet for has something more to do with the toxic world that we all are growing up in. The one where death is so normalized, where incidents of school shootings are skyrocketing and we used to watch kill counts of the global pandemic on the news every night, that now we feel it is okay to tell celebrities that make fun of other celeb-

toxic. And even though this realization isa hopeful one, it is more important moving forward for us to acknowledge the part we play in the internet toxicity problem. The internet provides the weapon and the location, the candlestick and the observatory from Clue. But we hold all the cards. We hold the messages, the intentions, the harm and toxicity.

It is not to say that as human beings and media consumers, we are all innately toxic, but rather to acknowledge that many of us find it easier in this modern world to adopt toxic behavior because we now have the ability to hide behind a screen. But we would have never blame the bluntness of the candlestick, or the seclusion of the observatory in Clue as the reason someone killed Professor Plum. So what is stopping us now, from blaming the true enablers of this toxic culture? I mean, we never guessed our own characters in the game of Clue. We always set up somebody else.

Now, this does not mean that one solution cannot be to just spend less time on the internet. This is a plausible, and easy to execute way to lessen some of the toxicity put out into the world as well as the amount that we see and say on a day to day basis. But this solution is not permanent. Fights will still break out in school bathrooms, harsh words will still be shared on fields during games, people will still hate each other.

It is a harsh reality, but a reality nonetheless. The presence of the internet is just an amplifier of feelings that people already held for one another, it just adds fuel to a preexisting flames. The solution to our problem of a toxic internet culture cannot be just fixed by fixing the internet, we have to first fix ourselves.

eht tenretni eht sI ?ew era ro ,melborp

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APRIL

Living and growing Learning to forgive yourself for Everyone experiences hard times throughout their lives, and I can speak personally on this as I am currently experiencing one. I understand the difficulty and strength required to get through it without too much collateral damage, but throughout my experience, I have picked up a few tricks on how to make getting through it just a little easier.

Something that is so important to keep in mind is that you are just focusing on getting through. I have had countless people tell me to “stay positive”, “focus on the good” or “look on the bright side”, and the list goes on. Although these comments may seem kind, they can set unrealistic expectations. When someone tells you to “stay positive”, there is an implication that you are already thinking positively— but what if you are not? What if you have already lost all positivity and ability to simply “focus on the good”? Comments like these will make you doubt yourself; why are you so upset? Why is this hard time so hard?

Whether the hard times you experience last for a few days or a few years, you should not be expected to be happy or positive, you should

By Ann Lifes

be allowed to grieve and feel upset and sad and experience these emotions; not suppress them to fit some unrealistic standard.

Two years ago, on April 1 2021, my hard time started, and I am still waiting for it to end. A routine doctor’s appointment that day took a turn when my doctor found something unexpected. In the days following, I had an emergency brain MRI, emergency spinal tap, a series of blood work and several appointments with a neurologist that I had never even met before.

That whole week was a blur. Even just thinking back now, I remember the fear I felt was unlike anything I had experienced before. Through the testing, they found my immune system is attacking a few of my cranial nerves, specifically my twelfth one, causing weakness and paralysis on the left side of my body. My neurologist had never seen this before, and she brought my case to a board of the best specialists throughout New England, none of them having seen it either.

A few weeks later I started a series of steroid IV infusions, in an attempt to cure it.

After six weeks

of this, I had no improvement and the side effects of the steroids were destroying me.

They kept me up all night. I laugh now remembering how I made my mom watch the Hunger Games with me every single night of the first week on steroids, because it was the only thing providing me any comfort. After this treatment failed, we decided to try something else. I would start a series of treatments known as IVIG, or as I call them, infusions. IVIG stands for intravenous immune globulin, which is a product made up of human antibodies that is given to patients through a vein by IV. My first treatment began at 8 AM on July 26th, the day after my sixteenth birthday (good way to kick off a new year!).

At the start, I received treatment once a month, for five consecutive days each month, roughly 5-6 hours each day. At this time we decided to reevaluate in six months, and I was able to stay pretty positive.

Having that end date, knowing that

by December I would be done, that kept me going and kept me optimistic enough that I could play along

and act fine because the countdown had started.

When my December appointment came, we noticed immense improvements, and my neurologist decided to take me off for a few months to observe what happened. A month and a half in, my symptoms came back worse than before, forcing me to start back up all over again. This took quite a toll on me, my heart still hurts thinking of that poor clueless version of myself who truly thought this would all be over after that December appointment. Once I started back up again in March of 2022, I altered my schedule so I would be receiving treatment once a month still, for three consecutive days and 10-12 hours each day. A few months later, after a follow up appointment in July of 2022, my doctor approved me for one more year, and I clung onto this for my life. I pushed myself through and forced myself to remain positive because in July of 2023, I would be done–right? After another follow up a few weeks ago, on March 16, I learned this might be some-

thing chronic, something I could have to deal with forever. For now, my doctor has approved of another year minimum, with frequent brain MRI’s, and since my veins are so damaged from so many IV’s throughout the past two years, I am having surgery on April 3 to get a port placed. I will not lie, this appointment broke me. I had forced myself to stay strong, clinging to the idea that I would be done in July, and that I just had to hold out a little longer. All of the emotions I had suppressed so I could act “okay” or be “fine” could no longer be ignored. In the days following this appointment, I did something different; I allowed myself to feel my emotions and to grieve. Although I had not physically lost anyone, I had lost parts of myself. I grieved the time that has been stolen from me, the innocence I have lost, the opportunities I have missed. I felt for my younger self, the scared innocent girl at the start of it all, who forced herself to hide her anxiety and sadness so she would not burden

others with it. I feel for the version of myself who had no idea what was coming, and I grieve for my future self who will always hang on to some of that anxiety about her health.

I felt the emotions I had been ignoring for so long by trying to hang on to this “positive” outlook that I thought I needed.

I have fought with myself so much throughout this journey, and I still have a hard time allowing myself to feel and let my guard down. I truly believe the way to get through a hard time is to embrace it, and allow yourself to grieve because you cannot heal until you allow yourself to feel. As I am now approaching another year of infusions and MRI’s, with surgery in just a few weeks, I am content. I have learned to embrace my hard time instead of ignoring it, and am now able to separate myself from my condition and focus on everything else in my life. Learning to feel your emotions, and rely on those around you for support will makeyouhardtimefarmorebearable.

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through hard times the uncontrollable and unexpected

nie Cameron style Editor

Graphic/ Annie Cameron

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APRIL

Is money more valued Why

does

money

take

precedence

By Liam McDonough Opinion Editor

If given the choice between $100 million or the feeling of reaching your true potential, what would you take? If you are anything like the large majority of the eight billion people on this planet, you would take the money in an instant and walk away. Why is that objectively greedy decision so overwhelmingly accepted, though? Humanity has become so focused around gaining as much wealth as possible that any humanitarian achievement that has seldom to do with money is often overshadowed or ignored. And when that self-driven accomplishment or genuine act of kindness does get the recognition it deserves, it is viewed as remarkable not because it is impossible to do, but because nobody else is willing to do it without the incentive of currency.

One of the main reasons that money takes priority over fulfillment is because of the idea that money can buy happiness. And, in some sense, money can buy happiness. In a recent six-month experiment conducted by the University of British Columbia, 100 participants were given $10,000 to spend in three months, while another 100 were left out of the deal, receiving no money. Over six months, the participants were asked to rate their happiness on a scale, and those who had received the check reported significantly higher ratings. However, there was one exception: those who exceeded a yearly household income of $123,000 did

not see an increase in happiness when receiving the check. The results of this minor study prove relatively significant in addressing the stigma that money can actually improve one’s well-being. When it is needed in order to improve a household’s quality of life, money serves a great purpose. In other cases, when it is no longer essential to the aspects of comfort and space, it provides little to no help in boosting one’s attitude.

The problem lies in the fact that most people fail to acknowledge that money has its limits, and they are left to believe that any increase in money will bring endless satisfaction. As a result, when adolescents are about to decide on a career path, they are being fed countless fraudulent pieces of advice by adults who say that money takes precedence over want and desire. This belief has stretched through generations upon generations, and has ultimately corrupted the human race into thinking with greed and selfishness.

If people actually made the choice to follow their passion and pursue the job that they find most interesting, then the better portion of society would become a lot happier. Someone chasing after an opportunity that excites them is extremely powerful as it provides plenty motivation and energy. And when someone actually reaches their dream job, they embrace their situation as they begin to take a more positive and grateful perspective on life. In order for this scenario to play out, though, it requires one thing: realism. People need to

V.

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than self-fulfillment? in

a

better

portion

of

society?

.S. have understanding if their goal is attainable, and act based on that rationale. Unfortunately, this decision is usually already made by parents very early on. Parents often budge in, claiming that a certain career is “unrealistic” or “too competitive.” The reality is, however, if someone has enough drive to follow and achieve their dream, they will stop at nothing to achieve it.

When people decide on a career path that is not necessarily what they want to do with their life, they take a much more negative and, consequently, selfish approach. Realizing that they can no longer reach true satisfaction with their work, they become obsessed with the most obnoxiously relevant aspect of their adult life: money. From then on, the generational cycle continues. Adults are left to believe that their wealth, and little to nothing else, has led them to live a fulfilled life, which is then infectiously spread on to their children.

From that previous study, though, it is clear that the benefits of money towards one’s happiness are blown way out of proportion. So, what would actually happen if people made decisions based on their wishes, and not on the terms of their parents or society? Theoretically, the world would reap a countless amount of

benefits. Imagine a world where instead of a young, innovative adult being shut down for their “outrageous” aspirations, they are lifted up and told that they can become what they truly long to be. Picture a society where people do not reluctantly go to work just so they provide for their family, but where people eagerly arrive at work in order to reach improbable goals and change the world for the better. Envision an environment where kindness is impossible to ignore because people have achieved the best for themselves, and now only want the best for others. If only the possibility of this idea had become more clear to people, then humanity would be embracing it as a reality, and not just viewing it as an out-of-reach fantasy.

While money holds a sizable amount of importance, it is not everything. It does not control our destiny or define our self-worth. And yet, people continue to chase after it because they believe that it does. Maybe, at one point in time, the world will believe that the true value does not reside on a dollar bill, but instead starts from within someone and beams outwardly towards others and beyond.

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APRIL

School event costs

Unecessary ticket charges acummulat

By Grace Ryan News Editor Students and families choose public schools for a variety of reasons, but a common reason is the reduced expenses compared to private schools.

At all schools, high school events such as proms, dances, film festivals, pep rallies and sports games form some of the most cherished high school memories, but the cost of visiting these events can add up. These costs can be discouraging, but the cost of these events should not inhibit the enjoyment of the landmarks of high school from both those attending the events nor the clubs and sports that want the support of the community. These small attendance expenses are often necessary to support the school’s clubs and athletics, but the cost ends up deterring attendance among students. In my experience during this time where school spirit is lacking, costs only make matters worse. Family and community support energizes teams and clubs, but attendance costs end up dispiriting the club and athletics community.

Although ideally students should not allow costs to dictate their attendance and enjoyment, most students do not have a lot of money especially with their busy lives while trying to save up for their futures.

Attending games and events can add up over the course of the year, but costs for events and being an active member of the WHS community should not take away from the often already low account of students.

As a Student Council Member, I can see both sides of the argument: clubs need money to run events, but costs strongly discourage attendance. For example, many students complain about the costs of the hypnotist event over the past couple of years, and some students did not come because they did not think the hypnotist would be worth it. Those students who attended disagreed with these other students after experiencing it, but some would never be able to prove otherwise because they did not come. From the club’s point of view, enough students had to come in order to pay for the hypnotist. In order for clubs to fulfill their purpose at the high school and put on fun events, money and attendance costs are required. This may place clubs in a difficult situation as they face the impact of students not always wanting to participate because of the costs.

Beyond Student Council events, other club’s events need event

attendance to be successful, especially if they only hold one event a year, such as Dance Company and the Film Festival. Both these club events would not be the same without the support and attendance of the community.

More money needs to be provided to clubs—whether from the school, the town or the state—so that they can reduce costs of attendance and run events to their fullest potential.

When clubs organize events, they often must estimate and consider the amount who will attend in order to figure out the pricing. When less people attend, the costs only increase.

Unlike many club events that target only students, the costs of sports games are more significant and unfair because of the cost it places on families.

Club sports, if students so chose to participate, can place a heavy cost on the family because of entry fees to tournaments and traveling fees, but public school sports should not be the same.

Tickets to high school sports pay for much needed aspects of the sport such as referees and transportation. However, not all sports require tickets for entry. Not including playoffs, only football, hockey and basketball require attendants to buy tickets

Photo/Instagram

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s deter attendance

te to discourage community support

ic/G raph

G

regularly—at least in Walpole. Some families are forced to make much larger contributions to athletics in Walpole, while others can attend games for free.

Every athlete must pay $225 a season and athletes only receive a discount to a cost of $50 for their third season. However, families, under the impression that they must pay $225 for their child to compete, must often double that amount in order to support their child, especially for sports that require tickets for attendance.

Considering hockey and basketball have 20-game seasons, parents are forced to pay $5 to attend, leading to a $200 regular season total, not including any siblings nor other relatives attending. Beyond ticket sales, families must also support the team with booster fundraisers and potentially even team dinners so the costs can easily surpass $500. Because of a fee to play, as well as donations and other costs, families supporting their children by attendending games should not be a

cost. Families often pay the bill for their child to play a sport, so not being able to afford to watch their child play would not be fair to them. Families already pay enough time, effort and money to support their children.

In order to solve these problems, families should have family passes, at least for immediate family, and students should have season passes that cost a flat rate for the season or school year that will incentivize going to games. For example, if the students pay $25 for the winter season, they would have to go to 5 games to get their money’s worth.

From personal experience, not only does support from the community increase the energy and fun of the game, but it can also deeply affect the game, such as during free throws.

At home, the WHS student section should outnumber the away student section, but this has not always been the case. If season passes are created and costs are cut, that would

help solve the school spirit problems.

Although I understand that money and resources can be sparse in general, I think more efforts need to be taken to reduce the costs of attendance in consideration of the falling school spirit, importance of high school memories, the significant costs if choose to attend a large amount of events and the other costs that high schoolers and families already have to consider. This issue of costs for attendance goes beyond WHS, but we can at least make an effort to support our club’s events and our sport’s games. I understand that resources are needed behind the scenes, but students supporting students and families supporting their children matters the most. Many people, especially students, just complain about money. I understand that. But for families, especially, and students who go to numerous events in a year, this money can add up and therefore can become a burden when they should not be.

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Television shows harmful Many

TV

shows

portrayal

cultures

By Toby Moses Sports Editor With television and movies being mediums that reach billions of eyes across the world, portraying diverse casts of characters is extremely important. Shows like Star Trek, Roots and Good Times broke down racial barriers and aided in overcoming discrimination that plagued America in the early 20th century.

Modern TV shows often value diversity and include characters of various races and walks of life; however, not all portrayals of races are respectful and accurate.

Movies and TV shows can often perpetuate harmful stereotypes against different races, ingraining their often young viewers with prejudiced perceptions of others. For children, seeing characters on the screen that look like them is truly invaluable, as it provides young people with a sense of belonging. In my personal life, all the portrayals of people like myself on televisions and in movies were negative, inaccurate and heavily based on stereotypes. While stereotypes against other races are taboo in television and movies, it seems as if Indian characters are free reign to be as discriminatory and inaccurate as possible. Being Indian, seeing characters of my race in the media was always a negative experience. Without a positive portrayal of Indian characters in media, children like myself grow up without a character to look up to or relate to.

Many shows and movies targeted at adult audi-

ences perpetuate stereotypes, which can be fine when used in a comedic context. One example of a character like this is seen in “The Simpsons”. Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, a convenience store owner with a thick South Asian accent, is a clear example of stereotypes against Indian people and other South Asians. Although the character was based on stereotypes, I was never personally hurt by his portrayal. Sure, the trope of Indian people owning convenience stores is annoying, but Nahasapeemapetilon was a fleshed-out and interesting character in the show. He had a doctorate, a loving family and was treated like a friend by the other characters. Not all Indian viewers felt the same way, however. Nahasapeemapetilon, originally voiced by a white actor, was eventually cancelled due to public backlash. While many supported this decision, put off by his stereotypical portrayal, Nahasapeemapetilon is a polarizing character for South Asians. Many viewers, Indians included, want him to return. Some make the argument that his portrayal is fine, but the public backlash merits his removal. And while he is a controversial character in his own right, he is far less harmful than other interpretations of South Asian characters.

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often perpetuate stereotypes in

dated

“The Simpsons” is mostly watched by young adults and older, but shows and movies targeted at younger audiences also portray South Asian characters through the lens of stereotypes. When a show is intended for these young and impressionable audiences, children can easily mistake stereotypes with reality.

One show that portrays Indians in a disrespectful way is “Phineas and Ferb”. Admittedly, I loved to watch the show when I was younger, not fully realizing the show’s flaws until I grew older. Baljeet Tjinder is an Indian character in the show, and the only person of color who appears in most episodes. Firstly, Baljeet’s voice actor, although Indian, uses a fake accent for the show. While this is not uncommon, why not simply hire a voice actor with an authentic Indian accent? Next, and most importantly, Baljeet’s portrayal in the show is downright terrible. From constant bullying from other characters, to saying he needs to get good grades or his parents will reject him, Baljeet was an unlikable character that most viewers saw as the punching bag of the cast. Now, the term Baljeet is used in a derogatory way against Indian people, which I myself have heard plenty. Even in high school, people have called me Baljeet or said I look like him; needless to say countless Indian chil-

and

insensitive

dren have received this treatment across the country.

Plenty of children growing up watched the show “Jessie” on Disney Channel, myself included. The one Indian character in the show, Ravi, almost mirrors the portrayal of Baljeet. Ravi is played by an Indian Actor, Karan Brar, who originally has no accent. In the show, however, Ravi has a comically heavy Indian accent; it is clear that the producers of the show believed an Indian accent would get laughs from the audience. Ravi is a nerd, struggles mightily to talk to women and is bullied by other characters. That may sound familiar, because Baljeet is portrayed in almost the exact same way.

With “Phineas and Ferb” and “Jessie” no longer running, I hope that future TV shows and movies will provide Indian children with adequate role models and accurate representations. As diversity becomes more important and celebrated in society, we must overcome the harmful stereotypes that have plagued marginalized groups for decades. When TV producers decide to include an Indian character, there is no need to slap on a ridiculously thick accent and make them socially inept. By respecting the cultures of others and creating realistic characters, the futures of countless South Asian people across the globe will improve.

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People Should St Employment During Having

a

Job

Earlier

In

Life

By Liv C Staff W

Since teenagers have a lot on their plates between school, sports and after school activities, the hours left in the day can be very few. This leaves little time to hangout with friends or work which is a main reason a lot of teenagers do not want to have jobs. However, there are many benefits to working as a teenager with skills that will set you up for life. These negative feelings towards working can be turned into positive ones with the right mindset.

Time management is a large part of life no matter what you do and it is important to know how to best take advantage of the hour. Having to work a job after school and on the weekends will encourage teenagers to learn how to manage homework and still maintain friendships while being employed. It is not always easy to balance everything but once you get into a good routine it becomes much easier to deal with. It is a great learning opportunity on how to take advantage of every minute throughout the day and feel productive. Responsibility comes with time management skills, and is another important quality to have. When looking for

jobs as an adult, they will appreciate seeing that you have been working for a while and have levels of experience. Holding a job while being a student is impressive and will raise your chances of being hired.

Showing your parents that you are able to hold a job while being in school is very responsible and can be a good way of building trust.

I started working right after I turned 16 and while I was not thrilled about having a job at first, I actually have grown to enjoy working. It has given me the chance to learn time management between working, getting my school work and studying done while still having time to spend with friends and family. I have gotten the chance to really get to know many of my coworkers and learn about them as people.

I have learned lessons about not only work but also life from my older coworkers and managers. While I always knew I would enjoy having my own money to spend, I underestimated how nice it really would be. I can buy things and feel like I really earned them instead of them being handed to me. Buying things for yourself brings such a sense of

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tart Looking For Their Teenage Years Provides

Advantages

Carney Writer

maturity and responsibility to your life and is truly a great feeling.

While earning money seems like the most obvious reason for having a job, it is also a large factor in maturity. Being able to buy food, clothes or other purchases such as tickets to an event with money one earns themself is a huge privilege. This can also give a satisfying feeling as it shows responsibility and not having to rely on others for the things you want or need. Along with that, learning how to manage money at a young age is such an important life skill to have especially since it is one you’ll be using for the rest of your life. Finding the balance between spending and saving can be difficult but also so rewarding when you get to watch the numbers in your bank account go up. Another important skill working can teach is teamwork.

No matter if it is in school or in a workplace, learning how to work in a team alongside others is crucial.

Being one part of a working team is rewarding in itself, along with meeting new people. While it can be difficult to have to follow other’s rules or specific ways things need to be done, it is a good skill to have for the

future to be able to go with the flow.

One thing teenagers worry about when getting a job is that they will not have enough time for their social life, however I have found that having a job and a social life to maintain has been helpful for me.

Most of my friends are employed as well so while I do not get to spend as much time with them as I used to, it makes me appreciate hanging out with them so much more.

Another positive to this is being able to go out with your friends because you all have your own money to spend on food or other fun activities. Although it can be annoying to plan around everyone’s schedules, working is a part of growing up and can be a positive experience if you make it one.

Many teenagers see jobs as something negative in their lives or something they simply do not want to do. There are so many benefits to starting work young and it can set one up for a great future. It is not always easy to balance everything in life and while a job will force one to adjust their time, there are many good reasons for being employed in high school.

Throughout

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Jazz is b lost genre

The popularity of jazz music is

By Max Staff W In modern society, teenagers are more attracted to popular artists of today such as Taylor Swift, Morgan Wallen and Miley Cyrus rather than jazz artists like Ella Fitzgerald, Miles Davis and Billie Holiday. However, most teenagers fail to recognize the musical talents of musicians in the jazz genre. In fact, jazz has been slowly losing popularity among the general public since the 1990s. Jazz is often overlooked by teenagers that are more interested in genres like hip-hop, rap, pop and alternative. I am here to say that jazz should be more mainstream because of the relatability behind the actual music and lyrics.

Jazz was founded around the early 20th century, mainly in the New Orleans area, from a multitude of African-American communities. Jazz was used as an escape for adults in the United States during the highs and lows of the Great Depression. People used jazz for short-term entertainment to shut out their possible economic problems.

Nonetheless, that was not the highest point jazz music had. The true uprising of jazz music started with the declaration of war on Japan by the United States: World War II. Swing acts, which was a popular style of jazz music in the 1930’s, and big bands started to travel with the United States military to provide entertainment. Europe also took notice of the U.S.’ jazz genre and began

to adopt it overseas. Europe has then pumped out great singers like Tomasz Stańko, Enrico Rava and Michael Bublé Jazz is a genre that allows you to feel free with the subtle lyrics that are developed from popular songwriters.

Considered by many to be the best jazz songwriter there ever was to live, Duke Ellington used many different combinations of instruments to construct elegant music. The sweet combination of piano and saxophones opened the door for more creative ways to make swing music in the 1930’s, something that has not been featured in mainstream music media for quite some time.

Arguably some of the most well known songs in the world are from the jazz genre as well. Frank Sinatra’s “Theme from New York, New York”, Etta James’ “At Last” and Louis Armstrong’s “What a Wonderful World.

Sinatra’s “Theme from New York, New York” captivates many New Yorkers, who quite often sing the song for their home city. Even the New York Yankees, after they win a baseball game, play the song to celebrate the win. The famous lyric of “Start spreadin’ the news” has become a staple line that many New Yorkers will sing to themselves, together at karaoke nights, etc.

James’ “At Last” is, in my opinion, one of the best vocal performances in a single song there is. Putting itself in

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becoming a of music

falling with heavy rap listeners

x Grant Writer the ranks of great songs like Beyonce’s “Halo”, Little Richard’s “Tutti Frutti”, Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep, and plenty more. The fluid lyrics and smooth, soft vocals by James makes the song such a great vocal performance. The lyrics she sang in the song, “life is like a song” did not translate to her actual life. James and her husband struggled with heroin addictions and both even had to serve ten years in prison for heroin possession. She also sang the lyrics, “my heart was wrapped in clover”.

This is in reference to the four-leaf clover, a symbol of luck for many years.

With the lyrics, she defines that she is lucky to be in love. The cleverness and creativity is what makes this song such a big hit and great vocal performance.

Armstrong’s “What a Wonderful World” encapsulates the true meaning of jazz: slow, soft instruments playing and lyrics that suck you into the song. During Armstrong’s prime years as a musician, he had to experience lots or racial discrimination going on around him. However, he was largely accepted into both black and white societies. This pushed the inclusion of what would come in the civil rights movement of the 1960’s and 1970’s. The lyrics and the name of the song, “What a Wonderful World”, depicts Armstrong’s hope for the U.S and the world to solve starvation, genocide, poverty and gen-

eral tragedy going on around the world around him. The song is trying to prove his point that the world is a magnificent place and everyone needs to sit down to appreciate what we have and explore more than just what their future is.

Jazz music has such a deeper meaning than just a song to make your head bop up and down. It provides a means to relate to lyrics with thoughts about the world around us. Jazz was a mainstream genre of music, but now has fallen down from grace and is not included in popular genres of today like rap, hip-hop and plenty of other genres of music. If you have not given jazz a chance, you might experiment with different songs and artists because it allows you to relate to music personally instead of having music in the background of an activity you are doing. I use jazz as an escape from reality. It allows me to explore a world that I thought was nonexistent. A world where your head feels the rhythm of a soft piano or a tender trumpet instead of a beat drop from electronic dance music (EDM) or beats/ mixtapes from rappers and hip-hop artists of today. It is a different style of music because there are expanded options of jazz instead of the common bassline from pop songs and many others. It has inspired me to get into the genre and sing jazz music for my family and friends.

Take a listen and try something new!

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Teenage

years

APRIL

ar

High school the best years When it comes to interacting with “older kids,” most children either respond in two ways: some with absolute adoration, looking up to teenagers as a cooler version of adults, or scary, avoiding interacting with teens as much as possible. Regardless, there is a merit that comes along with being a teenager that every other age group seems to despise—the teenage generation is upon the most blissful period of their lives, thriving in the most attractive, nonchalant version of oneself. Younger generations are fed a preview of teenage years through the media, reading and consuming films centered around stress-free lives of high schoolers that inspire unrealistic standards. Older generations associate modern day teenage lives with their own personal experiences, many familiar with the freedom and inexperience of their younger times. Society constantly feeds into delusional ideals of unforgettable adolescent experiences, leaving those entering the teenage chapter of their lives with anticipation and high hopes.

There is no question that teenage years are a time of rapid change; from the ages of thirteen to nineteen, an individual constantly develops physically, emotionally and socially, a journey that will eventually shape them into a wiser version of themselves. This prosperity, being able to finally fit into one’s personal self, is why many yearn for this point in their life. At the same time, many seem to overlook the process of growth development met with this era of life, where teenagers awkwardly navigate through the fast pace of these seven years. Such inexperience forces individuals into sensitive, uncomfortable scenarios that mostly produce stress, emotional outbursts and self insecurities.

Do not get me wrong, such encounters are necessary in order to grow and flourish, but the rising pressures teenagers are met with has now turned into worries rather than adrenaline rushes that once used to be.

According to the Washington Post’s “The early 1980s were the peak of teen boozing,” teenage use of alcohol and drugs has completely fallen since its high, marking our parents as the last teenage generation to mainly abuse such substances. Commonalities of consistent drinking, partying and drug use thrived as parenting was far less strict, locations could not be tracked and nothing could be documented online, providing what are now adults today with independent freedom. Uncoincidentally, such adults in modern society have carried the standard of debauchery to the younger generations, one that classifies this stage of life with incessant disobedience and high expectations. It is presumed that adolescents will be exceeding their nightlife, doing a variety of activities that categorize into a wild teenage experience.

When we are met with the illogical academic expectations that force students to spend the majority of their time studying, volunteering, working and more, it is not a surprise that many of us would want to follow the traditional schedules of the work force and dedicate the weekends to full relaxation. Yet, society connects the ideal of staying home on “party” days to loneliness, with assumptions that if a teenager does not go out with

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overglamorized

should not s of your

be life

By Ciara Foley A&E Editor friends then they have low social status. There are a variety of reasons as to why someone may not be interested in the nightlife lifestyle—not everyone appreciates such intense social environments and many rather spend the time with a smaller group of friends, family or even solo.

So, how does this directly impact today’s teenagers? Even disregarding the pandemic and modern era, teenage years are known to be filled with awkward, judgemental phases that encourage insecurities and heightened anxiety. As stated before, it is a point in life where we are constantly evolving, beginning to understand ourselves far better while experiencing various memories. Just around the beginning of teenage journeys, younger teenagers enter an entirely new environment, expected to mature from a hand-held middle school experience to a selfsufficient young adult high school level. Such change forces fourteen year olds to quickly adapt to intense academic environments, expected to emotionally develop to a level of midterms, daily assignments, finals and extracurriculars in just a mere three months.

Similarly, the pandemic had forced every single high school student across the country to return back to such standards in the 2021 school year after creating self-sufficient schedules and a lack of typical work ethic, once more expecting students to emotionally mature under incomprehensible circumstances.

From personal experience, this usually leads to one outcome: students become drained far more quickly, enhancing a likelihood for less motivation towards top grades and maximum effort. Mental health drainage quickly follows, resulting in an overall lack of enthusiasm and more stress towards meeting collegiate standards, expecting students to continue to thrive as if we are under traditional academic conditions.

Needless to say, not every single high school student has a negative experience in their modern day high school and teenage years. This time is excitingly chaotic, preparing us for a future in emotionally-driven careers and unique life stories. The entirety of our teenage experience, we are learning more about ourselves, understanding our strengths and weaknesses in a variety of aspects. The expectation that teeangers should have it all together—should be able to commit to full-time schooling, sports teams, extracurriculars, part-time jobs, etc. while having great amounts of energy—has never proved to be realistic in any way. Realistically, it makes far more sense for an individual to be thriving around the ages of their 20s or 30s with new found independence; nevertheless, every person is different and discovers more about themselves over different periods of time. The standard that teenagers should rave 24/7 yet keep up with educational performance influences a pressure that leaves many self-conscious about their personal lives, thus leading to mental health declines and overall poor teenage experience.

Regardless of how one feels their teenage experience has been, there is no need to insist that this is the most enjoyable time of one’s life—every single person has the control for a future full of light, growth and diversion in every single stage of life, no matter what it be.

Graphic/ CiaraFoley

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APRIL

anxiety from an accidental screenshot and so much more causes teenagers additional stress because of their phones. Throughout the week, I noticed there were times where I could have benefited from having my phone and times where it really benefitted me not to have access to it.

Overall, this week opened my eyes to the reality of technology. Like most things in society, technology is addicting and causes major stress. I realized certain social media apps such as Tik Tok, Instagram and Snapchat are not as

Meghan McNeil Social Media & Business Manager Older generations tend to view phones as a product that has negatively affected society whereas younger generations view them as tools. Although being tools in a certain sense, the negative effects of these devices can be seen through the attachment we have to them. One recurring problem as a result of technology and of the newer generation as a whole is the lack of living life in the moment.

Frequently people post pictures of them “living life”;however, living life should be spontaneous and not just for online popularity and likes.

A significant part of liv-

ing in the moment is not worrying about anything in the past or future because it means living in the present. Worldly perspective can change because of the decision to try and live life in the moment.

Through this, you expose yourself to new experiences that normally you would not do because of fear of embarrassment and failure.

By doing this relationships can be strengthened, mental health improves and overall stress decreases.

To evaluate the benefits of trying to live life in the moment and how to do this in everyday life, I decided to give up my phone for a week. The negative effects of technology are widely known and felt by teeangers around the world–the stress of waiting for a text message,

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vital to my life as I once thought of them to be. Discovering how to live my life in the moment also progressed me to find myself as a person and who I am becoming.

I decided to start this experiment on Friday, March 24, and after a week, I realized the difficulty of being without my phone. The first day I wanted to give up and go back on my phone just because of how used to being on my phone all

How being rooted in th

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the time I am. I noticed that overall I had much more time during the day to finish homework and clean my room rather than just scroll aimlessly on social media. I would always complain about not having enough time during the day, but I realized most of it was being spent on my phone. Technology is similar to a black hole, taking in everything and catching all of our attention, another similarity being the way people are distracted by this large event rather than the simple things in life.

As each day in the week

n the oment M

make something we call a “phone pile” because we noticed how distracted we get from our phones.

Doing this really pulls everyone back to the reality that we should be enjoying each other’s company rather than looking at a screen.

This idea is something I suggest others do even when just hanging out with friends, because it makes spending time with them feel so much more special and interactive.

Although struggling to stay off of my phone throughout the week, technology breaks are another strategy that helps living life in the moment. By using a disposable camera to take photos this week, I have felt influenced to take more breaks from my phone in the future. I feel that this technology

went by, I was basically just counting down the days, and my reliance on technology was eye-opening.

However, during the week I felt more connected to my friends and family than ever before. Overall, this week showed how much I rely on my phone, but also provided me with new ways to live life at the moment. Even before doing this experiment when my friends and I would go out to eat, we would

he moment improves life

break gave me time to appreciate the little things in life, such as spending time with friends and family, along with focusing on my school work better. Focusing on smaller, seemingly meaningless things in life helps you understand the larger picture of life.

Doing this not only helps to live life in the moment but also helps calm yourself down when feeling anxious and overthinking.

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E v e r m five stages

Exploring the emotional depth

By Erin Malinn Feature Editor

Evermore means everlasting; forever and always. It can withstand the world and all of its weapons, though nothing can ever be such a thing. Everything is a victim of time’s passage, which makes the process of letting go and moving on seem that much more abrupt. A poet once named this victim “Dorothea.”

Every person has their “other half,” another being they cannot fathom living without. Physically, they are capable, but how desirable is a life without light? How is one able to breathe without lungs? Dorothea is what lives on without us, what found a life on its own and made it better. It seems impossible that one half of your heart can grow bigger and beat faster after needing you to beat at all. No matter,

there will always be a vacant spot waiting on their return, never changing until everything returns to the way it was.

But they never look back. You have grown small and weak while this, now unrecognizable, old piece of you towers over your small stature, looking down in disgust. What you once thought was timeless has grown old in front of you. Being replaced so easily is a slap to the face, but recognizing how similar their new world is to the one you were once part of is a punch to the gut. Since you could not find the words in time to beg them to stay, there was nothing to do but watch them go.

Time is your worst enemy. Everything is a reminder of what you lost, with every reminder leaving you frozen in the moment you were left alone. Happy memories are reminiscent, while the rest are tragically consuming–so much so that nothing seems real. It is easier to go on believing that this is all in your head, that nothing has changed. But accepting this delusion means accepting

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m o r e ’ s s of grief

hs of Taylor Swift’s Evermore

your beliefs as wrong. Living in this delusion means that you were in the wrong, that you were taking up too much space and time, that they were right to assume you were fine. It seems so easy to break free, but how can you when you cannot remove the dagger they left in you?

It becomes hard to remain in this fit of anger when everything appears to be resolving itself. The world feels as though it is preparing to move backwards, revert to its past, when things were better. All you can do is hope that, no matter how wise or old this former part of you gets, they can and will forgive your soul and embrace you by their side once again. And it really does seem to be coming true.

When nothing changes, you find yourself lost, unable to remember a version of yourself that seamlessly fits into the world. Without this piece of you, there is nothing left of yourself that you can make sense of. No matter how much of an attempt you make to turn the clocks back, you are frozen in the one

moment where everything is broken.

How tragic it is to grieve what was never dead. Living without the comfort of a second home provides the same chilling sensation as a day without the sun. The only form of comfort you can seek comes from the warmth of your own bed, which has become the most heartbreaking thing to leave. While the changes of the surrounding world have been your main focus, it has gone unnoticed the reinvention of yourself.

You learn to pick your battles.

The battle of time chose you. Change, however, is not worthy of a fight. Sometimes, walking out is the only option.

Running away is not always the cowardly choice. Giving up is not always the weak choice. Defending yourself in the long-run is the only way to truly let go.

Long story short, you made it out alive.

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Importance The

of

effects

APRIL

volunteering volunteering

By: Em

Sta Wake up, go to school, attend after-school activities, complete homework and repeat. The normal robot cycle most kids and teens fall into. That was how I looked at my everyday life in 2017. Life can be completely normal and then in a blink of an eye it can be changed forever. It was the year that changed me as a person and helped me realize the importance of volunteering my time to help others as well as giving back to organizations. It was the year that my mom sat me on the couch and told me that she had Stage 3 breast cancer.

Hearing those words come out of my moms mouth were words I never wanted to hear. Shock, fear, frustration and confusion were my initial reactions at the time. My family saw this disease as something negative, but over time, our outlook on the experience changed. We are now grateful for the experience and all the positive people, communities, organizations and friends that came together to save my mom’s life.

For the past six years, the team has r research which directly goes to Dana F Walpole and surrounding towns to rai walk in Boston with all types of peopl

Photo/ Emily Sullivan

Photo/ Emily Sullivan

Chemotherapy, radiation, surgeries and doctors visits are all tasks associated with the disease cancer. Many hours are spent battling a fight to beat the beast that is cancer. Dana Farber is one of the world's leading hospitals for adult and pediatric cancer. Thousands of people walk through the doors of Dana Farber everyday fighting during one of some of the lowest points in their life. With the help of doctors, nurses and volunteers- patients are able to leave the hospital and announce that they are cancer free. From my experience, Dana Farber saved my mom’s life and I will forever be grateful for all the work they had done. Through this experience, it has led me to my love for volunteering and giving back to communities that have helped my family.

After my mom was told by doctors she was in remission, we created a team called Sullivan Stronger. This team is completely volunteer- based and works with all different types of people to raise money for the Jimmy Fund Walk that takes place in October.

Every year, in the summer my f the Pan Mass Challenge, a bike-a -thon to Dana Farber. It is inspiring to hear a that are strangers. Bikers tell incredibl of community that we all can relate to. people become friends while supportin rooted in Dana Farber and all they hav shape you as a person and teach you to was once not grateful for.

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years adults

mily Sullivan

aff Writer

aised over $150 thousand for cancer Farber. We have fundraised events in se money. At the end of the year, we le who have been affected by cancer.

family and I volunteer to help out with n fundraiser that gives all its proceeds all the stories and learn about people e stories which help foster a sense Volunteering has the power to let ng a cause. My love for volunteering is ve to offer. I feel that volunteering can o be grateful for the normal life that I

Photo/ Emily Sullivan

Volunteering can look different from person to person. Every person has a different story that means different things to them and finding organizations to give back too can be very rewarding. Not only are you helping others, but you are benefiting yourself as well. You learn a lot about other people and communities; similarly, volunteering gives a sense of satisfaction to know that you are helping others that may be less fortunate than you.

Likewise, volunteering helps communities grow and leads to more opportunities. Some examples of volunteering may be helping out at local events, animal shelters, community centers or even local libraries. The small task of spending a few hours giving your time to organizations

Photo/ Emily Sullivan

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Daylight Savings has never hit me so hard. Seeing how I am moving out of a seasonal slump has never been made so apparent to me. In the grand scheme of my life, a change in the way I live has never been so significant.

From being unaware of my seasonal slump to fully acknowledging it and also getting over it, I was able to reflect on my emotions, understand my hardships and change the way I live for the better.

Before Daylight Savings, I had fallen into a cycle of being unmotivated to do the things that I like. I became distant with friends and family. I only found comfort in my bed. And I wanted nothing more than to be in the safety of my own home. I became even more addicted to my phone, yet I also started hating TV shows. Each episode I watched would just feel like a drag, which ultimately made TikTok my guilty pleasure as it is for so many other teenagers. The short and quick rush of something good— maybe happiness or sparked dopamine or maybe just feeling an emo-

Graphic/ Gianna Pompeo

tion different than sadness—would keep me scrolling on TikTok for hours, from when I got home from school up until when I went to bed.

I was never one for heat. I hated summer, sweating and, even more, feeling that uncomfortable sensation of your skin all damp from sweating. I hated it all. But this year I have slowly started hating the win-

ter time. I first noticed I was hating winter when I was driving in the snow. I realized that I did not feel the pretty and aesthetic vibe that winter and snow had always looked like to me. At first it was nice, but then the snow became a brown and dirty slush that ruined the bottom

of my pants and also my mood the second I got out of my car. In general, though, I hated feeling miserable and unmotivated by the dreariness of the weather. All I wanted was to be able to go outside and feel the sun’s rays heating my body and maybe even an oncoming sunburn.

These feelings were entirely new to me, as I have always longed for the winter and then dreaded the summer’s reappearance every year.

This year, though, I cannot wait to feel motivated, and social and comfortable anywhere I go.

Even if I am sweating, I do not care because at least I am not miserable and cold. The winter slump created this new view on summer, making summer seem so much more enjoyable and relaxing to me, more than ever before. And I truly hope that summer holds up to this new view that I have of it. Summer is usually a time that I take to myself, maybe to read or play instruments or learn something new. But the social aspect I hope for is meeting new people, hanging out with my friends regularly and exploring restaurants and shops that I have never seen before.

After Daylight Savings, within two days I could feel a change in

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my body and my mentality. From being miserable to suddenly being ready to accomplish anything, it was clear that there had been some sort of shift. I felt a sense of motivation that I had not felt since last July. I felt the urge to hang out with my friends, whom I had not hung out with since New Years Day. I felt, most surprisingly, uncomfortable in my bed. Every time I lay down, I feel like I need to be moving or accomplishing something when the sun is out. At first, all I knew was that I felt so much better and that I could see the sun when I got home from school. The days are brighter and I feel like I can do whatever I want whenever I want. This feeling was entirely new since I had never felt such joy when coming out of the winter time and a seasonal slump. Especially with-

out knowing I was in a seasonal slump, the fact that I could get out of bed and accomplish anything was sometehing that brought me extra hope and a new view on life.

Continuing with that sense of hope, a new feeling after Daylight Savings this year is rejuvenation. I have been given a new energy toward every aspect of my life over the past few weeks. Whether it be at work or at school or really anywhere, I just feel a sense of clarity, feeling like I never had such a fresh and energetic view of the activities I have to do. Activities can include anything from school work

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Daylight savings ended my seasonal slump

to practicing instruments to doing the laundry. Anything. Everything that I have to accomplish, I can

By Gianna Pompeo Staff Writer now do it with a renewed attitude.

Looking back to before Daylight Savings, the seasonal slump was so obviously affecting me. Of course, during the slump, I did not know how much the previous Daylight Savings had affected me and how it changed the way I viewed life. Merely existing was more challenging. I did not feel the need to leave my room or eat healthily. The slump definitely hit me so much harder this year than it ever has in years before. Still, coming out of the slump this year has been so much better since the slump was so much worse when I was in it. In

part, I thank the sun for getting out of the slump. Apart from the extra vitamin D it provides me, the sunlight is giving me more hours of

A personal reflection about coming out of a seasonal slump

daylight. And it is also giving me more time to accomplish things I would otherwise not accomplish when it gets dark outside at 4 p.m. Having sunlight shining during the day and after school hours gives me an extra push to stay out of my bed and get things done.

My overall outlook on life has been altered all because of a mere and quite political government decision to change the clocks back by one hour. And, yes, I have heard that there has been talk about getting rid of Daylight Savings, but this year I just felt that extra hour of sunlight in my day change ev-

erything about how I view life.

For the first time ever, I am looking forward to summer time. I am longing to get out of winter’s long days and dreary weather. The seasonal slump was very difficult to get through, but now it was worth it for the good that came out of it for me. Of course, I did not think that while I was in the slump. I hated every second of feeling miserable and waiting for my days to get brighter, both mentally and physically. Coming out of the seasonal slump was made possible by my view of life and was made more positive because of Daylight Savings.

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Concert culture uni Life changing

experiences brin

By Nicole Martin Staff Writer As we are getting older, along comes the ability to create new experiences. Concerts are one thing that although parents may say they are “not a good idea”, if we are smart and aware, can be exhilarating and eyeopening events. Through others and our own experiences, we have seen concert culture continuously bringing people together, strangers or friends, in one venue or internationally.

Taylor Swift is a great example of an artist that brings people together. As her current tour, The Eras Tour, is underway, there are multiple trends bringing people together, directly in the stadiums or through social media. One Taylor Swift specific trend or “fanproject” has emerged and continues through each stadium is the exchange of friendship bracelets. Fans have brought their own homemade friendship bracelets to the concert and switched them with random people at the concert. This simple gesture has a deeper meaning to Swifties as it routes from the line of one of her songs “You’re On Your Own Kid”. Although this trend is Taylor Swift specific, it shows the extent to which fans are able to come together in person or online with a common interest in mind.

Music is a common topic of conversation amongst myself and my siblings. Despite being so different and living very different lives, music is one constant amongst the three of us. On many occasions, my siblings and I recommend new artists to each other that we all end up listening to on our own. For example, my obsession with artist SZA, began around two years ago when I introduced her to my siblings. My siblings also began loving SZA’s music and we were all consistently recommending different songs to each. This year, we attended the SZA concert in Boston, and although simply attending a concert with my siblings may not seem like a big deal, it was more than just a concert to us. Songs such as “Prom” and “Drew Barrymore” are favorites for my sister and I for a number of reasons. What makes these songs so significant is the meaning behind them. My sister may not know exactly why I resonate so much with certain songs but she knows there are reasons for it, and vice versa. During SZA’s performance of “Drew Barrymore”, the first song that got us both into her music, my sister and I did not let go of each other’s hands. It is small gestures like these that show more than just that we really like this song. It shows our experiences, happy and sad times from two years ago when we first started listening to this song till now, standing there experiencing it in person, something we never thought would happen. Music brings out the best in people, it makes people feel free to express themselves. Music has the power to be so uniting because everyone knows the overarching meaning to a song but not people’s individual resonations to that song other than that fact that they are all going through something similar. Oftentimes, that is enough to bring people, siblings or strangers, together.

Photo/Nicole Martin

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ites diverse audiences

ng people together through music Photo/Emily Botelho

By Emily Botelho Staff Writer Concerts are one of the only experiences that can turn complete strangers into friends with only a few lyrics. Elton John recently concluded his music career with his “Farewell Yellow Brick Road” tour. Since everyone knew it would be our last time watching Elton John sing, the emotions of the audience were powerful, bringing many to tears. Every song he sang brought the audience to tears. People all around me were talking about the “first time they heard Elton John live back in the 70s.” Whether it was their first time seeing Elton John, or their seventh, we all shared feelings of grief knowing that this would be his last one. His last tour concluded with his song “Farewell Yellow Brick Road”, which was him saying his final goodbye to performing and to the fans who have supported him his entire career. During this song they played a montage of his whole career on the screen behind him. While Elton John sang everyone in the crowd began embracing each other. Complete strangers comforted each other while they all experienced this special moment together. There was a sense of vulnerability created by the audience, everyone felt they could express their emotions without fear of judgment. No matter the background or age of anyone in the audience, at that moment we were all experiencing the exact same thing.

The magic of a concert is truly something everyone deserves to experience at least once in their life. Concerts are one of the only places where people from all different backgrounds, ages and places get together to celebrate the same thing, their love for music. While the environment of concerts varies between genres, the magic remains regardless. After attending more than two dozen concerts within the past year I have witnessed some beautiful examples of unity and nostalgia brought out by just a few songs. With “older” bands such as Blink 182, Smashing Pumpkins and Sublime, the concerts are full of people sharing memories with each other of their lives back when these songs were popular. Everyone dances and enjoys being taken back to special moments in their life via music. It is beautiful how the same song that reminds some people of the worst day of their lives, holds special memories that bring joy to others.

One of my favorite concert experiences was seeing every single person in the crowd come together at Sublime. In the middle of the show, the band announced that they had a special guest performing the next song with them. This man called himself “Cheese” and had met the band at a gas station earlier that week. When new lead singer Rome Ramirez approached Cheese, he found out that his biggest dream was to play his guitar on stage with Sublime. The band said they “knew instantly that they had to make this man’s dream come true.” After nervously playing the guitar for the song “Wrong Way” the crowd went crazy. Even though we all secretly knew Cheese was not the best guitar player, we were all so proud of this complete stranger. Knowing that each and every person that cheered for him made his dreams come true was rewarding, not only to Cheese, but to everyone supporting him.

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Struggles Can

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giving and receiving gifts b

By Violet Staff W

Gift giving has always been seen as a form of showing love, appreciation and how well you really know someone, but why is that?

Many people overthink their ideas when trying to find a gift for someone special, and sometimes start to think that they may not really know them as well as they once thought.

The idea can consume people, and it can consume a lot of time. In order to give the “perfect” gift, you must put a lot of time into thinking about it. Another necessary step is making sure the gift is affordable and good quality. Finally one must think ahead and make sure the gift comes in time, and will not come after the gift is meant to be given.

Therefore the amount of stress and overthinking that comes with giving gifts takes away some of the sentimental and loving value, and ends up defeating the purpose of the gift, which is meant to show your appreciation towards someone.

People feel that if they cannot find the perfect gift, then they do not really know someone. Everyone wants to get a gift for someone that will top all others, but how can it be a reliable way of showing how well you know and love someone?

People’s likes and interests change all the time, which adds to the struggle to find something just right. You can know everything about someone, and still struggle to think about what their favorite color is. This just proves that love and thought truly cannot be measured by a tangible

object. In reality there is no such thing as the “perfect gift”, because everyone thinks in different ways and does not always appreciate the same things. Everyone has their own opinions, beliefs and interests, which makes it almost impossible to come up with something that will be used and loved in all aspects.

No matter what the occasion may be, most people will want to find the best gift and it can become a lengthy process. Some people may start to think they don’t really know the person they are getting a gift for, and can become scared that the receiver will hate what they are given. Many loved ones would not prefer a tangible item, and would rather enjoy simply spending time with one another. In reality a gift is not a measurable item to show someone’s love. Anyone can buy an expensive gift and make someone feel appreciated. This just shows that in reality a gift cannot truly express or show the love and sincerity two people have for each other.

Adding to all of the difficulties of sharing gifts, having to consider who the gift is going to, and the relationship you have with the person is an important step in considering what to get. Many struggles are faced when picking out a gift for a parent. You may sit and think and have no clue what they may want or be interested in. You then start considering if a homemade gift is enough or if they will hate it. With the idea in the back

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gift

giving

be a reliable way to show love?

t Burgess Writer

of your mind that a gift is used to express the love and appreciation for someone, many kids and teens will want to go above and beyond for their parents, but do not know what that gift may be. Also considering getting gifts for friends, many people may feel overwhelmed and have no clue what that person would love or hate. No one wants to get someone a gift they hate, but you can never know for sure if someone will love what they got and use it all the time, or leave it in the corner of a room to collect dust.

Giving and receiving gifts has always been a weird way of expressing emotions. Over hundreds of years we have used gift giving as a way of showing someone’s status, a way to reward one’s accomplishments, and simply just a way to show you love and care for someone. The idea of gift giving over all these years has stayed similar, and shows the idea of someone’s status or the love people have for them.

In some people’s minds the better the gift is, the more the person is loved. In hindsight this idea is unreliable and can be deceiving. Many people cannot afford expensive and pricey gifts, however the idea and effort of the gift can mean so much more than the cost; a simple handmade card can mean the world to someone. This is what can make people think that their gifts are lesser and may feel ashamed or embarrassed comparing themselves to what others have gotten.

Gift giving also brings out a vulnerable side of people, and can show the feelings two people have for one another. This can be hard for many people to do, since they may not love the vulnerability of expressing their feelings to another. A gift can say so much, but it should not be used to show the value of one’s love.

The idea of showing love through gifts can be very controversial, and something many people may struggle to perfect.

The struggle many people face is that they do not like to show their love through gifts, or think love is shown by receiving small gifts. No one is in the wrong in their thought process, however it can create tension through relationships if not everyone has the same stance on the concept. Your partner or friend may love receiving gifts as a form of love, but if you do not feel the same way it may create the idea in their mind that you do not feel the same love for them as they do. It is hard to compare a tangible object with real love, but these gifts can be used as a reminder that the love with one another still stands. Gifts cannot beat real love, but they have their positive sides. The concept relies solely on how people feel about gifts, if two people use gifts as their form of showing affection then it is perfect The idea is different for everyone and can be seen from different angles, but love should not only be shown through giving gifts .

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“Do

not

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Finally understanding the

By Sophie Staff W As a kid, adults constantly told me “you do not want to grow up too quickly,” and as a kid, I truly did not understand why they felt the need to say this. Although, as I am starting to grow up and experience life through a more mature lens, I have started to comprehend the meaning behind this saying. In my head, teenage me would be thriving as I based that image off of those “perfect” teenage idols you see online and represented in the media. Looking back, I see now how that ideal image in my head is nothing like how it actually is to be a teenager. Wanting to act more mature than I actually was and longing to skip right to my teenage years has now made me want to go back and tell my younger self that there is no rush and to enjoy being young.

To me, growing up and being a teenager only meant being able to wear makeup and drive and have lots of friends, and what I failed to realize was that teenage years consisted of so many challenging responsibilities that would have to be navigated by yourself. While yes, a part of the reason being a teenager sounded so appealing was because of the freedom that comes along with it, I was not aware of the overwhelming responsibilities you have to take on by yourself and learn.

The hardest part as you get older and older is that you are expected to deal with these responsibilities by yourself to “prepare” yourself for the real world.

Each year as you get older, you receive a lack of guidance which leads to more mistakes which is ultimately a scary thing you have to learn how to resolve by yourself. This leaves me thinking sometimes how if I was still young, I would not have to risk making all these mistakes and having to deal with these responsibilities by myself. Even situations that are super simple like having to go into stores alone, speak up for myself or even make a simple phone call. These responsibilities just make me think how much easier it would be if I did not have to grow up so quickly and do it by myself just to avoid that uncomfortable feeling.

Having to start doing things on your own that you are very accustomed to your parents doing for you is such a big adjustment. For example, learning how to make your own money because your parents stop buying everything for you. This is such a hard adjustment to make as you have to start thinking about making wise choices on how to spend your money and making sure you have a way to make enough money.

Having to navigate that path by yourself is tough as there are so many mistakes you can make and will ultimately have to deal with. Was making money and figuring out how to manage it ever a thought or worry in my head as a little kid? Of course not.

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up

too

quickly”

e meaning of this saying

Murray Writer Thinking about your future and having to figure out the next big step in your life as college is around the corner. A worry like this never crosses a kid’s mind as the next big step in their education is going to middle school, not going off on your own for the first time. Even some “small” responsibilities that can be so overwhelming as a teenager that I never thought about was how to figure out how to manage my time well. How to balance a life with friends, as well as being able to participate in activities I love, while still managing schoolwork is something that nobody tells you about. Having to make some sacrifices in your social schedule to pick up on school work or because you need to make some extra cash, meaning you have to work more, is such a challenging thing because it is never something you want to force yourself to do but something you ultimately will have to do.

If I could go back to being younger whem I did not have to have so many responsibilities, I would. I would one hundred percent enjoy the freedom I had as a kid which is totally different from teenage freedom as it can honestly be pretty scary. While young kid freedom consists of getting to play and explore and have fun, teenager freedom is having access to social media, driving yourself around, being responsible for your own actions and less parental control.

While all are great and can have really positive aspects to them, there are so many more risks that come along with them. There were no consequences that came along with those freedoms as a little kid until now where if you make a mistake with those privileges and freedoms you have, it can really affect you.

Graphic/Sophie Murray

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Going back to where your worries were not money or work or school and being able to live totally care-free is something I did not realize I had as a kid until I was older. If I had the ability to go back and tell my younger self not to grow up too quickly, I would. While telling kids this does not automatically cause them to understand what you are talking about, it is still something I would want to tell other younger kids as they will soon understand the saying too when they are older. While growing up is hard and it is difficult to let go of your past freedom and care-free life as a kid, everyone has to grow up, even if they still long to go back to their childhood.

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Analyzing A

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Rory into

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Girls

Re

B

Throughout the CW’s hit series, Gilmore Girls, Rory Gilmore is notoriously known for her complicated and questionable relationships.

This comedy-drama attracts teenage girls all over the world, leaving them looking up to the loveable mother-daughter duo Rory and Loralei Gilmore, despite the pair possessing toxic relationships with their partners throughout the duration of the show. The series taught myself and many other viewers a variety of key lessons in regards to romantic relationships during one’s youth. Within the series, Rory has serious relationships with three guys through her high school and college career, including Dean, Jess and Logan.

Rory’s first boyfriend is Dean Forester, a handsome tall boy that she met in school who has much in common with her. In the beginning, Dean seems to be the perfect first boyfriend for Rory. Dean appears to always treat Rory right and it is clear that he truly loves her which many fans adore about him. However, no relationship is perfect, and this one proved itself to essentially be far from it. Dean broke up with Rory for the first time on their anniversary, right after Rory did not respond when Dean told her that he loved her. This sets the message that if one person says “I love you” then the other must say it back. Rory’s relationship with Dean taught me that I should not feel pressured to say “I love you back” to somebody when I am not ready to, despite what is portrayed on this show. If that person breaks up with me for this reason then that just reveals that they were not perfect after all. Not feeling ready to take the step of reciprocating those words does not mean the relationship must come to an end, but it taught me that if that person makes you feel guilty for it or attempts to pressure you into saying it back then maybe it should come to an end after all. Love takes time and should never be rushed

or forced. Ultimately, Rory and Dean find their way back to each other and give things another shot. Once again, things appear to be going well until Rory finds herself falling for a new boy in town: Jess Mariano.

Rory’s undeniable feelings for Jess breaks Dean and Rory up yet again, and she ends up going out with this new boy in Stars Hollow. Jess is your stereotypical “bad boy,” always skipping school, driving fast and getting into fights, which is the complete opposite of her previous boyfriend. Despite Rory and Jess sharing many superficial differences, in reality they withhold numerous common values and morals. Rory’s mother, Loralei, strongly disapproves of Jess during their rocky relationship after he and Rory got into a car accident with Jess behind the wheel. However, Rory always ignored her mother’s advice and followed her own heart despite the teens reputation. While it is important to follow your heart and to put yourself first, listening to others advice can also be very beneficial. Sometimes in relationships one can become so blinded to all of the toxicity in their partner that it is hard for them to even notice it. And although many fans strongly support their short-lived relationship, their bond proves itself nonetheless toxic.

Jess ends up leaving Rory without a trace for a long peri-

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Relationships what

they

taught

us

By Nicole Scotton Staff Writer

d of time, thus ending their relationship. This relationship aught me that when in a relationship, it is okay to develop eelings for another person and move on. However, I beieve that if this happens, then you must break up with your urrent partner and not do what Rory did. Jess’ immaturity lso plays a major role in the pair’s downfall. The teenager onstantly skipped school and did not take responsibilities nd life in general very seriously, which is far different from Rory. Jess also was a broken character who I feel Rory did not ake the time to truly understand. Jess and Rory’s dynamic proved it to be essential to fully understand your partner.

After a long period of time passes, Rory finds herself ack into Dean’s embrace for a third time. However, there is larger problem at hand this time, and that is his wife, Linday. Dean married Lindsay shortly after his and Rory’s relaionship came to a halting stop. It becomes evident to viewers hat Dean did not truly love Lindsay the way he loved Rory. nstead of executing the decency of calling off the marriage nd pursuing Rory instead, the two see each other behind n unsuspecting Lindsay’s back. Dean even goes as far as to ake Rory’s virginity while he was still married to Lindsay.

Yikes. This era for Dean and Rory is certainly the most toxic n my opinion. This part of the show re-emphasised the im-

Graphic/ Nicole Scotton

portance of loyalty in relationships. If Dean truly did love Rory, he should have and would have ended things with Lindsay immediately. Failing to do so proves that Dean was simply unloyal and a bad person overall. The show taught me with this final appearance of Dean that it is okay to walk away from an old boyfriend, even if he was your first love.

Rory felt emotionally connected to Dean and therefore was blinded to all of the wrong she and him were doing.

During college, Rory meets Logan Huntzberger, who is everything who she thought she did not want in a boyfriend– wealthy, a little stuck up and coming from a family of great influence and power. Rory does not want to fall for Logan at first, but her feelings eventually overtake her and the two begin dating. This in itself was a lesson for me as it taught me to be more open-minded about relationships. Somebody does not need to be exactly what you think you want in a person, it is beneficial to try new things and to take risks because you might surprise yourself. Although this relationship was my personal favorite out of all of her other ones, it still proved itself unhealthy multiple times. For example, Rory and Logan got into a considerable fight and did not talk for a while. Instead of talking to Rory, Logan went and got with many girls, essentially cheating on Rory. However, Logan thought the two had broken up at this point but never communicated it. This brought the realization that communication in a relationship is very important. Logan was Rory’s last serious committed relationship that we see in the series.

Each of Rory Gilmore’s relationships taught her fans countless lessons regarding the ups and downs of romantic relationships. Although nearly all of the characters’ relationships ultimately proved themselves destructive, this just goes to show that it may take many relationships throughout your life to find the perfect partner for you. It is important to not look back at toxic relationships and to not regret them entirely, but to instead take an optimistic approach and to reflect what has been learned from them.

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Social media and friendships Social media can negativly affect friendships significantly

By Alexa Dayaa Staff Writer A good friendship should be mostly positive, trusting and uplifting, but this is not always the case.

A big reason for this is because of social media. Apps like instagram, TikTok and Snapchat can be fun, but do have issues. When people access these platforms most gain a sense of toxicity no matter what kind of person they are. Social media can be used for very negative things and it ruins friendships constantly. There can be many reasons for this–comparison, miscommunication, perceived fakeness and other situations. I, like most teenagers, love social media and use it a lot but that does not excuse that it is such a bad place and it should not be where myself and others spend most of our time.

Friendships are built on the time people spend together, and when I physically see my friends, I not only have fun but get a better understanding of who they are as people. Social media has clouded this idea of quality time, because people now think online interaction can replace physical interaction which is not true. Texting my friends is nowhere near as exciting or fun as seeing them in person.

Facetime can in some ways be similar but in some cases it is awkward or just boring. People need to stop assuming that they can stay connected to friends online. Although social media is good for situations when you need to reach out or circumstances when you legitimately can not reach the person, it should not be taking over the time you physically spend with them. In my experience, talking to my friends online more than in person creates tension and slowly creates distance. I believe the reason that past generations were perceived as “fun” and “cool” is because friendships did not revolve around social

media, and most communication you’ll have to deal with the reaction happened in person. Taking the from a friend that will soon follow. time to genuinely enjoy the people For groups of friends, social media around makes friendships stronger can be even more negative. It makes while taking no time to be around it much easier to leave people out or others weakens friendships. talk behind their back. One example Social media has also turned is a big group chat involving lots of into a competition instead of a so- friends. Some like to make their own cial platform. These days lots of smaller group chat leaving people people scroll the internet to see out and even talking about the people what certain people are like or even in the bigger group chat. This might see what different friend groups are be seen as a rare experience but it like. Some people even go as far to does happen and makes people feel make fun of those with less trendy left out and oftentimes hurt. What or “weird” social media accounts. If people usually say is that what is put someone does not have a lot of fol- on the internet stays on the internet, lowers or a high snap score, some and not only that but no matter how people go to the extent of thinking secret someone thinks their action they are “not as cool”. It sounds may be, someone will always find it. childish but it definitely does hap- Which is why social media is such a pen, especially in this generation. bad place for people to share their There is now an imaginary social opinions about their friends because hierarchy that tells people that in most cases it can become exposed. how many instagram comments Real friendships should not involve you have determines your entire a hurtful text or a secret post about social life. Or that someone’s aes- them in their story, but instead talkthetic VSCO profile automatically ing things out with them in person. puts them high on the social scale. In person interactions really help The other thing social media you become more of yourself and tends to do is create lots of mis- show a person’s personality clearer. communication. People on social In my opinion, the best type of peomedia can be much different than ple to come across are actually those they are in real life. When people who don’t rely on social media to carare fighting with friends sometimes ry their social life. My best friend and they say things that they do not I always make the effort to hang out mean. They gain the confidence to and seeing her so much makes it eassay these things with the protection ier to resolve our conflicts and also of a screen. Most people are guilty strengthens our friendship. Those of this, as they know that what they who can hang out for over a couple say will not have immediate conse- hours and not even need to use their quences. Plenty of friendships are phone. What many, including myself, lost when people develop a sort fail to realize is that it can actually of altered personality that gives be negatively impacting your closest them the confidence of hurting friendships and is a huge roadblock people with their words. In real life into enjoying the people around you. an argument is much more calm and easy to resolve, and you can’t say anything too hurtful because

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Teenagers feel un for life after scho Students left anxious about their fate

By Sahithi Ajjarapu Staff Writer

Today, students are pigeonholed into a curriculum that creates an adult specifically designed for professional life. Based on personal reflection, the world is plagued with ambition and need for monetary growth. I have always lacked this incessant want for aspiration and drive compared to my peers.

It seemed that they had their lives planned out; some want to be a mechanical engineer, others a graphic designer, a teacher or doctor. Without expectation, a feeling of disorientation plagued my mind. Coming from an Indian family, I was told I had three choices: a career in Information Technology (IT), becoming a doctor or becoming an engineer.

Not feeling a connection to any of these options but because I needed prospects and a job to support myself in the future, I begrudgingly agreed to my parents’ suggestions. As I developed my interests in high school, my desires for my careers became clearer, although I still felt very unsure. Now, after my college life decisions have been made, I find myself feeling anxious about my future endeavors.

A problem that I have with school curriculums today is the fact that they are fundamentally designed for getting into college– nothing else. Schools are filled with the generic classes: math, history, English, but not a thing about building well-rounded individuals.

Even from Walpole High School (WHS), and surrounding school districts, the goal of attending those six hours is to get scores that are sufficient for an acceptance letter. An unprecedented amount of importance is put on numbers and scores.

For example, Advanced Placement (AP) classes; although these courses provide students with an excellent education, the end goal of these classes is ultimately passing the AP

exam, not learning the material to perfection. Even though AP courses are an exceptional experience, they do not prepare the student for a future in a world full of hustle and bustle, because the classes focus only on ‘textbook’ knowledge.

Students require education on ‘street smarts’ – i.e. learning how to properly manage money, doing one’s laundry, and a plethora of other household chores required for day to day life as an adult.

Furthermore, in spite of the fact that these classes are presented as courses that students that possess a higher grade point average (GPA) choose to take, in my opinion, they do not accurately present a student’s intellect–as is the case for most, if not all, standardized tests.

As a student about to graduate, I feel more primed to ace standardized tests compared to tackling the difficult adjustment into the world of corporate jobs, which is a feeling that does not make me feel ready for adulthood. Personally, I believe the recurrence of Home Economics (Home Ec or HE) classes would be greatly beneficial for the student body. I have met individuals who are not familiar with basic household chores, such as doing their laundry, or cooking. These activities are infinitely more advantageous to students compared to what they learn in classes currently (ie; trying to configure ways to game standardized tests). To be taught things additional to the required curriculum, learning things that would aid me–and others–in normal daily life would allow students a sense of comfort in juxtaposition to their anxiety and insecurities about choosing their futures.

Even though bringing back Home Ec as a class is a very specific example, I believe that argument still stands. In my opinion,

and experience, schools put an unnecessary amount of importance on attaining exceptional grades. In my view, students who do not meet the standards are often scrutinized for not assimilating into the rigorous academic culture. Schools fail to account for extraneous stimuli, like unsupportive family and friends, when addressing such topics (those topics being teaching students life skills). Since attending school is a major part of a child’s life, the way I see it, schools should take more responsibility in teaching students skills that prepare them for corporate life. Where families fail to teach their kids, schools should take over. Additionally, it seems to me that schools place too much importance on the end product of students’ efforts (the grades), rather than the learning process involved in receiving said grade.

This mentality promotes feelings of inadequateness that can transfer into the later parts of an individual’s life, thereby leading to very maladaptive behaviors like avoidance because they do not want to be considered wrong or get something incorrect – furthering unpreparedness that they may already feel.

All in all, as a student filled with apprehension and anxiety about my future, I think the policies in place currently do not benefit the student body. The focus on academic achievement and lack of focus on mundane life skills put students at a severe disadvantage.

They are unable to properly adjust to life without the guidance and assistance of parents and/or guardians, which obviously causes easily remedied anxiety within students.

For that cause, students should be given more education on daily skills, like laundry and cooking, to help better prepare themselves for life after school.

THE SEARCHLIGHT

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nprepared ool after school

Graphic/ Sahithi Ajjarapu

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Graphic/Kaitlyn Jones

THE SEARCHLIGHT

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Forced “woke-ism“ in film Unauthentic diversity of unrepresented communities

By Kaitlyn Jones Staff Writer

Recently in movies and other types of media, companies have been implementing a considerable amount of diversity in their films, which is likely used to gain the favor of the audience or to avoid criticism that come out as being artificial and forced. This phenomenon is something I like to call ‘forced woke-ness’ (woke: the awareness of racial prejudice and discrimination) and has especially annoyed me.

To go further into depth, film companies will add in a few short moments in their movies that imply representation of a culture or community to audience members and therefore avoid criticism and subsequently gain public favor. Most times the c0mpanies are just doing the bare minimum, for example tokenism, or a few members of an underrepresented community to create the appearance of diversity to outer public audiences.

These scenes have almost no purpose and do not actually do anything to progress the plot because they are made to be so subtle. In addition, this means that these companies care more about their reputation and the amount of money they can make rather than the actual communities they are trying to represent.

One example of this occurrence are a few instances in the “Beauty and the Beast’’ live action movie released in 2017. Throughout the movie, and especially in the last 20-30 minutes, there is a small subplot(if you can even call it that) about Lefou and another side character that is indicated to be representation for the LGBTQ+ community. This is one of many scenes added to this movie to address the criticisms made against it so considering that I think that it was added in for Disney’s own reputation.

These scenes are so far and few between that the only people who pick up on it are those who are meant to, or in other words, they don’t additionally upset people as well.

Another example is during June, LGBTQ+ pride month,

when many companies’ Instagram accounts will put a pride flag in their profile picture to show that they support that community.

Many within the community note that as soon as June ends, the companies immediately change their profile pictures back to normal, which is an ongoing joke within the community. This is fake ally-ship considering that these companies are not actually doing anything or taking any action for the community, they are doing the bare minimum to show they are supportive but not actually doing anything.

In my opinion, companies forcing their writers to add in diversity for the appeasement of the audience and other factors removes the whole point of diversity in the first place because they do not sincerely mean it. I find it very interesting that we have come so far as a race that we have finally started to capitalize on inclusiveness. Companies are using this as a business strategy, not necessarily caring about the cause.

Personally, I have seen that at least with “Beauty and the Beast” live action or other similar scenes that a lot of the people in the community did not ask for these scenes or even like them to begin with mostly because they noticed those factors I stated before.

This inclusion is not even liked by the community because they realized that they are not truly doing anything to support them.

In my opinion film and other companies should commit to being inclusive if they are going to put some in at all because it will be meaningful and not just a cash grab. For example, in “Bridgerton” (for the most part) does not try to explain this inexplicable, unrealistic situation and is very stylistic with it. Its style is not accurate to the time period but that improves the show overall. I dislike that these companies put in the bare minimum amount of effort and then expect rewards and applause for it. Inclusiveness should be meaningful and well thought out. .