5 - Richard H: Appreciate Music

 

    Music is often times taken for granted. When it comes to the songs and sounds we love, so much of the hard work put into it is overlooked because of how easy the singer, producer, or composer make it seem. Music is an art and universal language, which is simultaneously one of the most simple and one of the most complex things ever. 

    Music has no boundaries. Whether it's a single instrument,  rhythmic tapping, someone singing, or a combination of all those and more, it's still music. Music is practically as old as civilization itself and has constantly evolved throughout the years - and while some of it is incredibly simple, and some of it takes years of experimenting and practice, it will always have a purpose and appeal. 

    The language of music can be understood by anyone. Even if you can't comprehend a song's lyrics because of a language barrier, or perhaps if there weren't any lyrics at all, hearing it will create an experience and appeal for several different situations. For example, there's music that can convey a feeling you currently feel, or even cause you to feel a certain feeling, whether it be happiness, sadness, focus, confidence, and more. Music can take you 500 years in the past, just as it can take you 500 years in the future. Music is constantly evolving and changing, yet all elements of music can be traced back to a similar sound which came before it. Just like all art, new music is inspired from previous music and sounds, creating a constant loop of growth and expansion. 

    My point in all this is to start listening to more music. And no, not just the same thing you listen to every day. Try something new! The internet is an endless resource which stores millions of different songs. No matter how you feel, or how you want to feel, there's music to support that feeling. The artist made their music to express a certain feeling they want to convey to you, so you can feel it too. Music is all around us, and will always be a part of human culture. 

    357 words

5 - Kristina G: You Are A Flashlight

In the midst of a dark room or area, the light of a flashlight may illuminate what you were not able to see before. When the power goes out during a storm and there is no electricity, the first object you may grab is a flashlight. It casts a light along the way and dissipates the darkness. 

In a way, we are all capable of being a flashlight. Not literally, but symbolically. 

In the midst of negativity, you can choose to shine a light on the positives. In the Day of Happiness video from Link Crew’s Gratitude Week 2021, Ms. Ruiz herself said, “Happiness is a choice. You choose to be happy or you choose not to be”. Although, there are many things out of our control that can be the cause of our darkness. Grabbing a flashlight in the middle of a power outage isn't as easy when the idea is applied to our personal lives. These negative things can be absolutely dreadful and can attempt to bring us down. Luckily, you have the power to turn on the light switch and illuminate the good things, the happiness in your life. The darkness can attempt to overtake you, but it can’t. You are the light and you are stronger than the negativity the darkness holds. 

Not only are you capable of being the flashlight of your life, you can also be the flashlight for others. Some people may be drowning in a darkness in which their light is struggling to be bright enough. With some assistance of your light and positivity, you can help uplift someone else. 

A flashlight is simply a light source. Sometimes everyone just needs a little light to decimate the darkness that has a grasp on our lives. Although, the strongest light source in your life is yourself. You control your emotions and your actions. There are many things out of your control, but one thing you CAN control is whether or not you want to focus on the positivity in your life. If you notice yourself becoming surrounded by the darkness, remember that you are a flashlight. Shine bright. Shine the light on what makes you happy. 

Word Count: 363

5 - Annabelle N: Toxic Positivity in Inside Out (Media Analysis)

When I rewatched Inside Out in Psychology class this week, I realized how much I missed the message when I was younger. For many, the ending where Joy willingly gives Sadness the core memories to turn blue makes them confused. How did Sadness save the day, saving Riley’s mind and helping her go back home?

Inside Out is about toxic positivity.

Inside Out is—in my opinion—one of Pixar’s best films. It’s light-hearted with jokes and colorful characters, but many moments of the movie are serious, like when Riley starts to lose her “personality islands” when Joy and Sadness accidentally dislodge her core memories and are thrown out of headquarters. The movie justifies Riley losing her islands because of the “core memories” being lost, but Sadness’ strong desire to turn the core memories “sad” represents Riley losing herself and becoming depressed after moving away from the home she loves. Joy represents Riley’s internal conflict (perhaps influenced by her parents’ request for her to remain “their happy girl”) to remain positive despite the depression.

I struggle with an anxiety disorder. Oftentimes when I feel anxious or depressed I’m told, “Don’t be anxious, be happy,” as if a positive mindset can fix all of my problems. Joy—despite being the main character—in a way is a sort of villain in the movie. Though she has the best of intentions, she wants to force Riley to remain happy, and Joy pushes Sadness out of the way whenever she wants to influence Riley’s emotions towards the negative.

But the first sign of growth in Joy’s character arc is when Bing Bong loses his rocket and becomes depressed about it. Joy tries to cheer him up by making funny faces and forcing him out of sadness. She doesn’t sympathize with him or think about how he feels. But Sadness sits beside him and acknowledges his pain, admitting that she sees why he’s upset and, “Yeah, that’s sad.” After Bing Bong has this moment with Sadness, he wipes his tears away and guides them to the train station again. Joy is in shock, and she asks Sadness how she did it. Joy forcing Bing Bong to be happy didn’t help him feel any better, but Sadness comforting him and acknowledging that losing the rocket was sad did.

Throughout the movie, Joy watches Sadness respond to conflict differently. Though it may appear at first that Sadness isn’t helpful because she’s depressed and she complains a lot, she’s willing to remark on the bleakness of a situation or use an unorthodox way to help Riley. But the turning point for Joy is when she loses all hope in the Memory Dump, only to realize that one of Riley’s happy core memories was a result of a previously sad moment. Riley needed to feel sad before she could feel happy again. Sadness isn’t something to push away, it’s a necessary part of the healing process. "Negative" emotions aren't necessarily negative.

At the end of the movie when Joy and Sadness get back to headquarters, only Sadness can regain control over Riley’s emotions, because sadness is a vital emotion that allows us to process our feelings and heal our wounds. Riley rushes back to her parents and cries for the first time in a long time, and the emotion characters discover that emotions can be combined, because all emotions are intertwined in our humanity.

Word Count: 560

Practice makes perfect - Megan U.

 

Practice makes perfect

it is an excellent and healthy habit to improve your skills in one or more habit. Yes things may take a while and frustration comes along with it but during the process you could learn a lot of stuff. Personally, I came a long way with practice and self honing.

It was extremely difficult because of all the failures and do overs i had to over come. At the end when I finally got something down that i've spent countless hours working on, it all makes up for it.

You may see professionals in TV's and wonder how they're so good at the stuff they do. Is it luck? is it talent? No, like everyone else in the world they had to work really hard to get to where they're at. I think thats what admirable about them though, they worked hard enough to put a name for their self out there and all the work is paying off.

No matter what hobby or sport you practice on,patience and determination is what is really needed to improve better in it. It's a lot harder than people think and sometimes it could even push you to your limits. Frustration and uncontrolled feelings are let out.

Practicing is extremely essential all throughout your life because the only way to learn and explore new things is to practice. it's quite acceptable to fail frequently; its part of the process  of practicing over and over again.

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5 - Cassandra S: Practice Makes Permanent

 

Practice.

A quiet room, a chair, and a stressed out person. Eyes so tired of looking at the same sheet music over and over, nitpicking each and every sound that comes out of their mouth.

It has to be perfect. Practice makes perfect, they say. They say the wrong things. They say lethal whispers in an artist’s ear with no realization of ever doing so.

The artist practices and practices over and over, striving for that perfection they were promised long ago in elementary school when they learned that phrase. Practice makes perfect, practice makes perfect. And they do not receive it.

Like a hiker getting hit by a tornado of wind on a mountain, they are swept right out from under their feet and fall down. Down. Down.

The artist loses interest in their talents because practice makes perfect when it does not. Why do we feed such terrible things into our brains? We are not robots. We cannot be perfect. We can only be. We can only try our bests.

Practice does not make perfect, it makes permanent.

Word Count: 180

4 - Richard Hsia: Is there any point in studying?

Is there any point in studying? 

    Re-reading, taking notes, watching videos, flashcards.. there's so many ways people 'study'. In my experience, 'studying' isn't really effective.. but at the same time, I feel I haven't found an effective study method that suits me.

    I've never understood how students study for hours. Three hours reading a few pages of notes.. how? I know for college students it's much harder so I wouldn't understand. But from the perspective of a high school student, I never understood how it's worth your time to keep reviewing the same thing over and over again. How many times do you read something before you're not even fully focused on it anymore, you're just reading it mindlessly, putting your mind into autopilot but trying to convince yourself you spent the whole time studying. 

    I've personally never really 'studied.' Teachers, parents, even classmates all recommend it, but it often feels like a low effort and reflexive answer. Don't understand something? Go study! Well, I've had a hard time figuring out how to 'study,' and I've tried to over and over again. It just doesn't seem to help me at all, no matter what the method, frequency, or any other variation. I can't figure it out. I guess I should study more on how to study.

    My main problem with studying is how easy it is to get bored. I feel that once you lose your focus, which I do easily, I'm not even learning or memorizing anything anymore. I'm just reading it, reciting it, but not absorbing it. 

    Most high school students are told to simply go home, re-read your notes, look over flashcards, review slides. But like I said, this personally never helps at all. I know there's great study methods out there, but a lot of students unfortunately aren't exposed to them. I wish more advanced study methods were introduced besides rereading material, and forcing your brain to run on the hamster wheel of rereading notes the night before your unit test. 

     One form of studying I will give credit to is Quizlet. For memorizing vocabulary, Quizlet is really awesome. When your teacher gives you 30 words to memorize you've never heard of before, Quizlet is the way to go. As long as you do one of the actual activities, and not just flipping over the virtual flashcards endlessly, you should be able to start memorizing the terms after a while. 

    So, this raises the question, should I study? Well, I should, when I find a way that works for me. Or, I could try and brute force my brain into studying using the traditional methods I mentioned, but I'm not sure I would be able to actually go through with that. Until then, I'll likely continue my ways of never actually studying. If studying works for you, awesome! Do whatever it takes to keep you successful in class. Until I can relate, I'll keep on running away from the concept of studying until it inevitably catches up to me one day.

499 words

4-Isabella V: Basic but Good

My favorite thing to do each day no matter what mood I’m in is to sit down and eat dinner with my family. At a kitchen table that sits 5 I have seen many delicious meals. Homemade Tamales,Cheesy chicken and rice casserole, enchiladas, spaghetti, cheesy potatoes and the list goes on.

Spaghetti is the basic meal in my list of favorites, but it’s classic and it’s a good one.One of the easiest meals to make. All you need is some boiled noodles, and a jar of pasta sauces(the big jar from Costco)and you are ready to make spaghetti. Spaghetti is the only meal you get excited about when you see the crock pot out on the counter. The sauce cooks all day just waiting for the noodles to be dumped in.

Ready to eat, you remove the lid of the crock pot while the steam rises to the ceiling light as you glare up at it while quickly eating your salad.  Once it’s on your plate, the noodles are stained with red pasta sauces, sausage scattered, and that other stuff you pick out that mom put in, pushed to the side (Mushrooms) for everyone else to grab. Taking a bite feeling the warm noodles covered in Italian seasoned sauces, and the sausage complementing it with its spice. Bonus if there was real garlic bread on the table, not just the extra thin bagels with garlic butter smeared on the top. Witch is really good but nothing compares to real homemade garlic bread.  

When you are finished you look up to see your family laughing, smiling, and forgetting all the craziness in the world. You could have walked into the kitchen in a bad mood but by the end of dinner you wouldn’t have a reason to be in a mood. The only reason for a fight would be who is getting the leftover pasta because it is always better the next night. 

Everytime I eat dinner with my family it makes me happy and very thankful to have them in my life. Even when my siblings annoy me. I love our fun family dinners and the conversations that come with it. Eating dinner with the people you love makes everyday a good day!

  Word Count: 377

4 - Morgan W: The Challenges of Practice

                “Practice makes perfect” but what is it that makes the practice lead to perfection. Many involved in an extracurricular activity have to practice whether it’s a sport that your college education is determined on or some singing lessons you may attend for your school's spring musical. 

                   I personally practice my instruments. For over a decade now I have been practicing. So many hours of practice feeding into days of my life focused on perfection. 

In middle school I played the clarinet in my school's ensemble, going into 8th grade I transitioned onto alto saxophone. This was the instrument I had been waiting for for years. I began on clarinet so that I would have experience on a reed instrument but we already had 2 alto saxophones.  I was intimidated by these people who had a year of prior experience. 

I began taking home this comparatively heavy instrument every day. Practicing everything from full range chromatics, warm ups we played daily, to jazz pieces where I was featured in a solo. This instrument shortly became my life, my validation and my confidence. 

In my practice I was working towards becoming better, this was my passion and what I wanted my time to be consumed by. I soon became the first chair and was so proud, but I still kept practicing. I didn't feel that it was enough.

Soon our winter concert was upon us and I had my very first solo, I was ready, I had played this solo a thousand times before.  I played it fast, slow, and in class to practice different techniques and styles that I liked. But as my time came up I choked. I got 4 measures into my solo and couldn't continue. I was frozen. Never in my life had I heard my pulse so loud. I had never felt so little control. 

My confidence was shattered. I felt horrible, I let my ensemble down and embarrassed my parents. Although they comforted me and insisted on the fact that no one noticed, I was still distraught. This piece I had perfected I couldn’t perform it one last time?

So practice doesn’t always mean perfection, but what does? In order to perfect perfection you have to practice perfection. That solo in my middle school concert was my first of many. My first live solo practice. As you practice performing life, you perfect performing live, and that was a fact that I had to learn through making mistakes. 

“Perfect practice makes perfect performance” 

Word count:416

4 - Alexis A: The Importance of Connecting Without Phones

As we take one step out of our doors, we make an effort to not forget our phones. A text, a scroll, a screen reaching for our attention. It is always a part of our day, making it hard to disconnect in the real world. Although people will end up going on their phones, there are times when using your phone around others is rude because you aren’t respecting their time and presence. 

In a social setting, a conversation is in person, rather than through a phone. It takes into account how other people took the time to get there. Therefore, in the presence of others, common courtesy is paying attention to other people. Whether it's with family or friends, both require the same respect. At a family dinner, there is more pressure to listen because you are communicating with the people closest to you. Like others, I have the mutual rule that phones should be put away, so we are not distracted and only focused on togetherness. You wouldn’t want your parents to get angry or lose the value of sitting down as a family.

With friends, while it can be informal, it’s still rude to ignore others. It's more common since we’re so used to communicating with them through our phones that we forget to focus on when they are in front of us. Hanging out with friends is best experienced with them, and to use your phone, would take away from their reason for being with you. Your phone is a tool, not a companion. 

Some may argue that people will end up using their phones anyway. This isn’t true unless a person sets off the chain reaction. All it takes is for one person to be uninterested and to tune out of a conversation because it's a natural impulse or a norm. They opt for the easy way out. The urge to check or take out their phone. It makes others feel like it’s okay to do this, and sooner or later, everyone is attached to their phone. It is simply rude to use your phone in the presence of others, especially when you are the initiator. 

Disconnecting has never been more important in the digital age. There is no excuse for using your phone out of respect for other people’s time and presence. Live in the moment. Lose the phone.

Word Count: 395

4 - Kristina G: First Things First… How Do You Even Study?

 

 

The process of studying was something I never had to become familiar with. As being a so-called “gifted child” throughout elementary and middle school an overbearing amount of effort to receive straight A’s was not necessary. Whether it was for my most hated subject of math to my favorite subject of English, I thrived academically without the need to study. 

My junior year of high school approached. Consequently, it hit me like a truck. My classes weren’t all about memorization anymore, but also the application of concepts. After a few weeks of taking AP classes and more rigorous courses, studying quickly became a necessity. 

Although, first things first…how do you even study? I didn’t learn any study skills during my 10 full years of education. So, even if I wanted to, I didn't know how. Cornell notes? Flashcards? Quizlet? Who knows. 

Not really experiencing immense amounts of academic challenge for the past few years, feels more like punishment than a reward at the moment. So, I experimented. I re-read and restudied class material, but it wasn’t very challenging. My brain didn’t absorb the information either. If anything, it was just boring and frustrating. 

Coming back to in-person learning from the torture of online learning was a revelation in and of itself. In my Spanish and math classes, they allowed notes on tests and quizzes as they couldn’t monitor whether students were cheating or not. So, when it came to taking tests in person I had no material to rely on, other than the facts I drilled into my head the night before. 

I now realize that studying has its benefits. Tests do become significantly easier if you do study. Effectively of course. I only see such a difference as I receive higher scores and finish my tests faster if I study beforehand. I also realized that there’s not a single way to study. I study differently for all 5 of my classes. Deep down, I wish I could’ve stayed a “study-free” student, but I am also relieved that I’ve learned an important skill that will continue to help me throughout the next few years of reaching a higher education. 

Word Count: 359

4- Kennedy H: Benefits of the “same old, same old”

 

Life gets boring but busy. The only way to stay sane is to have something you can always count on as a routine or habits. It's nice to spice up your life like “the change of pace” but nothing ever being the “same old same old” creates chaos and anxiety. I find that I am more like the “same old, same old” because it keeps me calm and more productive. 

However, some people may be more like a “change of pace” and that’s understandable. If you don’t feel the need to have control over much of your life or day, you may get bored easily from ”the same old same old”. I would say this is more of an introverted want, as we want to have more of an internal locus of control. But the beauty of the same old same old is that you aren’t just boring but it means you want to fall back on your routine, without change. Change can still happen, maybe slower but that becomes your new old after a while. However, the change of pace indicates constant change or the gap of not knowing what your day will look like or what happens next. 

In my personal experience building up habits like the same old afterschool snack of apples and peanut butter or my consistent breakfast of toast and cold brew keeps me calm and balanced. I love having a morning routine that I can adjust when I need to wake up but it keeps me sane. This was the most evident during school last year when we were online, I was at home all day and the world was constantly changing amid a pandemic but what I did before my zooms or on the weekend got built into a routine. I would workout, snuggle with my dogs, do my chores and take it easy. All this school year I have to be more productive, but still, my routine keeps me alive. The “same old, same old” can be flexible, but suits my personality to keep me calm and productive with a hint of balance. 

Word Count: 350 

4 - Annabelle N: Yes, I Have Glasses; No, I am Not Blind (Well, Maybe a Little)

The attitude around glasses-wearing has changed significantly over the years. A few decades ago you would be bullied for wearing glasses, like called “four-eyes” and “window-face,” but now a large chunk of the population has realized: “Hey, maybe I shouldn’t make fun of people wearing glasses anymore, because I’ve just realized that I’m pretty blind too.” Wearing glasses isn't a big deal anymore.

I first realized I needed glasses when I was in early elementary school and I couldn’t read something on the board. I asked a girl behind me, “Hey, can you see that?”

She said, “Yes.” She was behind me.

When I was picking out frames for my glasses (I was about nine, getting my first pair) I put one on and said genuinely, “Hey, I can see better already,” to which the lady and my mom laughed at me because they didn’t have prescription lenses in them yet.

When I got my glasses, something I noticed was that every time I took them off to clean them, some kid would get in my face and wave their hands around my eyes, saying “Can you see me?” Just because I have glasses doesn’t mean I’m blind. It just means that I’m visually challenged. Yes, I can see you, but you look like a scratched DVD from 1997 as opposed to a Blu-ray Disc from 2022. Please stop asking me that question.

Every single time my glasses have broken, it’s been because I was in the middle of cleaning them with a rag. I wasn’t even cleaning them that hard. I don’t understand.

Word Count: 260

3- Megan U: There is always room for improvement

 There is always room for improvement.

I’ve always heard this advice around when I was younger and never really thought much about it. Now that i’m 16 i start to realize things i’ve never thought about. I recently got this book called
The Art Of The Samurai by Yamamoto Tsunetomos Hagakure and basically it talks about warrior etiquette or bushido, The way of the warrior. In all honestly it made me look at things a different way and because of the quote improvement became a really big thing on me. Whether i felt like truly mastered something i tried looking for more things to become better at. The book talks about improvement in a never ending way, “If one enters deeply into this higher way, one finally finds that is something without end, so one no longer thinks that one has mastered the art.” Everyday you have a choice whether to improve and become a better person than you were yesterday or be stuck in the same routine and the same person. Always looking room for improvement also means knowing how to win over yourself. You may not be able to know how to win over other people but winning over yourself is a much more beneficial. Continuing to improve your whole life is what is called having no end

1- Megan U: Inside out voices

 Inside out voices

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Emmet Joy

Mari Mutoh  Sadness

Chidi angonye  Fear

JOY - Emmet 

• Personally I chose Emmet as my Joy because he has the same type of energy and vibe as Joy. As a kid I woud rewatch The Lego Movie a lot of times because of the radiating happiness he would always have. He knew how to work out situations without actually thinking too deep about it and always had a gleeful smile all the time 

SADNESS- Mari Mutoh

• Mari mutoh from Japan sinks 2020, an anime series reminds me a lot like sadness. She has a really melancholic vibe and always knew how to put her kids before herself. She was a really caring person and the thought of her death in the anime really made my heart drop. 

FEAR- Chidi 

• Chidi is the best person for this character because of his exact personality and cautiousness. He overthinks just as much as Fear and calculates and analyzes everything before doing something risky. At the times he would get scared he would overthink a lot even I would start thinking about it. In the netflix series The Good Place he was specifically chosen to overthink everything and tear the whole place apart which makes him the exact fit for fear

Madea

Regina Goerge

ANGER- Madea

• When choosing for a person for this character I immediately knew who i wanted to pick right away and that was Madea. All the Madea movies I’ve watched were always so funny and her random bursts of anger has always made me laugh. Even though she would get mad all the time she always had a point the entire time. She’s overall funny and always handle situations with force and anger.

DISGUST

• Regina george, the most iconic person in the 2000’s, resembles exactly like Disgust. Everything about her, from her snark to her meanness, the sass, is perfect for this role. Its as thought she was the inspiration for disgust. They’re completely alike and they both even have the same type of personality. 

4- Cassandra S: The Feeling of Belonging

I don’t know what came over me to make me choose theater as my next extracurricular, but I am to this day still glad that I did.

When I was little, I sort of bounced around from activity to activity- nothing really stuck. I swam for years until it just wasn’t my thing anymore, but swimming was sort of something that was forced upon me since my older sister swam- it was convenient for me to swim at the same pool that my sister did. After I quit swimming, it was a matter of “what’s next” for a while as I went from softball to gymnastics to finally… I want to do theater.

Why? I had no real reason.

I guess it was that one of my consistent classmates from elementary school had done theater so I had seen a lot of his plays. It had seemed fun.

It wasn’t what I expected at first, but I don’t know why it wasn’t what I expected since I had no idea what to expect. My family wasn’t too big on theater and I hadn’t really done anything acting-related in my life.

This activity felt no different than all the rest- than softball and gymnastics- until I tried on my costume and stepped foot on that stage Monday morning for TECH of my show. In those moments, the hard work that I had been putting into the show started to pay off, but it still didn’t feel much different.

Then, on our opening night, the curtains rose. A rush of feelings of joy, excitement, fear and so much more flooded me. I couldn’t help but smile. I love that feeling- the feeling of belonging.

(PS: The first photo is of me in costume for my first play, Beauty and the Beast Jr. :))

Word Count: 301

3 - Annabelle N: The Hydroflask Dilemma

I have recently invested in my first Hydroflask, a yellow bottle that I have meticulously put many stickers on. I bought the rather expensive

bottle brand because many kids in choir also have them, and I wanted to feel like I had something in common with the other choir kids.

Hydroflasks have a few big pros and many small cons, so I decided to make a guide for anyone curious in purchasing one:

Pros:

They (even the smaller bottles) hold a lot of water.

They can keep drinks cold and hot.

You can put STICKERS on it. (My Hydroflask stickers include: Avatar: The Last Airbender, Gravity Falls, Hamilton, Lord of the Rings, and aesthetic stickers.)

Cons:

This keeping-liquids-cold-or-hot technology has existed for quite some time, and other bottle companies have about the same materials but for a slightly less expensive bottle.

You can put STICKERS on other bottles, I promise.
These things are often very wide, and usually can’t fit in a cup holder so you have to awkwardly hold it in your lap when you’re in the car like it’s a little unruly dog who won’t sit still so you have to hold it firmly in between your legs.

They dent very easily. You could probably dent it by putting a sticker on it just a tad too harshly. You could probably BLOW on it and it would dent. You have to carry it around like it’s a little baby.

The most important con: They are expensive. Like I mentioned before, other bottles have pretty much the exact same materials for a less expensive product, just without the name brand.

In conclusion, Hydroflasks have a lot of cons, but they’re also nice to have for their quality and brand. So buy it if you want or don’t. I'm not your mother.

Word Count: 300