Reading Wisdom Response Essay by Walker Wright

So naturally I think we shouldn’t be regulated. If a television company wishes to air a program which our government feels that is inappropriate it is censored. This in my opinion is a violation of the first amendment by denying the writers the freedom of speech. “But Jacob!” I hear you liberals saying, “How will we protect our children’s minds?” and to that I have the simplest solution in the world. Have informed parents. If the parents are informed enough to know what their children are watching we won’t have this issue and thus a government agency called the FCC disappears. This is just one example of how we could slowly and surely build a better, more free country. 

  So how can this happen? How can we get rid of all this government regulation? Well here is the shocking, controversial, innovative solution. Get rid of them. Sure some agencies are necessary for our country to function such as the CIA, but organizations like the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is completely and totally unnecessary. Some even, infringe on our rights to personal property such as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife service which is telling us we cannot shoot an animal on our own property. Other groups like NASA for example can be turned into companies run by the people. One great example is SpaceX a company which is now basically turning into a privately owned

NASA. Lastly if we got rid of welfare and unemployment checks we would have a much stronger nation. This might sound terrible and I recognize the benefits of welfare, but maybe that should be on the people. Instead of the government forcing us to pay for people to be unemployed lets be a more giving and kind country where we show kindness to those in need. And for those that live off unemployment

checks you can go find a job at McDonalds if you can’t find any job anywhere else. Learn to go through thick and thin and you will come out of it stronger. 

 “So Jacob…” says the reader,” How does this make us a better nation? It sounds like you think people should starve and deer should die out.” Well let me explain. If we learn to be less dependent on the government we will become better and stronger people. Back in the 1800’s we had peace. There were no school shootings and drug wars. Do you want to know why? Because Americans back then didn’t rely on the U.S. government to tell them how to live their lives.

They educated their children on how to act and behave and didn’t need the government to tell them not to smoke something. That was their own choice and they had to live with the consequences. If they died at the age of 28 because of excessive alcohol that was their own fault. If they killed someone while under the influence of marijuana they would be tried with murder. Using the great justice system we have in place. This is how a new country would be formed. A stronger, more independent country. We would be free to do what we wanted to do one our own property, be able to sell and purchase what we want without implications. We can downsize our government by allowing these freedoms to exist and lastly we can make America great again by doing this. So I encourage you to debate with me. Tell me I’m wrong and insane for saying this. But come on, who doesn’t like a little bit of freedom now and again. 

 

Spring Break by Jaden Iademarco

Springtime! One of the best seasons in the year. The flowers start to blossom, baby animals come into the world. This spring break I’m going to Atlanta with my dad, brother, and my sister. We are going to Atlanta to visit my uncle, Michael Iademarco and his family. Michael Iademarco has a doctorates degree so he is called Dr. Michael Iademarco. He has a wife, Aunt Beth, and two kids, Nico and Ana. The main reason that we are going down there is because he is getting a big promotion in the Navy even though he really is the Department Head for the CDC in Tuberculosis. I have been to Atlanta about five times in my life around Thanksgiving. But recently I haven’t been down there in a couple years because it is so far away. My uncle’s house I decently big but my favorite part is the outside where he has a brick oven to make pizza and other delicious food. My uncle has gotten several promotions in the Navy but never any as big as this one. He even said that the President might even be there. The promotion that he is getting is called Rear Admiral. Rear Admiral is the highest ranking position in the Navy during peace time. My uncle has his naval suit and he has a bunch of badges on his left hand shoulder and some colorful strips. The promotion is kind of like a ceremony, it is a couple hours long with a lot of people there. Then after we go to my uncle’s house and celebrate with my family. My dad has six other siblings so ergo there will be a lot of people not to mention all the other people getting a promotion. My uncle is a great person and dad and he truly deserves everything he has done for the country and all the people around him. It seems like whenever you’re around him you learn something valuable. He brings out the best of everybody and makes the world a better place. With that said that’s what I’m doing this spring break. Hopefully I will get to be like the great man he has become. I wish everyone knew how great of a person he is and what he does for the country. Congratulations Dr. Michael Iademarco!

Photography by Jake Hopstetter

Do you love artistic pictures? Do you find them entertaining? I believe that in today’s world photography is the new art platform of the 21st century. Everywhere today you can see a photo taken across the world in your social media feed, watch a movie scene shot in the Himalayan Mountains, or maybe even something created digitally by a computer program. These photos are art and art is everywhere.

Photography connects us with each other through photos, whether you take them or you look at them. Furthermore I could post or send a photo of a vacation or a trip to a friend. If we both saw something about it we liked we’d talk about it and share our opinions. For example, I have been talking to a Canadian photographer, Daniel Pronk. Most times we’ll talk about photography related things such as lighting, editing, or just the scenery of a photo in general. He has very interesting photography. As I mentioned before, he is Canadian. He travels the world to take interesting and neat photos. Therefore almost every few days I see a new picture in my feed posted by him and it could be shot in Canada or on a trip he took around the world.

So now take a bunch of pictures and put them in a sequence. Boom! You now have a video or movie. Although it won’t have sound unless you have a microphone. All television productions, movies, animated shorts, etc. are shot frame by frame in a quick sequence. Now think about this, when you see a movie in the cinema you don’t see what the camera originally saw. You see the director’s vision of what that scene could be. Some videos are shot in 60 frames per second, while some are shot in 30 frames per second. Anyone can film a video. Maybe not with a really expensive and high quality camera, but an inexpensive camcorder or your smartphone. Through film we take an ample amount of photos and play them in a sequence to tell a story to pass on.
To conclude my thought concerning movies and how they are the creators’ visions, digital creations or animations are made completely from scratch. What these digital artists around the world visualize is what they make for our eyes to see. Graphic designers create custom logos we know that belong to famous companies today. The first ever Apple logo was created by Ronald Wayne. Mr. Wayne’s brain child has probably been a big impact in your life for at least the past ten years. Sometimes brands’ logos could draw in more customers than other companies with only numbers or facts to back up their products.

Finally, to wrap up this blog I wish to remind you that now in the current world photography is a new form of art whether it is completely digital, a movie, nature, etc. we see them every day. A movie is a story, that story is made up of pictures. A picture could tell a story and that one single photo could have a great impact on your life.

Utopia by Lucy Pendleton

  Utopia is an imaginary place where everything is perfect. If everyone was kind our real world could be a little bit more like utopia. Kindness is rewarding, it can make someone’s day, and it doesn’t have to be a big act of kindness. You can open a door for someone else or maybe send a card to someone who is ill. Even small acts of kindness can change someone’s life for the better.

  Kindness is rewarding to both those who receive the kind act and those who do the kind act. Kindness is rewarding to those who receive it because they didn’t ask for it was done in their favor, and kindness is rewarding to the person doing the kind act because it is self-rewarding. The person doing the kind act gets a sense of

accomplishment and that they’ve done something good for someone else. They feel proud in knowing that the person was affected by their good deed.

If people won’t be kind to be kind then they should do it for the self-reward.

 Have you ever given someone a gift and seen their face once they opened it? If you have then you have seen their face be lit up with joy. Being kind and seeing your kindness pay off brings the same joy and gratefulness to the recipient. For example I went to Starbucks drive through line with my mom and we ordered and then went to pay and the man at the window said “the people in front of you payed for half of your order”. I was surprised and grateful for their kindness to me. 

 Kindness come in many forms, it can be big or small. You don’t have to go extremely out of your way to be kind, you can buy food for a homeless person or send money to a charity. These small acts can help more than you think, they charity may send clothes to kids with nothing and that homeless person could live another day because you gave them food. If you are kind then it could help someone in ways you would’ve never thought.  

 The flap of a butterfly’s wings can send a hurricane half way across the world, a phrase that means something small can have a big effect. This meaning can also go for something Aesop said “No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.” This is true because your act won’t go unappreciated. Acts of kindness are never wasted because they a rewarding, they can make someone’s day, and they don’t have to be big.

TV by Abby Estrada

TV is an addiction across the nation

We go from station to station

It’s like we don’t know what’s right

My mother gets quite upset

When I’m on our new television set

Oh how we wish we could break the addition of

TV
List Poem by Ashlee Yeatts

"Why do you buy these, you know he hates them”

My mother would say 

But I was attached to them as if they were a limb 

“Let me just tell you how many dog clothes you have if I may”

“You have a rain coat, and purple dog boots 

A reindeer costume, and sweaters galore 

A bear costume, but I have to admit, that’s actually pretty cute 

A sports jersey, a snow suit, and more, more, more! 

And don’t get me started on his accessories 

You’ve put him through torture on making things fit

A St. Patrick’s day hat you call necessities 

A scarf, you better watch out or else you’ll get yourself bit”

“But Mom”, I would say

“He looks so adorable and I spoil him anyway” 

“Then let’s make a deal” She said one day

“No more dog clothes until Christmas day!” 

Jason Bowles

 One day Jimmy the Platypus was waddling around inside of his lake thing like he did every Sunday morning when he saw something, standing there at the edge of his lake staring at him. Jimmy sat there looking at this strange being who had the guts to threaten him inside of his own home, for this was Jimmy's lake thing! Jimmy waddled over to the other side of the lake and confronted the creature. 

"Whaddya think you're doing in this here lake fellow aquatic animal?" Jimmy asked menacingly. 

"Blep" Replied the creature that Jimmy found out was a Humuhumunukunukuapuaa, or the former Hawaiian state fish. 

"Get out of my lagoon or I'll be forced to get you out myself!" Jimmy said in a very serious tone. 

"Blep" Replied the Humuhumunukunukuapuaa. 

"That's it," Jimmy Hollered, "You have to the count of 3 before I do something dangerous." He bellowed. 

"One, Two, Three!" Jimmy said as he started throwing pine cones at his newest foe. 

"Blep" said the Humuhumunukunukuapuaa angrily as he slowly rose into the heavens whilst screaming "Blep" at the top of his little fish lungs at Jimmy. 

Building Model Aircraft: A Rather Enjoyable Hobby  By Skylar Perdue

  Have you ever endured a rainy, Saturday afternoon in which there is nothing to do? If so, you know that everything that you try to do, whether it be reading a book or playing a game, is boring. We all know, however, that there are certain things in life that never get old. Building model planes is one of these few things. Therefore, the best thing to do when life gets boring is to take up this wonderful hobby. In fact, I believe building model aircraft is one of the best hobbies out there because it promotes creativity, teaches patience, and is (my opinion) rather fun. 

  One of the things that make this hobby worthwhile is that imagination plays a key part. While the instructions provide basic color patterns and part placement, you are often forced to make decisions that influence your model. For instance, you may have to decide whether to have the landing gear up or down, or what type of equipment to put on your plane. Other little decisions include how you weather your model (or how much wear and tear your plane accumulates). Does your plane sit out in the dessert sun all day long, or does it sit under a protected hanger somewhere in Britain. If it sits outside, the paint should look faded and be possibly chipping. If it is under a hanger, the paint should look fine and the plane clean. You see, imagination plays a key part in your model, and causes you to make little decisions that make your plane slightly different from everyone else’s. 

  Another reason I think others should take on this hobby is that it teaches patience. In this hobby, you learn rather quickly that quicker is not necessarily better. If you do things in the spur of the moment, you may find yourself in conundrum latter on. Instead, you should think about how what you are doing now could affect what you will be doing later. “If I put the antenna on now, it will look really cool, but what are the chances of me accidently knocking it off before I finish? Should I put this off until later?” These are things that we must ask ourselves before we jump in. As I said, you learn patience rather quickly in this hobby, and I feel that it is an important thing to learn and to use elsewhere in life. 

 The final reason I think others should take up this hobby is because it is fun. That’s the point of having a hobby, right. So you can have fun. Some people may find this hobby extremely boring. I will admit that it is not exactly exiting. However, I think that the anticipation for what is to come keeps the hobby interesting. The whole question of “when am I going to finish”, “how is it going to turn out”, and “when can I hang it from my bedroom ceiling” are just a few examples of how anticipation can keep the hobby fun and exciting. 

  After reading this passage, I hope that some of you out there will consider building your own model airplanes. The hobby may not have the same type of excitement that sports have, and it may take a long time to produce a single product, but I think that it is worth it. What this hobby does have that others don’t is longevity. Unlike sports, you can build airplanes to your hearts content when you’re 75 years old. The final product, the finished model, will give you pride and joy for many years to come, and doubles as a nice room ornament. Anyways, I hope that next time you encounter a rainy, Saturday afternoon, you remember this passage, and consider my suggestion.

The Blue Light by Caroline Weston

In the darkness of the night, all you see is a bright blue light.

Eyes burning, stomach churning, brain yearning for you to go sleep.

But who needs sleep anyway? 8 hours a day is what they say!

Is it enough? Of course it’s not! I wonder what would happen if we all forgot?

About the little things, like the screens, like the scenes?

Would our conversations be more real? Would our surroundings become more surreal?

But of course, this could never happen.

For as long as the blue light glows, our eyes will always burn, our stomachs will always churn, and our brains will always yearn for one more hour of precious sleep.

President William McKinley by John Baier

President William McKinley was born on January 29, 1843, in Niles. Ohio. During his life he went to Allegheny College for a little while. After he was done in college he became a country schoolteacher. When the Civil War broke out in 1861, he enlisted into the Union Army. During the first year of his time in the army he was sent to a western part of Virginia, with no real serious fighting. On April 1862 he was promoted to Commissary Sergeant, he was responsible for supplying his unit with rations.

  At the Battle of Antietam in Maryland, McKinley showed personal heroism. McKinley went to the commissary stores and loaded wagons full of cooked food, then drove it back to his squad under fire. This event earned him a lieutenant’s commission. After the Battle of Antietam he returned back to Western Virginia which was still very inactive until the mid-1864. During that time he joined Rutherford B Hayes’s staff as an assistant quartermaster. In Shenandoah Valley, 1864, federal armies under the generals of David Hunter, George Crook, and Philip Sheridan, they attempted to destroy confederate forces of Jubal A, Early. At the end of the war McKinley earned the rank of Brevet Major and was serving as a divisional adjutant. After the war McKinley decided to study law, and opened up his own Canton, Ohio and married a women named Ida Saxton, she was the daughter a local banker. McKinley entered in to Ohio Politics in 1869. Rising through the ranks as a Republican, he won the election in the U.S Congress in 1876. 14 years in Congress, he served as the chair of House Ways and Means Committee, during this time he became known as the proponent of economic protectionism, in the form of high tariffs on imported goods.

          In the 1893 election McKinley won the Republican nomination. He won the election with the majority vote of about 600,000, the most votes in 25 years. Soon after taking office, McKinley called Congress into a special session to discuss raising customs duties. The result was the Dingley Tariff Act, the highest protective tariff in American history. McKinley’s support for the act strengthened his position with organized labor.

          McKinley was the president during the Spanish-American War. In foreign affairs would McKinley’s presidential legacy happen. It started with the ongoing conflict in Cuba, where Spanish forces were attempting to restrain a revolutionary

movement. At first McKinley didn’t want to enter the crisis because the American press were outraged by the bloodshed of it, so McKinley wanted Spain to make concessions. In February 1898, the sinking of the U.S battleship Maine was blown up in the Havana Harbor, it was said to be an external explosion thought to be a Spanish mine. After this incident McKinley asked

Congress to declare war. On April 25, the declaration of war came. From early May to sometime in mid-August, U.S forces defeated Spain near the Santiago harbor in Cuba. We occupied Puerto Rico and seized Manila in the Philippines. Before that on August 12, we signed a cease-fire. Four months later the war ended. After the war Cuba got its independence, we got Guam and Puerto Rico as terms in the treaty, and we paid $20 million for the Philippines. The U.S Senate ratified the treaty on February 6, 1899. 

          McKinley also used the war as a pretext to annex (making it your) the independence of the state Hawaii. In 1893, a group of Hawaii-based planters and some businessmen led a coup (plot to take over) against their queen and established their own government. They wanted to annex to the United States. In the past Grover Cleveland denied their request. In 1898; however, President McKinley and the American Public were more favorably disposed toward acquiring the islands. They supported it because they thought Hawaii was vital to the United States economy. It would also serve as a strategic base that could help protect U.S interests in Asia, and the other nations were intent on taking the islands if the United States did not. At McKinley’s request, Congress had a resolution, and Hawaii was made a United States territory on August 12, 1898.

          In 1900, McKinley ran for reelection against William Jennings Bryan, who ran for an anti-imperialism platform. McKinley was reelected with a greater margin of victory than he had the first time he ran for president four years ago. On the afternoon of September 6, 1901, a 28 year old anarchist shot President William McKinley in the stomach during a public reception Pan-American Exposition, a World’s Fair in Buffalo, New York. President McKinley underwent surgery and was said to recover but his health soon went bad. He developed gangrene and blood poisoning. He died eight days after he was shot, becoming the third president to be assassinated.
Two Sides by Meg Askew

Flowers

Lady Bugs

Warmth

Longer Days

Laying out all day

Weeds 

Mosquitos

Sweat

More Time to have to kill

Two ways to look at summer
The Forest  by Oriel Soltysik

What secrets have the woods to hide? 

Overseen by trees, the stewards of time,  

Whose spectacular canopies roof the halls where wild beasts abide. 

These things they have seen of a forest in its prime; 

Mist off the mountains, taking shape. 

The cloak of night, a fantastic cape. 

The sun of day, shining bright, 

Over both tranquil peace and furious fight, 

Life and death of both predator and prey. 

Tree trunks gleaming silver-grey. 

A carpet of leaf mold dusted by frost, 

The passage of time as it forever becomes lost. 
My Bedroom by Noah Hartson

Clean up your room!

Mom hands me a broom

I look on the floor

I don't want to do this anymore

There are shirts, pants

Books, blankets

Games, cards

Backpacks, shoes

Cables and balls

I sigh in frustration

As I reach down to star

My inability to clean

Is what sets me apart

Insanity by Dakota Phillips

What is the definition of insanity? Insanity is doing the same thing over and over hoping for different results. The more you do one thing exactly the same the more it drives you to insanity. Our society continues to repeat itself. It’s stuck in a loop of insanity. Going to war for land or power is the perfect example. War cannot be won it’s a matter of who loses more. Because we harm our own people by sending them to war for an unnecessary cause we lose trust in each other. A society without trust will not continue to succeed or even exist. When we lose sight of what is important we are sure to lose what is important to us.

Rain by Tyler Cundiff

The Grass appears darker than it did before

With a little sun shining

The trees appear to be crying with raindrops

And their leaves sinking

The flowers look wilted, possibly sad

But their color's still radiant

With the clouds still hovering over the sky

You can still see the blue

And when all of the rain is gone

The sun will arrive

The Truth, About Television by Caroline Harris

Sitting in front of a screen, hours on end

It’s what society does, so I must blend

It won’t hurt you they say,

It’s entertaining, in a sinister kind of way

Does it affect you? 

Why does everyone want us to do it too? 

It’s some kind of brainwash, that’s what I say 

Wasting, wasting, the day away

We've all been tricked. 

English Yourself by Ethan Sheehy

Look  

If you had  

English  

Or one chance to do DGP 

To correct everything you ever wanted 

In one hour and 35 minutes  

Would you learn it  

Or just forget it? 

Yo,  

His palms are sweaty, knees weak, arms are heavy 

There's vomit on his sweater already, English is ready  

His nervous because he forgot his help notes 

To drop incomplete sentences, but he keeps on forgetting 

What he wrote down on Monday while labeling parts of speech 

He opens his mouth but the answers won’t come out 

He's choking, how, everyone knows it know  

The clocks running out, DGP's over now 

Snap back to English, oh there goes DGP 

Oh, there goes Mrs. Bowen, correcting the class 

She's so mad that he forgot his help notes but he won’t give up 

He won’t have it he knows the whole sentence but can’t figure out if its and noun or action verb 

It don’t matter he now knows his mistakes Mrs. Bowen helped him out and now he knows  

He's so happy that he knows when he goes his mom will be happy because he learned his DGP 

Charles Emanuelson

 What would you be willing to see? Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales? The Incredibles 2? The Last Airbender 2? While all those would be great, they are nothing compared to what would happen if U.B. Funkeys came to the big screen.

 U.B. Funkeys was an online game and toy line first released by Mattel in 2007. They were figures that had a USB cord attached to the back, and could be plugged into your desktop or laptop and allow you to play the Online MMO game, where you could meet new people, play games, and customize your house. Although it only lasted a few, short years, over 45 different types of Funkeys were made, the majority of them coming in three different types of color variation depending on rarity. These 45+ figures came out over many different waves, but each wave could be grouped up to make 4 main waves, “Funkeys, Funkiki Island, Speed Racer, and Hidden Realm.” Mattel had gotten a deal with Warner Brothers to make a D.C. line of Funkeys, it was sadly discontinued. 

Besides this, it’s just completely obvious that a movie and TV series were to spawn, but unfortunately this never became a reality. The only visual production they had ever made for U.B. Funkeys were commercials, which were very high quality. So at this point, you’re probably thinking, “Wow, we need a U.B. Funkeys movie, and no, it is not a want, nor is it a laughing matter, it is a need. It is the next step to advancing our technological science, it is the true reason why we haven’t found the cure for cancer, it is the true reason why we haven’t discovered the Fountain of Youth, it’s the true reason why the definition of life itself may only be pondered upon, it is the true reason why we have not colonized the moon. Because the missing link, was the U.B. Funkeys movie,” and you’d be right.

So, who would be hired for such an intense job? Quentin Tarantino of course. The movie itself would have a cameo from Easy Pete, and he would only show up once, to then be killed by a falling tree. The movie would all start out with the Devil funkey saying, “WILL YOU BE FUNKEY?” and then head-butting the screen, and then pan over to the mountain where the evil Master Lox will be sitting on his summit staring over Funkeytown menacingly, while Mayor Sayso is fighting off his henchmen. He sees a wounded soldier, Easy Pete, on the battlefield, holding his new born child, U.B. (the main Funkey) on his back. As a henchman approaches the wounded ally, Mayor Sayso comes over and screams, “YOU BE FUNKEY?” in the henchman’s ear until it’s rolling around on the ground in pain. “Here,” says Easy Pete “take my son, teach him how to be funkey,” the mayor doesn’t question his dying friend’s wish, and goes to pick up U.B. Right as he picks the child up, a tree falls on Easy Pete, rendering him, not funky.

 In conclusion, a U.B. Funkey movie should be made, sometime before I get out of high school. If there still isn’t a U.B. Funkeys movie by then, I will personally do it myself, no matter the expenses. Sure, it might take millions of dollars, and yeah, who cares if I’m not trained in anyway and don’t plan to be any time soon? The money doesn’t matter, all that matters is defeating Master Lox on the big screen, where he, his henchmen, and every other Funkey in Funkeytown belong.

Recreational Marijuana Should be Legalized by Josh Williamson

I believe marijuana should be legalized because it can help annihilate our national debt, reduce spending, and help prisons become less crowded. 

The way legalizing marijuana can help reduce our national debt is through allowing it, and then taxing it. Colorado, a state that has legalized marijuana, has collected nothing short of 1 billion dollars. Imagine if we sold it in big cities with a large population like Boston or New York or Pittsburg. Those cities would most definitely generate more than 1 billion, and making steps toward getting rid of our national debt.

Legalizing marijuana will reduce government spending by more than 3.6 billion dollars. In the last year we spent 3.6 billion dollars on crimes related to marijuana, and that’s enough to give very human in the united states 10 dollars! These stats are proof that legalizing marijuana will not only give us money, but also save us 3.6 billion as well, and a penny saved is a penny earned right. 

Legalizing marijuana will make prisons less crowded, and we will not be letting out violent criminals, we will be letting out people who only have a 3.1% chance of committing another crime besides that of marijuana related. There are 2,220,000 adults in prison, and there are over 40,000 people in prison for only possession of marijuana. About 650,000 people a year are arrested for possession of marijuana, and legalizing marijuana will also give the justice system more time for important cases. 

Marijuana should be legalized because it will make the United States over 40billion dollars in tax revenue. We also will cut out 3.1 billion dollars of our budget to spend on bigger problems like our national debt. Legalizing marijuana will also get over 40,000 people out of prisons.

Legalization will also free up the judicial system by 650,000 people. I believe we should legalize marijuana because it will help rid of our national debt, help widen the U.S budget, and free up prisons and give more time to the judicial system.


The Meaning Behind The Day by Grace Gongora

 Easter is just right around the corner and I can’t wait. I love Easter because it has such a powerful meaning that my family celebrates and cherishes. On Easter I get to wear a pretty dress to church, everyone else is always dressed up also. My family has always been big believers and have always heavily celebrated Easter morning! This year is going to be extra special because it’s my nephew’s first Easter. I’m so glad I get to celebrate Easter with him and read him the story of the Easter miracle. I think it’s a great thing that my family loves and celebrates Easter the way they do. I’ve grown up in church since the day I was born and have never known it to be any different. I wouldn’t change the way, form, and style I grew up in for anything. My mom every Easter tells me the Easter story about how the tomb rolled away and how everyone should learn about it, and how if they don’t know about it how it’s not too late be saved. I think that Easter is one of the most meaningful times of the year. I think Easter should be celebrated as a holiday because it’s one of the most important historical events of all time.  I love on Easter how I get cool gifts and everything, but the real reason we celebrate is not because we love the gifts but because he first loved us. 

School Athletics  by Taylor Smithson

  Non-student athletes earn a lower GPA than a student athlete does and they spend an average of 7 to 8 hours on electronics a day. To add to the list over 60% of secondary schools are considered “drug infected”. This is why school sports should be extremely encouraged in secondary schools because it improves social skills, grades/ academic performance, and reduces the use of drugs.

 Nearly all teenagers from 6th to 12th grade spend an average of 7 to 8 hours a day on electronics (phones, computers, iPads, TV, etc.).  This causes teens to be anti-social on a daily basis. If students played a sport in their free time they are forced to communicate with one another whether it be with a coach, a teammate, or an official (ref). For example if you are playing basketball and you are open for a shot you  have to call out for the ball cause if you don’t then your teammate most likely won’t see or hear you. Not only do sports teach social and communication skills they also teach you about time management when planning for practice, for homework, and for social activities. To go along with learning social skills comes learning decisive decision making and learning about teamwork.

 The University of Kansas found in a study that student athletes hold a grade point average of 3.25 while non-athletes hold a grade point average of 3.01 which is significantly lower than the athlete’s grade point average. An athlete learn how to focus and improvise in the sport they

are playing and use it in the classroom which helps them with study skills. Research published in The International Journal of the History of Sport last year found that having "dual careers" provides motivation for training and preparation, stimulating athletes intellectually and relieving stress. Meaning that if you pursue an academic and athletic career you are more motivated for learning and studying without being stressed out. As a result students who play sports have a 10% higher chance of graduating high school than non-athletes. 

A new study was published online in the journal Addiction drew data from a series of studies sponsored by the National Institute on Drug Abuse and found startling results. It found that only 15% of student athletes had been involved in drug use situations while 23% of non-exercising teens had done tried drugs. This is because most schools drug test their athletes to make sure they are not cheating with any illegal hormones and are making sure if there is any drug use on the team there is no chance of any drugs traveling to other schools. In addition school athletes are too involved in their sports to be messing around with any illegal products known as drugs.

  All things considered in my opinion it is clear to see why all secondary schools should encourage students to participate in a school sport. Enhancing social skills in the next generation is much needed in order to have success in the real world. In addition to social skills there is also the improvement in Academics. Student athletes have proven that they have a better intention to focus and learn which is almost guaranteed to improve the GPA of the student. Another thing is the reduction in the use of drugs. Student athletes are more likely to stay away from drugs if they are involved in a sport. So why do schools not require their students to participate in an athletic sport at their school as it can improve the reputation and quality of the school?

Comet (Not the Reindeer) by Josie Beheler

I look up into the abstract beauty of the night sky. Trillions of twinkling, geometrical stars peer at me through the darkness, followed by the dim moonlight of the night's sun. All of the sudden, there it was. A moment that I had wished upon for almost 3 years. A glistening shooting star gleamed through the dark with its tail flowing behind it like a flag billowing in the soft wind of Earth. The star's vibrant colors swirled out of their home into my mind. My thoughts were filled with delicate strokes of yellow and orange mixtures. The curvaceous swirls organically flowed through the sky, weaving away from every star in its path. Then, in the blink of an eye, it vanished; along with the colors in my mind. 

Poem on television  by: Cameron Bishop

When I wake up in the morning,

The first thing I like to see,

Is my hometown boy Mickey Mouse

Making jokes on the TV.

You see, I grab my cereal

And sit down in my favorite chair.

I don't care what I look like,

I don't even fix my hair.

The last thing is

When I'm all done with my cartoons.

I get so worked up

I look like a baboon

So since I'm writing this poem,

And the whole class in entertained.

I'm like a wild animal,

I can't be contained.

Eating Disorders by Kaylee Glas

Do you know what an eating disorders is, or how much it affects people? Most people do, but they don’t know the meaning of having an eating disorder. I believe that eating disorder awareness week should be a country wide event. This week will teach kids what an eating disorder is, how to identify one in their friends, and why people resort to the unhealthy eating habits of an eating disorder. 

When we say the words ‘eating disorder’ we don’t always know what it means.  Eating disorders are, and I quote, any psychological disorders characterized by abnormal eating habits. Eating disorders affect about 4% of all adolescent girls and about 0.4% of males. If eating disorder awareness week was a country wide event then people would know more about them and what they are. They can be very hard to spot in children as well.

 Eating disorders, in their early stages, are one of the hardest things to identify in a child. It may start out as long bathroom trips after lunch and dinner (bulimia), or the kid constantly talking at meal times and not eating any of their food (anorexia). If eating disorder awareness week actually existed then we could help stop eating disorders in their tracks. It is very important that we all know what the beginning stages look like, so that eating disorders don’t get fatal. Along with knowing what to look for, it is also a good idea to know why people develop eating disorders.

  When someone has an eating disorder, it is their attempt to be in control of something in their lives, or they need to cope with a certain unpleasant event happening in their life. If a person goes through a major change they will likely want something that they can control, and many show control by restricted dieting. Some people think that eating disorders are choices that the person makes, this is untrue they are mental illnesses that cause chemical imbalances in

the brain. Eating disorder awareness week could show that neurological changes in a person’s brain happens with an eating disorder. 

 Eating disorders are not something to play around with, they are abnormal eating habits that need to be addressed as soon as possible. The warning signs can be so obvious, we just don’t stop to notice them. If the country made an eating disorder awareness week mandatory in schools then our future will be more educated on the dangers of this illness. They are a cry for help and a desperate need kids and some adults to have control of something in their lives. So I’ll ask you again. Do you know someone with an eating disorder, or have you just not noticed it yet?

List Poem  by Dylan Williams

At the store there is much to buy 

so many things to occupy 

Candy, games and so much more 

so many things at the store 

You can buy food and other good things 

you can buy a bell that rings 

You can buy a bike and a helmet with special wheels, at the store, 

there are some very good deals 

Things are 10, 20, and 50 percent off!  

You can buy medicine that will help will die out your cough.  

At the store there is so much to buy 

some many things you think you could die!

TV by Hadley Brandetsas
The screen shows my reflection

As I flip through all of the channels

You make me sad

You make me happy

It can be true or full of lies

Colored or black and white

Writing Like an Artists Paints by Grace Williams

It is another busy night in New York City. I hop in a mustard-yellow taxi cab and stare out of the translucent window as I am driven home. Even though it is an hour to midnight, the town is bustling with activity. We pass Rockefellers Center and I stare longingly at the ice skating rink. The many flags around the perimeter of the rink swoosh side to side with the wind, and I watch as families glide (and sometimes fall) along the thick ice. As we get closer to my apartment, we pass tons of stores where only the finest and the richest can afford even the smallest object. Women in 10-inch heels and designer fur coats flee out of the store carrying dozens of shopping bags in their recently-manicured hands. As we pass through it is another busy night in New York City. I hop in a mustard-yellow taxi cab and stare out of the translucent window as I am driven home. Even though it is an hour to midnight, the town is bustling with activity. We pass Rockefellers Center and I stare longingly at the ice skating rink. The many flags around the perimeter of the rink swoosh side to side with the wind, and I watch as families glide (and sometimes fall) along the thick ice. As we get closer to my apartment, we pass tons of stores where only the finest and the richest can afford even the smallest object. Women in 10-inch heels and designer fur coats flee out of the store carrying dozens of shopping bags in their recently-manicured hands. As we pass through Times Square, I see thousands of people. Tourists are huddled anxiously around a map of the busy town are taking pictures every few seconds. People are smashed together in long lines waiting to listen to a Broadway musical. We eventually get to my small brick apartment. I hand the taxi driver a 20 dollar bill, grab my bag and coat, and enter the doors of my building. 

At Times Square, I see thousands of people. Tourists are huddled anxiously around a map of the busy town are taking pictures every few seconds. People are smashed together in long lines waiting to listen to a Broadway musical. We eventually get to my small brick apartment. I hand the taxi driver a 20 dollar bill, grab my bag and coat, and enter the doors of my building. 

Legalization of Marijuana  by Seth Schindler

As of 2017 the United States has been twenty trillion dollars in debt. Inflation in the economy prevents the government from printing more money. The only solution is in the people’s hand. The government can get us out of debt by taxing. If we legalize marijuana the government can make money by putting a very high percentage of tax on the product. I think the legalization of marijuana is a very good idea. There are many ways marijuana can be beneficial. For example: it creates jobs, taxing it will get America out of debt, and not having to pay for drug war.

 Since the legalization of marijuana in Colorado 18,000 new jobs have been created. This generated $2.4 billion dollars as of 2015. Colorado is one of the lowest unemployment rates in the nation.  Most of the jobs are paying higher than the national minimum wage. There are 28 states with the use of recreational and medical marijuana. Eight of the top ten highest growing state economy are states that use recreational and medical marijuana. Creating jobs in America is very important. There are around 93 million people in the nation we live in with no job. With marijuana creating jobs, this could lower the amount of unemployed Americans.

 The total federal government debt in 2017 is nearly $20.1 trillion. The Legalization of marijuana is estimated to produce up to $28 billion dollars in yearly tax revenue. Colorado by itself gained up to $270 million dollars in the first three months of the legalization of marijuana. In Washington $257 million dollars were brought in in just one year. If every state follows there lead we could end up getting the United Sates out of debt.

  In 2015 alone there were exactly 646,121 people arrested of marijuana law violation. All of those people have to go to prison for committing a crime. It costs around $60,000 dollars just to put one of those people in prison. That is around $38,587,260 dollars we spend on inmates to go to prison. Not only

that, but we annually spent around $51,000,000,000 on war on drugs. With the legalization of marijuana we could cut the prices down. As an

alternative the United States will be making money, rather than having to spend it all on arresting people that have it. 

  Legalizing marijuana in the United States will create jobs for the unemployed, will get us out of debt, and will make money. What we are doing know is spending large sums of money on people that are breaking the law. Instead of letting people do that, we need to flip the system around. Make marijuana legal and we won’t have to spend money on the people that do it. We will instead make money off of them by taxing it. Let’s use this idea and help America get out of debt. If you really loved your country you would want to see it out of debt. Ideas like this which create large amounts of money will get us out.

 

The Lunch Line by Daniel Reeves

'Twas a blur, when time flew by, the restless days and nights

An obsession, now an addiction, of pizza oh my pie

Every day I travel time to get to the day of Fri

At last it's here but oh I fear it makes me want to cry.

'Twas a blur when time flew by the truck of goods and sweets oh my,

The name brand stamp up on the side

Unreadable through my teary eyes.

'Twas a blur when the truck drove by carrying the last load of my pizza fries stuffed with goods inside.

The Red and white of the coca cola sign combined to make a sad design

the graveled rocks being thrown behind

Twas a blur when time goes by.

Now it's gone, that corporate truck, leaving me with my bad luck, no more cakes with the white dust, no more delicate pizza puffs.

Ten Years Later by Emma Larson

Ten years later. Jupiter had almost every trait like Joseph. Watching her grow up was amazing. Jupiter excelled in school and was the best in her class. She has straight A's. All one hundreds. If she had a 99, she knew the teachers had messed up grading.  

         I was 24, now attending the University of Maine. I went and visited Jupiter and my parents whenever I had the chance. I went to Maine University for baseball. I was the starting pitcher. I was the only who knew where I got my arm from. 

        I thought about Joseph a lot, and how that night could've been different. How I wish I were brave enough to fight back against Joseph's father, how we could've stopped him from driving off with Joseph. But in the end I still had a part of Joseph with me, I had his back, he had mine. I always had this feeling right when I first met Jupiter's foster mom that I would end up with her forever. 

        My nickname "Jackie" had always stuck. Even my parents would sometimes say it, I never minded. Rosy loved Jupiter as much as she loved Joseph. She would moo her lovey moo whenever she stepped into the barn, and when she would rub her rump.   

          Mr. Canton finally learned some respect for Joseph's name and Jupiter. During a parent teacher conference my parents were both busy with chores so I decided to take Jupiter. That was where Mr. Canton apologized sincerely to me.  

          Jupiter had even more athletic ability than Joseph. She beat his record time for the rope climb. She was on the soccer team and was the fastest offensive player. She was team captain too. Jupiter had this smile, her shiny white teeth, and her amazing personality, she could make anyone feel better in seconds with a flash of her smile.  

          After Joseph, my parents continued to still foster kids, ages ranging from 3 years old to 15 years old. Most of them have only stayed for months others maybe a year or two. There was one child in particular that my parents got attached to and contemplated adoption but couldn’t because the child's birth mom wanted full custody. 

Joseph and Jupiter have made a huge impact on our life, and that’s a fact.
Writing Like an Artist by Eden Giannini

My head jerks up, and I feel my phone slide off my lap and fall to the floor of the train. I must have been asleep. It is silent, except for its soft hum as we speed down the tracks. A few cabin lights illuminate the tops of peoples' heads in front of me, but many are asleep with the lights off. I yawn, adjusting my position in the seat. The train rattles some more. Grabbing my phone off the floor, I look out into my dark window. It is as cold as ice. Nothing is visible out there, only a deep darkness that seems so thick I could hold it.  

One man turns off the light at his seat. I am starting to nod off again, but my phone buzzes in my lap and I notice the time. 12:07. Soon someone else turns off a light, and then another. One light remains besides the dim ones on the ceiling. A moment longer, and I am in total dark. 

I notice the stars first. Silent and sure, they speckle the night like someone took a handful of glitter and just let it fall down to the earth. Some shimmer, some do not. The moon casts a milky glow over the darkness, blurring it as if in a painting. The trees speed by in a flash, their dormant forms too fast to really look at. The sky is no longer black, but a deep navy blue. Soon we leave the trees, and the hillsides move past slowly. I sigh and sink into the seat, slipping into a peaceful sleep. 

The Tank by Josh Williamson

There was an iridescent blob in the distance, and I could hear a light hum. It began to get nearer and form its box like shape, with the long extension hanging about 10ft in the air. The swamp green tank, with its wheels the size of a 5th grader, passed by with tremendous might. It was so heavy the ground seemed to scream for the pressure to be relieved. The hum of the beast was like 100 beehives, and the scent of the gasoline fueling it was overwhelmingly strong, as the green mass drove out of sight, I could still hear the hum of the gargantuan vehicle.          

Rollercoaster by Lexie Rhodes

The cart of the rollercoaster drops down the mountain speedily. I hear the earsplitting screeches of the petrified people around me. As I descend I look at the park through the blackness of the night. I see the bright green of the leaves of the Tree of Life as they glimmer in the dark. I see the tiny dark shapes of the people below me. Multicolored illuminations from cheerful children’s Mickey Mouse balloons flash up at me.  

I can see the ice cream truck imported from Nepal. Its vibrant colors of blue and purple and the intricate designs stick out in the dark. There are children laughing and jumping around as they debark the rollercoaster that they were terrified of moments ago. I realize that soon I will be departing as well. There are so many different exotic colors I can see as I hurtle past. The park is like a kaleidoscope of color.  

  In a matter of seconds, the whole park goes by me. A sense of peace comes to me even though everything is crazy. Although my eyes are incapable of focusing on the distorted images, everything is sort of beautiful in a bizarre, wild way.  I look over the blur of Animal Kingdom through the Expedition Everest ride. I see an amazing world of color that is really just a blur. 

No War by Christian Keriazakos
If there were no war

Still murder

If there were no war

Still famine

If there were no war

Still hate

If there were no war

Still homeless

If there were no war

Still disease

If there were no war

Still theft

If there were no war

Still Disaster

If there were no war

Still death

If there were no war

Still better.

A Poem by Kamryn Newman

I don’t understand why people have to disrupt class

Why people make fun of me

Why my friends get mad at me for no reason

But most of all

Why people have dirty minds

Why people argue so much

What I understand most is

Why people worry about money

Why people laugh

Why people plant flowers

Two Poems by Austin Huffman

Happiness  

Smells like blooming flowers

Tastes like a batch of cookies

Sounds like flapping of wings from birds and bees

Feels like the shining sun

Feels like a nice breeze on a hot day

Feels like little licks of a puppy

Happiness