"The Race" by Alejandro Q

It was a hot noon at Central Park, the easy ups were pitched in the grass and along the small spaces of shade that existed. We all waited anxiously for our turns to go up to the line, to prove ourselves for the last time. My heart was pounding like a drum in  my chest. My mouth was as dry as the desert. The hot summer sun beat down on my shoulders. I stood waiting, readying myself for the signal from my coach. The team and I had warmed up earlier, I had felt shaky the entire time. We were called up to the start line, we said a prayer hoping for everyone’s success we got in line, tense, silent, I looked over briefly at the other schools, but I knew better, my only competition was myself, to not give up or give in to the nagging in my head that was sure to come in the following minutes.

“BANG” the racing gun shot out. I took off sprinting down the hard dirt trail. My legs and arms were pumping in rhythm, “left right left right left right” I mentally told myself. I came around the first mile the clock read 6:15, seeing my teammates paces in front and behind me, we ran as a pack, we wanted to the whole race, but not all of us could keep the pace up. First it was John, then Bob, and then I fell behind, I couldn’t keep up the breakneck pace. “Not fast enough,” I muttered to myself, speeding up, signaling to my teammates behind me to keep pace with me, to try to stick together, pushing ourselves to not fall behind any further. I saw other racers pass us, one by one, we tried to stay with them, and managed to pass a few, but our  energy was fading fast. The two mile mark was nearing, 12: 45. We were invigorated by our falling time, we began sprinting trying desperately to catch up to the group ahead, but our limbs were too tired and our breaths too ragged. We set our sights on the the finish line, a few minutes, seconds away, I was falling behind, my teammates urged and pushed me to keep the pace, “just a little longer” they promised. John pointed a few yards ahead of him, a pair of runners, “we can’t let them beat us.”  With one last burst of effort and determination we ran to catch up, John passed me on the last little hill, he beat the pair, Bob and myself managed to pass one on the final sprint to the finish line. 19:02, 5 seconds from a personal record, minutes away from contributing to the team placement, but it was over and we had run our hardest.

My heart hammered in my chest, my lungs sucked in the dry air of the day, hurting with every breath. I felt like throwing up, I walked with slow and deliberate steps focusing on not moving to violently, I needed water and shade, my shirt clung to me from sweat and my knees buckled with my steps and my legs shook when I stood still. I felt someone clap me on the back, I accepted a water bottle from a blur and sat down, I waited and drank slowly, we still had a cool down lap to run. Countless hours of practice, before school, after school, during the summer had all amounted to today. Invitational and league races had prepared us for the pressure of the race. Teammates had encouraged us, laughed with us, trained with us. Coach had talked to us, yelled at us, encouraged us, unified us. We had become a family.

This race had been my first league final in cross country, and sadly my last because I joined cross country in my senior year. I had originally joined the summer training to be with friends and find a way to get in better shape, but I grew to enjoy running greatly. It gave me a way to connect with my dad, he participates in a yearly relay race at work, and I made new friends. Running also was an escape from stress, I could run and not focus on anything but my breathing and the floor ahead of me. Even on the worse running days the training wore me out enough so I would be able to come and fall into effortless sleep. My time of the team showed me what it truly means to be committed to something, and also gave me perspective and a newfound respect for the student athlete, especially the runners, who day in and day out, rain or sunshine (or in our climate, wind), would show up to run and loved every second. It was truly a privilege being able to be part of the team and I really missed out my other years of high school.

"How to Paint Light" by Justin Q.

Being a photographer for about almost 6 years has taught me some interesting photography tips and tricks. With that being said I believe it is now time to teach some of you a very cool and simple thing called “Light Painting”.  Light Painting is a type of photography where in the picture being taken you illuminate a object with a light and the final result is a sweet looking picture with only that single object being lit up and everything else in the background isn’t.

What you will need is:

●      A DSLR Camera 

●      Tripod

●      LED Bar

            - Optional: A cover of some sorts for the LED Bar (In my case I use a Nike Gym Sack)

●      The object you want to light paint

●      Time

Direction to set up your camera settings:

●      Step 1: Turn on your camera

●      Step 2: Turn you ISO all the way down to the lowest # (Mine being 50)

-       Your ISO is basically your exposure, The lower your ISO is the less grain your picture has and the higher the ISO, the more grain your picture will have.

●      Step 3: Set your F/ (Your aperture) to again the lowest it can go (Mine being F/1.4)

-       Your F/ (F Stop) which is your aperture is the control to how much light you are letting in through the lens. The lower your F/ is, the more light your are letting in and vise versa with the higher your F/ is,the less light you are letting in.

●      Step 4: Set your shutter speed to ~20 or 25 or 30 seconds

-       Your shutter speed is how fast or how long you take a picture for, both your aperture and shutter speed control how much light you let in. Faster shutter speed = Less Light / Slower shutter speed = More light.

●      Step 5: Set your camera to manual focus (Switch will be either on your lens or your camera)

-       You want to use manual focus for light painting because autofocus won't be able to focus on the subject due to it being night time and dark.

Now that you have your camera setup, lets get into the actual light painting part.

Directions for painting:

●      Step 1: Get your camera on the tripod

●      Step 2: Setup your object or subject you want to light paint

●      Step 3: Make sure your subject is infocus, you don't want a blurry picture

●      Step 4: Turn on your LED Bar (make sure the light isn’t pointed at the subject / object yet)

●      Step 5: Whenever you're ready click down on your shutter button to start taking the picture

-       Note: you only have that certain amount of time you set to paint the subject.

●      Step 6: With the LED Bar go to the subject and slowly sweeping over or across the object once or twice with the light emitting from the LED Bar.

-       Note: If your picture ends up with streaks from the LED Bar use a cover to prevent that from happening.

●      Step 7: After going over the subject with the LED bar turn it off and run out of frame and wait till the long exposure finishes.

Example of finished product: 

And with step #7 being the last step, your picture should of came out nice and crispy if you did everything correctly. If you don’t get it right the first time try, try, and try again until you get the perfect picture. Have fun out there at night light painting things!

"First Love " by Jeremiah C

            For a moment, a boy with no real thought laid eyes upon a girl and his world had changed forever. He knew little of what or who this girl was. One thing was certain, she was admirable and had a kind heart. For a child such as himself he was considered mature and well-versed in overall understanding of how the world works compared to the other children. While the girl was much like him as well.

Their daily agenda consisted of reading books, doing simple math problems, and playing on the playground during recess. For the other children it seemed like the usual day of playing  with friends and socializing but for the boy it was a time to spend observing the girl he “admired”. When they talked to each other it looked as if they were the only two in the whole entire world. Everyone knew that they boy admired her, but no one knew of how she thought of him.

The boy never knew how to describe the emotion he carried whenever he saw her, it was unexplainable. Time would slow down and eventually the world would stop. It was such an innocent admiration.

 Every time he saw her in class, he would write multiple notes that read “I love you”, although he himself did not know what the true meaning of what love is. It even progressed further where he pronounced his love to her by saying “I like you.” The other children were shocked and confused because they had little idea of what it meant to “like” or “like-like” someone. Although he kept persisting, she never gave him a real answer or response to what he was saying.

They were the polar opposites of each other. The girl was mysterious and calm while the boy was very outspoken and playful. It was a very rare sight to see these two together and at times it was a little awkward.

(I, however admired his bravery to be able to confess his feelings flamboyantly to the girl he liked.)

After a couple of weeks of these notes and googly eyes towards her, something had to change. So a group of the other children gathered together in order to find a way to resist the boy’s advances on the girl. They tried to think of many different things and because of the fact that they were mere children and had no real understanding of what the world is like they didn’t come up with any elaborate plans.

After much discussion they finally decided to have the girl say that she likes another guy, which happens to be the most unattractive guy in the class, in order to break the boy’s heart. Given the fragility of the boy, he did fall under the plan and he broke down. 

For the next few days the boy was silent and didn’t continue his advances on the girl. The other children felt bad for what they did to him. However, the next few days he seemed even more depressed and not his usual self, however he still talked and hung out with his usual friends.

The boy started to show up to school every other day now. Eventually he didn’t show up for a couple of weeks at a time. Finally, the inconsistency stopped and he never came back. His classmates were shocked and felt the guilt in their hearts. The teacher never said anything about the boy’s sudden disappearance. It was all a mystery. There was no farewells or goodbyes, but just a missing student.

His close friends were quiet for a couple of days, but the rest seemed to move on after a good hour after because they were relieved of his messages for the girl and his statements of “I like you”. As for the girl, no one really knew how she felt about the boy’s sudden disappearance. The only evidence that was found was a stack of notes that were stuck between her binder and the plastic cover and on top was what seemed like a final note that read “ Thank you and goodbye”. 

The End.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Epilogue

A few years later after he stopped showing up, one of his classmates saw him going to a different school. He ran up to him and greeted him excitedly. They caught up on old times, reminiscing the times they played and laughed together.

Finally they talked about around the time the boy left. It was revealed that he felt depressed because his parents told him that they were moving. The classmate felt relieved because for all this time, the group that plotted against him felt guilty for what they had done. The boy said to the classmate, “It’s ok, first love’s never go how you want it to.”

You're in Luck! New Writers are Here!

Remember to read all of the selections for this month --   comments are for this latest group only (no earlier months/submissions, or last year's submissions)

Remember:
All Students:  Be sure to read the entries for this group  (March writers).  Everyone is required to comment on at least three different pieces of writing.  You must post the comment here on the blog (below the post is the "comments" link to click) AND cut and paste your comments, complete with dates and times, on to a Word document and turn it in to me by April 5.  You must do both to get credit for comments this month.

Remember, comments must be positive, supportive, constructive, and SPECIFIC.  No "Good Job!" comments, unless you follow that with specific things you thought were done well in the piece.  Show them you actually took the time to read and enjoy their work!

"How-to make Vegan Cauliflower Wings" by Mariah T

I know that since I am a vegetarian I get a lot of questions like “what do I eat?” do “I miss meat” and a whole other abundance of questions that would probably feel up a book. So what I decided is that I am going to take a very popular food that my friends enjoy, AKA wings and just give you my non-meat version of it! I know this could also be helpful for those who are participating in no meat Fridays, people who want to be vegetarian but would like to try a meal to get a taste for it, or just for fun to try to make it. Before I start with my tips, a small disclaimer is I suck at cooking but this is what works for me and what I enjoy! 

STEP 1- Is you want to head over to the store and get some cauliflower, as well as the other
recipes if you aren’t sure what they look like this:
STEP 2- Is then making sure you preheat your oven to 450
STEP 3- Is you want to break the head of cauliflower into florets, so it’s about 11⁄2-inch.
STEP 4- Getting a large mixing bowl, add the flour, paprika, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and almond milk(this is what I drink, but feel free to add whatever milk you drink!), and stir until well-combined
STEP 5- Is dipping the cauliflower florets into the sauce you just mixed
STEP 6- Is after coating your cauliflower put in the pan and put it in the oven, do ten minutes one side and then take out to flip then put back for another 10 minutes for a total of 20 minutes.
STEP 7- Is while that is baking, get a small mixing bowl and put hot sauce, vegetable oil and stir till everything is mixed.
STEP 8- Is after the cauliflower is done baking, put what you just mixed onto the cauliflower and put back in the oven for another 20 minutes.
Step nine is ENJOY!! You can add more hot sauce or ranch or anything really. Hope you all enjoy if you do decide to try this out!

"How to Make the Easiest & Tastiest Peanut Butter Cookies" by Megan R

Whenever I need to bring a dish for a potluck, family event, party, etc. this recipe is my go to. It is definitely a favorite of all my friends and family and is highly requested by everyone. My great grandma passed this recipe onto my grandma,who then passed this recipe onto my mom,who then passed it onto me. It is the simplest recipe, when you see how many ingredients it takes you will be sure to think I am kidding! It only takes four ingredients to make these delicious cookies and each ingredient can typically be found in either your pantry or fridge, which is why this recipe is perfect for any last minute baking needs. There is not even a need for flour or vegetable oil! It is perfect for those of you who are on gluten-free and dairy-free diets as well! It is also perfect for a family baking session, as kids will be able to follow along very easily. After you have made them once, the recipe will most likely be forever in your memory. In less time than it takes for the oven to preheat, you will have these cookies ready and waiting to be baked. This recipe tends to make around 20 cookies, but can easily be doubled or even tripled if there is a need to make more. I hope you will try these cookies out for yourself and see just how tasty they are, and please be sure to pass it on to your friends and family too!

(Preparation and baking time around 25 minutes).

Materials:

1. A mixing bowl
   
2. A mixer or wooden spoon
   
3. A baking sheet
   
4. Measuring Cups
   
5. Parchment paper or foil
   
6. A fork
   

Ingredients:

1. 1 cup of creamy peanut butter (I’ve found commercial brands work best)
   
2. 1 large egg
   
3. 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
   
4. 1 cup sugar
   
5. Hershey Kisses (optional)
   

Directions:

1. First, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
   
2. Next, in the mixing bowl add together the 1 cup peanut butter, the 1 cup sugar, 1 egg, and
   the teaspoon of vanilla, using your measuring cups.
   
3. Mix all of the ingredients together with the mixer or wooden spoon until the mixture is
   dough like. The dough tends to be grainy and thick from the peanut butter and sugar. If
   you feel as though your mixture is too thick however, just add water a teaspoon at a time.
   
4. Now, take the baking sheet and line the entire sheet with either parchment paper or foil in
   order to prevent the cookies from sticking to your pan and creating a mess.
   

5. Use your hands to roll together tiny balls of dough and place them onto the baking sheet. Depending on the size of your baking sheet, there should be around 9-12 balls. Each ball should be no bigger than the size of a ping pong ball. Evenly place each ball 1 inch apart from each other. (Don’t worry, because of the high fat content of the peanut butter, the balls can be shaped in no time without even sticking to your hands!)
   
6. To make the cookies look even more appealing, I tend to take the back of a fork and place the fork down onto the cookie dough balls twice, once in one direction and then again in the opposite direction, forming a hashtag like shape in the cookie and flattening each cookie a little bit. Dipping the fork into some sugar before pressing the cookies will help with the sticking of the fork to the dough and will add a little extra flavor to each one.
   
7. Bake for 8-10 minutes, until golden brown. Be careful when checking on your cookies.They tend to not look too cooked at first, but once they are pulled out of the oven to cool down, they will continue to cook on the hot cookie sheet.
   
8. Let cool for 1-2 minutes before transferring to a wire cooling rack. Let the cookies sit for at least 10 minutes before attempting to eat, or else you will be sure to end up with the crumbs of a bunch of broken cookies.
   
9. The finished cookies should be chewy and dense, and not at all crunchy.
   
10. For a little extra flavor, you can also add one Hershey Kiss onto the top of each cookie, or
    even any topping you would like to make this recipe your own!
    

"How -to babysit young children" by Brittney B

As an auntie to two- two year olds i have learned a few tips and tricks that i'm going to share with all of you when you have to babysit your little monster. In no way am I saying babysitting is easy because i've experienced the tantrums, hair pulling, and screaming but i've noticed that these few tricks help me tame the little ones for longer.

1. First things first, always make sure the monster is fed. Babysitting a full child is way easier than babysitting a hungry kid. When they are full they become more lazy and are way less cranky then when their tummy is grumbling.

2. Next, toys,toys,toys. Always make sure they are entertained! Remember children's attention span is even worse than high school students. Therefore keep it moving at all times! Whether it's watching tv to playing barbies always keep them moving and playing. This will also help at bedtime because they will feel satisfied and tired.

3. Another trick is to keep them eating or drinking. Giving them juice or a little snack here and there will cause them to feel less hungry for longer. This also reduces the amount of crying and whining because they cant cry and chew at the same time!

4. If you're experiencing the dreadful tantrum then always try a distraction! A good distraction is to go to the park or maybe try arts and crafts, anything that keeps them distracted is good.

5. If you want to make bedtime a little bit easier than heavier physical activities like playing a sport or going to the park is a perfect way to tire out your little one out and make them ready for bed!

6.  Finally, never mention the B word. When young children hear the word BEDTIME it's like hearing they have to write a five page essay or miss their favorite show. This horrific word will only result in attitude and crying. Instead just lay down with them and watch some tv or read them a story this is much better than trying to force bedtime upon them.

I hope these tricks help you because I know how challenging babysitting the little ones can be and when you start to getting irritated just look at their cute tiny faces!

 Brixton Isaiah Berglund

" How to Make Pav Bhaji" by Shayan K

 

The first thing you’re probably thinking after reading the title is, “What in the world is Pav Bhaji?” “Pav” just refers to the bread, and “bhaji” refers to the vegetables that are cooked with spice. Trust me, I know, those are two very funny words that you have probably never even heard of. Although those two words literally translate to, bread and vegetables, it is way more delicious and appealing than what it seems like. Pav Bhaji is a very famous street food in India. I clearly remember seeing people in little carts selling this dish on almost every street when I visited India for the second time. The great thing about Pav Bhaji is that it is a vegetarian dish, which means a larger amount of people are able to appreciate this dish and not be restricted by any strict diets. In addition, you can’t really feel guilty by eating this dish because like I said earlier, it’s literally spiced vegetables and bread.

Well let me go ahead and tell you that this is one of my most favorite Indian dishes out there. I am always astonished over the fact that you can create such an amazing dish by only using these very simple ingredients that are readily available. The first time I had pav bhaji is when I was about 7 or 8, and my grandmother had made it for the family. I was so opposed to trying it at first. It reminded me of those mysterious school lunches that we always saw on television that everyone hated. But after some time, she finally convinced me to try and I instantly fell in love. So I am here to share this amazing recipe with you guys as well! It is so easy!

Ingredients:

●      2 tablespoon of Butter

●     3 or 4 finely chopped tomatoes

●     ½ cup of peas

●     1 finely chopped capsicum (also called a bell pepper)

●     3 boiled and mashed potatoes

●     1 teaspoon salt

●     1 cup water

●     1 tablespoon chili powder

●     ¼ teaspoon turmeric

●     3 tablespoons of finely chopped coriander

●     1 teaspoon ginger-garlic paste

●     1 finely chopped red onion

●     Half a lemon

●     Dinner rolls or sliced bread

Directions for Bhaji (spiced vegetables):

1.    Place a saucepan on stove on medium heat.

2.   Place 1 tbsp butter, the chopped tomatoes, peas, bell peppers, and potatoes into the pan.

a.    Make sure to slowly place the ingredients on the pan.

3.   Next, add a half cup of water, cover the saucepan, and let it boil for about ten minutes.

a.    *Pro tip!!!* Periodically stir the contents!

4.   After the ten minutes have passed, mash all of the ingredients together.

a.    You can stop mashing once it reaches a smooth texture.

5.   Now you will add chili powder, turmeric, and coriander.

a.    Let this sauté for about 2-3 minutes.

6.   Place another tablespoon of butter, your ginger-garlic paste, the finely chopped onions, and squeeze your lemon into the pan.

a.    Sauté for 1-2 minutes.

b.   Also, this is where you can add your optional three drops of red food coloring (this gives it that traditional street food look, similar to what you would find in India).

7.   After adding another half cup of water, boil and mash the contents for another five minutes.

8.   Your Bhaji is now complete!

Directions for Pav:

1.        Place a griddle or a normal pan on medium-high heat.

2.   Cut your dinner rolls in half and spread butter on the inside.

a.    If you don’t have rolls, you can also use normal sliced bread!

3.   Place the butter coated bread on the griddle until it is toasted.

4.   Your Pav is now complete!

Now that is all it takes to make authentic Pav Bhaji! The proper way to eat this delicious meal is to dip your toasted bread into the Bhaji and eat it like that! Personally, I tear pieces of the bread into the bowl and eat it with a spoon, but it is totally up to you on how you want to enjoy this delicious dish from India. I really hope you enjoy this dish as it is one of my favorite things to eat!

“Unexpectedly” by Janae S

            February 18, 2018, the day of excitement and anxiousness turns into a day of sorrow. I woke up early on this particular Sunday. I had a college audition at the University of California Los Angeles. This day was going to be nerve- wrecking, but exciting all at once. I got everything I needed for the audition and left. My mother drove me to Los Angeles. The audition consisted of an information session about University of California Los Angeles’ theater program, learning a choreographed musical style dance, performing two monologues, singing two songs, and an interview. This lasted for about four long hours. Once the audition was done, I was finally able to go home and rest up. Until tragedy had struck.

            On the way home, my mother got a call from one of her brothers, who is one of my uncles. I was listening to music with it blasting from my earphones into my eardrums, so I was unable to hear the conversation that was going on. My mother has her phone connected to the car, so she does not have to have her phone in her hand while driving. I paused my music when I noticed my mother’s face. She was in shock. When she got off the phone, my mother decided to tell me the news at that moment, so I would not find out in a hard way. One of my cousins, who I grew up with and was very close to, has passed away.

            Denial had come first. I told my mother not to say that because I did not want to believe it. She said my cousin had a seizure. I wanted to start crying, but because my mother was still driving, and for the sake of her to also not to start to cry, I held it in. We went to his house, but the closer we got, the more I wanted to scream out. The police was there, and so was my aunt, his mother. I stayed in the car, while my mother went to go and comfort her sister. I could not bear going inside the house. Once alone, I broke down. I could not help it. This was the first time losing someone that was so close to me. We were at the house until midnight. Then, we allowed ourselves to go home and at least, try to get some sleep. Sleeping that night was difficult for me. In the morning, I did not want to get out of the bed, but I forced myself to. When I did, I would stop and look at the few pictures of my cousin that we have around our house.

            My family told each other that we would all get through this together. When time for the funeral came two weeks later, we all had to emotionally prepare ourselves. The funeral was packed with his friends and extended family. His friends and colleagues talked about how they appreciated him and looked up to him… literally (he was taller than six feet and seven inches!) Hearing all the wonderful comments people had to say about my cousin brought happiness to my heart. Upon taking a glance at everyone who attended, I was able to see my father, along with two aunts, an uncle, and two cousins all from my father’s side of the family. I was ecstatic to see that they came to the funeral.

            My cousin’s death taught me that I need to appreciate more, the people who are in my life because I never know when they will unexpectedly leave. My family’s religious faith is what we looked to when trying to think of positive thoughts. We know he is looking after us, and that he cares. We know that he is happy. Whenever I see a picture of him or hear his name, I am reminded of all the precious moments we have had together. I will think of the last time I had seen him at a family gathering. I will think of all the times we would laugh about the most ridiculous subjects. I remember every time we see each other, he would greet me by saying “hi cousin”. I remember how much of a picky eater he was. I remember when going to his college graduation and how my cousin had to bend down to get the medal he was awarded around his neck because he was taller than his professors. I will always have memories of him to look back on.