“The Letter Not in My Name” By Audriana Y

Checking the mail is a normal thing that we do every day and as teenagers don't think much of it considering our parents pay for almost everything. So as we sort through the bills and junk mail searching for a piece of mail that might just be for me. If there is something, it's normally just a coupon for a store or something unimportant. Today is different though as an envelope catches my eye it’s sent to my grandma and it’s from my mom. Also just an important statement at the moment my mom is in Chicago visiting my aunt who recently moved out there and I'm staying with my grandparents, but why wouldn't she just text us or call if it was this important that she sent a letter? Wanting to open it but then realize that since it's not sent to me then obviously I shouldn't open it but my curiosity takes over and I find myself opening the envelope and as I'm about to take out the letter it's snatched out of my hand. As I looked up to see who it is I see it’s my grandma. As she starts reading the letter she looks up at me and in her eyes I see sadness and a hint of confusion. She hands me the letter and as i’m reading it I can feel the tears in my eyes threatening to fall any second now, And the only thing that is running through my head is why didn't she tell me before.

" How to Get Over a TV Show That's Ending" by Evan T

     Let’s be honest, you’re probably in the middle of a show and enjoying it to the
point where you will not shut up about it to your friends. But at some point, that show is
going to meet its bitter end and you won’t know what to do when it does. Fear not, that’s
probably why you picked this entry to read.

Step 1: Acceptance
They say that the first step is the hardest. This will definitely be the hardest thing
to do when it comes to TV. Once you finish a show, you think,”Oh, there will probably be
another season. Right? Right?! RIGHT?!?!” Sorry to say but there won’t be. The only
thing you can do is slowly count the days until the end… of the show I mean. The only
thing you can do is count the days until the show meets it’s bitter end with your friends.
But then comes the next part.

Step 2: The Depression
Once you have accepted that the show you love has ended, you now enter “the
depression.” In this state it will be obvious that your spirit is broken from your great loss
of your favorite characters and such. And if your friends are oblivious to this, they’ll ask,
“Hey, why do you look so sad and depressed?,” and then you’ll break into the puppy
eyes and explain your TV loss. The best remedy for this is to hang with your friends who
are suffering the same kind of TV loss as you. Maybe get together, sit around eating
desserts, rewatch your favorite moments in the show and noticing the small details.
There’s no shame in that at all.

Step 3: Desires
This is the more interesting stage in the process. In this stage, you will start to
rewatch the show and have sudden cravings for specific things to happen. For instance,
I recently rewatched Sword Art Online and noticed a moment between two characters in
the first episode that seemed somewhat romantic. I then proceeded to “ship” them,
basically meaning that I put them in a relationship, hence the term ”ship.” Almost all the
time, you will go through this when rewatching a show: you notice the small details, you
point them out, you may even start shipping people you would’ve never “shipped,” and
then you start turning into a hot mess and start bragging that you now ship “so and so”
with “so and so.” The best cure for these desires… fanfiction. This may sound odd, but it
actually works like magic. If you have any sort of desire that you want to have happen,
the world of fanfiction will have it.

Step 4: Something New
This sounds fairly obvious to everyone. So once you’ve gone through all the
other steps, feel free to watch another show that you might like. At some point, you’ll
forget about the show and move on to the next one. But eventually, you’ll have to go
through the process again, and again, and again. So happy watching!

"How to get over not having a valentine" by Mackenzie T

     February 14, is a day that many of us dread every year but here are some
ways to avoid having a terrible day. By following these simple tips you can make
the day like any other. I am no expert on love but I do know it’s hard to see couples
all over each other.
     One thing you can do is hangout with friends and enjoy being single with
them. Plan a fun night thats allows you guys to have just as much fun as if you
were with your crush. Movies, snacks, makeovers are all fun things to do even on
normal nights so this way you can pamper yourself and have bonding time. Don’t
worry guys you can do this too, i’m not sure exactly what guys do but do what
guys do whenever they hangout.
     You can also do things by yourself if you need to. Do things that you love
and that make you happy. Watch you favorite movie and eat your favorite things,
whatever you want!
     Valentine's day shouldn’t be just for those in a relationship but it should be
based on those who love each other. Use this day to show anyone and everyone
how much you love them. Always remember that you shouldn't need anyone to
prove how worthy of love you are because you are. If you do have a valentine that
is awesome and you're one lucky person! Whatever you this day be safe and have
fun.

“The Real Titanic Story” by Marco G

     One day I was going on a trip to go to New York. I wasn’t planning on going in a
car. I was was going on this enormous boat it was very classy and a truly amazing
sight.The people there called it the Titanic. While I was on my way going up the boat an
odd man with blonde hair bumped into me yelling,”I won tickets to go to New York
City!!!”.After we sailed i saw this beautiful red headed woman, she looked very wealthy.
But one day i was walking on the poop deck minding my own business until I heard
screaming I went to go check it out and all i saw was the blonde man saving the red
headed girl.Later on the next day i was walking around looking for a bathroom because
them fish food and my stomach don’t mix well.So as i was looking for one I saw the
same blonde man who bumped into me and the same red headed lady who almost fell
overboard, spitting out the boat. It seemed like the blonde man was teaching her how to
spit a loogie.
     I was disgusted so i threw up the fish back in the ocean. Then later that night I went to
bed.and a heavy thump awoken me from my slumber ,It was like 2 in the morning still
dark. So I went to get check out what was happening. When I was on my way to talk to
the captain to know what that thump was I saw big chunks of ice on the poop deck. So
when I finally made it to the captain's headquarters. I saw the same blonde man and the
same redheaded women except this time they were holding hands. But it seemed like
those two were talking something very important with the captain. So I thought
something fishy was going on. As I was being nosey trying to know what they were
talking about the captain I overheard them say that the Titanic has hit a giant iceberg
and has made a breach in the lower belly part of the ship.
     The redheaded woman and blonde man asked “How long do we have until the entire
ship sinks?” and the captain responded saying “We have about only one hour”. The
blonde man says “Shall we tell the citizens on this boat?” and the captain says “No we
don’t want to make the people panic.” When I heard them have that “private
conversation” I knew that I had to do something. So I packed my belongings and fled. I
took an escape boat by myself,I warned the people but they did not believe me. When I
was already in a safe distance. I could still see the boat. It began to lift itself from the
water, as I saw the people fall down from it and hit the cold water,I didn’t know if I
should leave or go back and save the others.After the boat finally sank to the bottom of
the ocean. I decided to go back and save the survivors. It would take me a while to go
back,But when I finally got there mostly everyone got froze to death. So I decided to
give up and go, But as I began to paddle away I could a whistle in the distance. So I
decided to follow the whistle and I would not believe my eyes. It was the redheaded lady
with a whistle in her mouth and she was laying on a floating wooden door. I asked what
was her name, and she said...Rose.

"Passion" by Janus B

      From the moments that we spent as children playing with Fisher Price toys, to our scarring, hyper hormonal adolescent years, we have always been urged by adults to "make the most of our youth." We see the sagacious, wrinkled elderly sitting in rocking chairs with nothing to do but stare at television screens, and we are encouraged to do something with our lives before we turn into them. We are told to find a career that best suits our ambitions, and expected to decide what we picture ourselves doing for the remainder of our lifetimes before we are even considered legal adults. For as much as we know, we are pressured into investing our leisure into extracurricular activities in hopes of finding something that genuinely captivates our interests, in order to "discover ourselves." You cannot discover yourself until you spend your time doing things that expose parts of you that you have never before seen. Much like a multi-layered onion, we must peel ourselves by doing things that appeel to us until we reach our true centers.
     If you have ever stopped yourself in the midst of doing something that you do quite frequently and observed a sense of completion and certainty, then you have thus found passion. Passion is when you are doing something and you just know for sure that it is right. In that very moment that you have lost yourself in happiness and yet found yourself because it just makes you so  happy, you feel completed, as if you have just discovered parts of you that you have never seen before.
     Passion is when someone asks you a question about your obsession and you are able to perfectly describe to them all of the exhilaration that surges through your veins whenever you are lost in doing it; or, on the contrary, not being able to find the right words that depict this exhilaration no matter how many times you have tried describing it because it just means so much to you that you cannot express your feelings about it, and instead, you feel frustration.
     Passion is when you have spent hours on end on your hobby, and yet, whenever you face difficulties in doing so, you don't feel stress. No matter how much stress you actually have, it isn't stress, because at the end of the day it ultimately brings you happiness. If it makes you happy, then you will travel great measures to stress yourself out over it just to reach your happiness.
     Before you find yourself, you must find what you are passionate for. You are the best version of yourself whenever you are doing whatever makes you happy. Instead of throwing away your precious youth and doing nothing with your life, I encourage you to invest yourself into different things and to discover this type of passion. Strive for this discovery no matter how much judgment, disagreement, or pressure that you face in the questions of others. Find a career that makes you feel completion and certainty.

"Everyone Has a Story to Tell" by Paul C

     For me, it always seems to be my journey through competitive shooting. “Shooting? I'm sorry, can you repeat that?”, seems to always be the same response I get when I tell people of my sport. In short, competitive shooting is a sport separated into a multitude of categories such as skeet shooters, rifle shooters, pistol shooters, running rifle shooters... well you get the point. My journey began in the category of pistol shooting, which is also broken into multiple categories as well. It was evident from the very beginning when I started the sport, it is vaguely appreciated. I receive comments about the sport stating it as “it's just a hobby”, “shootings easy” and the most irritating comment of all “it's not even a sport”. However, I've come to realize that the community of competitive shooting was enough to convince me that I was doing a sport worth putting my time and effort into. I began competitive shooting since I was in 7th grade. My mother found a newspaper ad on the Korean Daily Newspaper about a coach in West Covina training young youths to shoot guns. Sounds like what an average mother would do for her child; train him/her to use a gun in Junior High. The Pistol division have several categories. My pistol team participated mainly on 10m Air Pistol (a competitor has 1 hour 45 minutes to record 60 shots onto their targets to gain a score out of 600), 25m Rapid Rife (a competitor shoots a series of 5 bullets on 5 separate targets in time intervals of 8 seconds, 6 seconds, and 4 seconds), 25m Sport Pistol (a competitor focuses on a single target shooting a series of 5 bullets), and 50m Free Pistol (similar to 10m Air Pistol except the gun uses live rounds and now shoots at a range of 50m). My first day in shooting began with me meeting my coach and touching a gun for the first time in my life. Little did I know that this sport will soon become my best friend and my gateway to a world of adventure that I would've never experienced as the latchkey kid I grew up to be.
      My most cherished moment was on December 15th, 2013 at Colorado Springs in the Olympic Training Center where I received my entitlement as a Junior National Team Member for the US Olympic Shooting team. It was the third day of 10m Air Pistol in the Olympic Training Center shooting range. As of the second day, I was placed 9th out of 97 competitors during that day, 6 of which were my teammates. First place was Wyatt Brown from Colorado with a total score of 1156. Second place was Alex Chichkov from Florida 1154, and Brian Kim(my teammate) from California with a score of 1132. I had a total score of 1100. At the end of the third day I was now placed 7th, now qualified to enter the finals. Finals in 10m Air Pistol result in the top 8 players starting from a score of 0, shooting a series of 10 shots to see who gets the highest score. Unlike our 60 shot rounds, Finals count in decimal points. If I shot straight into the heart of the target, I would receive a 10.9. The Finals we're interesting that year. Three competitors were younger siblings of Olympic athletes, three of us were from the same team, and the last two competitors were new faces to the game. Finals began with me panicking. This was always a problem of mine, a crowd of people behind the athletes staring at the electronic board that recorded our every shot was too much for me mentally. My first two shots were a 5, and a 7. I was already placed dead last. Will Brown, Alex Chichkov, and Justin Ahn, were all placed the top three with two 10's. Then a weird rush came over me. 10, after 10, after 10, after 10, after 10, for eight straight shots obliterated my target. I climbed out of my eighth place position and climbed to second. In any nationally ranked game, the top two competitors are chosen as the new additions to the national team. I wasn't happy over the fact that I earned the title as a National Member, but more happy over what I gained from receiving such an honor. December 15th, 2013 was more of a jumpstart to my exciting journey as a national team member. My first International competition was in Plzen, Czech Republic for the 23rd Meeting of the Shooting Hopes game. International games were evidently no joke. These competitors from other countries spent countless more hours than I have training. I would spend 60 hours a week just standing on my two feet, but I could tell these international competitors groveled and bled their way through such a buildup for their physical body and mental stability. It's become senior year and I've been inactive in the competitive scene for over a year now. I missed my invitationals to Spain, Brazil, and Germany for the past year.    
     Anyway, this my story about shooting. Shooting has shaped me to become more patient and work harder for my goals. Receiving emails and messages from teammates and my foreign friends always remind me that shooting is what has made me... well me. I despised the me who was content staying home. Shooting allowed me to expand my view upon the world, make new friends, and understand that there is more than just Fontana, or Rancho Cucamonga. Here are a few links to the shooting categories for pistol: 10m Air Pistol: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mgcYZJfGPPU 25m Sport Pistol: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzziEY7VcWg 25m Rapid Fire: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8QuLYXKNCg 50m Free Pistol: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5kcX3OrT88

"Identity" by Brenda D

     I am an individual who has a name. A name gives each person an identification and proves their existence out of millions of people in the world. Every time I meet someone new, it begins with casual hellos and goodbyes. With the excitement of introducing myself and giving them a glimpse of my personality, I am left with “goodbye Brian’s little sister.” I know it is common for people to wonder about themselves, but I wondered “Who am I?” However, that question was answered. Instead of Brenda, I was labeled as “Brian’s little sister.” I was stripped of the thing that identified me as an individual, separate from anyone else.
      The initial growth to my brother’s popularity, was due to the fact that he served in Key Club, a community based club that focused on leadership, caring about others, character building, and inclusiveness. Key club was a unique service club on campus because it not only includes the community service aspect, the members in the club were able to shout cheers and openly exhibited their endless amounts of passion for the club. The passion of the club made persuaded for him to make a name for himself by serving as Key Club's President and Treasurer. I realized that if my brother made a name for himself through Key Club, then this was my opportunity to let people know me as Brenda Do. I decided to run for Key Club’s Secretary.
      As I went through the interview process, I had doubts about myself. I was someone who did not have qualities of being a leader. The election involved a speech, but public speaking always terrified me. However, I was willing to overcome my fear in order to have the opportunity to serve the club and to let others hear who I am. Unfortunately, during the speech, I froze and forgot everything I memorized. Instead of letting my fear consume me, I started speaking from my heart, saying that even if I had to sacrifice, I would do it for the benefit of the club. Even if those sacrifices met losing sleep and doing extra. To my surprise, after the long awaited process, it was announced that I would be the Key Club’s Secretary for 20152016 . I was in awe and disbelief that I was elected for the position, but I did not realize the amount of dedication and effort that had to be put into this position. From that experience, I realized that I had to be confident and not let my fears hinder me from reaching my goals.
      I was blinded by the greed of wanting to make myself known that I forgot the responsibilities of a secretary. At first, I felt overwhelmed with all of my new responsibilities. I had no experience as a secretary, let alone a leader. As time went by, I realized that Key Club was definitely not about the spirit and service. It was about harmonizing the four core values of Key Club into our everyday life and teaching these precious core values to people who tend to forget these things. I was reminded of these core values when I attended workshops that helped me trained to become a substantial leader. As I was trained, I learned that it was more than simply taking notes. It was the backbone of the club. In Key Club, the secretary serves as a mom; someone who guides and reaches out to the members and shows each individual that their existence is important. I made sure that I knew each and every one of their names so that nobody would feel forgotten or unknown like I had in the past.
     Through this opportunity, I am grateful for those who labeled me as “Brian’s little sister.” It prompted me to do something that would set me apart from my brother. Being in Key Club and having the once in a lifetime experience of serving others, is a moment that has changed my outlook on life. Before I was given the privilege, I was solely thinking about giving myself an identity, but I have learned much more there is to life. I am now able to care for and interact with others. I have blossomed and matured into somebody that is a good person: a leader who helps others build character by being inclusive and caring. As a result, I was given the nickname “Mama Do” by taking initiative to care for others and being there with open arms. I can now confidently change the answer to the question “Who am I?” I am someone making a difference in people's lives as Brenda Do, not as Brian's little sister.

"Hey! Look. A Distraction" by Alonso T

      I remember back at the beginning of the year when the blog entry was first assigned, I had the grand idea of write a well planned out and intricate fiction story that was going to have a lot of imagery and an amazing plot twist at the end that would make everyone cry. Fast forward to the day before the entry is due, I am now sitting here at my desk not knowing what to write about, drinking a Dr. Pepper soda and having this assignment due in a little over 8 hours. That my friends is a 5 month long stretch of procrastination.
     As a young student, I, along with many of my peers, procrastinate… A LOT. The idea itself of procrastination has no logic behind it. Never have I ever had a logical reason for putting anything off to a later time. 100% of the time when I procrastinate I just sit there and stare into space or shop for light sabers or ask why is Lily Collins so hot. The matter of fact is that there is no reason to procrastinate but people still do. We as procrastinators understand that we either do the work now and take the time to put actual thought into what we are doing, or do what I am doing right now and mash our thoughts together into something that looks like effort at last minute. More often than not, option 2 is the winner.
     As a procrastinator I’ve heard plenty of ways to get over procrastination and have even seen scientific research about how to “cure” procrastination as if it were some kind of disease. Yes maybe procrastination can be seen that way, but, being the avid procrastinator that I am, I often bookmark the article for later. I now have 12 articles of studies conducted on procrastination and I have never read any of them all the way through. However most criticism probably comes from an actual person such as a parent or maybe even a teacher. They often say thing such as, “You need to get your priorities straight.” or “Why are you so lazy?” or “Don’t you have work to be doing?” Sometimes it has nothing to do with not having priorities straight or being lazy or not knowing of work. Procrastination can result from over confidence as well as under confidence. When someone is over confident they could think they can finish 3 hours of work in 1 or that no matter what amount of pressure they are in they will produce good work. I find it that, however, most procrastination stems from the lack of confidence, and, when in this situation, one often believes that they are not capable of producing good work. The incapable feeling traps one inside their own head and can literally stop them from being able to think logically and work effectively.
     Regardless of all of what i just argued, there is no excuse for procrastinating. As difficult as it may seem, the work has to get done regardless and we just need to suck it up and do the the work. It makes no sense as to why we would torture ourselves and stay up till the middle of the night finishing homework because we wanted to watch The Walking Dead or any other television program that may be dragging people away from work. Procrastination is not a key to success. I am Alonso Torres, and I am an professional procrastinator.

"What We Are Capable Of" by Amber T

      Time and time again, I’ve heard the phrase “Do you have a ‘thing’ with that person?” continuously used by our friends and classmates a rather ambiguous, uncertain question. Yet we all understand what they’re referring to, the possibility of a relationship with that other person or rather the potential of love. That simple word, “ potential” . It’s not too difficult of a word, I mean we are all aware of its existence and usage, but why is it when we question the very uncertainty of one’s relationship that we still use the word ‘thing’? Perhaps, we are still slightly confused with the word (quite frankly, I still am) and all of it’s importance.
      Potential is defined as having the capability to develop into something bigger, possibly more successful or life changing, etc. It is a word that quantifies our possibilities. But we can’t really distinguish our own possibilities whether it’s regarding our relationship or ourselves in general. We fail to look past the present towards the future, deeming ourselves of being incapable of growth. It is rather difficult to see where and what you’ll be like ten, five, or even a year from now. Will I be a successful young nurse or will I still be sitting here, simply eating a cookie until enough time passes by that I realize there is work to be done? Maybe that’s why we use the assumed ‘thing’ in our generation, to try to make up for our confusion on just what is all of our potential and what does that mean.
     But that’s just it. We aren’t supposed to know our potential. It’s an infinite list of just what is possible of what you’re possible of. You’re meant to be confused. I know I am with the upcoming acceptances and decisions that plague me in the very near future. But this uncertainty of what may be, is simply a catalyst for how and what you should do at this present time. That you should behave and make decisions, not completely disregarding how it’ll affect your future, but for you to grow and experience life for all of its possibilities good or bad. Of course you’ll falter from time to time, but hey you’re going to try your best to become that person you want to be in the future. Your potential is what you make of it for we are all capable of something more, of something great and amazing. And that doesn’t mean you have to be a renowned musician or director, but that you can be a kind, caring, hardworking individual that tries their absolute hardest to discover just what their potential is. So go ahead and stop and help that kid who dropped all their books during passing period or defend your opinion, no matter how different it may be from others, because there you’ll realize that you are not defined by your potential, but by your experiences to try to live up to who you want to be, a potentially outstanding person.

"Transition" by Jethro P

     Think back to your first day of school. You were about five or six years old, being walked
to the classroom for the first time ever. Think back to the clothes you wore in your younger
years or the Power Ranger or Spongebob backpack that made you a popular kid at school.
     Think back to learning the letters of the alphabet and how to count. Think back to meeting your
first best friend or imaginary friend (no one’s judging), having your first sleepover and eating
junk food all night, having your first red card pulled on you and crying about it (maybe this was
just a “me” thing), and all the infinite firsts that may come to mind.
Let’s fast forward to junior high school. Most of us felt like adults already going in sixth
grade. If it was anything like Ned’s Declassified: School Survival Guide then you would have
thought middle school was insane. However, what we thought was serious wasn't really that
serious. We cared about colored skinny jeans, jerking, hitting the dougie, buying silly bands, and
the list goes on.
     Present day, here we are doing things we would actually do in the real word, or what our
elementary school selves would call “grown up stuff”. It's great that we've grown to become
adults but it's kind of depressing at the same time. We don't know when it happened or how but
it did and there's nothing we could do about it. We can't go back because time only moves
forward. In a blink of an eye, apple juice turned into alcohol, blowing bubbles suddenly became
marijuana and cigarettes, candy became drugs, sleep overs turned into parties, scooters turned
into cars, best friends became strangers, and coloring books became study guides. Suddenly,
everyone drives and we become less dependent of our parents. When did that happen? When
did we stop asking for rides and permission from our parents? Life just flashes by and we are
unaware of it. Every time we look back at where we came from, the road becomes longer and
what happened yesterday soon becomes what happened a year ago.
     There's a beauty in all this, though. Every time we reminisce about childhood memories,
we can't help but smile. That's the beauty of living our lives; everything comes to an end. That
makes every memory that much more precious. As graduation day approaches, high school has
to come to an end but we can look back and see all of the friendships we made and reminisce
about every major event that helped shape us into who we will be. It's a good thing that
everything comes to an end because it teaches us how to love harder, grow stronger and
cherish every tiny detail in our lives. Once you learn how to accept that everything comes to an
end, you can live every day happy and content. Life can go faster than you think but you can
slow it down and just appreciate everything in between.

"Now That's What I Call a Cup of Tea" by Elise B

            I have always been ambitious. Some may call me a dreamer while others may simply call me crazy. Whatever the title, I have chosen to live a life without boundaries in hopes that one day I will have a positive impact in this world. One of my many life goals is to open a nonprofit organization focused on helping women in third world countries to overcome poverty.

            Kind of crazy huh? If you are wondering why I have such a strong passion to help others that I may never meet, you would not be the first. I have gotten countless questions, sideways stares, and the infamous judgmental head-nods when I have explained my aspirations to adults and my peers.

            However, contrary to popular belief, I am inspired by my family that came before me and their stories. Growing up, I was always reminded of the many blessings and to never turn my back on my heritage. My family is from Belize (don’t feel bad if you have never heard of it). The home of my heritage is a small third world country with the population of Fontana and Rancho Cucamonga combined and can be traversed with a four hour car ride. While my humble beginnings may seem uncomfortably small, I am proud to call myself an American-Belizean. My family and their stories inspire me to work harder and dream bigger. My abuela (grandmother) for instance, has always been a great story teller and also a source of inspiration to me. We would talk for hours and simply discuss the idiosyncrasies of life, dreams, and her life.

            It’s a rainy Sunday afternoon as I sit with my abuela on the porch sipping cinnamon tea with freshly baked ‘powder buns’. My abuela, with her leathery lips and aged eyelids stares out into the pouring rain that stirs memories of days spent in the sugar cane fields of Belize. I listen intently as I know that every word is pure wisdom.

            She reminisces “The rain was pouring down in sheets and I didn’t have time to get to the hato (makeshift hut). Before I knew it I was face down in the mud again in the middle of the field and paralyzed in fear that your grandfather would see me. Two workers were sick and no replacements were available. Fire from the neighbor’s crop had spread to our field and burned our cane prematurely. If we couldn’t get this crop harvested on time, a year of hard work would be lost.

            With eight kids to feed, and six workers with families, losing our crop was not optional. To salvage our field your grandfather and I had to jump in and help. The rain prevented any work the rest of the day, it was only 2:00pm. We all piled up in the Land Rover, eight of us, wet, dirty with soot, 5 seats. The potholes from the unpaved roads made the ride home seem like an eternity.

            As we neared home we could see silhouettes of little children waiting at the window. They knew the extent of dad’s exhaustion very well and they gathered around to help him take off his rubber boots and wet socks. His contribution to this process: lying in utter defeat on a wooden chair.  

            Next was helping my eldest daughter finish the black beans, tortillas and ‘habanero machucado’ (pepper sauce) for dinner. As we worked, I thought about how a worker would tell him about how they had to retrieve me from the mud once again. The fact that a woman’s help was needed to get the job done had demolished his ego and pride. The next day I had to plea to be allowed to join them at the fields again. Begging was a small price to pay to ensure we met my oldest son’s high school tuition so that he might have a chance at an office job.

            From the kitchen, I heard grandpa get up and run to his friend’s knocking at the door. They were off again to drink the little money we had for food. I said a prayer in my head and hoped that he would remember the talk we had and come home after only one drink.”

            One thing that my grandmother and I have in common is our determination to succeed despite the doubt of others. My grandmother worked her hardest with the supplies she was given and never ceased to amaze me with her strength. At age sixty, my grandmother earned her GED. I am proud to say that this year, I will add my name to the short list of people in my family that will graduate high school and pursue a higher education.

            Hard work is engrained in my soul. Despite the doubt in people’s eyes, I am determined to succeed in helping people and making this world a better place. My life will not be defined by the boundaries set by the generations before me, but rather by my vision for a better world.

"The Time I Got Curved" by Adam B

            Throughout high school, I have fallen victim to the constant want for a relationship. While it’s very understandable why one would want a relationship, as a significant other is very appealing, it should not be one’s primary focus in high school. However, too often I have let my desires take over my actions, and become a main focus throughout high school. While this has progressively gotten worse, it stemmed from a previous relationship that had fallen through, one where I was not completely satisfied with the ending. This unsatisfactory ending had given me the persistence to keep trying continuously to fall into a relationship, even at times when it was wiser for me to focus on school work rather than just one girl. However, as high school progressed and I began to enter my senior year, I encountered one rejection that changed my whole outlook on what I was doing.

            In the beginning of senior year over the next couple of months, I had fallen for one particular girl, deemed impossible to win over by both myself and my peers.. Although seemingly impossible, I had decided to give it my all and go for said girl. While I shall not address her personally, I shall give her an epithet; Alyssa Tandoc (she allowed me to use her name). As said before, Alyssa was seemingly impossible, but my persistence had lead me to believe that she could be “the one”. Although I failed numerous times to get into a relationship before this, for some odd reason I continued to carry on with the chase. I then proceeded to being the process of going for this impossible yet seemingly amazing girl, as I constructed my 36 month plan to get into a relationship with the girl. Although I had such careful planning and the persistence to go with the plan, a measly 4 days into the process is where the plan started to go down hill. I decided to make a small move, asking her to homecoming. While this decision did not come easily, I decided to go for it, as it was senior year and I could only think, “Why not?” While it took a few weeks to decide what to do and how I should ask, I finally created the plan I believed would be foolproof. With a mixture of her favorite movie, flowers, and cupcakes, I had worked up the courage to finally ask her. I received a surprising and hopeful answer of “yes”, giving me confidence as I could see and feel the happiness she had on her face when I revealed the poster asking her to homecoming. Homecoming was extremely fun, but it ultimately lead to a few problems that marked the beginning of a fall through. I had developed a sense of confidence that made me more detached from the “chase”, as she ultimately lost interest in me. This confidence had given me a false sense of security and hope, as I believed that maybe she could be the one I was looking for all throughout high school. I had lead myself on and realized that ultimately, rejection would soon follow.  

            While my endeavors were for naught, I still learned a valuable lesson and changed my outlook on how to find my own happiness. After different confrontations with my own thoughts and input from my friends, I learned that relying on others for happiness is not the way to go about living. One of the main reasons I personally went for a relationship was merely for the happiness it appeared to bring about. While relationships at this stage in life are very appealing, most of the time they show no other importance other than the development of each other’s characters. However, this is not important if I fail to realize that I must further change and develop myself first before I could help any other person become the best they could possibly become. Another lesson learned was to never expect anything to happen. One particular friend of mine helped me realize to never look for expectations. If we expect good things to happen to us and we never act upon these things, then we will get nothing accomplished. High school has become a learning process for me, and while many of us would like to have a memory we can reflect upon for happiness during high school, many of us should realize that this is a transitional phase. As I remember my high school years, I wish to look back and see how I have developed my own character and see how far I’ve progressed.

"On Connections" by Danelle B

     At right about the age of seventeen, many may begin to hear from their elders that in order
to make it in life you need to have connections. One’s ability to make connections can ultimately
bring them a lot of success. From a purely biological standpoint, every living organism is connected
with one another, stemming from one common ancestor. In Webster’s dictionary, the most
common meaning for the word connection is defined as, “something that joins or connects two or
more things.” While all these instances embody the utmost truth, I believe that a much deeper
meaning and significance lies in the connections one can experience within life.
     In my belief, one will experience much difficulty finding happiness without making
connections. This means not the skill of networking nor the anatomical similarities living things
share, but the sense of connecting your experiences with other situations in the world. Too many
times in life do we encounter ingenuine relations with others for individual’s own personal gain,
show through the unreliability politics and business. We fail to consider the importance of creating
deep connections and their benefits, whether these connections are made between two people, an
individual and nature, or possibly between someone and their favorite fictional character, every
possibility to make connections in the world can lead to fulfillment. The human need for emotional
association allows for the success of far-fetched books, movies, and video games, why social media
has become so prominent in society. Many of us become so hooked on such stories in order to
connect ourselves to more unfamiliar instances and so interested in others’ lives so as to feel
connected to those we do not regularly encounter. In even the deepest tragedy, one’s ability to
empathize with another ordeal can act as a source of relief or sanctuary, allowing them to know that
they are not alone. In these times, when we view the news and hear people against each other due to
the most insignificant divisions, when too many adolescents go throughout their school years feeling
completely alienated, to know that we are not alone can impact our outlooks immensely.
      By creating a relation between yourself and another in life, you view the world more fully, as
it shows that although both you and this subject share something in common, many differences can
still lie between you. Therefore, this leads individuals to a broader view of life and its possibilities.
This further shows individuals to consider the repercussions of their own actions, for their behavior
can conclusively affect those around them. From such extended knowledge, we are able to draw
conclusions from other experiences and develop our own character. Ultimately, philosophy can be
built not only from personal experience, but alternately from the experiences of others, so long as
you can thoroughly empathize with these ordeals. In my understanding, to make connections means
much more than networking with those of higher social status who cares not for you nor you for
them. It does in fact mean, “ something that joins or connects two or more things,” as Webster’s
states, but in relation to the world, it means to unite individuals with a common cause, whether it be
something small, like your favorite novel, or your doctrine towards love. Connecting with others in
life and making the attempt to understand them can fundamentally advance humanity into a more
compassionate and empathetic environment.