"My Purpose " by Victoria E

 Naturally, everyone wants to know his or her purpose. I know mine, however I'm not going to tell you what it is yet. Granted, reading this you will understand the one event that contributed to who I am. If you don't know me, or know nothing about me, you will now.   

My story begins with an enormous passion for a sport. It helped that I had natural God-given talent. I played soccer better than I spoke English. From the ages of five to sixteen, I was breathing, eating, and sleeping soccer. I could put on cleats faster than mascara and knew more about slide-tackles than acrylic nails. Many who watched me play the sport had endless compliments for me, including my father. In fact, the only reason my father and I had a great relationship was because of the beautiful sport. By the time I was fifteen, I had college scouts sitting on the sidelines of my games unapologetically decked out in their school colors. They observed my every move and scribbled on clipboards as if they were taking notes on an important school lecture. I had offers being thrown at me like candy and I was even being scouted for Olympic and National teams. This is part of the reason why I thought soccer was my purpose. Soccer brought me friendships, attention, and it brought me a future. Soccer was my purpose, my only purpose, till the day I learned it wasn't. 

It was January of my freshman year when my purpose broke. Literally it snapped, torn in half completely. It was a Friday night, game night. I was sprinting down the sidelines wearing my varsity jersey with my lucky number on my back. Ending my sprint, I planted my foot and felt the worst, sharpest pain of my life. The momentum and weight of my body put too much pressure on my knee. I heard four pops and the pain was so unbearable my whole leg went numb. I lay motionless on the artificial grass. My coach, teammates, and mom rushed the field and I was bombarded with questions. Yet, I didn’t hear them and I didn’t care to hear them. I knew what I had done. Although, I didn’t want to say it out loud in fear that just the words coming off my lips would set it in stone. However, a voice in the back of my head kept repeating it. "Tori you tore your ACL."  The Anterior Cruciate Ligament is a nonvascular ligament meaning the body cannot heal itself. The only way to repair it is through a three-hour knee surgery along with a twelve-month recovery. Every competitive female soccer player in their teens knew this was the worst injury anyone could have and was not even wished upon their worst enemy. I lost more than just playing time on that Friday night. I lost playing soccer for a year. I would not be able to play soccer to escape from my problems for a year. I would not be able to make my dad smile after a great pass or a great goal for a year. I lost my purpose for a year. At least, I thought I did. A month after what seemed like the worst game of my life, I traded my jersey for a hospital gown. I came out of surgery with a three-inch incision on my knee. I was extremely bitter. However, did you know that when you're stuck at home crippled lying in bed you have actual time to talk to your friends? Did you know that without soccer practice three times a week from six to nine you also have time to have real family dinners? How about, did you know that without games on the weekends you even have time to go to church? I never knew these things. I was unfamiliar with the concept of extra time because normally soccer took all of it. In fact, I was so used to soccer and only soccer I had no idea what to do with all this extra time I had. Thankfully, family, friends, and the Lord became my new normal. I even got to actually know my sister. Get this, she's a dancer. I just thought she slept in the room next to mine. Slowly but surely, I began to see what a blessing the worst game of my life was.  

Before tearing my ACL, it was rare for my family to be all together other than my games.  We were all "together" but I would be on the field, my dad would be coaching, and my sister would be begging my mom for ice cream money. "Quality family time" gained a new and improved definition when I was forced to stop playing. I went to my sisters first dance recital and she was effortlessly talented. She was better than I could have ever imagined. It made me immediately feel guilty for never staying to watch her dance practices even though she was always forced to watch mine. This made me discover a new purpose. My new purpose was to be a sister. I had also never put in time or effort into making friends who didn’t play soccer because in my “soccer is my purpose eyes" they were a distraction. I was always focused on what made me a better soccer player rather than what made me a better friend. I knew some familiar faces at school but nothing more. Familiar faces at school became names and those names became part of my family. With my new friends I began loving harder, laughing more, and enjoying little things. I discovered a new purpose. My new purpose was to be a friend. These new friends, all with different personalities, allowed me to grow as a person and become more well rounded. My friends and I began going to church on Wednesdays and Sundays. My previous leadership skills from being captain of so many teams allowed me to obtain a leadership position inside the church as well. I began to mentor kids who genuinely looked up to me and turned to me in times of hurt. With this, I discovered a new purpose. My new purpose was to help others. Life had begun to become so much more than a ball and a goal. The year that I was supposed to be recovering and rehabbing to get back on the field took a detour and taught me more than I ever expected. There is no such thing as only having one purpose in life. My purpose in life is to have many purposes. I will not only live out my purposes but I will also continue to search for more. When you confine yourself to a limitation of one purpose you stop growing as a person.  My painful, dream-breaking injury taught me that. In the truth of it all, the day I tore my ACL was the day a self-seeking journey began. With that journey, I found my purpose.  

  

"Life Beats You Up" by Katie Y

Every day of your life do you ever acknowledge your heart as it’s beating?

Not just the idea of your heart as something that beats in your chest and is apart of your body, but as something that keeps you alive vouluntarily, and is the main reason why you’re alive.  It’s something that you constantly take for granted because you aren’t necesarilly having to be the boss of your heart and tell it what to do every second of your life. Your heart is the first thing that is given to you as a fetus, and other than your brain, it’s that doesn’t really change drastically as you become older.

For my whole life, when I felt my heart hiccuping and racing, I assumed that it was normal. I assume that that’s what my heart was supposed to do, because I don’t have control of it. This past year, I finally began to acknowledge my heart. I remember so vividly, the feeling of not being able to breathe, and the pains that I would feel in my chest, but after finally having enough,I asked to go to the doctor. Earlier this year, in April, I did myself, and my heart a favor. After hundreds of tests and monitors that I had to keep on for months, my heart shattered as multiple doctors told me that they had no clue what was wrong with me. They agreed that my heart rate shouldn’t be a hundred and eighty beats per minute while I was sleeping, or that it shouldn’t be over two hundred just because I got excited over a baseball game. They concluded that my heart did beat abnormally, yet they still couldn’t come to a diagnosis for my heart and I. I remember crying out of frustration at night and being so angry over the littlest things because there wasn’t anything to be done, and it wasn’t that I  blamed the doctors, but I blamed myself. I hated that I was restricted to doing things over the summer, that I couldn’t go swimming, because I couldn’t take my monitor off, or I couldn’t ride rollercoasters because my heart rate would get too high. I started to hate my heart, I hated the pain that would radiate from it, I hated that at times I had to tell myself that I couldn’t participate at cheer practice, and most of all, I hated that I knew my heart was supposed to be something that kept me alive, but for some reason, it was choosing to not do it’s job. At times I would ask why my heart was doing this to me. I often wondered what I could do to make my situation better, and I would constantly stress myself out that even my doctors couldn’t figure out why my own heart beats were abnormal. Finally, after six months, I came home from school and my mom told my that my cardiologist finally called with an idea of a diagnosis. He told her that I had Sinus Tachycardia, which is pretty much a condition that your heart just begins to race at anytime, he says that it’s what he believes I have, but it could be much worse, they just weren’t a hundred percent sure yet. My cardiologist said that this condition could be life threatening, because my heart can fail at anytime due to it beating too quickly for my body, and I was given the option to take Betablockers, or even have an ablation. Even with an answer, I was still upset with my heart. I hated it even more because I didn’t want to be on a drug that would slow my heart rate down, and make me tired all of the time, or get surgery. I constantly wanted my pain to be over and just have my life be done with, which I now know nobody should want. Other than your brain, your heart keeps you alive, and when you think about it, you should never hate something that is there to help you. I still haven’t chosen to be on Betablockers, or get a surgery for my heart, but for now I’m choosing to just live my life day by day, and to be thankful for everyday that I have. Through all of that, I’ve learned that sometimes, you can hate a part of yourself, and that at times life really does beat you up, but I know that I will never take anything for granted, especially the gift of life.

"Unexpected Passions" by Joseph M

 

Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars and change the world - Harriet Tubman. This powerful quote by Tubman is essentially saying that we all have a passion within us and the ability to change society for the better. That your dreams pour into your passions and you are helping people by doing what you love. The real question is: “How do I find my passion? How do I find the spark to ignite the flames?” I at one time was asking myself that question until it was answered 2 years ago.

I was a sophomore and had Mr. Dinkelman for Honors World History at the time. The year was 2016 and we were in the B Buildings before they were destroyed and had better traffic flow. The year was winding down and it was April when we had our last project for the year. We collaborated with a club called Model United Nations, or MUN, which is modeled after the real UN. They showed a brief presentation what the club was about and then they described our project: we picked a real-world crisis topic, then we represent a country, we research our country policy for the issue, and then we put it into a research paper for a grade. So I chose cyber terrorism because it is a real issue that we all face in this technological world and I was representing the United States of America. I did my research, typed my paper, turned it in and got an A. Then Mr. D said there was extra credit for the project.

So, basically, we would go to school on a Saturday to do a four-hour E-MUN (Etiwanda MUN) which is an actual debate on the topic with our classmates. When I heard this, I was excited for the extra credit but, I was nervous for the public speaking. At this time, I wasn’t the most confident speaker and I would stutter on my words even if I was fully prepared. On top of all that, the only debating “experience” I had was in our english socratic seminars. So my decision to go was as split as the Red Sea. What ultimately urged me to go was the fact of extra credit and that I got to dress up. I thought to myself, “how bad could it be?”

That Saturday, I packed my facts, speeches, laptop, paper, and anything else an  over-prepared person might bring. In the car ride to school, I was repeating my speeches to my dad and asking myself  “What was I doing? This is totally out of my comfort zone.” When I was dropped off, I walked into the MPR confidently as a lion in my dress shoes, black pants, sweater, and with my American Tie; ready to debate. The opening ceremony began and the club officers introduced themselves and told us the cliche on thanking us for being there and that you will have a fun experience. After the opening ceremony, they then split us up into our committee groups and rooms.

My group had around ten people and we had three chairmen, one being one of my good friends today. We all received our name cards for our countries and then they started the debate. Our group had no idea what we were doing and messed up a lot on our points and motions as the debate was moving along. Our chairmen were understanding and told us what to do to build our confidence. The speaker’s list for the countries to propose their resolutions opened up to us. I was third and I was trying to keep my cool on the outside but, on the inside, my heart was running at a thousand miles per hour. When it was my turn to go up, my lion confidence turned into a mouse. I was sweating, twitching, stuttering, and shaking my paper. The ten people looked like a thousand. But eventually, I finished my speech and I thought I did horrible, but my fellow delegates actually liked my ideas. They liked that it was an unique and practical solution to fight cyber terrorism. After I spoke, I actually had fun and became the leader of my resolution group. It was a challenging fight but, our resolution passed in the end.

When all of the committees met in the MPR at the end of the conference, I was surprised and proud of my performance. Then, the officers announced the winners for each conference. I didn’t expect to win anything, but I won a podium position as commendation (3rd place). I was so happy and almost cried. I went home a different person that day. Fast forward to now. I am a senior, in the club, MUN, for my second year, and have squashed the bug named fear when it comes to public speaking.

I learned two things from that day. First, try new activities, especially if it’s out of your comfort zone. That conference was totally out of my league and totally unexpected. I never initially wanted to do this for a hobby and I just went for my extra credit. If I never went to EMUN, I never would have known the club existed and discovered this new passion for debating. I wouldn’t have seen past the facts and figures. I get to go to conferences at UCLA, UC Berkeley, UC Irvine, and many more for fun. I even changed my major to political science from engineering based on my journey with MUN because I get to help change the world and impact humanity for the better. Secondly, you meet amazing people as you explore your passion. I have made great friends, even considered family through this club. I honestly can say that if I didn’t go that Saturday, I wouldn’t have some of the strong friendships like I do today. I have made great memories with these people through all of the conferences we went to and they will be engraved in my mind forever. MUN is truly FUN!

“How to Make a Successful YouTube Channel” by Stephanie V

            Anyone can post a video on YouTube, but it takes patience and commitment to grow a successful channel. There are tons of genres that have made their mark in the YouTube world.  From cooking to fashion, building and singing;  millions of people from around the globe embark on their journey by the click of a button.  Here are some beginner tips for establishing and maintaining a successful YouTube channel:

Tools:

YouTube account

Any electronic device such as a computer, tablet or smartphone

Recording device

Editing software

Step 1: What is your purpose

Decide whether you want your video to be educational, comical, political, etc… This will have people coming back for either your intelligence or commentary.

Step 2: Decide who is your demographics

Are you targeting children, teens or adults?  What is their background knowledge of the topic?  Are they new to the subject or well versed? Demographics can help you decide how much information is needed for the viewers to understand.

Step 3: Include original content to ensure your videos stand out

YouTube has videos on many topics, but it would be difficult for your videos to be seen; especially if you are a beginner. Having a unique style in which you create your videos and creating new content that is informative, will result in people subscribing to your YouTube channel.

Step 4: Have good quality videos

A major aspect to ensure many new subscribers is how well your video is presented.  Having a camera that records high quality and clear audio is the best.  No one likes to watch a video in 144p in which you can count every pixel.( No potato quality)

Step 5: Editing Software

Adding edits and cutting parts of your video makes it easier for the viewers to focus.  Also, it helps gain attraction on your style of editing, which can include text style, reference pictures, or voice-overs.

Step 6: Time Management

As you start to grow, people will want to see more videos from you.  Try creating a personal schedule that gives you more time to record and edit videos to ensure quality work.  Additionally, let your subscribers know the day and time you intend to post.  Time management is crucial because content creators tend to start off with consistent posts, but eventually poor time management will likely occur and their growth on YouTube will lessen or even stop altogether.

I have been posting on YouTube for the last four-five years with different YouTube accounts. The reason why I had several accounts is because no one helped me become successful and it took a lot of trial and error to get where I am today.  The most troubling aspect I had with YouTube was time management.  I was growing at a pretty fast rate, until I began not to post as often as I used to.  That prevented me from becoming more successful with my channel.  Although having the best recording device and recording software helped me grow, I quickly came to a realization that being consistent with posting is the key to success. The tips I previously discussed helped me grow on YouTube.  If you want to become successful on your own channel, follow my steps with patience and commitment! Good luck and don’t quit!

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