"The Average American" by Christian G

 

January 1, 1920

            My Mother told me to start writing this diary, she said it would be a memory to look back on. Or whatever. So, I am a High School freshman this year at Ponca High School, (Nebraska), and tomorrow I am going to have a merry day at school.

John had thought how odd it felt to write his feelings dpwm, but his Mom and Dad insisted on it for some reason, saying that it helped them manage their feeling during the Great War.

---

January 20, 1920

            My Dad asked about how the diary writing had been going, once he found out that I hadn't worked on it I was yelled at for an hour! You want me to write my feelings in this, WELL I HAD A TERRIBLE WEEK; THERE. What do they know! I am failing and I became the laughingstock of the school on my first day of school!

            I don’t want to go back to school but I need to, I can’t just let it go like this, this diary I’ll just lose it.

---

I can’t believe I found this old thing again. As he goes to blow off the dust, “cough, cough”, he opens the book and reads the only 2 entries. His only thoughts were, “ I really was a snotty brat. Maybe I should try writing again.

May 28, 1924

            I just graduated High school, and although I feel like I just started High School, time really does fly, doesn't it? (I guess I can quickly write down what has happened to me.) After I took care of my fellow classmates I was able to have fun and do things that mattered to me. Time doesn’t feel real right now, I have the hold world ahead of me.

“John we have to get going!” yelled Robert.

“Okay,” he said, as he shoved the book in his jecket.

He was moving out of his parent's house and has a job across town now.

---

June 3, 1929

            I lost my job, times have become rough and my car is being taken, I am living with Robert now and don’t know when I’ll have time to update this dirary, I’ll be moving back with my parents. But now is nothing but a time to celebrate Robert is getting married tomorrow and joy is the only thing we need moving forward.

---

 

August 18, 1933

We don’t have enough to eat, I am starving and my Mom and Dad may not last another day, I need to go out and find food. We won't last another day. Robert and his family have left for California, but we don’t have the funds to do that. I don’t know what is going to happen.

      Radio, “Tensions are still high after the banks have crashed causing an economic downturn never seen before.

John needs to go into town to find food of any kind. There, a basket of potatoes sitting on the floor in the distance he needs to grab it. As he began running toward it it seemed like it was getting farther away, it was a hallucination, but it was too late the wind's roar scattered in front of his face and into his eyes, he needed to take shelter now or there would be dire consequences. He ran into an old mine without any hope for shelter, as he sat in the mine he thought, “It smells funny in here”. The mine air was poisonous, it was slowly killing him; he who had no muscle to the fiber of his being. His only choice was to crawl deeper and deeper into the mine hoping to find shelter. Once he had reached the end of the mine it was a dead end, there was no hope of survival no hope of escape; but his will refused to give in he grabbed a leftover pickaxe a struck the floor causing a sinkhole to form so large it swallowed him whole. With a broken arm and broken leg, he laid in a pool of water that seemed to shimmer as if a light had graced itself upon it. His wounds healed his pain was no longer and his mind was ever clear. His only thoughts were “Sleep I want to sleep now.”...

---

Unknown

            I woke up in a strange place, the water that I thought I had laid in had disappeared, and I felt refreshed. Now to make my way out of this mine.

      John had easily climbed his way back up to the hole as if his body was in its prime state. Hewas able to enter the mine but now he no longer felt deterred by the strange scent. Although he had smelled something funny he was no longer affected by sent. At this time John did not notice anything, the fact that he was immune to a previously toxic gas did not even occur as a thought. When he had emerged there was nothing by dust to see for miles. He was able to get to town and ask a few survivors questions about what had happened only to learn that it was now the year 1938.

---

August 18, 1938

            GONE, GONE they are all gone. My parents, our house, and my town were swallowed by the dust and turned into dust. How, how could this have happened? I was only going to get food, none of this was supposed to happen.

      A radio off in the distance, “A war is predicted to break out in Europe within the next year, but no need to worry The Neutrality Act is being proposed by President Roosevelt. All of this information had never even made it into John's thoughts as he was engrossed in sorrow. He ended the night as a recluse in what used to be his parent's house.

---

August 18, 1942

            The attack on Pearl Harbor has harmed us. Robert sent me a letter saying he was serving in the war, I can not lose someone else important to me, and have sent off my draft registration card to join the army. I will not let him die, no it cannot even be thought.

      John had set off on a journey to his local draft board, which was located in the main city. He was able to get hold of a car, and although the roads were quite terrible he had made it in time for the first draft and would be stationed with Robert.

---

December 23, 1942

            They have been training us and I have been separated from Robert, his current whereabouts are unknown to me, they are apparently classified. They say we will be stationed soon and that for now we need to focus on building our teamwork.

            John's spirit was slowly breaking with nobody to rely on and no one to assure him of the future he slowly grew paranoid. It unconsciously implanted a seed of doubt in his heart.

---

 

 

 

April 1, 1945

            We are being deployed to Japan, and the days are grueling and hard but I am able to keep up because of Robbert, although for some reason when I talk to him around others, they never see him there. We are fighting today, and I am ready for the battle later today, I will take down those imperials.

            Robert has been long gone, lost in battle, his body has not recovered and many refuse to believe that he is dead, but Johns grief has caused him to suffered from hallucinations.

---

September 3, 1945

            A second sun has descended on me, gone once again, all around me is gone, the people are nothing but shadows. The buildings were gone and the spirit of the land burned. It wasn’t long before people came to investigate what had happened, and why they died while I survived, I needed to run or they would start asking questions.

      John had run further into the nuclear waste and people could not follow him due to the lethal levels of radiation, but it did not affect him because his cells were regenerating as fast as he was losing them.

---

 

 

September 3, 1945

            I don’t know what day it is but the season has passed and I don’t feel a day older. It’s just me in the house, everything dies, and nothing stays alive. Seems like a pattern with both people and plants is to disappear. Won’t it be easier to never be around life? I will just leave, loving people isn’t worth the trouble.

            The end…

 

Feeling unsatisfied, me too…

"The Power of Music" by Juliana Z

 

“Do not let fear control you” is a phrase I know well, a phrase I live by. However, I found that I let fear control me in certain situations, which can alter the truth behind this ideology. In the beginning of my sophomore year of high school I had a choir assignment. I did not think much of it, as it was simply requiring a video recording of myself singing a song of my choice. At this time in my life, I had extreme fear of singing in front of others, but was able to record myself singing with ease. I decided to record myself singing the song “My Future,” by Billie Eilish. On the second take, I found it good enough to submit simply expecting feedback from my choir teacher and nothing more. The next few days or so after submitting I received the “submission comment” notification on canvas. I was excited to finally receive input from someone who knows music well. I recall the comment complimenting my tone and overall performance while recommending that I focus on having less of an “airy” sound. I was glad to know that I did relatively well. A week or so after submitting this assignment, my choir teacher notified the class of a concert that we will be having. She went on to note that it will be a solo concert and individuals will be performing if they are chosen after auditions. My teacher had also written down names of individuals who she recommended to participate in this concert based on what she heard in our video submissions. With the list in hand, she reads to the class the people she hoped to see participate in this solo concert. Despite doubt, I had a feeling that my name would be on that list. She went on listing the few people, and read off my name. I was flattered, but full of doubt on whether or not it was meant for me to sing this solo. The fear I felt simply thinking of the fact that I would be on a stage, alone, with all eyes on me was excessive. As fearful as I was, I knew that I would need to work on my ability to perform. My passion was stronger than any fear I had at that moment and I decided to go for it. I let my teacher know and, with a smile on her face, she checked off my name. A couple of weeks had passed and it was time for me to sing this song in front of the class. I had the option to use a soundtrack, but decided to have our pianist play the piano as I sang. With shaky hands and running thoughts I walked up next to the piano and began to sing. At this moment, it was hard to regulate my breathing and I was trying to avoid eye contact. I stared at the sheet music as I sang the song, hoping this would make time fly by just a little faster. I was extremely quiet and my confidence was not very high and that affected my overall performance. But I knew deep down that I was capable of performing. I was able to get through the entire song, and felt proud of myself. This was an immense step in the right direction. A few weeks passed, and the concert day arrived. With countless rehearsals and reassurance from family, I felt prepared enough to perform. I was scheduled as the third soloist of the evening and, despite the fear and doubt in my mind, my passion for performing was stronger than ever. I walked up to the stage, introduced myself and informed the audience that I will be singing “My Future” by Billie Eilish. As I began singing, I had a rocky start, but was able to get through it. After the concert, I was extremely hard on myself and my performance. I knew that I did not perform as well as I practiced, due to nerves, and felt ashamed. However, as I was on that stage I realized how truly enjoyable it was to be able to sing in front of an audience. Knowing that you can do what you love and others can be there to enjoy it too made this moment just that much more meaningful. As scared as I was, and as shaky as I sounded, I knew that with practice I could perform better. This very moment led me to go for any solo concert opportunity I could get, and I am now able to continue practicing stage presence. To this day, I still struggle with fear before getting on stage. However, I know that the passion I have for performing will be stronger than any fears. I would not be where I am today if I allowed myself to be controlled by the immense fear I felt. Throughout my life, music has always been apparent. But, the moment I stopped letting my fears control me was the moment I realized the true power of music.

 

 

"Do Not Say A Word " by Phoebe H

 

            It's October 12, 2023, and my family has just moved to Big Rapids, Michigan. I used to live in Northridge, California… however, my hard-headed dad decided it was best for us to move somewhere far and ¨ dispersed from modern society where people are the same¨, whatever that means. He also decided that it was best for my little brother, Daniel, to have a new scenery since he never really fit in at our old school. Some of the other boys even considered him to be an outcast. Myself, however, I’ve been able to work my way around my old school’s popularity system and have been able to get myself out of some categories.

 

Around 4 o’clock we arrived at our new house. It was a grand Dutch colonial revival style house but modernized to current standards. It stood tall with a great lawn that had flowerbeds filled with oleander blooms and fresh white daisies around the landscaping of the house. I never wanted to move here, but did I have a choice? I didn't want to leave my friends and family and go to this creepy little town that looked like Ted Bundy would live there. Coincidentally, the first encounter I had with people here, was with our neighbors across the street. They live in a pretty standard home… two stories, with a big driveway, and fair lawn space. At first, they were welcomed at their home distance like your typical next-door neighbor, however, I just feel like they're something wrong about them, as if they are trying to be so nice for a reason we don't know of.

 

I start to my room and it's a nice medium-sized space with a large arched window that looks out towards the lawn and my weird neighbor's house across the street. I knew I should've called dibs on the other room.

 

A little after 9 pm, I hear a knock at the door and look through the peephole to see the neighbors standing still with eerie smiles. No emotion. Just smiling. I quietly call my dad over and head to the top of the staircase where I can see the doorstep. My dad opened the door halfway to them, about to gather the typical “ Hello nice to meet you I-'' until they interrupted him and worriedly asked if they could come inside. They didn't even care to say hello or personally address themselves as to who they were. But there was this alarming look on their faces. Something about how they do not look sane because of how their sinister smile still stayed on their face as they kept asking. My poor dad, however, seeming concerned and extremely confused grew angrily adamant that they wouldn't tell him why they had to come into the house. They just kept on becoming more and more forceful that at one point the husband began to push on the door to open it further into the house. Ten minutes pass and my dad eventually gets them to leave. He kept saying that something was disturbing them and that the problem came from our house, yet there should be nothing to worry about.

 

I head back to my room after that weird disturbance and check on Daniel as he walks to the restroom.    “How's it going kid?” I say as he keeps walking past me. “Nothing. I'm just trying to get this sticker off this drawer. I wish we could've just gotten new drawers because now I have to keep using my drawer from when I had my transformer phase.” Daniel turns and motions to me the little transformer stickers that are packed dirtily on the plastic drawer. “I have a hair dryer, you can use to melt the stickiness on the back. Maybe you can use that?¨  I laughed. Daniel starts to my room as I walk to get the rest of the boxes in the hallway. After about 5 minutes of taking the boxes to my door, I noticed that I hadn't heard the hairdryer. Maybe he hasn’t found it? I open my door slightly to see Daniel still rummaging through the boxes that were previously in my room. I walk to the box near the window that says ¨makeup and hair¨ and pull out the hairdryer that was sitting on top of my belongings. I lift the dryer to his face and laugh saying, ¨ See it was right here, you just aren't looking in the right place.¨ He says nothing however and begins to grow pale with tears forming in his eyes. He's stiff with no movement whatsoever.

 

What is he staring at?

 

I slowly turn around towards the window looking out to the dark little area in the middle of the lawn and there it is.

 

There is a man.

 

Staring at me.

 

Watching.

 

There is no characteristic of this man, other than the fact that he has a tall broad figure with his head covered by a linen bag with chains around his face covered in what looks like blood.

 

But I can feel him staring at me.

 

I grow paralysed in fear. My limbs are at a halt, and I say nothing as I can't fathom what to do. I just stand there.

 

Two minutes have passed and we have not moved the slightest bit. No words. Just silence. The man still eerily stands motionless until Daniel says something underneath his quivering breath.

 

¨ I-Ive see-n hi-him bef-fore. ¨

 

The exact moment he says those words. Daniel immediately cries, ¨ HE’S GONE, HE DISAPPEARED,  HES NOT THERE.¨

 

What do you mean he's not here? He's right there standing in the same spot as me.

That's when Daniel finally moves towards me, until he falls; the back of his head first to the wall. At this point, he looks paler than ever and he’s practically paralyzed lying on the ground.

 

The man is in the room with us.

 

I turn around and see nothing except the space of my room then stare back at the window in the same place I still see the man standing at.

 

I look towards Daniel and see him still staring at the blank space behind me. “ Is he looking at me or you Daniel?” I say while trying to scramble my words until I immediately feel a blunt force of pressure right behind me. I fall to the ground and see the man's chained linen-bagged face only a few inches from mine. He puts his hand over my eyes and I start to feel his hands progressively starting to push on my eyes. During this moment I’m more than terrified, I feel like time has completely stopped and this moment is the last thing my soul will remember. I start to lose consciousness as his hands start to sink into my head, barely able to fight back. I suddenly feel the pressure of the man come off me and start to faintly hear screaming. I had no idea what was going on however, I gained the strength to at least get on my knees. I can feel the blood starting to rush out of my eyes trying to gain a reconnection. A few minutes later I finally regained my vision and saw Daniel and my dad sitting on the floor. The man is somehow gone, and to this moment, I still do not know what happened to the man as I lost almost all my senses.

 —

Days have passed and that night still haunts me every minute. I've hardly been able to sleep as well since Daniel decided it was best for him to be in my room due to his separation anxiety. My dad, who still hasn't told me what he did exactly to vanish the man, became more reserved in his studies than ever before. I've also found out that my neighbors coincidentally committed suicide on the same night only a few houses down from their own. Apparently, they did it in an execution style in the middle of the street. I head back to bed after doing my nighttime routine until I hear a thud at my window. I stop in my tracks.

 

I creep up slowly to my window, hoping that I do not see what my fears start to imagine. I look and see nothing outside. I even scan the area towards the sides of the lawn and only see my late neighbor's house and the large flowerbeds. I step back in relief looking down at the creaking wooden floors, until I look up again towards the window and see a reflection not of mine.

 

The man is right behind me.

 

 

 

"Brilliant Mind" by Analise I.

 

 

She's waiting until he makes the next move as he looks at the empty board. Katherine had just turned ten before she ended up in a foster home. When she was growing up, it used to be her and her mom doing so many fun things like skating around the house, making funny jokes, and eating as much chocolate as possible until their stomachs hurt. Katherine was born very smart and could do high school-level math when she was only 9. Sadly, her mother passed from cancer and her dad had since separated from her life. Six years had passed with her in the foster care system, but she managed to have a close relationship with one of the girls named Anita. One day, Katherine's foster parents wanted to make it official and have her as their daughter. It was a long, heavy process, but it was finally official. She had a new family. The husband's name was Tom and the wife was Mary. Tom never really seemed very interested in Katherine being there. He just went on business trips and was not home often. A little after Katherine got settled in they enrolled Katherine in a beautiful school near a lake, Mary found out that Katherine was very smart and needed to be placed in a better program so she had sent her to Colony Ridge College. There was a competition where universities would time their smartest kids to see who could solve mostly impossible questions the fastest. The winner would win up to $1000. Katherine was determined to win that prize, but there was an entry fee of $30. She sent a letter to her former teacher from when she was in foster care, asking if she could loan her the money. She promised to give half the money if she won the prize. Katherine ended up getting a letter back with $30 to enter the competition. Not many women at the time were skilled in math or even allowed in these types of things. So, when the competition started, she was placed with another woman who shared the same ambition. She won against her and waited for the next player. This happened until she faced the city's best player, whom she beat 30 minutes before he finished. Her mother questioned where she got the prize money, but Katherine gladly explained. The next day, her mom started planning more games in different cities and states. Katherine decided to go on the trips with her mom, giving her 30% of her winnings. They traveled together to support themselves, especially since Tom hadn't come home in over 2 months. A couple of months later, they received a call from Tom, saying he wouldn't be coming home and was staying in Washington. Mary and Katherine didn't mind, as they had each other. They traveled all over the country until Katherine turned 21, but then Mary fell ill and sadly passed away in Mexico City before Katherine's next match. Katherine called Tom to inform him and he left her the house, wanting nothing to do with her. Katherine kept playing these big events until she faced the top player in the world. The competition was in Florida, and when she started, she noticed he wasn't writing. She waited for him to make a move and questioned his approach. He finished before her, which frustrated her because she was confident she would beat him. Despite the loss, she continued playing and beating others. But then, another man beat her, and she asked him to teach her to be faster. They both learned from each other's strengths. To play against the top player again, she had to beat the other top ten players day by day. She played and beat each one, even the second top player who took two separate days to find the solution. She eventually beat him just seconds before the time ran out. Nervous but determined, she faced the number one player and won by a landslide. She became a math teacher for foster children and continued to excel.

"What is Beauty?" By Dianna M S

 

 

 

“Il faut souffrir pour être belle”, a French saying meaning “One must suffer to be beautiful”. A cold reality women have been told for centuries in our quest to be the ideal beautiful girl society has been pressuring women to become. This ever present pressure has led to the creation of strange trends for women in an effort to meet the current beauty standards. I saw a video of a woman trying to attempt an “at home nose job” in order to achieve the perfect button nose. Many people were praising her nose saying she doesn’t need to change, she's already pretty. Others encouraged her, they were distraught that her “nose job” didn’t work. They wanted this creator to get the actual surgery just for her to get a prettier nose. It made me wonder, what is beauty in society’s eyes? If thousands of people were divided on whether this random girl’s facial features are beautiful or not, can anything be beautiful or is it just in the eye of the beholder? I believe there is no true meaning of beauty, it is a mixture of ideas, looks, and personal opinions that form the idea of beauty. Then, on a random day, we all decide that these beauty standards are no longer the pleasing thing we once saw, but now ugly and outdated. Just like the fleeting beauty of women.

Every year and every month has a new definition of beauty. A new trend that takes center stage only for it to be quickly replaced by something new, something different no one has seen before, except we have. Every trend we have seen isn’t anything new. It is just a recycle of older trends that has been renamed to something new. An old standard women have been told is unattractive and outdated is now the new shiny toy everyone is obsessed with. This constant repackaging of aesthetics has left women chasing an unattainable goal of beauty. Once women have reached perfection, they are the embodiment of beauty, but for how long? The instant they are beautiful their looks are stripped away from them. The hard work they put into changing themselves was for nothing, they have been replaced by a more beautiful girl. A “new” trend, aesthetic, style, and body is better than the one they have. They aren’t pretty anymore, they are outdated, similar to the trend they made themself become. Leaving women to repeat the same cycle all over again because their appearance is just a product to be consumed, judged, and thrown away. Forever leaving them unsatisfied with their own looks causing them to chase a goal they can never obtain. Always looking ugly to society’s eyes.

The continuous change of trends and beauty standards has left a skewed definition of beauty. Since society has come together and as a whole to decide what is ugly and what is not based on popularity. People cannot come up with their own meaning of beauty, especially when their perception is different from others. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but we are stuck arguing with each other, unable to decide whether a cartilage bump is unattractive while they ignore the harm beauty standards have left on our world.

"Positive Effects of Selfishness" by Logan G

 

The word selfishness has come around to acquire a negative tone and meaning of the word, although this could be true, depending on context and true meaning this word doesn't need to mean anything negative of the sort. The definition of the word selfishness means the quality or condition of being selfish, selfishes meaning being “lacking consideration for others; concerned chiefly with one's own personal profit or pleasure”.The definition in itself already sets negative tone for what could end up being a positive word, rather then history’s take on selfishness as being a sin. Being selfish can actually end up being something healthy for oneself and the human mind.An antonym of selfishness, being “Altruism” is all about being selfless which could also be taking a direct opposite take of instead being a positive thing, ending up as something negative. Healthy selfishness is what inevitably turns this negative word around and makes it positive.

 

Healthy selfishness could also be considered as self love, we as humans are never taught to formally love ourselves, going through any sort of selfishness in turn helps us self teach ourselves self love whether in a good or bad way. Self love is extremely important for recognizing self worth and accepting yourself ultimately building a healthy self esteem.As long as context subdues a good reason this in turn provides. “Selfishness requires having a clear sense of one’s own needs and desires, paired with the belief that advocating for such is essentially a birthright—and in some measure, it can indeed be positive.”  This quote was written by Lia Avellino, and in itself perfectly explains a reason why selfishness would be positive. To thrive in a relationship you must first know what one wants in a relationship, with this you are forced to take a sense of selfishness.

 

Altruism is seen as a good positive effect on oneself, but inevitably Altruism can lead to some bad negative effects. Altruism can ultimately end up deteriorating one's views on themself leading to low self esteem and mental health. This undoubtedly is the complete opposite outcome of what would happen with healthy selfishness. Selfishness and Altruism is all built up of the mind and relating to mental health and how these two traits affect mental health in countless different ways, just as building a healthy lifestyle, or destroying one's own self worth.

 

            So while at the very least we have these two common words as antonyms this whole time we can in reality also see the effects of what they cause. For the reason of this being they both could lead to very similar effects, Of which toxic altruism can lead to no self worth and unhealthy mental health which could be the very same effects of a bad selfish mind. Healthy selfishness in the end leads to a built up self esteem and healthy mindset on yourself which is what altruism can also lead to. This therefore concludes the positive effects selfishness can have on someone and a brighter future they can have with said effects.

Our First Group is Here!

 

 All Students:  Be sure to read the entries for this group --September writers).  Everyone is required to comment on at least THREE different pieces of writing.  You must submit comments on Canvas (for each one, include the name of the author and the title of their piece, and then your positive, specific comment ) by Friday, October 13 on Canvas.

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!

"Dr. Stevens Report: May 6th 2123 " by Nicole C

 

 

100 years ago, the world was perfect. But because of those people, the world has now become destroyed, split off into three different parts. The North and the South, an endless blizzard, creating mountains of ice colder and taller than the peaks of Everest. No life would be able to sustain itself there. Around the equator, is where the ozone layer broke off. Those UV rays make the equator uninhabitable, as simple contact would burn and melt all that tried to challenge it. The ground had been melting away ever since that day. Cries of pain were heard as people boiled from the inside out. Life wouldn’t be sustainable here either. The only place left that people were able to live at was in between the poles and the equators. That was the only place humanity was able to protect. The only place where the winds still whistled and the grass still danced. This is the story of how the world was destroyed.

 

Today, I got invited to do an interview with Professor Steven. I got out of bed, made my breakfast, then put on my coat. I walked through the door and entered the OLE

 

campus, where we study the environment around us. The OLE stood for “Original Life Experiments”, which is because this university was created by Professor Steven Olson to study the environment. This university was founded back in 2082 specifically to focus on protecting our planet. After years of human recklessness, our world had begun losing its atmosphere. With the return of chemicals known as the CFC, the once healing ozone hole had returned. Professor Steven and his team were supposed to find a way to fix this as soon as possible. However, something went wrong, and everyone knew it wasn't accidental.The Professor was one of the scientists who participated in that mistake.

 

“Good morning, Prof. Steven, how are you doing today?” I said, nervously.

 

“Very well, actually, I’m glad to participate in this interview with you,” He replied, ”then we can settle things once and for all”

 

Then the camera man came in signaling us to sit down. “Have you been talking to any of your old co-workers this year?” I asked.

 

“You mean those guys that used to work in the lab? No not after what happened.” He answered.

 

I was taken aback when he said this, because they had been working together for about 10 years, and were always known to be pretty close.

 

“So I know we were all confused when the “mistake” happened. Can you explain what led you to work on fixing the ozone layer?” I pushed, hoping he would elaborate.

"I think in 2110 I was a scientist known for studying the environment who understood a lot about the atmosphere. Somewhere around that time, I heard the speaker talk about his plans and ideas to seal the ozone layer. I was excited about his ideas and decided to contact him immediately. I ended up joining with them to turn his ideas into reality. So for 5 years, all we did was design a way to go up into the ozone layer, but nothing was ever mentioned about fixing it. When I started to talk about the ozone layer, they would have confused looks on their faces and looked like they didn’t care.”

 

“After I finished my studies- it was about a spacecraft that can provide a way for people to stay up there longer, they started contacting me less. That's when I started to think that they had other intentions. So I went up to our project manager, also known as that speaker, to express the confusion I had on what we were doing. That’s when he told me the truth. He told me that we were still going to fix it, but we needed money. That’s why he was sending people up to gather expensive chemicals, to sell to the other nations so we can make money. He turns around and pulls out stacks of cash, telling him to not worry about it and just to continue working.”

 

“How did you feel when he told you they needed to make money by selling the chemicals?” I replied trying to comfort him.

 

“At the time, I knew deep down the cash wasn’t going towards fixing anything, but I still wanted to keep my head up and hope for the best. Thinking back, I should have stopped him right then and there.” He told me, with a blank stare on his face.

 

“Then what did you do next?”

 

“So I took the money and kept doing their bidding, knowing they wouldn’t start working on fixing the ozone layer. I knew I couldn’t change anything by myself, but I forced myself to believe that what I was doing was going to save this world. One day when I visited the spacecraft, I saw a lot of people transporting boxes upon boxes of chemicals. I went in shocked, because they weren’t even pretending to be doing something productive. All I saw them doing was making money for the sake of themselves. When I told them of the dangers, they ignored me and continued packing up the boxes. That's when I realized the mistake that I had made. So I ran back to the facility to try to talk to our project manager, but the security blocked me from entering. I left that day knowing I had helped the wrong people out. The following days were the same. Me, trying to go back into the facility, and the security not letting me in. Then the thing I was worried about happened. The spacecraft exploded because of the over contamination of chemicals in the unprotected rooms. The release of those dangerous chemicals into our atmosphere lead to the full destruction of our ozone layer and the ecosystem as we know it. So many people died that year, but because of me, the people who worked on the project have now become the richest people on this planet.”

“Ding!” The timer sounded, signalling the end of the interview. I thanked Prof. Steven for being on this interview and left the OLE campus, to go back to my office. Walking on the sidewalk, I replayed the interview back in my head. I was fairly shocked about everything that I just heard. If it was me, I probably would have done the same thing too. Sometimes you cannot change the world with only one person. Maybe sending this interview out would also have few reactions but I know overall it wouldn’t change anything for the better. As I walked through the door of my office building, I stopped and looked at the trashcan. I slowly walked towards my desk knowing it's my job to release this interview to the public. As I walked past the trash can, I accidentally dropped the report into it. I thought about quickly picking it back up, but stopped halfway. I thought about it, then I walked away, with the report still in that trash can. Maybe some things are better left unsaid.

"World of Dance Battle" by Ethan S

In one year I went from a kid dancing in my room with absolutely no connection to the dance community to battling on the World of Dance stage, and it’s all because my brother chose to download Instagram. My parents have a history of being super protective over social platforms or anything dealing with the internet. In middle school, it took over a year to convince my parents to allow me a private YouTube channel. So when they found out that my brother had secretly downloaded Instagram without telling anyone, he was definitely in trouble. However, what happened next was surprising, because shortly after, they told me “It wouldn’t be fair if my brother had it all this time and I still wouldn’t be allowed to have it at all”.

So there I was a sophomore in high school, scrolling through Instagram when a certain post caught my eye. World of Dance had just announced their event happening March 27th in Anaheim at the House of Blues. I remember watching viral videos made by World of Dance as a kid, seeing my favorite dancers on stage, doing moves I had never seen before or even thought were possible. World of Dance has been a huge inspiration for me since elementary! Despite my initial excitement, I almost didn’t go to the event because I noticed a lot of the performances that were being featured were team routines and I was more interested in freestyle dancing. However, before I had a chance to decide, my dad had already bought the family tickets.

The day of the event I wasn’t sure what to expect. I could see the rich blue background displaying the words “World of Dance” highlighted by the grand stage lights. Illuminated from underneath, were these teams embodying the space, who hit every beat, and whose movements were so sharply coordinated that you could easily tell they’d been practicing on this one performance for months! I wasn’t amused. It was only when I saw this small dim room on the left side of the main theatre wall that my interest peaked.  There was a significantly smaller crowd, together they formed a circle, and their attention was all drawn to the center. It was a cypher! People took turns dancing in the middle to freestyle to random songs played by the DJ. The key here is that you must freestyle and adapt to the beat that is being played. It’s the true expression of yourself and your own mind through the medium of the music and movement rather than just following a script or copying a move invented by someone else. It’s this freeness that interests me so much in freestyle dance, but you must unlock it first.

I was someone who hadn’t unlocked it. True freedom means you are expressing yourself, not changing yourself for the crowd. Even though my movement quality was decent, 90% of freestyle dance is beyond the moves. The real challenge is mental. When I walked into that room I already knew I wanted to dance in the middle. I saw these great dancers I’d never seen before throw out these amazing freestyles in the middle, but the more I saw how good everyone else was, the more my self-consciousness overflooded my determination. I started to overthink everything. Suddenly I caught at the corner of my eye someone who looked familiar. His afro is what immediately stood out from the crowd, it had highlights at the top to make an outline of yellow around his original black hair, and directly underneath was a white bandana wrapped around his forehead. He wore yellow-tinted glasses, blue leather Nike shoes that could’ve been brand new, and a t-shirt that was coincidentally the same as mine. Then it struck me! He was CJ Rey! During quarantine when I binged dance battle videos, I saw him battle dancers like Velo and Fikshun in Battlefest and he is one of the big reasons I decided to take dance seriously. Although most people you ask wouldn’t know who CJ Rey is, to me he was a celebrity.

If that original mental pressure wasn’t enough I now had a celebrity in the room with me that could watch me mess up at any moment if I danced in the middle. There was no shot I was going to perform in front of all that, in fact, I was too shy to even say hi to CJ, so I pretended I didn’t know him, that I didn’t know how to dance, and I just stood there watching as opportunity faded away. My mom had other plans though. When she saw that I wasn’t going to talk to CJ she pushed her way through the crowd and forced me to take a picture with him. I was so embarrassed, but it helped me realize something. After actually talking to CJ and seeing how chill he was, I was less nervous. There was something about taking that first step to do something I was uncomfortable with, that created this momentum within me that called for me to keep going. My mom had made that first step for me but the next one called upon my own courage.

Quite literally I just took a step forward from the back of the crowd telling myself I didn’t have to dance but at least walk one step forward. One step led me into the next step and then into the next and before I knew it I was standing right in the middle of the cypher. The wall of strangers now surrounded my every direction and as if I hadn’t been dancing for 8 years, my body became drunk with nervousness. This feeling was way different from dancing in your room. I’d forgotten everything I knew, I almost fell at some point, and my movement had a mind of its own that I couldn’t control. When I was done I knew it wasn’t my best work but I was proud for overcoming that mental barrier that seemed so tall before. As the day went on I spent the whole time in that small room not paying attention to any of the main performances. I got to dance many more times in the center, meet new people who danced just like me, and felt for the first time what it was like to be a part of the dance community.

While I was sitting in the car on the way home that night I was still so hyped to have been there. This was the first dance event I’ve ever been to and it was such a impactful experience that it forever changed me to chase more moments like that. The next day while I was posting some of the footage I had collected from last night, I got a notification. I checked to see who had messaged me and it was CJ Rey! I was geeking out because this was the equivalent of a celebrity messaging me through my eyes. I clicked on the message, and read his text, and my heart dropped. He was asking me if I had a teacher. Was he implying that he was willing to become my teacher? I texted back that I was self-taught and then just as I had anticipated, he asked if he could be my teacher!

I’ve only ever been to World of Dance twice and the second time was on stage. After CJ became my teacher he had many connections to the dance community that allowed me to keep pushing my dance forward. CJ had hooked me up with two dance battles and my second one had caught the attention of someone who worked for World of Dance. Since CJ had a connection to World of Dance they asked if he could host a rematch of my second battle on the main stage. In the time span of a year, I transformed from an audience member gazing at the World of Dance stage to the one actually dancing on it!

I’m so grateful for having been given such plentiful opportunities all of which I could’ve never planned for. Reflecting back, I was quite literally just a kid dancing in my room, training every day with such passion and determination to become the best version of myself. Keep in mind that if my brother had never secretly downloaded Instagram, my parents would’ve never let me download it myself. If I never downloaded Instagram, I would’ve never seen the post about World of Dance. If I had never seen that post, my Dad would’ve never bought tickets. If my Dad never bought tickets, my mom would’ve never forced me to take pictures with CJ. If my Mom never forced me to take pictures with CJ, I would’ve never found the momentum to take my first step. And if I had never taken that first step, I would’ve never ended up dancing at the center of the cypher that night, CJ wouldn’t have seen me dance, he wouldn’t have become my teacher, and I wouldn’t have battled a single person up to this day, especially on the World of Dance stage.

I prayed every day about how badly I wanted to achieve this dream and without me knowing, God had created that path for me. To achieve a dream that seems out of reach, does it take luck or hard work? Both; and if you don’t have any luck it takes a relationship with God for a path to be made.

 

Pstttt… If you’re curious, this was my battle at World of Dance: https://youtu.be/PfguRkYFjm0?si=EaZr56Zwnj00ATg1         

Also, this is my Instagram… I’m curious as to how I’ve progressed to the future generations who read this: @singular8y_dance_

"Trip to Yosemite" by Justin M

 

            A few years ago, my family planned a last minute vacation to finish Summer break strong before returning to school. This came as no surprise to me, as my family has planned last minute vacations before. My family had always wanted to take a road trip to Yosemite, as my family enjoys going on hikes and this setting. This made choosing our vacation easy. My mom booked the best reviewed AirBnb available, and we left that same night. I had to pack up quickly for the 3-day trip due to us leaving on such short notice. I also had to pack supplies to bring my dog because it was too late to find a dog sitter. Despite the minor inconveniences, we still committed ourselves to the trip and began the 5 hour drive to Yosemite. However, this road trip wasn’t the fun summer vacation we initially planned it to be.

 

            The drive to Yosemite began slowly, mainly because of the need for food and drinks. Because of this, we stopped by a gas station then continued the 5-hour drive. However, there were other problems relating to the drive, due to our dog. About 2 hours into the drive, he began to vomit inside of the car, dramatically slowing us down in the process. Although this made the drive uncomfortable, we still managed to continue the drive, and we eventually arrived in Yosemite. By the time we made it to Yosemite, it was about 2 A.M, making it harder to navigate the area. There was also no connection to the internet, so we did not have any navigation tools that would help us find our AirBnB. Luckily, my mom saved the directions to her phone just in case something like this occurred. We used those directions to eventually find what seemed to be the exact AirBnB we booked.

 

            We were all originally excited, as we were all thinking of which rooms we would choose, and fantasized about the different types of games that would be available at the AirBnb. What we found though was a situation we never could’ve predicted. When pulling into the front driveway, we noticed there were two parked cars, which led us to believe that we somehow drove to the wrong location. We checked the directions towards our location and confirmed that there were no mistakes made, and that there was no possibility of us being at the wrong spot. At this point, my whole family was in complete shock about the situation, as we’ve booked AirBnb’s numerous times with no problems. My parents didn’t know how to handle the situation, as confronting the people inside of the house would've been dangerous, due to the chance of the uninvited guest being robbers or having any weapons. However, any doubt we had over safety of the situation was reinforced, when we noticed that the window was broken into. The only reasonable option in this scenario was to call the police. With that being said, we created a distance between where we parked and the AirBnb.

 

            Out of nowhere, one of the people who were inside of our AirBnb walked outside to check the area, as they must have noticed our car lights when we pulled into the driveway. What we saw was unexpected, as it was an old lady who looked far too old to be a robber. She walked up to our car and asked what was going on, as she didn’t understand why we were outside of the AirBnb this late. We explained that we were the people that booked this AirBnb and that there was some sort of mistake. The lady explained how she also paid for the same AirBnb and told us that her whole family was inside the house. Not believing this story, my mom asked her to show a picture of the information of the AirBnb she purchased. At this moment, we immediately identified the problem, as the address of the AirBnb they showed was completely different from this AirBnb.

 

            Shortly after finding out the problem, the cops arrived and questioned both our family and the other to understand what was going on. Afterwards, the other family packed their belongings and drove to their correct AirBnb. From what we know, they weren’t charged for breaking and entering, as they claimed that the cracked window wasn’t caused by them and that they entered through the unlocked garage. We, on the other hand, were disappointed over the situation, as all of the beds were slept on by random strangers, worsening our experience at the AirBnb. However, we were happy that the situation wasn’t more serious and that we weren’t stranded 5 hours away from home. 

 

 

 

 

"Limbo" - Elijah A

 

Lost, blindness from the feeling of nothing, I always wanted this suffering to end. I've hated my life over and over. Stuck in the ephemeral lust of dreaming, as I wake up to continue the nightmare. You who have seen my life through triumph and struggle. The torture of a week, the pain of the a month, the endevor of a year. Throughout a lifetime I have been stuck with this fate. Yet it was fate, the bright joy that it has brought me. Giving purpose and value to my soul, fate gave me a life to enjoy.

 You intertwined me with a beautiful beloved. Intertwining came into the existence of one. My child, My dear sweet child, oh how I regret bringing to life and to my dear beloved, how I wish I never had the chance to meet you. I wish to never see you two with the ending of a torned heart, how I never wished the fate that has brought upon us. Just as how easily fate has given me joy, it has stricken me with an indescribable pain. The string that has connected us, cut by moirai, separating us, unable to ever hold you. From one simple stroll, a crash, that leaving of two. As I remember the past, I dread the future. Alone, I can only see the vivid memories of what once was, happiness. My only escape from darkness, to dream. As I dream, I dream of my aspirations, the feeling of loss, my love.

I close my eyes, feel myself drowning, then SNAP. I see myself as I was young. My life was chaotic. I always had an abstract mind, wanting to be free, let my mind go loose. I always want to show my life wanting glory, fame, and riches. Two aspects in which I wanted to have. I decided growing up that I want those two to be my main pillars to my life. Bit by bit, as the dream goes further, I see my work and effort pay off. Working as an artist, I could fulfill my desires. Everything that I ever wanted, although it was a bit lonely.

However, I never knew how close I was to someone until I finally knew. As the dream continues, I see my hope and my dreams not alone, but with someone else. They brought me so much joy in life, I was blinded by the tragedy. I remembered everything and wished to see them. I dream of them, my child and my partner. I see them in the house we bought, the place we called home. Still, even if this is a dream, I am afraid of reaching out, I only watch afar. So close yet so far, in this dream the distance between us may be small but feels so far. I watch as I dream of my beloved and my sweet child growing without me. I can feel their sadness, yet I am unable to comfort them. And as the dream starts to fade, I wake up stuck in darkness, waiting for my trial, my final dream.

"The Idea of Happiness " by Marcos S

 

“What is bad? What is good? What should one love and what hate? What does one live for? And what am I? What is life, and what is death? What power governs all? There was no answer to any of these questions, except one, and that not a logical answer and not at all a reply to them. The answer was:

“You’ll die and all will end. You’ll die and know all, or cease asking.” But dying was also dreadful.”

― Leo Tolstoy, War and Peace

 

Since the first moment a human being sat down and simply thought, impossible to answers about us, life, and existence have been asked. It’s a staple of mankind, of our humanity to ask those unanswerable questions. What’s the meaning of life? Where did we come from? How did we get here? Why do we dream? What does it mean to be alive? I don’t really ask myself those kinds of questions, because the way I see it is that those questions and their answers have no effect on my actual life in the moment, so why worry about it? But there is 1 question kinda like those that I do think about sometimes.

 

What does it mean to be happy? What is the meaning of happiness?

 

I’ve never thought about it too much until I began writing this, as I’ve always been happy so I’ve simply never cared enough to think about what that really meant. But today, I’ll try to find and tell you what happiness means to me.

 

I started attempting to answer this question by looking at myself. As I've said, I've always been happy with myself and my life. Not completely, I've lost loved ones before and I'm very self critical, but overall, I’ve always been happy. But why?

 

After thinking about it for a few weeks, I’ve finally figured it out. My definition of happiness, is to be content with one’s life. Let me explain.

 

I’ve always been contempt with my life. Of course there's more that I want, especially when it comes to my future after high school. But right now, in the moment, I am very content. I have close friends, a loving family, good education, good opportunities for my future, good entertainment, and a decent amount of money. Could they all be better? Yeah, of course, but I’m fine with it all as they are now. Of course I want it to be better and improve, to have more, but it could stay the same and I would still be just as happy.

 

And I believe that this can apply to others as well. If your content with your life, you have a good job, good income, good family, good friends, good house, good food, a loving spouse, and whatever else. If you are content with your life and don’t need anything else, then you are happy.

 

Of course, just because you are content with your life and happy, that doesn’t mean you can’t want or strive for more. Perhaps some people reading this may think that I believe you can’t want more of anything and be happy, but that could not be further from the truth. Even if you are satisfied with your life in the moment, people are always going to want more. Whether that's a new car, more money, a love interest, a dream job, a new phone, or anything. People are going to want to have and achieve more than they have, but you can want more and still be happy with where you are now.

 

That all being said, it’s important to remember that happiness is a vague concept that doesn't have 1 true meaning. Your meaning of happiness does not have to be 1 exact thing or have a specific meaning attached to it. Happiness can come from the smallest things in life. Do whatever makes you happy, and find your own meaning of happiness and try to achieve it if you're not already there. But if your struggling with finding a meaning, maybe try to remember what my meaning was. Maybe it could be yours too.

"Role Model" by Rida W

 

            I’m not a role model to others. School, and my family had constantly let me down. My parents were going through a divorce during middle school and I became a fantasy, a person who does not care about the world. I began doing band in 5th grade, never practiced music, never learned how to play the music well, just sat there and did what I could. If I struggled I did not ask for help because I was not too motivated to get any better, I was fine where I was at. I had this mentality until my sophomore year of high school. Persisting band regardless of numerous claims of my departure. I normally never practiced did not show up to any extra sectionals or practices if I did not want to, came late, and messed around with my friends the entire practice.  In marching band, I learned how amazing people are at music, and how players had solos in the show or performed fun and enjoyable music. I recognized people who were passionate about the band and people who went home even after rehearsal to play more and get better. I never felt the same way until the second semester when marching was over people were placed into separate groups based on skill and I was the lowest. All my friends were in the top groups while I was with the freshmen at the bottom. This made me feel extremely embarrassed. I thought to myself how have I done band all my life and still be ranked the worst? I saw how all juniors and seniors were good at playing their instruments and if I am going to continue playing then I must be good as well. At the end of 2022, I began doing private lessons, practicing, watching YouTube videos, and researching on the internet how to get better. I then joined an orchestra and actually began to become passionate about music and enjoy it.

             The end of junior year approaches and I’m ready to release the bad that came with it. The constant stress of school and trying to get better in marching band was not easy for me. An idea of hierarchy formed in my head, the stereotypical cheerleaders and football players. The popular people all played their instruments so well and did not put in as much effort as I did but were much better than me. Occasionally tardy, messing around but they were able to act like this because they knew their music. I felt that I had worlds of work to catch up and be like them and when I tried to mess around or was late I was always given a hard time. I came into a limbo of thoughts believing I should move on from the band and truly quit because I’m no longer finding happiness. However, instead of that, I decided to ask for help. I came to my music coach for guidance and practiced with him getting the music down made it fun for me and soon those foolish thoughts began to fade and I was confident and content with myself. I wanted to take a step further in the band and become a clarinet section leader. This is a role in leadership for a band, you have to be a role model to others and lead your section to success. The application process was one of the scariest things I’ve done. I put myself in a position where I've only recently begun to put my entire self. I had to submit an application, complete an interview, and create a video displaying my creative side and who I am outside of the band. Days and days passed with anxiety. Did I get in? Should I quit if I don’t? Unexpectedly at a season-ending party, I was talking to my teacher to when it was revealed that I got the position and it was the most fulfilling feeling I ever felt. This was the first time I worked hard and spent countless hours feeling anxious and constantly worrying about being a better player and being a better person. This truly felt like I made it.

            This event of getting section leader was significant because it demonstrated my personal development. The upperclassmen younger me so desperately wanted to be the person everyone looked up to, but now it was finally my turn. It was the first time I had a goal and actually achieved it. Despite my section leaders yelling at me in past years for arriving late and not having my music down. I proved that greatness can be found. Nobody, not even I, saw me here. I never imagined that I would hold such authority. This event has shown me that I am capable and I cannot simply work when I feel like it. I had to develop the ability to push and improve myself so that I could be a better person not only for them but for future generations to come. So when the next section leader comes they look to me as the leader they wish to embody. In marching band you have to be like a regiment, a word typically describing the army. It is a strict environment with heavy hours. It took me a long time to start taking it seriously but I learned how I wasted so much of my time participating in band for hours and I never even tried to get better at it. That's what being a section leader has taught me. Now I'm a role model.