"Love at first sight" By Calaya A

No, I don’t believe in love at first sight. Many people think that they fall in love when they lay their eyes on someone. But the thing is you don’t even know anything about them. People can be very dangerous but they can seem very friendly on the outside. You wouldn’t know that until you actually get to know them. I have never heard of love at first sight. Many movies show love at first sight, for example: Romeo and Juliet it shows Romeo as he locks his eyes on such a beautiful woman that he wants to marry. Although after he sees Juliet he is absolutely in love with her. He decides to meet her and they marry the next day. Thy really do love each other but there is a big problem, their families hate each other. At the end of this story of Romeo and Juliet it comes to an end where the new married couple both die. “Love at first sight” ends in terrible solutions. You never really see love at first sight in real life. Now, we usually go on dates to get to know the person you “love”.  Anything can happen with love, it’s very hard to find it now a days. Nobody really knows what love is. People say that love is a deeper feeling you have for someone. Do you believe that? I believe that you can fall in love with someone over time, but you can’t look at someone and immediately fall in love with him or her. I also think that people who think they are in love might be misunderstanding it for liking someone. You might look at someone and think, “ wow! I love him/her.” But really you think they are cute or like them. You never know right away if you are in love. I never realized how much everyone thinks that love is so important. Yes of course you love you mom, dad, and your family but the main thing is that our age is too young. We are way to young to know what love is. At this age everyone is in “love”. They think love is something that if you don’t have it you are alone. By alone I mean you don’t have people that like you or in a relationship with other people. Love at first sight doesn’t exist because it takes time to get to know someone. Over time people develop feelings for someone while in the beginning you like them. Some people believe that if you are in a relationship for over a year you must be meant to be. Although you might think that the only thing that you have is a strong liking for each other. You never really are in love until maybe you are with them for three years or longer. That is when you know you love someone. Together you went through ups and downs but still stayed with each other. That is the only true love I believe in. Some cases might be that you love them and get married but that marriage might not work out. Lots of people get married when they are younger and they end in most cases getting a divorce. Usually most cases are when a married couple has kids, got married and get divorced. That’s when you don’t really love each other and how you but your children in a situation. Love is never a for sure thing you never really know if you in love with someone. What do you think? Do you believe in live at first sight?       

"December" by Katlyn H

       The month of December is a great month because there is Christmas and New Year’s and also Hanukkah. The month of December is when it is cold and the snow starts sticking to the ground. Many people fly in to see their families and some to see their friends. In this month you just want to be home for the holidays. December is the last month of the year and after that a brand new year starts, a brand new beginning.

My favorite days of December is the day you go to the store to get Christmas lights to hang them up, you get to put ornaments up, but before that  you need to get a tree. The smell of cinnamon candles burning, and seeing the flames of the fire, also drinking hot chocolate is very relaxing. On Christmas Eve my family and I have a tradition to watch “Christmas Vacation” it has been something we have done since I was a little girl. December is a cold and rainy month the weather makes you want to curl up in bed and just watch TV or even fall asleep. On Christmas Day you wake up and go run to your parent’s room to wake them up and then you run down stairs and see the tree and the presents underneath, and how the lights glisten off of them it makes you feel like a little kid.

     A few days later you have New Year’s Eve, then New Year’s Day. New Year’s Eve you stay up until midnight and at midnight you get to hear everybody celebrating. My family and I go outside and bang pans together and scream “HAPPY NEW YEAR’S!!!!!” that night you go to sleep and when you wake up it’s a brand new year for a new start. So start out the New Year great and maybe it will go a lot better than the last. I love it on New Year’s night you see the ball in Times Square Drop, and saying this I wish you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

"Finals" by Evanne T

As a freshman I see finals as a huge test that goes over a semester of curriculum to see if you actually know what you are learning. Most of my teachers have given me study tools but it seems as if I will never be able to memorize the whole sheet. The closer the days come to finals the more test my teachers have been giving me. I do not what goes through a teachers mind when they say we have a test next week on half of the semester’s curriculum. My theory on why teachers give test before finals is to boost some kid’s grades that need it. I do not really see any positive effects out of finals unless you do well on any of the finals. Many seniors that I have talked say finals are not that bad after your first couple of finals. From the past few weeks I learned that finals take away precious sleep, time for studying. It also adds major stress that is not needed. When I first heard that Spanish has three finals I almost passed out from shock. I understand why there is three finals but if I know how to speak Spanish there is an 80% chance that I know how to write it. As I begin to study even harder for each subject my teacher teaches a new lesson so I have to add it to the list to study for. Some of my teachers are trying add in chapters so we are not behind other classes but they skim through some lessons so then missing some of the information that will most likely be on the final. A couple of my teachers wait to the day of the test to teach the class a key part in the subject and expect everyone to memorize immediately the information, but when more than half the class gets that part of the test wrong it is a problem. So hopefully the teachers do not have any last minute lessons before the final. It seems as if some of my friends are not studying they get and I’m studying like a maniac. It is more so how well you are doing in that class or some people just don’t care. The closer it gets to finals some days I feel like I have study for the whole then other nights I know I feel like that I can get a high grade in every class. The only good thing that comes from finals is that you get to leave early. For each final they are two hours long, are the finals that long to where it takes two hours to finish. As a student athlete it is very important that I do well on all my final so that I will not become ineligible. Because with ineligibility I will not be able to play this season. Being a student athlete means that my grades come before my sport. Another reason why finals make students stress out is because it could take away their extracurricular activities. But really finals are just a test to show what you have learned this semester, the only way to get through the stress is to have good study habits. Good luck to everyone on their finals.

Finally! :) Here's our November Writers!

Feel free to read and begin commenting!  Your comment deadline will be set after Friday's December writers are up also.  We'll be commenting on all November and December pieces this time!

“TIS LOVE, OR TIS LUST” by Kayla W.

To be honest I was going to write my piece on beauty….Until I saw that someone had already did that. So, I started thinking of what else to write about, and it finally hit me. LOVE. There are a lot of different definitions of love. For example, there is godly, romantic, and fraternal. I decided to only talk about the romantic aspect. The dictionary definition of love (like we all don’t already know what it is)…….is a profoundly tender, passionate affection for another person.

 In today’s society, love is just about everywhere. There is literally no escape from it. Either we listen to love or we see love…....right? The real question is Tis Love, or Tis Lust? How can you tell if the couple that you’re looking at, is really in love? Or, do they just want each other physically. Can you decipher if the artist is spittin’ out bars on love or lust? Just take a moment and think. Does anybody ever really know what love looks like? Personally I believe that nobody truly knows what love looks like unless they have been through it themselves.

At school, literally everywhere I go I see couple after couple after couple. The bad thing about that is as I get older the couples get younger and younger. Do the couples even know if they truly love each other? Finding a couple that truly loves each other is difficult. It’s almost like an enormous game of Where’s Waldo?  Sometimes people just get together for the physical part. Which makes absolutely no sense to me because once you interact in that sort of activity, you can never get back what you have given. Is anybody ever truly ready for that? I remember this like it happened yesterday, and I truly believe that it is horrific. It was during my freshman year in 6^th period, in Mrs. Roger’s biology class. I really don’t remember how we started talking about this, but next thing I knew this girl was telling our lab group that she had lost her virginity in 8^th grade……SKERT…… I said “is this a joke, are you for real”? (In my head). All I wanna know is, was it for da love or for da pleasure?

I feel like when you act on physical attraction alone that nine times out of ten it won’t end so well. Unless of course it’s in a book. The revolting thing about love is that it can be because of a person not having anywhere else to go. Or, because they have become brainwashed. In the sense that they know and everyone else knows that they are being abused, and when confronted about it; they reply with the infamous, “I love them too much to leave” or “They didn’t mean too” or “It was my fault because I didn’t listen.” When I hear that I think, NOOOOOO. Clearly you have not read Twilight. When a couple is asked about love they need to respond with these few words from Stephanie Meyers, “Even more, I had never meant to love him. One thing I truly knew- knew it in the pit of my stomach, in the center of my bones, knew it from the crown of my head to the soles of my feet, knew it deep in my empty chest- was how love gave someone the power to break you.” That right there is just a snippet of what true love should be like, is that something that is possible to achieve? Sure it is, you just have to find it. Or, you can take the easy way out and ask Bella Cullen because I’m sure she would gladly enlighten you on what true love is. Or you can just ask your parents. (0_0) < (^3^) >

"My Biggest Fear" by Annika J.

 

       I wake up on another regular Wednesday morning at 6 AM to start to get ready for work. The sun has just risen as I head to the bathroom. I stand and look at myself in the mirror. My breath fogs up the mirror and I take a closer look just to ensure that it is in fact myself looking back at me. But I can't recognize the person staring back. All that is left of me has withered away. What’s the point of it all? All my life I've been directed down a certain path. A path that has already been set up for me. A path that everyone must follow in order to be successful. As soon as I was old enough to understand, they started telling me “You've got to get all A's in school! Be a part of every club and organization so you can be different from everyone else." Set yourself apart and be different so you can go to college and get a nine to five job like everyone else. Spend your time and youth constructing an amazing story to tell about yourself so a stranger can one day read it and determine your future.

    After high school, they moved on to the next thing I had to do. "You've got to go to an amazing college! Without that degree from a top ranking university, you are completely worthless in society!” But not a degree in just anything. My talent and enjoyment in cooking or art meant nothing because it was difficult to be successful in. It meant taking a risk that wasn't worth my time or energy. My happiness wasn't worth the time or energy. It wasn't the "smart" decision. So I did what they told me. I went to that top ranking college and majored in a "safe" major. I worked hard and did as I was instructed all my life so I could be just like everyone else. I was told to follow my dreams all throughout my childhood but then to forget about them as I grew older because "they weren't practical." I was told that someone smart like me should get a stable job so they could support themselves and eventually a family. Forget about the cost of it because I would supposedly be able to pay it off once I had that job. Now after eight years of school, having a degree in a field I dread, I am left to sink in debt without a life jacket.

    When I went about this path I didn't understand what I was in for. Little did I realize that once I had the job everyone seems to envy, that I would hate it. All of the passion I had was sucked out of my soul once I saw the light at the end of this tunnel we call the "real world." My dreams left to die and my eagerness to learn soiled by pounds upon tons of work. The system doesn't want passionate, creative people. It wants robots that can continue to create millions just like myself. The system has no feelings. No remorse. No heart or sympathy. So take a step back. What is our purpose in this vast universe? Do we even matter in the large scheme of things?  We don't. We are all just a tiny morsel in the vast expanse of time. So why torture yourself? Why forget the things that make you happy? Don't do things for other people or to make money. Do something that will help you lead a happy life. Don't give up that talent or skill that makes you proud. Don't be me. Spend time with your family. Go to that movie with that friend you haven't talked to in years.  Do what makes you happy because when your life comes to a close that is what you'll remember. The happy moments.

    These thoughts run through my head every morning as I begin to get ready for another day. The feeling of knowing exactly what is wrong with my life and not having the power to fix it eats at me every single day. I try to think of solutions or ways to try to make my life mine once again but I can never seem to get myself to do it. I don't know how much longer I could keep this up. Just going through the motions, not knowing who I even am anymore. But alas, this is my life and now I must go to work.