" A Once United Nation Now Divided" by Sereya A.

 

Once upon a time, a man that would forever be remembered named December 7, 1941 “ a day which will live in infamy.” And you would think that the attack on Pearl Harbor or the atrocities of September 11, 2001 would be the worst that our country has ever seen. We would never expect the horrors that would take place in our beloved country after the 2020 election. Everyone expected more hatred and more anger than that of any war so far, but the divide between brother and sisters, the destruction, and the bloodshed would be that of nightmares. In a society where the people that claim to love all and yet hate most challenge those that claim the patriotic values that our nation was built on and fight tirelessly to uphold the morals of the USA, we would expect a war like many others. The date is November 10, 2020, the first day of the rest of the modern day civil war and yet another “day which will live in infamy.”

As of today I am 18 years old and feel like I have seen enough horrors to create enough nightmares to last someone a lifetime. My name is Serena and before this destruction, I was a normal high school girl doing my best to juggle the boy drama, college application process, and the normal senior year workload. On November 14, approximately 12 days after the election, I received a letter in the mail that would haunt me for many days to come. It read, “Dear Serena, we would like to congratulate you on your current draft into the Republicans of the United States Militia. We can expect that this may be unexpected due to the fact that in the previous draft we only recruited males of age. Due to the recent efforts of the feminist organizations across the nation and need for bodies with the physical capabilities, we have opened the draft to both sexes. Again, we would like to congratulate you on your recruitment. You will have one week to say your goodbyes and we will be expecting you at the first Recruitment Physical on November 21 at 07:00 at Etiwanda High School. Please do not forget your face mask and please be prepared to be tested for CoronaVirus. Sincerely, the Republicans of the United States Militia.” I was in complete disbelief at what I had just read. Drafted? Say my goodbyes? What was I walking into? Would I ever walk out of it? My face flushed and I felt a burning hole grow in my stomach. Small salty drops began to cool my hot cheeks and blur my vision as I looked at the family I would have to say goodbye to. I shook with fear and knew that today was the first day of the rest of my life. My mom picked up the phone and called my dad, demanding he come home from work. I sat on the couch, letter in hand and waited for him to come home. This morning when I woke up I was a normal 18 year old high school senior and I would go to sleep tonight as a soldier in the modern day civil war.

Over the next few days, I would call every family member in my contacts and say hopeless goodbyes to each of them. I barely slept the night before 21st and would wake up numb with fear of what I would be walking into. I got up and showered and dressed in workout clothes that I had once worn to cross country practice. I got in the car silently and my mom drove to the school where I had begun a much happier journey. There were generals dressed in military green uniforms with half of their faces covered by face masks. I reluctantly put mine on with shaking hands and kissed my mom’s cheek once more before I opened the car door slowly. Immediately, a small woman dressed in a hazmat suit walked towards me and held up a thermometer to my forehead. She asked me a series of questions that I could barely hear over the sound of my racing heartbeat in my ears. I walked to the football field and checked in. I was instructed to line up with the other girls and that I would need to undress to a bra and underwear

for my physical. As I walked towards the line of girls, I saw the goosebumps on their semi naked bodies and I recognized the fear in their eyes. It was the same fear that I had seen in my own eyes this morning in the mirror as I brushed my teeth. I got to my assigned place and began taking my clothes off. Soon after, a doctor came by and did my physical and then handed me a uniform. I dressed myself and was then instructed to board a bus that would take me to what they called the ruins.

The drive was allegedly 15 minutes but it felt as if every passing mile had aged me by years. We could smell the smoke from our destination before we could see it. The bus stopped in front of a pile of ash that was once a building that some of us had shopped at regularly. We got off in a single file line. We were then assigned to groups and our groups were assigned a task. I was assigned to a group of 4 boys and 3 other girls besides myself and we were in charge of controlling the mobs. We were warned that our enemies would stop at nothing to “convey their message.” We were handed rifles and given quick instructions on how to operate our weapons. We walked to the front lines and on our walk we would see things that I would not soon forget. Women, children, and men of all races sobbed over the remains of both their loved ones and the ashes of their businesses. I looked at the faces of my new comrades and they all looked numb. Would that be how we survived this? Would we have to shut off all emotions? After, would we remember how it felt to love? To be happy? We arrived at what was best known as the “front lines” or better known to the recruits as the “beginning of the end.” All I saw before me was hate and anger motivated destruction. How was I going to be expected to defend something that was going to be attacked by a group that had disregarded all empathy, all love, and all sense to convey a message that they so strongly believed to be right? One of the girls next to me grabbed my hand and prayed. I bowed my head and joined her. My group and I stood arm in arm, a united front defending a now divided nation. Would our nation ever return to the “one nation, under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all,” or from today on would we be known as the fallen nation, divisible, with destruction and hate raining supreme?

"Ricotta Cheese Recipe" by Alexander S

 

I have always loved cooking and I'm very passionate about learning new recipes or deciding what I should add to my own recipe. I’ve been inspired by a lot of famous chefs and people related to the culinary arts and it's my dream to open up my own restaurant in the future and serve the best food possible. Since quarantine I’ve been working on my Italian food skills. It started out as me making my own sauce, then homemade noodles and it got to the point where I decided to make homemade ricotta cheese. You’d actually be surprised how easy it is to make. This recipe is from Bon Appetit, more specifically from Brad Leone’s recipe. Fun Fact: Most people pronounce Ricotta as (Ri-Kaw-Ta) but in Italy it's pronounced as (Ri-Còt-ta) or just say it in an Italian accent and it will probably be close enough.

 

 

 

 

(Read Steps before acquiring ingredients or starting to cook)

 

Ingredients -

 

-       7 cups whole milk

 

-       1 cup heavy cream

 

-       3 Tsp of Salt

 

-       5 Tbsp of white vinegar (or most acids will work like lemon)

 

 

 

Steps

 

1.    Add all the milk and heavy cream to a large pot.

 

2.    Turn onto medium heat and slowly stir constantly until a thermometer reads 200 Degrees Fahrenheit

 

3.    Make sure to have your ingredients prepped and ready.

 

4.    as soon as the temperature is 200 Degrees, turn off the heat source and add your salt and vinegar and stir for a couple of seconds until you notice milk solids at the top of the liquid, it will look like dissolving particles.

5.    At that point stop stirring and let it sit uncovered, off heat for 10-15 minutes.

 

6.    Put some cheesecloth or a thin towel of some sort in a strainer so it's being covered and make sure it's secured to the strainer.

 

7.    Squeeze out excess liquid (make sure to save a quart or so of the remaining liquid, it's called whey and adding this to your pasta water while cooking it will further season your spaghetti or italian noodle of choice) and set inside a lidded container.

That's it! The Ricotta has a shelf life of only a week,

"Coronavirus" by Eniife O.

The coronavirus is an international travesty that has decimated the American economy and has claimed a mind-boggling two hundred twenty-two thousand lives and counting rapidly. Millions have lost their jobs and their loved ones. The eviction and homeless rates have quickly spiked while even the strongest of businesses are filing for bankruptcy. We, the people of the United States of America, have done an atrocious job of managing this pandemic to the extent other countries, both our allies and nations opposed to us, have placed extensive restrictions on U.S. travel. We are arguably the most influential, prosperous country globally, yet because of our foolishness in managing this virus, lesser countries block visitation and immigration completely. Fixing this is frankly simple. First, we should not look towards anyone for any answer whatsoever except proven scientists and health care officials. There is no reason for masks not to be mandated whatsoever! A Mask prevents viral transmission and stops the respiratory droplets from being transmitted when we do things humans always do: sneeze, talk, or cough. Yes, they are uncomfortable and look childish, but your negligence in not wearing a mask could cost another precious American life. Your irresponsibility could cause someone to be attached to a respirator. People say their fatigue level towards quarantine is immense yet frequently contradict themselves by entering society without a mask. Social distancing is not a joke; stay 6 feet away as best as you can because it will hinder viral transmission or any COVID-19 particles that somehow spread despite wearing the mask.

Our definition of essential is too broad. We should not adapt to this pandemic; we should eliminate this pandemic. Any places that are not "super essential," meaning health care, the medical field, energy, child care, agriculture and food production, extremely critical trade, transportation, and the retail sector should shut down immediately. My heart goes out to those that own small business or will lose a primary source of income, but we must do this to save lives and, in the long run, live better` as we will quickly be able to reopen completely. Some malls, clubs, and casinos are currently open with restrictions, which is imprudent and witless, to say the least, and will only extend the period in which these restrictions will be mandated. Why even have restricted fun? What is the point? Finally, we should help each other abide by the rules to end the pandemic. Yes, landlords have the right to financial compensation, but eviction should be illegal when we are in a global epidemic rent forgiveness should not be too much to ask. People want to work, and they will soon if we follow these rules, but for now, we have to shut down and lower some of their expenses as their income is currently taking a dramatic hit. Small legitimate businesses should continue to acquire government funds. The minimum wage should be temporarily exponentially increased because the poverty rate will inevitably spike; how much more because of all of the precautions taken for this pandemic. Selfish bosses should not be allowed to layoff enormous amounts of resources because they do not want to pay them; the goal is to create more jobs to help more people in society, not use corona as in excuse to layoff workers you don't like, especially when the government has given you "wink" "wink" deals if you keep these businesses American to hep society.

As a community, we have to murder the thoughts of childish conspiracies currently rampaging throughout our society. Coronavirus is not fake; if you need proof, go to any hospital in a major city with such a high number of patients suffering when they're deciding who to save and who to send home and who to let live. We must take this seriously. The vaccine soon to be released is not a secret agenda in which every single doctor and viral scientist in the world is conspiring for the entire community's suffering. Think logically before you believe the foolishness that is being sputtered recently. These tough times have pushed the ignorant to speak too frequently, confusing the masses, don't believe them. Precautions are not instated for a breach of duty; they are put in place to preserve your life, not take your rights. Even if you are willing to take the risk, realize if you get sick, it doesn't just hurt you; it hurts everyone.

All in all, this epidemic will not defeat us; we are Americans; we've dealt with worse. If we do what is hard, society can return to normal; it just must be safe for the community's betterment.