Living with Weather - By Bryson Johnson

Living with Weather

By Bryson Johnson

    Weather has a big impact on my life, because weather tells me want can be done that day. Like if it is raining outside then I stay inside and nap or do something entertaining. If it is snowing out then I can go sledding, also this could mean no school. If it’s hot then swimming is an option.

    My favorite type of weather is rain. Rain is calming and I like to take naps when it is raining. If it rains while I am at school, it is difficult because I lose concentration and all I want do is sleep. Another activity I like to do when it is raining is drive my truck through big puddles. This does a decent job of cleaning the truck and saves me the cost of the car wash. I also like to watch T.V., play video games, and just hang around the house when it rains.

    My next favorite weather is snow. I don’t know anybody that does not like snow. Snow is great. It is soft and fun to go sledding in or for making snow men. Sledding is my favorite activity to do in snow, but I don’t do the regular type of sledding of just going down a hill. I like to be pulled by an ATV or other vehicles on a car hood or anything that will tie to the vehicle. The only thing that I don’t like about snow is that it is really cold.

    Heat is the worst kind of weather. I hate heat so much; it is no fun whatsoever. In the heat I sweat like a dog and then I smell, and that is never good. Heat also wears me out. I worked as a lifeguard for two years, and the only thing that I can remember about it is just being hot all the time. We couldn’t get in the water until break or if when we rotated off the stand, which was not very often. I hate being hot. I would rather be cold than hot because all I need to stop being cold is clothing, but when it’s hot I can’t do anything except sweat and slowly die.

    There are other types of weather like hail, but there is nothing to do in hail except get some great bruises or a concussion. Weather determines what we do each day, so I hope it rains so I can sleep or snows so we don’t have school.

         

TV/Movies as an Escape - By Amanda Mendenhall

TV/Movies as an Escape

By Amanda Mendenhall

It’s always a good idea to have at least one thing in your life that can help you with or distract you from your problems. For me, the greatest distractions are TV shows and movies. I get lost in the shows, and for an hour or two I forget my worries and simply enjoy what’s going on in front of me. I’m in a ton of fandoms, and don’t get me wrong, sometimes they ruin your life, but it’s always fun to feel as if you’re right there with them. When a character dies, we cry as if they were our best friend. When a new character arises, we survey them with distrust and wonder, but we ultimately grow to love them. However, if you’re like me and watch Supernatural you can usually count on the recently deceased character coming back within a few episodes.

I am a very subdued person. I’m quiet, reserved, and don’t have many friends. TV shows and movies are quite honestly the only friends I need. The good thing about characters from these shows is that I can relate to them a lot. Personally, I tend to relate better to fictional characters than to real life people. Fictional characters are always accepting. They never judge and literally can’t get into fights with you. I’m not a very openly emotional person, but when I’m watching shows or movies that really hit me in stomach, I’m not afraid to cry. I can’t count how many times I have cried because of a character’s death, only to find out how much I truly cared about them.

My all-time favorite movie would have to be The Perks Of Being A Wallflower for so many reasons. Stephen Chbosky depicts mental illness in the most realistic performance I’ve ever seen in a movie. The story is full of ups and downs, love, depression, friendship, and even minor drug use. I am filled with emotion every time I watch the movie, and it never fails to make me cry. I think it makes me so emotional because I can relate in many ways to what’s going on with the characters. I’m not going to reveal any spoilers, but I would highly recommend watching this movie.

I’ve recently begun watching Breaking Bad and I know it’s a controversial show, but it gives me all types of feels. I have cried, laughed, felt extreme panic, and lots of relief. I have clutched at my face for so long and hard that I’ve left fingernail marks etched across my face. I’ve curled up in a ball hugging my knees in despair, stuffed popcorn in my mouth in fear, and wept along with the characters. I am very into TV shows and movies because it’s a nice escape from every crappy thing that I’m going through. I love escaping for a few hours, and I sometimes go to the extreme and watch four seasons of a show in two days, but I wouldn’t trade it for the world.

Being The Quiet One - By Amanda Mendenhall

Being The Quiet One

By Amanda Mendenhall

I have discovered that being the quiet person in my group of friends, in a class, or in general has many pros and cons. One of my favorite things about being the quiet person is that nobody bothers me. I love to read, and I don’t know about anyone else, but I like to be left alone when I’m reading. I also listen to music a lot. Whenever people try talking to me while I’m trying to enjoy my music I get annoyed. It’s a never ending struggle.

I’m an introvert, and I notice everything. Some of my friends get surprised when I remember small facts about them that they told me in passing four months ago, like the fact that their favorite actor is Leonard Nimoy or that they have a pet tarantula named Alice Cooper. I’m very aware of little things like that. For example, I notice that my English teacher wrinkles her nose occasionally, that my friend has a very loud voice and is an extreme extrovert, and that listening to loud music when I’m angry or upset helps me calm down.

There are some cons to being the quiet one though. My most frequent trouble with it is the feeling of being invisible since nobody talks to me. I also hate getting up in front of the class for presentations or speeches. I know that this is a part of life, and I’ll have to get over my fear eventually, but most people don’t understand why it bothers me so much.

Being the quiet one also means that people talk about EVERYTHING when you’re around, not thinking about the fact that you have ears too. You’re overlooked, and it’s kind of cool to know the daily scoop on people’s lives, but it also gets really annoying. I don’t like it when people, girls especially, constantly run their mouths about seemingly nothing. When girls endlessly talk it really aggravates me, but maybe that’s just because I don’t talk much. Loud voices and nonstop chatter is too much of a contrast to what I’m used to, since I’m always quiet.

Although there are many pros and cons, being the quiet one is something I really enjoy. As long as I’m happy with it that’s all that matters, right? Many people enjoy talking, but keeping quiet has never been a struggle of mine. It’s also really nice that I don’t get in many arguments, unless I’m passionate about the topic, because I don’t have an angry voice.

The Key to your First Time Skiing - By Mallory Thompson

The Key to your First Time Skiing

By Mallory Thompson

    These are a few tips and hints for your first ski trip. Try not to get discouraged; it’s worth it in the end.

You will fall a lot. That is just part of the skiing experience. Everyone falls. You just have to get back up. After a while, you will look back at your falls and laugh about how funny they were.

    That said, getting up from falling down is the worst part. Your skis go everywhere, and you will probably fall down a couple of times just trying to get up.

    Skis can pick up speed faster than you think. Just remember pizza to slow down. (Pizza is when you turn the tips of your skis in to create a pizza shape.) When in doubt, pizza.

     Getting lost is actually fun. It makes the best stories to tell when you get home. So if you accidentally take a wrong turn and ski your way down only to find out you just did a black, embrace and be glad you made it down with no harm done.

     Tiny little kids will zip right past you in a crouched position while you are struggling to keep moving. I always wondered how you could be so good at skiing at the age of 6. You just have to remember they probably have a lot more experience than you, and you are not small enough to ski like they do.

    Halfway through your first day, you will probable never want to ski again. By the end of the day, things will start to look up. The morning of the second day, all hope will be lost. But if you never give up, the third and fourth day you will be skiing slopes you never thought possible, and it will all be worth it. On the way home you will be planning your next ski trip.

Living with Wanderlust - By Allison Redmond

Living with Wanderlust

By Allison Redmond

wan·der·lust

noun

1. a strong desire to travel.

I have always loved to travel. Whenever I have an opportunity to go on an adventure, I do everything in my power to make it happen. There is something special about going somewhere you have never been before. Adventure is all over, and I want to experience it all!! My travel bucket list is so long, I don’t even know if I will be able to accomplish it all before I die (but I’m going to try my best to get to them all).

Someday I would love to hike through Antelope Canyon in Arizona, climb the ancient ruins of Machu Picchu in Peru, view the Iguazu Falls in Argentina, and swim The Enchanted River in the Philippines. All of these places look beautiful in photos and would be even more incredible in person.

My struggle is that I want to do all of this RIGHT NOW. Unfortunately, my schedule and my bank account do not share my wanderlust. Why was I not blessed with unlimited time and money to tour the world and see all the gorgeous sights that my heart desires? I long for an adventure. Nothing would please me more than buying a plane ticket to a random destination and just waiting to see where I end up.

Sadly, many of my traveling dreams are unrealistic, so I guess that for the next few years I am stuck googling pictures of gorgeous destinations and photoshopping myself into them.

Why The Book is Always Better - By Kayla Dvorak

Why The Book is Always Better

by Kayla Dvorak

    It happens too often. The book is written, it becomes a best seller, you read it (along with everyone else) and next thing you know it’s going to be made into a Hollywood movie. At first you’re excited because the book deserves this. It was wonderful, and it touched you deeply. Now, it’s going to be brought to life on the big screen. You devour the trailers and patiently wait for it to arrive at your local theater. Five minutes into the film, the main character shows up and she’s BRUNETTE. BRUNETTE! She. Is. Supposed. To. Be. Blonde.

    For the next two hours, you enjoy the movie, but the inaccuracies pile up and gnaw at you. The movie is over and your friends are raving about how cool the special effects were and how hot the villain was. One turns to you and asks, “Wasn’t that awesome?” and you can only offer an unenthused, “Eh,” because it’s happened once again; the book outshone the movie.

    Books are better than movies for more reasons than one. Here are just a few of those reasons:

Books Are Portable

    You can read a book anywhere. It is so much easier to pull out a book while sitting in a waiting room than to try and watch a bit of Netflix.  You don’t have to worry about storage on your phone, wi-fi, or finding headphones. You just have to look at the page and dive in.

Movies have to be Condensed Down to 90 Minutes

    Understandably, movies have to cut out parts of the story, even some important parts. Books are better because the author has no limitations on how long the story is, allowing readers to experience valuable details that the movie can’t include.

Books Improve Vocabulary and Teach

    Movies can teach people things too, but it is easy to miss an interesting word or fact as it passes by in conversation on the screen. Books don’t require you to rewind, you can just reread the sentence again and gain from it what was intended by the author. Not only can you reread the sentence to pick up on new vocab or facts, but sometimes the first time you read a sentence you just flat out don’t understand what’s happened. It’s easy to reread it as many times as you need to. If you run to the bathroom while at a movie theater, you’re surely going to miss some important scenes.

    As disappointed as you are sometimes by movies based on books, remember, my fellow readers, we’ll always have a deeper connection to the story. The next time you’re sitting in a theater full of people watching the film adaptation’s debut, enjoy the deeper understanding you have of the film because of the book. You read that book, and therefore shared the successes, failures, and deep moments of sadness or happiness with the characters. You know them as friends. And trust me, you’re going to know special little bits that don’t fit into 90 minutes and that will make the experience feel all the more special.

Who Is The Greatest - By Peyton Reynolds

Who Is The Greatest?

by Peyton Reynolds

“Michael Jordan is the best player to ever play the game of basketball.”  True or false?

This past decade, LeBron James has been a big leader in the game of basketball.  LeBron fans and Michael fans often argue about whether LeBron will steal the title of the best player to ever play basketball or will Michael Jordan forever hold that title? It is something we may never be able to empirically prove because Jordan is in his 50’s. Statistics, on the other hand, may be able to provide evidence.

I am a total LeBron fan. It’s so hard to argue who the greatest when I get to see all these great accomplishments of LeBron’s. It is also really hard because I never did get to see MJ play. But let’s look at the stats. LeBron has two rings and Jordan has 6. LeBron, though, still has at least 9 more years before retirement. MJ saw 13 play-off appearances, and James has seen 10 so far. Jordan played in 14 all-star games while James has competed in 11.

Honors and awards mean a lot to athletes. James has been named the season MVP four times while Jordan was only named it five times. Jordan was on the All-NBA First Team 10 times, and James has been on it 9 times.

Awards, honors and rings aren't everything. Some people also argue, greatness is determined by who they played with or against. MJ played with and/or against Wilt Chamberlain, Scottie Pippen, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird and many, many more great players. James has played with or is currently playing with and/or against Steph Curry, Dwayne Wade, Kobe Bryant, Paul Pierce, Kevin Durant and Tim Duncan. They both have had tough competition.

The reason that I think LeBron will claim the title of greatest of all time is because he has been to five straight NBA Finals appearances even when hopping from team to team. This shows that he doesn’t need a lot of help; he can and will do it without help. Many people say, “He left the Cleveland Cavaliers to go win a ring with the Miami Heat because he can’t do it all by himself.” Well wait a second, he can’t do it all by himself? James went to the Miami Heat, the first year he was there he led them to the Finals and lost to the Dallas Mavericks. The second year, 2012, the Miami Heat won their second ring, but it was James’ first. In 2013, they won the finals against the Spurs for the second year in a row. In 2014, the Spurs came back and beat the Heat for the Heat’s third year in a row as a finalist. In 2015, LeBron left the Heat and joined the Cavaliers again. They were defeated by the Golden State Warriors. The point is when LeBron joins a team, they end up in the NBA finals.

Jordan won all six of his championships with the Chicago Bulls. He never led the Washington Wizards to a finals appearance in the two years he was there. Jordan led the Bulls with the help of Scottie Pippen, to win more championship rings. James only has two rings, but at this pace he may have many more before retirement. So, the real question is, will King James claim this title or has he already?