EDITOR'S NOTE To our Beloved Readers, Thank you so much for taking the time to explore our magazine- we are so grateful for each and every one of you! This past year has been pretty cuckoo bananas. We navigated, and are still navigating, a global pandemic- through adjusting to remote learning, social distancing, and all of the challenges of COVID-19 we have all showcased our resilience, teamwork, and hope for the future. Now, we are easing back into normalcy- but what does “normal” mean anymore? This is not the same pre-pandemic world that we are re-entering.The theme of our magazine is new beginnings-we have all experienced difficulties as a result of COVID, but our goal is to celebrate the exciting new chapters each of us are entering. The written and visual art in these pages expresses our desire to embrace the sunlight and adventures ahead of us. First, we would like to thank all of the talented artists who submitted their work: we would not have been able to accomplish this without your creativity and effort! We would also like to recognize each member of our Creative Writing class for the time and effort spent in compiling this magazine: Amia Alvarez, Megan Betos, Adrianna Russom, Eva Clark, Nicole Sao, Rachel Wheeler, and Sophia Frizzell. Special thanks to Jessica Marz for her gorgeous cover design, Afton Okwu and Giselle Ruiz for their incredible work on the layout and formatting, and the wonderful Ms. Capra for her help with the release and distribution of our magazine. And a shout out to our Queen, Mrs. Cameron, and our amazing teachers and staff for guiding us every step of the way- we love you so much! Most of all, we extend this collection as a gift to you, our lovely Alverno community, in honor of the challenges we have overcome together and in celebration of the new adventures and experiences we are all embarking on. Thank you all so much for reading, exploring, and celebrating with us! Cheers to New Beginnings! Auden Harper ‘21 Student Editor
EVEN A ROSE HAS ITS THORNS -
Without pain there is no beauty. Without pain, beauty would be plucked from this earth By people who will merely see it for seconds, Before tossing it away. But without beauty there is no pain, You will forget good times and bad times both As they come in a package wrapped in a bow. So next time you wonder across a rose, Think to yourself, Is the beauty worth the pain Or is the pain the beauty?
Words and Photo by Sierra Alva '24
HOW DO WE LIVE? Do that and you begin to...* Succeed Do that and you begin to... Fail Do what? Do what others do and your life will start? Are we all going to do the same thing? Are we all going to succeed? Fail? Have an education and you succeed? Don’t have an education and you fail? Or go to jail? Everything starts with you You choose your own path You choose to succeed or to fail You choose to put in the effort You choose how to live your life Do what you believe and your life will begin - Nicole Sao '21 (
Jessica Marz '21 From Love, Stargirl (“Do that and you begin to..”)
THE WHISPERS OF YESTERDAY The sky is grey and the air is crisp as an apple Silence settles over the city like a blanket in the morning The ground is a mirror reflecting the sky Where all the birds fly high above the clouds Yesterday’s crowded streets are now a whisper of what they were before I notice the stillness of the world as we all wait inside And I read as if I have never read before Then I start looking out my window at the dark gray clouds And I listen while water soaks the roof in a pattern known only to the rain - Adrianna Russom '23
MEMOIR OF A PENCIL Life isn’t easy when you’re a click twist mechanical pencil. The start of my troubles usually begin early morning when someone presses my lead too hard on a piece of paper and my insides snap off! It is scary, but it’s normal. I would say the breaking of my lead happens about three to six times a day. I do my best to hold it all together but some people just really don’t know how to write with the proper angles. Because of this I normally get surgery once a week to replace my 0.7 lead and my skinny twist eraser. It doesn’t hurt unless you put it in all wrong, then it results in having to take my body parts off to fix it!! I am not your average pencil, I am so special that Costco sells me for retail price. Everyone wants me. I’ve been stolen eight times, right out of the pouch. I have even been stolen from someone whole stole me! However sometimes life gets really hard. You find yourself stranded on the floor of the girl’s bathroom getting kicked around. It’s terrible, but nothing is as bad as getting left in a school sweater on laundry day. You don’t even want to know. - Amia Alvarez '21
- Leah Patel '22
Hey Friend Let’s go play! Nature’s calling our names The willow trees whisper, “Come join in fun and games!” Let’s be adventurers, just for Today Tomorrow we’ll walk with the worries again We’ll give piggyback rides through the emerald grass rows Eating sweet picnic lunches in serene meadows
ADVENTURERS, JUST
We’ll be explorers of the great outdoors Racing through hills and forests at breakneck pace Dancing with the deer and basking with the butterflies Sunlight and laughter bubbling up in spades Then we’ll slow down to scavenge a waterfall Splashing and whooping maniacally Breathing in the fresh mountain air Free to play, both loudly and peacefully
FOR TODAY - AUDEN HARPER '21
After the sun has said goodbye, we collapse to the ground Beaming up at the Moon and sky, silver stars and constellations whizzing by Hey Friend I know tomorrow responsibility awaits So let’s be adventurers, just for Today -
- Jaeden Wimberly '21
DRIVER'S TEST I have been waiting for this day to come as if I was a princess awaiting her beloved to rescue her. Only in my case, Covid-19 was the evil stepmother causing minor inconveniences to the plot. The plot in question was the day I was being tested on my driving abilities, but beyond the slowness and lack of enthusiasm oozing from the building, I felt as prepared as a steak that was cooked at Ruth’s Chris. - Jessica Marz' 21
- Shadows I wake up to my alarm clock screaming, And it takes me only a moment to remember I didn’t set an alarm. I look over at the time, seeing it’s too early to wake up anyways, 3:33 am. Shaking my head, I think my clock is just off. My bed groans as I get up, And I swear there are whispers underneath the noise. I look around in the dim moonlight, Seeing the shadows smiling at me bitterly. It’s not just the shadows. There’s something in the shadows. Then everything goes dark. - Eva Clark '23
Moon + You In conversation. “Who follows who?” says the Moon Why can’t it be both? - Afton Okwu '21
Photo by Jessica Marz '21
Jessica Marz '21
PARADISE The days roll by And eagle rays glide past The sand and sea The sand as fine as baking soda, The water the color of sea glass I needed to feel like the island belonged to me But you can’t own that beauty - Megan Betos '23
PAPER BOATS When the rain is right and the street is bare A moment that is annoyingly rare Arises! in boats crafted with care To race along the street I led my father, by the hand To the river unbridled by the sand It isn’t swift, nor is it grand, But it races along the street My boat is eager, it starts out fast His, slow but steady, in contrast But neither boat was meant to last The race along the street
- Rachel Wheeler '22
His starts stop, it meets its end But mine turns with the river bend I thank him for the time we spend In our race along the street - Afton Okwu '21
- My Life In Quarantine Being in quarantine is like reliving the same day over and over again, Boring routines and lazy habits, Making the same meals, Watching the same movies, In hopes that one day you might wake up to a different day, As if I am a broken record hoping to play a new song, Finding the silver lining is like trying to find a needle in a haystack, Seeing the same people every day, No social interactions, As if I am a princess locked in a castle, In the distance although, I see a new day As free as the wind New habits and productive days Hopefully, the world can find a way. - Giselle Ruiz '21
I Am I am The voice in the wind that say words you cannot speak The hands on your sides that rock you to sleep The smell of fresh flowers The smell of death The love that was ours And the heat of baby's breath I am here to remind you That we are alive That we live and we breathe and we laugh and we cry We are temporary beings in a temporary world With temporary fame and temporary goals Our timer always ticking Though it will feel like a while I will see you very soon, but until then Smile
- Sophia Frizzell '21
HALFWAY I’d like to think that the devil lives on a mountain. Heat would’ve been obvious, expected, but he had better plans. Our interpretation of hell wouldn’t be all that wrong. The ice did scald and our breath looked like smoke rising from our lungs. But there was no fire. Fire is known for quick destruction, wiping out its path. The cold was slow. It took its time. Jake, our tour guide, warned us of the threats of hypothermia. First came the shaking, you wouldn’t notice it at fast. Then the confusion. Ice playing tricks on your mind, making you forget where you were and who you are. As your body temperature drops so does your blood flow, and your organs will stop next. Once you reach 70 degrees internal temperature, death is just a waiting game. Mountains are closer to the heavens, after all, and I think all the devil wants to do is get back. There were four of us climbing. We had never met before, but Jake said that there is nothing like a mountain trip to bridge the gap between people. “Mountain’s bring clarity,” he said. “When the whole world is below you, and you can see as far as the eye can see, everything is put into perspective. Three points at all times please.” Shoot, he was talking to me. Quickly, I brought my left hand back to the mountainside so my foot could move higher up. “3 points” was the first rule we learned, two hands and one foot or two feet and one hand at all times. And I forgot. Focus, Elenore. “Hey, where do you think we are at this point,” Maggie asked me. “About halfway,” I guessed. It felt about halfway because I was starting to forget why I was climbing in the first place. Not completely, but enough to make me start regretting the decision to come. Maybe, I was overreacting. No turning back now. Not when we are halfway there. Maggie was the youngest, at only 20 years old. This was her second climbing trip, working her way to Mount Everest. “When I took my gap year, I promised my parents that it wouldn’t stop me from reaching the highest summit. They just didn’t think I would be so literal.” I reached the top of the side we were climbing with Jake there to help me up. We turned to pull the others through. “Halfway there, guys” He shouted. “This trip should take ten days but at this rate, we are looking at maybe nine.”
Somehow my correct guess made me feel more accomplished than climbing this rock has. “Progress,” Jake said with a smile. I couldn’t see his face behind the climbing gear, but it was definitely in his voice. We continued along into a canyon on the side of the mountain with frozen walls stretching on both sides. “Snow would pool on the top of the mountain and as the seasons changed the snow would melt, slowing eroding this side into a canyon,” Jake informed us. “Now we use it as a protected way to get to the other side.” “Sometimes it is safer to go through, rather than around.” “Good observation, Terrance.” Jake paused. “I’ve been up this mountain with groups like you 26 times. I know these walls well.” He slid his gloved hand over the ice. “You can feel the history. Only a few have been able to place their hands here. Add your name to the list.” “Snow would pool on the top of the mountain and as the seasons changed the snow would melt, slowing eroding this side into a canyon,” Jake informed us. “Now we use it as a protected way to get to the other side.” “Sometimes it is safer to go through, rather than around.” “Good observation, Terrance.” Jake paused. “I’ve been up this mountain with groups like you 26 times. I know these walls well.” He slid his gloved hand over the ice. “You can feel the history. Only a few have been able to place their hands here. Add your name to the list.” We all reached out and touched the ice. Even with gloves on it ached to hold my palm to it, but I let it stay. “Wow,” Maggie whispered, completely justified. The walls were purple and green and blue. Everything that looked into them was reflected back under a new light. We knew behind the wall was just more rock, but the effect of these two mirrors facing the other caused the picture to reflect onto itself exponentially. Jake clapped. “Just through this canyon is a plateau. We should set up camp for the night. It will be the only flat land for another six hours.” Maggie adjusted her backpack, “C’mon Elenore.” “Just one minute, I have to check something,” I told her. Terrance and Maggie turned to Jake. He shrugged. “We’ll be right here.” They disappeared behind a turn and towards what I could only assume was the campground. I took off my helmet and stared.
And it was not my own. Both faces, in and out of the ice, were twisted, but one was of confusion, the other of fear. The girl in the ice tilted her head in the opposite direction of mine and pressed her hand to the wall. Her palm looked soft and she seemed warm, despite her frozen cage. I felt my breath heave in and out of my lungs, each raise of the chest a struggle, but she– She seemed warm.
And kind. And inviting. I let my fingertips reach for her ageless face, untied to the restraints of time. I became less clear the longer I stared. No description fit. She seemed absolute and eternal, existing now and then, before and after, without the anchor of the present to hold her down. And yet, she cried. Water rolled effortlessly down her face and across her sad smile. “Why do you run from me?” she asked. I tried to pull my fingers from her face but something wouldn’t let me. “I’m sorry?” was all I could say. “Me too,” she sighed. “I did try my best. To look out for you. Do you fear all that you haven’t become? Did I make a mistake?” I couldn’t respond; I didn’t know how. Her smile remained but her face was brandished in pain and grief, shining not from the ice but from her eyes’ steady stream that refused to stop flowing. I opened my mouth to form some sort of response but she was faster than me. “You look tired,” her voice broke. Truthfully, I hadn’t slept much on the climb. As I tried to close my eyes each night I could only think of my daughters at home, if they were safe and if they missed me. My heart ached and my mind tensed as I punished myself for climbing away from them. What kind of mother leaves their children with their grandparents and lies of where they were going, I asked myself. As they sit in bed imagining me on a business trip, I am several thousand meters up a climb after losing my job and direction. But I needed out; of that house, of that town, of that life.
“Oh, you want to leave? Would that make you happy for me?” she proposed, seemingly less tragic than before. “I can make that happen, we can cut it off halfway.” She reached for my hand through, finally making it through the frozen exterior, and placed her warm hand to my face. “Will you follow me?” “Elenore?” My head snapped to the sound of Jake’s voice. “Elenore put your helmet back on for christ’s sake.” I felt warmth leave my body as I placed my helmet back on.
- Afton Okwu '21
- Afton Okwu '21
- Rachel Wheeler '22
- Jessica Marz '21
CHRISTINA'S WORLD The night fell almost as fast as the leaves falling off my favorite tree I search for a candle, match in hand I find paper to light, and the flame surrounds me My eyelids heavy, thinking of paradise on sand I wake up to destruction, emptiness, isolation For my house burned down with that tiny flame Oh me oh my, this is my fault, my creation For nothing will ever, ever, be the same As I sit here in this field of dead grass I look away, my thoughts swirled Why did I light that paper, for I knew somewhere I had a candle held by brass Tears streaming down my face, for this is what has become of, Christina’s world - Kiera Dean '23
The old willow dies The leaves turn from green to brown New life has begun. - Rachel Wheeler '22
- Jaeden Wimberly '21 The once living branch Now gives me a warning sign Live life as you can - Sophia Frizzell '21
Don't Cry. We’re all still here. - Sophia Frizzell '21
- Giselle Ruiz '21
- The End of My Whole Life I watched as the man fondled his ring, sliding it up and down his finger in a mesmerizing, repetitive motion. I knew him, and I’d felt like I’d known him my whole life, before my whole life, except I’d forgotten. I didn’t feel any strong emotion, but there was something particular in the air. He hadn’t spoken a word yet and neither had I. We were waiting. I coughed politely thinking that perhaps he’d forgotten I was here. He swiveled his wizened head towards me slowly, and I swallowed, feeling that I’d done something wrong. Then he spoke to me, not in the traditional way, no. In the old, forgotten way he spoke to me. I’d known this language too, before my whole life began, and I’d never forgotten it. None of us had actually ever forgotten it, it simply served us no purpose at the moment, so we stored it away to wait for the end of our whole life. I understood that it was time, and he was Time and time had begun and ended so wonderfully and horribly and finally… finally was gone. I couldn’t believe how quickly it had gone. Since Time was created we were with him, and oh, we felt so happy and powerful and drunk. We thought we had so much of it that we could waste our lives as we waited to be born. And then we were born, and when we were born we cried because we knew our lives were over. We cried harder than we ever had before. In the moment, I felt myself crying as I’d done that day, because he was over. I’d never see him again. And I loved him. So I sobbed and he walked to my home, and laid himself down, and then Time was no more. - Fiona Haselton '22-
- Jaeden Wimberly '21
Goodbye, Book
Farewell, book To be with you again would bring me joy But now I am surrounded by silence I am alone once more Please take me back A page, A sentence, A word A chapter has ended A moment has passed A part of me is gone If you were my friend Why have you left me Goodbye, book
- Alexandra Fontanella '24
fin.
