ACUMEN Oct. 18, 2019: Uno

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UNO VOLUME XVI ISSUE I Oct. 18, 2019


Dearest reader, When you think of the word uno, you probably remember learning how to count Spanish numbers with Dora the Explorer. More recently, you might remember the reverse card meme and playing the card game with friends and family. However, despite its seemingly insignificant nature, uno, or one in Spanish, represents some of the most popular universal ideas of loneliness, individuality and achievement. Through one word, both the highs and lows of human existence are represented. In this issue, we have tried to explore all that it means to be one, have one or lose one in an ever-changing society. Each page explores something new related to the word uno and aims to broaden perceptions and longheld beliefs about its meaning and connotations. -Anushka Dasgupta & Tara Kandallu, Editors-in-Chief


PHOTOGRAPHERS: Natalie Khamis Raphael Li Raymond Mo Avery Thorpe Karolena Zhou

REPORTERS:

GRAPHIC ARTISTS:

Viyang Hao Calina He Pranav Jothirajah Angela Li Christian Ledbetter Kris Otten Angela Qian Karolena Zhou

Rhea Acharya Angela Chen Edward Dong Lillian He Da-Hyun Hong Aditi Kumar Laasya Mamidipalli

ASSOCIATE EDITORS:

EDITORS IN CHIEF:

Olivia Childress || ochildress@hilite.org Richa Louis || rlouis@hilite.org Isabella White || iwhite@hilite.org

Anushka Dasgupta || adasgupta@hilite.org Tara Kandallu || tkandallu@hilite.org

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If U- NO, You Know

06

Losing and Learning a Language

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One Last Goodbye 12 All by Myself

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The More the Merrier

17

A Year in Art

18

Being Unique

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In The Top 1%

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Making the Move to America

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One to One

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IF U- NO, YOU KNOW

Learn how to play UNO, the history behind it, key strategies for winning UNO GRAPHIC || RHEA ACHARYA, LILLIAN HE SOURCES || UNO RULES, LETS PLAY UNO, INSTAGRAM, MATTEL GAMES, TOY HALL OF FAME Number of players: 2-10 Age: 7 and up Set-up: Each player is dealt 7 cards. Play passes to the left.

9 +2

The next card played must match the top card in the discard pile in either color or number. The card played then becomes the top card and play continues.

1

+2

UNO

9

9

rules

hi st or y

+4 1971: UNO was invented by a man named Merle Robbins after an argument with his son about the rules of another popular card game, Crazy Eights.

1992: International Games becomes part of Mattel Inc. and so does the game UNO

1972: Robbins sells the rights to the game to Robert Tezak for $50,000 and royalties of 10 cents a game


Play cards like Skips or Plus 4s when the player after you has only a few cards left so they can’t get rid of all their cards.

4

1

4

54

If you have a lot of one color, try to use as many of them as you can before the color is changed.

5

O

If you don’t have anything that matches the top card, you must pick a card from the draw pile. If you draw a card you can play, play it. If not, the play moves to the next person.

Always keep a count of the number of cards that your opponent has left in their hand.

4

You must say “UNO” when you have one card left. If another player catches you with just one card and having not said “UNO” before the next player begins their turn, you must pick four more cards from the DRAW pile.

strategies strategies

how to win

Goal: Be the first player to play all of the cards in your hand.

2017: The UNO reverse card becomes a meme on the internet, used instead of popular phrase “no u”

2017: UNO is officially branded the number one selling card game in the world

2017: Dos, a spin-off game of UNO, is released by Mattel Inc. initially only at Target stores. The game has multiple rounds and a different scoring system.

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OSING AND EARNING A ANGUAGE

CHS students, staff discuss monolingualism, struggles they’ve had learning another language

WORDS || KRIS OTTEN

PHOTO || ANUSHKA DASGUPTA


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ophomore Sophia Gilliam doesn’t speak Gilliam isn’t alone. According to the Urban Russian. This is notable because Gilliam’s Institute, 44% of immigrant children are not bilingual. mother is originally from Russia and speaks According to a study conducted by the both Russian and English. Gilliam, who was born American Educational Research Association, in the United States, is primarily monolingual an additional reason why children of bilingual although she does know a few words of Russian. parents are usually monolingual is because According to Gilliam, her older sister became a child’s peer group has a large impact on fluent in Russian as a child due to her mother whether or not they may continue with the teaching her, but as she grew older, she lost her home language of their parents. If the people fluency and is now monolingual like Gilliam they surround themselves with have similar and her younger brother. linguistic practices, the likelihood of them “We kind of just got busier schedules so it’s just becoming bilingual is higher. However, if a easier to say things right away in English,” Gilliam said. child’s peer group doesn’t have similar linguistic Gilliam also attributes part of the reasons why she practices, Spanish teacher Greer Trapkus-Harris doesn’t speak Russian to the fact that her father, who said that child will often be less motivated to is American, doesn’t speak Russian either. speak the home language of their parents as “With one parent who doesn’t speak that language they want to establish their own independence and one parent who does, it’s hard for them to learn away from them. it,” Gilliam said. “For them to communicate with their “Sometimes it’s hard for these kids to be child, one parent would have to speak English and one motivated to use their home language in the parent would have to speak Russian to get the practice greater society because either they don’t value and it would be hard to communicate all together.” it or once they hit their teenage years, they

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Bilingual Benefits Take a look at the many benefits on the brain derived from being bilingual rather than monolingual Prevents dementia: takes twice as long to develop Alzheimer’s symptoms as monolinguistic adults Improves focus: have increased concentration on assignments and are better able to pick up on important details Easy switching between tasks: better multitasking ability due to consistently switching between languages

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want to seek out their own independence and separate themselves from their parents,” TrapkusHarris said. “So, depending on a lot of factors, they don’t think it’s cool to speak the language or maybe they want to keep that part of themselves private.” Gilliam said she often wishes that she had learned Russian as a child growing up because although she uses Duolingo, a popular language learning website, from time to time, she has yet to become fluent. “I really wish I learned it when I was really young because when you’re young I guess it feels like it’s more fun to learn a language and it’s easier and you won’t have to put in any work and you would already be bilingual,” Gilliam said. “It’s really hard to learn a language when you’re older and I really wish because half my family lives in Russia and it’s kind of hard to communicate. I have to go through my mom and communicate.” Trapkus-Harris agreed that it is much easier to learn a language as a child growing up as opposed to later on in life. “When you’re a little kid, you’re like a sponge, you can discern between the two linguistic

GRAPHIC || LAASYA MAMIDIPALLI SOURCE || LAUREATE

Denser grey matter: develops denser grey matter, responsible for processing language, memory storage and increasing attention spans Improved memory: improves overall memory through memorization of grammar rules and vocabulary Improved decision making: able to make more responsible decisions and are more certain of choices once made

systems really well,” Trapkus-Harris said. “Then as you get older, you probably get more busy and that kind of part of you, I don’t want to say it closes because you can pick up a language at any age like I have high school students that are learning Spanish for the first time and they’re doing a great job, but definitely, there is a sweet spot when you’re younger where your brain can pick it up and distinguish between the two linguistic systems and know.” Gilliam said that she experiences the drawbacks of not knowing Russian when she visits her family in Russia. She said she has considered learning Russian multiple times and hopes to become fluent in the future to make it easier to communicate with her family when she visits them in Russia. “I think I would like to stay in Russia for a longer time when I’m older and being there longer will help me learn the language,” Gilliam said. “I could definitely be fluent if I really tried.” Aside from being able to communicate with foreign family, there are many other advantages to becoming bilingual, including cultural, cognitive


and social benefits. According frustration so I stepped in and asked her to researchers at Cambridge for him and that was a step in the right University, being bilingual uses direction,” Snyder said. I feel like to truly underthe brain’s executive function, a Snyder said she believes that it’s stand a culture you have to extremely beneficial to learn a new command system that directs the attention processes that we use for language as it connects you to different understand their language planning, solving problems and cultures and people. and be able to talk to them performing various other mentally “Only knowing English really limits you demanding tasks. Additionally, to only English-speaking countries and I to communicate effectively there is much evidence suggesting love to travel. I love to see other countries and really understand what and I like learning about their culture,” that in a bilingual’s brain both language systems are active even Snyder said. “I feel like to truly understand they’re trying to say. when only one language is being their culture you have to understand their used. This forces the brain to language and be able to talk to them to Senior Sarah Snyder resolve internal conflict which communicate effectively and really understand A strengthens its cognitive muscles. what they’re trying to say.” Studies have also shown a link between bilingualism and the prevention of dementia and Alzheimer’s. Aside from these cognitive benefits, there are many cultural and social benefits as well. According to Trapkus-Harris, speaking more than one language allows bilinguals to connect and create personal relationships with people of different backgrounds and cultures that they may not have normally talked to had Here’s the amount of students at they not spoken the same language. Carmel that can speak another language “(Bilingualism) opens up job opportunities for you. Obviously, it facilitates travel and I think overall, the bilingual brain works differently,” Trapkus-Harris said. “If you’ve looked at the research, there are connections that are formed in the brains of bilingual speakers that monolingual speakers often don’t have between the left and the right hemispheres and I see those as being very beneficial.” Sarah Snyder, Spanish Club president and senior, knows first-hand the benefits there are to speaking another language. Snyder has been taking Spanish courses for the past five years and is currently taking AP Spanish. Although Snyder does not claim to be fully fluent, she said that she knows the Spanish language well enough to communicate comfortably when she visits Spanish-speaking countries. “During the summer last year I went to Peru and I got to speak in Spanish to the people in Peru and I talked to a tour guide while I was walking down Machu Picchu,” Snyder said. “So that was super cool to see *Based on a poll of 150 students how I could use Spanish to communicate with people with different cultures and learn about them.” Here are some of the languages CHS students Snyder said that while on her trip to Peru, she can speak: Chinese, Hebrew, Portuguese, was even able to help translate for a person who Hindi, Oriya, Telegu, Russian, Arabic only knew English and was struggling. “He was trying to find a post office but the sales GRAPHIC || ANUSHKA DASGUPTA clerk that he was talking to only spoke Spanish and he only spoke English and I could see his POLL || ANUSHKA DASGUPTA, RIYA CHINNI

Talk at Carmel

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One Last Goodbye Student, teacher, mental health coordinator discuss dealing with death of loved ones, grieving process associated with loss WORDS || ANGELA QIAN PHOTOS || RAPHAEL LI, ISABELLA WHITE


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enior Katy Carson said she loves lemon-flavored foods. When she was in seventh grade, Carson said she really enjoyed baking, so she would constantly be creating some form of baked good for her grandfather. This eventually progressed to being solely lemonflavored foods, and Carson said it became her and her grandfather’s “thing” to have lemon cake every day. The lemon became a symbol with which she remembers her grandpa. When Carson was in first grade, her grandpa was first diagnosed with lymphoma. By the following year, he was in remission, and Carson and her family breathed a sigh of relief. Carson said her grandfather always called after doctor’s appointments, but after an appointment seven years later, he didn’t call. The cancer was back. This time, he wouldn’t go into remission. According to Carson, the doctor recommended that her grandpa either undergo chemotherapy— which could be fatal—or go into hospice care. Hospice care, according to the National Institute of Health, focuses on comfort for the patient rather than a cure. Carson’s grandfather opted for hospice care and moved into the house with Carson and her

immediate family for six months until he died five years ago. Carson said her grandfather’s death broke her. She was in her bedroom when her dad told her, and she said she couldn’t even walk into her room for two weeks afterward because it reminded her of the bad news. “I never dealt with anything like that with somebody I was close to as I was to him,” Carson said. “Grandpa is the only person (whose death has) really affected me.” This was Carson’s first major experience with loss, and mental health coordinator Stephanie Whiteside said her response is not unusual. “Feelings of grief can throw (people) off a little bit if they haven’t experienced (them) before because people often think you cry and you’re sad, but sometimes people aren’t prepared for the intense anger they can also feel when they lose somebody or the guilt that they can feel when they lose somebody,” Whiteside said. According to a study conducted by psychology professors in the Netherlands, South Africa and China, self-blame and regret are the most frequently identified forms of guilt surrounding loss in the current

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research. Carson said she experienced this first-hand. Her parents told her that her grandpa wasn’t going to make it through the night, and she went to change into more comfortable clothes before saying goodbye. Before she finished, he was gone. “I had the chance to say goodbye to this awesome guy that I loved, and I didn’t. For a long time, I couldn’t forgive myself,” Carson said. For other people, like social studies teacher Robert Elder, it’s not the first loss that affects them the most. Elder lost his daughter to Ewing sarcoma in 2012 when she was 11 years old. Although this was not his first experience with loss, Elder said his daughter’s death eclipsed that of other family members. “As a parent, you stand there and you look at (yourself) and you wonder, “They’re such strong hands. Why can’t I hold onto this person? Why can’t I stop this from happening? Why not me?’” Elder said. “Just give (the disease) to me and let me do it. Don’t make her do it. Have I been through deaths and things like that before and watched family members die? Yeah, but losing a child is different.” Whiteside said over time people learn how to cope better

(Top) Senior Katy Carson looks at photos of her grandfather in her dining room. Her grandfather passed away from cancer five years and his death has been the most profound she has experienced. (Middle) Senior Katy Carson displays the tattoo she got on her wrist to commemorate her late grandfather. (Bottom) Robert Elder, government and U.S. history teacher, looks through photos of his daughter who passed away at the age of 11. Despite the devastation of this event, Elder said it was what prompted him to return to teaching.


with loss, but it doesn’t necessarily “get better with time” as the cliché goes. Carson said in the past year, she realized her grandpa didn’t want her to watch him die, and she said this knowledge made it easier for her to deal with his death. To honor his memory, Carson got a tattoo of a lemon. “I decided to get the tattoo just to remind myself of him and that he loved me, and I miss him. He’s always there even if he’s not here,” she said. “(The tattoo) has been a nice little reminder because when I am really stressed over a test, and I see it, it just makes me smile.” Elder said he took a different coping route. His daughter’s death altered his career path. He was a teacher before becoming an attorney, but he went back to teaching nine months after his daughter’s death. “For me, teaching is a way of watching other young people achieve dreams my daughter wasn’t able to achieve,” he said. “I found that the best way for me to honor her memory is to give back to other students because that’s what I do best.” Learning to deal with loss is a process, and according to PsychCentral, everyone grieves

differently. People who experience loss go through some form of the five stages of grief—denial and isolation, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance—before settling down and accepting that their loved ones are gone. However, there are ways in which people surrounding the grieving can help. “It’s big to avoid forcing (those who have lost someone) to talk about it if they’re not ready to,” Whiteside said. “Letting them know that they can talk to you when they need to talk and making sure that they’re just emotionally and physically present (allows) them to talk about it and (allows) them to feel that sadness.” Carson said she has found that although the pain is still there, she has learned how to manage it. “It does hurt less. It gets easier, and I know some days you’ll wake up and you’ll just want to sit in bed and miss them, but you’ll get used to it,” Carson said. “You just have to know that they are there even when they are not here. They’re still watching over you, and they’re still taking care of you, and you just have to come to terms that they are still doing all the things that they did, just in a A different way now.

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ALL BY

MYSELF Staff member Karolena Zhou discusses life as only child WORDS, SUBMITTED PHOTO || KAROLENA ZHOU

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s an only child in a family of three, I’m normally by myself. While people assume that only children are lonely because they don’t have siblings, that isn’t the case with me. I usually hangout with friends or spend time with my family to overcome any loneliness I might have. Besides that, I am normally really busy with school or extracurriculars, so I don’t really have time to be lonely. Because I’m an only child, the house is usually quiet. While some people like the commotion, I like having a quiet place to relax and enjoy my free time. It’s really nice because I can read a book or study in peace and quiet without distractions. Without siblings, I don’t ever have to fight anyone for my parent’s attention or affection. Whenever I want to talk about something, I have an attentive parent that I can chat with. As a result, I’m always fully supported in my hobbies and interests, such as golf and piano. However, because I always have my parents’ attention, I feel like I don’t have any freedom. I often feel smothered because there’s never another sibling for them to fret over. My parents are never super overbearing, but because I’m an only child, I feel like I’m always being watched. Still, because my parents are usually busy with work, I’ve learned to be independent. At an early age, I had to learn how to be responsible as I was at home by myself while my parents were at work. One thing I’ve learned to do by myself was cooking, which is an activity I still really enjoy. I love to create new dishes. Many people ask me if I want a sibling or not. As a child, I would have probably said yes. I always wanted someone to play games or talk with me when my parents or friends were busy. My friends would tell stories about their siblings that I have always wanted to experience like their playful fights or inside jokes. However, as I’ve grown older, I would say no. I like the way my family is right now. Being an only child has made me the way I A am, and I wouldn’t want to change that.


THE MORE THE MERRIER Staff member Calina He reveals thoughts on having multiple siblings WORDS, SUBMITTED PHOTOS || CALINA HE

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rowing up in a family with four children, I have always enjoyed the company of my brothers. As I have two older brothers and one younger brother, my house has always been loud and busy. However, as we’ve grown older, the house has become quieter and quieter. Now, the house is usually quiet, with my younger brother, Canaan, and I living at home. The absence of my siblings together under one roof has made me realize how much better and fuller life is when we’re all together. There is always something to do, whether it’s at home or out. While they provide entertainment, my brothers also provide me with a support system like no other. I can always seek advice from my siblings and receive valuable guidance. Although people often assume that having more siblings results in less attention for each child, I believe having siblings actually results in more attention and enjoyment. Especially with the age gap between my siblings and me, my parents don’t divide up their attention for each child. Additionally, I receive attention from my brothers that I sometimes prefer over attention from my parents. Having multiple siblings has also taught me to be more independent. I have learned how to do things on my own without my parents constantly looking over my shoulder, as they trust me more because of their experiences with my brothers. Not only do I know how to be more independent, but I also know how to help guide younger people. With both older and younger brothers, I have learned to respect and take care of others. With more siblings, however, comes more conflict. More often than not, when all of my siblings are home, we argue and fight about small matters. However, having more siblings can be beneficial in arguments because at least one of my brothers will side with me, giving me more confidence to voice my opinions. Last but not least, having more siblings is simply more enjoyable. The laughs are louder, the connections are deeper, and the jokes are funnier. We have more memories, A and most importantly, we have more fun together.

(Top) Junior Calina He stands with her two older brothers, Yizheng and Caleb He, while visiting San Francisco. (Bottom) He poses with her younger brother, freshman Canaan He, after his orchestra concert at the Palladium.

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A Year in Art

From films to fashion to music, here’s a look at notable moments for art in 2018 GRAPHICS || ANGELA CHEN, ADITI KUMAR, RICHA LOUIS SOURCE || FORBES, MARIE CLAIRE, NYTIMES, SMITHSONIAN, USATODAY, VOGUE, BILLBOARD

Top Movies 800 700

400 300 200 100 0

Incredibles 2

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom

500

Black Panther

Avengers: Infinity War

600

Deadpool 2

PROFIT (IN MILLIONS OF USD)

Compare the biggest on-screen hits of 2018

TV Then and Now

completed shows released shows

Take a look at the shows that came and went in 2018 Corporate (Comedy Central)

Jan. 17

Barry (HBO)

March 25

March 16

Once Upon a Time (ABC)

May 18

April 8

Wild Wild Country Killing Eve (Netflix) (BBC America)

The Fosters Random Acts of Flyness (Freeform) (HBO)

June 6

May 30

The Americans (FX)

June 13

The Originals (The CW)

Aug. 4

Nov. 2

House of Cards (Netflix)


Art in the Spotlight

Take a look at one of art’s biggest moments of 2018

The portraits of Barack and Michelle Obama, painted by Kehinde Wiley and Amy Sherald, marked the first time African American artists had been commissioned for presidential portraits.

Press Play-list Find out what songs topped Billboard charts in 2018

Your 2018 Library SHUFFLE PLAY ADD SONGS

God’s Plan

Fashion Forward

Drake

Perfect

Take a look at the top fashion trends of 2018

Ed Sheeran

Meant to Be

Bebe Rexha Ft. Florida Georgia Line

Havana

Camila Cabello Ft. Young Thug

Rockstar

Post Malone Ft. 21 Savage

Home

Search

‘Dad’ Sneakers This footwear sold more than any other type of shoe in 2018

Disney-themed Clothing Disney was everywhere as it was Mickey’s 90th birthday this past year

Bike Shorts This athleisure piece became popular and was often paired with sweaters, blazers and heels

Your Library

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BEING

Unique

iving in a family of five, sophomore Joanna Lee is the middle child, stuck between her older brother in his second year of college and her younger brother in seventh grade. Like most students, Joanna is involved in both academics and Community members, students various extracurricular activities. When recognize struggle of standing school is over, she attends Academic Superbowl meetings, orchestra council out among accomplished siblings meetings and practices for Symphony Orchestra. Outside of school, Joanna plays WORDS || VIYANG HAO, TARA KANDALLU competes in piano and violin competitions, helps tutor at her church and plays tennis. But is PHOTOS || NATALIE KHAMIS this all enough to be unique in her family? Joanna said the answer is not so simple. She said she always seems to live underneath the expectations of her older brother’s accomplishments. She said her older brother achieved a lot before he entered college. Throughout high school, he received mostly A’s. He was also involved in athletics, earning a fourth-degree black belt at Master Yoo’s Taekwondo and participating in a travel soccer team. His athletic and academic achievements are augmented by his musical skills. He played both the clarinet and piano and was first various times in different bands, such as the All State and CHS bands. Joanna said her brother, on top of his extracurriculars and academics, somehow had the time to juggle multiple jobs. “He always seems to effortlessly achieve so many things, but I guess he gets the most pressure from being the first child (in the family),” Joanna said. Along with feeling overshadowed, Joanna said there are some differences in how she is treated compared to her siblings. “As the middle child, I’m fine, I guess. I’m the only daughter, and that comes with some pluses. But sometimes, I feel as if I have less freedom than my younger brother, but also less support and pressure than my older brother,” Joanna said. “Basically, (being in the middle is) like being trapped. It feels like I’m a ‘jack of all trades, master of none’ since I’m just doing mediocre (work) compared to my older brother.” Joanna, however, is not alone as a study, conducted in 2012, analyzed the impact of birth orders in families and reported that middle children often feel that they, themselves, cannot receive


Diverse Differences Take a look at some of the ways that people are different from each other Faith Because each person follows and interprets a religion differently, it is an important factor in uniqueness

Genetics Everyone (except identical twins) has unique DNA, which affects everything from eye color, skin, and the rate of fingernail growth

Nurture Everyone is exposed to situations that affect them in different ways. This gives everyone a unique perspective

GRAPHIC || EDWARD DONG SOURCE || FRITZ DUFOUR, UCLA WILLIAMS INSTITUTE

the privileges/special treatment their older sibling gets while also not being spoiled that the youngest child may receive. She also said, “My younger brother gets to do a lot of things I was never allowed (to) at his age, so I constantly feel as if I have to do better to show that I still have something to show myself I can do things.” On top of feeling all these expectations, Joanna said she could show more potential if she started pushing herself to the amount of pressure that her older brother placed on himself and was placed on him by his family. “I think it’s a matter of ‘what I’m doing’ and ‘what I can do.’ That is the difference between my older brother and I,” Joanna said. “To clarify, he’s always doing the next step while I’m doing only what’s put in front of me. I could show more (of my) potential if I start reaching for that next step.” Sophomore Paige Stanton said she also faces a similar challenge in her big family of six. She said she is always trying to

Personality Psychologists identify five big personality traits that affect who we are: openness, conscientiousness, agreeableness, extraversion and neuroticism

Socialization Socialization is the way one learns the norms of their society. Each person’s unique combination of interactions affect their thoughts and actions

Gender Gender interpretation has become its own unique trait. About 4% of the U.S. population does not see themselves as conforming with gender norms

Biometrics Biometrics like fingerprint, iris, voice and facial features, are being used increasingly in the world today to identify people

differentiate herself from all her older siblings because she is the youngest in the family. “I always feel like I have to be as good or better than my siblings at things because if (I am not as good), I’ll be compared to them and then I’ll just feel bad about it,” Stanton said. According to Stanton, there are a lot of misconceptions on how the youngest in the family is treated in terms of how much attention they get and the expectations they face. “People always tend to think that the youngest siblings gets everything they want, but that is very wrong,” Stanton said. “My siblings always pick on me.” She said she struggles with differentiating herself from her family because her siblings treat her like she is little and helpless as she is the “baby” of the family. She battles to establish her own identity as an individual apart from the childish characteristics that have been attached to being the youngest. Because Stanton is the youngest, she feels she is compared more than a middle sibling would

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Sophomore Joanna Lee plays the violin during Symphony Orchestra. She said that although her brother was also a musician, orchestra is one way she is able to stand out from her brother who participated in band.

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be to her siblings because they have all passed through CHS before her. She said, “It’s hard because my siblings are all good at different things and I’ll be compared to them (if I do the same things) or (people will) say I’m copying them if I do something similar.” Jenny Lee, Joanna’s mother, said she experienced similar events to her daughter and Stanton during her youth. Mrs. Lee said said via email that she grew up with three older brothers and two older sisters, making her the youngest in the family. Throughout her childhood, she would

often become sick, and her parents wouldn’t push her as much as her other siblings in school. In addition, being the youngest in her family meant she was unable to play a musical instrument because there was less money available for her. These differences in treatment weren’t limited to just her childhood, but also her teenage years as she was forced to go to a national/public college in South Korea for financial reasons. However, she said although she didn’t receive as many opportunities as her siblings, she didn’t feel they were competing against each other for her parents’ affection or recognition. Although her family was not able to provide the same experience her siblings got, Mrs. Lee said her parents always gave her the same quality of attention. Mrs. Lee also said she never felt any anger or dislike towards her siblings for having a greater number of opportunities because they protected her.


“I have a funny memory that my sister told me (from) when I was younger. When I was little, my eyes were so big. A boy came to my house and he said (that) to my sister, and teased that my eyes were so big, (they looked like) big candy,” Mrs. Lee said. “My sister and three brothers all fought with his brothers and sisters (so they would stop teasing) me. My brothers and sisters have been good protectors (of me since I was young).” Although Joanna said her brother sometimes makes her life difficult, she has found her own ways of being different and standing out. Stanton agreed and said she has also grown in her ability to be confident and not always compare herself to her siblings and their accomplishments. “I just try different (activities) and see what sticks. An example could be that my siblings all do some type of art, my brother draws, my sister uses charcoal and mainly does shading, my other sister does zentangles, so I tend to paint or do cute, little doodles,” Stanton said. She said that even though it seems like she is participating in the same activities as her siblings, she actually finds her own niche and special interest. Similar, Joanna said, “Rather than doing what my brother achieved, I found different activities (such as orchestra, tennis and gymnastics) that I enjoy doing and therefore spend my time in.” Joanna said even though these activities are similar to what her brother did when he was in high school, they are different enough that she isn’t compared to him on a daily basis. She is able to participate in activities that, despite being similar to her brother’s, are of interest to her and provide a fun outlet for her to express herself. Having a similar mentality to her mother, Joanna said she doesn’t feel any real competition that exists between her brother and her to be the best in the family. If there is any feeling of competition, Joanna said it would relate to academics or in a family-friendly manner. “(My siblings are) my motivation sometimes,” Joanna added. “Even though I’m setting my

eyes on (being different from my older brother in almost all aspects of my life), I really take inspiration from him and his accomplishments and hope to excel (in the future) like he does.” Joanna said she is content in her current situation, and she doesn’t have a plan for the future to distinguish herself from her older brother. As of now, she just wants to enjoy participating in activities that interest her. She also said she feels she still has a lot to achieve musically and academically but reminds herself that “it’s okay to not be the best.” “I’d like to say that I am very unique from A my brother,” Joanna said.

Sophomore Paige Stanton works on a project for her ceramics class during SRT. She said she tries to explore different activities or take a twist activities her siblings have participated in.

It feels like I am a ‘jack of all trades, master of none’ since I am just doing mediocre (work) compared to my older brother.

Sophomore Joanna Lee

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1%

IN THE TOP Q&A’s || ANGELA LI PHOTOS || KAROLENA ZHOU

High-achieving in their respective fields, CHS students discuss the journey to their success

Q&A : Academics

Yannik Singh, Indiana Rising Star Class of 2020 and senior What are some of your academic accomplishments?

What advice would you give other students on achieving their goals?

Rising Star is a state-wide award given by the Indiana Association of School Principals. It’s awarded to the top four juniors in classes at most Indiana high schools, so I got that last year, along with a couple of other people here at CHS; I believe it’s only based on GPA. For Chemistry Olympiad, it’s a national chemistry competition taken by around 16,000 students from all 50 states. Basically what you do is you take a series of chemistry tests and it culminates in a very intense two-week study camp in the summer where you do a bunch of labs and take a bunch more super hard tests. I was one of the top six students in the competition this year nationally. For Science Olympiad, it’s another national science competition; It’s a little bit broader in that it focuses on every area of science and it’s a team competition, so our school has a team that we take to various competitions. In the past two years, I was on the CHS Team that won the state competition and competed at nationals, and then this past year, I also won first place in one of my events—which are kind of the sub-competitions within Science Olympiad—so that event was Chemistry Lab, and then I also won second in another event, astronomy.

The first thing that I would say is make sure that what you’re working toward is something that you actually want and you’re not just pursuing it for prestige but because you actually enjoy the subject, because usually if you’re interested in the subject, no matter what, you’re going to succeed in something related to that area unintentionally because you’re going to be so interested to learn more about it. So I guess once you’ve checked that off, after that, the big thing is having plans. Last year, for example, when I was preparing for this Chemistry Olympiad competition, I really had pretty much an hourby-hour plan of what I would be doing and I made sure that every single minute was utilized to its fullest.

What sparked your interest in STEM? I guess what really got me into it was a chemistry class (outside of school) that I started taking my freshman year. This was before I actually really knew about any of these competitions, but there was just this class that I knew of and we basically just talked about chemistry and did chemistry problems. I thought it was really interesting because you start to see how things work on a molecular level, and the understanding that you gain is cool because you can see chemistry all around you in your daily life, so I thought that was kind of interesting. That’s how I started getting really into that, and then that kind of just spiraled into all of STEM.

Senior Yannik Singh works on a chemistry experiment during Chemistry Club afterschool. In addition to the club, he also participates in Chemistry Olympiad.


Senior Aidan Mellor reads from his binder of music during one of his choir classes. Mellor is a part of two of the top choirs at CHS: the Ambassadors show choir and Select Sound a capella choir. Outside of classes, he also helps organize events and assists with the Counterpoints choir.

Q&A : Performing Arts

Aidan Mellor, Ambassadors, Select Sound member and senior What are some of your musical accomplishments at CHS?

Are you planning to pursue music in the future?

I’m in Ambassadors and Select Sound, so I have three hours of choir every blue day, come in during SRTs for rehearsals and then I assist with the freshman boys, as well have rehearsals weekly after school. I do music outside of school by either doing voice lessons, producing music or trying to write arrangements and stuff for other upcoming things. I’ve been in Ambassadors and Select Sound for two years.

I’m planning to pursue music business in college. I don’t want to perform just because of the lack of security and everything, that gets me a bit nervous, but I still want to pursue it as a part of my career, just not as a performer. I’d like to be a part of the industry, as well be able to produce and do my own things on the side, potentially perform, just as a side hobby.

What initially sparked your interest in music and choir? I had a lot of interest for music at a really early age. One of my earliest memories is watching a TV program about a very popular singer, and according to my parents. I was entranced by it and would not stop watching it. I think interest in music for me started very early, and then I started getting into formal choirs and stuff when I was about eight. I’ve been in stuff like that since then. I do extracurricular stuff, and then I added it onto my schooling.

Have you faced any major challenges getting to where you’ve gotten to today? Yes. Academically, I’m taking a lot of classes for it, so that in itself takes up a lot of time. Doing rehearsals and everything can sometimes put more pressure on you academically. I had a fairly bad health stint last year because I had three consecutive choir classes in a row because of an additional class and I faced some vocal health problems for a while to the point where I had to not sing for about two months, so that was kind of a setback in getting ready for college auditions, or just sort of getting myself prepped for the year, so I’ve had to learn to work around those and be more proactive.

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Q&A : Softball

Stormy Kotzelnick, ranked seventh best player in the nation for 2020 class and senior What are your accomplishments in softball? Obviously, it’s been a super long journey and with that, there’s a lot of accomplishments I’ve done in my life, not just on paper, but even in experiences. I committed my eighth grade year to the school that I’m still going to, so that was a big accomplishment. I’ve been ranked basically top 10 softball player in the nation for a long time, and I was softball player of the year my freshman year. Honestly, outside of softball, there’s a lot more accomplishments that I’ve had like training other kids or just being a good face to the community and stuff. I was on the cover of one of the Carmel magazines, and that was a really big thing for me and a personal accomplishment, and I guess also what it means to me is being able to show a better example of what women athletes should be teaching other kids.

Senior Stormy Kotzelnick playing a game for the Beverly Bandits 18U Premier team. Kotzelnick plays second-base for the Chicago-based team, one of the best in the nation.

When did you discover that you were really good at softball? When I was 13, I played softball and basketball, and that’s when I had to quit playing basketball to pursue softball, so that was when I really knew that this was something I wanted to do for a really long time and be successful in it. That was a turning point because I knew I liked it and I could be really good at it if I put all my time into it.

When did you start getting recruited, and why did you commit to the University of Washington? I started getting recruited when I was in seventh grade. After that, I just kind of went on visits around the country to colleges that I was interested in going to school at. When it came down to my final choices, (University of) Washington was just really it because I love the coaches and the atmosphere, and I wanted to go to the west coast. There’s hundreds of reasons. People ask me all the time, “Why Washington?” There’s a lot of reasons that go into it; some people just really wouldn’t understand, but it really is like a family there and that’s what I enjoy about it.

What impact do you think you’ve been able to have on the community through softball? Probably just keeping girls in the game. Because so many girls now in this generation just, as soon as something gets hard, want to quit. They don’t want to work hard for what they want or desire or anything like that. I think I’ve helped the community just by teaching the younger generation what working hard is and what it does for you.

What are your long-term goals with softball? My long-term goal for softball is definitely representing USA. I tried out for the Junior USA Team this past December but like I obviously didn’t make it. That would definitely be one of my end goals is to represent the country playing with this team. It’s hard to say because I want to do it for a long time, but it’s not going to be a “career career” thing because it just doesn’t pay that well to my suffice but I’m going to do it as long as I can.

What would you tell other students about working towards and achieve their goals? SUBMITTED PHOTO || STORMY KOTZELNICK

I’d probably tell them that nothing is going to be handed to you, and you need to go out and earn and take everything that you think that you need in life.


Q&A : Tennis

Presley Thieneman, top ranked men’s tennis player in Indiana and senior What are your accomplishments in tennis? I won the Indiana state title, so I’m (ranked) number one in Indiana, and I’m currently 36th in the country, which has been my highest ranking in five to ten years. I (also) travel around the country a lot for tournaments. I moved here sophomore year, so my sophomore and junior year, we won the state title.

How did you first get into tennis? I have three older brothers, so I was always watching them play, and I just really wanted to play, and I convinced my parents that I could play at a young age and I started at age six.

When did you decide it was something you wanted to pursue in the future? I would say sixth or seventh grade, because I used to play a ton of sports, so I played basketball (and) baseball. In seventh grade I realized I loved tennis, and I wanted to try to be really good.

How often do you train? Weekly, five days a week at least, and that’s not only practicing tennis but training physically. The five days a week doesn’t include tournaments on the weekend, so it could be seven if I have a tournament.

When did you start getting recruited, and why did you choose Northwestern? The process starts junior year in September, so that’s when all the coaches started to contact me. I committed in May of 2019. In my junior year. I chose Northwestern because of the academics and the tennis as well. It was a good combination, and it’s close to home.

What are your long-term goals? Are you interested in pursuing tennis in the future? My long-term goals is for sure to go pro, but I’m going to see how I do in college, and if I’m not good enough to go pro, I’ll just use whatever I learn in college and maybe do something in business.

Senior Presley Thienemen hits on overhead during practice. According to tennisrecruiting.net, Thienemen is a five-star recruit for the sport.

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School’s in Session

Here are the education systems of the United States and the most common birthplaces for first-generation children

MAKING THE MOVE TO AMERICA

Students, staff reflect on being first-generation American

United States REQUIRED YEARS 11 STARTING AGE 5-YEARS-OLD NUMBER OF STUDENTS 56.6 MILLION LITERACY RATE 2013* FEMALE 99.0% MALE 99.0%

Mexico REQUIRED YEARS 12 STARTING AGE 3-YEARS-OLD NUMBER OF STUDENTS 26.6 MILLION LITERACY RATE 2016* FEMALE 94.0% MALE 95.8%

WORDS || CHRISTIAN LEDBETTER, GRACE XU

F

or Mariam Tawadrous, first-generation American and sophomore, her “norm” today hasn’t always been her norm. Having lived in the United States for only five years, she’s been through many new experiences that differed from her life back in her birth country Egypt. In that time, Tawadrous said she’s had fun learning English, meeting new friends and experiencing a different school system. “It’s fun to just see new stuff a lot,” Tawadrous said. “It was fun to learn a new language and teach my family English… (and learning) how the schools work, meeting new people, speaking different languages.” Tawadrous isn’t alone in assimilating to a new culture. She is joined by over 44.5 million people who also immigrated to the United States, according to the Migration Policy Institute. In fact, Andrew Labib, another first-generation American and sophomore, who used to live in Cairo, Egypt, faces the same problem. After moving to Carmel, Labib said he had to overcome language barriers in order to learn English; however, he added he’s found bilingualism to be a great asset overall. “My parents would have a question about how to say this in English because they’re not really good English speakers, and (being bilingual) is a good thing,” Labib said.

Tawadrous underwent a similar experience as well, as she said she was able to teach her family English she had learned, on top of being able to express herself more fully after becoming bilingual. “It was fun to just learn a new language, teach my family English and all of that,” Tawadrous said. “I feel comfortable when I speak in Arabic because it’s my original language. Sometimes I feel comfortable speaking in English, because I forget the (Arabic) word, like, ‘What does it mean in Arabic?’ So I’m comfortable talking in both (languages).” Jennifer Mansberger, English as a New Language (ENL) teacher, said when students learn English they tend to come out more mature and confident than before. She said usually students want to learn the language, and while there may be struggles some students can jump two or three levels in a single year, while others may plateau Yet while Tawadrous said she agreed with Mansberger on some aspects, saying she felt like she was able to express herself more fully after learning English, Tawadrous added that she sometimes feels judged for her Egyptian culture. “When I start talking in Arabic, everyone (would) start looking at me for reasons like ‘What is she saying?’ or the clothes that I’m wearing or how I’m


GRAPHIC || DA-HYUN HONG

SOURCES || PSA, STATISTA, NCES, CHINA-MIKE, TRANSFERWISE, NEWS MB, INTERNATIONS

China REQUIRED YEARS 9 STARTING AGE 6-YEARS-OLD NUMBER OF STUDENTS 400 MILLION LITERACY RATE 2015* FEMALE 94.5% MALE 98.2%

India

Philippines

REQUIRED YEARS 10 STARTING AGE 5-YEARS-OLD NUMBER OF STUDENTS 260 MILLION

REQUIRED YEARS 13 STARTING AGE 5-YEARS-OLD NUMBER OF STUDENTS 27.7 MILLION

LITERACY RATE 2015* FEMALE 63.0% MALE 80.9%

LITERACY RATE 2008* FEMALE 88.7% MALE 84.2% *years differ based on available data

different from them,” Tawadrous said. “I don’t trust myself or trust what I wear or how I talk.” However, Tawadrous added that she was able to overcome that mindset, saying she realized others didn’t care about what she wore or how she spoke as much as she thought. “I just looked at the people and they don’t care about what other people say, so I’d be like ‘Why should I care?’ It’s my choice,” Tawadrous said. “I made a lot of friends and just decided to be myself. I don’t care about other people’s opinions.” In fact, both Tawadrous and Labib both said they felt culture shock after moving to America, due to the difference between their previous environments and Carmel. Labib said he first noticed cultured differences after moving to America. In contrast to Carmel, where violence is a rarity, near his home back in Egypt, violence was common. “In Egypt, there would be a small fight and people just (join)and they’d make it even bigger. Some people take some stuff personal in the fight so they (aren’t) nice,” Labib said. “Here (in Carmel), if there’s a fight, people come. They will either calm the people down or they wouldn’t get in the fight.”

BY THE NUMBERS

2.9

MILLION firstgeneration immigrant children in the U.S.

19.6 MILLION immigrant children in the U.S. SOURCE || CHILDTRENDS

Labib also said classes were structured differently in Egypt, and there was no school lunch in the school he attended in Cairo. Yet Labib said Egypt wasn’t all bad either, especially communities in Egypt would often host events for free. “On Christmas, I saw in one mall here (with) a fake Santa Claus and children would come in for money,” Labib said. “In Egypt, that’d be for free and they’d have baby trains for kids to ride for free, too.” In fact, Tawadrous said she sometimes feels nostalgic for her life as a child in Egypt, as she said “my days were spent playing with my cousin (and) just running around like an idiot.” Yet in the end, both Tawadrous and Labib said they feel comfortable in their life in Carmel, even though they both identify as Egyptian American, rather than simply Egyptian or American. Labib added that his transition to America turned out well, even when he was scared at first. “Some people, when they come here (to America), they will be scared about how people think of them and how their language would affect them and their socializing with other people, but it wouldn’t really that much,” Labib said. “You get all A the help you would need.”

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ONEto ONE

Student, counselor consider challenges, responsibilities of students in single parent households WORDS || PRANAV JOTHIRAJAH PHOTOS || RAY MO

F

or most students in Carmel, it appears as if my brother and sister but they went to college, so living in a two-parent household is common. now it’s just me and my dad,” Megan said. “I used to live with both of my parents back in However, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, in 2016, only 69% of children under 18 the day and it was a lot different in terms of the were living with two parents. This dropped from environment and the responsibilities,” she said. a high of 88% in 1960. The U.S. Census Bureau “Since my dad works, I sometimes have to order forcasts that as time goes on, these percentages food myself and pay for it and just in general there will continue to drop, and the rate of one-parent are more responsibilities in terms of keeping the households will rise. This increasing rate will have house clean.” Counselor Melinda Stephan said oftentimes, a large impact on the student population at CHS. Students who live in one-parent households often there is a major difference between single-parent need to take on more responsibilities compared to households and dual-parent households. “In terms of the general population of students, one living with two parents. This is the case for junior Megan Fortier, who currently lives in a one- I feel as if a student who lives in a single-parent household will, in most cases, have to deal with parent household with her father. “My parents are divorced and my mom lives in and handle more responsibilities as they won’t California and my dad with me. I used to live with have two parents to help them at certain times,”

Junior Megan Fortier plays with her cat Winston. She said having a companion at home has helped break up the tension of a now two-person household.


Stephan said. “This could come in the form of having a job and doing more work around the house to help the family. Not only that but these students may not have as much guidance, so certain things they will have to teach themselves.” Junior Eli Kurlander said he goes through some of the same experiences as Fortier, as his parents are divorced too. “My mom and dad both live in separate houses because they are divorced, so me and my 2 siblings have to adjust in the sense that we have to be more responsible with staying on top of what we have to do,” Kurlander said. “These things will help me in my future as they teach me things like being more organized. Stephan agrees with Kurlander, saying that the things a student who lives in a single-parent household will learn will carry on to college and into their future. “The responsibilities and independence that is given to students who live in (single-parent households) not only makes them better in high school, but it also carries on to college and their future, where the things they learned is needed,” Stephan said. “A lot of times you see students unsure of how to act by themselves in college or in future jobs because they don’t have the guidance of their parents, but students that had these responsibilities in high school will find it easier to settle into college and future jobs where A they are by themselves.”

(Above) Junior Megan Fortier washes the dishes she used to eat lunch. She said living with one parent gave her more responsibilities at home. (Left above) Junior Megan Fortier works on her IB Business homework. Fortier said that due to her father’s long work hours, she has learned to complete work and motivate herself on her own time.

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“Those who take action have a disproportionate impact. The power of one is to move many.� Elizabeth May


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