This Love

featherduster

THIS LOVE

the

Westlake High School

Volume 43

Issue 2

December 9, 2011 4100 Westbank Drive Austin, Texas 78746

The Featherduster, the newsmagazine of Westlake High School, attempts to inform and entertain in a broad, fair and accurate manner on subjects which concern the readers. The publication also seeks to provide a forum of ideas and opinions between the staff of the newsmagazine, the faculty, the student body and the local community about issues presented.

All material produced and published by The Featherduster staff is copyrighted and cannot be reproduced without the writer’s consent or that of the editors. Content decisions rest in the hands of the staff, despite the Supreme Court’s ruling in the case of Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier.

Opinions expressed in the columns

that appear in The Featherduster do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the entire staff, the school administration or the adviser.

The staff encourages letters to the editor as an avenue for expressing the opinions of the readers.

All letters must be signed to be considered for publication. Due to space limitations, not all letters will be published, and the editorial board reserves the right to edit them for purposes of placement. No material will be printed that is libelous, advocates an illegal activity or which the editorial board deems is in poor taste. The restriction includes letters to the staff, advertising and anything else the board feels presents an inappropriate message.

Brains + Brawn

12

Fight to the finish Volleyball finishes strong, advances to Regionals for 11th straight year

People + Places

25 Trends + Traditions 39 Rants + Raves 50 Santa baby

Students weigh in on joy of holiday season, share traditions, sweater-ology

Wish you were here

Deaths of loved ones alter outlook, inspire sophomore to love whole-heartedly

Laying down the law

Opposing opinions face off on leaglization of marijuana, abortion, death penalty

December

{contents}

Editors-in-Chief Hannah Kunz Lizzie Friedman

Managing Editor Hirrah Barlas

Copy Editors Caroline Hunt Christina Shin

Brains + Brawn

Becca Burt Selah Maya Zighelboim Asst. Marco Scarasso Hillary Hurst Cody Crutchfield Asst. Breck Spencer Asst. Ben Wallace

People + Places

Jenny Messer Julie Dorland Asst. Anika Hattangadi Asst. Catherine Mear

Trends + Traditions Hailey Cunningham Zelda Mayer Asst. Jessica Stenglein Asst. Josh Willis

Rants + Raves Danielle Brown

Asst. Camille Lewis Asst. Monica Tan

Art Directors Brad Dunn Emily Mitchell

Web Master Nikki Roop

Web Photographer Shea Wendlandt

Photo Editors Barrett Wilson Asst. Karen Scott

Business Manager Emily Cohen Asst. Abby Mosing Asst. Laura Doolittle

Photographers Allie Carlisle Isabel De La Luz Katherine Curtis Nikki Humble Tanner Thompson

Reporters

Andy Brown Brian Wieckowski Caitlyn Kerbow

Christina Rosendahl Christine Schulz Elizabeth Emery Emily Martin Jacob Prothro Jaimie Pitts Jared Schroeder Jennifer Prideaux Jono Krawczyk Keren Rempe MacKenna McDonell Madison Goll Martin Celusniak Michael Deisher Michaela Moss Monica Rao Olivia Lee Peyton Richardson Rachel Cooper Ryder Nicholas Sara Phillips Sarah Berg Sloan Simpson Taylor Cloyd Taylor Kidd

Adviser

Deanne Brown

Cover photo by Hannah Kunz Table of contents photo by Shea Wendlandt Senior Ben Chabala energetically leads the crowd in supporting the football team at a game. The push-up squad is an integral part of Chap spirit.

For more stories, visit www.westlakefeatherduster.com.

{ westlakefeatherduster.com }

brains + brawn

3

Going clubbing HOSA students prepare for medical field Going into the field of medicine can be a scary yet fulfilling endeavor. Some start studying it with little or no preparation, leaving them with a lot of pressure and a lot to learn.

There is so much necessary knowledge to become a medical professional, and it often helps to have outside experience before plunging into the study. In Health Occupations Students of America, high school students who are interested in health careers have the unique opportunity to explore the field in depth while gaining leadership and social skills.

“I chose to join HOSA because it can give me some experience in the medical field without having to take the entire health career courses cluster,” member sophomore Kaina Chen said. “HOSA has definitely given me some insight of how big the medical field is and how many choices there are.”

Participating in the club has given members adequate knowledge of medicine and the fundamental tools they need to be successful doctors, nurses and therapists.

“I want to be a physician and decided that HOSA would expose me to more medical terminology and to the different types of medicine,” sophomore Apurva Chavali said. “It has made my experience better because while I’m learning at school, I’m also learning at conferences and with competition prep. I’ve also made friends with some really nice people.”

Through social interactions with fellow members, students in HOSA can build close friendships with others that have similar interests to theirs.

“I like being in the club because I'm always surrounded with people that have the same goals I have,” Kaina said. “There's always a lot to talk about.”

At the fall leadership conference Oct. 23 in Pflugerville, several members of HOSA got to learn about the medical field through interactive activities and gain a wide variety of skills.

“The most important thing I learned at the conference was how important listening and communicating was in the medical field — as important as knowing the information,” Kaina said. “I didn't expect people to come from all across Texas, including people that drove all the way from San Antonio. I also didn't expect to learn as much as I did about communication.”

HOSA members are actively involved in community service projects. So far they have donated to the Bastrop fire victims and have taken part in the Autism Speaks walk Sept. 24 and in Alive at 25, a series of defensive driving

classes. They strive to immerse themselves in service and leadership activities to enhance their experience in the club.

“I’m planning to compete in the Area competition [in January] for Creative Problem Solving,” Kaina said. “My goal this year is to be more involved.”

Area and State competitions take up a large part of the HOSA lifestyle, and those participating prepare for them extensively as early as October. A wide selection of contests is available on topics from medical terminology to public speaking skills. “[I want to] make it past State with the Medical Spelling competition,” Apurva said.

“I’m going to be studying with friends who are doing competition and with my mom, who happens to be a physician herself. I’m definitely nervous about my first year with competition, but I look forward to it and just hope for the best.”

Students in HOSA would recommend membership for any student who intends to have a future career in medicine.

“If they're interested at all in the medical field, or even just considering it, they should join HOSA,” Kaina said. “It opens up new doors for high school students.”

—Abby Mosing

Journalism students form new jChaps club “J,” a new national organization created by the Journalism Education Association, has been brought to Westlake as jChaps.

“The purpose is to bring together the journalism departments,” co-president senior Lizzie Friedman said. “We usually work in our different venues, so it’s nice to have the newspaper and yearbook staffs come together.”

Members of both publications are able to exchange ideas through the club meetings.

“I joined jChaps because I really enjoy journalism, and this seemed like a way to expose myself to all the different things going on in the community here at Westlake, as well as in the world,” co-president senior Connor Campbell said. “I have been on yearbook for four years, so it is neat to come together with newspaper in one large group.”

While the club is new, members hope to promote scholastic journalism by possibly working with younger journalists and plan to celebrate Scholastic Journalism Week in February.

“We’re hoping to talk to the eighth graders about taking high school journalism,” Lizzie said.

“We’re still deciding what we want our angle in the school to be.”

—Julie Dorland

jchaps officers

Izzy de la Luz

Health Occupations Students of America member junior Christy Goldberg works on an ethics worksheet on her iPad in Principles of Health Science, a popular class among HOSA members. “HOSA is a cool way to meet people from other schools who are also interested in becoming nurses and doctors,” Christy said.

Co-presidents: Seniors Connor Campbell and Lizzie Friedman Secretary: Sophomore Whitney Woodard Media Director: Senior Allison Hooks T-shirt designer: Senior Rachel Atzmon Spirit Captain: Senior Claire Smith Spirit Deputies: Junior Casey Simmons, sophomore Hanna King, sophomore Hannah Jones and senior Emily Playfair

Karen Scott

Karen Scott

Far left: In the recent production of Dog Sees God, senior Chase Grammer as CB visits pyromaniac Lucy, played by senior Katie McDoniel, and tells her about what is going on in his life.

Left: Sophomore Michael Kerbow as Van and sophomore Kemper Kisner as Sally, CB’s sister, sit and listen to CB read a letter from his pen-pal, CS. Dog Sees God, directed by senior Chesley Thornburg, was about Peanuts characters after they get older and their struggles with adolescence. It ran Nov 9-11.

Culture of Life Club spreads pro-life message This year, the Culture of Life Club is here to share its JL: We try to keep our group non-religious so that everyone feels message. Senior Jana Lane is leading the club and hopes to create welcome to come, although there are some of those undertones. new interest in an idea she strongly supports.

Mainly, it’s just that abortion is wrong and we need to stop it. That, The Featherduster: Is the Culture of Life Club new? and doing everything that we can, getting that word out, talking to Jana Lane: We’re not new. The Parrish girls (graduates Caroline legislature to convince them, and reminding them why this is the and Mary-Margaret) started it, but it kind of plateaued last year. I most important thing they can be doing. So mostly, it’s about that really wanted to revive it, because it was something it’s wrong in every sense of the word.

I was really passionate about, and I didn’t want it FD: Why do you feel it’s important to keep the group to fall by the wayside during my senior year when I non-religious? knew I could do something about it. So I decided to JL: Although it’s mostly religious groups that are pick it back up. spearheading the movement, I know it’s not just peoFD: What is the club about? ple that are religious that can feel this way, because JL: It’s an information-based group about spreadI feel like it’s more in your conscience. You should ing the pro-life message. We discuss current events know this is wrong. Therefore I want everyone, and why we’re passionate about [the message.] whether they’re non-denominational or they don’t Additionally, we discuss things we can do in the have a religion that they follow at all, to be able to feel community, like 40 Days for Life. They have signthat they can come to the meeting and be welcome up sheets where you go and pray outside Planned and share their opinions.

Parenthood, and it’s about being peaceful, not FD: When are meetings? berating the people in there, but offering help. It’s JL: Meetings will be in Mrs. Davidson’s room once or like a prayer that you keep going for 40 days for the twice a month in the morning for 15-20 minutes; we’ll children at risk, and for those children who have probably have donuts and orange juice. It’s someEmily Cohen thing worth hearing about, because it is so important. been lost. We’ll also do things together like Texas Culture of Life Club president senior Jana Lane I don’t want these kids in school to kind of take a Rally for Life, which is Jan. 28. You walk through poses for a picture. Jana plans for the club to casual attitude about it, because these are the kids the downtown area and you end up at the capital. participate in community pro-life events while that are going out into the world and can make a difRick Perry normally speaks. maintaining an open and secular environment. ference, these are the kids that may be tempted into FD: As a club, what do you plan on doing differently this year that hasn’t happened before? this option and we have to convince them now that JL: I think there just hasn’t been enough awareness about [the it’s wrong, and that they can’t do that. club.] I’m sure a lot of people are passionate about [pro-life or proFD: What would you say to someone pro-choice? choice], it’s something that people take a pretty strong stance on, JL: I would say I really can’t understand their point of view. I would so I’m just going to try to get the word out there more, maybe offer ask them, “You do know that this is the process of an abortion?” incentives to just come to a meeting and see what it’s about.

There is nothing easy about it, it’s not easy for the mother, it’s abFD: What are the club’s goals? solutely not easy for the baby. There are studies that the child feels JL: The main thing is, I want to keep this peaceful mindset because pain. You wouldn’t look at a toddler and say, “This toddler doesn’t a lot of what this fighting in pro-life is about is the view that “we are deserve life because it’s not an adult yet,” just because it’s not fully so right.” Although I believe I am right about this, it’s not my place formed. A toddler couldn’t live by itself — obviously it needs its to be forceful. I really just want to get the message out to people parent’s nutrition, it needs its parent’s support and love. So why is who don’t know that much about it. I want people to have a strong it that just because the child is dependent on its mother, that that opinion about it, because it is something that they should [have an doesn’t make it a person? It’s capable of becoming a toddler, then a opinion about.] I just want to talk to people. They can come to our teenager and then an adult. It’s just part of the process. It’s a child meetings, we’ll tell them what happens, why [abortion] is so awful. nonetheless. It’s not like it starts out without life, and then it grows Then they can think about it, and then come back. to become life. It’s life from the beginning.

FD: Are there beliefs as a group?

—Becca Burt

5

Fruit of their labor Advanced art students paint refrigerator door to spread environmental awareness If the kitchen is the heart of the home, then the refrigerator is the heart of the kitchen. We cover refrigerators with to-do lists and artwork. But now the refrigerator itself is becoming the piece of art.

Austin Energy initiated an art contest in which 10 area high schools were given one refrigerator door to turn into a sculpture.

Students designed the doors with images promoting environmental awareness.

“Refrigerator doors are being used as a symbol,” art teacher and project coordinator Dale Baker said. “The idea is to try to save energy in different manners, whether it be disposing of old refrigerators or conserving water.”

In order to create a design for the Westlake refrigerator door, the AP Studio Art class members created different sketches. Seniors Gina Senese and Lucy Ellis, the primary artists for the project, then decided on the final

image. Along with design decisions, Gina and Lucy painted the door with the image of a cowboy and a hog, the hog being an “energy hog.” “[The best part of this project] was working with Gina,” Lucy said. “She’s such a talented artist and it was so fun trying to work out what to paint. Working on such a large scale with such unusual subject matter [was great too].”

The Westlake refrigerator was taken Nov. 7 to be judged along with doors from other Austin area schools such as Anderson and Del Valle. After the winners are announced Jan. 11, the doors will be displayed around Austin at different events until May. “I hope everyone understands the message behind [the door],” Gina said. “I hope they are impressed by the quality and are motivated to find out more about Austin Energy.”

—Sara Phillips

Izzy de la Luz

After many bottles of water-soluble oil paint and four weeks of painting, seniors Lucy Ellis and Gina Senese finish the refrigerator door, a present to Austin Energy. “Painting the door was fun, but it was sometimes challenging and different,” Lucy said.

Interact club reaches out to people in need, members earn community service while helping others With their hair pulled back and smiles on their faces, members of the Interact Club spoon casserole and salad onto plate after plate on a Saturday morning, connecting with a part of the community they don’t always see.

As a community service club, members of Interact complete various projects around Austin, reaching out to groups in need. Once a month, the club works at the University United Methodist Church Homeless Outreach Program, where they help prepare a lunch and serve it to the homeless.

“They always appreciate it and make sure we know it,” senior Samantha Duncan said. “After I volunteer there, I know I’ve made a difference in at least one person’s life. It feels great.”

Through volunteering at UUMC, members are able to bond with individuals in the community.

“Every time I go to UUMC, I find myself in awe of the amount of people out there who are just trying to get by, who just need a little help,” secretary senior Hirrah Barlas said. “Maybe they need someone to laugh with or someone to talk to even just for a few minutes.

Maybe they will realize that situations can change. Where there’s a will, there’s a way.”

On Dec. 9, Interact will volunteer at Coats for Kids, an organization that distributes winter coats to those who need them but can’t afford them.

“Basically we go to the Palmer Events Center and sort coats,” president senior Lizzie Friedman said. “The coats are for people of all ages — little kids to adults. We’ll be going the night before the big distribution day. It’s a good way to get in the holiday spirit.”

Besides Coats for Kids and UUMC, the Interact Club also prepares meals at the Ronald McDonald House at Dell Children’s

Medical Center.

“Last spring, we all got together to go to Ronald McDonald House, which is a place for families of children who are in the hospital to stay and relax,” Hirrah said. “Interact was scheduled to cook and serve lunch. When we got there, it turned out that they had double-booked us, and another huge church group was coming in to do the same job. At first we didn't think the kitchen would be big enough for all of us, but we all decided to work together. We ended up working with people of all ages from that church in that little kitchen and cooked a great meal. I thought it was a great experience because there was such a sense of community. We didn't know these people, but somehow there was a special bond because we had all come together to work on the same thing, to help the same cause.”

In the future, the club would like to do a project with the Texas Association of Vietnam Veterans and extend a helping hand to animals as well.

“Sometime next semester, we are hoping to make an overnight trip down to the coast in Rockport,” social coordinator senior Caroline Hunt said. “We plan to work with an organization that serves as a wildlife rehabilitation center for marine birds and turtles.”

Some students join to complete the community service requirement for the Chaps in Service graduation cord, but find that Interact leaves a lasting bond.

“I wanted to join a club that allowed me to get involved in community service projects with a group,” Hirrah said. “I really wanted to give back, but I didn’t want to do it alone. That is why I love Interact. We have become great friends that come together to serve others. It’s a really remarkable experience.”

—Julie Dorland

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Eyes on them

1

Dancers take the stage to present annual Spotlight

Barrett Wilson

4 Barrett Wilson

6 2 2

5 Barrett Wilson

Shea Wendlandt

The Hyline Jazz Company performes a dance number to “Hyperballad” at the annual Spotlight Nov. 15.

Dance 2 members freshmen Rachel Cooper and Alexa Condos and senior Hannah Kunz perform to “Houdini.”

“When I was dancing, it was so much fun getting to see people there enjoying what we had worked hard on,” Alexa said.

3-4 interpretation of The Beatles’ “I Wanna 3 InHoldtheYourDanceHand,” freshman Sabrina Sanchez leaps across the

4

3

5

stage in the Performing Arts Center.

Hyline captain senior Meredith Trank dances a Funky Company routine to “Big Shot.” “We spend a lot of time outside of Hyline practice working on Funky Co., but it is so worth it,” she said. ” Star Steppers perform a jazz routine to “Drumming Song.”

The show was free to the public.

Shea Wendlandt

“Spotlight is fun because it gives us a chance to show everyone how hard we have been working, and it’s kind of a warm-up for competitions.”

—Hyline member junior Niki Bordelon

“I love my team. We’re all sisters and we’ve got our one brother. I couldn’t be more thankful for a closer group of friends, and learning about dance makes it all the more fun.”

—Star Stepper junior Danielle Daneshjou Scan for more Spotlight photos.

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UT housing

2323 San Antonio Street Austin, TX 78705

Run baby, run

Boys, girls cross country teams win District After dominating at District, the boys and girls varsity cross country teams traveled to Vandergriff Park in Arlington Nov. 5 where the top seven varsity runners ran in the Regional meet.

The boys finished 11th out of 24 teams, and the girls placed fourth. “[At Regionals] we distanced our nearest District competitor by over 100 points,” boys head coach Bert Bonnecarrere said. “It looks like we have a very exciting track season ahead if we continue to work hard and improve.”

At the District meet Oct. 28 at Decker Lake, the Chaps dominated with all six teams winning first place.

“It was a sweep,” Bonnecarrere said.

“We ran about as well as I could have asked for.”

This season, the girls varsity team won six out of nine meets and placed in the top five in all the meets that they

didn’t win, and JV won six out of the seven meets they ran in.

“I think the team has done a great job this season of running as a team and pushing one another,” girls coach Chris Carter said. “I am really pleased with the progress we have made.”

This season the team really bonded.

The freshmen got big sisters to guide them through their first season as Chaps.

“Our team is comparable to a big family,” said junior Ali Franklin, who took first at District and 18th at Regionals.

“We are really close and can sometimes get annoyed with each other because we are all competing for the same spot, but in the end we all love each other and work well together. That is what makes us succeed as a team. We work together instead of only as individuals. I am so proud of my girls.”

—Emily Martin

Josh Willis

Josh Willis

Left: Sophomore Ben Jepson rounds the final bend in the Regional cross country meet in Arlington. Above: Junior Ali Franklin passes a competing runner as she comes to the last stretch of the race.

Setting the

pace

Cross country times

16:01.60 At the 5A Region II Championship meet, sophomore Ben Jepson came in 33rd, running three miles in 16:01.60.

District Champs

The cross country program took sweepstakes at the District meet, winning first place in all divisions.

11:48.90

At the 5A Region II Championship meet, junior Ali Franklin came in 18th, running three miles in11:48.90.

Raising a racquet Tennis team finishes season at Regionals Junior Raina Kishan takes on McKinney Boyd at Regionals Oct. 28 in Tyler. Raina went undefeated at Regionals. “Considering we weren’t expecting such a great season, we are all really proud that we came together as a team and ended with a 26-1 record,” Raina said.

The tennis team finished the season Allie Carlisle

Junior Casey Sutton writes on the charter bus before Regionals Oct. 27 in Tyler. Even though Casey went undefeated, Westlake lost in the finals against McKinney Boyd. “The highlight of my season was that junior Raina Kishan and I finished undefeated in doubles,” Casey said.

26-1 Allie Carlisle

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At the top of their Junior Grace Weghorst and senior Maddi Williams block the opponent’s ball at the Regional Quarterfinal.

Barrett Wilson

game O

ver the years, volleyball fans in the community have been spoiled by successful teams that put together magical seasons with machine-like precision.

This season’s Lady Chaps were not out to disappoint. “[We] handled the expectations very well,” head coach Al Bennett said. “It was not ‘we have to do well, because everyone expects that of us,’ it was instead ‘we like having the bulls-eye on us, no big deal, bring it on.’”

Bennett acknowledges that his players put a lot of pressure on themselves, but he’s satisfied with the way they pushed each other.

“Our girls expected to be successful,” Bennett said. “They knew that the only way that would happen was through hard work, dedication and determination.”

Outside hitter senior Paige Caridi serves the ball to Round Rock. Paige has committed to play at Dartmoth next year.

After winning the third and final game 25-23 against Round Rock at the Regional Quarterfinal, the girls gather in celebration. The team finished with an overall record of 43-6.

Barrett Wilson

Shea Wendlandt

Barrett Wilson

The team rolled through its competition ruthlessly on its way to its 11th consecutive Regional Tournament appearance. The girls posted a 43-6 record over the regular season and the playoffs before being eliminated by McKinney Boyd in Regional Finals. Bennett attributes this success to the leadership of the senior class.

“Our seniors set the tone for this team all year,” Bennett said. “The returning starters, [outside hitter senior] Paige Caridi and [captain senior] Cailin Bula led the team both on and off the court.”

Despite coming up short of State, the team members were satisfied with their efforts and how they handled the pressure of the playoffs.

“Part of being a good team was being able to control the pressure and the nerves,” Cailin said. “Knowing when to hide those feelings and when to get focused on the match

Barrett Wilson

was our primary goal.”

Paige, although disappointed with the loss, thinks fondly of her experience in the volleyball program.

“McKinney Boyd was wellrounded and athletic, but we fought hard until the end,” Paige said.

“Looking back, I have really loved Westlake volleyball. It’s one of those experiences that I didn’t know what I had until it was gone. I’d do it all over again.”

Bennett is looking forward to having more success next season, in spite of the loss of his historically successful seniors.

“The underclassmen in our program will have to step up and fill some very big senior shoes,” Bennett said. “We will have five new starters that will have an opportunity to make their mark on Westlake volleyball.”

—Andy Brown

Left: Junior Cristie Ingram passes the ball to a teammate. Right: Head coach Al Bennett watches from the sideline, preparing strategies to get the win against Round Rock at the Regional Quarterfinals.

The road to glory Chaps in action

The volleyball team finished District play undefeated with an outstanding 10-0 record. The team began its road to glory with its advance to bi-District.

bi-District

10-0

In the bi-District game, the girls squashed Stony Point 25-22, 25-13 and 25-19. With the win, the team advanced to Area.

In the Area game, they pounded Kingwood 25-16, 25-15 and 25-15.

Regional Quarterfinal

Area

At Regional Quarterfinal, the Lady Chaps destroyed Round Rock 2511, 25-18 and 25-23. They then advanced to the Regional Semifinals.

At Regional Semifinal, the girls beat Lake Highlands 25-16, 25-19 and 25-14. From there, they went on to Regional Finals.

43-6 Passing the ball to setter senior Avery Bashaw, junior Grace Weghorst focuses on the game.

Barrett Wilson

Regional Semifinal

The Lady Chaps fell short in the Regional Final game against McKinney Boyd 22-25, 23-25 and 20-25. They finished the season with an impressive 43-6 overall record.

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Undisputed.

Ecstatic after the game, offensive linemen seniors Sam Freireich and Jack Brown celebrate the win against Bowie Nov. 4 for the District Championship. “[Winning District] is a really big deal because we lost last year,� Jack said.

Shea Wendlandt

1.

Shea Wendlandt

1. Practicing for the extra point, junior Michael Barden kicks the ball into the practice nets.

2. Meeting at center field during the Bowie game Nov. 4, senior captains (left to right) Lewis Guilbeau, Spencer Smith, Blake Box and Lance Duran await the coin toss.

2.

Tanner Thompson

3. Giving a post-game speech, associate head football coach and offensive line coach Ted Willmann talks to the team after the Akins game at House Park Oct. 28. With the win, Westlake qualified for playoffs.

“It felt pretty good [to beat Akins],” Willmann said. “It always feels good to know that you are going into the playoffs.”

Chaps win District, have record-breaking season The 2011 regular season is in the books, and for the Chaparrals, it can be considered a success. After only posting six total wins in 2010, the lowest win total since 1988, the Chaps went into 2011 with a sense that they needed to prove that they were still the top dogs in Austin. And that they did. Westlake averaged more than 384 yards of offense per game, while only allowing 272 total yards per game on defense en route to an 8-2 record and an undisputed first place finish in District for the first time in six years.

The year did not start well for the Chaps.

But after losing 7-35 to the Lake Travis Cavaliers in the annual Battle of the Lakes, the Chaps came back and won their next two games in dominant fashion over ranked teams A&M Consolidated and Abilene Cooper.

“Being able to bounce back after the Lake Travis game, that really told us a lot about our team,” offensive coordinator Jeff Rhoads said.

After winning three straight games to pull their record to 3-1, the Chaps fell to the New Braunfels Unicorns 21-24 after holding a 21-7 lead going into the fourth quarter.

Head coach Darren Allman considers the loss as the turning point of the season.

“It made us realize that we didn’t have any room for error,” Allman said. “[After the game] we came back with a lot of resolve.”

In the final five games, the Chaps caught fire, averaging about 51 points per game while only allowing an average of 3 points per game. They won all five District games by at least 35 points, securing the first place spot in District.

“Winning District was our goal since day one,” offensive lineman senior Jack Brown said.

The Chaps recorded three shutouts, tripling the amount of shutouts since 2007. “[The defense] played well, but we still have room to improve,” defensive line coach Lee Rabe said.

Linebacker senior Lance Duran led the team with 108 tackles on the regular season, giving him 331 on his career, which ties the record held by 1993 graduate Stephen King.

Defensive end senior Spencer Smith paced the Chaparrals with nine tackles for loss, while defensive end junior Anthony Patino led the team with six sacks and 18 quarterback pressures.

“I am very proud of how we have done this year,” linebacker junior Jacob Mansour said. “It took us a few games to get us going, but once we did, we really started doing well.”

Offensively, running back senior Brice Dolezal led the team with 1306 yards on the ground and 18 touchdowns. Against Pflugerville, he ran for a career high 226 yards.

“He is a big part of [our offense],” offensive lineman senior Kyle Kimery said. “If we can just get him to the outside, he is gone.”

Quarterback senior Blake Box threw for 1437 yards and 11 touchdowns, while completing 61 percent of his passes.

“We really moved the football well and excelled offensively,” Blake said.

After being supplanted at quarterback this summer by Blake, senior Lewis Guilbeau contributed to the offense in many ways, rushing for 364 yards, passing for 253 yards, catching 23 passes for 258 yards and scoring nine total touchdowns.

“Lewis is a thoroughbred,” Rhoads said.

“He does just about everything we need him to do.”

Overall, the offense racked up 3844 yards of total offense during the season.

“We all did well this year,” Kyle said.

“The only thing that stopped us was ourselves.”

The Chaps made it through the first round of the playoffs, beating Round Rock 42-6, but then fell in the second round 2838 to Klein Oak Nov. 19th at Klein Oak High School.

—Jacob Prothro and Cody Crutchfield

3.

Shea Wendlandt

Take a look at the people sitting around you right now. See any athletes? Just think about it, in a few years, that person could be the next Drew Brees. It’s interesting to take a look at former Westlake football players who have gone on to play in college, and in some cases, in the National Football League.

Name: Nick Foles Position/year: QB, senior League/School: NCAA, Arizona Born in Austin, Foles grew up in Westlake and played QB for the Chaps before graduating in 2007. At first, he attended Michigan State, but transferred to Arizona in 2008. Despite Arizona’s 2-8 record this year, Foles has done pretty well during his college career.

He completed 34 of 42 passes for 471 yards in a win over North Arizona in the season opener. Foles is said to be a solid prospect for the 2012 NFL draft.

Daniel Reese

Name: Tanner Price Position/year: QB, sophomore League/School: NCAA, Wake Forest Price, who graduated in Nathan Kallison 2010, is another former Westlake quarterback doing well in at the collegiate level. As a senior at Westlake, Price led the Chaps to the Division 1 State Championship. As a starter, he has helped the Wake Forest Demon Deacons to a 5-5 record this season. So far this year, Price has thrown for 2326 yards and 16 touchdowns.

For more information about past players and where they have gone, scan this code using your QR reader app for the iPad or iPhone.

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& SCREAMING ING

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Soccer deprived me of everything a 10-year-old could want — except for the cookie cake

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The art of winning can be described as anything between glorious and aesthetic. My personal definition is somewhere in the middle of that spectrum: sexy. Take the feeling that you get when you conquer a goal that you’ve been striving for, a goal that you’ve made sacrifices for, a goal that you’ve dreamt of. Now take that initial feeling of success and multiply it by 100. I can’t help but imagine that this is how the other team felt when they stripped us of what we had been striving for, what we had been sacrificing for, what we had been dreaming of. They took away our hopes of plastic trophies and a pool party.

As you might have heard, the West Austin Youth Association Junior League Invitational Soccer Tournament is one of the most talked about, most broadcasted, most anticipated, and easily the most prestigious 10-and-under athletic events of the year. It raises astounding amounts of money, particularly through the awesome raffle opportunities in winning great prizes that include, but aren’t limited to, a hair cut at Sports Clips, a discounted foot long sub at Subway and a neck rub from Austin’s favorite Oak Haven Massage. However, the heat of the competition (as if the heat of the sun wasn’t enough) is really what “revs my engine.”

The road to the finals was a physical, mental, and more than anything, an emotional challenge. In the mind of a 10-year-old, winning was everything. It wasn’t for the fame, the girls or the money. No. It was for the party with the balloons and the clown that makes funny faces and the petting zoo. It was for the holographic trophy that you cherish and protect forever. It was for the things that only winners could have.

Emily Mitchell

Throughout the competition, our team could easily be described as a paragon of soccer talent and European heritage, specifically from the basque country of Spain. However, there was some diversity on the squad, including the Bulgarian goalkeeper, the talented forward Cristiano Ronoldo Jr. and the sole American, me. With this culmination of talent and Euro decent, we would have had to try to lose. Unfortunately, this is what happened in the finals when our arrogance overran our abilities.

I’m not going to share the specifics regarding the finals game. It brings me to the brink of depression every time. You, the reader, are probably asking yourself: if you had this unbelievable combination of natural talent, hard work and determination, how could you lose? My only defense to this is that the heart of our team, Ronoldo Jr., suffered a tragic emotional breakdown after he learned just before the game started that Pokémon was being cancelled. He just wasn’t the same player on the field.

The finals game was nothing less than pitiful. Without Ronoldo, we didn’t stand a chance. To tell you the truth, we all cried. They were tears of melancholy and abasement. They were the only way us 10-year-olds could alleviate our emotions in a healthy way. Then Coach Johnstone called us into the huddle. He wouldn’t have called us into this sanctuary if he didn’t have some significant piece of advice to grant us with, and man did he have something important to say. “Boys, you’re winners today. All of you are. Now let’s celebrate with some Pokémon reruns and cookie cake!”

—Breck Spencer

Eanes ISD Resident

Eanes

Money magnets

{ opinion }

Conference realignments change the face of college football

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t all started with Colorado.

After weeks of meetings and propositions, the Buffaloes were headed to the PAC 10.

Nebraska followed shortly, and now Missouri and Texas A&M are gone, too. Oklahoma wants out, and is only restricted by Texas. Texas Tech and Oklahoma State are ready to step out of the shadows of their in-state rivals, Texas and OU, and find a new conference. The Big 12 is on a road to internal collapse, and only one thing is stopping it from just that — the University of Texas.

While popular theory might claim that TAMU went to the Southeastern Conference to avoid Texas, or that Missouri left for geographical reasons, the realignments come down to one thing — money. Teams want more money and are willing to go just about anywhere to get it.

The Longhorn Network gave Texas a financial advantage that others teams weren’t ready to put up with, setting off a chain reaction that is tearing rivalries and conferences across the nation to pieces.

Texas and TAMU are a prime example. For many years it was the most anticipated game of the year for both schools, until OU’s recent rise to power became Texas’ first priority. That being said, the rivalry is a source of major income for both teams, especially for TAMU. Bottom line, the Texas-TAMU game is a pretty big deal.

Texas has said that when TAMU leaves for the SEC they will not continue to play them anymore, which was upsetting for TAMU. They were ready to make more money and go to a nicer conference, but they also wanted to keep their best source of cash and national attention. You can’t have your cake and eat it, too, TAMU. Quit talking about how much you mean to the Big 12 and how proud your school is and leave already. You obviously weren’t that big of a deal if you haven’t won a single National Championship and only managed one Big 12 title. Not to mention the fact that if you aren’t winning enough in the Big 12, teams like LSU, Arkansas and Alabama are going to kick you into the dirt. Have fun in the SEC, Aggies. I wish I could say that I’m going to miss you.

Anyway, back to the realignment talks.

One could certainly argue that UT is completely to blame for the realignments. After all, isn’t it their TV network that’s causing all the commotion? Why can’t they share the money with the conference and be equal with all the other teams? But it’s not that simple.

Imagine 12 brothers, each with some money to invest. Three of them do some research and invest in a new computer company, and earn millions as result. The other nine do a little less research and decide to invest in a big restaurant chain and make a much smaller profit, but they demand that the other three brothers share their wealth. Should the first three brothers be required to share their profit? No, they shouldn’t. They earned their money through smarter decisions. If the other brothers don’t make the same financial decisions, they should deal with what they have and make the best of it.

The same can be said for the Big 12. Texas, TAMU and OU are making the big money, and the other schools want it to be completely distrib-

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uted throughout the conference. For example, Kansas invests in their basketball program, so they make less profit, and yet they accuse Texas of hogging the cash flow. Texas shouldn’t be blamed for other schools’ financial woes, nor should OU or TAMU. As a result of the conference realignments, the Big 12 now has only 10 teams, two of which are leaving next year. However, Texas Christian University will be joining the Big 12 next year with West Virginia University, while Louisville is competing for an invitation to the conference, giving it a future total of 10 teams.

With the additions of Texas A&M and Missouri, the SEC will have 14 teams next season. The Big 10 will start the 2012 season with 12 teams.With the additions of Utah and Colorado last year, the PAC 12 will start next season with 12 teams, again.

The realignments may be seen as a bad thing for most Big 12 fans, but I’m of the opinion that it’s brought some great changes. As of mid-November, the Big 12 has two teams in the top 10, four teams in the top 20 and five teams in the top 25. One of those teams is in line to play in the National Championship. With the additions of TCU and West Virginia, the Big 12 is getting stronger and has a bright future.

College football as we know it is changing rapidly before our eyes.

The conferences are shifting, rules and policies are changing, a playoff system is in our midst, and eras of conference dominance will come and go. But the game itself, in all of its glory, will never lose its excitement and luster to the fans. As long as we don’t lose sight of what makes the game so great, adapting to slight differences in what we’ve gotten used to shouldn’t be too difficult.

—Brian Wieckowski

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Skater spends time in rink perfecting tricks

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oaring through the air, freshman Annika Dodrill practically flies as she twists and spins off the ground. Landing perfectly, she skates on to begin another trick.

She smiles and remembers why she loves this sport.

Annika skates three times a week at Chaparral Ice and Northcross Mall. She has been ice skating since she was 7 years old.

Her inspiration to begin this sport came from watching the pros.

“I watched the Olympics and saw all of the ice skaters and thought that it was really cool,” Annika said.

She loves the gracefulness of skating and the feeling she gets on the ice.

“I like the artistry,” Annika said. “It’s like dancing on ice but more fluid, like flying. The cold wind feels good, especially during the summer.”

She puts a lot of time and effort into her ice skating even with the distraction of other activities and commitments.

“I split my time between ice skating and dance [for school],” she said. “I skate for an hour on Wednesday, an hour and a half on Friday and two hours on Saturday. It’s really fun, but there are some times that I get frustrated. [One day] I was doing a double lutz, and I did it once and landed. I was feeling really confident. I went to try another one and I fell into the middle splits and pulled my thigh muscle. I had to use crutches.”

Her hard work does pay off, though. Two years ago, Annika competed in the Skate Austin Bluebonnet Open in six events: artis-

tic, freestyle, jumps, spins and compulsory programs.

“I got first in all of my events besides the jumps program,” she said. “I always expect myself to do really well. You just have to know that you do the best that you can. You want to go out and enjoy yourself. I work so hard for things when ice skating, and sometimes it’s just not under my control. I’ve worked really hard for it and I want to keep skating.”

Another rewarding part for her is the feeling of accomplishment she gets when she finally lands difficult tricks.

“I remember the time I landed my first axel,” Annika said. “I’d been working on it for a year and a half. One day, I just landed it and I was really happy. Even when I don’t land a jump, it motivates me to go and land it next time.”

Scheduling skating lessons is about to become more challenging for Annika, as Chaparral Ice closes for the season in November and she will have to do all of her skating at Northcross.

“Northcross is closer to my house, but I will have less time on the ice because they have to split the rink between hockey, ice skating and the learn-to-skate classes,” she said.

Ice skating has been more than just a sport for Annika. It has taught her many important life lessons.

“Skating has taught me persistence and now I know that you can’t really get frustrated over something little,” Annika said. “You have to keep going and believe in yourself.”

—Peyton Richardson

photos by Shea Wendlandt

Freshman Annika Dodrill works to perfect her skill at Chaparral Ice. She has been skating for eight years.

Athlete trains in Krav Maga

Fighting like a girl I

walked into the room with my head held high, an air of confidence surrounding me. I introduced myself to the Krav Maga instructor and he told me what was going to happen during class today.

“If you feel sick or nauseated, feel free to take a break. That’s what usually happens for first timers.”

I smiled politely, but in my head, I was thinking, “Psh, I’m a second degree black belt in Taekwondo. This will be easy.”

Senior Christina Shin and sophomore Robert Slack practice headlocks on one another.

Tanner Thompson

During Krav Maga class, senior Christina Shin intensely strikes the pad with her palms, a move known as palm heel strikes. Krav Maga is a self-defense system that prepares people to fight in real life situations.

Tanner Thompson

Boy, was I wrong.

Krav Maga is a self-defense system derived from the Israeli Armed Forces. This martial art is based on using simple, instinctive movements that can be utilized in a wide range of situations. I first learned of Krav Maga through my friend, who invited me to go to a class with him because he knew I did Taekwondo. I was curious about it, so I decided to go, thinking it would be similar to what I was used to.

The first 15 minutes of class were dedicated to warm-ups, which consisted of running, jumping jacks, endless push-ups, mountain climbers and much more. I was winded by the end of it, but not too badly. After that, all hell broke loose.

The next 30 minutes was one drill after another. We did palm heel strikes which are like punching, but striking with the palm, kicks, elbows, which is when you hit with your elbow, and worst of all, knees.

It required me to grab my partner and pull him down while I kneed the pad he was holding. Sounds easy enough? Try pulling down a 6’3”, 250 lb. man as a 5’5”, 130 lb. girl. Huge difference.

We had 15 minutes left, and I was dying. My arms were Jell-O, my throat was on fire and I couldn’t breathe from the pain in my stomach.

The instructor came over and asked me if I was okay. More than anything I wanted to lie down and stop moving. But pride got the better of me so I gave him the thumbs-up and said I was great.

We did self-defense techniques for the rest of class. It didn’t require any intense endurance, so my heart calmed down a bit. I got to learn how to defend a choke from the front. As soon as an attacker puts his or her hands on your throat, you shoot up your hands and rip the person’s hands off you, formally called a pluck. Then simultaneously, you kick him in the groin and then throw enough punches to make sure he stays down. However, it was my first time to defend from a choke, so it mostly consisted of me frustratingly clawing my partner’s hands off my throat.

By the end of class, I was exhausted, and I knew that I would have bruises forming on my body. Although the class was intense, I came back the next day, and the next ever since then. I ended up quitting Taekwondo in order to focus on Krav Maga. Although I loved Taekwondo, it’s more of an art than useful fighting. It wouldn’t help me defend myself on the streets like Krav Maga does. I realized that as a girl who’s about to go to college, I should know the basic self-defense techniques in order to protect myself.

I have been doing Krav Maga for a year and a half, and I love it. It has tested my physical and mental capabilities to the maximum, and it has made me a stronger person. I can go through the warm-ups with no problem, and although the drills are still intense, I don’t feel like I’m about to pass out anymore. I have learned at least seven different choke defenses, as well as gun defense. Although I’m a small Asian girl, you don’t want to mess with me. Krav Maga has taught me to aim for the groin — always.

—Christina Shin

21

Composing his dreams Entrepreneur writes music, creates social network

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Freshman Jesse Loeb wants to be known as being younger when he started Onplay than Mark Zuckerberg was when he founded Facebook. It was another sleepless night when he came up with the idea that would put him on the path to accomplish this.

“It was 2 a.m. on the night before my last day of eighth grade [when I came up with Onplay],” Jesse said. “I was thinking about what I wanted to do with my life. I knew I wanted to be an entrepreneur and I knew I wanted to compose. As I thought about these two things, that’s what struck the connection. I realized the gaping hole in the social media market. There isn’t a music social network.”

Jesse skipped his last day of eighth grade to work on the idea that he had begun sketching out at 2:15 a.m. He stayed home all summer long, only stopping his work to eat and sleep. When Onplay launches, users will be able to upload music, post lyric ideas, talk about music theory and record live studio sessions with people across the world through webcams, among several other features.

“Onplay provides the entire musical connection for the music lover,” Jesse said. “It brings everything to the table for the artist. That’s why we’re looking to promote as many artists as we can upon launch.

Onplay is the perfect tool for any artist to gain followers and publicity without even leaving their house. Onplay is open to everyone, and promotes everyone, not just the image-perfect celebrity icons you see on magazine covers.”

Jesse already has big plans for his future. Onplay is now being produced in Silicon Valley by a group of developers who Jesse has contacted, and it will be launched sometime soon. Jesse has already designed the site, but the developers are putting in all the algorithms to make it function. He and his mom will soon be moving to San Francisco in order to be closer to Onplay’s headquarters which is located there and to give Jesse the largest amount of resources in the country to work with.

“In the near future, I plan to direct Onplay operations and help Onplay grow into a universal connection for musical people across the world,” Jesse said. “I plan to contribute major donations and actively participate in efforts to improve the world. My biggest inspiration is seeing all the problems and troubles of the world and feeling the encouragement to help make the world a better place.”

As he moves on with his company, Jesse also plans to release an album on iTunes of songs that he has composed. To get his music on iTunes, there are a few requirements Jesse must meet including getting a label. “[I have] several orchestral pieces [that I’m really proud of],” he said. “They’re not public yet, because I plan on having them recorded and I’ll add effects to make them more iTunes quality.”

Jesse’s love of music started from an early age. When he was 7 years old he learned to play the piano and began composing and notating music on paper, and at the age of 10, he began composing orchestral scores. Jesse plays all instruments, except for those in the woodwind and brass families, but he knows how to write for all of them.

“One of my greatest loves of all is music,” Jesse said. “I spend an extreme amount of time [composing]. I’ve written several hundred orchestral scores and created thousands upon thousands of songs by mixing them.”

Freshman Jesse Loeb plays the piano in his bedroom, recording his composition on his laptop.

Jesse created the music social network Onplay.

Barrett Wilson

Jesse spends at least four hours per day working on music when he isn’t at school. He has a music studio in his house filled with instruments, a sound mixing board and a computer specialized for sound mixing. “[My favorite thing about composing] is the incredible range of different sounds and the power music has,” he said. “The way sound can make you feel happy or sad. I like the different feelings you get from hearing different sounds.”

However, composing doesn’t come without challenges. “[The hardest thing about composing] is that I hesitate most on finding the right dynamic contrast,” Jesse said. “As a composer you feel that all [instrumental] parts are important. You want all parts to be acknowledged and heard, but don’t want to cover up other parts. I value all parts equally.”

Finding the right blend of instruments isn’t the only challenge Jesse faces in composing. Even though he is a skilled composer, Jesse has trouble writing lyrics to go with songs.

“I’ve attempted [to write lyrics] and I can’t even begin,” Jesse said. “I’m good at writing and I’m good at composing, but I’m not good at writing lyrics to music. I compose all genres of music, but I can’t compose genres that are big on lyrics like hip-hop and pop. I have ideas that overlap with lyrics, but don’t have the resources I want yet.”

As a music enthusiast, Jesse loves all genres of music and can’t choose just one as his favorite.

“I love all instruments and I can’t rate the different feelings they create,” Jesse said. “I play the piano most and it illustrates exactly how musical tonality works and it illustrates natural and accidental keys.

All [types of music] have unique qualities. The world wouldn’t be quite as interesting or fun without all the genres.”

Having created his own company, Jesse has plenty of advice for young entrepreneurs.

“I guarantee you that nearly everyone in the world has a brilliant idea deep in their mind that they haven’t yet discovered, and for the majority of people they probably never will because of closed-mindedness,” Jesse said. “All my life I have been told over and over the same phrase, ‘You’re over-thinking it.’ Whether it was deciding what movie to see or what brand of gum to buy, I have always over-thought everything. But in my eyes, you can never over-think anything. My philosophy is within every thought lies a collection of ideas. They may be original or unoriginal ideas, but if you tie two or more ideas together, you have a completely new idea. Dig into your thoughts and you might learn something about yourself or discover something brilliant.”

—Jessica Stenglein

Chem, calc and coffee Austin’s best places to study no matter what the hour 221 W. North Loop Blvd.

512.454.3762 Open 24 hours

Epoch Coffee – Located north of the UT campus, Epoch Coffee is a 24-hour coffee shop that was designed for people planning on hanging out for awhile. Not only do they have electrical outlets dangling from the ceiling, lamps located among comfortable furniture and a sign telling Starbucks exactly where to shove it, but they also have a wide selection of caffeinated beverages, soda on tap and pizza. There are two patio sections (one is designated for non-smoking) with the same free WIFI access, plenty of plugs and good lighting at night. So if you’re looking for a place to go to pull an allnighter, Epoch Coffee never closes.

Shea Wendlandt

Karen Scott

Pacha – This small coffee shop is warm, cozy and eclectic.

Pacha is usually quiet and not super crowded for people who prefer a relaxed atmosphere. Their breakfast food is delicious and their coffee is even better. Located on Burnet and 45th St., Pacha is a little house among other local Austin businesses that boasts the best pancakes in town and serves only organic. So grab a cup of joe, a slice of quiche, and sit down at one of their 4618 Burnet Rd. painted tables to knock out your final reviews.

512.420.8758 Mon-Fri 6 a.m. - 7 p.m.

Sat-Sun 8 a.m. - 7 p.m.

1401 Koenig Ln. 512.420.8660 Mon-Fri 6 a.m.- 11 p.m.

Sat-Sun 7 a.m. – 11 p.m.

-------------------------------2200 Manor Rd. 512.472.9900 Mon-Thurs 7 a.m. – 11 p.m.

Fri 7 a.m. – midnight Sat 8 a.m. – midnight Sun 8 a.m. – 11 p.m.

Thunderbird Coffee – There are two of these gems located in Austin, one off of Koenig and the other off of Manor. Thunderbird Coffee is cool. It’s another local Austin business that serves rockin’ coffee and is designed around people who love music. They have plenty of tables, lamps and espresso shots to go around. Also, they’re open relatively late and sometimes showcase local musicians.

Karen Scott

Karen Scott

Halcyon – Modern, clean and cool is how I would describe this coffee shop located on West Fourth St. They showcase local art, have extremely comfortable seating and serve one of the most fun desserts in Austin. Halcyon’s s’mores are served with your own personal mini grill and all the fixings of graham crackers, chocolate and marshmallows you can toast yourself. In my opinion, they have the best hot chocolate, served with animal crackers on the side. Halcyon is fun and a great place to study…and toast a marshmallow or two.

—Danielle Brown

218 W. Fourth Street 512.472.9637 Mon-Thurs 7 a.m. - 2 a.m.

Fri 7 a.m - 3 a.m.

Sat 8 a.m. - 3 a.m.

Sun 8 a.m. - 2 a.m.

{ westlakefeatherduster.com }

people + places

23

shop local.

Home for the Holidays Baby, it’s cold outside.

While we may not be walking in a winter wonderland here at Westlake, we’re still hoping to deck the halls with holiday cheer. We’re dreaming of that white Christmas, and when we wake up to the sound of reindeer on the rooftops, we’ll know it won’t be a very silent night. Jingle bells are just around the corner, and whether it’s Diwali or Hanukkah, we know that it’s the most wonderful time of the year.

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Don’t sweat it Izzy de la Lu

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could honestly list thousands of reasons explaining why I love Christmas. The cold weather, seeing your own breath, candy canes, hot chocolate – just to get a taste. One of the most visible things that I get excited about, though, is Christmas sweaters.

Something about pulling a piece of itchy old fabric over my head in the morning really puts me in a Christmas mood. The tacky images embroidered on the clothes combined with the probable chance that it used to belong to someone’s grandmother makes up for the somewhat uncomfortable wool against my hairy arms.

Even when it’s warm out, the Christmas sweater is appropriate. The delightfully icy chill of the Christmas spirit can keep me cool. Or, if it’s actually cold outside, the Christmas spirit keeps me warm. It’s a pretty versatile spirit. Works out well for someone who never checks the weather.

Donning his most dapper duds, sweater enthusiast shares passion for year-long Christmas spirit If you’re looking to invest in a Christmas sweater, the first place you should check is Savers. Most of mine cost less than $5, and the selection is pretty good. Don’t be afraid to check the opposite gender’s section, either. Some of my best Christmas apparel is pretty obviously intended for women.

Secondly, don’t be afraid to get something that doesn’t fit you especially well. If it’s got a reindeer and a Santa on it, no one is going to notice that the sleeves only go down to your elbows. People will be too busy thinking, “Who’s that cool guy with that awesome sweater? I wish my boyfriend was confident enough to wear awesome sweaters like that.”

The last thing to keep in mind when wearing a Christmas sweater is confidence. No one wants to talk to the clinically depressed guy in a Christmas sweater. It’s just sad. If you’re wearing a Christmas sweater, you better be jolly.

Good luck this holiday season, friends, with all of your sweater-y endeavors. I’ll see you, Class of 2012, Dec. 9 for Senior Sweater Day. —Brad Dunn

{ westlakefeatherduster.com }

people + places

25

A tradition of their own ou can smell the piney Christmas tree draped in twinkling lights. You see the soft glow of a burning candle on the menorah or kinara. You can hear the silence of prayer, the joy of celebrating. It’s that time of year again, the time where the cheer of the holidays makes everyone feel unified, despite the various traditions and celebrations that take place in each home.

Christmas, Diwali, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Chinese New Year — whatever you do or don’t celebrate — are all different and have unique meanings to each person. Although everyone’s traditions are different, they all come together to make the holiday season truly a time to remember.

—Rachel Cooper

A Chinese New Year celebration Freshman Cynthia Co

A charitable Christmas Junior Renée Nolan

The Featherduster: How does your family celebrate Chinese New Year?

Cynthia Co: My family has a big party where everyone we invite brings food. The purpose is thanking Buddha for our family and everything we have. We burn incense sticks and also thank our ancestors for what they have done.

FD: What is one of the most fun things you’ve done during a celebration?

CC: Once I got to be the dragon in a traditional dance we do to keep away the evil spirits, and the dragon costume we have was hand carried all the way from Vietnam. After doing the dance, I collected around $20 from people.

The Featherduster: What is your Christmas tradition?

Renée Nolan: Every Christmas morning we wake up at 5 and before we open any presents, we go down to the Mobile Loaves and Fishes base. There, we get ready to go on the truck run to feed the homeless around downtown Austin. We do this with family friends and the Graham family who owns the organization.

FD: Is there anything fun you do afterwards?

RN: After helping out we all go to IHOP and Mr. Graham is always dressed like Santa Claus, which I find pretty funny. Since we’ve been doing it for about eight years, IHOP almost expects us to be there now.

Last year we came in and they told us they were looking for us and had the back room already reserved.

FD: What is one memory that stood out to you?

RN: One year, we went to this run-down motel where five or six kids were sleeping on the floor of the room without presents, and we just kept bringing the family bags of food; they were so thankful.

FD: What do you like about doing this every year?

RN: This is a really fun experience and once we finish, we realize how fortunate we are. Some of the kids we visit don’t get anything for Christmas so it feels great when we bring presents and food to them.

Diwali: A festival of lights Freshman Ankith Kandikonda The Featherduster: What do you celebrate, and what is your favorite part?

Ankith Kandikonda: I celebrate Diwali, and the best part is definitely the food. I love paneer, which is cheese and masala, a delicious sauce. Food is a big part of the celebration and is what I look forward to the most during Diwali.

FD: What do you do during this celebration?

AK: The holiday celebrates the victory of a god killing a 10-headed guy, and we usually build a sculpture of the man with 10 heads and set it on fire in the middle of the forest, but we couldn’t do it this year because of the burn ban. Instead we just lit a bunch of candles and put it up to the gods.

FD: Do you have a favorite memory from a Diwali celebration?

AK: One year when our family was holding deepums (oil lamps), one accidentally was dropped on the grass and a little of it caught on fire and interrupted the prayer part of celebration, which caused a big scare during it. Now we’re extra careful when we hold Art in this section by Brad Dunn, Sarah Berg and Michaela Moss them.

Happy Hanukkah Junior Jacob Zodikoff The Featherduster: What is your holiday tradition?

Jacob Zodikoff: Every year our family gets together, usually on the first night of the weekend of Hanukkah. We’ve been doing it as long as I can remember, so probably since we moved to Texas in 1999. We always have my family, other Jewish families and good friends there.

FD: Is there a favorite memory you’ve had from one of these celebrations?

JZ: No matter how weird it is, [junior] Matt Favaron and I created a game in first grade we called “The Rhino Dance,” and I have no idea why. One person would hold a large exercise ball and the other would charge down the hallway as fast as possible and run into them. We had so much fun, and it is one of my best memories. Last year we had family friends over and we made a human dreidel to video tape and sent it to Good Morning, America. That was pretty cool, but it didn’t make it onto the show.

FD: What is your favorite part/what are you looking forward to this year?

JZ: My favorite part has got to be having everyone together. I love the feeling of unity. This year, I just can’t wait to have everyone over again to celebrate. I always have fun seeing everyone and look forward to seeing what new things will happen.

, You re a mean Mrs. Grinch!

Mother of Christmas-loving girl destroys dreams, reveals true identity of Santa Claus In a ball, hysterically crying, I rocked back and forth on my little purple heartshaped rug on the floor of my bedroom. Having just dodged a chair I threw in her direction, my mom rushed over cautiously, patting my back, trying to console me, even though she was the person who had just crushed all my childhood dreams in an instant.

“Jenny, I’m sorry, but you had to know the truth.”

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I had lived eight years of my life with someone I didn’t even know. She had lied to me. She claimed it was for “my own best interest.”

Every Christmas morning when I was little, I would wake up, run downstairs and obnoxiously jump on my parents’ bed, screaming, “SANTA’S HEEEEEEEEEEERRRRRRREEEE! WAKE

UP, WAKE UP!” It was a tradition I’m sure my parents were very fond of. Nonetheless, I would proceed to drag them out of bed and insist that they get their coffee while I woke up my brother, Jay. Christmas was the best time of year.

But then, all those visions of sugar plums dancing in my head were shattered. The magic of Christmas is now forever destroyed.

Santa. Wasn’t. Real.

Traitors. What traitors they were. How could my dad make a big production of laying cookies out on our special Christmas plate when he knew he would have to creep into our living room during the night and eat them by himself? Did he have a conscience?

And the disappointment didn’t let up as the years dragged on, knowing that the big jolly guy who I had come to know and love never

once actually came down my chimney. I was astonished that my parents actually expected me to grow up and have a somewhat happy childhood when I had been so deeply scarred by this catastrophic experience.

Thankfully, I slowly matured and grew out of that weird anti-Christmas funk I was in. I finally came to the realization that my parents played that horrific trick on my young naïve self because it is just a part of growing up. And I have to admit that for me, now, though the magical illusion of Christmas was slaughtered before my innocent little eyes, I still get that exhilarating feeling on Christmas morning as I run down the stairs and see my fake Christmas tree and the half-eaten vanilla cookies and milk, just as I did when I was 8 years old.

—Jenny Messer

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas With finals fast-approaching and stress levels rising, everyone is more than ready for the holiday season to begin. The Featherduster conducted a survey to see what Westlake’s holiday favorites are. From ranting about reindeer to gushing about gifts from childhood, the student body shared with us its thoughts.

—Michaela Moss

Songs

1st Place: “Jingle Bells” 2nd Place: “All I Want for Christmas is You” 3rd Place: “Jingle Bell Rock” Describe your most memorable childhood gift.

“Getting a Home Depot toolbox! I was so excited to build my fantasy tree house! … It never happened.”

—senior Julie Maury

Old Movies

1st Place: A Christmas Story 2nd Place: Rudolf the Red-nosed Reindeer 3rd Place: The Grinch Who Stole Christmas

146 students polled

Reindeer

1st Place: Rudolph 2nd Place: Blitzen 3rd Place: Dancer What is your favorite holiday tradition?

“Festivus — My family gathers around the Festivus pole and we perform the ‘Airing of Grievances.’

This is when we tell each other how they’ve disappointed us over the past year. After that, we eat a meal and have the feats of strength.”

—senior Gray Lantta

What is your favorite holiday movie?

“Elf! ‘Buddy the Elf, what’s your favorite color?’”

—freshman Torrey Krieger

New Movies

1st Place: Elf 2nd Place: Home Alone series 3rd Place: The Santa Clause What is your favorite holidayrelated beverage?

“Hot chocolate. Especially on a cold morning. It’s like Christmas in a cup.”

—freshman Jaime Nguyen

27

The road less traveled Emancipated senior adjusts to life on his own, embraces independence

Senior Lonnie Jordan poses for a picture on South Congress Avenue. Lonnie moved to Austin from Beeville, Texas last year.

Distance.

Senior Lonnie Jordan clenched his arms around his dad, hugging him goodbye. His father said he loved him no matter what, but his actions evinced otherwise. His dad looked him in the eye and said that time away might be the best thing. Distance might be the best thing.

Lonnie lives in Austin, 137.9 miles from his family in Beeville, Texas. After becoming emancipated in the fall of 2010, he moved to Westlake and started his own life. Being openly gay in Beeville was not an option, and Lonnie wanted the chance to be his true self.

“My parents did not approve of me being gay,” Lonnie said. “[My mom] found a book, Coping with Homosexuality, in my room, and she told me that I couldn’t come back home. I was really just confused about how someone could totally turn against their kid. I continued to go to school, and I lied and said that it was just a phase I was going through.”

Though he struggled to shadow his identity every day, Lonnie searched for strength from within. He endured the judgments of others so he could keep doing what he loved.

“I played sports since I was little bitty,” Lonnie said. “I was a varsity football player since my freshman year. I was a kicker [and] I trained with Chris Boniol, who is a Dallas Cowboys kicking coach. My mom became verbally abusive to me, and I stayed through it because I wanted to play football, and I knew if I moved, I couldn’t continue to play.”

At the start of his junior year, Lonnie’s love for football began to fade and the side effects of the stress brought on by his parents presented themselves in a number of ways.

“It became too much,” Lonnie said. “Everything became too much. My grades have suffered from me not being who I am forever.

I was breaking out in hives every day. I wasn’t sleeping. It was just killing me. I ran to Austin because I had a few gay friends here. I latched onto them. I told them what was happening and all they wanted to do was help me. I felt like I was alone all the time. My mom cut my cell phone off and my Internet, and I had no access to the social world.”

Lonnie’s friend in Austin introduced him to a gay-rights lawyer, a man who essentially became his saving grace.

“I explained my story to him, and he did everything in his power to help me get out of there,” he said. “The hardest part was getting Barrett Wilson my mom to sign the paper. She wanted me to suffer. She told me that it was a phase and

“

I always think of my family. It stings for a little bit, but then it goes away. I just think people need to realize how fortunate they are to have parents every day when they wake up.”

—senior Lonnie Jordan

that I was manipulated by other gay people and that’s why I was gay.”

Because both of Lonnie’s parents ultimately agreed to sign the emancipation document, the process of separating him from his family did not take very long. For Lonnie, the final step was saying goodbye.

“The day I left, I told my mom ‘I love you and I always will,’” he said. “‘My love for you is unconditional. This will all be fixed one day, but for now, I can’t do it anymore.’ I had to come to Austin for the day to get emancipated. I came home and I had started packing my clothes, and my mom dumped all of them out on the lawn and told me those suitcases weren’t mine.”

Lonnie remembers those moments of departure with a vivid sense of detail and, more importantly, with a feeling of loss.

“A friend picked me up, but we made two trips because his car was so small,” he said.

“The second time my friend and I left, that’s when I just cried. I remember what song was playing, that song by Rihanna, ‘Love the Way You Lie.’ It was just crazy. My mom was my number one. It’s like my best friend died.”

After leaving his childhood home, Lonnie had to face his new reality. He was alone, fending for himself in a new city.

“I thought I would never be able to compete here, but I always wanted to go to a bigger school, so I jumped [into Westlake] wanting it,” Lonnie said.

Now, Lonnie is on his way to reaching a solid level of balance and self-satisfaction that he has been hoping for and working towards since coming to Austin. Still, he has some regrets, but has vowed not to live life harping on the past.

“I really wanted to play football this year just so that I could show people that you could be gay and do those things too,” Lonnie said.

“That’s one thing that bothered me the most.

I didn’t do that. But what I decided I would do was go with my heart, and my heart was not in football. If I could re-do high school again, I would be myself from day one. I have held back who I am for so long that I’m just honest now. Some people are like, ‘You are so mean.’

No I’m not. I’m honest.”

Without football in his life, Lonnie has been given the opportunity to explore what he loves: fashion. After meeting friends who share his interest, Lonnie found the confidence he needed to take the first step.

“I met [former Westlake student and YouTube beauty and fashion vlogger] Megan

Parken,” he said. “She was just a huge inspiration to me because she is so confident, and she knows what she wants in life. She’s an entrepreneur and she’s a go-getter. I know that I have the characteristics and qualities that I need to become somebody. I want fashion in my life so badly that I know I’m going to go somewhere with it. Megan told me that I need to follow my heart and that if I love doing something, and I want to do it all the time, then I will be successful. She said ‘You might not be successful today, you might not be successful tomorrow, you might not be successful in a year, but it’s a building process, and it doesn’t happen over night.’ I said to myself, ‘Fashion, Lonnie. It’s what you love. You stole your sisters’ Teen Vogue magazine since you were 11 years old because they didn’t let [you] read them.’ [Now], I’m following my heart.”

With the help of Megan and others, Lonnie discovered the courage to start his own fashion blog, The Social Prep, and to begin styling photo shoots as a way to share his passion and make some money.

“I used to have a blog, Views of Lonnie, and that just never really happened for me,” he said. “Because my sisters aren’t petite little girls, I always saw them suffer with self-esteem issues and I always have wanted to help.

I’m a people person, and I just want people to have the confidence that I have. When I walk outside every day, I feel like the world is my runway and no one can get in my way. I’m a million dollars. No matter what has happened to me, that’s the past. The main thing about my blog is that I want to help people find confidence in themselves. I’ve never had so much support with something I was doing, and my blog has been successful. I’m at 89,000 views.

I’ve had it up since June, and I’m loving it.”

Lonnie attributes a lot of his success and happiness to the friends he has made at Westlake, a place he has observed to be far more accepting than the community he left behind in Beeville, a town of 13,000 people.

“I’ve never been made fun of once here at Westlake,” Lonnie said. “I went from being in a place where I was called a homo and a fag every day, to being in a place where it is okay to be who I am, and I would not change it for the world. When I first moved here, I was very defensive. Back in Beeville, I had to be because people were making fun of me. People at Westlake might or might not know, but this is my family. I don’t have any family. Westlake is my family, and I just can’t stress that enough. The first thing a [friend’s] mom says

to me is ‘Come over, let me make dinner for you; let me help you.’ And I love it. It makes me feel like there are people who care. I am so thankful to be in an environment where everyone accepts me.”

Grateful for the support and tolerance he has received, Lonnie wants others to know the importance of equality for all.

“If you are gay, don’t let it become all you are,” Lonnie said. “I’m someone who happens to be gay. It’s not my everything. We must value sexuality regardless if it’s heterosexuality or homosexuality, bisexuality or even asexuality. If the environment that we’re in assumes that everyone is straight, we’ll all just be lost.

Gay kids, or all kids, we all deserve a chance.

Don’t be afraid to talk to me because I’m gay.

I put my jeans on the same way everyone else does. One day my mom will understand, but right now, ignorance plays a huge role in what she is feeling and what she’s thinking and it’s not okay. My sisters are following my mom.

My family is following my mom.”

Senior Lindsay Graves has become one of Lonnie’s closest friends, and she’s the first person to stand up, commend Lonnie and recognize all that he has accomplished.

“I don’t think I could do what Lonnie does,” Lindsay said. “I think he is such a strong person and people don’t give him credit. If he’s not there, they laugh and are like ‘Oh Lonnie’s not in class.’ But Lonnie has so much responsibility [placed] on him. Deep inside, he is one of the strongest people I know, and he had to mature so fast. I lean on my parents so much, and I don’t even realize it.”

Though Lonnie feels he made the right decision by emancipating himself, he still has understandable moments of weakness. The pressure of high school and the still healing wounds of his past, combined with the responsibilities of leading an adult life, is a constant test of Lonnie’s strength.

“There is one thing that bothers me the most and that’s not being able to share the success of my blog with my mom because I know she would have loved it,” Lonnie said.

“She might not love it now because she can’t accept that I’m gay, so she won’t accept [my blog] either. I accept responsibility for my actions today, but I cannot judge the boy of yesterday for doing the only thing he thought he could. I did what I had to do to make ends meet. Yes, I don’t have a family, my gas gage is always on ‘E’, I barely can pay my rent, but that’s okay.”

—Lizzie Friedman

29

Going >>

They attend football games with other Chap fans to support the team. At lunch, they sit in the cafeteria, telling stories and laughing. They watch Elf every holiday season. And like many girls their age, they jam out to their favorite Taylor Swift songs in the car.

But unlike their friends, they need to use white canes to guide themselves around school. Unlike most other teenagers, they won’t get their driver’s licenses next month when they turn 16. They don’t use pencils or pens, and they read in Braille. These two girls are different, and they wouldn’t change it. It’s all they’ve ever known.

Freshmen twins Nikki and Kendal Lyssy have been blind since birth.

“We were born five months early,” Nikki said. “I was 1 pound and 14 ounces. We have something that affected our optic nerves called retinopathy prematurity. So, the blood vessels behind our eyes burst. We were born so early that the retina detached. We have never had sight.

They tried to do surgery but it didn’t work. That just shows that God made us this way for a reason.”

Right before entering second grade, Nikki and Kendal moved from California and their lives changed. Texas was a new place for them to figure out. It was a big adjustment.

“My life has changed in countless ways since moving from California,” Nikki said. “There, I learned how to do everything with blind people. But in Texas, I only go to a blind school for math [class]. [In California] my preschool was only for blind people. Then we moved here in second grade and there weren’t any blind people [at Bridge Point]. I tell people I’m a Texan. Even though I was born in California, this is my home. This is where I belong.”

The Lyssys first started touring Westlake in October 2010 to familiarize themselves with the building. They are now also learning new ways to study, get work done and maintain their grades.

“Adjusting to high school has changed my life at home because in middle school I didn’t take my grades as seriously,” Kendal said. “In high school I’m trying a lot harder. I have a really good memory. I just read my Braille over and over again to study.”

Nikki and Kendal have classes second through eighth period at Westlake, but they go It would be weird if Nikki to Texas School for the Blind though, because she cou for math in the morning.

“Math is so hard,” Nikki like or what colors things said. “I guess I just have an to stare up at the stars an English brain, not a math brain. I don’t think it’s because like. I can’t imagine being of my blindness though, math is just hard for me. Part of it is that I learn math a completely different way than others would learn it. There’s a whole code that goes with it. And I use an abacus, which is a tool with beads on it that reads numbers. And I use a talking scientific calculator.”

Nikki and Kendal have to get all of their homework printed in Braille

“

To read the writer’s perspective on her growing friendship with Nikki and Kendal, scan this QR code:

Hannah Kunz

theirown

way

From crowd friendships ed hallways to ne to navigate , blind twins learn w all aspects of campus life

and they take their tests differently, though they’re learning the same material as their classmates. Technology is also an important tool for them in school.

“The Braille printing machine [at school] is called the embosser,” Nikki said. “This thing is cool. When it’s running, you can hear it from down the hall. I have a Braillist who types up my work and connects the machine wirelessly to the computer. The machine embosses all of my work which puts it into Braille. I have another machine called a BrailleNote. It’s like an iPhone in a way. It goes online, I can check my email, and it does word processing. The thing I do most is read books. It has a refreshable Braille display and I can read whatever I want. It makes things really easy.”

“Science tests almost always have diagrams, so I have to talk it out with the person that’s helping me with my test,” Kendal said. “If it’s English or something like that, then I just stay in my classroom [and type my answers]. Technology has helped me so much.”

They are the first blind students who will graduate from Westlake.

“The blind school is a great place,” Nikki said. “But Westlake is where I belong. I choose to stay here. Going to TSB was an option, but I wanted to walk across the stage in four years like everyone else and graduate with all of you. I want to tell my friends in college that I came from Westlake. I love it here.”

Like most twins, Nikki and Kendal aren’t just sisters, they’re best friends. They’ve worked through a lot together and help each other with anything they do.

“Kendal is my other half,” Nikki said. “We are so close. There are days where we just hang out together. I always have somebody to talk to on a bad day. Sometimes, it’s like we share the same brain. We could be thinking the exact same thing at the exact same time. A few times last year, we would have free writing in English and write about the same thing and not even realize it until after. My life would be different without could see. It would be cool extremely her and I’m so lucky that uld tell me what people look she’s there for me.”

Nikki and Kendal have s are. She could be able never seen their sisters, their nd tell me what they look parents or their friends. g able to see the stars.

Even learning colors was diffor them.

—freshman Kendal Lyssy ferent “Colors to me are images in my mind,” Nikki said.

“If you said yellow I would imagine a flower or the sun. Even though I’ve never seen those things, I’ve read enough about them to sort of know. There was this book called Hailstones and Halibut Bones by Mary O’Neil. It goes through every color and pairs it with a taste, a smell, a touch and a sight. That’s how I

”

know my colors.”

“I distinguish colors by just thinking about it,” Kendal said. “If someone said ‘red’ I would try to imagine what red is. I can sometimes tell what color hair people have, or what I think they have, just by their voice. I’m wrong sometimes, but I can get it right a lot.”

Nikki and Kendal’s family is extremely supportive, including their two sisters, Hill Country Middle School seventh grader Julia and Bridge Point Elementary fourth grader Sophie.

“Julia and Sophie are great about my blindness,” Nikki said. “That’s all they’ve seen of me. We can get out of a car and I can take one of their arms and they can lead me to wherever we’re headed. They’ve showed my friends through their actions how to help me without being too much help. I’m really lucky to have great sisters like them because they know when I can do things by myself and they know when to step in if I need a little help.”

Having grown up in a very unique situation, the girls developed strong views against bullying.

“I can’t stand it when I hear somebody not being nice to someone,” Nikki said. “It makes me angry when people are mean. In my family, we’re never mean to each other. We treat everybody like it’s the last time we’re ever going to see them. It makes me angry when I hear someone being treated like they’re not important.”

“Something that makes me really angry is when I hear gossip,” Kendal said. “Why waste your time on something like that? And another thing that makes me angry is when kids are ungrateful for what they have. It drives me nuts.”

Along with playing piano, Nikki and Kendal began practicing guitar earlier this year. The girls, who can tell notes by ear, are enjoying their new experiences as Westlake choir members.

“I’m really excited about choir because singing has been a part of my life forever,” Nikki said. “It has helped shape me into the person that I am today. Choir is something that I’ve done since elementary school.

I’ve always been in a choir and high school is the next step. My dream is to be a country singer.”

Nikki and Kendal want everyone to know that they are open to questions. They aren’t embarrassed about being blind. They’re happy about who they are and they wouldn’t change a thing.

“If given the opportunity to get my sight back, I’m not sure if I would,” Nikki said. “I might consider it, but for today, and right now, I would not. I think I can do something great for the world being blind.

I think I’m blind for a reason. I just want to see what the plan is for my life. I don’t want to try to change that.”

—Caitlyn Kerbow

31

Where the heart is Love is universal. We can never fully describe all the different types — family, friendship, romance, a passion. What matters is how it makes us feel. { westlakefeatherduster.com } trends + traditions 33

Gay-Straight Alliance vice president spreads the love

tolerance Teaching

“Love is something that everybody deserves and needs to have to live.

There’s no point in living without love.”

Gay-Straight Alliance vice president senior Karley Adams views the club as a source of closeness and compassion for its members.

“I think GSA gives all the members a sense of family and sense of community,” Karley said. “I feel like people are more comfortable when they come to the club and are willing to express themselves because they never think we’re judging them. One week, someone shared something really personal, and I felt like their friend even though I don’t really know them that well.”

This openness of the club is emphasized for Karley when she hears hurtful comments during school hours.

“Most of the time people don’t really realize that when they use ‘gay’ or fag’ it’s really offensive,” Karley said. “They just use it in the context of dumb. When they use it in the correct form, and they’re using it against someone, it really upsets me. I guess they wouldn’t be offended if I called them straight, but it’s the same thing to me. If someone were like, ‘Oh, you’re so gay,’ to me, I’d be like, ‘Well, I’m not,

“

What does love mean to you?

“Love is caring for another person so much that it doesn’t matter what minor flaws they have or the mistakes they make. Love consists of forgiveness, honesty, trust and selflessness. You have to love yourself before you love anyone else.”

—junior Sierra Sims

“

Hannah Kunz

but how is that important?’”

Karley says she hears this language used even in everyday classroom experiences.

“The other day, when I was in English class, we were doing an attendance question of the day,” Karley said. “We were supposed to say a song from the ‘90s. The guy next to me said something by the Backstreet Boys, and the teacher asked if he would sing it. And he said, ‘No, I’m not a fag.’ That really made me mad. So only gay people sing?

I don’t think people realize how hurtful it actually is.”

By participating in GSA events such as the National Day of Silence in April, Karley hopes to spread awareness of this issue and encourage acceptance.

“On the Day of Silence freshman year, someone asked me what I was doing,” Karley said. “I had to respond by writing, and they were really confused but interested at the same time. I think I changed the way they thought about it a little bit. [I want people to know that] if you aren’t being who you feel you are or you aren’t being true to yourself, then you’re just hurting yourself. Keep an open mind.”

–Zelda Mayer

“Love is when you give someone the last Sunny D in the fridge without them even asking for it and you just drink a water; love is not only agreeing, but willing to do anything and everything for the betterment of someone else.”

—senior Charlie Trahan

““

“I’ll know it when I see it.”

—senior Jack Beadle “Love is not knowing where you’re going, but every step of the way is worth it all.”

—sophomore Justin Dorland

A love to last the ages English teacher Debora Orrick and her husband Britt Fanney pose on the night of their senior prom. Both Orrick and Fanney went to First Colonial High School in Virginia. courtesy photos

English teacher says ‘I do’ to high school sweetheart

“

“The course of true love never did run smooth.”

These famous Shakespearean words are exemplified in the love story between English teacher Debora Orrick and her high school sweetheart, Britt Fanney.

This past summer marked the marriage of two people who seemed destined to be together. Forty-three years after their first meeting, Orrick and Fanney finally tied the knot.

The two met at First Colonial High School in Virginia Beach, Va. She was a cheerleader, and he was a football player. Though they went to the same school, they didn’t have any classes together and had never gotten to know each other. However, during their senior year, Fanney was transferred into her study hall.

“I noticed him right away,” Orrick said.

“He was just so cute, and he looked so intelligent. For some reason I still remember he had his glasses on. I didn’t even know who he was.”

They dated for the rest of the year, but Orrick and Fanney enjoy their wedding July 2, 2011. The two got married 43 years after they first met.

before their graduation, a problem arose that would separate them for many years. Because Orrick’s father was in the Navy, the family was often forced to move. That April, her father got orders to transfer to Europe, and she was faced with the decision to stay in the United States and go to school or go abroad with her family and study at a university in Europe.

“We were very much in love, but that decision took two seconds,” Orrick said. “My family had wanted to go to Europe for years, and that was such a great opportunity. I also loved history, and this was just a place I’d always wanted to go. I knew that if I’d decided against going I would have always wondered.

I didn’t want to have that question hanging over my life.”

Orrick followed her father to Europe, and she and Fanney split up. At that point in time, it cost $30 per minute to make a phone call from overseas to the United States, so talking on the phone wasn’t an option. The two kept in touch for a while by writing letters, but they eventually lost contact. When she came back to the U.S. in her 20s, the two met up again, but things had changed, and the bond they once shared did not seem to be there.

“We were in very different places,” Orrick said. “So I just went on with my life.”

She ended up in Austin, and he ended up living in the Kripalu Yoga Center in Massachusetts. With 400 residents, it was completely self-supporting and the largest yoga training center in the country. Though they were miles apart, the two still seemed

to be leading lives parallel to one another; they were both practicing yoga, had both gotten married and both had similar interests in history and reading.

“I wrote to him once more when we were in our 30s, but he wrote back basically saying to me, ‘Why are you living in the past?’” Orrick said.

Time passed, and soon it was 2008 and their 40th high school reunion had arrived.

Orrick and her husband were no longer together, and Fanney and his wife were separating. Orrick, however, didn’t know this and didn’t attend the reunion.

“I didn’t go because I knew that I couldn’t deal with seeing him with another woman,” Orrick said.

During the reunion, Fanny inquired about Orrick and through some friends, he was able to find out where she was and contact her. But it wasn’t until the summer of 2010 when the two of them started talking again. Pretty soon, they were calling each other every day.

“We got together and fell back in love quickly,” Orrick said. “We started talking on the phone and on the first night we talked for 45 minutes, just like the very first night we talked when we were teenagers. It literally took me three days to fall in love again.”

The two got married July 2, 2011 and are now happily living in Austin.

“I can honestly say that through all that time, I’d never met anybody that I held in such high regard,” Orrick said. “There really wasn’t anybody that I loved like I loved Britt and that spark just stayed in my heart. It never went away.”

—Monica Rao

{ westlakefeatherduster.com } trends + traditions 35

Some day my

prince

will come Disney addict pines for one true love, won’t be satisfied without white steed

I

Emily Mitchell

shoved the tape back into the machine and hit rewind.

As the wheels spun around and around, I overheard my babysitter on the phone with my mother.

“I know it’s the fourth time she’s watched it today, but it’s the only thing she’s asking for,” she said. “Nothing else seems to make her happy.”

It was 1999. I was 4 years old, and my favorite movie was, without a doubt, Beauty and the Beast.

For hours, I would plop down in front of the enormous 12-inch screen TV in our playroom, mesmerized by dancing figures of clocks and candelabras. My babysitter was right — nothing else made me that happy.

I loved the animation, the characters and the music. But, by far, I loved one particular scene the most — when the Beast presented Belle with a library. If you ask my sister, it was because I was a nerd, even at the ripe age of 4. But if you ask me, it was because this is the moment you know the Beast will not be another boring, run-of-the-mill Prince Charming, but a dashing, scholarly, generous, kindhearted and perfect man. Oh, and he’s a wealthy prince living in a glamorous chateau, too.

I became consumed with the idea of my prince. Trips to Disney World, an hour’s drive from my Florida home, became adventures to stalk the princesses in an effort to learn their secrets. The playground became the venue for debates over which princes reigned supreme.

And thus, my infatuation began.

During middle school, I suffered with my closet-obsession, hiding my Disney DVDs behind the lamest romantic comedies in which no male lead could hold a candle to my princes. Needless to say, it was a dark time in my life.

No perfect kiss. No white steed. Not even a magic carpet.

It is 2011. I am 17 years old, and my favorite movie is still, without a doubt, Beauty and the Beast.

I have matured, graduating from princes to Jane Austen’s Mr. Darcy. But the idea has remained the same and the position has remained vacant. I still watch Beauty and the Beast religiously and enjoy the Christmas special every holiday season. And like many fair maidens out there, I’m not willing to give up on my dreams.

I want a prince, and I am still waiting for my library.

—Hailey Cunningham

PrinceCharming Charming Ways to snag Prince 1. The way you smell:

FACT: boys are attracted to the smell of vanilla. Sugary, sweet scents will draw him in closer to you.

2. The way you act:

Be smart and confident — if your aura is positive, everyone else will see it. Don’t be shy and hide in your shell — being outgoing and approachable will automatically attract people. If you’re naturally a shy person, try to find the guy who brings out the confidence in you. Don’t over analyze what he does or says — just be in the moment and have a good time. Being positive and happy shows your potential crush you’re worth noticing.

3. The way you speak:

Chatting about his weekend, the football game or a big math test will get the conversation going. Don’t wait to get his number for a class project or wait for him to ask to hang out. Be assertive because guys are aloof to small hints you may drop.

4. The way you feel:

Do not be body conscious. Thinking you are overweight, unstylish or unattractive is not what girls our age should be worrying about. No one is going to root for you if you don’t root for yourself — so be proud of what you’ve got!

5. The way you look:

Don’t be afraid to dress to your own style, whether that means vintage, preppy, gothic or hipster. Despite what you see in magazines, stay classy, not slutty.

6. The way you flirt:

Tickle his ego. Give him subtle compliments when he deserves them, but don’t laugh at all his jokes. Give him a hard time in a flirty way. Eye contact and a genuine smile are not only endearing but also show people you are interested in what they are saying.

—Olivia Lee, Keren Rempe and Sarah Berg

So... um...Hi.

Awkward adolescent struggles to break the gender barrier

“Girls are not goddesses,” my dad said. “They’re human handsome about dirty, sweaty guys, but I was in no position to judge. beings just like you and me.”

An idea of possibly playing football crossed my mind, but I shuddered He was sitting on the foot of my bed, wringing his hands together. at the thought. I didn’t think my scrawny build would last me very long I could tell that this was not a subject he really wanted to discuss with on a football field. Plus, I wasn’t that desperate. his 13-year-old son.

All this confusion got me nowhere. Every day I would enter the “You’ll grow out of this eventually,” he said encouragingly. There school with the confidence that today was the day that I’d break was some worry in his voice, and I didn’t blame him. I had a serious through my self-imposed force field, and every day I would leave with problem. the same results. It didn’t matter where I was — in class, in the hall or Before elementary school, my lack of motor skills compelled my at lunch. Words would form in my mind, but as they started to leave mom to send me to a physical therapist who claimed that my greatest my mouth, my teeth would clench, my arm hair would stand up, and a weakness was “balancing and hand-eye coordination.” She was wrong: cold sweat would run excruciatingly slowly down the back of my neck. girls were my greatest weakness.

What was supposed to sound like “What’s our Spanish homework?”

I’ve seen that the female barrier breaks down at different points would come out as “Wha…um…Spanish?” I was truly pathetic. in every man’s life. For some guys, it dissipated early and they beGoing into my freshman year, I had all but given up. My girl skills came the immediate kings of the hadn’t improved much after treadplayground — the envy of every ing warily through the fetid jungle other young boy. Despite my voof middle school, and I considered “Obviously, jocks didn’t know much about cal hatred of cooties, I fantasized myself toast. That is, until I saw beauty products either, but girls didn’t seem the light. about being just like the king. We “anti-girl” guys were the clear maIt was the third week of my to mind — they just followed them around jority in kindergarten, although freshman year, and I was standlike magnets.” our numbers began to dwindle ing in the end of the lunch line in as we progressed through school. the Ninth Grade Center cafeteria.

Eventually, guys and girls started A girl walked right in front of me mingling as equals, which naturally astounded me. Middle school was and cut me off in the line. “How rude,” I thought. But she was a girl, so the great divider: there were the brawny guys who seemed to have girls I bit my tongue. Then she turned around. obsessed with the very air they exhaled, the genuinely mean guys who “Oh, I’m sorry,” she said as she took a small step towards the end of an ungodly amount of girls found attractive (still seeking clarification the line. Then she stopped. “Wait, are you a freshman?” on that), the laid back guys who attracted girls based on how cool they I mumbled a feeble “Yes.” She smirked and stayed in her original were perceived to be, and the neurotic guys (such as myself) who had place. absolutely no chance with anybody.

“Sorry, seniority,” she said. I rolled my eyes. That really bugged me.

Girls were just a mystery to me. I couldn’t approach one, and if I Normally I wouldn’t have said anything, but I couldn’t hold it in any was going to talk to one, I had no idea how to start the conversation. I longer. used to “practice” in the lunch line. The generic, “It’s hot outside, isn’t “What’s the deal with everybody trying to get an upper hand over it?” starter tended to backfire and after getting the “Thank you, captain everybody in this school?” I snapped. She looked stunned. But then she obvious” look one too many times, my confidence was shot. I thought did something that blew me away. girls could only be interested in makeup and fashion, and since my “You know what, you’re right. Go ahead and cut ahead of me.” knowledge in those And she was completely serious. “Now that you mention it, the whole fields was seniority system is pretty immature, isn’t it?” she said thoughtfully. slightly less And just like that, we were talking. Words left my mouth before I could than extensive, ponder them too much and they actually formed sentences. But they I figured that weren’t just any sentences — they were intelligent and witty ones. They most girls consid- were sentences that carried on a conversation…with a girl. We both got ered me worthless our food and went on our separate ways, but an epiphany had manifrom the start. fested itself into my soul — everybody loves to complain.

But the logic Complaining brings people together. It allows for a release of anger didn’t equate. and resentment towards any subject in particular, and it presents a Obviously, jocks disdainful topic that we can all relate to. Most importantly, complaindidn’t know much ing was my wide open door into interacting with girls. Gone were the about beauty days of pinching myself for holding back, feeling insignificant and like products either, I wasn’t worth any girl’s time. I was by no stretch a Casanova, but my but girls didn’t confidence soared and before I knew it, I was starting conversations seem to mind — with girls like I’d been doing it since kindergarten. they just followed Unfortunately, my situation is not unique. There are plenty of guys them around like reading this who have been through much of the same and still find magnets. What made themselves struggling in the department of female communication. those boys so eye-catch- I’m living proof that being Johnny Quarterback is not the only way to ing to girls? Football. mingle easily with girls. Just being you is always good enough. And, if It was beyond me you’re up for it, so is wearing a little bit of deodorant. what girls found so —Andy Brown Cameron Abshire

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A professional Counselors give insight on dating in high school

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he romance between two people, the unbreakable bond of friends, and the relations among family: these are the ways that love is present in our lives. The word love, symbolic of fluttering butterflies and crimson hearts, fills everyone with a sense of happiness, even though students feel it exists in many different forms.

“There are so many different definitions of love and I think that sometimes teenagers might rush to that word,” guidance counselor Carol Ross said. “As you get older you kind of realize that love is about having somebody on your side, somebody on your team. Marriam Williams said it best in her book Return to Love: ‘A relationship is like a rose bush, and the stem of the rose bush is the friendship, and the blooms are the romance.’”

The interpersonal relationships that students experience in high school are some of the first steps for most; they often end negatively, but it is important to realize that

Barrett Wilson

opinion

this is typical.

“High school is when we get to practice,” Ross said. “Your first relationship was probably not your best, but did you learn from it? Yes. The key is learning from “Honestly, someone who’s easy to talk to the mistakes you made and doing and a man. I don’t need a woman or a boy. I things differently [next time].” need a man!”

—freshman Rachel Power In the eyes of students, the world of relationships may seem mys“Well, I suppose it is cliché, but I look for terious and confusing. However, people who are, well, just really attractive.” according to counselors, this is sim—junior Andrew Timmins ply due to their age.

“I think most of the time in “Someone who I’m willing to spend tons your teenage years your brain is still of time with and still be happy.”

—sophmore Robert Gold developing, and your emotional state and how you deal with emotions are “I want a relationship with a true, still developing,” Ross said. “So, I would honest guy who loves and respects say when you bring two people together me.” who don’t have fully developed emotions, it —senior Katie Foles can lead to some problems.”

Having a relationship in high school is generally healthy, but some relationships can properly and appropriately, but it can be very become dangerous and damaging because of damaging when maybe some innocent comstudents’ immaturity. ment to some girlfriend or boyfriend is used “Problems I see today with high school negatively after the break-up.” students are dominance,” guidance counselor When it comes to unhealthy relationships Jeff Pilchek said. “In a lot of relationships in high school, many students don’t know there is a dominant person; therefore, the what to do or where to go. The counselors other person becomes sort of needy to the always stress that when someone finds themextent that they rely on them so much that selves in such a situation, the counseling staff it is not equal. It could be the boy or the girl, is there to help. and their interpersonal relationships become “My biggest concern is that sometimes, sickened by that. In this, one of them feels the when you’re in an unhealthy relationship, need to be in control, and then the other, to it’s hard to get out if you don’t have a lot of be controlled. That is not what will ever exist support,” Ross said. “I think that it would be in a long-term relationship.” even more challenging for a teenager in that The basis of relationships in general is situation. As a teenager, you might feel very sometimes not apparent to the love struck isolated and not know what to do. If ever teens in high school. It resorts back to one of anyone is in a situation similar to that, your the most elementary skills learned in kindercounselor is the best place to go.” garten.

High school is a place where you expand “Sometimes we forget the Golden Rule your mind academically and learn about comof treating others as you wish to be treated,” munication and relationships. Love reveals Ross said. “I think that we should just reitself in ways separate from that of a couple’s member how we would want to be treated in a relationship through meaningful friendships. relationship.”

“Everybody has their own path, and you Dating can be complex on its own, but it’s can have love in your life whether you’re in more difficult in modern times, when technol- a relationship or not,” Ross said. “It’s the ogy plays an even greater role. people that surround you. If there were more “Without a doubt technology affects love,” loving thoughts in this world we would all be guidance counselor Shayna Barksdale said. a lot better off.”

“Technology is wonderful when it is used —Josh Willis

What do you look for in a relationship?

Samantha Brocklehurst copes with loss of best friend, mother

Love everlasting

S

Students watched as hundreds of white balloons floated up to the sky, mesmerized by the poignant beauty of the white specs. Each balloon carried a small piece of paper with a message attached to it. Some of them said, “You were a great friend,” but most of them said, “We’ll miss you.”

A few days earlier, on March 30, 2008, sixth graders Martha Reid and Samantha Brocklehurst had shared a blanket and a pair of headphones in the back seat of a jeep on their way to pick up their brothers from a Boy Scout campout. They’d huddled up next to each other, their eyes wide and their hands on their faces, as they watched Jaws.

“It was at the scary part,” Samantha, now a sophomore, said.

“The part where the little girls were about to be eaten. Martha was freaking out.”

The best friends stared at the laptop in terror as the famous Jaws soundtrack began to speed up. They had no idea that the fear they felt then was nothing compared to the pure panic they would experience as a car going 100 miles per hour came into their lane and approached them head on.

Their car ramped up on the oncoming vehicle and was launched 30 feet in the air, over the fence on the side of the highway, and into a ditch.

Martha died on impact.

“It was the most twisted car, and where I was sitting in the jeep was a perfect little box,” Samantha said. “It was a miracle.”

Samantha had a broken tibia and a lacerated spleen. The driver and Martha’s dad, Randal Reid, also survived but suffered even more severe injuries from the accident.

“I woke up in the car and was very confused,” she said. “What I thought I saw, looking at Martha, was absolutely terrible.”

Ambulances arrived and took Martha to the children’s hospital while Samantha and Reid were taken in another ambulance to a different hospital, but it was too late.

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Samantha enjoys time with her mom at Chuck E. Cheese’s in 1999, when she was 3 years old.

“What I saw wouldn’t have made sense to be survivable, but I still didn’t believe it,” Samantha said. “I just didn’t register it. It never would’ve crossed my mind that she wouldn’t make it.”

Samantha and Martha had been neighbors and friends since they were 3 years old.

“We had a weird friendship,” Samantha said. “We got sick of each other so much because we were always around each other. Finally in the sixth grade, we started to grow up and realize how close we were.”

Samantha stayed at the hospital for a week after the accident where she went through blood transplants and treatments for her internal bleeding and injuries. She would periodically wake up and talk to the nurses before falling back asleep.

“Everything hurt so badly,” she said. “I would ask for water, and they would tell me I could have an ice cube in three hours.”

Despite the pain she felt after waking up in the hospital room, she constantly asked the nurses to roll her bed into Martha’s room so that they could be together. They would tell her that they couldn’t do that, and Samantha would fall back asleep and repeat this routine again.

“By the time I was awake enough for them to tell me, it was kind of obvious that something was wrong,” she said. “I knew it, but I had to hear it from them.”

Through it all, Samantha felt nothing but disbelief.

“The concept was too much,” she said. “For your best friend to die, for you to be snuggling up next to them, sharing headphones and a blanket, and then suddenly, they’re gone.”

The support of her classmates helped Samantha through the grieving process.

“The amount of stuffed animals I had, the amount of flowers, the amount of balloons, they physically couldn’t fit in my room,” Samantha said. “The whole hospital knew who I was because so many people

Samantha and Martha hang out just after Christmas. Martha is holding her new American Girl doll and wearing a matching outfit that she got as a present.

courtesy photos

came to visit me. I didn’t even know some of their names. It was nice.

Otherwise, I would’ve been an 11-year-old girl sitting in a bed alone, my best friend having just died.”

Martha’s death gave Samantha a different outlook on the opportunities that she was presented with.

“Martha and I both played the French Horn together in the sixth grade,” she said. “She loved it. I absolutely hated it. After the accident, I played the French Horn for two more years before finally quitting.

I did it because I had the chance to do it. How is it fair for me to be given this chance and for it to be taken away from Martha when all she wanted to do was play the French Horn? For me to have the opportunity and not take it, it would just be wrong. This was what she wanted and she can’t have it, so how could I deny it to myself?”

Looking back, Samantha struggles to interpret what Martha’s death means.

“It’s really hard to think that everything happens for a reason,” she said. “Why God would allow a 12-year-old girl to die? It’s a weird thing to think about. It never feels like she’s gone. It’s like an extended vacation that never ends. Visiting her grave with her mom isn’t closure. It just doesn’t feel like she’s buried there.”

The loss of her best friend was traumatizing for Samantha, but the grief was not over yet. About two years later, her mom, Elizabeth Brocklehurst, was diagnosed with cancer.

“I was 14 and in the eighth grade,” Samantha said. “She’d been talking about how she was sick and was going to get tests done. I was with my friends, and one of their moms was driving us to our houses to drop off our backpacks before we went to the Twilight premiere. I was locked out of the house so I called my dad, and he told me that they were going to spend the night at the hospital. I asked him if Mom had cancer and he said,‘Yes.’ Walking back to the car, my friends had no idea what was wrong. He had told me to go to the movies and that he would pick me up afterwards. It was a terrible movie.”

Brocklehurst was diagnosed in 2009 with multiple myeloma leukemia. She underwent two failed stem cell transplants and spent a summer at MD Anderson Cancer Research Center in Houston.

“A cousin I’d never met before came and moved in with me and my brother and stayed with us from the summer of eighth through the beginning of ninth grade,” Samantha said. “It didn’t register to me that this was a bad sign. When my parents stopped going to MD Anderson, I still didn’t get it.”

Samantha tried to push the thoughts of cancer aside as best she could.

“My dad kept telling me to stay home, but I didn’t want to,” she said. “I tried to do anything to get it out of my mind. I didn’t want to think about it. I wanted to get out of that house, which I feel terrible for now because she just wanted to spend time with me. I would choose to go to the movies or be with my friends rather than stay home and scrapbook with her which I could see really hurt her, but I just

didn’t think about it. This was the highlight of her day, spending time with me, and I was choosing to be somewhere else.”

In February of 2011, Brocklehurst continued treatment in Austin, staying at the hospital in her final months.

“I visited her every night,” Samantha said. “One Wednesday night, I told her that I probably couldn’t come the next day because I had a big test on Friday, to which she said ‘You know you don’t have to take that test right?’ But I did anyway.”

Samantha then went on a church retreat for the weekend.

“At first my dad didn’t want me to go because he wanted me home, but then he changed his mind,” she said. “So I went. I was there Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The second I got home, my grandma, who was staying with us at the time, told me that we needed to go to the hospital that second. I thought, ‘This must be it. What am I going to say as my last goodbyes? What am I going to say to her?’”

Samantha was brought to the room her other grandma was in, along with two of her aunts, who were bawling. She was told that her mom had passed away hours earlier.

“I hadn’t seen her since Wednesday,” Samantha said. “I felt like it wasn’t possible. I had been waiting in a hospital room so much for the past two years, sitting at her bedside, sleeping on those stupid little chairs. And then we just packed up and left. What do we do with our lives now?”

Brocklehurst died on Feb. 27, 2011. She was 44 years old.

“She was determined that she was going to beat it,” Samantha said.

“Every day I visited her, she would tell me ‘I’m going to be here to dance at your wedding.’”

Looking back, Samantha admires the kind of person her mother was.

“She was all sugar,” she said. “She did everything for me and my brother. Every dance competition. Every spelling bee. Everything. She

was always there. Girl Scout mom, Boy Scout mom, I don’t even know how you do that. Even through her disease, even though all of these things were happening to her, all she wanted was for us to be happy and well. She wanted to live through us. She was happy that I was happy, that she got a girl that would put on make-up and wear a tutu. I was her Barbie doll. We went to every single Zenith and Spotlight since I was 3 years old. When we went to see the cheerleaders, we would sit in the front row wearing our matching cheerleader outfits.”

Samantha’s brother, Sean Brocklehurst, graduated from Westlake last year and is now attending Texas A&M University where he and Martha’s brother, Jack Reid, are roommates. At Brocklehurst’s funeral, Sean delivered a eulogy.

“My sister and I would not be the people we are today without the nurturing care of our mother,” Sean said in the eulogy. “While her time on earth seems too brief, it was rich enough to sustain us for our lifetimes. She earned her place in Heaven in half the time, and now it is up to us to carry on in her wake.

We are her life’s work, and she has done a fantastic job.”

Today, Samantha tries to live her life the way her mother would want her to.

“I try not to do anything stupid,” she said. “I don’t want to disappoint her; she wanted me to go far. She wouldn’t want me to be sad.

What would hurt her most would be to see me struggling because of her.”

Through the losses of her best friend and her mother, Samantha feels that she has a better grip on what’s really important in life.

“If they were here, they wouldn’t want me mourning over them every day,” Samantha said. “They would want me to be happy and go out and have fun. I try to make the most of everything. People think I’m loud and obnoxious and weird, but life is better this way.”

“This must be it. What am I going to say as my last goodbyes? What am I going to say to her?”

—sophomore Samantha Brocklehurst

—Monica Tan

The members of the Brocklehurst family, Elizabeth, William, Samantha and Sean, take a family portrait in August of 2010, about six months before Elizabeth Brocklehurst passed away. “Family was always the priority for my parents,” sophomore Samantha Brocklehurst said. “They were always there for me and Sean growing up, and they always supported us through everything we did.”

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The sounds of love Music is, and has been, an aid to girls everywhere when experiencing a painful break-up, an emotional relationship or even a secret crush. Most girls can identify with the feeling you get when you hear a song that connects to the situation you’re dealing with. Suddenly, that song becomes something you play on repeat and hope that a special boy is listening and thinking of you, too. In our opinion, these are the songs that we relate most to and have affected our love lives, good and bad.

To read why the top songs earned their spots on these lists, scan this.

—Rebecca Prideaux and Elizabeth Emery

Top 10 Break-Up Songs

Top 10 Love Songs

1. “Forget You” — Cee Lo Green 2. “I Will Always Love You” — Whitney Houston 3. “Need You Now” — Lady Antebellum 4. “Every Time I Hear Your Name” — Keith Anderson 5. “Last Kiss” — Taylor Swift 6. “Take A Bow” — Rihanna 7. “Remind Me” — Brad Paisley & Carrie Underwood 8. “Slow Dancing In a Burning Room” — John Mayer 9. “Go Your Own Way” — Fleetwood Mac 10. “Here You Come Again” — Dolly Parton

1. “She’s Got a Way with Me” — Billy Currington 2. “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” — Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell 3. “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing” — Aerosmith 4. “Collide” — Howie Day 5. “Bless the Broken Road” — Rascal Flatts 6. “I Can’t Help Falling In Love With You” — Elvis Presley 7. “I Would Do Anything for You” — Foster the People 8. “I’ll Be There” — Jackson 5 9. “Everything” — Michael Bublé 10. “Your Man” — Josh Turner

Music of the heart

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Avid concert-goer shares love of music Danielle Brown

The bass beats faster through my veins than my heart can keep up with. My hands shake from the vibrations, and my head nods to the music. I am standing front-row against the metal barrier in a sold-out show, packed with beating hearts; the world outside of the venue doesn’t exist. Thousands of people who fill the cramped space move their heads simultaneously, smiles curve on their mouths, mirroring my own. Everyone who surrounds me is here for the same reason — the love of music. No one here judges, no one here cares where I came from or how I live my life. For the next couple of hours, I am part

of a community, I am surrounded by souls that feel the same as I do.

I don’t drink, and I don’t do drugs, but right now I reek of alcohol, and my shirt smells like pot… but that’s okay. I don’t mind smelling like I do because I’m the happiest I’ve ever been. My heart is racing, and my hands are shaking. But that doesn’t matter. I can hardly speak, and my feet are screaming. That doesn’t matter either. The only things that matter are my ears, my heart and the words croaking from my lips.

I can hardly understand how this passion radiating from the stage is forming this thing called “music.” I can almost see each note and each chorus solidifying in the air above me, becoming tangible, and I’m reaching with every inch of my being to absorb this noise. I am soaked in perfection — from strangers, from the band, from myself. I feel perfect, euphoric, high — not from drugs, but from this pure emotion. My feelings are raw, but nothing can hurt me. In this moment, I am invincible.

I’m telling you that you don’t need a person to feel loved. Because even though you may crave to be hugged, or kissed or told “I love you” by someone, you don’t need that. All you need is a place where you feel welcome, a place where you feel a connection to everything around you, a place where you can be yourself and you can be comfortable. It doesn’t matter if you “fit in.”

The show is over and the crowd files out of the venue. I have tour tshirts and a caught guitar pick in hand. I walk, quiet, to the curb, and wait for my ride. I can feel bruises forming on my elbows, ephemeral souvenirs, but I have permanent memories engraved in my mind. I close my eyes and hum a chorus as the cool air reminds me that this night happened.

—Karen Scott

The truth of thematter

photos by Karen Scott

I

My commitment to love before sex

got a purity ring for my 16th birthday. It was a size nine, sterling silver ring with the words “true love waits” etched into the band marking me as a prude. Thanks, mom.

But, of course I was grateful, and took the shiny ring out of the James Avery box and placed it on my ring finger. I wore it for a couple weeks straight, proudly showing my morals through the piece of hardened metal on the finger that signaled my future matrimony, until that is it ended up sitting on my bathroom sink counter. Two years later it sits in one of my jewelry boxes, boasting the same message: true love waits.

But this is a statement I believe in. These days the entertainment biz has taken the phrase “sex sells” and run with it — run a freaking marathon. TV dramas, reality shows and almost every movie rated PG-13 or higher are showing some shape or form of sexual content.

They’re also selling the idea that lustful hook ups are normal and if you aren’t having sex on the first date — something’s wrong with you. To me, it seems like there is a common theme in the ideas they’re selling: the presence of lust and the absence of love. True love takes too long to develop on screen these days. America wants fast-paced everything, and that’s what the entertainment industry is serving.

High school is basically raging teenage hormones funneled into one place. To teenagers, sex is something you joke about with your friends.

Sexual innuendoes like “that’s what she said” have been causing awkward moments and giggles since the character Michael Scott coined the phrase on the show The Office. Sex can be funny when you’re

joking around, but it isn’t something to laugh at. It’s a serious commitment, and our generation is losing sight of just how serious it actually is. That’s why love is the key word in that phrase that was engraved on my purity ring. Relationships need time to develop. So does love. And it is important to be in love, to be sure that you’re willing to commit to that person one of the most personal things we can do.

Let’s face it: most of us aren’t looking for a serious relationship in high school, yet alone true love. That’s why we should wait until we find it. Sure, some will become high school sweethearts, as we are perfectly capable of being in love as teenagers, and having sex is a choice those couples will have to make.

Sex is something to be taken seriously. We’ve all heard of 16 and Pregnant. I like to say, “Wait to procreate.” Yes, that rhymes for a reason. It’s kind of catchy. But there is a world of issues that come along with sex that I know I’m personally not ready to face at such a young age. Even if love ain’t your thing, the possibility of teen pregnancy and Sexually Transmitted Diseases are enough to convince me that waiting is the right thing to do.

My purity ring has started to tarnish a bit from sitting for so long.

It’s not that I don’t want to wear it; I’m just not the ring wearing type.

But it still boldly states that moral message on its not-so-shiny-anymore band. I don’t know if for me waiting means marriage, but I know I will wait until I’m truly in love. So call me a prude, I dare you. I’ll know my true love when he’s willing to wait as well.

—Danielle Brown

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A

change of

heart How my struggle with faith and love brought me closer to my mother

I Caroline Hunt

was sitting in a room full of clones. Looking around, I saw lowered heads and closed eyes. I saw girls who were young and old, dark and light, skinny and fat; but they were all the same.

An old woman caught my eye as she knelt before her Lord, rocking back and forth slowly, whispering prayers, as if someone was listening. All of them — every single woman there — were engaged in the moment of worship, the moment of apparent holiness. I sat there, looking around, disconnected.

For 17 years, I’ve been my family’s black sheep, always living, thinking, believing differently than they did. I remember those nights so vividly. I can still see the faces and hear the prayers of all those women. For the longest time, I would sit there in that stuffy, green-carpeted room, pretending to be one of them, until finally, I stood up, took a deep breath, and walked out.

This nature inside me, the one that always pushes me to embrace my own thoughts, the one that urged me and nagged me to get up and leave that night, to embrace my own beliefs that are contrary to those of my family, can be quite accurately described by a word that will make you cringe for no reason other than the fact that it is cliché — rebel.

Though my specific case and actions may not be uncommon, the overarching theme of my experience undoubtedly is. Despite this, I am proud to know that I have overcome the depths of my confusion and come up to the surface to bask in the fresh air, rather than search around in the dark waters, only catching glimpses of the light.

I’m free, cliché as it is.

I am the kind of person who is always searching. I don’t know what it is, but I know it’s there, and I’m looking for it. My sophomore year, I read Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer around the time I was questioning my faith.

Reading about Oskar Schell’s search for meaning inspired me. I began questioning everything, including who God was to me or if He even existed.

The book really made an impact on me, and I soon realized that there is something in me, and I’m not quite sure what it is, that forces me to question. It’s as if I live my life according to a lingering void that I don’t know how to fill. I don’t even know where to start.

After reading Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, I realized that I am Oskar Schell. I just haven’t found my key. It’s taken me a while to figure out what I believe, and my journey is not over. My search for meaning forges ahead.

My struggles with beliefs have been accompanied by problems with my relationships with my uncle, aunt, cousins and grandparents. They are so close to me, yet I can’t be honest with them because I know the consequences of the truth will be unbearable for my family.

A good friend of mine helped me realize something really important the other day. It’s something we are all constantly affected by, and it felt so nice to know that someone else understood. I wasn’t alone. We talked about how the main problem that accompanies religion is intolerance.

It’s a mentality that has stripped me of the opportunity to discuss my real thoughts and beliefs with my extended family, which stops us from opening our eyes and minds and embracing other people despite any differences. It’s the reason I can’t be honest with my family.

We’ve come close to chaos before — there were angry outbursts, harsh words and a whole lot of tears. I just don’t have the heart to stand up to my grandmother and tell her I’m questioning her beliefs. I don’t have the heart to watch her as tears come to her eyes, as my uncle fights the urge to yell, until he breaks. Until he screams and hits things.

Then nothing will be the same. They’ll tell my

mother she’s a bad parent for letting me stray.

They’ll repeat the words they’ve thrown at her so many times before, “You f**ked up your life, now you’re letting her f**k up hers.”

I know that if he knew the truth about me he’d take it out on my mom, and I can’t bear to put her through that.

Then there are my grandparents — the source of all extremism in my family. They feel strongly about everything: how to dress, what to eat, how to live one’s life. No doubt they would feel strongly if they knew I didn’t believe in or pray to the God they have lived for since before I was born.

It was about 7:05 a.m. when I felt the gentle touch of her hand on my right arm.

“Can I talk to you about something?”

I groaned. I didn’t want to be disturbed, I

ing, but I cried with her and touched her shoulder. I told her it would be okay.

And it will be. Though my family’s collective narrow mind won’t accept me for who I am or treat my mother the way she deserves to be treated, I will continue to accept others the way they are, no matter their beliefs or preferences. The lack of tolerance I grew up with has taught me to be the kind of person who is open to new people with new ideas and new lifestyles.

I am a black sheep, and for that reason I can relate to those like me — who have swum against the current, grown into their own and chosen to be different.

The relationship my mom and I have is complicated. I’ve found that I’m often the one to pick her up when she is down, to listen to her problems and feelings. As she struggles to find herself, I’m constantly pushing and

“My struggles with beliefs have been accompanied by problems with my relationships with my uncle, aunt, cousins and grandparents. They are so close to me, yet I can’t be honest with them because I know the consequences of the truth will be unbearable for my family.” didn’t want to lose any sleep and I definitely didn’t want to talk about something serious so early in the morning.

Opening my eyes slightly, I could see the room filled with sunlight, and my mother, sitting on the edge of my bed, holding me. Her eyes were empty and she seemed lost. The way she spoke slowly and softly made it sound like she had been crying, or was about to.

“Ugh.” “I’ve been wanting to talk to you about something,” she tried again.

“Fine. What is it?”

She told me how she was alone, how she wished her kids had a dad, how I was her best friend, the only one she could talk to. When she started crying I felt a mixture of panic, sadness and anger. I just wanted the conversation to be over.

There isn’t a time I’ve seen my mother so vulnerable, so weak, than that morning. She’s always been strong, no matter the circumstances; I wondered what she had been holding back.

For 15 years, my siblings and I have been without a father; we’ve moved more times than I can remember, and my mother has fought harder than I can even explain to keep our lives going. She had struggled through unemployment, family problems and loneliness, but she had never given up. So why now? She was always the one to tell me, “You have to have a thick skin. You just have to get through it.”

I don’t know why she gave up that morn-

helping because it pains me to see her lost.

Though I hide it most of the time, it breaks me; it kills me to know that she is lonely, still looking for that right person to brighten up her life, to make her feel special.

The road was dark, lit only with small bursts of light coming from different houses.

My brother drove, while my mom sat beside him, and my sister and I sat in the back seat.

“I’m just feeling a little…” Mom admitted.

“Hakuna Matata, Mom. It means no worries, for the rest of your days,” I sang.

I saw that my mother needed some support. I know now that I’m strong enough to help her up when she is down because she has taught to be that way — to care for others unconditionally, and to fight for them, and myself, through hard times, no matter what.

We sat in the car, listening to the sounds of the road. I reassured her.

“It’s going to be okay.”

—Anonymous

To read about freshman Alex Espejo’s reflections about living with a single parent, scan this.

{ westlakefeatherduster.com } trends + traditions 45

room Get a

Awkward couples get out of control, traumatize bystanders in wake It was like watching a car accident. I couldn’t look away. Mouth agape, eyes wide and practically burning out of my skull by the sheer vulgarity of it all, I stared at the tangle of arms and legs that was a, ahem, rather enthusiastic couple. Seemingly glued together at the mouth, all I could think about was how it was a gosh darn miracle that each wasn’t choking to death on the other’s tongue.

Unfortunately for me and countless other bystanders that are exposed to this visual assault, it is an all-too-familiar scene. Whether it is in the math hall, clogging the staircases, in the Commons or — and I have actually witnessed this — outside of the Westbank Public Library (think of the children, for God’s sake!), public displays of affection between couples have become a serious saliva-swapping problem.

Remember in 1963 when The Beatles released their smash hit, “I Want To Hold Your Hand”? Well, I don’t. Mostly because my birth occured a good 30 years later; regardless, back then, a simple gesture of interlacing fingers with another person was a perfectly sufficient display of affection. Today, however, we need to do everything bigger and better.

Today, a vast portion of music seems devoted to dissecting sexual exploits with profanity that would make John, Paul, George and Ringo cringe.

Fueled by the darker side of pop culture, America has produced a generation that seems to think that happiness must be flaunted in order for it to be concrete. Determined to find approval from others, people seem to neglect the fact that true happiness takes root internally first. With a “let’s see who’s watching” mentality, many overexcited couples have this illusion that by publicly groping each other, they are impressing a slightly horrified group of bystanders.

Eh, not quite.

At 5’ 1’’, maneuvering the already crowded halls isn’t exactly an easy task (for the not vertically-challenged, imagine your 5-year-old self weaving your way through the crowds at Austin City Limits). But uncomfortable

encounters with too-amorous couples make the great pilgrimage from one class to another even worse. I, much too frequently, will accidentally slam into two lovebirds who decided that in the middle of a huge throng of people was the proper time to stop for a five minute embrace, or I am nearly elbowed in the eye by a girl who refuses to let go of her boyfriend’s hand as they walk up the packed staircase to the library. And don’t get me started on the band kids.

People — more specifically sexually-frustrated, hormonefilled teens — need to understand that while the physical components of a relationship are important, not everyone wants to see how skilled you are at sucking another person’s face. Affections don’t have to be so vividly displayed for them to be genuine. So put your hands where I can see them, surrender your spit and step away from your partner. Let’s be honest, no one wants to see that.

—Hillary Hurst

“Not everyone wants to see how skilled you are at sucking another person’s face.”

What to do when encountering an overzealous couple Option One:

Option Two:

A swift and silent drop-kick to the kneecaps.

For you Northfacers, blow your backpack whistle sharply three times in order to warn the surrounding crowd of impending danger.

No hesitation.

Option Three:

For those of you without backpack whistles, resort to the classic point-and-stare technique.

Let all of the expression drain from your face as you utilize this timeless method of intimidation.

Emily Mitchell

What kind of

flirt 4

1

You see your crush in the hallway and you… a. Smile and say hi. b. Flash your pearly whites and give ‘em a wink. c. Avoid eye contact, mumble under your breath and scurry away quickly like a little bunny rabbit avoiding its predator. d. Discretely take a picture of him/her with your phone.

2.

In an attempt to make conversation with your crush you whip out your phone and text him/her... a. “Do you remember what the homework was in Statistics?” b. “Hey hot stuff! Saw you at school today ;)” c. Nothing. d. Five times and cry when he/she doesn’t respond for over an hour.

3

a. Ignore them and keep walking. b. Ditch your mom and shop with them. c. Smile and wave, but they already turned away, so you are waving at no one. d. Hide behind a rack of clothes and follow them to the next store.

5

You are working the concessions at a football game and you see your crush waiting in line. You… a. Stay in the back, making the warm hot cocoa filled with marshmallows. b. Tell him/her, “It’s on me.” c. Spill chili dog all over yourself, attracting more attention than you would ever want. d. Spill a drink on your crush, apologize profusely, wipe him/her off and apologize again.

Hallelujah! Thank the teacher for putting you and your crush together for a project. Once you sit down you…

6

you?

You run into your crush at the hair salon. You… a. Smile and go about your business. b. Go up to him/her and pet their hair, telling them it looks good. c. See them and decide to get your hair cut another day. d. Pick up the leftover hair and make a shrine in your closet.

It’s yearbook signing time. You sign your crush’s yearbook… a. “Have a great summer!” b. “Are you Jamaican? Cause you’re Jamaican me crazy. xoxo” c. “Call me… or not.” d. Revealing all of your deepest feelings, then don’t put your name at the end.

art by Emily Mitchell

Your mom decides to take you shopping at the mall. Your crush walks by with all of his/her friends. You…

are

a. Plan a coffee date to discuss the project. b. Scooch your desks closer together. c. Try to play it cool, but end up laughing at everything your partner says. d. Say y’all can meet at his/her house because you already know where it is… even though you were never told.

7

8.

You are at a holiday party, and you find yourself under the mistletoe with your crush. You… a. Give a peck on the cheek. b. Plant one on him/her. c. Stumble on your words and talk about maintaining traditions. d. Watch your plan unfold. You were obviously the one who put the mistletoe there.

Sweet and Innocent (mostly As)

Awkward (mostly Cs)

You are on the right track. Your sweet and not-too-bold ways show people how nice you are, but to be noticed by the special someone you may need to be a bit more aggressive. But don’t lose your charm!

It’s sad to say, but you have no chance. Unless you can pull it together and practice your social skills, you will live a life alone with your 20 cats, coming out of the house only to fetch the newspaper.

Red Hot (mostly Bs)

Stalker (mostly Ds)

Cancel the wedding plans. If he/she is not reciprocating to the intensity that you are, odds are that it won’t work out. You may think you are a hot tamale, but your “smooth” ways can sometimes be too much to handle.

Take a week off and mind your own business. Your crushing may come off as a bit creepy to most, and despite what you think, your crush does notice. Unless you plan to spend your free time in court discussing your pending restraining order, you should find a new hobby.

—Hannah Kunz

{ westlakefeatherduster.com } trends + traditions 47

How an old lady came into my life, shaped my perspective on religion, tolerance

AlittleblueBible “Excuse me honey, but have you been saved?”

Fresh from Sunday school at Dayspring Baptist Church right smack in the middle of the town’s Bible Belt, this 80-something-year-old grandmother’s last goal in her life was one thing and one thing only — to spread the word of God. A little blue Bible in hand and her own saved soul on her sleeve, she came into my life in the stands at a horse show deep in the heart of Waco, Texas.

“If you repeat after me this verse from my Bible and accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, you will find a place in the glorious kingdom of Heaven and will be saved from the depths of Hell.”

Oh my God. I have grown up decorating Christmas trees, dyeing Easter eggs and thanking the good Lord every time the Texas Longhorns win a football game, but never had I been asked that question.

Was I saved?

I was raised a Christian, but I had some different opinions. My beliefs just weren’t fully developed. Every year during Thanksgiving, while my Texas twang cousins and great aunts would openly discuss how Harry Potter was an abomination over a game of Spades, I would sit far away at the kiddie table, eating my turkey and gravy while secretly reading the very book they thought would bewitch me. We just didn’t quite see eye to eye.

Being surrounded by friends and family of different religious affiliations or disbeliefs, I couldn’t find a right answer. What makes that little old lady from Waco, Texas or my cousins and great aunts right or wrong? What makes my own beliefs right or wrong?

If you can recall from history and current events, it is a fact that wars are generally fought over power and religion. During a trip to Scotland this summer, I learned of a Protestant reformer named Patrick Hamilton who was charged as a heretic and was therefore burned at the stake. His sentence was carried out in front of St Salvator’s

Hannah Kunz

Chapel in St Andrews where he burned for six hours on Feb. 29, 1528.

His last words were, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”

As I stood on the very spot where he perished in front of the chapel, I found it appalling that people would kill for their religion, yet I couldn’t fathom anything more honorable than dying for your beliefs when they are different from others.

Religion and politics were quite touchy in history and continue to be. Religious tolerance has expanded across the globe, and people aren’t just burned at the stake like Patrick Hamilton was. However, people are continuously judged and in many cases harmed for their religion or lack thereof. I have overheard, “I don’t feel comfortable around them because they are such Jesus freaks,” or even, “How do Jewish people cope with not celebrating Christmas?”

It is incredibly important to have the freedom to believe in what you want because in the end, we are all different. To me, there is nothing that makes one religion more accurate than the other or a single religion that determines if you have good or bad character. Tolerance is the answer, as well as the willingness to have a respectable disposition in order to create serenity in the world. With this mindset, that is all the saving that I will ever need.

I have the utmost respect for the old Baptist lady who wanted to share the word of the Lord with me. I admire the fact that she had so much faith and passion. I may not share her exact beliefs, but she certainly helped me establish my own.

Before walking away, she gave me the little blue Bible she had in the palm of her hand and told me to keep it to reference to as a guide to a better life of faith and love. To this day, it sits on my bookshelf, reminding me of that day at that horse show in Waco, Texas when that 80-something-year-old lady asked me that simple question, giving me my own perspective on religion. In a way, I was saved.

—Caroline Hunt

School of thought Senior tells upperclassmen to calm the heck down I’m tired of it. Deadlines, essays, recommendations, GPAs. It’s all I’ve heard this past semester. I know that with the arrival of spring semester and the greatly-anticipated influx of acceptance (or God forbid, rejection) letters, it will only get worse. We as upperclassmen, have been afflicted with a seriously unnecessary condition I like to call “oh-my-goodness-I’m-going-to-graduate-soon-so-I-need-toobsess-about-college-itis.”

It all started when we received a copy of our transcripts in our sophomore conferences. Before that fateful day in February, we were ignorantly blissful. Sure, we cared about grades, but we were more relaxed. After sophomore conferences, it became real — college was coming, whether we liked it or not.

Here at Westlake, the bar is set as high as it goes. Taking five AP classes, juggling a half dozen extracurricular activities and holding down a part time job isn’t uncommon for some students. We struggle, work and stress for four straight years. Our social lives and sleep patterns take beatings, and I’ve started wondering: what’s the point? Why do we subject ourselves to these pressures, just to get into top colleges?

If asked to define a “top college,” many Westlake students would list UT, Vanderbilt, Stanford, etc. But is that really the extent of a good college education? How much will it matter if we attend a large state school in the South, or a small liberal arts college in the Northeast?

How do we know what we want in a school? Does the location really matter? The size? The traditions? Think about it: we’ve never been to college, so how do we know what we want in a school?

How do we know that the specific school even matters? Does going to a prestigious school really give you an automatic head-start in your career? Is going to Harvard over a lesser university going to guarantee

your success after graduation? One of my dad’s classmates in high school received incredibly average grades, attended the hypothetical “Lesser University” (not even a state university, but one named for and located in a small Midwestern city). He graduated from that school with even more incredibly average grades, but was a great people-person and got a job as a salesman. Thirty years later, he worked his way up the corporate ladder and became CEO of a Fortune 500 Company.

My dad graduated near the top of his high school class, received honors at one of the best liberal arts colleges in the country and, well, that car parked in our driveway starting with the letter “f” is a Ford, not a Ferrari.

We have become so wrapped up in getting the best grades that we’ve forgotten that there is so much more to school than textbooks.

The skills that will help us later in life: creativity, problem solving and the ability to work with others have been overshadowed by getting the best SAT score or getting a five on the AP test. We’re starting to forget why we’re even here in the first place.

So to all of you juniors out there, relax. Just keep your grades up, stick with whatever extracurricular activities you enjoy and remember to let loose and have fun every once in a while.

And to all of my fellow seniors: this is your sitcom-esque “snap out of it” slap in the face. Take a deep breath. If you’re an organized, diligent individual, unlike me, all of your applications have been submitted. Congratulations, the worst is over. Your letters will come in a few months, most likely bearing excellent news. So until then, relax. Stay out late on a school night. Take a spontaneous weekend trip. In less than a week, we’ll finally be second-semester seniors.

—Emily Cohen

Emily Mitchell and Brad Dunn

{ westlakefeatherduster.com }

rants + raves

49

e h ALL-OUT,

T

right

left,

vs.

MY-WORD-AGAINST-YOURS

OPINIONS

ON

THE ISSUE OF

LEGALIZATION O R P

MARI

JUAN

H T A E D Y T L A PEN

ab

A

CON

or tio n

ABORTION CON

An illegal abortion was arranged in 1959. The father of the child’s mother brought the young lady to the doctor that was going to do the procedure. Moments before the abortion was going to happen, the young lady changed her mind. That day three lives were saved, including my own.

I believe life starts at conception. When a woman becomes pregnant, she’s not just kind-of pregnant, she’s pregnant. It takes only 21 days for an embryo’s heart to begin beating. At the moment of conception, the unique framework of the baby is already laid out. That means your hair color, eye color, the color of your skin – everything is determined the second an egg is fertilized.

Since the 1973 passage of Roe v. Wade, the court case legalizing abortion in the U.S., the numbers have been reported as anywhere between 35 and 50 million babies have been aborted. The number is hard to pin down due to privacy laws, but since it is estimated that about 4,000 abortions occur daily, multiply that by 365 days, times 38 years – that equals 55,480,000 abortions since abortion has been legalized.

That’s 55,480,000 too many.

Women have a choice to do what they want with their bodies, but at the point of conception, it is no longer the woman’s body, it’s the child’s. If murder is defined as killing another human being, how is taking away the right to live of someone who cannot choose not classified under this?

One defense of pro-choice is in cases of sexual assault and incest. Even though cases of pregnancy due to sexual assault are rare, and cases of incest are even rarer, I do acknowledge that in those cases the woman should not be held accountable for carrying a child. But for a woman who has been through a traumatic event, I don’t believe it is fair to solve a pregnancy due to crime with another crime. After a woman is a victim of a crime, I don’t believe the woman should be left with the guilt of an abortion but rather with the fact that the baby was adopted into a family that would give it the care he need.

Many see outlawing abortion as a step backwards in the progress of women’s rights. But this is a social issue involving the death of 50 million and more babies’ right to life being taken away in the last 38 years. I believe the government should take steps to control the number of abortions conducted each year because the numbers are too high.

Adoption is the best alternative to abortion. Many women choose abortion because they don’t believe they will be able to take care of the child. But the U.S. has numerous adoption agencies and families looking to adopt. I am living proof that alternative options to abortion work. My mother was adopted into a loving family after being within minutes of losing her right to life. That means my brother or I would never have been born. Every child has the right to live.

—Danielle Brown

Source: abortionfacts.com About 3,700 people get abortions every day in the U.S. Whether we are pro-life or pro-choice, I think we can all agree that this number is too high. Some of us believe that this number shouldn’t exist; that the choice for abortion should be illegal. Those pro-life argue that abortion is unethical and murderous. However, these 3,700 abortions are not murders. In the first few weeks of pregnancy, there is no brain in the fetus. A person needs a brain to be a person. Our brains are the headquarters of our entire beings.

Without a brain, we are not people. Therefore, a fetus, in the period where abortion is an option, is not a person yet.

It’s simple, I know. But it’s the truth. Scientifically speaking, early abortion is not murder.

We should not argue on whether or not abortion should be legal. It is a right. We should all have the freedom to do whatever we want with our bodies. With the fact that a pregnant woman does not harbor a home for a person but rather a not-quite-yet-human embryo during her first seven weeks of pregnancy, we can safely say that what we do to our bodies, within the first seven weeks of pregnancy, is our right.

Still, we could do without it. We could do without the statistic that approximately one-third of women will have at least an abortion before age 45. It’s unsettling that so many people choose abortion. That 18 percent of all abortions are from teenage pregnancies and that 42 percent of abortions are accounted for by women who have incomes below the national poverty level (guttmacher.org).

We can’t get rid of abortion. That would be taking away a huge freedom for women. What we can do is lessen the number of abortions people get. Women who get abortions do not do it coldheartedly. It is a big decision that impacts their life. Most women who get abortions do so because they feel that they cannot care for their child and are unaware, untrusting or absent of the childcare resources. This can be changed through an increase in child care services, child support and easier adoption processes.

Whatever we choose in the end, women will still do what they think is right. Making abortion illegal will not stop women from making the choice—they will still get abortions, and those abortions will be less sanitary and unsafe. We will see an increase in the numbers of selfinduced abortions and back-alley abortion clinics. We’ll see the death toll rise from illegal abortions, bringing us back to the 1980s, when the number of deaths due to abortion were at their highest. If we make abortion illegal, we will find that the progress we’ve made will be erased and history will repeat itself.

The numbers are too high. But what kind of America would we be if there were no numbers at all? We would be deprived of a right that we are entitled to. The most we can do is lower the numbers by making recourses seem more available. Rates wouldn’t be so high if women didn’t feel like abortion was their only option.

—Monica Tan

PRO

Source: abortionno.org 51

DEATH PENALTY PRO

CON Emily Mitchell

The death penalty has long been in existence, and it has always been controversial. Opponents of the death penalty say that it is inhumane; however, I disagree, and see it as a fair solution.

The bottom line is this: murderers are the only ones who deserve the death penalty. If the murderer stays alive, he is allowed to live in jail for the rest of his life, while the taxpayers pay for his meals, shelter and health care. That’s not fair to the victims, the victims’ families and the taxpayers.

A high execution rate keeps prison populations in check. For example, California has not executed anyone since 2006 and has only executed 13 people since 1976 due to opposition to the death penalty. Because of this low number, they are having major issues with overcrowding in their prisons, specifically on death row. For example, in San Quentin State Prison in California, which houses the death row facility for all males condemned to death in the state, inmate violence has increased as a direct result of overcrowding, putting inmates and guards in danger.

Furthermore, executing a criminal would save the public $47,000 a year in living expenses. For states in debt, that is a lot of money.

The death penalty also decreases crime rates. For example, from 1972 to 1992, there were no executions in California. During this period, homicides per year rose from nearly 1,642 in 1971 to 3,859 in 1992. In addition, the number of sexual assaults increased from 7,300 in 1971 to nearly 13,000 in 1991. However, in the years following the reinstatement of the death penalty, crime rates dropped dramatically.

The state of Texas accounts for nearly half of all executions in the United States. As of Jan. 1, 2011, Texas had 318 inmates on Death Row, down from 455 in 2004. From 2000-2009, Texas executed 248 prisoners, which was more than any other state. During this period, Texas averaged 1357 homicides a year. Compare that to the decade from 1980-1989, where Texas executed 33 criminals, while homicides totaled 2204 a year.

By executing one who has committed a violent crime, it brings closure to the families of the victim, because after all, in a matter of crime, people seek justice. Many families push for the death penalty to bring justice on behalf of the victims because they believe that since their loved one has been killed, it is only fair for the aggressor to be killed. I believe this as well. Someone should not be able to take a life and not face any punishment besides prison. After all, these criminals have committed the most heinous of offences. Isn’t it fair to take their lives away as punishment?

I believe the death penalty should be a punishment for murder.

As the statistics show, when a state is enforcing capital punishment, violent crime rates drop dramatically. It also gives the victim’s family closure after having to cope with their loss.

Put yourself in the victim’s family’s shoes. How would you feel if someone close to you was murdered and the perpetrator was allowed to continue living?

—Jacob Prothro

Sources: deathpenaltyinfo.org

latimes.com

lao.ca.gov

The theory behind the death penalty is simple: if you commit first degree murder then you should be killed in a humane and justified fashion. Yet, half the nation is up in storms about how barbaric and unconstitutional the penalty is. The other half argues that the death penalty will bring down murder and other crimes worthy of capital punishment, clearing the streets of felons and killers. Results have shown no assurance that the murder rate decreases upon implementation. It hasn’t shown that it always and correctly convicts the guilty party with no regards to how much money they have, their race or the influence they have. The only aspect the death penalty has shown us, in reality, is how unconstitutional, immoral and impractical it is.

As effective and precise as the judicial system can be, the simple truth is that it makes human mistakes and has been accused of executing innocent people. In 2004, Cameron Willingham was executed after he was found guilty of arson by setting fire to his own house and killing his three daughters. An investigative team later that year revealed they found no evidence that Willingham was responsible for the fire. When a potentially innocent man is put to death, there is obviously a flaw with the system. Carlos De Luna was put to death in 1989 for killing a convenience store clerk. Seventeen years later, the Chicago Tribune released an article claiming that another man named Carlos Hernandez was heard bragging about how he got away with murder and how they executed the wrong man. A detective in Corpus Christi, where the murder took place, said in an interview that the investigative team assigned to the case was sloppy and that the detectives didn’t check out the tips on Hernandez.

The argument that the penalty will decrease the Texas-Mexico border turf war killings is questionable as well. It’s extremely illogical to make the assumption that a group which is surrounded by death literally every day, either from gang rivals or the threat of being killed for their drug supply, would be afraid of lethal injection. According to the New York Times, statistics have shown that states with the death penalty have either the same or more murders per year per capita than without. The reason is because a very small amount of people commit murder thinking they’re going to get caught. There is only a slightly smaller percentage of murders in states with no death penalty, but the fact that it hasn’t significantly deterred murders invalidates the intimidation aspect. So, why waste tax money and put people’s lives at risk for something that hasn’t been effective in decreasing murder rates?

Some try to make the argument that the “eye for an eye” technique is morally right solely based on the fact that it’s present in the Bible, but the Bible doesn’t factor in America’s present problems or that our court system isn’t perfect and sometimes makes crucial mistakes. On a topic that’s so important, I don’t believe that it’s right to allow our government to be responsible for determining life and death with a chance of error; I can’t see who would.

—Jared Schroeder

Sources: mnn.com

commondreams.org

nytimes.com

MARIJUANA

America might be a free country, but there are laws that we have to follow to keep our bodies, families and lives safe. Laws prohibiting marijuana are there for the same reasons as those against murder and abuse — for our protection.

If someone at a party asked you to inhale hundreds of chemicals, you would probably say no. But according to teen.drugabuse.gov, marijuana contains more than 400 chemicals, one of which is tetrahydrocannabinol, also known as THC. THC affects the parts of the brain that control memory, coordination and learning abilities. Regular users of marijuana would have difficulty studying and their favorite sports would become harder to play. Users of marijuana are also at a higher risk for depression, suicidal thoughts, anxiety attacks and paranoia.

I agree that marijuana is a “gateway drug.” Someone who has used marijuana and enjoys the high is more likely to be tempted to try hard drugs such as cocaine and heroin. These can permanently damage your body and the odds of escaping addiction to them are slim. If marijuana is widely available, it could potentially increase the use of hard drugs.

According to balancedpolitics.org, the same way secondhand cigarette smoke can harm the lungs of people who aren’t smoking, secondhand smoke from marijuana can hurt others. Even if smoking marijuana was banned from places such as theatres and restaurants, people could still inhale it from those using it on the street or in a park. Then it’s not only the smoker who is being hurt, but also the bystanders.

One might argue that marijuana can be used for medicinal purposes, such as treating cancer patients. But just because it’s a medicine

doesn’t mean it’s safe for regular use. Doctors don’t hand out Vicodin or other pills like candy, and marijuana would be no exception. In fact, according to well. com, marijuana smoke contains more cancer-causing chemicals than tobacco smoke.

The U.S. government could earn revenue from taxes on marijuana, but this is still no reason to legalize the drug. Just because it means making some cash doesn’t mean it’s morally correct. Legalization would make it more available for younger generations and would jeopardize their health. By making money off of this, wouldn’t that make the government a drug dealer?

Millions of dollars have been spent on programs trying to convince kids and teenagers not to try drugs. If marijuana were suddenly legalized, this would be sending the wrong message to our generation by saying that some drugs are okay. Allowing marijuana could reverse any progress made turning kids off of drugs.

Being stoned gives a similar affect to being drunk. If you were to get in a car to drive while high, chances are you would slam into someone. Then, you might’ve sacrificed your life or the other person you hit just for a buzz.

Marijuana might give a little high for a short amount of time, but then it’s over. Nothing has changed. Instead of smoking a joint, people should try going to a movie with friends, or find a hobby, or do something fun and constructive that gives them real joy and doesn’t damage their body or academic and social life. And with all the problems in the world, legalizing a drug should be the least of our worries.

—Sara Phillips

Marijuana has a bad reputation. It’s believed to cause death and lead to usage of other drugs. But does it?

Recent studies say no. In fact, pot can help in terms of medicine and the economy.

Marijuana contains the substance tetrahydrocannabinol which gives you the effect of feeling “high,” but also helps to treat symptoms such as vomiting and nausea, which are associated with medical conditions such as cancer and glaucoma. Glaucoma is a disease in which there is too much pressure on the eye. Smoking marijuana reduces this pressure. When marijuana is used, it relieves pain, so it can be prescribed as a pain-killer by doctors.

According to Maja Fiket from Livestrong.com, one of the ways marijuana helps treat cancer is that cannabidiols (low-toxicity cannabinoids) could slow the growth of aggressive human breast cancer cells. When paired with THC, the cannabidiols could also slow the growth of glioblastoma which is a very aggressive brain tumor cell.

In terms of addiction, cigarettes have a 90 percent addiction rate, while marijuana’s addiction rate is even less than that of coffee. Most chain smokers smoke a pack a day, while a pot smoker would smoke just one joint a day and then usually quit later on in life.

When it comes down to lethal effects of marijuana, it would take more than 800 joints to kill a person. Not because of the THC in marijuana, but carbon monoxide poisoning. Also, studies have shown that smoking marijuana, even heavily, does not increase your risk of lung cancer — less smoke enters your lungs than when you smoke tobacco (Sydney S. The British Medical Journal).

Moreover, some of the legal substances that people take daily kill more people annually than illegal substances do. Year round, 85,000 people die from the use of alcohol, 18,675 from prescription drugs,

5,800 from caffeine and 7,600 from aspirin/ibuprofen.

Of the illegal substances; 2,390 people die yearly from cocaine, 2,147 from heroin and from marijuana — zero (Hailmaryjane.com).

Legalizing pot would help improve the economy in the state that legalized it. Once legal, marijuana would add a completely new industry to the working world.

These new businesses would need to have farms that grow pot and laborers to work on those farms, thus creating more jobs. Also, there would be fewer law problems as the authorities wouldn’t be working as hard to catch marijuana dealers and users.

Sixteen states have already legalized marijuana, but only for medicinal purposes. One of these states is California. Since California passed Proposition 215 in 1996, marijuana has become the biggest cash crop for that state, bringing in $14 billion a year in sales. Alison Stateman from TIME magazine said, “California’s tax collectors estimate that the bill will produce about $1.3 billion per year in revenue, offsetting some of the billions of dollars in service cuts and spending reductions outlined in the recently approved state budget.”

Marijuana should be legalized with the intention that it would be used in moderation. Alcohol, tobacco and prescription drugs are being abused and people are dying from them, but people using those substances responsibly experience limited effects. Why shouldn’t marijuana be treated the same way? Some resources say that marijuana shouldn’t be legalized because of how people abuse other substances, completely ignoring the population that safely uses them. Even if it doesn’t become legalized for everyone, it needs to be legalized at least for medicinal purposes in all states.

—Michael Deisher

CON

PRO

53

A week in the dark Sophomores attempt halfheartedly to give up technology for a week We, sophomores Ben Wallace and Andy Brown, are admitted screen addicts. Often, we check our phones, not to see if anybody has texted us (because usually nobody has), but just to feel the caressing light of the screen on our eyes. Our weekends consist of sitting on our couches moving at the speed of morphine-addicted sloths as we’re drawn into the inviting monotony of daytime television. We spend countless hours rotting our brains to mush on computers, iPods and, of course, iPads. But we can’t help it—it’s what we’ve grown up with.

Screens are everywhere in this age of technology. Playing pointless games on iPads (for educational purposes, of course), texting mindless mental diarrhea to friends, and hitting refresh on Facebook (if you have absolutely no life) have become integral parts of everyday life. The amount of time we spend using screens is astounding, as is the amount of sleep or studying time we lose.

So that begs the question: what would it be like to abstain from screen use for a whole school week? Being the spontaneous, audacious men we are, we decided to give it a try. No iPods, iPads, Internet, video games or texting for five days. Challenge accepted.

photos by Karen Sco

Andy: MONDAY: I’m screen-free! This “challenge” almost feels too easy. It’s amazing how many other ways there are to kill time, such as actually talking to people. I never realized how much screens blocked me off from possible conversations. I mean, I used to talk with my boyfriend on TopGirl all the time, but it’s just not the same (even if he is a male nurse.) I feel like a Neanderthal who’s ventured out of his cave for the first time into the bright, illuminated world.

TUESDAY: Today wasn’t bad, either, but there’s definitely a noticeable void.

I finished my math homework early in eighth period, but all I could do was stare longingly out the window, praying for the minute hand on the clock to pick up the pace. But on the bright side, I awoke this morning feeling like Rip Van Winkle. It’s an amazing new experience, this sleeping thing. Maybe I should try it more often. It’s incredible how much and how quickly homework gets done without the tempting Facebook notification number singing you its insidious Siren song through a screen.

WEDNESDAY: I’m starting to get sick of this. I can live without the Internet, but I haven’t listened to my iPod for two days. I can’t really tolerate complete silence. It got so unbearable today that I literally whistled every song I could think of to myself as I did my homework. That got annoying fast. Still, I feel even better rested today than I did yesterday. So most classroom discussions don’t seem as dull as usual. Now that I’m awake enough to participate, time seems to fly faster. I’m halfway done. Just two more days…

THURSDAY: This has been the worst day so far. I’m really sick of spending dead time at school plucking loose threads from my backpack and examining the undersides of my fingernails. I want so badly just to slash one fruit…or maybe five in one swipe for double points. I long for the joy of that glorious moment when all three bananas have been sliced within seconds of each other. I can’t imagine how much my skills have declined since I last stepped into the Fruit Dojo. Wait…what am I saying? My addiction may be worse than I thought.

FRIDAY: I fully expected myself to be pulling my hair out in anticipation of my liberation from this prison of darkness, but I’m calm.

Would you blame me after what I’ve been through? I haven’t checked up on the penguins on PocketPenguin in forever, and I’m sure I’ve missed a silly viral video that would’ve forever changed the way I look at kittens. Without the distraction of a screen, every second of the day seems to drag. I click on the TV — just for a moment. I sigh deeply in relief, then click it right off. The old me would’ve watched it for hours, but I just don’t feel like it. Come to think of it, I think I’m going to call it a night. It’s good to be back.

—Andy Brown

Ben: MONDAY: This is surprisingly easy. I kind of like going totally off the grid.

It’s relaxing. Sure I have to stifle the immediate reaction to whip out my phone when I need to check the time, but overall, this isn’t all that bad. I feel so…manly. I’m like Bear Grylls, eating bugs and drinking my own pee. I’m taking notes with a pencil and paper, taking walks instead of watching TV and paying a lot more attention in class when the instant satisfaction of Gravity Guy isn’t tempting me from its home in my pocket. I have the willpower of a nun.

TUESDAY: My willpower is nothing. I am so bored. What did people do in the days before tiny circuit boards and retina LED graphics? Watch paint dry? Watch grass grow? Watch painted grass simultaneously dry and grow? Dare I say read? I thought that this little experiment would actually raise my grades, because I would be paying more attention in class. This is not the case.

Today I spent all of Spanish class staring off into space, lusting for electronic joy. I halfheartedly took notes on a sheet of looseleaf. I proceeded to leave that sheet of notes at school, probably to be picked up by a custodian. We have a quiz tomorrow.

WEDNESDAY: I feel like a heroin addict. I need my fix of technology. Will someone please inject a healthy serving of something, anything that beeps and lights up, into one of my arteries? Or are they veins? Maybe I’ll Google it. Oh, wait. Screw it, I’m cheating. I’m going to log onto the Internet, look up my medical quandary and log off. And maybe I’ll just check Facebook for a little bit.

And by a little bit, I of course mean a solid 45 minutes. The Internet is a devilish temptress.

THURSDAY: I got a 48 on my Spanish quiz. Thanks a lot paper. This would have never happened if I had an iPad to take notes on. This is terrible. To make things worse, with no TV, my entertainment outlets have become extremely limited. I kid you not; I played solitaire for an hour and a half today. As I sat there, looking at my useless cards, I realized that maybe, just maybe, giving up technology has increased the amount I use my impatient little brain. Maybe by taking time and enjoying the little things is actually a more satisfying way to live. Then I cheated and played Tiny Wings.

FRIDAY: Cheated again today. I played a marathon session of Tiger Woods PGA Tour in math. If nothing else, this experiment made me realize how utterly pathetic I am. I have been whipped by technology. I am its lowly, loyal servant. But in return for my obedience, I am rewarded with sweet, sweet instant gratification. I feel normal again. My eyes are now relaxed and glazed over, my heart rate and mental functions have returned to their comatose state, and my body is now comfortably numb.

Thank God. —Ben Wallace

{ westlakefeatherduster.com }

rants + raves

55

Back in style

Backpacks come in many different shapes and styles. From rolly backpacks to satchels, there are so many kinds, it’s ridiculous. And not just different kinds of backpacks, but how you wear them, too. Some even say that your style says something about you. We are those people. Here’s a little list of the most popular.

Enjoy. Or not. Your choice. —Madi Goll and Tanner Thompson L O L R ST E E CO A T HE R R> Description: Buckle up for safety. Clip yourself in, so your Description: It’s a backpack. With wheels. backpack won’t ever fall off. That whistle attached to your Although, we don’t know why it has wheels... buckle is a necessity, just in case you get jumped in the halls of Westlake.

What it says about you: Your backpack doubles as a suitcase and you take advantage of that fact.

What it says about you: You aspire to be an astronaut.

You also probably roll to class from all the way You probably have your watch synchronized to the across campus and are still the first person there. school bells. Soar high, jetpacker.

Photos by Tanner Thompson

Description: It’s a satchel — manly, right? I mean c’mon, Indiana Jones wears one.

Description: Backpack? More like frontpack.

What it says about you: Backpacks are meant to be easily accessed, on your front...at least according to you. You live every day like it’s Opposite Day. We wouldn’t be surprised if your clothes are on backwards, too.

What it says about you: “The British are coming! The British are coming!” Deliver any messages lately? You are probably very well-known at your local Starbucks, or maybe Daily Juice if the former is too mainstream for you.

< Description: “Hey, the detective just called, he wants his hunch back.” Ride the backpack elevator all the way to the top. Carrying heavy things is not a problem for you.

What it says about you: Are you from Notre Dame?

Description: Not too low, not too high. This is the Goldilocks of backpacks.

What it says about you: You keep it simple and straight forward. No funny business. The word “flashy” is not in your vocabulary, because how you wear your backpack (in your opinion) doesn’t display your personality.

> < The I-Never-Wanna-Grow-Up Backpack Description: Backpack on one shoulder. Whatever.

What it says about you: You got swag and you know it. You don’t have time to put on the other strap because you have things to do. Important things.

Description: Whether it’s Disney Princesses or Superheroes, you showcase your inner 5-yearold via your “fun-sized” backpack. Seriously, how do you keep all your things in there?

What it says about you: Obviously, you never want to grow up. You will be a Michael-Scotttype businessman later in life, and will probably be on a gameshow at some point.

Models: Junior Charlie Schwan, junior Spencer Flynn, freshman Bear Thompson, sophomore Rebecca Prideaux, junior Tate Bowden and junior Monica Bushong.

Senior finds inner warrior princess in:

t s o alm

^

Not again. I tensed up, waiting for the inevitable, knowing that I couldn’t escape this situation. It happens every time.

“Your name’s Zelda? So your parents must be real gamers, huh?”

And there it is, the burden I must forever live with: my name.

No, my parents weren’t gamers. My dad can’t even figure out which remote to use on the TV. Let me tell you the real story. I was named after a dog. A poodle, to be exact.

For years, my parents attempted to hide the truth from me, claiming my namesake was actually my grandma Selma. This is what my mom always told me, her eyes welling up with emotion: one day, as my parents laid on the bed, about to fall asleep, my mom turned to my dad and said, “Do you want to name her Zelda?” And that was it.

Of course that’s not really the whole story.

My dad had a dog named Zelda. He loved the dog, my mom loved the dog… everybody just loved that dog. So what was the most logical thing to do? Name their kid Zelda, too. In fact, my dad always used to say that raising a kid is just like raising a dog. Which probably explains a lot about my upbringing.

I guess I was destined to have my name follow me. Literally. I hear my name everywhere. It’s especially frustrating in class, when the sound of my name pulls me out of my concentration. Thinking someone’s trying to catch my attention, I turn around.

“Oh, not you, Zelda. We were just talking about the game.” This happens at least once a week.

And here is the saddest truth of them all: I am a disappointment to my name. I know nothing of the warrior princess they speak of, and I probably never will.

Whenever people meet me, especially if they are males age 5-45, they immediately assume that I must be a huge gamer and that we speak the same language. However, when they discover I’m not some sort of gaming expert...well, game over. Friendship terminated. To them, I am just a name. They think I am supposed to be a warrior princess. But I’m not.

When I visited my sister in Pittsburgh a couple years ago, her friend, appalled by my lack of gaming experience, offered to show me one of “my” video games. Of course, I was excited to finally put my thumbs to the test and unleash my hidden talents. This was my chance.

This was my quest. This was my opportunity to find my inner warrior princess… Alas, this failed.

Believe me, I tried. For a good hour, I tried. What do those buttons even do, anyway? When I mashed them down in various combinations, my character would just get on and off the stupid horse. I couldn’t even get past the first task. What’s supposed to take any normal person 10 minutes (and for any respectable gamer, five) frustrated me for 60 excruciating minutes.

I’m not an expert on The Legend of Zelda, and after my single attempt, I don’t see myself becoming one in the near future. And I’m definitely not a warrior princess, at least not the pixilated kind. I realize now that I don’t have to be. My name will always be a part of who I am, and it no longer frustrates or confines me. Instead, I embrace my name, knowing that I can be my own warrior princess. I am more than just a name. I am me. I am Zelda. And figuring that out was the ultimate quest. The constant questions about my name no longer bother me. After all, with great power comes great responsibility.

—Zelda Mayer

Claude Barker

57

Frequent dental patient survives traumatizing experience, finds humor in situation

A

I

dent

in her day

I learned to laugh at myself the day I barfed on my dentist during a procedure. Poor Dr. Grimm was somewhat disgusted, and rightly so. I, on the other hand, started to chuckle.

The nitrous gas had gotten to me.

It had started out as a regular day. I woke up early for my 7 a.m. dental procedure (nothing I hadn’t done before) and decided not to eat so my teeth would be extra clean (which was a bad idea). I arrived at the dental office right on time, ready to spend the next hour in that cold plastic chair made out of the material that my sweaty hands always left marks on.

As I sat in the waiting room, my mind began to wander. I thought about my many past dentists. The one that stands out the most to me now is Dr. Necker from Central Family Dental — he takes the cake for the weirdest thanks to his unsettlingly long nose hair. You laugh, but I can vividly remember sitting in that chair looking up at those nose hairs as they evilly mocked me during Dr. Necker’s oh-so-gentle drill work.

Suddenly, a door opened. I shook the hairy flashback out of my head.

“Hirrah?”

I got up from my chair, wide-eyed and breathing rapidly, and followed a woman wearing teal scrubs and white tennis shoes. She looked at me with her rectangular-framed glasses and dark penciled-in eyebrows.

“Did you have a good breakfast this morning?”

I proceeded to tell her that no, I hadn’t, and she insisted that this would be a problem if I were to be on nitrous gas during the procedure.

Darn it.

They force-fed me crackers and juice, assuring me that it would “make my tummy feel better,” and I foolishly went along with it. I ate those crackers and I drank that juice.

Brad Dunn

Boy, what a mistake.

About 20 minutes into the procedure, I was havin’ a blast. Where had nitrous oxide been all my life? My toes swayed along with the jammin’ music coming from the swirly scene of rainbows and Christmas trees that formed in my head. Everything was great in Hirrah’s Happy Place, and all was well in Dr. Grimm’s dental office.

Until I felt something. I was too hypnotized by the nitrous to realize it, but this peculiar feeling was in fact nausea.

I made a colossal mess. A real massive one. They had to call in for a back-up nurse with crimson hair and thick eyeliner to help me out of the chair, (she was a little grossed out) take me to the bathroom, and clean up the smelly surprise I’d left in that little room. I, dizzy and giggly, was covered in icky-ness.

Since then, I’ve taken my trips to the dentist a little more lightly.

Though the thought of having Dr. Silvertooth (my current dentist — yes, that’s his real name) pick at my teeth with his sharp tools and mirror-on-a-stick strikes a little bit of fear into my heart, I have gotten a whole lot better at dealing with whatever the dental gods throw my way.

Fillings? Done.

Crowns? Oh yeah.

I’ve become a brute of a dental patient, a beast among commoners.

Come get me, any day, any time and I can power through an exam or surgery or fillings. I stay up brushing my teeth into the wee hours of the night, I floss like a maniac and I pour Listerine into my mouth like you do water. There is no stopping me. Ever.

Though I’m sure my extreme dental-hygiene habits won’t stop my teeth from inevitably decaying and creating more problems, I know I can catch whatever is thrown at me. Because I’ve seen it all in the dental world. I’ve seen it all.

—Hirrah Barlas

tuff Siri To Siri: Talk dirty to me.

Her reply: Compost, silt, pumice, gravel.

Siri knows everything. Without the 4S technology of Siri, we may forget what “dirty” really means. Using the power of the internet, Siri can come back with responses for even the most obscure and useless problems. What does an anteater look like? Siri knows. Is it possible to sneeze with your eyes open? Ask Siri. Can I milk my pet hamster? Just question Siri. In fact, how did we live without Siri? Hold on, let’s just ask her.

The GOP The Grand Old Party has been having a grand old time, if we may, this political season. The seemingly endless supply of candidates, the numerous debates, the head-to-head-to-head struggle to become a front-runner – at this point the Republicans have provided more entertainment than primetime TV. We’ve had many laughs together — like when the audience laughed at the mention of the death penalty, when Rick Perry forgot the third department he was planning to cut as President, when Michelle Bachman was, well, Michelle Bachman, and when Herman Cain referred to Nancy Pelosi as “Princess Nancy” amidst accusations of sexual harassment. Candidates have been going through a kiddy-coaster in the polls. One minute a candidate is up front by, like, 2 percent, just to fall back with the rest of the pack in a soft, gradual descending motion. But whoever makes it out front with the nomination in the end is going to have to get past the blunders already made. After the nominee is chosen, they’re going to have to run against President Obama’s money. Oops, we meant give President Obama a run for his money.

e

ike Only unlocking the left door All over the Westlake campus, a strange phenomenon occurs unique to our high school. For some reason, only the left most door is unlocked when you try to walk into the building. Not only is this perplexing, it is annoying. This is America! Every time you go to open a door, you automatically reach for the right side. This leaves us with a question: Why Westlake? Why?!? Why would the doors be locked in such a puzzling manner? If this is for security reasons, kids trying to funnel into the same door from opposite directions are a safety issue.

Are we part of some experiment and someone is checking the security cameras to see our choices?

We want to know. Please let us know.

OR UNLOCK THE DANG DOORS.

Christmas cookies

One night a year, countless families gather near the Christmas tree for a night filled with food, festivities and what we often call, “quality time” spent baking for good ‘ole St. Nick. But let’s be honest — we all know we’re in it for the cookies. The classic gingerbread man. Those slice-and-bake chocolate chips, the ones you don’t actually fully bake because they taste better that way. And probably the most epic batch of sugar cookies shaped like candy canes, ornaments and Rudolph. Hey, we all have our favorites — to each his own. Nevertheless, we’ll still try to avoid that awkward experience of getting caught with our collective hands in the cookie jar, robbing Santa of his only true compensation for filling millions of children’s lives with joy.

Because that’s just embarrassing.

art by Danielle Brown

59

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