Gaining From Gaming

Junior David Lopez plays Call of Duty Modern Warfare on his Play-Station 4. Lopez has been competitively playing Call of Duty for about eight months. He realized he was really good at the game around a year ago. Lopez loves the team he’s on and the feeling he gets when he wins with them. “I love the thrill of winning with my team. A well fought win is one of the best feelings,” Lopez said. (Photo by Allie Moore) GAMING FOR GOLD Junior David Lopez loves spending his time on gaming. He is not just doing it as a free-time hobby, but also does it to earn money

The clock hits 10 p.m. and the night begins. Call of Duty: Final Warfare is loaded on the screen, the controller is ready in his hand. He plays a few games with his team to warm up, and then the fun starts. “I love video games because it’s a way for me to go away from the real world and just have fun, just relax,” Lopez said.

Lopez has always loved gaming and played video games constantly, even before the job offer. The start of his job began two years ago while playing competitive games through an app called Game Battles. He and his teammates were racking up wins and an esports company took notice. A company called Rise Nation offered the team a job playing under them.

“I was so excited [when contacted] that I had all of the emotions,” Lopez said. “I was like, ‘Wow, I’m actually being seen now.’ It was a great feeling and it’s something that I think I will remember forever.”

His family was hesitant at first. Then once they realized it could be something cool and useful, his family gave full support. Lopez’s friends were excited for him and gave gracious amounts of support. “I was really happy for him,” Lopez’s friend Arth Patel said. “I was also trying to do the same thing and stuff but like I don’t know, I just kind of gave up on it. I just didn’t try, didn’t put my time into it. I was happy that he actually made it.”

Lopez loves his job. He has a great connection with his teammates despite not meeting in person. Lopez hopes to meet them in the coming future.

“I’ve played with them so much that I now know them personally,” Lopez said. “I’ve never been able to meet them in person which sucks, but we are doing that soon.”

The hardest part of his job is balancing everything in his life. Lopez has homework, friends, family, sports and clubs to contend with. He tries to find time for everything.

“Balancing school [is the hardest] because sometimes I play on school nights, balancing my social life, family. It’s a lot of balancing but it’s all worth it in the end,” Lopez said.

In the future, Lopez hopes to continue playing video games as a job to help him through college. He plans on becoming an aerospace engineer. If the gaming job begins to interfere with his day to day life or his future occupation, he has no qualms about quitting.

“I want to do this as something fun, but it also does earn me money and so I kind of want to do this in college,” Lopez said. “But I think as soon as it starts taking over, making my school work in college hard and not allowing me to do what I really want to pursue, I think then it’s time to call it quits.” by Sydney Ellison sydney.ellison55@gmail.com

MORE INFO Check out The Rise Nation’s website: bit.ly/NSrisenation

Music coming out in 2020 to keep an eye on (Content by Jack Cleveland) NEW YEAR, NEW MUSIC

The rap duo Run The Jewels, consisting of rapper Killa Mike and DJ El-P, returns this year to bring us the fourth album in their series of numbered Run The Jewels albums. Three years after they released the previous album in the series, it will be interesting to see how they change their style according to the currently popular styles of rap. The duo is also planning a tour to come with the release of this album. Run The Jewels 4 by Run The Jewels Release date: September 7, 2020

Dan Deacon is an electronic music artist out of Baltimore, MD. He is known to experiment with many different sounds and has numerous albums that span a multitude of styles and genres. The video for his song, “When I Was Done Dying”, created as a part of Adult Swim Off The Air does a great job to illustrate his art style. The animated video uses bright colors and mystifying visuals to nicely support his cryptic, droning lyrics. Anyone who enjoys popular EDM artists like diplo and are looking for something a little off the beaten path, or if you’re already into bands like Animal Collective, Dan Deacon’s Mystic Familiar could be for you. Mystic Familiar by Dan Deacon Release date: January 31, 2020

Atlanta Hip-Hop supergroup Migos is planning the third installation in their Culture series of albums. Quavo, Offset and Takeoff have remained among the top stars in the rap game right now due to their dedication to making music and even opening their own music label, Quality Control. Culture III will most likely reflect the rest of Migos’ work: some good party songs with rapid fire flows and star studded with features from many other popular artists and rappers. Culture III by Migo Release date: January 24, 2020

Australian experimental music group Tame Impala is planning their follow up to their popular 2015 release, Currents. Tame Impala was started by Kevin Parker in 2007. He also produces most of the group’s music. Their music has pushed the boundaries of rock, psychedelic pop and EDM since their creation, making a sound similar to bands like The Flaming Lips. The Slow Rush by Tame Impala Release date: Feburary 14, 2020

Looking in the mirror, Senior Khalil Poole admires the makeup look he completed that morning. Poole likes to do makeup before school with the eyeshadow being the most time consuming part of the application process. Poole doesn’t always wear makeup, but when he does he likes to go all out. “I always try to base my makeup look off of the outfit I’m wearing that day, I like to make them both match.” Poole said. (Photo by Ella Manthey) breaking the boundaries

Senior Khalil Poole is gender nonconforming and uses makeup as a form of self expression

His alarm goes off at 4:30 a.m. Most students won’t be awake for another two hours. He grabs the makeup bag that holds his favorite products. He takes out his Jeffree Star Blue Blood pallet and his favorite NYX Cosmetics black lipstick. He still needs to pick out an outfit for the day. It will depend on his mood- it always does. Whether he decides to wear knee high black boots or bright pink fur, Khalil Poole will look in the mirror, face to face with not only a stunning eyeshadow job, but the realization that he is able to be himself. Poole is gender nonconforming and also uses makeup and clothing as a way to express himself. Gender nonconforming means that someone identifies as the sex they were born as, but doesn’t follow the typical gender norms.

“I’m a dude, but I don’t follow the typical stereotypes of a dude,” Poole said. “I would always see dresses and say, ‘How would that look on me?’ Or I would see long hair and wonder what I would look like with long hair.”

Poole started his fascination with makeup a few years ago. Ever since he was younger, Poole would find himself wandering from the little boys section to the little girls section in stores. He was always interested in playing with Barbies rather than “roughing it up outdoors with the other boys.” Now that Poole is older, he is able to express himself the way he always wanted to.

“When I started embracing it, I bought my first wig,” Poole said. “I was like, ‘Oh my God, this is what it feels like to have long hair.’ It was a progression. The first week I tried makeup, I wasn’t very good. The first time I wore heels it was very difficult.”

While FHN strives to be an accepting place every day, society isn’t always accepting of the LGBT community. Poole ignores the negativity, knowing that by Gracie Bowman graciebowman310@gmail.com

some people just don’t understand the differences in others.

“People are going to have something to say no matter what you do,” Poole said. “Don’t let those comments wear you down. I laugh at them.”

Positivity is something that keeps Poole inspired. He is surrounded by friends who love his makeup looks and style.

“My number one supporters are my friends,” Poole said. “They tell me that gender norms are dumb. What’s in between your legs doesn’t deter how you dress, how you act, how you talk or whatever.”

Poole wants to keep advocating for the LGBT community by breaking the gender norms, but he also wants to express his advocacy in a different way. Other than makeup, Poole expresses his creativity through illustration. He enjoys spending his free time writing and illustrating comics where his characters are a part of the LGBT community. His characters can be transgender, bisexual or gender nonconforming, something you don’t find in every comic book.

“I just feel like if we [members of the LGBT community] have more visibility people would accept it more,” Poole said. “I do want to sort of advocate for the LGBT community because a lot of people don’t really do it, especially when we have so much negativity going on. For example, transgender people got banned from the military. I feel like a lot of people turn a blind eye to it and brush it off.” When Poole is able to dress the way he wants and do his makeup, he feels comfortable in his own skin. He is able to embrace his true self and feel the most like himself.

“It’s a way I can feel comfortable,” Poole said. “Don’t care about what other people say. If people give you compliments, take those compliments. Just be happy with yourself.”