Intro. to Newspaper's 2015 opinion project

Opinion columns and INTRO TO NEWSPAPER

reviews

IOWA CITY WEST HIGH

“Don’t falsly quote your sources.”

-Sara Whittaker

ROOM 109

APRIL 2015

Waving my

Rainbow flag

My story questioning my lifestyle, all because of one thing: Having two men as my parents.

BY SIERRA FROST frostsr3710@gmail.com I met my first drag queen when I was 5 years old.

It was always completely normal for me that this man dressed up in women’s clothing and plastered on makeup for his job. In fact, I thought it was great, so my young childhood was spent in drag queens’ dressing rooms, sitting in their laps as they put on fake eyelashes, watching Will and Grace on the television.

I was constantly around boys, and I never minded that. On the weekends, my dads and their friends would take me to concerts. I remember going to a Gwen Stefani concert and my parents singing “Rich Girl” at the top of their lungs.

My childhood was anything but normal, and I didn’t really realize that. I was always taught that everyone is equal. In fact it was practically drilled in my head by the time I was in school.

I was taught that people will judge me, but to always take the high road. Always be the better person.

But that all changed in elementary school. It was in first grade, and we were making paper flowers for mother’s day. I refused to do the project, and the teacher noticed that. When she asked why, I said, “Well, I have two dads, so I don’t have anyone to give a flower to on Mother’s Day.” Turns out my teacher didn’t like that, so I got switched into another first grade class the following week. I eventually had to go to another school. After that my Dad suggested not to tell anyone he was gay, because he could lose his job and I could get kicked out of yet another school.

As I got older, and as I got more exposed to different views, I contemplated if what I had grown up with (having two fathers) was right.

I had been severely bullied because of them and had not been allowed to go over to my friends’ houses, all because my parents were gay. So why support something that made my life harder?

We went to Bisbee, Arizona for a gay pride parade. I didn’t want to be there, and I showed

it in the defiant way I held the LGBT flag, dragging it on the ground with a scowl on my face. But then I looked over at my grandfather, who was born in a time when even interracial marriage wasn’t accepted waving his LGBT flag triumphantly. I hesitantly started lifting my own flag off the ground and waving it. At the end of the procession, there was a woman, about 60 years old, holding a sign that said, “Proud daughter of a gay dad”. I asked the woman if I could take a picture with the sign, and she smiled a big bright smile at me and handed it to me. I smiled a big smile back.

The Rise of an

If this show doesn’t end up on Netflix, I might die...

AND YOU MIGHT TOO.

BY HIBA IBRAHIM

heebuh@gmail.com

If you like shows about: family, murder, scandal, love, betrayal, power, romance, music, or controversy - in other words, if you watch TV - Empire is made for you (a.k.a everyone).

Lucious Lyon is a hip-hop artist and CEO of Empire Entertainment suffering with ALS. He not only deals with the comeback of his ex-wife and the mother of his children, Cookie Lyon, but his three competitive sons, Jamal, Hakeem and Andre, who are all fighting to be the company’s next successor. Cookie Lyon, who you will absolutely praise and admire, is an ex-con who built Empire Entertainment with money made from selling drugs and she’s coming to get what’s hers.

As for their sons; Jamal is an outstanding homosexual singer and is, unfortunately, the son of a homophobic man; Hakeem is a young rapper dating a woman who’s 30 years older than him because of his ‘mommy’ issues; Andre, who deals with the business side of the company, is untalented, bipolar and constantly vying for his father’s attention.

Ms. Cookie Lyon is a force to be reckoned with. She has absolutely no filter and is known for her sassy lines. “The Lucious Lyon I knew would tell those idiots the streets ain’t made for everybody. That’s why they made sidewalks.” 17 years ago, both her and Lucious were hustling the streets until a drug deal went wrong. She went to prison, risking her life for her family and although they all turned their backs on her, she came back for them. Strong, but wounded, Cookie shows everyone Empire Entertainment is about the upbringing and strength of a family.

The ratings and views for the popular Fox musical skyrocketed for the first six weeks, breaking a 23-year ratings record (at least). With an average of more than 13 million live viewers every week , Empire has broken its own records. Empire is so thriving, the cast started filming season 2 after only the second episode aired.

Not only is the story line a hit, their soundtrack is so phenomenal that it reached #1 on Billboard 200 chart. Timbaland, a very successful singer, rapper and producer, put in his magic touch to make the popular hits. Although I’ve been caught jamming to the soundtrack, the last few songs in the season weren’t as satisfying, but it’s okay Timbaland.

We all make mistakes.

The first season just ended on March 18, so all episodes are on Fox. com. Bring some friends, grab some popcorn and get ready for the best TV marathon you will ever experience. (Caution: Addiction is inevitable.)

YOU’VE GOT

5 SECONDS TO SAVE

THE FOOD

WE HAVE ALL HEARD OF THAT FOOD RULE WHICH SEEMS SOMEWHAT SUSPICIOUS. IS THAT LAST BITE OF YOUR COOKIE REALLY WORTH BEING SICK AND MISSING OUT?

BY HANNAH KRUPP hlkrupp@gmail.com

Y

ou clumsily stumble down the hallway while dividing your attention between your Twitter feed and whether or not you should eat that leftover cookie from lunch. You look down, and the cookie that was in your hand just a second ago is nowhere in sight. You whip around spotting it on the floor, and pick it up casually.

You contemplate eating it, because it has only been on the ground for about five seconds and there is that silly rule that says you can still eat it.

So do you eat it or throw it away?

If I was at West High and just happened to drop a cookie on the floor, that cookie is going

straight to the trash. With our 2000 students who all come from different backgrounds, areas, and experiences - that is a major no go because you don’t know what you are exposing yourself to. Students every day deal with this problem, the life changing decision of eating that cookie you just bought or not.

I am personally not a neat freak. Yes my room is messy, and I am that girl who eats chips in her bed without cleaning up the crumbs. I feel okay with that because it’s my mess, I know how it was created and the potential things I could be exposing myself to. However, at West High, everyone comes wandering into the halls everyday. Who knows if they were walking their dog that morning and accidentally stepped in some doodoo, then came to school, tracking it around our floors. Or maybe someone spilled their hot sticky coffee all over the floor this morning, attracting lots of bacteria and germs.

There is no way to predict what was previously on the floor where you just dropped your cookie so why would you even dare to eat it?

You may think you are safe if you pick up your food after just five seconds, but you may be very wrong. According the WebMD, “We did see a transfer of germs before five seconds, and we were dealing with a large number of cells.”

This could potentially be a big deal if your body

doesn’t have the right antibodies.

According to KidsHealth.org, bacteria can attach itself to your food even if you pick it up instantly. It may be a gamble whether that bacteria has the potential to make you sick or not, but I wouldn’t bet on it. Especially imagine the West High bathrooms. You would never eat something off of those floors, no matter how clean they appear to be. When asked if she would eat off the floors, Emma Steffen ‘17 had a strong opinion.

“I would not! They (the bathrooms) are disgusting, I don’t like using them let alone eating off of them!” Said Emma Steffen ‘17.

Some may say, “hey I already paid for it I might as well eat it.” Well truth is if you do get sick from all the nasties on your food, you are going to have to pay for antibiotics which will cost even more. Think about it, you’re putting yourself at a potential risk that you shouldn’t have to deal with. Nobody wants to be feeling crummy anyways.

So the next time you are walking down West High and you drop that beloved cookie on the floor, snatch it on up. Carry that cookie grasped in your palm right down the hallway and find the nearest trash bin. The five second rule isn’t going to apply here or ever again.

SCHOOL DAZE An explanation and solution for the problem of high school students lacking focus in class.

BY BETHANY SCHILLINGER

T

b.g.schill5@gmail.com

he average teenager is missing approximately a month of sleep each year. This lost month is spent doing homework, going to practice, etc. We need to get 9-9 ½ hours of sleep every night, but the average teenager only gets 7-7 ¼ hours. This may not seem like much, but in just one year 730 hours of lost sleep.

Since we aren’t getting enough sleep, our school experience is less successful and we make risky decisions. This is an important topic right now because our school district is changing a lot with the new high school being added. Since school will be changed for high schoolers already, it would be the perfect time to also adjust the

schedule.

High schools in America should start later in the morning because it would make school more enjoyable and productive and would also improve teenager’s health.

You’re woken up by the blaring noise of your alarm, it’s 5:00am. You turn this alarm off and fall back asleep, only to be woken by your second alarm at 5:15am. The process repeats and you sleep again. The third alarm goes off, it’s 5:30am, you finally get out of bed since this alarm is strategically placed across the room from your bed. This is the typical morning for most of us, because teenagers today are so sleep deprived.

Some high schools start as early as 7 am. This means that most students are leaving for school at, or before 6:30. Before this, teenagers have to fix their hair just right, find the perfect outfit, apply makeup, take care of pets, and - if time grab breakfast for the road.

Humans have sleep chemicals, called melatonin, that are released during the night.

Once released, melatonin allows our bodies fall asleep with ease. The problem is that teen’s bodies don’t release melatonin until between 11pm and 8am. If high school started later in the morning, we could fall asleep, and wake up, at a natural time for our bodies.

We’re also losing sleep is because of our after

school schedules. US News surveyed high school teachers and learned that each teacher assigns of 3 ½ hours of homework every week.

Here at west, where many students take seven classes, this is an average of 24 ½ hours of homework that students get each week. With extracurricular time added in, you can begin to see why teenagers have such hectic lives.

Sleep deprivation causes poor performance in school. Tired students have difficulty focusing on what’s being taught. Since our bodies haven’t gotten enough sleep, our brain isn’t as active, influencing memory and creativity.

Some people argue against later school days because they worry about extracurriculars going too late, but this could be avoided. While in school, students would be awake, there’d be no time waiting for students to participate, so school days could be shorter.

With our school day starting so early we’re just asking for more high schoolers become sleep deprived. Moving the school day up would help teenagers get more sleep and would eliminate many of the risky situations that they encounter.

PDA?

Proper D ecency Absent.

Well, that’s what it really should mean.

HERE AT WEST, PDA HAS BECOME A PROBLEM AND IT BOTHERS MANY STUDENTS THROUGHOUT THE DAY, WHETHER IT MAKES THEM UNCOMFORTABLE OR IS JUST ANNOYING.

BY ABBY JANS

jans.abby@gmail.com

You just arrive to school and the first thing you see is a couple sharing an awkward, strange, uncomfortable, weird-to-be-around, caress-like action, just to spend two more minutes together until they will see each other at lunch or maybe after their first period class.

Some would probably say that it’s sweet to see two people care about each other so much, but others, including me, would say that school is not the place for public displays of affection (PDA) and that it’s not something people want to see throughout the day.

During the school day, it’s very common to see couples holding hands, hugging, kissing, or other types of PDA and it’s something that can be very unsettling and just strange.

Those who participate in PDA should maybe be a bit more considerate to those who don’t like seeing couples show their affection for one another at school or other public facilities

and maybe tone it down a bit.

In the planner given to every student at the beginning of the year, the behavioral guidelines section only states one thing about PDA, saying that excessive public displays of affection at school or school activities is not allowed. To some students, even a little affection is starting to cross the line of what should be allowed at school. Maddee Whitehead ‘17 thinks it’s too far for a couple to be awkwardly standing and caressing each other. Whitehead also believes that staff and students should be willing to break up a couple that’s sharing too long of a kiss or hug.

“If [a couple] is kissing or hugging for long periods of time the staff should break them up,” Whitehead said. “I’m a big fan of the idea of breaking [the couple] up and saying ‘hi please stop that’ or just telling them it makes you uncomfortable.” Whitehead strongly believes that affection at school is gross and unnecessary, and that no one wants to see PDA right as they walk into school in the morning.

On Debate.org, although the survey showed that 22% of people surveyed thought PDA should be banned at school and 78% didn’t, comments followed with people’s reasoning for thinking it should be. One person

who supports the banning of it said that “make-out sessions” are disruptive and uncomfortable for those who see it. As a more neutral opinion, another person said that it should be allowed to a certain extent, such as holding hands, kissing, and hugging within reason is acceptable, but making out and such should not be allowed.

A few summers ago, while walking through the Louvre in Paris, I came across a couple in a staircase making out, putting everyone in the museum who saw it in an uncomfortable position. Another time during lunch last year, I was in the hall and came across a couple that hugged for what seemed an endless amount of time, while swaying and kissing. I was annoyed and left the hallway.

Although ignoring PDA may be the best thing to do and it’s good to just let a couple do what they want, it’s not something that I would like to encounter at all. Faculty and staff should think about stopping a couple that is sharing too much affection and making those around them uncomfortable.

School is not the place to show your affection so save it for alone time.

X the AUX LAW

BY DILLON CROWELL

A law in Iowa City prevents kids under 18 from playing music in their cars via Bluetooth or an auxillary cord.

The laws regarding phone usage while driving in Iowa City are as logical as the goal line offense the Seahawks had in Super Bowl XLIX. (If you weren’t living under a rock since this february, you would know this went down in history as the worst play call in Super Bowl history.)

These laws, put simply, prevent anyone under the age of 18 to use their phone or connect their phone/any sort of music device to the speakers of the car whatsoever. The silly part of this law is almost every single student at West High ignores this law, including yours truly,and we all have valid reasons to do so.

The original intent of the law - to keep inexperienced drivers safe - is still valid,but the law has a few contradictory parts to it that make following it hard for most teenagers.

Listening to one's preferred music choice shouldn't be against the law period, but for an individual with an auxiliary cord hooked up to their car speakers, this is hard because this act is illegal for persons under the age of 18. It should be allowed if and only if the teenager does not use their phone while driving to change a song, playlist. etc. When they get in the car they should choose a playlist, hit play, and then proceed to drive without changing the song until the next time the car is stopped. One exception is if there is another person in the car besides the driver which, in this case, that person not driving should be able to use the phone or music player freely to decide on a song to play.

The more modern thing that makes the law so silly is that most cars nowadays have a Bluetooth wireless feature that lets one control songs and such from the same control panel that you would for using the radio. You literally use the same buttons for Bluetooth and radio, yet one is legal and the other is not. This is why the law should not be removed but just altered.

We should be prohibited from USING our phones while driving because it can cause higher chances of accidents, but I don't see why I shouldn't be allowed to jam out to my favorite songs while still being an alert and aware driver. I mean come on, when did a little Katy Perry ever hurt anybody?

PRESS START

UNLESS, OF COURSE,

YOU’RE A

VIDEOGAMES ARE SUPPOSED TO BE A PLACE OF EQUALITY. SO WHY ARE FEMALE GAMERS BEING HARASSED SO OFTEN?

BY ASHA IRANI

iraniasha@gmail.com

I enter the game, surveying the landscape. The timer starts counting down. I feel the excitement of the game building. I’m about to start searching for enemies when, with no provocation, a male voice calmly asks me, “Hey, Stephanie, like in all seriousness, are you definitely like a 300-pound fat bulb of sh**? When you were in the kitchen this morning, did you bake Call of Duty brownies and eat all of them? I think I can hear your washing machine in the background; are you doing laundry? Well, mine needs to be done, so hop on it, b*tch.”

All of my excitement vanishes, and I sigh, deflated. I knew I shouldn’t have put my obviously female name in my gamertag,

GIRL

Stephanie_Venom97. I shake it off and just try to focus on the game. A few uninterrupted minutes pass when one of my teammates, whom I can see in my peripheral vision, cries out for help.

“Hey, I need backup!” muscleman3472 screams, his voice blaring into my headset.

“I got you, man. I’ll be at your location in like, three seconds!” I reply, maneuvering my character into a sprint towards my distressed teammate.

“No, I need someone who can actually PLAY, not a girl.”

I groan and help him anyway, taking out a few of the opponents surrounding him.

Soon afterwards, the game ends, and we are all transferred back to the lobby. My team has won, and as my teammates celebrate, I mutter a “Good work, guys.” Seconds later, someone laughs,

“Wow, Stephanie, you sound hot…

Wanna exchange pics?”

That’s it, I’m done.

“Sorry, I can’t hear you from all the way up here on the leaderboards!” I scream, then immediately exit the game and throw my headset across the room. I guess videogames are no place for girls.

Now, you might think I’m exaggerating. But sadly, everything said above has been taken, almost word for word, from online sites dedicated to showing the unfairness of the gaming world. Notinthekitchenanymore.

com and Fatuglyorslutty.com are both personal, submit-your-story websites that publish experiences that have happened to female gamers. Popular games such as Call of Duty, Halo, Battlefield, and Medal of Honor, along with not as well known games, are mentioned in the sites. Being a decent female gamer myself, I hardly believed things like this happened in some multiplayer games, so naturally, I decided to test it. Recently, I logged in to one of my favorite online multiplayer games, MMORPG Runescape. I hadn’t played in a while, so I was excited to see how the game had been upgraded.

I traveled my character to a central location of the game, crowded with many other players, and immediately received private messages from two male characters, who began introducing themselves and asking me for personal information and requesting ‘favors’.

Do you really think I stuck around for long after that?

I mean, Over one-third of gamers are female, so why is there such a negative mist that surrounds the idea? Words and messages are tossed around in games, derogatory terms are almost inevitable when you’re a female gamer.

So if you are a male gamer, don’t single out females for just being, well, females. And ladies, if you feel uncomfortable in a gaming situation, it’s your call whether to brush it off or call the perpetrator out. But no matter what your gender - game on.

It’s not right to turn left

BY QUENTIN DAVIS

Road

Exit

DON’T TURN LEFT!!!

Divider

Getting out of the parking lot quickly is like trying to tell people to get off their phones - it is nearly impossible. Getting out of the right parking lot can seem to take forever and why? Well it is because cars try and turn left.

When cars try and turn left, it creates long lines of cars with bored people trying to turn onto the road out, which drivers can be waiting in for 15 minutes to come out of. If people start to turn right, everyone can get out of the horrid place called school quicker.

If more drivers start to turn right then you can have traffic flow better, since you have to wait for one lane to be open to turn. The problem with turning left is that you need to wait for three lanes of traffic to be clear so you can turn. When waiting to turn left it slows everyone else behind them.

Luckily only a small amount of people turn left, 45 out of the 230 drivers at that intersection turned left, that is 20 percent of drivers at that exit turning left. The way the stats were found? Well I waited at the turn for 40 minutes tallying left and right turns, and only 4 people asked what I was doing. Surprisingly most people ignored me or just gave a confused look in my direction.

Need one more reason to turn right? There is a sign near the corner that says no left turn. Enforcing the rule would be hard, and those who turn right should get rewarded.

The reward would be simple and it would make everyone want to do it. the reward would be one point added to an assignment in your worst class. On the other hand drivers that ignore the sign should be punished, when caught turning left, the drivers will have to go to an assigned Spanish room during their lunch and watch Dora. If the person fails to show up for the assigned Dora lesson, then they will have to eat one plate of school green beans.

To catch the perpetrators they would have students stand at the corner and write down the license plates of the violators. If people want to turn left, they will have to park in the back lot so that they can one, legally turn left, but two have a stop light that gives you a time when you can turn left. Everyone wants to get home, and why make people wait longer by turning left.

Right exit from school

qrd0702@gmail.com

KIDS,

Who Needs‘Em? There’s alot more to children than being cute and cuddly.

BY SHATI COOPER

shaticooper@gmail.com

Here I am, sitting in deep thoughts about my future. It’s almost the end of one school year, and close to the beginning of another. Soon, I’ll be out of high school, then college, then working a full time job, (hopefully) married, and living in a home without enduring endless crying, whining, and whimpering. What’s the source of the noise, you ask? Little human beings known as children. And while I don’t want them myself, I do admire every parent that puts up with the difficulties of having a child; they are - without a doubt - the real MVPs. Along with providing the necessities to live, parents help you find your identity. Parenting is hands-down the hardest job you’ll ever have and

not everyone is fit for it - myself included. This sounds contradictory, but I would love to have a kid. It’s like watching your own legacy grow right before your eyes, how cool is that? With all the amazingness that comes with raising a kid, there are also the hand-wringing situations and difficult decisions. Temper tantrums, massive diaper explosions, and preventing the indulgence of inedible objects would be the least of my problems.

The biggest concern with being a parent is if my child is “different.” The hardest problem I could be thrown into is if my child had a stigma that could possibly define them, whether they are born gay, disabled or defected. It’s not the stigma that affects me, it’s the reactions and ignorance from others that would be put upon my child that bothers me the most. As stated in an article called “Ignorance of Disabilities”, “This is just a small part of a new generation of hate - a new way to make someone else’s life just a little bit more difficult than it has to be.”

I would never want my child to feel like they’re less than others because of a trait that they have.

If anything, it should make them feel empowered because they’re unique; they don’t fade into the crowd. I fear for the people who would judge my future child because of their stigma; it would take everything in me to not hunt them down

and give them a serious piece of my mind. When I say what I need to say, they’re going to feel like crap, just as they made my potential child feel.

People might say that these kinds of interactions are good because it can toughen one’s skin and better prepare them for the real world, but that’s a load of bull. The article “How to Prepare Your Teen for the Real World” says that by “instilling moral values, responsible behavior and a strong work ethic in your teens, you will be doing all you can to prepare them for life after high school or college.” You can definitely prepare someone for the would without them having to experience the bad part of it.

This world may not be peaches and cream, but it’s not all hell either. Having children is a make or break type of situation. It can make you emotionally stronger and grow “thicker” skin; or, it can crush you, making life harder to live.

And, that’s not a chance I’m willing to take.

The

Angsty Argosy and its

Illusory Anchor

Every hull needs its anchor, every mast needs its flag, and each person needs his or her identity. But if we don’t have an anchor are we really drifting off course?

BY STEFAN SCHMIDT

s.n.schmidt14@gmail.com

I’m a writer. Well, more of a pianist, really.

Actually, I guess I’d say I’m German. I’m not really sure. For something so heavy, my personal identity anchor does a lousy job of staying put.

And drifting is scary.

Sometime around the end of ninth grade I came to the brilliant realization that “pathologically shy” and “poorly dressed” was an unsatisfactory identity. Great! But what next? What was my true identity? Where would I find “my crowd?”

Everyone else seemed to have both feet planted firmly on the ground: “I’m a soccer player.”

“I’m an artist.” “I’m part of my family.” “I’ve got it all figured out. Eat it.” So I played the sleuth.

Experimentation was my magnifying glass and introspection my pipe.

Could my German heritage be my anchor?

My immigrant mother taught me German, Kaiserschmarrn is our weekly ritual meal, and our house is filled with quaint German decorations that puzzle all our guests. It was the perfect candidate, yet it didn’t feel right. I might speak German but I’m more fluent in English.

I might like Kaiserschmarrn but nothing beats barbeque. And I certainly didn’t feel similar to the average German. Claiming allegiance to a country felt comforting but false. I kept looking.

My sights turned toward writing. Everyone told me I had talent and I’d won some awards here and there, so why not? I spent more time writing and got involved in West High’s literary and art magazine. But writing was subtle and silent; it was not substantial enough to be the center of my identity. I tested the water elsewhere.

I’d been playing piano for years, so I tried that song and dance. I practiced more each day and even recited “music is my life” rhetoric. But it was undramatic and isolated; I had no band to play with, no audience to perform for. It was too weak a backbone. I was not a pianist.

I considered everything. I even toyed with the

idea of adopting a religion for about two and half minutes. Still I found no embroidered flag to let ripple from my mast. Still I found no band of merry sailors to heave ropes by my side. I had no obsession with a club or hobby, no old friend group, no patriotism, no church, no nothing that was integral to my identity or became my home.

I was distraught until my epiphany a few months ago: I couldn’t find an anchor because I don’t have one. I’m not a writer, I just write. I’m not a pianist, I just play. I’m not a German, I just drool at the thought of gelbwurst and brotchen.

Nor am I a photographer, a philosopher, a policy debater, a scholar, a satirist, a Schmidt, or a cook.

These are things I love to be, but they are not me.

I am the ship, not where it’s anchored. The only me is me, and that’s someone who is genuinely and fiercely passionate about whatever he feels like on a given day.

I’m not drifting, I’m sailing. I never did find my anchor, but I’ll tell you this: I sail a hell of a lot faster without it.

WALK THE BORDER

ON THE SEARCH TO FIND A HOME WITHIN THE BORDERS OF A NATION, THE PERFECT PLACE MAY LIE ON THE EDGE.

BY JUNHEE LEE

jheelee28@gmail.com

I moved from South Korea when I was seven years old. Adjusting to the new country was difficult. The language barrier and the strange people made me homesick. But after spending a year playing in the streets and cramming English, I finally felt at home in this foreign place.

And in the blink of an eye, I forgot all about Korea. No longer was I plagued by the cars passing at lightning speed, the possibility of getting kidnapped by the strangers on the streets, or the high-stress, high-stakes school system. I was free from all of the dangers that I knew overseas.

Well, everything but the Korean military.

Because of the conscription laws in South Korea, I can be drafted and shipped back to my home country any time between the ages of 18 and 35.

Although the training is temporary and there is only a slim chance of actually being called into a war, the thought of being drafted made me cringe. Who knows? In 20 years, I could be dressed in uniform, looking into a stranger’s eyes while shooting him straight through the heart. From the bottom of my heart, I wished and prayed for that day to never come.

Fortunately, there was a solution to all of this.

I simply had to become a citizen of the United States. I just had to sign my name on some forms, answer some basic questions in an interview, and pledge my allegiance to the United States.

Easy peasy.

And for a long time, it was an easy decision. I’d lived here half of my life. I called my small house in the suburbs my home. And honestly, I didn’t ever want to get drafted into the military. After all, I can’t fight to the death for a country that I don’t even live in, right?

But at some point, it stopped being so simple. I thought to myself, ‘If I’m an American, I should be able to name the Iowan representatives in Congress. But I can’t. I should cheer for the American athletes during the Olympics. But I don’t. Eventually, this self-doubt evolved into self-hate, and I felt disloyal for using citizenship

as a loophole to escape the draft. How could I call myself a Korean after abandoning my culture, my childhood, and my nation to become a citizen of the United States?

Even after a hair pulling struggle over my citizenship, I came to no conclusion. But at some point, I stopped worrying about the color of my passport and started rebuilding the culture I had lost. While learning about the United States at school, I spent time alone relearning Korean history, language, and music. The food at home became a fusion cuisine of rice, kimchi, and sandwiches. Soon, I was neither exclusively Asian nor exclusively American, but rather a mix of the two. I found a way to balance the lifestyles of two very different countries, and I was happier than I’d ever been before.

So now the answer to the big question: which country do I choose? Well, neither. No matter what my legal documents say, they won’t be what determine who I am. And in a world where people live inside the borders of their countries, I’m glad to know that I’m walking on that border. I’m free.

OBESITY RATE

DECREASE? Contrasting to what most people seem to believe, the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act might be a good thing after all.

By pRATEEK RAIKWAR

RaikwarPrateek9@gmail.com

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in the past 30 years, child obesity has more than doubled and adolescent obesity has quadrupledthese statistics tell me a story and really concern me for the future of the United States. This statistic alone has rung an alarm to the government that something needs to be done. The first step: the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act. The act attempts to improve child nutrition in schools by pushing kids to eat certain types of foods to help prevent their future lives from being in danger. Obesity is achieved by having a Body Mass Index of at least 30 and is determined by a person’s height and weight.

The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act is definitely moving the country into the right direction. Being obese can really be scary. I know this because the older

generations of my family have serious heart problems, which can result from being obese. I even had high blood pressure when I was younger: I was a healthy child yet I was sort of developing some of my own heart problems. After doing some further research, I came to the conclusion that I should watch what I eat because if my high blood pressure continued to develop, I could develop many horrible diseases such as cancers, heart diseases, diabetes, and many others. Luckily, I began eating better and reduced my high blood pressure to a healthier status.

Because the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act’s main purpose is to promote the eating of more healthy foods, it is definitely working. According to the United States Department of Agriculture, kids are currently eating 23 percent more fruits and 16 percent more vegetable than when the act began to take effect during the 2011-12 school year. This means that the act is clearly doing what is intended of it while also making the eating of more fruits and vegetables an out-of-school activity; those percentages also affect meals outside of school.

Some people, including my sister and parents, may say that kids should be

kids and eat whatever they want without further question; to enjoy the world; however, those same people probably didn’t factor in the fact that those same kids have a much higher chance of getting cardiovascular diseases or other problems. Many other people may say that some people have certain conditions that force them to be technically ‘obese’. Even if that is the unfortunate case, what is the pain in eating healthy anyway? You will feel great.

Even MORE people may say “Well, I’m never going to be obese. I don’t want there to be an 8-hour gap in my cake and iced coffee consumption schedule!”

But if we want the healthy kids act to continue to do what it has done, we must all play by the same rules.

The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act may seem dumb and useless at first glance; however, through countless statistics and analysis, it may not be as bad as once thought. It may even seem wrong ethically, but that is just the opposing opinion and is inevitable.

The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act is a crucial step forward in the pursuit of making America, and the world, a healthier place.

Pop music

The Good.

The Bad.

The Ugly.

The influence of pop music has changed, is it that the artist grew up, 0r has society changed?

BY: CRYSTAL FLANSCHA c.a.flanscha@gmail.com

“Last thing I remember is our beautiful bodies grinding in the club.” You know her as the queen, Beyonce. The song is catchy, and easy to remember, but is it really okay for us to be singing these words? We listen to this kind of music, but fail to realize or comprehend the lyrics because we’re too infatuated with the catchy beat.

We’re always told to not drink alcohol because it could lead to irrational decisions, to not do drugs because they are very dangerous, and, in general, to be safe. But everything that we hear from the pop genre implies that doing

the wrong thing is right. It’s very hard to constantly hear this kind of music and not be influenced. If celebrities can do these kinds of things, why can’t we? With being exposed to the experimental, yet dangerous, side of being a teenager such as drugs, drinking, and partying, it’s about time we talk about the influences music has when making our decisions.

“Yeah you get to be a small town girl. But big time when you play your guitar. You get the best of both worlds. Chill it out, take it slow. Then you rock out the show.” The show that we will never forget, Hannah Montana. The song sold 54 million.

“To my home girls here with the big butt. Shaking it like we at a strip club. Remember only God can judge ya. Forget the haters cause somebody loves ya.” Now the new and not improved Miley Cyrus. The song sold 270 million. Artists have the right to sing what they want, but do they realize how it affects us?

“There is a fine line between censorship and freedom of speech,” Mcgrane, Foundations of Science teacher.

“Cause now I’m a warrior. Now I’ve got thicker skin.

I’m a warrior. I’m stronger than I’ve ever been.” There are support songs, like Demi Lovato who mostly sings about staying strong.

Sam Smith sings a lot about love and the hard work that comes with it. Pop music isn’t all bad; there are artists and songs that have a catchy beat and are easy to remember that life doesn’t revolve around sex, drugs, and other bad things.

The music that you listen to does affect you.

I was the biggest fan of Hannah Montana, and when Miley Cyrus started to sing all her shocking songs, I kept up and tried to sing to them, but it wasn’t the best idea. The music you listen to and the people you watch, they have an effect on you. What you wear, the makeup you purchase, and your hairstyles are all affected by your peers. Though in the long run, it is the music influencing your peers who influence you, so indirectly, it all ties back to the music we listen to and the message it sends.

CLIPPIN’ HORRIBLE The most annoying and useless thing on the planet are undoubtedly our fingernails.

F

BY LEAH DUSTERHOFT duster298@gmail.com

ingernails: we chew them, paint them, clip them, and girls stereotypically break them in movies.

And I am certain the only purpose they serve is to piss me off.

I know, right? A teenage girl not liking fingernails? Unheard of!

But, hear me out. Fingernails do absolutely nothing to serve the human race. They are just a buildup of the same proteins that make up our hair. The proteins in our nails would be put to better use if they went to make our hair stronger and healthier.

What is the point of nails growing anyway? Why can’t my nails just stay the same length for the rest of my life?. On average fingernails grow three millimeters per month. (This may not sound like much, but in nail terms it’s feet.) But each finger doesn’t grow at the same rate. According to howthingswork.com, scientists have found that fingernails grow faster on your dominant hand and faster on your longest fingers. Scientists are unsure why this happens. This uneven growth causes sporadic clipping times. Nail growth is a waste of my body’s energy.

“Oh, but you are forgetting all about the cool designs @nailartvids does on Instagram! Too cute!” Yes, I will admit, as a fan of painting I do enjoy the occasional nail art video. But, have you ever tried to execute one of these intricate designs? Three hours after starting, you are left with nail polish all over your skin as you rub off your ‘artwork’ with an acetone soaked cotton ball. You usually resort to painting a solid color on your useless tips. If you want to paint something so bad, register for a painting class. Christain would love to have you.

For everyone out there saying, “But it would be weird not having fingernails!” Yes. Yes, it would. But it would also be weird not having a cellphone in your backpocket everyday, yet once upon a time people survived without them.

But the worst thing about these hard things on the end of my phalanges? They flake. The layers start coming apart at the ends and they snag on our clothes. Then the end gets so thin that the nail chips. The jagged edges catch on everything and cause us pain. To escape this torture I am forced to trim these beasts. The clippings get everywhere and my mom yells at me for missing the trashcan. (Even though I have no control over where these clippings fly to.) Plus, the combination of dry skin and calluses cause hangnails around my nails.

They just cause unnecessary pain.

Fingernails, they’re useless and humans should evolve to not have them.

Don’t even get me started on toenails.

YOUR RIGHT TO INTERNET PRIVACY. The NSA: Big Brother is always watching. But that could be a GOOD THING CAMERA 1

RECORDING

BY CHRISTIAN ZIRBES czirbes89@gmail.com

Merriam Webster defines Privacy as: noun 1.

The quality or state of being apart from company or observation 2. Freedom from unauthorized intrusion. However, real life isn’t stuffed full of pure definitions applied to actions, feelings and such. Instead what is experienced on a day-today basis is all held in comparison to everything else that occurs. What I’m trying to get at is that your “Privacy” is just relative. People need to stop saying that their right to privacy has been breached by the actions of the NSA. There is really no such thing as electronic privacy.

Anyone with the right computer know-how can steal your personal information from sites you thought were secure, and wreak havoc. This

has been seen time and time again with massive data breaches of multi-million companies, one example being the Target breach where credit card numbers and other personal information were stolen. The Fourth amendment of the Bill of Rights was designed first and foremost to protect an individual and their physical property from unreasonable search and seizures. Of course the founding fathers could never have envisioned just how far technology would come.

But what they did ensure was that our basic rights as a citizen were protected, and that the Constitution could be interpreted to apply to the ever-changing modern world. This has led to email being reclassified as private intellectual property and thus protected by the Fourth Amendment.

It is also important know what the NSA is doing when it comes to surveillance online.

According to information released by the NSA, only around 5 terabytes of data is collected every day. This number may seem large when you look at the fact that the flash drive you have in your backpack probably is no more than 64 gigabytes.

However, when compared to the amount of data sent over the Internet every minute, 640 terabytes a minute according to techspot, five a day is quite insignificant. This adds up to around a whopping 921,600 terabytes of information

being sent a day. The NSA collects around 5, or around .000054253% of the total data used each day. Sure this a statistic about information transferred around the world, but even if we glance at US data usage statistics, 5 a day is still insignificant. What this means is that the NSA is only checking suspicious Internet activity. The activities of the NSA are much like in the court case Terry v. Ohio that reached the Supreme Court. In this case, a police officer identified three men as being up to suspicious behavior.

The officer stopped the men, did a brief search of their exterior clothing, and discovered firearms on two of the men. The Supreme Court upheld that this case was not a violation of the Fourth Amendment. What the NSA does can be compared to what the police officer did in this case. The NSA simply filters through communications to find words of interest, much like a fishing net.

The government has the responsibility of protecting its people. By just briefly glancing at communications sent within the US, the NSA doesn’t truly intrude on privacy. What they do maintains the safety for our families, stops crime, and most importantly, saves lives.

As a result of the actions, 300 terrorrists were apprehended before 2008 according to the NSA. Why are you complaining that everyone is safer?

Our constant fear of tainting the way people see us online is preventing us from enjoying the real world In seventh grade I had over four thousand followers on Instagram.

In seconds, I had the power to share a part of my life with that many people, only about a thousand of which I maybe had a conversation with in person. Of course with that much pressure, I had to make sure everything I posted was perfect. Just the right amount of white border around the picture, the perfect filter, and finally a very irrelevant caption to top it off.

Sound shallow? Instead of social media being an outlet for me to share things with people I wanted to keep in touch with, it turned into a competition and constant upkeep of a fraudulent online image.

Luckily in a moment of impulse decision making, I deleted my Instagram. With the press of a button I was relieved of a burden I didn’t even know existed.

Experiences such as concerts, being with your friends, and going on a hike were all things people used to do for enjoyment, not just another picture to add to your social media account. People constantly now feel the need to

post whatever cool thing they have done to an unreasonable amount of people, many of which they have never spoken to face-to-face. Why is it so hard for people to just live in the moment and enjoy what’s going on around them? You have to make sure you look good the day your significant other asks you to prom, because that’s going to be one of your most important Instagram posts. Isn’t that just a little sad?

I’m not trying to tell you how to live your life through this column, but I will say this. If you are constantly obsessing over your online image, you need to really look at your priorities differently. Have a conversation with someone, try talking face-to-face about your plans for the summer instead of just assuming they’ll find out through your slew of filter-heavy pictures at the athletic club.

In the words of a tweet by Paige Brazina “Beautiful moments of life don’t belong to you anymore if you post them all on social media.”

Keep those moments and treasure them. The ones that matter most to you don’t need to be shared with everyone.

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social corruption

By Nina Elkadi

nina.elkadi@gmail.com

What impact does social media have on your life?

Meg Moreland ‘18

“There comes a point where it becomes such a big part of our lives that we forget to look up from our phones and realize that there are real people, and real experiences around us.”

Fenna Semken ‘18

“Not much. I don’t use it that much.”

Hiba Ibrahim ‘16

“It makes it much easier for me to show pepole what’s going on and my life, and it’s easier to stay connected.”

COMPILED by//Nina elkadi

Not so Very

Basic Vacation BYKIERA DUDLEY

kieradudley45@gmail.com

Music can help us through a rough break up or it can brighten up your day. We have all heard people say I’m going to be making music some day whether it’s classical or punk rock, jazz or metal. Well Basic Vacation is becoming what so many want to be...Great musicians.

Basic Vacation is an up and coming alternative/pop band and their album includes five songs which are about 3 minutes each. Song included on this album are I Believe(3:16), You’re In My Head(2:58), It’s all Happening(3:27), Worlds Collide(3:45), and Jamie(3:34).

The band members are vocalist-guitarist Chris Greatti, bassist Jon Paul, and drummer Mike Montalbano.( Can anyone pronounce that?)

Their sound makes me want to relax and party at the same time. Normally you have the vocals and the other instruments are played by other people, but with Basic Vacation the guitarist and the vocalist are the same person. Their lyrics are very well written and I can relate to the song Worlds Collide. It connects with me that I’m fighting for what’s mine and that I’m not going to take an easy way out.

“I swear that I’m not searching for an easy way out, I wanna feel it all when the worlds collide and I am standing tall and I am willing to fight, I wanna feel it all when the worlds collide, the smoke in the distance, we could finally fix this now, believe it will be okay, don’t walk away from here now, it’s only a feeling, finally a reason and it’s done, it’s done I swear now,” They are a great band to listen to while with friends or just by yourself. They get you pumped up while still sounding mellow. They give you that vibe like let’s have safe small bonfire with parental supervision in our backyard!

It is very similar to a lot of alternative bands. Such as Arctic Monkeys, Radiohead, Panic!

At the Disco, Coldplay, Etc. If you like Foster The People or The Killers, you would enjoy this band as well. Overall, this is a good band and it is worth checking out you can go on YouTube and binge on their music. Sadly the only have one music video, but you can get all the audio on YouTube as well. They have a great sound to just chill out to. I give this band a 5 peeps out of 5.

SWEAR NO MORE! !@#$%* Isn’t it about time to stop the swearing in every sentence?

BY MADI BARTA

madi.barta09@gmail.com

What if your grandma heard every word that came out of your mouth? What if she heard you call you friend a !@#$%. Do you think that she would approve of all the things you say? I know most grandmas or grandpas wouldn’t. Teens use words that their grandparents would probably gasp at if they ever heard them coming out of their grandchild’s mouth.

Have you ever overheard a conversation that you probably shouldn’t have? Or had a friend tell you a story that could have been told using better word choices? They

could just be talking about what they had for lunch but choose language that isn’t appropriate for that conversation. If you just walk down the hallways at West High one day you will hear many interesting topics being talked about. Most of which involve some type of swear word in them.

Kids attending West should be starting to somewhat mature. Yet they use words that make them sound like they are little kids trying to act cool. People think cursing in every sentence makes them sound “cooler.”

Well guess what, it doesn’t. I think that when a person is explaining something that would normally be extremely fun to hear about but then swear the whole time they are telling you, it makes whatever they have to say about 10 times less interesting. You can tell a story without using those words.

People will still like your story without swear words involved.

Can someone please explain the point of using such derogatory words? Exactly, there isn’t one. There isn’t a purpose while using them. Most people just use them for fun. If you were to go in for a job interview and you were answering their questions and kept swearing in your answers, you would most likely not get the job. Unless

your boss was a crazy person. Swearing makes people sound very unprofessional.

Some people use them when they need to let out their anger or they are frustrated with something, but there is no need to use those words in every sentence that comes out of your mouth.

I understand that a lot of people may not agree with the feelings I have towards swear words, but the use of swear words needs to be cut down so it doesn’t seem so natural for people to use them. At West High many kids will run down the hallway screaming things that are not necessary to yell or even say. If you were to get injured and they just came out its understandable, you’re in pain. But people shouldn’t use them just for fun. Cuss words are bad because the more people say them, the more they seem normal saying all the time and they become a habit to use no matter what they are doing.

Kids learn all of the swear words at such an early age because they hear everyone around them using them. I know that we cannot get people to stop cursing but people can give their opinions stating how they feel about the use of them.

Is Dance Team A

BY RYLEE PETITGOUT r.petitgout@gmail.com

Sport?

You’re just about to go into the tryout. Palms are sweaty, and you keep going over the dance over and over in your head making sure you won’t forget it. You hear the music of the dancers before you stop, it’s now your turn to go. You walk in nervous, but you put a smile on your face. Dance team tryouts for 2015-2016 year just recently happened. There has been lots of talk about dance “definitely being a sport!” and “There’s no way dance team could be a sport” throughout the halls at West High. As a dancer, we’re regularly confronted with skeptics who tell us that dance is not a sport.

By personal experience of talking to other athletes, many people don’t believe dance team is a sport. In fact, people regularly tell me that dance isn’t a sport. Most athletes I’ve talked to think dancers are just people who do a two minute routine and are done. They think we have easy practices, where we just stand around and talk about our day or our problems we have. But, that is not dance team at all. Yes, we have many laughs and have a lot of fun in practice. We often make tell jokes to lighten the mood in practice to make it fun, but we also do so much more. Most of the fun we have in practice consists of showing off our great dances and choreography to others. We practice hard and are dedicated for 10 months only to perform a 2 minute dance to show what we can do for several competitions throughout the year.

Our last was in Florida which was our National competition.

So, what is a sport anyway? How do you define it?

According to the definition from dictionary.com, a sport is an athletic activity requiring skill or physical prowess and often a competitive nature. From being on the West High dance team last year, these requirements of being on a sport are equal to the ones on being on dance team.

For 10 out of 12 months, the West High Poms practices.

Early in our season, we go for about 3 days a week. As the season progresses, we can practice to as much as 7 days a week for about 3-4 hours a practice. Sometimes before our big competitons, we can have two-a-day practices.

Isn’t it time to realize the real meaning of dance team?

According to debate.com, 80 percent of people actually do think dance is a sport. That leaves 20 percent who don’t. Lots of other students here at West High, mostly other athletes, think dance team is just a 2 minute routine that we perform at halftime at a football or basketball game, but it is so much more.

GOOD FOOD GOOD FRIENDS GOOD TIMES LOOKING FOR AUTHENTIC ITALIAN FOOD AND A GREAT TIME? READ ON TO HEAR ABOUT THE PERFECT RESTAURANT FOR YOUR TASTE.

BY ELLE BODE

ellegirl21@gmail.com

Good food, good friends, good times; that’s what dinner should be about, right? If you are looking for delicious Italian food and friendly service, Mirabitos is a delightful restaurant choice. Mirabitos’ menu has many authentic Italian choices like ravioli, spaghetti, lasagna and more with a homemade taste. Mirabitos is a family-owned and a family-run restaurant with meals cooked by the husband and family helping out with the service, ensuring a quality homemade meal and a family-friendly environment.

You walk in and pleasant smells of appetizing food and decorations to make you feel the true Italian experience. The decorations of a brick wall, a little Italy subway sign, and Italian photos

bring the experience to tie in with the food. The attire and feel is casual for a simple night out.

With a wide variety of options, the menu is easy to choose from. As soon as your order is taken, it’s sent straight to the chef. This means you won’t be waiting for your food and looking around at everyone else’s meals wishing you could have a bite. This restaurant is perfect for a quick stop in or a long family dinner with friends. I started my meal with an appetizer of fresh homemade bread and prosciutto with cheeses. Prosciutto is a savory Italian ham served in thin slices. This was a great light choice to start off my meal without getting full before my food came. My main entree was the cheese ravioli, but it was hard to choose considering everything looked good. The cheese ravioli was very well made and tasteful. The noodles were cooked to a smooth finish and the cheese inside the ravioli was cooked to a gooey melt with the perfect amount of flavor to balance the meal out. The meal didn’t need any extra salt or pepper because of the exquisite amount of flavor. The sauce was very authentic and homemade. It was something you couldn’t get just anywhere because the recipes used are old family recipes originating back in Italy.

If you’re a picky eater then there are plenty of simple Italian options with the choice of

customizing to your needs. You can enjoy simple cheese pizza, basic noodles with butter, or a simple meat and cheese sandwich. They also have elaborate dishes for those of you who love adventurous food. A new daring dish is the “Sammie” for those going for a spicy, fiery taste. This includes Spicy Capicola ham, Ghost pepper cheese, pepperoncinis, lettuce, tomato, and onion with a house vinaigrette.

Noodles and sauces aren’t all they have. The menu includes pizzas, sandwiches, soups, salads and more. This shows it is an all around restaurant for any ones favorite tastes of Italian.

They also have a choice of desserts including marscapone, cannolis and more. You can check out their facebook page to see their new additions to the menu and new specials of the day. Their menu covers a wide variety of tastes and they also have specials such as Meatball Monday if you are looking for a splendid meal for a low price. If the high quality Italian food and good company attracts you to Mirabitos, head to 40 Sugar Creek Lane in North Liberty.

Pizza Parlor or Food Court Pizza very well picked, it was a mix of all genres, and the volume was loud enough to hear it but not so loud that you couldn’t have a conversation. The restaurant was not too busy that you had to wait to be seated, but you wouldn’t be the only person in there.

Overall I give the atmosphere there three out of five stars because it was nice but the lights were too bright.

BY ACE HOLST

aceofspadesholst@gmail.com

For an arcade game themed restaurant located in a mall, my experience was good.

Right away when I saw the outside of the building and where it was located I had a low expectation for it. When I hear eating in a mall, I automatically think greasy food court food. Then when I walked in I saw a Space Invaders theme and automatically knew that everything would be retro and arcade themed.

The atmosphere at Mellow Mushroom was very welcoming. First the music was

The food there is cooked in an open kitchen where you can see the cooks making it fresh. While there I had garlic bread, parmesan pretzels, buffalo chicken pizza and piece of a calzone. The garlic bread was served with marinara sauce, and the bread itself was dry and not very garlicky.

But when you dipped it in the marinara sauce (highly recommended) it was the right balance between dry and moist. The parmesan pretzels weren’t greasy like I thought they would be. They were soft on the inside and crunchy on the outside, but I would not recommend the sauce that it is served with. The pizza was a generous ten inches and had the perfect blend of buffalo sauce and blue cheese, it wasn’t to hot but still had a kick. And the calzone had a little too much cheese, and at first it was difficult to eat with a fork or my hands but after the first few bites it became finger food.

There seemed to be too many staffers compared to the customers, and the waitress came back too often. But I was able to order drinks and food right when I was ready. The appetizers came out within 10 minutes after ordering and the pizza and calzones came out about 30 minutes after ordering. The menu there was simple but had a variety of options including appetizers, salads, pizza, calzones and sandwiches. Along with that they had a variety of gluten-free pizzas.

Overall I would give the whole restaurant a four out of five stars because not everything was perfect but there was nothing that was awful. I would go back to Mellow Mushroom if I was already at the mall and had time to spare, but I would order food to go since that is a option

Quick Information Name: Mellow Mushroom Location: Coral Ridge Mall

Specialties: Pizza, and Calzones Price: $-$$ Options: Gluten Free Pizza

WOULD YOU LIKE SOME CLASS WITH YOUR FRIES? Here lies the secret to enjoying a fancy, upscale McDonald’s meal: eat abroad.

BY CATHERINE JU

ju.catherine.18@icstudents.org

Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Let the world rejoice! McDonald’s chicken tenders are back!

This is only the most recent of the many changes that McDonald’s has implemented as part of their rebranding strategy, in an effort to boost their falling sales and reputation. They also replaced their CEO and many menu items in an attempt to stay competitive with other fast food chains.

For example, there’s Chipotle, where you can build your own burrito with

produce labeled as sustainably grown.

There’s also Panera Bread. At first this restaurant wasn’t fast-food focused, but now it’s transitioning into the realm of drive-thrus and quick service while still maintaining its quality.

But maybe it’s just the quality in general that needs improving here. Recently, I went to Taiwan. And boy, was there a difference in the McDonald’s. First of all, you walk into Taiwan’s McDonald’s, and it’s like you stepped into a room full of stainless steel Ikea furniture. It’s all very comfortable, too. There’s no greasy smell in the air, nor substandard services that greet you as if you were forever indebted to them. The staff almost speak in unison, “Welcome,” with a warm and inviting tone.

You could sit there all day talking with buddies or doing homework. I remember going for walks around the city with my relatives. Whenever we would get tired, we’d go take a rest in a McDonald’s, go to the bathroom and buy some snacks.

Relax. At McDonalds. Strange, right? It’s a totally different atmosphere. Everything is clean and refreshing. It looked classy.

Heck, you could even have a date there

and not get dumped. And you know those Happy Meals with those little kid toys we have here? In Taiwan, they were giving out glass cups with prints on them for the World Cup, Olympics mascot stuffed animals and Hello Kitty anniversary doll collectable items. I still go there for their toys.

The prices of the items are about the same, but the quality and the experience that comes with them are completely different. Competition in Taiwan for lower priced, quality food is much more intense and fierce. In the same block, you might see three different fast-food restaurants.

This is starting to happen in the U.S. too. Now in the U.S., other big fast-food chains are starting to catch up to and pull ahead of McDonald’s, capitalizing on the consumer desire for a modern, fresh and healthy restaurant. And McDonald’s has been trying to change, offering more salad options and giving apples as a replacement for fries in Happy Meals. But McDonald’s not only needs to change its menu, it needs to change its whole image.

So I’m telling you as a friend, Mickey D’s you need to step up your game.

THE NEXT BEST SHOW ON NETFLIX. One Tree Hill is a show from the 2000’s that is rising in popularity. It is taking the Netflix community by storm. Read on to learn more about this new trend and to see if it might be your next binge show.

BY SARAH LONGMIRE sarahbeth1999

“At this moment there are 6,470,818,671 people in the world. Some are running scared. Some are coming home. Some tell lies to make it through the day. Others are just now facing the truth.

Some are evil men, at war with good. And some are good, struggling with evil. Six billion people in the world. Six billion souls. And sometimes — all you need is one.”

You may have seen this quote or one similar to it on Twitter or on the caption for someone’s Instagram selfie. Maybe you have wondered where they are getting these powerful quotes from. Well, they are from the show One Tree Hill a 2000s T.V. show which, due to Netflix, is making a comeback.

One Tree Hill ran from 2003-2012 and was directed by Mark Schwahn. That’s a long span of time for a T.V. show to last being that there are nine episodes, but never fear they are all fantastic and they are all available on Netflix.

One Tree Hill follows the life of two teenage boys who were born to the same father but have different mothers. One son Lucas Scott, was completely disowned by his father,and the other Nathan Scott is loved dearly. Both Lucas and Nathan are very talented at basketball and end up playing on the same team together. The show follows them and their friends through everyday life in high school. This relatable to everyone because there are so many characters. so everyone can relate to someone on the show.

One of the best things about this show was the fact that you can never predict what is going to happen. Every season is full of plot twists and surprises that constantly keep you interested. Also if you are looking for a show that makes you think about life instead of just mindlessly watching, One Tree Hill brings up a lot of important issues and teaches viewers lots of important lessons about life and high school.

For example, they do an episode with a school shooting. Instead of being an unpractical, overdramatic episode, everything that happens in the episode is very well done. This episode really

makes viewers rethink how they treat the people around them and realize the reality of school shootings.

One drawback of One Tree Hill is it’s very slow starting. The show is not very intriguing until season two. While watching season one, I wanted to stop and have been told by many people that they thought season one was boring, but if you stick with it you won’t regret it. Also in season five they graduate from high school and the show fasts forward to their lives once they grow up. When this first happened I was not a fan, it took a lot of getting used to. Also Lucas Scott and Peyton Sawyer leave the show.

Since they are two of the main characters that was a big disappointment. Another criticism is that it is mostly a show for females. I have noticed that almost all the people I know who watch One Tree Hill are girls, but that does not mean guys can not watch it. The show is more geared towards females, though.

Overall, One Tree Hill is a show that will make you laugh, cry and rethink your life. I would recommend it to anyone.

“Most of our lives are a series of images, they pass us by like towns on a highway.

But sometimes a moment stuns us as it happens and we know that this instant is more than a fleeting image. We know that this moment, every part of it, will live on forever.” Lucas Scott.

JUST ANOTHER

WORTHLESS OPINION ARTICLE

LET’S TALK ABOUT ANOTHER TOPIC THAT’S BEEN SQUEEZED FOR ALL THE JOURNALISTIC MATERIAL IT’S WORTH. OR NOT. YOUR OPINION WON’T CHANGE ANYTHING.

By WINGEL XUE

wingelxue3@gmail.com

Opinion articles suck. Then why am I writing one? Good point. Since knowing how to write an opinion article has been determined to be a key part of my journalism education, I’m stuck writing an opinion article that no one will ever read on why opinion articles are dumb. Oh the irony.

No, but really - here’s the problematic part.

Other writers are popping out passionate opinion articles about all the ways the world has wronged them like Michelle Duggar pops out children, but what’s the point?

When I’m asked to write or even

brainstorm ideas about my unique and controversial opinions, I’m basically left without a clue of what to do. It’s 2015, all the opinions I could possibly have to write about have already been written about by writers better than myself.

What’s the point of opinion articles anyway? I mean, it’s just a bunch of egocentric writers professing their highand-mighty opinion as the truth and thinking that, in the midst of hundreds of similar articles about the same topic, theirs will somehow make a difference and cause a grand shift in the viewpoints of everyone who is blessed enough to read their work.

It’s not that I hate opinion articles, they just seem redundant and pointless when I write them. To be honest, I actually like reading them, but so many of these opinions have become the same - everything from the formulaic writing style to the topics that have been written about again and again… then again. Oh, so you’re an advocate for feminism too? Gee, I bet writing a 500-word article on it that eventually gets chucked in the deep recesses of some obscure newspaper archives along with hundreds of

others of rants on the same topic will really make a difference.

Yes, I agree, people do need these articles to bring social injustices to light, but does the world really need to hear your rant about how McDonald’s is making us all fatter than Honey Boo Boo’s mother? It’s been done. Move on.

I’m just going to come out and say it unless your opinion serves as a new and interesting read or is REALLY controversial, no one really cares. You don’t need me feeding you another page-long essay about the way I think you should view something for you to develop your own beliefs.

In the world of dead journalistic topics and issues which don’t have an impact anymore, maybe we, as writers, need to work a little bit harder to be more original. Maybe - just maybe - we should try and bring attention to real issues that are being undercovered in the world right now, rather than the easy little “bread-and-butter” topics.

In any case, congratulations to me. I’m probably only the 3000th person to write a column about this.

Iowa Assesments Are Devastating Schools The test that your school makes you take, is not givin by the teachers.

It is givin to you from people who have never even been to your school, from people who do not even understand todays generation. will also allow for state-by-state comparisons – something that was difficult to do when states started developing their own standards in response to the No Child Left Behind Act, signed into law by President George Bush in 2002.”

BY TREY WRIGHT

trey.wright4512@gmail.com

We, as high schoolers, do not need to be told what classes we can and can not take, yet this is what the Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS) do. “‘I think in the future those (new) assessments will give everyone more comparative leverage about how their students are doing,” Jason Glass told the state Senate Education Committee last month.

If they want to see how we are doing, why can’t they just look at our old test scores, or how we have been doing in that class? Why do they have to take time out of our day so they can find out what they already know?

According to U.S. news, “The new assessments

“They never should have created the No Child Left Behind Act”

They never should have created the No Child Left Behind Act, because all students should have to work for their grade and for the next level. But now, because of the act - all they have to do is nothing. Either way they make it to the next grade, so the assessments are used to see if they actually learned anything.

“The Iowa standardized tests – largely multiple-choice bubble-sheet tests that cover subjects such as reading, writing, math, social studies and science – have been administered by the University of Iowa since 1935. They are

‘norm-referenced tests,’ which are designed to compare students to other students across the nation along a Bell curve.”

They make us take tests, for the classes we are already in, so why can’t they just make a small state wide test for that class, instead of taking time out of our day to take several tests right after finals. Especially in the morning when most kids’ brains do not turn on until after 11 am.

“The National Education Association, the country’s largest teachers union, has long complained that No Child led to a proliferation of poor-quality standardized tests across the country. What’s more, these tests were being used to make high-stakes decisions about students’ and teachers’ futures,” Says a reporter from U.S. news.

How is it fair to the children in these classes to have decisions made for them from someone who does not even visit the schools to see the progress done by those kids? The student body should have a say on the kinds of tests we have to take and the teachers who work with us on a day to day basis should help influence how they are done.

Maintaining Our

Legacies The life of a younger sibling at West High

by Charlie Code

ccode04@gmail.com

Having an older sibling can be tough. Trust me, I’ve been there. As a younger brother of four years, I’ve seen it all. Older siblings present a unique love-hate relationship in our lives. They help to pave the path for younger siblings as they grow older. Yet, younger siblings can often have a predetermined bias placed on them by their peers.

Whether they were AP students, social butterflies or sports superstars. Most younger Trojans feel pressure to live up to the predetermined expectations set on them by their siblings.

I have seen many of my fellow students with older siblings say that their identities have been

pre-judged by those who know their sibling.

If your sibling was the national pole vault champion throughout all of their four years in high school, don’t you think that people would expect you to be halfway decent at the sport? Or if they were known for being the class clown, causing distractions and wreaking havoc across all seven periods, don’t you think that your older peers would expect you to be a troublemaker?

Now, having expectations placed on you by a sibling isn’t necessarily a bad thing. If your sibling has a great, caring personality others might assume that you do too; there are definitely way shorter straws that you could pull.

I got lucky, my brother graduated from West High in 2013. The first reaction ever given to me as I walked into West was a quick double take and an even quicker “Are you Will Code’s younger brother?” For a while during my freshman year, I even bore the titles of “Mini-Will”, and “Baby Code” to some of my older peers.

But to be honest, I wore those titles with pride.

I was happy to see the influence of my brother in the school. His time at West has helped me establish good relationships with teachers, introduce me to awesome people, and encouraged me to participate in extracurricular activities that I never would have seen myself being in. Even though I did not get the chance to

go to school with him, I was honored to see my brother’s impact on my time at West.

However, younger siblings need to realize that they are individuals and not let their personalities be dictated by the actions of their older siblings. But understanding and appreciating the mark their siblings left on the school is equally important. We need to try and uphold and improve upon the legacies that our siblings left on this great school - not copy it. So whenever I am asked if I am the younger brother of Will Code, I proudly say yes, and I try to maintain the legacy that my brother left behind.

Different sport,

same support?

Every day at West High inequality in sports takes place. Whether it’s students choosing to attend a basketball game over a wrestling meet or tweeting about a football game over a golf tournament.

BY ELLIE GRETTER

esgretter@gmail.com

W

est High football games usually consist of so many students packed into one section you feel claustrophobic. There are hundreds of high school students there but also junior high students, parents of the players, and supporters of the team. Compared to a cross country meet where the common spectator is a middle-aged parent and maybe younger children. The only thing crowded about cross country meets are the parents trying to push past each other to see their kid cross the finish

line. Inequality in sports happens daily at West High.

For instance, there wasn’t even a single charter bus offered for the state wrestling championships. On the other hand, for every day of the basketball championships there was at least one charter bus packed full of students.

Wrestlers aren’t the only ones lacking support, any other sport teams experience the same type of thing.

Being a girls cross country runner, this inequality is very apparent to us. During cross country season, the team held a spot consistently at second in the state, making it the highest ranked fall sport at West. This happens to a lot of other sports as well. It also shows when students don’t attend these sporting events.

According to Leah Dusterhoft ‘17, a wrestling manager, there is about 12 students that attend home wrestling meets. This happens in softball as well, “During the summer I feel that most people choose to go to most of the baseball games, but I think people forget about softball and it’s the same sport, just as fun.” said Haley Shook ‘18 a softball player.

Why does this happen?

One reason is that many of the West athleticsbased Twitter accounts don’t post about these events or the results from them as diligently as

they would for football or basketball. Scott Kibby and WSS athletics twitter (@ICWestAthletics and @wssathletics) have 952 followers combined.

That is a lot of students that would probably attend one of the less ‘popular’ sporting events if they just knew about them. Also, every Friday that there is a home football game there is a spirit day organized by student senate or Dr. Arganbright will come over the intercom talking about it.

Why don’t all the sports get this much attention?

The majority of West High’s students only pay attention to the sports that they think are ‘the most fun’ or ‘exciting’. Maybe the reason why they think this is because they have never been to a softball game, a wrestling meet, or a golf tournament. I think if West High students and staff were more open to attending these events and if they heard more information about them maybe they would just find those sports just as interesting. It is not hard to attend these events for example home track meets take place at the same exact place as football. Also, softball games are held right behind the school so you wouldn’t even need a ride to attend one of these events.

Maybe if you just try to attend one new sporting event you might find something that you really enjoy or that you would even want to be a part of.

l: Bates Mote A new kind of Physco

By De’JA BUNYAN

The story begins with the untimely death of Norman’s father, which

propels Norma to move to Oregon with Norman, 17, and make a fresh start with the dilapidated motel and the towering house behind it.

Quickly, “Bates Motel” delivers a very hard-to-watch rape and violent murder that will inevitably alienate some viewers. The scenes push the boundaries of today’s standards of TV violence in the way the movie did back in 1960. Hitchcock knew what not to show, to ignite our imaginations; but still, “Psycho” was a new level of terror for viewers of the time. Nothing that comes after that in the first episode of “Bates Motel” is nearly as savage, and if you can make it to episode 2, you will find a show that relies more on me and mystery than brutality and gore.

Highmore is just right as Norman. He’s got a retro face, which can travel from smirky to furtive to frightened without much bluster.

You can see his innocence starting to darken. He gets involved with two very different girls in his class. Emma (Olivia Cooke) is literary and has cystic fibrosis, which prompts Norma to inquire about her life expectancy. And Bradley (Nicola Peltz) is a prettier girl whose father is

involved in some local dirty doings.

I’m less convinced by Farmiga, who doesn’t seem to have a strong fix on Norma’s motivations. She seems almost too nice, or too calm, to be as shifty and damaged as she is. In episode 2, Max Thieriot shows up with lot of interestingly conflicted energy as Dylan, Norma’s older son from a relationship with a different man than Norman’s father.

Initially, he presents himself as a bitter seed who caustically calls his mother “Norma” and bullies his half-brother. But he is also needy, and possibly jealous of the closeness between Norma and Norman.

I should stress that “Bates Motel” isn’t for everyone, and not only because of the violence. The show offers little in the way of triumph, as least so far. If there are sweet moments, they are tinged with eeriness.

And we know where this whole thing is ultimately headed, don’t we, and redemption is definitely not in the picture.

Gay rights, brought to you by Nabisco Big companies are using the trappings of the gay rights movement in order to promote their own brands, and it needs to stop

BY MADELINE SILVA

mad.silva.ic@gmail.com

Picture this. You’re scrolling down your Facebook newsfeed, when you notice a friend has shared a post by Oreos. It’s a picture of a multilayered rainbow Oreo, captioned “Pride.” While it’s not explicitly stated, it’s clearly an endorsement of the gay rights movement. “Wow,” you think, being a typical Iowa City liberal (or perhaps LGBT yourself). “It’s so cool of Oreos to do that!” Perhaps you like or share it, giving Oreos more free exposure. And you continue on your way, a seed of goodwill towards Nabisco brands planted in your subconscious and some warm fuzzies in your heart. Faith in humanity restored.

This is exactly the reaction you’re supposed to have.

Although on the surface, pro-LGBT or LGBT-inclusive ad campaigns such as Oreo’s come across as bold and compassionate, the truth is that they’re pure emotional manipulation designed to further ingratiate a brand with the consumer and serve no social good whatsoever. Ads like these have really only existed in the mainstream since gay rights became trendy around the late 2000s. There were certainly no gay pride type ads in the 80s during the AIDS

30 OPINION APRIL 2015 WSSPAPER.COM

epidemic, when the LGBT community first came under national scrutiny and hysteria and discrimination were rampant.

Almost none exist from before 2011, the first year Gallup polls found that more than half of Americans support gay marriage.

All of this shows that companies are simply taking advantage of an issue prominent in the national zeitgeist to make themselves appear morally right.

A company simply would not do an ad supporting a risky, fringe interest, like what gay rights were until very recently. That would be stupid. These ads were carefully produced by a board of executives operating on mountains of expensive marketing research. Big companies do not take risks.

Big companies do not “stand up for the little guy”. Big companies, all companies, exist to do one thing: make money. And these ads are just another way they’re tapping into the national conscience to do so.

These ads are insidious and insulting for two reasons. Firstly, as mentioned above, they are deceitful. All ads are, in a way, but these especially, because they don’t even exist to sell a product - they exist to promote a brand as good and caring. Moreover, when the ad inevitably comes under attack by some musty anti-gay organization, tediously prolonging the ad’s coverage by the insatiable clickbait machine, everyone is baited into feeling sympathy for the poor wittle multinational corporation that was just trying to do some good in the world.

Secondly, and more personal to myself as a gay person, they’re a mockery of the actual gay rights movement. When Gilbert Baker first designed the rainbow flag in 1978, do you think he intended for his efforts to one day appear on a Burger

King wrapper? Of course not. Putting a decades-long, sometimes life-and-death struggle for human rights in the context of an ad campaign is insulting, and the insult is made that much worse because it’s supposed to be taken as support. It’s sickening. Gay rights activists didn’t lose their reputations and sometimes their lives for the movement to be co-opted by corporations as soon as queerness became palatable to a majority of America.

“But”, you may object, “These companies aren’t being manipulative! They’re just making their ads more diverse and accepting!” I will concede that this may be the case; perhaps JCPenny’s marketing staff truly just wanted to be inclusive of same-sex parents when they made their father’s day ad featuring two dads.

However, it is impossible to know their true intentions, regardless of what the PR department might say of their lofty ambitions. It is equally likely that the ad is a coldly calculated attempt to reconnect with lefty Millennials and guarantee free exposure from online news outlets.

Because of this, I am opposed to companies using gay couples or anything related to the gay rights movements in their ads. Whatever a company’s intentions may be, an ad with those things becomes a stunt for attention and is thus disrespectful to actual LGBT people. We’re not marketing tools. Maybe in twenty years, commercials with two moms won’t make Huffington Post headlines. But until then, advertisers should avoid dipping their toes into social justice.

What West Should Be Watching You know the feeling; you’re studying for that huge final you have tomorrow and your brain just stops. So you put away the homework and turn on your TV, but what do you watch? You’ve already seen all four seasons of Pretty Little Liars and you finished Breaking Bad over winter break because you did not want to socialize with your family. Here are some recommendations of what to watch when you’re clueless.

Bones

BY MADDIE MORIYAMA MADDIEMORIYAMA21@GMAIL.COM

The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt

Think Elf but instead of Will Ferrell, Buddy the Elf is now Kimmy Schmidt (Ellie Kemper), a 27 yearold woman who lives in New York City after spending 15 years in an underground, post-apocalyptic cult. Kimmy has to navigate the waters of modern New York City life while balancing a job and potential love interests with only an 8th grade education to guide her. While this may not sound like a comedy, it will have you laughing within the first five minutes due to Kimmy’s naive personality and her unique actions.

Genre: Comedy

House of Cards

House of Cards centers around Frank Underwood (Kevin Spacey), a politician for South Carolina’s 5th congressional district, who is now the VIce President of the United States of America. Alongside his wife, Claire (Robin Wright), the political duo form an intense plan to get Frank to the Oval Office, and they will do whatever it takes. While watching House of Cards, expect sizzling love lives and manipulation. Lots and lots of manipulation.

Genre: Drama

Forensic anthropologist Dr. Temperance Brennan (Emily Deschanel) works for the Jeffersonian Institution in Washington D.C. Dr. Brennan spends her days digging up skeletons from ancient times and offending people with her blunt personality, but after being partnered with ego-inflated Special Agent Seeley Booth (David Boreanaz) to solve murders for the FBI, her life drastically changes. Bones is more than just another crime show, though. Bones sends the message that being different is okay, and there is more to life than your comfort zone.

Genre: Crime

Scandal

Olivia Pope (Kerry Washington), crisis consultant and founder of Olivia Pope and Associates is very good at her job. She is known for her high-profile cases, typically involving powerful politicians who end up in, well, a scandal. To top off Olivia’s exciting life, she has eccentric coworkers who have unorthodox methods of getting the information they need. Oh, and the very married President of the United States of America (Tony Goldwyn) happens to have a large crush on her. Scandal promises drama, love triangles, political secrets, and much more.

Genre: Drama

Grey’s Anatomy

Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo) is a surgical intern at Seattle Grace Hospital and the daughter of medically famous general surgeon, Ellis Grey (Kate Burton). At Seattle Grace, Meredith has big shoes to fill, along with catty fellow interns, a grumpy resident, and a one night stand who just can’t get enough. As if that weren’t enough, she’s busy trying to perform surgeries on patients to keep her reputation of Ellis Grey’s daughter intact. If you enjoyed shows like House and Scrubs, Grey’s Anatomy is definitely for you.

Genre: Drama

Nikita

After escaping Division, a secret government organization that takes incarcerated teens and turns them into trained assassins, Nikita Mears (Maggie Q) takes on the mission to destroy not only the organization itself, but the people who run it, who happen to be powerful Washington officials. Division does everything in its power to try to stop her, but what they don’t know is she has an agent on the inside undercover as a recruit. Nikita brings to the table non-stop action, romance, justice and lessons of loyalty.

Genre: Action

Net Neutrality Do’s and

Don’ts.

Net Neutrality: Political firestorm or meaningless jargon.

BY COLIN WALDRON

colin.waldron.97@gmail.com

Is Net neutrality the gatekeeper of internet usage? Will we ever find out?

What is net neutrality? Net neutrality is the principle that internet service providers and carriers cannot discriminate certain types of internet usage by means such as slower service, added surcharges, and even total blockage of service. What does it really mean, though? Large internet providers like Verizon can’t prevent me from watching my Game of Thrones on HBO even if they are in a partnership with Netflix.

Why is this relevant now? President Obama recently issued a statement defending net neutrality in wake of current political pressure pushing legislation that the FCC (Federal

Communication Committee, the agency responsible for regulating the internet) to change its policy on net neutrality. Obama stated that the internet needs to be an open place where people can share their ideas and have ready access to information. He also made distinction between legislation on phone monopolies and internet service providers which the FCC is currently trying to use to justify its course of action.

What does this mean for me? It represents a shift in the market of internet providers that could mean terrible things in the future such as overcharges based on usages seen now in the form of data limits and even data fast lanes and slow lanes which could dictate what you have access to on the interwebz through almost full denial of service. ISPs (internet service providers) have the ability to slow down the service legally to websites that sponsor copyright infringement or have copyrighted material on their website. This acts as a huge loophole in the legal process because it leaves the decision making process to the ISPs to determine whether or not a company or website has copyright approval. Has this ever happened in the past? Net neutrality has remained constant but in 2010 Comcast sued the FCC based on fines they had to pay after providing slower service to networks that focused on peer

to peer sharing known as torrent sites. The court ruled that the FCC does not have the power to prevent this slower service setting a precedent for future erosion of net neutrality. Although this case upheld the desire for net neutrality there have been proposed bills infringing upon net neutrality such as CISPA, SOPA, PIPA, and ACTA which are cyber security programs that allow internet service providers to read into transmitted information and discriminate services based on the information they gain through spying.

What can I do to help? There are tons of petitions and websites that are willing to offer fresh information that can aid in public knowledge about net neutrality which helps put pressure on senators and law makers to be conscious of the people’s opinions. Even just reading this column makes you a more educated decision maker and that represents a shift in the political process.

Page 32

The Princess and the DRUNK

LEPRECHAUN DISCLAIMER: I AM NOT A PRINCESS, I REPEAT, I AM NOT A PRINCESS. ALTHOUGH, THE FOLLOWING EVENTS DID TAKE PLACE.

BY MEG MORELAND

mcmoreland3@gmail.com

Once upon a time, there was a princess who lived in a magical kingdom of corn, even though she really wasn’t a huge fan of corn. One day, this princess and the royal family got on a big contraption that resembled a bird. I know what you’re thinking, but this was definitely not an airplane, c’mon people it’s a fairy tale! The machine took them to the land of beaches and old people where the family was going to stay for a few days. They would take this trip every year when the flowers would bloom.

On the Day of St. Patrick’s, the princess got a summons from her friends, the Three Stooges.

They were inviting her to spend the day with them! The princess got in her horse and carriage

and her father, the King, drove her personally to the Three Stooges’ dwelling. One of the horses in a carriage ahead of them had ran away so it took quite a long time to make the journey.

When the princess got there, the Three Stooges realized that they had mixed up the date! So the princess was left with no choice, but to walk the way back from which she came.

She began her journey optimistic as all princesses should. Soon, a carriage passed her.

She smiled, being polite as she was always taught to be. The carriage stopped and the horseman asked her to get in the carriage. Taken aback, the princess shook her head and scurried away.

Continuing on, the princess decided she must be more careful. Almost immediately, another carriage came up. A man and his son stuck their head out the window. The man whistled and the son followed suit. The princess looked around, searching for the horse they were calling to.

Finding none, she turned back around only to realize that they were whistling at her! This time the princess ran away.

A building soon came up in the distance. Wary, the princess walked slower to see what it was.

As she came closer, she saw a crowd of people.

Each person in the crowd was holding a foaming drink. The princess decided that the best way to get around this obstacle, was to charge ahead with her eyes down. She had almost completed the action, when she heard a shout from behind her. She turned around just in time to see a

leprechaun on a bike heading straight for her!

The princess jumped out of the way at the last second. The leprechaun spit out a slurred apology and shakingly got back on his bike.

As the princess continued walking, it hit her.

This was her moment. This was when the last petal of the rose fell off the stem, this was her losing her glass slipper, this was her taking a bite of a poisoned apple. With this realization, the crown fell off her head.

There wasn’t going to be any prince coming to save her. She wasn’t any better than anyone else.

Soon she would have to rule over the land and couldn’t rely on anyone but herself. The princess knew it was time for a change. She mustered up her courage and walked away. Leaving her crown in the dust.

The End

HIPPIE DIPPIE BULLSHIT. “I am he as you are he as you are me and we are all together.”

-The Beatles

BY KAYLA SHADER

harold.cure.org@gmail.com

Hippies all kinda look like gay pirates, right? A lot of people that I know think that hippie is just a term you can throw around because someone wears long skirts or bell bottoms. Not all hippies were the same. hip·pie hipē/ noun (especially in the 1960s) Someone of unconventional appearance, typically having long hair and wearing beads, associated with a subculture involving a rejection of conventional values and the taking of hallucinogenic drugs.

It seems everybody thinks that all hippies wear tie-dye and they all have long hair. All hippies really like dreadlocks and Harry Potter glasses. They all look like Daniel Radcliff too

because of that meme online. Hippies loved getting high. All they did was have sex, but I’m not very sure why. They protested against war and they really liked trees too.

They all lived outside and were really dirty.

They never took baths because they were too busy having sex. And getting high. They’re all liberal and they’re all vegans. They also all drive Priuses and they all hate republicans.

The truth is that hippies love love and fight for the cause. Most hippies generally are not all about drugs and parties though. The only thing that makes them different is that they still fight for a cause. For example, spiking redwood forests in California to stop deforestation or protesting against discriminating laws like giving equal wages to women and giving equal rights to the LGBT community. They still rebel against mainstream ideas. For example, not using as much natural gas and fossil fuels to power their home. They support each other and if one hippie didn’t have enough money to buy food, almost always there would be another hippie coming to their need. Lots of hippies now generally wear loose and easy clothes to move in because a lot of them are involved in protests and need clothes to be able to move around in. They fought for the cause! Anti-war! Pro-earth! Pro-love!

I HATE THE STEREOTYPE. A hippie is not

a specific person. They could be you or me.

We’re all humans. We’re all equal. I’m not try to say that if someone asks you “What do you consider yourself to be?” and say “I’m a human,” I’m trying to say that If you take pride in being a full on emo then go ahead and use that word. I mean I would consider myself a hippie because I was raised in a way that I believe would be “hippie like”. I also believe that I am starting to develop characteristics that would seem “hippie like” as well. For example, I really like long skirts and tanktops. When I started learning about the rainforests in South America and the redwood forests in Oregon and California being destroyed, I got pissed. I was raised to believe that our Earth is a precious thing and that we need to take care of it better.

But I was also raised around adult humor and indie rock music. I was raised around classics like the bands Weezer and Cake. My parents and I would listen to Modest Mouse and Nirvana non-stop for hours at a time. My parents didn’t censor very much when their friends were around so I kinda understood adult jokes before I was supposed too. I was raised to stand up against drug abuse. I was raised to believe that if I think something is wrong, I need to stand up and say something. I was raised to believe that I can be whoever I want to be as long as I be myself.

YOU can be whoever YOU want to be as long as you be yourself. No one can judge you as long as you’re confident that YOU’RE YOU. If you want to be a conservative hippie, go for it! If you want to be a gay pirate then go ahead! The only person stopping you is you!

The Worst Of the Worst

Reviews on the app store.

Pocket Fan Free: 3.1 stars out of 5

A deck is a secondary headline that sets up the article and further explains the angle.

Use a deck to persuade people to read on. is if you ride a bike or something and are waiting in the bike lane and some dumb car is in your way, you can just pull out your phone and use this app. I mean who When I first started looking through apps,on my would mess with someone who goes as far,as to actually android phone, I started to think to myself ‘What download an app like this. I did, however, like the fact are the worst apps I can find?’ After venturing into that you have different options of the kind of horn you the ‘forgotten’ apps, I noticed the apps just got wanted to use.

Cola Drinks: worse and worse. Now I understand why they are It has the sound effect along with visual of a cup or in on the 7th page in the app store, but yet people, like me , probably have no life and actually find and this case a phone, being filled with Coca-Cola. As you download these apps. As I was looking through the tip your phone as if you were actually drinking from it, it pages of apps, I stopped and downloaded the one I makes a noise of someone drinking it, see you don’t even thought sounded or looked the most ridiculous. have to make the sound, it does it for you along. When you finish ‘drinking’ the soda it makes a satisfying burb Pocket Fan Free: There is absolutely no possible use for this app,yet noise. I don’t really see the use in this app at all, unless people are giving it 5 out of 5 stars. The app is you are the kind of person who enjoys the thought of useless in the sense that all it is is a metal fan and a being able to drink soda out of your phone. But if you simple on and off button. I have no idea why people like to pretend to drink Coca-Cola then this app is for would ever download this app. As I kept looking I you!

Pimple Popper: saw that there is actually a fan app that you have to It gives you an close-up of a person’s face and you have pay a dollar for. This shocked me, I couldn’t believe to go though and pop all the zits and blackheads. Can people had actually downloaded it. At the end of the day, this app is just a waste of space and is one I just say, this is a gross app. I don’t really understand of the most useless apps I have ever downloaded . why people would want to have an app on their phone It starts to make me wonder if people download it that lets you pop zits, but there is! The reviews people left and are like ‘I’m kinda hot now, thanks to this cool for this app all mentioned how addicting it was.Umm.. free fan app I can cool myself down!’ May I offer a no, just stop right there, how on earth can poping fake word of advice, if the names of apps have the word zits on a cartoon figure be addicting. This app is almost as fun as twiddling your thumbs. But, hey, if you enjoy Free in it then it probably isn’t a very good app. popping zits then go ahead and get this app, I won’t stop Stadium Horn: It offers you six types of different horn sounds. I you, maybe judge you a little but that’s about it. personally found some joy in scaring my family and friends with this app but yet again I am a teenager and the people who were leaving reviews, were not.

The only time this would maybe, actually be useful QUINNTESSA MAXEY-KINNEY

Stadium Horn: 3.7 starts out of 5

Cola Drinks: 3.4 stars out of 5

Pimple Popper: 3.3 stars out of 5

Mellow Mushroom

The Trippy Restaurant

4/5 pizza scale

BY RYAN STARK

ryan.starkwss@gmail.com

Mellow Mushroom has a very, unique decorative style. “I’m stuck inside the old arcade game Space Invaders!” From the middle of the restaurant you can see two cows, one being transported into an UFO, and the other cow is above the main entryway and colored tie-dye. The theme of the restaurant is based off the movie, Zadar, Cow from Hell, which was actually made in Iowa. Throughout the restaurant, they have a lot of artwork made from metal and other “junk” material. The music they played was very versatile; they had soft rock, rap, country, and everything in between. The bathrooms have pictures of an alien on the males and a female space astronaut on the females, with the words “Femels” and “Mels” written.

The food was great, the garlic bread had a really distinct taste to it and they bread wasn’t doused in garlic butter but more of a dry rub.

The marinara sauce that comes with the bread is topped with parmesan cheese and ready to dip. The bread is good alone but it’s a little dry so dipping it in the sauce is highly recommended to moisten the bread.

The pretzels were the best thing on the menu, the outside was crispy and brown then the inside was really soft, gooey, and flakey, they also come with sauce and parmesan cheese in the cup, but there is also cheese on the pretzels.. They also have a garlic butter that is delicious - strong but not overwhelming. The pretzels are better without the marinara sauce but if you want that little extra flavor then go for it, but the sauce drowns out the garlic taste.

The “Funky Q. Chicken” pizza with a swirl of bleu cheese was good and the bleu cheese was really calm in flavor. It didn’t override any other flavor, but the buffalo sauce was way too strong for the amount that they put on. It was too excessive.

The pepperoni and cheese calzone with marinara sauce was delicious except the cheese literally was overflowing out of the calzone.

The crispy, flakey outside shell was delicious, except the burnt the bottom and with every bite it was too crunchy to really enjoy. The overall calzone was good but you had to try and ignore the burnt bottom.

The prices are very reasonable, for a soda, a small pizza, half size of pretzels, garlic bread, and a basic calzone wasn’t even a total of $35.

I recommend this place to anyone who loves pizza, pretzels, or garlic bread. This is completely worth a trip down to the mall.

The restaraunt that is themed after a famous Iowa movie with great food.

RED WHITE NO BLUE? TED CRUZ Presidential candidate who struggles to win over the heart of America

BY: IRENA CHARLES Irena.charles21@gmail.com When thinking of Canada, some people think of Justin Bieber.Others think of Rachel McAdams or Even Ryan Gosling. All famous celebrities who have made a name for themselves. Not many think of our maybe next president, but that might change. Canadian citizen and United States senator, Ted Cruz is on a mission to run for president in the 2016 election. With this shocking announcement of his running in March, huge debates of his ability to run was brought up over his capability to run.

Doug Mataconis, feels that with Cruz being a first-term senator will hurt him in the long run as it did Obama. Tampa Bay Times believes that he can do this because the Constitution

does not specify certain terms when written.

Not necessarily because people feel that he is incapable, but because of his origin of birth..

According to the Constitution, a person running for president must be at least 35 and a natural born U.S. citizen. The term “natural born” is open to many interpretations. To Cruz, he was born to his mother Eleanor Darragh, who was born in the State of Delaware, making him a “natural born U.S. citizen.” Being a person who is not heavily involved with politics, to find this information sparks a bit of interest for me. From the beginning of our education, it is an unwritten rule to know the constitution. perhaps not word for word, but a paraphrased version of it. One main concept being that you have to be born in the United States to run for president. Ted Cruz seems to challenge that saying. The constitution does not define what it means to be natural born.

What at the time seemed as a small oversight to our founding fathers, is now a big issue amongst many strong hearted Americans. Canadians are said to friendly and smart. For Cruz, he does not claim his Canadian citizenship. He is very set in American ways. He loves his country and what he does in the senate. The question is if he were to win the 2016 election, how would Americans feel about his point of view being that he has lived in both countries. Would he declare national

maple syrup day? Is macaroni and cheese going to be America’s favorite food? Who knows what is to come from his running. A mystery that is to answered when the day comes. Many Americans are going to discriminate against him, some will simply not care. Cruz knows a lot about the American history and the American people.

He even considers himself one. His hope is to win but how far will he go. Many believe that he won’t last. President Obama has been facing for the past couple years hatred and regret by many of the American people, yet he still pushes forward. I for one think that Cruz should not be able to run for president mainly to follow the Constitution that our founding fathers created years ago. Being a young american most of what I do with my life is up to me. When it comes to politics, I am not much a bookworm, but from what I have learned, a president be from the country is represents. It probably would not hard having a Canadian president but it definitely bring change to the country we have come to learn about from the beginning.

Five Things You Didn’t Know About Pageants

{

Gowns & Glitter

There are around 3,000 beauty pageants per year.

Hear the truth behind the cost and the myths about pageants. Uncover what the reality shows make you believe, pageants aren’t just about beauty.

BY TAYLOR FRIDRICH

fridrich.taylor.18@gmail.com

When you think of pageants, I’m sure you imagine glittery dresses, curled hair, tons of makeup and bratty little girls. This is how the reality TV show Toddlers and Tiaras portrays beauty pageants. It portrays the little girls competing just for money. They show the girls who don’t win bawling and stamping their feet.

However, there’s a lot more behind those sparkly gowns.

One of my dance teachers this year is trying to become Miss Iowa, which wasn’t an easy path to get to. I didn’t learn what pageants were really about until talking to her. You start with a platform, something you focus on and support such as an organization or cause. You connect with the community and organizations to raise money and help gain supporters.

These competitions help you get involved in the community and do many important things to help good causes such as the March for Babies. My dance teacher attends many events around town and represents her county which gives a great amount of respect, she says it’s amazing to take part in community activities and loves being able to help out. She’s even gone to schools to read to the kids there and play with them, which they love. She’s not the stereotypic pageant girl, she’s a down to earth girl who grew up in a small town, has a love for pageants, and wants to make a difference in the community.

You can also get scholarships and other awards that help your resume and advance your future.

The positives to pageantry are definitely not

shown in the reality TV shows. My teacher has been competing in pageants for many years and she was recently crowned Miss Pearl City, which can take her to the next level.

The competitions don’t only involve posing in a pretty dress. There are talent competitions to showcase who the contestant is and there are interview questions and personal interviews with the judges. The interview portion of the competition is great practice for later in life when you’re attending job interviews. The practice it gives you helps build public and interpersonal speaking skills.

Winning is a lot harder than they make it look. There is good cause behind the pageants, although it is true that the dresses can be a bit pricey and sometimes competitors overdo it a bit, dresses can range anywhere from hundreds to thousands of dollars. But, there are other ways to get dresses than buying them for thousands of dollars every time. You could rent, borrow, etc. Having the most expensive dress definitely doesn’t guarantee a win.

Many girls aspire to be crowned a winner, but there’s more to it than just winning. It involves having coaches and hours of preparation. So next time you watch Toddlers and Tiaras or hear negativity about pageants remember that there is more to it than an expensive dress, there’s a lot of good that comes out of it.

Pageant entry fee’s cost anywhere from $50-$500.

Around 3 million children attend pageants every year.

Parents often pay coaches around $50 per hour once a week.

Group Chat Roasts The New Bullying?

Group chats is how kids of this generation bully each other!!!

of a group chat. The people that participate in group chats are those who are on a team, making plans with their friends, or trying to take the piss (annoy people).

BY KAVIR RAMOS

kavirramos42@gmail.com

Minding your own business on your phone and suddenly a notification pops up notifying you that someone has added you to their group chat.

As you click the notification your phone buzzes five more times notifying you that you have new messages. Reading through the messages you become irritated and start questioning whether to delete your account or run over your phone with a car.

Apple did a survey on a small group of people to see how much they really use their phones. More than half of the group has never participated in a group chat which can be a good or bad thing. It may be different from person to person but everyone should have at least heard

The content that people find in such group chats can be PG to Explicit like Lil Wayne’s music. The main topic is roasting, it happens on every chat but different levels of maturity vary depending on who is in the group. Often phrases that could hurt someone can be taken seriously are spoken but most of the people on these group chats ignore the age warning like the terms and conditions.

I have had personal experiences with being the “roastee” in the group chat before. These roasts have made me question my existence many times. When I’m in these group chats with my friends I know that they are kidding, but do others around the world take these chats seriously?

“Group chats have turned my life worse than it already it is. Ever since I was asked to join the group chat. I feel like I don’t know who I am.

Sometimes I sit in the corner contemplating over what has just been said to me, ” said Bryan Martinez ’16. This horrifying quote has touched

me and is why I question these group chats.

Arsenal’s Struggle

Faults Arsene in Him Arsene Wenger should be the blame of Arsenal’s struggle to win international and domestic tophies while at the helm of Arsenal.

CONOR ZIELINSKI CJZIELINSKI14@GMAIL.COM

Arsene Wenger, the iconic figurehead of Arsenal, has stressed his team’s play total football for the past 10 years. Yet the only trophy that he has been able to bring home to Arsenal was a measly FA Cup trophy, against a deeply hindered and non-threatening Manchester City, who were in the process of rebuilding their squad.

Wenger is the recipient of millions of dollars given to him by Arsenal to spend on a world class striker. Yet, with that money he bought some highly debatable players. The first high money player he brought in was Mesut Ozil from Real Madrid. While Mesut is undoubtedly one of the best players in the world, he’s a player that Arsenal did not need They already had a fearsome midfield with the likes of Jack Wilshere, Aaron Ramsey and Santi Cazorla.

The second player Wenger brought in was Danny Welbeck; yes, that’s right - the one that struggled to score at Manchester United even while having some of the world’s best players around him. While at Manchester United, Welbeck had a goal per game ratio of one to five. Many strikers who are considered world class have a ratio of one to two. It almost seemed like the transfer was rushed with no basis to it. What a deal.

Another fault of Wenger’s is that he is not willing to adapt. He has been running the same style of soccer - Total Football - for the past decade.

Total football is basically like the soccer version of communism, where everybody is equal in achieving the ultimate goal of winning. Everybody has to pass the ball perfectly as a whole in order to score, staying compact and communicating in order to prevent one. During the time that Wenger has used this style he has brought only one trophy to Arsenal in the past decade.

Other teams in the Premier League like Chelsea, Man Utd and Man City, have done well because they brought in the right players at the right time.

Arsenal fans, don’t kid yourselves by asking, “How can you say that he is doing bad Mr. Zielinski?” He is.

Arsenal finished in the top four for the past decade, and if Arsenal wants to win the league - Wenger must adapt.

MY HOMECOMING

DATE DIDN’T

KNOW WHO

I WAS.

TAP DANCE AND IRISH DANCE- THEY BOTH MAKE LOUD SOUNDS; BUT DOES THAT MAKE IT THE SAME THING?

BY FENNA SEMEKN

semken.fenna@gmail.com

Do a jig! Oh, and pretend to play the bagpipes while drinking some green-colored beverage, even though you aren’t really sure what it is; but heck, it’s green!

Saint Patrick’s Day recently passed, and if you’re one of those people who thought they were impressing people with an Irish jig on March 17, now is the perfect time to tell you that you were wrong.

I started Irish dance when I was a little girl because I was in love with Michael Flatley’s body.

From there, I found a dance teacher who has taught me so much more than dance, from how to annoy hotel employees to being confident in myself. She also has taught me about the people who aren’t really sure what Irish dance is.

It was homecoming night, and during photos my date said, “Do one of those tap leaps in the photo.” He naturally assumed - as most people do - that Irish dance was the same thing as tap dance. He was wrong, and therefore, I couldn’t bring myself to talk to him anymore because he had crossed over the line. After I explained that it was indeed different, he still insisted it was the same. Because of this, he lost his amazing date to the dance.

Telling Irish dancers that we just do tap is the worst things you can say. We’ll become so aggravated that we’ll show you a few - or fiftyvideos explaining the difference between Irish and tap, and then make the reference that you wouldn’t call ballet and hip hop the same. Yes, that’s how far apart Irish and tap are. If you still insist they are the same, we’ll probably not talk to you for a few days while we cool down.

There are a few things that you should NEVER say to an Irish dancer: • “So you do tap?” Seriously folks!

• “Oh, you do that leprechaun dance!” Uh, no.

• “Wow! So you’re Irish?” Again, no.

• “Are you from Ireland?” No. • “You don’t look Irish.” Sorry?

• “Is your hair real?” This is acceptable

sometimes, since we’re very talented at doing our hair.

About our hair- I will break the news to tell you that no, it’s not real. Sorry. It would take us eight plus hours to get those curls, and our natural hair would be way too long to care for.

I hope that you will just trust me on the difference between Irish and tap, but if not, I’ll explain in more detail: • Tap dancers have looser feet while dancing • Irish dancers don’t move their arms when dancing (alone) • Irish dance has completely different footwork and competitions • Tap dance originated from Irish dance, so it’s very clear who is superior in the dance world Now, I realize that to some people, this makes no difference whatsoever. You’re probably also that person that believes that softball and baseball are the exact same sport. Yes, not all the people who believe Irish dance is the same as tap are like this, some people just truly don’t know.

And that’s okay.

Irish dance is a cultural trait from Ireland, but it’s so much more in spectrum. Dance has taken over my life; and to anyone who thinks it’s easy, or that it’s the ‘Irish tap’, get your facts straight.

HOW TO

TRAVEL

THE BEST WAY TO GET THE MOST OUT OF YOUR TRAVEL EXPERIENCE

BY SHAWN THACKER

thacker.v.shawn@gmail.com

T

he plane landed. Everyone got up from their seats in eager anticipation of their exodus from the crowded plane. I stepped out onto the tarmac.

The cool night breeze did nothing to mask the heat of the tropics. I had just gotten off a flight to Singapore, a tiny island nation about a fifth of the size of Rhode Island off the southern tip of Malaysia.

So, why was I in Singapore? Well, to answer that question, I’ll give you a little bit of background information me. I’ve had the opportunity to travel to many different places in the world, mostly because of my family. My dad is half Nepali and half Indian, and my mom is American. I lived in Nepal in my father’s home in Kathmandu, and have traveled there more frequently to visit family. Through my father’s family and friends I’ve had the privilege to travel to other places, such as Singapore, as well.

Through my travels, I’ve learned a lot about different cultures, and the value of talking with people from different places. I’ve stayed with family friends in Strasbourg, France, lived two and a half years in the heart of the capital city of Nepal; Kathmandu, in my family’s house, and spent a month in between the Orchard Road and Little India sectors of Singapore, along with other less culturally-immersive voyages. One similarity of all the places that I have been to is that everyone I met helped influence my outlook on the world and who I am today.

Now that’s enough about me for now.

Have you ever experienced the culture of a

foreign country? I mean, not to kill your mood, but Canada isn’t really that foreign and, a one week all-inclusive beach vacation in Cancun, Mexico isn’t really experiencing a foreign culture. But that still doesn’t mean that you can’t have a life changing experience close to home.

I’ve had the fortune to truly experience life in different countries. I’ve had the opportunity to stay with family friends in Strasbourg, France, live two and a half years in the heart of the capital city of Nepal; Kathmandu, in my family’s house, and spend a month in between the Orchard Road and Little India sectors of Singapore, along with other less culturally-immersive voyages.

From talking to people around the world, I’ve heard the opinion that many non-Americans view American tourists as, loud, unobservent of local customs, and unwilling to learn the local language. Unlike this ‘typical American tourist’ stereotype, I don’t go to a country to experience its hotels and touristy areas. Also unlike the ‘typical American traveler’ I don’t expect everyone I talk to, halfway around the world, to adapt to what I feel is comfortable and talk to me, the tourist, in English. That’s why I try my best to learn the languages of the countries I am going to or want to go to, before I go there (I speak English, Hindi, some Nepali and I am learning Korean, French and some Dutch).

I mean, come on. I’m not saying that all of the stereotype is true, but remember the old proverb that within every lie there is a grain of truth?

Yeah, that one. I think it’s reasonable enough to apply it to this situation. When you travel to another country, please don’t expect everyone to comfort you and make you feel at home, because you’re not. If you travel halfway around the world to a country to stay at a beach resort, eat McDonalds (albeit foreign McDonald’s is pretty good- as I saw in Singapore, people queued up for more than half an hour to get in), and speak English - save the money and go to someplace like the Gulf Shores of Alabama. I hear it has some pretty nice beaches for much less than what it would cost to go to a resort in the Philippines.

Others may have differing opinions about the ideal experience abroad, but I feel that if you

have the time, interest, and economic fortune to travel to a foreign country, you should really experience that country. Give it your best and try to learn the local language, whether it be German, Arabic, Malay, or Swahili. You don’t have to be fluent, you just have to put in the effort and try. If you are genuinely interested in traveling to another country that’s the least that you can do. And it might end up helping you out in the long run, too. I remember being in Kathmandu once, and some shopkeepers tried to charge me more than double the price of what they charged the local Nepalis, and because I understood what they were saying I got a much better price.

My favorite aspect of traveling to other places and experience the local culture is that it’s truly is eye-opening and really gives you another perspective on how people are living in other parts of the world. Having the experience of talking to locals and getting their recommendations, and eating (perhaps the most enjoyable aspect of traveling) all the different local cuisines is absolutely wonderful. Once you start to do some real traveling you can’t stop. The cultural interaction really helps make you a better, more experienced, and yes, a welltraveled person (I couldn’t help it).

You’ll gain knowledge, friends, experiences, and have memories that last a lifetime. I remember to this day, having Easter dinner in a small village in Alsace, France called La Wantzenau. I remember the family I stayed with being so excited for me to try their delicacy of foie gras (duck liver). Although, I didn’t particularly enjoy the taste, I truly enjoyed the atmosphere of having the meal with my newly made friends. I sincerely encourage everyone to set a goal of traveling somewhere that they have dreamed of going to. If you have a plan, and start saving, eventually you will get there. I personally got a job and have been setting aside money to help fund my wanderlust. If you really have the passion and interest to travel, there is nothing that can stop you. Just remember to check your passport before you depart, so you don’t realize that it’s expired, four hours before your 5am flight… but that’s a different story.