Our Turn Hit or Miss Editor reflects on self-love journey through adolescence

Natalia Zavaleta | Co-Editor

I have never been kissed. I have never held hands with someone in a romantic context. In my 17 years of being on this Earth I have been on a total of three dates. And I’m okay with that.

Like any other little girl, I aspired to have a Disney Channel high school romance, that I would find the Troy to my Gabriella. As I got older, I noticed the people around me changing, as did I. My girl friends started talking about boys and my guy friends started talking about girls– I personally really only cared about the latest Littlest Pet Shop sets and beating my own record in Wii Sports Resort Wakeboarding. My friends would ask:

“Who do you have a crush on?” And I could never truly answer that question. The rest of my elementary school years consisted of Monster High Dolls and trading Silly Bandz instead of worrying about who was out on the playground with who.

Middle school years were arguably some of the worst years of my life.

They’re awkward and complicated– I can just picture myself walking around the hallways seeing kids all over each other when simply trying to make it to Texas History on time.

I was never really lucky when I started “crushing” on others. I either ignored the feelings or tried to make a move but was always shut down. As my friends started holding hands and dating, I started wondering what was wrong with me; boys never looked at me the way they looked at my friends. I would ask myself if I was good enough to date, or if I even deserved love in the first place. To this day I’m not entirely sure if it was just me being dramatic, but that mindset caused the rest of my middle school years to be clouded by low self-esteem.

Near the end of my eighth grade year, I was struck

Usefulness of Talon questioned due to skipping, loitering

Talon is an inconvenience to students and staff and should be eliminated.

by the most soul-wrenching crush of my life. I’m talking playlist making, late-night thinking, diary writing crush. It lasted almost three long years of my life. I confessed twice in those years and was rejected every single time; at least I learned to never give up.

In order to move on, I tried getting to know more people. I met this guy that I clicked with almost immediately, you could say it was a “match made in heaven.” We went on a total of one date (my first ever) which ended with me throwing up in the Torchy’s restroom. Twice. How’s that for anxiety? A year later, I met another guy at my work. I mustered up the courage to give him my phone number in a cute barista way. Two very long dates later, he confessed that he liked me and wanted to be more than friends.

That’s when I realized I wasn’t ready. I wasn’t ready to talk everyday, share secrets, spend time together, MEET PARENTS. I had this epiphany that I already had too much going on in my life and the added stress of dating would make me collapse.

It’s okay to not date, it’s okay to not have a crush, it’s okay to not be stuck in a constant “talking stage” or to have a streak on Snapchat.

Spending time with myself and taking care of my business alone has become one of the most satisfying feelings. I feel liberated not being tied down by the weight of a relationship. I know that when the time comes, I will be ready and able to manage a relationship with someone who meets my standards and is a decent human being. Don’t be pressured by friends or even family to get into a romantic relationship and enjoy spending time with yourself and friends as much as you can.

Talon is a 30 minute period that lets students work on any homework or school work they may need to catch up on or make up. Every student is assigned to a class where they will spend their 30 minutes. But there are some flaws to this dynamic. Thirty minutes is not enough time to finish or start on something. It wastes time when students just sit there on their phones. If you have a Talon that has a purpose like STAAR training, some teachers don’t use that time effectively.

Another problem with Talon is that too many students that are not seniors leave campus. This is an effect of Talon being too short of a period. Students don’t think it’s important and see it as more of a break to go off campus or skip in the bathroom. Not only this, but there are too many students that just stand around in the hallways and mess around.

Talon doesn’t only affect students, it affects teachers, too. Some teachers don’t like their Talon classes because of how big they can be. When classes are full of students that are not working on anything and being productive it can get out of hand or get too loud. Using this time for something else can minimize the school’s stress of making sure students don’t wander the halls. Talon is a miss

Talon has many benefits and should not be eliminated.

The first couple of benefits are really helpful for those who have busy schedules or demanding extracurriculars which don’t allow them to attend tutorials to get help on schoolwork and homework. Thus, the 30 minutes to do homework provided by Talon is really crucial because it cuts down on the load of homework needed to be completed after school, and reduces the amount of time and stress. Also, students can get help for academics by getting a pass to attend tutorials during Talon if they are having difficulties with understanding concepts learned in class, struggling with homework, and the tutorials offered in the mornings before and afternoons after school don’t work for them .

The allotted time during Talon could also be used to boost grades by studying for tests which will reduce the amount of time cramming/studying outside of school hours.

There are clubs which hold their meetings during Talon as well. For example, Choir Council holds their meetings on select Tuesdays during Talon, and Student Council holds their meetings every other Wednesday during Talon. Thus, Talon is a hit.