The hawk dec2015

The Body Image Project In this issue, we explore body image. Our cover photos were inspired by a recent internet trend, Photographer Ileana Perez took pictures in the hall of random people and then a second shot of them immediately after they were told they were beautiful or photogenic.

In this issue...

Driver’s license requirements 7 Crossing guard 13 Paintball 15

the

HAWK

Hendrickson High School 19201 Colorado Sand Drive Pflugerville, Texas 78660 @thehawkonline Volume 9, Issue 4 December 11, 2015 thehawkonline.net

2 Volume 9 , Issue 4 News

Dist

rted Visi

n

Honeyman faces challenges accompanied with cataracts Rumor Stojek Asst. Editor

She sits at the dinner table cutting green beans on her plate with a fork.

She looks up from her food and suddenly her mother’s face shifts and doubles into two separate heads. Junior Maryanne Honeyman stares across the table observing the two-headed figure that sounds exactly like her mother.

Instances like this aren’t uncommon for Honeyman who was diagnosed with Bilateral Nuclear Cataracts, an eye condition that causes blurred and double vision, dizziness, and migraines. Honeyman was diagnosed when she was two years old and since then has gone through over ten pairs of glasses. The cataract itself is a cloudy membrane in the eye that grows to eventually completely coat the lens, leading to difficulty and even inability to see.

“My mom discovered it. She kept on noticing that I would move closer to the TV until my nose was barely touching it because I couldn’t see it,” Honeyman said. “Finally we went to an eye appointment and they diagnosed me. Right now, my right eye is in stage three and my left eye is legally blind, in stage five.”

Luckily there are surgeries that would completely remove the cloudy membranes from Honeyman’s eyes so she can see properly again. The procedure would take thirty minutes to an hour, where the patient would be semi-unconscious, and then doctors would use a laser to cut open the eye, remove the cataract and replace it with a new lens.

“A couple years ago I was going in for an eye appointment and there was this boy no older than six and he had cataracts.

He was there getting his cataracts surgeries that day,” Honeyman said. “He was born with them too. So I thought, ‘You know what, if he can get it, I can get it too.’”

However, for the past thirteen years Honeyman’s doctors would not approve her for the cataracts

surgeries because they deemed her too young for such an intense operation. Now, sixteen years old, she finally has the chance to improve her vision permanently.

The only thing in her way is the cost.

Honeyman has set up a donations page on gofundme.com(/maryanneh) to help her get the money for her eye surgeries. She is trying to raise at least $9,950.

“I’m scared because there’s a chance I can’t get my cataracts surgeries.

There’s a chance I’ll lose my sight one day,” Honeyman said. “But the chance of going blind isn›t that scary anymore, because I know that my family will be there to help me through it.”

Honeyman isn’t letting her condition dictate her future plans. She wants to go into the Navy or Air Force and become a combat medic to help the injured. Afterward, she aspires to go to the University of Washington to study to be a private investigator.

“I feel like a burden sometimes. I used to be really good at things, like my mom always counted on me to read something for her while she’s cooking, but now I can’t,” Honeyman said. “Still, my moms are very supportive of me.

They are always telling me that one day, hopefully this year, I’ll be able to get the surgeries and I’ll be able to fit in with my eyes.”

As Honeyman’s fellow classmates begin testing for their driver’s license, Honeyman is not able to take the test

Photo by Victoria Hoang

at all. She is limited to many everyday things because of her vision.

“I feel appreciative of the things I do have in my life because everyday I get to be who I am, I get to be with my family. They understand what’s going on,” Honeyman said. “They treat me as a young adult, not as someone who needs to be watched every so often just to make sure that my eyes aren›t playing tricks on me.”

However, some things are still discouraging for Honeyman, such as unintentional remarks from her friends.

“There is always those jabs, like, ‘Oh hey look at this, oh wait you can’t see it’ or like, ‘You’re the blind one’ or something like that,” Honeyman said.

“People joke around that I can’t see things or that I’m not good enough to see these things, but I prove them wrong. I sit there and I do what they said I can’t.”

Additionally, Honeyman uses various hobbies such as drawing, playing her cello, and light reading as stress relievers to put her energy into something other than her vision.

“I was reading a book once and this little boy was attacked and so a woman rescued him. She was attacked a long time ago too. She said to him, ‘We survivors have to stick together.’”

Honeyman said. “We all survive something if it›s hateful words, cataracts, or anything. We’re all survivors and we need to stick together.”

Cataract Facts MarQuise Prince-Salone Co-Editor

Cataract is the clouding of the eye lens which impairs vision. The clouded lens makes it difficult for the eye to focus light.

- Normally related to aging.

- Can occur in one eye or both and can spread between eyes.

Symptoms: Cloudy or blurry vision Colors seem faded Glares or rings around lights Double vision Frequent prescription changes for glasses or contacts Types of cataract: Secondary Can form after surgery Can also develop due to health problems such as diabetes or can be linked to substance use Traumatic Develops after an eye injury Congenital Babies can be born with cataract or it can develop during childhood Radiation Develop after radiation exposure

Healthy Lens

abc

Cloudy Lens

ABC

News December 11, 2015 3

JUSTICE SERVED

Local trial results in positive verdict for teacher’s family Madi McVan Copy Editor

“The entire time we were waiting for trial, he On Oct. 8, 26-year-old Justin Johnson received a was out,” Nash said. “He was on house arrest, but sentence of 20 years after a jury found him guilty trying to explain that to children is really hard. of two counts of aggravated attempted kidnapping. Because right away we were like ‘yes, he’s in jail, The verdict followed a two-year process, from the it’s awesome.’ But I don’t keep a lot of things from day of the assault, through Johnson’s arrest and my kids, so when we found out that subsequent release on bail, until the final criminal he had been released, we were devand sentencing trials. astated, but of course I wanted the Over two and a half years earlier, Johnson ap- girls to know.” proached sisters 8-year-old Kaitlyn and 10-year-old Because Johnson wasn’t taking up old Maddie Nash as they walked to Murchison any space in the jail, his trial kept Elementary School. He grabbed Maddie when the getting pushed back and postponed girls tried to walk away from him, but she dropped for two years and seven months, a to the ground, escaped his grip, and together the common occurrence that Nash calls sisters ran to Mur“a flaw in the syschison, where they tem.” reported the incident “For our little family, it’s made us The innocent/ to teachers. just appreciate each other more, guilty phase of After reuniting with trial finally and I have so much respect for the the her children, speech began in Septemand debate director girls and so much admiration for ber this year, in Kirsten Nash accom- how strong they’ve had to be.” which both Madpanied them to the die and Kaitlyn - Kirsten Nash Center for Child Protestified against tection, her former Johnson, who place of employment, where professionals con- was present in the courtroom. ducted forensic interviews with the sisters to gather “Having worked in the center, I knew information on the suspect. the kids would have to testify,” Nash “[The interview] was weird for me because that said. “Which is a big surprise for a lot is where I worked before I started teaching,” Nash of parents. I know from being there said. “It was a really surreal moment when I was that most people in Texas think that filling out forms that I had designed. But I felt like children should not have to sit in the it was really comforting to know the procedure. courtroom, directly across from the Thankfully I had been on the other end of everything person who did those horrible things for a really long time.” to them, and testify.”

Maddie’s recollection of the man was so strong Though Johnson was found guilty that a forensic artist was called in to create a sketch in the first phase of the trial, due to of the suspect. The sketch led to Justin Johnson be- formalities, the sentencing phase of ing identified and arrested the next day, held at a the trial did not occur until two weeks $300,000 bail at the Travis County jail. later. During that time, Johnson was However, Johnson quickly hired an attorney, and once again released on house arrest. within the week managed to lower his bail enough “So we had found out that he was that he could pay to be released. guilty, but we still had to wait for two

weeks to see what the punishment would be,” Nash said. “It was a stressful two weeks. Because kids know that when you are guilty, you are punished for it. And they expect that if you are trying to steal children, you should be put away for a long time.”

Shane Anders Illustrator

4 Volume 9 , Issue 4 News

This year’s Big Event empowers more schools Kylie Ruffino Co-Editor

Roughly 1,000 students and faculty members participated in last year’s first annual Big Event. This year on March 13, Big Event organizer and senior principal Zachary Kleypas hopes to make an even bigger community impact.

This year, Kleypas in-

cludes ten PFISD middle and high schools as volunteers which will lead to more job sights and ultimately influence a greater realm unity amongst the community.

In order to get the most involvement Kleypas formulated a student task force in order to create maxi-

mum awareness throughout the schools.

“We try to engage as many community partners as possible, whether it be the students participating, parents being proud of their kiddos or community members supporting through donations of sup-

plies or monetary contributions, or by being at a participating job site,” Kleypas said. “The more people involved, the more impact we have.”

To sign up, grab a form in the main hall, fill it out, and return it by the end of the semester.

Volunteer group plan projects around community

HAWKS ofthe of the Month month Students:

Sofan is a supportive, proud and excellent student. She always does her best and pushes past expectations.

Ayu Sofa, 12th Grade

Alex Fulton Asst. Editor

Theatre department tackles unique musical

Mikaela Kelarek Asst. Editor

Urinetown takes place in a dystopian society in the midst of a severe drought. Due to the water shortages, private restrooms are unheard of and people now have to pay to use public amenities.

This comedy makes fun of musicals by including an over dramatic love song, a revolutionary battle cry, and occasionally referring to the audience.

“We chose Urinetown because it’s a high energy musical and we have stu-

dents in the department who fit that style,” director Nicole Malone said. “After doing Les Mis, we wanted to explore a completely different genre of musical that contrasted last year’s production.”

Come support the theatre department and see the performance January 28-30 at 7:00 p.m. with a matinée on Saturday at 2:00 p.m. Tickets will be $10 for students and $15 for adults.

Promote school spirit with upcoming filter Kylie Ruffino Co-Editor

An upcoming Snapchat GeoFilter will promote school spirit through a Hendrickson specific icon. The design will hopefully go into affect soon, but first the proposal must receive approval from the Snap Chat team.

Graphic designer Kylie Ruffino worked to create an inspirational image for the school after getting approached by debate teacher Samin Agha.

“I wanted to keep up the spirit for our entire school,” Agha said. “We truly are an amazing place to be and we deserve recognition. I can’t wait to see it get approved.”

When marching band competition season ended, junior Vanessa Gonzalez and sophomore Christian Douglas used their time to do service projects around the community by leading a group known as the Hawk Band Wings.

The club, founded by Gonzalez and assisted by Douglas, allows band members to use their musicality to help around Pflugerville and show off certain skills taught in band, specifically leadership.

“We try to get a variety of things that will help with life skills later on,” Douglas said.“[The Wings] allows band members to get some community service hours and help the city they’re in.”

Because the Iron Man got rained out, the group took the opportunity to volunteer at Brown Santa, an organization that donates care packages to families

in need for Christmas.

“Christian and I find something to do every month and we tell the members ‘hey we’re doing this, invite your friends if they want to come,’” Gonzalez said. “Then we all just get together and do community service.”

Projects planned for this year include playing their instruments for residents at the nursing home and playing bingo with them, running a food drive, tutoring middle schoolers and planting trees around Pflugerville.

“I started it, because I realized the community supports us through everything and they’re always there for us during football competitions,” Gonzalez said. “Lots of people will stay late after the game to watch our performances of the competition band and so I just wanted to be able to give back.”

Maass is a polite and positive student even when class is tough.

Brady Maas, 10th Grade

Teacher: Wallace was nominated for caring for her students and putting their needs above her own. She strives to go above and beyond to help them.

Darlene Wallace, Special Education

Staff: Coleman is always helping out and if she doesn’t know the answer to something, she will find it.

Sarah Coleman, Principal Secretary

News December 11, 2015

accolades &

5

AWARDS PAINT BALL

SPEECH & DEBATE This past weekend, the Speech & Debate team competed in the University of Texas Tournament of Champions qualifying tournament. This is one of the most elite tournaments in the country and draws competitors from all over the nation.

The took 6th place Overall Sweepstakes and 4th place Debate Sweepstakes.

Senior Nico Williams and Junior Elan Wilson were crowned tournament Champions in Policy Debate in a field of 122 teams! As a result of this finish, the boys earned a bid to the prestigious Debate Tournament of Champions in Kentucky in April.

Additionally, Marcus Ayala, Robert Boley and Calvin Vu all advanced to the semifinal round of extemporane-

ous speaking. This finish earned each of them bids to the Extemporaneous Tournament of Champions in Chicago in May. After placing 3rd at the UIL Congress meet on Nov. 11, junior Carlos Gregory will advance to State in UIL Congress in January.

Juniors Carlos Gregory and Robert Boley earned second place at the Hockaday Tournament, advancing them to the National Debate Tournament of Champions for Public Forum in April 2016. In addition, the Debate team took home First Place Sweepstakes at the Cedar Ridge TFA Tournament and Bowie TFA Tournament. At the SFA Tournament the team earned Second Place Sweepstakes.

Hawk Paintball’s team SA Notorious won 3rd Place at the Frostbite Open Paintball Tournament in Dallas Nov. 21-22. Sophomore LD McCoy was named Most Valuable Play and Player of the Day.

SCIENCE OLYMPIAD The Science Olympiad team competed in the Kealing Invitational on Dec. 5.

The tournament was only open to members who have not attended a state tournament. The following individuals places in their events: Disease Detectives - 2nd place Diarod Hinojosa and Devon Nessen Electric Vehicle – 1st place Alaina Kluge and Madeline Lloyd Forensics – 3rd place Liandra Niyah and Diarod Hinojosa Green Generation - 3rd place Diarod Hinojosa and Madeline Lloyd The full team competed before Thanksgiving in the CyFalls Invitational and seniors Vivian Huynh and Caleb Whitmire placed second in We Got Your Number.

Members of the Hawk Speech & Debate team after the University of Texas Tournament. Front row: McKenna Lucas, Ashleigh Pevear, Nabila Nader, Dylan Scott, Christina Bui, Trey Gutierez, Tim Benton, Alex Nguyen. Back Row: Mahnoor Faheem, Robert Boley, Marcus Ayala, Nico Williams, Emma Ha, Cody Snow, Ayu Sofyan, Elan Wilson, Anthony Ngo, Calvin Vu, Hannah Benton Photo courtesy of Kirsten Nash

GOLF

On Oct. 27, the Varsity Boys’ Golf team competed at Lakecliffe Golf Course in Lake Travis and placed 4th as a team. Senior Travis Huckabee’s score of 77 earned him the 2nd place

medalist award.

On Oct. 28, the Varsity Girls Golf Team competed at Star Ranch at a tournament hosted by Cedar Park High School. The team placed 3rd.

JOURNALISM The Journalism UIL team competed in the Cen-Tex Invitational Meet on Saturday, Dec. 5. Senior Madi Mcvan won 1st place in Headline and Editorial Writing and 2nd in News Writing.

Sophomore Ileana Perez won 7th place in Feature Writing, 8th in Headline Writing and 9th place in both

Editorial and News Writing.

Sophomore Holly Hambleton won 6th place in Editorial. Junior Kylie Ruffino won 8th in Editorial and Sophomore Alex Fulton took 10th in Headline writing. Journalists competed with other 6 A high schools from across the state, including three others from this District.

6 Volume 9 , Issue 4 Opinions

Desecration of mosque reveals growing anti-Islam attitudes ]Staff Editorial Three days after Islamic terrorists coordinated an attack on Paris, France, a supposedly “retaliatory” attack occurred at a the Islamic Center of Pflugerville, where vandals covered the entrance to the mosque in feces and torn pages from a Quran. The desecration was a physical manifestation of the fear of Islam that is spreading in the wake of terrorist attacks, such as those in Paris and San Bernadino.

While groups like ISIS and Al Queda carry out attacks in the name of Islam, it is important to remember that extremists do not represent the whole group; just as the KKK does not represent all Christians, and it is wrong to assume that any Christian white man is a supporter or member of the KKK, it is wrong to associate any Muslim with Islamic terrorism. Islamophobia is inherently

counterproductive, as rejecting Muslims from American society just contributes to the growth of terrorist organizations rooted in Islam.

According to an NPR interview with Jihad Turk, president of the Bayan Claremont Islamic Graduate School, radicalization is often due to isolation, and a feeling of not belonging to either the Muslim or American communities. Often, radical followers of Islam are not involved in mosques, and when they face rejection from American society, they become more likely to find refuge in terrorist organizations- as was the case for the perpetrators of the San Bernardino shooting.

Self-radicalization can be avoided by welcoming Muslims into society, either by outreach programs done by mosques, or by everyday citizens working to make Muslims feel like true Americans.

Mosques are not the cause of terrorism; they are the solution.

The rejection of Syrian refugees is another example of spreading Islamophobia, especially in Texas, where Governor Greg Abbott wrote a letter to President Barak Obama, stating that Texas will make every effort to block Syrian refugees from settling in the state. The decision was based entirely on fear of terrorism. By rejecting refugees, Abbott and other governors that followed suit are doing exactly what terrorists want- forcing the refugees back into their home countries, where they are forced to “join or die.” It is unreasonable to fear foreign terrorists entering the country when American citizens carry out the majority of terror attacks and mass shootings.

By allowing the actions of a few radical Islamists to define one’s view of the huge Muslim community, the problem of radicalization only grows. In order to halt the growth of terrorism, Muslims should be embraced in American society, and more effort should be made to prevent cultural isolation.

Samuel Perales Cartoonist

the HAWK

Hendrickson High School 19201 Colorado Sand Drive Pflugerville, TX 78660 http://www.pfisd.net/HHS (512) 594-1100 Adviser: Kari Riemer Principal: Daniel Garcia www.thehawkonline.net

The Hawk, the official student newspaper of Hendrickson High School, is an open forum for the exchange of ideas and opinions.

Opinions expressed reflect the beliefs of the student author and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the entire Hawk Staff, the Hawk Adviser, the Hendrickson Faculty and Staff, or the Principal.

Letters to the editor are welcomed, and may be dropped off in E102.

The Hawk is printed monthly at Granite Printing in Taylor, Texas. 1,500 copies are printed each run, and are distributed to the student body through Talon and newsstands throughout the building

Editorial Staff

hit or

Remind101 provides convenient information

Nearly every club, event and organization has a Remind101 service to send reminders and information to participants through text messages. While it is incredibly useful for organizing large groups of people efficiently, as they can be reached at any time, the sheer number of alerts an involved student receives on a daily basis can be distracting.

Despite the sometimes overwhelming number of messages, the convenience of Remind101 makes it a hit.

Groups block entrance, increasing traffic Before school, crowds of students have been loitering in front of the main entrance doors, making navigating from the library to the front of the school very difficult. The cafeteria is the designated area to socialize or work on homework, not the main hall. Visitors coming through the entrance have to push their way through the crowds because people won’t move with a simple, “excuse me.” Because these groups are increasing traffic issues throughout the already crowded school, we find this way off target.

Lack of paper unfair to students The majority of exams will have the phrase “class set” plastered at the beginning. Due to the restriction on copying and printing, many teachers do not allow writing on their tests; this commonality is detrimental to test taking students.

Having the ability to write on exams allows students to interpret the questions more efficiently and better organize their thoughts in order to reach an answer. If students could see the mistakes they made on problems after taking the test, they could correct their thinking instead of being left with a low score and a scantron filled with red tick marks.

The inability for students to write on their tests due to a lack of resources is found to be a direct miss.

Adopt-a-Child gives back to kids in need This morning 92 classes took part in this year’s Adopt-aChild event welcoming 104 children from Highland Park, Murchison, Rowe Lane, Riojas, Wieland and Dearing. The event provided gifts, brought food and decorated their 1B classrooms for their chosen elementary student. The event gave the kids a special Christmas, when they otherwise would not, making Adopt-a-Child right on target.

Co-Editors: MarQuise Prince-Salone & Kylie Ruffino Copy Editor: Madi McVan Assistant Editors: Rion Ellis Alex Fulton Virginia Gaffney

Mikaela Kelarek Ileana Perez Rumor Stojek

MISS

Reporters

Kiarra Blankman Alyssa Ellinwood Holly Hambleton Paul Le

The Body Image Project In this issue, we explore body image.

Our cover photos were inspired by a recent internet trend, Photographer Ileana Perez took pictures in the hall of random people and then a second shot of them immediately after they were told they were beautiful or photogenic.

Amanda Perez Chloe Pham Lindsey Robinson Gabby Sanchez

Winner of the ILPC Bronze Star, 2014 & 2015

In this issue...

Driver’s license requirements 7 Crossing guard 13 Paintball 15

the

HAWK

Hendrickson High School 19201 Colorado Sand Drive Pflugerville, Texas 78660 @thehawkonline Volume 9, Issue 4 December 11, 2015 thehawkonline.net

Design by Kylie Ruffino Photos by Ileana Perez

Opinions December 11,201 5

Missed Signals

7

Unclear guidelines for driving test causes senior confusion Driving is one of the first steps to freedom.

Leaving w h e n ever to go where Mikaela Kelarek Asst. Editor ever you please is like a right of passage every teenager looks forward to.

Actual driving took me a while to get used to… almost three years to get used to. I know that sounds bad, but I was a nervous driver. I couldn’t relax and focus on the road, so I just didn’t drive. It took me time before I was comfortable enough and could handle to stress of driving.

After having a chauffeur for a ma-

jority of my life, I was ready to take on the responsibility and freedom of driving. When I got to the DMV office, I showed the worker my papers, excited to finally take my test.

“You don’t have all of the requirements. You’re missing the ITTD certificate,” the woman behind the desk said. Her annoyed tone and harsh attitude were enough to quiet my excitement. “Reschedule your test and come back when you have all of the required forms.”

I was speechless. I had never heard of the ITTD before and when I told the worker, she acted like I lived under a rock.

She told me that it stood for Impact Texas Teen Drivers and was an online class that was needed in order to take a driving test. She said it was all over the news and that my driving school

should have informed me about it.

She looked down on me in irritation, treating me like an ignorant child.

I may not be number one in my class, but I’m not dumb. Both my parents and I watch the news, yet none of us had ever heard of the ITTD prior to this incident. Plus, it had been roughly three years since I had been in driving school when the ITTD was not even heard of.

I also called the DMV three times the week before my driving test. Each time i called, I recieved a differetnnt set of requiremnets.Despite this frustration, not a single person mentioned that the ITTD was needed in order to take the test.

I felt devastated. My chance at freedom was hanging right in front of me and was ripped away when I reached for it.

I went home, took the two-hour class, and rescheduled my driving test. A month later, I returned to the DMV office ready to pass my test. I was treated a lot kinder and felt encouraged by the workers while I was there.

In the end, I walked away with my license and some knowledge.

I learned the importance of not getting discouraged easily. Sometimes other people can have a bad day and have an attitude to reflect it. Just because one person is rude, does not mean that I should take it to heart.

I also learned that it is important to double-check all of the requirements for any legal document. If something is not stated clearly, call and verify any issues concerning the information.

What you need The following is a list compiled of all important documents and forms needed to obtain a drivers license in the state of Texas.

For any further question, please contact the DMV office .

Impact Texas Teen Drivers, or ITTD, is an online course that is required in order to take the driving test. It is free, but time consuming. Complete the class as soon as possible or up to 90 days before the exam and print out the certificate of completion to bring to the DMV office.

Proof of driver education is required for everyone age 25 or younger. A certificate from driving school (DE-964) or parent taught courses (DL-90B) must be presented. These do not expire if the classes are taken before turning 18, however, the classes are less expensive if taken as an adult.

A Verification of Enrollment form (VOE) is needed for all high school students. It is important to place a request for this form about three to four days before the test because it takes a few days to process. If you are in need of this form, talk to Ms. Lechler in the front office for more information.

Be sure to have a valid permit when prior to taking the test along with $16 to pay for the test fee. Also schedule the test a few weeks in advance of the expiration date so the permit does not expire before the test.

Once all of the paper work is aquired, be sure that the car used for the test is up to tdate on its inspection and registration.

Also check that all lights and signals are funtionin properly. Any vehicle that does not meet these requirements will not be allowed for the test. This causes the test to be rescheduled for a later date,

Proof of liability insurance for the vehicle used for the test must be presented in paper formant. Any electronic forms of proof will not be accepted.

S 8 Volume 9 , Issue 4 Features

Shining Bright Mullican finds success in community through help of teachers Holly Hambleton

Staff Reporter

Exhausted and frustrated, Senior William Mullican competes in the golf category of the National Special Olympics in New Jersey’s hot summer air. The pressure was mounting as he misses his first shots until his partner Chris Wiesenhutter starts tickling him.

The frustration caused by the sand pit disappears after the team’s chuckles take over. The giggle-filled air reminds everyone that they’re there to have a good time.

Mullican spreads his joy and positivity to those around him just by being himself. Mullican participates in almost every school activity that exists. Having down syndrome doesn’t stop him from cheering, running flags at football games, the Junior representative on the Homecoming Court, playing multiple sports, working at Rio Grande, Russo’s, HEB, and the Storehouse. This on top of schoolwork is a lot for anyone but Mullican does it all with a positive attitude.

“William loves being a part of everything,” mother Tammy Mullican said. “Since he has limited communication skills I don’t always hear about what all goes on but I do know that he loves his school and he feels really good about himself there.”

Engaging in the community is a large part of Mullican’s life. By doing so, he draws people into the Essential Academics classrooms to learn more about Mullican and his classmates.

“The community has always been very accepting of William, especially the Hendrickson community.” Essential Academics teacher Susan Thompson said. “People gravitate towards him.

He has this magnetic personality that people just go up to him and start talking to him. He just brings a lot of joy to many different people.”

Despite the good things in Mullican’s life, it’s not always a cakewalk. Having down syndrome comes with an unique set of challenges. Some things that may be taken for granted like communicating your thoughts and feelings are harder for Mullican to do. Despite this, he is able to always keep moving on and be a genuinely happy person.

“I’m not saying his life is perfect.

There are always lots of bumps in the road with any student, but with a Special Ed student sometimes the bumps are more like deep potholes,” Mrs. Mullican said. “It’s never dull and sometimes it’s really hard. But knowing he is surrounded by people who genuinely care about makes all the difference.”

Features December 11 , 201 5

9

Starving For Acceptance

Staffer describes her struggles with eating disorder It took me a long time to realize and annoying. It only deepened the that I could only find satisfaction in hatred of my body and myself. myself. Others will always find someI restricted my meals until they bething negative to harp on, especial- came almost obsolete. I went the enly when it comes to the way people tire school day without eating and look. It does not require much look- only ate a small dinner in the evening. ing beneath the The idea of eatsurface at who ing repulsed me, someone really I wish I could visit my eighth and sometimes is. grade self and tell her what I when I would Growing up, eat I would force recess was my was doing did not benefit me myself to throw daily night- physically or mentally, and it back up. Eatmare.

While ing only gave me playing on the that I was beautiful just the anxiety, my fear p l a y g r o u n d , way I was. of weight gain the boys I had and need for childish crushes weight loss took on and girls I considered my friends over. I remember eating and instantly called me fat. I carried sweaters regretting it, rushing to the bathroom around constantly to cover up ev- to alleviate the weight in my stomach. ery inch of myself, even just to walk On top of that, I began to exercise across the classroom. I never ran daily in effort to speed up my weight around with the other kids. I became loss. aware of my every movement. I felt I shed 50 pounds in three months. insecure of myself to the point that the I became weak and even felt faint farther away I was away from every- throughout the school day. Sometimes one else’s eyes the better. while walking down the hall I would My family placed intense pressure think that doors were opening in on me, especially my mother. Her front of me when nothing was health kicks and passion for exercise there, causing me to flinch. Even only made me wish to lose weight though weight was coming off, I more. She would take my siblings and was miserable and did not love I to exercise with her at the gym, but I my body any more than before. felt embarrassed and ashamed of myThose around me began to noself. When I ran, I would break down tice my weight loss, but I never and begin to cry due to my anxiety felt satisfied with my changes. towards exercising in front of oth- I still saw fat on my body, so I ers. However, I still felt the need to still had more weight to lose. impress her and the rest of my family My friends went from calling by becoming thin. When I compared me fat to calling me anorexic. myself to my other siblings who were Rumors spread throughout much more athletic and in shape than school about my quick weight I was, I felt inadequate and like I loss. Even though they were needed to change in order to gain my true, it still hurt to hear it out family’s acceptance. loud, and from the people When I entered middle school, my I thought cared about me. insecurities only became worse. With Even after losing weight, more exposure to the Internet, I would people still weren’t satiscome across pictures of beautiful and fied with the way I looked thin girls, only making me more self- and only made me feel bad. conscious. Other students continued I felt exasperated. How could to call me names at school: fat, gross, I make people happy with the

way I looked? Nothing I was doing seemed to work.

After about six months I began to incorporate more food into my diet, my stomach had to adjust to the new intake of food and it took a while.

Sometimes eating meals would result in painful stomachaches, which sometimes made progress difficult. But eventually I ate two meals a day, and then three, and even the occasional snack.

My focus shifted from losing weight to becoming a healthy weight and maintaining a healthy lifestyle. I changed my diet and exercised daily. I began to like my body more and more. However, this process did not happen overnight, only after a couple of years did I get to a stable weight and eating schedule, but I am still a work in progress.

I feel more confident about myself than ever before, I

run every other day, eat healthy, and feel at peace with my body most of the time. Some days my self-consciousness comes back and it feels to easy to relapse and fall back into my old habits, but I know insecurity just happens as a part of daily life and I do not allow my negative feelings to get the better of me. I feel comfortable enough with my own body now and know the importance of loving yourself without needing the approval of others.

I wish I could visit my eighth grade self and tell her what I was doing did not benefit me physically or mentally, and that I was beautiful just the way I was. The mean things my friends said only meant they were not my real friends, and one day I would find people who lift me up instead of tear me down, it would only take time.

10 Volume 9 , Issue 4 Features

The BOdy image project Notes from the editor Kylie Ruffino Co-Editor

Originally, the Body Image Project came from the idea that teenagers suffer from issues with their bodies and their appearances. But what came out of the interview process seems so much more. My reactions to interviewing people astonished me. People I see as beautiful stood before me discussing their very real perceptions of themselves. I wanted to hug them and tell them they are amazing, but when I took a step back I realized I say the same things about myself. I have my own insecurities and I wondered if people would be as shocked to hear mine as I was to hear theirs.

Then, a whole other group of people astonished me.

Throughout their interview they established a sense of confidence and defied the common perception of beauty. In a way they inspired me to own my own body and self-confidence.

Everyone grows up with different physical features; some link them to cultures or races; some set them apart or help them fit in. Beauty and physical appearance are intertwined. The point is this: everyone has a story to tell about their bodies whether they are positive, or they are negative. This project intends to find links and opinions in relation to one’s self and one’s idea of beauty.

Most of the people I interviewed discussed the fact talking about their dislikes came up easier than talking about their likes, even though almost everyone define beauty similarly; beauty is being comfortable with yourself, beauty is being happy, or beauty is different on everyone. So why is it still more prevalent to think and talk about the bad? While one wants to believe these qualities make up true beauty, society makes it hard to constantly put those ideas in to action.

I also heard people talking about how society created this image of beauty based on European features, which made many colored or cultured people feel bad about their qualities. However, these same people seemed to have an overall positive outlook on themselves. Because they looked different than what was in social media, they didn’t look up to it. They discovered what made them happy about themselves.

The overall conclusion I continued to draw interview after interview was that social media and society created an image, which many people don’t conform to.

This results in self-conscious behaviors and comparing one’s self to others. It’s not that we should all ignore pop culture, but we should strive to redefine beauty farther than in our heads. We can all find beauty in ourselves.

Te

Christina Bui,12

Sadaf N

What is your perception of beauty?

What do you like yourself physica

My perception of beauty is socially constructed and always in the hands of western European standards. It is very exclusive to minority groups and that took me a really long time to realize, but is something I’ve internalized now

Is it easier to talk about likes or dislikes?

I feel like they were both equally easy to answer because I feel like self confidence was something I struggled a lot with until junior year and then the summer before senior year it really hit me like a train. And I feel like it was because of the saying “fake it ‘til you make it.” It is easy to think of flaws, but they are something that is on me but doesn’t define me and the things about me I do like are something for me to appreciate when I am having a bad day.

Do you have a specific moment?

For the longest time I felt like society told me that if I wasn’t this body type or have this face shape I wasn’t pretty. Now, I don’t know if I am talking to the right people or what, but I feel like society is becoming more open to non-western types of beauty. There is not just one type of beautiful.

I like my dimples – I’m proud of them. me and I feel like it tures and I’m really

Is it easier to talk dislikes?

I think the likes a and you always hea positive people in m yourself and be hap

Do you have a s

A specific moment I went to the gradua in my dress and my felt super beautiful, in that dress, so I fel

Brooke Elliot,12

Brian B

What do you dislike about yourself physically?

Is it easier to ta dislikes?

Physically I try not to dislike myself but it always creeps in about my body shape and body size

What do you like about yourself physically?

Well… I don’t know exactly what I like about myself. As far as myself goes I tend to focus more on the negative and comparing myself to others.

How does society make you feel?

It really can make me feel bad about myself. Nobody ever out tells me that I’m not beautiful, but society is more about what is not said than what is.

What I dislike abo this sort of society, s a major issue and age we are looking tions of what we w think we have to be. and look at ourselv about it a lot more t

Do you think you

I wouldn’t particu I’ve found myself no interesting than bea

Is it hard for you Yes it is because I

Features December 11 , 201 5

Teens discuss views on themselves, beauty

f Naimzada,11

you like about hysically?

imples – I love my dimples and f them. I have culture behind l like it is portrayed in my feam really really proud of that.

11

Take part in Put-Up Challenge

Encouraged by the idea of improving overall body image within the realm of the teenage world, actively participate in this challenge to boost peoples confidence and self-appreciation.

Rules

1. If someone nearby insults themselves, make them give two put-ups. 2. Try to get them to say one physical put up and one about their personality That way, they are boosting their body image, but also their overall perception of themselves. 3. Don’t let them back out, no matter what. 4. Encourage them to start doing the challenge with other people.

to talk about likes or

likes actually popped up faster. Society today is so harsh ays hear the negative stuff, but I have been surrounded by ple in my life that told me not to look at society just look at be happy.

ve a specific moment?

moment I didn’t feel beautiful kind of mixes with a time I did. graduation party of one of my friends and I felt so beautiful and my make-up. I felt all pretty. When I went there I still autiful, but when I saw the pictures I did not look too good so I felt bad about wearing that dress.

n Baker,11

r to talk about likes or

like about myself. Because in ociety, self-esteem is definitely ue and I think from an early looking at all these percepat we want to be or what we ve to be. And then we go back ourselves and we compare ourselves to others. We think t more than anything positive.

nk you are beautiful?

particularly say I was beautiful. From a pretty early age yself not to be beautiful so I’ve tried to make myself more han beautiful through clothing choices.

or you to talk about beauty?

cause I don’t really think about being beautiful a lot.

Junior relays life with facial scar

MarQuise Prince-Salone Co-Editor

Eight year-old Ebony Spears strolls though a supermarket alongside her mother. They reach the checkout, and a woman nearby asks about a unique feature concerning Spears; a scar that stretched across her forehead. She then states it’s a shame for Spears to live with something so “horrifying and unnatural.” Confused and a bit angry, she wonders why an adult would talk to a child in such a way. Her mother, nonetheless, tells her to pay no mind to people with mind sets like hers, she was still beautiful.

Junior Ebony Spears has a unique facial scar covering the majority of her forehead. She received the scar after a procedure done to remove a birthmark that was thought to be a tumor when she was three days old.

“After the doctors realized it wasn’t a tumor I had to get a skin graft,” Spears said. “Considering how young I was they couldn’t get every spot. So as I got older my skin couldn’t really “stretch” to grow as it normally should.”

A skin graft is a surgical procedure where skin is taken from one part of the body and applied to another area. For Spears, skin was taken from her arms and legs.

Growing up with the scar made social experiences uncomfortable. In public Spears was stared at, mainly by adults. She’d grown to become self-conscious of her scar and dislike the way she looked.

“When I was younger, I didn’t really have many friends,” Spears said. “The other kids just saw me as that girl with the thing on her forehead.

It would make me feel like I wasn’t good enough so often times I was very angry and depressed because of it. I felt like the kids my age would be more accepting [of me] if I looked more like them instead of having something so obvious that set me apart from them. [Without the scar] I thought I would have more friends.”

Story continues on next page

12 Volume 9 , Issue 4 Features

Beauty In Disguise Continued from page 11 Without friends, Spears was left to entertain herself. She often read, played with her pets or watched TV. Although Spears was battling with internal problems, she kept it all to herself and dealt with the situation as best she could. Spears kept her insecurity to herself mainly due to the fact that she felt like she didn’t need any help but once she found out that other people were like her, Spears started feeling a bit more confident in her skin.

“It was like a sense of relief knowing that other people understood some of the things that I went through,” Spears said. “They taught me how to accept myself and how to be comfortable around others that didn’t understand what I went through.”

With her newfound confidence, Spears’ has bittersweet feelings towards her scar. Sweet because she’s finally comfortable with who she is but bitter because her family members often

try to pressure her into having another surgery in order to smoothen out the scar.

“I’m not sure why they want me to change,” Spears said. “I guess you could say since its taken me so long to have some sort of confidence and self-esteem with the way I look. I wouldn’t feel like myself if I made such a huge change now.”

Spears believes the scar doesn’t necessarily reflect who she is. It makes her stand out more than others in a physical sense, but the scar just means she’s her own person. Spears has grown with and become comfortable with it.

“There are many people who struggle with the way they look,” Spears said. “Coming from personal experience once I realized while others may see my scar as a huge flaw I see it as the one part of me that makes me beautiful. [We] shouldn’t let other’s negative opinion affect how they feel about ourselves, we should be comfortable in our own skin no matter what.”

Teen describes influx of new attention

Sitting in class, most students would complain about the pains of assignments, but for junior Daniela Coreno, the pain resides with the throbbing emanating from her swollen feet and aching back. For the past 8 months, Coreno has observed her belly growing to compensate for the life she’s creating, attracting attention, both good and bad.

As the hallways fill with students, Coreno absorbs the stares of onlookers walking past her, all eyes glued to her belly.

“It feels pretty awkward,” Coreno said. “People just stare at me, I feel like they’re talking bad about me. They get disappointed because they think being pregnant is a bad thing, that I’m a bad influence.”

Despite the unwanted attention her belly brings, Coreno can’t help but love her baby bump. She and her family are excited to meet her baby in December. Coreno is most delighted by the ideal size of her belly, not too big nor too small, a flawless halo continuing to form in her torso.

“Nothing bothers me anymore, because I’m happy with the person I’m going to bring into the world,” Coreno said. ”The only thing that matters now is the baby and what I want her to be; healthy and to live a good life. I’m going to tell her that no matter what other people say and think, she should ignore the bad and just make herself happy.”

Deaton relays her life with Waardenburg Syndrome Alex Fulton Asst. Editor

It’s the first day of seventh grade and Emma Deaton is participating in a first day icebreaker.

A classmate notices her unique eyes and says, “My dog has eyes just like yours!”

Awkward silence surrounds the two, as Deaton feels slightly offended by the strange comment. The girl tries to relate to Deaton, which intimidates her.

“I think the realization The student experiences a of embarrassment of acceptance came wave when she finds out that she when I was in fifth may have just offended one grade. I was like you of her classmates. when Deaton was six know what I’m not Back weeks old a single brown going to be ashamed eye developed, resulting of myself, I’m just go- in two different eye colors, brown eye and one ing to love myself. one blue eye, a case known as It may sound really Waardenburg Syndrome. cheesy, but that’s “My dad has brown eyes and my mom has blue eyes, what happened.” so it’s kind of like a little bit of each,” Deaton said.

“When we moved to Texas and I went to my new eye doctor, she asked me like three times to take out my contacts and my mom had to explain that I wasn’t wearing contacts.”

Deaton now carries on her life with her single clear blue eye, but she didn’t always accept her syndrome. Although her symptom is known to create clear blue eyes, it is possible to create two different colored eyes.

“I think the realization of acceptance came when I was in fifth grade,” Deaton said. “I was like you know what I’m not going to be ashamed of myself, I’m just going to love myself. It may sound really cheesy, but that’s what happened.”

Through the years Deaton has received many questions about her abnormality, but in the end Deaton shrugs off the comments.

“I’ve gotten negative responses, but I can’t really change it, it doesn’t matter to me,” Deaton said. “It makes me unique in a good way, [and] I’ve never felt self-conscious about it.”

At the Crossroads

Features December 11, 201 5

Crossing Guard expresses love for community and job Gabby Sanchez Staff Reporter

2016

Max Poss looks around on his morning walk to the corner of Kelly Lane and Kenemer Drive, he then sees signs all the way down the street and on the corner with sayings like “Thank you Mr. Max” and “We love you Mr. Max.” He has no idea what they were doing there. He approaches the corner, parents from all over the neighborhood have cake and cookies for him to enjoy.

Today is Mr. Max Day, a neighborhood wide event to thank him for his service to the community. The high school band arrives to play songs for him, including a popular tune from his high school years called “Land of a Thousand Dances.” Later in the day cars continue to drive by honking and waving at him. The celebration of Mr. Max Day made Poss realize that being a crossing guard is more than just a job.

Poss can be seen standing at the same corner every morning and afternoon in his bright orange vest, rain or shine, and has done so for the past eleven years. Local elementary, middle and high school students depend on him to get to school safely, crossing the bustling, wide intersection with his guidance. Poss, or Mr. Max as the children call him, serves the community every day, leaving an impact on current students and those who have long gone onto university and beyond.

Poss became the full-time crossing

guard at this intersection when his successor called him to action because her foot had been run over.

Since then Poss has become such a huge part of the community to the people he serves.

In his youth, Poss served in the Navy in the Air Traffic Control, and he feels like it gave him the proper training needed to be a crossing guard.

“I jokingly say that the two most dangerous places in the world are the flight deck of an aircraft carrier, and this intersection,” Poss said. “It’s a dangerous place, and that kind of thing helps me judge closing speed, speed, separation and all that kind of

'You don’t want to let anyone down, I know how they feel about me and I feel the same way about them.”

-Max Poss stuff.”

The best part of the job for Poss is the interaction he has with the kids and their parents. The amount of trust the children give him is clear to see. Standing with him for even a few moments multiple people say hello to him as he directs cars and helps them cross the street. They rush in the

DON’T

let your high school memories pass you by.

morning and afternoons to fill him in on the good and the bad events in their lives whether it’s about their dad coming home from Iraq and Afghanistan or their parents getting a divorce.

Mr. Max wishes he had gotten to Pflugerville sooner because of its small town values and big-small town attitude. He fears that with the exponential growth of Pflugerville it will lose the qualities he cherishes so much.

“Everybody cares about everyone else,” Poss said. “It’s growing so fast now I hope it does not lose that feel.”

His legacy and impact in our community is clear, and he knows there lies great responsibility in his job to ensure the safety of children and their parents in Pflugerville.

“In my teenage days we would say ‘that is heavy dude,’” Poss said. “ You don’t want to let anyone down, I know how they feel about me and I feel the same way about them.”

Poss has occupied a wide array of jobs, from his service in the Navy to being a pharmaceutical representative, but out of all of his jobs, being crossing guard is the one he feels like he’s meant to have.

“This is the best job I’ve ever had,” Poss said. “Of all of the jobs I’ve had, this is the one that’s the most endearing to me, I had to wait all my life to get to this point, but I’m here.”

Order your yearbook now.

www.smart-pay.com Photos by Rion Ellis

13

14 Volume 9 , Issue 4 Feature

NEW YEAR

RESOLUTIONS

A popular culture tradition around the holidays is making resolutions for the new year. These things can range from eating healthier to being nicer to people to purchasing your own car.

New Years is also a time for reflecting on the past year as well as making plans for the new one. Here are some people who shared their resolutions for 2016.

Nicole Gentry, 12 “This year I wanted to be a better person and help out more with the community but I fell off because of softball, so I’m going to try again next year while also getting fit for college.”

Rylan Kaufman, 11 “I don’t think you have to wait for a new year in order to change something about your life. You can do it whenever you feel like you’re ready.

My biggest goal of 2015 was for my track team to make it to state. Next year I want to continue doing good in track and make the varsity team and also start getting prepared for college by taking the SAT and ACT early. Most of my goals are to run in college.”

Michala Simmons, 11 “My resolution this year was to be nicer to everyone. I felt bad for people that were getting bullied. I saw more people getting picked on during school and when I would walk around. I gave people compliments and I would spend time with people that were lonely, like if they were sitting at the table by themselves. Next year I’m not letting anybody tell me what to do when I graduate, and I want to achieve my goals. I always think on the bright side. If I see something negative I think, that could be happening to me, and I try to find the good in things.”

Kristen Schoonover, 12

“Most times my resolution is something small like giving up soda until my birthday. Lately, I’ve been thinking about how I’m a junior and I need to get it together cause I’m graduating soon, so this year I want to keep my good grades. My freshman and sophomore year I kind of slacked off and didn’t care as much as I should have, and this year it’s definitely showing. I know what my GPA and rank could’ve been if I would’ve done the same back then as I am now, so setting this resolution is good for me. If you’re not working for something, then there’s no point in having a goal.”

Kiana Castaneda, 12 “My resolution this year was to be more physically active for dance.

I feel like I achieved that goal because some dance activities are easier then they were before. This year I want to focus more on myself and making sure I’m happy. Considering it’s my senior year, I want to make sure I achieve my goals. I want to go to college for dancing, and I don’t want to let others veer me away from what I want to do, even though the dancing industry is hard to get into, it’s still something I want to do.”

NEW START APPLY YOURSELF

As technology advances, so does society. Now a day’s people are able to connect faster with each other as phones make this possible. Now a day’s they serve as multi-purpose tools and offer a new way for communication as well as accessing a variety of apps for personal use.

Daily Yoga The Daily Yoga app allows people to keep up with their health and fitness as it helps by providing intuitive and comprehensive yoga training for everyone interested. The app offers different levels of yoga exercises as it slowly builds up your training. Help kick start the New Year right by downloading the app.

Stop, Breathe, Think

The app provides a learning process to help those perfect the art of meditation, as well as providing a list of meditations to do. And to keep track off all the hard work the app self-consciously collect the data and allows users to view it. Help clear your head with these simple and easy meditations as the app offers step by step instructions to ensure users are doing it correctly. By learning easy meditation techniques it ensure a less stressful New Year and life.

Focus Now Set a personal timer with a twist that will help insure one to stay on task.

Modified to act as a game, this app allows users to use their time productively while also awarding themselves with prizes from the app. Once the timer is set the app generates a fake plant that grows while the user studies or does their planned activity, however if they get on the phone and use it the plant that was growing will die. The over all goal is to grow as many plants as possible to eventually build up to create a garden. Focus now not only helps those stay on task but makes the process worthwhile as well.

Gas Buddy Between school and extra curricular actives a job can be too much to take on, but with the Gas Buddy app it makes it easier to save money. The app itself accumulates gas stations in the area and picks out the ones with the cheapest prices. It even provides a map to help users get to the desired gas station. Make this year’s resolution a bargain and download the free app in the app store today.

Make My Plate Finding the time to work out might not seem possible or may even be a burden to try and fit it into an already busy schedule. That’s why Make My Plate makes it easy and fun to diet as they give you multiple options than just one strict diet. For each meal course and snack time there are numerous plates and items to choose from. It even helps customize a personal shopping list to make finding each ingredient for the diet easier.

However not everyone has time to dash to the store and cook up a healthy meal, that’s why the app also allows it’s user to incorporate their favorite restaurant or fast food into their diet by giving them options to chose from on the menu (Starbucks, McDonalds, Chillies).

Entertainment December

11 , 201 5 15

Firing Off

Unique sport heightens senior’s final year Mikaela Kelarek Asst. Editor

They were getting crushed. After losing another game, they needed a new plan. “Okay Mitz I want you to go straight to dog house.” Everyone knew it was suicide, but what did they have to lose?

He ran down the center of the field and peaked over the bunker. Cowering behind the wall was entire the opposing team.

“It surprised me to see all three of them because that never happens,” senior Mitziel Albarran said. “I got shot, but I managed to take all of them down.”

The paintball team formed last year with seniors, Jay Perez and Nicolas Beck taking the roles of president and vice president. Albarran was one of the first members and became the team’s treasurer. Being a rare sport, the team started small, but has shown growth this year.

“We went from having six people to fourteen,” Albarran said. “Now we have three teams with all of their gear, ready to play.”

Paintball has not always been a part of Albarran’s life. It wasn’t until the spring break of his junior year that he actually began playing paintball competitively.

“My friend Emilio invited me to play with a few other people over the break,” Albarran said. “This was around the time the president and vice president were about to start the club, so I was actually there to help them start it.”

Despite having a team here, not a lot of other schools have paintball teams. They mostly com-

pete against local or college teams.

“We’ve been able to paly against professional teams like UT and AC Dallas,” Albarrab said.

“We played a tournament up in Dallas and competed with a lot of other highs school teams and got fourth place.”

Using guns to fire little plastic balls of paint is exciting. Rules, such as keeping masks on while on the field and barrel covers on the gun while off the field keep the game safe. But even rules don’t stop the fun of the game.

“I enjoy the thrill of getting shot at,” Albarran said. “All of the adrenaline makes you feel invincible, like nothing can hurt you.”

Anatomy of a paint ball gun

The barrel is the structure that shoots out the paintballs; it is also utilized to perfect one’s aim.

The paintball hopper contains the actual paintballs. Depending on the type of gun, the hopper is either on the top and in the middle or to the side.

The stock is used to provide a stable leverage onto the shoulder.

The air regulator and compressed air tank power the shooting of the paintball gun.

The body is the main structure of the paintball gun.

It provides hand support for the user.

16 Volume 9 , Issue 4 Entertainment

{

Unconventional Beauty

Ileana Perez Asst. Editor

Now more than ever, people often times get distracted with the superficial aspects of their appearance and forget all about what they have inside. But inside is where all of the true colors shine. Below are books that focus on the key aspect of unconventional beauty and encourage you to embrace your #BeautyWithin.

North of Beautiful By: Justina Chen With her blonde hair, tall and enviable body, it’s hard not to notice Terra Cooper. But then she turns her head and all people see is her “flawed” face, the port-wine stain on her cheeks. When Terra runs into a sophisticated goth boy named Jacob, she

doesn’t think they’d ever have anything in common, yet he ends up understanding her better than anyone else. North of Beautiful is more than a boy-meets-girl love story. It’s a motherdaughter love story, and most importantly, it’s an uplifting self-love story.

{

“Flawed,

we are truly interesting, truly memorable, and yes, truly beautiful.” ”

“Courage. Kindness.

}

Friendship. Character.

These are the qualities that deFine us as human beings, and propel us, on occasion, to greatness.” ”

eleanor & Park By: Rainbow Rowell Set in 1986, this book follows the teenage years of two outsiders who formed an unconventional love story: Eleanor Douglas, a “big girl” with red hair who just returned home from Omaha after she was kicked out by her abusive

and alcoholic stepfather, and Park Sheridan, a semipopular, half-Korean kid with a good taste in comic books and music. The only thing keeping them from having their happily ever after, is the world.

{

“EleanOr was right.

wonder By: R.J Palacio Born with several genetic abnormalities, Auggie Pullman dreams of being “ordinary.” But after 27 surgeries, he will never look normal.

Now, he’s starting

She never lOOked nice.

She lOOked like art, and art wasn t suppOsed tO lOOk nice; it was suppOsed tO make yOu feel sOmething.”

middle school and scared of being unaccepted. Told in multiple perspectives, Wonder show cases the harsh reality of trying to fit in, and finding self-love.

Entertainment December

C lassic Holiday Movies A Christmas Carol (1938)

Miracle on 34th Street (1947)

Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer (1964)

How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1966)

Perfect first Christmas children film for teaching us it’s okay to be different. After Rudolph teams up with an elf named Hermey and Yukon, a human prospector, they meet an abominable snowman along the way and also find an island full of toys. Rudolph wants to see if Santa can help these toys, so he heads back to the North Pole on Christmas Eve. Santa is caught in a fog storm though. Luckily, Rudolph’s nose shined so bright.

Get your Christmas spirit with this heart touching movie.

Based off “How the Grinch Stole Christmas!” a book by Dr. Seuss, this movie follows a cruel, bitter green creature who plans to steal Christmas from the Who’s of Whoville.

The smallest who, Cindy Lou Who, catches the Grinch in the act and teaches him the real meaning of Christmas, which isn’t based solely on gifts. The Grinch gets emotionally and his heart grows 3 sizes.

Frosty the Snowman (1969)

The Nightmare before Christmas (1993)

Teach your friends not to be a mean old grump like Ebenezer Scrooge. Scrooge is visited by the sprit of his deceased former partner, Jacob Marley. Marley informs Scrooge about how if he keeps up his old ways, the afterlife will punish him. The scrooge does not listen and will soon be visited by three spirits who will show him his past life, celebrations of Christmas, and how he will be remembered if he keeps up his misery.

Scrooge changes his ways over night and saves himself on Christmas day,

This movie is perfect to watch with the family because of the focus on children belief. In this movie a thrown away top hat becomes the center of attention to a group of small children when it brings Frosty the snowman to life. As the temperature starts to rise, the children travel to the North Pole to keep Frosty alive. On their journey the previous owner of the hat, follows them to reclaim his property.

11 , 201 5 17

This comedy follows Santa Claus after he replaces a drunk Santa in the Thanksgiving parade and becomes a sensation. He becomes a main at the Macy’s outlet and starts calling himself Kris Kringle. Kris is taken to court to prove his sanity. This movie tests people’s beliefs of the Christmas spirit.

Play the irony card and watch this Christmas Eve, even though the argument of this movie being Halloween or Christmas movie has been debated since the release. This film follows Jack Skellington, king of Halloween Town, who discovers Christmas town.

Upon not understanding the whole idea of Christmas Jack spreads his own idea of Christmas cheer with a spooky twist.

Modern Holiday Movies Love the Coopers: Nov. 13

Four generations in one house is crazy especially with the Cooper family. Director Jessie Nelson and writer Steven Rodgers come together to create a classic family film. With unlikely events and unexpected visitors the Cooper family rediscover the bond that unites families as one.

The Night Before: Nov. 20

The Night Before is a laugh along Christmas film about three lifelong best friends and their journey to fine the holy grail of Christmas parties.

Starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Seth Rogen and Tracy Morgan making the film lean towards the funnier side of Christmas.

Krampus: Dec. 4

Based off the old legend of Krampus and his minion, this horror movie causes a twisted look on the holiday.

When a young boy named Max (Emjay Anthony) has a bad Christmas, he accidentally summons a demon named Krampus into his home. With Krampus on the loose and his family stuck in the house with no electricity, Max and his family have to fight to survive.

Joy: Dec. 25 Directed by David O. Russell and based on a true story a young woman named Joy (Jennifer Lawrence) takes over a thriving family business, only to learn intense emotion in an unforgiving business based world with only more challenges to come.

18 Volume 9 , Issue 4 Sports

Game Time Varsity basketball player reflects on athletic journey Rumor Stojek Asst. Editor

On the court her shoes squeak across the floor, the time is ticking, adrenaline pulsed through her body; junior Amaka Dike pushes through to help her teammates on her basketball team.

After recent basketball tryouts Dike got into varsity girls basketball for the upcoming basketball season. She has been playing basketball for since she was in seventh grade “I was really bad at volleyball and I thought I was too slow for track, so then there was basketball.” Dike said.

“Basketball is something I’ve grown to love. My parents don’t really talk about sports so basketball wasn’t something thrown at me; I put myself in sports. I built a relationship with basketball on my own.”

Since the beginning of fall-ball Dike has grown even more confident in her game decisions, athletic ability, and being able to rely on others in a team effort.

“Before I would not shoot the ball I would just pass it, but I think this year since I’m more confident,” Dike said. “I’m on varsity and it’s very different from Junior Varsity. So much is expected from you and you have to try and live up to those expectations.”

During the summer, Dike wasn’t looking for a team to play. She wanted to go to a strength camp during the break and built even stronger relationships with her teammates.

“Being on one of my teammates teams helped me build confidence in my shot and made me want to keep practicing to get it on point,” Dike said. “Although it’s not perfect I’m still working towards it, and I don’t want to give up on it. Basketball is something I want to keep trying to get better at.”

As the season rolls in, Dike plans to use everything she’s learned over the summer and during the first semester of school to play the basketball year.

“I am here. This is what I’ve been waiting for,” Dike said.

“This is my time to shine, this is my time to prove myself. This year is so critical for me to live up to the expectations that have been set, not just by my coaches, but my family, friends and myself.”

Dike also uses the skills she learns in basketball in her academic life too, such as staying orderly and organized. For example she utilizes the Pass to Play UIL grade check to make sure she not only has her head in the game, but also has her head in her education.

“I want to do well in order to play and if I don’t do well in class then I’m not going to play so that helps me keep my grades up,” Dike said. “Whenever I’m feeling down or stressed I just remember that this is a sport I love and this is something I want to keep doing. I have to not only work hard at it on the court, but also in academics.”

Dike enjoys staying active not only mentally but also physically to stay in shape. In addition to the conditioning and ball handling practice at school with her team, Dike also spends time outside of school to practice to stay in the best shape possible. She works out independently and also goes to a recreation center to further improve

her basketball shots.

“When I do go to the rec I shoot like a few hundred shots just trying to make sure I’m not getting lazy,” Dike said. “With all of this training you’ll sometimes get a little flustered but you have too keep doing it and keep pushing yourself. There’s just something about basketball that make me want to try harder and work myself to get better at it.”

Though relationships between Dike and her teammates may be rocky at times, Dike described their bond as a sisterhood.

“We are able to be so comfortable around each other,” Dike said. “I can tell them anything and I know they got my back 24/7 no matter how many times we may bump heads we’re always there for each other. I feel like sometimes I have my moments where I’m just upset at everything, I’m just upset at the world, but once I get on the court I feel like I can release everything. I am able to not just rely only on myself, but to know that there are other people there to help me get where I need to be.”

Donajia Buirst, 12

Amaka Dike, 11 Photo by Margaret Willlams

Photo by Ashley Kramarz

Sports December

11, 201 5

19

Photo by: Natalie Owings

Perfect Par MarQuise Prince-Salone Co-Editor

Childhood sport becomes freshman’s lifestyle Competitors, 15 and under, huddle across a golf course at Barton Creek. The weather is cold, wet, icy and below 20 degrees. Most competitors have withdrawn, however freshman Madison Silva persists in her attempts to win. Decked out in only shorts, a golf shirt, shoes and a single windbreaker, she keeps going on with the tournament. With the wind scraping against her face, Silva’s movements are restricted, making it hard to walk and harder to swing. She pushes onto the last hole earning her a score of 76 thus winning the tournament.

Silva started playing golf when she was 3 but didn’t start competing in tournaments until she was 12. Her father played golf as well until he got in an accident with a drunk driver in 2005.

“My dad was a golfer and a very good one, too,” Silva said. “He lost one leg which was replaced it with a robotic leg. The other one was saved. It works a little but it needs a brace to help it. He wanted us to always have a bright future, thought golf would help with that and started teaching us.”

Along with golf, Silva participated in dance, gymnastics, and tennis. Gymnastics helped with her swing however tennis affected it negatively and

therefore chose golf over it.

“I was introduced to [gymnastics] when I was around 4 years old,” Silva said. “I loved running around and flipping and do everything right. I like golf because I love to be outside and be active. I also grew up with it so its so confortable to be anywhere near golf. I’d rather go practice than go to the movies or shopping.”

Silva had more fun playing golf that her other sports. Golf combined all the aspects of sports she loves. From tennis, Silva got her competitiveness, endurance and the drive to win. From gymnastics and dance she got balance and flexibility.

Silva volunteers for Southern Texas PGA (STPGA), a section of the Professional Golfers’ Association of America (PGA) and US Kids Golf, an organization persistent on getting children into the sport of golf.

Along with helping out these groups, Silva also competes in their tournaments.

“There’s more but these two are the ones I help most often,” Silva said. “I help with advertising and doing kids meetings, that’s where a bunch of kids come to the golf course and we help them and let them play for a while on the golf course. Golf is not

a sport that’s well known for kids. A lot of people describe it as boring, weird, or an old people sport.

It’s not that popular like football, dance, basketball or others however its pretty fun once you learn it.”

Silva competed at a US Kids Golf State Invitational and won first with a 77 and a 74.

“The golf course is set at you trying to do 72 swings,” Silva said.” [My score was] in the 70s area but it’s too close and I know I messed up on some shots that I should have done better on.”

Silva has received some negative feedback about the sport, some about the activity in general others about how it’s a male sport.

“Guys do mainly play golf and not a lot of girls do,” Silva said. “I’ve heard how guys hit far but I do know some girls today that can out drive a lot of guys and hit like pros. I have had some make comments here and there about me playing golf and how dumb and boring it is but I don’t really try to worry about it. If you don’t really understand or know golf too well then it’s hard to watch and they think its just getting a ball to a hole. It’s very hard and you have to think a lot and keep every shot as accurate as the last.”

20 Volume 9 ,Issue 4 Last Look

Star Squad

Teacher fan base describes their love of Star Wars For decades, Star Wars has fascinated fans everywhere. On Dec. 18, the legacy will continue and give newer generations a chance to see the epic adventure on the big screen. Diehard teacher fans describe their loves, woes, and favorites in relation to Star Wars.

1. What do you associate with Star Wars?

RK: Probably two things, my childhood because I grew up with the originals and just a fun adventure.

AK: My childhood. Growing up in the 70’s, Star Wars was it. You either wanted to be Han Solo or Luke Skywalker. Me, I was in the Luke Skywalker fan base. That was me. The first thing I think of always goes back to my childhood when I was happy and having good times.

2. What’s your favorite movie?

JB: The original has to be my favorite. The original 1975 Star Wars, the New Hope, as it is now called because I associate it most with my childhood. It is the first. It is the most original. It has some magic.

When you see it as a kid, it has more magic.

MF: I would probably say my favorite is The Empire Strikes Back.

It’s the movie where Yoda teaches the philosophy of the force. As an acting teacher, I actually use a large number of Star Wars metaphors in class RK: The Empire Strikes Back because of the twist and the darkness in it. I like how it ends on a down note. The rebellion looks like it’s in trouble, Vader is Luke’s father and Han is in carbonite. It just looks like everything is going down hill.

3. Describe your first experience watching Star Wars.

AK: My entire family, including my mom before she passed away, all packed in to the family Rambler, a station wagon. My brother and I actually took sleeping bags on top of the station wagon and we got to lay down on top of the Rambler with pillows and sleeping bags and eating popcorn and watching a giant screen. It was awesome.

MF: I was born in 1976, so the first episode I would have seen would be Return of the Jedi. I kind of remember going to see the Empire Strikes Back, but I would have been 3 or 4 years old at the time. I remember being in the theatre and seeing people dressed up as the Imperial Guard and what not, but it didn’t really make sense to me what was going on, but I was about 8 when Return of the Jedi came out and I saw that movie maybe 9 or 10 times. I actually memorized dialogue from the movie and I would walk around and speak like Jaba the Hut.

4. How were you introduced to Star Wars?

AG: My dad. We watched Star Wars when I was really really little because the first films came out before I was born, so I had a little bit of catching up to do. I’ve always been a little bit of a nerd and my dad was too and he very much encouraged that.

Alfred Kapa (back right) AK; John Bush (front right) JB; Ryan Kubicek (back center) RK; Michael Fisher (front center) MF; Amanda Gass (far left) AG Photo by Victoria Hoang

5. What order do you watch the movies in?

RK: It’s called the machete order, so you watch IV, V, II, III, and then VI and you don’t have to watch I. If you’re showing it to someone who’s never watched it before, they get the shock of Vader saying he’s Luke’s father, and then you watch the other two as a flash back showing Anikan fall to the dark side and then the redemption at the end. Then you can watch I on its own because it doesn’t really add anything to the story, but it has good light saber battles.

JB: I go in the regular order to get the chronological time of going through Anikan’s story all the way through to Luke Skywalker.

6. Who’s your favorite character?

AG: Yoda. I love his logic and the way he sees through a problem. I feel like he would be a math teacher at some point.

MF: I would have to say Yoda. He’s the best.

AK: Out of all the movies, I still think I’m going to have to say Luke Skywalker. I think I connect most with his story of kind of being ignorant and growing up then seeing the world as a bigger place. It’s better to contribute positively than it is to contribute negatively like the dark side.