OPINION
02.03.15
A one man job
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Page 5
JORDAN SETSER > REPORTER
As teenagers, its expected that we assume our parents are the foundation of our embarrassment. However, we all know deep down that we really don’t need any assistance in that area of our lives. For me, embarrassment comes as a second nature. A time I happened to stumble upon embarrassment was during my second grade year at Harp Elementary where I was finally discovering the magic of manipulation and lying. Most of my “popular” friends had glasses and me, blessed with perfect eyesight, wanted them more than I wanted a puppy. Our monthly eyesight checkup in the nurse’s room was the perfect time to get my excuse. So while I was reading the letters off the wall out loud, the H’s, F’s and E’s
started to look a lot like B’s, C’s and Z’s. To my liking, I now needed glasses. Mom however, working at my school, knew the truth and would not let me get any, so I took the matter into my own hands. I snuck in my parents’ room and “borrowed” my dad’s ancient glasses from the forties. The next day, I brought them to school and the glasses were more of a burden than a helping hand. I looked like a confused second grader and indeed I was(not only because I couldn’t see). Our class had taken a trip to music class after lunch and this is where my 50 pound body sat on those lovely glasses. When the music teacher saw the broken glass, she sent me down to my mom to tell her that I needed a new pair. However, I was really
going to plainly tell her I had glasses, and they weren’t even mine. The walk down the hall of shame took minutes that seemed like two life times. My mom, trying to keep a straight face, scolded me which meant I was soon standing in my own tears. Another time I stumbled upon embarrassment happened to be at “The Nutcracker” ballet. When I was 9 years old, my mom had surprised me with tickets to go see the ballet, and for a girl who spent most afternoons with her chickens, this was a big deal. When I was getting dressed, I realized that I hadn’t collected the eggs from the chicken coops yet. I threw on my coat and braced the winter weather until I reached the warmth of the heat lamps. I quickly put two eggs in each
pocket and ran to the car so we wouldn’t be late. When my dad dropped off my mom and I, we hurried inside and immediately scanned the snack bar and trinket booths. Because we left my house so rapidly, when we passed the restroom, we were reminded of our need to use it. However, that wasn’t the only forgotten thing that night. As I entered the restroom, I looked in the mirror, fixed my hair (which wasn’t much of an improvement being as though I was nine), stuck my hands in my pockets and a disgusted look appeared on my face. I had just placed them in what once had been my make-do egg baskets holding eggs that I forgot to take inside. I pulled out my hands, now covered in yellow goo, and quickly stuck them back in to avoid
Being a human is hard HOLLAND PRIMM > OPINION
Here’s the thing: being a human is hard. It’s hard to get out of bed sometimes. It’s hard to wear decent clothes Mondays and Fridays. It’s hard to smile at people when you’re definitely not smiling on the inside. It’s hard to hold a million things inside your small little being. It’s hard to be on the top of the world one moment, and at the bottom of its lowest pit the next. Life is not simple, as much as we’d like to convince ourselves that it is. Life is complicated: a tangled, intricate mass of an unfathomable number of moments and feelings and memories wound together messily, as though it was a pair of earbuds left in the bottom of a backpack for too long-
seemingly impossible to undo. And life cannot be undone. That is what we, as humans, struggle so desperately with. Inside of each of us is longing to figure everything out how to successfully navigate through the years and the trials, but we simply cannot understand the paradox that life is. We have to trek on and hope that the wind is at our backs, that for every uphill, there is a down. Because of this, we must lift one another up along this journey. We must be kind and sympathetic to those that are struggling, and joyful and excited with those that aren’t. Sometimes we need to be congratulated for just getting out of bed in the morning.
Give hugs as much as smiles-abundantly. Realize that people should not be enemies, but rather, allies against a common obstacle. Forgive quickly, and don’t be so hard on yourself. You will mess up. You will make mistakes. And that’s okay. We’re here to learn, to live, to experience life at the fullest capacity. So many things in this world have the potential to drag you down, but I encourage you to fight on, to stand tall, and face the great paradox of life with joy and excitement, not dread. Simplify your life; you already have a million things going on inside of you, so eliminate the things that bring you down on
the outside. Minimalize and organize the hectic parts that make you freak out so that you can gather yourself to face the larger, more important things. Most of all, surround yourself with love and happiness, in whatever form that may be. People, art, nature, music, sports, poetry… add more of that in wherever you’re able. Those are the things in life that you can control, so utilize that for your own benefit. Don’t make life harder than it already is. Take the reins, and LIVE. Focus on making yourself better, and then making others better. Stop worrying about things that don’t matter, and learn to be spontaneous and free.
Time is of the essence SARAH STRICKLAND > REPORTER
When I was little, I would always dream of being an adult. I would act like I owned my own business and I would “sell” my books to my parents using fake money. I wanted to speed up my life; I wished away my childhood in order to be grown up, to have more responsibilities and more stress. Now, I’m getting letters in the mail from colleges forcing me to start planning my future. I would do anything to turn the clock back and be in elementary school when my only worry was if I would have to be “it” while playing tag on the playground.
I miss those days that I would sit in my room bored to death after school when I had nothing to do because I never had homework. I used to take moments like that for granted, but now I cherish times like that. I miss doing crafts with my mom and reading books on my dad’s lap. Time is what we want most, but what we use worst. My mom would always tell me to be a kid, but I never listened to her because I always thought my childhood would last for a long time; it didn’t. My childhood ended when high school started. Between softball practice and homework,
I have no time for anything social whatsoever. Every adult at some point has said that if they could go back, they would live their life differently; I never really understood that until recently. If I could go back I would be a kid and not just a student and an athlete. Recently, the days have felt endlessly long, but the weeks, months and years have flown by too fast. It seems like just yesterday I was learning the about the parts of a plant in 5th grade science or how to multiply fractions in 6th grade math. No one thinks about how
much time they spend doing everyday things. The average person will spend 11 years watching TV. This baffles me. We don’t think about how much time we are wasting when we watch one TV show. I think there are much better ways to spend our time such as community service or even just hanging out with friends, but I also believe that time you enjoy wasting was not wasted. Bottom line: just have fun. Time is the coin of your life. It is the only coin you have, and only you can determine how it will be spent.
Hear me roar: Graduation gowns Dr. Brackett approached the senior class bearing news regarding a potential change in the traditional graduation ceremony. Mention of the navy blue gowns being replaced by Carolina blue gowns has sparked some discussion
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among staff and students, as well as some sense of excitement. We think the break from the traditional navy gown would be exciting and would be a nice tip of the hat for the Class of 2015, especially
since it is the 10th year anniversary. After everything this senior class has been through, we feel the opportunity to be different would serve as a token of forgiveness as well. These gowns would not only
GENIUS BAR: CAROLINA BLUE GRADUATION 1. 2.
There are 546 seniors graduating. The hat that goes along with the gown is called a mortarboard.
3.
The traditional color of graduation gowns for Har-Ber is navy blue.
4.
The change of color is for Har-Ber’s ten year anniversary, and is likely to become a tradition for every ten years.
5.
Graduation will take place on May 16 at Bud Walton Arena.
be a refreshing modification, but it would show the Class of 2015 that they are not defined by their mistakes. We recognize that Springdale is a town steeped in tradition, as is the district. Look around the district and you’ll see the red brick, white column signature style. Another issue may be push for equality between the two high schools. Although this is a minor change, it will be one that initiates other questions about equality as well. If we get new gowns, will Springdale have to get new gowns too? While we understand that our district administrators love tradition, we hope they will consider the option to allow our seniors to break from tradition this year. Since it is the 10th year
awkward stares. Motioning to my mom to join me in one of the stalls, I tried to figure out which emotion I was going to let loose. Her method of attempting to flush the vast amount of eggshells and yolk down the toilet did not succeed. Instead of cooperating, the shells came back up. Slowly rising to the surface, along with my blood pressure, my mom and I exchanged glances before I made her reach in and pull them out. Believe it or not, the hardest part out of all of this was walking out of the stall as if nothing had happened. Even though I would love to blame both these times of embarrassment on my parents, clearly I was fully capable of making myself look like an idiot all on my own.
The Har-Ber Herald Staff 2014-2015 Samantha Stansbury Editor Kerrigan Reading Features Editor Gabriella Maestri News Editor Mollie Ownbey Sports Editor Holland Primm Opinion Editor Caty Langston Entertainment Editor Reporters Ethan Elledge Jakob Garcia Joanna Keck Sarah Strickland Jordan Setser Betsey River JT Strickland Designers Ethan Elledge Hadlee Higgins Karla Sprague Adviser The Har-Ber Herald is written and designed by the journalism class. All opinions stated in The Har-Ber Herald are not necessarily the views of The Har-Ber Herald or HBHS. Letters To The Editor are welcome and appreciated. Letters are to be between 200-300 words long and must be signed. They can be hand delivered to room A-216, e-mailed to ksprague@sdale. org, or placed in the Letters To The Editor box in the Library/ Media Center. Names can be withheld upon request.
anniversary, these Carolina gowns could serve as part of the celebration. HBHS has celebrated many accomplishments over the past ten years and adapted to changes in traditional teaching methods and structure. We welcome change for the good of all. So why not change the color of the graduation gowns as well? However, the decision boils down to what the district administrators decide. It’s their decision whether to break from the norms. Let’s embrace these wonderful 10 years with allowing the Carolina gowns. Whatever the board decides, with or without the new gowns, we hope the choice will not affect the excitement of graduation for the seniors.