Issue 4, Volume 94

The Pepperbox

April IN THE BOX

BOX BRIEFS April 9-15: Spring Break April 22: Term 5 Ends June 4: Senior Prom June 16: Graduation Want to advertise or buy a mail subscription to the Pepperbox? Email Business Manager Bella Fratkin at pepperbox@nohum.k12.ca.us !

EDITORIAL STAFF Seri Welsh Editor-in-Chief Lila Cohen Editor-in-Chief Ian Letts News Editor Dylan Berman Feature Editor Madelyn Conley Deputy Feature Editor Emily Nalley Sports Editor Flannery Warner Opinion Editor Ty Franklin Photo Editor Amaya Mendle-Nickle Deputy-Photo Editor Bella Fratkin Business Manager Aidan Shelton Art Director Dele Rebstock Social Media Editor Sydney Trieu Web Editor Eva Johnson Copy Editor

REPORTERS

Ruby Auckland Tabitha Born Haley Kenyon Zoe Macknicki Jean Thuy

The Pepperbox would like to thank Western Web, based in Samoa, for printing at-cost. Western Web supports student journalism throughout Humboldt County and has made publications like the Pepperbox possible for decades. We appreciate their dedication to keeping print media alive.

Life Skills Art Spotlight. . . . . 5 Journaling for a week. . . . . . .7 Making global foods. . . . . . . . 8 Lifestyle changes. . . . . . . . . .10 Becoming an egg parent. . . .12 Veganism for a week. . . . . . 14 Different Art for a week. . . 16 Trying a new sport. . . . . . . . 18 New Clubs for a week . . . . . 19 Journalism class swap. . . . . 20 Making new friends . . . . . . .21 Introducing Ms. Pretlow. . . 22 Ms. G Profile . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23 Different types of caffeine. 24 Check it Club. . . . . . . . . . . . . .25 Building a resume. . . . . . . . . 26 Monge’s Day in the life. . . . 27 Play Review. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27 Underrepresented sports. . 28 Be Kind!. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Alumni Spotlight. . . . . . . . . .29 New Music Review . . . . . . . 30 Windows vs Desks. . . . . . . . 31

Questions regarding editorial content of the Pepperbox should be directed toward its editors. Opinions expressed in this paper are not necessarily those of Arcata High School.

Western Web

Editor’s Box Seri Welsh and Lila Cohen Co-Editors-in-Chief

We have a website! Go to thepepperbox. com for breaking news and more exciting content!

Interested in writing for Pepperbox?

Contact the editor. pepperbox@nohum.k12.ca.us

Follow us on Instagram! @ahspepperbox

With Spring Break around the corner, we wanted to create something original that reflects our staff’s interest in cleaning out bad habits and building new and healthier routines. From this idea we decided to experiment with ‘experiential’ first person journalism. Experiential journalism is a modern style which utilizes the pronoun of I, a word usually feared by journalists. With this unique approach, we planned out dynamic experiences for our journalists to partake in, in search of new hobbies, skills and lifestyles.

We have been rather sentimental throughout this cycle. With one more issue before we graduate, this year is going by wayyyy too fast. It’s crazy to think that we are finishing up our FOURTH issue of the year. It feels like just yesterday we were laying out the AIBT issue at 3 a.m. with no grasp on what we were doing. Now, we are happy to report our layout skills are proficient, even excellent. The indesign software is no longer a foreign language, and with a reliable teacher on our team we are lined up to end the year strong. Ms. Pretlow joined us as a long term substitute on March 15th and we could not be happier (checkout page 23 for her official introduction.) However, as unexpected twist Ms. Merrill has returned from her leave of absence the day we are sending this to print. We still want to acknowledge the incredible work of Ms. Pretlow, so we decided to keep in her introduction article, as she will likely still be around campus subbing and hopefully eventually becoming a long term teacher.

Additionally our staff has been gifted six lovely new layout computers that work…most of the time. With that, we are excited to introduce Volume 94, Issue 4 of the Pepperbox, spring cleaning addition. We hope you enjoy!

Yours truly, Seri Welsh and Lila Cohen

Frameables

Quotable.

“I don’t drink cow’s milk I only drink human milk.”

-Mr. Mielke on monopolies in economics

“I’m taller than you, therefore my opinion matters more.”

-Will Salamunovich on lifting weights

“It’s hard to be an adult and have to show -Mr. Moore making fun of a parent who plays kids how cool you are.” music really loud at pick up What’s a poetic way to “Look for sexy pear say drugs?” trees.”

-Lizzy Johnson in Creative Writing class

-Ms. Angles talking about “Their Eyes Were Watching God”

“Just to be clear everyone, South America is -Ms. Guerrero on her lesson plan not a country.”

“I had a secret romance in high school.

We don’t talk about Charlie.”

- Ms. Fernandes on her high school experience

Life Skills Art Spotlight

Art by Kylie Sutherland

Art by Sean Wilson

Art by Parker Wilson

“I love doing art with life skills, they are supportive and kind, loving and good friends.”

- Patricia Macdonald, AHS Senior

Art by Seth Holland

Art by Arwen Cliver

Art by Patricia Macdonald

Down Across 1) Robin 2) Sunlight 4) Rain 3) Garden 6) April 5) Rainbow 7) Dandelion 9) Ladybug 8) Bloom 12) Butterfly 10) Frog 11) Cleaning 13) Grow 12) Blossom 16) Breeze 18) Worm 14) Petal 16) Bunny 20) Green 17) Egg 19) Bee

Crossword Answer Key

From the Archives

Thursday, April 7th, 2022

Experiential

The Pepperbox | Page 7

A way to keep the stress away Eva Johnson

A

Copy Editor

question I’ve often wondered about is, ‘does journaling help relieve stress?,’ and I finally found the answer. For myself anyway.

Throughout the past couple of years I have always been interested in giving journaling a try, but I never made it one of my priorities.

However, for a week I was able to do just that, and what I found surprised me.

I have always been a skeptic when it comes to most things.

Journaling has been a known act of self-care for quite some time, but I never thought it would impact me positively.

Through the week, I kept an open mind, I swear I did. But unfortunately, my skepticism was proved right.

Journaling didn’t do much for me, and I don’t think I’ll be keeping it as a top priority in my life.

Now, as a disclaimer, I understand that everyone has different ways of coping with stress and you should always feel good about incorporating practices into your life that help you.

I just found that, personally, journaling was not beneficial.

The first day, I will admit, wasn’t too bad. Right as I got into my bed, I pulled out my computer, wrote the date, and began to write whatever came to my mind.

I tried not to worry about my grammar and just went with the flow of my thoughts.

That was the only night that I thoroughly enjoyed writing about my day. It went downhill from there.

For the next two days, I tried writing in the morning. That didn’t help at all. It genuinely caused me more anxiety because it had me

worried about the coming events of the day instead of being able to reflect on them after they have already passed. So, that method didn’t work.

The next day, I tried writing in the middle of the day but gave up on that quickly because I was not willing to write while eating lunch - that’s on me though.

So, for the final days of the week, I went back to journaling before bed.

Nothing came to mind. I do the same things everyday, which is something I did realize while journaling. I wake up, go to school, deal with people, come home, do homework, eat, and then sleep.

By the end of the week, I was feeling so tortured and tired of having to journal anything at all.

what’s going on in your life, so I did appreciate having the opportunity to vent.

I also did like going back after the week had finished and reflecting on the stuff I ranted about the most. Politics is one of those things.

Something I found interesting was seeing what had caused me so much trouble in the heat of the moment and to think about whatever came out of it.

With journaling, I became more aware of certain experiences in my life.

First, I realized the routine that I have, and since it’s spring, I think it’s a good opportunity to be able to switch it up.

Second, I noticed all of the little things that do make me happy. It was good to realize the good things that happen even when I don’t know at the moment. To me, that’s a benefit to journaling.

Sometimes being able to reflect on the positive experiences helped me put the stressful situations into perspective. I could take a moment to breathe.

I did find that it helped express my feelings without having to talk to someone.

I tried to fall asleep, and all those fresh thoughts of both good and bad moments caused me so much anxiety that I could not sleep. I thought journaling was supposed to have the opposite effect.

However, there is a positive side to this. I did find that it helped express my feelings without having to talk to someone. It can be hard for some (including myself) to tell someone, even a person you are close to, how you are feeling about

Ruby Auckland/PEPPERBOX

Eva Johnson journals in the sun outside of Arcata High School

The Pepperbox | Page 8

Experiential

Thursday, April 7th, 2022

Cooking food from around the world Seri Welsh

Co-Editor In Chief

O

il splattered across the counter and into my eye Saturday night as I attempted to cook Korean Beef Bulgogi. Let’s just say I got some battle scars.

As an only child of two biologists that love to travel, I’ve had the luxury of visiting many different countries throughout my life.

With this has come the opportunity to try various different foods from around the world.

I have never been super interested or good at cooking, but I definitely enjoy eating.

Pushing myself outside my comfort zone by trying to create three vastly different meals from around the world was incredibly rewarding and surprisingly enjoyable.

Korean Beef Bulgogi: Korean Beef Bulgogi is a traditional Korean dish with thinly sliced and marinated beef. The dish originated in the Goguryeo era (37 B.C. to 668 A.D.).

It began as a kabob-like skewered meat called Maekjeok. It later transformed into a broth dish of marinated beef soaked in cold water called Seoryamyeok.

In the early 20th century, it transformed to Neobiani, a dish of thinly-sliced, marinated and charbroiled beef. In the 1920s, the word Bulgogi first appeared, and became an umbrella term for all thinly sliced meat marinated in sauce.

When I decided to make Beef Bulgogi, I anticipated it being complicated and timely. However, I was quickly surprised by the simplicity of the recipe.

The recipe I used was from the website “Damn Delicious.”

The first step of the recipe was to freeze the beef for 30 minutes, so it was easier to slice it into thin pieces.

My mom helped me prepare the beef, but we found that 30 minutes was not an adequate amount of time for the beef to freeze in order to slice them into thin enough pieces.

This ended up being one of the most frustrating parts of this recipe.

Slicing the beef into strips was very difficult because it was still fairly soft, which resulted in later steps of the recipe being more complicated than anticipated.

While she sliced the beef, I prepared the marinade. The recipe I chose called for gochujang in the marinade, but I couldn’t find it in

Seri Welsh/PEPPERBOX

A dish of Korean Beef Bulgogi, which was fairly easy to make

the store so I used a local chili pepper paste as an alternative.

I then put both the beef strips and marinade into a plastic bag and left it in the refrigerator until dinner the next day.

I was nervous to leave the marinade for such a long time, but it ended up working out perfectly.

The next day, I began the process of cooking the beef using a cast iron grill pan.

I ended up having to cook a lot more rounds than anticipated since we weren’t super successful at making strips of beef so not as much could fit together as anticipated.

By the time I had gotten all the strips in, it was time to flip over the first ones. I let them cook for about two minutes on each side. I repeated this process until all the beef from the bag had been cooked.

Since I had to do so many rounds, I heated the oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit in order to keep the beef that was already cooked, warm.

After I was finished I garnished the beef with sesame seeds and green onions and served it with rice and salad. It turned out really surprisingly good and I had enough leftovers to make tacos the next night.

Overall, I would highly recommend making Beef Bulgogi. The flavor of the beef was fairly intense but combined all the elements of sweet, salty, and savory and the texture was soft and chewy.

As an inexperienced cook, it was fairly simple and easy to make. It took a total of about an hour and a half of active cooking time. 8/10 Portuguese Rabanadas: Portuguese Rabanadas began in the 15th or 16th century with the celebration of the Catholic holiday, Lent.

Since Lent involved many people giving up meat, Portuguese

Catholics found themselves eating more bread.

In an effort to make use of all the leftover stale bread, Rabanadas were created. They are very similar to French toast and are often nicknamed Portuguese French Toast.

My family has a tradition of making French toast Sunday mornings, so I decided this would be a fun and different swing on the tradition. I used a recipe from “Taste of Home.”

When gathering the ingredients for the Rabanadas, I noticed it called for every ingredient I used to make French toast, in addition to white sugar.

When I make French toast, I eyeball the amounts for each ingredient, but the first thing I noticed about the Rabanadas recipe was that it called for much more milk compared to eggs than I’d ever used for French toast.

I chose to make only three quarters of the recipe because a full recipe served six people and I didn’t want to waste food.

I began by mixing the eggs and milk into a large shallow glass dish.

In a separate small bowl, I combined sugar and cinnamon.

I turned my stove to medium-high and dipped two pieces of sliced French bread into the milkegg mixture.

After letting it soak on both sides for about 30 seconds, I added butter to the pan and placed the pieces of bread on top.

Once cooked, I started the much anticipated sugar-cinnamon dip. I used a spatula to dip the bread into the mixture. I repeated this about three more times, making a total of six Rabanadas.

I was expecting them to be overly sweet, but they were delicious.

Due to the large portion of milk used, the texture was rather custardy.

Thursday, April 7th, 2022

Experiential

Seri Welsh/PEPPERBOX

A piece of Portuguese Rabanadas, a great alternative to French Toast The cinnamon and sugar melted into the toast, so it wasn’t the first thing I tasted.

Overall, the recipe was extremely simple and easy to follow, taking me only about thirty minutes. I would highly recommend it as an alternative to French toast. 9.5/10 Polish Pierogi: Pierogi arrived in Polish territories in the 13th century. They formed from a similar Ukrainian dish. The first recorded recipe of Pierogis was in the sixteenth century.

While today they are stuffed with potatoes, this recipe included chopped kidneys, veal fat, greens and nutmeg instead.

This was by far the most ambitious meal I took on. It involved preparing dough, which I’d never done before in cooking and on top of that adding filling in the dough wrappers. The recipe I used was from the New York Times titled “Pierogi Ruskie.”

I began by adding flour and salt together in a large bowl. In a small saucepan, I heated butter and water, letting it melt then adding it to the large bowl in addition to an egg.

The recipe called for kneading the dough for seven minutes. I second guessed myself so many times

on what it meant to knead it, that I had to go confirm with my mom that I was in fact kneading and not just poking at the dough.

Rest assured, I was doing it right and after seven minutes the dough looked well combined. I let it sit for about 30 minutes at room temperature covered by a damp cloth to keep it moist.

While the dough sat, I began preparing the filling. I peeled three potatoes and sliced them into cubes.

The recipe suggested I let them cook for 25 minutes, but I found after 20 minutes they were more than ready.

While the potatoes were cooking, my mom sliced two onions and cooked them until they were golden brown (I refuse to get within five feet of raw onions).

I decided to sauté some mushrooms to add to the filling while I was waiting for the potatoes. I think this was a good decision, as it added some much needed flavor to the recipe.

After the onions and potatoes were both cooked, I added ricotta cheese, salt and pepper and the mushrooms to create my filling.

At this point, I was over an hour and a half in and feeling rather exhausted but motivated to succeed.

It was now time for the most challenging time of the recipe; preparing the wrappers.

I cut my dough into two even pieces and left half of it under the moist cloth so it wouldn’t dry out.

I took the other piece and rolled it out until it was 1/8 inch thick. I found this to be rather difficult. I think the dough was too dry, so it wouldn’t roll out as thin as I would like.

The recipe then suggested using a three-inch cookie cutter to make the wraps, but I didn’t have one so I used a cup of about the same measurements instead.

The recipe predicted this would make about 12 to 15 Pierogi, but I found that it only made nine. Using one cut out at a time, I then spooned filling in the disk and pinched the edges to close it.

During this process, I dipped my fingers into a dish of water ever so often, in order to help the two sides adhere together.

When I was finished, I placed them on a baking sheet with flour.

I then repeated this same process with the other half of the dough.

Then came the most nerve-wracking part. To cook the Pierogi, I placed a single layer in a pot of boiling water and let them cook until they floated to the top.

The Pepperbox | Page 9 I was terrified they wouldn’t float, and my whole afternoon would be wasted.

Now I’ll admit, a few Pierogi never did make their way to the surface, but to my surprise the majority of them floated!

Afterwards I decided to pan fry them, to make the texture better.

I melted butter into the pan then cooked the Pierogi until they were golden brown.

After finishing, I plated the Pierogi and served them with sour cream and herbs.

Ultimately it took me two and a half hours to make the Pierogi, but given my inexperience, I would call it a success. They were tasty and much more filling than I would have thought. 7/10 Overall, I’m incredibly grateful I took advantage of this opportunity to try something outside of my comfort.

The experience, although frustrating at times, taught me a lot of valuable basic cooking skills that will benefit me in college.

It also taught me a lot of interesting history surrounding food. I hope to continue my exploration of global foods whether that be through journalism or in my free time.

The result of the complex Polish Pierogi recipe

Seri Welsh/PEPPERBOX

The Pepperbox | Page 10

Experiential

Becoming an “It Girl” Amaya Mendle-Nickle Deputy Photo Editor

T

rying new things can bring a sense of change into our daily lives and routines, which can be quite refreshing.

We often get caught up in the same habits and get comfortable doing similar things each day. It could be the way you dress each day, the foods you eat, your sleep schedule or the activities you do after school.

Sometimes we get scared to switch things up. This past week, I had the opportunity to change up my routine each day by trying a new activity.

Sunday: My goal was to get more than eight hours of sleep.

Like most high school students, I love to sleep.

However, it is often hard to get above eight hours of sleep a night due to the balance of homework and any other activities you have to do each day.

Our lives often get busy and sleep is lost. When I woke up the next morning, I felt refreshed and more motivated. Throughout the day I did not feel as tired, and it

Thursday, April 7th, 2022

was overall very nice.

Tuesday: My goal was to go to the gym early in the morning.

Tuesday was definitely the most different day for me because I woke up at 4 am to go to the gym before school.

I enjoy going to the gym and working out, but I usually just go after school in the afternoon. It is a lot harder to find the motivation to go to the gym so early and waking up is definitely the hardest part.

Additionally, I was super tired in the afternoon because I had been up for so long.

However, after I finished my workout, I felt very accomplished for the day and more relaxed.

Wednesday: My goal was to eat all homemade meals and not go out to eat. Since I am gluten free, I usually make a lot of food at home to make sure nothing is cross contaminated.

However, at least once or twice a week, I enjoy going out to lunch with friends. On Wednesday, I made my lunch and it was nice to save money.

Thursday: My goal was to drink a gallon of water. I did not end up drinking a gallon because I didn’t

Amaya Mendle-Nickle/PEPPERBOX

Homemade sushi is a great alternative to eating out

realize how much it actually was and didn’t feel that I had enough time throughout the day to do that, but I drank more water than usual.

I brought my water bottle to school to make sure to get extra hydration. I feel like I really benefited from it.

Sometimes it’s hard to get your water intake in for the day, but I felt better and more awake from drinking a lot of water.

Friday: My goal was to have no processed sugars for the day. I feel like we don’t realize how much added sugar there is in certain

products.

Even things like chips or energy drinks have added sugar.

On Friday, I focused on eating whole foods, lots of vegetables, fruit and protein.

I really enjoyed trying new things everyday and felt that it was nice to get out of my daily routine. I feel like it’s hard to break out of everyday habits and things that we do.

I enjoyed the activities I did this week and am going to try to do them more in the future.

The North Coast Journal is proud to support local student journalism.

The Pepperbox | Page 12

Experiential

Thursday, April 7th, 2022

The parental eggs-perience Emily Nalley

T

with an egg was not a great idea.

I am thinking that if I had something bigger and more baby sized I would be able to remember it much easier.

I am glad however that I don’t have to worry about getting graded on if I feed my fake baby or how much it cries like a lot of other schools do.

Sports Editor

he parent project is an experiment that schools all over America participate in.

Usually it entails high school students partnering up and trying to carry around a flower, egg or even a fake baby.

For this project we decided that I would do it alone and my ¨baby¨ would be an egg.

Our hopes for this experiment is that we would find out how hard it is to actually be a parent in high school. Turns out it is very hard.

Journal entry one March 7, 2022 10.41 A.M.- It is my eggs first day of school. After much contemplation, I have decided his name is eggward. He is being carried in a little bag while I get used to being a parent.

So far Eggward has survived almost getting dropped off a table.

He has not cracked yet but the day is not over.

11:14 A.M. - Eggward’s co-parent, Seri Welsh has hit him out of some spurt of anger.

1:10 A.M .- Eggward is having an unexpected sleepover with Emmy the dog after being left at Ian Letts’s house after lunch.

Today’s Reflection- Today was a tough day. I think that it was probably because it was the first day having Eggward and I really wasn’t prepared for how forgetful I am.

I did find that it was a lot easier to carry my egg in a bright patterned purse.

I found that it was easier to remember when I wasn’t carrying it.

Hopefully tomorrow will be better.

Journal entry two March 8, 2022 1.45 P.M. -Eggward is back for his second day of school. He very much enjoyed his night with Emmy the dog and Sage the cat.

1.50 P.M.- Eggward is growing up so fast. He has just completed his taxes.

1.59 P.M.- Eggward is very excited for his swim meet on Thursday.

2.06 P.M.- Seri has given Eggward a very rough hand hug (I think that she secretly has it out for Eggward).

Today’s Reflection- I’m starting to think that doing this project

Journal entry three March 9, 2022 8:30 A.M.- Eggward has been forgotten today… again. I guess I should reevaluate if I want kids.

In my defense, a kid would be a lot louder... and probably smell worse.

12:55 P.M.- I rescued Eggward from my house, and he has joined me for the remainder of the school day.

5:00 P.M.- It has been an uneventful day. Eggward was thrown into the air quite a few times today but he survived, thankfully.

Today’s Reflection- Today was a rather quiet day because I forgot Eggward again.

This means that I didn’t really have anything to report today other than me and my co parent Seri

Welsh throwing Eggward in the air during journalism which probably wasn’t the best idea.

Against all odds, he is still alive and well.

Journal entry four March 10, 2022 10:35 A.M. - Eggward is very excited for his first swim meet today.

We are driving all the way to Fort Bragg and will be back very late tonight.

Unfortunately, Eggward does not yet know how to swim, so he is just going to be cheering us on.

3:30 P.M. - Eggward and the rest of the swim team have arrived in Fort Bragg. We are all very tired and a little car sick but the show must go on.

3:47 P.M.- Eggward is being babysat by Lizzy Johnson who had an unfortunate ankle roll at Junior prom and is unable to swim right now. I think they are getting along great.

3:56 P.M.- Lizzy didn’t even last ten minutes babysitting Eggward.

He is now sitting with Sadie Green.

Let’s hope this goes better.

5:30 P.M.- Eggward has finally completed his first swim meet. He had a lot of fun.

We are now heading to a Chi-

Thursday, April 7th, 2022

Experiential The dancers however quite liked having an egg in their class and they found that they were much better dancers than Eggward.

Eggward was also very excited for his tutu and that he learned how to do a second position spin.

nese restaurant.

5:36 P.M- Eggward met his twin.

6:37 P.M.- Eggward was almost forgotten at the restaurant. He’s alright though just a bit shaken up at almost being fried in rice for somebody’s dinner.

Today’s Reflection- Today was probably the busiest day that Eggward and I will have together because I had a high school swim meet in Fort Bragg.

This was a very hard day to remember Eggward because of how much I was doing.

It was also a challenge to make sure that no one stepped on him during the meet but thankfully Eggward lives on.

Journal entry five March 11, 2022 9:57 A.M.- I just realized I forgot Eggward again. In my defense, it was a long night.

3:57 P.M.- Eggward has been saved, and we are now at a dance class together.

5:38 P.M.- Eggward did not like his dance class. He was rolled around by many six and seven year olds and did not appreciate it.

Today’s Reflection- Today was mellow again. I forgot Eggward for most of the day and so I don’t have a lot to report.

I did take him to one of my dance classes that I teach and I was very lucky that he didn’t break.

Journal entry six March 12, 2022 12:46 P.M.- Eggward has been forgotten for the last two days in my kitchen, it was fortunate however, that he was not cooked alive like his siblings.

By this time I am almost positive that he has rotten so it is probably for the better that I haven’t been carrying around a smelly egg for two days.

The Pepperbox | Page 13

This was a great way to end the week.

The last two days I forgot Eggward so I guess that says something about my responsibility.

I am very happy to report that I was able to get through the whole week without breaking my egg!

At the beginning of the week when I first got this experiment the first thing that I said was I’m going to break it.

I was proven wrong.

Final Thoughts Taking care of an egg for a week is very hard.

I really don’t recommend trying it. My total count for forgetting Eggward somewhere was well

over ten.

Surprisingly, however, he did not crack. I was almost sure that he would have cracked by now but I think all of the times he was forgotten has helped.

This experiment was done not because I wanted to but because Eggwards co-parent, Seri Welsh, thought that I needed to learn how to be a parent.

Overall I think that this experiment was very insightful into how forgetful I am in my everyday life.

Over the week I did come up with different ways to help me remember Eggward such as keeping him in a patterned bag and drawing a face on him.

At the moment I don’t think I could ever handle being a parent with my high school and athletic schedule.

I believe that this experiment is very good for high schoolers to do to learn how much time and energy is put into being a parent

The Pepperbox | Page 14

Experiential

Omnivore to herbivore Ruby Auckland

I

Reporter

attempted to go vegan for five days, not only to challenge myself, but to encourage myself to make positive changes this upcoming spring.

Since winter is coming to an end and spring is slowly, but surely, approaching us, I wanted to make an effective change for myself that will benefit me in the long run.

I documented and recorded everything I ate and my overall personal experience throughout the whole journey.

Day One: My first day trying out veganism started Monday, March 14.

The whole idea of veganism was never appealing to me or seemed to be in my interest, so I was rather nervous and stressed about this big change.

For breakfast, I had oatmeal topped with an array of fruits and berries, as well as peanut butter.

It was extremely satisfying, and it kept me full for hours.

Since my breakfast was more on the dense side, by the time lunch rolled around, I wasn’t too hungry.

I decided to go light and got a smoothie from Wildberries, which supplied me with loads of energy.

The smoothie was delicious but failed to keep me fulfilled for long, so by the time I got home from school, I was starving.

For an after school snack, I had cucumbers and carrots with a side of hummus.

By this time, I was feeling amazing.

I had lots of energy and honestly just felt like the best version of myself.

For dinner, I decided to eat something protein packed. I ended up making a tofu and veggie stirfry over brown rice.

I have variations of that dinner

very frequently so, as always, it was great.

All in all, my first day going vegan was a success.

Throughout the whole day, my energy was perfectly balanced and well sustained.

I didn’t once feel fatigued or have any sort of craving for animal products.

Day Two: The next day, I woke up feeling unusually hungry.

I honored my hunger by making two pieces of avocado toast.

Usually when I make avocado toast, I put a thin layer of butter before the avocado.

I’ve now realized that it is extremely unnecessary.

It tasted exactly the same, if not better.

Avocado toast is such an amazing and balanced breakfast as the carbohydrates from the bread provides energy to the body and the high levels of healthy, beneficial fats from the avocado can help you feel fuller between meals.

By lunch time, I still felt fairly content from my breakfast, yet I picked up a premade salad from Wildberries anyways.

It was a Mediterranean salad with romaine lettuce, tomato, cucumber, onion and feta cheese, which I had to pick off.

I have to say though, I was extremely tempted to keep the feta remaining on the salad because it’s my favorite part.

If I'm being honest, the salad was very bland and became unappetizing shortly after I began eating it.

After lunch, I felt nauseous and fatigued. As soon as I got home, I had apples with a side of peanut butter.

Right away, I felt more refreshed and lively.

When dinner approached, I didn’t have much of an appetite so

I decided to go light and prepare spring rolls.

They are incredibly easy to make and are very gratifying and nourishing.

I just sliced up some cucumber, carrots, red bell pepper, red cabbage, iceberg lettuce and marinated grilled tofu.

I also prepared a Thai peanut dipping sauce that compliments the spring rolls perfectly.

To sum it up, this day was a roller coaster.

I crashed a bit after lunch but

Thursday, April 7th, 2022

revived myself with a snack and ended the day on a good note.

Day Three: I woke up the third day craving something refreshing, so I made a smoothie bowl.

I make smoothie bowls regularly and they never fail to satisfy me.

They’re rich with natural sugars and fiber so it’s a great way to obtain much needed energy.

They also promote better digestion, improves satiety and allows better absorption of all nutrients.

Ruby Auckland/PEPPERBOX

The spring rolls I prepared for myself for dinner on day two

Thursday, April 7th, 2022 I threw in whatever frozen fruits I had, almond milk, vegan protein powder and topped it with granola as well as fresh strawberries.

I felt completely fulfilled and content afterwards which set the tone for the entire day.

For lunch, I got a veggie sandwich from Wildberries which, to my surprise, was very delicious.

It was layered with an assortment of veggies that paired with one another perfectly.

I’ve noticed throughout these past couple days that I’ve been feeling very at ease.

My mind has slowed, leaving me with what seems like more time to live in the moment and enjoy the little things in life.

Experiential I’m not certain it’s caused by veganism but I’ve been feeling more blissful lately.

I’ve been feeling more connected with my friends and family, and I’m not certain that it’s caused by veganism but the state of mind that I’ve been experiencing since the first day is putting me at bliss.

By the time dinner came around, I wasn’t too hungry but my mom made my all time favorite, vegetable curry soup over rice, so I couldn’t resist.

Usually she adds chicken to it but she held out in it this time. I had lots of spirit and energy during the whole day, I felt like a whole different person.

I was more mindful and aware of my actions and feelings which

Ruby Auckland/PEPPERBOX

A vegan smoothie bowl, which is a combination of frozen fruits, almond milk, vegan protein powder, fresh granola, and fresh strawberries

The Pepperbox | Page 15

completely improved my mood.

ed and overall happy.

Day four: I started my day on a good note.

I rested and woke up with a positive mindset that stuck with me all day.

Another thing that I’ve noticed the past few days is the great sleep that I've been getting.

I’ve woken up every morning well rested with ambitions to have a great day.

I did, however, wake up with a strong craving for yogurt. I was in luck because I bought plant-based yogurt a few days before, knowing that I’d want it soon enough.

So I had that topped with granola and blueberries which created a proportional, delicious breakfast.

After I ate that, I still felt slightly hungry so I also had a plant-based protein bar.

The bar definitely gave me the extra kick I needed to continue my day.

The sandwich that I had yesterday kept lingering in the back of my mind, so I had it again today for lunch.

Just as it was the day before, it was amazing.

After lunch, I felt completely satiated and nourished.

At this point, I was thriving and feeling the best I’ve felt in a while.

Good vibes and thoughts were the only thing on my mind.

When I got home, I was craving something sweet so I had fresh strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, and grapes.

Unfortunately, for dinner my parents made my favorite dish for dinner, spaghetti with meat sauce, which I obviously couldn’t have.

Instead, I made up my own variation of it and had the pasta with pesto, tomatoes and fresh basil.

Pesto pasta is usually a go to dinner for me so it was delicious as always.

Throughout the whole day, I had a positive mindset which made the whole experience 10 times easier.

I felt balanced, nourished, satiat-

Day Five: After another night of good sleep, I woke up eager to start my day as it was my last day eating vegan.

I had mixed emotions about ending this experience.

I was of course super excited to go back to my normal eating habits, but I was also a little sad that it was coming to the end because I was enjoying myself and all the positives that came out of it so much.

For breakfast, I wanted something more fulfilling so I had avocado toast again.

I changed it up a little and added a couple slices of tomato on top.

This breakfast gave me loads of energy and left me refreshed and ready to begin my day.

At lunch, I wanted something refreshing and light so I picked up a smoothie from Wildberries.

I added banana, blueberries, strawberries, raspberries and a scoop of plant-based protein powder.

This provided me with a boost of much needed energy.

When I got home, I had some baby carrots and hummus, just to have something to hold me over until dinner.

For dinner, I made another tofu vegetable stir-fry.

This dinner is especially easy to make and requires little to no cooking experience.

To say the least, this whole journey has been incredible.

I’ve been feeling more connected with the people around me as well as with myself.

I’ve realized that following a vegan or plant-based diet makes you more aware and mindful of the food choices you're making and the foods you pick to fuel and nourish your body.

This experience has been very beneficial, and I would definitely do it again.

The Pepperbox | Page 16

Experiential

Thursday, April 7th, 2022

Finding fulfillment in artistic expression Tabitha Born

F

Reporter

or the past week, I have tried one different type of art every day.

From crayon to watercolor to mixed media to crochet, I spent my week experimenting with art I hadn’t tried before as well as some of my favorite and most familiar styles.

The point of this art experiment was to answer one very important question: could making a point to do something creative every day improve my mental health and wellbeing?

Day One: Making My Own Clay Earring Holder I’ll be honest, on day one, I went way overboard. I didn’t even end up finishing my project until the next day.

Making clay from scratch is no joke, and baking it is even more arduous. For this project, I decided to make a small mushroom-shaped earring hanger out of homemade clay.

Did you make gingerbread orna-

ments as a kid?

Well, it’s basically the same principle, just requiring more hotglue and painting post-production, not to mention a much longer bake time.

This magnitude of a project every day, I quickly realized, would not be feasible for the rest of the week, fun as it was.

Solid seven out of ten, I would rate it higher but homemade flour clay is not half as substantial or easy to work with as other types.

Day Two: Necklaces Galore For day two’s project, I decided to make a simple choker out of some pony beads, fun charms, pearls and obviously, some beading wire.

It took me around 15 minutes from start to finish and was quite relaxing!

I started the activity pretty frazzled and stressed out from the day, and finished up feeling quite relaxed.

There’s something soothing about the rhythmic nature of beading that I just can’t get over.

Ten out of ten, would recommend.

Day Three: Stress-Drawing with Crayon I didn’t have much time to complete my project for day three, so I opted for some in class crayon doodling.

It went much better than expected.

Once I let go and just focused on the process, it was just as relaxing as I’d hoped.

Once again, I went into the ac-

tivity stressed and kind of pissed off, and left it feeling a bit more centered and a lot happier overall.

I would rate this a solid six out of ten.

Day Four: Mixed Media - A.K.A Jounal-Ranting in Art Form This day’s project was a fun one I’d been looking forward to for a while.

Journaling is something I love, art is something I love, so why not combine the two?

This one was a lot more personal and emotionally involved than the other days.

Whereas the days prior had been pleasant and calming distractions from the rest of my life, this was more of an outpouring of all the stress I’d been holding in one go.

It may sound cheesy at first, but art is a really great way to process emotions.

I often don’t know what I’m feeling till I’ve put it down on paper.

Thursday, April 7th, 2022

I would rate it a solid nine out of ten.

Day Five: Collage Until day five, I hadn’t made a collage of my own free will since about preschool.

But, in recent years, I’ve regained a sense of respect for this type of art once more.

This project took about 45 minutes in total.

I found the hunt for good collage materials both exciting and excruciatingly tedious.

But, there was something almost cathartic about putting all the pieces I had so carefully collected together into one big work of art.

I left the activity a lot happier than I started, that’s for sure.

Experiential

I rate it a solid ten out of ten.

Day Six: Watercolors I absolutely adore watercolors.

Am I particularly good at it? No. Is it one of the most soothing and meditative forms of art I’ve ever encountered?

Beyond a shadow of a doubt. I just free painted for about 15 minutes, and honestly, it was one of my favorite days this week.

Not from an accomplishment standpoint (I certainly liked other project’s final results better), but from a process standpoint.

I love how watercolors flow; there’s not really any wrong way to watercolor and that is a huge part of its beauty.

Solid ten out of ten.

Day Seven: Crocheting Fingerless Gloves Sooo, I definitely ran out of time to finish this in one night. I made it about as far as crocheting the hearts for the backs of the gloves before I had to move on to something else.

The Pepperbox | Page 17

But, I really enjoyed it! I can’t wait to finish them.

Solid eight out of ten.

Conclusions Over the course of this experiment, I found the results to be the following: I am a much happier person when I create art.

While this practice is not always the most practical for me, it is an experience I do not regret having by any means.

I had really high expectations for what the end products of my work would look like, and the actual product did not really match up with my expectations. But that, it turned out, was a good thing.

Some projects turned out better than expected (ahhem, crayons) and others worse (unfinished gloves). But, this taught me to value the process for what it is: frustrating, beautiful, soothing, sometimes tedious and very very imperfect.

And that’s okay.

Art isn’t supposed to be perfect. It’s about expressing yourself, practicing skills you want to foster, working through emotions and making something new in the process. The end product is just an added bonus.

The Pepperbox | Page 18

Experiential

From kicker to hitter Zoe Macknicki

Reporter haven’t tried that many sports in my life; I have only ever played soccer, run track and run cross country.

Trying a new sport seemed like a fun and interesting idea, so I decided to try softball for a week.

The Arcata High School softball team was willing to have me join them at their practices, so I could learn the basics of softball.

On day one, I walked into the locker rooms with junior Morgan Ford, who had loaned me everything I needed for a week of softball.

I wasn’t really sure how to feel. I walked in and began to get ready and no one really questioned if I was on the team or not.

When Ford introduced me to everyone in the locker room, they were very friendly.

I felt as though I had walked into an inclusive and positive environment.

I

I felt as though I had walked into an inclusive and positive environment.

- Zoe Macknicki I went out to practice and began to follow along with everyone. Everyone talked and laughed as we warmed up.

As soon as it was time to prac-

tice, everyone was ready to go and work hard.

Steve Sarchett, the coach of the AHS softball team, began to help everyone to make sure that they were doing the best they possibly could.

He consistently gave pointers on how each player could improve. Sarchett had an uplifting attitude and always made sure to push the girls to the best of their abilities.

He wanted to make sure everyone was improving day to day even if that was just a small improvement.

After day one, I felt like I had a lot to learn but I was looking forward to what was to come.

On the second day, Wednesday, March 16, I found out from Ford that we were going to be working on hitting. I was excited to learn a new skill. However, I was hoping that I wouldn’t kill anyone with the bat or let go of it when I hit the ball.

Fortunately, that didn’t happen. I learned that hitting the ball has a lot of mechanics to it, and it isn’t as easy as it seems.

Once you figure it out all it takes is more practice.

I watched many of the other athletes practice, and I got to learn more by just watching them. Juniors Taylor Appy and Sagen Sarchett especially caught my attention.

They looked very fluid in their motions. One player, Corrina Cunningham, always made practice fun by making jokes constantly.

She kept everyone up beat and still made sure to work hard. All the girls were very encouraging

and helped me get better.

On the third day, I practiced more hitting and observed their practice.

On Thursday, Cal Poly Humboldt head softball coach, Shelli Sarchett, came out to pitch for the team. This was a great opportunity for Arcata High’s softball team to work with a college coach.

I watched people work on both offense and defense and work on game plays.

On the fourth and final day, I felt very included. I really felt a part of the team, not just someone who was a guest.

I began to get to know some of the girls, and I felt like I became more connected with both the players and the coach.

We did a few different drills and then we worked on game situations with people running the bases.

I got to run the bases which was really fun. I had seen a lot of the girls working really hard

Thursday, April 7th, 2022

and improving all week.

After participating in practice for four days, I learned many new things and got to hang out with many new people.

Arcata High has a very young softball team, and they continue to impress as they begin to practice.

The environment was overall very positive and it kept everyone excited and ready to learn.

Some of my favorite parts were getting to meet all the girls on the team.

Having them there made practice more enjoyable. I am hoping to continue to watch the softball team grow by attending more of their games.

Overall, this was a great experience. I would recommend that people try softball, the environment is positive and makes you want to work hard while having fun.

I can’t wait to see what the AHS softball team has in store for them this season.

Ms Griffith/AHS

Zoe Macknicki and the AHS Softball team practice at the upper field

Thursday, April 7th, 2022

Experiential

The Pepperbox | Page 19

Misadventures in club hopping Bella Fratkin

T

Business Manager

here’s no shortage of clubs at Arcata High School, so I set out to investigate what they have to offer. My plan was to attend one club each day but that didn’t work out.

It proved nearly impossible because of the irregular schedule and sometimes inaccurate club list. It took me two frustrating weeks to go to eight clubs.

The three club meetings that actually had students attending were Makers Club, Drama Club, and Interact Club.

No one attended Chess Club twice, Economics Club once, and Mountain Bike Club ended early. The Native American Club got canceled, the Associated Student Body (ASB) meeting was already over before I got there only ten minutes late.

My journey began with the ASB meeting. Jennifer Coriell is the advisor of this club and told me that these meetings go fast every Monday, and I can attest to that.

I didn’t get that memo, apparently, and it was over before I got there.

My next visit was to The Makers club on Tuesday. It’s overseen by advisor, Jason Sidell, and held in the collaboration laboratory better known as the CoLab. It’s a creative space and with a spirit that supports people working together. That was apparent even in the brief 15 minutes I was there.

I was welcomed by some friendly juniors, John Gerving and Julian Wan, who explained how the Makers Club works. John shared the three most important principles held in Makers club, “Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Design.”

The Makers’ students worked

together to make laser cut earrings, wooden ties, connect four boards, spinning coasters, and more to sell at the artisan fair at school.

For Wednesday’s club, I tried to attend Chess Club two Wednesdays in a row and had no luck. Advisor, Will Bagnall, said they came and went by the time I got there.

On Thursday, I tried to go to Asian American Pacific Islander club (AAPI) but no one was there because it actually happens on Tuesday, contrary to what’s said in the bulletin.

My next stop was the Native American Club. When I got there, the president told me it was canceled because no one showed up.

Onward to the chemistry room where the Mountain Bike club was meant to happen, but it had ended minutes before I arrived.

Lastly, I went to Adam Pinkerton’s room to see if the Economics Club was happening but it was the same as the others.

On Friday, I went to Drama Club which is normally overseen by Melanie Zapper.

Zapper was helping move a delivery into the Fine Arts Building so she wasn’t able to run the meeting. Instead club members, like Maxwell Sims, stepped into leadership roles, and got the meeting on track by keeping everyone engaged.

We played a theater game called mafia and those who know mafia know it can get pretty chaotic.

At the end of the meeting Zapper laid out some of the other club activities, like fundraising and planning trips to see plays in Ashland.

Since I had such little luck on finding clubs that were happening on Wednesday and Thursday, I attended an additional Friday club to try to make up for it.

For this, I chose Interact club

who’s advisor is Davena Bagnall.

It’s run by Seri Welsh, the president, and Lila Cohen, the vice president.

Interact club is a space where students can gain valuable leadership skills while making positive change in their communities.

A couple of current projects on the agenda are mural painting and a trash clean up at Carlson Park.

Bagnall described Interact Club as the high school version of Rotary Club. She also added that It’s almost entirely student run.

The leaders are very self motivated and are passionate about what they do.

The leaders are very self motivated and are passionate about what they do - Bella Fratkin They are currently brainstorming ideas for a mid-year social event for club members to get to know each other better.

Interact Club has made contributions to the school such as building and installing the benches in

front of the school and building the stone entrance to the senior lawn.

Some club members recently did some restorations to one of the benches and hope to be able to clean out the moss from the senior lawn entrance in the near future.

Normally they hold an annual spaghetti dinner to fund their projects but that is one tradition among the many others that the pandemic has halted.

Anyone is welcome to come attend Interact club meetings and be a part of their mission for change.

Meetings are held regularly in room 101 at the beginning of lunch on Fridays.

The Rotary Club also provides pizza for the Interact students since the meetings take place at lunch.

As lucky as we are to have a broad array of clubs to explore at AHS, my journey of discovery was hindered by misleading information in the bulletin, inaccurate listing in the schedule, super short meetings and my own challenges with the clock.

Here’s to hoping the bulletin and schedule get fixed soon, so with a little more luck than I had, your club dreams can come true.

Bella Fratkin/PEPPERBOX

Interact Club members and advisors pose for a photo at the end of their lunch meeting in the small gym

The Pepperbox | Page 20

Experiential

Thursday, April 7th, 2022

Peppering the Heron Herald Ian Letts

News Editor

W

alking into Journalism class at Arcata High School for the first time was a moment that changed my life forever.

It quickly became one of my favorite classes and changed the way I thought about my college future.

Most importantly, it opened my eyes to the importance of student journalism on any school campus, as I believe these programs allow student voices to be heard beyond what would otherwise be possible.

To further my understanding of the subject, I felt I needed to see how other student journalism classrooms operate around our local community.

I reached out to Northcoast Preparatory Academy senior and Co-Editor-In-Chief of The Heron Herald, Zoe Osborn, about the possibility of observing a class period of theirs to learn more about how other student publications operate.

The staff of the newspaper agreed to have me for a day, and I was thrilled.

The Heron Herald is a “student run, student lead, student organized newspaper that focuses on news in the NPA community, but also the greater community,” Osborn said.

The paper features a variety of news, feature and opinion pieces in their issues that cover topics both on and off campus.

Additionally, issues of The Heron Herald feature special sections such as the ‘Sports Corner’ and ‘The Covid Chronicles,’ which make the paper very unique.

The Heron Herald is impressive because it is able to accomplish this in its issues with a staff of only ten writers and two editors, while keeping the experience fun and fulfilling for all people involved.

“Seeing the actual layout of it

in physical print is pretty much one of the most rewarding things,” Osborn said about her favorite aspects of the paper.

“On a more intrinsic side of things, it’s rewarding to hear people’s experiences,” she added.

On a more intrinsic side of things, it’s rewarding to hear people’s experiences - Zoe Osborn “It’s a small group, but it’s fun to have to write articles and turn them in and edit other people’s articles,” freshman staff writer Brianna Colegrove said on her favorite part of the paper.

The process of producing a newspaper is stressful because of the amount of work required to get it done. However, the reward is always worth it.

“It’s definitely a slog to get it done… but seeing it come out is really rewarding,” senior staff writer Devon Baker-Berry stated.

Additionally, the abilities Heron Herald reporters learn from journalism class are a crucial part of the paper’s allure.

The skills “learned from this class, whether it’s how to interview, how to try to create a non-bias when we’re writing articles, and to formulate an informative piece to give the readers” are senior staff writer, Jaxon Peaker’s, highlight of writing for the paper.

Another admirable aspect of The Heron Herald is that, when the COVID-19 pandemic began in March of 2020, the paper’s production was barely affected.

“I think that’s kind of the nature

of having a smaller school and a smaller staff,” Osborn said on the matter.

In the 2019-2020 school year, The Heron Herald was able to put out only two issues due to the onset of COVID-19; the next year, they published three issues, the traditional amount of annual issues for The Heron Herald, despite their distance learning schedule for the majority of the year.

“Honestly, Zoom kind of lent itself fine to the process,” Osborn said.

Additionally, distance learning made The Heron Herald stronger in many ways.

For example, before COVID-19, Heron Herald articles were written and edited with pen and paper, but distance learning forced a switch to an online format, which bettered the content the paper was able to put out.

The amount of perseverance Heron Herald reporters showed throughout the pandemic was very impressive.

In addition, it is a prime example

of the importance of student journalism on high school campuses.

“Oftentimes, people call journalism the fourth branch of government… we know it’s so intrinsically tied to our whole public system,” Heron Herald advisor and NPA teacher, Andrew Freeman, said.

This system includes high schools, both in our local area and in the global community.

“Sometimes I feel it’s the most important work I get to do here as a teacher is to be the journalism advisor,” Freeman continued.

The Heron Herald along with other student publications in Humboldt County, including The Pepperbox, constantly strive to bring student voices to the forefront of the conversation at their respective schools and around the community.

“I just know how crucial it is to have people going out in the world who understand what’s good journalism,” Freeman concluded. “And how critical it is to a functioning democracy.”

Ian Letts/PEPPERBOX

The Heron Herald staff pose in the sunny NPA courtyard on March 11, 2022

Thursday, April 7th, 2022

Experiential

The Pepperbox | Page 21

Seeking out connections Aidan Shelton

S

Art Director

printing is truly the art of living in the moment. When you’re loading up into that block, waiting for that gun to go off, nothing else matters except for the next eleven seconds.

You’ve gotta prepare to give everything inside you, 100 percent, and then you’ll be done. You have to clear your mind completely.

Don’t think about friends, school or any stupid little thing that could distract you.

Nothing else matters. You enter a state of pure focus. Time slows to a standstill. A moment of hesitation is the difference between first and last.

There is no room for error. And that’s just how I like it.

Now that I’ve entered my senior year of track, I’m the veteran.

From being a little freshman running a trial of fire against what felt like grown men at the time, to now being a senior competing for first place in the 100 meter dash.

The first meet of the season is not like other meets. It has a bunch of weird but fun events like a co-ed relay or a throwers relay.

This is to break the ice and start off with something light, but there are a couple of events that actually matter, notably the mile and the 100 meter dash.

For those who don’t know, the 100 meter dash is the shortest event you can run in track and is a measure of pure speed.

Personally, I don’t like running more than 30 seconds, so the 100 is all that matters to me.

As I’m getting ready for my race, I see one of the freshmen named Ohsoo Kwon getting ready as well; I can tell he’s nervous.

This isn’t anything special, the time right before a race is always nerve-wracking, so I talk to him

and give him some advice. But I could tell there was something different.

This kid was a competitor. Not just with others, but with himself.

After the meet, I wanted to get to meet this kid and hear his story. I remember how much of an impact my upperclassmen friends had on me, and I feel like I could do a better job talking to underclassmen, so why not?

I decided to give it a shot and pulled him out of biology class.

Even just from the small talk about random hypothetical scenarios and so on, I could tell that he was driven.

His biggest fear in high school is to make a mistake that could actually affect his future.

“I’m just scared of doing something stupid like getting into a fight, even though I know I never would,” Kwon said.

His parents came from South Korea, and he was born in Kansas.

His brother, Oh-seung, also went to Arcata and ironically, I knew him as he was a senior when I was a freshman. The cycle continues.

Then I asked him why he chose to do track. His response proved my earlier thought right. He wanted a challenge.

He wanted a reason to improve himself and get better. This kid’s got that drive, and the power will come with time.

If I’ve learned one thing about track, it’s that what matters more than anything is the desire and determination to improve.

It’s a very independent sport, so you have to push yourself harder than anyone else pushes you.

There will always be someone faster than you, but if they don’t have that fire inside of you, they’ll eventually fade away.

I don’t think I fully realized that until after I talked to Ohsoo Kwon.

Everyday, we walk past people in the halls and don’t give them a

second thought.

We go through our day to day lives either too scared or too self centered to reach out to someone new.

Every face and footstep around you in the hallways are living a life just as complex and chaotic as your own.

You can have a great impact on those around you.

You can learn from them and become a more complete person, and all it takes is the effort to reach out.

I honestly wanted there to be people faster than me, so I could have something to work towards - Ohsoo Kwon “I honestly wanted there to be people faster than me, so I could have something to work towards,” Kwon said.

Stanley Guo/PEPPERBOX

Aidan Shelton and Ohsoo Kwon prepare for practice

The Pepperbox | Page 22

Feature

Introducing Ms. Pretlow Eva Johnson

T

Copy Editor

he Pepperbox has had to overcome a lot this year.

With our first advisor, Ms Merrill going on leave in October, and four or five substitutes coming in and out of teaching, we were finally given a long term sub for the rest of the year.

Beginning on March 14, Pepperbox staff welcomed Anna-Sophia Pretlow, a Cal Poly Humboldt (CPH) graduate. She grew up in Walnut Creek, California, eventually making her way to Humboldt at the age of 21 after transferring from community college to CPH. “I actually chose English with an emphasis of Language Development and Acquisition [as her major],” Pretlow stated.

Because of her interest in teaching others about the English language, she also minored in Teaching the English language as a Second and Foreign Language (TESOL).

“When I was probably around your age, about a junior in high school, I did this volunteer program called AMIGOS,” she continued.

Amigos de las Américas, or

AMIGOS, is a nonprofit organization based in Houston, Texas with chapters around the United States.

“It’s really like an immersion program, and so you live with a host family… I was really bad at Spanish, so I couldn’t speak to my host family very much.”

Her host family was located in Paraguay for about seven or eight weeks.

“I think that experience just made me realize like, oh, it’s really cool to know how to speak another language to be able to communicate with other people in a different part of the world,” Pretlow said.

Being fluent in what is considered a global language got her thinking about teaching it to other people. But for pure enjoyment and love of traveling, she has gone on to visit countries in Europe, Thailand, and areas all over the United States.

Pretlow has many ideas for where she might like to live in the future, these include Europe, where she has family, Oregon, and South America.

Besides traveling and visiting new places, Pretlow enjoys riding her bike and being outdoors. She loves painting and anything art

Thursday, April 7th, 2022

Lila Cohen/PEPPERBOX

Substitute Ms. Pretlow in front of the journalism room related. After finding a working film camera in a free pile, she has enjoyed taking pictures with it and gifting them to others.

“I pretty much always have my camera on me. And then right now…I have like four rolls of film to pick up,” she continued.

She spends a lot of her time snapping pictures of things that inspire her. Since they are on film, she gets surprised and reminded by the objects she was attracted to when she took them.

“The thing I like about that the most is like I take these photos, I can’t see them right away… then it reminds me, ‘oh that’s what I did over summer’,” Pretlow expressed.

Every so often, she’ll pick a theme for a collage. Right now, she’s been taking pictures of different signs. Sometimes she decides to surprise people with the photos she took on film for birthdays and whatnot, but she generally holds onto her scrapbooks.

While Pretlow does want to travel, she’s grateful to be at Arcata High School and feels hopeful for the future.

“I can say that I’m really excited to be here, part of the Arcata High community and campus,” Pretlow said. “I already feel pretty at home and welcome here. That’s a good sign…I think I’m in the right place,” she said.

Ms. Pretlow/PEPPERBOX

Feature

Thursday, April 7th, 2022

The Pepperbox | Page 23

Life science’s new heartbeat Madelyn Conley

Deputy Feature Editor

A

lyssa Guerrero is the newest addition to Arcata High School’s Science department as a Biology and AP Environmental Science (APES) long term substitute.

With the abrupt absences of two of our science teachers this year, the need for a new teacher was in high demand. Guerrero started early December and has had a great experience so far.

“I have nothing but wonderful things to say,” Guerrero said.

Originally from the Los Angeles area, Guerrero was a first generation learner in her family and went to a community college in the Bay Area. She got her Bachelor’s degree at Cal Poly Humboldt (CPH). Guerrero majored in marine

biology and minored in chemistry thinking she wanted to become a lab technician. Things changed when she had the opportunity for an internship for teaching and got her credential at CPH. “I realized I just loved working with kids so much,” Guerrero explained.

Guerrero did her student teaching at Arcata High from 2014 to 2015. Afterwards, she started teaching at North coast Preparatory Academy (NPA) and was there up until 2021.

“I’m really passionate about making sure that every single student feels important and empowered,” Guerrero said.

Guerrero is very passionate about empowering young people, especially those traditionally not empowered. Guerrero values the importance of mental health, di-

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Ms. Guerrero in her new home, the science wing versity and shifting current social constructs.

“Social justice and environmental justice would be what ultimately fuels the fire in my cells,” Guerrero said.

Outside of school, she loves reading, pottery and spending time outdoors.

“Being able to hang out with any organism outside brings me a lot of joy and peace. Whether that’s a tree or a flower or something in the tide pool,” Guerrero said.

Third period Biology 1 lost their teacher very early into the school year. Since then, they’ve lacked stability and clarity in their learning.

Freshman Charlotte Brands is very grateful to have Guerrero as her long term sub now.

“She’s easy going and I like her style of teaching. She really makes sure you understand what she’s teaching,” Brands said.

The APES class has been on a roller coaster this year. Now with Guerrero as their long term substitute, the class as a whole is overjoyed to have stability.

“I really like having her as my teacher. She’s like the nicest teacher I’ve ever had. I feel like I learn a

lot from her,” Gabriela Davidson, a junior in the class said.

Guerrero is enjoying her time at Arcata High and is excited to see what’s going to come next this school year.

“I think Arcata High is unique because it’s not like a lot of our typical schools or a part of that system we’re all trying to work to change.

They really think about their students’ well-being over grades,” Guerrero said.

“It’s really nice being able to talk and interact with Arcata kids because they have a refreshing perspective on all aspects of life.

It’s been really fun just getting a glimpse of that,” Guerrero continued.

While she has had a great experience at Arcata High, with anything there’s always challenges.

Guerrero explained how change can be difficult and navigating through it can be hard sometimes.

“Change means movement and movement means friction,” Guerrero said.

I think I can speak for everybody when I say that we’re all glad Guerrero has joined us here at Arcata High School.

The Pepperbox | Page 24

Experiential

Thursday, April 7th, 2022

A calamitous caffeine crazed culture Flannery Warner

I

Opinion Editor

woke up to my alarm blaring, launching my mind into a groggy state where falling back asleep would be the easier decision.

Where, next thing you know, you’ve slipped back into a dream state where half-unicorn-halfbears run wild and flex time doesn’t exist.

I know I'm not the only one guilty of turning off their alarm, forcing their mom to shake their high school child awake out of a unicorn-bear themed dream.

In this situation, as most of us would, I tend to rely on a cup of double-shot coffee to pull me out of that dazed state and into the real world reality of zero period orchestra.

As someone who has never tried an energy drink before, I thought it would be interesting to try different popular forms of caffeine for four days.

I ended up choosing a Monster Energy, Bang Energy, Yerba Mate, and a cup of coffee.

In a way that only Cindy Condit herself would be proud of, I devised a way to best try and eliminate any other variable factors within my caffeine experiment.

I decided to consume caffeine in the morning starting during zero period until around the middle of first period (when I would on a normal day have my cup of coffee).

Additionally, I tried to choose the zero sugar or lowest sugar versions of these drinks in order to try and eliminate the effects of sugar.

Finally, I evaluated each experience based on physical effect, mental clarity, energy levels and overall experience consuming.

Day 1: Monster Energy Zero Ultra (140 mg of caffeine) When I cracked the top on the

infamous ice white and blue can, senior Sam Aldag stopped midway from taking out his clarinet to state, “Flan, why the f-ck do you have an energy drink?”

I think this pretty much embodies how out of place I felt drinking an energy drink.

My first few sips were nice enough. It tasted like fruit punch with a slight orange-vanilla aftertaste.

My main complaint initially was how cold the drink was.

At 7:20 in the morning, all I was craving was the warm cup of coffee, not the cold, abrasive and not quite natural tasting fruit flavored drink.

Whilst drinking, I got intense flavor fatigue about half way through, and around 4:30 pm, I crashed with a slight headache.

I felt relatively energized throughout the day and didn’t notice feeling any more or less energized than normal. I did, however, get jittery.

Day 2: Guayaki Yerba Mate Tropical Uprising (150 mg of caffeine) I was surprised to find out that a Yerba Mate in fact had more caffeine than the Monster.

I had a similar reaction to the coldness of the drink, however, the flavor was much more pleasant.

It was a blissful, not too sweet blend of tropical fruits that lacked the artificial flavor the others contained.

I didn’t get sick of the flavor whilst drinking it and throughout the day I felt more sustained with less crashes.

Throughout this experience, I realized what I had always heard was in fact true, tea caffeine energy feels a lot more sustainable.

I did have a couple bouts of anxiety jitters, but for the most part, it was pretty level energy wise.

Flannery Warner/PEPPERBOX

A perfect supplement for afternoon AP Biology homework Day 3: Cup of Coffee double shot espresso (about 100 mg of caffeine) This day I had a high school swim meet and because of this I decided to do my baseline test.

I'm used to having a cup of coffee everyday, so this was nothing new for me.

I really enjoyed how warm the cup of coffee was (shout out to my mom for the honey latte) and it was, overall, a really enjoyable experience.

I didn’t feel too jittery and felt like I had sustained energy throughout the day.

In addition, I had plenty of energy throughout my swims at the meet.

My only complaint was that the coffee always leaves an intense after taste and coffee breath which is only amplified by the mask.

Day 4: Bang Sour Heads Energy Drink (300 mg of caffeine) Oh boy, this one I was nervous about.

At 300 mg of caffeine, this drink was more than double what I normally would consume.

Before having this drink my older brother stated, “just don't do anything that will make you anxious.”

In response, I just laughed as school was unavoidable.

Throughout my experience, everyone I talked to gave me the same half worried half sympathetic look when they found out I would be drinking a whole Bang.

This drink was intense with every sip and was much too potent for playing classical Brahms on a Thursday morning.

When I was finished with the drink, I noticed that my mouth felt like it was coated in a weird chemical/slippery solution.

I definitely felt the side effects of this. Throughout the day, I felt extremely anxious and jittery.

I have to admit I did feel more energized, however, not in a good sustained way more in a ‘I feel like I have to constantly be moving or I'm gonna explode type of way.’

The day ended at around 4 pm when I went through a large caffeine crash that resulted with me laying on my bed staring at the ceiling for 20 minutes.

Overall, this experiment was very interesting because I felt like it truly showed me what my tolerance level is for caffeine and the amount that I run best on.

Based on my results, going forward, I will shift towards more tea based caffeine sources because I much preferred the type of energy they gave me.

Thursday, April 7th, 2022

Feature

The Pepperbox | Page 25

Checking-in with Check-It Club Sydney Trieu

T

Web Editor

he bell just rang, and I hurry towards my car to get my lunch. Then, I walk back towards the quad and begin to make my way to the Check-It meeting in room 506.

After making a few wrong turns, I finally arrive and am welcomed by a warm and cozy atmosphere in Emanuela Giangregorio’s room.

I’m greeted by her upbeat voice telling me to pull up a chair and take a seat anywhere I’d like.

The chair legs scratch across the floor as I pull it out from underneath the table. I say “hi” to Harmony, Meadow, Eva, and Arman.

Ro Lozano and Kira Morse from North Coast Rape Crisis Team (NCRCT), introduce themselves, and they start going through the presentation they have up on the projector.

As different points and topics were introduced, a lot of discussion and commentary were brought up.

It was definitely very different from how I thought it would be.

I’m a part of a lot of different clubs and they’re run in a similar way.

The president and officers run the meeting with the advisor adding some occasional input.

However, rather than just getting talked to, the team from the NCRCT was trying to get our input and helping us try to solidify our plans and goals for the club.

We ended up talking and talking, and eventually, our conversation abruptly ended with the bell ringing to signal the end of lunch.

There was still a lot left to talk about that would have to wait until next Thursday.

In the following meetings, we ended up discussing how we wanted to advertise the club and what our long-term goals were.

The biggest project in the works was the campaign for April, which is sexual assault awareness month.

In order to bring attention to the month, the Check It Club modified an event that Cal Poly Humboldt (CPH) puts on in April.

CPH Check It hosts an event where they have blank t-shirts where people can write or draw whatever they want on the shirts and then, they make a clothesline display to showcase to the public.

The AHS Check It plans to have a tree collage up in the library where the leaves have messages and art drawn on them to display their support for survivors or for people to tell their own stories.

In addition to the tree display, Check It is also planning on having a tabling event, where they’ll be providing information about the club and sexual assault awareness.

Throughout the entire process of working with the other club members on getting this club started and cementing the goals and core values, I’ve gotten to see what a wonderful and welcoming group

Sydney Trieu/PEPPERBOX

The brand new logo of the Arcata High School Check-It club

the club is.

One of the main reasons I wanted to become a part of this club is to be able to create and foster a warm and accepting environment at Arcata High; one where there isn’t a stigma around being a survivor of sexual violence.

Senior Meadow Jennings also echoed this same sentiment.

“I just really do want to be in a community where everyone feels safe and supported. I think Check It is gonna be a huge, instrumental part of doing that for the Arcata High campus,” she explained.

I just really do want to be in a community where everyone feels safe and supported. I think Check-it is gonna be a huge, instrumental part of doing that for the Arcata High campus.

- Meadow Jennings The sentiment Jennings echoed is one of the main goals of the club.

The whole point of the club is to educate people about sexual violence and to create a safe and welcoming place where people can share their experiences and ideas to make the AHS community a secure environment.

Another reason that I’ve come to appreciate the space this club offers is because of the independence we’re given as a club.

I feel like Check It is really a club that is for the students, by the students.

It feels like the students have a real voice and can steer the direction of the club.

I think that while the structure of the club is a contributing factor in the club being so self-reliant, the members are another key component.

The other club members help to create a really strong and cohesive community to help push for change.

A special spotlight should be put on junior Arman Abbassi, the only male student in the club currently.

“I think it’s valuable as a man... to get involved because people just see this issue as a woman thing.

Like only women should try to stop [sexual violence], but men should also try to do their part to stop it. It should be a coalition to stop this issue...I think that if I join [the club], it would encourage other men too because then there wouldn’t be...a weird social stigma about wanting to join it,” he said.

I think that the sentiment and reasoning behind the motivation for joining the club are super powerful and will hopefully encourage other students to join.

For students that are interested in becoming involved in the club, it meets every Thursday during lunch in room 506.

Check It would like to have any student come and join their meetings, but they are especially interested in having underclassmen (non-seniors) join the club.

The issue surrounding sexual violence isn’t just contained to women. It can happen to men too.

By having more male students participating, it can hopefully help to destigmatize the idea of men becoming involved in this work.

“Someone needs to keep the torch going,” Abbassi said.

“It’s an important thing and it’s powered by students, and if there are no students then issues like this are not ones that are solved,” he concluded.

The Pepperbox | Page 26

Feature

Thursday, April 7th, 2022

Tips to writing your first resume Lila Cohen

Co-Editor-in-Chief

A

resume is something most people will have to make at some point in their lives to keep track of their work experience and showcase their accomplishments to potential employers.

“A resume can show your professionalism, a resume can show your personality but a resume is really trying to get a physical log of all of your experiences and skills,” explains Tyler Fant, Business Marketing teacher at Arcata High School.

As a high schooler, if you want to apply for a job, building your first resume is something you will have to tackle, often on your own.

What sections should it have?

What should I put on it if I have never worked before? Let’s dive on in.

When you are first starting out, there are a variety of software you could use including Canva, Adobe Spark, or Google Doc templates.

To find Doc Templates, Darcy Robbins from the AHS Career and College Center instructs, go to your Google Docs, select templates then under the ‘general’ header you can scroll down to find resume options.

Once you have chosen your Resume style, you need to start compiling information.

At the top of your page, you should have your full name and contact information followed by your objective statement.

“Your objective statement should always have research into the job you're looking into, then using the phrases that they’re talking about in their job description in your objective statement,” Fant explains.

As well as including how you would be a good fit for your targeted business, you can treat this paragraph as a mini cover letter

and allow the reader to get to know who you are.

The next section that is important to include on your resume, is the skills category. Under this heading, you can include both your soft and hard skills.

“Hard skill is something you developed in a trade. It could be you know how to code, or maybe you know how to work with an online program. A soft skill is really how you work with something,” Fant summarizes.

For example, a soft skill could be saying that you are a team player or innovative thinker.

Usually, these soft skills are things that can only be proven in your interview or if you are observed working, so it is important to have a balance of both soft and hard skills Walston recommends.

The last section you should include is your relevant experience.

As a high schooler making a resume for the first time, you may be thinking you have never had a job so there is nothing to put in this category.

“Most people will sell themselves short on the experience that they have had and they often will think that their general experiences don’t apply to a job,” Fant explains.

Besides jobs, under the experience section you can put volunteer experience, leadership positions, school clubs, even odd jobs or any activities you are engaging in at home, at school or in your community.

Once you finish imputing your content into your template it is important to double-check spelling, verb tenses and capitalization. All very important to showing your attention to detail.

“They are like the non-verbal communication,” Walston explains. “[The applicant] is not detail oriented if they're giving me a resume with typos on it or spelling

Lila Cohen/PEPPERBOX

Key parts of resume: the objective statement, skills (both hard and soft), and relevant experience errors.”

The text should be readable, and most importantly, your resume should not be lengthy.

“The only rule I have about resumes, one page, make your resume one page,” Robbins emphasizes.

When you go to print out your resume it is important that the print quality is good, not streaky like some of the printers on campus.

“For material, it’s always best to use card stock and color helps you stand out,” Fant summarizes.

When your resume is all printed, it is time to deliver it (or email) to the business you are interested in.

“Don’t go in a pack, go alone.”

Robbins recommends you demonstrate that you are taking the opportunity seriously.

Once your resume has been re-

ceived, it is good to call and check back.

“Some students might feel like they are harassing them but actually you're just showing your serious,” Robbins explains.

Lastly, Don’t wait for summer to start making your resume and looking for jobs.

“The time to hop on it is when all the HSU students are leaving for the summer, around the first two weeks in May when they tend to be putting in their two weeks notice,” Robbins shares.

If you don’t know where to look for job postings, Robbins recommends carefully searching Craigslist or emailing drobins@nohum. k12.ca.us for a list of recent postings.

Now that you have a foundation of information, go for it! Start your resume! You will be happy you did it, even if it’s just for practice.

Thursday, April 7th, 2022

Feature

The Pepperbox | Page 27

Monge’s day in the life Dele Rebstock

S

Social Media Editor

omeone who’s day we don’t know a lot about is Principal Jim Monge. As students, we are very familiar with what our teachers do in a day at work because we interact with them daily.

While our teachers work to educate us, the administrators keep our school going. Most of the administrators’ work is done out of sight from the students.

Because most students don’t interact with administrators regularly, we don’t know what a day of work is like for them. Although students see Monge out around the school, there is much more to the job.

“They see me out because I’m out when they are out,” said Monge.

Monge said that about half of his day is spent in his office, with the other half of his day divided with meetings and being out and about around campus. Monge usually arrives at school around 7:30 A.M. “Usually the first thing is to fire

up the computer, and log in, check email, calendar, and see what we’ve got going on today,” said Monge.

This is Monge’s tenth year working at Arcata High School; he worked as Assistant Principal for eight years and is currently in his second year as principal. To come to Arcata High and become assistant principal took experience.

“I started at McKinleyville High teaching business and math classes, and then I taught at Humboldt State in computer classes and education classes for about eight years,” said Monge.

He also was the principal at Saint Mary’s Elementary School for about eight years before he made it to Arcata High.

Upperclassmen at Arcata High have had Monge as assistant principal and as principal.

“As assistant principal, a lot of it is around students and student issues…discipline, special education, testing and facilities,” said Monge.

As principal, Monge is mostly responsible now for personnel, staffing, the budget, organizing

and planning and meetings.

Although his current duties aren’t all directly student related, they keep the school functioning.

Since the administrators try to be out around the school during the students’ breaks, they only take

where three high school football players join an all-girls high school dance company.

It was fantastic! The music was amazing. The humor was phenomenal. I thought every single person on that stage was just so great. It was cute, fun, and a generally lighthearted play. I would definitely watch it again.

The second short was “Flip Turn”

by Madeleine George. It focused on the thoughts going on inside different people’s heads as they swam in a pool all while two (hilarious) lifeguards watched them from above and had their own conversation.

Each personality and how each

actor brought them to life was incredibly interesting to watch. Every line had so much thought behind it. I thoroughly loved this one!

Last but not least was “21 Chump Street” written by Lin-Manuel Miranda where a federal agent attends a high school to investigate drug deals but a senior ends up falling in love with her.

The music, the singing, the dancing, the narration - I thought it was all spectacular. I have nothing but good things to say about the performances. I really enjoyed myself!

My attention was captured throughout each short. My eyes were glued to the stage. The light-

breaks where they can fit them in.

Being an administrator is a lot of work. Although they don’t spend all of their time working directly with the students the way our teachers do, their work behind the scenes keeps our school running.

Dele Rebstock/PEPPERBOX

Mr. Monge and Ms. Angles smile for an early morning picture

Arcata High School play review Eva Johnson

I

Copy Editor

have actually never been to an Arcata High School play, which means that I had absolutely no expectations or initial judgments about it, something that I feel greatly benefited my viewing experience.

All I knew was what was placed on the posters; “An Evening of Shorts.” Walking into the Fine Arts Building auditorium with open arms about the three short plays made me excited to watch, more than I already was.

The first short was “The Dance Company” by Jonathan Caren

ing (shout out to Mary Crow) was well done. I loved the stories, the costumes, the music, and more.

The only criticism I have is that it was slightly difficult to switch between each short. With all three about different topics, it was somewhat confusing and complicated to focus on an entirely new theme even with intermissions.

However, everything else completely overtook that. I’m sort of sad that I only got to see them once because there were so many details I’m sure I missed. But I’m so glad that I was there on closing night to be able to celebrate “An Evening of Shorts.”

The Pepperbox | Page 28

Feature

Thursday, April 7th, 2022

Under appreciated athletes Dylan Berman

T

Feature Editor

he Pepperbox covers sports like football, basketball, and soccer frequently, but what about the sports often left on the sidelines?

Many may not realize some of their fellow Arcata High School students are talented disc golfers, stilt walkers and mountain bikers.

Finn Sullivan, an AHS senior, is an extremely skilled disc golfer.

“I’m the highest rated junior amateur disc golfer in the world,” he said casually. This is confirmed by the Professional Disc Golf Association leader boards.

Sullivan has been around disc golf his entire life, with his dad being a disc golfer, but he only started trying to get good at the sport in 2019.

“I started playing during junior year…I was throwing discs in my backyard at lunch everyday,” he said, explaining that online school left him with tons of time to dedicate to the sport.

Sullivan won the National Amateur Disc Golf Championship last year.

“It’s definitely a mental sport. It’s helped me enjoy the outdoors and just have fun,” said Sullivan.

“Just watching the discs fly…being outside…I like to play disc golf a lot.”

Sullivan explained that over the past few years disc golf has really grown as a sport in Humboldt, but he still wishes the sport was recognized more.

“Nobody really knows too much about disc golf…I’m just hoping at some point it can be really huge,” he concluded.

Disc Golf isn’t the only sport that has lots of local participants but still lacks widespread recognition.

Cadence Brown, a junior, got

into mountain biking two years ago through the Humboldt Composite Mountain Bike Club (HMCTB).

“I like the freedom that [biking] gives me…I can go wherever I want and you can also build whatever you want, you can build trails, you can build jumps…you can kinda take the sport anywhere you want,” said Brown.

He talked about the ways it can be difficult to start biking as a sport, explaining why the sport is less common.

“You have to live in a place where there’s nature near you where you can recreate safely, it’s also sort of an expensive sport… bikes are really expensive,” he said.

Brown is looking for a company sponsorship with his biking as a way to monetize the hobby.

He wants to keep biking into college.

“Whatever career I go into, I want to keep on mountain biking through that career,” he said.

Biking has helped Brown with his mental health over the challenging past few years.

“It’s really given me a way to keep my mind off things, I can use it as an escape to get away from things that are stressing me out,” he concluded.

Sullivan and Brown aren’t the only participants in obscure sports at the school.

Nyrie Broderick, an AHS freshman, has been stilt walking since third grade.

“I really like it because it’s something different, it’s just free styling,” she said.

She used to do stilts with the Arcata Playhouse, but currently, it’s just a personal hobby for her.

“It’s not very well covered…people probably think it’s really hard to do even though it’s pretty easy,” she said.

Broderick plans to start working at Camp Winnarainbow as a stilt

walking teacher.

“I was able to make a lot of friends and it helped me become more sociable…it’s also helped me not really have super bad performing anxiety,” Broderick said, on how stilts have impacted her life.

“I think it’d be cool if more people did it and it was easier to start

doing it,” she concluded.

Between disc golf, stilt walking, and mountain biking, the diversity of athletic talents amongst AHS students is impressive, and continuing to highlight these often under appreciated athletes could help bring their unique sports to the mainstream.

Ella Brown/AHS

Arcata High Junior Cadence Brown flies off a jump in the Arcata Community Forest

Brown shoots off a jump on a biking trip in Virgin, Utah

Adam Brown

Thursday, April 7th, 2022

Feature

The Pepperbox | Page 29

Making kindness a norm Jean Thuy

I

Reporter

deeply believe that it’s the little things in life that can make such a big difference. I know it sounds cheesy, but if you see somebody who has a bad day, just be nice to them, give them a smile or start a good conversation with them.

After all, if you help people out, it’s going to make you and the other person feel better.

They are also more likely to be nice to other people. My goal this week was to go further out of my comfort zone.

Typically, I do like to talk to new people but this week, I wanted to be more aware to perform random acts of kindness.

I saw this one kid in school who was more introverted and looked a little bit sad. I just went up to the person with a big smile. It felt kind of weird at first, but at the end, we had a good conversation about her hobbies, and we both just had a good time.

Of course, it’s always easier for us to stay in our comfort zone.

Yeah, it gets exhausting to go the extra mile but in the long term it’s worth it.

In general, I just love talking to strangers and listening to the stories they have to tell. It’s a great exercise to get out of you to grow and make new experiences.

Even just a simple compliment can turn someone’s day around.

Show them that you appreciate them, but make your compliments genuine and true.

For example, I complimented people on how I adore them, that they are always trying to make the best out of their time or how much I loved their put together outfit.

If you see somebody who may need help. just ask them if you could help out in any way. For example, I saw a person in a grocery store who was carrying a lot of bags, so I offered to help them out.

I could tell from their facial expression that they really appreciated it. It really takes a lot of courage to just start talking to strangers but you can help people out with just little things .

A bunch of other times I simply smiled at strangers, and people just started copying me.

It’s also proven that it will make you feel better if you just smile when you have a bad day.

Even if you can tell someone is having a bad day, you could ask about it.

Just because you have a bad day doesn’t give you the right to treat other people badly, treat them how you want to be treated, not how you treat yourself.

Making other peoples’ days better is gonna benefit everybody.

You have to step out of your comfort zone and feel better about yourself. Make new friends and they are gonna have a better day.

ing,” he described, contrasting the roles of Deputy District Attorney and the District Attorney.

Throughout his campaign, Kamada has recognized the impact that Arcata High was still having all these years later.

“During this campaign, some of my biggest supporters have been my friends from high school,” Kamada reflected. “The bond that we built in high school is still really strong today.”

Throughout his campaign, he tried to recruit other graduates from his high school days to help him.

“I have been trying to get more of them to come back and be like ‘hey, let’s make this place better, let’s make it safer.’”

Kamada recognized the natural beauty of Humboldt but encouraged students to leave for a while.

“I think it’s important for everyone that grew up here to get out and be in other places and travel as much as you can…living in other places is really important because

Humboldt is great but it’s missing out on diversity,” Kamada advised.

Kamada considered the support of the community at AHS unique and valuable.

“For a lot of my friends in college and law school, usually their core group of friends is usually from college, but for most people that went to Arcata High, their core group of friends were from Arcata High,” he shared.

To students interested in pursu-

ing public servant positions he recommended taking advantage of as many different experiences as you can since they will all add to your knowledge and abilities when you are in the position.

“Being a public servant is really important and I would encourage people to do it,” Kamada concluded.

“I would be happy to talk to anybody, any student that is interested in it and give them my advice.”

Alumni spotlight: Adrian Kamada Lila Cohen

A

Co-Editor-in-Chief

rcata High School graduate of the class of 2002, Adrian Kamada, has made a name for himself in Humboldt County. He has come a long way since his time at Arcata High, as a former Deputy District Attorney, and now, as a candidate for District Attorney of Humboldt County.

The position he is running for District Attorney also called DA, is one that is unknown to many young people.

“The police investigate crimes, and they bring it to the District Attorney. Then they determine what crimes have been committed,” Kamada explained.

He knows that the position of District Attorney would be a difficult one, and different from many other judge positions.

“You have to consider the broader implications of decisions on society and protect the constitutional rights of everyone, even the defendant that you’re prosecut-

Adrian Kamada/PEPPERBOX

Kamada with his grandparents at his AHS graduation in 2002

The Pepperbox | Page 30

A&E

Thursday, April 7th, 2022

New and exciting music reviews Dylan Berman Feature Editor

T

he new album “WHO CARES?”

by Rex Orange County, born Alexander James O’Connor, is an upbeat, lush and catchy indie pop album, showing huge amounts of artistic growth from the artist when compared to his previous works.

The album lives up to the idea of its title, full of carefree lyrics, about personal growth and self reflection. O’Connor sings extensively about his anxieties and personal shortcomings, but frames them in a context of acceptance and attempting to improve.

“I’m gonna be a better man someday,” he sings on the track “7AM,” along with the line “I got used to failin but I’m not dumb.”

The album also features several adorable love songs.

“You don’t ever do no wrong to me, I wish that I could just say

WHO CARES?

the same, but it’s okay I’m trying to do whatever it takes to believe I’m enough, and hope you agree,” O’Connor sings on the album’s sixth track, “ONE IN A MILLION.” The way O’Connor explores love, positivity and insecurity feels heartfelt, even if it’s bit surface level.

The album accompanies its lyrics with catchy indie instrumentation. It’s brimming with fun bass lines, gorgeous string sections, bouncy piano chords and clean simple percussion.

The project’s second track has an amazing feature from Tyler the Creator. His laid back flow and deep voice fits with the track’s rich instrumentation, and contrasts nicely with O’Connor’s singing.

This album doesn’t do too much to set itself apart from current trends in the genre, but if you’re looking for something pretty and fun, check this one out. I give this album a seven out of ten.

Rex Orange County

Album cover of “WHO CARES,” by Rex Orange County

Crash

T

Album cover of “Crash,” by Charli XCX

Charli XCX

he album “Crash” by Charli XCX is a powerful modern pop experience As spelled out by the album’s opener, in which Charli sings “I’m high voltage self-destructive, end it all so legendary,” the album is taking the listener on a tour of the singer’s impulsive lifestyle.

This is explored through songs about ex’s, partners and people who aren’t quite either.

There’s some legendary break up anthems on this project, such as “On Repeat,” with lines like “You missed the chance of a lifetime, when you’re lonely, are you ever thinkin’ bout the magic in me?”

This song’s bouncy synth and heavy percussion under XCX’s powerful vocal performance make it one of the album’s best tracks.

This album is similar to the

sound of XCX’s last project “How I’m Feeling Now,” featuring pop melodies and synth, but with a healthy portion of distortion, glitchy breakdowns and experimental instrumentals.

This gives the album the fun familiarity of pop, but with more creativity than generic pop projects.

“Crash” leans closer to mainstream pop, which makes it more boring.

The album is short, but it overstays its welcome by the final tracks.

Despite this, the final song “Twice” is a good closer, The lyrics exemplify the careless attitude XCX is exploring on the album.

Although it is less unique than some of XCX’s work, I recommend this album to people who enjoy pop acts like Doja Cat or Ashnikko. I give this album an eight out of ten.

Thursday, April 7th, 2022

The Pepperbox | Page 31

Opinion

Wheels or doors? Desks or windows?

Ty Franklin Photo Editor

W

heels vs. Doors: The infamous debate that has taken the internet by

storm.

On March 4th, 2022 New Zealander Ryan Nixon, took to Twitter to ask this: "Do you think there are more doors or wheels in the world?"

Since then, the debate has been raging and has taken new forms.

Friends against friends, brothers against brothers, one angry determined social media user versus another.

The debate is real and tempers are flaring. So I thought why not bring the debate to Arcata High School? As I was sitting in my comfy little journalism desk, it hit me.

I looked down and then up and around the room.

There were tons of DESKS! The creative juices were flowing, I stood up and looked out the WINDOW. There it was, right in front of me: the glorious transparent glowing rectangle of glass.

I rushed to our social media editor Dele Rebstock to create a poll on the AHS Pepperbox Instagram to see what the student body had to say.

The final results: windows 48% and desks 52%!

I then took it to the halls of AHS and put my plan into full effect.

Setting off on my journey, I met fellow students Sam Erdmann and Keigen Shaykett in the parking lot.

“There's an average of 30 desks per classroom and there's a lot of classrooms.

Since you're seeing all these windows, it's easy to go with the window argument because they're all right there in front of you,” expressed Erdmann.

“But I mean look at the front of the FAB, that's at least 30 windows right there. That's one classroom of desks versus windows,” argued Shaykett.

After some more discussion, I bid farewell to the parking lot fellows. I made my way up to the math wing, and to my surprise, I found lots of desk people.

“The school was modeled after a prison and therefore has very few windows,” stated senior Meadow Jennings.

Although this may be a rumor, it is a solid point. Some students wanted me to elaborate on what counts as a desk or window, but I told them it was up to their interpretation.

The debate had started and opinions were forming and falling. Will Bagnall’s math students seemed to be dead set on desks - when asked why they said “ there's desks in every classroom!”

Math student John Gerving was asking the right questions, “Are we

saying the tables in Mr. Bagnall’s rooms are desks? Are they one desk though?”

I then decided to take a quick stop at Jeff Mielke’s classroom to get his opinion, since he is an avid member of the doors versus wheels internet debate.

“When I look at the hallways, they are covered in windows, and not every classroom has traditional desks. So I got windows, and even my traditional desk classroom has only like five more desks than windows,” Mielke casually stated before going back to teaching his class.

I then stumbled upon the P.E. class, and was met by the friendly faces of Alex Gorge, Nick Parker, and Isaiah Preciado.

“There's got to be way more desks,” said Preciado.

“There's got to be way more windows!” Gorge countered.

“No way!” Preciado and Parker chimed simultaneously.

“Think about P.E. and this area

up here, not a single flipping desk and there's so many more windows,” Gorge argued.

“There's classes with like 30 something kids, and a back row of maybe 8-10 windows…,” Preciado trailed off as we walked by the daunting back of the classrooms near the tennis court.

“That’s a lot of windows,” Parker observed.

What you believe is up to you.

Same with this whole futile foolish debate. It is fairly amusing to see how heated one can get over an argument that won't get itself anywhere. Although I do feel like it could be doable to tally up the windows and desks here on campus.

So if that is how you choose to spend your time, be my guest, and I will happily listen to your gathered data.

Until then I am going to bathe in the greatest mystery known to Arcata High School - windows or desks?

The windows versus door debate spikes controversy at Arcata High School

Ty Franklin/PEPPERBOX

Down

1. A plump, orange bird 2. "Basking in the ____" 3. Where seeds are planted 5. Follow this to find a pot of gold 9. A small, red and black insect 10. A jumpy amphibian 11. A traditional spring chore 12. The beginning of a flower 14. A part of a flower 16. "The Easter ____" 17. What came first? "The Chicken or the ____?"

19. A striped, stinging insect

Across

4. "The smell of fresh ____" 6. This month's showers bring May flowers 7. A small, yellow flower 8. The flowers ____ in the meadow 12. A colorful, fragile insect 13. What flowers do in spring 15. Food on a blanket 16. A slight wind 18. "The early bird gets the ____" 20. The color of spring