2109: LH Feature Magazine

volume 76 | october 26, 2018 | city high school

for the thrill of it Teenagers take lots of risks — but the effects can tear their lives apart

A piece of me - page 6 gender benders - page 4 for the thrill of it - page 10

Dear Readers, Welcome to our second issue! While this one is a bit shorter, it’s still chock-full of some good reads. We have stories on risky behavior and sleep deprivation, a gender neutral clothes fashion editorial, and more! As it is spina bifida awareness month, there is one special story that we would like to bring attention to: “A Piece of Me.” This story is about Megan Bywater ‘19 and her journey with spina bifida. We hope you are all staying warm with the changes in the weather. Thanks for picking up 2109! Stay spooky!

LETTER FROM THE EDITORS

TABLE OF CONTENTS

4

RICE AROUND THE WORLD

6

A PIECE OF ME

8

THE GENDER BENDERS

10

FOR THE THRILL OF IT

14

NEVER ASLEEP

ART BY NINA LAVEZZO-STECOPOULOS

Jambalaya, North Africa

Spanish Rice, Mexico Long-grain white rice Oregano Black pepper Olive oil 8-ounce can of tomato sauce Water Chicken bouillon Garlic Garlic powder Chopped onion Onion powder Cumin

PHOTOS BY: Virginia Muturi

4 | THE LITTLE HAWK

1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch cubes 1/2 pound andouille sausage, diced 1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes 1 medium onion, chopped 1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped 1 stalk celery, chopped 1 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth 2 teaspoons dried oregano 2 teaspoons Cajun or Creole seasoning 1 teaspoon hot sauce 2 bay leaves 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme 1 pound frozen peeled and cooked shrimp, thawed 2 cups cooked rice

Jambalaya can also be found in New Orleans in the United States of America

rice around the

WORLD Kimchi Rice, Korea

3 bowls steamed rice (3 cups) 1 cup chopped kimchi ¼ cup kimchi juice ¼ cup water 2-3 tablespoons gochujang 3 teaspoons sesame oil 1 teaspoon vegetable oil 1 green onion, chopped 1 tablespoon roasted sesame seeds

Fried Rice, Indonesia 1 cup fresh or frozen mixed vegetables 3 tablespoons neutral oil (corn or peanut) 1 tbsp minced garlic 3 to 4 cups cooked white or brown rice 6 eggs, scrambled ¼ cup of stock or white wine 2 tbsp soy sauce 1 tbsp dark sesame Salt and pepper to taste ¼ cup minced scallion or fresh cilantro

Risotto, Italy 4 to 6 cups vegetable stock Large pinch saffron threads (optional) 4 to 6 tablespoons butter or extra virgin olive oil to taste 1 medium onion, minced 1½ cups arborio rice or other short or medium grain rice Salt and freshly ground black pepper ½ cup dry white wine or water Freshly grated Parmesan cheese (optional)

PHOTOS BY EMMELENE PERENCEVICH dierctions can be found online at thelittlehawk.com

OCTOBER 26, 2018 | 5

A piece of me Megan Bywater ‘19 on how having spina bifida has impacted her life

ABOVE: Megan Bywater ‘19 holds the brace she wore as a baby PHOTO BY ZOE MILLER

By Zoe Miller and Nina Lavezzo-Stecopoulos

W

hen Megan Bywater ‘19 was one and a half, she achieved mobility that no one expected. With the help of braces and crutches, she walked for first time. Since then, she has been exceeding expectations. She participates in choir and band; she loves to play games and spend time with family and friends. Many things have shaped Megan, but only one of those pieces is her spina bifida.

The Mayo Clinic website states that spina bifida occurs when there are problems with the development of the spine and spinal cord. According to the Spina Bifida Association website, there are four different types of spina bifida, including occult spinal dysraphism, spina bifida occulta, meningocele, and myelomeningocele; also called spina bifida cystica. Spina bifida is first developed during pregnancy. Before birth, it can be found through ultrasound, the alpha-fetoprotein (AFP screening test), or a test where fluid is taken from the womb. Pregnant women take folic acid to prevent spina bifida. There are treatments in the form of surgeries, but as of right now, there is no cure.

6 | THE LITTLE HAWK

When Angie Bywater was in her second tri- more interesting things about this child than the mester of being pregnant, she received unexpected fact that he or she has spina bifida, that’s just one news. Through an ultrasound, the doctors had piece.” found that her baby had spina bifida.

And this was true; spina bifida is only one “It was scary, but we just tried to learn as much piece of Megan Bywater. She has always had bracas we could. Everybody was asking lots of ques- es on her legs but has used different tools to help tions and wanted to know,” her walk. She had a stander Angie said. “I had an aunt when she was one. Then she “I HAD AN AUNT WHO who called and just said, ‘We walked for the first time at don’t need to ask any quesJUST CALLED AND SAID, the age of one and a half tions. We just want you to ‘WE DON’T NEED TO ASK with the help of her braces know that we will love your walker. From there she ANY QUESTIONS. WE JUST and baby.’” progressed to crutches, and WANT YOU TO KNOW As Angie and her husby the age of two and a half band, David, continued to THAT WE WILL LOVE YOUR had dropped the crutches do research and prepare and was walking on her own.

BABY.’” for their baby, Angie read “It was the physical ther“Living with Spina Bifida, a apist who said Megan was ANGIE BYWATER Guide for Families and Proready for a walker,” Angie fessionals” by Adrian Sansaid. “So we talked to the dler, M.D. Through reading orthopedic surgeon that we the book Angie found advice and this takeaway: see. And he said, ‘Well, she’s not really ready, I’ll “Right now, while you’re still pregnant, [this write the prescription but don’t be disappointdiagnosis] is the only thing you know about your ed because it’s going to take a little more time.’ baby,” Angie said. “We didn’t even know her sex The physical therapist borrowed a walker from at that point, if she was a boy or a girl, we just somebody and she brought it to our house. Meknew she had spina bifida but that’s just one lit- gan walked across the room that night with the tle thing about your baby. There will be so many walker.”

From there, Megan needed practice with walkMegan was familiar with the word, but not in ing. She and her mom would go to the Sycamore relation to her. mall and travel throughout the halls.

“I don’t like [the word] ‘disabled’ at all because “Mom used to take me to the mall and make I am able to do stuff, I just have some limitations. me walk around and I hated it,” Megan said.

I feel like ‘disabled’ is really restrictive. It’s defiWhile Angie recognized that this was hard for nitely not a word I like to hear. Especially because Megan she knew they needed to practice.

I don’t walk around in my life saying I have a “We had to practice,” Angie said. “She would disability,” Megan said. “That’s not comfortable say, ‘Carry me. Carry me.’ I would have to say, for me.”

‘No, come a little farther.’”

Megan warmed up to the Megan has faced adversiidea behind the program af“I DON’T LIKE [THE WORD] ter the first day. The NSCD ty because of her spina bifi‘DISABLED’ AT ALL da. When she was four she reincludes many different fused to wear shorts because options for adaptive skiing.

BECAUSE I AM ABLE TO she didn’t want others to see Megan found that the best DO STUFF. I JUST HAVE her braces. As a kindergartoption for her was a bike ski.

SOME LIMITATIONS.” ner Megan was asked a lot A bike ski looks like a bike why she “walked like that,” but instead of pedals and or “why she wore braces,” wheels it has skis.

MEGAN BYWATER ‘19 and sometimes she would see “[With skiing there was] kids imitate how she walked. no care in the world. [I was] “That’s when Megan was realizing that she going down the mountain like a normal person. had something different because she had her In some ways I felt cooler going down the mounbraces. Kids don’t have filters,” Angie said. “Kids tain,” Megan said. “My instructors played Disney would just ask questions and that would make her [music] so I sang. Nobody else had this experifeel bad. We always said, ‘Answer the questions; ence.” it’s better if people feel welcome to ask than if Megan has gone through a lot with her spina they’re whispering behind your back.’” bifida. The effects of it are different for everyone.

Sometimes even people with good intentions Its placement on the spine determines how much still made Megan feel singled out. Megan partook mobility anyone has. Many people with spina in a princess dance class when she was little. It bifida require a wheelchair. For a long time, Meincluded a performance at the end of the session. gan didn’t know others with spina bifida. That “Megan would do the exact same thing that all changed when, before her sophomore year, she everybody else would but when she did it, when went to the national spina bifida coneverybody went across the stage one at a time, the ference in Minneapolis. She was placed other moms would always clap more for Megan,” with other kids with spina bifida in the Angie said. “It totally made her self conscious.” same age group.

Megan has held her head high and continued “It’s difficult when you go to a to explore her interests. In fifth grade she went to school and nobody knows what you’re Girl Scout camp. going through and then you go to this “When she went to a Girl Scout camp, one conference where everyone is aware of the days I wasn’t there...the other leader said, and there are no secrets,” Megan said.

‘We went on this hike and all of the girls were “You get to talk freely about stuff you’d complaining that the hike was too long except never talk about with your friends at Megan,’” Angie said. school.”

Megan continues to beat the odds by dabbling Though Megan has struggled with in skiing. Her family usually went skiing at Sun- finding people who understand what down while she read or shopped with her mom. she is going through, she has discovOne year though, they decided to take a trip out ered friends. to the National Sports Center for the Disabled in “Maggie Cremers [‘19], great perDenver, Colorado. son, we’ve known each other for a “The director of the whole program was really long time since our dads work talking to [Megan] and she was stone-faced and together,” Megan said. “From day one normally Megan’s very perky. He said, ‘Okay, I she got me through so many situations need to talk to your mom about what size boots and with the most awkward situations you need to wear,’” Angie said. “He took me in RIGHT: Two-year-old Megan walks the back room and said, ‘What’s going on? Am with the help of braces and crutches I doing something wrong?’ I said, ‘Honestly, I’m PHOTO BY THE BYWATER not sure she knows she’s disabled.’ I mean, she FAMILY did, but it just wasn’t a word that we used.”

she would say, ‘Whatever! Let’s go through this together.’”

While Cremers and Megan have always been close, their shared activities have strengthened their friendship.

“We’ve always been very close even though a lot of our interests are very different,” Cremers said. “I was really into softball and sports and obviously Megan has trouble identifying with that part of me, so we have to find more activities we have in common, like music and stuff like that.

Our friendship has always gone back and forth from what we do together, but we’ve always been really tight.”

Just as Cremers has been alongside Megan for a long time, so have her doctors. She’s had to switch some of her doctors because they’ve retired. She’d been with them since birth. Megan reflected on making that change: “[Changing doctors is] a little nerve-wracking because I don’t know what I’m getting into,” Megan said. “I know they know everything but it’s still a change and I do not like change. You have to tell [the doctors] all those uncomfortable things about yourself again.”

Megan and her family have found that even doctors can misjudge a situation. Originally, Megan’s parents had been told that by her teen years she would most likely be in a wheelchair.

“We fully expected that when Megan got into her teen years she would be in a wheelchair so this is a surprise,” Angie said. “Her doctors tell her all the time that this is awesome. She’s totally beat the odds.”

benders

PHOTOS BY OLIVIA LUSALA AND ZOË BUTLER

8 | The Little Hawk

rossdressing: the act of wearing clothing that is commonly associated with the opposite sex.

Crossdressing has been used by many for the purpose of self expression in modern times and throughout history.

This fashion editorial focuses on femininity in men which acts as a form of power, challenging the underlying message that femininity is inherently inferior to masculinity. There’s a misconception that hypermasculinity is the most sought after attribute in men and that femininity signifies weakness and softness—femininity is predominantly perceived as an unappealing quality in men.

Yet major fashion icons have pushed these these misconceptions to the side, creating a shift towards greater acceptance of gender nonconformity. According to The Independent UK, Jaden Smith, a heterosexual male, says he wears skirts and continues to fight gender stereotypes in the hope that it will mean one day children can wear anything they without being bullied. He modeled women’s wear in Louis Vuitton's 2016 campaign and was photographed at Coachella wearing a dress that looked like it probably came straight out of his sister Willow’s closet. That same week, Harry Styles, who has confessed to preferring women's clothing because of its nice fit, hit the city in heels. Prince rocked catsuits; Kanye West performed in a print silk blouse; Boy George showed us that men could rock makeup and fashion associated with women. David Bowie completely destroyed the social expectations and narratives of masculinity with every outfit he performed in and for that we are forever grateful.

Whether it's guyliner, a murse, a catsuit, a crop top, or a dress there is something incredibly chic about gender-bending style. Women's clothing has so much to offer in terms of silhouette, texture, shape, color…who wouldn’t want to explore this and express themselves, break the stereotype that clothes are “girl clothes,” and go along with the idea that clothes are just clothes?

C

october 26, 2018 | 9

for the thrill of it

Teenagers take lots of risks — but the effects can tear their lives apart

by Noah Bullwinkle & Maya Durham

For Violet*, it started in fifth grade. She and a friend were together on a snow day, and her friend suggested they try smoking marijuana.

“I was like, “Oh, [smoking’s] cool. I’m going to do it too,” she said. “We just said, ‘f*** it, we’re going to smoke.’”

The National Council On Alcoholism And Drug Dependence, or NCADD, says the most prevalent characteristic of substance users is a history of family use—the offspring of addicts are eight times more likely to develop a dependence on a substance. However, Violet didn’t grow up in such telltale circumstances; her parents have never taken any drugs or abuse alcohol.

“My parents barely even drink or anything, they don’t smoke cigarettes, and my mom only drinks wine, so [substances] were never in my house,” she said. And she was aware of the health consequences of marijuana and other drugs.

According to the National Institute for Drug Abuse, approximately 24.6 million American teenagers have used illicit drugs in their lives. This is due to a multitude of factors, but boils down to one key component— their brains. Similar to other teenagers, Violet has an undeveloped frontal lobe and prefrontal cortex, areas of the brain that affect self-control and decision-making. According to Steinberg, this can lead to teenagers making riskier decisions than an adult might.

“The brain’s self-control system is immature in childhood, but at puberty there is an increase in sensation seeking and reward seeking, which makes teenagers act in ways that they don’t yet have the maturity to easily control,” said Dr. Steinberg.

Violet was no exception to this phenomenon. As she began high school, her previous experimental forays into marijuana shifted to usage of prescription drugs such as Xanax (alprazolam), Oxycontin, and Hydrocodone. She began taking larger quantities of the pills, especially Xanax.

During this time, the dosage of Xanax she was taking became a complete afterthought.

“I was taking a lot of Xanax, so I was just off so many Xans all the time that I have no recollection of like three or four months of [sophomore] year,” Violet said. “I didn’t care about dosage at all, I’d take seven [twothree milligram] Xans.” By her account, Violet would have taken 14 milligrams of the drug — almost four times the typical prescribed daily dosage, according to drugs.com, an online prescription drug database.

Violet says she felt “like a zombie” during her the period of her high usage of Xanax, and began seeing the signs of her addiction with her family and schoolwork. “[Xanax] was really taking down my grades. I had a really bad GPA and I eventually was expelled because I was truant, because I just wouldn’t care

It’s really hard to deal with. I’m never going to have a time where everyone is willing to just be themselves and not on anything.

- Gray* and not go to school,” Violet said. “I wasn’t really talking to my mom or dad that much, and I was just caring about the people that I hung out with that provided me with the Xanax.”

Violet has tapered her drug usage, and stays away from all pills now.

However, during the three to four months she was addicted to Xanax, Violet was a survivor of multiple instances of sexual assault by some of her closest friends at the time. The first time, Violet was attacked while on Xanax. The second time, her friend told her she was taking a liquid form of Xanax. It was actually Rohypnol, a common date-rape drug.

“I have PTSD and stuff, so it’s definitely changed me in a negative way,” Violet said. “But also a positive way, because I learned a lot from it.”

PTSD and other trauma disorders are not uncommon for adolescent drug users. According to a study conducted in part by Dr. Jennifer L. McCauley, an assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the Med-

ical University of South Carolina, 11.8 percent of teenage girls experience sexual assault; one-fifth of those assaults are while the victim is under the influence of a substance. Of the girls who experienced assault, those who were incapacitated had a “significantly larger chance” of reporting symptoms of depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.

The effects of high risk behaviors—specifically substance abuse—reach far beyond the individual who engages in high-risk behaviors, too. Friends of adolescents who take lots of risks face serious emotional changes from observing their friends.

This is the case for Gray*, another student. Gray’s friend group smokes a lot of marijuana, but he himself stays away from all drugs and alcohol. He believes his friends do drugs for a simple reason: they enjoy them.

“It’s a little not fun for me. Everyone’s obsessed with the notion of never being sober. Nobody ever wants to be sober, and it has an effect,” he said.

“It’s really hard to deal with. I’m never going to have a time where everyone is willing to just be themselves and not on anything.”

According to a study by Julia Shadur, Ph.D. and Andrea Hussong, Ph.D., adolescent drug use and abuse can have detrimental effects on interpersonal relationships. They found that “at low levels of close-friend substance use, adolescents with the lowest levels of close-friend intimacy are also more likely to use substances compared to those with high levels of close-friend intimacy.” Adolescents are more likely to use drugs when they feel a lack of connection to others.

Gray has witnessed his friends on a wide range of substances—from psychedelics to opioids—and said the more he he sees and experiences, the less he understands why his friends use drugs or engage in high risk behaviors.

“Being around [my friends doing drugs] makes me understand it a lot less, too. I understand it to a point—it makes you feel really good about yourself. But there are so many repercussions and nobody considers those or takes them into account. I think [my friends] just view it as a way to have a good time, and that’s not always what it is,” Gray said. “They take [MDMA] and they have a good time and then they’re messed up. They’re depressed for weeks. Is it really worth being happy for a few hours and then absolutely hating yourself for a month? Is it worth it? I don’t think it is.”

According to dancesafe.org, an organization which promotes safety with psychedelics and other aspects of nightlife, MDMA drastically increases serotonin, a neurotransmitter which contributes to feelings of happiness; on users’ “comedowns” they experience a depletion of serotonin, which leads to feelings of depression.

Gray’s friends’ issues with drugs are not solely limited to their despondent mental states post-usage; they can seep into more tangible real-life consequences. For example, his friends often decide to drive drunk home from parties.

“They think it’s okay to drunk drive. And it’s not like it’s once in a while—at every single party there are like four or five people who drunk drive,” he said.

In one instance, Gray, along with a few friends, unknowingly got a ride home from someone who was tripping on LSD. “He had no idea where he was, even though he’d driven that route a

few times. He was convinced we were aliens who were trying to hurt him, that we weren’t his real friends and that we were trying to mess with him in some way,” Gray said. “He forgot where he was a few times, we had to direct him the whole time. He stopped at a green light and got out and just started looking around. It was terrifying.”

According to Steinberg, this kind of behavior has a lot to do with peer influence. Decisions to drive drunk, use drugs, or engage in other risky behaviors have close ties to what ones’ friends and peers do and say and a desire to fit in.

“I think most teenagers are inclined to take risks, and the big difference among them is in how the risk-taking is manifested,” he said. “That’s where parents and peers are important as influences and role models.”

Violet found this to be the case for her, too.

“Yeah, [what I’ve done] was entirely peer pressure,” she said. “I have social anxiety and stuff, so it was a lot of me trying to fit in and make friends, so I would just do what everyone else was doing in my friend group.”

Violet has gotten back on track with her dream of majoring in computer science at the University of Iowa, even after her period of high usage.

“Just because I messed up last year it hasn’t affected me much as a whole,” she said. “I’ve always been a pretty smart kid — my freshman year I had a 3.85 GPA, and it’s the same this year now that I’ve tried hard again in school.”

On the contrary, some of her friends are stuck in the same cycle she was lodged in.

“I’m definitely still able to do what I want to do and be successful. They think they’ll make more money selling drugs, so they don’t really care about going to school.”

Steinberg believes, though, that not all risk-taking is inherently negative.

“It’s important to remember that there is a lot of positive risk-taking that likely has psychological benefits,” he said. “Trying out for a team one doesn’t expect to make, performing in a play in front of classmates, approaching someone you have a crush on and are nervous about talking to, taking classes that don’t guarantee good grades, etc.”

Risk taking has pros and cons, and is inherent in growing as a person.

It is what you deem as truly important which affects the direction of your future. * Names have been changed to protect anonymity

I was just off so many Xans all the time that I have no recollection of like three or four months of [sophomore] year.

- violet*

"They take [MDMA] and they have a good time and then they’re messed up. They’re depressed for weeks. Is it really worth being happy for a few hours and then absolutely hating yourself for a month?

Is it worth it?

I don’t think it is."

- Gray* october 26, 2018 | 13

NEVER ASLEEP

PHOTO BY: Nina Lavezzo-Stecopoulos

14 | THE LITTLE HAWK

By Ellis Chen and Rhys Holman

How sleep deprivation is ruining America between homework, sports, and clubs

T

eenagers are frequently characterized as lethargic and sleepy, which is often attributed to laziness. This is commonly manifested as students sleeping in class. While often seen as a sign of boredom or apathy towards classwork, in reality this is commonly the result not of a lack of interest, but rather a lack of sleep. “[I’ve noticed exhausted students] quite a bit, especially during the mornings. By the end of the day, students start to wear down as well,” said Jordan Garrett, a Spanish teacher at City High. “If you’re unable to concentrate, keep your eyes open while reading, and if you’re falling asleep, you aren’t getting anything out of that class.”

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, teenagers should be getting around 8-10 hours of sleep per day, but many students get significantly less, which can have adverse effects on their academics. “[The night] before the PSAT, I got five hours of sleep, then after the test I nearly fell asleep in class and had to take a nap when I got home,” said William Irvine ‘20. “[I usually get] six to seven hours of sleep, and that’s not enough.”

Irvine’s case is not an uncommon one. In fact, especially for older students, getting enough sleep tends to be the exception, rather than the rule.

“I’ve slept a lot in class, I’m always really tired. I feel like I can’t get as much done because I’m too tired to get up,” said Mary Bounds ‘20. “I’m tired all day so I’m not performing at my best and I’m not always listening as hard as I should be and picking up everything, and that’s affecting my test scores.”

But for some students, sleeping in class isn’t what’s hurting their academics. It’s their sleeping outside of class that’s the root of their issues.

“I get six to eight hours of sleep a day because I go to bed at 10 or 11, and not doing any homework,” said Anthony Murphy ‘20. “I had a 4.0

freshman year, 3.87 sophomore year, and now I’m sitting at a 3.0.”

Irvine has noticed a dilemma for students in which they have to choose between a proper amount of sleep and getting the schoolwork they’re assigned done.

“I’m getting my work done but that’s the reason I’m not sleeping. It makes me not want to work because I’m too tired,” Irvine said. “I either sleep and don’t get my homework done or get my homework done and don’t sleep.”

That this problem has a great effect on academics is undeniable, but questions still exist about what the causes of this are, and how it can best be counteracted.

“I’m in a couple clubs. Sometimes they meet before school, but sometimes after school,” said Siobhan Gibbens ‘19. “So if I have a club the next morning, I have to wake up earlier. And if I’m up late doing homework, I get less sleep.”

Extracurriculars and other activities that take up time outside of class were often what students thought were the main culprit of their lack of time for homework and sleep.

“I think definitely the homework load is a big problem, and oftentimes for kids in sports; sports can sometimes run longer than expected, and that cuts into our time doing homework,” said Bounds. “I think the switch from starting at eight o’clock to the start at nine and end at four was a big part of it. Because that means all the sports go late, so you’re staying up late doing your homework.”

However, despite the problem this poses, there are still steps that teachers recommend that students take to help make sure that they have enough time to sleep and do homework.

“One thing students can do is be aware of what they have to get done and by when so they can plan around it and get to sleep at a good time as well,” said Garrett. “I know it’s tough with all of the demands on students, now more than ever, but I think that’s one thing students can do that could help them.”

But many still think that the problem isn’t that students aren’t organized enough, it’s that they don’t get their work done.

“Ultimately it just comes down to your work ethic and how you perform,” said Bounds. “You can’t control how much homework you get, but you can control how fast you do it. You can just get it done and then get more sleep.”

15%

of teenagers get enough sleep, according to the National Sleep Foundation

OCTOBER 26, 2018 | 15