SET UP FOR SETBACKS
A RACE AGAINST THE BELL
BY JADA ZENG
FLICKR: FINDING BEAUTY IN THE MUNDANE
JEFFREY CHEN, ALEX MANGOT
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Editors-in-Chief
Thomas Harrison
Ramona Jacobson
Katharine Kasperski
News Editors
Maren Brooks
04 10 12 18 20 21
Kai Lyddan
Multimedia Editors
Imaan Ansari
Katharine Kasperski
Yue Yi Peng
Art Manager
Yue Yi Peng
Reporters
Danya Bayer
Miles Bernson
Audrey Brogno
Cecilia Choi
Amálie Cimala
Herschel Diamond
Kai Dohrmann
Aida Donahue
Milena Garrone
Nisha Halfen
Jenny Kwan
Stephanie Li
Serena Miller
Jeremiah Moses Skyler
Sophie Murphy
Kate Schoeller
Stella Schulte
Mehreen Shaikh
Charlie Steinberg
Uma Van Yserloo
Accolades
NSPA Pacemaker Top 10
Ethan Win
Kristin Woo
Nicholas Xie
Faye Yang
Jada Zeng
Photographers
Christopher Hernandez
Dakota Colussi
Alex Hohn
Sydney Lee
Alex Mangot
Hannah Tandoc
Illustrators
Jeffrey Chen
Sarah Cuaresma
Cayce Hewitt
Noelle Mak
May San
Business Managers
Isabella Chan
Dena Nguyen
Web Manager
Katharine Kasperski
Social Media Manager
Anita Luo
Researchers
Maren Brooks
Anita Luo
Advisor
Eric Gustafson
2018 NSPA Print Pacemaker Finalist
2011 & 2014 NSPA Online Pacemaker
2012 NSPA Print Pacemaker
2007 & 2011 NSPA All-American
2009 NSPA First Class Honors
2007 NSPA Web Pacemaker
2007 CSPA Gold Crown
MAKE EID A DAY OFF BY IMAAN ANSARI
Imagine sitting in a mosque, surrounded by your friends and family laughing, eating sweets, and praying together. You try to focus on the fun, but the only thing crowding your mind is the AP Statistics test you’re missing, the three chapters of reading you need to make up for your English class, and the group project presentation you still need to complete. Muslim students all throughout SFUSD face this reality: choosing between their faith and their education.
Every year, at the end of Ramadan, a holy month of fasting from sunup to sundown, reading the Quran, and praying, Muslims all over the world celebrate Eid-Al-Fitr to commemorate the month of dedication to their faith. ey do this with a special morning prayer, large feasts shared with friends and family, new clothes, and other cultural and religious traditions. Unlike other holidays, like Lunar New Year and Christmas, students don’t get a day o on Eid, as it is commonly referred to. is concern was brought to the attention of SFUSD in 2022 by many impassioned Muslim youth advocates. eir e orts resulted in a resolution being created and passed to make Eid a day o . However, a er threats of lawsuits and people citing it favors one religion over another, the decision was reversed. Now, the plan is for spring break to be moved back every year to make Eid land during it. While on paper this sounds like an acceptable solution, SFUSD has failed to recognize that this will not serve as a long-term x, as the date for Eid changes every year. e beginning of Ramadan is marked by the sighting of a crescent moon on the last day of the Islamic month, Shaban. is sighting gets earlier and earlier, by about 12 days, every year. So, if SFUSD continues with this solution, spring break will begin in December within the next seven years. If they continue on this path, the greater student body will be disturbed by the constant shi ing of spring break, making even more people upset. is temporary solution is not going to work much longer, and SFUSD needs to nd something permanent that serves the needs of all its students.
Muslim students all throughout SFUSD face this reality: choosing between their faith
and their education.
Having every cultural or religious holiday be a day o isn’t possible due to the number of di erent religions and the required number of school days. is creates a tough situation for school districts, like SFUSD, to decide which holidays will get a
day o . To make this choice, SFUSD needs to take the community’s demographics and needs into account. Currently, there are 250,000 Muslims in the whole San Francisco Bay Area, making up 3.5 percent of the area’s residents. California itself has the second largest Muslim community in the country. On top of this, Eid serves as not only a religious holiday, but largely a cultural one. is makes it similar to other public school holidays in San Francisco, like Lunar New Year, which mixes cultural and religious traditions. Many Middle Eastern and South Asian students celebrate the holiday as a key part of their culture and heritage, with di erent practices spanning across countries. Considering the sizable population of Muslims and the presence of students who celebrate Eid culturally, SFUSD should recognize the needs of its students and mark Eid as a day o Additionally, SFUSD is signicantly behind other cities and states in making Eid a holiday for all public schools students in the district. States like New Jersey, New York, and Ohio have long recognized Eid as a holiday for their students. Some of these states even have smaller Muslim populations than San Francisco, but they still recognize the importance of the holiday. Speci c cities that recognize their growing Muslim population, like Dearborn and Hamtramck in Michigan, have also made Eid a day o for its public school students. e stress of having to return to school and make up for all the missed work interferes with the joy and celebration of the holiday. It is the equivalent of getting homework over winter break. If school districts required students to go to school on Christmas and instead made winter break at the beginning of December, there would be uproar. Nobody wants the idea of tests and homework looming over them while they are celebrating with their families. is is a widely agreed-upon concept throughout school districts, so why can’t the same consideration be given to Muslim students? Cities and districts like San Francisco with signi cant Muslim, Middle Eastern, and South Asian populations should do right by their students and make Eid a day o . It is incredibly important for SFUSD to recognize the aws in its temporary solution and revisit the idea of making Eid a day o for all its students, which will hopefully act as a blueprint for other cities to follow.
IMPERSONATION: GONE WRONG
From the editors
Dear readers of e Lowell,
Happy spring!
e end of the semester is approaching and most colleges are releasing their admissions decisions. While this signi es the end of the college application process for most seniors, other Lowell students are just beginning to consider their futures a er high school. is experience is stressful for many, but some students struggle disproportionately with the task of applying. In this magazine’s cover story, our reporters took a closer look at these students’ challenges, exploring the factors, such as immigration status and family responsibilities, that can impact students’ ability to apply to colleges.
For some seniors, the end of the spring semester also means that their window of opportunity to live out the “high school experience” is closing fast. In this magazine’s feature story, we found that many Lowell students feel that they are missing out as the result of unrealistic portrayals of teenage life from television and social media.
We hope that the perspectives shown in this magazine will allow students to see their own experiences at Lowell in a new light.
Editors-in-Chief, omas Harrison, Ramona Jacobson, Katharine Kasperski
e Lowell is published by the journalism classes of Lowell High School. All contents copyright Lowell High School journalism classes. All rights reserved. e Lowell strives to inform the public and to use its opinion sections as open forums for debate. All unsigned editorials are opinions of the sta . e Lowell welcomes comments on school-related issues from students, faculty and community members. Send letters to the editors to thelowellnews@gmail.com. Names will be withheld upon request. We reserve the right to edit letters before publication.
e Lowell is a student-run publication distributed to thousands of readers including students, parents, teachers, and alumni. All advertisement pro ts fund our newsmagazine issues. To advertise online or in print, email thelowellmanagement@gmail.com. Contact us: Lowell High School 1101 Eucalyptus Drive San Francisco, CA 94132, 415-759-2730, or at thelowellnews@gmail.com.
ILLUSTRATION BY JEFFREY CHEN
SET UP The path challenges for lack access to
By Maren Brooks and Kai Lyddan
PHOTO
FOR SETBACKS
The path to college poses signifcant for underprivileged students, who to the resources available to their peers.
Lyddan
Will, a senior under a pseudonym, opens the Free Application for Federal Student Aid on his computer. Busy with homework, he is grateful to read that lling out the form with his parents’ information should only take 30 minutes. But as he comes to a question requesting his parents’ Social Security numbers, Will realizes that the process may not be as easy as he had hoped. Will’s parents, who immigrated to the United States 20 years earlier, are undocumented, making them ineligible for Social Security. Without this information, he is forced to painstakingly complete the rest of the questions manually based on the information from his parents that he is able to provide. When he nally completes the application, Will attempts to submit it – only to be greeted with an error screen, reporting that his information didn’t meet the requirements
for completion. Will’s exasperation turns to dread as he realizes that he may be unable to receive aid for colleges, an outcome that would hinder his ability to access higher education — which he would be the rst in his family to access. Will is not the only student who, due to various personal circumstances, has experienced signi cant challenges in the college application process.
For many Lowell students, college applications are far from a straightforward process. A multitude of factors have transformed the task of applying into a high-stakes, uncertain gamble, a trend that inevitably creates disparities among high school students. e high level of uncertainty regarding the college application and admissions process is compounded by a system which consistently favors students with the highest access to information and resources, leaving others at a disadvantage. Even
measures aimed at reducing unfair admissions and increasing equity, such as test-optional and test-blind policies, are widely debated across the nation. On a fundamental level, the college application process has evolved into a di cult-to-navigate gauntlet in which students without the money and familiarity to navigate the process are le with little power to advocate for themselves. e vast majority of Lowell students plan to attend college a er graduating high school. In a survey of 139 students conducted by in March 2025, 98.6 percent of respondents said that they planned on applying to college. is trend could be attributed to the projected nancial outcomes of individuals who complete higher education. e study
, authored by Professor John Winters of Iowa State University, measured the national earnings premium in comparison to a high school diploma to be 20 percent higher for an associates degree and 59 percent higher for a bachelor’s degree. According to Adam Tyner, a national research director at the omas B. Fordham Institute in Washington, D.C., it is generally agreed upon that higher education is positively associated with increased nancial success. “ ere are large correlations between getting a college degree and making more money or having other positive life outcomes,” Tyner said. Lowell school counselor Maria Aguirre explains that higher education gives individuals more nancial and career freedom later in life. “When you have an education, you’re able to maneuver and transition into other higher paying jobs…whereas it just doesn’t give you that exibility when you don’t,” Aguirre said. “ at’s the long-term implication.” Despite this nancial payo , college education o en demands a substantial investment up front, a cost that can create a heavy burden for students and families. Additionally, the path to college applications features many hurdles
that can create signi cant challenges for underprivileged students, who lack the resources available to their peers.
A multitude of factors, including economic status, familial or personal commitments, and immigration status of family members, can negatively impact students’ experiences during the college application process. According to the , high school students with undocumented family members can have di culties submitting the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), as students with immediate family members who immigrated to the United States will likely be less familiar with the form due to lack of prior knowledge on their family’s part.
his problem. “It was super stressful,” Will said. “We met up with professionals that help people ll out the FAFSA, and even they were like, ‘We don’t know what’s going on with your application.’”
Although Will was eventually able to submit the form successfully, two days before the deadline, the process was a major source of anxiety and uncertainty for the weeks that he spent dealing with it. “You ll out the college applications, you put in time for your essays, and then when it comes down to it, you might not even be able to go because you can’t ll out thenancial aid – like, I can’t pay for it out of pocket,” Will said. “It felt like I was gonna either not go to college if I didn’t
ground as a factor. Aguirre explained that having parents with experience in higher education tends to help students feel more con dent in the process, as they have more access to information and support. In addition, she said, parents who attend college o en expect and encourage their children to do the same. “In some way it’s been instilled in them, whereas the [ rst-generation] student hasn’t been growing up hearing what to expect when applying to college,” Aguirre said. “First-gen students have a more di cult path, and need a lot more assistance and understanding.”
Vivienne, a senior under a pseudonym with parents who have not completed higher education in the U.S., experienced challenges while ap-
“I didn’t know where to start. I’m a frst-gen American plus a frst-gen college [applicant]. I just don’t have a reference, my parents don’t really know anything to help me.”
Additionally, students of undocumented parents may be unable to provide certain important pieces of information required during the process, creating additional obstacles for families. In Will’s case, being unable to provide a Social Security number for either of his parents resulted in issues with submitting the rest of his nancial aid application, as the form’s automated Data Retrieval Tool could not be used. While this alone should not have made it impossible for Will to submit the form, it created substantial di culties that took excessive time and e ort to navigate, causing Will to miss school for weeks as he repeatedly attended information sessions and attempted to get in contact with someone who could help him solve
get [FAFSA] lled out, or go to a college that I didn’t really want to go to.”
While the college application process presents a signi cant challenge to students in every situation, prospective rst-generation college students, who will be the rst in their family to attend college, face additional obstacles. According to the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA), 56 percent of all students in postsecondary education in the U.S. have parents who do not hold bachelor’s degrees. Of the 36.7 percent of respondents to ’s survey who reported that they felt that they were at a disadvantage compared to others in the college application process, 43.6 percent listed their family’s educational back-
plying to colleges. Vivienne described feeling frustrated that she lacked the resources she needed to guide her as she applied to colleges. “I didn’t know where to start,” she said. “I’m a rst-gen American plus a rst-gen college [applicant]. I just don’t have a reference, my parents don’t really know anything to help me.” Without family members who had learned from experience with the college applications, she relied on assistance from her peers to help her navigate the process. “I just learned slowly from my friends,” she said.
One anonymous survey respondent also described facing challenges trying to go through the application process without being able to receive assistance from family members.
cover
“I wasn’t born in the U.S., I am not as good as other people when it comes to language arts and English skills,” the student wrote. “I also couldn’t get as much support in schoolwork from my family when I [needed] it because my family doesn’t speak English either. ey also don’t know much about how college and applications work, so they couldn’t provide me with experience and tips.” Scar-
Some Lowell students are unable to pursue college freely due to familial commitments or responsibilities in their personal lives. “We have a grandma that’s disabled, and she needs full care,” junior Carlos Urzua said. He explained that he was expected to help provide care a er his sister graduated high school. “It’s an external factor that’s di cult to get around,” he said. is is
amount of time students have to research and apply to colleges, as well as a ect where they apply, as proximity to home may be a signi cant concern for students dealing with familial commitments. Urzua believes that colleges should consider the fact that students may be experiencing unique personal challenges, and take that into account when making admissions decisions.
“I would say the application process is overwhelming. It can be a lot for students to do on their own, especially without support.”
lett, a senior under a pseudonym who will be the rst in her family attending college, mentioned similar experiences. “ ere were times where I felt like my parents didn’t set me up well,” she said. “I de nitely felt kind of alone.”
an experience shared by other students at Lowell; 27.1 percent of respondents to e Lowell’s survey reported that personal commitments signi cantly limited the time they were able to commit to school, extracurricular activities or the college application process. ese commitments included helping family members, like in Urzua’s experience, as well as work, household chores, and other activities. According to Urzua, these commitments can impact the
“Other kids also have to take care of family, they might have other family problems, they might have stu outside that really a ects them,” Urzua said. Many colleges in the U.S. acknowledge the inherent equity concerns within the application process, and have taken steps to address them, although these policies aren’t universally accepted. One way that colleges have attempted to combat this lack of equity is by implementing test-optional application policies, where students can choose whether or not to submit test scores, or test-blind, where scores are not considered. e idea is this will make the need for expensive or time-consuming test-preparation courses unnecessary. However, the effects of these policies have been debated, and some schools will return to requiring standardized test scores from their applicants next year. Discussions around these policies at colleges across the country, including within the University of California system, have led to a debate over how best to encourage equity in college admissions. According to expert Tyner, colleges becoming testblind or test-optional may not have the intended positive e ect. “What they’ve
found is that those policies do not appreciably improve equity,” Tyner said. However, this belief isn’t shared by all. Jojo, a senior under a pseudonym who su ers from a medical condition that impacts his attendance and school performance, believes that test-blindness is a good solution to the potential inequity of using standardized test scores as an isolated metric for intelligence. “I have Crohn’s disease, which is probably the most impactful thing to me personally,” Jojo said. “It a ects my GPA as well, which harms my college application.” Jojo described receiving a truancy letter a er frequent absences caused by issues related to his condition and frequent scheduled hospital visits. His disease, as well as his struggles with severe test-taking anxiety, negatively impact his performance on standardized tests like the SAT and ACT as he balances things like taking medication with grappling with his anxiety. He argues that colleges should take steps to more equitably judge a student’s potential, with test-optional policies being one way to achieve this. “I think testblind is better because tests are a very
aspects of the application that you have to do, having to go on a Saturday and [take] a test is another obstacle that a rst-generation student would have to
support. It just depends on the ability of the students.” Much of this tension stems from the uncertainty that students feel regarding colleges’ high ex-
“What got me through this is advocating for myself. You never know what can happen.”
bad way to gauge people’s intelligence,” Jojo said. “It’s good for some people, but for me, I can’t take tests as well as most other people…I have to take prescription medications when I take a test.”
Despite acknowledging both pros and cons to test-optional and testblind policies, Aguirre agreed with this perspective, adding that standardized tests can pose unique challenges to rst-generation students or those already at a disadvantage in the application process. “ ere’s just so many
navigate,” Aguirre said. “I do think it is a bene t to make it optional for the students, because if that student didn’t take the test and it’s required, then they would automatically not be eligible to even apply to a competitive school.”
Regardless of where Lowell students are in the college application process, it can be a signi cant source of fear and anxiety. “I would say the application process is overwhelming,” Aguirre said. “It [can be] a lot for students to do on their own, especially without
pectations for applicants. is already di cult and overwhelming process of applying to college is only ampli ed for students dealing with disadvantages including things like familial commitments and socioeconomic disparities. While Scarlett struggled throughout her college application process, she was able to persevere by relying on other people around her and having self-con dence. “What got me through this is advocating for myself,” she said. “You never know what can happen.”
Lowellʼs Wild Side
In this multimedia piece, our photographers were tasked to capture the plants and animals around Lowellʼs campus. Hereʼs what they photographed!
PHOTOS BY ALEX MANGOT, ALEX HOHN, HANNAH TANDOC
CHASING THE HIGH SCHOOL EXPERIENCE CHASING THE HIGH SCHOOL EXPERIENCE
BY
AND
BY MILENA GARRONE AND SERENA MILLER
MILENA GARRONE
SERENA MILLER
Many Lowell students feel internalized pressure to live up to a certain high school experience, stemming from a fear of missing out and social comparison. The media’s portrayal of high school differs from reality, and students are left comparing their own lives to unrealistic ideals.
Senior Elsy Matias is sitting at home, enjoying a quiet night in. Scrolling through social media, she sees that her friends have posted pictures of a party they’re attending. As she ips through the post, anxiety creeps into her mind. An acute feeling that she’s missing out starts to take over. Matias has never been allowed to go to many big social events, on account of her strict parents, and has come to appreciate quiet nights at home. Still, she can’t help but wish that she could attend parties, so that she could participate in the ones she sees her friends go to. Matias is not alone in this struggle. Many Lowell students feel internalized pressure, stemming from a fear of missing out and social comparison, to live up to a certain high school experience. Lowell students o en nd
out, also known as FOMO, de ned the phenomenon primarily as an “anxiety that arises when people miss opportunities to connect with valued social relationships,” but added that FOMO can also apply more generally to anything a person feels that they missed out on. She said that it o en isn’t missing the events or experiences themselves that leads to this anxiety, but rather the perception of missing important social bonding or the formation of new memories. For example, Ri in said,
“We’re comparing our very complex lives to somebody’s best self.”
when a person misses a dinner out with friends, they feel FOMO because their friends spent that time together without them, forming new memories
their peers or popular media to nd it. In uences in the media amplify the anxieties that stem from FOMO and social comparison, both in the TV that teenagers watched while growing up, and the hundreds of social media posts that they scroll through on a daily basis. Social media frequently induces feelings of FOMO for its users, Shimmon said, because it presents a very curated and skewed version of a person’s life. “We’re comparing our very complex lives to somebody’s best self,” he explained, causing individuals to view their own lives more negatively in comparison. Similarly, media like TV shows and movies tend to o er distorted perspectives of life and struggles, Shimmon said, because con ict is resolved and characters achieve their goals in ways that do not o en happen in real life. Seeing such an empowering expe-
clubs, hoping to the popularity that she saw displayed in these shows. Howev er, Matias observed that many of her classmates were al ready well-established in the aspects of the so cial atmosphere that she had always dreamed of being involved with. She began to feel that there was no space for her, as her classmates seemed already far ahead in making connections and estab lishing themselves. Matias felt pressured to do things she saw the well-known people in her grade doing, like using drugs and alcohol, because she thought it would lead to popularity. e fact that her parents wouldn’t let her go to parties or other events only made things worse, since that’s where all the popular people seemed to be. Because of this, she felt like she couldn’t be popular unless she attended parties or used substances.
Matias is not the only Lowell student that feels that TV shows and social media present a misleading representation of high school. In a survey of 133 students conducted by e Lowell in March 2025, over 50 percent said that TV shows, movies, or social media in uenced how they thought about high school, and over 80 percent said that their high school experience has di ered from what they saw in TV shows or movies. Darcy, a junior under a pseudonym, has found her high school experience to be di erent from what she saw portrayed in popular media growing up. Due in large part to the in uence of Disney shows like High School Musi-
she nds herself doing school work and working at her job, an aspect of high school that was not portrayed in the shows she watched growing up. Part of this, she believes, is due to the more academic and competitive atmosphere at Lowell compared to some other high schools. Overall, Darcy said, high school is more stressful than she had thought it would be. “It isn’t as fun or carefree as it was portrayed in those shows,” she said.
alized, one she didn’t enjoy and didn’t want to be part cult
sona. “It got really irritating to a point where I just wasn’t content with my day to day or just my life, and it really dragged along,” she said. Matias had become an entirely di erent version of herself in order to meet the expectations that she had placed on her high school experience, and ultimately felt that the goal that she had changed herself to reach was not worth the sacri ce.
“Understand that [social media] is unrealistic, that these people are not showing me all sides of their experiences: the positive and the negative, the happiness and the sadness, the euphoria and the depression.”
In her attempts to chase popularity and the experience she saw displayed in the media, Matias began to change herself, emulating the people around her to try and t in. She developed a fake personality, and used this persona whenever she interacted with her peers. is strategy was seemingly successful, as Matias began to rise in popularity, befriending those she looked
TV shows are not the only form of media that in uence how students think about high school — social media also has an imposing presence in teenagers’ perceptions of the ideal high school experience. Seeing other high school students constantly going places and hanging
out with their friends makes Darcy feel le out, she said, because her social experience di ers from theirs. As a self-described introvert with a smaller group of friends, seeing these stories on social media makes her feel as though she’s having less fun than her classmates because she doesn’t go out or travel as o en. Senior Yahir Anguiano feels similarly, as he has spent the majority of his
high school career trying to live up to the experience he saw portrayed in social media. Like Darcy, he would o en see people posting about attending school events like dances. He longed to partake in these events, but felt like he didn’t know enough people to attend, and had a constant feeling of time slipping through his ngers. Because of this social anxiety, he didn’t start to meet people he wanted to be around until more recently. As he nears the end of his senior year, Anguiano can’t help but feel that he’s let key parts of the high school experience pass him by because of his social reservations in earlier years. “I feel like I did not ful ll the high school experience,” he said, “I missed out a lot on meeting new people and just going out more.”
experience that Darcy feels she is missing is high school romance. Because she has never had a crush, much less a romantic relationship, Darcy feels like she is missing out on this aspect, which is
boyfriend.’” Chloe and Darcy are not alone in feeling this pressure; out of 133 Lowell students surveyed, almost 40 percent said that they have felt pressure to have a romantic or sexual relationship during high school.
“I had to face the fact that I only really wanted these things because it was something I was influenced to want.”
Another facet of the high school
o en portrayed as a staple of the high school experience. She feels pressured to nd a love interest, even though she doesn’t have the time to dedicate to a partner. “Seeing other couples around, I feel like I’m missing out, because that seems kind of sweet and fun,” Darcy said, “But I know that, in reality, I’m too busy for a relationship.” Chloe, a senior under a pseudonym, relates to the pressure of nding a high school love, which she nds magni ed as she enters hernal months at Lowell. Chloe
Some students have felt pressured to use drugs to live up to the high school experience they see portrayed in the media. In e Lowell’s survey, only 10 percent said that they had felt pressured to consume drugs or alcohol in high school. Even so, some students have felt in uenced to use illicit or addictive substances. Jordan, a senior under a pseudonym, said that she never had an interest in drugs because of health worries and a family history of addiction. Despite this, Jordan felt pressured to use substances in high school, and began to experiment with weed and cigarettes. is pressure came from a complex mix of internal and external
someone to stop comparing themselves to others — a tendency that is intrinsic to human nature — there are ways that students can reframe that social comparison in a more positive light, lessening the anxiety that stems from it. He outlined two key aspects to reframing comparison: redirecting social comparison and being aware of unrealistic portrayals and comparisons. Instead of feeling like their experience is lesser than that of others, Shimmon said that students can use social comparison to motivate themselves. “Make an upward social comparison in a healthier way where, instead of feeling relatively deprived, you feel that it’s inspiring you to work towards something that will make you realize your own goals,” he said. He believes that students should make sure to maintain a sense of self and apply these aspirations realistically to their own lives and personalities, because experiences vary from person to person. A critical part of this approach is that students become aware of unrealistic or skewed portrayals of life, such as those that may appear in social media or TV. Ideally, he said, students would not compare themselves to these representations at all, because of how
distorted they tend to be, but understands that to be immensely di cult. Instead, he encourages students to do their best to be aware of unrealistic representations. “Understand that [social media] is unrealistic, that these people are not showing me all sides of their experiences: the positive and the negative, the happiness and the sadness, the euphoria and the depression,” he said. As Lowell students re ect on their high school experience, some have concluded that media portrayal of the experience just doesn’t represent reality. Instead of relying on unrealistic representations to set expectations for themselves, they have learned to accept their individual experiences and characteristics. Anguiano has established a new mindset that allowed him to enjoy his last year of high school without the social pressures that loomed over him in previous years. Recently, he went to Lowell’s Senior Boat event, despite not knowing many people who were going. is marked a stark change in his behavior, as he had previously avoided parties due to his fear that he wouldn’t know anyone and would feel ostracized. Instead of feeling isolated and alone, as he had feared for many years, Anguiano
met new people and had a euphoric experience. He realized that social events weren’t quite as scary as he had thought, especially with fellow seniors. “I came to the conclusion that everyone [at the event] has known each other for the past three years,” he said. “I feel like we’ve all accepted who we are at this point.” Matias has also come to accept parts of her personality that she had previously ignored. She has learned that she enjoys being a self-described “homebody” — staying at home, alone or with a few select friends, rather than going to large parties or social events. at’s not to say that she doesn’t feel FOMO anymore when she stays home; seeing photos on social media of events she missed still evokes uneasy feelings and makes her wish that she could be there with her friends. However, she ultimately prefers to stay true to herself and do things that she enjoys, even if that means staying home. While Darcy and many other Lowell students are also trying to lessen the in uence of FOMO on their lives, they nd it hard to break past the unrealistic world portrayed in social media and the constant social comparison in their day-to-day lives.
The Lowell April 2025 17
PARALYZED BY FEAR
BY JADA ZENG
The door slowly crept open in my pitch-black room, making a slight creaking noise, and I opened my eyes. I tried to get up to see who had opened my door, but I couldn’t move. No matter how hard I tried, my body refused to respond. My eyes darted around the room, scanning my surroundings, and then, in the corner of my eye, I saw it. Black ngertips gripped the edge of the slightly open door. Standing there was a tall, slender gure with no face. It had no eyes, yet I could feel it staring at me. Terror engulfed me. I tried to scream, but my mouth wouldn’t open. I shi ed my gaze toward the curtains. Behind them, the dark gure stood, its head peeking out. I slammed my eyes shut again. My heart pounded so loudly it felt as if the creature had ripped it from my chest and
my own mind trapping me in a never-ending cycle of paralysis and helplessness, with no way to escape. Every night, the possibility of reliving that horror lingered in the back of my head, making the thought of falling asleep feel more like a risk than a necessity.
Sleep paralysis is a phenomenon where a person is conscious but unable to move or speak while falling asleep or waking up. Although not physically threatening, sleep paralysis can be emotionally terrifying, o en involving su ocation sensations or hallucinations of shadowy gures, creatures, or intruders. While the exact cause is unknown, the National Library of Medicine states that sleep deprivation, irregular sleep schedules, stress, and mental health conditions such as anxiety or depression are all possible triggers.
to keep me awake, but no amount of it could shake the constant exhaustion weighing me down. My body felt heavy, my mind sluggish, and focusing in class became nearly impossible. At night, I played music when falling asleep, hoping to distract myself from the fear of paralysis, but it only made things worse. e sounds blended into my dreams, distorting my reality, and when sleep paralysis hit, I couldn’t tell what was real and what wasn’t. e more I feared it, the more it happened, trapping me in a vicious cycle of sleepless nights and exhausted days. As the second semester of sophomore year began, I made a commitment to change, to take control of my habits, my health, and ultimately, my sleep. It wasn’t easy at rst. e fear of paralysis still lingered, and some
I
FEARED
MY OWN
MIND TRAPPING ME IN A NEVERENDING CYCLE OF PARALYSIS AND HELPLESSNESS, WITH
NO
WAY TO ESCAPE.
placed it right next to my ear. I tried to control my breathing, but I was too frightened to breathe. My body was frozen, yet my mind was screaming. I forced my eyes open, and there it was. e faceless gure loomed inches from my face, sitting on my chest, su ocating me. It felt like the air, and my life, was being sucked out of my body. I shot up, gasping for air with tears rolling down my face, my heart pounding so hard it felt like it might burst from my chest. is experience right before my freshman year was my rst encounter with sleep paralysis, and the start of many nights lled with constant dread before nally falling asleep. Desperate for answers, I spent days researching everything I could about sleep paralysis, from the causes to possible ways of preventing it. I didn’t fear the darkness or the silence of my room. I feared
ese factors were prevalent during my freshman year, leading to recurrent episodes of sleep paralysis that became a source of misery. At rst, it was an occasional event, something that happened once in a while, but as the school year progressed and my workload increased, my lack of sleep and resulting exhaustion took a toll on me. By the middle of the year, the episodes became more frequent. It no longer happened just once, but multiple times a night. I found myself dreading sleep, afraid that at any moment, I’d wake up frozen, trapped in my own body with creatures lurking in the corners of my room. Sleep paralysis slowly took control of my life, turning my days into a blur of exhaustion and my nights into a battleground of fear. At school, I was like a walking corpse. Without enough sleep each night, I relied on ca eine
nights it crept back, leaving me hopeless. But I kept pushing. I built healthier routines, stopped procrastinating, and prioritized rest. I cut out ca eine, stopped listening to music at night, and gradually, my sleep paralysis faded away. When I did get it, I slowly learned over time that staying calm, focusing on breathing, and moving a small muscle could help me escape sleep paralysis. e terrifying nights that once le me feeling trapped and helpless disappeared as I regained control over my body and mind. Change didn’t happen overnight, but small, consistent e orts transformed my sleep, my focus, and my overall mindset. As the sun rose, the shadowy gure that once loomed over me faded into the light — proof that fear only lingers in the darkness, and I had nally stepped into the day.
BALLOONERISM
BY AUDREY BROGNO
“Iwonder, what does death feel like?” confesses Mac Miller in “Rick’s Piano,” the 13th track on his second posthumous studio album, Balloonerism. From beyond the grave, Miller reminds us of the di culties of the human experience: pain, confusion, and su ering. ough it may seem dark, he challenges us to consider how we bear this burden. His music doesn’t just dwell in sorrow, however, it prompts introspection. Rather than simply expressing pain, Miller’s work explores how we navigate it, cope with it, and nd meaning in it. is un inching exploration of Miller’s struggles can be particularly powerful for listeners who feel alone in facing similar challenging circumstances.
ment from reality, almost like a hazy memory that no longer feels real. Whether the listener perceives it as nostalgia or regret, the way the song was produced provides the impression of a memory being reshaped.
Mac Miller, a beloved rapper, musician, and artist, le a lasting mark on the music industry with his lyrics and an alternative hip-hop and jazz-blending sound unlike any other. roughout his career, he was open about his struggles with depression and substance abuse, using his music as an outlet to express his pain, emotions, and personal battles. A er a relapse in 2018, he died from an accidental drug overdose at the age of 26. Even before his untimely death, Miller seemed well aware of his struggles, and referenced his eventual fate on albums like Faces and Balloonerism. Balloonerism was recorded in 2014, nestled between two of Miller’s most musically diverse pieces, Watching Movies With the Sound O and Faces ese albums marked a signi cant change in Miller’s artistic approach, signaling the transition from a carefree rapper known for his feel-good anthems to an artist unafraid to explore the complexities of his mind. On Balloonerism, Miller revealed the weight of his heart and soul, weaving a deeply personal narrative that wrestled with themes of death, drug addiction, and depression. Each track feels like a window into his personal struggles, o ering listeners an un ltered look at the emotional turmoil that shaped his thoughts. Tragic as they o en were, his sentiments were incredibly honest.
Compared to his earlier albums, the di erence between moods and lyrics in his music is particularly evident in Balloonerism. Most songs on the album are built around piano, bass, drums and Miller’s vocals, with the so beats preserving an element of lightness even through the dark lyrics. On the song “Shangri-La,” Miller raps in a low-pitched voice, “If I’m dyin’ young, promise you’ll smile at my funeral.” e song’s free- owing, unpatterned background drums, oating synths, and ethereal instrumentals create a sense of detach-
Miller’s existential curiosity about death seems to loom over the album. It’s impossible to listen to lyrics like “God is like the school bell, He gon’ tell you when your time is up” without getting a lump in your throat, given Miller’s eventual fate. His tragic passing adds a layer of heartache with every note, and this unintended posthumous lens makes the music even more vulnerable. What was intended as a raw, artistic exploration of existential thoughts now feels almost predictive of the artist’s fate, transforming the album into a bittersweet farewell.
Balloonerism is more than just a collection of songs, but rather, a piece of his untold story — one that speaks to the pain of addiction and the challenges of navigating fame while struggling with substance abuse. “Okay, I went to sleep famous and I woke up invisible/Rich as fuck and miserable,” Miller sings on “Do You Have A Destination?” ese lyrics capture the contrast between external success and internal emptiness, re ecting the emotional toll that his sudden stardom took on him. On “Mrs. Deborah Downer”, Miller re ects on the di culty of quitting his drug use and resisting a relapse, as well as nding social connection while struggling with addiction, saying, “Started smokin’ weed again, started tryna read again,” and, “Clean myself up, now would you be my friend?” In his lyrics, Miller expresses his deep internal struggles: wanting to quit yet falling back into old habits, and yearning for social support and acceptance despite his addiction. e release of Balloonerism adds to Miller’s legacy by providing fans with a deeper connection to his personal struggles and resilience. It stands as a strong reminder of the many things he faced both in his career and his mental health, and the everlasting impact of his music. e album serves as both a celebration of his artistry and a re ection of his evolution, o ering listeners an intimate look at his creative process during a di cult time in his personal life. Balloonerism honors Miller’s journey by ensuring that his voice continues to resonate, inspiring re ection in longtime fans and new listeners alike.
SATIRE/HOT TAKE TAKING A GANDER AT LOWELL’S GEESE
Ahh, nally! Once again, spring has arrived in San Francisco. At Lowell, the season is marked by vibrant yellow owers speckling the campus, the smell of pollen dri ing through the air, and the lush green lawn covered in dandelions, bees, and…goose poop? Who could have le such a pungent mark on Lowell’s campus? Well, I’m here with one of our local geese, Ryan Gosling, who has nally returned to our lawn a er his long winter migration. Ryan, tell us, what is it like being a goose at Lowell?
Hey Stella, thanks a lot for having me. Before I begin, let me just say how much I appreciate this interview. I mean, me and my ock are constantly tortured by Lowell students.
Constantly tortured? Whatever do you mean?
Pardon my honkish, but they’re ducking animals! Your classmates love to chase us around the eld while we’re grazing! I’m getting goosebumps just thinking about it…well, joke’s on them! I poop on that lawn. I poop on that lawn a lot. Do you know how much ber is in grass? Too much. at eld is more poop than plant, and your buddies are getting my goose juice all over their fancy-pantsy human shoes.
Geese – uh, I’m sorry, geez! Sounds like you’ve got a lot of pent-up rage towards Lowell students, Ryan.
Oh, it’s more than rage. I’m sick and tired of these nerds running us around. You humans are fowl creatures! Constantly littering on our leafy green breakfast, mocking our language with your dis-goose-ting impressions of our honks. And it’s not just you awkward teens! Last week, as I was taking my
ANKLES OUT, CAPRIS IN
IBY STELLA SCHULTE
morning stroll through the dewy grass, a middle-aged man attempted to run me over with his golf cart! If only I had some dang opposable thumbs! en YOU’D be the ones running for your lives, while my goosey booty was plopped behind the wheel! But just you wait, I’ve got something sinister up my tail feathers — literally. While you Lowell students are stuck in hallway tra c, me and my ock are out on the lawn, plotting our revenge. Tell me, feeble-minded interviewer, when are the students and sta of your lowly school all gathered outdoors, at once?
Hmm — the rallies?
Exactly. Let’s just say the cardinals won’t be the only birds attending.…
Geesh – oh shoot, not again – I mean, yeesh! Well, there you have it, Lowellites: the geese are bloodthirsty poop machines out to get us. It’s far too late to make amends; their tiny brains can’t be reasoned with! Remember: wear hard hats when outdoors this spring to protect yourself from their fowl play.
BY AMÁLIE CIMALA
magine this: it’s a delightfully warm spring day in San Francisco. At 8 a.m., you frantically dig through your closet, trying to decide what to wear to school. Jeans or jorts? What if you didn’t have to decide, because there was a third and winning contender: capri pants? Originally popular in the 1990s and 2000s, capris, or pants cropped above the ankle, are mak ing a comeback, and they should be here to stay. Perfect for spring weather and any Lowellite’s ward robe, these fashionable slacks are a gi from God. We are no longer in the Victorian era, and I believe that the ladies should have their ankles on display during this spring season. Don’t have your legs sweltering in jeans, or overly revealed and breezy in shorts, when the happy medium of capris is at your disposal! It may be the talk of the Lowell halls that capris aren’t cool, and I get it. Your aunt probably wears them. But guess what, your aunt is cool — or at least her ankles, and chic ability to dress for the weather, are.
With the return of the Y2K style — early 2000s fashion with a modern twist — the exciting revival of capris should come as no surprise. Lowellites o en sport capris of some degree, perhaps unintentionally, with their beloved Adidas track pants that o er a convenient zipper at the ankle. However, I believe that our student population is capable of more fashionable choices than Adidas track pants. Why not try something new? It’s time to commit to the capri, instead of sporting a half-zip. If you never commit to change, growth is impossible, so start that change by wearing capri pants. Additionally, capri pants are just fun! Why wouldn’t you want a wonderful mid-length pant accompanied by a bedazzled butter y embroidered on your behind? All of this goodness — o ered by the convenience of the capri pants — while being comfortable and free from your leg sweat during the warmth of April. Ditch your boring spring outerwear and rock those ca-
SPRING HAS SPRUNG
. Castro crosswalks
. Caterpillar transformation
. April restlessness
. Golden Gate Park spot for a spot
. Visible when Karl’s gone
. Union Square’s Dutch fowers
. April ____!
. Flowering zig-zag road
. Newborn bird
Down
. Japantown’s ____ ____ Festival
. April showers bring ____
. Bud’s debut
. Where the bison roam
. Punxsutawney Phil
. Home to
. Marks the start of spring
. Eco day in April
. Very hoppy holiday
. Reason for sneezin’
Come by room S107 with your correctly completed crossword to get a baked good during blocks 4 and 5! First come, frst serve for each block!
Would you
