November 2013 Piling Up the Pressure

MARQUEE THE

Volume 28 | Issue 2 | Nov. 8, 2013 | mhsmarquee.com

the

Piling up pressure MARCUS HIGH SCHOOL | 5707 MORRISS ROAD. FLOWER MOUND, TX 75028

]3]

Gay Straight Alliance promotes tolerance, acts as support group

]14]

The Marquee examines recent Britsh pop culture’s effect on teens

]12]

Junior combines religion and creativity into fashion sense

Table of Contents

cover photo Luisa Diaz

The Marquee [newsmagazine] Editor in Chief Marisa Charpentier

Managing Editor Amanda Collen

Design Editor Hailey Painter

News & Feature Editor Madison Ermenio

Asst. News & Feature Editor Miranda Chiechi

In-depth Editor photo Miranda Chiechi

Feature

Marisa Charpentier

Entertainment Editor Anna Middleton

Opinion Editor Madi Schwem

[13] HATCHING HOBBY Junior transforms love for ball pythons into snake breeding job.

Sports Editor Austin Rickerson

Graphics Editor Sydney Sund

story Alex Helm

Photo Editor Kady Kohankie

Business Manager

News

Hailey Painter

[4-5] POLITICAL UPDATE Students react to government shutdown and Obamacare.

Social Media Editors

Patricia Qualls, Samantha King, Sydney Sund

Online Editors

Alyssa Schmidt, Ben Horton

Reporters

story Megan O’Hearn and Patricia Qualls

Jaime Hardison, Victoria Price, Adam Hernandez, Allie Loder, Molly Webber, Megan O’Hearn, Alex Helm, Rachel Ramirez GameStop corporation

Entertainment

[15] GAME TIME The Marquee discusses upcoming video games and recent releases.

Designers

Tori Allmendinger, Jacqueline Higgins, Lyndsay Hilton, William Legrone

Photographers

Luisa Diaz, William Legrone, Jaqueline Higgins

Adviser

story Madi Schwem and Adam Hernandez

LaJuana Hale

Principal

Gary Shafferman

Sports

[6-7] YOUNG PRODIGIES Underclassmen

athletes work their way into varsity positions. story Allie Loder, Jaime Hardison, Victoria Price and Molly Webber

The Marquee newsmagazine is a student-generated publication of Marcus High School. It is produced, edited and maintained through the efforts of the school’s advanced journalism class.

The Marquee is designed to serve the school and community as a forum for open discussion and student expression.

The Marquee encourages letters to the editor as part of its mission to educate, inform and provide an open forum for debate.

All submissions must be signed. The staff reserves the right to edit all material. Editorials reflect the opinion of the staff, not necessarily that of the administration. Signed columns or reviews represent only the opinion of the author.

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The Marquee is a standing member of ILPC, TAJE, ATPI, CSPA, NSPA, JEA and Quill and Scroll.

NEWS 3

Source of strength Students seek support through new club story Samantha King To teach unity and tolerance. To discuss adolescent issues in order to make high school a more enjoyable experience. To raise awareness and advocate equal treatment of youth regardless of race, gender, creed or sexual orientation. To fight discrimination, harassment and violence in schools.

This is the mission statement of one of the school’s newest clubs, the Gay Straight Alliance (GSA). This club includes members who are of all sexual orientations.

Members use the club as a safe haven, a place to socialize or simply somewhere to sit in and listen.

Texas is considered a part of the “Bible Belt” - areas in the Southern and Midwestern parts where religious fundamentalism often leads to stricter, more traditional views regarding subjects such as same-sex marriage and abortion.

“You have to be a certain way, or you have to act a certain way,” GSA President senior Alexis Chacon said. “You have to read the Bible. You have to be Christian in the Bible Belt area.”

GSA covers topics such as gender identification, coming out stories and other issues facing its members. But one thing is clear: privacy is majorly important.

“We have a really big privacy clause in this group,” GSA Historian senior Molly Macke said. “Just by its very nature.”

Several of the group’s members believe that one of the largest misconceptions about the club is as simple as the

club’s name.

“It’s not just about the gay kids,” GSA Art Director senior Jo Rasinkangas said. “It’s about everyone, hence the ‘straight’ part, which is often overlooked.”

The group is an active club that is starting to participate in more activities. The group will be hosting its first “Clean-Up Marcus Day,” an activity devoted to cleaning up trash around the school, on Nov. 12. Students interested can report to W128 at 3:45 on that date to participate.

Members were also invited to partake in the recent Alan Ross Texas Freedom Parade on Sept.

15, a parade that encourages and supports gay rights.

According to Rasinkangas, the school needs a club like this.

“It’s kind of that [we’re saying] ‘hey, we’re here, we’ve been through this, we know what’s going on and this is a safe place for it,’” Rasinkangas said. “You’re not alone.”

*** The GSA officers gather in English teacher Stephanie Chegwidden’s room to discuss the agenda for the day. They laugh and greet each

other, smiles abound. A couple of officers were unable to make it, but the group quickly moves through their checklist. They discuss possibilities for possible spirit days and talk about the success of their booth at the Homecoming Carnival.

Then they move on to what should be covered at the next official meeting. How to deal with bullies is pitched, along with coming out stories and the fact that some parents will not allow their students to join the club.

The members realize that some people will never agree with the club and its premise.

They show some disappointment to hear this, but finally settle on a topic for next week’s discussion: Sharing Your Story.

“I think that there are three kinds of people,” Macke said. “There are people who accept it, there are people who don’t, and people in the middle. But I think those people in the middle could be convinced, which is why I think clubs like this are good.”

GSA meets every other Thursday and the next meeting is Nov. 21. Students are encouraged to attend the after school meeting in W128, where they will receive the permission form necessary for admittance.

District opens up dress code poll, debates rules story Jaime Hardison On Oct. 22, the district sent out a survey to parents of all LISD schools to gauge opinions on each schools’ current dress code. The district plans to use the survey to create a more unified code.

“The dress code survey is really to see how the different schools compare,” Assistant Principal Dorrie Loughborough said.

The dress code at the school became less strict this school year, but other schools do not follow the exact same guidelines. According to Asistant Principal Rusty Hamric, LISD wants to even out the dress codes throughout the schools.

The survey included questions regarding specific aspects of the dress code such as piercings, skirt length and hair color. According to junior Mary Kate Tankard, these restrictions are not necessary.

“Saying that you’re out of dress code because your skirt needs to be four inches exactly doesn’t change how you dress in the real world,” Tankard said.

Loughborough said that more students are taking advantage of these changes this year due to the leniency of the guidelines.

“I think students are used to the dress code,” Loughborough said. “They are testing the waters.”

The current dress code states that all shorts, dresses, and skirts must be fingertip length. Any profane or obThe Marquee Nov. 8, 2013

scene clothing is prohibited, as well as distracting hair color and piercings. However, some teachers feel that most of the boundaries are not needed.

“I think we make a pretty big deal out of [the dress code],” Consumer Science teacher Karen Dyer said. “I think teenagers want to do what they’re told not to do.”

Loughborough said that while some clothing items should be acceptable, others should not.

“Personally things like the small nose rings don’t really bother me that much,” Loughborough said. “But for shorts, we need to re-look at the length of shorts.”

These shorts include Nike shorts, a popular style that drifts through the halls of the school. Many students participate in this trend but sometimes find themselves out of dress code.

“If [the shorts] are right below your butt, I understand, but some of [the shorts rules] are not really necessary to have,” senior Sydney Armstrong said.

Controversy with these shorts matches that of natural hair color, cleavage and skirt length. The survey brought up many of these points, asking whether or not these aspects were important guidelines or not. For Tankard, some of these rules are not as important as others.

“If I want to put some blue in my hair, I think I should be able to do that,” Tankard said. “I mean, you obviously should not wear short denim shorts to school though.”

Although decisions have not been made and no changes are final, Loughborough said that she thinks they should

go into effect soon.

“I think we need to make some changes,” Loughborough said. “I think it’s time. We haven’t made huge changes lately, and I think there are some things that we do need to address.”

Take the Poll:

actual survey questions What is your opinion about the dress code guidelines at this school?

Too Strict

Too Lenient

Just Right

I Don’t Know

How often do the current student dress code guidelines at this school distract from teaching and learning?

Never

Sometimes

Rarely

Often

Always

I Don’t Know

design staff

4 NEWS

Marauder Musings What do you like or dislike about Obamacare? compiled Sydney Sund photos Luisa Diaz

Derek Brook, 11 “I don’t like that people are required [to do it]. It’s not an option. You have to do it, and the senators are allowed to opt out but no one else is.”

Sarah Dixon, 12 “I like how it tells businesses how they need to insure their employees, and I like how it makes hospitals affordable for the care they are giving.”

Michael Rowell, 9 “I don’t like how it doesn’t treat people in an equal way.”

design/graphics Sydney Sund

Healthcare debate at home

Civics students seek to create own healthcare legislation out for its people,” Campbell said.

Regulations are also in place that allow people under the Chairs pressed seat to seat. Tables pushed to the side. age of 26 to be covered through their parents’ insurance. As Representatives pushed to their limits. They grumbled, fussed the current generation enters college, those students will have and protested under their breaths as the party leaders spat out the opportunity to be covered. different interpretations of their proposed laws.

“You simply cannot be an efficient student while you have a While Congress argued over American healthcare reform full time job,” Worland said. “Especially with masters degrees last month, AP Civics students debated their own healthcare becoming much more important.” proposals.

With students being able to stay under their parents’ plan To help increase student interaction, AP Macroeconomics for almost three decades, there are fears that this could cause teacher Matthew Stoeberl and AP Government teacher Emily students to lack the independence needed to live on their own.

Worland combine their classes on Wednesdays to form a “People lack incentive to get a job so that they can get mock Congress. These Civics students are split into a House of healthcare because they’re parents will pay for them,” senior Representatives and a Senate to create Cecily Oleksiak said. “It’ll be their own reform bills. Similar to the harder for them to transition to actual House and Senate, they didn’t becoming more independent.” always agree.

Currently, Americans can opt “If we as young people don’t “In class, the Senate wanted out of buying health insurance by become active and vote, politicians the bill to have universal coverage, paying taxes. The taxes start at whereas the House wanted it to be a $95 a year per uninsured person are going to continue to not care complete reconstruction of private and go to $695. Originally, the about their constituents and only insurance,” Worland said. “It was was idea might have been that these very conflictual, much like an actual care about their re-election.” taxes would persuade people to Democratic and Republican conflict.” buy into Obamacare. However, After researching, listening to expert Emily Worland, Government some believe that these taxes testimonies and debating for many aren’t high enough to influence weeks, the classes voted on their drafted most Americans. bill. However, not everyone’s ideas were included.

“Honestly, the taxes they have to pay if they don’t join are “There’s no public form of universal health insurance and not high enough to keep people who are perfectly healthy from that’s something I would like to have seen,” senior Meghan paying it and not joining the insurance pool,” Oleksiak said.

Campbell said. “We’re the only first world country that doesn’t During research, students found evidence that having a have it for their people and that’s kind of sad.” highly insured population negatively affects quality of care.

Although these students’ bills won’t directly affect the “More people are trying to get coverage and there’s not nation, the current bill, The Affordable Care Act, will. This enough doctors to accept them,” Oleksiak said. “With the act, popularly called Obamacare, currently has over 11 current bill, many doctors are ceasing to see new patients and million words and more than 10 thousand pages. The size it’s harder to find new doctors. It’ll keep people from getting alone discourages some from doing research, but the lack of care because the waiting list will be so long.” research can contribute to misconceptions.

One of the One of the more controversial aspects of the bill largest misconceptions is that Obamacare includes universal revolves around the cost. With the United States’ healthcare. increasing deficit, concerns have risen that it may “Misconceptions negatively affect people’s perception of push the U.S. past the debt ceiling. This fear has the bill because ‘universal’ is seen as collectivism, and created a large backing for private insurance obviously the United States is built on individualism,” reform, with minimal regulations.

Worland said.

“Private sectors almost always are The original bill contained a section to set up more efficient than government-run universal healthcare. However, due to opposition programs and there’s not enough room and lack of public support, it is no longer included. in our current budget,” Oleksiak said.

Obamacare now proposes a “They’re more driven by profits, which is Medicaid expansion and the great incentive of our world whereas the relaxes requirements to buy government will be paid no matter what. We private insurance. need to allow that system to flourish.”

“I think the best way While the AP Civics congressional to look at Obamacare and simulation has encouraged some to truly understand it is students to become informed to understand that it’s a about healthcare and politics, regulation piece,” Worland not all students are as said. “The government has knowledgable. manipulated the marketplace “Since we don’t vote right for people who never could have now and most of us are on had it before to ensure our parents [health] plan, that they do.” it’s not really important to people The Affordable Care right now,” Oleksiak said.

Act regulates the current According to Worland, it is crucial that healthcare system and stops younger generations become politically informed private insurance from denying and active. coverage to people. This help “If we as young people don’t become active and vote, those who could afford healthcare politicians are going to continue to not care about their but didn’t have the opportunity due constituents and only care about their re-election,” to pre-existing conditions.

Worland said. “We can change that. We really can if we just “It’s just the United States looking pay attention.”

The Marquee Nov. 8, 2013 story Patricia Qualls

NEWS 5

Students, teachers react to impact of government shutdown the government telling the government we’re maxed out, we can’t borrow anymore.”

The government shutdown was just 16 days. For some The government shutdown ended, but the crisis may not students, it was 16 days when the news was actually interesting. be over. Although Congress raised the debt ceiling in order For others, it was 16 days when the discussion in history and to end the shutdown and stop the U.S. from going into government classes switched to present tense. But for senior, financial default, it appears to be a temporary bandage on Rachel Cole, it was 16 days her family went without their main a gaping wound. source of income.

The debt cushion now extends through Feb. 7 of “My dad works for the government, so as soon as the next year while current spending levels are authorized shutdown hit, he wasn’t getting through Jan. 15, giving Congress paid,” Cole said. “But he still had more, but little more, time to to work, and it was really hard decide on a federal budget.

“My dad works for the government, because he is a boss, so he had to This shutdown occurred after motivate his team to work when Congress could not come to an so as soon as the shutdown hit, he they weren’t even getting paid.” agreement on a federal budget wasn’t getting paid. But he still had The shutdown did not have for the fiscal year. The Republicans of the a huge impact on her family’s House insisted that defunding, delaying to work, and it was really hard...” lifestyle. But because the family or otherwise altering Obamacare must has four kids with one in private be part of any final deal, which was school and all in extracurricular continuously denied by the Democratic activities, it began to add up. controlled Senate.

“At first I wasn’t worried, but “The Republicans have not been then the days kept coming,” Cole said. “The longest shutdown happy with the Affordable Care Act at all, and this is their has been 21 days, and there’s no way we could go a month.” way to try to get it out of legislation or from making it law,” Cole and her family initially did not know whether or not Stoeberl said. “And so they tried to control the money to the government was going to pay back her dad for the days basically blackmail the president and the Senate into delaying he worked during the shutdown. However, the Congressional the Affordable Care Act.” agreement that ended the shutdown also offered compensation Though the new bill put into legislation gives the spending to furloughed federal workers. This paid back the people who and debating room that Congress needed, it does not were without income during those days, including Cole’s dad. address these complicated issues that divide Democrats and Because it affected her family directly, Cole understands Republicans. Since the disagreements were not resolved, it what a government shutdown really means. However, not all is likely that Congress will be back here in January, debating students are as knowledgable. According to World History the same issues. Kelly said he believes the bickering over teacher Ty Kelly, the majority of students are politically government spending is nowhere near from over. apathetic and unaware of the current state of the government.

“They are going to continue to bark at each other while “I think Marcus students are very aware of their prestige the red camera light is on, and while it’s off, they are going levels on Modern Warfare III,” Kelly said. “I am confident that to congratulate each other about how they are leading us they are very aware of who won the Marcus-Lewisville football into a false sense of security that things are okay,” Kelly said. game. But I am unaware of the degree of political savvy and “While all the while, the dollar signs continue to rack up on the awareness that our students actually display on a daily basis.” negative side of the ledger.”

Although the government shutdown has been a widely The government shutdown was a hard hit on the U.S., discussed topic in the past few weeks, not everyone knows what costing the economy $24 billion. However, this is a small it really entails. According to Economics teacher, Matthew margin compared to the record high national debt, which Stoeberl, a shutdown basically means that the government has increased an average of $2.58 billion per day since Sept. stops all spending of federal money and payment of their bills. 30, 2012. Kelly said he believes that the poor economy and “It’s kind of like a credit limit - the credit card says you’re insensibility of spending have and will continue to be a major maxed out,” Stoeberl said. “The debt ceiling is kind of like issue in the government. story Megan O’Hearn

Rachel Cole, 12

Road to shutdown August 20 Eighty House Republicans write a letter to Speaker John Boehner, urging him to affirmatively defund Obamacare.

The Marquee Nov. 8, 2013

“It’s ironic how we are required to pay our mortgage and pay our taxes on time, and if we don’t we get threatened to go to jail, but yet they can have an unlimited credit card limit with no repercussions,” Kelly said. “They live in a suspended fantasy world which will ultimately come crashing down.”

Who is Ted Cruz?

Ted Cruz is a Republican Senator for Texas. He led a 21 hour filibuster - a long, constant speech designed to stall the movement of a bill - which resulted in a budget debate in the Republican-led House of Representatives. This caused the House and the Senate to be in disagreement. They still had not reached a budget agreement by Oct. 1, the beginning of the government’s fiscal year, resulting in the government shutdown.

compiled Sydney Sund

September 20 House Republicans approve anti-Obamacare legislation that would keep the government open until mid-December, although Obama said he would veto any such legislation.

September 24 Ted Cruz speaks for 21 hours on the Senate floor to protest Obamacare, sparking protest and stalling passage of the bill.

September 30 Senate rejects House healthcare provisions and curbing of health care laws. Session ends with an undecided budget.

October 1 Government shutdown officially begins since the House and Senate couldn’t agree on a budget the previous day.

design/graphics Sydney Sund

6 SPORTS

MVP: Marcus Victorious Prodigies Alex Clouse, 9

Alec Blair, 10

It’s the first day of high school for freshman Alex Clouse.

He struggles to make it through the overcrowded W hall, trying to find his way to class. But when fourth period finally hits, he knows where he is going: Varsity Golf with Coach Gabel.

As a freshman, he had made the varsity team.

Clouse says that what attracted him to the game of golf was the individual play. He enjoys being able to improve at his own pace and work toward his goal: PGA Tours. This attitude was exactly what golf coach Kerry Gabel was looking for in tryouts.

“I look for kids who play the sport competitively, not just recreationally,” Gabel said.

Outside of school, Clouse has qualified for the third year in a row to compete at the national level in North Carolina.

He was ranked 10 out of a total of 120 players in the U.S. Kids World Championships.

He practices on average about 15 to 20 hours a week with the school team and at his individual practices at Cowboys Golf Club.

“He’s brought a lot of experience to the team, as well as maturity,” Gabel said. “The other guys are feeding off of that.”

Even though golf is an individual sport, the entire team helps each other out by encouraging one another.

“They’re pushing me, and at the same time, I’m pushing them to get better,” Clouse said.

The team is comprised of juniors and seniors, but Clouse said they don’t make him feel like the odd one out. They welcome him by yelling his name when he walks into class late, asking him how he’s doing in rounds and cheering him on.

By surrounding himself with golf and making the varsity team, Clouse’s skills have grown since the time he used little Snoopy golf clubs just nine years ago.

“Now I get to show people really what I can do,” Clouse said.

Sophomore Alec Blair arrives at school at 6:30 a.m. and goes straight to the locker room, just as he does every morning.

He heads down to the track to start his morning workout for cross country. He’s tired but does it anyway. As the only underclassman on varsity, he has more to prove.

“At first, being the only underclassman made me nervous, but I have to represent,” Alec said. “I’m proud now.”

Alec began his racing journey in seventh grade. After watching his older sister, senior Emma Blair, run in one of her meets, he decided he wanted to try.

“At my first meet ever, I got second place,” Alec said. “I decided this might work for me.”

In high school, his winning streak only continued. Last year, he was ranked fourth in the state for freshmen. This year, he is ranked seventh for sophomores. The top seven runners of the school’s team at each weekly meet make up varsity, and Alec has beaten out upperclassmen at every meet this year to land a spot.

According to Alec, the older boys on the team are like his brothers. Regardless of age, cross country still requires strict running schedules and strenuous practices. As a freshman, Alec was averaging 40 miles a week. Now as a sophomore, he’s up to 60 miles.

Through the experience of running and waking up at the crack of dawn together, Alec and his sister’s bond has grown stronger. When the girls and boys teams run as a group, Alec and Emma try to stay together and run at the same pace.

Before meets, they say a prayer and wish each other luck.

“I get nervous before I run, but I get twice as nervous when he’s about to run,” Emma said. “I freak out because I want him to do well.”

During the difficult runs, Alec will consider quitting, but then he remembers the common goal of the team: to get to state. Alec said the hard work pays off in the end when he’s running the last 200 meters of a race.

“You’re coming in the final sprint, and everyone is screaming for you, and you are just flying down,” Alec said.

“It’s a great feeling.”

story Victoria Price

story Molly Webber

design Tori Allmendinger

Chase McDaniel, 9 story Jaime Hardison The ball hits the racket with a thwack that echoes around the court. It flies over the net, where the action is reciprocated by the opposing player. Feet move along the court, anticipating the next play. Hearts pound fast, and sweat drips from the players’ foreheads. Another point is scored.

As the match is called to a close, the winner, freshman Chase McDaniel gears up for the next match. He puts his headphones in his ears and blasts the music.

“I’m pumped right before I’m about to play,” McDaniel said. “But I try and get serious right before a match.”

As a freshman, McDaniel made the varsity team and found that he was the only ninth grader in the group.

At age 10, McDaniel competed in his first tournament and took home first place. He knew he was in for more of these moments when he earned a spot on the varsity team.

“I knew of the talent [Chase] had and I knew how good he was,” tennis coach Kelly Langdon said.

This talent allowed McDaniel to climb the rankings on the team, which included exceeding the talent of some seniors.

McDaniel has also realized that he can make friends among the varsity players. The upperclassmen welcomed him into the group.

“He’s a good addition to the team,” junior Sebastian Langdon said. “Even though he’s young, he will get better as he progresses. I try to help him along because he’s a freshman, but he’s good.”

The group acts as a source of encouragement to McDaniel.

With this acceptance comes an incentive for McDaniel to try even harder. However, some matches prove to be nerveracking for McDaniel. At a recent tournament, he was scheduled to face a student from the number one ranked team in the state.

“At first, I was terrified,” McDaniel said. “But I knew I had to go out there and try my hardest, and I pulled it out in the end and won.”

McDaniel knows that in order to excel, he must have passion for the game.

“I play tennis for the thrill of the sport,” McDaniel said.

“Yes, it has its good and bad sides, but it always ends up turning out great.”

Nov. 8, 2013 The Marquee

SPORTS 7 Underclassmen are sometimes overlooked when it comes to sports. However, these freshmen and sophomores are breaking the stereotypes by making and even excelling on their respective varsity squads. photos Miranda Chiechi

Maddie Spear, 9

Payton Brown, 10

The afternoon sun beats down on her sunburned skin, and sweat drips from her face. Each step on the walk off the course is a new blow to her already aching feet. But none of that matters. The only thing on her mind is the worn-out scorecard that she’s clutching.

She smiles down at the circled 76 on the paper between her hands. Not only is that freshman golfer Maddie Spear’s personal best, but it’s also the score that has guaranteed her first place at her very first high school tournament.

“I felt exhilarated,” Spear said. “It boosted my confidence, and now I’m ready to play in varsity tournaments.”

While that may have been Spear’s first experience with a high school tournament, she’s no stranger to the sport itself.

“I really started when I was about 9 or 10, and I started playing some tournaments,” Spear said. “[But] I got really serious this summer.”

This history has Spear already vying for a varsity spot as a freshman. Spear is currently ranked fourth out of the girls, after three returning players, and played at the varsity level at her second tournament in October.

“She’s a very talented, athletic person,” golf coach Kerry Gabel said. “She’ll push herself and do well for the team.”

However, as one of only three freshmen girls in the midst of seasoned players, the competition is fierce. According to Spear, this competition with the older kids encourages her to to improve.

“It definitely makes me better because they’ve had more experience,” Spear said. “They’re better, so it makes me want to play better.”

As a freshman, Spear still has three more years to share her potential with the golf program.

“I have a lot of motivation,” Spear said. “I always want to push myself to do better and better.”

Her muscles feel tired and her bones ache. But she runs on.

A slight breeze hits her in the face. But she runs on. Her shoes slap the ground heavily with every step, pummeling the grass below. But she runs on.

Sophomore Payton Brown has never been familiar with giving up. It’s certainly not how she landed her spot on the varsity cross country team.

Brown earned her position on varsity during her freshman year. By sophomore year, she had climbed her way to third place, and she plans to stay there.

“It’s not exactly stressful to have to stay on varsity, just because I’m in third place,” Brown said. “It’s stressful to have to keep my spot to stay in third.”

With this level of involvement, dedication comes easily.

She soon meshed with the group and was supported by the team.

“The whole team cares about each other,” Brown said. “We try our best to help each other and stay positive before every meet. We talk about what we want to accomplish and how we want to accomplish it.”

Brown’s best friend, sophomore Maddy Reed plays a particularly special role in Brown’s support system. Before high school, the two were on a cross country club together for nearly two years and established a close friendship.

“I think Payton is the least nervous before a run,” Reed said. “She always seems like she’s the most calm before the races. Before the races, she’s positive about everything.”

As she crosses the finish line, her chest heaves. At some meets when people she normally beats place ahead of her, her heart sinks into her stomach. But, she knows one thing: dwelling on all she has done wrong will never allow her to better herself.

“I just always try to work on the good things that I do,” Brown said. “I learn to get over the bad things...and I think about how much harder I’ll work because of it.”

story Allie Loder

The Marquee Nov. 8, 2013

story Jaime Hardison

Sarah Warner, 9 story Allie Loder

It should be distracting. The murmur of the crowd, the thump of the tennis ball as it hits the ground, the squeak of tennis shoes scuffling across the court. It should cause her to lose focus, break her concentration, stress herself out. But for freshman Sarah Warner, it’s the opposite. For her, it’s a way to sharpen her mind.

Since she first picked up a tennis racket back in the fourth grade, Warner has used the sport to increase her concentration on both the tennis court and in everyday life. And as one of only three freshmen on the varsity team, Warner values the concentration it brings her.

“It’s a way for me to focus,” Warner said. “I have dyslexia and ADD and so it helps me learn how to deal with that.”

Her passion began at a tennis camp five years ago, where she arrived with her best friend and tennis racket in tow.

From then on, Warner spent numerous hours on the tennis court. Hours of volleying the tennis ball back and forth, running drills and taking lessons. Hours of practice that allowed her to make her way into one of the top six spots on the team when tennis tryouts were held this past summer.

“She immediately broke into the varsity lineup,” head tennis coach Kelly Langdon said. “Thus far, she’s had a number of wins, and she’s had a successful season.”

According to Langdon, the experience that Warner will gain from her time on varsity is not only beneficial right now but will continue to help her in the future.

“She’s already contributing as a freshman,” Langdon said.

“As people leave and she moves up and gets older, she’s going to have a ton of experience.”

According to team captain senior Nicole Wilson, Warner will continue to be an important part of the team in the future.

“I think she can go pretty far,” Wilson said. “I think that she’s going to be a strong leader on the team later.”

According to Warner, the prospect of being one of only three freshmen on the team in a sea of older kids was slightly nerve-racking at first.

“I guess there’s always that factor because they are older than you, and they’re above you in the lineup,” Warner said.

“But then you get used to it, and you get to know them so it gets easier.”

But while she’s on the court, none of that matters.

Her teammates, her stress and her worries fade into the background.

“Tennis takes a lot of mental concentration,” Warner said.

“You have to stay in the moment instead of looking ahead or looking in the past.”

design Tori Allmendinger

8 SPORTS

Spinal setback

Former cheerleader battles nerve damage, may forego dream job photo William Legrone

Senior Shayla Eaklor organizes paperwork at her volunteer job at Flower Mound Presbyterian Hospital. story Anna Middleton The cheerleaders could feel the cold air flowing into the Excite gymnasium. As they tumbled and flipped across the room, goose bumps formed on their legs. Although they were chilly, they kept up their spirit throughout practice by shouting their rehearsed cheers and keeping bright white smiles on their faces. Then a freshman, Shayla Eaklor stood watching the other girls, wondering how high she could get her back tuck. She wanted to show the rest of her squad what she was capable of doing.

When she felt ready, she started to rush across the spring floor. Once she felt she had enough momentum, she rotated and did a handspring. As she began to spin in midair, a panicked feeling swelled up inside her with each turn that came to pass. She feared the landing that was about to come.

“I got way too high,” Shayla said. “I continued rotating backwards and landed neck first on the spring floor.”

This fall created a shock that electrified her whole body.

She didn’t feel pain. She only felt numb. Her back collapsed on the ground. Then her head banged against the floor, but the banging didn’t stop there. She could hear each thump like it was a basketball dribbling on a court. One. Two. Three.

Four. Five. With each of these thuds she grew sleepier. After a moment of lying on the floor, Shayla stood up. She was sore from her neck down and knew that the next few days would be painful ones. But, she did not realize how painful the years to come would be.

*** This accident was the beginning of a new life for Shayla, now a senior. A life where even cheer, the very thing she loved to do, was painful. A life where some days she goes through so much pain that she has to convince herself to get up and go to school in the morning.

A few weeks later, when Shayla’s pain returned, her family took her to the Emergency Room. According to Shayla’s mother, Cherry Eaklor, even after multiple tests and a CAT scan, doctors were still not sure what was causing Shayla’s pain. She continued to participate in cheer, actively doing design / graphic William Legrone

cheer routines and competitions. rewire and fix them. Her tiny hands loved to solve puzzles.

“What really caused my damage was after the injury, I “I wanted to take things apart and put them back together, didn’t stop,” Shayla said. “I didn’t take another break so that and I was like, hey, I can do this with people,” Shayla said. “I my muscles could reform.” can help people.”

This pain continued to grow in her body as the months In an attempt to alleviate her pain and possibly stop her passed. It became agonizing to simply sit down on the sideline hands from cramping, Shayla has been to multiple sessions bleachers at games. Cheer wasn’t fun to her anymore. After of physical therapy. Having gone through everything from about a year and a half of constant spasms and jolts of pain chiropractic care to muscle stripping therapy, Shayla said that through her arms and legs, she finally quit cheer. nothing seems to help with her hand cramps or chronic back “It stinks because cheerleading was like my life,” Shayla pain. After seeing countless doctors, Shayla’s mother said that said. “It was one of the only things I felt that I was really good the reason why Shayla’s pain is so intense is still unknown at.” because of the complexities involved when dealing with nerve Shayla felt she had made the right decision for her health. damage.

However, she had cheered so long after injuring her neck and “I think that is the most frustrating part is knowing that back that she was left with nerve damage. she’s in pain and that there is something wrong, but nobody is One of the biggest results of her damage involved her able to tell us why,” Cherry said. hands. A month or two after the fall, her hands would lose Shayla does not want to get her hopes high, but she is control multiple times a week. At first, it didn’t happen very still pursuing her dream. Along often. Then, they would cramp at with working at a hospital, she random times and sometimes go plans to shadow surgeons and take completely numb. clinical classes. She plans to go to

*** “It stinks because cheerleading UT Southwestern for medical school The scorching curling iron was after getting a bachelor’s degree in was like my life. It was one of the wrapped around Shayla’s light brown biochemistry. only things I felt that I was really hair, a simple task she performed “She’s a pretty determined little most days. Then she suddenly felt a girl,” Cherry said. “I don’t think the good at.” cramp form in her hand. Her hand damage will keep her from achieving tightened more and more around her goals.” the handle of the iron. Shayla found She is not quick to give up, even if she had no control over her hand or she may face challenges on the way. the iron at all. The iron fell onto the “You can’t complain constantly side of her neck, burning her skin. and be all ‘woe is me,’” Shayla said. “That’s just not who I am.

She yanked her arm to move the iron away from her flesh. She I’m going to work through it and live with it.” winced from the heat, as if her skin had turned into an oven.

She looked into the mirror to see how bad the burn actually was. Bubbles formed across the spot where the iron had scorched her. It looked as if her skin was melting. She finally started to realize how much the damage would affect her life.

“It just changed my whole life,” Shayla said.

*** The numbness in Shayla’s unsteady hands, along with her other injuries caused by her nerve damage, have made simple tasks, like brushing or curling her own hair, very difficult. Not only is Shayla’s everyday life affected but her long term goals are as well. Her dream of becoming a pediatric surgeon has gone from possible to unrealistic.

“It’s not reasonable anymore for me to be a surgeon because I don’t know what kind of effects it is going to have later on,” Shayla said. “I don’t know if when I’m operating on someone, if I’ll have this random hand cramp that could cause me to do things I’d regret.”

For as long as Shayla can remember, she has wanted to be a surgeon. When she was 7 years old, she would take apart her father’s old computers so she could attempt to

Shayla Eaklor, 12

Nov. 8, 2013 The Marquee

IN-DEPTH 9

Regaining balance

Junior prioritizes extracurriculars due to stress-related health issues story Austin Rickerson She didn’t think it was anything serious. She was just dizzy.

Current junior Allie Glasgow sat down on the hardwood court, the bright lights shining on her from the rafters above.

The other Marquettes continued practicing their routine. Then a sophomore, Glasgow sat along the wall of the gym, as her dizziness quickly morphed itself into a throbbing headache.

Her brain felt like it was about to pop out of her ears.

She looked around, confused and dazed. A numbness engulfed the whole right side of her body. As she went to move her right arm, it refused to cooperate. She couldn’t feel it. She couldn’t move it. She couldn’t figure out what was going on.

After a minute, her teammates took notice of her. At first they hadn’t seen her sitting there twitching. Not only had she lost control of her muscles, she had also lost control of her mouth. She observed everything around her but couldn’t speak to her teammates, who frantically called for the nurse.

It was something serious. She wasn’t just dizzy. She was exhausted. Dehydrated.

“I was just in a helpless state,” Glasgow said. “I just didn’t know how to let them know what was going on, since I didn’t even know what was going on.”

Glasgow drifted in and out of consciousness for the rest of the day. She visited the school nurse’s office. The nurse checked her vitals, and her mom and stepdad, John Pontius, arrived to pick her up. From there it’s a void, blank space in Glasgow’s memory. The next period of consciousness wasn’t until she reached RapidMed, a local urgent care clinic. She was awake but still couldn’t talk. She could only helplessly look at her surroundings.

An ambulance took her to Lewisville Medical Center. It was all almost a dream, one that she didn’t wake up from until the next day, when she was at Children’s Medical Center in Dallas.

“I had all the words in my head,” Glasgow said. “But I didn’t know how to string together words to make sense. I was trying so hard to say what was going on, but at the same time I didn’t know what was going on.”

The next morning, the diagnosis came in from doctors.

Complex chronic migraines. A complex migraine is thought to result when the blood vessels in the brain contract, similarly to a stroke. Symptoms include weakness, loss of vision, and difficulty speaking in addition to the actual headache. Complex migraines can last hours or even days. Chronic means that they happen often. They usually start in teenage years and become more frequent as time passes.

Stress is strongly linked as a cause of migraines. Sometimes, however, it is a lapse or reduction in stress or anxiety levels

that can trigger that migraine. the season due to her complex migraine, she was able to finally But this wasn’t just a random event. This wasn’t the first perform during the fifth game of the season. time she had felt the stress build up to an uncontrollable level.

At the same time she was high-kicking her legs across the Many things had led up to her migraine. Marquettes. Art. I Am field with a beaming smile on her face, her proud parents Second club. AP World History. Involvement in her church. watched with some apprehension. They had seen Glasgow Her parents’ divorce. It was all just too much to handle. sparkle under the bright Friday night lights at Marauder “I had so much on my plate, and I just didn’t know how to Stadium. But they had also seen her overly stressed, suffering get it back to where it was something panic attacks and migraines. Pontius I could hold, something I could take said that being patient was the best care of,” Glasgow said. thing they could do, all while trying After the migraine at school, to parent well and figure out where to “There was so much anxiety building Glasgow was not able to dance for a draw the line. up inside of me that it would just month, to watch TV or to even use “We’re not going to let [her] hurt her phone. They could very easily [herself], but we don’t want to pull come out at random moments. There cause another migraine episode. the plug on something so important wasn’t a time when I wasn’t stressed She had to leave Marquette practice to her,” Pontius said. early, and even missed the first three At the end of her sophomore year, during that period in my life.” football games of the season. The Glasgow reflected on her first season best solution to her migraines would as a Marquette, the performances, be to get rid of her stressors. the trips, the friendships. But she also “It was kind of like a reality reflected on the stress and anxiety check,” Glasgow said. “It was like, my health is starting to that did and still encompassed her life. Ultimately Glasgow suffer because of all this stuff that’s going on in my life. I need decided she just didn’t have time in her life for Marquettes. to obviously step back and reevaluate the situation.”

She had only lived her dream for a year, yet it was now going She decided to drop AP World History. But her stress to end. didn’t go away. At night she would sometimes lay in bed, Although it was tough to leave Marquettes behind, Glasgow overwhelmed with anxiety. What might be a dark, peaceful said that she was able to get more involved with her church place to others became a breeding ground for panic attacks. after making more time for herself. She said she has started The stress may have been there all day, but it didn’t present thinking about her future and trying to plan for the long-term. itself until now. Almost asleep in her bed, reflecting on “I learned from that to be able to give myself portions and her day, everything began to pile up. The homework. The to not give myself too much,” Glasgow said. “I try to excel with Marquettes. The family troubles. The responsibilities at home the small things rather than have a bunch of different things, and at church. where I’m struggling to keep up with all of it.”

Tears rolled down her face as her stress and anxiety reached She has begun guiding other students, including a group of a breaking point. She struggled to breathe, her mind filling sixth grade girls on Sunday, as a part of her church leadership with all of the things she had to do. She didn’t know why she program. But her stress hasn’t vanished. Although she said she was crying. All she knew was that she felt so small, so alone. still deals with stress today, it is easier to manage it now because “There was so much anxiety building up inside of me that she approaches it from a different perspective. it would just come out at random moments,” Glasgow said.

“In that moment when you have a panic attack, you just feel “There wasn’t a time when I wasn’t stressed during that period so small,” Glasgow said. “You feel like you can’t do anything. in my life.”

You’re just being squeezed, so anything that I could do to *** encourage myself helps a lot.”

She had wanted to be a Marquette since she was a child, As she reprioritized her life, her migraines began to occur dreaming of performing under the Friday night lights. The less and less. Today her severe migraines no longer happen. white and red sparkling hats. The perfectly white boots. The When she’s feeling stressed now, she said she just relaxes, roar of the crowd after the halftime show. After being on believing that God won’t give her anything she can’t handle.

Silver Stars her freshman year, Glasgow made Marquettes her “I needed to be able to give up the good to make room for sophomore year. After missing the first four football games of the better,” Glasgow said.

Allie Glasgow, 11

photo Luisa Diaz The Marquee Nov. 8, 2013

design Amanda Collen

10 IN-DEPTH

A stressed-out generation

Long-term stress in teens leads to weakened immune system, psychological issues tend to experience strain as well. Not only do these students feel increased pressure to receive college scholarships, but Extracurriculars, clubs, jobs, sports, homework, pressure they also face more responsibilities. to get into college, relationships, family responsibilities - the “They have more of a responsibility to take care of their list goes on. Today’s teens are no strangers to pressure and family,” Carimi said. “Their parents work, so they have to busy schedules. In fact, young people generally experience take care of little siblings. Some people have to help out with more stress than older generations. According to an American money.”

Psychological Association survey, self-reported stress levels When stress piles up, teens often turn to a variety of have also increased from 10 to 30 percent in the past three different outlets, many of which threaten health. Gibson said decades, young people being among the most stressed-out. that stress can lead to eating disorders such as eating too little, “I think college and life after high school is much more eating too much or simply eating the wrong types of food in an competitive, so therefore, life in high school has become attempt to seek comfort. When counseling students, Gibson much more competitive,” Counselor Kristi Gibson said. said she can often trace unhealthy habits back to stress.

“Increasing expectations are more stressful, and because of “They come in, and they’re in tears,” Gibson said. “They’re that, students put a lot more pressure fighting with their families all on themselves.” the time. They’re cutting. They’re With all AP courses, soccer, a job having suicidal thoughts. There “Increasing expectations are more and honor societies to manage, senior are all kinds of things that present Kylie Carimi is all too familiar with themselves, but when I really stressful, and because of that, late-night studying. Some days, she talk to the kids, a good amount of students put a lot more pressure leaves her house at 7:30 a.m. and the time, it comes back to either doesn’t return until 9:30 p.m. When being stressed or overwhelmed or on themselves.” soccer season starts, she’ll have games Kristi Gibson, Counselor having unrealistic expectations in to add to the equation. themselves.”

“I put it on myself because I don’t Stress activates the brain’s “fight want to get bad grades or do badly in or flight” response. When in immediate danger, like a close soccer,” Carimi said. “And with the job, I want to have money encounter with another car, the body releases stress hormones for next year because I’m not going to have parents to help me forcing the body to respond with a fast heartbeat and tense all of the time.” muscles. When under prolonged stress, the stress response is However, teen stress is not restricted to school and continually activated, leading to more serious consequences work. About half of the marriages in the U.S. end in divorce. high blood pressure, psychological issues, anxiety, depression Teenagers in this situation and teens of single-parent homes and addiction. oftentimes feel increased pressure.

Stress also can cause hair loss and weakens the immune “Kids have to be more responsible, and sometimes they’re system. When one develops long-term stress, the immune forced to grow up sooner,” Gibson said. system can decline in effectiveness. Carimi said that she Other contributors to stress in teens are economic concerns. sometimes receives colds more often, and when staying up Even though the recession formally ended in 2009, many are late working on assignments, she can get headaches. still facing the effects. When parents lose their jobs or are not “I noticed if you don’t sleep as much, you get sick a lot making as much money as they had in previous years, teens easier,” Carmi said. “You wear yourself down to that point story Marisa Charpentier

Levels of stress

1 design/graphics Amanda Collen

Students share their stress levels and causes on a scale of one to three.

“It was pretty stressful because I had three core classes, but now that I have Senior-In, I have a lot more time to get stuff done.”

Alex Tindall, 12

2

compiled Molly Webber

where you can’t do anything anymore.”

According to Gibson, finding balance is key when trying to curb the effects of stress. While homework is important, she said participating in enjoyable activities is also necessary.

“They need to be plugged into the school in some kind of an outlet, doing something fun, whether it’s something they love or a sport – something that they can put their passion and heart into,” Gibson said.

For sophomore Parker Mitchell, that something is baseball.

As a student in all Pre-AP and AP classes, a member of Spanish Honor Society and Student Council and an involved church member, Mitchell describes his routine as busy. But because he enjoys activities like baseball and going to church, he’s been able to manage his stress.

“It’s not really stressful because most of the stuff, I like to do…” Mitchell said. “I feel like the stuff I’m involved in is making the best of my time. It’s worth it.”

Mitchell said he has taken rigorous courses and joined clubs that will help him get into colleges such as Stanford. He said the stress he does feel is self-applied.

“It’s not really a bad stress,” Mitchell said. “It just motivates me.”

Gibson also said a certain level of stress can be a motivating factor.

“Stress shows that you care,” Gibson said. “So if you are really passionate about [something] enough to the point that it is causing you some anxiety, you are likely to do well.”

To prevent stress from being taken too far, students should prioritize, according to Gibson. Sitting down with parents and discussing what activities are priorities can help eliminate certain pressures.

“Choose your top 10 or your top five that are incredibly important,” Gibson said. “Then the things that really are not a priority – it’s okay to let go of some of that.”

According to Carimi, students need to recognize their limits.

“Don’t try to take on more than you know you can handle,” Carimi said. “It’s good to strive for a lot and take on a lot, but at the same time, you don’t want to extend yourself too far.”

photos Luisa Diaz

“If I learn something that I can’t understand, then I get stressed, or if I have a test the next day.”

Victoria Page, 9

3

“School and AP classes, PSAT team. You get home, and then you have like five hours of homework, and then you have places to be, like church, sports and stuff like that.”

Marissa Dickson, 11

Nov. 8, 2013 The Marquee

IN-DEPTH 11

Relationships:

A study conducted by the University of South Carolina discovered that teen girls experience more relationshiprelated stress, such as depressive symptoms, than teen boys experience.

Effects of stress: compiled Alyssa Schmidt

Unmanaged stress can lead to physical and mental problems as well as behavioral issues that can have temporary and longterm side effects such as: depression and irritability headache and muscle tension lack of motivation chest pain panic attacks

Jobs:

drug, alcohol or tobacco abuse

Balancing the stress of school and work can cause teens to become overwhelmed because of time management and a lack of control in their schedule.

social withdrawal

Sports:

Stress caused from sports stems from time management when balancing school and sports and also arises anxiety from competition.

School:

Family:

Too much work and not enough down time could actually backfire in the future by increasing levels of depression and teaching students bad habits such as perfectionism.

Home-life stress like from divorce can cause poor academic performance and a lack of attendance in school.

Pressure breakdown

*Survey from 300 students compiled Victoria Price

What makes you the most stressed?

5%

The Marquee Nov. 8, 2013

62% 8% The Marquee Nov. 8, 2013

11%

?

14%

18% 31%

13% 38%

How many hours of homework do you have a night? less than 1 hour

How high is your level 5 stress 27% level? level 3

10%

1-2 hours 3-4 hours

level 1

39% level 4

Scan here to view an MOB story on how to relieve stress.

19% level 2

5%

4 or more hours design/graphics Amanda Collen

12 FEATURE

Dare to be different

Junior continues to pursue passions, break stereotypes story Madison Ermenio

Junior Nadia Hamdan poses in a high-low dress with skinny jeans. She has been interested in fashion and religion since she was a child.

She knows she’s different.

It’s a word she openly uses to describe herself.

After all, Coco Chanel said that in order to be irreplaceable, one must always be different.

Her typical outfit covers almost all of her skin head to toe - black jeggings under a black skirt embellished with florescent purple flowers, white Under Armour to cover her neck beneath a black, long sleeved v-neck, a metallic purple scarf with a gray flower clip, silver bangles on her wrist, a silver leaf necklace, her own head covering and shiny purple makeup to top it off.

“I don’t like blending in and feeling like part of the crowd,” junior Nadia Hamdan said. “I like the idea of standing out and people recognizing me.”

Nadia first began thinking about fashion at an elementary age.

Whenever she got a new Bratz doll, it wasn’t for playing, but for examining their outfits and their makeup. Ever since then, she’s dressed in trendy outfits along with her classmates. Most notably, she upholds modesty all the while.

“She was more modest than a lot of things,” her mother Sameera Hamdan said. “She was respectful in knowing how far she could go in [how] she dressed.”

She’s modest because she was born and raised in a Muslim household. Some of the basic practices that she follows are praying five times a day, and one that is more obvious to others: preserving her beauty for herself and her family.

This is why Muslim women typically wear a head covering, also known as a hijab, once they begin the transition from childhood to adulthood. Most women wear it when they go out in public but not in their own household.

A typical outfit in the Muslim culture may be a long garment that isn’t form fitting and only shows the face, feet and hands.

Nadia has always been interested in clothing, making for a unique combination of both her passions – religion and fashion. Her outfits are still fairly conservative, but at the same time, blend the American culture and the Muslim culture together.

“I think I probably have broken the stereotype,” Nadia said. “It’s not what people would expect or what they learn about in history class or see on the news. I don’t look anything like what I’m ‘supposed to look like.’”

Many of her outfits include a scarf - her signature accessory - and there are more than 50 of them in her closet. Her closet is also full of clothes from Macy’s, H&M, Nordstrom and Le Chateau in Canada, her favorite store that she orders from online. She even has some of the clothes she made last year in fashion design, like

sweatshirts and a leopard clutch with the detailed zipper that she loves so much.

“My philosophy has always been to dress every day like it’s a party,” Nadia said. “I’m so involved with the glitz and the glam and the beautiful clothing.”

Nadia said she agrees with the Muslim standards and has made the decision that being modest doesn’t mean not being stylish.

“Over time, I’ve figured out a way to cover modestly and keep it in style with fashions and trends,” Nadia said. “That’s what I became known for and that’s why people recognize me.”

Even though she gets compliments often, Nadia said she gets a lot of negative feedback as well.

She said that the cause of most of these comments stems from ignorance or a misunderstanding of the Muslim culture due to the way that Muslims are depicted in the news.

“I know how the news portrays us is completely wrong in every which way,” Nadia said. “I think it’s terrible because they have no idea who the real Muslims are and how nice this culture is and how peaceful we are.”

Sameera said the media is the most difficult aspect of living in a predominantly nonMuslim culture.

“We do not raise our children to hurt or kill people,” Sameera said.

“I want the same things for my kids that you do for yours.”

Among some of the negative remarks Nadia has received, one of her classmates questioned if she is related to Osama Bin Laden. The comment that shocked her the most happened in the sixth grade when she had just started wearing a head covering. She was walking in the cafeteria when another student pointed at her and called her out as a “terrorist” during lunch. She calmly explained that was not the case and that the comment had crossed the line between funny and disrespectful.

Although it was intended to be negative, it actually had the opposite effect. Nadia said that the occurrence didn’t discourage her from wearing the head covering, but actually motivated her.

“I was more determined to wear it, because I don’t let anybody put me down,” Nadia said. “I always look up and make the best of situations.”

Her self-expression is key to her identity and Sameera said that she likes Nadia’s her determination to stay true to herself.

“I think all teenagers, no matter what culture they’re from or how they grow up, have a right to express themselves,” Sameera said. “That’s a time of expression and finding yourself.”

Nadia has expressed herself through her pursuit of fashion design at school along with multiple other arts, including fashion design and Art 3 Drawing, and she plans to take Art 4 AP in the future. She hopes to attend the Savannah College of Art and Design to study fashion design or graphic design, preferably at their Hong Kong campus.

As for her loved ones, Nadia said that they are all supportive of her style and her plans to enter the field of fashion in the future.

“I’m proud of her because she holds on to her faith,” Sameera said. “A lot of people try to blend in, and to me that shows weakness because I think you should be proud of what you are, whether it’s a Muslim or a Jew or a Christian.”

Nadia said that her confidence comes from simply finding herself.

“Be confident in who you are no matter what,” Nadia said. “Be the person you want to be and don’t let anybody tell you otherwise.”

photos William Legrone design Lyndsay Hilton

Nov. 8, 2013 The Marquee

FEATURE 13

Junior collects snakes, breeds them for profit story Alex Helm Junior Angela Hoffman has a thing for snakes.

It all started two summers ago when her friend, Scarlet Christian, a recent graduate, took her to The Lone Star Reptile Expos, a reptile convention. Hoffman was surrounded by all sorts of creepy-crawlies.

Reptiles, tarantulas, amphibians, rodents, snakes. A giant turtle sat in the corner in a bathtub, munching on a head of lettuce. An anaconda lay at one table, striking, biting and flailing. The room was small and hot and smelled like snake droppings.

To most, this would be some sort of scaly nightmare. At first, Hoffman wasn’t a big fan of the slithering critters. In fact, she was terrified of the anaconda. She turned around to hide her eyes, and that’s when she saw him - a small, peaceful-looking ball python in a tank at a lone table. The couple running the booth offered him to her. Hoffman braced herself and held the snake. That’s when everything changed.

“He was friendly,” Hoffman said. “He slithered in my hand and seemed so calm...I fell in love with him and bought him on the spot for $90.”

Thus began Hoffman’s love affair with snakes - her first being the ball python, Osiris.

Found in Africa, these types of snakes typically only grow to be less than three feet long. They’re docile and will ‘ball’ up instead of striking when threatened.As a new snake owner, Hoffman decided ball pythons were the best choice.

She took him home and put him in a large enclosure in her bedroom, complete with branches to play on and mulch flooring to burrow under.

“Osiris [is] my precious snake,” Hoffman said. “I pamper him to no extent.”

One night, Hoffman was holding Osiris, letting him explore her arm. It was late, and she was tired. Soon enough, she fell asleep with Osiris still wrapped around her arm.

He eventually coiled up under her hand and fell asleep himself.

“He’s different,” Hoffman said.

“He’s friendly and [would] never hurt a person.”

Hoffman loves snakes so much that she’s collected eight ball pythons.

Osiris, Lady, Artemis, Apollo, Isis, Odin, Hooplah and Kevin.

Extremely popular among reptile enthusiasts like Hoffman, ball pythons are known for their pattern and color mutations, The Marquee Nov. 8, 2013

or morphs.

People think that they’re weird or crazy for owning so many “They all have special genes in them that make them look reptiles. different than a normal ball python,” Hoffman said.

“The other day I told Mr. Howard, my band director, that I Not only does Hoffman collect these kinds of snakes, but got a new snake,” Hoffman said. “When I told him I had eight, she takes it one step further. She is the mother of these snakes. the look on his face was priceless.”

She is a snake breeder.

Even her parents have a hard time accepting her passion.

“There’s so much to discover about ball pythons regarding “I don’t blame them,” Hoffman said. “To them I’m their amazing genes and we want to be a part of it,” Hoffman harboring eight killers. However, I know what I plan to do and said. people are allowed to doubt me. It hasn’t stopped me yet.”

Christian, who owns 30 ball pythons, had the idea of In fact, she loves the looks and questions she gets from breeding their snakes together. Right now they keep their people when she tells them she owns snakes. It motivates her reptiles at home since they’re too young to have a facility. But to show them the true beauty of the animal. in three years, they plan to rent one out to use for their snakes.

“They’re not puppies, that’s for sure, but they’re just like “I keep [the snakes] in ‘snake racks’ I built…out of plastic any other creature,” Hoffman said. “They just want to be shelving, heat tape, white board and plastic tupperware tubs,” nurtured.”

Hoffman said. “They love tight spaces so this is no problem.”

As Hoffman scurries around her bedroom, checking each Each snake has a dog dish as a water bowl. Christian picks snake-filled tub and making sure she has enough rodents, up their food, a diet of mice and rats, from The Big Cheese it’s clear that her snakes are her passion. Christian pulls up Rodent Factory in Fort Worth. The snakes eat once a week, outside her house, rats in tow. The two laugh as they head up and constant care and cleaning is required. Hoffman has to to Hoffman’s room. keep her bedroom at 85 to 91 degrees for her snakes’ comfort.

“They’re such magnificent creatures,” Hoffman said. “I just Producing more snakes is what the duo is focused on right wish the rest of the world would put aside their blind negativity now. Next year, Hoffman and Christian plan to do a breeder’s for the reptile and just hold one to see what they’re really like.” loan. They’ll each breed one of their snakes with the others and split the clutch of eggs. After incubating photo Luisa Diaz the eggs for two months, they’ll hatch.

“We’ll have...over a dozen females producing clutches,” Hoffman said. “That’s between three to 10 eggs each. Imagine having that many snakes!”

Once the eggs hatch, they plan to sell the snakes.

Right now the girls sell them on their Facebook pages. So far, with the help of Hoffman, Christian has already sold a few snakes.

“We’ve only made a couple hundred [dollars]… but we just started breeding,” Hoffman said.

One of the possible snake egg outcomes planned for next year will produce a snake worth $900. Yet money isn’t the only thing Hoffman is working for. She has other goals. She wants to be a leading producer of snakes with the VPI axanthic morph, a type of ball python gene mix. The axanthic gene takes the brown and yellow pigments out of the snakes’ skin. The product is a silvery snake.

“I hope to make it a hobby of mine and still make money, but moreover I want to produce beautiful snakes to share with the world,” Hoffman said.

To Hoffman and Christian, hatching the eggs is the most exciting part. Christian recently hatched a clutch of pastel ball pythons.

“The feeling you get from seeing the first baby come out of its egg, slithering into the world for the first time, seeing you as its first sight,” Hoffman said. “It was stunning.”

But not everyone wants to share in the world of slithering snakes. Sometimes Hoffman and Junior Angela Hoffman holds one of her ball python snakes. She owns 8 of them as pets in Christian are frowned upon as much as their snakes. her home. Snake breeding is one of her hobbies that earns her extra pocket money. design Lyndsay Hilton

14 ENTERTAINMENT

On the “telly” Sherlock:

If you have been near tumblr, twitter or any social network recently, you may have recognized the impact British pop culture had on America. From “Directioners” to “Whovians,” many British fanbases have swept across the Atlantic. The Marquee takes a look at some British novelties that have found a spot in America’s heart. story Rachel Ramirez

photos Kady Kohankie

“Mad” for music One Direction:

Making 12-year-old girls swoon since 2010, One Direction’s sensation has swept the American nation and captured its heart. Whether they’ve memorized Zayn’s laugh or can’t stand them at all, when “What Makes You Beautiful” comes on, nobody can deny they know the words. Everyone can probably name at least iPod 10 girls who have joined Music the bandwagon. The boys Videos Photos were originally solo artists Podcasts Extras on the X Factor that were Settings Shuffle Songs put into a group together.

Now Playing Although they didn’t win the competition, the strategic collaboration of the group largely contributed to their MENU success. Unfortunately for the fans, the number of “available” band members has red-uced due to Zayn’s engagement. It’s clear the band has made a severe impact on their American fanbase.

Ed Sheeran:

While originally his fanbase was rather small in America, Sheeran really came into the American spotlight when he was featured on Taylor Swift’s RED album and wrote songs for for One Direction. His debut album containing songs like “A-Team” and “Lego House” went quintuple platinum in the UK, and “A-Team” was nominated for Best Song of the Year at the Grammys. At the 2013 Grammys, he performed this song with Elton John. When asked why he wasn’t in the lense of the paparazzi as often as other stars, he simply replied that he wasn’t that scandalous. With his trademark red hair and award winning songs, Sheeran has invaded the lives of Sheerios across America.

“I got into him a couple of years ago. A lot of us... call him "Ginger Jesus" because - to be that stereotypical teenager - he really is perfect.”

Bri Clark, 12

Our side of the pond The British Emporium:

“When we have meals, my mum likes to have British gravy, so she likes to go there. It's nice to have some things that I used to have because it feels like home.”

Jess Battersby, 11 design/graphics Sydney Sund and Kady Kohankie

Located in Grapevine, this little shop is perfect for all things British. Whether it’s a Cadbury fix, or another Doctor Who shirt, the British Emporium has it all. Things like meat pies, bangers and Heinz baked beans are among some of the items found there, since the shop specializes in British groceries. Indian and South African foods are available for purchase as well. In addition to groceries, British themed decor and gifts are scattered across the shelves.

If the Grapevine location is too inconvenient, the store has an online shopping option.

An overnight sensation, the modern day take on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes stories stars Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman. The show was created by Doctor Who writers Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss. This fact alone brought in a large audience. Another contributor to the wide reception of this show is Cumberbatch’s unbelievable ability to become his role.

The undeniably unlikable Sherlock Holmes comes to life as Cumberbatch mesmerizes viewers with his resonant voice.

His uncanny ability to make this character surprisingly appealing makes the show so enthralling. Sherlock’s growing popularity has pushed Cumberbatch and Freeman into the American spotlight. Cumberbatch in particular went from having relatively small roles to the main antagonist in the most recent Star Trek movie. American fans have followed the foreign crowd in analyzing and enjoying this show.

The upcoming third season is set to air in the U.S. on PBS masterpiece in this upcoming Janurary.

“[Sherlock] really doesn't [affect me] aside from the fact it's all I think about and it's pretty much my life.”

Nick Delgado, 10 Doctor Who:

Loved by our friends across the pond since 1963, this science fiction phenomenon didn’t take off in the States until its re-launch in 2005. The show follows an alien who goes by “The Doctor” and his companions as they go on adventures through all of time and space. The crew travels in a time machine dubbed the Time And Relative Dimensions In Space (TARDIS) Machine, which looks like a 1950s police box.

The Doctor’s life revolves around saving humans and aliens across the galaxies. It shouldn’t make sense, but somehow it does to its widespread audience.

The cheesy graphics are almost unbelievable, but are essential to POLICE Public BOX call the trademark of the Doctor Who experience. From t-shirts displaying the Doctor’s archnemeses, which are robotic Free Public aliens known as Daleks, to fan Pull to Open written fiction pieces inspired by the relationship between the characters Amy and Rory, Americans have heard the cry of the Whovians and teamed up to create a multimillion fan audience.

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Nov. 8, 2013 The Marquee

ENTERTAINMENT 15

Next generation gaming inFAMOUS:Second Son Release Date: February 2014 story Madi Schwem

Ten years from now, students don’t see themselves dealing with any stresses other than their dream jobs. However, for the average man like Delsin Rowe, working at his own dream job after college is out of the question. Seven years after the destruction of Empire City, the Department of Unified Protection has made it its job to take down beings that have special abilities, known aptly as “conduits.” Discovering his own abilities of wielding fire after saving civilians from a bus crash, Delsin sets out to fight back against the oppressive DUP. The game’s company Sucker Punch delivers this in inFAMOUS: Second Son, the third game of their franchise of elementpossessing protagonists. This highly-anticipated game creates another realm of freedom-of-choice gameplay that made its predecessors so great.

Players are able to fight guns with elements and absorb the abilities of other conduits. The players’ views of what’s right also shine through with a morality system. The choices you make in the game affect its final outcome. Anticipated by many gamers, inFAMOUS: Second Son is set to be released sometime in February, though the exact date is still unknown.

The Evil Within

Release Date: TBA 2014 story Adam Hernandez

The Evil Within is the newest survival horror game coming from the acclaimed Bethesda studios. The game was created by Shinji Mikami from the Japanese studio Tango Gameworks, which is mainly known for creating the Resident Evil series. This game goes back to what Mikami describes as pure horror. It creates an environment of constant fear and makes the player think about every move that they make. In The Evil Within, the main character is detective Sebastian Castellanos, who arrives at the scene of a brutal crime and senses a strange presence almost following him. Castellanos is attacked and knocked out, only to awake in a world filled with horrible creatures, creatures that create nightmares. The player then must do whatever it takes to stay alive in this monster-filled world.

With limited access to ammo and health, players must use stealth and cunning to stay alive.

Bethesda released a 13 minute gameplay demo at E3 and displayed the aspects on which this game was unveiled at E3 but will keep horror fans anxiously waiting as Bethesda has not released an official release date.

The Marquee Nov. 8, 2013

Watch Dogs

Release Date: April 2014 story Madi Schwem

For the teenager obsessed with having control over an entire city with something as simple as their Android or iPhone, Watch Dogs may be for them. Hacking into someone’s bank account or accessing disclosed information are now both possible - at least in fiction. Watch Dogs is an upcoming, open-world game created by Ubisoft that was first discussed during E3 2012. This game puts strong emphasis on the information age and how people rely on technology so heavily throughout their daily lives. One of the many cities that gives into this lifestyle, Chicago, Illinois, is run by a massive supercomputer in this game. Its use is to control all technology and store information on every resident in the city.

Using both his phone and the guns of the dark anti-hero Aiden Pearce, the player takes the role of a vigilante who specializes in hacking into the city’s technology. Aiden uses the database to catch criminals who have a complete lack of morality (an example from the trailer is when he catches a slave-trafficker) and stop civilians’ would-be killers. Ironically, the player commits crimes in order to stop them.

Destiny

Release Date: June 2014 story Adam Hernandez

Destiny is the next upcoming sci-fi action shooter from the award-winning company Bungie, creators of the massively popular Halo franchise. The game depicts a futuristic world in which only one city is left on Earth. A mysterious planet like object, known as the “traveller” has watched over this city for unknown reasons and protects them. One of the interesting points of the game is that it is said to completely recreate online multiplayer by keeping the user constantly online and comparing them to the rest of the world.The main character is created by users to whatever they desire. They then use this character to explore the innovative world of Destiny. While it does contain a main storyline, which Bungie has described as compelling, the game has a large competitive multiplayer mode as well as cooperative playability. This game has an already large appeal to the millions of Bungie fanatics, and fans of the Call of Duty series may also find it interesting that it is created by both Bungie and Activision. Destiny is definitely a game to be watching for.

After this summer’s exciting conference at the gaming convention E3 and the unveiling of both the xBox One and Playstation 4, gamers everywhere are thrilled about the upcoming generation of games filled with both fantastic graphics and storylines. The Marquee has previewed some upcoming releases and examined a few games that are available now.

Games out now

Dead Island Riptide story Adam Hernandez

Dead Island Riptide is the second installment in the game’s series, the original being Dead Island released in 2011. This new game picks up exactly where the last game left off, the main characters believing they have escaped the zombie plague infesting the island known as Banoi. After escaping, the gang experiences more misfortune and ends up on a second island known as Palanai. Riptide runs the same physics engine that the original game ran, which isn’t necessarily a good thing. The original game was plagued with multiple physics errors as well as glitches and bugs. If this wasn’t enough, the game doesn’t have the best graphics, but the one thing Dead Island Riptide gets right is the actual gameplay. All the flaws this game has are completely overlooked once the gameplay begins. Any zombielover will find joy in crafting random odd weapons, such as flaming shovels or a bat filled with nails, and using them to assault the undead. Even with a not-so-stellar game engine and a lack of campaign design, it earns a solid four out of five.

Tomb Raider 2013

story Madi Schwem Vacations usually consist of laying on the beach in the sun and enjoying a nice tan. However, Lara Croft’s expedition with her friends into the Dragon’s Triangle is the prime example of a “vacation” going wrong. Tomb Raider 2013 is the reboot of the Tomb Raider franchise. After the preceding game, the developing team decided to establish the origins of the character Lara Croft differently.

On her expedition to prove that the lost island of Yamatai is real, the ship crashes on the island. Lara and her crew are forced to learn how to survive in this pirate-infested hell while making difficult choices and sacrifices in the process that would make a normal person squirm. Players will find the game visually-pleasing and story-driven, and the gameplay that forces the player to think like a survivor is refreshing. Lara Croft is what a strong female protagonist should be, taking stands for her friends who need it, even at the cost of her own life.

The behavior that the characters display while being stranded on the island is also believable. The game even causes one to tear up or cringe at moments.

However, the game feels a little short, even though there are several tombs and extras for the player to discover afterwards. Overall, Tomb Raider gets a very satisfactory four and a half out of five.

design Hailey Painter

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The Crucible By: Arthur Miller

November 14-16 at 7:00 p.m. in the Larry Sigler Auditorium

gift cards available

5810 Long Prarie Rd., Ste 500, Flower Mound 972.691.3618

Tickets are $10 adults $5 students Nov. 8, 2013 The Marquee

OPINION 17

Teens should learn to balance out stresses Staff Editorial Teenagers today have a multitude of tasks on their plates.

With responsibilities such as advanced classes, numerous extracurriculars and the pressure of getting into college, teenagers’ stress levels have greatly increased compared to that of past generations. Studies have shown that stress levels have increased about 10 to 30 percent in the past three decades.

And the majority who have higher levels of stress are a part of the young generation. Although a little stress is good to keep students working hard, too much can be detrimental. Teenagers should value health over trying to do too many things at once.

High levels of stress can lead to various health problems such as high blood pressure, heart disease, obesity and diabetes. Stress can also make individuals more susceptible to disease, burnout or have sleeping problems. One of the most prominent signs of high stress levels is staying up late to get schoolwork done and losing sleep. Students need to get rest and take care of their bodies by not stretching themselves too thin so that they can stay healthy.

Students should take time out of their day to do something they love, a hobby or an interest. This will provide an outlet for teenagers that doesn’t involve stress. There are many healthy ways individuals can relieve stress from their busy days. Students should exercise throughout the week. By being active, an individual can boost his or her “feel-good” endorphins. In addition, students need to try to have plenty of sleep and eat well so they will be rested, healthy and be up to facing stressful tasks. Individuals should also connect with family and friends to discuss their stress with those around them and receive support.

While it’s important for students to manage stress, parents and teachers also need to be aware of the growing problem

and help as much as possible with students’ stress levels to keep them healthy. A study from Palo Alto Medical Foundation included a survey of adolescents about what they found to be most stressful in their lives. Over half said school and homework were the biggest causes. This includes grades, GPA,

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college, tests and finals week. Parents and teachers should be a source of support for students. The second highest source of stress in this survey was parents’ expectations and pressure to do well.

Parents should not add more stress on to their children.

They also should not set their expectations too high to where their kids have to stress about reaching their parents’ level of approval. Teachers have to realize that students have multiple classes and many extracurricular activities.

They cannot think that their class is the most important one or the only thing in students’ lives. Some teachers have so much work for their class that it’s hard for teenagers to balance their classes and activities.

However, not all stress is bad for individuals. Although too much stress can be detrimental to people physically and mentally, a good balance of stress is positive. It is needed to keep individuals motivated and working hard. Stress also prepares students for the real world, where they will have to deal with stressful issues such as finances, a job, etc. Stress can motivate people to reach daily tasks. Some researchers even say that a moderate level of stress can help strengthen the Stress will also help students get an adequate amount of sleep in order to stay healthy. In the end, health comes TA first.

Political apathy creates problems for future Staff Editorial Recent events in Washington, including Obamacare and the government shutdown have become topics of hot debate.

Some students love to form and debate opinions regarding decisive political regulations. They take these stances to internet forums, to classrooms and to each other. However, oftentimes these opinions are passion-based and founded on limited or no research. Even these students, though, are more involved than the vast majority of their peers, who rarely feel the need to keep themselves informed or engulf themselves in intellectual endeavors.

The recent upheaval in Washington has revealed that most students are uninformed and uninterested in political proceedings. This phenomenon is known as political apathy, or the indifference towards government happenings. As it stands, America has one of the lowest voting turnouts in the world, barely surpassing South Korea’s. However, the U.S. sees influxes in student involvement every now and then as “political fads” take center stage. For example, Kony 2012 was one of the most widespread and talked about issues. These political fads are examples of mob mentality versus indepen-

The Marquee Nov. 8, 2013

dent research. But taking part in a political fad isn’t enough.

This leads to ignorant discussions based on false or inaccurate information. Students should inform and involve themselves in political matters by removing themselves from shallow distractions such as Instagram, Pinterest and Netflix, and instead turn to news updates.

If students were more politically savvy, they would have a broader spectrum of opinions that would encourage informed discussions. This would ultimately lead to a better demonstration of democracy. While social media offers a good platform for the spread of information, students are inadequately making use of their resources. If young adults would log off Twitter and check out online news sources for an update on Capitol Hill, maybe this generation won’t lose touch with its democratic roots.

Despite their apathy, students still complain about their lack of influence in politics. This presents a paradox where America’s youth will not involve themselves with politics, but expect politicians to understand their ideas for the country, seemingly telepathically. The question surfaces: How can one affect the outcome if they do not involve themselves with the problem in the first place?

This presents a dilemma for the future of America. High school students will soon be the decision making and voting body of the country. If they are unwilling to become active members of society and fulfill their civic duty to vote, America faces the imminent dangers of political stagnation. This could lead to politicians electing their friends and allies, simply because the voting population does not care enough to form an opinion about other potential candidates. An example of this includes Putin’s actions after the fall of communism in Russia, where he elected all of his old KGB colleagues. People assume that the politicians will do what is best for the nation. However, this is not always the case.

Everybody wants to exercise their democratic freedom.

With student’s lack of concern with national affairs, this becomes impossible. In order to fix this problem, students need to expose themselves to current events and become politically astute. With the social media available to students, it’s a shame that they elect to spend hours on Facebook or Candy Crush, instead of informing themselves with hard news. If they spend a fraction of the time that they do on Twitter reading the news, they could have a more promising future, reminiscent of the ideals this country was founded upon.

design Tori Allmendinger

18 OPINION

Boombas [things we like] @miranda_chiechi

Movie magic

Class time coffee With the introduction of the café in the library, students are able to purchase an array of tasty drinks and sweets.

The ability to enjoy these treats during class ensures that students aren’t chugging their drinks between classes.

This year Marcus Organization of Broadcasting (MOB) has revamped their opening theme to feature cool new graphics and a groovy new tune. It allows viewers the opportunity to get an inside look at the making and production of the popular show.

Miranda Chiechi

A day in Europe

I parked my bicycle on the cobblestone path next to my favorite coffeehouse in London and ran up the pathway.

Raindrops fell from the sky as I wrapped my peacoat closer around my body to protect my leather notebook. Holding my beanie down on my head, I burst through the door and found myself in instant tranquility. The smell of coffee grounds and the sound of English accents and guitar strings enveloped my senses. Chatting with the baristas about music and art festivals in Paris, I ordered an Irish crème latte. Then I made my way over to a quaint brown couch in the dimly lit corner and sat down, watching the rain softly beat on the window pane as the sounds of Paolo Nutini filled my ears.

The next few hours consisted of listening to music and writing. The rain let up as I left my corner and went outside.

As soon as I left the cafe, the clouds disappeared, the Texas heat hit my face and reality struck.

I wasn’t in London. Or Paris. I was in Flower Mound, Texas.

Although rainy days, like this, spent in local coffeehouses made me feel like I was in Europe for the day, one of the many countries I hope to travel to in the future, for the time being, I was resigned to dreaming about Europe in Texas.

So after stepping outside, I made my way home. Still a little gloomy about not actually being in Europe, I decided to take the long way home. I flew down the long stretch of highway and came across a side road that led me down a little country path. That’s when the sun started to shine through the clouds, compelling me to look out my window at the scenery around me. To my right was a beautiful field of green, stretching farther than the eye could see. To my left, beautiful houses and barns. Numerous trees dotted the other side of the road.

For some strange reason, that stretch of land made me realize something. It made me realize just how wonderful it is here in Texas. And how much I was missing when I was wishing I was somewhere else.

We all have dreams for the future, but sometimes we are so focused on where we want to be 10 years from now that we forget to enjoy where we are now, in the present. I for one fantasize regularly about where I envision myself in the future, whether it’s backpacking around Europe, exploring the green countrysides of Scotland or walking along the coast of New Zealand. That drive made me realize that while envisioning my adventures in the future, I was missing the adventures I could be having now.While dreaming about the rich landscapes of other countries, I was missing out on the beautiful scenery of Texas. But enjoying the beauty of my surroundings was not all I was missing out on. As I dreamt about all the experiences I would love to have in exotic places, I was taking away from fully enjoying the experiences I am having now. We have to learn to just appreciate each and every moment and where we are now before we rush into the future.

So although I enjoy the days that make me feel like I’m somewhere else, I have realized that I really enjoy where I am now - experiencing my last year of high school and being surrounded by family and friends I love.

I hope I will achieve my dreams one day, but from now on instead of being preoccupied thinking about the future, I plan on making the most of the present. Rather than living in my figmental picture of the future, I will live solely in today. design Jacqueline Higgins

@Hippie_Hipster_

Kady Kohankie

Demons in your head

It’s 3:17 a.m. and all you can think about is death. You haven’t even slept for the past four days. All the struggles you face and all the battles you have fought have brought you where you are today. But you are still fighting those battles, and you get a little bit stronger every time but not enough to defeat your demons.

Fixing your hair, putting some chapstick on, pulling down your sleeves , you get out of the car. You grab your backpack and start walking to school. You see people stare. It’s 90 degrees, and you pull on your long sleeves some more, thinking they all know what you did for the past hours. They can see it in your eyes. They have seen the cuts on your arms. She’s a freak.

She cuts herself. She’s suicidal. All the same statements, but they don’t know how low you have to go to make those “cat scratches” over and over again.

You get to second period when you get a panic attack, and it just gets worse. You sit in the nurse’s office trying to calm down when the nurse needs to take your blood pressure and asks you to roll up your sleeve. You start to freak out and beg her not to.

After you calm down, you go back to class when some boys purposely run into you and call you names. You run to the bathroom. I need to be good enough, you think as you slide down the wall, bursting into tears.

You live a pretty good life. You make okay grades, you have quite a few friends and your family is still together. You should

What

do you

do to relieve stress?

compiled Victoria Price photos Miranda Chiechi

SHS chocolate sales Once a year, the Spanish Honor Society raises funds by selling chocolate bars. Hundreds of hungry students flock to their classmates to buy the tasty candy bars that come in a variety of flavors for just $1.

have no reason to want to hurt or kill yourself. But maybe it’s not about the grades. Maybe it’s not your friends or your family. Maybe it’s about yourself. It’s about how you don’t believe in yourself, how you think you’re not worth anything.

Wiping your tears away, you get up. You open the stall and nobody is there. You slowly walk out of the stall and walk up the the mirror. What is so wrong with me? Why am I like this? I don’t want to be like this. You walk out of the bathroom when you run into someone. You realize it’s your friend Chris.

He asks you what’s wrong.

You just stand there. He asks you again. You still don’t talk, and that’s when it clicks. He goes up to hug you and you just lose it. He tells you that everything will be okay, and that he is there for you no matter what. You start to think that maybe you don’t need to die just yet. Maybe all you need is a friend right in that moment.

There is a metaphor I’ve heard that about how a person fell down a hole. A few people walk by and don’t help the person out. A friend stops and jumps in. The person questions why his friend jumped down instead of helping him out. The friend says “I’ve been down here before, and I know the way out.” I like this story because it shows that people do actually care.

Sometimes they stop what they are doing just to help you. We can all be that friend.

Students all over the nation are fighting these battles.

Students in our very own classes are fighting these battles.

Cutting, burning, starving or taking pills to find an escape.

You never know who is currently hurting, so it could be your best friend, someone at your lunch table or even your next door neighbor.

I always hid with a fake smile, fake laugh, a fake “I’m okay.”

Then I found something out. We all have our ups and downs in life, but if we overcome them that’s what makes us stronger for the next struggle. People who are struggling sometimes just need a friend.

So remember, there is a lot more to a person than you think there is. To help a struggling friend, encourage them to take their mind off of the negatives and focusing on the positives.

You can also join them in activities they like to do or in some of their interests.

If this is you or someone you love, call these suicide hotlines: 1-800-SUICIDE or 1-800-273-Talk.

In order for them to shine, you have to help them get out of the darkness that they are in.

“I take breaks from everything, like homework and people who bother me.”

Evelyn Aires, 9

“Eating tacos and hanging out with my buds.”

Jordan Asebedo, 10 Nov. 8, 2013 The Marquee

OPINION 19 Late test updates

@TheRoyalAnna13

Anna Middleton

A branded land

Once I acknowledged their presence, I could feel them feeding on my desires for acceptance like a group of ravenous parasites. There was no escape. They were on billboards. They were on television. They even had taken over social media. I saw their control over not only me but everyone around me, an epiphany that created nightmares.

While skimming the famous movie library known as Netflix, I came across a random thriller called Branded. This movie features a man who is wonderful at advertising but falls prey to the brands that control the movie’s dystopian society. Brand names in this film are personified as living monsters feeding from people’s subconscious cravings. Although this movie contained only semi-decent acting and a confusing plot, I saw the underlying meaning behind it. Modern day brand names control how we all think and we don’t even know it.

One thing that bolsters a brand name’s powerful force is commercials. Advertisements play on TV for 432 minutes a day per channel. So when you are watching that amazing episode of Vampire Diaries, you are also exposing yourself to 18 minutes of commercial time that persuades your subconscious. Products seen in famous movies can even influence people through the power of suggestion. If you see your favorite movie star eating a bag of Doritos, you might start to crave a bag of Doritos. Persuasive images are being displayed through

An alarming number of students still find the task of flushing a toilet too difficult to manage. This neglect leads to bathrooms that smell less than appealing. Students are firmly reminded that flushing is a common courtesy that benefits all.

television, billboards and even references from friends.

Ninety percent of everyday conversations mention something that you have bought, a type of food or restaurant you enjoy, or where you have gotten your new clothing. “Ew, you like Coke,” or “No way, I love Pepsi too,” are actual conversation starters that can dictate whether a relationship moves towards friendship or hatred. The creatures of couture and cosmetics define if someone is attractive or not. We don’t look at a person’s face and think: “Wow, she looks really nice today.”

Their multicolored eye shadow or indigo eyeliner catches our attention and we say, “That looks really good on you.” Those comments reinforcing beauty only feed the monster of Maybelline or the leviathan of L’Oreal.

With this realization, I figured out that at one time brands and advertisements had fed on my desires to fit in. I used to be so self-absorbed about how I looked and what everyone thought of me. I spent all my money in middle school on clothing and jewelry that I didn’t even really enjoy. For example, I bought two $90 pairs of Converse that to this day I have only worn once or twice. I would also wear Claire’s earrings even though I shouldn’t have because my ears were too sensitive to the cheap metal.

I would wear girly clothes, like skirts, even though I hated them because they made me feel uncomfortable. However, I wanted to be in the cool crowd, and I thought every popular or “cute” item I bought would get me there. Sadly, this was not the case. Many still saw me as nerdy, and I was still picked on. Following what brands were hot was not helpful and made me miserable, even though I thought that it would make me happy.

I see brands asserting their power over most of our planet’s population. Why do we let these fiends we know as brands control the human populace? A Gucci bag or stylish jacket does not describe someone’s personality. Many people spend most of their money on things because they are popular, not because they want them.

Throughout my time in high school, I’ve learned that if I wear what I like, no matter what brand is on their label, and if I am just myself, I am happier. Brand names have ceased to control me, and I can focus on more important things in life.

Honestly, what I wear and what I buy don’t matter when it comes to me as a person. Looks won’t last a lifetime, but who I am will.

MARQUEE REMARKS “I either lift weights or read my Bible.”

Anything like that.”

Nick Wood, 11 The Marquee Nov. 8, 2013

Heys

Some teachers wait until the week of, or even a couple days before to tell students about an upcoming test. This causes panic and stress levels to increase. Teachers should give plenty of warning regarding upcoming test dates, or provide a syllabus.

While the café is popular among most students, some find that the noise levels of blenders, students and machines make the library too loud. Students find it difficult to focus during independent study, or even during classes.

Putrid potties

[things we don’t like]

Loud library

“Doing anything but the thing that is stressing me out at the moment, like school.”

Makensie Holland, 12

“I do angry exercise to get out all the stress and energy.”

Marco Ramirez, Physics

@Alyssa_Schmidt7

Alyssa Schmidt

Pudding and life

Recently, I watched the most soul-crushing commercial I have ever seen.

A father and a son sit at their kitchen table, each eating a pudding cup. The father tells the boy that he really loves pudding. The boy asks his father why.

The father then takes the boy through a step by step process of his day. Now dressed in a dingy button-up, a tie and sporting a comb-over, the son demonstrates the dad’s day, from waking up with less hair, commuting in heavy traffic and having a major project canceled by his boss.

“But the chocolate-y taste of this Jell-O pudding makes up for all of it,” the father says.

The son hands his dad the rest of his Jell-O pudding.

“Here, you need this more than me,” the little boy says.

The commercial seems sweet enough, but it’s veiled with a sad truth. Let your life pass you by too quickly and suddenly you’re balding, stuck in a demeaning and dead-end job with only the comfort of mediocre pudding to get by. That truth scares me to death.

So, how do we avoid this fate? While I personally know what I want to do with my life, many teenagers have no idea what they want to do in the future. According to the Huffington Post, less than 25 percent of all college students graduate.

Does that mean that they’re doomed to be like the dad in this commercial?

The unemployment rate is at seven percent, and the job market is competitive. Sometimes, even if we do everything right like graduating high school, going to college and trying to do something we’re passionate about, it doesn’t work out.

If we put ourselves out there, and we strike out, what then?

The biggest question of all is how are we supposed to navigate all of these fears and come out of it with an understanding of who we are?

I’ve found that one of the best ways to figure yourself out is to experiment with what you enjoy. For awhile I had the crazy notion that I was going to be a singer in a band. When I found out that I’m actually pretty tone deaf, I had to re-evaluate my priorities. Now that I’ve discovered how to combine my love of music and writing in journalism, I’m certain about my future.

However, when trying new things, it’s important to remember that nobody is talented at everything right away. Malcolm Gladwell, author of The Outliers, believed that if you practice something for at least 10,000 hours, you can become an expert.

I didn’t come to these conclusions of what I wanted to do just on whim. My mom and my older brother were both high school drop-outs. My mom went to college and eventually went on to earn her master’s degree in business and my brother is now working his way up the corporate ladder. Their guidance and support has told me that unless I want to struggle more than I have to, I need to set myself up for success.

Nowadays, there’s adversity standing in the way of teens.

We spend four years working towards our goals, and then we’re out on our own. Something changes in your life. Parents can’t always be there to help pick up the pieces.

Everyone has something going for them. If we spend our teenage years without motivation to try anything, we’ll never know what we’re capable of. It’s the optimal time to explore and figure yourself out. Life is about making mistakes, so make them now so you’re not 40, balding and relying on pudding to make you happy. design Jacqueline Higgins

20 SPOTLIGHT

Battle

of

the

AXE photo Sydney Sund photo Sydney Sund Sophomore tight end Kaden Smith goes in for a tackle. This is Smith’s second year on the varsity team.

photo Sydney Sund Senior drum major Daegi Lee stands at the ready during halftime.

Lee plays the saxophone when he’s not conducting the band.

Senior Shannon Lyden performs to “Feel This Moment” at halftime. Lyden is a service officer for the Marquettes.

photo William Legrone The Marcus Band stands at attention while watching the Lewisville Band’s halftime show. The bands always stands at attention to show respect towards other bands.

photo William Legrone The Varsity football team walks onto the football field. The Battle of the Axe is varsity’s second win of the season.

Senior drumline captain Peter Riojas cheers after a touchdown during the 3rd quarter.

design Hailey Painter

The Marquee Nov. 8, 2013