4
Opinion
Xavier High School
Join activities that actually mean something to you High school is awkward. So many terrible and embarrassing things will occur over the four-year span that you want to be surrounded by people at all times who will laugh off your misfortunes, should one of those terrible or embarrassing things occur. The concept of high school is really quite basic: prepare yourself for college and for the future. To me, the biggest part of preparing yourself for the future is finding out who you are and being comfortable with what you find out about yourself. The one thing I heard over and over again as I entered high school was “try everything and get involved in whatever you can.” While it may not be the popular thing to say, perhaps joining every club isn’t actually the best piece of advice. Sure, dabbling in every single subject area is getting your name out there, and maybe you’re meeting a lot of new people, but what is that doing for you? What are you actually like? My freshman year I was a “dabbler.” I joined loads of clubs and met the minimum involvement for each. While doing this, I did meet new people, however I did not interact with them. I signed up for them because “other people are signing up for them.” I signed up for a club that was entirely based on a subject that I have loathed my entire life. Because I had no real interest in the club, I didn’t have that common link with the people in it. “Oh, you like this subject area? I dread this class every single
to. I did it the other day. I look forward to random conversations with my middle-aged coworkers, even though we have few things in common. I don’t mind small talk with strangers, because I’m confident in who I am, because I’ve become the person I want to be. You don’t have to do what’s popular, just do you. And if people don’t like what you do or who you are, go with what my sister always says- “Haters make me famous.”
These members of the Xavier Show Choir Combo joined for their mutual love of music and have made many friends. Cassie Busch Photo day and have zero appreciation for it.” There isn’t really a conversation starter if those are your feelings, and as a result, I only talked to my already-made friends in the club. But then, I actually thought about my interests, because by the time I’m in high school I know myself well enough to know what I will and will not like. I signed up for Mock Trial, even though none of my friends were going out. But because it was something that I actually cared about, I managed to have fun while slaving away and over the years I have made my four best friends in Mock Trial. Our friendship works because they understand and care about one of the things that is most important to me, unlike the people in every other club. People are so frantic to sign up for everything possible because otherwise you
supposedly won’t meet people. Maybe that’s true, maybe it’s not. Why pretend to enjoy something that you don’t? How are you benefitting from that? Maybe no one you know likes watching crime documentaries, so you end up watching a 90-minute documentary on Jonestown alone. Maybe no one wants to go on a fivemile nature walk with you. Maybe no one but your sister will attend the Paranormal & Psychic Expo with you. You’re not always going to have people there with you but that shouldn’t stop you from doing what you want to do. It’s okay to be a loner if it’s helping you find yourself. People will let you down to some degree at some point and when they do, you’ll still have yourself. When I don’t have any friends in my lunch, I have no problem sitting at a table of classmates I rarely talk
educated folks, for crying out loud! Let’s speak the correct English we have been so carefully taught. Another conundrum appears when people don’t say what they mean, or worse, say what they don’t mean. What is the point of that? It only serves to confuse. For example, I hate it when people use “How are you today?” as a greeting, and while it is clearly a question, they walk away without waiting for an answer. The truth is that they don’t expect or want to hear your honest answer; they just want to say hi. Unless you have a minute, please don’t ask! I always have an answer forming even though I know they really don’t care. Imagine how refreshing that would be to just unload on some unsuspecting person who asks how you are today. “I hate everything today. Thanks for asking!” On a more serious but similar note, what is it with people praying without realizing they are addressing a real, living God? Sometime over the past couple of years at Xavier, one of
our teachers read a “God said, I said” of the Our Father, reminding us that we are, in fact, talking to Someone when we pray. That’s why it’s important to slow down and make sure you mean what you’re saying. My point is this: say what you mean, and say it intelligently. If you don’t know what you’re talking about, don’t talk. If you don’t honestly want to know, don’t ask. If you can’t speak correctly, shame on you. Misuse of language is not only annoying, it contributes to miscommunication. So please, let’s remember what we learned in elementary school and speak like the deep, intelligent high schoolers I hope we are.
Peyton Rosencrants Opinion Assistant Editor
Saintly Car Heaters
Christmas Lights Double Chocolate Muffins
Miracle on 34th Street ` Alabare
Meaning is not always a given
Gina Reiman Opinion Writer
<
Satanly <
Can I just say that I love words? Language has always fascinated me, with its articulation and understanding of our thoughts, the pictures one can create just by writing or speaking, and the beautiful intricacies of meaning. But the unfortunate flaw that comes with language is its improper use, which can reduce something as beautiful as the English language to meaninglessness. Many of my pet peeves (aside from the term itself; I mean, what on earth is a peeve and who would keep one as a pet?) are more centered around the misuse of words themselves. One is overuse of hyperboles (exaggerations to add emphasis) and supposed “strengthening” words that weren’t meant for that use, like “literally”. There are stronger, more articulate words out there to use, and they’re wonderful. We’re
Claudius Car Scraping Burning your tongue Hat Hair Good instead of well