Volume II Issue IX: February 24, 2017 |
OPINION |
Next Issue: March 10, 2017 |
Five Proper Ways to ProcrastinateBy DAVID MIKHAIL
It wasn't long ago that I was studying for past semester's finals. I was determined to take my time, comprehend the material thoroughly, and most importantly not procrastinate. Which was a huge issue for me. However, old habits die hard. It took me two days until I lapsed back into my former ways. In fact, I once found myself watching a 14 minute Ted Talk by Tim Urban that was titled "Inside The Mind of a Master Procrastinator," alongside cute cat videos, while I was supposedly studying. That is when I realized that not only am I a procrastinator, I am, for the lack of a better appropriate word, darn good at it! With this recently acquired knowledge of myself, I came to the conclusion that I must help my fellow procrastinators (you know you are one of them) out and give, what in my humble opinion, is the best way to procrastinate. I mean if you waste time, you might as well enjoy it rather than just zone out staring at the wall. So without any further ado, here are the top 5 ways to procrastinate. 1. Check the refrigerator every 10 minutes. Just in case new food has magically appeared , although you are not hungry. 2. Go to Youtube to "Listen to music" (wink wink) to only find yourself, 5 hours later, watching cat videos, drooling over the screen without even having a single book out. 3. Text friends asking what the homework is, although you know darn well what the homework is, hoping that the conversation turns into a 57 text long discussion about Buzzfeed's unsolved videos, or Don't Hug Me I am Scared. 4. Binge watching Disney Channel movies, and shows, and crying all over again when Ellie dies in “Up”. 5. Take 64 Buzzfeed quizzes that tell you more about your personality, tell you which celebrity you look like, show you how you will look in about 40 years, or tell you your age and location based on how my day is going. (yeah that’s a real one.) |
California Boys State Inspires Younger GenerationBy CAMERON KROETZ
California Boys State changed my life. Last summer I had the distinct privilege and honor to be the delegate from Redlands East Valley High School to the 79th Session of California Boys State. Boys State is a prestigious summer program run by the American Legion that aims to instruct 1,000 boys from every high school in the state about Californian civics by allowing them to take a hands on approach to government. Each Legion post in the state sponsors anywhere between one and ten boys each, and sends them to Sacramento State University in late June to take part in the experience of a lifetime. I want to extend my thanks to American Legion Post 106 for giving me the opportunity to participate in Boys State. I arrived at Post 106 in Redlands around 7:00 pm with my mom and a small duffle bag; I wasn’t quite sure what I was about to embark on. My mom and I said our goodbyes and then I was alone with about 70 other guys from all around the Inland Empire that I had never met before and I remember thinking, “What have I gotten myself into?” I began making some small talk with some of the other guys for the next hour until about ten Legionnaires began to herd us into big charter buses with Boys State placards on the front. The buses began to move at about 10:00 pm and we were on our way. We stopped at several points in the Central Valley and met up with other buses; our caravan of about 20 buses eventually pulled into Sacramento State around 7:30 am. I got off the bus and approached the registration table; the old woman who checked me in gave me a lanyard with a name tag, a dorm room assignment, and my “city and county names”. Each dormitory is considered a county with each floor being a city within the county; I was assigned to Reagan City. My dorm room was on the top floor of the dormitory and was a traditional college dorm with two beds, two desks, a community bathroom down the hall. The first order of business was to establish our city government. Our city hall was in a conference room downstairs; it was a collection of tables and chairs with one high table meant for the city council to sit. Reagan City, a group of about 40 guys, elected our city council and the council appointed a mayor, a city clerk, a police and fire chief, and what we called our “city propaganda minister”. And that was just the first day. What came next was a week of fun and friendship; from official party conventions and city council meetings,... |
Balancing Work, Fun, and RestBy MIA DELMONICO
High school presents several new challenges as the years go on. For a well rounded individual it can be one of the most stressful times in life, as well as the most fun. Everyone has their special interests and activities where they excel. Whether it is music, athletics, academics, or all of these things we all will eventually reach that point where we have to balance work with play and rest. As the time rolls closer and closer to choose the new path for the next year, we are all faced with the monumental decisions that could potentially affect our future. Though choosing classes doesn’t seem like a big deal, what we choose can affect us academically, socially, and emotionally. Choosing the hardest classes offered just because we want to improve the class rank will not help in the long run. When one is successful and happy nobody will care if you were number one in your freshman class or number four hundred thirty seven. It is about h0w you balance your time and about the memories you make and the people you help. Maybe being truly successful isn’t all about grades or being accepted by your peers, maybe it is about the people you positively impact and about embracing who you are... |
By CAMERON KROETZ
Tom Richey is an accomplished teacher and YouTube personality who produces AP European History and AP U.S. History review videos on his YouTube channel. He teaches AP European History at Seneca High School in Seneca, South Carolina. Richey launched his website TomRichey.net in 2008 to help his students keep up with homework assignments, and in 2012 he began to post video lectures on his YouTube channel to help students that were absent stay up to date in class. Now his lectures help his over 60,000 subscribers review for their AP History exams. The following is an interview with Mr. Richey regarding the controversial confirmation of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos. Can you summarize your overall position on her confirmation? I am not going to argue that Betsy was an ideal candidate for Secretary of Education - I would have been a much better choice because of my classroom teaching experience. But let's not pretend that this was ever about Betsy. This is about school choice. Any candidate President Trump would have nominated would have been pilloried in some way or another - it was just easier to pillory Betsy because of her family's wealth, her lack of teaching experience, and the "grizzlies" gaffe that really didn't sound half as bad when heard in context (but admittedly, the memes were BRUTAL). As a high school teacher can you explain your views on school choice?Over a decade ago, I taught in an inner city school and got to see the underbelly of public education for myself.... |
Stop Comparing Yourself to Others By KAYLAN ENGE
Nowadays I feel like everyone is spending most of their time looking at what anybody and everybody else has that they don’t. For example say that you are an amazing actor and you’ve had a great performance. But you read in a review that your co-stars happened to have a better performance. In response you end up thinking to yourself that maybe you weren’t as good as you thought, or that they were better at it entirely. And that can be pretty problematic for most people, myself included. While you are so busy thinking about the things others can do better that you can’t do then you are missing out on your opportunities. Because while you are so caught up on your co-star you would be missing out on talking to the audience that enjoyed your performance. Keep in mind that even when you do get caught up you shouldn’t be so quick to start putting others down. It’s ok to feel envious against others, but sometimes it doesn’t help you become a better person. The thing is that while you are focused on what you don’t have or what you can’t do you are losing in your own battle with what’s going on. Surely that small problem isn’t the most of your worries, and if it is then I think you have it pretty good. You have to realize that everybody is at a different point and time in their lives and maybe you just aren’t there yet. So I think that we should all stop trying to be in constant competition and worry about ourselves and what we need / want to achieve in order to better ourselves. |