Dear Future Historian,
If, for some reason, you are searching for evidence of what it was like for the average person during the COVID-19 lockdown and you have stumbled across this article, let me tell you some things that will make your job a little easier.

The art of writing letters has been replaced by grammatically lacking text messages and snapchat videos. Society uses phones and email to send a message in mere seconds. For the students in the 18+ program, which helps students continue to learn life skills after they graduate from high school through the special education department, experiencing the same social interactions that other students do can sometimes be difficult.

So the word on the street is that some fancy-schmancy song about existential crises in humans and puppets is “God’s greatest creation, praise be, praise be.” This is horrifically wrong.

I never watched any sort of dog show until this year, so when I turned on the Westminster Dog Show this year, I was a little surprised myself. I caught it at the very end, where the judge decides which dog out of the six category winners is Best in Show. As a poodle owner, I was pleased when a standard poodle was chosen. Of course, all of the other dogs present were wonderful models of their breeds, and I wouldn’t have been upset had one of them won.

Everyone has a favorite song. Whether it be rock, classical, or pop, when you ask someone to name their favorite song, they can name at least one.

There are multiple emotions a person can feel while listening to music and each one connects to an individual emotional experience. Although some people have one playlist where they add all their favorite songs, I have eight different playlists depending on my mood. Songs in different emotions deserve to be put in different playlists rather than all of them being put into one to be the most effective.

After coming home from a long day, what is the first thing the average person does? Turn on the TV? Watch a movie? Play a video game, maybe? It seems books have been the odd man out for modern entertainment as very few people choose books over visual entertainment in today’s technology-centered environment.

While we are all under Quarantine, here’s something for you to read.

There is a social stigma around marijuana, but that stigma is widely inaccurate and has created problems for those who need it to improve their quality of life on a day-to-day basis.

Ah, 2020, the start of a new decade. The summer Olympics are set for Tokyo this year, and the United States has some strong athletes that the country should unify around. But never fear! The presidential election is here to rip that unity apart and destroy any semblance of camaraderie.

To all the extroverts out there, isn’t it hard always being the most outgoing and friendly person in the room? Do you ever sit at parties and think: “Wow, I just wish I wasn’t so good at talking?”

January is the best month of the year. I love the crisp cool air, the cute sweater outfits, and it’s National Soup Month, and who doesn’t love that. BUT, there is one thing that tops the air, sweaters, and yes, even soup. Three words: Girl Scout Cookies.

There are over 2000 games on the Nintendo Switch, some better than others. Nintendo has put its best into making sure that only the highest quality of games get into their consumer’s hands. They’ve also flooded the e-shop with really bad, tiny games that cost way too much. So I’m going to look at 8 of their best and slap them into a randomly-generated tournament!

Some of the most popular internet groups and personalities are the VSCO, e-, and soft. The trends became popular on TikTok in early 2019. Each of the groups has a male and female version, so everyone can fit into some of the categories and characteristics of the different groups.

For the past few years, Broadway has swept the world with hit after massive hit. Both young and old fans cheer for modern Broadway successes, such as Hamilton, Come From Away, Heathers, and Hadestown. Even past musicals have gained more attention, like Wicked, Phantom of the Opera, and Little Shop of Horrors. Community and high school theater programs have been popping up nationwide, and showtunes have become classic household names in theater-loving towns and cities.

Are you trying to sleep at night but you can’t because your parents are in the next room arguing over money, or are you an insomniac like me and you just can’t seem to get tired no matter what you do and the NyQuil just isn’t working anymore, then ASMR is for you! Possibly…

Even though the whole world seems focused on Apple each September when the new iPhone is unveiled, I think iPhones are over-anticipated, overpriced, and overrated. iPhone users focus too much on familiarity instead of practicality.

There are important things to argue about in life like political issues, environmental change, and how expensive stuff is (news flash: it’s really expensive). However, there are also completely trivial things to worry about like whether or not Google Docs is better than Microsoft Word, but boy is it fun to argue about.

Fine art classes allow students to have a creative outlet and foster a love for the arts. There are multiple choices for fine art classes, and they are all very contrasting. Though the classes span everything from visual arts to theatre and choir to band, orchestra is still the superior choice.

Converse or Vans is a question that doesn’t have very much attention but really should . Vans are labeled as a skateboarding shoe as well as Converse, but they are much less than the same. The sudden rise in Vans popularity has taken away from the original purpose of the shoe, making it more of a fashion statement instead of a skating shoe. But what qualifies it as a skating shoe? They have shoe bottoms designed for gripping and are made to last longer than other shoes because they don’t rip as easily. While these are key qualities to look for in a shoe for skating, is it the end all be all?

Take a moment and think about what a penny looks like, easy right? Could you sketch out the front, or maybe the back? As simple as it seems, the vast majority of people can’t remember the details of this basic American currency.

Five figures stand in unison. A human wizard, a dwarf cleric, an elf ranger, a halfling rogue, and a tiefling bard. Towering over them is the terrifying prince of chaos and ruler of demonkind; Demogorgon. All brimming with confidence as they charge against each other. Only the jowls of luck can end the conflict of good and evil.

In 2007, society experienced a technological breakthrough when Steve Jobs and Apple introduced the iPhone. Fast forward to 2019 and almost everyone owns a smartphone.

I guess I could do a fancy introduction, but this is going to be a long article, so I’ll just jump straight to the point. An unfortunate number of people are suffering under the delusion that Google Docs is actually better than Microsoft Word. Perhaps I should cut people some slack, especially teenagers. In school, all of us are required to use Google Docs. Why? In elementary and middle school, it was a great option for classroom settings, allowing things like sharing and internet access.

Getting a metal straw instead of a plastic one for an iced coffee from Starbucks isn’t going to help much in the fight for a cleaner Earth or the decrease in global warming. Everything is plastic credit cards, straws, shoes, even phones. Everything factory-made has an aspect of plastic included in the product, whether it’s a grain of plastic or is completely made of plastic. While recycling and using metal straws is a good first step, so much more needs to be done. We only have 18 months left before the damage we have done is irreversible.

Recently, politicians have proposed lowering the voting age to 16. Even if they do not acknowledge it, their true motives are to garner more votes for their political party. Though there are certainly 16-year-olds who are well-informed about their civic duties, the vast majority are not and do not care to be. Popular culture has […]

Recently, politicians have proposed lowering the voting age to 16. Even if they do not acknowledge it, their true motives are to garner more votes for their political party.

Marvel Studios has taken over the cinematic world over the past eleven years and continues to do so in 2019 with Captain Marvel.

Women have been considered lower than men in the past. The last ones to vote, the least paid, the most negatively talked about by both men and women. Not to mention that the women of color have somehow became the most negatively talked about and disrespected.

Coffee, the epitome of all that is good in the world. Without coffee, how many long nights doing homework would have been lost to sleep? How many study sessions would have gone to waste? The truth is: I can’t survive without coffee. It has become an important part of my morning, and without it I […]

This article is a continuation from an article in the previous edition of the Norseman that discussed the degrading of cultural morality and why swearing is immoral.

Graphic sexuality has also escalated dramatically, particularly in movies. This not only includes actual sexual encounters but promiscuous jokes and actors wearing little to no clothing. It usually doesn’t even affect the plot but instead attempts to appeal to audiences at a gratuitous level.

Mental health in teens is a serious issue in today’s society. Oddly enough, not a lot of people talk about it. People often feel lonely in some of their darkest times with nobody to turn to, and that’s a problem. Show love to the people that deserve it the least because those are the ones that need it the most.

America has certainly lived up to its namesake of being “the land of the free,” especially when compared to many of the countries around the world. Despite embracing this motto, the freedoms granted are constantly being taken advantage of by various extreme individuals. The very definition of an extremist is a person who holds fanatical views, and especially one who advocates extreme action.

I’m tired of rude people, and not just rude people, but negative individuals in general who think having that unpleasant attitude is necessary. Spoiler, it really isn’t.

Current students don’t know life without the internet, phones that double as computers, or video games.

It’s a classic stereotype for the oldest generation to talk about how things were in the “good old days” and how recent years have taken a turn for the worse. Though this is in many ways over-exaggerated, there is one point I definitely agree with them on: the decline of morality.

Having to prove myself over and over again is exhausting and takes part of my soul every time I do it. This comes into play with new managers at work, new co-workers, new teachers, and even friends’ parents.

I don’t understand why college football has so many more fans than the NFL. Even though college football has a huge fan base, I like the NFL more.

Vaping has overtaken students across America with the endless variety of flavors and easy access to products. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, or NIDA, vaping has created a generation of users who don’t know what they’re putting into their bodies; in fact, 13.7% have no clue.

Limiting exposure to foul language, racism, and explicit content may sound like a good idea at first, but when the line of censorship continues to move to accommodate things that offend people – eventually everything will be censored. Books have long been a place of knowledge, imagination, and escape, but their fundamental purpose is threatened […]

I’m sick of politics.

This doesn’t mean I’m not politically informed or don’t have a political opinion. No, it’s quite the opposite. I have a strong political opinion, regularly read the newspaper, and even read a political magazine.

I’m just so sick of politics.

For many years, school dress code has created conflict among students, parents, teachers, and administrators. Growing up in Bryan, I’ve always had to follow the dress code policy, and if I don’t comply I have to fix it or suffer the consequences such as getting sent to SAC or even getting sent home. While I believe there should be some type of dress code for students such as not being allowed to wear a bathing suit to school, gang related clothing, or any article of clothing that promotes the use of drugs and alcohol many constraints within the dress code policy should be eliminated.

PETA, a group scorned equally by animal rights activists, vegans, hunters, and just about everyone else, zeroed in on Nabisco’s Barnum’s Animal Crackers as their latest crusade target. The animal cracker’s classic packaging depicted circus animals in cages as a reference to Barnum and Bailey’s Circus. Now, at PETA’s request, Nabisco has removed the bars to allow the animals to roam free in an open field.

Being poor sucks – we’re just going to put that out there. When you’re poor, you can only afford the necessities and there’s very little room for much else. The poverty line keeps moving lower and lower as the distribution of wealth is skewed in favor of the rich who make money off of the working class without them even really trying. This means that there are a lot of low-income families in the United States, and low-income students never really speak up about it because they don’t want to be seen as someone who needs to be pitied.

For a lot of freshman, the transition into high school is not easy. The classes become more difficult and students have to adjust to a new schedule (especially if they do a sport). I’ve struggled with that as well, doing cheer while also balancing AP and pre-AP classes. It isn’t easy and it is very […]

A voice speaks up in a crowd of silence, giving others the courage to speak for themselves and tell their stories. Soon, a flood of voices, stories, anecdotes, accusations, and more come crashing in. They bring attention to one of the biggest issues facing America. There’s power in numbers.

Because English is one of the most widely spoken languages, there are many variations in it. One of the biggest differences is between English in the United States versus Britain. The British spell things strangely, such as spelling “gray” “grey”, “color” “colour”, and “realize” “realise” (they like to avoid z’s for some reason). Perhaps sometimes an American might think that the British way makes sense or a British person might like the American way better, but usually, there is little overlap. However, one rule that both Americans and the British argue about is the serial comma, otherwise known as the Oxford comma.

I’ve done lots of stupid things, and I’ve paid consequences for decisions I’ve made and for decisions I didn’t make. I’ve suffered from what I’ve done and from what I’ve left undone. I’ve watched things in my life fall apart before my eyes while not having any say in it, and I’ve also watched myself […]

Viral trends are hit or miss. While some can raise awareness for important issues, like the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, others are dangerous and can cause physical harm, like the cinnamon challenge. What makes people throw all common sense out the window the moment they watch a video on Twitter? People see these trends and […]

From an early age children are taught that actions have consequences.

When they misbehave, they get in trouble. When they touch something hot, it burns.

But words have consequences, too.

Colorful lights, two-ton elephants balancing on small, round rubber balls, ferocious man-eating lions jumping through hoops, and trapeze artists flying and tumbling in the air ever so gracefully. All together to create the greatest show on earth. The Greatest Showman is an original musical about the origins of P. T. Barnum’s vision to create something new that would eventually become a worldwide phenomenon.

If there is anything I’ve learned in life so far, it’s to keep going and to seek guidance when I need it, even when it was difficult to ask for help. Regardless of the situation. If I have a stupid question, if I am struggling with something, or if I don’t understand what is going […]

Natural talent is something continually praised, particularly in today’s society. “That kid’s a natural!” the announcers exclaim. “He was born with this ability!” Many times these “naturals” are lauded for what they can accomplish, but it is often second nature for them. While it is wonderful what they are capable of, it can sometimes discourage other people who do not have any natural talent in that area. Frequently, they end up quitting because they feel like no matter how hard they try, they will never match up to what the others are capable of doing.

Since early September, it seems like the US has been ravaged by natural disaster. Our home state was hit by hurricane Harvey, Florida was hit by hurricane Irma, California has been razed by massive wildfires, and more recently a storm developed off the east coast named hurricane Jose. However, a lot of people disregard natural disasters outside of the United States. Such as Puerto Rico, which was hit by Hurricane Maria.

“No regrets” was my motto last year, and I lived by that. Now that I look back on it, I regret getting C’s and D’s in my classes. I regret lying to all the teachers when I skipped to hang out with my friends. Those people I used to skip with aren’t even my friends anymore. I’ve come to ask myself: “what was the point?” I didn’t gain anything from slacking I did in my classes, even when I did go to them.

There is a powerful quote in the workout and school world that states: “Your mind will quit a thousand times before your body ever will”? While that is true for some people, what happens when you’re so motivated that your body gives up first, yet your mind tells you to keep going, to keep pushing – even when that’s not the best option? How do you combat that? How do you listen to your body? How do you give yourself a day off when you’re in constant fight mode to become better and outwork everyone?

From blades on ice to skis on snow, the Olympic Winter games is more entertaining to me than the Summer Olympics. It could be because of my emotional attachment to them and the nostalgic value they hold, but they will always melt my cold and frozen heart every time I have a chance to watch them.

If you’ve ever walked through the cafeteria after the last lunch, you’ve noticed trash littering the floors that were clean right before the stampede of students came through. This is unacceptable in any school, much less a high school full of teenagers who are more than capable of depositing the leftover remains of their lunch […]

Juniors and seniors are getting ready for the most stressful time in their young lives. Deciding on where they want to attend for college. The moment in life where they must choose the next path to walk down on in life after high school. It is a subject that many of us would rather avoid, though there is a few who actually look forward to it. As students begin to make their selection and wade through the never-ending list of colleges they believe will best suit them, there’s an issue that sometimes pops up. Do they leave home to experience a new form of independence at an out-of-state school, or stay closer to home at an in-state school and have the benefit of family and friends close by? At first glance, out-of-state can seem pretty scary, but it might not be as bad as it’s made out to be.

I have had many different math and science teachers throughout the years, but nearly all of them have made the same claim: the standard system is ridiculous and America should switch to the metric system. The standard system is the units of measurement such as inches and Fahrenheit that are used in the United States, and the metric system uses measurements like centimeters and Celsius and is used in the rest of the world. Every time I hear this claim, I flinch internally. What did all these people have against the standard system? Why would we use it so much if it was completely impractical? Perhaps I was a bit over-attached to the standard system since I grew up with it, and the metric system really was easier to make calculations with…did I have an unreasonable loyalty? Though I had my doubts, as I have grown up and progressed through school, I have discovered many merits of the standard system over the metric.

The US Census found in 2013, 1 in 4 high schoolers work part-time jobs during the school year. Many of these jobs are in customer service, whether it’s in the fast food industry, a restaurant, a grocery store, or any other positions that deals with people, and helping customers get what they want or need.

Community service: a necessary evil for embellishing college applications and resumes, or even for impressing your peers and parents. Of course, community service isn’t all bad. In the International Baccalaureate (IB) program students are required to participate in Creativity, Activity, and Service (CAS). It sounds like a lot to deal with, and sometimes it truly is. Keeping up with weekly logs, reflections, and evidence can be tedious on top of all of my other assignments, but CAS has helped me stay committed to a task and taught me how to record events for me to reflect on later. It has also highlighted how both the person receiving and the person giving benefit from the act.

WARNING: If you plan on watching 13 Reasons Why and you’re behind the curve, don’t continue reading this article; Spoilers lie ahead!
As high school and teen shows go, it can be understood that a majority of the storylines, characters, and settings may be unrealistic. When a show and its writers take themselves too seriously, it can be reflected in just about every aspect of the show: from acting, to dialogue, to the entire story itself.

Hashtag. Ating. Trending. Tweeting. Snapping. The internet streams social media into teens’ lives every waking moment of the day. Social media has become the communication form of choice with teens which comes with the good and the bad. It allows them to express themselves and communicate instantaneously with family, friends and strangers, but many times […]

Every girl knows the unspoken rules of Girl Code, but despite of knowing these guidelines, many girls don’t uphold the code. Once a guy gets into the mix, girls feel that the rules don’t apply to them anymore, but they’re wrong. Guys can cause longtime friendships between two girls to end in a heartbeat. The […]

Reliving a traumatic experience at the mention of a specific word or phrase, noise going off, or the sight of a familiar face is nothing to take lightly. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), a very real concern, is taken seriously in most cases and is appropriately accommodated for serious cases via safe spaces. Safe spaces are a good idea for those who need a place to calm down from panic attacks, PTSD attacks, or harassment. However, over the past five years, there’s been the used and public opinion of safe spaces.

When I started middle school, everything was new and crazy.

I wasn’t too worried about school, after all, I had just left the fifth grade and none of my classes were difficult.

It wasn’t until the end of seventh grade that I began experiencing feelings of depression.

What do you think of when you hear the word, “Crossfit”? Do you think, “that sounds hard” or “those people are crazy”, or “you’ll get hurt doing Crossfit”? What if I were to tell you those are all true. It is hard, most crossfitters are crazy for challenging their bodies and for pushing themselves to the absolute max, and there is a chance of getting hurt if you don’t take the time to learn proper form and body mechanics. Crossfit consists of constantly varied movements performed at a high intensity level. All crossfit workouts are based on a mixture of weightlifting, gymnastics, running, rowing, and more. Crossfit is for every age group, and all workouts can be modified to fit any fitness level or disability. Crossfit can also be extremely beneficial to any high school athlete looking for the edge on their opponent.

Some people aspire to climb the corporate ladder, to retire by 35 with a bank account full of money from savvy investments and shrewd business deals, but others would find that type of life devoid of meaning. Incentivizing education usually only leaves a bad taste in a teacher’s mouth as they don’t see success defined […]

High school is where students discover who they are. It’s where they decide what direction they want to go and who they want to be, stumbling through different obstacles to get there. From being scared to ask your crush to a dance, to failing a history test because you stayed up late watching Netflix instead of studying, to having a nervous breakdown in the middle of nowhere because assignments just keep piling one after the other, high school helps prepare students for adversity. Though many people think high school is the worst thing ever, there are many positives, like meeting people who you may spend the rest of your life with, making friendships that will stay very close to your heart, and creating memories that you will cherish forever. The four years of high school are some of the best years our our lives. Even though it may not seem like it now, you will realize it once it all starts to come to an end. Every year has its lows, but it’s up to you to make the best of every situation. here are some tips on how to do that.

One of the most difficult things to do is starting something new. One can overthink it, and talk themselves out of it. Starting a new sport, new class, new way of thinking, self improvements, eating healthy, starting to workout… whatever it might be, gaining motivation is difficult, especially when one doubts how far they’ll go, how much they can do, and how they will do it. Sometimes those doubters aren’t outsiders, but the person attempting to make the change. One might doubt the progress that will be made, and that stops them from starting. One of the most difficult things for me to do was to start taking care of my body – physically and mentally.

Whether the star of the little league team or the kid picking flowers in the outfield, it’s a rite of passage for American children to test the waters of sports. The obsession with sports doesn’t end in grades school, but instead continues even after teams become more selective at a collegiate level. As little league athletes transition to weekend fans, the popularity of sports in universities has continued to increase and coaches have started making millions of dollars based on the revenue generated by the players on the field. Coaches are over privileged and excessively paid for their players’ performance in numerous college sports while the athletes are strictly sanctioned by the NCAA.

The dictionary defines self-worth as the sense of one’s own value or worth as a person. However, there are many ways for a person to value themselves and assess their worth as a human being, and some of these are more psychologically beneficial than others.

Some people dream of traveling the world, while others are content with staying where they are. As a person who has traveled to a different country, I can say I am one who dreams to continue traveling the world. The feeling of not being stuck in one place while seeing new customs, traditions, and cultures makes it worth spending money on a plane ticket. I would love the opportunity to study abroad and think any student who has the chance to should take advantage of it.

The most important key to life is to see things in a positive perspective. The important aspects of humor is mental health and attitude. It’s important to be able to see things in a humorous way and not take all the negative situations so seriously. Not only is humor important, but it is good for physical and emotional health. Making people laugh is my favorite way of spreading joy to other people. I enjoy making people laugh because I feel that making someone smile is best thing someone can do. My goal for every day is to make someone smile or at least brighten their day. Jokes are common ways to make people laugh. Jokes come in all categories. They can be about animals, plants, or science related.

It’s nine o’clock at night and I’m at the studio bending and contorting my body beyond its limit as sweat drips down my face. Twenty-plus hours of my week are spent twirling on pointe shoes and leaping in jazz shoes, resulting in bruised toenails, blistered feet, and bloody toes. I compete at cutthroat competitions with some of the most proficient athletes of all time and come home with sore muscles and aching bones. I am a dancer, and I go through the same hardships as any other athlete, yet I am told that dance is not a sport. This ideology that dance isn’t a sport is a fallacy that our society must quickly be made aware of.

What happens when you combine two of the most delicious substances on Earth, chocolate chips and cookie dough, into one amazing food? The answer: you get a chocolate chip cookie! This classic treat has always surpassed others of its kind in popularity, including sugar cookies, white chocolate macadamia nut cookies, and even the famous snickerdoodle. Of course, every cookie wants to be like this star. Because of that, a devious substitute has emerged, tricking people into eating it as it masquerades as a chocolate chip cookie. Yes, I am talking about none other than the evil oatmeal raisin cookie.

Many fears in the world cause some superstitious parents to over protect their children. Independence is gained at a young age but, being over-nurtured or coddled, can cause some kids to lack in that characteristic. Parents may think that smothering their child is the best thing they could do but, it benefit both the parent and the child to let each other have some breathing room. Coddling leads to no self-reliance, and never learning from one’s own mistakes.

Keeping a smile on your face, maintaining a positive attitude at all times, and meeting the needs of many different people, are all duties someone must juggle while having a job in customer service.

The older generation asks this generation many good questions, like: “Why are you teenagers so lazy?” and “Why is this generation of music so self-centered?”. One of the most important questions is: “Have you seen the original?”.

YouTube is used world-wide to upload and watch videos to entertain whatever quirky interest internet users may be into. I find amusement in the beauty and fashion channels like many other young girls. These YouTube bloggers are just average girls who have more experience with things when it comes to beauty tips. The videos serve as a guiding tool for beginners, like myself, who didn’t really have anyone to teach them the basics of beauty.

While many features differ from country to country, there are a few things that every country has in common. One of those is currency. Despite all of the flaws and problems that money can cause, it is necessary to keep a country running smoothly. Since money is such an instrumental part of a well-functioning nation, […]

There are many misconceptions about yoga and many people don’t do it, or are quickly opposed to trying a yoga class, because they’re not flexible enough, don’t have good enough balance, are bad at meditating, or are already physically fit. However, people don’t understand the practice of yoga is a process. It’s not about the final destination, but the transitions and the journey along the way that make yoga a key component in becoming more fit.

The Internet is truly a complex and glorious place. At its best, it can be an outlet for creativity and communication, but at its worst it can be a bottomless abyss of terror and confusion. Unless someone has been living under a rock without wifi for the past few years, they are aware of what I like to call the “Golden Quartet” of the Internet: Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram, and Facebook. All of these apps or websites have commonalities, like their general accessibility, user-friendliness, and instant messaging abilities. Though these qualities are all essential to the apps’ success, there is one item present on all of these social media platforms that they owe much of their credit to, an item that is often taken for granted and somewhat misunderstood: the “meme”.

Many have cried foul at the idea of 14-year-olds being charged with felonies for making threats in the name of some menacing clown profile, arguing that a kid’s life shouldn’t be ruined over a prank. Consequences are an important part of life because it is the only way people learn. No matter how many times […]

“And they lived happily ever after” … words that so many of us fell asleep to as children, but as we grow, we may think that it’s foolish to believe that we can have a happily ever after and life only about paying bills, going to school, and having a career. We struggle and we suffer, but is it wrong to think that we can’t have that ‘happily ever after’?

Along with the leaves and cool breezes, October is a month that gives rise to the Fall spirit. However, that’s not the only spirit that rises in the tenth month of the year. The age old tradition of dressing up in costumes and going house-to-house looking for candy for the sake of a child’s enjoyment is usually what comes to mind when talking about Halloween, but for an ever growing group of people, Halloween is so much more than that. It’s about the scary, the spooky, the freaky, and the weird.And it’s not just one day; it’s the entire month.

It’s 2016. R&B artist Frank Ocean finally dropped an album, ‘90s pop culture sensation Pokemon has made an incredible resurgence, and the extremely successful Democratic nominee for the 2016 presidential election is a woman.

On Tuesday, July 29, 2014 I made the decision that would change my life forever. I became a vegetarian, and in that moment the harassment and the ignorance started from my friends and peers. I made a personal decision that day without knowing what kind of reaction I would receive. I watched a video on Youtube that I was recommended called “If Slaughterhouses Had Glass Walls”, and it was life changing. It showed graphic images that no 12-year-old should see, like pigs being beaten with their babies and cows being hung upside down and having their necks slit. It was horrific and educational at the same time.

The President of the United States has many important jobs such as the Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces, demonstrating hospitality to foreign ambassadors, and appointing the Supreme Court Justices. Looking at the two presidential candidates, some people, including myself, are concerned about the future of this great nation. Around 55% of Americans have said that they want a third party candidate, which demonstrates an overwhelming amount of dissatisfaction in the current choices.

It’s not a big secret that I am a huge Donald Trump supporter. I’ve been to a rally, I have the hat and shirt, and my truck proudly sports his bumper sticker. While I am not afraid to voice my support about this presidential candidate, a lot of people are. People are fearful that they will be labeled, “racist”, “homophobic”, “bigoted”, and “Islamophobic”. The backlash that comes from voicing one’s support for Mr. Trump is criticized severely in certain parts of the country, and many people have a good reason to be scared of sharing their opinion. Death threats, property damage, violence, and the banning of social media accounts are just a few things that have been experienced this past year by people who support Mr. Trump. On a personal level, last year my brother came home with two Trump bumper stickers and we were both hesitant about placing them on our cars out of fear that our cars would be keyed. If all people do is watch the biased liberal news, there are reasons not to like Mr. Trump, but if one does research on him, they will find that there are many reasons why he would be a great president.

Swimmers make a turn on the wall as the people in the stands erupt. They push to edge out the competition as each stroke is more and more taxing. These athletes are the best of the best and as the race comes to an end the swimmers pull themselves out of the pool, many sitting on the side waiting for assistance. Several attach prosthetic legs as they leave the pool and make their way to the podium to hear their country’s national anthem play as they receive their medal. Paralympians are athletes who capture the heart of sports by facing adversity as they pursue their passion.

Recently, opposition has been growing in America against something that has been around since 1787: the penny. Yes, this little, brown, seemingly insignificant coin has been the subject of much debate across the nation. More and more support is growing to get rid of it. Entire websites have been developed with the goal of eradicating the penny. Yet despite all of their effort, these people are wrong. The penny contributes a whole lot more to society than many people realize.

Death Valley can only be the name for a campus with promising features. Bursting with festive colors of purple and gold, Louisiana State University can be seen from a mile away. While rivals have evolved over the years. In the past Auburn and Alabama have been considered competitive equals. Now the Aggies have been added to the list. As a Bryan / College Station native, most would assume I’m an Aggie fan, but my allegiance rests with the Tigers.

It’s understandable that high school teens don’t have a desire to read anything other than the text messages and tweets on their phones, because many of the reading requirements set by schools and English teachers are classic novels that aren’t relatable or even interesting to their generation.

Whether it’s writing, playing sports, or making good grades some people find things easier than others. I find small talk difficult. I just can’t chit-chat with people, if there’s not a real topic, the conversation soon devolves into awkward staring. Some people just find things easier than others. However just, because things seem easy to […]

It’s understandable that high school teens don’t have a desire to read anything other than the text messages and tweets on their phones, because many of the reading requirements set by schools and English teachers are classic novels that aren’t relatable or even interesting to their generation.

At the ripe ol’ age of 15, I often look back nostalgically on my days of school-mandated naptime, the addict-like rush of joy that comes with recess, and most of all: insurmountable collections of coloring books. In kindergarten I was fond of scribbling lines of crayon into the printed outline of Disney princesses and random zoo animals, both inside the lines and out. There has always been something about coloring books that takes an insane amount of focus and determination for a young child, and shoving a crayon into a child’s hand and putting a coloring page in front of them has proven to be one of the most effective ways of buying parents and teachers a few moments of silence.