Relationships are some of the most important factors in people’s lives. Many people do not feel that there is room for both old and new friends and it can cause issues, but both old and new friends have a place in a person’s life.

Lately I’ve noticed a lot of people on Tumblr have started to bash Americans, despite Tumblr being made and maintained by Americans. What bothers me the most is that the non-Americans (and even some Americans) are calling us “ignorant” and “stupid” for not knowing about the world’s problems to the depths that they think we should. One post that really struck a nerve with me was one that stated that Tumblr needed to stop being so “America-centric”.

Sit up straight! No elbows on the table! Chew with your mouth closed! We’ve all heard these obnoxious remarks from our parents and guardians, but our stubborn minds want to reject these orders. Manners can often be thought to be unimportant, but should not be so quickly dismissed.

A rose gold watch from Fossil, a phone plan for the latest iPhone 6s, or even some new clothes – all things a teen could have without using their parents money, with their own job. Teens can start working as young as 15 with a working permit, and at the legal working age is 16 in Texas. Once a teen hits 16 they should begin applying for jobs and looking to the future.

In the heat of summer, the only thing that keeps Southerners alive is their beloved Brenham original: Blue Bell Ice Cream. There are days that are emblazoned in the minds of all Texans; one such moment is the tragic day that Blue Bell announced the devastating recall on all of their products: popsicles, ice cream bars, and most importantly, the ice cream itself. The recall was due to a listeria outbreak in multiple factories, causing them to shut down production, along with general Texan happiness and sanity.

Suitcase- check. Backpack – check. Multiple forms of currency – check. Passport… Long story, but check.

This summer I traveled to Europe alone for the first time. Most 16-year-old’s parents would never consider allowing them to travel abroad, much less alone, but my parents and sister were born in Bosnia and much of my family is scattered across Europe. Having family live in a different countries has made it difficult to keep in touch with everyone, so my family and I try to go to Bosnia i Hercegovina as much as we can during summer breaks. We are the only ones in our family who live in America, so it’s easier for us to travel to Europe rather than everyone else coming here. Also, it’s a lot easier for Americans to travel out of the country than my family from Europe to get a visa to come to the US.

At the beginning of this year, the Norseman staff looked at wide-spread movements that bring about change, such as the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. In looking at that, we were able to see the good and the bad of such movements; viral trends can just be that – a trend that quickly dies – but they can also be educational.

It’s now that time of year again. A time when the clock winds down to the last days of another seemingly never ending school year. A time where we start planning our trips for the summer and dream about the amounts of sleep we’ll finally have. Although for me this time around, the clock seems […]

Everyone struggles with something, especially in high school. Maybe your grades aren’t exactly what you want or you’re struggling with problems at home or with your friends. Life can be a bit overwhelming, so I want to share what I’ve learned about how to deal with troubling times.

Technology has overrun our everyday life. In school, we use it for quizlet and duolingo or for typing Internal Assessment long articles for peers to edit. At home, we post cute selfies or watch Netflix (because, let’s get real, no one watches television anymore). However, can you remember a time where you couldn’t press the home button on your iPhone to get Siri to find information for you? Children from the 1980s know the horror of these times because they lived it.

Presidential elections, Olympic games, and leap years – four years seem to be a popular time for new things to come about. So much change happens in four years, yet we don’t realize that these changes occur until we look around and see that we are only a couple of months away from graduation and […]

Technology is, inevitably, a part of our everyday lives. There are infinite privileges to living in a technologically advanced time, like the ease of communication across the globe. Technology is undoubtedly going to keep improving long after our generation passes. But, considering just how absorbed we can be in technology, it can guide us into a world made completely of glowing screens. These never ending privileges of technology seem insignificant, but collectively, they can lead to the elimination of interactions with real people.

If I were to bet someone a million dollars that 90% of American teens use Snapchat, I’d probably win. Don’t we all just love the new update? Whether you love it because it hides your best friends from your significant other or you hate it for the exact same reason.

As a budding artist, it can be difficult to be as expressive through my work as I want to be. With the pressures of judges at competition and various guidelines and other things to think about when working on pieces, art starts to be a very stressful endeavor for a high school student. The big question is: how safe is it outside the box? How far can I go before I can’t go any further?

For decades, students have taken to bathroom stalls with Sharpies in hand to spread gossip and rumors. However, the bathroom stalls have ceased to be the primary avenue for such information. Recently, many have taken to social media as a new means to spread hateful rumors to a larger audience.

When I am not spending my time procrastinating writing my incredibly witty newspaper articles, I tend to dabble in the art of writing novels and, occasionally, reading them. One of the many things I have discovered in my writing adventure is that, no matter how exciting or original your plot is, if your characters fall flat, the story falls flat.

There are many people that come from single parent or broken family homes. I am one myself. Some either live with their mom, dad, or neither. You may even be lucky and have both, but sometimes that isn’t always a good thing. Most parents divorce, because of many disagreements and arguments. Many times, it is the mother doing everything on their own, just like mine.

Every brush stroke, pencil sketch, pastel, primary, and secondary color added to artwork signifies something an artist deeply feels. The same goes for writers like the Norseman staff. Every key we press, and article we submit is our artwork, and expresses what we think about a topic. Believe it or not there are many different types of artists. Although there is one type of art that isn’t typically called art: graffiti.

While many of the things society detests are shunned for good reason, some of them just happen to be the most enjoyable to do. Who wouldn’t want to drive 80 on the highway if it meant you could get to your destination faster or bring dry breakfast cereal into a movie theater because you were too hungry to care about distracting other people? But societal constraints on language seems to be the most lenient, and there are times when our language is perforated with terms that most people consider unsuitable for general communication.

Speed walking around a football field and blowing through some weird instrument is considered stupid by many people. Although many may say marching band members are insane for wanting to make a bunch of figures and play for eight minutes straight, people should think about the real work behind this insanity.

As the second semester gets into full swing, a major topic weighs heavily on the minds of teachers and students minds – next school year. Seniors are finalizing their decisions for life post-high school, juniors are looking to take SAT and ACT tests, and students might spend hours at a time scavenging through the thick course guide trying to figure out which classes to sign up for before they meet with their counselor. Many of these underclassmen find that teachers, counselors, and parents are pressuring them to take the most advanced classes and get involved in every organization imaginable so their résumés look impressive for colleges.

As Black Friday creeps deeper into Thanksgiving every year, guests around the dinner table become more sparse as they rush to beat the crowds or clock in to work their shifts. This attitude is seen at Christmas as people have become more interested in gifts and possessions rather than spending time with their loved ones. […]

Why is it that many people refuse to say the Pledge of Allegiance? Why can’t a growing number of Americans differentiate between the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution? What ever happened to the sense of national pride and unity amongst the American people?

From fighting to loving, making memories to making each other cry, the love/hate relationship amongst siblings is a powerful thing.

SAC, suspension, phone calls home, having to change clothes, referrals, and so many more things are consequences of the two words we all hate to hear, dress code.

Cheers erupt from the stadium as the two teams face off, each knowing the only way to claim the championship is by going through the other. Fifteen seconds later one team is dead while the other team pushes on.

Southern comfort, mouth-watering food, and perfect beyond belief sweet tea. These aren’t just items that are depicted in Southern-centric movies and songs, they’re actual characteristics found at the wonderful, scrumptious Chick-Fil-A fast food chain. 50 years ago, the founder of Chick-Fil-A, Truett Cathy, invented the best thing since sliced bread – the chicken sandwich. This […]

Many people pride themselves on being socially conscious, but as a whole social consciousness seems to be fleeting based on observing past examples.

The Somewhat True Tale of Robin Hood is everything a high school play should be: funny, entertaining, clean-humored, and hilariously weird. And the quirky, lovable Viking cast brought the characters to life – onstage, and off.

Fighting again wages in the Middle East as members from a multinational coalition led by the United States battle against extremist militant fighters of the Islamic State terrorist group, often referred to as ISIS, ISIL, or simply IS. Much of the heavy fighting is taking place in Iraq and Syria, where Kurdish ground forces, backed by US led airstrikes, are battling to reclaim lost territory.

The neon leg warmers, baggy sweatshirts, and wild poofy hair will remain safely tucked away deep in closets across America because, even though the 80’s are making a comeback, it’s thankfully not with fashion. Instead it’s with wildly fun and entertaining movies, television shows, and cartoons.

Shoes have become just about as irrelevant as the splattered mosquitoes that get wiped and smeared off to the sides of windshields, and that is unacceptable.

Music, a seemingly innocent topic of conversation can bring me a great deal of pain when headed down the wrong direction. We ended up talking about what we like, what we don’t like, what we’re excited about, and what came to be disappointing, but no matter where we are, it always comes back to that one person who always gives the rest of us the classic excuse, “There’s just nothing new that’s good.”

Cats are without a doubt the most amazing creatures in the whole entire universe. Not only are they great, easy-to-handle pets, but are also the epitome of the internet today. GIF after cat GIF, cats never cease to make us laugh until we cry, and feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

In high school there are many special occasions to look forward to: school dances and birthday bashes. You make plans with friends, rent limos, and buy dresses, but really, what are you thinking about when it comes to these events? How are you planning on showing up?

As I sit here in my Doctor Who t-shirt, with my Harry Potter backpack sprawled open at my feet, and BBC’s Sherlock playing in the background, I can’t help but wonder about the stereotypes surrounding the term ‘fangirl.’

Is it really almost the end of my senior year? What a crazy roller coaster of a ride these past four years have been. From the trials, errors, disappointments, tears, and triumphs that I have experienced, I am walking away from high school knowing so much more than when I walked in, and not just academically. I’ve learned a lot of lessons – some the hard way. There are definitely things I wish I would have known before I entered high school. This being my last article, I am dedicating it to incoming and current freshmen so they can learn the things I didn’t know.

The blow to the face, the ringing in your ear, the sting on your cheek, the drowning feeling of indescribable sadness and forced guilt. Emptiness surrounds you, however it has to be your fault. You really must have been flirting with another guy this time, you weren’t just being nice. You begin to question your every move. Was I really staring at him? Were those text messages to my guy friend as innocent as I thought they were? I must have done something to deserve this. After all, he loves me.

Chicken tenders here, chicken tenders there, chicken tenders are everywhere. Lately, chicken tenders have become increasingly popular in various fast food and sit down restaurants.

A mother: a woman who loves unconditionally, putting her child’s needs before her own. In high school, most girls don’t understand that kind of love or selfishness.

If one thing is certain, it’s that there needs to be a instruction manual for incoming high-school freshman – how to do this, when to do that, what’s important and what’s not going to matter in ten years – because we all know that it would save everyone a whole lot of time and effort. Unfortunately though, there isn’t. Kids are left to learn manual-worthy lessons on their own; some lessons are learned by experience, some by association, and some simply by observance.

Over the course of four years, high school can fill that theoretical manual pretty full, but perhaps the most important lesson one could learn from that manual may not be realized until late in the high-school career, or even afterward: to not let high school be the center of the universe.

As a kid, all I used to sing was, “Spiderman, Spiderman, does whatever a Spiderman can.”I still sing it today. I’ve been a Spiderman fan since I was a kid, and my mom has tons of pictures of me dressed up in Spiderman costumes. Consequently I was very excited for the new movie, The Amazing Spiderman 2, the sequel to the 2012 film, The Amazing Spiderman.

High school, day one: lost, shy, and scared. My first class on that day was Journalism – Newspaper with Rebecca Dominy in room 6160. A series of questions ran through my head as 8:25 a.m. came closer and closer by the minute: where is room 6160? I knew the class would be filled with upperclassmen – what if they think I’m weird?

Two hours of consecutive six second videos. How tedious does that sound? You begin to ask yourself, this can’t be me? It was just 11 o’clock, how is it already two in the morning? No way have I been staring at a screen for hours at a time. In this day and age however, technology has the power to do exactly that, and I too have fallen victim.

Teenagers, like adults, get stressed every now and then. But just how stressed is our generation?

‘Friend.’ A common concept that people recognize all around the world. A word that can be sincere, or just routinely spoken, a word that can hold meaning, or be completely hollow inside, a word that I had placed on so many people without truly knowing what it stood for, but now all that it stands for couldn’t be any clearer. The person who holds this prestigious title not only has the word ‘friend’ by her name, but ‘best’ in front of it.

Anyone who had a PS2 played ‘Need for speed’ as a kid; now it has turned to a movie in 2014. Upon hearing the news of the movie, I questioned, “Will I need to watch it, or will it be another video game turned to a movie become a bust?”

It’s that time of year again – the excitement of prom is in the air, and the majority of junior and senior girls are beginning their search for the perfect dress. After a suitable dress is found, then comes the hair dying, spray tanning, and nail painting, all in preparation for the big day. While all of this can be exciting, the cost of prom has a tendency to take away some of the fun of the event. However, this does not have to be the case.

Burgers: about the most American a food can get. Something so easy to make and yet when prepared correctly can become the best thing you have ever eaten. I was on a mission to find the best burger in the Bryan/College Station area, and I am glad to report that I have found a winner.

A college acceptance means a lot of things for a student; it marks the time for filling the closet with school colors, buying dorm essentials, setting up a credit card, planning out a course schedule, looking into all the interesting intramural sports and student organizations offered on campus – the list is endless. However, though it can be lost in the midst of excitement, a college acceptance also means an extraordinary monetary commitment.

Being born and raised in Florida, from Miami to Tampa, I was comfortable in my surroundings and I didn’t want to move. I was very hesitant, about moving halfway across the country, but I would never have guessed how great Texas would be, despite many things are different. Though I’ve only been here for a month and haven’t experienced everything just yet, but it seems to be going well.

“Life’s a dance you learn as you go… don’t worry ‘bout what you don’t know. Life’s a dance you learn as you go.” This country tune by John Michael Montgomery tells us not to worry about the unknown, but most of us can’t say that we haven’t. All of us worry to an extent, and with good reason. For me, senior year is here, and my worries focus around my future. While I’m excited, I’m also concerned.

This past October, I met my best friend.

Yes, you read that correctly – read it several more times if you must. No, we did not become best friends after we met, we were best friends already. How, you ask? Technology is a wonderful thing. It has the power to connect two very similar people – so alike that it’s scary, actually – who are separated by 1,337 miles and would never know each other otherwise. Call it weird, question why I can’t make a best friend in my own city (let alone my own state), offer to sign us up for the TV show Catfish – I’ve heard it all before.

Most of us have been judged by someone, whether it was based on what we wore, what style of hair we rocked, who we dated, the people we hung out with, etc. The list is never ending. Well, one thing some may or may not have checked off their list, is being judged based on their education.

The grocery store: something people used to get dressed up for, or at least look presentable for is now littered with people that look like they just rolled out of bed.

During last year’s running of the Snowball Derby – the most prestigious Super Late Model race in the country – I was simply a spectator. That’s more than most people can say, however, as the race isn’t televised and is therefore only truly accessible to those who make the trip to Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola, Florida to watch it. But this time around, in the 46th-annual running of the race, I was introduced to a whole new side of the event, and of racing itself: I returned to Five Flags Speedway with a media credential and a crew that had bounds more experience with doing at-track race coverage than I.

The issue over whether to teach sex education in schools remains a hot debate topic. In many cases, parents wish to solely be responsible for educating their children on sex and sex-related topics. On the other hand many teachers, administrators, and parents feel that education is the only means of decreasing teen pregnancy.

The stockings are hung by the chimney with care, the popcorn is strung and draped on the tree, and the sweet melodies of Bing Crosby are playing through the house…but it’s July 1 and others are wondering what’s going on.

“Fa la la la la, la la la la.”

It’s December 1st and I’m about to fa-la-la-fall off a cliff as a last resort to escape the Christmas music that’s playing in every public place I walk into.

Americans are creatures of habit, and one habit we stay true to is our pastimes. America has many pastimes, from baseball to block parties and especially eating out. From coast to coast there are restaurants, fast food places, cafes, and buffets galore!

Tumblr, A place of wonder and self expression. This social media site let people express their emotions without having to type a thing in status form. The beauty of it is that most people are wrapped up with Facebook and other social media sites and don’t necessarily enjoy blogging, so you don’t have to worry from judgement from your peers regarding the things on your Tumblr page.

2% battery.

Your head shoots up from your little bright screen. You jump to your feet, knock your chair over, leap over the couch, run across the state, over the lava, swim across the Atlantic Ocean, fight off members of a drug cartel, make it past a Pterodactyl without being eaten alive, run straight through WWII safe from the falling bombs, sneak past zombies in an apocalypse, climb over Mt. Everest and finally you reach it — the cherished charger that will give life to your beautiful, beloved cell phone.

Do I want grilled cheese or Chef Boyardee? Should I play outside or watch the next episode of Powerpuff Girls? Do I want pigtails or a giant bow in my hair? What were once time consuming decisions that filled my eight-year-old brain became futile as I grew up. One thing never changed; my decisions were impulsive and pleasing for that time.

“It’s going to be the best week of your life!” I was told numerous times before the day finally came for me to pack my bags and head to Crooked Creek Ranch- a YoungLife Camp in Fraser, Colorado this summer. The best week of my life though? I could hardly think of the best day of my life, let alone the best week, but I remained open-minded to the idea that this could quite possibly be the best week ever.

Summer has always been carefree for me. The sun kisses my skin, sweets become even sweeter, sweat goes unnoticed, and of course spending every day with my friends is the best part. But the summer after my junior year was different. Sure, it was still a break from school, but seeing my expectations in comparison to my realizations was like a slap in the face.

Male students don’t want to look like Si Robertson from “Duck Dynasty”, they just don’t want to risk cutting themselves shaving their mustaches and beards for a random rule. Students can not help that they are growing older and that hair is beginning to grow out on their faces like grass in a field, and some teachers come off a bit hypocritical when they have a beard to the floor and get upset that we have a little peach fuzz on our face, It’s like we are breaking some kind of ancient law punishable by incarceration in county jail.

An hour on the treadmill to get a daily workout in sounds like a blast, right? Wrong. That is, unless you’re a running enthusiast – which, truthfully, most of us aren’t. And even for those who are, stationary running still doesn’t sound like very much fun.

Everyone has their preference when it comes to the seasons of the year. In Texas we all look forward to the time of year when it’s not 100+ degrees outside. I could care less about the temperature-my favorite season doesn’t have much to do with the temperature, but instead, centers around when my parents go […]

Society today is globally interconnected, where ideas and technology can be shared across the globe almost instantly with the push of a button. At the heart of this constant technological exchange is a device that has spread to six continents and every country on the map – cell phones. Most phones are able to easily fit into pockets or handbags, and the ability to share information almost instantly has become very important. However, most students have taken the technology far beyond their original purpose; so one must pose the question, do people really need these pocket-sized distractions?

Organization makes us feel in control. When everything is in its place, the world just seems happier. Sorting, sifting, and maybe even pinning all help us feel accomplished and organized. At least that’s the effect it has on me.

Technology shapes everything, from massive corporations to daily life and this influence is especially true in schools. New technology being constantly integrated has changed classrooms greatly over the past few decades.

It functions as a girl’s dream closet, personal cookbook, future house plan, wedding-day checklist, workout motivation, and everything in between. Most notably, though, Pinterest is the database of basically every “Do-It-Yourself” project known to man (better yet, woman). The DIY projects featured on Pinterest are so enticing and look so very simple, but the fact […]

Racing isn’t just a sport. It’s a lifestyle, centered around a sport. Racing is something that gets in your blood, and stays in your gene pool for generations down the line. For those who haven’t experienced racing first hand, racing seems like it is simply “left turns for a few hours”, but it’s so much […]

Cell phone screens have become excessively large with no additional benefits. A bulging pocket, the struggle of holding and using it, and being caught attempting to secretly text in class, it seems like no breakthrough has really come from increasing the screen size.

For nine months, I waited. For nine months, I planned and anticipated what was to come. For nine months, I spent most of my time imagining what it would be like to meet my daughter. And finally on January 21 I didn’t have to imagine, plan, or wonder what she’d look like or how she’d make me feel. It all became real. After six hours of contractions and 30 minutes of pushing, they handed me the closest thing to heaven I’ve ever seen. She joined me in this world, and she’s mine. I delivered a piece of perfection.Those two days in the hospital, it all felt like a dream and with the nurses there to help, parenting Aleeya seemed doable.

As the number of students cutting class across the nation increases, school districts have turned to extreme methods in an effort to control attendance. Several schools have implemented a microchip device in student identification badges that monitors the location of students on campus. This topic has sparked controversy in several school districts, especially in Texas […]

As more mass shootings take place in America, the topic of gun control becomes more prevalent with the public. In response, President Barack Obama has recently made a controversial proposal to congress regarding the nation’s gun control laws aimed at the nations weapons holders. Now, more than ever, it is critical that citizens are familiar with the second amendment. As a free nation, we must realize that we cannot blame the masses for the acts of the few.

Over the past few years, statistics have shown that gun crimes seem to be dramatically increasing every year since 1999. Since the Columbine High School shooting of 1999, the Virginia Tech shooting of 2007, the Batman shooting of 2012 in Aurora, Colorado, and the most recent Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Connecticut in 2012, including numerous others in between, have left American hearts in pieces.

In the midst of the freezing winter months, people dream of summer vacations, bikinis, pool parties, and trips to the beach. Most want to trade in those fuzzy boots for a pair of sandals, and feel sand between their toes rather than snow under their feet. Yet, in the midst of summer, we long for the frigid winter, bonfires, and the chance to bring the newest pair of Ugg boots out of our closets.

This October, my friends and I sat on the bleachers watching the Viking football game like most Friday nights in the fall. Boredom began to strike while the scoreboard remained unchanged and time passed slowly. Then, we were suddenly approached by a girl. She immediately sparked conversation after conversation with us, adding some much needed pep to our average night. (I later learned was a YoungLife leader). I appreciated the fact that she didn’t just come out and say that she was a leader or try to smooth talk us into going, like some entrepreneur opening a new business would have. She took the time to get to know us before talking about what YoungLife was and by the end of the night, we exchanged numbers and that’s where the journey began.

Planning on a cheap date to the movies? Think again. After buying the tickets comes the one thing that makes a good date; the snacks.

Maybe it’s hormones or maybe it’s just me being paranoid as usual, but I honestly expect the worst. I’m not saying having a baby is horrible or anything, but I do think that my life will change dramatically.

Ever since elementary school we’ve been accustomed to waiting in a line for our lunches. As we get older, get our driver’s license, and get a sense of freedom and responsibility, a lot of students would say that off-campus lunch would be something appropriate for them.

As we approach the second semester, many of us find ourselves struggling to plan out our futures and make life altering decisions. With college looming around the corner, the decision remains, to stay or to go.

It’s widely accepted that some sort of punishment is required for individuals who break a law. However, the nature of that punishment is a source of much debate. The most oft used form of punishment is either a monetary fine or jail time.

As we approach the holiday season, we begin to see widespread food drives and donation stands run by the Salvation Army and other organizations to give people the opportunity to donate to the less fortunate in the community.

Scorpions falling from the sky, fire coming from the surface of the earth, buildings and bridges collapsing, dead animals on the streets, humans eating humans, earthquakes every hour, tsunamis engulfing islands, cars falling through cracks in the streets and down to the center of the scorching earth to be burned, with no mercy on the lives of all 6 billion people living on this planet.

Augmented reality Glasses’ sound like something from a science fiction movie. With over a year before they release and a prototype available, Google Glasses are now reality. Project Glass was revealed on August 4th, 2012, and a consumer version is planned for 2014. While this technology has many advantages there is also the potential for misuse by Google.

The past 12 years of school have led us to this moment: your senior year. The days of naptime are long gone, and soon we wave goodbye to the familiar friday night lights. The next steps will most likely determine the course of our lives, or so we are told. But how are we supposed to jump into the ‘real world’? The possibility of college is daunting enough, but the possibility of leaving home, our hometown, or even the state does not come without fear or apprehension.

One of the best days of my life was when I saw my favorite artist Kid Cudi. My best friend and I waited outside in the burning hot sun for hours at the Cedar Park Center just to get a glimpse of the man himself. As we found our seats, they were playing some of […]

How easy is it to transition from a teenager with the mindset of “you only live once,” to a young adult that asks, “how am I going to get a job?”

In the gym,the football team runs through the gym doors to their chairs. Cheerleaders, Shy-Annes and Color Guard members show off their routines while the other students in the stands are cheering and shouting, showing their school spirit. Well maybe not everyone.

If you scroll through the average teen’s twitter feed, you’re sure to find at least one tweet along the lines of  “omg kms”. I can confidently say that my generation is definitely one the most apathetic generations if not the most. Being self-centered is a stage most teens go through, but it’s at an all […]

Living in Mexico for four months provided me with the opportunity to realize how different Mexico is from the United States on a personal level. Although Mexico and the United States are geographic neighbors, they exhibit very different backgrounds, cultures, and ancestry.

Ever walked through an aisle at the grocery store, seeing multiple opportunities to win an inconceivable amount of money, or a dream vacation for doing something as simple as entering a code from a box or a bottle cap?

A new cell phone case, clothes, movies – there are so many things to spend money on, but to have money, you need a job.

They’re crazy, they’re talented and best of all, they run on steam! They are Steam Powered Giraffe – The singing musical automatons!

Having a parent as a civil servant is not an easy thing, especially for me. My dad, a sergeant at the Brazos County Sheriff’s Office, has been serving our community for the last 18 years, longer than I have been alive.

Summer is going well; everything is great. Roads aren’t crowded, restaurants are empty, stores are calm, and then the end of August comes and everything changes. The college students return to school and those once empty restaurants turn into loud, crowded places and the roads are filled with distracted drivers.

As I walked into school, starting the tenth grade with nerves on edge, I noticed how many people were in the cafeteria. Then I saw the differences; a new principal, televisions in the cafeteria, and even more would be revealed later.