15- AshleyM: Sleepless emotions

 As screens take our daily lives , they also take our resting nights. The daily scroll through social media and endless tiktoks that make us stay up past 1. All take up the resting we need.

When waking up for school in the morning it’s hard. Puffy eyes , messy hair and the comfort of our beds. It all contribute to us still wanting to stay in that exact same spot , but we all have to be by school in the early morning to get our daily education.

This immediately ruins anyones mood the thought of going to school early with little to no rest. We start with negative thoughts and whines of all the work we are going to receive. One may think it’s just the thought of school and time spent that ruins our mood , but in reality it’s the time we take away at night.

When being restless all of our energy is gone for the next day. As it keeps us from thinking clearly , having stronger emotions and at times little to no patience.

I’ve definitely felt those symptoms at many times , as I stay up with the blue screen of my phone. It’s understandable as to why I wake up with no energy , but it’s time to put importance of the resting nights to not lash out at others.

15 - Mariza Avalos: A Terrifying Experience

On my sixth birthday, my mom and stepdad decided that it would be a good idea to take me on a vacation trip to Disneyland. It was my very first trip to Disneyland and most of the experience was very fun and memorable except for one unfortunate downside. I barely reached the 40” mark which meant that most of those exciting and fun roller coasters I wasn’t allowed to go on. In fsct, I wasn’t even allowed to ride on Goofy’s Sky School. Instead it would be stuff like the teacups, dumbo, and it’s a small world. Truly, I don’t think there is a ride at disneyland that I despise, but most of those for me were just too boring. 

Everything else was great including the food, other attractions, characters… It was just the rides that made the experience a bit bitter. On our third and final day, I was a bit disappointed about my situation with the rides. We were walking around California Adventure when my mom found that I was able to go on one of the seemingly exciting rides. A ride that was placed kind of in the corner of California Adventures and was in a tall narrow building. It didn’t have a visible name that you could see at ground level, but instead had big letters that were placed at the top which read “Hollywood Tower Hotel.”  

As a matter of child ignorance, I didn’t know what to expect of this ride nor did I read into any of the context clues. I just figured that I would follow my mom and engage in her excitement about the fact that I was finally able to ride something fun… It was a very big mistake because as soon as we stepped into the first elevator, which gave an introduction to the ride, my heart sank. My mom tried to convince me that this ride would be worth waiting in a 30 minute line for, but nothing about this so called Hollywood Tower Hotel gave the idea “fun” to me. 

The atmosphere was made for the ride itself, but as a kindergartener I wasn’t able to comprehend that all of the props and acting were there for the appearance.  There were cobwebs everywhere in the lobby, and the line for the ride was in a dark maintenance area. The screams of the current rides could be heard all throughout the enclosed area in order to ellevate the anticipation. Everything that led up to ride just made my stomach churn more. But of course, it wasn’t until I went on the ride itself that I finally declared this the worst experience of all time. 

15-PrestonK: meet at ARC

 Week15

Track at ARC

This spring break I got the opportunity to go run at the meet of champions at ARC. I got to for the first time in years really see the Track and field world. I got to see new meet records broken by 11th graders and crazy fast times set in the 100 like a 10.78 which is stupid fast. What makes this meet isn't just what I got to see but what I felt. Going and running and being among some of the best in our area really made me understand and realize the track and field life is for me. The competitiveness and joy I get from running is one thing but getting to be around others that have the same passion and drive as me is great. 

I got to see more hurdlers than ever before. Every event was full of a lot of fast runners all fighting for a top spot and that glory of the fastest time. You could overhear people bonding purely of the fact that they run the same event and they are both nervous.

Before my race in the 300 Hurdles I got to see and hear conversation playout in front of me. Going in the race I had the slowest time with a 44.6 and nobody knew. Everyone else was running 43 to 42 seconds so I knew I had to step my game up. While trying to focus I got to hear the two fastest in the 300 hurdles talking. After hearing them talk and say “ i don't know if i even want to continue this' ' it made me ask myself do i really want to be here and run ever? Well I got my answer the moment the gun went off. Even Though i had the slowest time in my heat by a large margin I ran with the fastest of my heat coming in at 3rd and a new pr of 42.85. In doing so I became the fastest hurdler in my league and showed a lot of things I can improve upon for my senior year so a college could want me. Track is the sport I know I love and will continue to do. Even though I dread going to practice and knowing i'm about to get worked hard i still love the sport. 

15-Nigel R: The Importance of PE

    PE is a subject that a lot of people like, however, there’s also a lot of people that don’t like it. I understand both points of view however, I feel like PE is an important class. 

PE should be required because it teaches kids how to keep themselves in shape if they want and it helps them get stronger and be healthier. PE also encourages kids to have healthy habits outside of school.  It’s also been proven to help prevent chronic conditions, contribute to healthy sleep patterns, and boost your immune system.

For PE to be most effective, I feel like it should have at least a day a week where the kids get to choose what activities they want to do, as long as they are participating in something. This can show the kids that exercising can be fun  and it is not always going to be hard. This will also encourage the kids to participate because they will know that not all exercise is draining, especially when they get to choose what they want to do. 

Another way for it to be effective is it should be graded on effort because not everyone is the same. Some people are more athletic than others and they shouldn’t be penalized for not being as athletic. As long as someone is giving their best effort, they should get a good grade in the class. 

PE is a class that should be required, but it shouldn’t be too strict to where people don’t want to participate. It should be fun so it can encourage kids to exercise and benefit them.

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15 - Diego B: The Life of Legacies

Our lives mean a great deal to us as well as those around us. However, life can often seem fleeting and easily lost. Sometimes it is so short that we forget to realize the missed opportunities which we create in our lives and can only reflect on how one’s life could be different if they chose a certain course of action. These opportunities may have not only affected our welfare, but the welfare of others as well. These opportunities build toward an eventual legacy, a legacy realized when our actions and effects on those around us become fixed in society. There are two kinds of deaths: one where one dies and cannot play with the world anymore, and another where our name and our influence is last noticed by those after us. It is the second which we should strive to preserve. Legacies vary in terms of quality; one may find enjoyment in abusing their powers, or they may attempt to cherish the minds of others, one may find a new way to shape the world and our relation with it. The legacies which we strive for, the enduring life which you may wish to pursue, can only be shaped by the actions and opportunities which arise in our lives and the decisions which we make with them. Our legacies can only be realized due to the opportunities which we may have missed, as well as the opportunities ahead of us. The challenge of life, however, is that it only provides us with so much time to affect those opportunities. Pursue your legacy even if life will not give you forever to realize it, because in the long run, one will never really die until their legacy is forgotten.

15- Katrina Smith: The controversy against America's favorite airplane

I’m a lover of movies of all genres, but documentaries always captivate my attention the most. I'm also a lover of airplanes. Since I was young, I’ve always been fascinated by airplanes and how they worked and at some point I even wanted to be a pilot, (but changed that out for a career in film). Combining these two, the Netflix documentary “Downfall: The Case against Boeing” was a perfect match for my viewing pleasure. 

When you think of aircraft manufacturers, you will probably imagine the Boeing 737. This airplane is the most common commercial airplane you'll encounter. Beginning in the 1950s, Boeing was rising to the top in popularity for commercial aircrafts. The Boeing 7X7 series has overtaken airports by storm since arrival. However, in recent years Boeing has been hit with controversy of some of their airplanes crashing themselves. 

The documentary begins by giving background on the manufacturing in Boeing's headquarters in Seattle. Since their beginning, the company has prioritized safety and innovation, always having multiple safety inspectors and engineers overseeing construction of commercial airplanes. This is why they got so popular. Boeing was safe and reliable, until it wasn't. 

In the 1980s, Boeing's main competitor was Airbus, a European company. With new management, Boeing began to prioritize passing this company in revenue. Their main goal was to be better than Airbus within profit margin. With this, safety and reliability were down on the list of priorities and Boeing’s plane manufacturing began to decline behind the scenes. Planes were being made with cheaper materials, safety inspectors were lessened to one per team. One inspector cannot catch everything, so tools were being left on the planes, and other hazardous materials that impact the dependability of the planes. This trend kept going till 2017, when the Boeing 737 Max was released. This aircraft was supposed to be a new updated and better version than it's successor, the 737, but became something much worse. 

Lion air flight 610 was an Indonesian flight scheduled to travel domestically in 2018. It was supposed to be a regular flight but crashed into the Java Sea off the coast of Indonesia on October 29th, just 13 minutes after takeoff, killing all 189 passengers and crew. The airplane used in this flight was a boeing 737 Max. At first no one suspected that the crash could be the fault of the actual airplane. Many speculated that it was the pilots fault and that both pilots had made errors. When the blackbox of the plane was found, the cockpit voice recording and the flight data recorder. The cockpit voice recorder records the interactions between pilots and traffic control, and the flight data recorder shows the altitude, airspeed, and direction, and the throttles status as the plane flies. What this data showed investigators was extremely odd. The air traffic controllers warned the pilots they were too close to approaching terrain and that the plane was too low, however this was completely false from the pilots point of view. From his perspective, the flight was going smoothly. In simple terms, the planes sensors were wrong and were reading data falsely. Most planes now have automatic functions so this wrong data caused the plane to move upwards due to the mechanics. This was completely unnecessary and the pilot tried to fight this automatic function and it caused the plane to go down, and crash into the sea. This was not the only instance of this technical error. The documentary oves another example of an Ethiopian flight that encountered the same exact issue. This was an error in the plane's mechanics, not the pilot's fault. 

The documentary goes far more in depth on the actual technicalities and also the aftermath of the tragedy and it's effects on families involved. Boeing took no responsibility for this faulty manufacturing issue that happened two times and families were left to fight for their lost loved ones. I really enjoyed this documentary and it shows how going the short way for money and status can sacrifice so much. 

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15 - Janessa H: My Legacy

 My Legacy

A person's legacy by definition means the impact someone has on both their own life and the lives of others, along with accomplishments and unforgettable memories. As a society we often place this attribute on famous people or the rich. These big stars often represent the word legacy when in reality you don't have to have been on TV or own a big college campus to have built a legacy.

Everyday people just like you and me build legacies everyday whether huge or tiny we can change lives and accomplish things throughout our lives so hopefully by the end of it we as people will have those unforgettable memories that we will be remembered by, and core memories others will hold onto that helped shape people's lives. I hope my own actions can shed some light on others in my life and teach not only lessons but certain examples to persevere even when it feels impossible. 

I'm building my legacy as we speak. I put myself into spots I’m needed and put on a smile even when I don't want to, to make someone's day better. I want to be remembered after my time so I will keep being my loud, outspoken self and I hope people can see what I did and accomplished, I don't want to leave the world behind knowing everything I did was for nothing and everything I did was pointless, I hope my legacy truly means something and inspires the ones around me however my legacy is far from over, it has just begun.