Assignment #5 -William Webb- Television Targets

#5 The reasons we watch television may be unclear to many, but the social and emotional characteristics it brings to viewers has a great impact.  Much of the programmes we watch, whether its sport based or purely for entertainment, have basis for social status that it’s viewers retain. We want comfort and familiarity, to feel that we are among friends, to be connected to the wider world, or to experience excitement or explore worlds beyond our immediate existence.  

This is the exact reason I, myself watch television.  My favorite baseball team the Yankees just fell short of the World Series this year, and as I watched them battle all year round, I couldn't help but idolize and but each one of the players on a peddle stool that myself was not on. This is by far the greatest reason for why I enjoy watching TV.  But this not the case for other people. Some people enjoy watching television shows that themselves can relate too, which allows for a whole different brand viewers that are targeted.

Assignment 6: Hannah Qazi - I was going to title this but I can't make up my mind

The human brain is an apparatus of knowledge, so complex that it's essentially a mini-universe. It's crazy to think that in this exact moment your own brain is activating a multitude of areas: your cerebrum, frontal lobe, and even your temporal lobe, to read these exact words. With each new discovery of the human brain, we learn more about ourselves. Through neuroscience, we can understand and explain our thoughts, behavior, and actions. It can provide reason for not only the complex and unpredictable behavior of a teenager or the curious and mischievous toddler but also entire societies. With this increase in knowledge comes an increase in empathy and as a result, change is created. Recent developments in medicine have even discovered treatments for previously fatal mental ailments, but in order to successfully achieve this, the brain itself would need to be altered, leaving some alarming side effects. As strange as it sounds, neuroscience and ethics have an undeniable connection with one another

Assignment #4- Ezra Mulalic- Garfield

While watching The Garfield Show when I was younger I just always believed that Jon, Garfield's owner, Liz, and just other humans could always hear Garfield when he spoke. Every time Garfield would "speak" or interact with other characters it always seems as if they were paying attention like they were in a conversation with them. My parents would always tell me that no human could understand Garfield but I was determined to keep believing that Garfield could speak with people. Determined to prove my parents wrong, I went to Google. I never would have thought that one Google search could destroy my hopes and dreams, but with that one search I found myself in Yahoo Answers. Being informed that Jon can't understand what Garfield says, but only understands his gestures and emotions, I felt defeated. My parents just laughing at me, all I could think is "Just wait till I get you back. One of these days I will, eventually." This is probably the first time I have questioned what my parents have told me, but it wasn't the last and it still probably won't be. I still love my parents, but I don't know if I will exactly believe everything they say. I know that one post on Yahoo Answers might have told me otherwise, but I will always believe that Jon can understand Garfield when he speaks.

Assignment #4 -William Webb

Throughout my much un-lived life, I have always gone with the flow and have never stopped to question what I was doing or how I should be doing it.  Not until recently have I started to realize that not everything that is done the right way, is not done the best way. This right way of doing things has been pushed on myself as well as many other teenagers.
This small idea had me questioning little tasks, such as, many of my chores around my house, how i solve little tedious tasks and even the way I write.  The way I hold my pencil is almost a perfect example, one simple adjustment with your pointer finger can allow you to write almost fifty percent faster. To the point your brain is trying to catch up to your pencil. These particular ways at looking at things like this can give you little advantages over other people who just go with “the flow.”

Assignment #6 - M'Kiyah Baird: A rant on writing

I like story-telling. I used to want to be an author when I was a kid but I grew out of it. However, the idea of writing enjoyable fantasy books still crosses my mind from time to time. Unfortunately, I don't have the patience to take the time and write a full novel, short stories never seem to be enough for me, and, considering I'm a very visual person, it's difficult to take the scenes in my head and turn them into words. I feel like being an author is a stressful job and doesn't make much money (which my family stresses often). Right now, I'm unsure of how to make money with the things I'm relatively good at. I can do math fairly well(I refuse to be an accountant) and I can supposedly draw well (not sure how to make money with that one). So ultimately, I'd like to write a story on the side of whatever job I plan on having(at this rate, probably at McDonald's for 2 cents an hour) and maybe get it published and see how it does. I have a large imagination when it comes to fiction with endless ideas always sprouting at random times. I guess the next step would be just to put them on paper. 

Assignment #5: Television - M'Kiyah Baird

I rarely watch TV. I'm still getting out of the Disney Channel phase many of us grew up with as the shows seem to be getting progressively worse. I think I'm starting to become my mother because I watch Law and Order:SVU everyday of my life. That's really the only reason why I would watch TV. In today's day and age, there are mobile apps such as Netflix, YouTube, and Hulu that keep teenagers on their phones, off of TVs, and out of conversations. Television shows don't seem interesting when you can watch whatever you want whenever you want to. So, considering I don't watch TV often, I don't usually find a show to like or dislike. The only show that I hate with a passion is Andi Mack on Disney Channel. That show has contributed to my transition from kid's shows to Law and Order of all things.

Assignment #3- Ezra Mulalic- My Family and Me

Coming from a family where both parents were born in Bosnia, I have had cultural interaction with life than most people have. My parents were forced to leave their homeland due to the Yugoslavian war that tore up the country. My parents being forced to leave the country were lucky enough to go to America. Most of my dad's side of the family stayed in Bosnia, while a lot of my family's side came with them to America. This decision of them staying has caused some problems for visiting, because my mom's side lives close to us but my father's side practically all live in Bosnia. My dad's sister family lives in Maryland and we usually visit them yearly, but we haven't gone to Bosnia for a while. The last time I remember going to visit them was when I was around 6. Bosnia might not be the wealthiest country, but it is beautiful. My parents are from Velika Kladusa, and it is mainly just farm land. This experience has shown me how lucky I am to be able to live in a country like America. The war the tore up Yugoslavia, was one over religion. Bosnia being a Muslim country, and my parents being born Muslims was a tradition that ended with me. My parents stopped being as religious as they were once they got to America. They probably believed that religion is what causes problems, and that has affected how I view things.

Assignment#6 - Buddy Goodwin - Spacial Reasoning

Something that I personally find very interesting is design and working with my hands. A weird gift that I think I have is that I am very good with spacial reasoning. If you give me a room with furniture in it I can re-arrange it to make it look nice. If you give me a lot of baggage and a small trunk I am pretty good with re-arranging the baggage so that it can all fit. I am pretty good at solving puzzles or mazes and when I am given a problem I sort of think of it as a puzzle or maze. I think this is one of the reasons why math comes easy to me because to me most math problems are like a maze or puzzle that I have to solve. My favorite school related project that I have ever been given was a Rube Goldberg machine assignment I was given in 7th grade. In this assignment the teacher gave the kids in my class materials and just said to invent the coolest contraption we could. I found this experience very interesting and fun to take part in.

Assignment #4 - Luke Plummer - What Did You Say?

I, personally, do not spend a large amount of time talking to my parents about beliefs or ideas. Partly because both my parents work, so I am unable to speak to them to the extent that I would enjoy and partly to me, I am not bothered by people close to me having differing opinions or clashing ideas.

The only time I can remember where I enticed quite a large reaction from my mother was when I had asked her why we went to church. We are not regular church goers, and even though I believe in God and Jesus and all that good stuff, I still think that going to church does not make sense. This is because the church we were at the time going to was not a very good one. I did not feel better about myself after we left, nor did I get inspired to live my life a better way. I just dreaded going, there was no point in being in church when I didn't get anything out of it.

All of this was repeated, to my mother, and as a consequence I was both chewed out and forced to go to the terrible church every Sunday for months. My mother had very strong feelings about attending church and assumed that because I did not want to go to church, that I did not believe in God or the Bible. This led to her feeling like she had "failed" me as a mother and was unable to teach me how to be a good man when I got older. I had simply not seen the reason to go to church, when you could have a personal relationship with God, but my mom clearly thought differently.

Assignment #9- Haley Noehren- Peace, Please

I don't stay updated on politics. I never have, it's just too confusing and way too much to take in at once. That being said, I certainly don't lack opinions. When it comes to war, I believe it should be strongly avoided. If no one has done something extremely wrong or purposely attacked us then there is no reason to fight. I get it, we want to help other countries resolve their conflicts and make them better. That being said, there are many of other ways to help people out than inserting ourselves into a war. The idea of peacefully handling situations doesn't just apply to our country though, there should be an international movement to avoid war. War should be a last resort, something that is reserved for the worst situations possible.  That idea needs to be spread all over the world, so that peace becomes a priority and war withers away. There are alternatives to war. While I'm no political genius, having conferences and summits to discuss conflicts and clear any misunderstandings seems like a step in the right direction. Like anything in this world, change will be slow. Making the decision to turn to peace isn't going to happen overnight. But I hope it's possible. One day I hope there will be more talk of peace than violence and war

Assignment # 4 - Buddy Goodwin - Video Games

All my life I have been raised under the idea that video games are bad for you, that there are no benefits to playing them, and that they are strictly a waste of time. For the majority of my life I have just gone along with this belief because I have trusted the people who have told me it. However in more recent years as more and more multiplayer games come out and as I become more stressed I have come to believe that video games aren't strictly a waste of time. I have come to believe that there are some good things that come with playing video games. This doesn't mean that I think playing video games for hours every day overall is a good thing. I think one good thing about playing video games especially with other players in a co-operative manner is that you improve your social skills. In many video games today you work with other people online, weather that's people you know or random people, to achieve a common goal and I think there are benefits from doing so. Another benefit from playing video games on occasion is that, at least for me, it helps re-leave stress. Playing occasionally on the weekends or after school after a long day can help me chill out and re-leave stress I have built up.   

Assignment 7: Annie Bohannon Go Dawgs!

This past weekend, I visited the University of Georgia in Athens and I fell in love with the school. I love everything about Athens, the community, the restaurants, the atmosphere. But I especially loved the college. The campus is so beautiful and historic it is captivating. On my tour the tour guide discussed her struggles in the classes biology and econ. She talked about how she had to work so hard to pass but her teachers, librarians, and study groups helped her get through it with an A. I love the idea of taking hard classes and being supported by a group of people who will help you reach your goal. I don’t know exactly what my career path is yet so I want to take the interesting classes and learn all that I can while I’m there. For me, the supportive community really sold me on that school. I mean that and also gamedays. The Saturday I was in town was the UK v Georgia game and even though there was a torrential downpour happening thousands of people still lined the streets and stands in support of the “dawgs”. I love this school and who knows if I’ll end up there but wherever I go I want to make sure there is a good environment for supporting you through the challenging courses.

Assignment #3 - Luke Plummer - Down in the Dominican

A few summers ago my family had the opportunity to travel across the country and spend a week in the Dominican Republic. We stayed on a resort. The time I spent there was amazing, we scuba dove, played with monkeys, ate all sorts of good food, and snorkeled. While on the resort, everyone was happy, always smiling, and it was a good time. About halfway through our week, we had planned to go see the monkeys. To get there we had to ride a bus for an hour to get to the mountain that they lived on. While driving, all you could see were countless people who had obviously been working very hard for a very long time. These people looked worn out, they had little to nothing to wear, they looked hungry, and most of all they had this sad look in their eyes. Driving through all these kinds of people scared me. As a kid, I had take for granted the food that gets set in front of me and the house above my head. The experience was eye opening to me. Shortly after I started doing more things around the house, trying to help my little sister stay on top of her school work, and in turn try harder in school. I began to pay more attention in class, seeing as a lot of the kids I saw out of the country are not able to sit in a class. The whole trip changed my perspective on life, it inspired me to work harder and not take for granted what I have.

Assignment 10- I’m going solo- Sneha Amrit

I’m not gonna lie I’ve thought about this a lot and put in a lot of research. So, I’m gonna have to leave my family behind because I’ve detailed my plan to them and they don’t want to partake in it. They’ll be too much of a liability in this high stakes situation. My mom wouldn’t want to go anywhere cold, my sister would just complain, and my dad would try to change my plan. So I go alone I hop in my car with my zombie survival kit that I already have in my trunk. I has an emergency blanket, first aid supplies, and some non perishable snacks. Now if the zombies are far away I got to Costco and stock up on more, if it’s too late I head straight up North to Canada. Zombies typically are going to want to go to densely populated areas so that they can get more brains, but I will be living in the middle of nowhere in Canada where it’s not too cold and not too warm (I won’t be disclosing the exact location) near a stream so I can fish and grow my own food making me self sufficient and safe.

Assignment 8: Annie Bohannon Gas Stations :(

Fears- Drowning, Being alone, 

Annoyances- bad refs, mean people

Accomplishments- playing varsity lacrosse

Confusions- gas stations 

Sorrows- forgiving people 

Dreams- good job and kids

Idiosyncrasies- colored pens

Risks- ziplined

Beloved Possessions, Now and Then- heated blanket (now), my old dog (then)

Problems- procrastination

Ever since I started driving I have hated gas stations. I hate just standing there pumping gas staring away trying not to make eye contact with the other people filling their tanks. Once I sat at the gas station for 30 minutes because I couldn't figure out how to open the gas tank in my moms car. Embarrassing I know. My poor dad had to drive all the way to Georgetown to save me from being stranded there with no gas. Plus gas is so expensive. The other night, on my way home from practice I stopped at a tank and when I tried to insert my car to pay it said it was already paid for. Boy, I thought it was my lucky day. Free gas, it really couldn’t get better than that. Then, gas started spewing out of the tube that connects it to the car. It went all over me all over my clothes and I couldnt figure out how to stop it. When it finally stopped and I was drenched I went inside to tell the worker what happened. I asked if my car was going to blow up and his response was “probably not”. Not exactly the most reassuring response. These are just a few stories of why I hate gas stations and why they confuse me. 

Assignment #2 - Luke Plummer - To Read Or Not To Read

Over the past 12 months I have read a wide range of books, including ones I have read or re-read on my own time or books I was required to read because of school. There are two books, that I constantly find myself coming back to and re-reading, and they are The Outsiders and Kite Runner. The Outsiders is a much easier book to read, and I have read it front to back multiple times. The reason I enjoy this book so much is because of the complexity I feel from each of the characters. Every time I read there are portions of  the book that I had forgot that had happened. It allows me to relate to the small cast of characters and truly get behind the messages that the main character is trying to convey. The Kite runner is a book that I have not read in a long time. I remember it being one of the books that I was hesitant to pick up and begin, but I soon as I started I was not able to finish.  The only warning I can think of is that the book begins slow, and only really gets good in the second half. Other books I have read or re-read in the past year have included things such as the Harry Potter and the Eragon series. The only book I read that really challenged my way of thinking was The Great Gatsby, which we read in class. The only reason this book was hard for me to understand was that it older, and had a confusing way of writing. It was also not a book I would typically read, it was not as action packed, so it was hard for me to sit down and be able to read it.

( I am typically unable to not finish a book, even if its bad I force myself to finish. I have no idea why, its just the completionist side of me working.)

assignment 8—emanuelle sippy— inspired by the Atlantic

assignment 8—emanuelle sippy— inspired by the Atlantic

Fears: people i love not being with me, illness, lack of progress, isms, “pimping out trama,” the military industrial complex, our inability to address poverty, gun violence, climate change, etc.

Annoyances: not being able to sleep / wake up, people expecting me to be on time, HC badges, plastic everywhere & all the time, people getting credit when they don’t do anything, when restaurants mess up my food esp. with fishhhh, ugh, or meat 

Accomplishments: making good food, conversations where multiple parties learn / change, feeling like i’m done with a poem, reading the last page of a book, march for our lives, supporting friends and family, SVT, writing, editing, photography (occasionally) 

Confusions: why smart people get stuck to seemingly stupid ideologies / ideas, why i can’t stop procrastinating esp. calc. and physics, how to do things you don’t want to do when you also don’t need to, why the world is insane, conceptions of the self/god/love…

Sorrows: missing people i love… many same as fears, idk why that is but it is 

Dreams: work on act and activism, find an imbalance that works

Idiosyncrasies: making tea, a lot of the same type, to avoid homework, going on slack and zoom and doing all work except school stuff until midnight or so, using the least dishes possible to avoid having to wash them, my room is either insanely clean or a pigsty—no in between 

Risks: i don’t really think i’m a risk taker although i love adrenaline 

Beloved possessions: my hula hoop (then), photos, jewelry and recipes that have been passed down, my water bottle and stickers on it ! (now)

Problems: saying no, being satisfied, being quiet  

The November cover of the Atlantic was a yellow background and Jeff Bezos. Meh, right? To make it more intriguing his bald spot is covered in the artists’ perceptions of his thoughts. After looking at it for no more than a few seconds, my friend decided it would be entertaining if we did each others’. Mine ended up 70% roast, 30% toast. Some highlights: I’m bad at dance...it’s my challenge activity- leeme check slack-how can i use the fewest dishes possible-biking at the Y-all fish smells like sh*t- so let’s start unpacking why your views about the occupation, no, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict lack the nuance necessary for a solution-lemon ginger tea-Minnesota-sorry i can’t i already have to be on a call and at a Jew-thing at that time-makes plans without time/place/location-Adrienne Rich. This characterization was somewhat funny, pretty accurate, and totally frank—I hope. It makes me think about all the categories because whenever I can’t sleep (“ever #4am,” according to my friends) they are why, and although one advocated for burning them, I kind of want to keep it forever, embarrassment and all. 

Assignment#5 - Buddy Goodwin - TV = Football

Personally I don't usually watch television very often however when I do I usually do it for one of two reasons. One reason why I sometimes watch television is to be entertained and to do something while not having to think or exercise. I think this is really the main reason why most people watch television. Another reason why I watch television is because I really enjoy watching some things on television because I either find them funny, interesting, exciting. I think this is the other main reason most people watch television.

As I said earlier I don't usually watch television that often and in addition to this I never watch Netflix. This is because I have found that some TV shows on television and practically all shows on Netflix are very addictive. I find that it is extremely hard to lead a productive life when you are addicted to a TV show.

The main thing that I watch when I watch TV is football. On Saturdays and Sundays I do often find myself watching NFL or college football games. Outside of football on the weekends and the occasional cartoon I don't really watch television.

Assignment 5: Annie Bohannon TV Addict

I personally love TV. To the average person I probably watch an embarrassing amount of it. I love the drama and the action and the entertainment TV has. I love shows like Greys Anatomy, The Bachelor, Scandal, How to Get Away with Murder, Sex in the City. These all fall into the category I like to call trash TV. These are shows that are not Emmy winning and can almost come off cheesy or embarrassing but are so entertaining you cannot help but watch. I am a trash Tv addict. I admit it. The first step is admitting you have a problem right? I love crappy shows packed full of drama. When I find a really good show I will watch every episode until I finish. I am also a very dedicated watcher. I am watching the 15th ,yes I said 15th season of Grey's Anatomy. The amount of time I have spent watching only this one show is ridiculous. But I love it and I’ll still be watching for season 16.

Assignment 9- war is a tricky subject- Sneha Amrit

I’m not sure if I am the right person to respond to this questions because I always have such mixed feelings about war. It makes me so sad when we hear on the news that innocent civilians have gotten injured or killed because of wars that they did not want any part of. On the other hand there are situations where people are being killed and the only way to stop it is through war. This is was happened during the Holocaust when I believe war was warrented because of all the awful things the Nazis were doing. I suppose that war is only truly warranted if people are getting hurt or killed before war is initiated and war seems like the only way to stop it, however I do not think that war is warranted if it is mostly because of political or economic reasons. In that case I think it does more harm than good.

Assignment 3: Annie Bohannon Learning to Love the World

When I was 12 I had the opportunity to go to the small Carribean island of Saint Kitts. When my mom told me we were going there, my first reaction was why? I had never heard of this place and I certainly was not happy to be going there. I hated planes, flying and the idea of being someplace foreign and unknown. I had to go get a passport and everything because St Kitts is its own country free from French rule. The day of our flight we arrived at the airport and my dad showed me where we were going on a huge map of the world on display. That's when I realized that we were not only going on a plane but flying over water. I was terrified. Right then I told them I was not going. Lets just say my mom had to drag me on that plane and I’m so glad she did. Because this trip changed my outlook on traveling and the world. The people that lived on this small island were so kind and accepting. They went out of their way to show us the island in all of its glory. This was my first time being out of the country and my first time encountering a new culture and way of life. Everyone in their community knows each other and would do anything to help anyone, even strangers like us. People would invite us into their homes to eat and celebrate even though they had just met us. This experience made me fall in love with traveling and exploring new places and new cultures. I was no longer afraid of the unknown and I wanted to travel the world. This experience helped me to think of the world with an open mind and made me love learning about different cultures.

Assignment #3 - Buddy Goodwin - Great opportunities

My whole life I have grown up playing sports. Sports where you physically compete with your opponent to try and win. Normally in such sports the bigger, stronger, and faster players win or help their team win. This drove the idea in my head that competitions are decided by strength, size, and speed. This theory that I held was challenged last year when I decided to partake in the debate team. This decision was great for me as Debate helped me to become a better speaker, to think faster on the spot, and to held me collect my thoughts better, all skills that I think will help me in the future. It also helped me learn that not all competitions are won by being stronger, faster, and bigger than your opponent. A lot are decided by who is smarter and I learned that this can be applied to almost all types of competitions.

Another great decision I have made recently was to volunteer for Jesus Prom. For those who don't know Jesus Prom is a huge "Prom" like party for people with special needs that our church throws once a year. It was a great experience and I am super glad I volunteered for it. One thing I noticed by doing this was that a majority of the Promers were always happy.  This really taught me to have a better perspective on life and to be happier in general.

Assignment 2: Annie Bohannon Sitting on the Bookshelf

Reading is something I have struggled with for the past few years. I used to love to read and would spend hours in the book store picking out what to read next. But recently, due to my busy schedule and schoolwork, I have not read as much as I used too. Most of the books I have tried to read I have ended up not finishing them. It’s not really because they were not good books but because once I start a book I end up forgetting about it and it sits on the bookcase shelf unfinished. I think I just cannot get into a book when I think about all the other things I need to do. But, there is one place that reading becomes my favorite thing to do- the beach. Perhaps it is the fact that the sun is too bright to look at your phone or the waves make the most peaceful sounds but when I am at the beach I will read until the sun disappears behind the ocean. My most recent trip to the beach I read The Royal We and Broken Beautiful Hearts. I loved The Royal We because it was about a royal family in England and it reminded me of a modern Kate and William story. It inspired me to learn more about the royal family and their lineage. I also liked Broken Beautiful Hearts because it was about a girl who moved across the country and had to discover who she was and what is important to her in her life. In the books I read next I hope to challenge myself to read some harder novels. The books that I read now are among the young adult genre and although I enjoy them I think branching out could be very rewarding.

Assignment#2 - Buddy Goodwin - I like good books

Three books that I have read in the past 12 months are I hunt killers by Barry Lyga, Enders game by Orson Scott Card, and Fire and Blood by George Martin. These are three of my favorite books that I have read in the past twelve months. One thing that is common throughout these books is that they are all fictional books. They are also books that are filled with action for the most part. This makes sense since my favorite books are fictional books filled with action. Another book I've read in the past 12 months is named Boy 21 by Mathew Quick. This book is another fictional book I liked however it is also a sports book and I felt like I could connect with it.

While fictional books tend to be my favorite genres of books about six months ago I read the book The guns of August by Barbara Tuchman and surprisingly liked it. Last spring Mr Wise made me read this book for an assignment and before reading the book I didn't really think I was going to like it because I don't tend to find non-fictional books interesting. After I started reading it however, I started really enjoying the book. I ended up learning a lot about World War 1 and really loved the book.

In addition to these books, in the past year I have read multiple textbooks. While I don't tend to find these books the most interesting I do find that I end up learning a lot from them and that they are very beneficial for me.

Assignment 1: Annie Bohannon Get to Know Me!

Hi I’m Annie!

I spend most of my time doing school, playing lacrosse, or as I hate to admit watching Netflix. I am not a talented, experienced writer but I am trying my best to improve. At the first mention of AP Lang being a writing class I immediately got nervous but upon second thought, I realized that this is the opportunity I needed to seriously improve my poor writing skills, and trust me they need a lot of work. Along with improving my writing I also hope to improve on my unfortunate procrastination habitats. Typically, the start of the new school year inspires me to stay on top of my schoolwork and stay super organized. But this year is different. I have yet to get to the bottom of this unusual situation. Maybe it is a bad case of senioritis hitting me extra early. But as I am sitting here writing this blog post in October when it was due in August I’m realizing the severity of the situation-I’ll try to work on that. My summer vacation was filled with lots of fun pool days and late nights but the most memorable part was my experience at church camp because I felt like I grew as a person. If I could have any superpower I would want to fly because I get super car sick and hate plane rides so flying would eliminate them- plus it would be cool. 

https://sailing-lavagabonde.com 

This is the website of a couple who live in a sailboat and travel the world. I love reading it because they can go anywhere they want anytime and I would love to sail the ocean. 

This is a picture from a lacrosse tournament I went to this summer!

Assignment #9 - Wes Davis - A Line in the Sand

No one dares move. The silence that sits on the chest of the panic-stricken family - a deadweight as the now far too exposed teenager fights for air in the corner. Tears sting her eyes and she chokes as she meets the menace of each of her conservative ex-family. Would they take her in now? They couldn't. They wouldn't. 

Her being is a line drawn in the sand. Her family remains firmly planted on one side. The girl stands alone on the other, legs trembling under the weight of her decision and stomach rolling as hard as the waves of a new life that lap behind her.  This side of the line is thick and humid. The girl draws another breath as they wait in utter silence. Who will be the first to say the word? The wretched, heart-wrenching, disgusting word. She heard her family use those painful words all the time. 

That one word would start a war. She didn't want to fight her family like this. A conflict as such would rip them to pieces. Fighting wasn't the good option. Not like that. Maybe, just maybe, it would be necessary. Maybe, just maybe,  their fighting would get the now beat-red faced, furrowed brow, aching strangers that sit in front of her to listen, to understand, to accept, to love.

No. There's a better way to do this. She doesn't have to suffer like this. She doesn't have to suffer not knowing what happens to the family that left her behind. She doesn't have to be left behind. Maybe just bring the, a little closer to her line in the sand. 

"I hope you still love me." She doesn't register the words leaving her mouth until they slice through the suffocating silence. 

The middle-aged woman with soft, wrinkled features meets her gaze. Tears sting in her eyes as she takes in a sharp breath, "okay." 

Assignment #1 - cole knight - Intro to Cole (Cole 101)

Hi, everyone. I can obviously see why this assignment was more appropriate for August than the end of
October, since you already know who I am, but I guess that just means this is my introduction to the blog
rather than my introduction to the class. My name is Cole Knight; I’m sixteen (about the turn seventeen
in three days!); and I am a big fan of the Dallas Cowboys, mopey indie music, and (as, it seems, is
everyone these days) politics. Apparently I’m also a big fan of adding quirky little parentheticals
because my train of thought usually winds up being more of a caravan, and I for some reason
don’t want people to think that I... a) am only, like, sixteen and a half, or b) think I’m
some sort of pseudo-intellectual because I know who Andrew Gillum is. Attached is a picture of
my favorite Cowboys player, alongside a video of my favorite YouTuber.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eECjjLNAOd4

assignment #2 - cole knight - I don't read

I’m not gonna lie. I don’t read much. I honestly do like to read, but whenever I pick up a book with pages
and my lights are just too dim to read comfortably and the introduction drags on for a paragraph too long
and the main character’s name has been said one too many times, I just want to put the thing down and
watch Netflix. Is this something I should be admitting to a teacher? Probably not. But while I may be
horribly irresponsible about reading, one thing I’m not is a liar. So, Mr. Logsdon, truthfully, the only books
I’ve read in the past twelve months have been required for school and I haven’t loved any of them. My
favorite was probably Sea of Poppies, which I read for Mr. Wise’s World History class. It was definitely
the most interesting read of the bunch, and, since the book was divided into a series of novella-style
stories, the boring sections were sparse, the annoying characters were only around for one section, and
the read was a lot easier and more enjoyable than a 500-page dirge about 19th-century England (Great Expectations, I’m lookin’ at you.)

assignment #3 - cole knight - Lubbock, Texas aka Lub Vegas

God, I am a boring person. Once again, I have little to say on the subject given to me. My family doesn’t
have the money to be able to afford more than one vacation a year, and It’s always to Lubbock, TX. If
you’ve ever been to Lubbock, first of all, I’m sorry, and, second of all, you’ll understand my frustration
seeing everyone’s summer Instagram posts of idyllic beaches and beautiful sunsets while I’m left to
languish in 100-degree heat without water (or any other signs of civilization) for hundreds of miles. I
was, however, able to go to Milwaukee (surprisingly nice), Dallas (been there, done that, but still always
fun), and Minneapolis (beautiful, would have moved there if I could have) over this particular summer for
various debate tournaments. I met lots of incredible people. I kinda figured that national-level debaters
would be insufferable narcissists, and I was right! But the large handful of exceptions were really
awesome to be around, and it was foreign, but still hugely enjoyable, to be able to get myself out of
Lexington for more than simply a week of west Texas heat torture.

assignment #4 - cole knight - when i first felt the bern

Lemme take you back to Lubbock for a minute (I’m sorry! We’ll be back home soon, I know it’s awful!)
You look across the vast, flat, brown prairie, and see not one, not two, but zero Democrats. And this is a
college town. Everyone is their own brand of firebrand paleoconservative, from the Ben Shapiro fanboys
on the Texas Tech campus to the likely segregationists lining my grandparents’ street. This is the city I
took my first steps in, and continue, sadly, to take occasional steps in every summer. My parents are
pretty progressive given that this is where they lived most of their adult lives before I was born, but I was
still raised a when-convenient Christian and devout political moderate from birth. But during the 2016
election cycle I was inundated with stories of presidential candidates and their policies, supporters, etc.
Instead of ignoring these stories, I investigated them with an open and objective eye and settled on a
decidedly left-wing conclusion. I think that seventh grade, when most of this personal investigation took
place, had a huge impact on my own beliefs, not only politically, but more generally, and though I know
I have a whole lot of room to grow, I sincerely and simultaneously hope and believe that my current
beliefs are rooted in open-mindedness, fairness, and a continual pursuit of progress, rather than the
stuck-in-the-mud rightism I am all too familiar with.