8 Aby L.:Behind the Picket Fence

Behind the picket fence The road lined with identical homes, each the same architecture with three alternating colors, a bright red door on each, a bright blue mailbox sat at the end of each perfectly manicured lawn. Healthy green grass with shining concrete driveways. Every home Guarded by a fence. A solid white picket fence. Not a soul knows the truth, tragedies or triumphs laying behind the fence, a suburban mystery. A perfectly polished family, they own the newest clothes, fanciest cars. Blue eyes and blonde hair. Perfect. Everything is seamlessly beautiful and endlessly perfect. Only those four know what happens behind their fence, the good the bad the horrific. You can paint yourself as perfectly as possible. Make yourself as socitaly perfect as possible. Building a mask, making it look as if nothing goes wrong, nothing hurts, nothing affects you because you're perfectly polished, clean and beautiful. You've built your fence. Your mask We are all hiding who we are behind our own metaphorical fence, we build our true selves into a tiny perfect shell. Maybe we let in a select few people, tell them our truth. What makes us, what breaks us. But truly the only person who knows what lays behind our fence is our own self. Whatever it is you're going through, however big or small, it means something to somebody. Someone out there is going to break your fence, they are going to want to hear the ugly truth. Everything you've buried. word count:247

9 - Abhishek S: New Possibilities

Characters from my favorite childhood shows were oftentimes very one dimensional. However, every once in a while there will be very dynamic and human characters that stick with you. One of these characters for me is Zuko from Avatar the Last Airbender.

The thing I found most interesting about him was his growth as a person over the course of the show.

He begins as a resentful person who is constantly trying to prove his worth. Zuko would stop at nothing to catch the Avatar in order to feel accomplished in the eyes of his father. Fortunately, his uncle who goes by the name of Iroh was always a positive figure in his life that offered him guidance and understanding. 

Zuko and the Avatar fought in gruesome battles and held animosity towards each other. Zuko, through following his heart and the guidance of Uncle Iroh, decided to right his wrongs by helping the Avatar instead. Seeing a character do a complete 180 in children shows is not something you often see especially in a cartoon. Characters are meant to embody a specific archetype of some sort over the entirety of the show.

Breaking away from that conventional format is powerful for a lot of reasons. It shows its young impressionable audience that growth is possible. You aren’t confined to others’ perceptions and ideals set for you. You have agency to be who you want to be and stand for what you believe in.

I think the character of Zuko embodies this and for that reason he is one of my favorite tv show characters ever.

9- Aaron Palma: A reflection

As time has passed I have developed the tenacity to always challenge myself and learn to enjoy the process of any challenge I face.

For example playing the piano has always been a big part of life, but I have always had the decision to either be self taught or take riguruous piano lessons in downtown Fairfield. 

As the years have passed I have decided to be self taught, but it wasn’t until recently that I noticed how much I could accomplish by taking official piano lessons with a teacher. 

It has been 3 years since I have been taking piano lessons and I must say that, not only have I developed a better feel for the piano, but I also get to teach others with the strong foundation that I have in the piano. 

If I would have decided to stick with being self taught, I would have taken the easy route ( escalator), but by choosing to take the harder path (staircase), I was able to grow as piano player, but most importantly a person. 

I specifically chose this topic, because it reminded me of my mom an d our trips to the medical center in Vacaville. Each time we would go she would make me take staircase with her, because like she used to say “the elevator is for lazy people”. She would then go on in explaining the benefits for your health and overall physique when one took long staircases. Although this isn’t exactly how I thought about it at the time, I am now able to see how she was completely right. 

Although both routes may take you to the same path, it is only through hard work that you can get to the other side feeling proud of yourself and enjoying the benefits of not being lazy.

9 - Em Lin - Show of a life time

     

    One piece has been my favorite show of all time for as long as I remember. I started watching it sometime in elementary school, and stopped temporarily during middle school because I caught up to all the episodes. Later on in high school during the summer between my sophomore and junior year, I began reading the manga of that show, and again caught up to all the latest episodes. It was refreshing to relive my childhood and I was so happy I managed to get caught up for the one thousandth episode anniversary. Life moves by so quickly and people of all ages probably has missed the simplicity of childhood at times. It’s not like I’m even an adult yet, but I did miss it, the nostalgia of waking up to be excited for a new episode of my favorite show or read the new latest chapter. One piece has so many episodes and has been airing since 1999, and has had die hard fans for a little over 20 years, and me, being one of them.

I enjoy One piece for a variety of reasons and I can’t even decide on a specific one, but one of the biggest reasons would be the world building. The world that One piece is set in is vast and extremely well written and detailed. One piece is set in a world during a pirate era, and the One piece itself is a treasure left behind by the previous pirate king. After his public execution, he set in motion a rush of change as many people aspired to become pirates and attain his legendary treasure. We follow a man named Monkey D. Luffy and watch as he starts off as just one man on a small little row boat to a captain of a crew filled with colorful characters with their own dreams and aspirations on their way to discover and find the mysterious treasure. Whether it be an island above the skies that’s ruled over by a self proclaimed god, an island under the sea that is on the brink of a civil war, or an island on top of a giant ancient elephant that was cursed to forever walk across the sea, One piece has never and I bet, will never, fail me in making the next island even more interesting than the one that came before it.

Word count: 396

9- Jacob P. - Entertainment Dilemmas

 Entertainment Dilemmas

Everything’s an Argument: Does live theater offer something you just can’t get watching movies or TV?

While a live theater may offer an in-person experience that immerses the audience into the story through practical effects, it simply doesn’t compare to watching movies or TV in your own home. 

Nowadays, nearly anyone with a T.V and good internet service is able to watch any movie or show they wish, including live-theater performances. This already removes the need to attend any live theaters since you can already view the performance from the comfort of your own home. 

Furthermore, you can always restart the performance and share it with friends and family rather than purchasing tickets to attend the performance live in the off-chance that it happens to arrive in your local theater. All of which could be avoided through the convenience of watching it on TV. 

Also, movies and TV already have a wide variety of genres that anyone is able to watch which do a much better job in making you, as the viewer, feel more immersed into the story or scenes. This is due to movies and TV being able to use different filming techniques as well as include different types of special effects that a live-theater simply isn’t capable of doing. 

Additionally,  the amount of money it requires to purchase a live-theater ticket rather than a monthly subscription service on your TV will prove that the subscription service provides more “bang for your buck”. This is because the prices to attend a  live-theater performance often will average to be about $20.00 at the cheapest. Comparatively, the cost of a monthly television subscription service is about $10.00 a month while being able to offer a wide variety of shows, movies, and performances of different genres and film styles that a live-theater performance cannot outmatch.

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9-Peyton Miller- Classroom Madness

                                                             Classroom Madness

Your everyday, typical high school classroom tends to not be so typical. You would expect it a high school classroom to look like mature, hardworking, ethical, students sitting in their desks doing exactly what is asked of them like a good student would. But in my high school, well, thats not always the case unless your the so called “good student” or also known as the “know it all student” or “teachers pet”. 

Everyday, I come to school expecting the same things when I walk into each of my six classrooms a day: madness and pure annoyance from students (and yes im including me, because sometimes I am too). I walk in and usually the first thing I see is students standing in the corner talking, rather than sitting down and getting ready for class. Then, when class finally starts, students tend to keep conversating and annoy the teacher until they end up yelling to quiet us down. 

Worst of all though, you might even find that one student who thinks they are the class comedian but end up getting in trouble for their lousy, unnecessary, and bluntly dumb jokes. They end up being the kid who everyone wishes to sit next to, I never actually understood why that was because I tend to like to be around people I know, but also ones who know their place in a classroom, like when to be quiet and let others work. 

Other than that though, teachers are never usually part of the madness until the madness gets to them and they are aggravated with the class to a point where they yell to get us to be quiet or stay on task. In some cases, teachers are just not the nicest or even good teachers at all, I know a few… But either way, I feel bad for teachers having to put up with some students craziness and unnecessary comments thinking they are so cool. I feel bad that they even have to deal with that when I bet they dont even get paid enough to put up with our madness. I dont know how they do it nor why they choose to.

Word count: 365

#9:Yasmin G- What a Tangled Life

 When I was younger, my family was not always the most supportive. I did a lot for myself, starting from a very young age, but I always felt sort of trapped. Trapped in my house; trapped in who I’m supposed to be; trapped in my own life. I never really cared about a “knight in shining armor” to come and take me away.

It never mattered to me.

I just innocently followed my parents, because I thought they were always right.

But they never were;

Ever

I probably could have used a knight in shining armor, but it was never a thought in my mind.

This is why I started watching the movie Tangled. Every single day, I watched it, over and over and over again, to the point where I almost memorized it. I remember each and every line, from the emotional: “Go. Live your dream”, to your funny quotes “you broke my smolder!”. I based my whole personality around this young princess. I wanted to be that strong, independent girl that Rapunzel, the princess, was.

Rapunzel quickly became my favorite movie character, and honestly, she still is to this day. I love her personality, her situation, and how she overcomes it. 

When I was younger and this movie first came out, I could relate to it in a lot of ways: my family consistently made me feel trapped, I had a lot of thoughts about running away, and huge dreams I would have done anything to overcome. This is why I love Rapunzel, and the whole movie itself.

9 - Mel B - The Beauty of Theater

   

The Beauty of Theater

    If you went up to random people and asked all of them what their thoughts on theater are they would all tell you different things. For example, a theater kid will think that theater is the best form of entertainment, a theater lover may think that it's a better, and from a random person they might dislike theater overall and most likely will hate theater kids, like most of the people in my theater class who are just there for their A-G requirements.

Me, I'm not too sure on if I would be considered a theater kid. I am in the theater, I love watching live shows, I am a set designer, etc. I love attention but I don't crave the spotlight. So writing this is from the “non-theater” kid instead of just the regular theater lover mel. theres really no way for me to express why i love theater, i have always just found comfort when watching live shows and really close attachment to a character. Sometimes I tend to imagine myself being up on that stage doing what I love watching be done but I prefer not to. It's not that I can't do it. I can, I would just rather show my art but from afar. 

Live theater is much more intimate that filmed television. Don't get me wrong, I love film, I'm literally a film major. But how I see it, the theater is worked on for months and is only showcased for 3-5 days, but with movies once it's out there forever, it will always be seen. On stage you can see when the actor breaks character, fidgets, improvises, etc. it’s all in the moment. The audience won't notice these little moments unless they are in the front row. Live shows are so much more personal and you can really tell that the actor loves what they're doing. With film it's harder to see that because we're not really able to see behind the scenes footage or see the actor break character. It's like watching a live movie, all in the moment, not footage that was filmed and edited a year ago. But happening before your eyes. 

In my personal opinion I believe that theater is a first step. Some people choose to stay because they are meant to be in that step, but it's not for everyone. Theater is a door that could lead you anywhere in life. Whether it is career wise such as the entertainment industry or skills used in everyday life. I am one of those people I walked through that door and because I did that I was introduced to what I am passionate about, production design. 

Like I said , anyone can have their own thoughts on theater, but you can't deny the hard work that's put into these live shows.

Word count 470

9 - Cecylia B: Ever heard of selective hearing?

I’ve been told that I have selective hearing more times than I can count and I know it's not something to boast about because supposedly it's bad. Adults hate it but sometimes I really do not hear them while I'm focused on something. 80% of the time I am tuning them out but they don’t need to know that. ;) Surprisingly, I'm an active listener, and by “active listener” I mean I actively eavesdrop. It’s a gift and a curse that I'm so good at it, at times I don’t even realize I’m doing it and I’ll randomly laugh at a joke someone said from across the classroom. I know I sound like a crazy person but I mean there's nothing I can really do about it except listen to music most of the time. Sometimes it's kinda funny though, my mom will be talking about something from across the house and I’ll chime in and put in my two cents. My step dad absolutely hates it, like with a burning passion. He hates it so much that he goes as far as to talk outside with my mom in the garage just to talk about what we’re eating for dinner. Obviously when they come back in I say “what's for dinner?” with a grin on my face just to spite him; oh how he fumes. I get a kick out of it though so that's all that matters. Family gossip is so tiring though. Playing for both sides and listening to my other relatives' conversations just to get information or find out if they are talking badly about us is really another level. Sometimes I just lie and say they didn’t say anything just to keep the peace. Saves me a lot of time too. So if someone were to ask me if I were more like an “ear or an eye?” I would probably say ear. Word count: 317

9- Genecis Z: From All Angles

            

         The vision of me is carried throughout every person I have ever crossed paths with. Even if for just a few seconds, that person gains an impression of me or a perspective on me.

The thought of hundreds of different people having a different perspective on me, truly scares me. I am a different person in everyone’s eyes, and if so, then who am I truly? 

Do I even know who I am?

Maybe I am being dramatic and in reality it’s much more simple than what I think. But if everyone knows me from a different angle then what does that make me through my own eyes? 

Some people find me kind and others mean, some people find me hilarious and others bland, and some people find me important and others just like a leaf in the wind, here for the second but taken away by the breeze the next. 

Therefore what am I to think of myself, am I nice or mean, interesting or boring, do I even matter in the scheme of things?

If everyone has a perspective of me then am I truly myself or just figments and pieces of what others think of me? This is why perspectives scare me. 

Perspectives are a point of view, and from where I stand there is many points and views of me. When I stare into a mirror I wonder if others see what I see. Most people are kind and will compliment you. But do they mean what they say? 

How is it that one person finds me beautiful and another finds me completely repulsive? And which one of them is lying?

Obviously I can go with the easy route and believe those who find me a work of art, but who am I kidding, sticks and stones am I right? 

I will never believe someone who looks me in the eyes and calls me beautiful, because that is just their perspective. 

So am I actually beautiful or is that just what they see? 

I don’t know who I am, I don’t know what I look like, and I don’t know where I stand in the importance of things. 

If I were to be asked what my perspective on myself is, i’d consider myself a flower petal. 

A flower petal is just a petal, it’s nothing special and it’s just what makes up a flower. But a petal on it’s own is nothing compared to a fully bloomed flower. A flower is gorgeous and enticing with it’s aroma and appearance. I am not a flower. I am a petal. 

I am not gorgeous in every aspect or enticing whatsoever, but like a petal I have my moments where it can mean more than a whole flower but at the end of the day a petal withers away and gets carried away by the wind. It is not important enough to stay rooted to the grass in all its beauty. 

It’s to be observed for a while and thrown away the next. I am a flower petal in my own perspectives. To some I may be the whole flower and to others I might as well be a speck of dirt. 

But I guess that is the oddity of perspectives, you are a different story in every different pair of eyes. 

Word Count: 553

9- Destiny D: Optimism Squared

         While I was growing up the tv was something that was used at all times. The tv filled background noise, lulled me to sleep, and it even woke me up in the morning. 

All of this exposure to television and its contents allowed me to connect with the characters I would see everyday. One of my absolute favorites growing up has to be Spongebob Squarepants. 

Waiting to hear that repetitive theme song come on as I got dressed in the morning was the highlight of my day. The moment it came on I could not be separated from the tv. 

I adored Spongebob and his crazy, optimistic way of life. Watching him remain positive as his life threw everything it had at him was admirable, especially when compared to the more realistic characters like Squidward.

Squidward is seen as a mostly depressing and negative character, but when you compare him to the common mindset of many people around us, or ourselves, he doesn’t seem all that abnormal. 

His morals were mostly selfish at times, but when it really mattered he would provide his peers with the little support that he could provide. 

Spongebob persevered many times, just like all of the characters around him. Him and his friends loved to spend time together, and I would often find myself trying to mimic the pure fun they would have with each other in my own friend group. I looked forward to watching their adventures and problem solving.

Spongebob remained my favorite show for years, I devoured every episode. His adventurous lifestyle distracted me from my simple one, and brought me joy that no other show could replace. 

Word Count: 275

9- Eliya A- My first sight of freedom

 My first sight of freedom

I have ridden Bikes almost all of my life. To me, riding a bicycle has always felt freeing. It was the first time I was actually able to be outside the house, all on my own without parental supervision. The first time that I remember Riding a bicycle was back when I was 3-4 and I would ride with my dad almost every day (since school wasn't really a thing yet). Remembering that trail that we'd always go on, all of the twists and turns that it had, and the fact that it was able to go all the way to the beach, although we would always try, we probably were able to get about 1/8th of the way there. 

 when living in Brookings, Oregon, A.K.A a town of roughly three thousand people, riding bikes was really the only pastime when you weren’t playing at the beach. Living in Oregon was one of the first times where I was able to get an ounce of freedom, (although being able to walk to the end of our street wasn’t that much, it still was a big deal to me). And when kindergarten was only 2-3 days out of the week this gave me more time to explore the very small town of Brookings. 

My bicycling stopped when I started living in Petaluma, mostly because of the fact that all of the other kids were into scooters rather than bikes. Being young and highly impressionable I wanted to be like these older kids, so I stopped wanting to ride bikes and be into what the other people were into. 5 years later I won a bike in a raffle, and this bike was the first one I've had in over 3 years. However, this bike didn't last long because when my stepmom left my dad, she took a lot of things with her (what she would do with a children's bike, I would not know). That event kind of hardened me, because it was one of the things that I actually owned, I was rewarded with, and it just left like that. 

Recently, I was actually able to get a new bike. This bike held a special place in my heart because it was the bike that my dad had ridden all of those years back, and every day that I ride it, I get a sense of nostalgia for when times were simpler. However, it's different now. I used to ride bikes so that i can hang out with my dad, but now, i do it to remember those simpler times when my family was a family, when we used to go on bike rides, when we used to do family things, it makes me miss it sometimes. Things that also have changed is that now I have a bigger field to explore. Since I have my license now, my freedom has expanded 10 times greater than before. I used to think of how much greater it would be when I grew up and I was actually able to do things on my own (not just bike riding), but now, it kind of makes me miss back then. 

Looking back, I think the word bicycle has a much deeper meaning than just an object with 2 wheels. To me, a bicycle is a way to connect with others, it creates friendships, it clears your mind. 

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