14- Zack R- Be like Dom

Family is usually described as people who share the same DNA as you or are related through marriage. But I like to think of Family as the people closest to me. The ones I can call and express my thoughts to. Not everyone has a perfect relationship with people usually deemed “family”. Just because we were born related to them doesn’t mean they have to be family. A lot of people call their closest friends their family, or a second family. But I’ve never seen the reason for separating them. As I’ve grown up my entire family has been made up of aunts and uncles and cousins not related by any sort of blood or marriage, but the friends my parents have made over the years that have stayed with them. For over 30 years they’ve had the same group of friends that I’ve never seen as anything other than my own family. Sure we might be closer to some than others, and most of the group is made up of direct relatives, but they’ve been able to mix friends and “family” together to make them one whole. I have a lot of goals for my life, cars to buy, jobs to have, places to see. But the one that I want to reach the most is keeping my friends close enough to consider them family. I want to be able to keep the same people close to me and develop those relationships to the point where I’ll know them as nothing less than family. I think the importance of close friendships is often overlooked and separated from family as short term fun versus long term relatives. But aside from the people in our own homes we often spend more time with friends than relatives, so why not consider them the same. 302

14-Aaron Palma: Our catalyst

What does it mean to be a role model? Being a Role Model isn't just a role you take when your with a group of people or with a younger sibling. It is when leading and setting the example is part of you at all times. 

My uncle has perfectly fulfilled the requirements of what it means to be a role model.

From my early days up to now he has showed me what it means to lead the team with example. Now you may ask how does he lead our team  or in other words our family.

Well he has been the catalyst that has been placed in our family. He was the first to graduate college and pursue his masters degree. As a result my mom has found inspiration in him and his mentality to grow as a and develop himself. 

Inévitably  this has been passed on to me and thanks to this  I have made wise decisions in relation to my personal life and acedemicaly as well. Thanks to my uncle I have taken bold and  wise decisions.

For example as I initiated high school I was encouraged to take french rather than the customary spanish clash. Followed by this I initiated my VECHS journey and will transferring straight into a 4 year University. I also took on the challenge of having a summer internship with the city council of vacaville and I was also just admitted to the cosmos program during the summer.

If it wasn’t for the way my uncle carried himself, spoke, dressed, and the mentality that he had I probably wouldn’t be where I am today. 

Although he has been fundamental in my life I would also like to thank my entire family for always pushing me and being there for me when I need them.

14-Jacob P.-Birthday at Dillons

Birthday at Dillons Challenge: descriptive piece about a favorite birthday memory. One of the more memorable birthdays I ever had was back in August of 2021. It was during the time in which I wasn’t able to return to school due to me contracting Covid within the first 5 days of school. So, seeing how me and my family couldn’t travel to any densely populated locations, we decided to travel to Dillons beach to celebrate my birthday. We planned on traveling to Pateluma so that we could get bbq pizza. Once we got the pizza, we stopped on the side of the road near Dillons beach so that we could eat it. However, the pizza itself did not contain any smell to us (since we had Covid) and it only tasted mildly sweet with a slight hint of bitterness from the cilantro and bell peppers. When we arrived at Dillons, the cold wind coupled with sand immediately began to nip at my face as soon as I left the car. In the distance, I heard the cries of seagulls followed by the crashing of the waves which became more prominent as we trudged up one of the many dunes at Dillons. At the top of the dune, I was able to see steep, dark cliffs flanking on both sides of the beach, marking the beginning and the end of the beach. The ocean was barely blue and was more closely related to the gray sky overhead rather than the deep blue that it usually was. Once we found a spot at the beach, me and my family chose to nap on the cool sand that resided in the shade of a nearby dune. This was essentially how I spent my birthday while I had Covid. While this was probably not the most exciting birthday I ever had, it was by far the most memorable one because it was during a moment in which I could barely taste and smell anything, offering me a whole new perspective and twist to my life. (330)

14 - Abhishek Sahota: Individual Responsibility vs Social Responsibility

 To what extent can we control what happens in our life? It is a complicated question. It seems as if there are an infinite number of things outside of our control. So many challenges that we have experienced have been brought about from things that we had no say in. I think there is a place for a “pull yourself up by your bootstraps” mentality while still acknowledging the limitations of one’s material reality.

   

    While we may not be able to control the hardships we face, we can however be deliberate in our response and reaction to such circumstances. Rather than be a victim to circumstance we must constantly strive to be the best versions of ourselves. A good attitude can be the difference between overcoming a struggle and forever being a victim to it.

I think this is great advice for those in compromised positions. It is both inspiring and helps encourage making positive changes despite the overwhelming reasons to not. 

However, I believe the issue comes when this advice is used as a replacement or stand-in for structural change that would actually serve to help people. The physical world and the limitations that come with it are hindrances to people in their progress. The lack of achievement due to circumstances of their material reality can cause them to be perceived in negative ways. Traits like laziness and lack of intelligence are attributed to people who live in poor situations as a result of this mindset that puts so much weight on individual action and attitude. 

Like many other issues, a balancing act is required. Obviously, no weight being placed on individual action and attitude is a bad thing. However, too much weight placed on it can prevent us from seeing structural failings for certain people who fall between the cracks of a broken system. 

14-Aby L.: The Beauty Of Tragedy

Loss can be simple and harmless even helpful to an extent. It can also be detrimental. The loss of a game is a simple loss, it wont heavily affect you. The loss of the life of someone immensely important can cause more pain than understandable. Throughout life you will experience many many many losses, which make life seem unbearable at times but every single person is strong enough to battle through the hardships. Pushing through situations that make you feel empty is a struggle nobody deserves to endure. Experiencing loss is the worst part of human life in my personal opinion, it seems like the world is out to get your life, like everyone and everything is against you. It is not fair, not something that is deserved. But loss is inevitable. What you do with loss, how you handle it, how you react is a true exposure of character. It shows your strength and your ability. What you're able to create of yourself out of loss is something that will surprise you. Creating something beautiful from your struggles, art in any form flourishes in loss, poetry, painting, sculpture, music it all glows when made from tragedy. Being able to use your pain in a beautiful light is the one upside to loss and tragedy. It is a way to vent your feelings on your struggles, a way to cope and get through hardship. Inevitably you will lose a lot throughout life and its utterly horrifying, but you have to have the ability to shine bright through the pain, to make something beautiful out of your pain. Loss can become a beautiful thing in the right mind. Word count: 277

14 - Em Lin - Surprise!

 

    When Covid came around, I could not visit my best friend all that often, in fact, the only time we could ever see each other was over zoom when we would watch animes together. One day, I received a message from her mother that asked me to come to her birthday party as a surprise. I was giddy all day when I agreed to go, because I was excited to surprise her, and also we haven’t seen each other in person for way, way too long. Her mother offered to take me since she knew my parents were always busy with the restaurant, and I happily took her up on it. I couldn’t hide my smile the entire way their, so I was kinda thankful for masks since it could hide my dumb smile. 

    Once we arrived, her mother said something along the lines of “I have a surprise for you!”, and in perfect timing, my best friend rounds the corner to look at her front door. Although it was around 9, we couldn’t contain ourselves to scream happily and run at each other, most likely disturbing the neighbors in the process. We hugged each other and said our greetings before we headed off to the backyard. The party had not started yet, so instead, we went to her backyard because my friend wanted to see my gifts earlier. It was a fun day filled with laughter and joy, and one that I am not inclined to forget anytime soon.

Word count: 250

14 - Cecylia B: seven slices of pizza

Birthdays are the best, you get gifts and money, eat till your heart's content, people have to be nice to you, it's just great. I hate them. I hate the spotlight. I hate attention. I hate people in my business. They always ask me “what's your grades looking like?” so they can give me the amount of money they think I deserve based on that. Most of the time people are only nice to you because it's your birthday. It’s annoying, the only plus are the gifts and food. I hate to sound like a brat but am I wrong? No. Anyways we’re getting off topic. My most memorable birthday was when I turned 9. I wouldn’t say it was my favorite but it was memorable. I was pretty quiet in elementary school, and when I say quiet, I was practically mute. I barely even talked to the teacher. So, I never really threw birthday parties because of this, I wouldn’t have that many people to invite since I only talked to one person which was my best friend at the time. My mom however, wanted me to make more friends and had the bright idea to throw a birthday party for me. She hand made these invitations for me to give out to all the girls in my class and there were about 10-11 girls in my class that I remember. My teacher told me to give them out after class got out so that's what I did. My mom ordered two large pizzas from Round Table, bought a cake, and even rented out a bounce house for me. She even took the time to hand make butterfly garland because that was the theme that I wanted, all for only five kids to show up. Two of them were my cousins and the other three were from my class. I ended up getting a bloody nose from getting kicked in the face in the bounce house and the girls from my class left early. There were still almost two whole pizzas left and the cake was left untouched. My cousins ended up leaving shortly after also. My nose finally stopped bleeding while I played on my pink DSi. Then I sat at the table wallowing in my self-pity and ate 7 slices of pizza.

14- Genecis Z: Sculpted

 

Ever since I first started to comprehend speech, my mother has burned it in me that she is far from perfect. And that has been her argument for all of my 16 years of life. Every mistake she has ever made has been swept under a rug. She isn’t perfect and therefore her mistakes are just a way of life that I have to make my peace with. 

But the minute I so as much as step over a line ( one of many lines) I have broken the balance in the household and everything just cracks. I am faulty, I am weak, I am a mess. All of the many things my mom has told me. She says she isn’t perfect but I must be as perfect as the heavens. I am to be as proper and as beautiful and as kind as one can be. 

But she reminds me every day that I am far from perfect.

She wants me to be perfect but I can’t expect perfection from her. She wants me to be what she wishes she could’ve been. I am her sculpture. 

She carves me as she sees fit, she takes pieces away and she adds more, she paints me one color and then another, she is never satisfied. 

Family isn’t chosen, I didn’t choose my mom and she didn’t choose me. I am grateful for what I have and I know it could be much worse. 

Therefore I never confront her when her words run a little too deep into my soul, or when my tears leave a stinging trail down my cheeks whenever I mess up her image of me. Because I know that at the end of the day I am lucky to have my mom.

I know I will never satisfy her expectations of me, I know I will never be the perfect daughter, or the perfect sister, or the perfect human being. I am flawed and I am weak. But if sculpting me is what makes my mother finally be able to look at me instead of shunning me away, then her sculpture I will be. 

Word Count: 355

14- Destiny D: Two Faced Word

 

Family is the biggest two faced word in the dictionary. Some people adore their families. In their minds they will always come first, nothing is more important than those who share your same blood, or even those included without it.

These types of people do everything and anything with their families. Birthday parties are always an excitement, Christmas is a top tier event, even Thanksgiving was made just for them to enjoy each other. 

Family means everything to them. When in doubt they will always run back to that protective circle of people. 

Funerals are a devastation, a lost family member means a lost piece of their hearts. The love shared between the members of this family is more important than life itself, but not everyone gets to experience this type of family. 

Some of us had to grow up with a family that lacked love. Some of us had to experience the worst within our families before we could even speak up to tell someone. Some of us had to watch our families break apart. 

Family means almost nothing to us. When there is no love there is no compassion. 

Sticking with those we call family was a routine, in spite of it all. You can never force someone out of your family. Once they’re in there will always be some connection keeping them in the loop, much to my disappointment. 

The intimate definition of family becomes strained as you get used to the ugly parts of it. Some will never get to experience a family worth loving. Those that do following a terrible experience will never be able to appreciate it the same.

People are ruthless and it is difficult to excuse those who have brought you an excessive amount of pain and discomfort, even if they are technically considered family. 

Word Count: 303

14- Peyton Miller- The winds of change

  Change. It happens all the time. As the earth rotates, things change. And I fully support that as I chose change over staying the same.

Change needs to happen for every mistake, mishap, issue etc, to be resolved. If there is no change there is no fix. When you make mistakes, you must change your mindset and realize how to not make the same mistakes again. There has to be switch in your actions, words, expressions and so much more if you want to get along with people and not make the same misunderstandings again in the long run. Especially when you grow up. You have to know and realize the things that you did wrong in your younger years to input the right way to do things instead in situations where it could cost your job, friends, etc.

When you change, its a good thing to help you push through, persevere, and move on. Being stuck in the same cycle everyday gets old. It also leaves you wanting more but if you change you can fall into the deep end and learns so  many things that you didnt know were possible. It opens up many opportunities to better yourself and to even learn more things about others.

Although, you never want to change the good things about yoursewlf like talents and who you really are. Too much change can lead to a whole other situation of identity. But change is good when there is always something to improve upon.

Word count-254

14 - Mel B. - The Creation of Mel

 I am an artist. I am inspired by the beauty of the world. I am inspired by the nature our beautiful earth has to offer, I am inspired by the stories told by my peers, and I am inspired to create by the amazing talented artists who came before me and held the brush and created stories with their hands. I am inspired by the talent they have shown in all their paintings. from Michaelangelo, Frida Khalo, Pablo Picasso, Fernando Botero and many more. But I am inspired by the beautiful painting The Creation of Adam painted by famous Italian artist Michelangelo on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. The creation of Adam has many meanings behind it but the one that inspired me is the arm on the right is of God and the arm on the left is of Adam, the right arm stretches towards the left because it symbolizes the spark of life that God gave Adam when creating him. 

    Though I am not as religious as my parents think I should be, I think the meaning is beautiful no matter what point of view you see it from. I see this painting and interpret it in many ways but I apply this painting to my everyday life, and goals are educational/career wise. I have my own version of this but with my hands. It gives me closure and reassurance that I know life after highschool is going to fall into play. I like to think of it like this. (obviously women's hands) the right arm is me in the future holding a paintbrush showing me with my career and the arm on the left is me in high school still trying to figure out what I am going to do with my life. When the finger and paint brush touch it's me reaching towards that goal because at the end of the day the arm on the right is already the future and I already have my career. I will go through hardships in school and I will face challenges in my career but the left (me now) is aiming for that and ready to embrace those challenges. Once the finger touches the brush everything goes good. 

    When I create I feel free, I feel happy and I have so much freedom. Weather it be drawing, painting, graphic design, or building I have so much passion and love for what i'm doing because of this painting. I loved it as a kid but fell in love with it even more once I was able to understand the meaning and create my idea to have some sort of closure that I desperately needed. I am inspired by this painting but also by the many works of Michelangelo the other being The Statue of David. Michelangelo inspires me that you don't have to just stay in one area for the rest of your life. You can expand your creativity and share your ideas through various art forms. He wasn't just a painter but a sculptor, and architect. I can do so much when it comes to art and im good at it.

    There's so much stigma when it comes to being an artist or studying art because it is seen as a "hobby" it is only seen as a hobby by these who cant create. Those who live a boring life and don't express themselves. It's boring people that don't like to uplift others no matter what their interests are, etc. Yes, it can be seen as a hobby but that's depending on the person and their motivation. You can do so much with a degree in art, you just have to have the passion and your goals all set in place to achieve them and I believe that I am one of them because of this painting, because the creation of Mel is created by me. 

   WC 650 

13 - Mel B - Flip - Flops

    Flip flops are one of the ugliest shoes that I have ever seen. I've just never been a fan of them, Even from when I was little until now. Some people wear them to the beach, and on a hot day but I will never ever ever trust the people who decide to wear them on a rainy day, or just an average day. Like you just put on some flip flops? and not even to the beach? I can have all the opinions in the world but if it's your style then it's your style and I won't judge you. Well not out loud but in my head. The best way to describe that is "I'm not judging, but I'm judging". 

    One of the reasons as to why I don't like them that doesn't revolve around me having opinions is the fact that they have no protection. Your foot is just out, you can get burned from the sun, you can jam your toe on the corner of a table, you can drop something heavy on it, etc. Anything could happen and lead to serious injury and it could have all been avoided if only there was an actual shoe. they're pointless unless you're at the nail salon and they give you those foam disposable flip flops, then in my opinion they serve a purpose. 

    It's ironic because every time I get my nails done I get a matching pedicure but I will always refuse to wear flip flops or open-toe shoes. I also just think anyone should see. butty opinions and ideologies really apply to me, anyone can wear or show off whatever they want. I prefer to be more modest and show off what I'm comfortable showing off to the rest of the world and save the rest for my family or partner. 

    My opinion doesn't really matter, everyone is just going to wear what they want and that's the beauty of it. I can say and think whatever but my opinion doesn't get in the way of people's interests and it shouldn't. I might think the shoes are ugly but the person wearing them might know and there's no right or wrong answer when it comes to the opinion.

word count 373 

13 - Hailey M; Punishment Can Make Things Worse

 

Punishment Can Make Things Worse (#13)

When kids get into trouble, usually the parents immediate response is to ground them or take away their phone. While this may count as a punishment for what they did, most of the time the punishments are not effective. Being grounded for a month isn’t going to stop their kid from acting out, and may make the problem even worse. Usually kids don’t act out just because they want to, but because they’re going through something difficult and don’t understand how to handle it. Instead of immediately grounding them, parents should allow them to explain themselves, and then ask them why they’re doing these things. Kids may act out because they seek their parents' attention, or because their parents are so strict. 

Strict parents tend to have kids that will act out more behind their back, so not allowing your child to do something that they would enjoy, like hanging out with friends outside of school, may cause them to just want to sneak out behind their back. Parents who work 24/7 and rarely spend time with their kids may also result in them acting out more in order to get their parents to pay more attention to them. 

Not having a good relationship with your kid can lead to them misbehaving. Parents often believe that their child is only acting out because they’re young, and don’t know any better, when in reality, it may just be because they don’t have a strong relationship. Before making any decisions on punishments, parents should have a conversation about why they’re exhibiting this behavior, especially if it's a repetitive one. 

Word Count: 268