Tragedy Strikes by Joshua Liao

Tragedy Strikes

                Imagine for a moment that you are in the safest place on earth. Not necessarily a building with maximum security measures, but just somewhere where you feel safe. Maybe its home on a Christmas morning where you’re opening presents or a summer afternoon where the sun is shining and everything is peaceful. Then imagine that something so crazy and unthinkable occurred that you never thought could be possible completely destroyed every ounce of serenity left in your safe place. For a group of citizens, that unthinkable was Dylann Roof. On Wednesday 17, 2015, about a dozen African Americans congregated at the Emmanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, North Carolina for a prayer session. A predominately black group, one of the new attendees was 21 year old white man named Dylann Roof. For about an hour, he joined in conversation, talked, and prayed with the group. Then everything changed. Roof suddenly stood up and started shooting, killing nine of the twelve people in the group before running off into the night. He was later apprehended by the police during his getaway. For many, including me, the question is why. How could anyone hate others so much that they would do such a thing? Roof was an individual who held the belief of “white supremacy”. His hatred for African Americans was evident to those who knew him growing up. Roof later confessed after being caught that he hoped his actions would cause a “race war”. All of these reasons are totally unacceptable. It is hard to believe that one individual was so selfish that he felt the need to ruin the lives and families of 9 individuals just in order to show his opinion. As Roof stands on trial for what he did, my prayers extend to both Roof that God can reach him and the grieving families.

Joshua Liao

Things I've Learned as a Freshman by Rohith Kariveda

I'll try not to sugar coat things: if you are going into high school, you will find your world flipped upside down. Most things you will get to master on your own; however, there are still some things that I wish I had known when I was starting school last year. Here are two things that I have learned that would have helped me if I had known them when starting high school:

Things That I've Learned As A Freshman:

Don't procrastinate - By the time I entered high school, this had been the most popular advice given to me. This is definitely an irrefutable fact - if you wait till the last minute to do something, you will stress yourself out and complete the task below expectations. The high school is notorious for giving kids long term projects, and if you can learn to do things early, you will find that the tasks assigned to you are not as intimidating as they seem.

Chill out - I don't mean to scare anyone here, but freshman year is most likely going to be your easiest year. After this, you will probably take more challenging classes and have less free time (face it - it happens to almost everyone). Make sure to take things easy. Even if school seems hard, acknowledge the fact that it will only get harder. Make time for yourself, and make sure I have fun no matter what other work you have to do.

Remember, this is an ephemeral and precious time in your life. Don't be consumed by your work even if it seems like you have a lot - be sure to make time for yourself and enjoy your life!

by: Rohith Kariveda

Arguing with Hazal Grace by Ashna Mediratta

Arguing With Hazel Grace

Known fact of the teen world: Augustus Waters fears oblivion.

Or, rather, feared.

At the very beginning of the John Green novel The Fault in Our Stars, the story of Gus and Hazel commences with a discrepancy between their opinions of oblivion; Hazel sees his genuine fear as pretty much invalid, unreasonable, and a little egotistical. And it may come across as somewhat selfish to fear not being remembered, but the way I see it Augustus Waters had all the right in the world to fear oblivion. His fear came from a dream to do something so great that the world would acknowledge his name; this dream led to hope, hope to be able to become that man with a title. And that hope changed everything about the way Augustus looked at life. The way he spoke as if he was always on a stage, the way he acted as if he always had an audience, the way he did everything and anything with more grandeur than the common man was because he never felt he was the common man. He felt he was more than that, and that feeling brought so much energy and happiness to his life though he was facing such difficulties in reality. This hope and belief that he could live an extraordinary life is what led Gus to be so happy. If fearing oblivion made Augustus Waters do things a way most people do not, which then brought a smile to his face, then so be it.

Of course, Hazel is right. “There will come a time when all of us are dead.” And sure, “there will come a time when there are no human beings remaining to remember that anyone ever existed or that our species ever did anything. There will be no one left to remember Aristotle or Cleopatra, let alone you. Everything that we did and built and wrote and thought and discovered will be forgotten and all of this will have been for naught.” That’s true, no doubt. But is there any wrong in dreaming? Dreaming to be up there with Aristotle and Cleopatra, dreaming to maybe be written down in a book as someone heroic, dreaming to leave a good mark that has some influence on the world, or your country, or even just the small town that you live in? And if that dream adds more smiles and laughter and energy to your life, how can it be wrong?

Hazel is right in the sense that the world’s memories will soon be nonexistent, but I personally feel as if there is no wrong in wanting your name to be existent in the world until the world reaches that point of nonexistence. And for Augustus, since wanting his name to be known brought him so much hope and happiness, and literally changed the things he said, what he did, and how he looked at the world and his own capabilities, he can fear oblivion all he wants.

NBA Finals (delayed posting, sorry) by Joshua Liao

The NBA Finals

                The 2015 NBA finals are underway, a dream matchup that fans have been anticipating for all season. What better matchup could anyone have asked for? The 2015 League MVP Steph Curry and his legendary shot leads the Golden State Warriors against the Cleveland Cavaliers and the league’s best player, LeBron James. Basketball has quickly become one of America’s most popular sports due to the fact that it can be played by oneself as well as a team. None of the other major sports – football, baseball, volleyball, tennis, soccer - can make the same claim. As a result, more people than normal have tuned in to see this star-studded matchup. The Cavaliers come in limping with several all-star players injured and riding the back of their LeBron James. He has averaged an eye-popping 40 points per game over the first three games of the series and helped Cleveland to build a 2-1 lead. Curry has struggled at times in his first NBA finals, showing only flashes of this brilliant shooting.  Even then, the first two games went into overtime and the third was marked by an improbable comeback by the Warriors that ultimately fell short. However, this is a best of seven series. The Cavs will win if LeBron James, who has played nearly every single minuet of the series, has enough stamina to keep up his inspiring play through at least 6 games. If Curry and fellow shooter Kris Thompson get hot and the Warriors start hitting their crunch-time shots, they will win. On a personal level it is extremely hard to root for one side. You want to see LeBron succeed on his return to Cleveland after a four year absence. On the other hand, the Warriors have some of the league’s most likeable players and they haven’t won a championship in forty years. Either way, the series promises to one that will be talked about by basketball fans for years to come.

Joshua Liao

Book Review of City of Ashes from Ravjit Kaur

Book Review of City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare (Book Two of the Mortal Instruments series)

by Ravjit Kaur

Clary, Jace, Isabelle, Simon, Alec, Magnus, and the rest of the Shadowhunters and Downworlders are back in the sequel to City Of Bones.

Clary’s mother still hasn’t woken up, and Jace has been sentenced to a night in the Silent City, because he was accused of being a spy for Valentine. The Inquisitor has come to the Institute and is causing all kinds of trouble. During Jace’s night in the Silent City, Valentine, his father, comes to visit him and steals the Mortal Sword (the second Mortal Instrument). Clary, Isabelle, Alec, and Magnus respond to a distress call from the Silent City, and reach there only to find the bodies of the Silent Brothers (guardians of the Silent City) and a puzzled Jace. Clary uses her newfound powers that give her the power to create runes, something only angels can do, to break Jace out of his cell. Clary is summoned to the Seelie Court to visit the queen. In turn, the queen will offer her help in finding out who is killing Downworlders. In doing so, Clary is tricked into eating faerie food, and can only be released if she is kissed by the person she wants most. Simon is shocked to find out that this is not him, but her brother Jace. The whole group leaves the Seelie Court in varying levels of confusion. Once they get back, the realize that Simon drank a vampire’s blood by accident and is becoming one himself. As soon as he is reborn,Valentine kills him, but he is revived with Jace’s blood. This is quickly followed by the kidnapping of Clary. As everyone is lead to the big ship in the middle of a lake, various plans are formed to get everyone out. With Valentine in possession of two of the three Mortal Instruments, Clary, Maia, and an army of demons, will the Shadowhunter’s plan blow up in their faces? Or will Clary’s powers save them all? Find out in City of Ashes.