Chasing Stars, a poem by Alyssah Alvarez

 Chasing Stars

The night sky

Glistens with stars passing by

The moon shines bright

On a beautiful night

All our dreams

Shine and beam

Just like the stars do

Guiding us with a light so true

Each day we ponder

And sometimes wander

Into the night sky

Chasing our dreams as they fly high.

We reach for the stars

All the way to Mars

Pushing forward

Wishing everything was straightforward

Persevering through tough days

Staying strong, though doubts may sway.

We never realize how deep we fall,

Even when giving it our all

From struggling, we can find strength

But it is farther than arms-length

Through endless nights,

Our dreams will carry us out of sight.

How Music Affects Your Mood by Alyssah Alvarez

 Have you ever listened to music that instantly boosts your mood? Or have you ever listened to music that makes you feel a certain way? Music has a powerful effect on the brain. It can affect our emotions very easily. Listening to music daily can impact us positively. Music can reduce anxiety, and pain, improve memory and focus, and so much more.

Some of the benefits of music are, improving focus and memory, boosting mood, stress relief, and reducing anxiety. Different types of music can help us concentrate and focus better. The type of music you listen to also impacts your brain. For example, genres like classical and instrumental are great to listen to when you need to focus. It can also boost your productivity if you are more focused. Different regions in the brain are activated when listening to music. Listening to music while studying can also be helpful. For example, studying information through a song will help you remember the information better because your brain will remember the repetitive melody of the song. Music can also reduce anxiety and stress because it can lower the level of cortisol in your body. Cortisol is the stress hormone in our bodies. When listening to music, we feel more relaxed. Music activates different regions of the brain, resulting in feeling different emotions when listening to music. It can make us feel sad, stressed, happy, excited, anxious, etc depending on the type of music. Listening to music releases dopamine, which is a neurotransmitter that makes us feel happy, motivated, and pleasurable. It can inspire us to do certain things. Music can help boost your mood and positively impact your mental health. This is why listening to your favorite music can instantly lift your mood and make you feel energetic sometimes. Music also has the power to connect people. Lots of people listen to music that expresses their feelings about certain things. We can connect and communicate with others who have the same feelings. We can bond with other people through music.

In conclusion, music is more powerful than most of us think. Listening to music can positively impact our brains, well-being, and mood. It activates different regions of the brain. It can also help us feel less stressed and more motivated. Music can improve focus and influence our emotions. Music can influence our lives in ways that words alone cannot.

‌Works Cited

Adler, Sarah Elizabeth. “How Does Music Boost Your Mood?” AARP, 30 June 2020, www.aarp.org/health/healthy-living/music-mental-health/.

Peralta, Lia. “Impact of Music on Society - Sociological Effects.” Save the Music Foundation, Save The Music Foundation, 3 Nov. 2021, www.savethemusic.org/blog/how-does-music-affect-society/.

Analysis of the hat in “On Seeing England for the First Time” by Muhammad Raza

 Analysis of the hat in “On Seeing England for the First Time”

In her short work, “On Seeing England for the First Time”, Jamaica Kincaid employs the use of symbolism through the brown felt hat to illustrate how imperialism and colonialism have the potential to mislead and harm oppressed individuals. In the story, the author’s father wears a brown felt hat every day. It is the first thing that he puts on in the morning, and it is the last thing that he takes off at night. While the hat may seem like a benign style choice, it is actually a metaphor for the harm that English colonialism has brought upon the family of Kincaid, as well as so many other families in the country of Antigua and Barbuda. Firstly, the reason why Kincaid’s father wears the brown felt hat is that he has supposedly seen an Englishman wear it and has begun to believe that it is a symbol of proper Englishness and sophistication. This subtle reason as to why he wears the brown felt hat already demonstrates the large amount of influence that England has already exercised and put upon its colonized nations: no matter what the temperature is, or what the conditions are of Kincaid’s father’s work, he always chooses to wear the brown felt hat because it is symbolic of England, and he has been influenced into believing that it therefore must be important. Furthermore, Kincaid stresses how the brown felt hat was unfit for the hot working conditions in Antigua, how it completely came apart after a short period of time, and how her father immediately orders new hats from England after the previous one comes apart. Again, this attachment and awe of the hat, despite its deleterious effects, symbolically represents how citizens of oppressed nations are tricked into seeing their oppressors and colonizers as larger-than-life beings, despite the harm that they cause them. And while this brown felt hat may just have caused Kincaid’s father to sweat more while working, the reality is that true colonization and oppression that it symbolizes harms its victims (both mentally and physically) much more than what can sometimes be apparent or imaginable.

Longing from afar, short story by Anika Taiwade

 Longing from afar by Anika Taiwade

The first time I saw him was when he gave me a concussion. 

Not on purpose. Infact, quite the opposite. He was playing basketball with his friends when the ball came flying at my head. I barely had time to react before everything went black. 

The next thing I knew, I was in the nurse’s office, with a large bump on my head. My head was throbbing when I noticed a blurry figure sitting beside me. 

“You’re awake,” he said, relieved. “I thought I killed you for a second.”

I blinked, slowly, still processing what was going on. I brought myself to sit upright, facing him now. He was smiling- a little sheepish, a little amused- but mostly just worried. His uniform was wrinkled, his hair was slightly damp, and his body began to relax a little bit. 

“I’m very much alive, thank you” I muttered, though with the way my heart was pounding, I wasn’t entirely sure.

He laughed, “Still, sorry about that. I’ll make it up to you, okay?”

It wasn’t until later that I found out he was the one who carried me here. “Yeah, he freaked out when you passed out, dude. Picked you up somehow and ran straight to the nurse. Wouldn’t leave until you woke up.” I wasn’t sure why that made my stomach flip the way it did. Or why, the next time I saw him, my heart started beating faster than the first time. 

After that day, I kept noticing him. He moved swiftly and smoothly during his basketball games, but never forgot to throw me a smile if we made eye contact. His laughter carried across the hallway whenever I crossed paths with him in between classes. That feeling just grew everytime I encountered him, whether he noticed me or not. 

I should’ve told him. Maybe then, he could’ve chosen to stay. Maybe, just maybe, he would’ve wanted to come back. But I didn’t. So here I am, thinking about what could’ve been. I thought it would be safer than losing him completely, but I lost him in a way I never imagined- slowly, silently, without a single word spoken.     

 

Moon from the Ferris Wheel, a poem by Svetina Shi

 moon from the ferris wheel

By: Svetina S.

the moon

blind eye

watching over 

the towering rides,

the blinking lights,

the smoking stands,

but seeing nothing. 

the moon

deaf ear

listening to

the children screaming,

the music blaring,

the people talking,

but hearing nothing. 

the moon

mute mouth

speaking to

the ones crying,

the ones hurting,

the ones burning,

but saying nothing. 

does she know what we have done?

a million carnival lights

would never be able to

compare

scarred earth

ravaged beauty

creating imitations of the very thing

we sought to destroy

The swimming pool, a poem by Svetina Shi

 The swimming pool

By: Svetina S.

i let myself 

descend down the stairs

            into the water

        warm as flesh.

 the water rushes forward

enveloping me like silk

swallowing             me         whole

letting             me float

here i feel free.

i breathe in the air, tinged with chlorine, damp, humid. moisture beads on my face. 

and i sink

—-------------------------------------------under---------------------------------------------

the water

i hear the buzz of the radiator, muted underwater, the splash of the water on the sides of the pool. but mostly i hear nothing. silence, for once. my hair fans out, dancing in the waves, zero gravity.

when i finally get out, my fingers are pruned.

Time to return to the real world.

Nature poem by: Alyssah Alvarez

 Nature poem by: Alyssah Alvarez

The flowers all start to bloom

As the birds sing a beautiful tune.

The breeze whispers through the leaves,

Carrying secrets nature weaves.

The rivers are flowing

As the blue sky is glowing.

We spend each day

Hoping the beautiful nature will stay.

The trees, filled with life, thrive

As if they are alive.

We see them every day

But never pay attention to their sway.

The deep, blue ocean is filled with grace

But we take its life leaving our trace.

The waves crash on the shore

And the seagulls call as they soar.

The rain pours from skies so gray

And we wait for a new day.

We don’t realize how much it gives,

Bringing life so nature lives.