Buy, Buy, Buy! by Shuxuan Chang

 Buy, Buy, Buy!

         “ Wuuuuu”, I slammed my bedroom door shut after my family yelled at me. I was thinking about what I did wrong, why my family had just yelled at me. After I calmed down, I picked up my phone, thinking that maybe buying something could make me feel a little better.

         I opened the shopping app and began browsing, looking at cosmetics I had wanted for a long time—or perhaps those products that various bloggers had highly recommended. The moment I hit the "Buy It" button, I felt a sense of lightness wash over me—perhaps because I knew I would soon get to use this new item, or perhaps simply because shopping made me feel like I deserved something nice. Somehow, shopping gives me a kind of comfort nothing else does. 

          It’s actually strange. Whenever my friends and I feel upset—angry, stressed, or sad—we always end up wanting to reward ourselves after talking everything out. Sometimes, shopping alone is enough to make me feel better; other times, going shopping with friends after we vent to each other feels just as comforting. Yet, even when nothing is bothering me, I still enjoy shopping—though I don’t go overboard. I’ll pick up the things I actually need, and every now and then, I’ll treat myself to two or three items I simply desire—just as a little reward to myself for getting through everything. 

           Sometimes I don’t understand what’s going on inside my head. I’ve got at least a thousand different thoughts racing through my mind, and I just act on whatever pops up at the moment. *Waaah!* If I keep this up, I’m going to blow through my entire allowance! Maybe shopping never truly solves my problems, but in those moments, it gives me something to look forward to.

The Challenge of Picking a Career as a Teen by Ibrahim Rogers

 The Challenge of Picking a Career as a Teen

Occasionally, people ask me about what I would like to pursue after graduating high school. To tell you the truth, I do not have a clear answer as to what my plans for the future might look like. Even though we are pressured to select a career path long before we turn eighteen, it is important to acknowledge that any unexpected event may change our opinion. For instance, I know someone thought they would become an engineer. Now, however, he decided to pursue a degree in law instead. As for myself, I wanted to become an engineer back when I was in my freshmen year of high school, and now the idea is funny to me. 

In addition to the need to choose a profession yourself, there is also another problem that comes into play which is parental expectations. Our dear moms and dads wish nothing but the best for us; however, their expectations may place unnecessary pressure upon us. It's difficult when your parents pressure you into going into a certain career because they have done it themselves or because they believe that it will be the most financially secure path for you. You want to make them happy, but at the same time, you do not want to spend the rest of your life chasing something that doesn’t make you happy just for the sake of maintaining peace at home.

According to a study conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics, 30% of college students switch majors at least once during the first three years of college education. If adults, who pay for their education, can’t stick to their first decision, how can we expect a teenager in high school to know everything about their future? In the end, I do believe that high school should serve you an experience of exploring and failing. If you are overwhelmed by the idea of making a career decision already at this stage, you are definitely not alone.

National Center for Education Statistics. “Beginning College Students Who Change Their Majors within 3 Years of Enrollment.” Nces.ed.gov, Dec. 2017, nces.ed.gov/pubs2018/2018434/index.asp.

I Picked Up My Phone… Again by Shuxuan Chang

 I Picked Up My Phone… Again

        “Hahaha!” I laughed as another funny video played on my phone.Whenever I have a spare moment, my first instinct is to scroll through videos. It just felt like good fun—devoid of the pressure associated with studying—and brought me nothing but pure joy.

          It feels like I just can't stop watching videos—and it’s the same for all my friends and classmates. The moment we get our hands on our phones—even if there’s nothing important going on—our minds immediately turn to all the social media apps. Sometimes, when my friends and I are having lunch and run out of things to talk about, we each just pull out our phones and start scrolling. 

         Using our phones has become our automatic response to boredom.—and it’s the easiest one at that: all it takes is unlocking the screen to open an app and start watching videos. Why is it that the more videos I scroll through, the more engaged I become? It’s actually quite strange; whenever I stumble upon a video that interests me, just two or three clips later, the app immediately recommends similar content that aligns with my interests.It feels as though the algorithm in the background can actually read my mind—which makes me want to just keep scrolling endlessly, unable to bring myself to put my phone down.

        Although social media helps me relax, I sometimes wonder whether it is slowly taking away meaningful conversations and valuable time from my life.

The Future of The Golden State Warriors By: Anmol Puri

 The Future of The Golden State Warriors

By: Anmol Puri

Current State

The Golden State Warriors face many difficult decisions these upcoming offseason. After their disappointing loss against the Phoenix Suns, the Warriors have landed at the eleventh pick in the 2026 NBA Draft. This gives them chances to land an impact player for the ‘now’ like Andy Mara or Yaxel Lendeborg. They also have the possibility of landing players like Karim Lopez or Nate Ament who could be future stars in the league. Looking at the Warriors with just this context, some may believe that their future could be bright and on the rise, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. The Warriors have one of the oldest NBA rosters with their stars being in their mid to late 30s with Stephen Curry turning 39 during the 2026-2027 NBA season. 

Mediocrity

Over the past 5 years, the Warriors have had interesting post season runs. In 2021, Stephen Curry had a spectacular season finishing third in the MVP race. Despite this, the Warriors found themselves in the Play-In tournament. After their championship run in 2022, and playoff run in 2023, the warriors found themselves in the Play-in once again for the next 3 seasons, making the playoffs one time. This run of mediocrity have left them without any major draft capital, and they find themselves in a similar spot now.

The Future

Their recent loss and increasing age have made many people question whether it’s time to blow things up, or to go all in for one final push. Stephen Curry is a transcendent player who is still capable of leading a time to the NBA Championship, but the unfortunate luck of Jimmy Butler III and Moses Moody’s recent injuries have derailed the Warriors chances of competing in the coming seasons. With the limited assets that Golden State has left, they can decide to go for a star player to put alongside their superstar. On the other hand, Golden State can also choose to start preparing for a future past their duo of Stephen Curry and Draymond Green. Their eleventh pick should help with this as well as trying to get younger throughout the offseason. 

Overall, the Warriors are stuck between two difficult choices and limited resources to deal with their problems. The cost of four championships have left them with a questionable future.

Works Cited

Akeley, Joey. “Warriors Big Board: Top Draft Options at No. 11.” Golden State Warriors on SI, Inside The Warriors, 11 May 2026, www.si.com/nba/warriors/onsi/warriors-big-board-top-draft-options-at-no-11-01krbwgrcazr. Accessed 13 May 2026.

Bhargava, Yagya. “Warriors Front Office Reportedly Indicates Future Plan for Draymond Green.” Yahoo Sports, 10 May 2026, sports.yahoo.com/articles/warriors-front-office-reportedly-indicates-153254696.html. Accessed 13 May 2026.

Quinn, Sam. “What’s next for Warriors? Steph Curry Era Is Fading, but There Are Three Paths back to Contention.” CBS Sports, 2026, www.cbssports.com/nba/news/warriors-offseason-preview-steph-curry-era-fading-three-paths-back-to-contention/.

The Best Basketball Team Ever Seen: 2016-17 Golden State Warriors By: Anmol Puri

 The Best Basketball Team Ever Seen: 2016-17 Golden State Warriors

By: Anmol Puri 

Competition

When talking about the greatest runs of all time, people often mention Bill Russell’s Celtics, Tim Duncan’s Spurs, Kobe Bryant’s or Magic Johnson’s Lakers, Michael Jordan’s Bulls, Stephen Curry’s Warriors, and LeBron James’ Heat. But, when talking about a one year team, the most dominant has gone back and forth between a couple teams. Kobe and Shaq’s Lakers in 2000-2001 went on a historic run. Michael Jordan’s Bulls in 1995-1996 went to win the most games in a regular season for their time (72-10). In 2016, Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors broke this infamous record when they totaled 73 wins. After such a historic season, it was disappointing to not see them complete the perfect season by winning the championship. However, that following summer, the 2014 regular season MVP decided to join the Golden State Warriors and create what many call the greatest force ever seen.

Success

The Golden State Warriors took control of the league for the entirety of the NBA season ending with a regular season record of 67-15, and a playoff record of 16-1. Kevin Durant’s game was blown wide open through two of the greatest shooters of all time, Curry and Klay. Draymond orchestrated both ends of the floor, especially the defensive end as he took home the DPOY in this very season. Their starting lineup was undoubtedly one of the greatest ever, but their bench wasn’t lackluster either. Former Final’s MVP and All-Star, Andre Iguodala led the second unit followed by midrange specialist Shaun Livingston. The Golden State Warriors’ Kevin Durant era was short, but definitely sweet. It ended with three finals appearances and two titles in just 3 years, but egos and contracts ended the championship runs for some time. Perhaps, they were the only thing that could have stopped the team.

Works Cited

“Top 10 All-Time Best NBA Teams - Paris Basketball." Paris Basketball, 15 Jan. 2026, parisbasketball.com/en/basketball-101/top-10-all-time-best-nba-teams/.

Vukašin Nedeljković. “The GOAT Squads: Ranking the Best NBA Teams of All Time.” Basketnews.com, BasketNews.com, 3 Apr. 2025, basketnews.com/news-221896-best-nba-teams-of-all-time.html.

Wikipedia Contributors. “2016.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 22 Oct. 2019, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016.

Color Guard by Pranavi Okade

 Why is color guard so much fun? A lot of people associate the sport with colorful flags on a marching band field. While that is certainly part of it, color guard is so much more. For starters, we get two seasons, winter and fall. Fall aligns with the marching band. That is when we are out on the football field learning a ten minute show. For many guards that do winter, fall is considered a kind of prep, particularly for those that are new. This is because winter guard is much more technically involved. In fall, the technique aspects of color guard are much more difficult to analyze because everyone is so spread out. In winter, the whole guard is much closer and far easier to see from the judges stand. Winter is also different in that it is much more technically involved. Since everything is so easy to see, everything has to be closer to perfection than when we first learn it. It is a little intimidating, but it is also a lot of fun to learn new things. 

A huge reason that guard is so fun is because there is a community among all of the guards. Even people that are competing in the same category are supportive of each other. Each time a guard passes another in the hallway, there are compliments about hair or makeup or costumes. If not compliments, it is congratulations on their show, or words of encouragement for their upcoming performance. Everyone is so consistently nice as a whole that the winter guard competitions are so much. 

Even in the stands, everyone is cheering for all of the guards performing. Since we as the color guards know when a toss is technically difficult, we cheer so loud each time something cool gets pulled off. Sometimes even more than the audience on the other side. 

Lastly, winter guard is so much fun because we improve so much more. There are tosses that I would struggle with in fall that I barely had to think about at the end of winter. I even learned how to toss a whole new piece of equipment in winter. Even on flag which I had been doing, I learned how to correct some of the moves I had been struggling with.

Hantavirus Outbreak by Dhakshina Durairaj Suganthi

 Hantavirus Outbreak

Have you experienced a virus outbreak before? Because I’m sure we’ve all been through one, with Covid 19 a few years back. But what if I told you that there’s a new virus that's been spreading? Yes, it’s true; according to recent news sources, there is a new virus outbreak, known as the Hantavirus. It was first discovered on a cruise ship, among passengers who were ill. 

Details: 

On May 2, 2026, there was a virus outbreak on a cruise ship on the Atlantic Ocean. Specifically, it is the Andes virus, which can lead to hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (also known as HPS). HPS is a deadly disease that attacks the lungs, so it shouldn’t be taken too lightly. 

Current risk status:

• Currently, the risk of this Hantavirus among Americans is pretty low

• People who are traveling haven’t been found to have an increased risk

• People can continue traveling as normal

The way it spreads:

• Hantavirus spreads to people through contact with any nearby rodents who have been in areas where the virus has been present (mostly when exposed to urine, droppings, and saliva)

• The Andes virus is the only type of hantavirus that can be spread person-to-person

• It is only spread between people who have been in close contact with the affected person

• Close contact such as: direct physical contact, long periods of time spent together in closed spaces, and being exposed to the ill person’s saliva, respiratory secretions, or other bodily fluids (activities like kissing, sharing utensils, or handling contaminated bedding)

Symptoms:

• Symptoms in the early stage consist of:

• Fatigue

• Fever

• Muscle aches (mostly in thighs, hips, and sometimes shoulders)

• Patients also experience:

• Headaches

• Dizziness

• Chills

• Abdominal problems (like nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and stomach pain)

Treatment:

• There isn’t a specific treatment for hantavirus, but patients should receive supportive care, such as rest, hydration, and treatment for specific symptoms.

•  When experiencing these symptoms, you must seek help, as they can spread rapidly. 

• HPS also causes breathing issues, so patients might have to receive breathing support.

•  Breathing treatments could include intubation treatment, a medical procedure where a tube is placed in the lungs from the mouth to help the patient get oxygen.

Source: https://www.cdc.gov/hantavirus/situation-summary/index.html