An Adventurous Turnaround by: Sarvessh Senthamarai Kannan

 An Adventurous Turnaround

by:  Sarvessh Senthamarai Kannan,

It was a boring Wednesday at my quiet home. As my mother dutifully prepared lunch, all

my stomach was craving was a thrilling adventure, something that would flip this day around. As

I heard the constant sizzling, I knew it was time for lunch. As I walked out of my room towards

the dining hall, I couldn’t help but notice the wall’s gray color, that’s the color that describes me

right now.

However, my brain quickly shifted gears as my disgusted sister questioned me, “Today’s

Saturday.”

“You know what that means.”

“Vegetarian and Greens Day,” we both gloomily stated.

At our house, it was the norm to eat all vegetarian on Saturdays. Mind you, though I am not a

vegetable fan, I don’t hate them per se. However, this constant horrible weekly lottery pick

always manages to bring out my least favorite underdogs; Bittery Bitter Gourd, No Spice No

Savor Spinach, and most infamously, fresh out of a horror movie, Bloody Beetroot. So as me

and my sister slumped into our chairs, we prepared ourselves for our vegetablized fate.

That’s when the tables turned, "Let's go to the Swinging Bridge Trail,” my dad exclaimed.

Overjoyed at the sound of adventure, me and my sister leaped away from the dining table to get

ready.We rushed to get dressed, practically tripping over ourselves in excitement. Within

minutes, we were in the car, the dull gray feeling of the morning already fading into something

much brighter. As we drove, I could feel the anticipation building, like something unforgettable

was waiting for us.

When we arrived at Swinging Bridge Traill, the first thing that hit me wasn’t the view—it was the

mosquitoes. They were everywhere. It felt like they had been waiting just for us, swarming

around like tiny helicopters. I swatted the air constantly, but somehow they always found a way

to sneak past my defenses. My sister complained loudly, and even my dad couldn’t stop

scratching his arm. Still, despite the annoying bites, we pushed forward into the depths of the

trail.

As we walked deeper into the trail, the scenery began to change. The trees grew taller, the air

felt fresher, and eventually, we found what felt like a hidden treasure—a perfect lake spot. The

water shimmered under the sunlight, reflecting the sky like a giant mirror. The gentle ripples

made it seem alive, and for a moment, everything felt calm. We sat there, taking it all in, letting

the peacefulness replace the chaos of the mosquitoes and the earlier boredom of the day.

That’s when things took an unexpected turn. My autistic friend, who had come along with us,

suddenly got up and started running. At first, I thought he was just excited, but he kept

going—faster and farther, straight down the trail. Without thinking, I jumped up and ran after

him. My heart pounded as I tried to catch up, calling his name, hoping he would stop.

The trail twisted and turned, and for a moment, I felt a surge of panic. But I didn’t stop. Finally,

after what felt like forever, I reached him. He had slowed down, breathing heavily but smiling. I

realized then that he wasn’t running away—he was running forward. He was pushing himself,

trying something new, something brave.

We walked back together, both out of breath, but something had changed. The day that started

off dull and disappointing had turned into an adventure full of surprises—mosquitoes, a beautiful

lake, and a moment I would never forget.

As we headed home, I thought about everything that had happened. Sometimes, the days that

seem the worst at the start can turn into something meaningful. Sometimes, even the smallest

decisions—like going on a hike—can lead to unexpected growth.

And most importantly, I realized that there is always room for a positive change, if that’s what

you truly want.

A Well Needed Change by: Sarvessh Senthamarai Kannan

 A Well Needed Change

by: Sarvessh Senthamarai Kannan

Finally, the week was over. Well, the first week of strenuous tennis summer camp was over. I

slumped down into my messy sofa, which I never cleaned due to my lack of time over the past

week. While every one of my friends skipped the last day of school just to get a headstart to

vacation in Bora Bora, I was practically sentenced to solitary confinement in my 4-hour tennis

camp that took place in the unforgiving and scorching heat. All I wished for was a change, a

meaningful change that could potentially drag me out of my never ending vortex of

tennis,study,eat,sleep repeat.

I sighed, “My fate for the next 2-months is sealed shut with an elephant sitting on top.”

I forced my legs to push me out of the couch and onto the study table. As I opened my

Geometry textbook for my fourth study interval of the day, my brain fell into a trance, blindly

following the preset “never ending vortex.”

An unfamiliar voice spoke out of my mothers phone, “We are going to go to the Sourland

Mountain Preserves for a hike. Would you like to join?”

It was my mother’s close friends. I genuinely did not care where we were going. All I wanted

was a change. 30 minutes later, I laced up my Nike shoes as we all piled up into the car, half of

us knowing the purpose, the other half just trying to get out of the house.

“Is it going to be fun?” my sister questioned.

“I don’t know, it's just a hike,” I replied.

Little did we know the plot of this story was going to go much deeper. As our blue SUV pulled up

into the rocking parking lot of the the preserve, our friends happily waved at us. As the parents

talked about work and how much it takes to take care of us naughty kids. I noticed that there

were extra two adults adults talking. Me and my sister gave each other one look and new what

was happening. We started our search for their kids, what age could they be, boy or girl? Then

we found them, sitting alone on a wooden bench full of slabs. One was a screenager, barely

looking up as we introduced ourselves. The other boy, small and reserved, was a shy one. Later

while we were eating lunch, I struggled to believe he was the same age as me. As we ate, I

couldn’t help but think about the trail. However, I knew the time would come. Sure enough, 1

hour later, we walked up to the start of the trail. Meanwhile, my dad hyping up the kids about

how fun this hike would be, a horror caught my eyes. Unable to believe my own sighting, I

slowly walked up to the “Welcome Bulletin Board of the Sourland Mountain Preserves.” The

board projected two bright snakes in which under captions it stated, “The Eastern Copperhead

and Ratsnake might encounter you on the way.” At that moment though brighter than neon

green and faster than a bullet shot through my head Holy smokes, this is what we are in for, I’m

out of here. But it was too late, the rest of the group had already started treading into the

wilderness. I looked at the floor, if you don’t feel me again, remember you were the last thing I

ever thought about. And so, my fate towards encountering a snake began. I sprinted up the trail,

up to the point where my sister and the group were walking. While everyone admired the beauty

of the wilderness, I couldn’t stop inspecting every hole we walked by, snake or no snake? To

make my paranoia worse, this trail was full of huge rocks that we had to walk on. Even as we

passed a sky view point, I couldn’t stop thinking about a snake slithering under the rock I was

standing on. I had never been so scared since the time my parents forgot me at a supermarket,

which explains the other side of this story.

“Buddy, how was school this year,” one of the uncles asked.

Unable to speak with proper confidence, I gave a truly disrespectful and dull reply, “Good.”

However I didn’t have enough time to further critique my disrespectful response to an adult as I

heard a bush make a noise. Now, I knew I wasn’t hearing things because my startled sister

turned around at the same time as me. We both slowly approached the bush when suddenly a

small creature leaped out.

“Snake, Snake Snake,” I stupidly yelled, unnecessarily causing commotion among the group.

That’s when my observant sister laughed, “Brother look, it’s just a chipmunk.” That was it I

thought, things can’t get any worse. Everybody just laughed it off, I laughed too, the only

difference being that I forced it. I truly still didn’t recover from what had just happened. As we

reached the end of the trail without encountering any snakes, I looked at the bright side of

things. That was a well needed change. Even if it was horrifying, it still pulled me out of my

never ending vortex. At that moment, I was the most relieved person there. I learned that

sometimes, the most horrifying experiences can give you the biggest happiness, even if it is

hard,

“Let’s go get ice cream,” my dad yelled. Everyone excitedly ran towards the car, except me. I

smirked at the snakes contained within the vibrant ink and paper.

“Can’t get me now can you!” I laughed.

I slowly picked up some dirt from the ground that held a familiar Nike pattern as I too ran

towards our car, content with the well needed change.

A Lesson From Nature by: Sarvessh Senthamarai Kannan

 A Lesson From Nature

by: Sarvessh Senthamarai Kannan

Coming off a 4 hour drive, the immediate thought of a nature hike resulted in exhaustive “no”

from my brain. “Watkins Glen,” my mother said. “Me and your father came here when you and

your sister were barely of the age to talk.” I forced a smile, hoping to cover my happiness at not

going with them. As the car rolled across the road as it did for the past 4 hours, I spotted a sign

“Visitor Center: Watkins Glen.” Me and my sister were super annoyed, for the past two days, we

had been stuck in a boring old national park. At tops, all we expected was an ice cream on the

way back. However, our parents had pulled out the dark bunny out of the hat.

“The scene at the top is amazing,” my mother insisted.

Me and my sister just accepted our fate as we slapped our sunscreen onto our faces. As soon

as we stepped in, I could not help but notice the insane amount of stairs leading up to one of the

four main water falls. I felt a slight change in the perception of this place.

Still, I refused the positive change. This place sucks, no thrill, no excitement.

Along the path, I noticed a very fast river, skimming past rocks and vegetation. It seemed

content, almost as if it was just accepting the tide of the water and the direction of the wind. The

change felt meaningful, the key to the lock of peace.

Further down the trail, my sister noticed a peculiar sighting, “Brother look, its curved tree.”

I looked closer, in the midst of all the green giants, a skinny sturdy tree slowly peeked out of two

heavy boulders. It looked like the survival of the fittest, a fight to do what it took to satisfy the

hunger and determination to grow. It reminded me of the time I was riding my bicycle with my

friends. Unaware of my flat tire, I accelerated down the hill at full speed, ready to make a sharp

left on the bottom. But as fate would have it, my front loosened a smidge, just enough to send

my bike into a 90 degree flop. I recalled my friends telling me, “I saw you tumble into the

sidewalk like you were ice skating.” I struggled to get my spine straight, as a huge scar under

my shirt revealed itself. To make matters worse, my leg had gotten severely damaged, blood

gushing from within. However, I refused to stay handicapped over the next 3 months, a time

where the doctor stated, “No physical activity.” However, while still in bed, I sharpened my chess

skills, shot laundry into the basket, and even read new genres of books that I would have never

read while being fully able. The connection between my old life and the determined tree gave

me a lesson from nature itself, one that would never erode or weather through rain nor wind. By

the time the trail was over, my once exhaustive and rejective brain had a basket full of new

lessons, lessons that would eventually become a life lesson. This experience taught me to

accept things as they come. It indirectly taught me to mold myself into a situation instead of

complaining.

"Born" by Rishi Patil

 "Born" by Rishi Patil

This very moment

A new life has been born

Born into a world

Where people are more concerned with power and being right

Than what’s best for the future

Born into a world

Where people only help others

To salvage their own image

Born into a world

Like putting a sponge into the ocean

Soaking everything up

Until they are saturated with

Opinions they don’t agree with

And experiences a kid

Should never experience

Why Do We Compare Ourselves to Others? by Shuxuan Chang

 Why Do We Compare Ourselves to Others?

                   Have you ever felt like you were being compared to someone else? Of course I have. I’m on summer vacation right now. I wake up very late every day, and sometimes I don’t know what I should do. Whenever my mother sees me lying on my bed, she feels upset and tells me, “You should do something, not just sleep every day. Make your own plan and study.”

       After she told me that, I didn’t say anything. Then she started talking about other teenagers she knew and comparing me with them. I don’t know how other parents talk about their children, but sometimes I feel like my parents notice other teens’ achievements more than mine. I felt confused because I have also done things well. Why didn’t they see my efforts? But it’s okay. This is my life, and I remind myself of that.

        Later, I talked with my friends, and they told me they had experienced the same thing. Their parents also compared them with other teenagers. It wasn’t surprising to us because we had heard it many times before. Sometimes, parents compare their children because they want them to improve. They may believe that seeing others’ success can motivate us. However, constant comparison can also make teenagers feel like they are not good enough.

       I think everyone has their own strengths and their own path. We should not only look at what others have achieved, but also remember the things we have done well.

Bet on your Life pt1by Samhita Adapa

 Gambling is no recent or uncommon phenomena despite how it seems to be everywhere

these days. Betting isn’t even something humans are unaccustomed to either. Dating back to

the Paleolithic period, it’s a common theory that humans used knucklebone “dice” to gamble

based on fossil remains. But usually, gambling and betting has mostly been restricted to

certain areas, mainly sports and games. Heck, it was only recently that the U.S. lifted its ban

on sports gambling in 2018, overturning the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act

(PASPA). Yet in the near decade that followed that landmark decision, betting has only

seemed to grow even bigger. If you can’t afford to pay for the ad-free plans of streaming

services, then you’re bound to see at least 1 gambling ad per episode, whether it’s hard rock

casino or draftking’s sportsbook. I bet my nonexistent savings that one of your youtube

unskippable ads is for Polymarket. The superbowl commercials this year have been plagued

with glp-1 weightloss advertisements and sloppily made AI sports betting ads. This culture that

has ruined so many American lives has grown beyond sports and games, infecting all aspects

of our daily life and manifesting into the abomination we know today as Kalshi. 

Thankfully, no one in my family gambles. Other than a few slot games once every few years and the occasional game of poker, betting never seemed to have such a big presence in my life. It was always something that never had any real stakes. Whenever my family friends and I played poker, we would bet using gum sticks and my mom seemed to have an aversion to the act of betting itself. I never understood why it was so common nor why it seemed to be so addictive. It was only till recently that I started to become more aware of how ruining the practice could be and how heavily prevalent it seems to be, especially today. But to understand why it’s so common, you need to understand the appeal. Gambling at first seems very low risk, high payout. ESPN journalist Rece Davis even said on live television that betting on NCAA was a “risk-free investment”(Davis). Companies recognize this and advertise as such. They tell you they’ll give you a free bet just for joining or that they'll match your first deposit by a high percentage. They'll tell you that you don’t even need to know anything about sports in the first place to win big. All you need to do is download the app on your phone, hit a few buttons, and bam! You're $1000 richer. The idea of betting a low amount to cash out big is insanely appealing. Sure there might be a few losses but as soon as you win once and that instant cash hits your bank account, you’re left yearning for more like a meth addict. That instant gratification is a huge factor in the appeal and that’ something harder to let go of once you actually try your hand on whatever apps happen to be the most accessible to you. 

It’s not that hard to see why the gambling epidemic has become so big and such a problem. The appeal paired up with the accessibility is a dangerous combination. You see ads for sports betting everyone. Tiktok, Youtube, Netflix, Instagram. And if you’re watching an actual game, you see it on the display, the microphones of the commentators, the billboards on the stadium. Sports betting has become synonymous with the actual sport itself. You see it everywhere while watching a game. On the stadium, on the commentator's mics, the ad breaks in between, sometimes even during the game itself. A study recently shows that a gambling logo or ad is shown around every 13 seconds while watching a major sporting event. It’s inescapable if you are into sports. When gambling seems to be pushed from every angle onto you, the only thing stopping a person from betting a few hundred dollars away is their own self-restraint. Sports gambling is an insanely predatory practice that can and will ruin lives. And Kalshi and Polymarket are built upon those very foundations. They took everything that is wrong with sports betting and made it worse, infecting every single aspect of our lives. 

Works Cited

Betts, Anna. “Revealed: Gambling Logos and Ads Seen up to Every 13 Seconds During Big Sports Games in US.” The Guardian, The Guardian, 26 Aug. 2025, https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/aug/26/gambling-logos-high-profile-sports-games. Accessed 13 July 2026.

Gardner, Steve. “ESPN’s Rece Davis Walks Back ‘Risk-Free Investment’ Comment on Sports Gambling Segment.” USA Today, 24 Mar. 2024, https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/media/2024/03/24/espns-rece-davis-risk-free-investment-quip-on-gameday-was-a-joke/73086329007/. Accessed 13 July 2026.

“Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act Of 1992.” Wikipedia, 15 Nov. 2023, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Professional_and_Amateur_Sports_Protection_Act_of_1992. Accessed 13 July 2026.

Why Pencils are Better Than Pens By: Sujal Mirchandani

 Why Pencils are Better Than Pens

By: Sujal Mirchandani

I believe pencils are much better than pens when it comes to writing because they are easier to use and allow for mistakes. The biggest advantage of pencils is the fact that it can be erased, which is a huge deal because everyone makes mistakes sometimes. With a pen, you do not have an option to erase your mistakes, you are forced to cross out your mistakes and make your work look much sloppier. 

Secondly, if you use pencils, you do not need to worry about running out of ink. Even if your pen has ink left in it, sometimes it just randomly stops working, and you are forced to swing it back and forth and hope for it to work again. This is very inconvenient and frustrating as a student when you are trying to be productive. But, pencils always work as long as they are sharpened. Also, if you are tired of sharpening pencils, then mechanical pencils are far better and more useful than regular pencils. 

Lastly, pens only give bold and dark lines, while a pencil can give you any shade and boldness you want depending on how you use it. With a pencil, you have more control of how to draw and write, which makes the work appear neater and unique. Using a pen decreases your creativity because anything you write with it will look the same. 

Overall, using a pencil for everything  is just more reasonable than using a pen because of the various advantages it has. A pencil allows for correcting mistakes, avoids the hassle of running out of ink, and gives you more control of your work. Therefore, I believe pencils are far better than pens.