Summer

by Nuriel Rozenberg

Another day, another week, another month, another year. The school year is almost over and you know what that means summer! Oh, do I love staying up until 4 am and it not be a consequence because I have nowhere to be the next morning. It feels great to sit there at abnormal hours of the morning binge watching your favorite shows and being able to watch the next episode, especially when left on a cliff hanger. Of course, you can't stay up that late and not have a midnight snack, it really makes all the difference in staying up. I do love staying up with friends really late at night, sitting under the stars, and roasting marshmallows. Nothing says summer like a good s'more. There is really something peaceful about being awake that late at night and not hearing cars or your neighbors. No school means no stress which makes everything better.
Going to the beach is pretty great too. Hearing the waves crash onto the shore as the sun beats down on you. It's pretty amazing. You come back all tan and pretty, even though there is sand in places sand should never be. Summer is when everyone takes trips, too. Everyone travels and goes to all these cool places. For example, this summer I am going to Israel for almost 6 weeks by myself. I'm very excited for the adventure and to go out. Life is different there, it is more lively. I get to try new foods and tour the country, which will be very fun.
This year went by pretty quick. I mostly enjoyed it and I have memories from this year that I will probably never forget. Although I'm sad to be leaving my friends, I know that we will talk almost every day and see each other all the time once school starts again next

Meeting Sarah J. Maas | By: Kristine Le

my signed book

Two weekends ago, my best friend and I traveled five hours to Rochester, New York to attend Teen Book Fest. At the festival, I got to meet one of my all time favorite authors, Sarah J Maas. Looking back on it now, the moment felt so surreal. Ever since I was in eighth grade and I first met my best friend, we have been talking about one day meeting her and now it was finally happening. At the opening panel, all the authors attending the festival were introduced and I just sat there staring at Sarah not believing what my eyes were showing me. In the back of my mind I was thinking, “Oh my god, this is real. This is actually happening. It’s Sarah J Maas sitting in that chair.” Being the fangirl that I am, I had watched all of her interviews I could find on YouTube but, none of that helped to kept my excitement levels at bay. During the first fan session we attended that day, it was a simple Q&A with Sarah as well as another author Reneé Ahdieh (also an author that I really love). As a I sat there listening to them answer the questions, I found that I knew most of the answers myself but hearing Sarah talk and to witness her down to earth and very real personality was so special to me. Later on during the day there was a sessions set aside specifically for book signings. I had been preparing myself for this moment for the past week and had pre-packed a backpack filled with three of my favorite books by Sarah. After waiting for a total of three hours, it was finally my turn to get my book signed. I walked up to the table and handed her my book with the dumbest smile on my face. I had no idea what to say to her so I simply asked her how her day was as she began to sign my book. In my head, I was thinking, “Really? That’s all you’re going to say?” but I could not find it in me to try and start a conversation. She was so sweet and kept up the conversation for me. The signings had to be quick and brief, so I was only able to get a single book signed and could not get a picture. When the signing was done, I left the room feeling so accomplished and something checked off my bucket list.

Side Story: I wanted to include this in my blogpost but couldn’t find a way to squeeze it in so enjoy a little something extra.

As my friend and I were making our way to our first fan session for the day we were stopped by a stranger and asked to take a selfie with them. Not knowing what to do, my friend and I simply posed for the picture and after, the strange says to us,” You have no idea who I am do you?” to what my friend openly responds with, “ Nope, but have a nice day.” That “so-called” stranger turned out to be a guest author for the festival… oops.

. kasey senatore

this skin is not my own
it is a
fantasy, it is
an illusion, it is
it is a shield that i wear on my soul
this skin is not my own
when i fall asleep at night i don’t feel it
when i dream i don’t know my skin
therefore i am not my skin
have you ever felt that way?
it isn’t me, it is
I t   is
it  i   s
it    is
I?

we are all born Free*

      *but there is an asterisk
we are
restrained by our bodies
by the timers on our lives
by every saying about how short we have til we die
it restrains me
i am stuck in my skin
i cannot know everyone
i cannot know everything
i cannot be everyone and see everything
this skin is not my own

i want to break out of it i want to spread my consciousness across the world i want to be on the peak of the himalayas i want to be at the bottom of the grand canyon i want to be in tokyo’s modern streets and at the same time i want to be here in Sparta, New Jersey where i am.

it isn’t me
my flesh and bone, the cartilage in my ears,
the fat on my belly, the organs it protects,
it is my
mind, my mind is me,
my brain,
the fleshy folds of my unconscious  consciousness,
i am in my skeleton,
i am the nerves that run through this body,
i am the thought in every step,
i am me, but i am not my skin, i am not .

sleep deprivation and 3am philosophy -- Kasey Senatore

TED Talks by Cameron Riley

     I have recently been watching TED Talks for a Journey Journal in English. These talks are about 18 minutes long and can be about almost anything. Topics such as the Zika virus, school and poverty are three of the many topics that have been discussed at TED Talks. During school, teachers such as Mrs. Kopp and others have shown TED Talks in a wide range of classes. I discovered TED Talks in middle school, some being very simple such as "How to find a wonderful idea" and "A tribute to nurses". Others being about very difficult and harsh topics such as "Behind the lies of Holocaust Denial" and "How racism makes us sick". When I first heard in our English class that one of our independent work assignments was to make a journal, I wasn't very excited. Mrs. Kopp left some examples for the class to choose from if needed. The first option was to watch TED Talks and record what I liked, didn't like and what could be taken away from each speaker. I became excited to learn that I could watch these talks and discuss them in a paragraph to summarize what I enjoyed and what I learned from each talk.
     While working on this assignment I have watched and enjoyed multiple TED Talks, each one being interesting and able to grab my attention in many different ways. One of my favorites called "Poverty isn't a lack of character; it's a lack of cash" by a historian named Rutger Bregman. His talk discussed Poverty and the one scientifically proven way that it could be avoided. Before the video started, I was very questionable about watching this talk. Poverty is a very tough topic to talk about and may not be a suitable topic to bring up in certain places. But the outcome of watching this video was terrific. I learned about a study in Canada which ended poverty in their town by giving people more money. It doesn't seem very exciting or cool but these kinds of talks and discussions really interest me and have made me enjoy this unit in our class more than any other.
     I highly recommend watching these TED Talks. You may learn something new or be interested to watch a video on a familiar topic. Whatever you chose, you won't be disappointed.
     

Time by Melissa La Fountain

“What if the clocks get so large,

That they cascade over every thought?” she asks.

Could we use the tattered string

In the craft room drawer

To pull the hands back a few hours

So that we could enjoy the time

Rather than dwelling on it?

We’ll pluck each clover from the ground

Four leafed or three

Just because they are nice

Not because we need luck

We will use the wind to

Let our hair fly back

Setting loose whispers of

“I’ve never felt so free,

Just watching time go by.”

We’ll write our names on the trees

What if time never stops?

We’ll keep moving with it

Taking every bend and turn

Going with the flow

Riding with it

My friends like to think about time

By measuring how little may be left

We live in a ticking place, but treat it as if

The clock has been broken for years

I tell them to take off their watches

To pick some clovers

To let the wind play with their hair

As it does with mine

I give them a pen

To write their names on the trees

“What if the time is up soon?” they worry

Then it will all be over

And you will have spent so much time

Watching for the end

That you have forgotten

To appreciate the beginning

Reflection by Sylvia Kloian

This is a poem that I wrote that follows Shakespeare's iambic pentameter.

I have a friend who does not like mirrors.
A curious thing, as that's where she lives
And though her reflection couldn't be clearer
She still doesn't see all the light that she gives.

But I think you're beautiful. Is that not
Enough? Can you not see you already
have all of the attributes that you sought?
So no need to keep yearning, stay steady.

Your eyes, brighter than any happy thought,
with a passion that's not easily found
You have strong armor that cannot be bought
And your words have meaning that will resound.

You have worth, use, you stand tall with pride
That's what one sees looking from the outside. 

"Fire" by Lomaani Ranasinghe

In your eyes there was fire

burning bright it was

I remember looking the first time

upon first glance it was a galaxy of stars

it wasn't long until it belonged to my universe

In your eyes there was fire

a fire that had grown each and every time i looked into them

a fire that i believed would never die

In your eyes there was fire

but one day

it just wasn't of the same kind

it had died down

in the dimmed darkness

i only saw loneliness and loss

in the faded darkness all i could see

was a reflection

of none other than

myself

In your eyes there is no fire

and no matter how hard i try

there's nothing i recognize

what was once a galaxy of stars has evanesced

leaving me blindly searching for a fire

i wish i hadn't burn out

The Happiest Place on Earth | by Samantha Patino

The happiest place on earth

Where dreams come true

And everyday is magical

Observing children pulling their parents to the next ride

Feeling the warm press of the summer sun

Hearing laughter and hopeful chatter

Tasting the sweetness of the mouse-shaped ice cream

Watching people drop from an elevator shaft

And race across a race track

And escape the grasp of the dreaded yeti

And travel to space and back in a matter of minutes

Everything here really is magical

To me it’s not just a slogan

It really is the happiest place on earth

Reflection of High School- Sophia Oelkers

Reflection of High School

Regarding the fact that finals are around the corner and sophomore year will be over in just a few short weeks, I feel that it would be appropriate to reflect upon yet another school year. Overall, the 2016-17 school year treated me well. I’m not going to sugar coat it...there was a lot of work, studying, and stress, but that is nothing new. I continued to do well in all of my classes and I branched out socially. However looking back, it all seems like a blur. Everything went by so fast and I've realized that it's only going to get faster. I know that next year I am really going to miss sophomore year because this was the year for students to just breathe. They are already accustomed to high school and went through the “trial and error process” freshman year. This was the year you could just float (you may be floating in a sea of schoolwork, but that's besides the point). Junior year is going to be a wake up call. We have to start preparing for the rest of our lives at age 17! Between AP classes, SAT’s, and college browsing there are going to be even more unexpected changes coming our way. My junior year will be the year that I will have to put in the most effort and dedication in order to achieve my goals. It will be tough and most of the time I’ll just want to throw all my work down, veg out and watch Netflix. I know many people can relate to this, but hang in there! After all, that is what senior year is for. I’m excited to have successfully gotten through another school year and hope to have a relaxing and enjoyable summer!

A picture is worth few words by Rebecca Greenberg

As our 10th grade English curriculum comes to an end, our last unit deals with the freedom of creativity. One of our assignments is to take a picture and write a brief evocative description for it, which is also known as a vignette. 

Many know the phrase, "a picture is worth a thousand words", but the purpose of my blog is to create a new phrase. "A picture is worth few words". 

Below are some powerful pictures, that can be interpreted in many different ways, and can be described variously.

These pictures are worth a thousand words, reaction, and thoughts, yet i'm only going to describe them in eight. 

My weapon destroys, my soul yearns for harmony 

 The poisoned air I digest, keeps me clean

My hand placed in yours, a comfort unknown

the words of violence, are wires tearing flesh.

My life plays me, bleeding at the heart.

Feel free to comment you own eight word vignettes below describing these pictures!

Lacrosse Re-cap by: Brianna Falco

Lacrosse has been on my mind lately. Actually for about two, maybe two and a half months. I play for the high school and I love it. I love the program Ms. Brennan has built up. I have been going to the Sparta lacrosse camp ever since I was in third grade. My teammates are my best friends and I learn more and more about them everyday. Honestly, my favorite part of the day is lacrosse practice. No matter how much running we do, I have a secret love for exercise and an obvious love for the sport. The interactions and jokes my teammates and I share are memories in the making, memories that will stick with me beyond high school. I am truly thankful for the opportunity to be apart of such a talented and friendly team that have guided me for the past two years in high school. Each one my friends on this team has something special about them, something that is appealing to everyone they meet. My friends brighten up my day, everyday. I see the impact they have on the people as well .My teammates pick each other up and are plain and simply kind people. They can tell when I feel down and they will help repair my wounds like true friends do. I feel that the bond and chemistry we all share will help lead us to a state title. The semi-finals is today against Mahwah. We have beaten them earlier in the season and we hope to pulverize them today. If we play a solid game today and win, we will move on to the state championship Friday. I am anticipating to play Ramapo in the finals since they have the second seed in our group. We are the first seed and plan to stay number one and be crowned champions.

Journey Journal - Josie Embleton

      In English class, we've been assigned to write a Journey Journal, where we try something new or try to improve something about ourselves and write about our experience in doing so. So far, I believe this is a beneficial assignment that helps us grow as people and discover new things about ourselves. For my journal, I'll be writing about trying new exercises with my horse every day and trying to get those exercises perfect. This journal doesn't feel as horrible and pointless as other schoolwork such as an essay. This assignment feels like something that can actually help me improve on something I want to get better at. I like that rather than being a boring typical school assignment that seems to have no other purpose than causing stress, this allows me to see how to use my work outside of the classroom, not to mention this journey doesn't feel like work because I enjoy going over my ride and finding more things to work on with my horse. Overall, the Journey Journal is one of the most enjoyable and interesting assignments I've done this year and I hope to see more like it.

School is the Source of my Stress by Natalie Earl

I wanted to talk about school and my opinions on certain things about schools in general, it almost seems like humans have a cycle of life they are supposed to go through with schooling. Later in your child years you must start going to school and each child has to qualify to move on to the next level of their education. So as humans the common way of living would be to go to school until you’re 17 or 18 years old usually, beyond those ages people decide if they would want to continue schooling in college or choose not to go at all. Our whole lives we must be worthy of each level of education, we have to get certain grades and pass certain classes. I don’t fully understand that because personally I know I will be going to college for a major that has to deal with science and math specifically. So can somebody, anybody tell me why it is important for me to be learning history? I am only a sophomore and I know what I am doing in life after the world of high school so I should be able to choose what classes I want to take in high school. The school wants the best education for me but it should be up to me to pick which course I would like to take to set up the rest of my life. It should be optional to take classes like history or science but I do agree that English and Math are key factors in everybody’s life.

Now that I have talked about the choices of school, I would like to move on and talk about the aspects of high school that make everything so stressful on a teenager. Most of the teenagers play a sport or musical instrument, volunteer, have a job, and/or anything else a teenager could be busy with that doesn’t have to deal with the education from school. Now I understand that teachers have the right to give tests, quizzes, homework, and/or projects but most teachers do not understand the struggle each student would be going through outside of their classes. Being a teenager should be fun still, we should be able to experience life and not be forced to get home from school and immediately have to be swamped with all their homework. The homework they have is not the only thing we have to do, there are other activities that we would like to do instead. I appreciate that the teachers give us homework to help us practice the concept of the class but at the same time I would like it to be a minimal amount because personally I know I do practice in school for each class. Being a teenager means that you must be heavily active with their education, although that is a great concept I believe that education will ruin mine and possibly a lot of other teenager’s lives. We will not be able to just be teenagers and experience life in it’s natural form, my life is based on my education. I wish that I could be capable to do other activities but I am too stressed to fit everything in my schedule.

I do not want to feel like I wasted my life on just learning and not trying new things that interest me. I am too focused on performing to a standard in school so that I can get into a college that suits me because after college I want to have a job that I love and makes an amount of money that can support me. School shouldn’t be my number one priority because it is important but I don’t want to regret focusing only on school and nothing else. I want to be able to volunteer more and be able to get a job without worrying that I can’t keep up with my school work. School is the cause of most teenager’s stress and I wish teachers gave us a break from giving us so much homework that is usually just busy work that isn’t important.

Beware by Zoe Merold

Beware.

Beware of the place of beasts.

Beware of the people who they inhabit.

Beware of the savage hearts of those who have killed.

Run away.

Run away from them.

Run away from their evil ways.

Run away from the savagery that has poisoned them.

Hide.

Hide from their darkness.

Hide from their searching eyes.

Hide from the savages that wish to turn you into one of their own.

School by Sophie Venus

School

When june comes

School will end

After finals I'll have a life again

No more stress

No more studying

No more homework

No more early mornings

Or long days of work

I'll no longer be afraid of math grades

I won't have to worry about gpas

This will mark the end of sophomore year

But only a couple months until I return to this place

The Power of Positivity by Stephanie Downes

In my past academic years, especially last year, I’ve realized something about myself. I was  CONSTANTLY complaining, mentally judging people, bringing myself down, and spouting negativity into the world. Finals for me last year included an abundance of mental breakdowns and stressful anxiety attacks. At the start of my sophomore year, I made the decision to change this. I didn't want to be stressed out all the time. I made a decision to try my best to stop complaining, stop judging, and to be a pleasant person who people want to spend time with. It was a struggle at first. When something irritating happens, usually your first instinct is to go rant about it to your friends. I’ve realized that the only impact this has is that it spreads negativity. That is not to say that you can’t discuss your problems, but I found it better to do it in a calm way, and always look at the positive side of it. Over time, this optimism became a habit, and the habit turned into a lifestyle. Now,  I like to think of myself as a generally positive and happy person, and I hope others think that of me too.

Optimism has a massive impact on people, both mentally and physically. It decreases stress, lowers rates of depression, increases cardiovascular health, and can even increase your overall lifespan. For me personally, it has reduced my stress, increased my self-esteem, and definitely has made me a happier person.

I encourage you all to try and live a lifestyle of optimism. It will be hard at first, but it’s well worth it. Start with yourself. Be open-minded. Don’t be so critical of everything. When things don't go your way, instead of complaining about it, look for the solution. Once you accomplish optimism in yourself, it will spread to others, and overall make your high school experience and your entire life more enjoyable.

Outside Source:

http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/stress-management/in-depth/positive-thinking/art-20043950?pg=2