By Kaine McKinsey

Student Submission

I am from hand-me downs and cheap store clothes. From the bright, large, and colorful Tv and video games in the cold of winter or heat of summer. 

I am from a military vet that fought in Operation: Desert Storm as we played games of fantasy and war in the backyard. My family’s foundation seemed solid but looks can be deceiving. Someone else lives in that house now. With canned goods, microwavable meals, to almost no AC Winds tempted me to go, but I would not go until the winds howled with their temptations and I followed many times, trying to resist each time as a tree does in a storm.

I am from the stone of the city and the trees of a town. From solid to liquid to gas. I am a castaway like boxcar kids. Hoping that someday, I would have someone or something holding on strong.

I am from McKinsey, brave, hard-working, and middle of the hill living. Why live if you don’t work for it? In a moment, I can be like a Deibler, giving comfort and encouragement when people need it the most. The kindness causing friends and family to grow.

I lived in my fantasy worlds of video games and Tv to ignore my parents fighting. “Just one more minute,” turned into “Just one more hour.” I held things together like string, twisting and stretching. I’m half from protestant and half secular. Not going to church at all for most of my life until sickness hit my father. My brothers and I went to our small sweet grandma’s house, then moved in with our mom who had left almost a year before to our Deibler uncle’s house.

Soon, my Aunt Mary and Uncle Trevor took two of my brothers and I, leaving my twin brother, Holden to our mom and when this happened, our grandpa threw my dad, my brothers and I out as if we were garbage not belonging to him. I have not seen either my dad nor mom nor my twin brother in a very long time. 

I’m from Red Lion, and Stewartstown, and Delta, and in the middle of nowhere. I have been lied to, used, made fun of, and other things all for others enjoyment by people who have called me a friend. But there are few, I get to truly call a friend and they are the gold in the river; the sun smiling upon me.

In my Aunt Mary and Uncle Trevor’s home, the photos are hung up on walls, frighes, and cubirt doors. Also, in scrap books and in photo frames each showing the good times and bad times. Some are bittersweet to my brothers and I. While most are from a time when my family was not divided by personalities, choices, or distance.

By: Laela Thibault

Guest Columnist

Mental health is a serious subject, but it should not be taboo. It is something that everyone deals with, and everyone’s feelings and emotions are completely valid. It tends to be difficult for individuals to come out and talk about their experiences or how they are feeling, but it could be therapeutic for some. 

Even coming out with your own experience could help someone else come out about their mental health as well. Therefore, I would like to share my personal experience. 

During the COVID-19 pandemic, quarantine played a significant role with my mental health. When COVID-19 became a peak issue, it was during my junior year of high school. 

During my junior year, my motivation was low, my sleep patterns were terrible, and my work was not getting done. I was continuously falling into bad habits when it came to school. My grades were getting worse, and I kept getting disappointed at myself. 

I communicated with people I was close to during the school year. I did this in order to be open about my feelings instead of just bottling them up. It was a whole different story when quarantine started though. My mental health was back on a decline.

Considering that my motivation was horrendous while I was in school, absolutely no schoolwork getting completed while I was at home. I felt like I became the worst version of myself, and being isolated with my own thoughts and feelings, I constantly put myself down. 

I started to not sleep at all and I was not taking care of myself like I knew I should.. I stayed in my room, in my bed, and barely spent time with my family. Based on how badly I procrastinated, I almost had to repeat my classes. Fortunately, with the help of my teachers, I was able to pass.

Quarantine during my junior year was a dark, dark period for me but in the end, I still made it through. 

In conclusion, I just want to make it clear that it does end up getting better. Now I am in my senior year, and I am genuinely happy and enjoying myself! 

You should not be ashamed of how you feel because your own feelings are valid and they matter. YOU matter and you can get through any struggle or challenge that comes your way. 

Speak about your own experiences when you are ready because it could help someone else. Opening up more discussion about mental health could make society take it more seriously because it is serious and needs to be talked about. 

By George Keene                    

Staff Writer

By Amila Jayamaha

Guest Columnist

America is notorious for being considered a “melting pot.” It’s a country where everyone’s individualities get melted into one large label, “American.” This causes many immigrants to lose their sense of nationalism for their mother country, and makes it even harder for second generation immigrants to have a sense of patriotism for their parents’ home countries. 

I, like the common second generation immigrant, consider America to be my home and chose not to learn about my heritage as a Sinhalese person. However, after many years of discussion with my parents, and some trips to their homeland, I have a newfound appreciation for the country. This allowed me to come to the realization that I am able to consider both America and Sri Lanka to be my home. 

When I was younger my parents used to speak their native language in our house quite often, Sinhalese, and though I understood it well, I would never make any efforts to learn to speak it. I am to this day devastated with that fact. I realized how much I lost by choosing not to invest time in learning about my heritage when I first went to Sri Lanka at the age of 4.

 Throughout the 21 hour plane ride to the country, I was anticipating being extremely underwhelmed entering the country. I assumed all I would want to do would be to count the days till I got to go back home. 

After exiting the airport all of my senses were firing. I would smell the salt from the sea, feel the humid wind on my skin, taste the moisture in the air, and see and hear a bustling city in front of me. Needless to say, I was surprised by how excited I became when seeing the country for the first time. 

The drive to my grandparents home was the most fascinating and scary experience of my life. While I was able to look out the windows and see the large green mountain ranges where rice, tea, and other vegetables were growing. 

Driving in Sri Lanka is very scary, the yellow lines in the center of the road are a mere suggestion, and to drivers the speed limit is the minimum speed you should go. People race around the road overtaking and honking at one another, men herding cattle would suddenly go into the road causing a traffic jam. While I was terrified, I was also bursting with excitement for what else this country had to offer me. 

My first real outing in Sri Lanka led me to one of the many Buddhist temples scattered around the country. I was pleasantly surprised as to how interesting the history was at the temple. The large curved walls were painted with Buddha’s story of enlightenment and there were many statues of different monks and animals around the floors. 

However, what caught my eye the fastest was the 25 foot long sleeping Buddha statue made entirely out of gold, which I later found out was made over 1000 years ago. Hearing this story made me realize the historical value of Sri Lanka. After researching different aspects of Buddhism, I chose to convert to the religion. I had many supporters in the matter, because many of my family, including my mother are Buddhist.

 The next prominent trip I went on was climbing Sigiriya. This mountain stands over 1000 feet tall, and I had little to no support climbing up. While there are railings and stairs now, when I climbed the mountain, there were only steep rock paths that had no railings to catch you if you slipped. 

This added to my sense of adventure while in Sri Lanka, because while the trek was difficult, the view at the top of the mountain was amazing. Atop the mountain was the ruins of an old castle built by a Sri Lankan king who was afraid his brother, who he had pushed out to India, would come back to kill him. Thus, in his paranoia, he built the castle and created an irrigation system in the mountain that would allow him to flood the land in a 60 mile radius to keep invaders out. 

The stories this country had were so fascinating to my young brain, that it helped me learn to appreciate my culture. 

To this day, I continue going on annual summer trips to Sri Lanka to visit friends and family, and see different temples. I have begun learning to speak Sinhalese as well, so that I may someday be able to go to the country alone and experience a new sense of freedom in my motherland. 

After setting up a dual citizenship, I have finally accepted America and Sri Lanka to be my home and hope to embrace the culture that both countries offer. 

Kaitlyn Resline

Editor-in-Chief

I have mixed feelings about snow flex days. While I appreciate the fact that we will no longer have to make up snow days and lose holidays, I mourn the loss of the snow days of my youth. Having a random day off to go play in the snow excites me more than staring at a computer.

However, I felt relieved that the school district announced the snow day in advance. This meant that I no longer had to wake up early only to get a delay call, and get ready only to find out school was cancelled. Knowing in advance adds to the benefit of not having to make up days.

The worst part about the flexible instruction days is the work. I find myself having a hard time focusing to get any of the assignments done. On top of those, I have to finish long term assignments for classes as well. With no separation of work in my day, I spend a lot of time trying to sit and focus. I like using Google Meets to see my classmates, but once they are over, I realize it is lunch time, and I still have not completed any work that is due. 

The idea of flexible instruction for snow days is beneficial, but I enjoy an old fashioned snow day and in person instruction much better. 

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Max Vigue

Multimedia Content Editor

The online school day is a relatively unexplored ocean of opportunities. However, this opens the flood gates to a whole new tidal wave of issues.  

The idea of an online school day, from what I have seen, is very unpopular with students. I yearn for the idle feeling of a snow day, which may now become a relic of a much radically different time. A snow day jumps out like a surprise, but a welcome one, as it is accompanied by a sensation of coziness and relaxation without departing from where you reside. A snow day turns a day out of the long year into an escapist fantasy, giving the mind a period of hibernation, allowing yourself to slowly recharge. 

Issues will present themselves as we continue to venture down the stream. Besides being unpopular with students, schools across the world grapple with students who have to battle frequent internet issues or no internet access at all. Since attendance is managed through Google Meet sessions, many students could risk receiving an unexcused absence. This issue could sink students down into an unnecessary spiral of stress. 

From my observations, many students cannot adjust to online learning as well as some others, as they shine through in their education by being in front of a teacher. For instance, my brother is able to soak up more information, and perform with a surplus of efficiency in a normal brick and mortar setting. 

Academia is changing more rapidly in this unconventional time, mostly for the better. But that does not mean we turn a blind eye to the potential set of issues that will emerge. In 2020 it’s live and die by the sword. 

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Genevieve Turner

Sports Editor

A FID (flexible instruction day) day is a better option in the long run for students. While one might complain in the moment about having to do school work on a snow day, in the long run, it will save students time for summer break because there is no need to make up missed snow days. I diligently complete my work as well as manage my time, there should be no reason that others can’t do the same so they can also enjoy the snow day as well. 

Currently, while the world is in an unconventional time, many schools will still opt to do FID days on what would have been a snow day. These days help further education by there not being a gap between learning times. They also help with keeping spring break as long as it possibly can be because there is no need to make up snow days. The same is with the end of the school year. 

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Shana Carey

Opinions Editor and Marketing Editor

Living in Pennsylvania, snowy days are far from over, but school districts across the nation are creating flexible instruction days in order to keep students’ minds sharp. 

After hearing Tuesday afternoon that I did not have to get up at 6 a.m.  the next day due to impending weather, I was jumping with joy, but tomorrow’s workload quickly set me straight. 

After nearly 10 straight hours of working, I found myself with assignments still due in just about every single one of my classes. Going into Thursday, I had to attend Google Meets with my classes in addition to my usual hybrid workload. Over the course of two days, I found myself busier than I have ever been in my entire life. 

Working remotely turned snow days from quality childhood memories to a major migraine. Sure, it’s nice to not have to make days up in the Summer, but there is something to be said about taking a day off and having an extreme snowball fight with a hot chocolatey prize.