When I was younger, back in Woodbury I used to ride the bus. I developed this really bad habit of staying up too late and then sleeping past my alarm in the morning. Every day, I would wake up in the middle of a great dream because something in my brain would’ve reminded me that it was time to wake up. Of course, it was always 10 minutes past when I needed to but it happened every time without fail. I would always jolt awake and then quickly try and get myself ready for school. Jumping in the shower, picking out whatever shirt and shorts I could find, often they didn’t match, and brushing my teeth while preparing whatever I was gonna eat for breakfast.

This pattern continued throughout my Woodbury career. Sometimes I’d miss the bus and sometimes I’d make it. The kids on the bus, when I didn’t miss it, would always cheer me on as I ran out of my house, bagel in my mouth and trying to put one shoe on. It became a game for them to try and bet if I would miss the bus or not.
Until one day after school, my mom finally had enough. She implemented a strict bedtime for me and installed a “down-time” for my phone so that I would finally be able to get enough sleep and wake up on time for the bus. I begged and pleaded for her to not do this, despite it being for my own good, but she knew better than to trust me and did it anyway.

So that night, my phone locked for the night… and did I go to sleep on time? Nope! I stayed up late watching television. Turns out she probably needed to take my remote control as well. That next morning, I woke up late once again and rushed outside- and I had missed my bus. My mom was furious but she called in late to work and drove me once again. I arrived to school just to see that quite a handful of my classmates were missing. It turned out that the bus had an issue and they all arrived at school late.

So I guess sometimes being late is good… So anyway I am posting this blog 5 days late.

Choosing a Halloween costume always sounds easy, until you actually have to do it.  If you enjoy dressing up for Halloween as much as I do, then your process probably looks similar to mine: days of scrolling on Pinterest, finding nothing, deciding you will just throw something together, scrambling to actually throw something together.  Let’s be honest: picking the perfect costume is truly an art form.  It’s a test of creativity, commitment, and how willing you are to spend $40 on something you’ll wear for approximately three hours.

Step 1: Know Your Vision

Every Halloween begins with a vision. Do you want to be funny, scary, trendy, or cool? Do you want people to say “that’s hilarious,” or would you rather people say “wait…what is this costume?” The word “niche” became wildly viral this year, creating a near impossible definition.  My recent Pinterest searches are filled with the word, followed by more key words to find an original, yet recognizable, yet cool, yet trendy, yet unique Halloween costume.  Obviously, there is not a single existing costume that meets all those requirements.  Alas, back to the drawing board.

Step 2: The Group Costume Dilemma

Nothing tests a group friendship like choosing a group costume.  At first, it sounds great – everyone throwing out ideas and getting super excited.  Then, before you know it, it’s absolute mayhem.  No one likes your idea, you hate everyone else’s idea, no one wants to buy the clothes, everyone just wants to wear what they already have, and soon enough, it nearly splits up a friend group. No one can agree. OK, scratch the group costume.

Step 3: DIY

Pinterest makes DIY look easy. Spoiler alert: it’s not. There is nothing more crushing than finding your dream outfit, only to find out the girl in the photo made it herself. Fine, you decide to take on the project.  So, you go to Michael’s, drop a bag on supplies, and get to work. What begins as a fun, easy craft turns into hours of blood, sweat, and tears (literally). Despite all your hard work, you end up with a costume that doesn’t even resemble the “inspo-pic”.  But hey, at least when people ask where you got your costume, you get to boast that you made it yourself!

Step 4: Last-Minute Panic

No matter how organized you may be, there is always a last-minute mishap. Whether it’s a package not arriving in time, your friend in a duo costume coming down with a fever the day of, or your dog ripping your costume to shreds, something always goes haywire. You could try Spirit Halloween, but you know it’s sold out of everything but inflatable costumes by now.  You have no choice- you must turn to your own closet and start pulling random pieces.  A black dress and eyeliner whiskers count as a costume, right?

Step 5: Commit

At the end of the day, picking a costume isn’t about finding the perfect idea, it’s about the effort and chaos that goes into it.  By the time Halloween actually rolls around, it is highly unlikely that your execution matches your original vision. As cheesy as it sounds, any costume worn with confidence is the best costume.  At some point, you have to just commit. Good luck and happy Halloween!

For decades, walking down the 50 yard-line has been a tradition treasured and looked forward to by generations of seniors. Well, not this senior. As of this year, my moment was stolen.

I have been a Raiderette for four years, performing at every football game on the same lines that I watched seniors walk down three times. With each senior game I counted down the years until my name would be called and I could strut down, the attention on me in the center of the field. After years of anticipation, I found out in August that I would not be model walking through SH and down the spray-painted lines.

Beyond ruining my chance in the spotlight, I felt like I wasn’t receiving adequate recognition for the four years of work I had put in. I had captains practices in the rain, spent hours budgeting with sticky ones from bake sales, and performed many a kickline with shin splints. And all of that hard work just to not walk down the football field as a celebration of my four amazing years (which would have been more amazing if they had stuck to tradition, just saying).

While there were issues with mobility, several proud family members have crutched, wheeled, and used walkers to escort their seniors. The main problem was with the football team, and the penalties that would ensue if we surpassed the twenty-minute limit. All for a 1-9 season…

I know what you’re thinking: it’s so selfish to tell them to suck it up since they’re already going to lose! Not when the football team captains agreed to take the penalties to let us walk down the field. Now if that’s not school spirit, I don’t know what is. Unfortunately our efforts were unsuccessful, so my name was called in a sea of people while I got clipped without warning by several photographers. Many seniors didn’t know where to stand with their families, so no one could see when their name was called. It was probably the most underwhelming moment of my entire high school career.

And all of that for us to still run over time.

If I could uninvent one thing, it would be the calculator.  I just recently lost my calculator while taking a math test, and I wish it never existed in the first place.  If it had never been invented, then in all realities that exist in our universe, there would be none in which I lose my one hundred dollar TI-84.  That calculator has been through every math class with me since freshman year–from 10 math honors to IB HL III- so losing it felt like losing a trusted sidekick.  But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that maybe the calculator was never truly helping me at all.  Maybe it was just making  me forget how powerful my own brain could be

Though calculators are undeniably helpful when it comes to working with numbers, they have no use outside of quantitative data.  They can compute, but they can’t imagine.  They have the ability to solve problems, but they can’t think.  Without calculators, humans would gain the ability to calculate numbers like mad scientists–or even like calculators–relying on their own numerical intuition to create something beautiful.  If that had happened, the human species might have developed stronger cognitive and problem solving skills.  Instead of memorizing button sequences, we could learn to manipulate numbers with creativity and confidence.

I’m definitely not the only one who struggles with mental math.  In fact, most people, even highly educated adults, pause when asked to divide or multiply without a device.  That hesitation is a side effect of convenience.  Uninventing the calculator/not having it in the first place would force humans to calculate more in their heads or on paper.  I know for sure it would’ve been challenging at first, but that’s how all great things are created.  The human brain would adapt to this increased pressure, leading to increased visionary skills–like spatial reasoning, logic, and numerical memory.  WE would be walking computers, capable of understanding relationships between numbers rather than just the methods that produce the results.

A world without calculators would look very different.  Engineers would rely heavily on long hand equations, and scientists would have billions of filled notebooks full of numbers.  Math tests would take hours longer, but every solution would feel earned.  We might progress slower, but we’d understand more deeply.

Though uninventing the calculator would have harsh consequences on human society.  I feel like uninventing the calculator isn’t about making life easier or harder–it’s about making life more human and natural.  We’d rely on creativity and intuition as much as computation.  And who knows?  In a calculator-free world, maybe we’d invent something better–rather than a device that replaces thinking, but one that inspires it

So yes, I miss my TI-84, but maybe losing it was a reminder, a reminder that behind every machine made solution, there’s a human mind capable of doing more than it thinks.

Ever since I started Cross Country at the high school my freshman year, I have had a special connection with my team members that are a grade ahead of me. It happened naturally, because they are who I went through the most seasons with. So, in my past three Cross Country seasons, I haven’t had to wonder what it will be like without them there, because they always have been with me. Now, however, Cross Country is over, and my last season with them is done.

Every year at Cross Country awards night, the team writes letters for the graduating class. I just finished writing mine, and they are definitely the longest I’ve done. It’s so weird to me, looking back to before I knew these teammates, that I would eventually be writing letters to them reminiscing on our past memories and the ones that I hope we will continue to make. It also has me really thinking about how much these teammates have impacted me over the years, and just how much I appreciate them.

Something I’ve come to realize, though, is that I’ve never told them most of the things that I am writing in my letters. I haven’t told them to their faces how much I love them, and how much they inspire me to be better. I know that they will love the letters, but it has me wishing that I would have been more expressive in the moment. So, today I am making a promise to myself to not wait for letters, but to let those around me know my appreciation right then and there. I think that great people deserve to know how great they are, not only after years of knowing them.

Black Mirror is one of my favorite shows of all, as it really captures me and is incredibly disturbing and sad, yet I cannot peel my eyes away. Much of the show critiques current technological advancements and dependence on such and capitalism, as well as diving into other themes that stem from the main critique on technology. Many of the episodes which are my favorites are extremely difficult to rewatch, but they still have left a lasting mark on my mind, leaving me to ruminate about them. 

Warning! There will be spoilers ahead so tread carefully!

“Fifteen Million Merits”

Airing all the way back in 2011, in the first season of the show, “Fifteen Million Merits” follows Bing and Abi, two people of many who begin in rooms filled with inescapable screens, monitoring every movement and sound from them. Once the many people, all in gray jumpsuits—pure conformity and loss of identity—leave in an elevator to their main room, the audience sees a long path, stationary bikes on each side, filled with people riding them and staring intently at the TV screens before them. The purpose of the bikes is to generate power—the people are practically slaves to the bikes, every day they come down and ride the bikes and stare at a screen and then they go back to their rooms and stare at more screens, surveilled the entire day. A main idea of this portion is the workforce and capitalism, as the workers’ sole purpose in their lives is to power the bikes to generate power for the outside world. It’s a completely mundane task and the costumes and set design reflect that greatly, with most of the colors being gray, with an exception of the TV screens exploding with color to keep the workers entertained. There is a large theme of class in this episode, with the leaderboard being shown frequently, showing who is the most valuable worker, who is producing the most. The people who struggle the most and aren’t ‘valuable’ are demoted and become a worker who cleans after the bike riders, who typically verbally abuse and look down on those who are ‘below’ them. One day, Abi shows up to work, smiling, seemingly new and has an illusion of what the workforce will be like. Bing is almost immediately infatuated with her, and to help her, he pushes her to enter a contest, which requires payment to enter. The contest is like a reality TV show such as American Idol or America’s Got Talent where one must impress judges to win. The ads displayed on the forever surrounding screens showcase a woman living her dream life freely, all because of the show, leading Bing to believe Abi should go to leave the mundane and tedious life of this workforce. Once Abi agrees and the two arrive at the contest, Abi is given a drink to make her more compliant for the judges, showing the reality of the power of the corrupt higher-ups in society, especially in the entertainment industry. After Abi sings in front of the judges, they tell her she is not good enough to be a singer, but she should venture into being an adult actress. It is clear she doesn’t want to do that, but the pressure from the judges, the audience, and the idea of living a life in the workforce that treats humans like animals gets to her. Abi lets in and accepts the offer, and Bing goes straight back to the bikes and works and works to save his merits to get another entry ticket to the contest. Once he is up on stage, he threatens to harm himself in front of the audience and judges so they will listen to him. He delivers an incredible monologue, filled with immense anger, yet in the end, the judges don’t seem like they heard a single thing he said in response to the system they have put Abi under, and the many people stuck in the vicious cycle. The judges tell him he should turn his anger into cash, completely conveying how in our modern society, every single piece of every person is commodified, and capitalism rules all society. Ultimately, Bing takes the offer from the judges, although funnily enough, he never drank the compliance drink. He caves due to the immense pressure from the audience cheering and the judges pushing him. He realizes this is his one and only chance out of the life (although he was very much so dead inside) he’d been forced into. The episode really drives home the idea of the workforce and how that and capitalism drives decisions, humanity, and society. Technology is merely a vessel in which to show these ideas in. This episode is so interesting to me because while it wasn’t made super long ago, it still was long enough to possibly see change from then and now, but it unfortunately has only gotten worse. The pressures to commodify every bit of oneself and the pressures to do something unwanted just to gain a better standing in life are super prevalent today.

“Shut Up and Dance”

This episode follows a young man named Kenny who is blackmailed after self-pleasuring in front of his computer which is surveilled due to malware being installed accidentally. The blackmailers tell him to carry out a number of tasks to avoid the footage getting leaked to the public. One of the tasks leads him to a man named Hector who is also being blackmailed, and the two join together to finish the tasks. One of their tasks is to rob a bank together, and once they escape, they are led to a forest where the blackmailers tell them to fight to the death to get the money as a prize. Kenny wins the fight, yet the blackmailers only send him a troll-face image and the footage of Kenny gets out to everyone. The end is completely shocking and devastating, as one spends the entire episode rooting for Kenny to get out free, yet at the very end, the audience finds out that Kenny is a pedophile and he was pleasuring himself to children in front of the computer. This revelation is a complete change in the innocent and ‘normal’ portrayal of his character the entire episode. That plot twist completely skews the way one views the entire episode, most obviously how the audience sees Kenny, but also other characters such as Hector, who was being blackmailed for an affair. The audience is led the entire episode to see Hector as a worse person than Kenny, but the narrative drastically changes after the twist. I absolutely love this episode because while it is the most shocking and disturbing (in my opinion) of all the episodes of Black Mirror, it truly shows the reality of our current world. Many of the Black Mirror episodes have a futuristic feel to it and have many futuristic technology to drive home the themes of technology taking over and ruining society, but “Shut Up and Dance” is set in the modern world with modern technology, which makes it all the scarier. The themes of this episode really aren’t to drive fear of technology or AI or governments, like many other episodes, it just showcases the horrors in humanity. Much of Black Mirror dives into morality and the dilemmas that can arise from such nuance, and this episode does it super well. The beginning makes the audience feel as though the situation that Kenny is in is completely unfair and an invasion of privacy, contrasted with the end with the line where it is revealed Kenny is a pedophile makes one question if all the characters deserved the blackmail. This episode is truly one that cannot be only explained, it must be watched to fully feel the awful whiplash of the twist and realization of how the technology in this episode really exposes the horrors of humanity and not the other way around.

Black Mirror explores many interesting and nuanced topics, leading to an engaging and disturbing narrative that will never get old. These three episodes are really the best examples of Black Mirror’s disturbing narratives that aim to explore the downfall of society in the realm of technology. The mixing of futuristic and modern technology, settings, themes, etc., make for an extremely iconic show, yet full of fear and doom.

What’s so good about having a dog? Well, let me count the ways– though if you’ve ever shared your home with one, you probably don’t need convincing.

First off, it’s waking up in the morning and finding someone– wide-eyed, tail going like a propeller– already convinced that this is going to be the best day ever. Before you’re out of bed, before you’ve even remembered your own name, there’s this small creature acting as if the sun rose just to see you. And honestly, with the way he’s acting that just might be true.

Then there’s the day itself. You slog through class, hallway traffic, emails, and every other draining thing of the day, but when you open the front door, there he is– your one-person fan club. They don’t care that you’re cooked for the test tomorrow, that the essay you haven’t started is due tonight, or that your lunch was the sort of thing 9/10 doctors would not recommend. No. You’re home and suddenly the world feels alright again.

And yes, you’ll prepare their food, clean up after them, and occasionally have to bathe them when they smell like the pits of hell, but somehow, that’s cool. Because when that same muddy little gremlin brings you a tattered tennis ball and looks at you like you’ve just been invited to the Olympics, you forget everything else. You toss it once, twice, maybe a hundred times and in those moments, you’re both champions.

Then there are the quiet moments. When life has piled on too much and you’re stuck wallowing in self-pity– there they are. Not saying anything, not judging, just quietly being. And somehow that simple presence says, “It’s alright bro, We got this.”

Having a pet teaches you how to nurture, too. You start caring for this fragile, joyful little thing, and before long you find yourself looking at the world differently. You start noticing every living thing– the birds, the squirrels, and even the trees– and you start to care. You build empathy without even trying.

But above all, it’s the love. Honest, pure, and wholeheartedly without conditions. You can be a mess of a mess and they’ll still greet you like you’ve just returned from saving the world. Sure, the vet bills sting A LOT these days, but you pay them, because that love is worth every penny.

That’s how my little pupper makes me feel. Every single day.

The NBA has started up again! The start of the season already brings up questions on who has their eyes set on the coveted end of season awards, along with what teams will be at the top and bottom. Here are my predictions:

MVP: Luka Doncic

Luka is currently averaging 40 points per game and leading the Lakers to a 7-2 record, putting them at second in the West. He’s had one triple-double so far this season, as well as two games where he was one rebound or assist away. The Lakers look to be in prime striking distance of the NBA championship, especially once LeBron is healthy and gives Luka more support. Luka’s combination of stats and team success will lead him to win MVP after being robbed of it in 2024.

Defensive Player of the Year (DPOY): Victor Wembanyama

Wemby is averaging 4.1 blocks per game. Enough said.

Most Improved Player (MIP): Jonathan Kuminga

After the Warriors refused to pay Kuminga over the offseason, he’s averaging career-highs of 17.2 points per game, 7.1 rebounds per game, and 3.1 assists per game. This improved production and greater role within the Warriors’ system as a more consistently starting player will elevate Kuminga into near All-Star status and solidify his case as the 2025-2026 MIP.

Rookie of the Year (ROTY): Cooper Flagg

My pick for ROTY has not shifted despite a rocky start to the season. VJ Edgecombe has looked to be the most explosive rookie so far, but I have faith that Flagg will bounce back. He is in the perfect situation in Dallas, surrounded by many defensive-minded players that compliment Flagg’s defensive capabilities well. His role as point guard and facilitator will allow him to grow his game and become the driving force for the Mavericks. I am sure that once he adjusts to playing point guard and adjusts to NBA shooting, Flagg will be the clear ROTY winner.

6th Man of the Year (6MOY): Cam Johnson

The Nuggets managed to trade for Cam Johnson in the off-season, making their team even more lethal. Cam Johnson is one of the best shooters in the league and adds an easy pass outlet for Jokic. His defensive capabilities also bolster Denver’s bench defensive capabilities. Assuming Cam Johnson doesn’t earn his way to becoming a starter by the end of the season, he is locked in for 6MOY.

Best Team: Oklahoma City Thunder

OKC is running it back after winning the championship with nearly the exact same team. Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams are still entering their prime and should both jump even further this year. The only player who could take a step back is Alex Caruso due to his age, but Lu Dort is ready to fully take over his place in the system to keep OKC as the best team in the league.

Worst Team: Brooklyn Nets

The Brooklyn Nets’ two best players, Michael Porter Jr. and Cam Thomas, don’t know how to pass. Both are excellent scorers but their brand of basketball can’t lead to winning basketball. The limited play style of the Nets and their lackluster roster will lead them to have the worst team in the league and attain the 2026 #1 pick for worst team.

About a month and a half ago, I made the best decision of my life; I got a kitten, who I named Macey. She’s small, orange, fluffy, and she somehow manages to be both my best friend and my worst enemy. 

In no particular order, these are the best things about raising a kitten:

1. Endless entertainment 

Macey is a one-cat circus. She sprints across the room for absolutely no reason, jumps at the windows, and attacks invisible enemies. It’s impossible not to laugh when she’s in one of her adorably chaotic moods. 

2. Built-in study buddy

She insists on being a part of every homework assignment or study session. Usually that means sitting directly on my laptop or batting at my pen. Nonetheless, her little purrs make even the most boring reading a little better.

3. Her adorable face

No matter how bad my day has been, one look at her little face cures everything. She has these big round eyes and this little pink nose that I just can’t get over. I know I’m biased, but I swear she’s the most adorable cat I’ve ever seen. 

…and now for the less glamorous side of kitten parenthood:

1. Lack of sleep

Macey does not respect my sleep schedule. She thinks 3 am is the perfect time for a wrestling match with my toes or a high-speed chase across my bed. 

2. Everything is a toy

Forget the 50 cat toys I bought her; Macey prefers my hair ties, airpods, and the charger I just replaced. She’s a tiny chaos gremlin with a gift for destruction. Every time I come home, my room looks like a toddler’s play area, and somehow she’s proud of it.

3. The scratches

Unfortunately, she loves to scratch me and climb on me. Her tiny claws are deceptively sharp, and I’ve lost count of how many mini battle scars I’ve collected. But it’s hard to stay mad at her for long when she curls up and purrs afterwards. 

I’m the kind of person who sees something cool online, or hears of an activity through a friend and all of a sudden I’m obsessed. It started around middle school, when I began actively using social media. I would see someone talking about their hobby, and all of a sudden I needed to partake too. This has led me to have an amalgamation of craft supplies all around my room, and becoming a jack of all trades. 

My first hobby during the middle of COVID was diamond painting. As a bored 12 year old, I wanted something to do while I was watching Netflix. This way, if my mom asked what I was doing, at least I could say I was being semi-productive. This phase ended almost as soon as it started. As soon as I was able to go out and see my friends, my desire to spend hours sticking tiny gems onto paper vanished. I then moved onto bracelet making. 

While I had been making string bracelets for years, I had always wanted to make beaded ones as well. And so, with much convincing, I got my mom to buy me a bead spinner and seed beads. My reasoning was that I could start a business over the summer and sell these bracelets. Did I start a business? No. Did I make tons of bracelets? Also no. Unfortunately, this hobby died out too, replaced by spending time at the pool. 

When I reached 8th grade, I picked up one of the hobbies that has stuck with me the longest: crochet. For a reason that I don’t remember, I received a crochet kit to make a dinosaur. While I never actually finished the kit, I fell in love with crocheting. For 3 years, I was pretty consistent with my work, and slowly my room became overtaken by yarn. Though I actually haven’t finished many pieces, I have dozens of works in progress that I do intend to finish. Maybe. Even though I don’t crochet as much as I used to, I am still interested in the hobby. It has just taken a backseat while I focus on other things.

Since I was little, I have always loved the idea of journaling. No matter where I went, if there was a store, a journal was purchased. I ended up with drawers upon drawers filled with half used journals. Though I gave up on the practice during the pandemic, as I believed there was nothing to write about, I picked it up again about two years ago and am forever grateful that I did. 

The final hobby that I’ve picked up is the only one that I’ve actually stuck to throughout my whole life, and that is reading. I have been an avid reader since I was in preschool, and until I reached high school, the majority of my time was spent reading everything I could find. I have shelves and shelves of books, and most surfaces in my room have stacks of books scattered on them. Though I’ve had to spend more and more time on homework and clubs as I’ve gotten older, I still try to allocate time each week to read, and am hopeful that this hobby will be the one that fully sticks.