As a senior immersed in the painful and stress-inducing world of college applications, it’s not surprising that this past semester has been a rather torturous one. Surrounded by the pressures of financial aid, writing supplements, standardized tests, and, oh yeah, trying to figure out my LIFE PURPOSE has led to a constant feeling of unmotivation and exhaustion. Coming into this new semester (and my last semester of high school yay!!), it has become increasingly difficult to motivate myself to do my work as the world of college becomes more real. Take this blog, for example, which may or may not have been hastily completed the night before the due date (shout out to our editor Addie you’re a real one). It was only recently that I truly accepted the affliction that has been plaguing me: senioritis.
Senioritis is a term that has been passed down through generations of stressed students. According to Merriam-Webster, it was first coined in 1907, and it is described as “an ebbing of motivation and effort by school seniors as evidenced by tardiness, absences, and lower grades”. Essentially, after three long years of high school, it’s difficult to see the point of high school anymore, especially with the sparkling promise of college on the horizon.
There are a couple of factors that contribute to senioritis, according to an article from the University of the People. The first three years of high school demand a high level of achievement for students who want to go to a competitive college. After years of stacking on AP classes, volunteering, and participating in every club known to man, it makes sense that seniors would be burned out from such a high level of productivity. Additionally, once a senior has committed to a specific university, it can seem as though high school doesn’t even matter anymore. Senioritis could also be a response to the anxiety that comes with the future. Most seniors have never been away from home before, and are now faced with questions about their majors and careers. It is understandable, then, that they would want to fry their brains with four consecutive hours of “Millionaire Matchmaker” rather than face the uncertain future.
But why is senioritis so important to address? I mean, if you’re a senior and already committed to a college, who cares if your grades and attendance slip a bit? Well, according to CollegeBoard, there is a significant impact if your grades slip during your senior year. Many colleges reserve the right to refuse admittance to a student if they see that the student’s grades are slipping. It doesn’t matter if you got that fancy acceptance letter on your application portal; the university can reverse its decision faster than you can say “existential crisis”. Additionally, failing grades and missing hours can jeopardize a student’s diploma if they’re not careful.
So, what is the cure for this mysterious affliction? Don’t worry, dear reader, I have some suggestions. Deadlines for both homework and applications can become overwhelming very quickly, which is why it’s important to have some sort of calendar or planner to record your deadlines- both short-term and long-term. You should also avoid obsessing over the admission process. I know that seems impossible, but I’ve found that attempting to ignore the stressful thoughts about college decisions instead of fueling the anxiety fire can be very helpful for day-to-day stress. Personally, a daily journaling session has been an effective way for me to put all of my existential worries on paper. Finally, try to enjoy being a senior as much as possible. Go to football games, do the school spirit weeks, and enjoy your senior privileges. Pretty soon we’ll be at the bottom of the food chain again, so we might as well take advantage of this while we can. Be kind to yourself. Give yourself breaks. I believe that all of us will make it to the finish line, even if we have to crawl on our hands and knees to get there.

Sources because I’m very professional:

“Senioritis.” College Board, counselors.collegeboard.org/college-application/senioritis.
“Senioritis Definition & Meaning.” Merriam-Webster, www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/senioritis.
“What Is Senioritis? Need-To-Know Causes And Cures.” University of the People, www.uopeople.edu/blog/what-is-senioritis/.

Horror has always been my favorite genre of movies. I love horror movies because of the thrill and adrenaline rush you receive when watching them. I crave being able to watch these intense experiences; especially in the comfort of my own home – and I love talking about and educating people on horror movies; so in this blog I will be giving you a full rundown of my favorite horror/thriller movies and why they’re my favorite! (These are not in order)

Number One: Smile

Smile is classified as a psychological supernatural horror movie. In this movie we follow a therapist named Rose. Rose witnesses a patient’s death and she begins to have terrifying experiences and delusions. Many horror movies made in the 2010’s will be associated with trauma metaphors the way the ‘80s are with slasher movies. Smile fits right in with its PTSD-induced kin. The difference here is that the monster is barely a metaphor at all: the demon, or evil spirit, or whatever it is—the movie is vague on this point—literally feeds on, and is spread by, trauma. The reason I love this movie is because is suspenseful, having a heady atmosphere of dread throughout. The suspense keeps you engaged in the movie at all times. Although the ending is a little underwhelming, the rest of the plot makes up for it. I heavily recommend this movie if you enjoy suspenseful movies.

 

Number Two: The Conjuring

The Conjuring is one of the most popular horror movies ever made. It is classified as a supernatural horror and is an amazing classic. The movie tells the terrifying true story of Ed and Lorraine Warren. Ed and Lorraine are world renowned paranormal investigators and they were called to help a family terrorized by a dark presence in a secluded farmhouse, where a supernatural presence had made itself known. Though the events that first take place are benign, things soon escalate in horrifying fashion, especially after the Warrens discover the house’s macabre history. Though its been several years since the movie was released, the quality is still there. The story immediately hooks you in, and although it takes time to unfold, it never gets dull. The Conjuring is genuinely terrifying – tapping into our biggest childhood fears. It also has the presence of strong willed and well-developed characters throughout the series.  I recommend this series if you’re into paranormal movies.

 

Number Three: Saw

Another amazing classic. I classify Saw as a slasher thriller movie, but it is also horror. The series revolves around the fictional serial killer John “Jigsaw” Kramer and his apprentices. Jigsaw tests his victims’ will to live by putting them through deadly “games” where they must inflict great physical pain upon themselves to survive. These games consists of traps that the victims are put in, but they are given an opportunity to survive if they beat the trap. Jigsaws selects only those individuals that, in his view, waste their lives in some way. Now you may be asking: “If there’s so many of these movies how can they be good?” – and I have an answer for you. With every new Jigsaw killer comes not only the possibility of unexpectedly enormous traps, but the possibility of tenuous flashbacks to prior films. The connecting of dots that no one knew existed is what separates Saw from most horror sagas: the franchise’s winding, looping lore has become its central facet. It’s an extremely unique movie and has a compelling plot.

Vintage audio formats have been making a comeback in recent years. Fans are spinning new releases on vinyl before hearing them on a streaming service, 80s CD players are going viral, and even cassettes have gotten some new fans. I, myself, have fallen victim to this new collective obsession. Vinyls and CDs, at the least, make sense. Listening to a vinyl or a CD of your favorite album can be a wonderful experience – the sound quality is better than anything you can get from your phone; you’ll probably even hear details you’ve never heard before. Cassettes, on the other hand, are difficult to deal with. They’re hard to repair, they get dirty easily, and their sound quality is subpar. So why, why oh why, do I love them more than any other format?

To start, they’re more portable than CDs or vinyls. With vinyls, the most portable you can get is carrying a Sound Burger playing and some 7-inch records. But a “Burger” is 11 inches wide and bulky – it’s not something you can just throw in your bag. For CDs, you can use an old Sony Walkman (you’ll need headphones too), but the square shape of CD jewel cases makes them an awkward fit in any modern bag. Cassettes, on the other hand, have a similar footprint to a phone. And tape players aren’t too bulky either! You can quickly grab your player and throw in a few tapes in any bag with no worries.

Second off, the whole setup is so much cheaper. A new vinyl will cost you usually $20 or up, and CDs similarly sit typically at $15. On the other hand, I don’t think I’ve ever paid more than $10 for a cassette. Plus, CD players and especially record players will set you back a lot! Cassette players, on the other hand, are maybe $30. If you want to collect physical media, cassettes just make sense financially.

Finally, once the apocalypse comes, you won’t be able to stream any music, and CDs and vinyl records will snap in half eventually. On the other hand, cassettes are the opposite of fragile. If there’s anything left after an event of total civilizational collapse, I’ll bet you it’ll be cassette tapes. They’re the Nokia phones of physical media.

Bonus point: Cassettes were the go-to for discrete recording. Everyone loves a good live show, but it’s not like I could’ve been at the front of the crowd for the Velvet Underground in 1969. But, someone, likely with a big coat with a tape recorder in a deep pocket, was – and their tape of the show, preserved in a wrapping of an old magazine advertisement, has been passed down to me.

Oh – and uncovering the Watergate scandal? That wouldn’t have been possible without tapes. Cassettes for the win!

Climbing is pretty difficult, but no cliff or crag could ever compare to the difficulty of learning all the lingo. I work at a rock gym and climb all the time and even I am constantly hit with sentences that make me want to climb over the top of the wall and hide. To help out new climbers (and experienced ones who are too afraid to ask), I’ve put together a list of key climbing lingo to know before you climb for the first time.

Traverse

If you’ve never climbed before, “traversing” is a great way to start! You’ll never need to worry about the height, because in traversing you only climb sideways. It’s a great way to warm up or get acclimated to being on the wall. 

Top Rope

Once you feel ready to start going upwards, top rope is how you’ll do it. This kind of climbing is named as such because the rope you use is attached to the top of the wall. Top rope is very common in indoor climbing and less so outdoors. 

Lead

More experienced indoor and outdoor climbers often forgo top rope for lead climbing. In this kind of climbing, climbers bring their own ropes which they clip into “draws” on the wall as they climb. Draws are the clips that lead climbers attach their ropes to. In indoor gyms, these will already be on the wall, but if you’re climbing outside you’ll have to bring your own. When you fall on lead, you fall to the last place you clipped into. As long as you remember to clip and do so correctly, you’ll be okay! 

Whipper

A whipper is a large fall taken while lead climbing. Whippers cause a falling climber to swing in a whip-like arc, which is where their name comes from. Some people love the adrenaline of taking a big whipper, but I am not one of them. The way lead rope systems work, if the climber is heavier than the belayer, a whipper can cause the belayer to fly up into the air, possibly within high-fiving distance of the climber. These kinds of falls are often very dramatic and loud, but injuries are rare as long as the climber and belayer have done their jobs well. 

Heel Hook

We now come to my favorite climbing move! Climbers heel hook to anchor themselves into a strong position when just grabbing on tight isn’t enough. Heel hooks (my pride and joy) are especially common on overhung routes where the climber is nearly parallel to the ground. To avoid slipping out and becoming vertical again (“cutting feet”), you can wedge your heels into a hold to make use of the natural shape of your body.

The objectively worse little brother of heel hooking is toe hooking. It’s not fun, it’s not cool, and it is definitely not endorsed by the Shaker Writing Center. 

Flagging

Sometimes a hold is just out of reach! To potentially close the gap, climbers will “flag” by standing on one leg, stretching out the other leg, and reaching with the opposite arm. This stance kind of makes the climber look like a flag (where the flagpole is the hold being reached for), but I don’t really see it. 🏳️

Dyno

Fly, my pretties! “Dyno” is short for “dynamic movement,” which basically translates into a giant leap. The difference between a dyno and other dynamic movements like a deadpoint (the use of core and hip strength to propel your body weight upwards) is the number of points of contact on the wall. Other moves have the same explosive look as a dyno, but it only counts if all four limbs are off in the wall (in the air). 

Static

Basically the opposite of a dynamic movement, a static movement or “static-ing it” is separating each move rather than chaining them together. What static climbing loses on momentum it makes up for in control. Taller climbers are generally able to static moves that shorter climbers would have to climb dynamically to make (that is to say: tall climbers are cheating).

Dual Tex

This one puzzled me for a very long time before I was able to work up the courage to ask what it meant. Dual tex are a kind of climbing hold in indoor climbing that can simulate the feel of certain kinds of smooth stone found in outdoor climbing. “Dual” means “two” and “tex” is short for “textures.” A dual tex hold consists of a slippery plastic piece and a more traditional rough piece. It’s easy to get a grip on the rough part, but watch out for the plastic! They’re hard to grab with your hands and downright lethal to stand on. I guess a singular dual tex hold is called a dual tek? I’ve never actually seen it spelled out, so that might not be quite right. I’m 90% sure it’s something like that.  

Bonus Round: Miguel’s Pizza

This isn’t verbal lingo, but the logo of Miguel’s Pizza, a pizza shop in Kentucky, is very common in climbing-related spaces. This mysterious symbol with no obvious connection to climbing haunted me for years before I finally figured it out. Miguel’s Pizza’s location in Kentucky, near a popular outdoor climbing area called the Red River Gorge, has made it a pilgrimage destination for climbers. The ubiquitous smiling face of Miguel shines down on all climbers regardless of their understanding of his origin.

I’ve realized while writing this how much lingo there actually is and how little I’ve been able to cover, so if you want to learn more I suggest going climbing and picking it up in real life. But be warned! None of this makes more sense in context.

The other day I was talking to my brother when he, for no reason at all said, “Rizzal me this gyattman.” This got us talking about how the new generation is ruined and how they are awful – the same thing that everybody says about the newer generations. At some point, I mentioned that I wished that I was the one that came up with the slang for the new generation because it would be funny. He then said that all I had to do was get popular and I probably could put a few words in the Gen Alpha dictionary. This had me feeling very sick and twisted. SO, here is my very devious, maybe a bit silly, and slightly evil plan to corrupt the vocabularies of the youths.

1.Become goated at Subway Surfers

2.Make a Tik-tok account and start posting semi-brainrot content

3.Branch out into streaming and become friends with whomever the big new streamer is

4.Get very rich and Very famous from the “content” I am producing

5.Use my fame (and money) to get into politics

6.Become president of the USA

7.Use the FBI and CIA to develop brain wave technology that lets me plant words into peoples vocabularies

8.Come up with the words that I want the children to say

9.Plant the slang into the most popular influences with large child audiences

10.Profit(?)

As you can see there is no way that this plan doesn’t work. Some might say that this is stupid, bad, hilarious, and inefficient, but I will have everybody know that this is the best way to do this. I have to become president and very rich and famous before I can make kids sound stupid, otherwise it doesn’t work. Now what am I going to make these kids say?

 

 

Throughout my life, I have had some quite interesting pets. It started out pretty tame with a cat, Daisy, and an aquarium of fish that we’ve had since before I was born. The first pet I actually do remember getting was our old dog, Charlotte, when I was 3 years old. After Daisy and Charlotte, we got our second cat, Devon. Not too long after Devon, my sister and I talked my parents into another cat, Virginia. My sister and I had a habit of convincing our parents to take us to the APL with the promise that we would only go to pet the animals and then leave (obviously, we were not good at staying true to our word, as it’s nearly impossible to leave there without taking an animal home with you).

Once my sister and I were content with the number of cats we had, we moved on to hamsters. First was Bubbles, then Bunny, then Peanut, and finally Fetty. I almost forgot about a gerbil that was in the mix at one point. Her name was Amy, and she was my sister’s class pet that she volunteered to take home over break.

Besides the abnormal amount of rodents, we had nothing too crazy, until we rescued 7 baby ducklings from the train station near our house. These were probably some of my favorite pets, but we only kept them for a brief period of time before letting them go at Green Lake.

Our next pets were two geckos that my sister and I brought back from our vacation to South Carolina. We named them Godzilla and Murray, after the lake we stayed at. They were great pets, except for the fact that I had to feed them live mealworms every day.

Last, but certainly not least, we had an exotic animal called a sugar glider. If you don’t know what that is, it’s basically a flying squirrel. My sister and I had been wanting one for years, and my dad finally got one for my sister for her birthday. Naturally, she named it E.T.

 

 

 

 

Every year, my family has a very elaborate Christmas Eve agenda.

We all wake up at around 5:30 am and drink our coffee while enjoying a nice chat with the five of us: my mom, dad, brother, sister, and me.

After coffee, we embark on a 6-mile run at the metro parks. This is where we have the chance to bond from the trauma of actually running. After running, we make a Christmas Eve brunch at home with the prepped lobster made the night before to make lobster rolls. My mom makes the best lobster rolls.

After brunch, the time comes to wrap the rest of our presents. This takes my brother a  bit more time than the others; it’s not his forte. Once the presents are secured, we start the at-home escape room that my dad organizes for our family. I don’t know how he changes the narrative of the escape room each year. He must be a genius. Last year, it led us to the attic, then the roof, and then escaping by jumping off the roof onto an inflatable mattress. It wasn’t the softest possible option, but it worked. Everyone was okay, although I almost ended up rolling into the empty pool. I can’t wait to see what he comes up with this year.

Once we make it out alive safely, we all get ready for Christmas Eve mass. This calms us down a bit after the crazy festivities from earlier. After mass comes dinner. We normally like to enjoy a nice, tranquil dinner in an exquisite restaurant. My dad knows a guy.

And with all of that, the day comes to a close with staying up until midnight while doing karaoke. We don’t sing Christmas songs. We sing 90s hip-hop.

I cannot wait to see how the day unfolds this year.

I also forgot to mention that none of that was true.

I had the best meal of my entire life. Immediately after I finished inhaling everything on my plate, I googled Guy Fieri’s address, so I could send him this letter,

” Guy Fieri,

Though I applaud your years of hard work, you must retire. There is no need anymore for Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives; Guy’s Grocery Games; Guy’s Ranch Kitchen; Guy’s Ultimate Game Night; Guy’s Grocery Games; or any other part of the Guy Franchise. I have found it. The perfect meal. there is no need to search. So be free!

Your trusted Food Consoir,

A.W.

P.S. How much money do you have? Driving around America to different food locations. Gas! In this Economy?!?”

I sent similar copies to Gordon Ramsey, Bobby Flay, and Rachel Ray. Also that guy from Tik Tok who makes the crazy chocolate sculptures.

Following my trip to the mailbox, I sat down and started to rethink the Global Economy. There will be no need for exported food goods after the discovery of this meal. All the chefs in the world might as well be unemployed if this meal exists. In fact, turn the entire Midwest into Dollywood, we don’t need agriculture.

When Greek Mythology describes the ambrosia of the Gods, I think of this. Chat GPT couldn’t even conjure up a meal so delicious. Melt in your mouth delicious, ending-world hunger scrumdiddlyumptious. I descend the astro-plane to food heaven at the pure sight of the plate. The word yummy is arbitrary in comparison to the divinity of this meal.

Thank You Hawaiian Rolls.

 

Every year like most other people I create a list of New Years resolutions that I am committed to complete throughout the new year. Yet, without fail, I complete almost none of them. This year I had an ambitious list of resolutions which I will share so we can all wallow in my failure together. 

1)Consistently go to the gym

I didn’t actually get a gym membership until November.

2)Increase endurance

I still get winded walking up to the third floor.

3)Read 40 books

It’s December and I’m not even at 30 books

4)Read Priory and the Fallen Night

still sitting on my bookshelf

5)Read the Poppy War trilogy

against my friend’s hopes I have not even picked these up

6)Get a job

I actually did get a job

7)Finish Gilmore Girls

I made it to the last season and gave up

8)Finish Criminal Minds

I got like halfway

9)Stop biting lips

I forgot I was trying to stop

10)Improve hair health

I bleached it all in August

11)Read Lord of the Rings

 I touched the books…and moved them to a different pile

In reflection, I met 1 goal of 11, but I know that even that harsh truth won’t stop me from making just as ambitious resolutions for this new year.

Ever since I was little, it was my job to place Santa Mouse. Santa Mouse is a small fake mouse that is put in the depths of our tree. On the night of  December 23 Santa Mouse leaves gifts (scratch-offs and jewelry) for me and my sisters to wake up to and find hidden in our tree on Christmas Eve morning. I do not know how Santa Mouse became a Blaszak Christmas tradition, but I am going to attempt to tell an origin story of the famous Santa Mouse

Liam the Mouse trekked through the snow, trying to find shelter from the cold, harsh North Pole winters. He looks high and low for anywhere he could stay! Liam the Mouse spent days trudging tirelessly, but then, he heard bells. At first, they sounded distant, but in mere seconds he heard them right behind him! At that very instant, a Sleigh with 8 reindeer flew past him. It took Liam the Mouse a moment to get over the fact he just saw a flying sleigh pulled by reindeer, to finally realize that the person in the sleigh must be going to their home, their warm snow-less home. So Liam the Mouse took all of his energy to run after to sleigh, he couldn’t lose sight of it! After what seemed like hours, the said home was in Liam the Mouse’s eyesight. Overwhelmed with relief, he made his way up to the building, smelling ginger seeping from the open chimney. He had to get inside.

Liam the Mouse burrowed himself deep, and dug under the wall until he found what looked like already-made mouse dens. This confused him, he had been alone his whole life, and now there might be more of his kind?? He ran each tunnel up and down, left and right, backward and forwards to look for other mice, and then finally he saw a sliver of light. He scurried his way other to it. and there it was. Right in front of him was a trunk, he looked up and saw the green pine covered in white lights and red balls hanging on the branches. He started to climb the tree. and he climbed and climbed until he saw a single mouse perched on a branch in the middle of the tree, he was munching on a piece of corn. Liam the Mouse’s stomach grumbled. the mouse on perched pointed upward and before Liam the Mouse could say anything, the other mouse ran down the tree, out of sight. Liam the Mouse climbed hoping to find more mice. Before he knew it, he was looking up at a whole family of mice eating corn. Not only was he away from the cold, but he now wasn’t alone! They greeted him and welcomed him into what they called Santa’s Place. Liam the Mouse learned from them that Santa Claus was a human who gave gifts to children on the “Nice List”.

Liam the Mouse was intrigued. He wanted to see the big man himself. He sat with the other mice, hearing stories about this so called Santa Claus. Then one night when Liam the Mouse was tired of eating corn, he decided to explore. He ran down the tree and looked around the room he was in. The only light was a fire burning in a fireplace, he admired the flames as they engulfed the wood. He was so distracted by the fire and he didn’t notice someone sneaking up behind him. “Ho Ho Ho” Liam the Mouse, startled, looked up, and to his surprise was the Santa Claus all the other mice told him about. Santa Claus bent down, and stuck out his hand, Liam the Mouse hesitated, then reluctantly jumped onto his palm. They started to move and then Liam the mouse was placed on a block of cheese. He picked up a piece and was so ready to eat it, when suddenly he offered the cheese to Santa Claus. Santa Claus gratefully took the piece of cheese, chuckled at the size of it between his fingers, and popped it in his mouth. Right as Liam the mouse was about to leave, Santa Claus pulled a little hat out of his chest pocket, and placed it on Liam the Mouse’s head and said “I’ve seen you and the others in my tree,” he paused and took a look at Liam the Mouse’s scared face, “I was wondering if you could be my helper”.

So that’s how Santa Mouse became a thing! Liam the Mouse showed friendship, kindness and giving to Santa Claus. All the mice live in houses acting as spies to report good doings to Santa Claus. So if you see a mice scurry across your floor on December 23, leave out a piece of cheese, and hope Santa Mouse brings gifts on Christmas Eve.