1. Jaguars 2024

  As this school year draws to a close, I'm struck by the reality of the fact I will be a senior so soon. It feels like just yesterday I stepped foot into American High as a freshman, dreaming of the excitement that senior year promised. But now, on the brink of that milestone, I find myself spinning in a whirl of mixed emotions, wishing to be a kid once more again.  Gerascophobia is a term used for the fear of growing up. I get to finally experience the newfound freedom and independence that I once wished for—staying out late, endless drives, and shopping trips with friends. However, as soon as I reach adulthood, my desires for freedom now transform into overwhelming responsibilities, casting a burden on my shoulders. Despite those concerns and that sense of despair, there is, on the other hand, an assuring sense of adventure and possibility. Growing up is not just about leaving behind the comforts of childhood but also about discovering who we are and who we want to be. It's...

    Photo Credit: Drowning Underwater Selective memory , or selective amnesia, refers to an individual's tendency to remember only certain pieces of information. Some say there is an aspect of intentionality when it comes to selective memory, classifying it a more conscious decision rather than a disability. Others say that it is the subconscious filtering of certain memories after a traumatic event, serving as more of a defense mechanism than a conscious decision. I prefer to believe that it is an unconscious process that the mind uses to shield ourselves from regretful memories made in the past, in order to focus on healing in the future. I often recall an incident from childhood that showcases this phenomenon well. I never learned how to swim as a child, and I once happened to find myself flailing on the coast of a beach on the Pacific Ocean at a barbeque gathering with my family. By the grace of my grandfather and God Himself, I was saved from the steady strength of the c...

I Don't Remember “I don’t remember how,” I told my dad when he asked me to solve a simple derivative problem.   “I don’t remember what happened,” I told my history teacher when she questioned my class about the Cold War. “I don’t remember,” I told my sister when she asked me if I recalled a funny event that occurred when we were on vacation.  Every year, every month, every day even, I say this phrase. It’s disheartening how much I don’t remember—the sheer number of experiences and knowledge lost in oblivion. I realize that so many occurrences in my life, including those which have brought me immense joy and immense sadness, evaporate into thin air as if they never happened. In my case, I have forgotten everything (minus a few, extremely important, life-changing events) that happened before two years ago today. This means that I have basically no recollection of what happened when I was 5 or when I was 10 or even when I was 15. This also means that several of the times I have t...

As many of you might know, we recently had a Veteran named Bill Green who gave a presentation about his time in Vietnam. We learned a lot during his presentation—where he stayed the longest, who his NFGs (new freaking guys) and old comrades were, what he liked/disliked about Vietnam, etc. Vietnam Veterans often carry with them a large array of memories that they do not forget with time. These memories—often made in times of combat, during the loss of a comrade, and the constant fight for survival—often unexpectedly pop up again in flashbacks or episodes, affecting their everyday lives with a past that cannot be forgotten. These memories are generally encapsulated by the term PTSD, or Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, and this is a condition that is common among many veterans. It could be nightmares, sudden flashbacks, severe anxiety, or even just constant thoughts about the war. For many veterans, the past is not just some distant memory, but more of a vivid and unforgettable reality. Fo...

How to Understand and Use Symbolism in Photography | Expert Photography When we think about books, we often think of sentences and paragraphs. When we think about academic publications, we often think of essays and articles. When we think about talking to friends and family, we often think of texting and phone conversations. We tend to think about words. But what goes unacknowledged are pictures. The illustrations that make up picture books. The charts and diagrams that are so essential to academic, especially scientific, publications. The GIFs and emojis we text with to liven up a screen with alternating text bubbles and the pictures of our faces on a video call that allow us to see the laughs and smiles that will create a lasting memory of the joy that call brought you, a memory that will last much longer than the memory of the verbal content of the conversation. Pictures are powerful tools to evoke emotion and engrain memories.  Pictures have been a valuable part of communicatio...

( Image Credit ) Given that we are all starting to focus on the Vietnam War in APENG and have likely already covered this topic in our History classes, it makes sense that the conversation surrounding Vietnam and the draft might be fresh on our minds. This was especially true for me when I decided to ask my mom about my grandfather being drafted into the Vietnam War. The interesting fact about her response was the perspective from which she told it from. I expected her to tell it from her perspective or even my grandfather's, but she did not do this. (Perhaps she felt this was a story that only he could tell.) She told the story from the perspective of my great-grandmother: "She had seven children, four of them boys, and all four were drafted." This made me think of everyone who may have been affected by the draft: Mothers and daughters, fathers and sons. It became clear to me that the question of the morality or immorality of the draft is not simply connected to individu...