volume 43 number 4

8/9/2019 Volume 43 Number 4

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NORSEMANVolume 43, Number 4 • May 2014

T h e B r y a n H i g h S c h o o l

• IN-BRIEF •www.BryanHighNoresman.com

ONLINESEE MORE

T their n betClr urd, ercuin cete in indr cetitin en

Livin tler’ life

Fll U

BREakINg NEws

opINIoN

ENTERTaINmENT

spoRTs

The ‘News’ category of The

Norseman is the best way tostay up-to-date with the news& information at Bryan High.

To stay up-to-date withthe latest sports scores forBryan High School athlet-ic programs, be sure to visit

bryanhighnorseman.com/sports.

Assistant editor Jesse Baxtertakes an in-depth look at thelives of Mindy & Mandy, twostaplers who reside in room6160.

Facebook www.facebook.com/BryanISD-BryanHighNorseman

Twittertwitter.com/bhsnorseman

3450 Campus Drive • Bryan, TX 77802

[email protected]

Emily Nash Editor Aside from performing on the foot-

ball eld, the percussion team and colorguard compete in two indoor competi-tions hosted by the Texas Color GuardCircuit: the Winter Guard International(WGI) and the Texas Color Guard Cham-pionships (TCGC) during the spring se-mester. After months of practice anddedication, the color guardcompeted in TCGC on March29, and indoor percussioncompeted on April 5 at Reed

Arena.

Color Guard

For the color guard, postfootball season means sig-nies the entry into WinterGuard season. With a total of27 members this year, the col-or guard added a junior var-sity team, and every memberis required to re-audition forthe indoor competitive seasonto determine which team they

will compete with. With only a varsity team inthe past, the color guard tookhome a state championship in their re-spective class in 2008 and 2010, andmade it to nals in the World Champi-onship Competition in Dayton, Ohio in2012. “We advanced our rst time going [tothe World Championship Competition],

which was a really awesome experience

for the guard,” color guard director Ma-rie DeBellis said. This year, their competitions beganin January, and DeBellis said that bothteams have been successful so far this

season. The varsity team is currently un-defeated as they have the highest WGIregional score in the country, and the

JV team, this being their rst year in ex-istence, is also rst in the scholastic JVclass. “We’re consistent regional nalists,”DeBellis said. “This year has by far beenour most successful year.” DeBellis said that the way a show is

choreographed is a large component inhaving a successful performance. “The people we brought in to designand choreograph our program were real-ly strong and worked well together withthe kids,” DeBellis said. The JV team’s show is to Phillip Phil-lips’ song “Home,” and each member

is dressed up as a bird and the team,throughout the performance, builds anest with real tree branches. The varsityteam performs in black attire to a classi-cal piece called “Experience” which De-

Bellis said has no particular theme. “Each performer on the oor has theirown experience performing [their rou-

tine], so that’s kind of the direction we went with [the performances],” DeBellissaid. Senior Jameisha Hall said that in or-der to perfect their show, members mustdedicate a signicant amount of time torehearsals.

“We practice three times a week, and on competitiondays, we practice for an hourthat Saturday before the com-petition,” Hall said.

The hard work pays off,however, and both DeBellisand Hall agree that having agood performance at a com-petition makes all dedicationand time spent worth it. “I really enjoy seeing thekids come off the oor after agreat performance,” DeBellissaid. “The smiles on their fac-es and the excitement – andthat’s even before we nd outour placement,” Anyone is welcome to audi-tion for color guard. Tryouts

for the 2014-2015 school year will beheld from April 28 to May 2 in Gym 3.

Indoor Percussion

Like the color guard, the percussiongroup begins preparing for indoor com-petition season directly following foot-

ball season. Parallel to the color guard,

they have exactly 27 members: 26 per-formers and a sound-system operator.This year being their second consecutive

year competing, the team placed rst at...continued on page 2

The varsity colorguard team performs to “Experience” inReed Arena during TCGG on March 29.

Staff writer Gabby Martineztakes a hard look at abuse thatcan occur in relationships and

why people stay.She explores the impacts ofemotional and physical abuseand offers a way to get help.

Fle relityDn’t let entientclud judeent


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Kyle Alfaro

Staff writer Many students like to get their minds away fromschool and become involved in things like chess club,or going out for a run. Others choose to get involved

with the orchestra program. “I love Orchestra because it’s a great way tospend time with friends, and even make morefriends,” sophomore Manuel Leija said. Under the guidance of the Zen Master himself,John Lemons, the Orchestra program continuesto improve. Lemons has been teaching in BISDfor over seven years at various schools across

the district including SFA, Jane Long, and Da- vila, and has directed the Orchestra program atBryan High for three years. “I’ve been in music since the 4th grade, fromclasses and life experiences,” Lemons said. “Ithen had the opportunity here at Bryan High toteach.”

The orchestra program consists of violins, violas, cellos and basses. Students in orchestra vary from freshman to seniors, which allows studentsto learn and work with each other to improve theirskills. “It’s really fun to learn from the older people whoplay your instrument to improve your skills and just

your overall play,” freshman Donovan Torres said. Each year students prepare solos and compete

within the district, with hopes of advancing further.

For senior violinist Stephanie Leon-Quiononez,

competing against other orchestra students in otherschools and improving her skills, is a big motivationin continuing to play the violin. “I feel really delighted to be able to go to Austin and

perform my solo in front of many judges,” Leon-Qui-ononez said. “I am also very nervous, but I’m ready toperform.” On the day of UIL, orchestra members await im-patiently for the opportunity to play as an ensemble.They perform collectively in front of three judges,and immediately after, compete solely in sight read-ing. After the concert and sight reading performance,

scores are received almost immediately.

“It’s nerve-racking,” Torres said. “Espically forUIL, it’s probably the biggest event of the school

year, it is so nerve racking.”UIL competitors are graded on a scale of 1-5, with

one being the best, and ve being the worst. Tra-ditionally Bryan high has received high scores insight reading, and was awarded a one this year.. “I feel great receiving good scores,” Leijasaid. “I just love playing in the orchestra and Ican’t wait next year to play again.”

After UIL, the students are able to relax afteran intense concert season, but continue to prac-

tice their music for the following year. As theprogram continues to grow and improve, manynew changes are in store for upcoming students. “I’m trying to incorporate more opportuni-ties for the orchestra kids, like more music, andsome awards for the children,” Lemons said.“But right now, I’m focused on introducing thekids to Smart Music, a program that gives theorchestra kids music to play in concert or just to

play in class” With hard work and dedication, the orchestra pro-gram has the absolute potential to bring their scoreof a three in concert up to a one and continue main-taining a awless sight reading score. “Honestly, I can’t wait to see what’s in store for usnext year,” Lemons said.

Page 2 - Features

Orchestra expands skills, techniques for students

P r o m 2 01 4

The orchestra performs their spring show during thespring semester conducted by director John L emons.

...continued from page 1 WGI regionals in March, and pre-pared for TCGC in April. Percussion director Zane Taylorsaid that because of the signicantnumber of students interested incompeting indoor percussion again,they decided to step it up this year. “This year we went into [indoorpercussion] with the intent of mak-ing it much more challenging, andthey’re doing very well,” Taylor said.“What we want to do is to try to builda tradition; that’s our hope.” Like the color guard, the drumlineintensely focuses on their general ef-

fect – in other words, how well thegroup connects with the audience.Indoor percussion has a storyline totheir performance, which includesplaying the music, a little acting, anduniformed costumes. Their show this

year was called “Uncovered,” which isabout two characters who try to ght

against a malevolent force, and it issplit in three different parts. “Since it’s a smaller group and asmaller venue there’s a much betteropportunity to actually connect withthe audience,” Taylor said. “They tryto capitalize on that [aspect] and the

judges score you on that too.” Because indoor percussion is a sig-nicantly smaller group that excludes

wind instruments, indoor percussioncompetitions are judged much moreintensely as opposed to the way thepercussion is judged in retrospect

with the rest of the band duringmarching season.

“If you mess up [on the marchingeld], it’s not as noticeable as it is inindoor drumline,” senior and snaredrummer Sandy Schwalen said. “Wehave 20 people performing as op-posed to the 150 that you would havein a marching band, so you have to becleaner and better [in indoor percus-

sion].” Sophomore and synthesize playerTommy Schwalen said that for those

who don’t march and stay in the frontensemble, it’s nice to have the specta-tors appreciate the harder music theyplay. “It’s [nice] to show off our capa-

bilities as percussionists,” Schwalensaid. Along with musical maturity thatcomes with six hours a week of re-hearsal outside of school, Taylor saidthat he’s seen his students grow inmental and physical fortitude. “There’s a great deal of emotional

– and I would almost say spiritual –growth that comes with that to actu-ally happen,” Taylor said. Like the color guard, anyone is wel-come to try out for indoor percussion.Tryouts will be held in the middle toend of November, depending on whennext year’s football season ends.

Mr. & Mrs. BHSVJ Banks & Zoey Clark

Teams earn honors at competition B om ba y R oy a l e


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Jesse Baxter Assistant editor Safety is essential when it comes tosports whether it be the Super Bowl

or a couple of friends tossing a ballaround in the backyard. This year,Bryan ISD exemplied that notion byreceiving the Safe School Award fromthe National Athletic Trainers Associa-tion. “This award is something that is giv-en to recognize schools that exceed theexpectations of athlete safety and arereally top tier in protecting the healthand safety of their athletes and theschool,” trainer Doc Woodall said.

This is only the second year the awardhas existed with last year’s award goingto Rudder High School. “Bryan ISD had the rst two schoolsin the nation to ever receive the SafeSports School Award,” Woodall said.“It was really quite an honor to beone of the rst schools to receive the

award.” Student trainers are proud that Bry-an High has been honored with thisaward, especially considering this is

only the second year it has existed. “I think [the award] pays off all thehard work and examinations [done bythe athletic department],” senior Ash-ley Hataway said. Communication is key in keepingsafety a priority for athletic programs,

with many groups such as the re de-partment and EMS working together. “The health care team is comprisedof many different individuals, all of

whom play a part in the health and

safety of the student athletes,” Woodallsaid. “I think that is probably the foun-dation of what sets us apart from otherschools.” Along with coordination between de-partments, annual drills keep the teamon their toes and ready for an emer-gency.

“This past year, we did a cardiac ar-rest drill where we actually simulateda cardiac arrest on the football eld,initiated our emergency protocols, and

called the re department,” Woodallsaid. “They sent an ambulance out, and we had a mock transfer of care and onto the emergency room.” Safety is constantly improving withnew measures being added to ensurethe best protection for students andathletes. “One thing that we have just recentlystarted is offering ECGs (electrocar-diogram screenings) during our ath-letic physicals,” Woodall said. “It’s a

very simple and short screening of theheart, and a cardiologist is able to lookat the electrical function of the heartand determine if there are any abnor-malities that may lead to a catastrophicinjury.” Another step the district has recentlytaken is adding automatic external de-

brillators (AEDs) to middle schools. “Whenever a team or a P.E. classgoes outside, they can take an AED

with them out to that facility,” Wood-

all said. “If they were to have a cata-strophic cardiac event, that AED would be much closer and more accessible because early debrillation in a cardiacemergency is the key to survival.” The trainer program teaches studenttrainers about safety and how to han-dle emergency situations. “I think it is a really good program,”Hataway said. “We do a lot of helpingaround with stuff and it is good for fu-ture references and what you want to

do for a career.” Overall, the safety in BISD athleticsis recognized as one of the best in thenation, and rightfully so. “We always want to look steps aheadand determine what we can do betterto better protect our students and ourstudent athletes,” Woodall said.

BHS trainers earn national recognition, award for BISDFeatures - Page 3

Robert Morgan Staff writer Many students are involved in art programs acrossthe district, ranging from elementary school art class-es to IB art here on campus, and nd that these cours-es amplify their talents. As the school year movedforward, the art students were able to showcase their

works in Artfest, an annual event held in the SilverCafeteria. “Artfest is our district-wide art show,” art teacherKimberley Marshall said. “Every single art teacher inthe district comes and they put artwork by their stu-dents up.” Members of the community were welcome to visit

Artfest, which helped to create a positive environmentfor those whose artwork was displayed. Senior CJ Bry-an, who had his artwork showcased, detailed how theenvironment of Artfest looked as a student. “Artfest was a fun, interesting, and inviting place,”Bryan said. “The atmosphere was welcoming and thepeople were content by the art.” Students work year round on pieces that have thepotential to get submitted to Artfest, but ultimately it’s

the teacher’s decision in what gets showcased. JuniorMiana Soto details what goes into making a piece forthe showcase. “[The art teacher] tells us what kind of art to make,like a portrait or a landscape,” Soto said. “Once we

have that, we can do whatever we want. It just has to be an original piece or it has to be from a picture that we’ve taken ourselves in order for it to be entered intoany competition.” Throughout the year, art teachers keep a repertoireof the students’ work that can be showcased at Artfest.For Marshall, the selection of pieces is ongoing and isnalized right before Artfest occurs. “As we go along through our school year, we willpull aside projects that we feel were really successfulfor each of the different [focuses] that we did,” Mar-shall said. “There might be ve or six different kinds ofprojects in the workshop. We don’t really prep them,

we just pick the ones that the students were most suc-cessful with.” Before students can start working on a piece, theyhave to nd inspiration to create something great.Sophomore Jessica Triana said that the artwork be-comes a part of herself. “My inspiration begins with my imagination be-cause your artwork is basically a part of you,” Trianasaid. The students who participate in Artfest take heart

in the art program and nd that participating in it hashelped them to nd a calling in life. “The art program has impacted my life as to makingme want to go further in the program,” Triana said. “[Ihave] actually considered going further [into art stud-

ies] after high school as well.” At the showcase, students were able to see differentaspects of art from other artists all over the commu-nity. Freshman Blanca Luna said that taking note ofmethods used in different pieces helps to make herartwork better in the future. “[At Artfest, I saw] the variety of styles and meth-ods on how a piece was created,” Luna said. “[For ex-ample], the symmetrical design station was fun andcreative.” From talking to spectators of Artfest, Marshall wasable to see how members of the community reacted toseeing the different artwork from all age groups. “[Visitors] love seeing all the little kids’ work andthey are amazed at how advanced some of it is,” Mar-shall said. “It might be a second grader submittingsomething but it may look like a middle school kid did.

“People are just amazed at how wonderful and howtalented these kids are, because there is some really

wonderful work there.” Artfest allows students to see a multitude of differ-ent pieces and different styles of art. In turn, they wereable to see how one theme of artwork can be interpret-

ed in so many ways. For Bryan, he was able to take thisknowledge and apply it to future pieces of his. “[Art is] not denite,” Bryan said. “That is to say,there is not any one way to do things.”

Artwork demonstrates talent, prosperity in showcase


4/15

Regina Flores Assistant editor There are some things in life thatsome people are just born to do, andfor someone who has an abundanceof energy and loves to compete, trackis a suitable sport. Senior AlondriahBrown has been running since child-hood, and she doesn’t plan on stop-ping anytime soon. “[I’ve been running] since I wasseven,” Brown said. “I ran with theschool, with some summer teams,[and at] Jane Long Middle School. It’sfun. I have lots of energy, and I like torun.”

Brown currently participates in the4×100 relay, the 4×400 relay, and sheplans to run her favorite race, the 400,at a college level in the fall. “I’m going to college for [the 400] inthe fall, but I don’t know where yet,”Brown said. “[I’m considering] Texas

A&M, Mizzou, Nebraska, Baylor, UT Arlington, and some other choices.” In addition to being able to releaseher energy through track, Brown lovesthe challenge and competition in-

volved in running the race. “I love competing,” Brown said. “Itgets me my rst-place medal to put onmy wall. [My favorite part about trackis] being with my friends and compet-ing for rst place. We cheer each otheron.” Brown’s love of running and herdetermination to succeed does not gounnoticed by track coach Stacy Beal. “Alondriah is very tough,” Beal said.

“There have been several times she’sthrown up before her race, and shestill gets out there and actually doesquite well. She’s very playful, yet sheknows when to get serious and whento compete, and she’s always right ontarget with that. She gets on the track

and aims to do her very best.” According to her teammates, Brownis a leader who is admired for nevergiving up. Close friend and teammatePenny Watson looks up to Brown forher strong work ethic. “She doesn’t let one little thing stopher,” Watson said. “Sometimes shecan be really hard on herself, but itactually pushes her to go harder. Her

best quality is her determination. Ifnobody else is going to do it, she’s go-ing to do it. When we see her beingso determined, it helps us as a team bedetermined.” The motivation that Brown brings

her teammates has served the trackteam well over the past couple of

years, and as a team, they have beenattending the prestigious Texas Relaysraces. “For the past two years we’ve beengoing to Texas Relays, and we’ve been

doing well,” Brown said. “You haveto qualify, so you have to have a fasttime. We went there for the 4×100, the4×200, and I went there for the 100.” Although this was a memorable ex-perience in all aspects, Brown’s favor-ite track memory would be qualifyingfor regionals. “We made it to regionals in the4×100, even though we didn’t make itto state,” Brown said. Beal says Brown’s talent is a hugecontribution to the track team, andshe enjoys watching Brown compete. “She’s our fastest kid out there inpretty much any race you run, but

she’s also a leader, and she pulls theteam together when it’s time to pulltogether and competes,” Beal said.“That’s what we have to have in track.She’s a beautiful girl with a tremen-dous talent. I look forward to watchingher run every single race.”

Track star shows determination, leadership on feldPage 4 - Sports

Andrea Mendes Associate editor While some students pursue big dreams as sportssuperstars, others are content with simply playing asport they enjoy. For senior Ben Gonzales, soccer has

been a fun physical outlet as he juggles school, work,friends, and family.

“I love being able to go out there and just play thegame,” Ben said. “It’s a rush being on the eld with

your adrenaline going, and you’re just ready to play.” With his parents motivation, Ben began playing

soccer through a city league at the age of six and con-tinued through middle school, eventually playing forBryan High.

“My parents think it’s really important to get kidsinvolved with physical activity at a young age to keept, so sports were a regular thing for [my family],” Bensaid. “I was the rst one in my family to really startplaying soccer, and it’s become a huge part of my life.”

Ben said his experience with high-school soccer hasintroduced him to some of his closest friends and hasforged a close bond with his teammates over the years.

“I’ve met some really great guys here,” Ben said.

“It’s always fun with all the crazy things we do, andI’ve just really enjoyed our time [together]. I’ve madesome memories that will last a really long time.” Participation in sports promotes teamwork and aidsin teaching athletes how to overcome obstacles and

work together as one. Ben said that soccer, above any-thing, has taught him that it doesn’t matter how goodof an individual player you can be - if you can’t play asa team, the effort is voided.

“Beating Consolthis year was by farthe coolest thing,”Ben said. “We didn’thave a good season,

but having that winmade everything

so much better. Ifthere was one game we needed to win,it was that one, and

we did it. We pulledit together for thatgame.” Under the guidance of Coach Morales, Coach Ruiz,and Coach Almon, Ben has been able to improve hissoccer skills over the years and be shaped into the soc-cer player and person he is today.

“At times you may feel like you’re at odds with the

[coaches], but at the end of the day they’re rooting for you,” Ben said. “Most of the time they’re really justtrying to teach you a life lesson. Looking back at somesituations and how immature I was before, I realizehow they have changed me and I’m thankful for that.”

Throughout Ben’s years of playing soccer, his familyhas provided a sound support system. One of ve kids,Ben said he enjoys being the middle child with both

younger and older siblings to spend time with. “I’m not really used to beinglonely since there are so many ofus, and I really like being aroundmy family,” Ben said. “My parentshave a lot of condence in me andeverything I do. They’re really gladI’m on top of my grades and stay-

ing active by playing soccer, andas long as I’m happy, they supportme in whatever I do.”

As Ben nishes up his senior year, he closes the chapter to highschool and prepares to attend Tex-as A&M’s School of Engineering

in the fall. Ben said he hopes younger students enjoytheir time in high school, because before they know it,their time there will be up.

“My message to younger people is to always havecondence,” Ben said. “Looking back now, I know

there were countless times during games and in highschool that I, and my teammates, had the wrong men-tality. You have to believe you’re going to do well, andthat condence will transcend into your performancein everything.”

Senior uses soccer as a learning experience, outlet for enjoymentDual Functionality

Senior Ben Gonzalez steals the ball from his opponent as hemakes his way down feld and toward the other teams goal.


5/15

Sports - Page 5

Senior follows passion, secures spot on Texas A&M softball team

Showcasing skills

Alanis King Assistant editor

Athletic expertise, academic ability,creativity, and the passion that backseach of these qualities are all things which dene a person, molding theminto who they are or who they eventu-ally will be. This is especially true forsenior Erica Russell, whose athleticpassion has turned a life-long dreaminto a reality on the softball eld. “In any sport you [participate in], you should play it because you love

the sport and when you play it, youshould play it with a passion and giveeverything you have,” Erica said. “So when I go out on the eld, I’mgoing to give 120 per-cent because

that’s the passion that I have for softball.”

Erica, who has been on the softballeld since the age of ve, will now getthe opportunity to do what is simplya far-fetched goal for many athletes– to showcase her talent at the colle-giate level. As a recruit for Texas A&MUniversity’s softball team, the incom-ing freshman will not only get to rep-resent her top-choice college in herfavorite sport, but she will also havethe opportunity to use the lessons she

has learned throughout her years ofplaying softball on a bigger, more rec-ognized stage. One of those lessons inparticular, Erica said, is what she haslearned about making compromises

and sacrices for the sake of theteam.

“[Softball is] basically my whole life, and it’s taught

me a lot of life-long les-sons,” Erica said.

“[One of

them being the ability to] use yourteam. That [skill is] going to go into

your job since you need to work as ateam for things to work out, so it’s go-ing to help me in the real world.” That lesson has been a prominentone throughout Erica’s years on theBryan High softball team, and thoughErica will be leaving behind her cur-rent teammates to start a new journeyas a part of the Texas A&M softballteam after this season, the bond shehas created with her current team

is sure to outlast her years in highschool. “We are very close and we interactreally well,” Erica said. “I would nottrade my team for anything, becausethe way we play and the way we bondis unlike any other team.” During her years at Bryan High, as-sistant coach Michelle Rios said thatErica has left an impact on her team by being a positive example for her

teammates to follow. “Erica really knows how to leadthem through all of the challengesthat they’ve had this season, and she’sa big part of why our program is ahuge success,” Rios said. One of Erica’s most fond memoriesfrom her time on the Bryan High softball team came during a comeback victory against Consol, in which theteam triumphed 15-7 over the Tigers. “We were losing 7-2 or something

like that, and we all came together asone team and pulled out a bunch ofruns in the 6th inning,” Erica said. “It was an awesome feeling, just knowingthat your team was there for you.” According to teammate senior Tay-lor Curtis, Erica plays a signicantrole in bringing the team together as well. “Erica is always there for us; she backs us up and makes good plays to

rst,” Taylor said. “She brings every -one together on the team and makesus one. She lightens the mood in prac-tice and makes it fun, but keeps it seri-ous at the same time.”

Erica began writing recruitment let-ters and emails at age 14, with Texas

A&M never falling from the top of herpriority list. Despite Erica’s loyalty toTexas A&M, however, she kept hercollege options open before her re-cruitment offer was made at age 16. “I always had other college [op-tions], but A&M was number one,”Erica said. “I visited a lot of othercolleges before [being recruited by] A&M, but when A&M came, I said yes because that’s just where I want to go.

That’s the college that I love, and I seeno place better than A&M.” But now that she is certain she will be donned in a maroon uniform on thesoftball eld next year, Erica said thatshe is determined to do everything inher power to produce for the team andperform well at the collegiate level. “A&M has been my passion since I was like eight, and now that I nallyget to play out a dream, it’s an honor,”

Erica said. “I cannot wait to play and be in the uniform, and honestly mygoal is that I get to start somewhereon the eld. I just want to be on theeld, I don’t care where. I just want toplay.” When she does get on the eld,though, it won’t be without the pres-sure to perform to the best of her abil-ity and to try to minimize mistakes. “I know that I’m going to be nervousabout messing up,” Erica said. “But

I’m pretty sure the teammates I knowand the teammates who are comingin will make that a lot easier for me.I’m just nervous because it’s my rst year.” Aside from the inevitable nervous-ness and anticipation that comes withplaying a sport at the collegiate level,Erica cannot quite describe her feel-ings towards being able to display herpassion on the eld alongside fellow

Aggie teammates. “It’s [an] awesome [feeling], andI don’t even have words to describehow I feel when I talk about A&M,”Erica said. “It’s really just amazing.”


6/15

Mikey Wolff Staff writer A mother: a woman who loves unconditionally, put-ting her child’s needs before her own. In high school,most girls don’t understand that kind of love or self-ishness. When faced with the challenge of becom-ing pregnant at such a young age and raising a child,mothers can either rise to the occasion or become an-other “bad” teen mom statistic.

For 18 year old senior Gabriela Martinez, the onlychoice was to rise and conquer. Finding out you'repregnant in high school is hard, but nding out you'repregnant at the age of 16 is indescribable. Homecoming and prom should be the main priori-

ties for any junior in high school, but for Martinez, walking the hallways with a baby bump and anxietykept her mind from such activities. She felt the staresand judgement, and people thinking she still had themindset of a child. Martinez is now raising her daugh-ter as a single mom while continuing to work hardacademically. Before, Martinez just worried about herown life, but that all changed and now she has to wor-ry about somebody’s well being other than her own.

“It’s the hardest job I’ve ever had or will encounter,”Martinez said. Martinez is proving to everyone that everythingshe’s been through in her life has actually made herready for the moment she became a mom, and that

she was ready to have this huge responsibility in herlife. Martinez said that when people found out that she

was going to become a mom, everyone began to treather differently. “People thought I was dumb and they would au-tomatically assume I was a stupid person,” Martinezsaid. “[They all thought] I couldn't handle myself.They didn't look at my grades, they didn't look at mypersonality, they just looked at my stomach and as-

sumed I was stupid.” Martinez felt ignored by the people she once calledfriends, and had to learn how to push through it - notonly for herself, but for her daughter.

...continued on page 7

Robert Morgan Staff writer “I always wanted to be a teacher.

When I was nine years old, my mom bought me a chalkboard and we set itup in the garage. I made my brotherand sister sit in the garage and do mathproblems and I was the teacher. I kindof forced myself upon them.” For the past 27 years, AP English IVand IB English teacher Lisa Prejean hasgotten to fulll that passion for teach-ing. As Prejean has developed her teach-

ing style, she noted how the higher-levelprograms, such as Advanced Placement(AP) and International Baccalaureate(IB), pay off for high school students. “The AP program is about teachingkids how to think and it is about gettingcollege credit,” Prejean said. “The IBprogram is about more comprehensivestuff - it focuses not only on analyticalthings, but also on your ability to pres-ent and your ability to think on your feet

when you do the oral [presentations].

The programs give different avenues tokids who want to take advanced coursesand possibly gain college credit while inhigh school.” Senior Emily Nash, a current studentin Prejean’s AP English IV class, saidthat the work she has done in the classhas helped to develop her skills in theEnglish sector. “Mrs. Prejean makes us do timed

writings, which help us write under

pressure, and afterward, she gives usgood insight about our writing,” Nashsaid. “We read lots of material, such asShakespeare and a lot of poetry. Sheteaches us techniques on how to readthe material which help us to under-stand the [literary] works.”

Throughout their years of work,teachers administer essentially thesame material every year. While it mayseem like that task could get monoto-nous, Prejean said that the studentsmake it enjoyable.

“If I was still in the eld of education, but I couldn’t be in the classroom, Idon’t think I would want to be in edu-cation,” Prejean said. “I don’t ever wantto leave the classroom. That’s why I[teach]: the interactions and getting toknow kids. The students all do thingsdifferently and they all see things differ-ently.” Although the students change every

year and teachers get different insightsfrom having new students, Prejean said

that there is a downside to this cycle. “I don’t always feel like I reach everysingle student,” Prejean said. “Some-times, I wonder, ‘Do I do enough orsay enough or critique enough to helpthat kid later?’ My end goal is that thosestudents go to college and their Englishclass - if they have to take one - is like apiece of cake.” This year, Prejean has gotten to teachthe IB English III course for the rst

time and describes how that experiencehas been a positive one for her as well asfor the students. “I feel like [my continued teaching ofIB will] be able to put some continuityin place and it will probably help theprogram to have that,” Prejean said.“I’ve enjoyed teaching the junior class,and since I’ll have them another year, Iknow the things that I need to improveand I still get a whole other year to workon it.” IB junior Perla Cruz has had the

chance to partake in Prejean’s class this year and said that her mannerisms inthe classroom help to make the difcultclass enjoyable. “Mrs. Prejean is humorable, dedi-cated, and intelligent,” Cruz said. “She

wants us to succeed and you can tell thatshe really cares about her students.” Another memorable aspect of thisschool year in particular for Prejean has

been having some students for a second year, their rst being for English II.

“One thing that I’ve enjoyed with my AP classes is that I have a lot of studentsin that class that I taught as 10th grad-ers,” Prejean said. “I’m getting to seethem as much more mature writers andpeople. Just seeing their growth fromthe time that I had them previously tothe time that I have them now is nice forme to witness.” As the English department chair,Prejean has the opportunity for more

interaction with fellow educators, whichhelps her to better herself as a teacher. “[The teachers] have invaluableideas,” Prejean said. “[They are helpful]

when I’m struggling with something ortrying to think of another way that I canteach a lesson so it’s not so mundaneand I can more easily attract the kids’attention. I have a lot of people who Ican go to or talk to.” Many students want to go into educa-tion career wise, and Prejean has keenadvice to those students who want to

become teachers later in life. “If you’re going to be a teacher in thefuture, you better be ready to be veryorganized and have a passion for what

you’re doing - for not only your subject, but also your kids,” Prejean said. “If you have those things and you’re will-ing to put in the commitment, it’s one ofthe most rewarding professions I thinkthere is.” As this school year comes to a closeand teachers are preparing for the up-

coming school year, Prejean is mostexcited for the IB program to continuegrowing in future years. “I am glad that [the school is] gettinga reputation for having a strong qualityof advanced programs,” Prejean said.“I’d like to see what kind of changes wecan make to improve the education wegive our students and how we can pre-pare them to go on to college or what-ever they plan on doing later.”

Teacher gives all for students, nds reward in educationDedication, determination, and delightPage 6 - Spotlight

Teenage mom overcomes obstacles during high school


7/15

Spotlight - Page 7

Erin Garcia

Staff writer Making the most of a move: Senior enjoys last yearof high school at Bryan High Senior year - a time to celebrate with teammatesand look back on the years of playing together. Whilemost students are fortunate enough to have enjoyedthe time spent with long time friends, senior AudreyMalone has made the best of moving to a new state,and forging lasting friendships and memories.

“I moved here at the beginning of August,” senior Audrey Malone said. “I called my friend the night I ar-rived in Bryan and told her I wanted to go home.”

Moving away from your hometown and to a new statesounds scary to most kids, and for Audrey, making ahome in Texas was the last thing she wanted to do -especially before her senior year of high school. “When I found out we were moving, I didn’t talk tomy family and I was really angry,” Malone said. “I al-most stayed with my aunt so I could stay in Nebraska,

but I decided that being with family was the most im-portant thing. I realized that I only have so much time

with them before college.” The day after she moved to her new home, Malone

was expected to attend volleyball conditioning. “At rst I refused to go to practice, but my parentsmade me,” Malone said. “I arrived one night aroundten and then the next day I had to go to volleyball con-ditioning. Talk about awkward and scary.” The rst time volleyball coach Caroline Simpsonsaw Malone, she had a good feeling about her athleti-cism simply based on her physique. “I was very excited when I saw her - I knew that she

was probably going to be an asset to our team, and she

was,” Simpson said. Despite Malone’s dread for the rst day of condi-tioning, she felt welcomed and even became comfort-able with her new teammates.

“It became easier once I got to practice becausethe girls were so nice and some of the them took meout for snow cones,” Malone said. “We’ve been goodfriends ever since.”

Malone’s volleyball teammates put themselves inher place as a senior in an entirely new school, andsenior Jessica Pfeffer did her best to make Malone feelas welcome as possible.

“I could tell that we were similar,” Pfeffer said. “Iknew that if I were in her position I would be freakingout, and that just made me want to try and make herto feel comfortable.” Besides feeling nervous about her rst day at vol-leyball conditioning, Malone couldn’t help but be wor-ried about her rst day of school itself.

“The rst day of school was nerve racking,” Malonesaid, “and the volleyball players said hi when they sawme and that made it easier.” Malone moved from a signicantly smaller schoolin the town of Geneva, Nebraska home to only 2,226.Back in Geneva, Malone was involved in volleyball,

basketball, and track and was a varsity player for allthree sports here as well. “Small town you do all sports, even if you hated asport, you did it for your teammates,” Malone said.“Even if you weren’t the best, you got better for yourteammates.” Moving to Texas forced Malone to leave her old

friends and teammates that she’s known back since

pre-school. Malone said that the connection and bonds she made with these friends on and off thecourt made them heavily depend on each other. “Growing up we would get together and just playand run, or shoot hoops,” Malone said. “We’ve beendoing it since we were little - we would do anything foreach other.” Aside from growing up with athletes her age,Malone’s love for sports was also inuenced by herfamily: her father played football for Nebraska and

won the National Championship, her mother partici-pated in track in college and was a heptathlete, along

with Malone’s sister who won the Big 10 Conference inthe javelin throw as a sophomore. “I originally planned on following in my familiesfootsteps and going to the University of Nebraska, butout of state tuition is really expensive,” Malone said.“One of the coaches from Nebraska also moved hereand started recruiting me to do track at A&M, so I amgoing to attend A&M next year.” Ultimately, Malone said moving to Texas wasn’t as

bad as she expected, as she plans to continue on as anathlete. Aside from her future plans, her friends havesupported her throughout her high school career. “Friends, God, and family denitely helped me themost throughout high school,” Malone said. “Friendsare the big kicker though. I have the best group offriends back in Nebraska; we’ve been through every-thing together and are still closer than ever. I’ve alsomade some amazing friends here too. Without them I

wouldn’t be enjoying my senior year.”

Senior enjoys last year of high school at Bryan HighMaking the most of a move

...continued from page 6

“I’ve had to mature a lot even thoughI’m only eighteen years old,” Martinezsaid. “I feel like I’d naturally have beenin that more mature mindset if I wouldhave waited until I was a little bit older

before having a child.” Having to focus on school and her

baby as well as having to pick up a part-time job to support her new life can bea bit stressful, but Martinez is doing hermotherly duties to provide for herself

and her daughter. During school hours she can’t bringher daughter with her, so she has tond a good daycare within her budget. “I guess they don't build child care

around a teen mom’s budget because

they don't expect teen moms to bringtheir kids there,” Martinez said. “It’s ex-tremely expensive, but with the help ofCCMS (Chile Chare Management Ser-

vices), I've been able to pay for it.” The future is always something to

worry about, and for Martinez, this isespecially true.

“I know now nothing in life is goingto be easy, so I plan to face obstacles,”Martinez said. “As a teen mom, I take

everything as a learning experience and will do so with the next storm coming.” Martinez has to prepare for manythings now. There will be many offen-sive comments, many tears shed, but

also so much love. For now, though ,she

is just enjoying the little things from her baby girl. “The rst time she laughed at fourmonths old was a big moment for me,”Martinez said.

That moment was something that she will never forget, and will always tell asa story to her daughter even if she is agrown woman, or to embarrass her infront of her friends as a teenager. Ev-ery child needs a good role model in

their life, so Martinez plans on nishingschool and continuing her education. “I want to go to college and get myBSN (bachelor of science in nutrition),and hopefully specializing in oncology

with kids,” Martinez said.

Together, Martinez and her child arestarting a new life and are setting out ontheir future together.

Being a mom is difcult, but beinga rst-time mom when you’re still so

young yourself is even more difcult.Martinez got the biggest dose of the real

world, but through hard work and de-termination she is doing her best. “Grow back bone, and don't listen to

what anyone says, it doesn’t matter any-

more.” Martinez said. “This was yourchoice, a consequence of your own ac-tions. So you live up to the hard work,and it’s worth it in the end.”

Persevering through challenges, gaining strength


8/15

Jesse Baxter Assistant editor Frozen, the recent hit movie released by Disney,enthralled millions with its tale of t wo sisters, betray-al, and ice magic. Overall, I think Frozen is a decentmovie with a few aws, however, the public’s reactionto it is unreasonable. To me it seems that many lovethe movie to a point of reverence, exemplied by how Frozen remained in theaters for months, while thetypical movie stays in theaters six to eight weeks. While Frozen’s storyline was based off of “The SnowQueen”, a 1845 story written by Hans Christian An-dersen, Disney altered the plot severely. I think that

both stories are good, however I would have liked it ifthey had kept true to the plot of “The Snow Queen”.

Frozen is a good story, but is geared more towardschildren, and I would have liked to see somethinga little darker. In “The Snow Queen”, a boy has hisheart frozen and sees only the bad traits in people because dust from a destroyed demon mirror gotin his eye. The Snow Queen takes him, and the girlnext door tries to nd him and bring him home. Toreach him, the girl overcomes many challenges suchas being captured by thieves and escaping, eventually

making it to the Snow Queen’s palace and nds the boy.

This story would have been good without many al-terations, such as Frozen’s snow queen, Elsa, beinggood compared to the original. Overall, I would have just liked to see “The Snow Queen” more than Fro- zen, although both stories are well written. Another critique about Frozen is that its plot is verysimilar to Tangled’s and the stories share many par-allels. For example, both Rapunzel and Anna are iso-lated for most of their lives and want to get out andmeet people and see the world, both are helped bymen whom they made bargains with, and both use a

domestic mammal for transportation – in Frozen itis Sven the reindeer and in Tangled it is Maximus thehorse.

Even the conclusions of both movies mirror eachother, ending with betrayal and the death and resur-rection of a character. The plots are very similar, and whether this was intentional or not, I wish that Dis-ney was a little more original and didn’t simply makea chilly derivative of Tangled . With this being said, the one thing that particularlystuck out to me in Frozen was the music. Idina Men-

zel, the voice of Elsa, has a great voice, and it reallyshowed in Frozen as she brought life to the songs andcharacters. The band was great as well and I reallyenjoyed their playing and background music. The animation was also good, except for a fewglitches such as Elsa’s hair clipping through her armin the song “Let it Go”. However, an entire program was created just for Elsa’s hair animation, whichagain was a minuscule detail, but all of these smallthings added up to a having great animation.

I especially liked how they animated Elsa’s magic;it was well done and made the movie shine from ananimation standpoint. Creating a program to make

each snowake be unique showed great attention todetail.

I enjoyed Frozen, however I would like to haveseen more plot variation from Tangled , and I thinkthat it should have been closer to “The Snow Queen”.Don’t get me wrong, it was a good story, just a littleoverused. The animation and sound effects were ex -cellent, and the lm was well done from a technicalstandpoint. With this in mind I would recommend watching Frozen once or twice, but leaving it at thatand not obsessing over it.

Let it go, let it go, I can’t hear it one more time Natalie FisherGuest writer With a domestic gross of $397,171,000and a worldwide gross of $1,032,278,000,the latest Disney animated movie Frozenhas dominated the box ofces since itsNovember 27 release.

Personally, I found Frozen to live up toall of my expectations as to what a trueDisney movie should be. Frozen has be-come a giant success for the Walt Disney

Animation Studios and critics believeDisney may be entering its second renais-sance.

I found Frozen to be a very entertain-ing and original movie about the impor-tance of familial bonds and being your-

self. The story started out as a retellingof the Hans Christian Andersen tale “TheSnow Queen”, but after writers had dif -culty creating an engaging story, the lmchanged directions and merely took inspi-ration from the tale.

This isn’t to say that there isn’t muchconnection to the Hans Christian Ander-sen’s story though.

The trolls from the original story werekept in the lm as well as the names –

Hans, Kristoff, Anna and Sven – which were chosen as a playoff on Hans Chris-tian Andersen’s name.

The character Olaf was inspired by an-other tale written by Hans Christian An -dersen about a snowman who fell in love

with a stove. While some complain of small anima-tion errors in the lm, overall the anima-tion was impeccable.

The error with Elsa’s hair during the“Let it Go” sequence was done on pur-pose to prevent the insanely complex rigfrom collapsing due to the limitations ofmodern technology. Despi te criticism themovie is technically complex demonstrat-ed by the section of the song “Let it Go”

where Elsa walks to her balcony while sheis changing her costumes consisted of 218frames, with each frame taking more than132 hours to render digitally. While some say Frozen is very similar toTangled because of the style of animation,it is important to understand that just be-cause the same people animated two dif -ferent movies, doesn’t mean they are thesame. It’s the same as an actor being intwo different movies.

WhileTangled is focused more on mak -ing your own decisions and the romance

between Flynn Rider and Rapunzel, Fro- zen is centered on the importance of fam -ily and being yourself, with Elsa and Annaas amazing role models to children, teens,and adults.

Elsa also represents a new type of Dis -ney princess who is not perfect and hasmany faults, thus showing audiences thateven Disney princesses aren’t perfect. Theexcellent characters are only developedmore by amazing music. The music for Frozen sets the tone forthe entire lm. From the opening song“Vuelie”, I knew the movie was going to befantastic.

The song “Do You Want to Build aSnowman?” had half of the audience intears, while the song “In Summer” madeus all laugh.

Co-Director Chris Buck commented toEntertainment Weekly that “Tangled wasa movie with music. I am hoping the audi-ence is still there for a great musical… If

we make a great movie with great songs,the audience will enjoy it no matter whatthey call it.”

Frozen marks the beginning of a new erafor Disney with the movie quickly surpass-ing The Lion King to become the highest-grossing Disney-produced animated lmof all time. Frozen has a chance to bringDisney out of its blockbuster slump that

was created by ops such as Chicken Littleand into its second great renaissance.

Frozen is the most progressive movieDisney has ever produced and is a moviefull of characters that will be known andadmired forever by children, teens, andadults everywhere.

The inspiring story of Elsa and her lit-tle sister, Anna tells us the importance offamily and the importance of being your-self.

This blockbuster movie has a specialplace in my heart and in many other peo -ple’s hearts. Frozen will bring Disney backto the glory days of movies such as The

Lion King and The Little Mermaid .I think Frozen is a great movie for the

current time and the animation is phe-nomenal, and I strongly recommend see-ing the movie, because, no matter who

you are, it will bring a smile to your face.

Frozen brings Disney into second renaissance

What’s your favorite Disney movie?

Page 8 - Disney Disney - Page 9

Frozen frenzy fosters annoyance, irritation from Disney franchise

Who is your favorite Disneycharacter?

If you could pickany Disney cartoon

to have a sequelwhat would it be?

“ Frozen, because the rstmovie was amazing.”Jasmine Sanchez, 10

“ Brave, because the maincharacter shows that girlsdon’t have to be girly.”Kaitlyn Brock, 11

“Peter Pan, becausehe’s swaggy.”

Bridget Craig, 10

“Maximus, because he’ssuper cool.”

Mary Kate Walker, 11

“Gus Gus from Cinderella, because he’s cute and has a

French accent.”Lorena Ibarra, 10

“Tiana, because she workedfor what she wanted.”Maegan Regmunt, 11

Other 30%

Frozen 18%

Lion King 18%

Aladdin 10%

Mulan 10%

Beauty & the Beast 8%

Little Mermaid 6%

100 students surveyed


9/15

Page 10 - Opinion

Justin Sanders Photography editor Burgers: about the most

American a food can get.Something so easy to makeand yet when prepared cor-rectly can become the bestthing you have ever eaten. I

was on a mission to nd the best burger in the Bryan/College Station area, and Iam glad to report that I havefound a winner. The places I picked as my

top ve burger places intown are Koppe Bridge, Har- vey Washbangers, The FeedBarn, Burger House andChicken Oil Co. All burgers

were judged on the follow-ing criteria: quality of bun,

juiciness, taste, french fries, value and atmosphere of therestaurant.

The perfect burger for meis one that is juicy but not

dripping with grease, I pre-fer a thinner patty, and bunslightly grilled with crispy let-tuce, onion and, of course,cheese. As for french fries,I like them to have a crispyoutside with a soft and deli-cious middle with a side ofketchup to dip them in. The burger that came inlast would be from Har-

vey Washbangers. While itmight be the place for weirdand exotic burgers, like aFrito Pie Burger and a Cho-rizo Burger, I found theiroriginal cheeseburger to betoo plain. It may have been

because their original burgerisn’t their best, but for methe place did not live up toits hype. The patty itself wasdry, and the bun seemed to

come from the HEB rightnext door. Koppe Bridge came in sec-ond to last. I l iked nearly ev-erything about the burger,

but two things bothered me.First, the burger was just toogreasy and I was left with a

soggy bun and wet hands.Second, while some peoplemay like their fries extracrispy, I think Koppe Bridgemight have left them in thefryer overnight which re-sulted in greasy, burnt fries.However, I did appreciatethe size of the burger andthe amount of fries I wasgiven. Koppe Bridge also has

many other great appetizersand entrees, like the TexasToothpicks, which are fried

jalapenos and onions. Coming in third wasChicken Oil Co.’s burger.The restaurant has beenaround since 1977 and hashad time to perfect its recipe

while adding on to the inter-esting sign collection thatdecorates the restaurant

interior. My one complaint was the size of the burger;it seemed on the small sideand I left a little hungry. The Feed Barn and BurgerHouse nearly tied for rst.The Feed Barn will take sec-ond because the burger wasexcellent and I had nothingto complain about, but thedeciding factor came downto a few differences that putBurger House on top. At theFeed Barn there are old signsand collectables all over the

wall, which is cool – if youcould see them because theonly available light comesfrom a few neon signs. Also,

when ordering, everything isindividually priced, so if you

want fries with your burger you have to order that and

then purchase a drink, whichseemed to make things moreexpensive. With Burger House beingcrowned the Best Burger in

town by yours truly, I havea few reasons to justify thistitle. When you walk into the

restaurant, you don’t expectmuch – in fact the rst timeI went about ve years ago,I wondered if the place waseven open.

Upon opening the door you are greeted by some ofthe nicest workers in town.Their menu is great becausethey have a little bit of every-thing to satisfy your hunger,

and since the place is owned by orientals there are a fewunique options, like the Ko-rean burger which comes

with a special sauce.If you are like me and just

opt for the original, before2p.m you can get a burger

with cheese, french fries anda drink for just $6.50. Oneawesome aspect to BurgerHouse is that you can put

your own toppings on your burger, so you can add asmuch mustard or mayo as

you want and put just aboutany vegetable that belongson a burger onto yours. Also, one of the highlightsto this joint is their buns, be-cause they are lightly toastedon the grill and the rst bite

just makes your mouth wa-ter for more. Accompanyingthis burger from heaven isa side of french fries whichare fried to perfection andthen seasoned with some-thing special that takes themabove and beyond. Burger House is denitelynot a well-known restaurantin town and most people

will probably wonder whyI picked it as the best. But

trust me, if you go there, it will become your favorite burger place in town. Thatis, unless you don’t havetaste buds.

Food from heavenFinding best burger in town

Mikey Wolff Staff writer Chicken tenders here, chickentenders there, chicken tendersare everywhere. Lately, chickentenders have become increas-

ingly popular in various fastfood and sit down restaurants.

It’s the new food fad. Severalrestaurants around town servestrictly tenders, or at least that’sthe main item advertised ontheir menus.

Anytime I go into a restau-rant, the rst thing I ask the

waitress is if they serve chickentenders. If they do, I know what

I’m going to be eating that day.In order for tenders to havea consistently good taste, theyneed to have a crunchy outside,

but be moist and juicy on theinside. It’s kind of like science,trying to get the perfect ratio ofculinary details to get that per-fect tender taste.

When ordering a basket oftenders, the rst question asked

by the waitress or cashier usu-

ally pertains to a dipping sauce.Ranch tends to be the most

popular option, but if someone wants to be a bit more daringand get the true tender experi-ence should at least try them

without sauce too.On my search for the best ten-

ders in town, I went to Cane’s,Layne’s, and Wings ‘N’ More be-cause they are the most popularplaces around here and every-one talks of their tenders as ifthey come from a mystical ha-

ven. My favorite tenders wouldhave to be from Layne’s. Their

tenders are more crunchy, yetstill had that juicy taste. SinceLayne’s is a hometown busi-ness, they take time to maketheir food and have the classictaste that I was looking for.

Cane’s, on the other hand, of-fers “the box”, which is a taste-ful gathering of four chickentenders offered with the amaz-ing sauce only Cane’s offers. The Cane’s sauce is sweet witha little kick and are the deni-tion of perfection, but the ten-ders aren’t as well made as theyare at Layne’s.

While Wings ‘N’ More offers

four or six tenders in a basketand when they have that crunchthat I like and are complement-ed by the curly fries.

While being healthy is a goodthing going vegetarian or always

watching what you eat can be adrag because you might not getto indulge yourself in some ofthe best food creations.

Fast food is never the bestthing to put in your body, and

while tenders are a good sourceof protein, they contain a lot ofsodium. and can have adverseeffects on your waistline Next time you go out to eat

with your friends or family,resist the urge to order somemeasly hamburger or steak, in-stead treat yourself to some nicechicken tenders. Whether it befrom Layne’s , Cane’s, or Wings‘N’ More, make sure to treat

yourself to some nice, warm,mouthwatering chicken tendersto satisfy your taste buds.

Tenders vary, but always stay tastyFeelin’ Chicken


10/15

Opinion - Page 11

Teenagers, like adults, get stressedevery now and then. But just howstressed is our generation? Recentstudies show that about a quarter ofteens experience “extreme stress”. Infact, the American Psychological As-sociation determined through a sur-

vey that teens in the U.S. are gener-ally experiencing higher stress levelsthan adults. What exactly are teenagers sostressed about anyway? Frankly, thelist could go on forever, but most ofus would say – and would be backed

by recent research – that the moststressful factor in the lives of teenag-ers is school. A multitude of students are heavilyinvolved in extracurricular activities,and are trying their hardest to keeptheir GPA up. On top of that mostfeel pressure from their parents tosucceed in everything they do. Evenif students are not in a lot of extra-curricular activities, the ones takinghigher-level classes and who are look-ing to go to a prestigious universitytake schoolwork extremely seriously. Aside from school, teens face ob-stacles which include insecurities,

relationships, hormonal changes,trouble at home, nancial stress, etc.

Add these problems with the stressfrom school, and what do you get? Astrenuous, unhealthy lifestyle. Too much stress can result in badeating habits, lack of sleep, head-aches, and additionally messes withmental health, causing irritability,discouragement, overwhelment, anx-iety, and even depression. Most teens don’t cope with stress

very well. Some may turn to drugor alcohol abuse and eventually be-

gin to neglect their responsibilities, while others will ignore their stressand overwork themselves until theyeventually have a melt down. Every-one has their own way of dealing withstress, but there are healthier alterna-tives than the aforementioned. For one, obtaining a regular,healthy eating schedule and exercis-ing helps keep hormonal levels morestable and gives you more energy.Simply eating three meals a day andgoing on an evening walk can help

you feel more balanced.If you feel like you’re starting to

have a panic attack, focus on breath-

ing and remind yourself that ulti-mately, what you’re worried about inthat moment probably won’t matterin the long run. Relaxation exercisessuch as yoga and meditation are alsogood ways to help you stay calm inthose stressful situations. Talk about your stress. Whether it

be with friends, parents, or any oth-er trusted adult, informing someoneabout what’s going on in your lifecan take a huge weight off of yourshoulders and helps you feel lessalone.

If you feel like you need to, talk to your parents about possibly seeinga therapist for a while; remember,

just because you talk to a counsel-or doesn’tmean there’sa n y t h i n g

wrong with you. Try solv-ing problemsrather thani g n o r i n gthem. Stayo r ga n i z e d ,try to work

on those rocky relationships whichare commonly experienced in teen-age years, and face other obstaclesas they come. Ignoring problems willonly build on your stress. Keep positive thoughts and inu-ences in your life. If possible, cut outsome of the activities that cause themost stress if those activities are notgoing to benet you in the future. Fill

your life with people who will encour-age you rather than make you feel

bad about yourself. And, most impor-tantly, remind yourself daily that you

are good enough and that whatever you’re stressed about now will soon be resolved. Ultimately, remember that the

amount of stress you experi-ence now is mostly up to you.Sure, a certain amount of stress

will always be associated withlife – whether you’re young orold – but it is completely upto the individual to keep thatstress under control.

Easy solutions to keeping strain under controlTeens more stressed than ever

Emily Nash, 12

Where do you eat your chicken?

Wings ‘N’ More 35%

Laynes 30%

Canes 20%

Other 15%


What-A-Burger 32%

Grub 18%

Jack-in-the-Box 12%

Other 38%


Where do you eat your burger?


11/15

Page 12 - Opinions

App urges character, creativity, collaborationTwo hours of consecutive six-second

videos. How tedious does that sound? You begin to ask yourself, “what amI donig?” It was just 11 o’clock, howis it already two in the morning? No

way have I been staring at a screen forhours at a time. In this day and age

however, technology has the power todo exactly that, and I too have fallen victim. Our generation has become a slaveto the latest apps. We challenge ourmental sanity with Flappy Bird, weseek attention in the “Hot or Not” app,and we become professional photog-raphers with Instagram. However,there’s one app that has changed ourgeneration forever, an app so simple

yet so great: the epidemic of Vine.

Most adults see it as just anotherpointless app that’s rotting teenagers’sanity, but what they don’t realize isthat this app has brought many of peo-ple together through comedy, romance,

and music. Snoop Dogg, Kreayshawn,Mac Miller, and Lucy Hale are some ofthe many celebrities who have caughtonto this trend. On top of that, I thinkI speak for all the adolescent teenagegirls of my generation when I say thatactor and heartthrob Josh Peck’s posts

keep me glued to the screen. These ce-lebrities are few of the many sharingevery detail of their personal lives in 6seconds, and boy do we love it. Vine is a hit sensation that has takenover the country, and it’s not wise todoubt it’s power. YouTube is a greatsource for videos, but the reality isthat our attention spans have lessenedgreatly over the years, and the creatorof Vine has used this realization to cre-ate brilliance. Every video is straight

to the point and clear. If it’s funny youlaugh, if it’s romantic, you swoon, andif it’s good music, you jam.

The simplicity of the app is amazing, with only an email and a recent picture

required to start the journey throughthe mind jungle of Vine. In no way am Italented enough to become a sensationon Vine, but after having the app forabout a year and a half my page is lled

with the re-vines of the hilarious Ice-JJFish and the love birds Roro&Sophy.

Or when I need a pick me up, I let ToriKelly sing my problems away.Not only is Vine a place for celebri-

ties, it’s became a gateway for upcom-ing talent to benoticed. Know-ing I am oneconnection inthe vast web toget future tal-ent prospectsnoticed with

just a simpletouch of mycell phone isastonishing.

One of my

personal favorite artists, SoMo, who is just beginning to gain fame on the ra-dio with his hit songs ‘Ride’ and ‘ShowOff,’ all thanks to his jump start from

Vine. He started making six secondcovers to his favorite songs, then fulllength covers on YouTube. He took my

breath away along with the rest of the youth of America. When he was nallynoticed, his career took off and it allstarted on this simple, free app.

Some Vines make us laugh,others make us cry, and someeven open our eyes to a new

world. No matter the Vine, aslong as it’s entertaining, we’rerefreshing that home screen. Sostop what you’re doing and “do itfor the Vine!”

Gabby Martinez, 12

Do it for the Vine

If one thing is certain, it’s that there needs to be ainstruction manual for incoming high-school fresh-

man – how to do this, when to do that, what’s im-portant and what’s not going to matter in ten years– because we all know that it would save everyone a

whole lot of time and effort. Unfortunately though,there isn’t. Kids are left to learn manual-worthy les-sons on their own; some lessons are learned by ex-perience, some by association, and some simply byobservance. Over the course of four years, high school can llthat theoretical manual pretty full, but perhaps themost important lesson one could learn from thatmanual may not be realized until late in the high-

school career, or even afterward: to not let highschool be the center of the universe. High school may seem like the most importantthing in the world on a daily basis; we’re all guiltyof placing too much focus on clothes, hair, friends,material possessions – heck, even things as trivial astrying not to make a fool out of ourselves while walk-ing down the hallway. If a fellow student so muchas gives a funny glance in our direction, self-esteempoints become incredibly vulnerable. If we do some-thing noticeable by more than a single person to em-

barrass ourselves, well, that’s a whole new level ofhumiliation.

But, in the midst of all the worrying, let’s not forget what echoes from parents whenever the high-schoolreunion years come around: they’ve lost touch withmost, if not all, of those people. It may be crushing,

but all of us will eventually have careers, and in mostcases, no connection with the people we thought we

were inseparable from in high school. Though it’s a sad truth, that realization can actu-ally allow a person to explore his or her surround-ings and interests without worry about the thoughtsor opinions of others. To put it simply, anyone cangain the ability to be different if he or she

so chooses. If motorsports is a passion of yours and everyone calls you a redneck,don’t take it the judgements so seriously. Be different; do things that you enjoyeven if others don’t consider those activ-ities to be the norm. Go to an event thatinterests you rather than a party, even if

you get told how out of the loop you are.The point is, what does it really matteranyway? The world is much more vastthan the high-school universe, so go out

and explore it for yourself. If tting in with the crowd is your thing, go for it.

But give other things a try, because one day, par-ties and spur-of-the-moment decisions probably won’t be everyday, realistic options for most of us.Find your passions – not the passions of your friendgroup or your romantic interest – so that you may beable to chase those passions and potentially make acareer of them. Most importantly, don’t let your high-school years

become your legacy. If you’re banking on attendanceat a popular event or material possessions to deter-mine your popularity or success, life will deliver a

wake-up call at some point. Life

goes on after age eighteen, andthere are many more years leftto live after receiving a diploma;

build up to a legacy rather thanpeaking in high school – it couldprevent a fairly anticlimactic life.

Alanis King, 12

High school should be stepping stone in life, not claim to fameShort-lived stage


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Opinions - Page 13

“Friend”: A common concept that people recognizeall around the world. A word that can be sincere or justroutinely spoken, a word that can hold meaning or becompletely hollow inside, a word that I had placed onso many people without truly knowing what it stood

for, but now all that it stands for couldn’t be any clear-er. The person who holds this prestigious title not onlyhas the word ‘friend’ by her name, but ‘best’ in front ofit.

To me, a friend meant someone I’d smile to as wepassed one another in the hallway, and we’d crack jokes every now and then at the lunch table. SomeoneI’d call and ask if there was any homework due the nextday, and who I’d text because nothing else seemed tointerest me. Someone I could be myself around, but yethave to hide who I really was. Even though this person was my friend that met all these requirements, I felt

scared of being judged if I let them see deeper than thefake smile upon my face. But this is no friend, right?There has to be more than this, though I never thoughtit to be true. That is, until I met my true best friend.

There aren’t too many people out there who can hon-estly say a friend of theirs has truly impacted their life,

so I guess I’m fairly lucky to be one of the few who can.In more ways than one, has she made a difference inthis lonely life I had been living.

I met her as a sixteen year old girl who thought all we shared in common was a last name. I don’t quite

remember how our introductions and the let’s-break-the-ice conversation began, but I am beyond gratefulthat it did happen. Who would’ve thought that we’dhave more similarities than the last name Garcia? Isure didn’t.

Having her in my life has changed me as a person,as dramatic as that sounds. She’s showedme that honest, caring people really doexist, and what true strength is time andtime again. She’s helped me feel my high-est when moments before I had fallen tomy lowest. She’s given more meaning to

the word friendship than anyone ever has,and eventually has become a sister whoI’ve never really gotten to have. My listcould go on and on, but most importantly,she’s shone a light on what I had alwaysthought to be a cold, dark world, and has

made me feel less alone in it.No matter what kinds of relationships people are

lucky enough to have in this world, I think when wend someone we can be wholeheartedly ourselves with,the simple things become much more special. The rain

falling seems more refreshing. The sun shining feelsmuch warmer. Conversations in school hallways be-come more sacred. Text messages become more thanthe average, ‘hey, what’s up?.’ Hugs tend to be heldmuch longer. And life turns out to be much more worthliving.

I know that our friendship isn’t just some friendship that will onlylast during high school and wetear off our matching BFF brace-lets later. It’s so much greater. Sotell me, what does the word friend,

mean to you? I ask not because Istill don’t know- but because I -nally know the answer.

Erin Garcia, 11

Finding true meaning of friendship through everlasting relationship

Lessons learned, memories made, friendships formed in room 6160 High school, day one: lost, shy, and

scared. My rst class on that day wasJournalism – Newspaper with RebeccaDominy in room 6160. A series of ques-tions ran through my head as 8:25 a.m.came closer and closer by the minute: where is room 6160? I knew the class would be lled with upperclassmen – what if they think I’m weird? I beganto panic. My hands broke into a sweat.Freshmen-year Emily was not excitedabout beginning high school. Not one bit. But, instead of being unwelcome to the

class as I was expecting, I was greeted with amicable faces sitting around thetable closest to the advisor, Mrs. Domi-ny. I took a seat, and she began class by walking into the closet and pulling out ahoe – yes, you read that correctly: an old,dirty garden hoe. As she held the hoe,she explained the classroom rules, themost important one being no poopingin the class restroom – however, vomit-ing was allowed. She then proceeded tointroduce us to a lifesize cardboard cut-out of Legolas, a character from Lord ofthe Rings, which we later placed in the window to scare everyone who walked by outside (even though it’s been four years, it still scares me to this very day.)

So began my adventures in room

6160. I became an assistant editor mysophomore year, moved on to being aco-editor my junior year, and am noweditor-in-chief. But having the title ofeditor doesn’t even begin to compare tothe awesome memories I’ve made: howMindy the Stapler got her name, makinga human-sized turtle shell out of a box,having a turtle pillow pet named Phrank-lin as a our mascot, class photoshoots,spending the day at Baylor for UIL re-gionals, the number of names Mrs.

Dominy responds to (Mrs. D, Dombles,Dominini, Dominidore, Dominator, andmy favorite, Doms) and participating inthe Norseman Olympics. The number ofawesome stories I have are endless, andI reminiscence with a sigh. But Journalism hasn’t just been all funand games. By my sophomore year, I be-came much more condent. Not only didmy writing skills improve signicantly, but my general self esteem took a leap in just one year – and it was all thanks torelationships I built in newspaper. Fromthe upperclassmen who warned me ofthe grand obstacles I would encounterthroughout high school to the friends who endured a number of those dilem-

mas with me, and going to Mrs. Dominy

with every single one of those troubles, years worth of our tears of grief – and,of course, laughter – are soaked into thecarpet of room 6160. High school, day ~ 700: mature (well,at least more so than freshmen year),condent, and ready for anything thatcomes my way. While I wish I couldtake the entire newspaper staff with meto the University of Texas next year, Iknow that this is, sadly, impossible. ButI will always think of my peers with grat-

itude and I will keep these memories inmy pocket to pull out when I’m old andlonging for a taste of my youth again. So, this being my last article, here’sto the Norseman Staff: you’ve pushedthrough heart-ache, tough de-cisions, stress-ful schoolwork,and an unlim-ited number ofother problems,and because ofthat, you’vegrown withme spiritual-ly and men-

tally; I couldn’t have made it through

high school without you. Thank youfor making me laugh when my teenagegirl hormones were out of control, andthank you for being loving and loyalfriends. And of course, here’s to Doms: myteacher, my counselor, and my friend. You’ve helped me tear down walls I wasscared to let people break through, andI am eternally grateful. I know that I canspeak for the rest of the staff in sayingthat you’ve made a huge impact on our

lives in more ways than one – I can’teven begin to thank you enough for be-ing the best and most totally awesometeacher in the world. To the rest of you seniors, I hope

you’ve had a similar experienceto the one I’ve been lucky enoughto have with the Norseman staffthroughout high school. While Ihope I make new friends next year whom I grow to love and trust, I’llnever forget my old friends – myNorseturtle family.

Emily Nash, 12

My journalism experience


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Page 14 - Entertainment

Andrea Mendes Associate editor While most of us know Netix for it’s endless sup-ply of movies, the on-demand media provider is nowadding successful television series provider to its re-sume with the release of hit T.V. show, Orange is the

New Black.Loosely based off the novel of the same name, the

show chronicles the conviction of Piper Chapman,a young upper middle class woman. Piper, whocomes from a well established Boston family and de-gree from Smith college, engages in a relationship

with Alex Vause and subsequently engages in illegal

money laundering. After a series of dangerous runins and worldwide excursions, Piper runs away from

Alex and returns to a normal quiet life. Fast forward a couple years and Piper is living inNew York with boyfriend Larry when her wild ado-lescence and the FBI catch up with her. Piper is thenforced to serve 15 months in a minimum security

women penitentiary. The show focuses largely onPiper’s life in prison as she experiences everythingfrom the mundane day to day prison routine to try -ing her best to survive. Perhaps the biggest plot twistin the entire season is when Piper realizes that Alex,

her ex lover, is also in prison with her. As tensionsin prison grow high, Piper is tempted by her old lov -

er, while Larry waits on the outside for her. Pipersoon nds herself in a love triangle that doesn’t lookto have too good of an ending. Although the plotseemed like a bit of a stretch at this point, the humorand scandal kept it moving along, and I found my -self enjoying every scene. My only complaint is thatPiper is a bit whiny throughout the season, but I’massuming that was incidental, as she is portrayed asa stereotypical upper-middle class person.

Along with Piper’s story, the show includes sub-plots in the form of ashbacks to articulate to theaudience Piper’s other inmates’ stories. ThroughPiper’s ashbacks, we gain a greater sense of under-

standing of her and Alex’s relationship, and the driv -ing force for their attraction.

Additionally, sub-plots are used generouslythroughout the season, and work to keep the plotmoving, and develop the story as the audiencegains inside to inmates personal lives. The writingand incorporation of scenes is done awlessly andthe show continues to use dark humor throughout.Some of my favorite ashback stories center aroundcharacters Red and Sophie. Red, who is convicted ofmob activity, shows a tough and resilient exterior,as she runs the head of the prison kitchen. Although

intimidating, through ashbacks the audience isable to closely relate to her on a more personal lev -

el, nding her to be a motherly gure. In contrast,Sophie is less scary than Red, but packs a powerfulpunch with her story. Sophie, who is a transgen-der, is denied her medication during her stay at thecorrectional facility. Again through ashbacks, theaudience is able to understand the stresses Sophieexperienced in her journey through life.

Overall, the rst season was a success. Since itsrelease, the show has appealed to a multitude ofpeople, and best serves those who are looking forsomething easy to watch that will give them a goodlaugh. Orange is the New Black differs from othershows in that, although is has a main plot, the show

seems unimaginable without the sub plots. Thecharacters lend themselves to be easily likable, andquickly hook the audiences attention. The show isconstantly lled with rising actions and climax’s andnearing the end of the rst season you’ll nd that theplot escalates very quickly and leads into an ambigu-ous ending.

The show, like any successful one, keeps the audi-ence watching episode after episode. Luckily, Netixreleases their television series’ in bulk, so watchingthe entire season in one day is doable. And if youhaven’t watched Orange is the New Black, I suggest

you catch up soon on the Netix original before theJune 6 premiere of season two.

Orange goes with everythingNetix original series explores prison life for women

Kyle Alfaro Staff writer As a kid, all I used to sing was,“Spiderman, Spiderman, does whatever a Spiderman can.” I still sing it today. I’ve been a Spi-

derman fan since I was a kid, andmy mom has tons of pictures of medressed up in Spiderman costumes.Consequently I was very excited forthe new movie, The Amazing Spi-derman 2, the sequel to the 2012film, The Amazing Spiderman. Directed by Marc Webb, who di-rected the prequel to this movie,perfects this movie with his twistedand thrilling scenes. Starring as Pe-

ter Parker/Spiderman, is british ac-

tor Andrew Garfield. Garfield playsa fantastic r Parker, as he makes witty jokes with or about the crimi-

nals and whips his enemies likecream. Starring as Parker’s highschool love, Gwen Stacy, is EmmaStone. Even though I don’t like thatshe has to dye her hair to look likeGwen Stacy from the comic books,

her beauty and personality suitsStacey’s character just fine. The two villains are Electro played by Ja-mie Foxx, and the Green Goblin isplayed by Dane DeHaan. In the very first movie, The Amaz-ing Spiderman, Peter Parker is just your regular kid who takes a fieldtrip to OsCorp and gets bit by a ra-dioactive Black Widow. He then be-gins to see that he is gaining spider

capabilities such as climbing wallsand shooting webs. He also meetshis high school love, Gwen, who’sthe daughter of a police officer in

the city. Her father finds RichardParker (Who is Peter Parker’s fa-ther), studying about lizards, spi-ders, and more creatures, and wantsto turn himself to a superhumanlizard, and does so in an attempt

to take over New York City. In theend, Spiderman defeats the lizard-like monster, and before the villaindies, he tells Spiderman, “Whatever

you do, keep Gwen out of your adventures.” If you’re looking for an actionpacked movie right off the bat, The Amazing Spiderman 2 is a mov -ie for you. In the very first scene,Spiderman is trying to beat three

criminals who are trying to stealchemicals from the OsCorp build-ing. Another positive aspect of themovie is all of the jokes Spiderman

makes, an example is, the very firstscene, when the three criminals aretrying to get away. In this scene,Spiderman pulls up to the driver’s window and makes a few witty jokes, like “Why don’t we pull over,

bad guy, before you get arrested?”,making the criminal very angry with Spiderman. There are many scenes that arelegitimate tear jerkers, like whenParker is trying to find out whathappened to his father, Richard,and when him and his Aunt Mayhave memories of Peter’s deceasedUncle, Ben Parker. While I could goon forever about this movie, I rath-

er you go to your local movie the-

atre and find out why The Amazing Spiderman 2, is amazing.

Spiderman, Spiderman, makes the best movies he possibly can


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Page 16 - Exam Schedule

Kyle Alfaro Jesse Baxter Andrea Mendes Maurissa Ramirez Erin Garcia

Mindy & Mandy Alanis King Rebecca Dominy Justin Sanders Phranklin

Mikey Wolff Regina Flores Emily Nash Gabby Martinez Robert Morgan

The SMH RME 6160 Bunch

Newspaper StaffThe opinions expressed are those of the writers and are not reective of the administrators, faculty or staff of

Bryan Independ

volume 43 number 4

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