Love is in the Simple Things

By Sarah It was a cold winter night in 2021 — one of the final days of my first semester of junior year. The past few months had been entirely virtual, and for my final project for a class, I’d be presenting on the controversial topic of euthanasia through Zoom, which I’d worked on itContinue reading “Love is in the Simple Things”

In a Storm, Be Like a Tree

By Sarah This past week, I glanced out my window to a scene of pouring rain, billowing wind, and a darkened sky. After several weeks of pleasant, sunny weather, we encountered the first real storm of the season. Of course, the rain was welcomed — not only do our plants need the liquid, but IContinue reading “In a Storm, Be Like a Tree”

Anxiety, Avonlea, and Anne: The Disappointment of Regression in “Anne of Green Gables”

By Sarah Exhausted from an afternoon soccer game, fifth-grade me slipped into my bed, trailing my fingers across the spine of the novel my mother had given me: Anne of Green Gables. She’d assured me that it was a classic — a read that was indispensable for a young woman. I remember raising my eyebrows,Continue reading “Anxiety, Avonlea, and Anne: The Disappointment of Regression in “Anne of Green Gables””

Going 20 in a 30 Zone: How I Failed my Driver’s Test (and Learned a Great Deal)

By Sarah “Listen, I would like to be able to pass you,” said the worn-out DMV employee, scribbling on her clipboard. “But you went ten miles per hour under the speed limit. Automatic failure. You didn’t pass.” She stepped out of my car, leaving me with the crushing blow of a failed driver’s test. IContinue reading “Going 20 in a 30 Zone: How I Failed my Driver’s Test (and Learned a Great Deal)”

18 Lessons From 18 Years of Life

By Sarah From a young age, I adored the date of my birthday: November 1st. It’s in the midst of the fall season, when leaves crunch beneath my feet on the walk to school and the weather is crisp enough to light a candle. Also, it’s the start of November: the month of giving thanks.Continue reading “18 Lessons From 18 Years of Life”

Carry On With Compassion: Learning from the Amish Perspective

By Sarah The date was October 2nd, 2006. West Nickel Mines Amish school, a one-room schoolhouse in an Amish community in Pennsylvania, was alive with activity as students filled its interior. At first glance, it was an ordinary Monday, characterized by schooling in reading, writing, and arithmetic. At 10 in the morning, the unthinkable occurred.Continue reading “Carry On With Compassion: Learning from the Amish Perspective”

Senior Season: Entering my Last Year of High School

By Sarah Class of 2022. I looked at the sticker that had been mailed to me, celebrating my start of high school and the class that I was in. It was the fall of 2018, a few days before my first day of freshman year, and I tucked the sticker away, smiling at the factContinue reading “Senior Season: Entering my Last Year of High School”

Day-in-the-Life of a 14-Year-Old (Summer Edition)

By Anna If I could describe my summer of 2021 in one word, it would be consistent. I spent the majority of my summer with the exact same schedule and I got into a groove with the tasks I had to get done and what was next in my day. This might sound strange, sinceContinue reading “Day-in-the-Life of a 14-Year-Old (Summer Edition)”

Unpopular Opinion: Back-to-School Season is the Best

By Anna Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love summer — the break from schoolwork, beach-filled vacations, and endless hangouts with friends are some of my favorite parts of the whole year. However, something is exciting about going back to school.But what is so special about going back to all the homework, tests, and earlyContinue reading “Unpopular Opinion: Back-to-School Season is the Best”

The Butterfly Effect

By Sarah The butterfly effect: the sensitive dependence on initial conditions in which a small change in one state of a deterministic nonlinear system can result in large differences in a later state. Yes, that sounded complicated. In simple terms, the butterfly effect, derived from the work of mathematician and meteorologist Edward Lorenz, is theContinue reading “The Butterfly Effect”