My Sophomore Year By George Mysh

               This has been one of my most interesting years of school so far. So much has happened in such a short amount of time. I made new friends throughout this year, but most importantly I learned many new things. I first came in thinking, "Wow, another year of hell". It was quite different this time except for a few things. Almost all my teachers were phenomenal and I'm not saying this just to suck up to the one that is reading this(Mrs. Kopp), but they all brought their own thing to the table. Mr. Brennan was hands down the funniest teacher I've ever had, but at the same time taught me so much. Mrs. Kopp helped me perfect my works so I could get the grade I wanted and I would choose her class over any other class during the day(Excluding Gym). Mr. Brady was also a character with an outstanding intelligence in chemistry. But enough about my teachers because I want to talk about interesting learning experiences. My essay ability greatly improved this year thanks to Mrs. Kopp and I feel ready to move into AP next year. I basically took two math classes this year since Chemistry and Math are all equations and graphs. History was a train ride this year because what is taking notes if Mr. Brennan isn't making fun of you every day. Russian was just your average language class until Olympiada came around the corner. This was such an interesting event since almost our whole class got to visit a college to get judged for our Russian abilities. I walked out especially happy since I got a gold metal and certificate. There is more to get into about this year, but that would take up a few pages so I made it simple.

Participants of the Russian Olympiada 

All About Caitlin Scarpa

All About Caitlin Scarpa

6 Reasons Why Caitlin Scarpa Hates Summer

By Cynthia Loh

#1 The Beach

When I asked Caitlin Scarpa why she hates the ocean, she replied, "SAND! I HATE SAND. I also hate the ocean, it's terrifying." As a fellow beach hater, I can relate to where Caitlin is coming from. Whenever I go to the beach, sand gets in places where sand shouldn't be. Also, there are showers on the beach to wash the sand off your feet and legs, however, to leave the beach, you need to walk back across sand. It is an endless cycle of sand and water and sand. Another one of Caitlin's many fears is of the ocean. She fears the slimy, disgusting creatures in the sea and you don't know when you're gonna get eaten by a shark. Not to mention, the ocean is filthy, according to Caitlin, "There is an entire island made of garbage in the middle of the ocean."

#2 The Outdoors

If you didn't already know Caitlin is an indoor person. Being in the same gym class as her, I have first-highhandedly seen Caitlin's struggle with being outside and physical activity. As quoted by Caitlin, "I can't sports ball." She would rather stay indoors and paint or watch Netflix or read than to do stuff outside.

#3 Barbecues

Something I noticed throughout my life is that Americans love their barbecue, especially during the summer. However, for Caitlin, this is just another reason to hate Summer. For those of you who don't know, Caitlin Scarpa is a vegetarian. "I love animals," explains Caitlin, "and I don't want to support the murder and torture of innocent animals." She doesn't eat fish either. Although, I find this a bit ironic because I'm eating sushi and a Philly cheese steak at the same time I'm writing this.  

#4 She Can't Tan, She Only Burns

I'll be honest, the first time I saw Caitlin I thought, "Jesus Christ, this girl is really pale." As I got to know her more and more, that thought still hasn't changed. She is still really pale. To Caitlin, there is nothing beneficial about the hot sun during summer, she already hates the heat and the outdoors. When she is exposed to sunlight,her skin just gets really red and eventually fades and her skin reverts back to her pale self. I think its impossible for Caitlin to get tan without a spray tan. 

#5 She Doesn't Get to See Me 5 Days a Week

I only really became friends with Caitlin this year but I think we are pretty good friends. I force her help me with my homework and I like to make fun of her New York accent by calling her random words she says differently, such as ask, coffee, ambassador, etc. What else are friends for? So I can say for certain that Caitlin will miss me during the summer. I mean, who wouldn't?

#6 She's A Vampire!!!

I have a theory that Caitlin Scarpa is actually a vampire. First, piece of evidence is in how pale her skin is and we all know that vampires are pale. This would explain why she never gets tan. Its because she's a vampire. Vampires are supposed to burn in sunlight, or sparkle like they do in twilight. however I think the sunlight just weakens them. This would explain Caitlin's hate toward being outside and why she needs sunglasses every time we go outside to for gym. Vampires aren't supposed to get sick but she does because of her often exposure to sunlight. Not to mention her long, sharp claws, that she passes off as her nails. Those things are like 3 inches long. Although, it was previously mentioned how Caitlin is a vegetarian, she can't possibly be a vampire, but she can. I believe this is a cover to lead people away from suspecting her of being a blood-sucking demon. No one has ever seen fangs in her mouth but I believe they are retractable. Also, if she wanted to make two bite marks she could just use her ridiculously long "nails" to poke two holes. Caitlin Scarpa is a vampire. 

Harry Potter vs Star Wars

Caitlin is a big fan of Harry Potter while I am a fan of Star Wars and we have gotten in arguments of which one is better. I texted her before why she likes Harry Potter more and why it is better than Star Wars and she replied with this super, long text which I will type out.

"Harry Potter has a much deeper story, with millions of spin-off stories and theories. Star Wars is just about space and huge machines and technology no one understands. People can also relate to harry potter with the numerous characters. Hermione is a nerdy girl who was bullied for how she looked and because she was smart. Some little girls can relate to her and find comfort in seeing how she dealt with it. She is also a strong feminist icon. Draco Malfoy was born into an abusive household where he was told to hate all "muggels" and "muggle borns", he eventually learned that he doesn't have to be who his family wants him to be. Harry's father, James Potter, was a bully, but he learned not to be an a**hole. Harry Potter teaches friendship, love, loyalty, and respect. Harry, Ron, and Hermione all work together to defeat Lord Voldemort after he wages war on Hogwarts. Hogwarts is a school, and hundreds of children were killed in this battle. Lavender Brown, Fred Weasly, Remus Lupin... blah blah blah... were all people killed in this battle. Lily Potter, Harry's mother sacrificed herself to save Haryy's life, this love was so powerful that it kept Harry safe whenVoldemort tried to kill him. There are thousands of mythical creatures..................." (She just goes on and on and on. This is only halfway through the text.)

"I could go on, but I'm tired of typing"

I'm tired of typing too, Caitlin. Of course, I will never believe what she says until she actually sees at least one Star Wars movie. So until then, Star Wars is better Caitlin. 

Fire by Lomaani Ranasinghe

In your eyes there was fire

burning bright it was

I remember looking the first time

upon first glance it was a galaxy of stars

it wasn't long until it belonged to my universe

In your eyes there was fire

a fire that had grown each and every time i looked into them

a fire that i believed would never die

In your eyes there was fire

but one day

it just wasn't of the same kind

it had died down

in the dimmed darkness

i only saw loneliness and loss

in the faded darkness all i could see

was a reflection

of none other than

myself

In your eyes there is no fire

and no matter how hard i try

there's nothing i recognize

what was once a galaxy of stars has evanesced

leaving me blindly searching for a fire

i wish i hadn't burn out

The Things I Know I Don't Know

the things i know i don't know

by julia loewen

As sophomores, most of the students in our Honors English class have proven themselves as "writers", but now Mrs. Kopp has introduced a new way of writing that has the majority of our class doubting themselves; Poetry. I could write endless argumentative, narrative, or persuasive essays, but a poem? I seem to have absolutely nothing to write about. To help our mind blocks, Mrs. Kopp gave us a method on getting started with our poems. She told us to start by figuring out five things we know for sure, and then base our poems off that.

1. I am in Mrs. Kopps classroom right now.
2. I am sixteen years old.
3. I ate cereal for breakfast.
4. My name is Julia Loewen
5. It is raining outside.

It was hard for me to write poetry when I have the imagination of a dark grey cloud. I kept asking myself question after question about what on earth I could write about, and each time I said "I don't know". That is when my question was answered. There are plenty of things that I do know, but what I know that I don't know, is even more interesting. This time, I made a list of Things I Know I Don't Know.

1. Where I will be next year, in 5 years, 10 years, and so on...
2. What my parents were like at my age.
3. How the universe works
4. 7.135 billion people on this earth
5. How to do laundry

Thinking about my life's mysteries not only opened ideas for me to write about, but ideas I enjoy writing about. I was incapable of writing a poem about my name and the classroom I was sitting in, so I began to write about what I don't know about myself quite yet, or what is outside of the school I sit in and the places it will take me. There is nothing more mysterious than ones teenage years, so instead of writing about the fact that I am sixteen, I will write poetry about the hopes, dreams, fears, and wonders of a sixteen year old.

The Longest Poem -by Abraham LaBelle

The title of this post might be misleading; I am not going to write the longest poem.

Instead, I will spread knowledge about the longest known epic poem, called the Mahābhārata.
This monster of literature has been called "the longest poem ever written", and apart from its name, which is already long enough, the Mahābhārata has more than 200,000 verses and about 1.8 million words.

The Mahābhārata is actually only one of the two major Sanskrit epics of India. The other is called the Rāmāyaṇa. The author of the Mahābhārata is Vyāsa, a revered figure in Hindu traditions. The epic is estimated to be written around 500 BC. It is no wonder why this epic is suggested to be at the same level as the Bible, and Shakespeare's works.

Vyāsa

If you are interested in learning more about the contents and themes of the Mahābhārata, you are welcome to read it. Front to back. All 1.8 million words.

The 4th Dimension

The 4th Dimension
Beck Gozdenovich

As we all know, or should know, is that we all live in three dimensions. We represent these dimensions in axes, we have the x-axis (forward and backward), the y-axis (up and down) , and the z-axis (left and right). We are not bound by these dimensions. In other words, we can move left, right, up, down, forward, and backward, and none of these actions are permanent. What is permanent, however, is time.

 When you think about it, we actually use four coordinates in our everyday life compared to the three that are represented in our dimensions. For example, in a meeting in New York City, there are 4 coordinates that are imperative to the meeting. You need the street name, the building number, level/room number in which the meeting will take place, and finally the time the meeting will take place. You don’t give the place of the meeting without the time, and likewise you don’t give the time of the meeting without the place. Knowing this, it is not unrealistic to believe there is another dimension, that being time.

 Going back to how we can move freely in our known three dimensions, it is impossible to move freely in the dimension of time. We are forever locked in the present, and we have no access to the future or the past. If we were able to step above our dimensions, and use the dimension of time like the way we use our three known dimensions, we could choose any part of time itself and relive it.

Linkin Park: One More Light

Linkin Park: One More Light
Beck Gozdenovich

One More Light is the seventh studio album from the 5-time Grammy winning Rock group, Linkin Park. They took a completely different direction with this album than they have with any of their others. They branched away from their hard rock/nu metal roots of  Hybrid Theory and most recently The Hunting Party. The songs on this album are far more upbeat and don't include any hard rock guitar riffs or drum solos. It sounds much more like a modern pop album with almost every song including a variety of electronic synths and the like. If someone with no prior of Linkin Park was to listen to One More Light and Meteora back to back, they would have no clue that both albums came from the same band.

Although many people are disappointed with the new album and proclaim LP as sellouts, I think the album is very good. I would rather listen to this album on repeat for a year than listen to a single Chainsmoker song. If it truly is classified as a pop album, at least it's good pop with character and variety. You have to give Linkin Park some creds for doing something completely out of their comfort zone, and doing it well.

Rating: 3.7/5
Top Track Off Album: One More Light/Sharp Edges
Album Ranking: 6 out of their 7