Posted inOpinion, Community, Student Journals

The switch to online school has been a mixed bag

by Ivan Silva

The first week of online school and quarantine hasn’t really affected me too much. The quarantine had not affected me really at all since my lifestyle before it was pretty much the same as it is now, as sad as that may sound.
Before the quarantine, I never really left my home, so I didn’t really need to cope with the change when nothing really changed. The switch to online school has been a mixed bag, however.
On the one-hand the switch to online has allowed me to work on my own time, on the other hand, I can be extremely distracted when at home since there are several other things that I would rather do than doing school work, and since I am at home and have options I can be doing work for a few minutes, before getting bored and switching to watching YouTube or reading Wikipedia since I find it far more interesting than doing work.
Another positive is that the workload is incredibly light, especially when compared to the average school week. As far as I am aware, under the current set up, the classes only really need two grades per week, so I have ample time to do work and then time to goof off. I do miss school though, staying at home has gotten extremely monotonous with just my family and getting into fights with my brother often since he doesn’t understand that I may be busy with work. Although school is also monotonous most of the time, it is a different kind that’s not nearly as mundane as staying in my room for most of the day, and not being able to see my friends has been pretty demoralizing since I can’t really have any conversations with anyone. The only advice that I could offer for anyone in this predicament is to work as soon as possible so that you have time to focus on other things to entertain yourself so that you may distract yourself from the humdrum of being stuck at home.

Posted inEducation, Community, Student Journals

Emotional Confliction: A plight of overwhelming sentiment I feel. A train station that slowly corrupts sane thoughts

Laura C. by Laura C.

A plight of overwhelming sentiment I feel. A train station that slowly corrupts sane thoughts and brings upon a fresh batch of nothing and everything at the same time. “There will be a curfew from 10 pm to 6 am…” “We are issuing a stay at home order…” “School will resume until May 4th…” One thing I do tend to hear a lot is, “You are not alone; everyone is going through this together…” but I can’t help feeling selfish at the thought of placing my emotions onto the range of the crowd outside these four walls.

So I try my best to conceal. Conceal the madness that is my brain, at least until it’s lights out, and everybody is asleep anyway. During the night is when it gets worse. Many long for silence, yet I resent it, especially during this time at night. I pray to the higher power, whether it be associated with religion or some sort of science. Then I realize just how skeptical I am of that too. And I tend to scrap all the will power within me to fight against the wave of tears brimmed beneath the pupils of those eyes. Those eyes that wish to see the media take their place and provide comfort and solace along with this devastating news. Those eyes that carry the need to make everyone feel happy and loved, and want to protect people.

Alas, one day, I woke up stricken with a will; it is time to challenge despair. I run desperately towards the door, and I step outside. I step outside and on to the grass, although I shouldn’t, because I’m allergic to pollen, and I breathe in condensed and polluted air. As I do so, I admire the landscape before me, then I turn around, and I feel grateful for my life, and for the beautiful shelter, I can call my home. So I start my way back inside as if to be a completely new person.

Since then, I take upon that persona. One that goes through emotional vendetta in a healthy manner and isn’t afraid to place herself with the rest. I realized that this conflict is nothing but a state of mind. The angle that I perceived at the start was true, and it was me. So is this angle and version. I once read in an article, “Though some parts of our personalities feel written in stone…, the truth is that all of us are capable of altering our perspective.”  I guess the point I’m trying to convey is all emotions and personal conflicts are valid. I suppose even more so at this stage. We really are going through this together. I’m more optimistic and hopeful towards the future now, and I encourage you to do so too. You are not alone.

Posted inEducation, Community

Seniors, Class of 2020!

by Ivan Silva

Seniors grades are due next week so we can finalize your rankings. Ensure you are completing all assignments for your classes. If you need anything to complete your assignments, please get in contact with your teacher(s) so you can resolve the issue(s).

Posted inCommunity, Education

Mental Health Support Line 24 hours a day, 7 days a week toll-free at (833) 986-1919.

by Ivan Silva

Texas Health and Human Services has launched a 24/7 statewide mental health support line to help Texans experiencing anxiety, stress or emotional challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

This new resource offers COVID-19-related mental health support for all Texans. People can call the Statewide COVID-19 Mental Health Support Line 24 hours a day, 7 days a week toll-free at (833) 986-1919.

Posted inEducation, Opinion, Community, Student Journals

Catching up on my Anime

Jorge J. by Jorge J.

This whole quarantine has given me time to catch up on a bunch of anime that I have been meaning to watch but never had the time. A few days ago I finished watching Akame Ga Kill and Kill la Kill, in a total span of four days for both of them. I am currently watching Fruits Basket and I love it. I get so emotional like every episode, but it’s okay, I am here for it. I will not say any spoilers, but it is so damn cute and there are parts where my heart just breaks over the character’s life and how much they have gone through. My favorite episode so far is the New Year’s Eve episode, like, OMG! What a beautiful soul.

I caught up with the Black Clover manga and let me tell you something. It is so fire! The hype that is about to happen with the dark triad, but I will not say any spoilers. I also read the Burn the Witch one-shot by Kubo (writer of Bleach) and it got me hyped up for the movie and series that is coming up. Just watching the trailer made me thirsting for more. Another thing connected to Kubo that is getting me hyped up is the final arc of Bleach. It is coming back, finally! I need to watch Rukia’s and Captain Unohana’s Bankai animation like now.

With anime series and manga came the animated movies. I am rewatching a bunch of Ghibli movies like Ponyo, Howl’s Moving Castle, and Arrietty. It is so wonderful to just lay down and watch a good movie while eating brownies with sweet tears. I cannot stop with these though. I plan to rewatch A Silent Voice and I know that I will cry all over again. I always say this, but it breaks my heart and I love it.
Indeed, all of this time has given me many opportunities for both watching anime and reading manga, but there is one thing that I have been waiting for a long time and that is the Violet Evergarden movie. After Kyoto studio was set on fire I hoped that they would receive nothing but blessings, but they have blessed humanity with this new film that will come out tomorrow (April 2). I have been waiting for something related to Violet Evergarden for a long time (rewatched the series like 5 times) and it is finally happening. The trailer for the movie is so beautiful and makes me wonder, how much time has passed since the end of the series?
This whole quarantine is terrifying, but for me, it is smoothed over by doing the things that I love. Nothing warms my heart more than beautifully animated entertainment with a good storyline and most of all, the lovable characters and how they interact with each other. It is the perfect opportunity for friends to get much closer and to know each other better in this current lockdown.

Posted inStudent Journals, Education, Opinion, Community

“It’ll be okay”

Kenia M by Kenia M

Let’s go out

      Last week was a fuss. I was waking up every day at noon with more than 15 emails from every single one of my teachers. Moments like this make you appreciate everything. For example, did you ever realize how much time we actually had in our hands because the school would make us wake up early? Just a thought. Anyways, I’ve learned that to be able to sleep now; I actually had to start taking these melatonin gummies. It helps me sleep without overthinking every possible scenario that can happen in the next couple of weeks, and the best part is it allows me to wake up early without being tired. 

        You see, this deadly virus has caused a whole lot of changes. I am starting with the fact that we no longer have a school. The district says we’ll be back by April 30, but I highly doubt that. It’s a bit of a shock when you actually step out of your daily routine and realize that you actually have no freaking idea what to do—adding to that, that we can’t actually go out anywhere or if you’re not a responsible citizen and you’re not protecting yourself and others and going out. However, in this whole mess, I’m still going to work. You’d be surprised to see how many people actually will put themselves in danger and create physical contact with you for a whopper. The amount of income the store is making is basically the same. Our working habits have changed though, we now use gloves for everything and wash our hands every 30 minutes. We also have fewer staff working during the same shift, which is totally a bummer because I already get a crappy paycheck. Imagine what it will be with my two days of work. It’s actually sad though the fact that many people aren’t getting any money to be able to provide to their families. I mean, I don’t really need the money since I’m working for myself, but what about those people who actually have to support their families? That’s scary. 

      I’ve been watching the news every single day with my mother, and Even though this pandemic is really dangerous, I believe it would actually bring some relief and decrease the hysteria if they would actually talk about something else. I mean LITERALLY, a whole hour just talking about how people are being infected and dying do they actually realize how much effect this news causes to people? I would doubt it if they did, they would know that the people actually need to start inhaling something different. 

      Aside from all the crap, this pandemic has brought my family back together, and every day is a movie night, apparently. That’s okay though I love them, and before I was always stuck between school and work plus church that we never really had time to or I never had time to be with them. It’s fun to see what my mother is doing to try and cheer the whole house up. 

Posted inEducation, Opinion, Community, Student Journals

Seems like everything has changed

by Ivan Silva

Some things that have changed during these quarantine days is basically everything. The atmosphere around me, the community I live in, and much more. The way in which it has changed is mostly the seriousness of how the virus is truly becoming. Before the virus hit the valley, not many people took it seriously and thought they were safe from it, but now the Corona Virus has hit our home town.

People are coming to the realization that the virus is a very serious topic and should not be taken as a joke. Not much has stayed the same during these hectic times. What stirs up my feelings is that the virus is not choosing favorites; literally, any person can get contaminated with the coronavirus, and the thought of a friend or a loved one catching the virus is very depressing and scary. Some repeated messages that keep I keep hearing is that people need to become more hygienic and clean. I also keep hearing about how the virus is growing within our nation and the world and how bad it is quickly coming.

I also keep hearing about how people are not smart enough to buy medications to help their immune system but are dumb enough to take all the toilet paper. What I need to adapt to and change for my own skills is that I need to be more aware of logging into my google classroom and blackboard so that I am able to know what homework is needed to be done. What I am doing now that I didn’t do before is being able to get a significant amount asleep, and I am now able to wake up later than usual. My current emotional needs are that I need to be less stressed and anxious about the whole transition to doing school online.