Dear Gabi: Second is not the bestBalancing life and schoolGabriella Greenhoward Editor-in-Chief  Gabriella Greenhoward. Photo submitted by Gabriella Greenhoward. Dear Gabi,
In every possible area of my life, my success and achievements are not good enough. While I’m throwing a party because I got a B- on my last Chem test, my friend is disappointed that she only pulled an A instead of an A+. I barely made it on the JV team in my sport, but my best friend is on varsity as a sophomore. I have my fingers crossed that I’ll be able to get my 60 hours of community service done in the next two years for graduation and she’s already surpassed the requirement for a silver cord. I babysit two kids from my church for $12 an hour, but my best friend watches her neighbors kids for free. I literally can’t win. At anything. I know everyone always says “life is not a competition” but I think it’s naive for someone to think that he or she is not competing with everyone around them. However, the only thing worse that being in this endless competition is losing. Do you have any tricks for how I could possibly be better in at least one area? Sincerely, Second is the not the best Dear Second is not the best, You may be a little annoyed at my saying this, but life is not always a competition. It is very, very easy to get sucked into this desire to surpass the achievements of others, however, that is not what living life is all about. During my sophomore year of high school, I signed up to take AP US History. It was paired with Honors English 10, every other day. Neither of the two classes were easy; each class period presented a new academic challenge, and that’s what drew me to them to begin with. When I first started APUSH, my main concern when we got a test or assignment back was finding out what everyone else got. I wanted to assess my abilities by sizing myself up against the other smart and talented kids in my class. Can you believe that? I was trying to base my abilities off of a test score from my first AP class. I wish I could go back and tell my 15 year old self that this notion was ridiculous. Every single kid in that class was interesting and unique and possessed a plethora of different skills and talents. There is no one scale in the world that anyone could possibly use to measure who is better or more talented. Every individual is great and not so great at so many different things that it is impossible to make these assumptions. I once heard this expression that goes something along the lines of, “every person should strive to be better than the person they were yesterday.” You should not spend one more minute comparing yourself to your best friend. Love him or her for being talented and achieving great things, but also love yourself and the things you have achieved. You may not have 135 hours of community service or grades as high as you may have hoped, but there are other important aspects of life. Focus your life on how kind you are to others, how you impact other lives and how you strive to be the best person you can. Xoxo, Gabi
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Excelling Towards the FutureThe college acceptances at Freedom High School.Kiara Conaway Journalism Student  The college acceptances at FHS. Photo: Kiara Conaway As the school year is drawing to a close, seniors are preparing to engage into the next exciting stage of their lives. For many students, the next step is college, which various students have already been accepted to.
Freedom High School is known for their success in athletics as well as academics. The senior class of 2017 has made great strides in their paths towards the future, and many have been accepted to numerous universities across the country. The in-state colleges where most students where most students were accepted schools such as Penn State University, Temple University, Moravian College, Kutztown University, and West Chester University. “I have been accepted to West Chester University,” said Allison Singer, senior. Many of the students listed on the board have been accepted to in-state schools, however, this did not stop others from pursuing other institutions of learning. Students also have decided to spread their wings and travel out of state to continue their education. “In the fall, I will be attending Monmouth University in Long Branch, New Jersey,” said Kathyuska Eyzaguirre, senior. As the deadline for school decisions are approaching, students are making the major decision on where they will continue to pursue their education for the next four years. For some, the process was very easy and their decision was reached very quickly. “Choosing my college was an easy decision for me. I cannot wait to attend West Chester and start a new chapter of my life,” said Singer On the other hand, others, are still conflicted with their college choices and still do not know where they will be attending. Selecting the right college can be a very stressful process. “I have applied to Maryland University, Pitt, and Penn State. If I had to choose today, I would pick Penn State because I like what the school has to offer, but I am still unsure” said Grant Stives, senior Although the college choosing process can be difficult, once the decision is made, the student can thoroughly enjoy the remainder of their senior year. Congratulations to those who have been accepted to the various colleges and universities. Good luck in the future endeavors that you will pursue. Walking into a new TV show seasonThe Walking Dead reviewAlicia Martinez Journalism Student  The Walking Dead photo cover. Photo: Flickr Interested in a tv show that has a lot of action and drama? Then this series would be the right choice. The Walking Dead is a show about a police officer named Rick Grimes, who wakes up from a coma, only to find out the world has been overrun with “Walkers” (Zombies). I love the main character because he is a great leader, as well as the fact that he works hard to protect the people he loves, and he makes great choices on how they will survive. Another reason why I love Rick is because he encourages people to survive and makes them keep going on with life, even though the world has been overrun with the undead.
Rick has been through so much throughout all of the seasons. In season two, [SPOILER ALERT], his son Carol was unfortunately shot, and almost did not survive.He had to kill his best friend, Shane who was attacking him. Also in season three, he sadly lost his wife, Lori, while she was giving birth. Even though he has been through ups and downs, he keeps moving on with life. This TV show has been aired since 2010, and it has just wrapped up their their seventh season.They are making a season eight later in October. Season seven just ended, and it was so upsetting, because [SPOILER ALERT] Rick lost another one of his friends named Sasha; she killed herself so Negan would not use her to hurt her own friends. The Walking Dead is popular all around the world, and it must be very popular if it has been aired for seven, almost eight seasons. Most series do not even have that many seasons. I would recommend this series to anyone who enjoys a lot of suspense and graphic scenes. Also, if someone is interested in a show that puts viewers on the edge of their seats, then this is the show to check out. The Walking Dead is for anyone who is the age of 16 and older because of the blood, violence, and some sexual scenery. This series has the one of the best special effects makeup artistry, and looks very intriguing, based on how the crew makes the actors look like actual zombies. Quest, monsters, half Gods, and sword fighting The Percy Jackson booksNat Durham Journalism Student  Percy Jackson book cover. Photo: Creative Commons Greek Gods and Goddesses, people sword fighting, Greek monsters, a camp full of half gods and half mortals, and a boy named Perseus Jackson, also known as Percy Jackson. Percy Jackson is a twelve year old boy with ADHD and dyslexia. He is about to be kicked out of another boarding school; only this time, he gets thrown into a world of Greek Gods and monsters with people and Gods trying to kill him. Now his new friends and himself must go on a quest to retrieve Zeus's lightning bolt in just 10 days, or there will be a war of the gods. On top of that, Percy’s mom was taken by Hades, the god of the underworld, so now Percy not only has to deal angry gods and monsters after him; but a missing mother, a father he has never known, a orical that warns him he will be betrayed by a friend, and one quest that can end the world all on his shoulders. He does not have to do this alone; he has his friends, but will he be betrayed by one of them? “Packed with humorous allusions to Greek mythology along with rip-snorting action sequences, [this] book really shines,” said by The Horn Book. Percy Jackson, Annabeth Chase, and Grover Underwood, three people that can save the world from a war of the Gods or let it happen. A lightning bolt that belonged to Zeus, now stolen by someone. “An adventure quest with a hip edge,” said The Lightning Thief Analysis. A book of wonder and unexplainable powers with a camp filled with half Gods run by Chiron, a centaur. Dionysus, who is the God wine filled with campers that most likely live long lives, and will die in painful nasty ways. I think this book is wonderful, and I like that it shows that even if you do have a disability; you can do great things. I also love the adventure in the book, I feel like it goes along with the theme of the story. I love the funny quotes that were in the book. In all the books, this is the one that started it all. It made me fall in love with reading, and even writing. It made me fall in love with the characters, and I can not wait for the other books to come out so I can read them to. Walking the runwayOn the Walk to Fashion Dymea Schippers Journalism Student  A photo of possible fashion. Photo: Dymea Schippers Everyone has stood in a long checkout line at least once and had started reading the cover page of modeling magazines like Vogue or Elle, and had thought it was all looks, but there is more to it then a pretty face.
When taking an interest in modeling, prepare to overwrite your schedule. From day one these outfitters have to constantly evolve their daily activities around their profession. That can range from hours of fashion shows, posing for sculptures and various artists, and garment buyers. There are numerous factors to being a model such as leg length, height, and spine width. Beauty does come as one of these factors, but that all depends of what type of model the agency is looking for. For example, there are different types of modeling besides the most common one, fashion modeling. Others include live modeling where personality is more important than body type, commercial print for models that appear in advertisements in magazines and newspapers, and body part modeling showcases different types of the body such as hair, hands, or legs. So, consider any of these options when applying. “I was fifteen when I started modeling, but I quit so I could focus on school and plan to start up again this summer,” said Madison McTier, senior. Although starting young is a good way to experience the environment early on, it may become a distraction. However, with every business there is always a set of rumors that come with it; in this case it is “modeling myths.” “It’s very photo shopped, especially for the plus size models,” said Vaidehi Chinnawar, freshman. Photo edits are considered a requirement in many magazines and advertisements to make the model stand out more and appeal to viewers. “I heard how some of the models ate paper or often abused drugs and alcohol, but this didn’t have an affect on my decision. Once I joined the agency with my childhood friend Tyra Banks those rumors were laid to rest,” said April Oliver, retired model. Although each person's story of how they started modeling is different, McTier and Oliver said that they both learned to develop more people skills with the diverse and open environment. April the giraffe causing an internet frenzyThe possibility of April the giraffe finally having her calf increases.Keri Kipp Pates' Post Editor  April and here new born calf. Screenshot from live camera. A live feed has shown up on everyone’s timeline in the early weeks of February, attracting many viewers attention at first sight. This feed is unlike no other. Then again, when would someone ever have the opportunity to watch a pregnant, 15-year-old giraffe walking around her house all day, eagerly awaiting the birth of her child.
Yes, any average person may be wondering “why is it that everyone is so obsessed with watching a pregnant giraffe without sound?” In the early days of February, a zoo in Tampa Bay, by the name of the Animal Adventure Park, launched a livestream on Youtube that was similar to the baby eagle hatchlings that took place last December. The livestream was temporarily reported and removed from Youtube due to a viewer making complaints for nudity. However, when the livestream came back, it struck up a huge controversy in the media, thus bringing April to a worldwide celebrity status for the time being. Some viewers are too tuned into this stream to the point of it being unhealthy. “I’m malnourished, dehydrated, and my dog is turning fat because I just can’t stop watching and he’s being neglected. I know April’s bowel habits, I know how many spots she has, I know her routine. Please April for my own sanity have this baby soon,” said a Facebook user who has been watching April for a complete week straight. This single giraffe has become so much of an attraction to such a diverse audience, that there is even a fan store where someone can find all things April on www.Aprilthegiraffe.com. April is now a 15-year-old giraffe and is in the process of breeding her fourth calf. Her partner's name is Oliver and he is a four-year-old giraffe who is also awaiting the birth of his first calf. April and Oliver have been rooming together since park officials have been aware of her pregnancy. They are permitted to take time outside each day, and while Oliver happily goes outside, April stays inside with her child. Who would blame her though? April has been pregnant for a total of 15 to 16 months which for a giraffe is slightly overdue. According to Animal Planet, the calf will be born and weigh about 150 pounds and will measure to be about 6 feet tall. Once April goes into active labor with her calf, it will be born within a half an hour to an hour. The front hooves will show out of her back end first, followed by the head of the calf. The baby should be walking within an hour after being welcomed into the new world. Also when in active labor, April will have her calf standing up in her stall the same as any other giraffe would. This may not be an important piece of information to many, but to the trolls on this stream it is. A very out of the ordinary hashtag, “#TeamEgg” has made its appearance into the comment sections, on merchandise in the zoo’s store, and meme’s across the internet. This was all started by a teen who decided one day to cast out a witty line to show his sense of humor. This is when the hashtag was born. “The egg movement even has multiple Facebook pages, one with more than 900 members called #TeamEgg (Giraffes DO Lay Eggs). It appears to have been started by a teen, of course,” said Mashable.com. Viewers have shared their opinions in the comments about April’s pregnancy such as being concerned about how long it takes April to lay down to go to sleep every night, how her legs are turned inwards, and her tail sticks out which ultimately means she is continuing to push and have contractions. However, some of the other comments have taken somewhat of a plot twist when it comes to this everlasting pregnancy. Many viewers have looked at information that leads towards this whole thing being a hoax. It did not help that the expected due date for the baby calf over the past week was March 31, or April Fool’s Day Eve. Also, the fact that the stream has a sudden “ToysRUs” Ad popping up in the bottom left corner does not help people believe that it is not a looped video. “Zoo officials admitted that April was actually a male giraffe named Greg this entire time,” said Studentmoneysaver.com. The stream had briefly went offline on Saturday morning, April 1, April Fool’s Day, which lead people to believe that this whole thing was an elaborate and well thought out joke. Of course, other websites and news sites are coming out with stories about their opinion on the whole thing. One of them has even progressed on the idea of the livestream going offline, claiming that the zoo had made a statement that they really never did. UPDATE: Congratulations to April and Oliver on their new baby! April has successfully given birth to her baby calf on Saturday, April 15, at about 10 o’clock in the morning. The baby is healthy and so is the mother, both are doing fine. The Animal Adventure Park says that when the calf was born, he weighed 58.5 kilograms and is just under 1.8 meters tall. The baby had stood up about 45 minutes after being born. On Youtube, the replayed video of April going into active labor, was the second most viewed video for about 3 days after. Www.aprilthegiraffe.com is holding open donations on their site. All proceeds will go towards the happy family and help them in the future. Also, the website has opened a contest where viewers can name the baby calf. Each vote is one dollar and someone can vote up to five times per day. Springing into traditions of EasterWhere did festivities originate for this holiday?Chloe O'Donnell Journalism Student  An old fashioned Easter Bunny. Photo: Wikimedia Commons Being as Easter is a religious holiday, so how did a large furry creature, known as the Easter Bunny, originate?
“Where did we get the idea of Easter Bunny if the Easter Bunny really has nothing to do with the holiday itself, ” said Andrew Malozzi, Liberty High School junior. Easter is the oldest festival of the Christian Church, and the holiday celebrates the resurrection of Jesus Christ, including the month of lent which begins March 21 to April 25. The real reasoning on how the Easter Bunny came about is somewhere lost in history, but people believe that the Easter Bunny came from a Pagan tradition. Paganism is not a set tradition because it does not have any specific or set doctrine. It is the joining of the varieties of traditions with the common characteristics. Pagans worship different types of Gods that explains why everyone celebrates Easter differently. The reason the Easter Bunny bringing around Easter eggs, and doing Easter egg hunts, is because the eggs represent the meaning of new life, or life reborn. Another fun tradition is decorating Easter eggs different colors such as yellow, which symbolizes freshness and happiness, red, which can symbolize danger, desire, or strength and power, blue or light blue, which can mean faith, truth, and heaven, and green, which could symbolize life, growth, and harmony. There are so many other colors to Easter, but those are some of the most popular ones that people see often. Decorating the Easter eggs is the tradition of Pysanka. Easter itself is revolved around Jesus Christ and the Christian religion. People believe that Jesus’s death was symbolic for him dying for his sins, so on Easter we celebrate that. The resurrection of Jesus prove to his believers that he was the Son of God. No one can actually say where it came from or how the traditions of Easter started, but one thing is for certain, Easter is always promising lots of candy! Leading his team to successMax Stevens, co-captain of the lacrosse team, is optimistic for a successful 2017 campaign Chuck Tichy Assistant Sports Editor  Max Stevens Photo: Chuck Tichy Some students know sophomore Max Stevens as the charismatic sophomore class Student Council President who devotes his time serving his school. On the other hand, some of you may know a different Max Stevens, one associated outside of the classroom and school environment. This Max Stevens is one that dominates opponents on the lacrosse field and leads his teammates to victory.
Being a starter on any varsity sports team is an accomplishment in of itself. Now a sophomore, Stevens has been a starter on the lacrosse team since he started playing for the high school last year as a freshman. Last year, the Freedom High School Lacrosse team finished with a record of 10-10, which qualified them for district playoff contention for the first time in program history. They won their first game, but unfortunately were blown out by Easton in the second round. “We lost to Easton by 16 last year and then we lost to them this year by three, so we’ve been making a lot of improvements,” said Stevens. Stevens cites that the lacrosse team got put in the “B” division this for the 2017 season. However, this has not hindered the confidence of the Patriots. “A main goal is to win our division. So far this year, we’ve been killing it,” said Stevens, referring to a 17-0 victory against Northampton. Stevens, along with the rest of the lacrosse team, hope to use last year’s success and their hard work during the off season to propel them back to district playoff contention and win multiple games. “Another goal of mine is to make it back to districts and win more than one game,” said Stevens. On top of it all, Stevens has been named one of the captains for the varsity lacrosse team, which being only a sophomore, is a massive accomplishment. Being chosen as a captain is largely due to his devotion and leadership during this past off-season. “Last year, I got complacent at the end of the year and my coach told me to work harder, so in the off-season I went crazy,” said Stevens. Aside from lacrosse, Stevens is involved in a multitude of activities including being his class’s student council president, a runner on the Freedom cross country team, and a member of BASD Mini-THON. “I feel like getting involved in high school, especially with sports, has made high school a lot better because I get to meet a lot of upperclassmen and just a lot of people in general,” said Stevens. He highly encourages everyone to get involved in sports and activities at Freedom. All in all, keep an eye out for Stevens and the rest of the patriot lacrosse team as they are sure to make some noise in the East Penn Conference this year. Springing into one of America's pastimeThe return of baseball season excites teachers and students alike |
AuthorThe Freedom Forum is an award-winning high school publication at Freedom High School in the Bethlehem Area School District in Pennsylvania. The organization publishes approximately 8 issues per school year and reports on local, as well as world, events. Archives
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