With all these responsibilities and confusing schedules, I find it easy to say I have a lot of stress built up sometimes. That’s where my secret weapon comes in, softball. I am in love with softball. I’ve been doing it for years and still plan on doing it in the future. It’s my way of relieving stressful thoughts so I can stay sane throughout the week. I am a captain on West Deptford High Schools JV Softball Team. There aren’t even words to explain my mood on the field; I have such a good time as does everyone else around me. We play to enjoy the game and let off some steam where it needs to be released.

As one of the captains, I know the girls on a personal level. I know what they are upset about or what is making them mad when they can’t control their throws down to home base. They trust and talk to me about their issues, even if it’s with one another. I’m there for them, and I help them cope. I teach them how to have fun on the field when they could be out doing something stupid to get their anger and frustration out. They tell me they love me, that if I weren’t around, they don’t know what they would do, that they would probably quit. I believe I make the game fun for everyone, even Coach Montgomery. Thriving to help other people and be the person they can look up to is what I live for, that makes my bad days turn into my good days. Of course, line-driving the ball down the 3^rd base line and getting a double also works for getting rid of stress. Softball is fantastic.

            For my boyfriend and me, our relationship started out as being close, personal, and like nothing you could ever imagine. We went to the same school in third into sixth grade, and we were best friends. In seventh grade, he transferred to a different school, and we didn’t talk for a while after that. As years went by, I kind of wondered what ever happened to Andrew, and in the summer after freshman year, I got up the guts to actually start talking to him again.

            After a few months of talking as old friends, he asked me out. The relationship went on for eight months before I had to move out of my house in Rhode Island to here in New Jersey. Fortunately for me, Andrew is fantastic and completely worthy of my trust, and eleven months after moving, we are still going strong.

            Even though I trust him and know that he would never hurt me, the distance definitely puts a strain on our relationship. Any sort of relationship as a teenager is hard enough. Many people my age can’t even stay in a meaningful relationship for a few months. I count myself extremely lucky to be able to be in a relationship for over a year and a half even with having been long-distance for over half of that time. I see people in the hallway, holding hands and kissing, and it makes me so sad just thinking that the person I have for that kind of stuff is three hundred miles away.

            Distance also poses a problem when it comes to visiting. The travel costs money; money that neither of us really have. Saving up takes time. I only get to see him maybe every other month, which I wasn’t used to when I came here. I was used to seeing him once a week since he lived a city over from me. All I can do is just imagine him being here, being close, and simply talking.  At times, I don’t even want to imagine it because it makes me even sadder about having to be separated from him.

            If you ask him, he would tell you that the distance has made our relationship stronger than before. Even though we are far away, our relationship is “perfect” in his words. We trust each other, and we can rely on each other for pretty much anything, like emotional support. We still don’t ever run out of things to talk about. I guess we really do have an awesome relationship. It’s the distance that makes it extremely difficult. Truthfully, distance is agony.

             As we were walking, I came upon a golf course. There were people golfing so it didn’t seem that bad. I walked closer to the golf course and near the lake. One of the golfers hit a ball, and it went into the lake. I thought something might be in the water, but never thought anything of it since other people were with no fear.

             It wasn’t a good choice, but I got closer to the lake, and I saw something moving in the water. I instantly froze in my tracks. I ran back about fifty feet and all I saw out my corner of my eye was this five hundred pound gator leaping toward me. His boastful eyes stared at me and my family. His tail was moving extremely fast. I thought I was going to die at that moment. I walked quietly to the street, and I heard this beast following me.

            My dad said, “Stay still,” and I took his advice, but something inside of me said, “Run for your damn life!” I stood still for about five minutes. Those five minutes felt like a living hell.

            Eventually, the beast turned around and walked back into the water. After that, I darted towards my parents and back to the condo. I tell a lot of people, but they just don’t believe me. The only ones who know the truth are me and my dear friend Mr. Gator.

I was by myself, lost in the heart of the Ecuadorian jungles.

I wasn’t that worried though. I was calm, collected because from the information that I gathered from watching Les Stroud on Survivorman almost every night. I had learned that panicking in these situations can be life-threatening. So I stayed put, exactly where I was, and I waited.

The darkness wasn’t even that scary, and the heat wasn’t all that unbearable. The bugs, however, were beyond terrifying. It may sound a little biased coming from an insectophob, and maybe even a little exaggerated, but I swear every bug I saw in the night was as big as my foot.

After quite some time dodging the enormous critters and waiting for my rescue, the group, which was my church youth group, my pastor, and a few natives to the land, finally found me.

This was our mission’s trip. Normally traveling within the nation’s borders, our church group decided to further diversify our experiences.

 InEcuador, my youth group and I would attempt to spread the Word of God to the numerous nearby villages located on the outskirts of the nation’s capital,Quito. It was my first time doing anything like this, and I was amped, which is probably why I got lost in the first place.

Finally reunited with the others, I trudged along slowly listening but not really listening to my youth group leader scold me for my clumsiness. The chastising went on for the entire hike.

We reached a village in the middle of the jungle, our destination from the get-go, and took shelter inside one of the huts.

Curious as to who we were and why we were there, the villagers gathered around us. My pastor began to speak in English while one of the natives that was with us did his best at translating it. I could tell that the message was getting across from the accepting nods and smiling faces.

We brought with us a medical kit and offered to give a physical check-up to anyone that may have needed it. To my surprise, only a few people wanted one, and in their case, it was needed.

One man had an infection cultivating on the surface of his foot, eating away at the superficial layer of skin. It was gross. We didn’t have the utensils needed for proper treatment so instead we offered antibiotics and gauze-wrap for the infected area. He still seemed very grateful, and they all looked at us as if we were angels or saints of some kind.

It was then that I understood why people do these trips, why people do soup kitchens, why people help. It’s not for credentials or for karmic compromise. It’s not for selfish recognition. It’s for being someone’s angel, even just for one day.

            Not only are we recycling, but he said we have also been praised by the county for our efforts of going above and beyond what the county requires. After the custodians collect all the recycling on Friday, the paper, plastic, and metal recyclables are taken to a separate recycling landfill–?.

The reason why it is important to recycle paper is because twenty-eight percent of landfills are taken up by paper, and it can take from 5 to fifteen years for it to breakdown. It’s also commendable to recyle tin cans because a tin can made of recycled materials cuts energy use by 95 percent. In addition, recycled glass reduces air pollution by 20% and water pollution by 50%. In fact, the average America produces over 4 lbs. of trash a day.

Some students believe that balled up paper can’t be placed in the recycling bin, but Hall says that it can be. “It must be dry though. If the paper gets wet, it become garbage.”

 Mr. Hall has made sure that every room has a recycling bin, even the teacher’s lounge. In addition to collecting paper, the custodial team also recycles the batteries from calculators and the toilets as well as light tubes. Once a year the maintenance staff also cleans out the chemicals in all the science labs, which they call County Household Day

            Mr. Hall isn’t the only one that works with the recycling system. Science teacher Mr. Crane is also concerned about Mother Earth and feels West Deptford students are also. “I’d say 80% of the student population cares about recycling,” said Crane.

Science teacher Mr. Robinson used to be the leader of the Recycling Club. His club members would assist the custodians in collecting recycling twice a week.

Next year, Hill hopes to place recycling bins in each room for glass, metal and plastic. “Although students shouldn’t be bringing cans and glass containers into the classrooms, they are, so we have to address reality,” said Hall.

            In “Phenomenal Woman,” Angelou mentions her flaws: “I’m not cute or built to suit a model’s fashion size.” Through the poem, she says how she is a phenomenal woman, but not in a cocky way or sounding like a valley girl. She says it modestly as if she is stating a fact. She has self-confidence, and you can really see it shine through this poem.  She says everything with her head up and doesn’t care what people think of her. If she likes it, then she is happy. We aren’t created to please everyone. She may look differently, but she acts the same way everyone else does: “I walk into a room just as cool as you please.”

            In Maya Angelou’s other poem, “Still I Rise,” she also talks about self-confidence. She also talks about the effects of being bullied. It’s as if she ask the bully: “Do you want to see me broken?” Or she may be talking as a child who doesn’t know what self-confidence is. Or, the kid could just not have any self-confidence. In the poem, she repeats “I rise” at the end, and that sends a great message to everyone that reads or listens to the poem.

            Maya Angelou really sends a clear message, not only to the people who read her poem, but the people who see the people who have read her poem and see them reacting to it. It sends a message to teens that are going through a rough period in their lives. If you have self-confidence, then people will start to notice and like you more.

But she doesn’t know,

In her hometown in Alaska,

Plains covered in snow.

She’s only 48,

Still too old for me,

Her heart has a lock,

 But I don’t have the key.

Only Governor of Alaska,

Miniscule you may say,

But it’s good enough for me,

 I love her each and every way.

Through thick and thin,

Her smile so kind,

And shining bright,

She’s the only one on my mind.

In our society, addiction is a pretty serious topic, but caffeine addiction particularly those that drink coffee is deemed acceptable.

From children as young as 10 years old to adults out in the workforce, coffee is a known pick-me-up that’s legal and convenient.

However, is it safe and does it have any adverse effects on the human body?

            Caffeine Blues by Stephen Cherniske MS, is a book about this particular topic. According to Cherniske, caffeine is a stimulus and its effects forces neurons in the brain to flare uncontrollably which in turn causes the pituitary gland to secrete ACTH which causes stress hormones to be released.

            Of course, the addiction to caffeine isn’t as serious as an addiction to a methamphetamines, but it does have some annoying side effects.

            Consistent consumption of caffeine may cause minimal physical dependence and acne, but the withdraw symptoms are much worse. Withdraw symptoms include headaches, lethargy, fatigue and irritability.

            If this is a problem, don’t stress too much about it. Although the symptoms are bad, they’re bearable.

            What you might want to do to avoid this addiction is limit consumption to once a week, or when you really need it. Avoid soda or anything that may contain a lot of caffeine. And if you are heavily addicted to caffeine, try substituting it with something else like gum or food.

 Some kids already know that they passed for the year. Others dug themselves in a deep hole and are trying to get out of it.

I don’t have to try that hard to get a good grade, but I am concerned about ending the year on a good note.

I have noticed a change in a lot of kids work habits. Some are really trying harder this marking period, but others know they will pass and don’t really care what their grades look like for this marking period.

          Teachers are also getting on students saying things like “This marking period means a lot. If you fail, you will have to retake my class next year or if you work hard and pass, you can move on.”

 Some teachers will not give out any extra credit if you don’t do your regular work. But if the teachers notice that you are doing the work but are struggling, they may try to help you because they know you tried in their class.

           There are plenty of benefits if you do your work and pass for the year. You can graduate on time with all your friends and classmates. You won’t have to go to summer school or retake the same class next year, and your parents won’t be mad at you because you failed a class for the year. And, you will also have the satisfaction of knowing you passed the year and that you can do it if you actually buckle down and listen to what teachers and your parents are telling you about school work. 

A few lessons can be learned from this. Once fourth marking period starts, don’t mess around. Actually do your school work, and if all goes well, you can enjoy the two and a half months of summer.

            The first playoff game with the Penguins was April 11^th. The Flyers congratulated the Penguins on their four-three loss that night. The game went into overtime after the 3^rd period was a tie 3-3. The game was not as physical as the Flyers fans expected. They expected a very old style hockey, and they got a nonphysical win.

            The second game was on April 13^th. That night the score was 8-5 in favor of the Flyers. This also was not old style hockey.

Game three was old style hockey. There were 72 penalty minutes in the first period and many more throughout the game. They also won: 8-4.

            The Flyers fans were let down during Game 4.  They lost the old style game 3-10. Pittsburgh had a party that night.

 Game five was also a small letdown, but if you stayed on the Flyers band wagon and watched game six, chances are you screamed. They lost game five 2-3.

            However, they somehow turned their luck around game six. They won 5-1. Claude Giroux number 28 on the Flyers set the pace in the first 5 seconds of the game with a huge check to Sydney Crosby number 87 on the Penguins. Then with only 32 seconds into the game, Giroux scored on the power play.  To follow Giroux lead, Scotty Hartnell number 19 on the Flyers, checked Crosby again. 

            After the 5^th goal by Brayden Schenn, the Flyers won the series with 4 wins to two. They only had to play six out of the seven games for the Flyers to move on to the next round. After the game, both teams shook hands to show sportsmanship and say nice game.

            Who knows what’s next for our Flyers. Will they play the New York Rangers or will they play the New Jersey Devils? Hopefully, they can take them down and send them home like the boys did to the Penguins.