1. Striped Dolphins 2026

Photo Credits: Oprah.com   “Bro you’re such a nerd im crine” “Don’t talk to her she’s weird asf” Let’s talk about something that EVERYBODY has 100% used before in our common day-to-day conversations. Labels. A few days ago, I was telling my brother that he needed to lock in since his grades are not very good and it could reflect how he does in high school in the future. His response was, “But I don’t want to be a nerd like you!” We as humans have such an odd tendency to label others, and a lot of times we do it to separate the good and the bad, ignoring the enormous grey area. I bet that you guys have labeled a person or something as good or bad immediately from the first impression. Maybe one person gave you a weird look and from then on you labeled them as someone unapproachable. Why do we tend to label things so much? According to this article , we tend to label other people because we like to "categorize" them so other people “know how to behave” around them. I feel that ...

No matter if you are a former president like Obama or you are Joe Schmo, jury duty is a privilege and duty that is unavoidable for every American. Some people consider it as the Palladium of Justice, meaning that it is the most important foundation in the American Justice System, but is it actually that respected? Spoilers, it is not the perfect system that people considered. Some context for trials is that any trial that has a maximum sentence of less than 6 months would not be eligible for a jury trial. Furthermore, in the federal court, only 22% of the court cases are jury trials. This represented that most cases in the federal courts were tried without a jury. The jury system itself is not perfect. It consists of 2 parts. A Grand jury which examines the evidence and decides if charges would be filed and the petit jury which is the ones that actually make a judgment.  The grand jury is a one sided process. Only the prosecutors are allowed to attend the process which means that ...

Everything always had four corners: my block, my apartment , my house, my room , my phone; you get the idea. Even my flag had four corners with orange, white and green stripes and a blue wheel in the center (Indian Flag). I never bothered to keep up with the latest news about whatever happened around the world, I really never cared about the latest gossip about which celebrity declared their undying love to whom. It didn't concern me, so I never bothered to know. And just like that- I lived under a rock, happy to exist with my friends and family away from internet trends and slang.  When my dad first told me we would go to America, I was just like “Oh, Cool!” and never really thought about it. It was just a country on the same world map as India, how different could it be? … As it turns out, America was in fact, very different. How are you all just okay with the concept of Wallmart??? Where is the reckless traffic and potentially risking your life to cross a street?? (affectionate)...

The current state of America is what many consider to be something that was out of our control. After all, was it not our President that tried (and failed) what some might call an attempt at total dictatorship? The sad reality is that over the years, meaningful action to subvert the worsening of our country has by and large not happened or gained traction. What do I mean by this? Well, take a look at the US today. Do you see country-wide movements taking direct action against the negative changes happening here? When was the last time you recalled mass protests against an important issue? There’s the issue: there are not even close to enough movements for them to be recalled. Why?  Forgive me if I sound accusatory for the words I will put forth. It is not my intention to demean or insult anyone, nor am I simply rambling for mindless terrorism either. However, it is not ludicrous to say anymore that so many people in this country do not even think themselves capable of accomplishing...

     I just saw an article in the New York Times about a new national park established in Arizona. I can’t help but think about how much I love this country. We live in a country in an era where we can choose to pursue whatever it is that we want at any time and place. There is just so much freedom. We also have very beautiful landscapes ranging from Yosemite in California to the Badlands in South Dakota. Personally, I have been to many national parks and I always find beauty there. We have so many diverse and distinct ecosystems that cannot be found anywhere else in the world.  A recent personal experience that I have is biking to Quarry Lakes to fish with my best friend. We caught one fish and that was a very fun and exciting experience, but more importantly, I was grateful for being able to live in a prosperous country where I could afford these luxuries in my personal time. It’s a fun experience and it is part of my weekly routine. I personally can’t wait for t...

I remember walking out of a Chem Honors test last year, not entirely sure if I was satisfied with the results but definitely satisfied that it was over. I was looking forward to a flex meeting with the local Dead Poets Society (we meet in Markos at flex), but I decided that I needed a break. So before I entered the classroom, I stopped in a grassy field during brunch and just looked at the clouds. I remember running through Quarry Lakes in sophomore year, forcing myself to finish a grueling five or six mile run. The fact that I can’t remember the distance should give you some indication of my mental state at the time. After three or four miles, I found myself veering off of the trail, down towards a lake littered with rocks. I decided to give myself a break from the breath-quenching agony and simply stare out upon the ripples of the lake, only a couple steps away from the water. I remember countless wanderings during lunch, not really having a plan for what I was going to do, only to ...

Photo Credits: Screenshot from Discord The group chat was active and I was typing in response to one of my friends potentially being the cause of a teacher being fired at school. “ZAMN BOI” I clicked send. I didn’t think much of it since this is how I normally speak to my friends. However, from an outsider’s perspective, we might sound a bit weird. Although these words may sound so weird, it feels so natural to me. Typically, you wouldn’t use these types of words in formal situations, or even in your own friend groups. I mean, you wouldn’t find it in the classic Merriam-Webster dictionary . But they are real words. At least, it’s part of the vocabulary me and my friends use. “ Zamn ”: another word for damn or dang and can be used in a similar way, but with stronger emotion. “ Boi ”: another word for “boy", but funnier. Where do these words come from? Where did I learn these words? My friends of course! These words were popularized online, but I started using them becau...

     Soccer is a unique sport where two teams of 11 players try their very best to score a goal on an opposing team to win a match. This is my favorite sport and I think it plays a vital role in my identity. To me, it is something that I can do after a long day at school. It is something that I want to succeed in. And it is something that I feel passionate about. Eventually, I want to become a professional soccer player and I understand that it is a hard process.      It all started when I had the pleasure to watch Kylian Mbappe score against Australia in the first match of the world cup. In that moment, I was able to fully visualize and understand the beauty of the sport. The elite touch, control, and finishing that Mbappe displayed that day was something that overwhelmed my senses. From that day, I started my journey to becoming a professional soccer player. Each day since 7th grade I would go out to the field and put all my energy into getting better. It...

I am definitely the textbook definition of a quiet person, and it doesn't help that I'm an overthinker and unnecessarily sassy to myself. I mean, you would just hear me say hi and politely hang around in your peripheral vision while my brain, like the backstabber it is, immediately starts judging me like: “Omg who says ‘hi’ like that??” , “that was an octave higher than socially acceptable” and then it hits me with a “I’m not mad just a little disappointed of your social skills that are comparable to a dead raccoon” . “Really brain? Why can't you be a team player for once?” Even as I am writing this, my brain is constantly telling me to fix those sentences, asking me if I am oversharing things and ordering me to drink water and get some snacks (“ok, you overgrown toddler, I will eat that snickers bar. Shut up.” “Did you seriously add ‘shut up' just for dramatic flair? On a blog? Just typing it out? Are you for real?” “YESS!! NOW GET OUT OF MY HEAD, BRAIN!”). Because m...

I consider AP US history the hardest class to study for because of the numerous names and dates that need to be remembered. So I decided the best way to study for an APUSH Unit 3 test is to watch Hamilton (Although I have watched it so many times already). Hamilton is relevant to the time period, but more importantly Hamilton is a crazy good Musical and it is close to the top of my list for the best broadway shows.(Secret theater kid speaking). I like it because it is a modern tragedy, because of Hamilton’s tragic death duel and its crafted modern hip-hop and R&B genre songs.  “Pardon me. Are you Aaron Burr, Sir?”, “Rise up!”, “In New York, you can be a new man” and “I’m helpless” are all some of the well known lines in the musical, but the most important and influential song to me in this musical is “I am not throwing away my Shot”. It kind of evolved into my motto. For Hamilton, it is a sentence of encouragement; as he dreams to achieve more as a founding father even as an or...

  It may seem unlikely, but there is only one thing standing between us and student betterment: Unity. This, of course, is not a summary of every student, but the average student has a few common elements: certain people they go to every day at lunch, friends they know and hang out with, individual ideas and goals, and the list goes on. However, I see and fear that many students, not just at AHS but beyond, have little universal solidarity with the other students. So many have been self-categorized that it seems nigh-impossible to branch out now. Take my personal experience as Den Chief, a Boy Scouts role requiring the teaching of kindergarten to 5th graders, Cub Scouts. Despite their hyperactivity, they are extremely outgoing and free-spirited; they constantly and consistently engage with others and cannot stop inquiring. It is truly awe-inspiring how different they are from high schoolers like us; those who have our groups and friends and mostly stick to them.  A perfect ex...

Soccer is a unique sport where two teams of 11 players try their very best to score a goal on an opposing team to win a match. This is my favorite sport and I think it plays a vital role in my identity. To me, it is something that I can do after a long day at school. It is something that I want to succeed in. And it is something that I feel passionate about. Eventually, I want to become a professional soccer player and I understand that it is a hard process.  It all started when I had the pleasure to watch Kylian Mbappe score against Australia in the first match of the world cup. In that moment, I was able to fully visualize and understand the beauty of the sport. The elite touch, control, and finishing that Mbappe displayed that day was something that overwhelmed my senses. From that day, I started my journey to becoming a professional soccer player. Each day since 7th grade I would go out to the field and put all my energy into getting better. It was exhausting. Sometimes I felt ...

For about two years now, people have been asking me why I wake up at 5:00 AM in the morning. In order to appease people’s insatiable appetites for an answer, I tend to give them half a dozen different reasons that I pick depending on my mood. If I want to seem personable, I tell them that I have three younger siblings, and I simply cannot get any work done while they’re wandering around in the evening. If I want to seem pious, I tell them that I wake up for seminary , which is an early-morning class that teenage members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints attend in order to study scripture. And if I’m feeling cranky, I simply tell them that I have to, and leave it at that. While all of these reasons are true and valid, they are missing the essence of why I wake up in the morning. After all, I don’t really have to wake up for seminary that early (it starts at 6:45), and I don’t work in the conventional sense during those hours. Today feels like the time to finally address...