Story by Charlotte DekleColumnist I do not have the same affinity for “The Sound of Music” that many people do. Sure, it could be because I am a musical theater snob who views it as the most simplistic of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s catalogue, both score and story wise. But I cannot deny that many people […]
Romanticizing AP Gov
Story by Hanna Bae, Editor-in-Chief
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Story by Charlotte Dekle, Columnist
Why I’m a patriot
Story by Hanna BaeEditor-in-Chief I didn’t really consider myself patriotic. I thought people who decked out in America merch at every convenience were silly, idiotic even. What is there to be so proud of? The United States — the land of the free, the land of liberty, the land of unity — is, in simple […]
Quinnie’s Opinnies: Sympathy Sucks
Story by Quinn Manzo Print Editor Sympathy makes me really uncomfortable. It’s difficult to tell when it’s coming from a genuine place, and when I receive sympathy from someone, I feel an obligation to thank them profusely for offering me nice words. In the end, I don’t feel any better. Most of the time, except […]
Lilian v sandwich: Who will win?
Story by Lilian Zhu Webmaster Illustration by Martin Walsh Staff Illustrator I ate a sandwich on Sept. 3, 2021 that destroyed all my hopes and dreams. Admittedly, it was my fault since I decided to eat a questionable turkey sandwich that had sat out in my car on a 90 degree day for all of […]
Forcing everyone to love math
Story by Lilian Zhu Webmaster Illustration by Martin Walsh Staff Illustrator When the question, “What’s the point of math?” is asked, people are quick to defend the subject by using examples of economic or technological applications but omit the transcendent beauty of reasoning and wonder that math brings. People are always focused on increasing productivity, […]
Breaking the unspoken rule against voicing my opinions
Story by Kimberly HsuehSenior Staff Writer This has been an unsettling topic that has been on my mind since childhood: the love/hate relationship I have with my parents. One of the first rules my parents established was “don’t talk back.” No matter how invalid my parents’ arguments were, talking back meant receiving the silent treatment […]
Coping and cutting my hair
Story by Kimberly HsuehSenior Staff Writer Take one step at a time. This is what I didn’t do when I attempted to break out of a depressed state. For weeks, I was plagued with deprecating thoughts, managing to convince myself that I was truly incapable of doing anything. I reclined in bed and spent hours […]
Anime carries surprising weight
Story by Kimberly HsuehSenior Staff Writer The setter smoothly switches from a spiking to setting position, passing the ball to one of the wing spikers who smashes the ball over the net. Karasuno High’s middle blocker Hinata Shoyo retaliates. With intense concentration fixated on the ball, he blocks the ball’s path, shooting it high into […]
Competition is fracturing
Story by Kimberly HsuehSenior Staff Writer I can’t remember the carefree feelings that surged through me in elementary and middle school. But I can recall that I was braver, happier, and more ambitious than I am now. My adventure started with daringly climbing the netted structure at Monterey Hills with my friends and daringly declaring […]
Stop telling me that distance learning is easy
Story by Kimberly HsuehSenior Staff Writer The 2020 spring semester was an unexpected shift from in-person learning to online schooling, yet many of us managed a smooth transition. Nine months later, processing the normalization of school at home has proved to be more difficult than the initial transition. While experiencing the ongoing pandemic, political climate, […]
Discovery identity
Story by Kimberly HsuehSenior Staff Writer It took 15 years to finally feel Taiwanese. As a LA born Taiwanese-American, I struggled with boredom at Chinese school and only visited Taiwan once every one or two years. To me, being an American meant that I didn’t have to embrace my Taiwanese identity, as English was the […]
Finding the right fit
Story by Kimberly HsuehSenior Staff Writer Most high-achieving South Pas students have one goal: getting into college, especially a prestigious one. Even in middle school, I was beginning to think about my dream college and planning the steps I would take to achieve that goal. But in high school, I began taking a more critical […]
My high school experience as a game of Jenga
Story by Kimberly HsuehSenior Staff Writer I poked my index finger at the wooden block. Ignoring the sway of the tower, I quickly pulled the block through and greedily added a tally mark to the total number of extractions. Jenga is a boring game, my ten-year old self thought. Absent-mindedly, I randomly selected another block […]
Now is the time to finally reclaim my identity
The intersectionality of my identities is something that I’ve always struggled with, especially my racial identity as a Black and Mexican person growing up in South Pasadena’s mostly Asian and white environment. My environment has shaped who I am and the way that I view myself. And while it is not my fault that I […]