Feeling a Little Blue?

You're not alone. Reach out to someone. Help someone. Go jogging. Strive to be that one happy face in a sea of blue.

Make a difference.

The Price Of Education

Name a place in the United States and people will probably tell you that there are numerous cases of the H1N1 virus. The H1N1 pandemic has prompted schools nationwide to be shut down. Except for ours. Because to us, the price of education is worth more than health. But of course, we already knew this from the three hours of sleep we get every day to study for our Physics Test tomorrow. But sleep, you make up on the weekend. Recovering from the H1N1, not so much.

What incentive do we have to stay away from school? Certainly not to keep other people virus free while students nowadays are getting bombarded with missed assignments the next day. There's a test tomorrow! I could be nauseous, dying, unable to breathe, and yet I'd drag myself to take that test. Why? Because if not, we get the harder version of test the next day.

For many of us driven students, we don't think it's such a big deal to be sick. Or at least to attend school until we take our test. But in a public high school with over 2500 students, 1 person with a disease leads to 30 in less than an hour, and each of those 30 students leads to another 30. On average with 7 periods a day, how many students is that in one day? You do the math.

Needless to say, nobody wants to make up an additional two or so weeks at the start of summer. What are we to do then? Stand at the crossroads between life and education?

I Scream for Ice Cream

The liquid drips down as the girl struggles to contain it in her mouth. Just the look of the soft pink delicacy was enough to make me salivate. Behind her winded a long line, to the corner of the sidewalk. I turned to watch her walk. Her concentration was not on where she was heading, but on the jewel in her hands. The bright sun shone down on her, causing shrinkage of her prized possession. Her teeth mashed into the already melted substance. I could see the flurry of pink in her mouth, turning in circles like a washing machine. The girl chewed as if she had all the time in the world. She desired to enjoy every single bite she could. When she swallowed, the contractions of her pharynx were very distinct. When at last she was done, she took the remaining drops and poured it down her throat like a dehydrated man who had not seen water in days. Then she broke into a wide and satisfied grin. Her happiness in that moment resided in such a simple thing.

9/8/08