How to Best Utilize Summer

By Kim Keener

 Summer is just around the corner, and the stress and anxiety of the school year has almost come to an end.  But the big question is: what to do all summer? Being one of those couch potatoes or beach bums can only last for so long before it gets boring and monotonous.  So why not make the most of summer, and not let it slip away?  In addition, if a four-year college is a destination for once one has graduated high school, colleges love to see that someone has made an effort to be productive over summer.  Furthermore, there are many opportunities through which one can utilize summertime in a productive way, but still have fun, take it easy, and feel accomplished. 
            Firstly, learning a new skill such as cooking, photography, art, kickboxing, self-defense, etc., is always interesting.  Taking an extra class like psychology over the summer can boost up the a student's GPA and shows colleges their determination and willingness to make sacrifices.  In addition, learning something new can give a person insight into a career or a hobby that they may not have considered before, which can be enlightening and a self-identifying experience.  Such enlightening moments are always helpful because as adolescents, high school students struggle to find themselves and often make mistakes as they do so.  Also, taking a class or learning a new skill shows independence, which is necessary for the real world where the only person on your team is you, no mommy or daddy to go home and cry to.  However, if taking a class or learning a new skill does not sound appealing, an internship or a new job is a good opportunity to take advantage of as well.
            Taking an internship at a company or at an inspiring, intriguing job can often give a person deep first-hand experience and knowledge of what that job is like from a unique perspective.  This can also help a person to establish whether or not that job is a future that they could see themselves having or not.  In this very confusing life, full of various different job opportunities, many are confused as to what is it that they want to do with the rest of their lives after getting their education.  Its also not just adolescents and high school students that have trouble establishing what they want to do in life, often many adults are still clueless as to what they were born to achieve.  Another great perk of having a summer job or internship is the responsibility that one can gain from a job.  No longer does a person just have to look out for themselves, but with the addition of a new job they are tacked on with the responsibility of looking out for their employer(s) and making sure that as an employee they show up on time, work well with others, and do the job they were hired to do. 
            If a person chooses to go down a path which is more selfless and strays from the stereotypical plight that most teenagers have of being selfish, they can choose to get involved in community service or philanthropic organizations. This is a great time consumer, and looks great to colleges: in some cases colleges make the appearance or lack of community service a make or break factor which decides that person's acceptance or not.  Community service does not just mean cleaning up after people in nursing homes; if is not appealing, one can always plant a tree or join the Tree Musketeers, who plant trees yearly and take care of them.  There are much more opportunities to community service than just these though.  Organizations are always looking for volunteers or money which can be donated to support a cause like providing sleepwear to needy kids or something of that sort.  Community service is often found to be an experience which can better a person and allows them to feel more empathy and compassion for others.
            Finally, there are many useful opportunities out there which can be utilized for both your own benefit in hopes of helping making a person look better to colleges or even helping a person to understand themselves more deeply. Also, community service can make one feel more influential by helping others and putting another person’s before the needs of their own.  So with so many options to choose from, what are you waiting for? It’s your summer, make the most of it!

The End

By Lena Hedayat

There’s so little room to let time slide by. As each month runs quickly into the next, it feels as though everything is being jumbled into one big long stretch of endless hours that were spent laughing, crying, screaming, and painfully doing schoolwork. Going back to September; new, old, and soon departing  students entered the school grounds. The freshmen were trying to get a feel of how their new school did things, the sophomores were simply excited not to be freshmen anymore, the juniors groaned as they received their schedules, and the seniors began to apply to colleges and anxiously awaited their future.
 As September breezed through into October and then November, events at El Segundo High School proceeded as usual. The Coronation Dance was enjoyed as much as a dance in the gym can be. Students spent the night dancing until it was all too gross to put up with anymore, with people leaving and returning despite the no-exiting rule. The homecoming football game was celebrated with the pleasure of annihilating Bishop Montgomery 35-13. After going a few years with no homecoming victories, ESHS was overjoyed with their win. The fall play, A Midsummer’s Night Dream, was a comedic success and the first Spirit Week of the year occurred where ESHS followed their tradition of having a raging wild 80’s day. The nation also experienced the election of the first African- American president. President Obama now resides in the White House. And the young in our nation felt inspired. The familiar theme of “change”  has spread throughout many minds.
 Many of the juniors and seniors were becoming familiar with their busy schedules and A.P. classes. The sophomores this year proved to be a dominating class right behind the seniors, and the freshmen were wary as they walked down the halls.
December brought Christmas Break, and January came and went with finals. The year 2009 began with a fresh start as the seniors started to figure out where they wanted to go, and how they were going to get there. The second Spirit Week came about in February, and March followed with the UCLA Blood Drive and the Health Fair. April brought about ASB elections, where several worthy candidates ran and gave invigorating speeches. The final candidates chosen for the positions were: Alicia Maples as president, Ryan Denman as Vice President, Lauren Farello as Secretary, and Jordan Zecchini as the Treasurer. The spring musical, Little Shop of Horrors, made quite an impression. May came forth with the excitement of prom. The dance took place at the Long Beach Aquarium and it was an awesome night. The whole aquarium was transformed into a fabulous prom scene.  Every 15 Minutes was put on just before prom making the point of showing the dangers of drinking and driving.
As the year comes to a close, everyone is feeling the excitement and sadness of graduating and the underclassmen are ready for a break. It has been a great year, and good luck to the class of 2009!

End of the Year Good-Bye Letter to the Teachers

By Chase Bougeon

Dear ___________,
            (teacher’s name)
                I have really _________ your class this year. Every _________ of your class has been _________.
                                   (past tense verb)                                                        (singular noun)                                                  (adjective)
I will always remember your _________ personality and the countless times you _________ with me
                                                                   (emotion)                                                                                          (past tense verb)
after class. While not all students appreciate your style of _________, I found it very helpful and wish
                                                                                                                                  (-ing verb)
more _________ were like you.
             (plural noun)
               
Some of my _________ memories from this year have been from your _________. Like the time 
                                              (adjective)                                                                                                                 (noun)
_________ showed up to class and had a _________ on his _________. Or the time where
   (name)                                                                              (noun)                            (body part)
_________ brought a _________ to class and it _________ on the _________.
      (name)                                  (animal)                                   (past tense verb)                  (place)

I will _________ miss your class after I graduate and go to college. I hope my teachers their can
(adverb)
be as _________ you. Your class really _________ me, I now plan to major in _________ because of you.
(adjective)                                               (past tense verb)                                                               (class)   
I know however that their _________ will never be the same as yours.  At least college will be more
(plural noun)
_________ than El Segundo, where it is always _________.
(adjective)                                                                                       (adjective)
Thank you again for such a _________ year!
(adjective)
Sincerely,
___________________________
(your name)

Summer Cures the Sightless

By Nikki O'choa

Recently, something has changed about walking up the grey, dew soaked stairs at the entrance of our school each morning. Perhaps this is because the grass on either side of the concrete aisle looks especially green. Maybe it's the absence of a harsh wind sending shivers down exhausted students' spines that have already been damped by shower-soaked hair. It may just be the lack of waking from a vivid dream to motion through a predictable day. But most likely of all, the change comes from the thought that each morning is now part of a delicate time frame. Each morning that passes into afternoon and each stair trudged up counts down to its own nonexistence. The end of the school year is here, and once again it seems as though it did not actually happen, for the summer sun is rejuvenating and daydreaming under it takes away all memory of a long tiresome school year. As Sunnya Cha beautifully articulates, "Summer is the bomb." Carter Gottlieb is as eager to break the set of school and enjoy summer as he says, “I can’t wait for summer.”
     Time plays its tricks, and some may have fallen to his deception. Common cases include the ever so popular, "Oh I'll be able to get my grades up before the end of the school year." There exists a still more personal feeling of regret for never carrying out an action, and only having the courage to do so after it is too late. Thinking back onto the school year, days become blurs and points in time become periods and trends. Being wrapped up in a moment blinds from seeing the big picture and how everything in time is connected.  An ant walking on a stick can only see the path ahead and has no idea he's a part of a greater picture. Repetition alone seems to be the guide on the course of closed eyes and minds. Once the pattern is broken by something like summer, we are able to look around and actually see.