Strength, patience, dedication and having a steady form.
These are the most important qualities to have when you shoot archery.
Long hours of practice and striving for that perfect score is the goal of every archer. Your frustration grows with every bad shot. It gets you down instantly when you have a bad end. You blame your bow or arrows, anything but yourself.
“Let’s shoot one more end,” my dad would say every time to make me think that maybe just this time we would finally be done.
“I’m tired and I’m starting to shoot badly. My arms hurt too,” I would say back.
“Shoot your best round so we can end on that note,” he would say.
This is the part when patience and strength are key.
I pull back my bow slowly, setting my mind on the gold. I look through my peep site very carefully trying to set on the center. My release is steady and ready to go off. I pull the trigger and follow through. Right when I look up, I see those pink and green veins in the center of the target, just what I was hoping for.
“There’s my best shot all night!” I yell to my dad.
The feeling of a job well done is always the way I like to conclude my hard night of practice. Ends and ends of shooting. Ten to be exact. Ten rounds of three arrows each. I strive for that top score of 300. The practices grow harder and longer, trying new equipment and new routines to perfect every shot.
The best sigh of relieve is achieved when you see all three of your arrows in the center gold. You know you have just shot your best round and feel very prepared for the next invitational or tournament.
Having my dad as my coach makes me feel great because I know I can always talk to him and he is always around. He’s an amazing coach for me and is always helping me to perfect my shot.
Where do you think I learned patience, strength and dedication?
After being wheeled into the room, medicine was injected into my IV while a mask hovered over my face to help me go under. I soon was in a deep sleep.
One day later, I woke up to bright light and a loud noise that I soon discovered was coming from outside of the room. I tried to move only to regret it instantly. My face was throbbing and my stomach was churning.
The nurse saw I was awake and got my parents.
On August 4, I had to go to Hershey Medical Center for major jaw surgery. The surgeons pushed my front jaw back while my lower jaw was moved forward so the two parts of my jaw were lined up.
As the operation progressed, the doctors were also told to add on to my chin, but I was under the anesthesia for too long. According to my doctor, the surgery wasn’t supposed to take long. Instead I was in there for 10 hours. I was born with many medical problems and this operation was supposed to fix one of them.
I was still groggy from the anesthesia when my parents rushed in. The nurse followed in and moved me so I could sit up. Unfortunately, it was a big mistake. I quickly motioned for the yellow bowl in the corner and as soon as I had it, I threw up. Dried blood and puke was piling up in the bowl as I continued to heave more into it. I was terrified because my jaw was wired shut and I couldn’t open my mouth. I felt like I was drowning! The nurse had to suction it out as I vomited to keep me from choking.
I'm back to school after my last surgery. Photo by Liz Lawrence
When I was all cleaned up, the nurse apologized to me for inclining the hospital bed since I was clearly not ready. Not soon enough, my surgeon came in to see how I was and talked to my parents. I was only half listening, but I did catch onto to the fact that I wasn’t going to be able to move my jaw, open my mouth to eat or even talk for two weeks.
I was shocked, I knew that there were going to be a lot of restrictions, but not like that. He then explained the things that I was forbidden to do for the next six weeks. I wasn’t allowed to ride my horse, run around, eat hard food like chicken and candy or do anything physically related.
It was starting to get dark by the time my parents left, I was alone in the intensive care unit for the night. The night shift nurse came in the room to help me every time I got sick, which unfortunately for me felt like it was happening every five minutes. By midnight, I was wiped out from throwing up and was out like a light.
Morning came too soon for me as my mother shook me awake at 7:00 a.m.. She told me that my surgeon had come in and told the assistant nurses to start hooking me up so I could be moved into a private room. I was excited, but there was one problem. The nurses had to change the sheets before taking me to a different room and because of that I would have to stand. My mom came over to help me up and I slowly stood on my shaky legs. However as soon as my feet touched the cold floor I collapsed. My mom and the nurses had to quickly pick me up and place me in a chair. After the bed was clean, the nurses carefully settled me in.
Even being in a new room didn’t take away the aching pain that was residing throughout my left side to the right side of my jaw. It went down my neck and stayed in my stomach. At the time I didn’t think that the pain would ever go away.
Sadly though, my sickness grew worse as the day went on. It was around 3:00 p.m. when the new nurse walked in. She was holding a syringe with fluids in it. She explained that since I could not eat, I had to have some fluids in order to leave the hospital, so they would have to ease the syringe into my mouth in order to feed me. When she first did it, I choked it back up. They did it to me several more times and each time I kept throwing up, only adding to my misery.
However the worst was yet to come. Around nine o’clock the nurse on the night shift came in to take my vitals. It was then she discovered I had a fever of about a hundred and one. While my head was hot, the rest of my body was chilled. Apparently, when I had been throwing up the blood, some of it had gone into my lungs and I now had pneumonia. So, in addition to the feedings with syringes every couple of hours, I had to have breathing treatments and even more medicine in my IV.
The nurse was concerned about my breathing so at three in the morning, an x-ray team quietly came into my room and propped me up so I was sitting. They moved this huge machine in the room and took pictures of my lungs forcing me to sit through all of their prodding.
The next day, my surgeon announced that the bandages around my jaw can come off. And when they did, I felt so relieved. Still, I had to ice my jaw all day since it was so swollen.
It was also the day I was allowed to have visitors. Besides my parents, my grandmother and my aunt came to visit me. They told me how proud they were of me. Due to the fact I couldn’t talk, I had to write notes in my notebook, and I wrote to them that it really wasn’t a big deal.
The rest of the day went as smooth as it could. As soon as morning came I already had my breathing treatments and iced my jaw when my surgeon came in to announce the great news; I was finally able to go home. The next few hours were just about me getting ready to go home.
On the way home, all I felt was nausea and a splitting headache. When my mom and I arrived at home, I flopped on my bed and slept for several hours straight. The next two weeks I spent icing my jaw and drinking fluids. It was only several days before the first day of school when my dentist took out the splint that wired my jaw shut. I was happy because I could finally talk after those long two weeks.
However, even when I was in school, the pain in my jaw only increased. The stress of homework, tests, and other things played an important role. As I got swamped with responsibilities, the numbing pain amplified. It became so bad that I missed a week of school due to the stress upon me. Now, I have to juggle my responsibilities as I prepare for my upcoming surgery this winter.
Vacation. It’s supposed to be fun, relaxing, adventurous. But last summer, the annual getaway to our cabin in the mountains of northern Pennsylvania was far from a great experience, especially when it started out with “license and registration please?”
Cruising down the 11-15 highway with my best friend Sarah Conner, the day was perfect.
Our bodies were surviving off of a pure sugar high from the previous night. Sleepovers tend to have that effect.
The music blasted from the speakers and the trees were a fuzzy TV screen as we zoomed past all the brightly colored landscape. And then it happened.
Christa Charles.
I see him pull out. The lights go on. “Please don’t be me!”
The state trooper drifts into the other lane.
“YES! It’s not me!”
But then he motions me in the mirror to pull off to the side. My stomach starts churning and my eyes well up with tears.
“Oh man. My parents are going to kill me. I’ll never be able to drive again! They’re going to take my car!”
It takes an eternity to roll down my window and the sound of the car’s four-ways has become exponentially louder. It’s more than I can take.
“Do you realize how fast you were going little girl? License and registration please.”
The tall, intimidating man watches the tears roll like ocean waves down my cheeks and looks at me like I’m a complete idiot, turns around and marches back to his car.
Minutes later he returns with a piece of white paper crowded with print and information. It looked like a document the FBI might have on a criminal. All my information gathered after a few clicks of the mouse on his in-car computer.
The officer also kindly had mentioned he called my parents. What a life ruin-er! I just wanted to smack him.
“Like, HELLO? Are you STUPID!? Do you KNOW what my parents will do to me? You’re making more work for yourself Mr. Cop Man. You might get a child abuse call later.” But I decided to keep my thoughts in my head so I didn’t commit another offense.
He explained what to do with the ticket and said that I had 10 days to reply. Guilty or not guilty. I knew I was guilty but I was in no mood to admit it. He caught me.
I was ready to get out of there. My eyes were still watering and Sarah was sitting there with nothing to say. She was still processing what was going on.
“Do you even KNOW her?” the trooper looked at her and asked.
Sarah didn’t reply. She blankly stared at him as if he had eaten some crazy flakes for breakfast.
This day could not get any worse. This guy needed to go away. He’s messed up my vacation enough and he was overstaying his window-side welcome. This was NOT the McDonald’s drive-thru, and I certainly wasn’t there to take his order.
He finally said his goodbyes and wished us well on our way but left me with one statement as he walked away that I will never forget.
All kids know how to drink water. Not all kids know how to swim in it.
Approximately 1.2 million people around the world die each year from drowning incidents and over 50 percent of those incidents are from children, according to ilsf.org, the website for the International Life Saving Federation, which is the world authority for drowning prevention and lifesaving sport.
About one third of those children who drown, do so in and around the home, according to the website.
All children should be taught how to swim.
Many parents picture their family vacations on the beach or at a resort, swimming in the ocean or the pool, playing, laughing and having a great time. The happy thoughts always drown out the bad ones. The thought of their child drowning is the last thing that crosses their mind. In fact, 58 percent of parents do not even consider drowning a threat to their children, as reported by infantswim.com.
I am a swimmer myself, and believe that all young children should be taught to swim.
Two key barriers preventing children from learning how to swim are fear of injury or drowning and lack of parental encouragement, according to the USA Swimming Foundation.
Yes parents, you may think “my child never is near water and never gets in the water, so why should they need to know how to swim?” That is a reasonable question, but the answer is that your child is not safe.
These accidents that have been causing deaths among young children are unnecessary. Swimming is a skill that must be taught. There are many basics to swimming that can only make a child safer near and in the water. Breathing is a crucial skill that can and will save one’s life. Floating and bobbing also have the same result.
“All kids should most definitely be taught how to swim. Its one of those ‘everyone needs to know how to do’ things. Once you learn, you can’t really forget it because its a skill,” said Abby Barley, who is a swimmer herself. “I’m a lifeguard and I’ve seen too many people who try to learn how to swim when they’re older, and it is much harder for them. Do everyone a favor and start when you’re young.”
With so many local places that offer swim lessons for all ages, it should not even be a question whether to sign up for a session. Its not like it is a hassle to hunt down a facility. In Penn Manor, the Conestoga and Millersville pools offer swim lessons to children in the summer, and local rec centers in Lancaster county do as well.
What exactly is a real sport? Cheerleading definitely has all the qualities of a sport such as strength, agility, endurance, teamwork and competition. Many say that cheerleading is nothing but a distraction to real players. Others say that cheerleaders have what it takes to be real athletes.
Cheerleading does meet the dictionary definition of a sport. Going behind the miniskirts and the glittery makeup, you will see a very strong athlete who has confidence, courage and a high spirit.
Cheerleading is a sport, I can prove it.
Cheer practice will usually last around two hours every day, depending on the school. Practices include exercising and stretching, developing a dance routine, tumbling and of course cheering. The length and intensity of the practice is comparable to many varsity sports practices.
Cheerleaders at competition and cheerleaders at football games are very different. Sideline cheerleading at a high school football game? Not a sport. Professional cheerleaders at NFL and NBA games? Not a sport. Competitive cheerleading with tumbling, stunting, and dance that requires stamina, strength and endurance? A sport. The miniskirts and pompoms are just uniforms.
At competitions, cheerleaders show off everything they have learned while representing the school they attend. It’s just like every other athletic sport, giving 100 percent effort, and showing what they are made of.
Competitive cheerleading can be seen on the sports programming network (ESPN).
The skills involved in cheerleading leave no doubt that cheerleaders are exceptional athletes. To perform their activities, they must be as strong as any football player, as poised as any dancer and as flexible as the best gymnasts. They are athletes by every definition of the word.
Penn Manor’s “Friday Reading” is a great way to get students interested in reading.
Yes it is, in a way, forcing them to read, but many students find themselves attached to their book, newspaper, or magazine when those fifteen minutes are over.
“Friday Reading time is great, it makes your classes go faster and I like the book I’ve been reading, so that time set aside is awesome.
Especially when your teacher goes over fifteen minutes and lets the class read longer,” said sophomore student, Jaime Reel.
It may be taking time out of learning in the classroom, but it allows students to teach themselves, in a way. They are able to use their imagination and explore their minds in different ways, rather than being forced to read something that they could care less about.
I like to read, and that's why I support Friday reading.
Not just Penn Manor sets aside reading time, but schools all over the world believe that setting aside time for students to read their own material, will increase their knowledge in vocabulary and comprehension in general, according to iteslj.org.
Although called “Friday Reading” at Penn Manor, in many other schools, this time set aside is referred to as “DEAR” (drop everything and read), “SQUIRT” (silent, quiet, uninterrupted individualized reading time), “USSR” (uninterrupted sustained silent reading) or “SSR” (sustained silent reading). No matter the title used, they all have the same basic principles.
Studies indicate that students who engage in SSR improve in both reading achievement and attitude toward reading, according to readingonline.org.
These programs for reading can only benefit students. There are no cons in allowing students to read material of their choice for a few minutes out of a school day.
The comedy by Mark Twain is playing on November 19 and 20 starting at 7:30 in the Penn Manor High School auditorium.
The play “Is he dead?” is about an artist who is deep in debt to a usurer, which is another name for a loan-shark. The artist is unable to sell his artwork so he and his friends come up with a plan to fake his death in order to drive up the price value of his paintings. The play covers the entire scheme and all the crazy complications.
The lead role is played by senior Cody Goldberg, who plays a male and female role in the play.
Cody Goldberg
“I have a lot of respect for Cody, doing this,” said Melissa Mintzer, assistant director of the play. “I give him a lot of props for learning all of those lines and costumes.”
Crews have been working three hours a day, four days a week, since the second week of school.
The cast is made up of 15 students, there are 25 crew members and 4 adults.
The director of the play is Carol Shellenberger, a retired English teacher at Penn Manor. Assistant director is Melissa Mintzer, Tech director is Mark Dennis, and Rebecca Cotich is in charge of costumes.
How do you speak an English line with a French or German accent, when you were born and raised in America?
“Students will have to try and speak in a different accent when, maybe, they have never even studied that language before,” said Mintzer.
Mark Twain is one of the best humorous play writers that ever lived, so the school has much anticipation.
The play is roughly 2-2 1/2 hours long and is brand new, it has never been done before.
“We hope to inspire other schools to do the play in their high schools,” said Mintzer.
The play is extremely funny and the characters have to do crazy, abnormal things.
But the worst part is that, for some reason, not as many people are coming out to the shows that should.
“My least favorite part is trying to get more people to support and come see the shows,” said Mintzer. “They are always extremely good but people don’t always know that.”
This year’s play is going to be a fun and humorous one that everyone will enjoy.
You may have seen large, grizzly men lumbering throughout the halls of Penn Manor, but don’t be afraid, there hasn’t been an invasion of Wookies… it’s just November.
Although the original target of No-Shave November was young college males, the concept has morphed over the years to include even the most peach-fuzz-less freshman.
Senior Tyler Wilson proudly shows off his rugged beard. Photo by Ben Embry
The idea of going a full night without shaving one’s facial region was started by college students to raise awareness about men’s health issues. The main focus of the month was centered on prostate and testicular cancer.
It’s become quite popular at Penn Manor.
“It’s awesome, I like not having to shave,” Bo Perez, a junior, said. ” I think I can make it to the end without shaving. It’s so itchy.”
The objective of No-Shave November is, well, pretty much self explanatory. One must go, or at least attempt to go, the entire month of November without shaving their face. Students sometimes can be overheard toward the beginning of the month boasting about their goals, but few get to accomplish them.
“Oh yeah, I’m absolutely going to finish the month out this year,” said Nick Weidinger, a senior at the school.
Bo Perez shows off his wild side. Photo by Ben Embry
“I am pretty sure the tradition started when lumberjacks started to get cold and needed a way to keep their faces warm against the cold wind while they cut down trees,” said Tyler Wilson, while sporting what is arguably one of the best non-adult beards in the halls of Penn Manor.
“Of course I’m finishing the month,” Wilson insisted. “I finished the month last year without shaving.”
Wilson even shared some insider tips.
“The trick to battling the itchiness, he said, is to use conditioner on the beard in the shower.
“Works like a charm,” he said.
This writer lasted about three whole days without shaving, but the pressure proved too much. But it must be pointed out, if only to save this writer’s ego, many others caved as well.
Patrick Miller, is a senior at the school but a first time No-Shaver had nothing but eagerness on his maiden voyage into unrestrained facial hair.
“I am very excited to do this,” Miller said. “No-Shave November is a fun time that all young men should enjoy taking part in.”
Whatever the underlying reasons for shying away from the razor blade, one thing is certain with all the enthusiasm witnessed for growing facial hair, No-Shave November is here to stay.
For another voice on this issue, check out David Mohimani’s opinion essay.
Tyler Perry’s movie rendition of “For Colored Girls” is a star-packed drama that is far from his usual string of comedies. The story is based on twenty people, each of whom represents a character in every one of the twenty poems throughout the movie. The poems represent struggles colored woman in particular have to face on a day-to-day basis.
Photo credited to cdn.sparkart.net
Kimberly Elise, Janet Jackson, Loretta Devine, Thandie Newton, Anika Nonie Rose, Kerry Washington, Tessa Thompson, Phylicia Rashad, Whoopie Goldberg, Macy Gray, Michael Ealy, Omari Hardwick, Richard Lawson, Hill Harper, Khalil Khan, Rayna Tharani, Jaycee Williams, and Thomas Jessup are just some of the characters who portray stories of rape, murder, promiscuity, and physical/verbal abuse.
The 2 hr and 14 min. movie has its sure of heart stopping moments and doesn’t let up on the dramatic experiences that happen throughout. “For Colored Girls” was originally a screenplay by Ntozake Shange turned Broadway play in the 70’s. The full name of the play was “For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf” is directed towards young woman of color who face the same problems in real life.
The movie sheds a light on many different problems and constantly sends the same message Shange made in her play.
Officially there are 11 federal holidays celebrated in the United States: New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Presidents Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day. Out of those 11 holidays, I would argue that only four of them are celebrated properly. Veterans Day is one that is not.
According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, there are around 23 million veterans in the United states and about 4o percent of them are 65 years or older. The number of veterans in the United States almost makes it impossible for every other person not to be related to one. Veterans Day is a day to celebrate warriors of all different kinds. Whether they served in World War II or the Iraq war, the holiday is in honor of them.
Although the war in which they served may have ended, the problems may have just begun. Vets face a numerous amount of health issues after leaving service whether the problems are physical, mental or both. There are scars of war that millions of vets deal with everyday.
Lost limbs, gunshot wounds, and head injuries are just some of the physical scars left by war that can be seen walking down the street. But some of the scars not visible to the naked eye are post-traumatic stress, depression, anxiety and substance abuse. Not only are these hidden problems hard on the veteran, but their family and friends may suffer as well.
This holiday is not only important because we are celebrating their courage and bravery during the war but also because of their ongoing attributes after. The national Veterans Day ceremony, which is held every November 11 at Arlington National Cemetery, will start precisely at 11 a.m. But make no mistake, you don’t have to be there to celebrate. Here are some events happening here in PA:
Military Appreciation Monday Free “Thank You” dinner Nov. 15- Golden Corral, Bensalem
A tribute to veterans will be held 11 a.m. Thursday- Shappell Park, Main Street, Phillipsburg, PA
Veterans Day celebration will be held 9:30 to 11 a.m. Thursday- Lehigh County Senior Center, Allentown, PA
Commemorate Veterans Day at The National Constitution Center Thurs. Nov. 11- Philadelphia, PA
Veteran’s Day Commemoration at Valley Forge Thurs.- Valley Forge National Historical Park, King of Prussia
