There comes a time in every senior’s career when they have to start picking colleges. Now, I’m far from being a senior, but I started thinking about colleges after going to the East Coast during spring break. Through all my time thinking about location, majors, and programs, one thing has stuck with me.
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How are we, as children, supposed to decide the course of our lives? When someone chooses a college, they chose their connections, their future job opportunities, and many other hidden factors. When we choose a major, we cut off most of our time to explore other subjects of thought.
Picture this: You walk in to Ms. Oberlander and Mr. Alvarez’s college meeting. You sit down, take out your laptop, and open Naviance. You take a look at the colleges you’re thinking about. UCSB, Chapman, Harvard, or Yale. You have your target schools, but you know in your heart you’re dying to go to your reach school. You raise your hand to go to the bathroom, interrupting Ms. Oberlander’s speech about freedom.
It’s a little ironic. When most students go to college, they don’t know how to handle themselves. Just three months before freshman orientation, they still had to ask to use the restroom. They still had their parents doing their laundry and making them dinner. Teachers still told them how to dress, how to act. At OVS, we have the unique opportunity to learn some of the skills most college students lack so that we are more prepared to take on this new challenge.
However, OVS (and any school for that matter) can’t prepare us for what’s out there. It can’t prepare you for the choice between going to class or playing video games. It can’t prepare you for the people who will hurt you or how to make friends. They can only cross their fingers and hope you succeed.
As California transitions into spring, the “April Showers” have been few and far between. However, there has been a recent shower of finals and exams. Because APs are soon to be upon us, teachers have been giving us our typical end of the year finals now, rather than later, to prepare us for the AP.
That’s all well and good, but after finals we still learn things, and some classes have a second final during finals week, along with the AP in May. And, I’m pretty certain almost every student at this point is 97% done, I know I am. This is the point of the year when projects, essays, research papers, tests, and reviews are piled on, with the thought in the back of your mind that finals are in a month and a half, and (in my case) you literally have no idea what’s going on in half of your classes.
I have spent most of my years wondering what Hogwarts house I would belong in. And when I say that, I mean I’ve spent way too many hours obsessively tapping my fingers in introspection.
For about half of those many years I have been told time and time again that I am unquestionably, undoubtably a Ravenclaw. So when Pottermore launched, part of me was just itching to go and check, but something stopped me. I did not go to Pottermore, in fact I waited approximately seven years before I visited.
I now know that I was terrified, as dorky and riddikulus as it sounds, yes I was terrified. What if I ended up in a house I didn’t feel like I was part of? Part of me had always held onto this idea that I, like the trio, was part of Gryffindor, but I knew that I was probably Ravenclaw.
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I have spent years avoiding my inevitable sorting, but I finally caved. I’m not sure how I feel now that I have. I took every other quiz I could before this one, including an Ilvermorny house quiz, which I was surprised to find I am not a Horned Serpent, I am a Wampus, known to be the body of a wizard and the warrior. So maybe that should’ve been my first warning flag.
When I finally took the sorting quiz, I came out Slytherin. I understand to a degree, but I wanted a second opinion. So I did something taboo, I cheated the system, which, thinking about it now, may make me more Slytherin than I thought. But still, I made another account. It never hurts to get a second opinion.
This time Ilvermorny was not a Horned Serpent, instead a Thunderbird, known for spirit and adventure. Both for Ilvermorny and Hogwarts I tried to answer very similarly to the first sorting and as true to myself as I felt I could be.
For Hogwarts, this time I came out Gryffindor. I should be ecstatic, the secret hope has been partially confirmed. But something still doesn’t sit right.
I feel the most closely linked to Ravenclaw and the Horned Serpent, the houses of the wise, studious, and intellectuals. How could my results say traits, that yes, I do have and pride myself on, outweigh what I believe to actually be my strongest characteristics?
I have spent so many years of my life wondering about this… to the point where I am just straight up confused now.
Understandably, the houses together form one complete concept – everybody has a bit of every house. The point of the sorting is to identify the strongest of those traits, so why do I feel that the traits identified by a J.K. Rowling-approved computer algorithm as my strongest are wrong?
Photo Credit: The Odyssey Online
Maybe because that’s just it. Despite my unerring geekiness and absolute worshipping of J.K. Rowling, I am not going to trust a computer to tell me what house I’m supposed to be for Ilvermorny or Hogwarts. The decision is for the Sorting Hat and the Carvings alone to make, and it is widely recognized that the Sorting Hat takes your belief into consideration and it is a personal belief that the carvings of Ilvermorny do too.
I, to give Pottermore some credit, as I stated before have an unerring belief in almost anything J.K. Rowling approves. That being said, I believe that this was partially correct both times and partially wrong both times.
The readers are what bring the story to life, and believe me, I am a reader and Harry Potter is definitely very much real life to me. So shouldn’t what I believe to be true mean something?
I feel that I have the ambition, resourcefulness, and many other characteristics of a Slytherin, but I also feel that I have the boldness, daring, and countless other traits of a Gryffindor, and equal to both of the previous I feel that I have the curiosity, drive for wisdom, and basically everything else that Ravenclaw treasures. My feelings on the Ilvermorny houses mirror my feelings on the Hogwarts houses – I value adventure, strength, and wisdom.
Simply put, I will continue to stand by my allegiance to all: Ravenclaw, Slytherin, Gryffindor, Wampus, Thunderbird, and Horned Serpent.
But those of the steadfast Pottermore belief will have to forgive me for my terrible sin: I am going to take Pottermore as suggestion.
I will continue to believe that I am a Ravenclaw/Horned Serpent who has very strong tendencies toward the many other houses, like the well-rounded person, with an inclination toward intellect, I believe myself to be.
If you read almost any dress code guideline, whether for school or for the workplace, an everlasting rule is that males must have short, groomed hair.
But why?
Obviously there are many double standards, both in the dress code and the real world. But many of these double standards apply to females, policing how much skin they can show or how much makeup they can wear, making sure they don’t “distract” others. These must be addressed, and they often are, even if no changes come from it.
But, many don’t address the fact that males aren’t allowed (whether in society, school, or work) to express themselves, and this goes much farther than just hair. It is considered outside of the societal norm for men to have long hair, earrings, wear “girly” clothing, or express themselves emotionally. If they present themselves in an effeminate way, they are considered inferior or mocked – called “girly” as though that’s an insult, or told that only females can only act certain ways and wear certain things, and vice versa. The reality is, both men and women have emotions and feelings, both want to express themselves, and they should be able to express and present themselves in any way they want. This something that society as a whole has to address and accept.
I have a roommate, and she tells me that I talk in my sleep. I sometimes speak in full sentences, such as “the Jacuzzi was good,” or I mumble. When I wake up I don’t remember what I talked about at all.
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I’ve heard that people dream in the language they are most comfortable speaking. My roommate says I speak in both English and in Japanese. I was speaking mostly Japanese until I was 16 years old, but I’ve been using more English these past three years. I thought I was more fluent in Japanese just by the number of years I’ve used it in comparison to English, but it seems like now I know English just as well.
I was trying my best not to speak in Japanese, not to read in Japanese and not to watch Japanese T.V. shows for the past three years in order to be more fluent in English. But I never thought I would be as fluent in English as Japanese. So I am very proud of myself for achieving my goal of being bilingual.
Erasmus had left her there to rot. After everything.
She was following what she believed to be best. He was the one who had taught her to do that.
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Her eyes were closed but she knew, she knew that he was in her cell. Watching her. Waiting for something. Something that wouldn’t come. He wanted an explanation, but she didn’t have one.
She couldn’t explain to him that there was some deep tether in her gut that his plan would go wrong. He was too proud for her to say anything like that. She couldn’t explain to him that she threw away what he saw as his future on a “gut instinct.”
So he continued to stare and she continued pretending to sleep.
She could hear him shift, she could hear him breathing. It was making her nervous. She wanted to tell him but she couldn’t.
Over the weekend, my friend dragged me to a Ventura movie theater to watch the Power Rangers. Yes, Power Rangers. I remember walking into the movie theater wishing I could go get my nails done instead. I sat down and prepared myself to fall asleep.
Right when my eyes started to flutter, Billy Cranston, the soon-to-be blue ranger, admitted he had autism. Not in an embarrassed or comical way, just simply put. Jason Lee Scott, the red ranger, responded with sarcasm, which Billy said he didn’t understand.
While this scene may seem insignificant and random to most, it is just the kind of positive, informative representation that people with autism need. Billy’s autism isn’t made to be the punchline, the means of a joke. Billy is a valuable member of the team, just as strong as the others. He was even the first to morph, something the entire team struggled with.
Photo Credit: comingsoon.net
This moment is joining the many moments in media embracing autism. Sesame Street is introducing its first character with autism, Julia. She’s afraid to shake Big Bird’s hand when she first meets him, prompting Big Bird to get upset. However, Elmo explains to Big Bird that it is harder for her to come in contact with others. By the end of the episode, she is playing tag with the group and is jumping with excitement.
These moments are so momentous because they’re bringing awareness to a larger audience. They’re informing the public through interesting storylines and complex character developments. They’re also bringing much-needed representation. Now, little girls and boys with autism will believe that they can be superheroes. Preschoolers will learn about their best friend’s disorder, and these successes will pave the way for new stories to be made.
It has been announced that the world’s first head transplant surgery is scheduled for December of this year, a surgery that could be a turning point for modern medicine and people alike. The surgery is set to be preformed on Valery Spiridonov, who has Werdnig-Hoffmann disease which leaves him unable to stand or walk.
The surgery, that is estimated to be at least $10 million, will last for approximately 36 hours. The condensed plan of the surgery from A Person Who is Not Very Scientific is that the doctors, Sergio Canavero and Xiaoping Ren, will cool Spiridonov’s body to 50 degrees Fahrenheit, and cut off the heads of Spiridonov and the donor at the exact same time. Then the doctors will somehow connect the spinal cord and nerves from Spiridonov’s head to the donor body.
Many transplants like this have been done with animals, but most have failed and many are skeptical of the upcoming risky procedure.
This question occurred to me last night as I leaned against my kitchen counter. I had a bent copy of The Great Gatsby held lazily in my left hand, an uncapped, drying, pink highlighter in my right, and a black pen tucked in my shorts pocket. There was a weather-beaten espresso percolator heating on the stove, I was wearing a second-hand cardigan and hand-knit socks. A Portuguese cover album of David Bowie, from a Wes Anderson film, was playing softly in the background.
Photo Credit: Wikipedia
I am actually a tangible version Andrew McMahon’s Art School Girlfriend.
I wear oversized cardigans, I have a collection of vintage Classic books, I have a pocket copy of War and Peace, I have a cracked 5 versions late phone, I embroider, I knit, and I drink my coffee black.
How has this happened? Has my own psyche sabotaged me and turned me into a poster child?
Recently, an overwhelming amount of missing girls in the DC area have been reported, and these reports are circulating through social media. A staggering amount of these victims are girls of color, and many are quick to dismiss girls of color going missing as “runaways”.
Chanel Dickerson, the Washington Police Department’s commander, has started posting these reports on their Twitter page in hopes of bringing more attention to these cases. Since then, the reports have gone viral and hashtags like #bringbackourgirls and #missingdcgirls have appeared.
However, many believe that the amount of girls going missing are increasing, when, over the years, the numbers have actually decreased (though only by a small amount). The new social media attention to these cases have made it seem as though there’s an increase, as now everyone is aware of these numbers. But, the astonishing number of minors going missing in DC has been present for a few years, and now, finally, the reports in social media are bringing awareness to the victims.
These reports have also spurred others to report missing people via social media and post the dangers and things to watch out for, such as vague signs luring minors with the promises of travel or a job, and the new case of sex traffickers tying plastic bags onto cars windshield wipers in order to abduct the distracted victim while they untie the bag from their car. The use of social media for these horrific events is finally bringing these cases the public awareness they deserve.
OVS Journalism Blog 
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