Kendel Guzman-Ormiston

Hi, my names Kendel Guzman-Ormiston. I’m sixteen years-old. I was born on March 14, 2001. I have lived in Granite Falls for my whole life. I went to Lake Stevens from kindergarten until 10th grade, half-way through the year I switched to Granite Falls High School. But this year I decided I wanted to go to Crossroads because I liked that the school was smaller. I was behind on credits so I coming here made it so I could  get caught up..

 I have a pretty small family. I live with both my mom and dad and my cousin who we adopted. He is four-years-old now. We all live with our two dogs and cat. I have another brother who is twenty-years-old, but he doesn't live at home anymore. I have only lived in two houses and both have been in Granite Falls.

There is so much stuff I like to do, but one of my favorite things is playing with my dogs. I have two dogs right now, one is eight-years-old and the other is six-months-old. I love dogs so much, they are my favorite animal. I even got a pair of custom made vans with a picture of my dog on them! During the winter I like to go snowboarding. I started snowboarding about three years ago. At first I was scared, but I actually like it so much! I would go every day if I could. I also enjoy hanging out with my friends. I like to go on adventures and find new places to go. Over the summer I like to go camping and swimming not only because it is fun, but I like going to new places and traveling. I'm not sure what I want to do once I graduate, but I am glad I decided to join Crossroads.

Samantha Mason

My name is Samantha Renee Mason, I am currently 16 years of age, and I was born in Everett, Washington. Two days after I came into the world I was taken home to my current and only residents in Granite Falls. As of now my dad has owned my home for 19 years, this is the only home I’ve know of. I grew up not having any limitations on what I should be, but we did have limitations on what we could have with this money is an issue.

I grew up very humble, but when I was coming of age I became a very sassy, independent girl and that's how I remained, I humbled myself up, but don’t get me wrong I don’t put up with nobody. I have recently moved schools from GFHS to Crossroads as of November 8, 2017, so I’m going through new experiences and changes. The reason I left was to get the help I need, be in a more comfortable environment where I feel I have more benefits, and grow to be the best I can, to my liking at least. Change is good, and I actually favor it; it’s good to be different.

There is not much I can say about myself because I’m not the surest in things, but at the moment some things I enjoy to do is write, which is a big reason I have joined journalism. I like doing yoga activities, I have been expanding my knowledge in the makeup area, and I also enjoy hanging out with my friends and animals, and their animals because duh. I have also worked on vehicles with my dad for a long time, and I’m at the age where I’m fixing my own car to get on the road. I’m ALWAYS changing so don't think this is all there is to me, but I hope you explore my post and enjoy them.

Studio Ghibli

Studio Ghibli is a renowned Japanese animation studios that sometimes works with Disney as a distributor. Studio Ghibli’s worst film in history has to be “Tales from Earthsea”. This film was made by Hayao Miyazaki's son, Goro Miyazaki, and it won Japan’s bunshun raspberry award for worst movie of 2006. It had been distributed by Disney and was the first Disney- distributed film to be rated PG-13 for having “violent images. Despite being the studios worst movie, in the movie’s first five weeks of release, “Tales from Earthsea” surpassed “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest”. All because of the studios reputation for making quality movies, it had passed “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest”.

Even though Studio Ghibli is a big studio, they like to keep their word and ways strict. They have a special “no cuts” policy. It’s so strict that when they sent the movie to the states, they also sent a katana with a message “no cuts” to Miramax when they were trying to make the movie more suitable to the states. To me that is something special. That means that they send the movies just as they want it and we get a nice motion picture with originality.

The start of Studio Ghibli is named after a World War II Italian plane named sirocco. Sirocco is pronounced “Ji-bu-ri” in Japanese. Doesn't make sense to me, but it’s originally pronounced with a hard G. Even though the pronunciation doesn’t make sense, the studio's name means “Mediterranean wind” because the studio wanted “Blow a new wind through the Japanese industry”. They have achieved their new wind as these movies have been loved for over 30 years since they started the studio up in 1985.

In my personal experience, I have no met a single person who did not like their movies. I show them to my girlfriend and she loves each one more than the last one. Their emotional connection to the viewer is big and I think that is big for multiple movies to do. In conclusion I have to say to watch some of their movies and live with that experience.

-Terran Freeman

Heathrow - Catfish and the Bottlemen(Re-Written)

Adore him from the get go

Pick him up when he’s down

Whenever he needs me

Watch him on the edge of town

Trippin’ with his best friends

Whenever he needs me

Cause he was a different league

And i was just too much

He was a different league

And I was just too much

Meet him when the bell rings

Hug him like a lover would

Whenever he needs me

Catch him always grinnin’

Laugh with him to stupid shit

Whenever he needs me

Cause he was a different league

And I was just too much

He was a different league

And I was just too much

I was just too much

Adore him from the get go

Pick him up when he’s down

Whenever he needs me

-Mal Byron

Seattle's New Sugar Tax

Seattle recently got a new law that now adds tax to sweetened beverages, and you could say that the majority of the population it affects, or might possibly affect in the future, is not happy. Although the law is just for Seattle at the moment, many other people living in the areas around Seattle are starting to worry about having to start paying so much extra, just for a sweet carbonated drink. Despite multiple store owners and consumers being opposed to the new tax, the City Council approved it in June.

One of the main and important reasons for this new tax to be implemented is because of the concern for the health of the citizens. It is proven that those who drink sugary drinks more often are more likely to develop type 2 diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, and dental decay. If you put a higher tax on something popular and also harmful while raising its price a decent amount, then the chances are and the hopes are that people will stop drinking soda or at least slowly come to a stop. Hopefully people will start to realize that the money they waste on it could be put towards something healthier and less harmful.

Another opinion of the law is that it is essentially “punishing the poor.” I personally disagree, because I don’t think that the poor would be personally attacked because they might not be able to afford soda anymore. Soda isn’t something you necessarily need, so the added on dollars shouldn’t be the end of the world for anyone it affects. In the first year, Seattle Officials expect to earn $15 million from this, and a good amount of it is going to the Fresh Bucks program. This is a program provides families with low-incomes with vouchers so families with less money can still get fresh fruits and vegetables.