Miracle Baby

Tonya Bogart was 25 years old when she had her miracle baby, Katelynn Bogart-Norby. She was born at Everett Pavilion for women and children, thirteen and a half weeks early. On August 6th, 2008, Tonya's life did a complete 360. She wasn't expecting to have her this early, is any mother. She went into preterm labor not because of anything she did wrong, but because she was very sick and being poisoned. They couldn't figure out why, she had gained no weight during the pregnancy, she actually lost 8 pounds due to vomiting morning till night.

She went to the Cascade Valley Hospital all the time trying to figure out the reasoning, they just told her she had very severe morning sickness, which was false. This went on until it was so bad she got sepsis a disease that shuts down multiple organ systems and could have lead to death. Her kidneys were shutting down, she had gallstones stuck in her cystic ducts that was backing up poison into her liver, pancreas, and kidneys. By the time they had figured this out, Tonya and her daughter had been poisoned for a long time. The doctors didn't know if the baby or even she would make it through the surgery, but they had to or it ultimately meant both of them would die. They removed the gallbladder and duct, while removing them they had to grab the baby and move her out of the stomach and out of the way for at least one hour, these kind of surgeries can take up to two hours. She went back to the hospital every day up until she gave birth to tell them that she was in preterm labor. They never listened, just told her it was from the surgery and gave her more pain pills than sent her back every time.

 She ended up giving birth to Katelynn 10 days after her surgery, she had just gotten back from the doctors telling her she was fine, and her water broke. She didn't want to go back there because of how many times they didn't see that she was actually in labor. She called her mom too come pick her up and they drove to the Everett pavilion, right after they arrived Tonya gave birth to a 1 pound 13 ounces little girl. She was only 12 inches tall sprawled out which she never was because her little body wouldn't let her. When she came out, the doctors weren't expecting it because she was only dilated to six, but because she was so small she came right out.

Tonya said that the doctor caught her like a football and almost dropped her, they said she would be purple and not breathing when she came out, and not to be scared. Katelynn was purple but Tonya said she took a little gasp and made the teenist mouse cry you’ve ever heard, and in that moment she knew that she was going to live and that all the doctors were wrong. They took her away as soon as she was born, and they wouldn’t let Tonya leave to go see her. She sent her mother down to keep an eye on her while she couldn’t.

Once she was all cleaned up after the labor and she had some time to relax, the doctors came in to prepare Tonya for the worst. They explained to her how scary this is going to be and not to be naming her yet because they didn't know if she was going to make it, but somehow she knew that everything was going to be alright. That didn't stop her from doing everything in her ability, to make sure her daughter lived through this without permanent health defects. She stayed with Katelynn every second of everyday, she didn't start going outside to take a smoke break for a month and a half. She also left only one other time when her oldest daughter Brooklynn got into a car crash and was at the hospital a few blocks away, she didn't have a car but she ran. Leaving her oldest at home was one of the hardest things Tonya had to do. Having a baby is supposed to be a joyful experience for a sibling, but it was very confusing and difficult for her 7 year old daughter. She didn't understand why her mom had to stay in the hospital for so long and leave her with aunt Becky and uncle Larry and even her grandma Tina at times, she loved them but she just wanted her mom back. Once Tonya and the baby finally got back, there was more that Brooklynn couldn’t understand. Katelynn had to be hooked up to an oxygen tank, this scared the living crap out of Brooklynn. She would barely hold her sister. She was afraid that the beeps would go off and that would mean something was wrong and it was hurting her sister. Evreything was always alright though, and it always would be.
-Brooklyn Bogart

7 Deadly Sins

Millions and millions of videos and magazines; less and less human interaction

Billions and billions made from food; billions and billions of pounds of food wasted

Trillions and trillions owned by a few; millions and millions lived in poverty

Growing acceptance of remaining idle; rapid decline in activity

Warriors ready for annihilation; public’s terrified

Patriotism on the decline; confusion on the rise

Keeps the old slogans, yet no one wants to listen

7 Deadly Sins; The American Way

-Xavier Swanson

"Purl" a Disney Clip

At the beginning of “Purl”, we’re introduced to a character, that resembles a ball of yarn, that has been hired to work in an office area. The coworkers make it understood their opinions on this by making a comment about the news and not including Pearl in their discussions.

What messages are being shared in this short clip?
There are a couple messages being shared in this short clip. In the beginning, Purl is being left out of conversations and discussions because of the way she looks, the way she speaks, and the way she acts. Just because she was different than others in the work space, they decided to leave her out. To turn that around, while they’re out at lunch, Purl gives herself a ‘professional’ makeover so she can fit in with them and get along with them. After her transformation, her coworkers are finally laughing at her jokes and inviting her out for happy hour. Another message is that once Purl was finally fitting in with the guys, another ball of yarn got hired and Pearl almost treated her the same way she was treated, just because she wanted to fit in.

How can this clip show us the power of writing a story to share a message without being completely direct?
This clip shows us the power of writing a story to share a message without being direct, because it’s exactly what Purl did to bring a happier transition to her work space. At the beginning, she went from being treated like she was an extra piece of trash left in the office room, to being invited to every happy hour with her coworkers. Instead of taking advantage of that when a new ball of yarn was hired, she decided not to let her be treated the same way and invited her to go out. Cutting to the end of the clip, it shows the work space crowded with many different balls of yarn that are being welcomed openly. If Purl hadn’t swallowed her pride that day and invited the new hire, the workplace would continue being toxic towards their kind and they wouldn’t have been able to enjoy themselves there so much.

-Jordan Trussell

The High School Experience of Hannah Hendrix

Hannah Hendrix was an amazing and bright student. She had gone through a rough patch and fell into a deep and dark state of mind. Her Freshman year in high school was spent attending school at Granite Falls High School. She absolutely despised every moment of it. People and teachers just didn’t care for her. Everyone belittled her and treated her like they were above her. Halfway through her freshman year she dropped out and moved to online. Hendrix spent most of her time secluded and hidden away in her room. She never wanted to be around anyone or do anything. She ended up falling behind and realized she wasn’t going to graduate. Her mother thought of a solution for her. She was going to transfer to Crossroads. Crossroads is an alternative high school that was made to give kids second chances and to help them through their problems. Crossroads was the first step in Hendrix’s life to change her outlook entirely. 

Hendrix started Crossroads in the 2014-2015 school year as a Sophomore. At first she felt anxious and alone. She found that the people at Crossroads were different. Most people were kind and wanted to get to know her rather than the people at the high school who were aggressive and snobby. Throughout that year Hendrix came home almost every day with a smile on her face. Her grades went up from failing every class at the high school to straight A’s. Crossroads truly changed her for the better.

Within her years attending Crossroads, her main support was her family. That family didn't stop at blood however, as she also had people like Matlack, Kayla, Orr and Bridgett. These people felt like family just through helping her though school. One of Hendrix’s favorite things to do was draw. She loved expressing herself through her artwork. She has two ceiling tiles in the school one in Carlson’s room and another in Matlack’s old room. Hendrix had a lot of favorite things about Crossroads but what she really enjoyed was Challenge Day. The first week of school sets the path for how your year will go. Challenge Day is a day for people to open up and get their feelings out. It brings people together. 

Hendrix thinks that the school could improve if we did more things like challenge day to keep us together and open minded. Knowing someone’s problems to an extent can help you understand them better. Hendrix has always been so understanding. That’s what makes her such an amazing person.

I asked Hendrix how she feels about Crossroads now and she said, “I am extremely grateful for Crossroads and everything they have done for me and my family.” She truly feels that Crossroads is like her second family. She even still talks to some of the teachers. It’s an amazing thing when people get second chances. My sister was able to get that second chance and she graduated Salutatorian of her class in the 2016-2017 school year. Crossroads made her who she is. She would not have turned out to be as successful and strong as she is if not for Crossroads.

-Laura Grissom

Dead of Night; Dead of Winter

In the cold dead night 

The moon shrouded in grey shining yellow 

The frost and the fog trap the state in a void of cold 

But I can't feel it 

I can’t feel anything 

Can’t feel the cold touching me 

Can’t feel the sorrow of June 

Can’t feel the winter blues 

Can’t feel the happiness of my family 

Nothing 

Silence 

Nobody out here in this hell 

I can feel the lost souls roam 

I feel their presence around me 

Looking For answers 

For truth 

For everything that was 

Everything that is 

Everything that will be 

See the stars illuminate this tundra of pain and confusion 

See the street lights mark the path of the pilgrimage 

See the never ending roads carve this beautiful land into sections 

See mans creations destroy our past 

My family is asleep 

And long to join them 

But how can I sleep when lost souls need a way home?
-Xavier Swanson

Alysa Manuel

Me

By: Alysa Manuel

My curiosity runs free in new situations with all new types people. Having a deep passion for the freedom of others to be who they genuinely want to be. In my mind, I believe it’s okay to dress, talk and act how you please, with some constraints. Those are the rules of society, as bullying is a big part in our prime days of growing to be adults. I truly don’t believe, just because someone is paying bills on time or holding up a steady job, means that you’re grown. I aspire to be someone who can help others, only when they choose they need it. I do enjoy helping others to find their purpose, only until they contradict themselves. 

As I grew up, I gave my heart out many times to many different groups of people. It always came back more damaged and hurt than before. Never stopped me from being the person I was born to be. You know when you have two very good friends, and they don’t quite like each other? I’ve had many of those type of conflicted friendships with people. Today I try being friends with everyone regardless how they feel about each other. Some days I have friends who need to rant about somebody. I won’t necessarily “stir the pot”, but I hope to be able to talk to both sides and shed some light on the situation. Nowadays people say things to mess with others emotions. Which is very natural, most times hypocritical. 

So that being said, I am a people person. Under certain circumstances where you find the best in a situation. I had a friend who I’ve grown up with, not naming names, but she has always had a severe depression. Everyone else brushed her off in times where she was thinking about giving up, and I stayed up almost every night talking her through it. People wanting to attack her because she is different. Me being me, I went after those people who didn’t like her. Not because I hated them or anything, I was friends with every individual who was saying bad things about her. That point of them judging her behind her back, and to my face. I wasn’t going to just be a bystander. I took action on those people, for the sake of someone who couldn’t stick up for themselves. I will never forget the day my so called ‘best friend’, stigmatized my other friend for what she did in her free time. Now I loved my best friend for who she was behind closed doors, but just because her secrets were hidden, doesn’t mean that she gets to make others feel less than for who they are, or what they like. Eventually the tension was gone, because a spotlight was put on their issue. 

Overtime, I started finding more people who were like me, in their own ways. Broken families, with no thought of what we are supposed to be when were older. When I was younger, I always had adults asking kids “what do you want to be when you get older?” And my mind always drew a blank. Although, I did know, I was a social butterfly with social anxiety. More after I started making friends, I opened my entire life to them. I gave them a place to sleep, eat and love others for who they are. Some days were hard, being that we were a bunch of teenagers with no supervision. You kind of had to figure out how to cooperate with people on your own. My ‘friends’, soon became my family. We all looked out for each other. If someone was getting in some trouble just a few miles up the road an we were all at the house downtown, we would rush to meet them half way. But we didn’t always encourage the fall back system. It can be a learning lesson, as I’ve learned from all of those kids “It’s not our job to change people, just to point them in the right direction.” Even if the kids I grew up with, grew apart, I still have never given more of my passion. ‘Til now. 

Although it was fun having our descriptions on the ‘Lake Stevens Criminal’ page, I’ve grown to be much more than a little hood rat. I’ve seen the living do their thing, to a point where it only can bring them death. I’d much rather experience the exciting things in life, while genuinely living it to the fullest. The fear of missing out, no longer controls me. As my surroundings keep me preoccupied. I’d like to end this with a quote by Robert Kennedy, “ Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring, those ripples build a current that can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.” 

My curiosity runs free in new situations with all new types people. Having a deep passion for the freedom of others to be who they genuinely want to be. In my mind, I believe it’s okay to dress, talk and act how you please, with some constraints. Those are the rules of society, as bullying is a big part in our prime days of growing to be adults. I truly don’t believe, just because someone is paying bills on time or holding up a steady job, means that you’re grown. I aspire to be someone who can help others, only when they choose they need it. I do enjoy helping others to find their purpose, only until they contradict themselves. 

As I grew up, I gave my heart out many times to many different groups of people. It always came back more damaged and hurt than before. Never stopped me from being the person I was born to be. You know when you have two very good friends, and they don’t quite like each other? I’ve had many of those type of conflicted friendships with people. Today I try being friends with everyone regardless how they feel about each other. Some days I have friends who need to rant about somebody. I won’t necessarily “stir the pot”, but I hope to be able to talk to both sides and shed some light on the situation. Nowadays people say things to mess with others emotions. Which is very natural, most times hypocritical. 

So that being said, I am a people person. Under certain circumstances where you find the best in a situation. I had a friend who I’ve grown up with, not naming names, but she has always had a severe depression. Everyone else brushed her off in times where she was thinking about giving up, and I stayed up almost every night talking her through it. People wanting to attack her because she is different. Me being me, I went after those people who didn’t like her. Not because I hated them or anything, I was friends with every individual who was saying bad things about her. That point of them judging her behind her back, and to my face. I wasn’t going to just be a bystander. I took action on those people, for the sake of someone who couldn’t stick up for themselves. I will never forget the day my so called ‘best friend’, stigmatized my other friend for what she did in her free time. Now I loved my best friend for who she was behind closed doors, but just because her secrets were hidden, doesn’t mean that she gets to make others feel less than for who they are, or what they like. Eventually the tension was gone, because a spotlight was put on their issue. 

Overtime, I started finding more people who were like me, in their own ways. Broken families, with no thought of what we are supposed to be when were older. When I was younger, I always had adults asking kids “what do you want to be when you get older?” And my mind always drew a blank. Although, I did know, I was a social butterfly with social anxiety. More after I started making friends, I opened my entire life to them. I gave them a place to sleep, eat and love others for who they are. Some days were hard, being that we were a bunch of teenagers with no supervision. You kind of had to figure out how to cooperate with people on your own. My ‘friends’, soon became my family. We all looked out for each other. If someone was getting in some trouble just a few miles up the road an we were all at the house downtown, we would rush to meet them half way. But we didn’t always encourage the fall back system. It can be a learning lesson, as I’ve learned from all of those kids “It’s not our job to change people, just to point them in the right direction.” Even if the kids I grew up with, grew apart, I still have never given more of my passion. ‘Til now. 

Although it was fun having our descriptions on the ‘Lake Stevens Criminal’ page, I’ve grown to be much more than a little hood rat. I’ve seen the living do their thing, to a point where it only can bring them death. I’d much rather experience the exciting things in life, while genuinely living it to the fullest. The fear of missing out, no longer controls me. As my surroundings keep me preoccupied. I’d like to end this with a quote by Robert Kennedy, “ Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring, those ripples build a current that can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.” 

Baby Sophia

Carlie Anne Crosby has lived the majority of her life knowing her grandparents as her parents, as they adopted her and her brother both in 2006 when she was just 13 years old. Since then they´ve raised her to be a motivated, caring and stubborn, as she would call herself, mother and daughter who pushes through everyday to be the best she can be for her new, expanding family. Carlie and her partner, Will, have been together for close to six years now, and have lived together in their Kenmore apartment for about four years. They aren’t married, but it isn’t something that they’re against at all. According to Carlie, “Now I’m ready to be married and settled down with the person I love.” Carlie’s dream job would be to have a business of some sort, something where she could own her own adult family home, or run an in-home care business. Previously, she’s been a C.N.A., certified nursing assistant, at several different locations. Soon they are transitioning to living in a house in Granite Falls with her grandmother and brother, where they intend to remodel the house and be closer to their grandmother as their grandfather just passed away.

            It was on Carlie’s 25th birthday, November 4th, when she confirmed with a pregnancy test that she was pregnant. Previously they had gone through times where they thought there could’ve been a possibility, but it never was the case that she was pregnant. So when they were beginning to get skeptical this time around, Carlie wasn’t all too worried. She figured she was stressing for no reason, in a few minutes she would check the pregnancy test and like all other times it would show up negative. Not this time, though. This time the suspicions they had were true and the test showed up as positive. Despite never expecting to have a kid, they both agree it’s the greatest thing that’s happened to them. Even when they found out, they were more excited than scared because they now get to grow together as a family and share that excitement with their loved ones. The weekend following Carlie’s birthday, the day they found out she was pregnant, they went over to Carlie’s grandparent’s house in Granite Falls as if it were a regular visit, but little did her family know they were about to be told big news that would change all of their lives. Inside a small Ziploc bag Carlie brought with her contained the positive pregnancy test that she handed to her grandparents and family to break the news. Everyone was happy and excited at the news, and just a little bit surprised that there’d be a new addition to the family.

           Throughout the pregnancy, they were beginning to notice that the baby, Sophia, wasn’t growing as much as she should be and wasn’t as big as she should’ve been. This was due to Carlie being diagnosed with I.U.G.R., or intrauterine growth restriction, so parts of her placenta wasn’t properly delivering nutrients to Sophia like it should’ve been. This also caused the baby to have to work harder at circulating her blood back to the placenta. At 37 weeks they decided to induce Carlie using a foley bulb, or balloon, which is used to open the cervix to induce labor. For Carlie, she said the foley bulb experience was extremely painful. Nearly 12 hours had passed and she realized she was finally in labor, and they began letting some family know that they might be needing to take a trip to the hospital. It was at 11:24 a.m. on June 24th, 2019 that Sophia Anne Sanders was born, weighing only 4 pounds and 4 ounces, and 17 inches long. She got her middle name, Anne, because it was her great-grandmother’s name and her mom and grandmother also get to share it as theirs. Sophie was blessed to have a handful of support on her first day on earth, including her grandparents, uncle, and grandmother on her father’s side who were at the hospital to join.

           

Following birth, Sophia was immediately taken from the room and up a couple of floors to the N.I.C.U., or neonatal intensive care unit. She was born at such a small weight because of the I.U.G.R. Carlie was diagnosed with, so she was hooked up to all sorts of feeding tubes, wires and needles. This was obviously hard on Carlie, as her whole pregnancy all she wanted to do was hold her baby and keep her safe. Eventually, she got moved up to the N.I.C.U. with Sophia, where the spent the next 18 days in the hospital room. Being unable to go home or even take care of your baby the way you wanted to only added onto more stress for Carlie, and she said “I couldn’t wait to be home. I hated being there everyday.” Even through the excitement of wanting to go back home, it was a huge adjustment for them once they did. It might have even been more stressful going from having plenty of nurses and monitors making sure your baby is okay, to just having your own motherly instincts to go off of. Carlie admits it was hard once they came back home, but it was better than being cooped up in a small hospital room with a small selection of TV shows to watch or food to eat.

-Jordan Trussell

Zoos

Do zoos really help the animals that they have or are they just hurting them? Most of the time Zoos just say they only take in endangered species to breed them and help protect them. Most of the animals you see at the zoo may have once been endangered but most of the time they really aren’t. Another thing is they will most likely never return to the wild, because they didn’t grow up there so they will have no survival skills. They wouldn’t know how to protect themselves because they have been in cages and tanks protected from any sort of predators. They wouldn’t know how to find food or even know where to look for it also water and shelter. They are just gifted all this in the zoo but if they went to the wild they would die super fast. Zoos are saying, “Enclosed environments are safer than the wild because the animals will not be at a risk of starvation due to lack of nutrition and will not be hunted by poachers or eaten by other predators”. Which in some cases is true but keeping them in enclosed areas does not give them any freedom or skill. Being in cages they cant run free like they would be able to in the wild, they can only run as far as the cage around them is. People who don’t support zoos are stating, “Instead of zoos teaching children factual information about these animals zoos are teaching children it is okay to imprison animals for our entertainment. Which is true because children that grew up going to the zoo all the time are the kind of people you see on the News for illegally having exotic animals as pets.
-Kyleigh Case