Student Loss

Growing up I thought that my friends and I would be together through everything like graduating, going to college, getting married and starting a family; all the normal things we think about when we become adults. Little did I know, and now come to learn, is my friends are not invincible and can't cheat death. I knew from the beginning what death was and that it's what happens when we finish our legacy and grow old with our loved ones. I was wrong and lately it feels like a wave of toxicity coming across our generation to wipe us all out. It hurts to see the ones who you have become your own person with leave and you never being able to share your experiences with. All these waves that devour me hits me with realization that even though I can’t control the fate of others, I need to learn how to live like it’s my friends' last. I need to put up a wall so if anything were to happen to anyone of us, they or myself will know they were loved and cared for through everything. Now I’m only human so life can’t be that easy and perfect, but I am willing to try, I think we all should try to do that more. Even just subtle reminders to your friends and family to show love. I’d say write it down but that is more difficult so at the end of every week, reflect and try to be sure you showed some type of gratitude. I know the community is going through some tough times at the moment and we may never get over that but a way to make yourself and others feel a bit happier, we need to show love and support.

-Samantha Mason

Winter poem

Winter poem

Wind brushes against me

And is very awakening

No sun to be found

No snow on the ground

How is it winter?

I storm out the house

All cozy and warm

For the cold to come aboard

As I seek to greet my family

Smiles in their eyes

We share what we mesmerized

In spirit of the season about

In hope of the holiday cheer

We spread our embrace for the new year

-Samantha Mason

My belief on Holidays

Besides the actual meaning of the Holidays, I believe they were created to give people something to look forward to or create traditions. For example, I know that the reason for Christmas is to celebrate Jesus’ birthday, but I think nowadays if you were to ask someone the meaning of Christmas they would say it’s a time to spend with friends and family and give back to your loved ones. Although Christmas is to celebrate the birth of Jesus, I think Santa has become pretty popular when it comes to Christmas. Thanksgiving was created to celebrate the festival of the Pilgrims after we arrived in the new world but now it’s more for giving thanks and appreciating loved one. New Years is to celebrate the start of a new year or chapter and I think people think of it more as a time to start fresh and make a change.

I believe we remember the original meaning of all of these holidays but as Americans we put our own twist on them. For example on the 4th of July when they signed the declaration of independence, I don’t think they were cooking hot dogs but that’s pretty common now. When Easter was created way back when Jesus was resurrected, I don’t think people were doing Easter egg hunts and painting them.

My point being that I think we take these traditions and celebrations and kind of make them our own. Not by of taking the meaning out of these holidays but more adding our own twist to them such as Santa, giving gifts, egg hunting, and barbecuing. I think in some way we modernize each holiday a little bit more every year. Although the real meaning behind each holiday is important and it’s the reason we have these celebrations in the first place, I think it’s a good thing we’ve added our own twist and have formed our own traditions to go along with these celebrations.

-Kenna Watts

Winter

As the cold came upon us

And the darkness rose

While we waited for snow

All the lights lits up

And all the stores full

People rushing

Christmas coming

Although it’s not over

we still stand cold

Waiting for the snow

-Kenna Watts

Pay-it-Forward

During the frigid winter of 2015, I was only twelve years old. Stuck all the way in Yakima, Washington isolated in the cold, I was attempting to return back to my home with my family, over three hours away. The chances of me being able to get back were very low. I walked everywhere with only one layer of clothes on, asking for help, but no one was there or even noticed my presence. I walked across the freeway while cars zoomed past me. Soon enough I came across a gas station. I sat outside distressed and hopeless for hours until an older aged women came across and approached me. She asked me if I was okay. Others earlier that evening had just walked past me acting as if I was invisible. I explained my situation. She told me she would take me all the way back home. I was astonished and grateful for her offer. She then drove me all the way back to Lake Stevens without even knowing whom I was. This woman is a life saver and someone I will remember for a lifetime.

After the kindness I received, I attempted to be more social in my community. A few of my friends had became homeless as time went on. I would occasionally buy them blankets, food and clothes. Doing everything in my ability to keep them stable. My mom, whom I am very grateful to have in my life, sometimes would let them over in our home to spend the night.

I never want anyone to feel hopeless like I was that freezing evening. There are generous people out in the world who do things even if sometimes their acts of kindness goes unnoticed. Making someone feel better or smile is one of the best rewards you can do in life.

-Anonymous

The Hardest Thing

            The hardest thing I have ever had to do was fall away from my closest friends and family to do better for myself. For most people change is hard because you get comfortable where you’re at and getting comfortable can be dangerous; you won’t notice when you’re in a toxic environment or surrounded by people that are only bringing you down. For me change has always been easy. I’ve never known anything to be permanent it depends on the matter if I want to change or not but sometimes you just know that it’s time and you can’t go on like this for much longer.

            This time for change came during my Freshman year of high school. I had just gotten out of the hospital. As I left, I was hit with the realization that my closest friends, who I thought of as family, were nowhere to be found. That was only part of it. My closest family that claim they’d do anything for me didn’t even come and visit. That’s when I knew if I wanted to do something with my life and make it somewhere I had to do it myself and everyone that was in my life at the time weren’t gonna help me make it there. I decided it was time to go back to school and to start caring about my health and my future. I knew in that moment that the only person that’s ever really gonna be there for you every step of the way and help you succeed, is you.

            That’s when I came to Crossroads and made it on honor roll. That’s why I’m in Sno-isle pursuing my passion. That’s why I have a job and put myself through driver’s ed and got my license. The only reason I am where I am is because I pushed myself to get here. It wasn’t easy, and I had to leave behind a lot of the people I loved and who I thought would be by my side through it all. It was hard, but in the end it was worth it.

-Kenna Watts

Fears

The definition of a fear is ¨an unpleasant emotion caused by the belief that someone or something is dangerous, likely to cause pain, or a threat.¨ To me a fear is not necessarily something I am afraid of it is more of being afraid of what that thing can do for example I am scared of snakes not because it is a snake but because I have seen videos and heard stories of how dangerous snakes are and how certain species of them are deadly. I think anxiety and being anxious can tie in and relate or trigger some of your fears and phobias. I get anxiety when driving high speeds across bridges because a year ago I was in a serious car accident while going 70 mph across a bridge. I get anxious when talking in front of large groups of people because in elementary school during a play in front of my entire school I tripped and almost fell off the stage in front of everyone. I think my fears come from things that have happened in the past or from things that have happened to my family and people I am close to. My grandma caught the flu from using a public restroom and not washing her hands well enough after and was sick in bed for months I saw how miserable that caused her to be so every time I use a public restroom I never forget to wash my hands thoroughly. My fears come from experience, and I think that is the same for most people. Fears can come from anything. What is important is how you learn to overcome those fears and if you can it will make you stronger.
-Kenna Watts




Fears can take many different forms in us. Like if it’s a fear concerning your body’s health or your mental state and maybe even socially. As someone who has battled with anxiety for a very long time, I am constantly hiding from my fears. The past two years I have been facing my fears, less on the ones that won’t compromise my body’s health and more so the mental and social fears that won’t damage me to a point of staying in a room forever. It is very hard to recognize your own fears and even harder to open up to others because your in fear of them using that against you. This brings me to my first fear, I’ll say, trust issues. Many people today have a fear with trusting each other just as common as the fear of spiders; which I might add is another fear of mine. A newly recognized fear that I have noticed in myself is the fear of missing out or not being included. I also don’t do heights because I’m scared of falling to my death. One of my most massive fears is of failing and not becoming who I aspire to be, and I struggle with this daily and will most likely continue this struggle throughout my life till death. I have many more fears, but if I get into thinking and writing it might stir and anxiety attack and a week to month worth of depression. To finalize, we all face and have ownership of fears because this world has shown us some cruel things and a lot of these fears have connection to each other and connections to some story or trauma in our lives, but we all have the power to overcome and I am still working on all of them. Which is good to be a work in progress instead of a bundle of issues on a couch barricaded.
-Samantha Mason