Column: Other
May 21, 2020
“Reya isn’t fully Black or fully Indian, so she’s nothing.” This phrase is all too familiar to me. I’ve heard it from friends, acquaintances, strangers and even myself. I am biracial — half African American and half Indian. I’ve struggled with my cultural identity for a long tim...
Senior column: The limit to friendship does not exist
May 17, 2020
It was fourth period, and I was absolutely exhausted. My brain had zero energy to socialize, and I just wanted to nap. Rushing into the AP Calculus BC classroom, my face fell as I realized I barely knew anyone in the room. Being an AP kid for five semesters, I thought I would have at least one friend in the class. I just wanted one p...
Senior column: The comparative degree
May 17, 2020
Since I was little, I knew whatever I was going to do would be something that would help others in my community. I thought that the only way to accomplish that was by pursuing a career in the medical field. From elementary school all the way through high school, I imagined myself in many different...
Senior column: Dark chocolate
May 16, 2020
In a bustling cafeteria of nose-picking, immature third-graders, I sat with my peanut butter sandwich, quietly nibbling on it, amongst the girls from my class. Macey, a rambunctious basketball player, proposed the idea of comparing our skin colors to types of chocolate. Fear crept into my stomach. One by one, she identified my fri...
Senior column: What can I say?
May 16, 2020
I sat down to write my last published work at Marcus High School, my senior column, and I was at a loss. I have no clue what to say about my experience these past four years. At first I thought there wasn’t much to say. Then I thought about my friends. We had late night conversations and talked about our fears and hopes. We ate countless...
Senior column: Perfect imperfection
May 15, 2020
Tie-dye is a trend that’s always been around. On 70s day in school, everyone dresses up in shirts with splotches of mixed colors, and in chemistry we choose our favorite colors and design tie-dye t-shirts. Tie-dye has always been in fashion, but for me, it’s unique because I have a “tie-dye” leg. I was born with a port-wine stain, a birthmark that makes t...
Senior column: Not so fairytale
May 15, 2020
High school isn’t the fairytale movies, books and TV shows make you believe it is. That’s a pretty general statement, and I’m sure a lot of us understand that. However, I’ve learned a few tricks that have romanticized my high school career in my own way. One of the pivotal moments in my happiness was sophomore year when I realized that some...
Senior column: The art of mediocrity
May 14, 2020
Mediocrity has always been my strong suit. I’ve never excelled, yet I haven’t failed. In elementary school I didn’t get picked first for dodgeball, but I wasn’t last. Averageness is the perfect disguise for any high school transfer student. I was invisible and invincible, a combination that always let me fit into the ...
Senior column: The good, the bad and the ugly
May 14, 2020
The 1966 spaghetti western “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly” is a movie about an outlaw who teams up with a wandering stranger, played by Clint Eastwood, to scam the law for bounty money. Eventually, they turn on each other only to unite again to find the buried money of a Civil War soldier. This was one of the first movies I remember seeing with my dad. So...
Column: An angel’s smile
May 1, 2020
My Aunt Mimi lives in a recliner in a small house fenced in by 60 foot pine trees outside Cabot, Arkansas. Pulling into her driveway, my dad would wake up me and my sisters, saying we’ve arrived. My Uncle Ronnie was always sitting on his stool in the garage with a cigarette burning nearby, solving a ...
Column: Tug of war
April 30, 2020
The first thing I hear on Sunday morning is gospel music blaring in the kitchen. My sister and I are greeted with our parents singing and dancing and the smell of eggs, biscuits, rice, potatoes and bacon cooking. I spend the morning getting ready: fixing my hair, doing my makeup and finding an outfi...