‘Everyone who serves in any armed force for the U.S. makes a difference’

by Jess McNally

Would you say that anyone can make a difference? There are so many ways to make a difference in this world; I think we all make a difference. My cousin Kimberly is married to a member of the U.S. Marines. His name is Jordan. Jordan no longer serves as a Marine, but he served in Afghanistan just a few years ago. Jordan’s story woke me up to realize what kind of impact he had on everyone. Not only had he fought for our country, but he was now family and he made an impact in all of our lives already.

During Jordan’s term in Afghanistan he almost lost his life. There was one day that Jordan was driving the humvee down a dry dirt road, what he didn’t realize nearly took his life. He also didn’t know the guy sitting in the passenger seat of the vehicle was about to save his life. As they drove down the road, the man in the passenger seat saw something that Jordan did not. There was a mine in the road up ahead of them. He quickly shoved Jordan out the humvee door and set them both onto the ground. The humvee kept moving toward the mine until it rolled on top of the mine, the humvee exploded right before them. Jordan and the passenger lived and both had injuries, but Jordan walked away with fewer injuries than his fellow Marine.

When Jordan came home from Afghanistan, he had the story of his near death to tell us all. As a result of serving in the armed forces, he had been shot at and nearly killed many times. He couldn’t even go to the celebratory fireworks on the Fourth of July, as the loud bang of the fireworks reminded him of the gunshots in Afghanistan and they startled him. It wasn’t until he came home and told us all the stories about his service did I realize that everyone who serves in any armed force for the U.S. makes a difference. It may not be in our lives completely, but they make a difference in other people’s lives as well. Not only do these brave men and women make a difference in this world, but so can you. This I believe!

‘Speak up for what you love’

by Jared Hinderer

I saved a car company. Despite being only fifteen years old, I saved a car company.

In may of 2009 I bought my dream first car. My new-to-me Saab 9-5 was, and still is, my life. I would spend hours with it, cleaning, detailing, and driving it. I love that car. I started to learn all I could about Saab, its heritage in rallying, safety, and owner loyalty and devotion. This proves key to the survival of the company, when, in late  2009, Saab’s parent company, General Motors (GM), said that they planned to close the doors on Saab. Forever. In just those few months, I had grown to love my Saab so much that this upset me very much.

I believe in speaking up for what you love. The Saab community worldwide could not let GM kill off a brand that was so near to our hearts, so we took action.

We decorated our cars with “Save Saab” decals and held Save Saab rallies all over the world. Unfortunately, I was unable to attend any of these events, but I did what I could  by joining every Saab Facebook group I could, spreading the word to all that I knew, and posting “Save Saab” on every relevant website I could find.

Finally, our persistence paid off. Early 2010 brought good news to every Saab lover worldwide: Victor Muller, owner of the Dutch Super-car company called Spyker, and GM announced that they had made a deal and Saab was saved from the GM execution chamber. Muller himself even said that if it had not been for the support of the Saab community he would not have bought the company.

Therefore, I saved a car company. We Saab enthusiasts never gave up hope, and we spoke up and got the job done. We could have easily sat there, being sad, watching a 63-year-old car company suffer a slow death at the hands of a larger corporation, but we didn’t; we spoke up for the company we love.

I apply the lesson I learned here everyday in my life, and when I write an article for journalism. Whether it be declaring that I would rather go to Applebee’s instead of Steak-n-Shake for dinner or writing or talking about a tough subject, I let my voice be heard. Speak up for what you love. This, I believe.

 

 

‘Life is about taking risks’

by Amber Mahan

Life is about taking risks. Life is about finding yourself. Life is about standing up and fighting for yourself. There are things like courage and bravery that you don’t come across often. There are qualities found in only a few people.

I am lucky enough to know one of those very few people. She is a very close cousin, and also has to fight for her life every day. She has overcome what some people can’t or wouldn’t dare to imagine. For Dora, being brave isn’t a choice. Having hope and courage is how she is able to make it to tomorrow. She was diagnosed with leukemia almost 13 years ago. Leukemia is one of the deadliest cancers a person to get. However, Dora was able to fight her way through it. I wasn’t very close to her at the time. I was only 3 or 4. Then, my family began going over to Dora’s house to visit her and her family, and eventually she was put into remission. While being in remission for 11 years nobody ever expected anything else to go wrong. I began spending a lot of time with her family; it meant a lot to me that she was able to be strong enough to overcome such a disease. But, just a few months ago she was having trouble with her hip. While going to the doctor for a monthly check-up, not expecting things to be too serious, not expecting things to go wrong. Dora came home and announced the disease she is not expected to fight her way through this time, has re-entered her body. Her leukemia is back.

Dora continues to stay brave for her daughter and beloved family, who is there for her and supports her every step of the way. No matter how hard things get or how bad the news is Dora is brave enough to continue to keep fighting. Life for her will always be a struggle, while most people take life for an advantage to get what they want. So many people look up to her, including myself, for the bravery she must put forth just to keep breathing. Her own daughter, not much younger than me, continues to show courage for her mom, as she believes things will get better. Courage is the quality of mind or spirit that enables a person to face difficulty, danger, or pain. Courage is not something people are born with; they must earn it through the actions they show. Dora has proven to too many people that she is brave and has more courage in one bone than most do in their entire body. She lives and fights for her life only to be loved more each day by the people around her. Being brave is rare and you never know how brave or couragous you are until that’s the only choice you are given. This I believe.

‘People are what they make for themselves’

by Meghan Poff

Parents. They wash our clothes, pay our bills, buy our food, and support us from the time that we are born. Most kids don’t think their parents have a story, a history. Sure, they’ve always been around but how did they get here, how did they become the way they are now? Experience maybe, but what could have happened to my parents that changed them so? And how could it affect me?

Some people are made from what they have and learn from it, but others learn from what they never had. That was the life my father lived.

From the time that he was born, my dad and his family always had to work to keep up. He was born into a house with six brothers and sisters, and supporting so many was difficult for his parents. Struggle, ever present in his life, showed its teeth at age eleven when his parents divorced. With all of his siblings gone and out, he lived with his mom until he could drive. Times were tough and money was tight, so at sixteen, he has nowhere to live. For a while he and his brother lived in their car, but he has never felt sorry for himself. It was because of times like these that he vowed that his children would never have to live like he did.

Some people will crumble under the struggles of life, but if we don’t, it can reveal our true character. Even now, he admits that never once did he want to quit. He graduated high school, put himself through college at Indiana University at Bloomington, and eventually went on to get a masters degree. Unable to receive help from his parents, he paid entirely for his education, as he did his wedding.

Now with a wife and three kids of his own, our family is doing well. My father makes sure to remind us that although we feel as if we never have enough, we will always have more than most. He isn’t one for sympathy, and I really respect and admire the way he has lived his life. He spent his whole life working and surviving off little, just so that I won’t have to experience what he did. He inspires me now, when school gets tough or a friendship gets rough. These things are insignificant in the long run and if I weather through the storm, I’ll be a wiser person on the other side of the clouds. People are what they make for themselves. This I believe.

‘Running away isn’t always running away’

by Zoe Doebbler

A cold February day eight months ago, my parents told me they were getting divorced. My mind reeled. In a world seemingly full of change, my family was the one thing I considered dependable and unyielding. What was I supposed to when my rock eroded?

I threw myself into my running. There was, and still is, a large comfort in pounding away on the ground with a pair of shoes, footfalls, and heavy breathing for company. No one asked me about what I hadn’t done with my family that weekend. And, of course, it was satisfying to feel myself getting faster.

As my times crept forward, so did the divorce process. Over half an agonizing year later, papers are being filed and custody agreed upon. Unsurprisingly, I run harder, longer, and faster now than I ever could have hoped for not too long ago. I thank my family for this even if they are not the family I expected. My mom, my team, my friends, my brother: they kept my pace up when I just wanted to stop.

I like to think I am not as crazy as people say I am for running as much as I do and I am not using running as an excuse to avoid issues. Everyone has their outlet, their release for all the junk in their lives. Running away isn’t always running away.

This, I believe.

‘Music can change the world’

by Nathan Hemminger

Everyone knows that, although close, the world isn’t perfect. Walk down any given street of any given city and you are bound to hear people argue, usually about something that, in the grand scheme of things, is worthless. These are the people that clearly haven’t discovered the magic yet. I believe all people are loving, caring, and compassionate, no matter there race, job, gender, or place of origin. The only reason this doesn’t show is because materialistic things create a barrier for some people that keep them away from these emotions. So how do these people break down the barrier? There is a way.
The is a key word in all of this is music. Music is something as universal as breathing, and gives everyone some common ground. Music, in a way, can be described as a form of black magic. It puts people into trances in which they forget all their fighting and stress and let the music take hold of them. Music can change the world, even if it has to be one person at a time.

In the summer of 2010, I went to a festival called Abbey Road on the River. This festival featured cover bands that played music from bands of the 60’s and 70’s: The Beatles, Rolling Stones, The Who, they’re legendary music was all there to put their special trance on everyone. Towards the end of the festival, I was sitting at a table watching a very good Beatles cover band. All of a sudden, a storm appeared out of thin air and everyone began getting soaked. Not wanting to leave, my group of friends and I went to the merchandise tent, expecting to hear more music. The announcer informed us that the bands were packing it up because of the heavy rain. I was disappointed.

I grabbed my things and was ready to walk into the pouring rain, but I stop as I notice one of the greatest things that’s ever happened in my life. A group of people were standing under a nearby tent, freezing cold, and singing the classic song “I want to hold your hand” by the Beatles. I was astonished and quickly began singing along. About halfway through, everyone in the festival had joined in. Once the song had ended and we were all cheering for ourselves, we all notice the rain had stopped, and the festival began returning to normal. For the rest of the day, everyone stood as one, there was no fighting, and everyone was happy. One song had brought people together in a way that no other song performed that day could have, because it came from everyone’s heart and soul.

Music, as I said before, can change the world, if we are all willing to give into its “black magic.” This, I believe.

Freshman finds that his many activities help him express himself

by Nathan Hemminger

Imagine, if you will, a house full of instruments, just waiting to be played.

Step outside, and 160 acres of used farmland await you. Before you can reach this farmland, however, basketball goals and walls meant for tennis practice await you. The smell of trees and goats hit your nose while classic rock music glides through the airwaves from a nearby old Hello Kitty radio in the barn. All this may seem a little overwhelming, but to freshman Garrett Jones, this is a normal sight to see when he returns from school everyday.

After marching band practice, that is.

Jones is usually viewed as something of a music aficionado by many people, including himself. Not a day goes by without some sort of instrument interaction, according to Jones. He has loved music all his life, and has decided to continue loving it. “I guess the whole instrument thing started when I was in the third grade and I decided to steal my sister’s (Gwyn) recorder. I started playing, and after a while, I got pretty good at it,” Jones said with a chuckle. His next musical adventure began when he started to play the piano that was “just sitting around the house.” This sustained Jones for a while, but he quickly craved more music in his life.

“It was around fifth grade when I first began playing guitar. This is also when I really started listening to rock music,” said Jones. According to Jones, his top seven musical influences are the Eagles, Queen, Led Zeppelin, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Cream, the Doors, and the Who. Now, at 14 years old, he can play the guitar, the bassoon, the drums, the banjo, the tenor saxophone, the piano, the bass, and, of course, his sister’s recorder; a total of eight instruments.

Jones’ musical love spreads beyond rock n’ roll, however. He plays the tenor saxophone in the marching band. He’s also the bassoon player for the junior symphony orchestra. He has a large respect for classical music as well. He has even composed music before using a program on his computer. Last year, his middle school band played an arrangement of the Queen classic “Bohemian Rhapsody” that he composed himself. He also has plans to build his own guitar in the winter of 2010.

However, Jones isn‘t known just as the boy who cried Eagles. He is also extremely intelligent. Many of his fellow students have noted this intelligence.

Freshman Andrew Nguyen, one of Jones’s close friends, said, “Garrett’s not afraid to speak his mind, even if he is wrong.” If they didn’t notice it from his grades, then they would have noticed it by the fact that he won the geography bee at Highland Hills Middle School three years in a row. This doesn’t swell Jones’ head in any way.

“If I began showing off for something that wasn’t even that hard, then people would probably begin to think less of me.”

So does he have any tips for getting good grades? He said that the best way to learn things is to get as hands-on as possible with them.

As if all these activities weren’t enough, he also helps out on his father’s 160 acre farm. “Our current animals consist of 50 goats, four horses, 15 cattle, three pigs, and my little sister.” Jones said, finishing with a laugh. Although he has many responsibilities on the farm, Jones said that his favorite by far is getting to show the livestock at the 4H fair every year in hopes of selling some of them.

When he’s not playing music or showing animals, Jones plays tennis and basketball. His father, Paul, was a champion basketball player at FC himself, and his entire family loves to watch the University of Louisville play during college basketball season. He’s currently a member of the FC junior varsity tennis team, and has been playing tennis for several years and basketball even longer. He always likes to remain active by running a course he has devised himself around his farm. When he gets tired of that, there’s always the good old trampoline.

To anyone else, all these activities would seem tiresome and somewhat of a pain, but not to Jones.

“Activities are the ways that I find I can express myself easily, and despite what some may think, I think it actually relieves stress,” said Jones. He is endlessly getting more involved and he said he is always open to new challenges. He never lets tiredness get to him, either.

“Garrett has many interests,” Nguyen said, “He’s the only kid I know that can do marching band, tennis, basketball, guitar-playing, and bassoon-playing.” He is always laughing and making jokes with his friends and is always ready to help anyone who could use it.

So yes, Jones is busy. Yes, he is hardworking. And yes, he is in love with music. So what does he see in his future?

“I like to let life happen the way it’s supposed to, not the way anybody wants it too.”