Spotlight on: Ezzera Raney

          Ezzera is a 16 year old student who attends Legacy High School and is very musically inclined. His favorite band is The Beatles while his favorite songs include Strawberry Fields Forever, Bohemian Rhapsody, and Scar Tissue. He plays a variety of instruments including the piano, the guitar, and the stand up/electric bass. When asked what some of his other favorite things are, he had said that purple is his favorite color and The Princess Bride is his favorite movie. His favorite book genre is science fiction and The Lord of the Rings is his favorite book series.

           I got to sit down with Ezzera yesterday an attempt to get to know him on a personal level by interviewing him.

          This is what our conversation consisted of:

Me: What's your home life like?
Ezzera: Confusing, there's lots of arguments. A lot of shit goes on.

Me: What do you want to do for a career?
Ezzera: I want to be a musician or be involved in arts in general. Maybe acting or performing.

Me: What's your favorite activity outside of school?
Ezzera: Honestly, watching Netflix.

Me: Who inspires you the most? Why?
Ezzera: No one in particular, maybe Paul McCartney because he's a bad-ass.

Me: What did you want to be when you were little?
Ezzera: An Astronaut.

Me: Who is your hero? Why?
Ezzera: Batman because he's just a normal guy who does amazing things. He doesn't have any superpowers.

Me: How do you see yourself as a person?
Ezzera: I guess I'm a little weird and different. I'm very non-judgmental. And I'm not really athletic.

Me: How do you think other people view you?
Ezzera: I think other people see me as weird or creepy. Or nice, but still weird.

          So from what I've come to understand, Ezzera Raney is a quirky kid who can't get enough of The Beatles and aspires to be a musician. Anyone would be lucky to have just a few minutes, as I did, to hear from his perspective and laugh in his presence.

L'Oréal Paris Carbon Black Telescopic Liquid Eyeliner

          This past weekend, I went to the store to stock up on more makeup for the homecoming dance I went to last Saturday. Knowing any girl, we all strive to look our best on special occasions such as these. I was in need of more liquid eyeliner to perform my infamous "cat eye."

          When my mother and I got to the store, they didn't have my usual brand which is the Rimmel Exaggerate felt tip liquid eye liner. What I enjoyed about this product was that the color the eyeliner had promised was indeed "carbon black". It wasn't dark grey, no hues of blue, it was the darkest black there could be. The consistency of the liquid wasn't watery or runny; it dried quickly and stayed on all day provided the squinting was kept to a minimum.

          What they did have, however, was the Exaggerate eye liner without the felt tip. This frustrated me because when I do my makeup, having a liquid eyeliner with a felt tip brush makes for a smoother application. You can easily swipe it on with no worries or mess-ups. So rather than settle for the lame paint brush, I went hunting for another brand with a better applicator.


          I came across one tube of liner; the L'Oréal Paris Carbon Black Telescopic Liquid Eyeliner, and scanned the packaging for the words "felt tip." Sure enough, the packaging had said it. I decided it would be worth it to buy the Telescopic Eyeliner, risking the possibility that this new brand may not have the same consistency as the first.

          To my surprise, this product was better than the one I had deemed my favorite. Not only did it abide by the same consistency but it surpassed the lasting power of the previous eyeliner. This product stayed on all night and provided a classic winged eye look with minimal harshness due to the "carbon black" pigment.

          The applicator was easy to use; every stroke was smooth and it was quite easy to fill in any spots that were not filled. In fact, you could actually take the felt tip and create a winged look by dotting the product on. That's how precise the applicator had felt.

          I'm very pleased with the effect that this liner had. It had given a classic and vintage look to a special occasion eye makeup. There's not a doubt in my mind about what product to look for next time I need to purchase eyeliner.

       

Cheerleading is a Sport

              There's always been a controversy in the athletic world about whether or not "cheerleading" should be considered a sport. It's high time we prove that being a cheerleader doesn't just consist of “clapping and yelling.” On the contrary, cheer is an intense and competitive sport.

            Cheerleaders have many different skills to obtain in this sport, making it more difficult than your average. Such skills include flexibility, endurance, and strength. Having these skills will make these athletes better in every aspect of cheer. Flexibility is required of our flyers; they're not able to pull a skill in the air without it. Endurance is required of every member of the team; without endurance, our cheerleaders would not be able to run around every inch of those 9 mats, throw their tumbling pass, and run straight to pyramid to hoist up another stunt. Strength comes from our bases. They have the strength to push a girl their size over their heads. One quote my cheer team loves to live by is "Athletes lift weights, cheerleaders lift athletes." When we compete, our routines are arduous and difficult to endure. We give everything we've got and leave it all on the mats. All of our endurance and adrenaline is used within those two and a half minutes.

          Cheer is proven a sport by the fact that it follows all guidelines and requirements of being an athletic activity. On Varsity's website, there's an article by Nicole Lauchaire that further proves the fact that Cheerleading qualifies as a sport. In that article, her claim is backed up with hardcore facts and evidence. "The Women's Sports Foundation has narrowed the field down of what is considered a sport to these elements that are commonly agreed upon to define a sport:

• It must be a physical activity which involves propelling a mass through space or overcoming the resistance of mass. (Stunting… check)!
• “Contesting” or competing against/with an opponent is required (Competition… check)!
• It must be governed by rules that explicitly define the time, space, and purpose of the contest and the conditions under which a winner is declared. (Time limit, mat size, score sheets… check, check, check)!
• Acknowledgement that the primary purpose of the competition is a comparison of the relative skills of the participants. (You know those competitions on ESPN? Those are national championships… check)!" 

It's also been made clear that “any physical activity in which relative performance can be judged or qualified can be developed into a competitive sport as long as:

1) The physical activity includes the above defined elements and…
2) The primary purpose is competition verses other teams or individuals within a competition structure comparable to other ‘athletic’ activities.”

You can find this article at: http://www.varsity.com/event/1262/being-a-cheerleader-sport

One of the best movie scenes to sum up the misconception of cheerleaders happens to be in the classic cheer flick: Bring it On.

          Torrance: Ever been to a cheerleading competition?
          Missy: Oh, you mean like a football game?
          Torrance: No, not a game those are like practices for us. I'm talking about a tournament. ESPN cameras all around. Hundreds of people cheering.
          Cliff: Wait a minute, people cheering... cheerleaders?
          Torrance: That's right. Lots of people.

Pertaining to High School Cheer:

            Not only do High School cheer teams have to worry about cheering at games, fundraising, and community service, these cheerleaders have to prepare for competitions "2-3 months in advance" says Tori Bohling. "We drill everything until it's perfect, blood sweat and tears go into every practice leading up to a competition" says Erin Mahler. Every practice for High School Cheerleaders are tough, 100% effort is always given. The Legacy Cheer team practices for 2 1/2 hours everyday after school, unless there's a game. Chase Montoya had said "I think it's crazy how much high school cheer practices; everyday. It's exhausting."

               Competing at a high school level is in ways, much different from competing All-Star. With high school teams, you play with the cards you’re dealt meaning not every person on the team was a genetically engineered cheerleading professional. Although this is true, high school cheerleaders train just as hard, practice just as much, and do a lot more in their community. When asked the differences between High School and All-Star cheer, Kylie McBride, had said "All-Star cheerleaders don't have to worry about other things like community service and school activities." We as a team put in a lot of time and effort into our school and it's presentation.

To recap:

• Cheerleading qualifies as a sport- so that's what we're calling it. 
• High School Cheerleaders work harder than most. 
• Being a cheerleader in fact, doesn't just consist of “clapping and yelling.”

Interviewees:

Legacy Varsity cheerleader and three year veteran Tori Bohling (16)
Former Cheer Central cheerleader and current Legacy Varsity cheerleader Chase Montoya (18)
Former Cheer Central cheerleader and current Legacy Varsity cheerleader Kylie McBride (15)
Legacy Varsity cheer co-captain and three year veteran Erin Mahler (16)

Revolutionary Revlon

          The fifty-five billion dollar beauty industry is jeopardized by Harvard graduate, Grace Choi. Grace has revolutionized the makeup world by inventing a 3D printer that she calls the Mink, and takes an image of any color and prints that color "to make lipstick, lip gloss, eye shadow, blush, nail polish, brow powder..." Any other type of cosmetic product, including foundations and face powder, are yet to be made compatible with the Mink.

          For the most part, this printer is still in the prototype stage. Choi predicts the Mink to be sold between two hundred and three hundred dollars at first release and tells her interviewers that she plans on knocking back the prices once this product becomes more popular. Her target market is for young girls ages 13-21 years old.

          This printer is revolutionary in the way that it makes obtaining the latest beauty products quick and simple. When asked if the future included women making and selling cosmetics from home Grace responds "Absolutely yes. It not only creates new jobs, it creates freedom. The whole point of Mink is to stimulate creativity and open opportunities for women, empower them, and give them the freedom to do what they want in terms of how they want to live their lives. They can be entrepreneurs, support themselves and not be tied down to a structured job if that’s what they want. That’s one of the goals that I set out to do."

Information from this article found on:
 http://www.forbes.com/sites/deniserestauri/2014/06/30/a-harvard-woman-is-blowing-up-the-55-billion-beauty-industry-with-3d-printed-makeup/

Falling

          This article was about a controversial photograph that was taken on 9/11 that was titled The Falling Man. Not only does it explain the photo with how it was taken, who took, it and why it brought up problems in the community, this article describes the events in excruciating detail. I wrote this poem to portray less of what was dealt with the controversy, and more of the descriptive imagery that Tom Junod provides in his article.

This is the poem:

Like an arrow in his last instances of life,
embracing the fate he has not chosen.
Inevitable death; a missile or spear.
Deciding to get on with it,
attaining his own end.
Unidentified- The Falling Man.

Jumping, to escape, to breathe once more.
From all four sides, from every floor.
Like parachutists, evenly spaced and forming an arc.
Plummeting, the force ripping
desperate fabric from desperate hands.
Landing on people below, instant death.

Tumbling bodies eerily silent,
those on the ground left screaming.
Woman wailing "God! Save their souls!"
Americans responding with acts of
heroism, generosity, and martyrdom.
An ending as unimaginable as it was unbearable.

          I included these specific details because they stood out from all the rest. All of these lines were striking to me when I read the article. I felt these words gave an accurate description of the events that occurred that day.

The Falling Man:
http://premium.esquire.com/the-falling-man

The Fear of Death

          I remember waking up in a panic. I could hardly catch my breath knowing that my biggest fear is what I had dreamt of the most; death. Not just the fear of dying, but the fear of never waking up again. I fear about the way I die on top of the pain I might feel. What if there is nothing to welcome me after I pass? No afterlife. I worry most about bringing misery to those who love and care for me, Death is what scares me more than anything living.

          When I awoke, I recounted my dream as if it were reality: I was young again, say seven or eight years old; back when we lived at the dingy yellow house with the bright red door. My brother and I were playing in the front yard; tag was the game we both preferred most. He was it. I remember him chasing me around the decorative pile of shrubs my parents had plastered into the lawn just a few summers before. He'd inch clockwise around the stones so I'd do the same until he sprung at me. I ran like the wind, not a worry other than "don't tag me!" As he got closer and closer, I ran farther and farther. Mistakenly running into the street where they had never inserted a slow down sign, or one that monitored the speed of the driver. The only warning ever being a "Deaf Child" sign that was placed there long before we moved in.

          My life was in slow motion, bounding into the street with each passing moment wondering why I never stopped to look both ways. In one of those moments however, I did look to my left, seeing bright yellow headlights and stopping dead in my tracks. The impact was painless, seeing as how this was a dream, and I was gone in an instant. The truck that hit me was nowhere to be found; a hit and run.

          As if from a movie, I recollect a ghostlike figure rising from the remains of my dismembered, frail body. I was that ghostlike figure. Looking around for someone to notice I was dead, my brother had vanished, running inside to tell my parents the news. All three of my family members ran back out and began weeping. Inaudible, their sobs were that which I would never get out of my head. My spirit saw the misery and torment that my death had brought my loved ones.

          It was hopeless and desperate the way I tried to force myself back to life; I tried to pick up the pieces as if I were Humpty-Dumpty. Knowing there was nothing I could do and no way that I could return, I wept there with my family, hurt that I could never actually comfort them. Hours passed and there was no bright light. No sign of heaven or hell, but limbo which I would never grow accustomed to.

About Me

          At school, I enjoy meeting new people and making new friends. I feel that school is where I can be myself and become a social butterfly. On an academic note, I enjoy writing and reading. English is my favorite subject. I struggle with math; it is one of my weakest classes. I prefer letters to numbers.

          When I graduate from college with a major in communications, I want to have a career in either print journalism or broadcast journalism. I feel that informative, non-fiction writing is what I do best. I feel that broadcast journalism may be more my forte because I've always had a natural stage presence; I love being in the spotlight, or in front of a crowd. I'm taking journalism to explore my career choice. 

          I cheer for the Legacy High School Varsity Cheerleading team. This is my third year on varsity, my second year attending the UCA Nationals, and my first year as head captain. I was really excited to be voted captain by my team as a junior, it's an incredible honor to be leading such a dedicated team. I also have a part-time job at Papa Murphy's just across the street from Legacy on 136th and Zuni. On top of all that, I volunteer at Grace Hospice up in Longmont every other weekend.

          My favorite television show right now is The Walking Dead; I can't get enough of that zombie killing action. In my opinion, there are too many great movies to just pick one or two favorites. Although I don't have a favorite movie my most recent favorite book is The Fault in our Stars by John Green. I love books that draw you in and are realistic. Fictional novels that read and feel like non-fiction.

          My family consists of four members. My dad Brett, my mom Ericka, and my brother Brody. We also have a chocolate lab named Coda; he's just a giant puppy! One thing that I love about my family is that most days we get along. I know that I can always joke around with them and that they'll always have my back. While some people are suffering through different family dynamics, separations, and divorces my family is different from others because we have a strong foundation; my parents have been together for over twenty years and one day I strive to find a love as pure and strong as theirs.