Around 96% of teens aged 13 to 17 are reported to spend time on social media each day. Social media is significant to today’s generation. For example, social media allows teens to connect with their friends, express themselves, and find communities of people with similar interests.
Social media is, for the most part, a good thing. But social media can also be quite harmful and can lead to mental health problems in teens. According to a Pew Research study, roughly 48% of teens say social media has a mostly negative impact on people their age, but only 14% say it harms them.
According to the same study, parents of teens are more likely to be concerned about teens’ mental health than teens themselves. Overall, 55% of parents say they are extremely concerned about the mental health of teens. In contrast, only 35% of teens make the same claim.
Women are also more significantly impacted by social media than men. According to a study by Memorial University of Newfoundland, 88% of women compare themselves to other women online, compared to 65% of men who do the same. This can lead to many problematic things, like self-esteem issues, body dysphoria, and, in extreme cases, can lead to an eating disorder.
Not only does social media harm teens’ body image, but it can also increase the risk of teens having other mental health problems like depression and anxiety.
According to a Yale Medicine study, American teens aged from 12-15 who use social media for three or more hours a day faced twice the risk of things like anxiety and depression.
Even with all these problems that social media can cause, it isn’t all a bad thing. Actually, social media can also be good in many ways.
According to a National Institute of Health study, social media can help teens maintain and build connections with their friends and peers. It also helps teens who might have a long-distance friend or relationship keep in touch. The study states that teen girls who spent time with their friends on social media made their friendships closer.
Social media doesn’t just allow teens to connect with others, but it can also give teens a place of belonging.
The same study shows that different groups of people use social media to find other people like them and create and build communities. For example, teens with chronic or rare diseases used social media to find more people like them to connect and combat isolation.
Social media is both a good and a bad thing. Yes, it can cause mental health problems like anxiety and depression, but it can also allow people to find their community and connect with friends. I believe that if teens use social media correctly, they will find it much more helpful than harmful.
Behind-the-scenes look reveals the challenge of performing and competing in marching band
Editor’s Note: Check out pages 12 and 13 of the December, 2025 print Hyphen for a photo essay on the marching band season.
by Cherish Brown
“You’re just walking, it’s not that hard.”
This is what I hear when I try to express that marching band is just as hard as a sport. I wouldn’t be too upset if people told basketball players that “you’re just throwing a ball in a hole,” or told baseball players that “you’re just hitting a ball with a stick.” But no. Instead, they get praised for their hard work, while people overlook ours. So here’s what actually goes into the halftime show that you see at football games.
The first lesson we had to learn was how to march correctly. It might look like walking to some, but it’s a little bit more than that. There’s a specific technique that we have to use going forwards and backwards. To go forwards we had to learn to walk while keeping our legs straight, and also roll stepping. Roll stepping is rolling off your foot into the next step to make it look smooth instead of robotic.
Now for backwards. We have to walk on our tippy toes, while keeping our legs straight, and we can’t look backwards. If we don’t march on our tippy toes when we go fast, we will fall.
Now that we know how to go forwards and backwards, we now have to learn how to go sideways. The weird part about it is, we can’t have our shoulders facing anywhere but forward unless we are told otherwise. So, to march sideways, our bottom half has to face sideways, but our top half is facing forwards. The only people who don’t do that are the drumline, who crabwalk, and the battery, who don’t move.
“So no, we’re not just walking. We’re working hard, competing, and most of all, performing.”
We can’t just have you watch us march, though; that would be too boring. We had to learn how to play the music. To be honest, it’s really hard music. In the first piece we all have to play 16th notes, which is four notes per beat, which means you have to be quick with the notes, even at a slow tempo. And the second piece is at 160 beats per minute, which is double the speed of the second piece. And all that is hard enough while sitting down and looking at it, but when we’re marching, we have to play off of memory.
Now, we have to learn where we’re going, and how the music relates to how we march. The thing is, we aren’t just marching to random places. If you’re high enough in the stands, you can see that we make shapes with where we’re standing. We have to march to specific places, which are called our sets. And we have to learn the entire song while only marching before we can even grab our instruments.
Then we start playing. We have to go by each set (or spot we’re marching to) and learn which part of the music goes where. It takes a long time, especially because there are three different pieces we have to put together. So, we take many days of practice just learning how the music and our sets relate to each other, when we’re supposed to get where, and how big or small of steps that we have to take to make it on time.
Then, we have to make it look cool. We add what we call our choreography. It’s not actually dancing, like the color guard does with their flags. We do different things. Our choreography includes lunges, pliés, and forced arches. And we usually do those while we’re not moving, so we don’t look like we’re just awkwardly standing there. We also do these while we’re playing our music, so it has to match up with what’s happening musically.
Now we take all of this, that we started learning before school even started, and put it together for everyone’s entertainment. But there is something we do that many people don’t get to see.
We perform and represent the Jeffersonville Red Devils at our own competitions. We competitively perform in front of judges, against many bands in our district. This season our hard work led to an appearance at the state finals, where we placed 15th.
Our hard work got us there — work done over many months, and for some of us, years. I hope this season we’ve made everyone proud, especially the seniors, who have helped us all throughout this season.
So no, we’re not just walking. We’re working hard, competing, and most of all, performing.
Marching band performs its show The Devils in the Details. The Red Devils placed 15th in ISSMA state finals competition this season. Photo by Cherish Brown.
Marching band is clearly a sport
by Caitlyn Brock
Marching is a sport.
I’ve done my first season now in drumline, and it was some work. We had to learn how to march, and we stood for hours on end and didn’t get many breaks. During a typical school week, we practice for 8 1/2 hours of just practice alone, not counting all of band camp and competition days, with some Saturday rehearsals We went to scholastic prelims to qualify for finals and ended up getting 6/7 bands and went to scholastic finals, which took place in October.
Marching band is obviously a sport. First off, it requires physical exertion and skill, just like football or soccer. Next, we compete against other marching bands for a score which also can lead to finals, which other sports have, such as basketball. Finally, it’s done for entertainment, especially because of all the visuals and drill.
Initially, people would think that marching bands are laid back and easy, that all the instruments are not that big and don’t weigh that much, but that is wrong.
Drums can go from being 16 pounds all the way up to 70 pounds with gravity, which can be super difficult. Sousaphones weigh about 50 pounds, and all of those weights can be difficult depending on the person and size, with also having the marching around for 6-9 minutes (depending on the show length) while hitting all of the visuals and drill spots and playing all of the music by memory. That is a lot of expectations for high school musicians.
“Marching band is obviously a sport. First off, it requires physical exertion and skill, just like football or soccer. Next, we compete against other marching bands for a score which also can lead to finals, which other sports have, such as basketball. Finally, it’s done for entertainment, especially because of all the visuals and drill.”
Nobody talks about the demand for marching bands. We’re expected to learn music and hit the drill fairly quickly, given the limited time available, as rehearsals are often lengthy. Some days we are expected to start rehearsal as early as 6:30 a.m., going as late as 5 p.m., and marching in the heat is a whole different story.
We compete just like other sports. We have scholastic prelims — which would be called sectionals for other sports — and scholastic finals, which we get to go to. But we compete against other bands at different schools and get a score. Our scoring may be different than other sports, but we still compete.
Others may say that we don’t run around and throw around a ball or even have the same scoring as other sports, and we don’t do it for any entertainment, and that’s where they are wrong.
That comes to my final reason. Doing all of this work for one show is all for entertainment. We make the whole show look good just for the eyes of the judges and the people watching. We play music that people know for their enjoyment, too.
So that brings us back to one question. Is a marching band a sport? Yes, it is. We dedicate a lot time to it, and we march and play music for hours on end and compete for a score.
And we obviously do it for entertainment, because that is what it is all for in the end.
Wolf Alice, a familiar name for fans of the indie-rock genre.
The band is made up of lead vocalist Ellie Rowsell, guitarist Joff Oddie, drummer Joel Amey, and bassist Theo Ellis. They started as an acoustic duo in London around 2010, consisting of Rowsell and Oddie, but Amey and Ellis joined in 2012.
Since then, they have released four albums; their newest release, titled “The Clearing,” came out in 2025. However, one album of theirs has remained a favorite among their fans: “Blue Weekend.”
Released in 2021, the album explores themes of love, heartbreak, past experiences, and new places, all wrapped up in 11 songs lasting 40 minutes combined.
It opens with Track 1 named “The Beach.” The song begins with a faint guitar solo and references Shakespeare’s Macbeth, which sets a tone of impending drama and questions like “When will we meet again?”
The song then gradually fades into a verse voicing Rowsell’s frustration with inconsistent relationships that involve a push-and-pull trope, speaking of her experiences with trying to keep her friendships without ego. “We don’t need to battle, and we both shall win.”
Following right after is Track 2: “Delicious Things.” This song features heavy themes involving the disillusionment of fame and the feeling of being alone in a big city such as Los Angeles, describing Rowsell’s experiences with trying to fit in with the superficial crowd while also wondering where she truly belongs. “I don’t belong here, though it really is quite fun here.”
The band covers the heavy themes with a catchy beat, featuring a lot of building drums and dreamy bass guitar, accompanied by Rowsell’s ethereally wistful vocalizing.
The track fades out with a hazy, pensive repetition of a lyric describing the underlying theme, filling listeners with a sense of existential dread. “Don’t lose sight.”
One of the most meaningful songs on the record is Track 6, a heartfelt plea for happiness, titled “How Can I Make It Ok?”
The song features lyrics about trying to heal ourselves and the people closest to us, using a memorable rhythm and beat to get the point across. The whole album has an underlying sense of love, whether platonic or romantic, but especially this song. The music slowly builds from an anxious-sounding introduction to an almost desperate, angry ending, which symbolizes the growth of a selfless love.
With lyrics such as “How can I make it okay? Nothing else is as important as that to me.” and “How do we sell you the world?” the band makes it clear that they are so desperate for a close friend or significant other’s happiness that they would do just about anything, something that can resonate with people all over the world.
The album closes out with “The Beach II,” a sort of sequel to the opening number, which ties the record together in a perfect ending.
The track opens with a contrasting introduction to its predecessor, a breezy, lighthearted combination of string instruments. Unlike the themes of anxiety in previous songs from the album, “The Beach II” focuses more on closure and acceptance of the life we’re living. Through the lyrics and the softer melodies, it offers a sense of peace and solace in our friendships, rather than trying to keep hold of the stressful, contradicting experiences going on around us.
With the final lyrics being “Happy ever after” and “It’s okay,” the song closes out the album on a lighter, happier note, giving the listener a respite from the heavy heartedness laced in all the tracks.
Wolf Alice, the band as a whole, leaves listeners with a sense of fulfillment after ending the record. Their distinct, memorable style influences their fans greatly, whether they realize it or not.
Teenagers shouldn’t be forced into choosing a career before they even know themselves.
Freshmen, especially here at school, are encouraged to select a career academy and are required to be in the college and career program.
Indiana added readiness seals to the diploma last year, “to better prepare Hoosier students for the future.” Out of the three, one seal is required to be on our diplomas when we graduate. One of these seals is the employment seal.
The employment seal requires students to complete a market-driven credential of value aligned to a specific occupation, three courses in a Career and Technology Education (CTE) pathway, an approved career preparation experience aligned to Indiana’s CSA program, or an approved, locally-created pathway.
With the employment seal or the plus version, students need 150+ hours of pre-apprenticeship or moderate youth apprenticeship of work-based learning. This can cause a lot of stress, as it requires choosing a pathway and completing all these hours to obtain this seal.
Chart by Liddia Waterbury.
Teens often feel pressured to choose a career path early due to expectations from parents, society, and schools, which include programs such as college and career readiness initiatives and seals of approval. This pressure can lead to anxiety, burnout, or regret later, especially if our early decisions don’t align with our evolving interests.
Many teenagers don’t feel they have enough information to make such a big decision. According to an OECD report, a large number of students feel unprepared. 47% agree “I worry that I am not prepared for life after… school.” 34% say they don’t feel well-informed about possible career paths.
Adolescence is a period of “storm and stress,” marked by emotional changes, identity formation, and uncertainty about the future, particularly in school. This is because teens’ self-identity and interests are still developing. Forcing a career decision too early can limit our exploration and lead to a poor long-term fit.
Long-term stress in adolescence doesn’t just affect well-being now; it can also impact participation while doing work in early adulthood.
Teenagers might lock into a career choice too early, only to realize later we don’t enjoy it. This can lead to switching majors, careers, wasted time, or regret. As our interests and identities evolve, early commitments can limit our future options.
College and career programs, as well as readiness seals, play a crucial role in shaping our future in college and the workforce. However, schools should emphasize exploration over commitment.
As teens, we need time to understand ourselves before making significant decisions about our futures. When we are rushed into choosing a career, we are only pressured and confused. Giving us space to explore helps us choose a path that truly fits who we are.
Americans must learn about modern humanitarian crisis
by Ameerah Gbadamosi
Sometimes there are problems that exist on the other side of the world that we don’t know about or pay much attention to. For example ,Sudan.
Sudan is facing one of the worst humanitarian crises in modern history due to the ongoing conflict happening between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the parliamentary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) plunges the nation deeper into turmoil.
The war, which started in April 2023, has devastated communities, displaced millions and worsened an already dire humanitarian crisis.
Even before the war erupted in 2023, Sudan was already experiencing a severe humanitarian crisis that left 15.8 million people in need of aid. Now over two years of war have drastically worsened the living conditions, displacing over 12 million people and leaving 30.4 million people, more than half of Sudan’s population in need of humanitarian support.
More than two years of the civil war going on in Sudan, the civilians are subject to frequent attacks and human right violation, while the country’s health care system has collapsed as life-threatening famine sets in. The attacks on humanitarian aid workers have made it difficult to deliver life saving aid to some of the most fragile and vulnerable communities in the world.
The famine spreading around Sudan as violence hinders humanitarian’s ability to deliver food. Meanwhile soaring food prices and collapse of food supply left families starving.
Between December 2024 and May 2025, over 26.4 million are trapped in a health deteriorating food insecurity, over 630,000 people including in the country’s largest camp for displaced people are experiencing extreme famine conditions and a very high risk of death, the severe food shortage also leaves people vulnerable to illness and infection due to lack of essential nutrients.
Children are among the most vulnerable to famine. An estimated 15 million boys and girls require humanitarian assistance in Sudan, nearly double the 7.8 million at the start of 2023. More than 2.9 million children in Sudan are acutely malnourished, and an additional 729,000 children under five suffer from severe acute malnutrition.
Despite the threats of the famine ongoing in Sudan, both the SAF and RSF are actively restricting aid delivery across Sudan. International organizations like the World Food Programme say they cannot access 90% of the people facing emergency levels of hunger in Sudan.
As if the famine and their suffering isn’t enough, there is an increased risk of sexual violence and an alarming rise of gender based violence against women and girls during times of armed conflict.
In war torn Sudan, rape is likely being used as a weapon of war, and in less than two years, the number of people at risk of gender-based violence has more than tripled.
An estimate of 12.1 million people or 25 percent of the population are at risk of gender based violence with frontline responders and survivors reporting alarming rates of rape, abuse, coersion, and child marriage, trafficking, while survivors struggle to access support.
In Darfur alarming rates of sexual violence underscore the immense suffering endured in those dire situations, which reveals the exceptional vulnerability of women and girls that live there.
As of April 2025, nearly 13 million people living in Sudan have been forced to flee their homes in search of safety. 8 million have been internally displaced by the conflict in Sudan, 1 million refugees lived in Sudan prior to the current conflict-the second highest refugee population in Africa.
The war and genocide in Sudan has not been talked about enough, with what they go through each day. People fear for their own lives because they never know when the war will end or what will happen to them. Women and little girls being raped, famine spreading everywhere, People fleeing their homes because of bombings.
What we can do to help the people living in Sudan is donate anything to a charity cause that helps Sudan, make videos or posts about what’s happening so others can know or donate.
10 facts about Sudan
Sudan is located in Northeast Africa sharing its border with seven countries.
Sudan is home to more pyramids than Egypt.
The capital of Sudan is Khartoum, with an estimated population of 9.3 million in the city.
Arabic is the main language of Sudan.
The majority of Sudan’s population is Muslim.
Sudan hosts over 500 ethnic groups.
Sudan was once home to the Kingdom of Kush, an African kingdom.
Sudan was the largest country in size until 2011.
There are over 100 indigenous languages spoken in Sudan.
The Arab population makes up approximately 70% of the country.
In a non-stop motion world that just keeps speeding up, we can be tempted to let screens take over every aspect of our lives – even our reading. E-books are convenient, and our phones are always in reach; it might seem like the easier option. But there’s a reason physical books are still around and continue to hang on, even when the rest of our world and routine has gone digital. A real book does something a screen can not replace, and pretending they are the same experience is selling reading short.
Graphic by Chloe Newton.
Firstly, a physical book forces you to be present. When you’re holding a book, you are not constantly checking the time or flipping to another app every time our mind wanders to something new. There’s a kind of focus that only physical media can give you – it requires you to sit and stay for a moment without thinking about all of the other distractions in our lives. That kind of slow attention is getting rare, and it is worth protecting.
There is also something physical about the memory of these moments. People often remember where something happened on the page, whether it be in the middle of the chapter or the top left corner. That spatial awareness helps us absorb and recall information better than reading on a glowing screen. Reading books physically helps our brain build a map of the story, not just a trail of scrolling or hitting the turn page button.
“Reading is supposed to be more than content consumption. It’s supposed to be an immersive experience. While technology can have a place in our lives, there’s still nothing better than the feeling of opening and closing a book, turning physical pages, and letting the rest of the world take a backseat.”
Honestly, there is the simple pleasure of the book itself. A book has weight. It ages with the world. It can be loaned, shared, annotated, or thrown in a bag without worrying about a charger or if you will have internet access. A shelf of books tells a story about the kind of person you are in a way a Kindle or tablet never will. When you finish a book and can close it, there’s a sense of accomplishment-something real in our hands, not just a digital checkmark or finish line.
Finally, physical books give us a break from the constant digital noise. We spend so much time on screen at school, work, home, and even in communication that reading becomes one of the only chances to unplug. It’s healthy to step away from the fluorescent light and algorithms and just let our mind wander through our thoughts and through a story that isn’t competing for attention.
Reading is supposed to be more than content consumption. It’s supposed to be an immersive experience. While technology can have a place in our lives, there’s still nothing better than the feeling of opening and closing a book, turning physical pages, and letting the rest of the world take a backseat. That is something worth keeping in mind.
“The Greatest Showman” is a musical about P.T. Barnum, a man who wants to build a life bigger than what he was born into. He creates a circus that gives people who feel left out, a place where they finally belong. The story focuses on following our dreams, even when others think we can’t. It also shows how success can be exciting, but it can create new problems, too.
The main character, Barnum, has a huge imagination and is always chasing something bigger. One character I really respect and admire is Barnum’s wife, Charity. She stands by her husband from the very beginning when he has nothing. She gives up her comfortable life to be right by him and support his dream. She believes in his dream from the very beginning, and that loyalty makes her stand out to me.
The cast of this movie really stands out, especially the people who bring performances to life. Out of all actors, Hugh Jackman as Barnum stood out the most to me. He brings so much emotion into his character that it’s easy to believe his character wants to make a difference. He also handles the singing and dancing so effortlessly.
Zendaya and Zac Efron also add to the movie, especially the chemistry in the scenes they share as Anne Wheeler and Phillip Carlyle, but Jackman definitely carries the whole story.
The music is a huge part of why this movie stands out. Every song has emotion behind it and helps tell the story. “Rewrite The Stars” is my personal favorite because the lyrics and harmony goes together, and every part of the song feels smooth. The soundtrack adds excitement and heart to every scene. The circus itself looks colorful and full of energy, making us wish we could see that in real life.
Even though some people say musicals can feel cheesy, I think the songs in this movie make the message even stronger. And while I didn’t like one specific choice a character makes, it reminds us that nobody is perfect, even the people that seem like they have everything. That honestly makes the movie more real.
What I like most is how everyone in the circus sticks together and lifts each other up when the world tries to bring them down. It shows how family can be people who accept us and support us no matter what. The message of confidence and belonging hits hard.
I would definitely recommend “The Greatest Showman” because it has powerful music, stunning visuals, and a story that makes us think about chasing our dreams. It leaves us feeling emotional and inspired. It reminds us to never forget where we come from and to keep going after our dreams. The message stays with us after the movie ends.
Movie Review Chart
Title: The Greatest Showman
Starring: Hugh Jackman, Zac Efron, Zendaya, Michelle Williams
One Direction hits the charts again with their fifth & final studio album, Made in the A.M, with the album only being released for one week. The number one hit was “Drag Me Down,” a lead number one single before the album was released. Fans all around the world are excited for another album by One Direction. Made in the A.M was an album that was similar to their other albums, but also had a goodbye sort of tone to the album and the lyrics being said.
In 2010, Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson, Zayn Malik, and Liam Payne all tried out for the X Factor. They didn’t know who anyone was. They were all strangers to each other. At the end of auditions, the judges paired up the boys together, and they sort of just went off from there with their success. They named themselves “One Direction.”
After the X-Factor auditions and they formed their boyband, they wrote and published their first single, “What Makes You Beautiful,” on September 11, 2011, getting over 1.7 billion streams as of November 2024. From there, the success just sort of took off. They released their first album, ‘Up All Night,’ in November 2011. From that point forward, they released an album every single year, following a tour.
One Direction never really got a break. They would either be writing music, or be on the road touring, or even sometimes both. This led to mental health declines in some of the members, specifically Zayn Malik. In March of 2015, Malik released a statement saying he was no longer a part of the band. It wasn’t anything with the band; he was just struggling mentally with the fact that he never really had a break. He was always doing something. Malik also had really bad anxiety at the time. He had been producing music with the boys since 2011 at the age of roughly 18. He was mentally tired. This led to a hiatus after the rest of the band finished the ‘On the Road Again’ Tour and released Made in the A.M.
Made in the A.M was One Direction’s final album, with the remaining four members, Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson, and Liam Payne. They open with a beautiful song labeled “Hey Angel.” This song has the most beautiful chorus in it, and really pushes their vocals to the limit, creating a masterpiece of a song.
The final song on the album is “History.” To me, this song is really like a goodbye piece, not only to Zayn, who left the band, but to the fans. All the songs in between “Hey Angel” and “History” are sort of like goodbye songs in a way. They aren’t saying goodbye to the fans themselves; they are also saying goodbye to the memories they made along the way and the last time they will be all together as a band. Every song in the album is like a goodbye song to me. They are saying goodbye to the only part of life they ever knew together. There would be no more tours together, and no more songwriting together ever again.
One of my personal favorites on the album is a song called “Infinity.’’ The lyrics just go together so perfectly. My favorite lyric in the entire part is, “How many nights does it take you to count the stars, that’s the time it would take to fix my heart.” To me, those lyrics are saying something so deep and personal, almost as if they are trying to fix a void in their hearts they are missing. They’re trying to fix a broken piece that is no longer there through song lyrics. At the time, I don’t think One Direction knew it was officially the end of the band and an amazing chapter in their lives, but I think they were ready for their solo careers, which they followed a couple of years after the band had gone on hiatus. One Direction never officially announced a “breakup,” they called it more of an “18-month hiatus.” I guess it is safe to say, One Direction hasn’t come back, and if they still did, it would break the internet worldwide extremely fast.
Phoebe Bridgers opens her debut album, Stranger In The Alps, with this lyric from “Smoke Signals.” The album, released Sept. 22, 2017, explores themes such as nostalgia and childhood relationships, combining them with a wistful and melancholic sound.
Bridgers herself was born on August 17, 1994, in Pasadena, California. She wrote her first song at the age of 11, and she was in multiple bands, including Sloppy Jane, throughout her years in high school. Prior to releasing Stranger In The Alps, affectionately known to fans by the acronym SITA, Bridgers released an EP titled The Killer EP, featuring songs like “Georgia” and “Steamroller.”
Graphic by Abigail Hall.
Bridgers and her fanbase, known commonly as “Pharbs,” excitedly listened to Stranger In The Alps on its release day eight years ago.
It opens with a song called “Smoke Signals.” The song starts with an instrumental opening, a mixture of bass and violin. Bridgers writes about meeting someone, a partner or significant other, and learning of their past, as well as finding out they have struggled through some of the same things, which made it seem like they were looking for each other subconsciously.
In the last verse of the track, she includes the lyric, “I buried a hatchet; it’s coming up lavender.” This symbolizes a past resentment for her situation that has grown into calm and a sense of peace, presumably with the help of the aforementioned partner. “Smoke Signals”fades out with an instrumental closing, focused on bass and bells.
An immediate bass guitar strum introduces the next song, “Motion Sickness.” Her theme of past resentment and nostalgia continues with the first lyric: “I hate you for what you did, and I miss you like a little kid.” Bridgers mentions having “emotional motion sickness” and sings about her experiences with an older person, implying her experience with being groomed.
Bridgers uses vague lyrics that could relate to many people, yet they still hold personal meaning to her. For example, one of the most iconic lyrics in the song: “You were in a band when I was born.” Reading between the lines, listeners can infer that the person she was involved with was old enough, likely an adult, to have a band while Bridgers was a baby. The words hold weight, drawing in many listeners who share similar experiences. The entire song builds up to the bridge, where her tone takes on something more angry when she sings, “You said when you met me you were bored.” The chords on the guitar gradually fade out into something more wistful.
A seemingly string ensemble transitions into the next song, “Funeral.” A heavier theme belongs to this song, as Bridgers sings about her guilt: “Wishing I was someone else, feeling sorry for myself, when I remember someone’s kid is dead.” Again, she draws in listeners with her relatable emotions, allowing people to feel less alone when they tune in. Though it seems to be about a funeral, this track is more about Bridgers and her awareness of being self-absorbed in depression, making it hard to think much about how others are feeling. She ends the song with a heavy lyric, summing up the whole song and implementing the feeling of guilt and dread all in one. “And it’s 4 a.m. again; And I’m doing nothing again.”
Skipping ahead to arguably the most notable song on the album and perhaps in Bridgers’ entire discography, “Scott Street.”
“Scott Street” begins with a soft guitar solo that completely encapsulates the feeling of nostalgia, which is the aching theme throughout the lyrics. Bridgers puts the feeling of going back to your childhood home in words, her powerful words making your heart sink with memories. A well-renowned lyric, one of the most well-known on the record, is “Do you feel ashamed when you hear my name?” Paired with the heartbreaking guitar, bicycle bells from her childhood, and train whistles in the background, Bridgers has your chest aching. Before you have time to recover, whether from her lyricism or from the memories she’d dug up, she hits you with one of the most heart-wrenching and nostalgia-ridden lyrics ever written: “Anyway, don’t be a stranger.”
While Bridgers has since released another solo album, Punisher, and multiple solo projects with bands like boygenius, Stranger In The Alps remains in the heart of many fans. Her lyricism, experiences, haunting instrumentals, and her somber voice invoke a sense of longing and sentiment in her listeners. Regardless of whether you consider yourself a “pharb” or not, this album will stick sweetly with you.
This is how long it took filmmaker and producer John Hughes to write the script for the 80s classic “The Breakfast Club.” He had been inspired by an early draft of the script, which was discovered years later, after the movie premiered.
Fun fact. The film’s title was inspired by the name of a detention program at his friend’s son’s school. This is important because the title’s symbolic meaning lies in showing the unlikely “club” of outcasts from different social cliques.
Graphic by Kori Washington.
This leads me into the plot of the story. The story begins on one morning when five students of different social groups are all put together for Saturday detention. Once all students are in the building, the vice principal, Richard Vernon, assigns them to write a 1,000-word essay with the prompt “Who you think you are?”
But as the day goes on, the students realize they have more in common than they thought.
The film was great. I love how Hughes made every character different, with totally different lives, but in the end, they all had problems. Throughout the movie, the characters slowly start to warm up to each other, which leads them to reveal the reason they ended up in detention in one big circle.
This is my favorite part of the movie because this scene shows so much emotion and passion.
And the person who really stuck out to me in this scene was Anthony Michael Hall, who plays Brian Johnson in the film. He really stood out to me because he was talking about the stress of trying to be this perfect kid who also gets straight A’s on everything, and during this scene, I could really relate to him.
During this scene, I also loved seeing each character share their story and tell everyone about all the trouble they have in their lives, which I think was very healing for each of them to share what they had bottled up for so long.
Overall, I think “The Breakfast Club” was an amazing movie because it shows how different people can come together and really understand each other. It teaches that everyone has their own struggles, and sometimes all it takes is opening up to realize we’re not that different after all.
“Seize your moment” is a quote from “Coco” that always stuck with me when I finished watching and re-watching the movie.
The movie “Coco” follows a young boy with love and passion for music, wanting to be a musician just like his idol, Ernesto De la Cruz, but his family’s generational ban on music makes it impossible. Desperate to prove his talent, Miguel finds himself in the colorful land of the dead in order to get Ernestro De la Cruz’s blessing. He meets a charming trickster named Hector, and the two friends embark on a journey to unlock the real story behind Miguel’s family history.
Directed by Adrian Molina and Lee Unkrich, the animation style of “Coco” has a very vibrant and colourful aesthetic with thorough details that are presented both in the living world and in the Land of the Dead, with every single character having unique designs, and with the designs being culturally important and respectful.
Other films by Molina and Unkrich include “Toy Story 3,” “Monsters, Inc.” and “Finding Nemo,” in which everything except “Monsters, Inc.” are my personal favorites because similar to “Coco,” the characters are relatable in their own way.
The songs of the movie were my favourite part of the whole movie, mainly “Remember Me.,” Thethe song was very heartfelt, beautiful and inspiring, especially knowing the backstory of why the song was written; it talks about Hector missing his family, wanting to be with them, but also wanting his daughter not to forget him when he left.
“Un Poco Loco” was my favorite song in “Coco,” sung by Miguel and Hector during a music contest in the Land of the Dead. The lyrics talk about a woman driving a man crazy, written by Hector for his love for Imelda, because of all the nonsense she responds to when he asks her questions about her life.
The voice casts for the characters in “Coco” were perfect, as each role fit how the character would act. The voice actor for Miguel, Anthony Gonzalez, really captured the characterization, from how he acted to how he portrayed his feelings about not being able to play music.
Other movies Gonzalez has starred in are “I Believe,” “Bogota,” “Call Me Luke,” and “Dead Lion.” I haven’t watched any of those movies yet, but I’ve heard great reviews about him.
The voice actress for Mana Imelda, Alanna Ubach, did an amazing job on portraying her character well. Other movies she has been in are “Legally Blonde 1, 2, 3”; “Venom: The Last Dance,” “Rango,” “Ted,” and “Scooby-doo and the Ghoul School” and many other famous movies.
In conclusion, Coco is a really good movie that teaches people about being cultural appropriation; the settings and the holidays were portrayed very well, though I wish they had gone more in depth in each of the characters background, especially Hector’s and Ernesto De la Cruz’s, because I really wanted to know more about their childhoods, how they became friends and why they became friends.
The Twilight saga extends beyond just a story and characters. It also marked a significant moment in film marketing and fan engagement. The franchise utilized social media and fan events to build a strong community around the movies, encouraging fans to connect with each other and share their passion. This approach helped maintain excitement between film releases and created a sense of belonging among fans, many of whom felt deeply connected to the characters and themes.
Graphic by Breslyn Dozal.
Each movie in the series brought new elements to the screen, with increasing visual effects to depict the supernatural abilities of vampires and werewolves. For example, the sparkling skin of the Cullens under sunlight became an iconic visual trademark, while the werewolves’ transformations were portrayed with intense CGI to emphasize their powers and primal natures. These effects contributed to the immersive experience and helped distinguish the saga from other fantasy stories.
The actors’ performances evolved over the course of the series, with Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, and Taylor Lautner growing into their roles and developing chemistry that fans appreciated. Behind the scenes, the production faced challenges such as tight schedules and the need to stay faithful to the source material while adapting it for film. Despite these problems, the team delivered a cohesive narrative that satisfied many fans and kept the story’s spirit alive.
The Twilight Saga also striked discussions about its themes, such as the portrayal of romantic relationships, gender roles, and the balance between independence and devotion. Critics and fans debated character choices and the nature of certain character’s love life, which opened up broader conversations about love, identity, and empowerment in young adult fiction. This dialogue added depth to the series’ cultural footprint, showing that it resonated on multiple levels.
For me, this movie really opened my eyes to fiction movies and the supernatural. It changed my perception of certain emotions such as love. Even though the love stories are made up, it really showed me that if we try, life can work out. No matter how hard it might be, it can always end up good.
Another part is acting for me. Most movies based in the 2000s have “cringy” or “awkward” acting. The character Bella Swan, played by Stewart, has some real cringy scenes. She tends to bite her lips a lot or use excessive breathing and blinking. Most scenes like the fight scenes are well thought out and make audiences feel like we’re actually there. And the way the story progresses and more characters are added really brings more life and audience to the films.
Moreover, the franchise’s success led to spin-offs and expanded universe projects, including the “Twilight” book “Midnight Sun,” which retells the story from Edward’s perspective, and the “Twilight” musical adaptations and fan-created content. These extensions kept the world alive and allowed fans to explore different facets of the story and characters.
The Twilight saga is more than just a series of vampire romance films; it’s a cultural phenomenon that influenced entertainment, fandom culture, and the young adult genre. Its legacy is seen in how it brought supernatural romance to mainstream audiences, fostered a passionate community, and sparked ongoing conversations about love and identity in popular media.
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