My freshman year of high school I was volunteering with a third grade class. I had worked with these kids all year and had formed a bond with every single one of them. It was a normal day of class. I was walking around helping the students answer the questions on their homework from the previous night. 

All of a sudden the school wide intercom comes on and the class goes silent. Music starts playing and not the kind of joyful music you hear at a party or a celebration. It was a sort of cold and ominous sound that was blaring from the speakers in all classrooms. At first I thought maybe someone was playing a prank on us because the school tends to joke a lot with their students. Especially on Fridays when I was volunteering. 

Then I looked over at the teacher. Her face dropped and she turned pale then I knew something was wrong. The kids were dancing and jumping around to the music because they thought it was a playful joke. They were eight to nine years old so they never really thought anything of it.What else would you expect of them in this kind of situation? They shouldn’t have to worry that their lives may be in danger at school.

I looked over at the teacher again and I knew to take the kids in the corner, turn the lights off, hide and remember not to make a sound. Something I had heard all my life and practiced over and over again throughout schooling.  I believed our lives had depended on it. Immediately after I got the kids to stay quiet they started to realize something was not right and most of them began to cry. Seeing these children so scared for what was going to happen to them when they were just starting life was so hard. Especially when I could do nothing about it but comfort them.

 While I comforted the children the teacher went through protocol and tried to see if other teachers were in lockdown as well. When she was done she ran to the corner that we were hiding in and began to comfort kids as well. These children cried their eyes out because they were scared what would happen next and I was scared too but I couldn't let them know that.

We sat there in terror with kids huddled together, scared and uncomfortable. The music kept playing over and over again in our ears as if it was replicating a taunt in our faces. Finally the music stopped and the intercom made sound again only this time it was a familiar voice. 

We were told we were safe and that the music was just an accident. That’s what they told the kids. A few minutes later we heard a rumor that the system had been hacked and they were assuming it was a prank from an unknown person. 

My friend that was also volunteering was only a few classes down and the kids in that classroom didn’t even hide. They had no idea if this was a serious situation or not yet they danced around to the music like it was some sort of celebration. In most cases these kinds of situations are just threats that never result in anything more than a lockdown but  in some cases like the Sandy Hook or Columbine attack sadly it is not just a song that plays over the intercom or a prank played by a random humorous person. 

The rest of the day I am distraught at the idea of what could have happened and what has happened to kids at other schools who didn’t get to hear that intercom say that they were safe or that it was just an ignorant prank. And the parents that didn’t get to run to their children with open arms when those drills were over because sometimes it is not a prank or a drill or an accident. Sometimes it's a threat on innocent lives who have everything to look forward to. 

One wicked person can stop the life of hundreds from graduating high school and college, from having birthdays celebrated with friends and family, from growing old, from having children, from having grandchildren, from experiencing the ups and downs of life.

More than 330,000 children and teens have been through school attacks since the first infamous Columbine attack April 20, 1999, where the lives of 15 were taken, including the two attackers. The students that attended are still haunted to this day by the horrific event that occurred.

 Children live in fear as soon as they step into the doors of their school.At a young age kids go through drills to prepare for an active shooter and continue these drills to adulthood. Kids should walk into school feeling relief and joy knowing that they are going to learn the ways of the world around them and spend time with their friends but instead they have to go through drills and tests like soldiers just so that they know how to stay alive when someone wants to take their life from them like it is just a purse a thief can steal in a dark alley. 

Hide in the corner of the room with the lights off and don’t make a sound. We tell our kids this as one of the first things they learn in school. Not one plus one, not who was the first president, not how to read. They learn how to fight for their lives at as young as five years old. 

The survivors of the SandyHook attack in 2012 graduated this year and there were 20 empty seats where those young kids should have been sitting. SandyHook is a famous attack but not the only one. Hundreds of seats have been empty in the place of those kids who didn’t make it out of those schools.

 The Uvalde school attack is another well known attack that has left grief all around. This attack occurred in Texas May 24, 2022, Tragically taking the lives of Nineteen children and two teachers. The children were stuck in there for over 45 minutes with an active shooter.

As a student at a high school I am always worried about what could happen. I don’t feel completely safe because there are evil people out there and they are only getting worse. Students and teachers risk their lives everyday to either give or receive a simple education. Why is it that to learn we have to learn in fear? 

Regarding the impact of severe weather on our state and ones nearby, the year 2024 has been unpleasant. Over the past few months, the East Coast has suffered from road obstructions, torrential levels of flooding, and the danger of loved ones being harmed. The severe weather, in mind? It was a series of weather disturbances, one after the next with minuscule time between each. As a result of Tropical Storm Debby, a prevalent storm, our first day of school was disrupted. We were out for the rest of the week. Later, from a large, no-named storm, the town of Southport in Brunswick County, had roads completely closed due to collapsing and being unstable for transportation. After that, an actual hurricane hit North Carolina. Hurricane Helene made landfall on Asheville, around the last days of September. News reports included pictures of an abundance of debris and ruptures in neighborhoods. Recently, Hurricane Milton, a Category 3 storm, hit Florida on Wednesday, October 9th. Just before landfall, it was a Category 5. The state experienced major amounts of rain and power outages. Overall, we have endured many effects and as a result of that, it is crucial to grasp.

The first storm: Tropical Storm Debby. It was a normal morning on the first day of school. In those 20 minutes, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Suddenly, the whole school was asked to go downstairs as we were in a tornado drill. Voices on the walkie-talkies expressed that these tornadoes were near our vicinity. Time passed, and we were still down there. Eventually, BCC decided to close and ECHS had an early dismissal. It was nearing the middle of the day. Everything happened so suddenly. The only consistency was rain and thunderstorms. Returning to school seemed unlikely in that week. We were told to do our work online. Having workdays without meeting all your teachers yet was quite an experience. The nuance of those three days was apparent. In due time, the storm left and it was back to school. At least that time, we weren’t going to be interrupted. Not until about a month later.

The no-named storm. It was unexpected. The forecast predicted nothing of what was to come. Countless videos that day were posted online of flooded neighborhoods and reactions including the phrase, “How will we be safe?” It was a frenzy of no stops and breaks. Video after video talking about the effects of the storm. So many people who lived in Southport and Boiling Spring Lakes had no way of getting out, they were secluded with only themselves. Days passed, and there was no update. Just cancellations for each day of school. What could they do? The county was stunned. Lots of highways had no stability. Eventually, we got to go back. Conditions improved and it was secure again. Everything was back to normal! However, this wasn’t the end for North Carolina.

Another day was canceled. Forecasts of another storm, Hurricane Helene, coming to our state. This time, Asheville was the target. Shocking, a place with mountain ranges and high elevation will be threatened by a hurricane? Yes. The damage was catastrophic. Three months’ worth of precipitation now turned into a couple of days. Monumental flooding was driving the city in a whirlwind. News was being reported talking about the destruction inflicted on North Carolina. Our state made national news. This was very serious. In late October, we won’t neglect what has happened. For the most damaged areas, there are counties in our state raising awareness. Even in our school, with the fundraiser that Mrs. Sanchez is in charge of. The impact of severe weather is not to be dismissed, only signified. We cannot forget because hurricanes and storms will continue to damage our societies, businesses, and homes. It will never end. There will always be threats due to hurricanes. The best thing to do: Whatever we can to aid.

In conclusion, severe weather has caused our society to worsen by creating problems concerning our travels, seeing friends and family, and most importantly, it created suffering. It may not seem like a prominent issue anymore since it has been nearly a month, but the chances of it happening again aren’t inevitable. Additionally, these extremities are fueling climate change which is not good for our planet that we need to keep safe and sound. Therefore, we need to stay on alert and do what we can to help whether through a drive or a fund for donating to those required. Making an emergency plan and being aware of an upcoming storm is a great way to protect ourselves. If we all practice better safety and encourage awareness of these occurrences, the risk of potential harm will decrease.

Media Marketing is the use of strategies that initiate consumer interaction or interest through different media outlets. In recent years many companies have utilized media marketing through apps such as Instagram, Facebook, and Tiktok to gain viewer attraction. Many advertisements are aimed to target a specific clique of people that the company feels resonate most with the product or idea they are presenting. 

One example of a great use of media marketing is Dove’s #ShowUs campaign. This campaign was launched on March 27, 2019, and was designed ‘for women, by women’. This was a campaign targeted around combating the lack of inclusivity for women advertised in the media everywhere.

 In a global survey conducted by Dove in 2019, approximately 70% of women say that they still do not feel represented in the images they see online everyday. Many of the models we see modeling for bigger brands tend to lack diversity of race, ethnicity, and body type. Dove global Vice President Sophie Galvani states “Dove understands the impact that unrealistic images of beauty can have on a women’s body confidence”.

 In response to this phenomenon, Dove collaborated with Getty Images and Girlgaze to create a photo collection with over ten thousand pictures of women that don’t necessarily identify with the ‘Beauty Standard’ that society has come to accept as normal. This campaign was a huge success, causing many women to speak up regarding their disappointment in the beauty industry, and bring to light how many women have come to develop a corrupted sense of what defines beauty. 

This campaign has been used to evoke change in the beauty industry today, as we can see with the growing diversity of model’s in brands such as Nike and Good American. Of course there are still brands who stray away from proper diversity in their advertising, however Dove’s campaign was a massive step in the right direction for gaining inclusivity for all women of different races, ethnicities, and body types.

Have you ever been to a Graduate Sunrise or something as amazing as this event?

You may be wondering, What is the Graduate Sunrise? This event symbolizes the graduates beginning of a new year. Recently, this event was held in Holden Beach, on August 16, 2024, as stated by Josie Tharp. You are probably curious as to why this event happened, According to Mrs. Absher: “Two years ago a student named Kelsey came to me with the idea to gather graduates to acknowledge it was there last year at the Early College.” Let's get into the how part, as stated by Mrs. King : “This project which is a part of the National Honors Society which was started about 3 years ago was created by Tori Neal who has now graduated, but this year our President of Beta, Angel Deras kept the project going for the graduates to experience”. According to other peers, Mrs. King, Mr.Tantillo, Mrs.Absher, graduates and alumni who were present at that moment said it was an amazing time and very calm. It was shown that everyone who attended the event enjoyed bonding with each other for their last year. We are hoping to have a similar experience toward the end of the year to symbolize the ending of a year for them.