Editorials

By Zach Miles

Three... two... one... Happy New Year! The clock strikes zero and the ball finally drops. New York City is flooded with thousands of people dancing, singing, laughing, and parading around in their Planet Fitness themed hats. 

A new decade has begun and with it, millions of people are looking for a change in their lives. Throughout January, the gyms are flooded, money is being saved, and everyone is looking forward to a fresh start. They try and try to change for the better, but as February rolls around, they seem to fall right back into their old habits.

According to a study conducted by the University of Scranton, 88 percent of Americans make New Year’s goals. However, just 8 percent of people achieve those goals, while around 80 percent fail to keep their New Year's resolutions. But why is that?

In most cases, people want to see results right away. They drastically change their lifestyle in a way that is unrealistic to start out at and it’s often too much to handle. You can’t change your habits overnight, so why try? If you want to start eating healthier, don’t change your whole diet right away. Instead, try taking smaller steps first. For example, your first week, you could try to cut down on desserts, or add a few fruits and vegetables each day. The next week, you could work to drink water more often and make the effort to carry a water bottle around with you.

In other cases, people just don’t believe in themselves. Confidence can be a tricky thing. Resolutions are very hard to keep, and if you’ve failed them in the past, your confidence to keep one is likely very low. This year, instead of thinking too much about what you’re doing and if it's really helping, try to enjoy the process. Pay attention to any progress you make and write it down. The more you continue to work, the more results you will get.

Lastly, change is hard to come by without support. It can be very difficult to stay motivated without someone to hold you accountable. The problem with this is that not everyone has a friend that is willing to eat better with them or exercise more often. But, the good news is that there are plenty of people and groups out there that are. Don’t be afraid to ask a classmate to lunch or a friend to come to the gym with you. The more people you have with you, the easier it is to stay motivated and achieve your goals.

This year, let’s all try to plan better and really work for our goals. Make sure you take smaller steps, enjoy the process, and try to find someone who will work with you and hold you accountable. If a new year doesn’t motivate you to improve, hopefully a new decade will do the trick.

Good luck!

By Drew Adams

On Sunday, January 26, 2020, Kobe Bryant and his daughter, Gianna, passed away along with seven others in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California. Kobe Bryant, a 5 time champion, 15 time All-Star, and 2007-08 NBA MVP, has passed away at the age of 41. His daughter, Gianna, was only 13. 

The world is still in shock. Nobody expected to see this larger than life icon to face such an untimely death. When listening to the radio shortly after his death, I heard a sportscaster saying it’s become one of those, “Where were you when…" situations. 

As for me, I was in the car with my family, on the way home from my brother’s basketball game. I was scrolling through twitter when the news broke. I told myself there was no way. I actually said aloud “No way.” Just the night before, LeBron James had passed him in all-time scoring and Bryant had tweeted out congratulating him. There was no way he could be gone. 

When I shared the news with my family, they were equally shocked. A few of them accused me of lying. They said there was just no way. But sadly, the news stories were correct, and would only get sadder as more information came out. We spent the rest of the day pretty depressed. We watched the news for a while, and silence fell across the house when it was announced that his daughter was with him, as well as her teammate, that girl’s parents, and their youth team coach. 

Now, just a short time later, I find myself asking why. Not just ‘why did they have to be taken so early?’ but ‘why has it affected myself, my family, and the rest of the world as much as it has?’ Kobe Bryant was a superstar worldwide. It didn’t matter if you were a die hard Lakers fan, or if you’d never watched a minute of basketball in your life, you knew the name Kobe Bryant. But why do we all feel so personally affected by his death?

I walked the halls of school following his death, and he was all any of us were thinking about. There were large crowds of purple and gold jerseys, and echoes of the “Black Mamba” carried throughout the halls. People have been truly affected and that’s awe-inspiring. It’s amazing to see the impact that he’s had on the world. But why?

It’s not just him either. Last year around this time, comic book icon Stan Lee passed away, and I saw a very similar reaction from the people around me. The same goes for Juice WRLD, a young musical artist who died a little over a month ago. But no one I know knows any of these people personally. So what is it about celebrities that affects us so much?

Well to start, I think we’re largely affected when people die young. When we see stories of children and young adults passing, we’re instantly more depressed than we were before. Now, I’m not sure where the line that divides old and young is. I think it may be different for many people. Personally, I feel that we’re so saddened by people dying young because we feel they had so much left to do. They had so much left to offer the world. We see these people and realize they can never reach their full potential, and that saddens us.

Obviously this can’t be the entire reason. Yes, Kobe (41), Gianna (13), and Juice WRLD (21) all passed at a young age. But Stan Lee lived to the age of 95. He wasn’t young by any definition, and yet, while maybe not quite to the same level, I saw a very similar reaction when he passed. 

I believe that the reason we’re so saddened by the passing of these celebrities is because they are our real life heroes. We truly idolize these people for various reasons. To see these larger than life people overcome whatever they’ve been through and find a way to share their gift with the world is something we all long for. We look to these people to guide us in various ways. We look for signs of ourselves in them. We aspire to be just like them. So to see them pass away, leaving us without our heroes, is devastating. 

It’s not like the movies and television shows. We know that those heroes were never real. Their struggles and victories were created in the minds of the writers. But these celebrities, they were truly our living, breathing heroes. They faced similar struggles to us. They faced the same ups and downs that we do. They had living families, people left without fathers, brothers, sisters, daughters. They were real. And that makes it harder. 

It is okay to be sad about the passing of Kobe and Gianna. It’s okay to be sad whenever anyone passes, regardless of your relationship, or how well you know them. It’s human nature to be sad about death. It speaks to how much of an impact they’ve had on you and the rest of the world. 

Kobe and Gianna will be greatly missed. The Black Mamba has inspired multiple generations of basketball players, and was seen as a hero by many. He was taken from us too soon, and now we’re left to celebrate a legend. 

By Ashton Hunt

Walking into the conference room, you feel the anticipation for the coach and players to walk in and recording equipment is still being set up. The room is packed and, to date, this is the biggest game of the season as they prepare for in-state rivals from the University of Cincinnati.

It is not every day that a high school journalism student gets to travel with Adam Jardy, a  journalist from The Columbus Dispatch to not just one, but two Ohio State Men’s basketball press conferences. Entering the Schottenstein Center for the first time and walking into the conference room filled with different journalists and reporters was a lot to take in. 

I felt out of place as a high school student surrounded by established and, for the most part, male journalists. Out of the 15-20 people there, I believe there might have been one or two women besides myself. Once the press conference started, the environment was a lot more respectful than what is seen on TV. People quietly waited their turn to ask a question while the players and coach answered. 

The most noticeable aspect of the interview was that they answered each question in a round-about way, almost avoiding the question entirely. Also noteworthy was that some journalists did not ask any questions at all. They were there solely to post on social media or to use the information from the Q&A for their own stories. 

After watching the first press conference, I got permission to come back for a smaller scale game against Stetson University. This time I would ask a question for the coach and players. 

Being uneducated about basketball, I gathered as much information as I could on the sport and asked my peers what they thought would be good questions for the press conference. I now know that there are five players on the court at once!

Walking into the Ohio State/Stetson press conference, I had three questions prepared for the coach. Being a smaller opponent, the event was mostly the same, but this time there were only a handful of reporters, which made it easier for me to ask questions.

Once more with Adam Jardy as my guide, we walked into the room and we sat in the front row. The players came out first, and I realized I did not have a question aimed towards them. 

Jardy had mentioned on our first trip to the Schottenstein Center that one of the most important parts of being a journalist is being able to adapt quickly and think of questions on the spot. Having only questions prepared for Coach Holtman, I had to take full advantage of this lesson.

While listening to what other people were asking and how the players were answering, I thought up a new question. I took the microphone and started talking. It was one of those feelings where you are going through the motions, not really taking in everything that is happening. 

In all, I asked each of the players a question and the coach two. It was such an amazing experience that has taught me so much. I now know what I need to work on to build my journalism abilities. 

Typing and writing is something which will improve with time and practice. Also, being able to listen and type simultaneously is extremely important and will take time to get better at. I learned more about networking, and how important it is to meet new people and to make connections.

Back in class I was asked if doing this was nerve racking, and my answer to this was “of course not,” but looking back now, I can say I actually was pretty nervous. Anybody would be nervous trying to talk to people twice their size! However, this was an amazing experience that I am so lucky to have been a part of and will continue to inspire me for my future in journalism.