High School During A Pandemic

School is stressful enough but now everything is completely different. Its hard being separated from my friends , classes go by slower , the days feel way longer the before , it feels like there is more work assigned then there really is. The hallways are almost completely empty . You can tell most people are lonely , being separated from their friends and the only people their comfortable around . You cant tell when someone is happy , you can barley recognize anyone , covering your face is a weird thing to get used to .

Being six feet apart from someone at all times is difficult as well . It is harder to hear them from a distance and from the mask they are wearing . The most annoying thing in my opinion is the arrows in the halls. They directed us curtain ways to get to classes, it is harder this way . I have a class a hallway away from my last , but in order to get to that class I have to walk all the way around the school , sometimes that causes me to be late to class . I understand why the school is taking these precautions but I feel like it is very hard for us , feeling alone since none of your friends are here at school with you . No one is looking forward to school , the only reason i was looking forward to school before all this was to see my friends .

Vincent Van Gogh's Death (Written March 22 2021)

Vincent Van Gogh was an artist who was revered for his beautiful pieces and interesting personality. Unfortunately, over a century ago, it was said the tortured artist had taken his own life by shooting himself under the ribs. People believe his suicide was a result of his unstable mental state, which became obvious in 1888, when he famously cut off his own ear to give to a sex worker as a gift. Shortly after, Van Gogh would check himself into a mental health institution during May of 1888. During his year-long stay at the psychiatric hospital, Vincent made a few of his most iconic pieces, such as, “Irises” and “The Starry Night “. Despite the irrefutably of his so-called suicide ,which has been written into history, I believe Vincent Van Gogh was murdered.

On July 27th, 1890, after lunch time, Van Gogh was reported to have left the Ravoux Inn in Auvers, with an easel and painting supplies under his arm. That evening, Vincent would return to the inn, awkwardly shuffling and avoiding eye contact with anyone. Suspiciously, he returned without any of the art supplies he brought with him earlier that day, an obviously odd fact. Van Gogh limped his way up the stairs to his room, his abdomen held in his arms. Gustave Ravoux, the owner of the inn, went upstairs to check on Vincent, finding him in his bed. Gustave asked the tortured artist what was wrong, to which Vincent replied, “I wounded myself”. He lifted his shirt and coat to reveal a bullet hole under his ribs. Vincent's brother Theo arrived at the inn on the next day in the middle of the day, wanting to see his beloved brother before he passed away. Van Gogh took his last breath at midnight, sheltered in his brother's arms, his last words being, “I want to die like this”. No autopsy was done on the body of the artist, as it was thought obvious he took his own life.

The suspicious circumstances of Van Gogh’s death lead me to believe that he was murdered. The exact location of his so-called shooting attempt was unidentified, and the location where Van Gogh would be during the 5-hour period where he left the inn and came back is unknown. Additionally, the gun Vincent allegedly used to kill himself was not recovered. Evidence that Van Gogh’s death was not a result of a suicide can be found in the location of the bullet wound. Van Gogh was found with a bullet hole in his stomach, a bodily location that does not make sense to target in the event that someone decided to commit suicide. It is rumored that the artist may have been aiming for his heart, but the difficulty in shooting one’s own heart does not seem overwhelming. Coincidentally, there was no exit wound found— the bullet did not leave Vincent’s body after its entrance. This fact suggests there was distance between Vincent and the gun which discharged the bullet— a distance greater than what he could have achieved on his own. Furthermore, Vincent was a very religious man, and with his commitment to religious belief, condemned suicide, deeming it to be “wicked” and a demonstration of “moral cowardice”. Van Gogh’s brother Theo also serves as a testimony to who the artist was, and Theo truly believed his brother would not have taken his life without leaving a note or a message behind.

Keeping these circumstances in mind, my theory is that Vincent was shot by some local boys, and made the decision to protect them and their identities. Vincent was a kind, trusting man. As a result, young boys would tease him because of his appearance, pulling pranks on Vincent which included putting salt in his coffee and dipping the end of his paint brushes in chili powder. One of these boys, named Renè Secrètan, said “Our favorite game was making him angry, which was easy”. Renè’s older brother Gaston, an aspiring artist, liked to listen to Vincent's stories of the Parisian art world, when Vincent would frequently paint in a wheat field close by. Consequently, Vincent put up with Renè in order to keep Gaston, who became his apprentice, around, and soon grew to love him like a son. After seeing Buffalo Bill’s Wild West show in Paris, Renè returned to Auvers with a full outfit of western like clothes, including a .380 caliber pistol. I think that the boys accidentally fired the gun, hitting Vincent in the stomach, which resulted in Vincent stumbling back to the inn only to cover for the boys. If Vincent had planned on killing himself, why bring all the art supplies with him and not bring them back? Why was the gun never found? Why didn't Vincent finish himself off after the first shot if he was indeed going to take his life? I believe all the evidence points to the fact that the beloved artist was killed.

The case of Bobby Dunbar (Written May 24th, 2021)

On August 23rd , 1912

Percy and Lessie Dunbar along with their two young boys Bobby and Alonzo Dunbar took a camping trip to their family cabin in Louisiana by Swayze Lake. The first night of their trip four year old Bobby Dunbar disappeared. Bobby wanted to go with a family friend named Paul Mizzi to the lake to shoot garfish. Paul would often take Bobby horseback riding and had a nickname for Bobby “Heavy”. Bobby's mother Lesslie said it was alright there were other young boys camping with them , they decided to join Bobby and Paul. When the boys returned Lessie noticed Bobby was no longer with the group of boys and was missing. Lessie and Paul immediately started yelling Bobby’s name and looking around the camp for him. Lessie ended up fainting from hyperventilating. A few of the Dunbars' friends decided to search north on a wagon trail behind their camp. They found nothing, no trace of Bobby or what happened to him. The Dunbar’s reported their son missing and offered a 6,000 dollar reward to anyone who has any information leading to the discovery of Bobby. Eight months into the search of Bobby, word of a boy matching Bobby’s description was reported to the authorities. He has noticed in Mississippi. The Dunbar's, believing they had found their son, were overjoyed. They were unsure whether or not this was their son at first. Lessie herself is quoted as saying “I don’t know. I’m not sure.” when asked if the boy was her son. Alonzo Dunbar, the brother of Bobby had no reaction when seeing the boy nor did the boy when seeing Alonzo.

Later on after the Dunbar’s took “Bobby” home and gave him a bath Lessie noticed the boy had similar scars and moles that Bobby had. The one thing this boy didn't have was a burn scar Bobby had on his foot. Lessie overlooked this however, convincing herself this was her son. Recently in 2003 “Bobby Dunbar’s” granddaughter and daughter were curious about the family's ancestry; they took a DNA sample from “Bobby” and Alonzo to compare the two. The Dunbar family found this to be silly and unnecessary, but for fun they did it. However when the results came back there was no genetic match in “Bobby’s” DNA matching Alonzo. The identity of this boy thought to be Bobby Dunbar is unknown, and the location of the real Bobby Dunbar is still unknown to this day. Will we ever find out what happened to the real Bobby Dunbar ? Or will it remain an odd mystery forever ?