Embedded Files
Snapshots of Time
By Kenzi Perkins, on Tuesday Sept. 10
One, two, three… Smile! Preschool-you beams at the camera, ecstatic to finally be old enough to earn a spot in the yearbook. As the photographer waves you on, you think, I can’t wait until next year! Before you know it, an irritable middle schooler has taken the place of the bright-eyed grade schooler, arguing with your mom about what shirt to wear. You blink, and suddenly, you’re a senior in high school, the black drape hung over your shoulders as you pose for your last school picture.
Gap toothed grins, brace faces, and pearly whites; your school pictures have them all. Every year since you’ve been in school, a photo has been taken for the yearbook. Think back— how much have you changed since that day, since preschool? Did you get an unflattering haircut that none of your friends warned you against? Did you go through an embarrassing phase of dressing in a single color every day? Each year you’ve grown, there is one reliable source that has captured all of those moments; school pictures.
From the first picture you get your preschool year, to the very last one you’ll get as a senior in high school, a small piece of you is captured by a flash, memorialized in the yearbook for ages to come. Senior portraits are scheduled for this Thursday, Sept. 12, their imminence inspiring reflection on the past schoolyard days for those graduating this year. As a senior, this step into my senior year has struck me with an overwhelming nostalgia.
I’ve flipped through my past school portraits, examining every annual quirk; a missing tooth in first grade, the unfortunate brown sweater of third, the aggressively side-parted hair of middle school, even the questionable eyeliner of freshman year. Looking through them, it dawned on me that I was glimpsing my past, able to observe the subtle, (and sometimes not), changes in my appearance over time.
With the alterations of my looks also came the consequential shifts of my personality, certain things that were happening in my life at the time that were influencing my likes and dislikes. I hadn’t been able to discriminate between the sometimes minute modifications to the person that I was, but peering down at all of the past faces I had worn roused in me the realization that my adolescence was drawing to a close.
When picture day came when I was younger, I’d bellyache about having to wear my nice clothes and give a fake smile to some stranger— I hated it. But now, I realize just how important taking those pictures are, why my parents treasure them so much; they are evidence of my childhood, representing all of the past people I’ve been, maybe even hinting to those I will be.
On the day of senior pictures, I will genuinely smile, just as I did when I was in grade school. I will celebrate the last portrait of adolescence, even though my childhood is slipping away with it as graduation grows nearer. I’ve opened my eyes, seeing the annual ritual as more than that; a welcomed tradition, a snapshot of time.
Another year, different goals
by Kameron Van Balen, on Wednesday Aug. 22
The second year of being the head editor of the newspaper wasn’t something I expected to achieve, something that felt impossible; The first year was just as shocking due to me being a freshman and not knowing anything about how to format or honestly how to run a newspaper. Feeling comfortable in my position this year has definitely made things much easier.
Something I have learned from this experience is that: you don’t have to be perfect, you can’t use footers or headers, and lastly you have to have fun with it.
I am glad to be a part of the Sheridan newspaper the General Idea for the second time in my high school career, I remember the day that I got the first opportunity to lead the newspaper in the 21-22 year when I was just a little freshman in my first week of high school and now that i’m a senior everything feels odd. Time has definitely gone so much faster than I had expected, like almost every senior has ever told me, blink and it's over. What is more of a shock is that my two years as the head editor have been with two different teachers!
In all I expect this year to be much smoother than my freshman year, for several reasons, and I look forward to sharing it with my team of writers, editors, and lastly the teacher that brought everything back to the front, Miss. Wills.
I would also like to think that this responsibility has broken me out of my shell and made my personality shine through. Being an editor was and is now hard work but I look forward to the challenges I will face, the articles I will write and the stories I will read from the wonderful people I work with.
Picture the Sunset
By Ali Sims, on Tuesday Sept. 24
When you take a picture of the sky, why is it the sunset, and never the blue that colors it during the day? What exactly draws us to the beauty of the setting sun? Sheridan High School students have some insight as to why the golds and pinks of the sinking star entrance them.
For some people, it’s the mystique that the sunset brings, the closing of the stark, transparent daytime, leaving way for the mysterious nighttime shadows. “The sunset is really, more dark,” remarks Ava Davidson, freshman at Sheridan High School. The darkness that shrouds the sunset creates a contrast between the black night sky and the vivid colors of the setting sun, drawing the eye to observe the evening sky.
Others consider the sinking sun as an end to the day, a pleasant ending even if the day was less satisfactory, bringing beauty to a day that was once ugly. Junior Landon Shaner thinks that sunsets are, “Better when you have a bad day”. I think this is a great answer, because it really brings into perspective the fleeting emotions of daily life.
Sometimes sunsets are more beautiful depending on where you’re seeing them from. Freshman Cadence Baker thinks the sunset looks best from the coast. “Sunsets on the ocean are beautiful,” Baker gushes. Once again, perspective can help to shape the sunset into something even more beautiful than it originally was.
I, Ali Sims, the writer for this article, think that the sunset is the perfect opportunity for a great angle, especially while observing the effects perspective has on what we consider alluring about sunsets. My favorite perspectives come from the ocean in Florida, the park, and just any open sky. Seeing the sinking sun is something that everyone should experience daily, and so the next time you have the chance to see the sunset from a new perspective, take a picture or just relax and enjoy the view.
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