The following is a complete collection of my writing from In This Moment, in chronological order of date written from first to last.
Moments Melting Away
It was an emotional time for eight of the 14 varsity volleyball players when their final season playing in high school ended. Everyone has a different story for their volleyball career, whether they dealt with physical injuries or broke new personal goals.
“When I first started playing, I couldn’t even serve over the net or anything.” Megan Petersmark (12) said, “but I actually played for the old East Lansing Varsity coach [which] helped me figure out the sport and whatnot.”
Like many of the other senior girls, Petersmark has been playing volleyball for six years, since seventh grade. From scoring the win to landing a loss, the girls always have each other’s backs.
“We all have a mutual respect for each other,” Sabrina Boxer (12) said.
And when they’re playing, everybody gives it their all.
“Just giving out effort in everything we do... any game could be our last in the tournament, so just putting 100 percent into everything.” Carolyn Heck (12) said.
However, while everyone has fun during practice and the games, it must not be enough to want to stay forever. Almost half of the seniors said they would not play volleyball in college.
“I enjoy playing it in school, but I’m not going to continue.” Bridgette Sherwin (12) said.
Making the most of every moment and taking advantage of what you have are important steps to living a full life. It’s obvious that these seniors are doing just that
“Shoot the gap, I wish I knew that.” Petersmark said, leaving behind a piece of advice she learned through playing volleyball so long.
“I thought that I’d be a lot more sad on senior night, but I wasn’t. I was just so pleased and happy with the years I think I am just ready for the next stage of life.” Briley Brogan (12) said, “I’m really thankful, so I think with such a positive experience I’ve had I’m just ready to move.”
Carson Lowe Personal Profile
Carson Lowe (11) looked over the edge of the parking ramp, glaring at the oblivious children throwing food around just for a laugh.
“I dare you to yell at them,” Jamil Muhammadi (11) said. And that’s just what he did.
“It was funny,” Lowe and Muhammadi both said, looking back on it. But in that moment, yelling at the kids was pure daring.
“They were just little kids. Maybe seventh graders,” Lowe said. He had no idea who they were. Yet because of this one dare, he did something not everyone would have the guts to do.
Muhammadi and Lowe became friends after Lowe first moved to East Lansing in ninth grade. Lowe previously attended Resurrection High School in Lansing.
Moving was scary for Lowe, leaving behind all the people he knew.
“It was scary meeting new people, [I felt] like I wouldn’t make new friends.”
But Lowe met Muhammadi that year, and they went on to run together in track that spring.
“The first time I met him it was in Ferraco’s class… when track started we just started like hanging out and we became friends during the track season,” Muhammadi said.
Another close friend Lowe made after moving was Abdullah Salman (11)
“He’s a chill person, he’s nice, he’s kind, he’s funny, he’s like friends with anyone really. I can really talk to him about anything, I can trust him.” Salman said.
Wind Ensemble is Fresh
New to the band community this year is Wind Ensemble, composed of 49 students, 11 of which are freshman.
Anyone taking a look at band this year will see something new and exciting. Due to the large number of students taking band this year, East Lansing has added another course to the menu.
The new class is Wind Ensemble, which is really just another name for band.
“Wind ensemble is just a group of people that have the same kind of ambition for music playing,” Tae Won Kimball (12) said. “They enjoy playing higher level pieces of music that’ll challenge them to take their music to the next level.”
People often think of Wind Ensemble as something extra special. But at the same time, Wind Ensemble is just another band class.
“There’s a high prestigious kind of feeling with it,” Duncan Seaton IV (12) said. “It’s more difficult music wise, [but] it’s still the same atmosphere.”
Though Wind Ensemble is the most challenging of the three bands, 11 of the 49 students are freshmen, all of whom made the cut after an audition in eighth grade.
“It’s very nice to be with a lot of upperclassmen, because it gives me the experience that I don’t have in a lot of my other classes,” Eliza Lane (9) said.
While Wind Ensemble includes members of all ages, the gap does not affect the bond of the group.
“It’s almost like a family. We’re connected,” Seaton said. “We have freshmen in our Wind Ensemble - they act just like the seniors, there’s really no grade divide there. I think it’s just a great motivator to have everybody learn and get to know each other.”
While all grades play as if they are one, the members of the graduating classes always stick together.
“You know everyone [in your grade] because you move up with them as years go on,” Elias Mackoul (12) said.
Wind Ensemble can seem like just a challenging class, but it is also a great way to meet new people, grow, learn and have fun all at once.
“I just think it’s really amazing creating music with all these people that, regardless of age, are creating something that everyone can listen to and appreciate no matter how much experience they have,” Josh Guenther (12) said.
Cleary Connection
Strong bonds between LINKS and students are shown trips outside of school.
Kathleen Cleary (12) originally planned on having a free sixth hour for the second semester of her senior year.
That was, until she met Bryce Jarvi (10).
“I was planning on actually dropping [LINKS] second semester, and I don't even want to anymore, because I just love spending time with him,” Cleary said.
Cleary assists Jarvi during his sixth hour with special education teacher Barbara McCaffrey. Cleary usually helps Jarvi with in-class worksheets or finishing other class’s homework.
“It’s a goofy class but it's more just me kind of directing him to get his work done, and encouraging him.” Cleary said.
Cleary and Mallory Haynie (12), another of Jarvi’s LINKS, formed strong bonds with him and thought about doing something outside of school.
“We talk about Bryce a lot, and we [thought] it would be really fun if we took him somewhere.” Cleary said. Cleary and Haynie arranged a meeting with Jarvi’s mom and agreed on an activity together.
“After school we drove him to Tasty Twist and he got a big ice cream, and we hung out for a bit,” Cleary said. “He really wanted to keep doing things but we didn’t have that long. We spent an hour and a half with him. It was so much fun though.”
Haynie and Alexandra Terris (12), another of Jarvi’s LINKS, also took him to Blake Stauffer’s (10) birthday party.
“Taking Bryce out was really fun because I got to see what he’s like out of school and I got to know him more.” Terris said.
Additionally, in January, Cleary and Haynie planned on taking Jarvi out again, to Goodwill, where Jarvi has fun reading the backs of video cases.
LINKS is more than just an academic help class, but a way for the students to experience social interactions and form bonds that they might otherwise not have.
“He’s a very loving kid. He’s like a gentle giant kind of. He asks us questions and he always wants to hold hands or something,” Cleary said.
FORECASTING MIST
The Muslim Student Association discusses their club and organizing MIST.
To some students at East Lansing High School, mist is more than a cloud of water droplets - it’s a yearly chance to be inspired and gain a deeper understanding of their culture.
MIST, an acronym for the Muslim Interscholastic Tournament, was founded in 2002 by Shazia Siddiqi, a freshman at the university of Houston.
For one weekend in March every year, Muslim high school students gather for conferences in 18 regions across North America and the UK.
“MIST is in March, and we’re going to that in Detroit,” Sara Zeidan (11) said. “There’s a bunch of competitions and stuff you can do there. There’s art, poetry, quiz bowl and different stuff like fashion and culinary arts, so you can participate in whatever you want. You compete with other high schools [from the area] and a few make it to nationals [where] you get to go to Canada.”
Most recently in 2017 they brought in over 6,000 students.
Similar Islamic clubs from 15-20 other high schools in the area meet for the competition in Detroit.
“We basically just organize MIST, that’s what we’ve been doing up to here,” Amer Yassin-Kassab (10) said.
East Lansing students have been preparing since the beginning of the year, planning what events they will participate in.
The club itself might not appear all too exciting when they spend most of their meetings organizing, but it’s still a safe and fun place for Muslim students to bond.
“[MSA] is really nice because we live in America and sometimes it’s hard as a Muslim to fit in,” Shems Hamdam (9) said. “[East Lansing] is a public school so there’s more than one person supporting you. And you [already] know friends, because as a freshman it’s kind of hard at first but then once you get used to it, it’s nice.”
LUNCHTIME LAUGHS
Students in the Christian Student Union talk about what it means to them.
The atmosphere is warm and fun every Tuesday afternoon during lunch in rooms 313 and 426. These are the rooms where CSU meets with supervisors Jeffrey Lampe or Suzanne Rojas.
A normal meeting is simple to understand.
“In the meetings we usually bring someone in and we have a testimony,” Thomas Adelman (10) said. “They talk about their experiences with God in their life and stuff like that.”
Their meetings are fun filled and open to everyone.
“Well, it’s really fun, and it’s not all about God,” Annelise Ledeba (9) said. “We pray like one time but it’s just fun to sit with people you don’t usually sit with.”
Cracking jokes and sharing stories are normal and encouraged, creating a comfortable environment where students can just be themselves.
Getting together after school is usually more serious, with more direct objectives.
“Every Tuesday, we just talk, eat lunch, [and have] fun,” Jack Langford (9) said. “[During] CSU after school there’s actually like slides and stuff, or we’ll go over a question.”
But at the end of the day, and at its heart, CSU is a safe environment for Christian Students to get closer in friendship and faith.
“It’s really nice to get to know that there’s other Christians at the school because we kind of get bashed by all the liberals here, and it kind of sucks,” Kayla Yingling (9) said. “So it’s nice to know you’re not alone.”