May 2007 - Special Senior Issue

2 The Oakwood Times May 18, 2007
4
OK, well I suppose this is the column in which I’m
supposed to drone on about how I will either miss high
school and how it was the best four years of my life, or
how I’m so stoked to leave this place
which has been my prison for the
last four years, and dispense some
sage-like seniorly advice to underclassmen
along the way. I’m sure
you have all heard both stories, so I
will keep this part short and sweet.
UNDERCLASSMEN: If you
really love high school, savor it, because
as cliché as it sounds, it does
go by fast. If you are a freshman
counting down the days to your
graduation, well, again, it goes by
quicker than you think, so you’re in
luck as well!
I’ve had my share of good
times, bad times, and mediocre times,
but, quite frankly, I don’t think this
will be the best four years of my life.
I’ll always remember things like our
outing at “Moonglow Beach” for
the senior picnic or pretending to
be a race car with Laura at cross
country meets, but I’m ready to say goodbye and move on
to a new chapter in my life.
Moving on! I’ve discovered a new sport -- paintball.
When it was announced that the seniors would be
“You only live once.”
This is something I’ve heard since I
was young, but now that I am older I actually
understand it.
If I actually think about the fact that I
really only live once, it kind of scares me.
It makes me want to do something really
out of the ordinary like go skydiving or
not clean for an entire day. =) (This would be
extremely hard me since I am a compulsive
cleaner.)
This quote makes me think about my
past as well. I look back on the four years I
have spent here at OHS and how much I have
grown up since I first walked in the doors of
this school.
I think about everything I have been
through and how it makes me who I am.
In these past four years I have cried a
lot, laughed a lot, got in trouble, flunked a
few Spanish and algebra tests, struggled,
fought, but most of all grew up.
I have also struggled with life’s biggest
challenge - death. I have lost both a
cousin and a grandpa in a matter of one year.
I never thought I would get through it, but
obviously I lived to tell the story.
I could really get to like this paintball thing
Poo’
oo’s
News
By Erin Pouilliard
paintballing for the Meets & Exceeds reward trip, I was a little
leery. Being the wuss that I am, or maybe just because of
basic instinct, I really don’t like having things shot at me from
guns. Especially things that leave huge
bruises and welts.
My brother paintballs at home,
and I’ve seen the damage those innocent
looking little balls can do. He’ll
come home after a day under fire, sporting
big red and purple painful looking
marks all over his body. That have penetrated
layers of sweatshirts and
sweatpants. Ouch.
Being the genius that I am, I wore
a pair of snug jeans and a T-shirt. I
wasn’t really worried, because I figured
this game wouldn’t be very hardcore
since there were a bunch of girls on the
trip, and we would be wearing protective
vests anyway.
Then, the instructional video we
had to watch started going into reasons
why we HAD to keep our facemasks on
-- one being if we got shot in the eyeball,
it could shoot out of our head.
Greeeeeeat. I was officially starting to
get scared. As we entered the playing field, I tried not to think
about what life as a blind person would be like.
Our team (we were separated into two teams) searched
Although losing my grandpa was the
worst experience I have ever went through, it
made me a better person. He was the one that
taught me how to cherish every moment of
my life.
There are times when every high school
student feels that their life could not get any
worse.
But, it is not the bad things that happen
to you, but how you recover from the
bad things that really mean something.
I am a believer that everything happens
for a reason.
Since we only live once why not make
high school some of the best four years of
your life.
When people say high school is the
best part of your life, they are lying. Really, if
these are the best days of my life I have
NOTHING to look forward to in the future.
During this year people have said,
“Jenna, just do it, you only life once.” Most
of the time these people were talking me into
something I really was scared to do or
thought I couldn’t achieve.
Life is so extremely short, there is no
one better that could have taught this better
Behind these
Hazelbaker
eyes
By Jenna Hazelbaker
than my cousin and grandpa.
So, what are you going to do the next
few years of you life
for a place to hide our cone (we were playing capture the
flag…cone…whatever), and found a nice little nook at the
back of the course. I volunteered to stay back with Jeff to
guard the cone from the opposing team, because I figured
I’d have less of a chance of getting shot at. Well, after a few
minutes of not firing at anything, I decided to test out my
gun. Nothing happened. No paint bullets, no splatter marks,
nothing. So, I had to venture from my safe little hiding spot
to the front counter to get my gun fixed.
I was trying to master walking on the floor that was
covered with a decade’s worth of paint without slipping,
when I came face-to-face with two orange players. Oh, hey,
it was my best friend and another friend I’ve known since
kindergarten -- pointing paintball guns at me -- then firing
paintballs at me. Lucky for me, Meghan was a horrible shot,
but Travis pegged me up toward the shoulder. Surprisingly
enough, it didn’t hurt. But that could be because I got hit in
the vest. I managed to sneak around the rest of the day
without getting hit.
When we were all finished, everyone had beastly
welts that they were comparing with each other. I’m not
going to lie, I was a little jealous of the war wounds that
everyone else had to show off for their valiant efforts on
the battlefield. But not really, because I didn’t really want
purple bruises on my arms to go along with my Prom dress.
Although I spent a lot of the time crouching in a box
or scampering from spot to spot, I had fun, and I would
definitely give it another go. So, if you have the chance to
go try out a new sport, do it! You might surprise yourself.
You only live once, why not enjoy it
Cherish your friends and enjoy your time with them
Sit around and feel sorry for yourself
or have fun and live for today
I am not saying go out and get in huge
trouble. I am telling you that your life is now!
Don’t let petty fights get between you and
friends.
If I have any regrets about high school
it would be the fact that my group of friends
aren’t friends anymore. We can’t have the
fun times we used to have.
We have now missed out on so many
fun things that we all could have shared. I am
not saying it is any one persons’ fault it just
happens. It is sad that it happend to us.
To all you underclassmen, remember
that your friends are important. They are the
people that will be there for you. If they aren’t
there for you, then they aren’t your real
friends.
Go have fun and enjoy your family and
friends. Be spontaneous.
Enjoy your life!
You are young, healthy, intelligent
people, you have everything going for you,
go live your life.
After all, you only life once.