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Teenage Citizens

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Teenagers are dumb because that’s what is expected of us. Society is stuck in a reciprocal echo chamber, where low expectations lead to corresponding behavior. The remedy has the capacity to come from either side, but it would be better for us to take initiative and pull ourselves up rather than be brusquely yanked up into competence. What keeps us from doing this?    In ancient Rome, the Andabata were gladiators that fought blindfolded. If they wandered too far away from each other, they would be prodded with spears and poles until they ran into each other again. While it is an unrealistic correlation, some days my peers and I may feel like gladiators in an educational arena where scholarships and Grade Point Averages push us back into combat. In short, the modern education system is flawed and unnecessarily complicated, which leads to stress for all parties involved.    The world ping-pongs between two approaches to our unsteady generation. We receive big helpings of sappy mantras su
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Girls Shouldn't Play Football

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A buff chick Since Shenandoah University played Juniata College on September 23, there's been a big hullabaloo about women in football.  Liberal news sources hail Haley Van Voorhis of Shenandoah University as the first female non-kicker football player, a warrior for equality, and a pillar of feminism.  Before we address the blatant misreporting of the whole story, let's go over how wonderful an idea it is to put a nineteen-year-old girl on a NCAA football field with twenty-one exceptionally strong men. Van Voorhis is exceptionally strong herself, but she cannot possibly be as strong as male college football players. Additionally, standing at a respectable height of 5'6", weighing 145 pounds, she is not small for a woman, but she is small for a  man.  College football players are at the peak of athleticism. They are drafted at the age when they are most fit and booted when their skills start to dull. They are in better shape than the general public. So, even if Van Voo
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"The American Privelege" [sic]

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I wrote this essay in 2019, before I knew how to spell the word "privilege." “…to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.” This is a powerful statement written in the Declaration of Independence. All the citizens still have this power, because this country is built upon the fact that all of mankind are created equal. We can do many things in our government, but in this essay, I’ll only be talking about our involvement in the legislative branch, which is the branch that makes the laws. We can write letters, make phone calls, send e-mails, etc.  We can encourage, inform, and discourage our legislators respectfully. The republic style of government is one of many in the world, and it is the benefit of living in America. I have sent a letter about homeschool and one about farming and have found it becomes easier after every time.               A few days before I visited the SC State House my mom gave
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Where Did LOL Go?

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At sixteen years old I arrived in the texting world ready to LOL my way through teenage pleasantries and chatter. What a shock. In two months, my thumbs sped up and I didn’t accidentally press “send” anymore; I was improving. There was one thing that clashed with my expectations like a spotted sweater and plaid pants. This one thing was included in every book, movie, television show, and commercial I had ever seen that included text messages. I was disappointed. Letdown. Dissatisfied.    Where on earth has LOL gone? As far as I can tell, LOL was once a cherished friend of high school chums. But now they have backstabbed her, abandoned her, and treated her like garbage. Garbage!    Does anyone remember when LOL covered for them, hiding a crushed spirit under lighthearted casualty after the party invitation never came?    Does anyone remember when she provided the perfect response to that video of the cat with a toilet paper tube stuck on her furry head? We were literally Laughing Out Lo
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Notes from The Murder Mill: No. 3

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Friday, June 9th. The number of people standing for life outside the Greenville Women's Clinic has doubled since last month. There were two or three woke activists there before us, and they fired up a scratchy speaker as soon as we arrived.  Crowded close together, we sang the usual psalms and hymns. But it was unusual, because for the first time, we actually drowned out the noise. At one point, all I could hear was the beat, and it happened to lend itself very well to our song.  Shortly, the opposers realized that their current tactic had been overcome, so they pulled out some gear that was so rude it was ridiculous: long, plastic horns, which were very loud and sounded like they were dying. They walked around our group with these noisy devices for the half hour we were out there. Sometimes, one would stop and aim the noise directly at the back of a singer's head for a moment or two. It didn't matter if they were an adult or a child.   One of the activists, a man I'll
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Dear Stone Soup

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Written in January of 2022, this is a letter to the popular children's magazine Stone Soup. It is famous for exclusively publishing work by creators younger than fourteen years old.  Dear Stone Soup,               I enjoyed submitting poetry, photography, nonfiction, and fiction to you for years. My  work was never published, but once I made it to the Honor Roll. I was super excited when I  learned about a magazine that publishes work from kids like me! Thank you for giving young  people the opportunity to share their God-given talents.  Although I hit the age limit two years ago, I still receive your newsletter. I must say it  is very well put together, but it makes me sad. I wish the leading publisher of children's work lacked blatant political bias, but it's laced throughout the company.  Strangely, every piece that addresses a controversial topic such as LGBTQ+ rights, BLM, or Covid-19 aligns perfectly with the agenda of the Democratic Party. For example, there's t
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