A scale can be used to measure the weight of various items including food, liquids, animals, luggage, and even humans. While it may seem so small and insignificant, a scale can be the main reason for a lot of mental health issues and more. Especially in today’s society, females in particular have grown to expect a certain number on the scale. Today’s society has influenced women to want to be skinny, but not too skinny and to have some “fat” but not too much. Women have been influenced to sacrifice in order to reach a certain weight. This may include skipping meals, exercising too much, malnourishment, and more. When the “expected” weight does not show up on the scale, this can lead to thoughts of “I am not good enough.” The problem is not the scale but the norms society has set upon women. Society has influenced the idea that everyone needs to look a certain way despite different factors. A lot of teenage girls wish to be able to change the numbers on the scale but genetics might get in the way of that. This leads to a harmful cycle that goes between hurting one’s physical health and even mental and emotional health. Society should take it upon itself to make the standard health and nourishment instead of sacrificing oneself to have a certain number on the scale. It is important that everyone knows that no matter the number on the scale, the most important thing should be health and happiness, not how much you weigh. Word Count: 268
Food. My Guily Pleasure. | March 06, 2024
Humans have always needed to consume food for basic survival. Eating is vital and needed to survive. At points throughout history, survival of the fittest was a common practice and sometimes even led to only those with access to food would live on to the next day. Food has always been in the picture dating back to the first recordings of food. Sourcing food has grown from hunting with a bow and arrow to being able to get food from the grocery store easily. Every country in the world has its own variety of food from Mexican to Italian to American and so much more. The societal idea consists of three meals and maybe two or three snacks. Breakfast, snack, lunch, another snack, dinner, and maybe even a desk after dinner. In my case though, I sometimes have even a fifth snack. A fourth meal. Stress-eating is a pretty common thing in my life. I’ve even introduced a snack drawer in my room. Particularly the top shelf of my nightstand. I say food in general is a guilty pleasure due to the fact that I’m not picky when it comes to eating for fun not because I’m hungry. It could be late at night and I’m not hungry but it is only right to have a snack when watching a late-night show. I begin to feel guilty when I realize I wasn’t actually hungry but just looking for something to occupy myself with. At the same time though, I’m only young once and won’t be able to eat like this forever. I give food 5 stars.
Word Count: 275
Losing It | February 21, 2024
“Even if you’re on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there.” — Will Rogers. As a teenager, I only want to be on the track that will lead me to success. I have always aimed to be a straight A’s student and strive academically. Doing this my whole life has made me become burnt out and no longer have the same motivation. Junior year has specifically been the most challenging for me mentally. It is not because I am taking hard classes but because the motivation is no longer the same. I have also seen a difference in my grades. While I still have A’s, I am not putting the same effort into assignments and my procrastination has worsened. I remember completing assignments ahead of time when I was younger. At the same time, however, I deep down know that I need to suck it up and push through. I won’t have a chance to go back in the future and retake my classes and work harder to get better grades. If I want to have a successful future, I need to work now. It can be easy to feel stuck and like there is no more motivation to keep going. We are stronger than we think and “I can’t” is just a mindset, not reality. We need to change our mindsets and know that we can do anything that we put our minds to. We can find motivation in anything from our hobbies to our friends and family and to nature. It will only feel like there is no more for a little bit, not forever. Word Count- 279
few examples of things that motivate me
January 17, 2024 | More Than Just for Electricity
The Oxford Dictionary defines an outlet as “a pipe or hole through which water or gas may escape.” The Oxford Dictionary also defines an outlet as “a place from which goods are sold or distributed.” However, an outlet may also be a way in which emotion or energy can be used, in an emotional, physical, or mental sense. Some common outlets are a form of exercise, art, music, sports, cooking, and so much more. After a long day, a lot of anger and emotion can be built up. We need a way to release all the anger instead of letting the emotions bottle up. We use our outlets by making the negative a positive emotion that will benefit us. It may be hard to find a “true outlet.” There also does not have to be one outlet that we always resort to. I believe it is important to have many different outlets that we enjoy doing. However, an outlet is not always something we can use to channel our emotions. An outlet can also help be a way to get better physically. An outlet can help one mentally. An outlet can serve many different purposes and can be very beneficial. More than just for electricity.
Word Count: 215 words
November 30, 2023 | More Than the Image
A mirror provides a reflection of whatever stands in front of it. A mirror can be a very powerful emotional and mental thing. Although a mirror reflects something physical, it can be powerful and also reflect something emotional and mental. I often find myself looking in front of my bedroom mirror before I walk out. I often find myself feeling insecure and when I do, looking in the mirror isn’t the best tool for my mental health. I focus on the things about myself that I don’t like in my reflection. In this case, mirrors are a negative thing. On the other hand, when I feel confident and catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror, I begin to point out the things in myself that I like. In this case, mirrors serve as a positive mental and emotional reinforcement. Before a game, I often fix my uniform to my liking. I tuck in my jersey, I fix my hair, I make sure my socks aren’t too high. The mentality of “Feel good, play good” plays a role in my performance. I make sure I feel confident in front of the mirror before walking out of the locker room to the court. I believe mirrors reflect so much more than the physical image. A mirror can be a tool but also be an enemy. A mirror can be what I want to stand in front of but I can also be what brings me down the most. At the same time however, the image might really just be the surface of something deeper. At the end of the day, you can only see the physical image and nothing emotional or mental.
Word Count: 288
October 11, 2023 | Lost and No Way Out
I decided earlier this week that I was going to go on the CSF field trip to UC Santa Cruz. I was curious as to what the campus looked like so I searched it up. What did I come to see? I found out that it was basically a lot of buildings in the woods, with a beach and civilization a few miles away. The college however was spread out amongst a lot of land, so nothing was really near anything. In order to get from one place to another, you either had to wait for the bus or walk. Walk in the middle of the woods to get to class. Despite this realization, I still went. My first hint of the trip going south was the two and a half hour bus ride there. Once we finally arrived, we could not seem to find the meeting spot. This should’ve been another hint that things would not be going in my favor that day. We decided to eat and leave finding the meeting location for a later time. An hour goes by and we eat and realize we were right next to the meeting location and we meet our tour guide. Our tour guide then starts leading the walk into the woods. I realize that we were following a barely noticeable path to another part of the college that we were on. My friend and I however, get stopped and once we look up, the rest of our group is gone. The path splits into two paths. We chose the wrong one. We slowly realized that we had been separated and were lost. Lost by ourselves in the middle of the woods. We tried asking for directions but everyone was walking with headphones as a way of saying “Don’t talk to me.” We decided to just follow the path thinking it has got to eventually lead somewhere. And thankfully, it did! We stumbled onto another college but we were able to get picked up and reunited with our group. Word Count: 347
photo taken by me at UC Santa Cruz :)
September 8, 2023 | Doors of Life
In a lifetime, we meet many doors that lead to different “rooms” being the phases of life. The first door that we enter is the one where we are babies. The one where we begin life and learn about the world. In this room, everything gets done for us. Not because we don’t want to, but because we can’t. The second door we open that closes the first is the door to being a toddler. In this room, we begin to do some things for ourselves such as walking alone, learning how to communicate, being able to hold our own cup, and such. The third door we open is the one that we become a child. In this room, we begin school, learn to ride a bike, and more. Once we exit this room, we enter the door of the teenage years. In this room, we learn how to drive, encounter our first love, make life-lasting decisions, graduate high school, and enter college. The teenage years are the ones that can be with us our whole lives. In this room, we make decisions such as the careers we want to pursue, the colleges we want to attend, or even the type of path we want to go down. Currently, I can find myself here. We then enter the adulthood door. In this room, we get married, begin having children, work the careers we chose as teenagers, and do the things adults in our life repent so much. We spend most of our life in this room. As kids, we want to be in this room. As adults, we want to be kids again. There is one thing we become more aware of as we enter different phases of life. Cherish the moments we have and don’t grow up too fast. Word Count: 306 words
Baby Ximena
Teenage Ximena
August 30, 2023 | Selfless
By definition, the word selfless means “Concerned more with the needs and wishes of others than with one's own; unselfish,” according to Oxford Languages. In simpler terms, it could be putting another person’s needs before your own. An example of this could be making sure your brother and sister eat before making sure you nourish yourself. Obviously, there could be much deeper examples but this one gives someone the right idea of selflessness. I believe that there is a limit to how selfless a person should be. I determine the limit line by reflecting if you have hurt yourself to benefit others. For example, making sure others are eating and before you realize, you have not eaten in a couple hours hurts your body. As a person, I believe that selflessness is a good characteristic to have but there should also be times that you make your own needs a priority. I am a firm believer in the quote “You cannot take care of anyone else you first take care of yourself,” by Michael Hyatt. My mother has often done this. I am one of four kids and four kids can be a handful. Over the years, she has sacrificed so much to make her own kids happy. She has given up a lot of her own life and given it to us, her kids. When I was first born, she was working and enjoyed it. When my sister came along, she gave up her job to stay home with her children and take care of us. This was a selfless act as she was sacrificing her career to raise her kids and make us the people she wanted us to become. Throughout the years, I have noticed she stopped taking care of herself to take care of my siblings and me. With this, I mean not taking time for her own self-care to make sure we get our own. As a child, I did not realize this. But as I got older, I am becoming more aware of the sacrifices my mother made to get me to where I am today and I will forever be grateful for her selflessness and sacrifices.
Word Count: 367
photos of my mom and I
August 23, 2o23 | What's the Point Anyway?
In elementary school, I would see high schoolers walking around wearing a football jersey. I never fully understood the reason for it, I just knew I wanted to wear a jersey to at least one football game. Now that I am a Junior, I have been able to wear a jersey more than once. There can be a few different reasons for giving a girl a reason but there is a repeating pattern I have noticed. Oftentimes, a girl wears a jersey that belongs to a partner. This can be done for multiple reasons. One is to “assert dominance” in a way. This means showing others that you are in a relationship with said person and it is a way of showing the public. Another reason could be to show societal status. This can mean showing the people around you that you have connections to someone on the field. Growing up, I didn’t realize any of this. It just seemed cool and a part of the “high school experience.” Now that I’m more than halfway through high school, I agree, it is cool and part of being in high school. Getting a football player’s jersey can also become a competition. Not a good one, in fact. Obtaining a jersey was once a sweet interaction. It was the football player asking you to wear their jersey. Now, the football player is being asked. Of course, it is an uncomfortable situation and no one ever wants to say no. There are always many different reasons, but the one I hope everyone gets to experience is your partner asking you to have the honor of wearing their jersey while you watch them play. It truly is the best feeling ever.