THE POWER OF “YET” 

It wasn’t until I listened to Meghan Markle (sorry, let me rephrase: Meghan, Duchess of Sussex)’s appearance on the Jamie Kern Lima Show that I truly understood how powerful a single word can be: “yet.” In the podcast, Meghan described that she often encourages her kids to use this word to build confidence. The host, Jamie Kern Lima, was astounded, incredibly inspired to use this word more in her adult life. Rightfully. The word can truly be used after so many different statements. I haven’t gotten into Georgia Tech yet. I’m not hungry yet. I haven’t thrown my calculus homework out the window yet. There’s just so much power in that! If you haven’t listened to this section of the podcast yet, I strongly recommend it. It’s absolutely life-changing. – Finley Malone

WATCHING

BIRD WATCHING

Even though it’s known as an old-person hobby, I have been obsessed with bird watching for a couple months now. I enjoy being able to identify the type of bird by its appearance or call, even though I’m really bad at it currently. I think more people should look into this hobby, especially if they like animals, because observing birds is way more entertaining than I thought it was. Birds are awesome in general because they are the biggest animals that can fly, so watching them is a lot more fun than watching bugs or something. Also, in my opinion, birds are adorable no matter their shape or form. Watching them is just super entertaining and more people should indulge in bird watching. – Sasha Lapayeva

WARFARE

This weekend, I rented a movie called Warfare. I had been meaning to watch it since April, but  I hadn’t gotten to watching it until now. I didn’t really know what it was fully about or what it was supposed to be like, so I didn’t have many expectations going into it, all I knew was that it was supposed to be “realistic.” Of course, I didn’t even understand what realistic was supposed to be, because to some degree, you can even call the John Wick or Mission Impossible movies “realistic.” What else would I expect? I thought it would just be another war movie, another “this is a real story” movie that makes you have a feeling in your gut at the end. In retrospect, I don’t think I was mentally prepared for what it was, because it didn’t just look realistic, it looked real. It’s all shot in real time, and there’s no patriotic war music, just gunshots and screams. If I could describe it as anything, I would describe it as hard to watch. Still, I think it might be the greatest movie I’ve watched all year. – Miles Forshay

READING

STORMLIGHT ARCHIVE

The Stormlight Archive series by Brandon Sanderson was my little project over the summer. Recently, the fifth book of the series came out, and I decided to reread the entire series before I read the new one. These books are considered Sanderson’s “crown jewel” and are super in-depth. Each book is over 1,000 pages of pure plot, suspense, and character development, with realistic emotions and an amazing ability to help the reader relate to the characters. While the second book (Words of Radiance) is considered the best of the books by most, the flurry of action at the end of most books, and especially the fifth book (Wind and Truth) can make each and every one memorable, and keep you reading to the end. For anyone that loves Lord of the Rings and large scale world building, this is the series for you. Sanderson’s other books such as Mistborn, Tress of the Emerald Sea, and Yumi and the Nightmare Painter are also great books, just not nearly as in depth as Stormlight. Some of Sanderson’s books including The Archive and Mistborn are part of the same universe, called the Cosmere, involving characters from different planets with different levels of awareness about everything and everyone else. Considering how obsessed I am with this series, it is my favorite and possibly best series I have ever read. – Eli Lineberry

WHO IS ALICE?

Last night, I finished a book called Go Ask Alice, which was published anonymously in 1971. The entire novel is a transcription of a real unnamed 15-year-old girl’s diary, which details her experience with various illegal substances and her eventual descent into addiction. Starting in 1968, our protagonist writes about her crushes, friends at school, and teenage angst. She soon has her first experience with drugs, opening her eyes to a whole new world that she is eager to explore. Things quickly turn sour as she starts using on a daily basis, culminating in her running away from home. A bunch of messed-up stuff happens, but I won’t spoil it here. Except—none of this is true. Alice is not a real person, but rather a character created by Mormon pseudoscientist youth counselor Beatrice Sparks. Sparks falsified these journal entries in an attempt to push her anti-drug, anti-hippie-culture agenda. The unrealistic and excessively disturbed events detailed in the protagonist’s life send a dangerous message to young people who might be struggling with addiction because it leaves the reader with no hope for the drug addict and uses scare tactics to turn kids away from drugs. Overall, I did enjoy how the writing style and internal struggles of the protagonist really did feel as though it was written by a teenage girl, but I am disappointed with the direction the story took. 3.75/5 stars. – Addy Bair

THE CATCHER IN THE RYE

Last weekend, I finished The Catcher in the Rye, by J. D. Salinger. In it, Holden Caulfield, a tall seventeen-year-old with grey hair and a hatred toward the movies, recalls his experiences after he, as a sixteen-year-old, was kicked out of Pencey Prep. Then, as he wanders New York, waiting for the school semester to end before he goes home, he calls almost everyone a phony for one reason or another. I normally don’t like realistic fiction, but I really enjoyed the language Salinger used to make ordinary, seemingly insignificant events compelling. I thought the book was very well-written, and short enough to read in two weeks. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who likes to read. – Jackson Lee

LISTENING

WILLOUGHBY TUCKER, I’LL ALWAYS LOVE YOU

Hayden Anhedönia is an artist who makes music under the name/character, Ethel Cain. Hayden introduced the story of Ethel Cain in her 2022 album Preachers Daughter. Through the album, Ethel has different lovers, but the one that sticks out to me the most is Willoughby. The chilling story between the two characters is mainly told in the song “House In Nebraska.” After that, the album moves on from Willoughby, but many fans were left wondering about the story of Ethel and Willoughby. Willoughby Tucker, I’ll Always Love You is the deep dive into their relationship, with songs that reveal both of their points of view. My favorites are “Nettles” and “Tempest,” which reveals Ethel’s view of their relationship versus the reality from Willoughby’s perspective. Overall the album is beautifully haunting, and I appreciate how the songs tie the story together. – Noa Zilber

BOOM. 

I’ll be honest, I only really know like four songs from this album, but from what I’ve heard of it, I love it. You probably know Walker Hayes from the infamously viral song “Fancy Like” from a few years ago, but his album from six years before is great. The first song that stands out from the album is “Shut Up Kenny,” a song addressed to another country artist, Kenny Chesney. Another great song is “Beer In The Fridge,” a song about sobriety. The most famous song from the album is the upbeat “You Broke Up With Me,” which was Hayes’ first radio single, and even though it’s a great song, it peaked at No. 9 on the country charts. While the two songs I mentioned first are both great, my favorite song is the last one on the album, “Craig,” which tells a true story about selflessness. Go stream boom. on Spotify here. – Maven Bolick

ALANIS MORISSETTE and OASIS

Last night, I went on a therapeutic late-night walk around my neighborhood, blasting the same two songs in my mom’s AirPods: “Don’t Look Back in Anger” by Oasis and “You Oughta Know” by Alanis Morissette, two of the best melodic masterpieces to grace the thankless ears of millions. These songs are remarkable creations on their own, but placed back-to-back, blasted at maximum volume in the middle of the night in a poorly-lit neighborhood…I can only say that it’s an experience I recommend to everyone. This combination — “combo,” if ya nasty — is perfect for every mood. Trust me, at 9:00 on a school night, I was feeling every mood. Thank you, Alanis Morissette. Thank you, Oasis. Never die. – Sela Sokol

BBNO$ 

As I’ve been getting more into rap music, I’ve been really enjoying the musical artist Bbno$ (Baby No Money). His music is catchy, upbeat, and doesn’t take itself too seriously. Bbno$ has also been known to post videos cosplaying as Miku, Mira (from KDH), and other characters regardless of gender norms which honestly makes me enjoy his music even more. All in all, his social media presence is nerdy and self-aware, which is really refreshing, and his music is much the same. I specifically recommend “1-800,” “It boy,” and “Edamame” to new listeners. If any of this sounds appealing, I really recommend checking Bbno$ out! – Maren Merkel

MUSIC FOR THE SOUL

One of my favorite country artists right now is Sam Barber, and he recently released an album called Music for the Soul. I personally really like blasting this album with full bass in my car. A big part of the songs is the bass, which is one of the things I like about it. Although this album is only eight songs, I’ve had it on repeat since the morning it came out. My favorite track on the album is probably “Man of the Year,” which was released as a single before the album came out. It’s my go-to listen when I’m on my way home from work. Definitely worth giving a listen to. – Mallory Williams

DRINKING

COFFEE IN A JAR

For the past few months, I’ve been making my own shaken espressos (like from Starbucks) in a mason jar at home, and I must say, it is quite delicious! I put ice, a shot (or two) of espresso, a splash of creamer, some almond milk, and, if I’m feeling fancy, a dash of cinnamon, in a mason jar. Then, I shake the absolute daylight out of the jar! This gives the coffee a little foam on the top, but it’s also just fun to aggressively shake the jar. These little homemade lattes are getting me through the first week of school; I truly don’t think I can get through the day without a respectable amount of caffeine. I highly recommend shaking up one of these lattes this week for yourself! And even if you’re not a coffee lover, enough creamer makes any coffee worlds better. – Ellie Owens

EXPANDING CAFFEINE HORIZON

I am currently on a journey to find the least caffeine tasting but most caffeinated drink. Right now, my ranking is cherry cola flavored Celsius at number one, two scoops of blue raspberry preworkout frozen and blended in spot two (it tastes like a slushie but also is like 600-800mg of caffeine), and Dunkin’s mango dragonfruit caffeine refresher at number three. Today, I tried an Alani Nu, cherry twist flavored. It was recommended to me by a friend’s sister who happens to be an Alani superfan, and it did not disappoint. I’d rate it like a 6.5/10, and I’d probably buy it again. I have now bought another Alani, now flavored watermelon something, as my quest to find the least caffeine tasting caffeinated drink continues. – Afomia Gezaei

NEW COFFEE MAKER

We got a coffee maker for the first time ever. It’s amazing. I have all the caffeine at my disposal now with the power of a Keurig or whatever it’s called. Who knew you could put so many different flavors in a coffee pod like that? Maybe it’s not the healthiest habit I’m developing, but it’s great now. Caffeine hasn’t ever made me awake or anything, so I’ll be fine (the term “fine” still being up for debate).    – Humna Ahmad

OTHER STUFF

SINGLE ENGINE PLANES OVER CHAMBLEE

During the pandemic, my family leaned into the Nintendo Wii, which I had picked up for next to nothing at a thrift store along with a few games. Wii Resort was our go-to activity, and I used to love playing the game where you fly a single engine plane around the island, looking for balloons to pop, and just kind of exploring the landscape. It was a chance to go outside when we weren’t supposed to. Fast forward to this past year after we moved to Chamblee and I get to hear single engine planes cruise by overhead all the time. It’s not the sound of huge Boeing engines tearing through the atmosphere. It’s the sound of a big fan blowing, pushing an antique around the clouds. – Fred Avett

GROW A GARDEN

In the past week, I have found a new game that has consumed my extra time during the day. Grow a Garden is a Roblox game in which the player has a garden and is able to plant seeds, which restock every five minutes throughout the day at random. There are many seeds to purchase, from carrot seeds to Elder Strawberry seeds. The more expensive they are to buy the more they sell for when the player eventually picks it. If the player chooses, and has the robux funds to do it, they can steal another player’s plant and sell it for themselves. Although there is not a constant thing to necessarily do in the game. It has been part of my daily routine to just check in on the seed shop to see if the “Legendary” seeds have restocked, even leading me to make a discord account just to join a server with updates on the seeds in stock. – Bella Avett

HATS

Last week, I started working on a display wall for my beloved hat and sunglasses collection. I now have fifteen hats of all kinds mounted on my wall, ranging from a white Bass Pro Shop hat to a green and blue tie-dye hat from a fishing company in the Philippines.  I have been collecting hats for a few years now, and I have 47 hats.  My favorite hat is an American flag Waffle House hat that I wear to lure Waffle House employees into giving me discounts. – Seth Weiss

RECORD PAINTINGS

Over this past weekend, I spent my time painting old records that were found at an estate sale. The specific record I used was a narration of Little Red Riding Hood, with half of the story on one side of the record and the other half on the other side. I spent at least 30 minutes looking on Pinterest for inspiration, and settled for a simple design with multicolored flowers. I used Poska Markers to put my Pinterest search into action and used the brightest colors I could possibly find. On the other side of the record, I had a Rapunzel theme with bright yellow suns and purple spirals all across the blank space. – Rachel Belknap

CHARLIE’S COLLECTIBLE SHOW

This weekend, I attended my first-ever convention, and let me tell you, it was amazing. I’ve always loved the idea of these huge buildings, filled to the brim with row after row of vendors with hundreds of their favorite nerdy interests. It’s like a bazaar for nerds, and it’s incredible. I walked in and I kid you not, it was like walking through the pearly white gates. Pokémon, One Piece, Chainsaw Man: everything you could think of was there. That includes a custom Labubu clothing stand… The best part about this place has to be the prices. I walked in with a list of things in mind, not expecting to get anything off that list, and I left with everything I wanted and then some for only $30. Overall, it was an 11/10 experience, and I will be going back as soon as possible. – Michael Bryant