Greatness comes in all shapes and forms, and we most commonly recognize greatness in sports. Some examples include Tom Brady in football, Wayne Gretzky in hockey, and LeBron James in basketball.

With the new year coming and going, I’m sure many of you have written and hopefully committed to your fitness and health goals this year so far. Many people set goals concerning the gym and their health at the start of the year, but they often fall back into the same old habits. A survey held by “Sundried”  with a sample of  4,000 people found that 43% of them thought they would fail after just a month. Research also shows that over 95% of resolutions are fitness-related, but by March, only around 10% of goals remain. My plan is to help and show that it is possible to stick to your goals whenever they’re made, especially New Year's Resolutions.

There is an old story about the power of a single word: maybe. The idea is that whatever crosses your path, maybe is bad or maybe is good. The main idea is to have the patience to see things through. The story starts with a farmer and his son; they have a horse, and one day the horse decides to run off. Then, the whole village comes by and says, “That’s so awful.” The farmer replies with a simple  “maybe.” Then, a couple of days later, the horse comes back with five more. Everybody in the village says, “That's amazing!” Then the farmer stays steadfast from the last remark, simply saying, “maybe.” A few days later, his son is riding one of the horses and falls and breaks his back. Everyone from the village is up in arms, saying how horrible that is. The farmer once again follows up with one simple but true statement, “maybe.” Finally, when the generals came through looking for soldiers for war, they skipped over the farmer’s son because of his back, and all the town said, “That’s so great,” and the farmer responded with “maybe.” This seems to continue despite the situation, and truthfully, it is something that I have seen as tangible in my own life. The main idea is to have the patience to see things through.

Greatness comes in all shapes and forms, and we most commonly recognize greatness in sports. Some examples include Tom Brady in football, Wayne Gretzky in hockey, and LeBron James in basketball.

I've always been an outside kid; for as long as I can remember, I preferred to spend every possible moment outdoors. This never really changed: whether I'm sitting on the back porch doing homework, running down a trail, or backpacking through the woods, I spend as much time as I possibly can in the fresh air. To me, it always seemed that no matter what problem you are dealing with, you can feel just a little better when you are outside. It always brought me a tiny sense of peace, no matter the circumstances.

In the latter years of high school, deciding on your next life steps is often at the forefront of your thoughts and contemplations. In my personal experience, deciding to go to college was the easy part, but deciding where to go was when it got more complicated. With so many good options out there, it’s overwhelming to make a decision. Even if there's already a college at the top of your list, it’s always a good idea to keep an open mind in terms of your future.

I'm Ethan Adkins, but if you came to the Jenks Aquatic Center, you might hear me called Coach Ethan. Coaching is one of the biggest passions in my life thus far. I have also been a competitive athlete since I was in 5th grade, which is another one of my biggest passions. To me, these two passions go hand in hand in my life. The more I learn and grow as an athlete in the sport of swimming, the better a coach I can become.

Most people would consider themselves as experts on certain topics, but most people are wrong. To be considered a true expert, you must have more experience on that topic than most people and have evidence to back it up. 

With the film “Michael” coming out in April 2026, I felt it was a good time to review Michael Jackson’s solo music career. As a teenager born in the late 2000’s, I know of Michael Jackson and his masterpieces that have stood the test of time, but I really don’t know the “gems” that die-hard MJ fans know. I also feel like Michael Jackson really only has three amazing albums, so doing this review will answer that assumption for me. I’ll only be going through true solo albums, as well as only albums he was alive for. That means no “XSCAPE” (2014) or “Michael” (2010). I’ll be ranking the albums on a scale of 1-10 based on production, vocals, skipability (songs that I skip), and number of bangers in the album; I’ll give my top ten songs as well.

Everybody talks about Tulsa like it is God’s gift to children. But when you talk to the kids, everybody says one thing: “It sucks.” Many believe that all there is to do is attend football games, go to the movies, and shop at Walmart.  As a Tulsa native myself, I agree most of the time. Tulsa lacks many of the fun experiences that other cities have. To see if this is true or not, I will be seeing some of the places people often forget about here in Tulsa, the places that are sometimes overlooked.