It’s very rare to find a lone building without capturing some nearby greenery. Parks, plants and trees now invade the area that some would consider chaos. This chaos refers to no place other than our very own, Downtown Tulsa. 

I knew from the second that I wrote down Human Anatomy & Physiology on my Junior year schedule that it would be a massive mistake.

I have never once played lacrosse but it has always been something that intrigued me ever since I was an elementary kid. My practice has overlapped with the highschool boys lacrosse team since I was in 4th grade running track. Watching them practice  I always thought that it looked like something I, as a very competitive kid who loved playing sports, would have so much fun doing, but I never knew how to join or had the time in my overly busy schedule.

As my highschool career comes to an end I look back on the past four years of my life and all I can see is growth. From being a bratty freshman who thought the only important thing was how many shoes I had to a seasoned senior who now only cares about summer internships. A lot has changed- friend groups, boyfriends, and even pets. To honor this growth and change I have decided for this month's story to grow my very own watermelon. 

Fashion trends are something that cycle through over and over no matter the time period. Even in the 1800’s there were certain gowns and waistcoats that were trending and if you weren't wearing them you weren't “it”. Because of these cycles, people end up with things in their closets that they haven’t touched in years. Nowadays, trends are cycling through even quicker so it makes it 10x harder to get rid of things you don’t wear anymore. What if those chunky white shoes come back in style in a couple years? 

When I think of animal shelters I typically think of a safe haven for animals that have been abandoned, lost, neglected, abused, or simply just waiting on a new home. Promoting animal adoption, shelters help regulate overpopulation in stray animals. They also help in nursing hurt or traumatized animals back to health, and provide an environment where they can have a second chance at finding a family. One example of this is Tulsa SPCA, which helps house dogs and cats who are either in remission or ready for adoption.

When someone says the words preschool and nursing home, in your head you probably think of two different establishments. What if I told you that there's a place in Jenks where they coexist? Grace Living Center, located a short two minute drive from the high school, houses Jenks’ multigenerational program. Everyday a class of pre-k and kindergarten students participate in their normal school work, but there are also spaces in their day cut out where they hang out with the residents of the home, who they call “grands.” 

One of the most underappreciated yet essential groups in our school is the cafeteria staff. Without them, the school simply could not function. These workers do far more than just preparing and serving food. They also clean up after the students and reset the entire dining hall four times a day:  after breakfast and each of the three lunch periods. Their hard work often goes unnoticed, so this month, I dedicated my story to highlighting them and all their hard work they put in to keep the dining hall clean and ready for students.

Coffee shops are many students go to study space. Whether it’s the cozy atmosphere, the aroma of brewing coffee, or the caffeine perks, coffee shops create a unique environment that can foster both focus and creativity. Coffee shops are a fun change from your usual study environment and a place for you to make the most of your time. Studying in these bustling, yet often quiet, spaces can inspire you to plan and be productive.

I’m a boy, I live in a household where my mom is cooking and my dad works. But for my own family, I want to know how to cook so that my wife doesn’t have to deal with the hassle of cooking while I sit in the living room watching TV and drinking beer. For this project, because  I have dyslexia, therefore cookbooks add an extra level of difficulty to the project. So instead, I turned to the expert: my mom. I’ve seen her make this meal ever since I was five, and I know from experience that it is delicious food. So it only made sense that now I would learn how to be the creator of such a fine dish.

This month’s dedicated story genre was “Personal Experience,” I really struggled with finding something to try for the first time that would be fun and useful for both me and the Jenks student body to read and write about. Obviously, I could write about doing a workout class, or listening to an album for the first time, but I wanted something that was equally as relevant to the reader as it was interesting to me. 

As much as this is a story about organic farming, it’s also a love letter to the farm itself. Lightfoot Farm, run by resident farmers Will and Katelin Nole for Living Kitchen, is an organic produce farm in Muscogee Creek Nation, Oklahoma. I had the privilege of bringing my camera to their land, capturing the dedication and passion that fuel their work. Day in and day out, this young couple pours their hearts into cultivating not just crops, but a way of life. Here are some of these moments I witnessed through my lens that I feel adequately represent the personality of the farm.

My mom, like all parents, wanted me to be great. Growing up she taught me a variety of skills that I have either found hobbies in or have improved my quality of life, such as having a general understanding of sewing and teaching me to read at a really young age. I now read for fun, collect books, and I sew holes or buttons on my family’s clothes when they need it. However, not all of these endeavors worked out. My family has a long history of talent in the arts, I come from a line of very talented dancers on my moms side (I have danced for about fifteen years), and musical abilities on my dads. My childhood was filled with my dad sitting with his guitar and singing to me and my cousins - which was a favorite piece of my life at the time, and a cherished memory now. My uncle is a musical prodigy, he can play an array of instruments, very well might have perfect pitch, and can play anything by hearing it just once. He was also in the Navy band. Sadly, I didn’t inherit the singing from my dad, or the instrumental talent from my uncle… not even a fraction of it. I learned this in a rather painstaking way when my mom - very kindly - got me a piano instructor, who happened to be a friend of theirs, and purchased me a keyboard. Looking back, I must have expressed some kind of interest in music - I love music - but I certainly wasn’t meant for it. Another detail for context is that since I was a kid, I have always been unnecessarily hard on myself, which can make learning new things difficult - but, as I’ve gotten older it’s gotten much better. Once a week, or so, I would sit down at my shiny new keyboard, and my instructor would come and teach me how to play, with my mothers smiling face watching and helping. I was four when I started these lessons, that was also the age that I got diagnosed with off-the-charts ADHD and was in the process of getting treatment. If you know anything about ADHD, there are different ways it can manifest and affect different people - one way for me, was it was entirely too difficult to sit still for periods of time. The combination of severe ADHD, pressure, age, and unenjoyment quickly turned into four year old me bawling my eyes out the moment my instructor walked in the door. That poor man, he truly didn't deserve that, he was a kind person… I just wasn't having it.

In the heart of Jenks, just on the end of main street stands Reds Mercantile, an antique shop filled to the brim with hidden historical gems. Items ranging from early 1900’s edition books, to old Dr. Pepper bottles, and even a stunning relic of a wedding dress - Red’s mercantile is home to little pieces of American history. Right in our hometown. Red’s is owned by very kind and lovely women who were very helpful in my journey through time in their store. Despite the recent modernization of main street Jenks, with eclectic shops being replaced by pink boutiques and popular bars, pieces of the history and originality of Jenks still stand the tests of time.

The Aquatic Center lobby. On top you can see the hanging artwork that represents water flowing, which I've been told is extremely hard to clean. This space holds lots of things from people standing around waiting to shops being set up during meet days selling everything a swimmer could need from goggles to even custom sweaters and shirts.

Driving is a pretty normal part of life that we learn while growing up. Many people count down the days till they get their permit so they can start the practice, and even more count the days till their sixteenth birthday so they can finally get their long-awaited driver’s license. For me, however, I was the complete opposite, I tried to avoid driving at all costs.

When you’re on the outside of highschool, relationships can seem… stereotypical. From the perfect popular couple to the nice nerds that only see eachother at school. However, highschool life is not Freaks and Geeks. It’s much more than that. Everybody finds someone whether they fall into their clique or not and everybody has relationship issues. It’s understanding the root of these issues that contributes to much healthier relationships in the future, but the real question is do high schoolers know anything about the important things that go into relationships despite where they fall on the totem pole?

In the morning you probably wonder what you’ll have for lunch or dinner that day. Sometimes the possibilities can be endless. Or maybe you are into meal prepping and by Sunday night you know everything you’ll be eating throughout the week. Everyone's individual diets is something that has always fascinated me. People have their own and different priorities with the food they consume causing everyone to pick out food in their own unique way. 

According to The New York Times, in late January 2025, the Trump administration announced a temporary freeze on federal grants and financial assistance, aiming to reassess funding allocations in line with new policy directives. This decision has had widespread implications for nonprofit organizations across the nation, including those in Oklahoma.

At the start of second semester, the preexisting finals exemption policy was widened to underclassmen. In hopes to communicate what the policies guidelines were, site principal David Beiler sent an email to the entire student body. After this official email announcement, I found that I, along with many of my peers, were riddled with confusion on what absences counted, how they were counted, and what is excused.