Simi Olurin ’19

The amount of tutorials I have watched on YouTube is simply ridiculous. In fact, in some lights, it’s extremely embarrassing, for one would look at my video history and assume that I’m essentially inept when it comes to everyday actions. When I merely say tutorials, you may not fully grasp the unmitigated control that theses 5-10 minute instructional videos have over me. The popular perception of a tutorial with our generation is that it’s simply for makeup, but trust me, these are not the ones that I frequent; my drugstore mascara and lackluster fine motor skills would testify to this fact. Make-up is– in many people’s eyes–an art form, and even if I were to spend my free time watching makeup videos, it wouldn’t help the girl who once got a B in her eighth grade art class. Continue reading “Tutorial” →

Skye Wu ’19

I looked into the mirror, into my pupils that have been muddy blue since I became a teenager.

“I just want….to be wonderful, to be extraordinary….I guess?” I whispered to myself.

Looking at the rejection letter in my hand, I knew that I would never be wonderful. A magazine has rejected my submissions four times in a row claiming that my photographies were too ordinary.

My name is Lucy. I’m average kid in my high school. I loved taking photos of my daily life, everything that was beautiful around me. Well, at least beautiful in my eyes. Not a lot of people appreciate my works. Just my parents and my best friend Heidi, I guess. The popular kids at my school never took a glance at my photos hanging on the wall of the art gallery. Continue reading “Rising From the Mud” →

Barron Jones ’20

Thomas was only six-years-old when he began his service of Sir Edmure the Daft of Lakewood. Lord Edmure was a funny fellow with a round belly and fat filled cheeks. Thomas had always been unsettled by his master although there was nothing unsettling to him. He could barely sit a horse without Thomas’ help and sometimes Thomas wondered what Edmure would do without him. Edmure was only fifteen years older than Thomas, but still was around seventy pounds heavier. Thomas, on the other hand, was muscular and tall, almost the opposite of his master. He wore a leather belt around his waist. Attached was a steel sword dangling from his waist. Upon closer examination one could tell there were faces engraved into the blade each face more obscure than the last. The final face on the blade was nothing more that a circular shape carved into steel and contained nothing within it, absolutely nothing. The young squire had always wanted to boast the glistening armor of a knight. He had always wanted to ride into battle at the side of his lord with bravery and courage in his heart, so when he heard of the tournament that Edmure was to ride in at London he was filled with joy. It was a groggy day and they had been traveling to London for just over five days. Thomas had awoken to a layer of mist settled upon their camp site as well as Sir Edmure drunkenly bickering to his brother about the mud on the ground. Continue reading “Apples in the Garden” →