|
Yanira Matute PrideTime Editor  The time is quickly approaching for high school seniors to decide what college they’ll be attending for the next few years. For most, their decision is pretty much set. But others may be second guessing their decision. Senior Jackie Molina had her mind set on attending college in Texas, where she’ll be close to her aunt and cousin, but as the time is getting near, thoughts consume her mind.
Although she will be deciding to head to Texas for school, there are things in Norwalk that she will leaving behind. Like most incoming college students or teens in general, leaving their hometown is difficult. However, the idea of a fresh new start sounds exhilarating. A new start means leaving old friends, something Molina isn’t fully prepared to do. When asked what she will miss most about Norwalk, she says, “being able to hangout with my friends and going to places I’m really familiar with like restaurants and the movies.” She doesn’t hate the idea of going to Texas, though. She is mostly excited to get away from the cold the north offers and see new places. The good news is that she won’t be alone. She will be with family to help her adjust to her new lifestyle. The future might hold a spot for Molina in the business/marketing field. “It’s something that interests me,” she says. For anyone that is moving far for college, the number one advice anyone can offer you is to not be nervous/scared. At first, the experience might be a little scary and you may have difficulty adjusting but after a while, it’ll be smooth sailing from there. Molina will be missing her friends so another advice is to keep in close contact with your loved ones. Busy schedules may get in the way of the amount of contact you have with one another but try to squeeze in a call every now and then to catch up. The final advice I can offer is to have fun. You’re only young once and like high school, 4 years go by quickly. If you were shy in high school, try to get out of your comfort zone. Of course, I’m not saying “Go wild,” but experience new things. To the Class of 2019: Good luck! The future holds nothing but great things for all of us. Life’s what you make it, that’s what Hannah Montana says anyway. Have fun and make your experience worth it.
0 Comments
Kristina Casubolo PrideTime Reporter  Brien McMahon sophomore, Andrea Herrera, is a student studying Japanese in CGS. This is her second year opening up her home to Japanese students. Last year, she had hosted a girl named Yuki. This year, from March 14 to March 26, she hosted two second year high school students from Japan named Yutaro Takeuchi and Tomofumi Seto. Herrera enjoys hosting because she gets to meet new people and learn about them and their culture. When asked what this experience was like for her, Andrea Herrera replied, “Amazing! I love learning more about their culture, they are very good at English and are very eager to learn more!” One thing she learned was that “in a lot of ways we were very similar. For instance, we like the same video games and we like to have fun with our friends. However, I noticed that when they [Takeuchi and Seto] talk to each other, they are very quiet whereas we [Americans] like to talk loud and yell. Takeuchi and Seto are also very polite; they apologized and said thank you a lot,” Herrera recalled.
However, Andrea Herrera wasn’t the only one learning from this experience. Herrera said of Takeuchi and Seto’s time here, “They had so much fun in America that, when it was time to go back to Japan, they said that they were sad to go and wanted to stay in America. At first, they were very shy and didn’t talk much, but after awhile they opened up. We constantly talked about how loud Americans are compared to them, but they found it interesting how we are always full of energy.” The students themselves gave their input on what America was like for them. Yutaro Takeuchi exclaimed, “I like the food; I tried lots of different foods. American food is very good!” Tomofumi Seto said, “I made lots of friends in America. Everyone was very kind.” For both Andrea Herrera and the Japanese students she hosted, this was a very eye opening experience that allowed them to each learn about different cultures. Because of this, Herrera highly recommends hosting. “It is an amazing experience. Some people really like it and some people don't. But, every year hosting is different. I liked this year better than last year because I just felt like I connected more with my hosts and I felt more like I knew what I was doing because of the experience from last year. Regardless, hosting is very fun and even people who don't know any Japanese could have a great time doing it.” Micaella Balderrama PrideTime Reporter Here at McMahon, there’s many cultures students can immerse themselves into, such as Italian, French, Spanish, Latin, or Chinese, Japanese, and Arabic (through CGS), through the help of our language department. Each and every one of these languages opens up a new world for the learner. In this edition, PrideTime takes to learning about French dishes and cuisine through the help of sophomore French students Farrell Aldrich (‘21) and Sarah Signore (‘21). France, a country of 67.19 million people, has a grand influence in global perspective. Twenty-nine countries speak French as their official language, including: France, Belgium, Haiti, Madagascar, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Statistically speaking, this means that, of the 14.6% of McMahon students that are English Language Learners, there’s a good chance these students come from a French speaking country. Despite the twenty-nine countries that registered their official language to be French, the language is spoken all over the world. Harboring 80 million native speakers and 190 million secondary speakers, the French language has 270 million speakers worldwide.
 Both French students took to sharing their favorite French foods:
Crêpes: History: According to The New York Times Crêpes date back to 1895, when a fourteen-year-old assistant waiter Henri Charpentier had actually burned the dessert of future King Edward VII of England. Aldrich says that one of her favorite French dishes is crêpes. A crêpe is much like a very thin pancake, and can be either sweet or savory. Crêpes can be served in many different ways; filled with sugar, plainly, mixed with fruit, and other elaborate recipes. She also shared, “I like crêpes because carbs are delicious and my dad taught me how to make them, which was fun.” Baguettes: History: Bonjour Paris claims baguettes date back to the early 18th century. It’s said that during the French Revolution, the average French person consumed three pounds a day! A baguette is a long, thin loaf of French bread made with flour, water, salt, and yeast. One variation of the baguette is called a ficelle, a thinner version of the loaf. Signore (‘21) shared that she was actually introduced to the grain through taking French, and said it’s one of her favorites: “It’s probably one of the most basic French things you can eat, but that’s why I appreciate it,” she kidded. Something strange: Picture this: you’re in France, filled with excitement to be traveling the country. Then, one night, you sit down to dinner and everything’s going alright–that is, to say, before you receive the appetizer. Then, you’re given a huge glass jar with a “substance that can only be described as what you see at the bottom of a polluted river.” This was the situation Aldrich found herself in. This liquid, not entirely appealing in appearance, was Tomato infused Water and Caviar. She decided to try the drink, because when in France, why not? Unfortunately, it wasn’t so tasty: “It’s impossible to imagine, but it managed to capture the very essence of a tomato; it was completely clear like water, but it tasted like biting into a tomato,” she said. Michelle Perea PrideTime Senior Editor  Since the age of five, senior Anna Robinson, has always had a love for photography. The love and interest sparked when her uncle gave her a camera. Fast-forward to her life today, she has her own camera and she takes it with her everywhere to improve and practice on her own skills. Nowadays, anyone can pick up their device and take a photo of whatever they desire. For Robinson, what matters is the true essence, meaning, and light composure. Her photos vary from people to architecture to nature. When it comes to capturing an image of someone, she would rather see expression and feelings rather than a typical model pose, though she always takes pictures of what is best to her eye. New York City is her perfect photographic setting. Here, she is able to take pictures of absolutely anything and form her uniqueness through the image. “New York is where I get most of my ideas, I find interesting settings and people and capture their personality from a distance. I tend to ask people if I could take pictures of them, but sometimes I like to capture the art rather than the person.” Robinson’s style includes stimulating visuals. For her, it’s either add a lot of color or no color at all, there’s no in between. When she takes a picture, she likes to use light-room or Photoshop to mess around with the image and have it to her liking. “I try to create photos that keep the eye’s of the person admiring the piece moving from one thing to another,” she says. Though the admiration she has to the photography world, this isn’t something that she would like to go in depth with the future. Right now, Robinson only sees this as a hobby and a potential career, but then again, she's not sure. “I see myself as only continuing photography as a hobby in the future. I’ve gained other interests so we’ll have to see whatever happens.” Her friends and family have supported Robinson since the beginning when she sparked interest. Now, her senior year, she is currently in AP Studio Art where she's been able to improve her editing skills and understand the beauty behind photos. “My family, specifically my mom has been my biggest support. She used to go into New York with me to keep me company while I took photos of people on the street. My friends have also been very supportive, they model for me a lot, which is really fun and always a great learning experience.” Though her uncle has had the biggest impact on her photography interest, her inspiration came from somewhere else. Robinson’s style is unique but she looks up to famous photographer Bill Cunningham. “Bill Cunningham. He was a fashion photographer for the New York Times, known for his candid and street photography.” Photography can accurately capture the emotions and moments which cannot be expressed by words, but can be felt by a good picture. It preserves significant events which Robinson finds the most intriguing. Her journey and talent level have not come easy for Robinson. The constant comparing and contrasting her work to others, is something she has clashed with in her own work. “My confidence in my work and abilities, which I feel is something every artists struggles with at some point. You start to compare yourself to others and my view of my own work starts to morph into all negative and no positive.” If you would like to see more of Robinson’s work, she loves to post her pieces on Instagram. She loves to get feedback from her friends and family in order to improve herself. Go follow her and check out her pieces @annasviewssss. |
RSS Feed