You are credited
for a fraction of my life’s happiness,
so I will meet your green eyes and smile my hello
with the full works, dimples and everything

I refuse to take the burden of heartache
for longer than it is due
So I will continue sipping coffee at the little cafe
that we have gone countless times to,
just cause I like the taste and venue

Goodnight little dear memories.
I will visit and laugh with you again
when I’m telling stories to my grandchildren
about my wild days
with a man who was not their grandfather

It will be a loss if you are no longer the first one I call
When I want to share a day’s happiness
or a delicious crumpet at that little cafe.
But I assure you I will continue smiling,
enjoying the laughter of random delightful things

Just as I am laughing now,
at your reaction to my little declaration
seeing your lovely smile, arched eyebrow and eyes

I hear you chuckle when I mockingly say
no worries, I do very much like you
while I add the cream to my mug, stir and sip

yes, I absolutely adore the coffee
at this little cafe.

2. I’ll learn to love myself for who I am in the inside and not by superficial looks.

3. Won’t have to keep looking for hair ties in the morning.

4. It is easier to shampoo and dry.

5. There will never be a bad hair day because it can’t get worse than it already is.

6. Don’t get an 8 dollar hair cut.

7. ‘Cause you’ll look like a man.

8. I can use the extra 12 dollars to bake brownies.

9. Yes, I’ll eat them all and get ridiculously fat since I’m going to love myself for who I am on the inside.

10. It’s not that bad, actually-(the hair).

The special effects were absolutely amazing! But it was more than just action packed, the script was witty, and guarantees an infinite number of chuckles and infinity times two number of laughs. Immediately into the first 15 minutes an evil Decepticon hacks and downloads top secret government information at a U.S. army base. Blackout (the Decepticon) comes in as a helicoptor that was destroyed in Afghanistan, so it’s received with full military defense as it lands. The scene was glorious as Blackout transformed into a beautiful machine and the chopper blades folded and the machine suddenly had cannon arms targeting the screen.

So the Decepticon basically annihilates the army base Qatar, but there are survivors so out jumps from its core a scorpion monster machine to hunt them down. And Wow that scene is insane as well. The movie shifts back to a teenage boy, Sam Witwicky, who buys a Autobot disguised as a old Camaro. Sam soon discovers that his car is a alien robot named Bumblebee and that it and the other Autobots have a mission to retrieve the Allspark. What is the Allspark? A very important object that cannot fall into the hands of the Decepticon!! And before I completely rave on about the entire movie so just about spoil it, I will end with this: Transformers is a fun loving film that brings nostalgia for the previous comic book reading generations and will create new fandom with the present.

Melted ice cream awaits in the fridge

so just suck on some ice cubes

Grandma makes some lemonade and waffles
puts extra cream in my hot cocoa
with marshmallows on the 3^rd cup

Nothing worse than not knowing a fly flew up your nose
when everyone else does

Flowers scream when you cut them
but only the bees can hear

Who said to never talk to strangers?
They are just friends you have yet to meet

continue to let me ride high
no commercials to break this addiction

A taxi driver has a dangerous job
the watchmaker breaks things so he can fix them

or go to Walgreens and buy some for $2.99

He had tried to play with his grandson, but the potato had refused. Rebelliously slapped his knee with his chubby hand and ran away with a squishy rubber ball. He sat back into the sunken couch. I could feel him sigh.

His actions are a well-intentioned plea for company

I remember being carried on his back from preschool to his house. When his back began to ache, he placed me into a shopping cart and pushed me up the hills and past the trees. I woke up once. Then closed my eyes and slept leaning forward on his shoulder all the way home.

We used to make paper boats and airplanes as I waited for mommy to pick me up. Then

threw them out the window and watched them crash-dive.

He was a mechanic who repaired fighter airplanes in World War II. I’ve always wanted to ask him questions. Who were your friends? How did you feel? Did you… But I don’t think he wants to be asked.

"I love you grandpa"
He pats my head and smiles.

After months of anticipation for theories to be proven wrong or right, the seventh book that ends the Harry Potter series is read with high expectations. Now is the bar set too high? The main plot left from book six is to destroy the four remaining objects that house You-Know-Who’s soul. It’s a guarantee that the book will be entertaining because J.K. Rowling has a knack for creating scenes and imagery so strong that readers can’t help but get emotionally involved in the story. Have all the loose ends, however, been tied in this finale?

I would say, Yes. Although throughout the book, there were a tad too many coincidences that help Harry realize and discover what to do next. The story goes too smoothly when Harry’s actions are determined by seeing into Voldemort’s mind. Closing his eyes to visualize Voldemort’s malicious intent is a fabulous way to discover and thwart the enemy’s plans, but it becomes anti-climatic and gives a sense of a short cut. There were a few times when I wondered whether the book was a bit rushed because the deaths of many characters were just bluntly announced (Lupin and Tonks), when I believe that the reader should have been in a part of the action leading up to it. The robbery of Gringotts was all too easy. There were parts where I thought it could be more in-depth, especially after Harry learns of The Prince’s Tale when I really wanted to know what Harry was thinking. And after the war, with the Evil man gone, how was everybody coping with their losses? (George! Fred! George!) The epilogue definitely was not even close to satisfaction.

But the point is that the many good points overshadow the bad. Neville’s fantastic character development from being a timid little boy into a total he-warrior-hero-man was absolutely delightful. The battle at Hogwarts was riveting, McGonagall and the head teachers leading the students to defend against the death eaters was intense. And Snape…. Oh, Snape.

What made the book even more powerful was its parallelism to World War II. The incorporation of the historical time into many of the scenes gave a sense of realism and goose bumps. I definitely like the action packed Deathly Hallows. Confrontations, close encounters, and battle scenes will keep one at the edge of the seat and reading throughout the night.

Wow, I don’t know whether or not I just had a blast or just been through an experiment. It was as though I had volunteered to be a human test subject for a new shampoo product or test drug. The result is that I am among the 10 percentile who did not have the supposed reaction, and the drug is not recommended for me. Except the trial was to expose myself to the lake water. You know, if something looks toxically contaminated, it’s probably because it is. Although honestly, it was not as though I totally went against my instincts and went into the lake. It was more like I was thrown into it… twice.

The first incident—

The 7 of us were on a sailboat and all was going well, until we became stranded near the middle of the lake because there was no wind. After about 20 minutes when it was definite that there was no wind, we waited another 10 because nobody wanted to go to plan B. We eventually took out the oars and started paddling towards the far, far, far away shore. There might’ve been a chance for survival but the little kids wanted to help out also.

And that’s how we lost the first oar.

The other one broke shortly after.

Next comes the tossing overboard part.

After trying to splash the boat back to shore in vain, I learned that there was a plan C when the kind and gentle Kyle threw me into the waters of hell to help push the boat back to shore.

I don’t mind being thrown over as much as the position that I landed. Yeah-massive belly flop. With a couple gulps of greeny pee-colored water.

Second experience of heaven—

Was similar to the first. Kyle dragged me from the car’s safe haven and swung me in. Kyle, Kyle, Kyle. Needs to be enrolled into some sort of program or institution.

The war in Iraq is still raging, but teenagers are too absorbed about their daily lives and self-fulfillment to actually acknowledge a war. We are more obsessed with SAT preparation and college applications than with a war that kills other people but never touches us; it’s another world. Overheard gossip in the hallways seems to be students’ source of news around school. There might be a few opportunities for students to learn that, yes, there is an outside world where tyrannical governments control massive populations. Yes, civil wars are still occurring and ten-year-old kids are handed guns and ordered to fight. Yes, women are being raped and children murdered in a faraway place called Darfur where genocide is happening. But these protests are not long-lasting or effective, and students forget about the poverty and death occurring on another continent after a week.

I know that schools are institutions for learning and not buildings manufacturing philanthropists, but I believe students are willing to help if they are more informed. Students can discuss world-wide events as a class, and a teenage generation who are seriously learning can put that knowledge to use in the real world.

Students might join The Lowell because they want to be among the staff of an award-winning paper and have their byline printed next to a story that they had written. Or they might join The Lowell because it will look good on their college transcripts. A bad reporter will want to cover stories that do not require much interviewing and with sources who are easy to reach. This affects the potential of the article, because the reporter is only doing the minimal amount of effort to develop the story. When a reporter lacks dedication to actual news reporting, then important details can be missed and affect the article.

A good reporter spends time researching background information, takes into account possible different views, and tries to maintain an unbiased style of writing so that readers will be able to form opinions about the topic. Although The Lowell is a high school paper, students should assume the responsibilities of being a professional reporter. One responsibility is protecting the name of a source. Watergate is an example of protecting the source, because if the sources’ identities are easily revealed, then people will be afraid to disclose information and the story will be incomplete.

Reporters must have the fortitude to face opposition and continue to search for explanations about a story until all possible angles of the story are presented. The typeset story will have better substance than if written half-heartedly by an undedicated journalist.

2. I’ll learn to love myself for who I am in the inside and not by superficial looks.

3. Won’t have to keep looking for hair ties in the morning.

4. It is easier to shampoo and dry.

5. There will never be a bad hair day because it can’t get worse than it already is.

6. Don’t get an 8 dollar hair cut.

7. ‘Cause you’ll look like a man.

8. I can use the extra 12 dollars to bake brownies.

9. Yes, I’ll eat them all and get ridiculously fat since I’m going to love myself for who I am on the inside.

10. It’s not that bad, actually-(the hair).