When feeling a lack of control and need for escape, Gigi Robertson turns to what makes all her stress from the day fall right off her shoulders – her camera. “There’s nothing at all I don’t admire about it. I enjoy it all down to packing my camera bag,” the 15-year-old incoming sophomore said. “There’s a comfort in hearing the shutter close, feeling the button click; there are so many things you can do with what you’re gripping in your fingers.”
Imagine sitting in class and seeing a girl drawing while the class is going on. You sit and wonder why she is ignoring the teacher, but she is drawing because it is helping her stay steady. Cat Gonzales, 15, is an upcoming sophomore at Bartlesville (Okla.) High School. Cat is involved in journalism, but drawing has been a part of her life since elementary school. She always found time to do it when she had finished her work, and it has been a means of relaxation and therapy that helps her cope with anxiety.
There are some jobs in this world that nobody wants to do, but in the end, someone has to step up. For Naaman Henager, 17, of Newcastle High School, representing his yearbook class on student council was that job, but at the time, he couldn’t see how his passion for student council would grow. Naaman’s career in student council didn’t begin at Newcastle High School. It actually began in Elgin High School when his yearbook teacher approached the class with the question of who wanted to represent the yearbook class on student council. The fact no one wanted to do…
Kali Miller’s strength is something that she acquired after a number of moves and meeting people she didn’t realize at the time would change her for the better. Instead of dealing with the difficulties of constantly moving in unhealthy manners, she found solace in the theater. It was there that she found the confidence and strength she needed to cope. “If I hadn’t chosen theater as an elective, my whole middle school career would have been completely different, definitely for the worst if you ask me,” Kali said.
Most people would be intimidated to join the U.S. Army and might consider it a last resort, but 17-year-old Haley Clarke has always been part of a military family. Now a senior at Indiahoma High School, she is more determined than ever to enlist when she graduates. When she was 15, Haley’s moved away from her stepfather and her mother and lived for a short time with her biological father. It was then that she realized that enlisting in the Army would be the only escape.
When her dad banned 6-year-old Gabi Merchen from watching the Disney Channel, she had to look for other options. She came across “3rd Rock from the Sun,” a comedy about aliens who land on earth in human form and attempt to fit in. Watching the show and laughing at the characters’ experiences sparked Gabi’s passion for comedy. Although her dad’s refusal to watch the Disney Channel introduced her to comedy, Gabi’s mom was the key influence in her pursuit of the art. When Gabi’s parents divorced, she said she looked to comedy as a “defense mechanism.”
Standing in the aisles of an Oklahoma City Walmart is where Destyni Williams first encountered racial injustice. There, Destyni watched as two white security guards followed two African-American teens across the store, profiling them as shoplifters. She could not look away. Destyni’s parents always told her she was amazing and taught her never to fear judgment. “It was easy to try new things without being afraid of the answer,” she said. They also told her that she would have to fight twice as hard for what she wanted because of the color of her skin and because of her gender.…
Cheerleader, churchgoer and aspiring journalist, Claudia Standeford is a modern-day Renaissance woman. Attending back-to-back-to-back camps for each of her interests this summer, 16-year-old Claudia has made a habit of keeping herself busy. “I like to push myself and experience new things,” Claudia said. “Everyone wants experience but not everyone makes an effort to go out and get it.”
One morning, 18-year-old Blake Honaker was sitting in his bedroom in Frisco, Texas, like any other day, until he got an e-mail notification. The notification gave him the news that he was accepted to OU Pride., The University of Oklahoma’s marching band. “One of the best marching bands in the country,” said Blake. This was easily one of Blake’s happiest and proudest moments.
“We just need to move on.” That’s what Anushka Sukhadia’s swimming coach said about her school’s latest scandal. Three members of the swim team had been caught under the influence on a school trip, and it was buzzing throughout Bartlesville High School. Coach Chad Engleheart said he had already handled the matter and that nobody should be talking about it anymore.