Kayla's Corner

  A few days ago I was trying out for cheer over zoom. Normally, we tryout at Troy High but because of the current lockdown order by Michigan's very own Gretchen Whitmer, we were unable to meet in person. I logged into the Zoom call and was greeted by my coaches, one of which sounded a little raspier than normal. If there wasn't a world wide pandemic going on, I would think nothing of it. However, that is not the case, and my mind immediately jumped to COVID. I find it funny how that was the first thing I thought of. I failed to think about the fact that the weathers changing and my coach could just as easily have a cold. I automatically assumed she had COVID. Anywhere I go, if someone coughs or sneezes, I jokingly turn to my friends and whisper "COVID". However, I am always half serious. Its very possible that they could have it. Making these assumptions doesn't just go for me. I'm afraid to cough of even go as far as clear my throat in public because I know ...

The podcast I listened to was  One Last Thing Before I Go.  In the beginning it talks about how during COVID, patients could not see their family while in the hospital so they would make video recordings of things they would say to them. Also, nurses would take notes on the patients who were in critical condition because the family members couldn't visit them and the nurses wanted the family member to know that the patients were seen as people and not just patients and also so family members would know that their loved ones were being cared for in their final days. This reminded me of a Greys Anatomy Episode where a patient made video recordings to send to their family members just in case they didn't make it out of surgery. This was a great idea because family members could have one last thing to hold onto from their loved one who didn't make it. The majority of the podcast was dedicated to the "Wind Phone" which was created by a guy who wanted to speak to his fa...

  This is a painting called The Disintegration of the Persistence of Memory . It is painted by Salvador Dalí who was a Spanish surrealist artist in the 1900s. He produced over 1500 works of art in the span of his lifetime.  I didn’t know who Salvador Dali was until I went to the Salvador Dali museum when I was in St.Petersburg Florida a few years ago. I spent a long time looking at all his artwork. I found the colorful paintings very captivating. They were nothing like anything I had ever seen before. With each look at any of his artworks, I noticed something new that I hadn’t seen the previous times. At first glance, I saw only part of the paintings, but when looking again, a different part came into view. I love how his paintings have a lot of depth and so much going on. This is not just the case with what’s visually present but also with the actual meaning of the paintings themselves. One of my favorite works by him is called, The Disintegration of the Persistence of Memory...

Satire is defined as,  “the use of humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people's stupidity or vices.” However, satire isn't just used to poke fun at people. The artist,  Banksy, uses satire in his street art to voice critiques of social and political injustices. One of Banksy's works titled, Napalm girl, uses satire to expose the many facets of America. Banksy doesn't really use humor in this particular art piece, rather he uses ridicule. His work criticizes America. In the image, Banksy uses a pre-existing image of a girl fleeing from a napalm attack on her village in Vietnam and shows her holding hands with Mickey Mouse and Ronald McDonald. In the image, the two well known characters are smiling, while the girl is screaming and crying, which gives the piece a twisted and messed up tone. Banksy successfully uses satire to get his point across because he places two characters that represent the fun and carefree side of American culture with a ...

The Cafeteria, the best place in the school, is full of friendly faces and gourmet food. Before you even enter the Cafeteria the experience starts. Food droppings lead the way, making it impossible to get lost, and provide a sneak peak of what's on the menu for the day. The menu has many fantastic choices like nachos made with vegan cheese and lab grown beef, specially picked out by the one and only Michelle Obama, who, if you weren't aware, replaced all the bad cafeteria food like soft pretzels, ice pops, and pepperoni Bosco sticks with way better options such as salad, whole grain bread with tomatoes and cheese, broccoli, and my favorite, flavorless apples. The line to get food is one of the best parts. Not only is the wait long, but you get to spend the time squished between people, what more could you want. After you finally get your food, most of lunch has already passed, but who cares about that when you get to chose from a variety of places to eat, including the toilet, ...

    Binary opposition is defined as a pair of related terms or concepts that are opposite in meaning. In literature, authors use binary opposites to explore the differences between groups, and often the boundaries between them. Binary opposition creates conflict because there are some people who don't fit into either group and fall into what is called the “grey area”. Authors such as J.K. Rowling in the Harry Potter series, and Anthony Doerr In All the Light We Cannot See, use binary opposition to show that dividing individuals into groups and categorizing them within society can cause problems. The issues that arise are not just seen in literature, but also in society today.       The magic community and non-magic community in Harry Potter would be considered binary opposites. Conflict is created because some individuals don't fall into either category, and instead fall into the “grey area”. Those of which are the muggle born and the h...

If you think about it, we are all complex characters because in reality there is not much that needs to be accomplished to qualify as a complex character. To be a co mplex character you have to und ergo an impo rtant change as the plot unfolds, and the change that you expe rience has to occur because of the a ctio ns and experiences in your story. We all have a " story", which is our life and the plot unfolds throughout it. During a persons life, they experience multiple changes. These changes are due to experience they have or actions they take. And because we all make decisions and experience things that change us or allow us to grow as individuals, we are all complex characters. It doesn't have to be as life changing as the experiences Oedipus had when he killed his father and married his mother without knowing. It could simply be deciding to sit with the new person  at lunch, joining a new sport, or even failing a test. In life, we make decisions and exp erience new t...