Sidebar

WITHOUT YOUR WALLET

EMMERT

by Matt Fry

Many guys will always have their wallet with them. They usually put it into the same pocket every single time they are done using it. Everything a man needs can be held in there. From money, to bank or ATM cards, to insurance cards, to his license or state ID, school ID, his social security card, anything. Really, just about anything that he needs in could be in there. Every guy has their own organizational technique they use, and that could be displayed by their wallets. There are many kinds of wallets that fit different people better than others. Some have chains that clip to you, some don’t. Some are a bi-fold, and some are tri-fold. Some are designed to look “cool” or goofy. No matter how they look, or what they do… most wallets work the same way, and do the same thing. For most guys, a wallet is his lifeline. But what would happen if he was to misplace or lose that wallet? What is he to do to protect himself after this happens? What can he do to prevent that from happening?

Well, I had lost my wallet over the weekend. I didn’t have any money to pay for gas, or get something to snack on. I worried about being pulled over because I didn’t have my driver’s license. I couldn’t go to an ATM and pull any money out. I was left in a position that I almost couldn’t make it back to Washington! I made it home with fumes left in my tank. And right after I got home. I tried to do anything and everything that I needed to do to make sure I didn’t lose any more of my money. Or lose my identity! First, after driving all the way home. I called my bank/ATM card numbers and tried to get them canceled. The number wasn’t working because I had called them past office hours. So I had to wait another two days before they opened again! I signed up for life-lock because there isn’t much you can do to stop your social security number, you can’t cancel it, and you can’t protect it once it has left your hands. The best you can do is hope that whoever finds your wallet don’t know what to do with that number. Signing up for life-lock will alert you if there is something that goes on that includes you, without YOU knowing. Meaning that if someone goes and tries to buy a $40,000 car that is half way around the world. The company can contact you. See if you really are the one trying to buy that car, And if not; that other person isn’t able to buy anything else. And they also get caught!

But after replacing my driver’s license and bank cards. I checked my bank account. And there hasn’t been any activity on my account. So now, I do know that whoever has found my wallet hadn’t touched my banks. This is good, less for me to worry about. But if they wouldn’t take money from a bank. Then what will they do with your wallet? Some people will take any cash you have in there. And just throw the wallet in the trash. But then there are other people that will look in every corner of the wallet to get as much as they can out of it. And then there are the few kind hearted people that will take it home and try to mail it back to you using the address on your state ID, or your driver’s ID. So therefore you do have a small chance to get your wallet back. But that is just a small chance. Don’t think this can never happen to you. One little mistake can turn your whole day upside-down and just might turn your whole life upside-down. So take little steps to save you the trouble now! One thing I’m going to do is find a new wallet that clips to my belt, or belt loop. So that way it can’t be easily dropped. And then just know what you keep in there and what it can do if it falls into the wrong hands. Lastly, try not to keep super important things in there.
Images by Ruben Otero and Daniel Ostapenko

The RANT ::: STUPID SMART PHONES

EMMERT

by Jeremy Hess and Jay Ulrich

Who doesn’t love smart phones? They are so convenient! Let’s say you’re out and about and you get lost or want to check a price of something but don’t want drive home to your computer to find out. Well what do you do? You just pull out your smart phone, Google it, get directions from Google, or from the maps on your Smartphone. They are super convenient when you’re in a fight with a friend and want to know whose right quickly, BAM, pull out your Smartphone and you know whose right.

Also there is the aspect of Wi-Fi, calling, and texting. I was out in woodland with my family with no bars of service, most phones wouldn’t be able to connect to service but because of my Smartphone I was able to connect to Wi-Fi and still be able to use it, just as if I had full bars. Also if you try and go on the internet at a store with Wi-Fi but don’t have smart phone-you can get charged but not with the Smartphone! In most cases, new Smartphone’s the battery life is way better than most non Smartphone’s like my old phone. I got about 2 days for just minimal texting but with my new phone I can call, text and surf the internet and it lasts me two to three and half days.

My last aspect I will talk about is the aspect of being able to check your email on the go: let’s say later in life you’re on a business but your boss emailed you a change in venue but you can be there and on top of it with your Smartphone. You showed up while other non Smartphone users didn’t also it keeps you in better and faster touch with all of your groups of friends.

Okay, I will have you all know straight up that Smartphones are the a devilish device of people who like to complicate your life. Since 1994 ‘Simon’ the age’s first smart phone started the trend that your phone is not just for making a call or sending a text messages. It introduced the new wave of keeping memos, calendars, scheduling and altogether ‘more convenient’ life. Later on in the age came Blackberry’s and Android smart phones, revolutionizing the previous idea-phones are not only meant to organize your life but instead take over your life.

We have all become way too dependent on our little electronic buddies. We’ve created a new sense of alertness when we don’t have our phones in our pockets a wave of panic overcomes us. Everybody LISTEN UP. What will happen if we sudden are stricken from the convenience of our smart phones? Realize the idea of never again checking your Facebook on our I-phones, or never being able to keep appointments on your phone. You will be forced to learn organization and communication skills between actual people instead of sending an SMS message (texting). Why would we want to get used to the idea of verbal communication between others to be rare or non-existent?

I find it more professional and formal to call others instead of texting them. Texting is impersonal and it lacks authenticity. It’s very easy to lie and deceive over text message, because you have the time to think about what you are going to say, without the hint of pausing, stuttering or any indication that you are untruthful. Simplicity at its finest, a non-smart phone is the best way to be true to others, and uncomplicated. Simplistic phones should be the way of the future- a further complicating phone. It’s unnecessary and it will sooner or later control our lives through a tiny phone.

TEEN DREAM

EMMERT

by Jay Ulrich

Being a senior in high school, can put a load of pressure on a person. It’s normal for a teen to have some stress every now and then. Some teens go out and find a part-time job to make some extra money to get that new car, or to get some new clothes, but something that’s apparent is that we’re trying to grow up too fast. Throughout high school, our teachers as well as our parents teach us how to center our actions on goals. Generally that starts off as earning their first car, or saving up for college, but what is an appropriate goal to aim for at a young age? I personally know what it is like to be a teen that grew up way to fast.
I surpassed appropriate goals at an early age and now I am living a more or less young adult life in a kid’s age. At just turning 18 last month, I should be at home with my parents, possibly working a part time job with my graduation the only goal I should be working toward. Instead, I sit in my house with my three roommates, working an almost full time job with the goal of maintaining work, school, and staying on top of bills. Social life is something hard to come by and enjoying the rest of my senior year isn’t looking to well. To see kids my age wanting to pursue the path that I live on worries me. Do they really understand what being independent truly is? Do they know what it feels like to take for granted the small things our parents do for us?

Until now I didn’t really realize it either. Some athletes or other students who have extracurricular activities know that dedicating yourself outside of school can really diminish your grades. With your mind focused more on social aspects rather than finishing your homework, you choose your fate. For some parents, they make it clear to their kids that school is their only job, grades come first. I didn’t’ respect that idea until now. To everyone my age, to the freshman this year; don’t worry about finding a job so soon in life. Don’t take for granted your parents and use them as a way to be successful in your high school career. The real world can wait for you, but graduating can’t. High school should be the best four years of your life.

Freshman year is a time where we try and discover who we are. Something we fail to see is, you will change your mind a million times before you even get to your last year of high school. Choices and ideas of colleges and career paths will come and go well into adulthood but getting a proper education in high school first will help you later on, even if you still think those three years of algebra won’t apply to life post-graduation. I still don’t. Sophomores, I urge you most to take your grades into consideration this year. Failing one class shouldn’t be considered as ‘no big deal’, it will add up at the end and you will have to pay for it. Skipping school and slacking off shouldn’t be praised in school like it is amongst students. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve caught people snoring, doodling, or even walking out of the class room.

As a senior, I am living what is known for a time where we become lazy, skip or figure we don’t need school anymore. If the millions of people who have graduated in our country knew that high school didn’t matter, would they have prepared us for it for eight years and suffer through it for four? Education and a diploma should be the only thing you’re focused on achieving right now. We have our lives to figure out who we are. Don’t be like me, too eager to grow up and overwhelming yourself. You can be who you want to be at any time, it doesn’t mean that time has to be right now. Now is the time to mold ourselves into who we can be or have the opportunity to be in the future. We’re all still kids, and we need to act like it.

 

ZOE HALL & HHS in COLUMBIAN

EMMERT

One Heritage High School junior takes her city’s heritage to heart.

Zoe Hall, 17, recently “adopted” Vancouver’s Old City Cemetery in the Central Park neighborhood after her father read an Aug. 15 article in The Columbian that neglect had enabled dandelions and weeds to outshine the headstones of the city’s founders buried there.

By Paris Achen
Columbian Staff Reporter

Read the full Columbian article here.

The RANT ::: LET IT SNOW LET IT SNOW LET IT NO.

EMMERT

by Jay Ulrich and Cassidy Lucas

One thing is for sure, the world would be perfectly fine without snow. We don’t need snow here in America and we certainly do not need it in Vancouver. Consider the possibilities without it; we would have no black outs, no ice, no frozen cars and no cold, wet, feet. As you can tell, I absolutely hate snow. Bah-humbug! Even as a kid I didn’t particularly like the idea of being ice cold in the snow. Not to say I don’t like colder weather, because I very much do (living in Washington obviously), but when it drops below thirty-two degrees and the snow sticks to my feet, I can do without it. Snow causes all sorts of problems and you don’t always hear good things about snow.

The only positive thing I can think of is snow days, but too many snow days add up and then we have to push back summer for each day we miss. I would much rather have summer vacation days than miss a few days in the winter stuck indoors. Snow can have a profound effect on the world outside of school. For example, we all are in danger of hazardous road conditions. As teenagers and new drivers, that can lead to fatal accidents on the road. The ice creates less friction on our tires, giving us a worse chance at staying on the road and off the median. Black ice is very dangerous and it is smart to just stay at home when it’s present. People can lose electricity and heat because of the icy little devil.

Washington is not the warmest state in the country and we can get some pretty serious snow in the right conditions. Even though it doesn’t happen every year in Vancouver, I could go without it in general. With all these dangers, we can be in some trouble when we try and confront it. Why would we want to put ourselves in any sort of danger when it comes to simple tasks like going to get the mail, going to work, going to school, or staying home in a snow storm. No good comes from snow. I could live a happy life knowing that snow is far away from me and away from Vancouver. At the very least, it can stay up in the mountains so the snowboarders can have their fun but down in the city or even the suburbs, it can stay away for good. I would say, snow-stay out of Vancouver and go somewhere else. I want to stay warm and dry inside and be able to enjoy my summer on time without your hormonal tendencies messing around with the school schedule. To anyone who ‘loves’ snow, I heard Canada’s a good place for people like you.
-Jay

Image by Sierra Lake

[singlepic id=55 w=150 h=150 float=left]

I’m just going to start this off by saying that I completely and utterly love snow. There’s something about it that’s so welcoming. I love lying on the couch, snuggled up in a cozy blanket, reading a novel, sipping on my coffee, and looking out my window at the white flakes falling gracefully from the sky. It brings a whole new definition of peace for me. I, being a complete and total lover of cold, wet, rainy, windy weather, mean that it’s pretty much only natural for me to adore the snow. I guess everything about it pulls me in. My favorite memories from early childhood somehow have snow incorporated somewhere in them. Snow brings me immense joy. When it snows, it seems as if the entire community just slows down and for the most part, there’s peace.

As Miss Ulrich has pointed out snow can have its dangers, “Why would we want to put ourselves in any sort of danger when it comes to simple tasks like going to get the mail, going to work or school, or staying home in a snow storm.” But who are we kidding? There’s danger everywhere. You could get hit by a car while walking out to check the mail, get in as serious car crash on your way to the grocery store, school, or work. Pretty much you are in danger at all times, you can’t live in a safety bubble. Life’s dangerous and the thrill of life is experiencing life to your highest potential, how are you allowing yourself to do that when you stay cooped up in your house for fear of the snow? You can’t.

Snow is beautiful, it’s one of the few things nature provides that makes me take a break from reality and gives me a sense of euphoria. There’s something about lying in a field covered with snow in complete solitude and creating snow angels or walking down the streets of Downtown Portland and watching as the snow lightly falls to the ground. When I think snow I think snow angels, snow men, and snow ball fights. Who doesn’t love those three things? Crazy people, that’s who!

It gives everyone the excuse to be a child again. I’ll always remember my first snowman, first snow ball fight, and first snow angel. I completely and wholly love the snow and everything it has to offer the world. I think that people need to take a step back and see snow for its beauty opposed to the negative it can bring. Pessimism is never beneficial, nor is negativity. Snow’s great, and I believe that everyone should just admit it.
-Cassidy

The RANT ::: SANTA’S CLAWS

EMMERT

by Hugo Gonzalez and Cassidy Lucas

[singlepic id=41 w=150 h=150 float=left]At a young age we are like sponges to everything our parents say and do. So should a parent LIE to their kid? Should we as a culture lie to our young? The biggest lie told around this time of year is SANTA. Telling kids Santa is real is a bad idea, that can lead to them becoming ungrateful, misunderstanding Christmas, and mistrusting adults.
I believe having an unseen force deliver gifts to kids can make them unappreciative. Instead of thanking their parents for the gifts they received they thank some lie their parents coaxed up! So instead of thinking how their parents worked hard to give the gift, they believe that some magic elf made it in somewhere on the North Pole. A lot of parents make sacrifices to have time for them and to get them things they want, and then they don’t even get a thank you.
Christmas is a fun time of year, I am in no way trying to ruin Christmas. Family should come first when Christmas rolls around, instead of shifting the focus to some overweight old man.
“I used to be a big believer in Santa and everything and I was devastated when I found out he wasn’t real” says HHS’s Brittany Tese-Moe. Someone at some point in a child’s life is going to let that cat out of the bag and tell them that Santa isn’t real, so why not save them the pain, disappointment, and mistrust? This is one of those cases where the TRUTH is worth a whole lot more than fiction.
-Hugo

Photo by Kyle Sager

[singlepic id=55 w=150 h=150 float=left] For many children, Santa will always be a cherished part of their holiday traditions. They will forever remember leaving out milk and cookies, writing letters and mailing them to the North Pole in hopes that Santa’s elves will relay what they want to the big man in charge. Folks will always remember trying to stay up all night in hopes that they’ll catch a glimpse of Santa coming down the chimney, and placing a bundle of presents under the tree, then the next morning running downstairs to see what Santa had left for them.
For myself, I’ve always adored the thought of Santa, even after I found out that he was an imaginary character, concocted from the minds of parents everywhere. But I’ve always thought of it as a beautiful dream that there is something out there bigger than us. Santa is far more than just a made up plump jolly white-bearded man. He represents Christmas and the true meaning of it. He represents selflessness and love. He shows compassion and fully spreads Christmas joy.
I think that by allowing your children to believe in Santa Claus is just showing them how to be selfless and giving. It shows them to be thankful for what they have and to be forever thankful of the things they are given. Even after children grow out of believing in Santa Claus, tiny worker elves, reindeer, Mrs. Claus, and the ridiculously magical North Pole, they still carry over the thoughts of their Santa-filled childhood with them to their adult life and in most cases into their children’s lives.
I think by telling your kids that Santa exists, you’re not lying; you’re simply giving them hope that there are great people out there. I’m almost eighteen and am still a true believer in the Christmas spirit and adore the thought of Santa Claus, so I say, let your kids believe. They may get a tad too hyped about Christmas, but what’s the worst that can happen?
-Cassidy