Harvey, ND

            As the school year comes to an end in all the local schools, I thought I would take some time to really dote on our graduating seniors. They’ve always been the “older kids”, the example’s we tried to follow, and the one’s who put us in our place when we were being obnoxious in the halls.  Wether with friendship or a Sharpie in study hall, they’ve all made their mark on the rest of us. I spent the last few days talking to some seniors in the area,who wanted to offer some words of wisdom.

            Kari Weinniger of Anamoose, said that during high school, we should all try to not concentrate on petty confilcits. Drama is apart of high school, but don’t rest on it. Mike Ulich, Drake, adds into this by saying to enjoy it all while you can, because it goes by faster then you think. Jacob Sellie, Fesseden, says that we all should work hard, because its worth it in the end. To add to that, I must say that summer break is for relaxing, having fun, and sleeping in until as late as possible everyday. Even though that’s when your social life kicks into full swing, and the most important thing to you is not getting a sunburn, there are still things to keep in mind. When you go back to school, you still need to remember the Table of Elements, how to do basic math, and what teacher is the most irritable.

            Speaking of social lives, my dear friend Patrick Finnicum of Velva said something really important to keep in mind, is that people are strange when you’re a stranger. So make friends and get yourself out there! With friends though, comes crushes, so in high school there is something big to remember. Back in grade school there was always that little blonde boy would crash his Hot Wheel into your Barbie dream house during play time. You would go home and complain to your mom, and she would tell that the little boy likes you. In high school, if that blonde boy crashes his not-so-hot wheels into your car, it doesn’t mean he likes you, no matter how much you hope it does. 

           The last person I spoke to, said that there’s only one thing he would want to say to all of his peers. Sam Preble of Harvey said, and I quote ,”May the force be with you, young Skywalker’s.” Granted, I don’t know what on Earth Sam means by this, but I interpret it as the following. On rides to competitions or trips, don’t fall asleep unless your sitting in the front of the bus where the driver can see you. Never fall asleep in the back, especially when someone has eye liner, tooth paste,a camera,or corn nuts with them. The upper classmen have the last say in everything, so don’t try to under mind them. Despite what society tells you today, the older kids will find you and shake ya’ down for your lunch money. Okay, actually they don’t. But, its still never good to disrespect them.Someday you’ll be a senior, and you’ll want respect too. 

            What I mainly got out of Sam’s little blurb though, was that wether you want to admit it or not, you really learn everything you need to know in high school. Its got friends, fights, ups and downs, good days and bad. The things you learn there, are the things you know forever.

 Written By Chamonix Martin, as seen in the Herald-Press 

            We all need a little recognition sometimes.Thursday of last week, the St. Aloisius Volunteer program had their annual appreciation banquet, honoring their dedicated community service members. There was a light lunch and wholesome entertainment after a series of awards were given out.

            President Rocky Lastoupil started the banquet off by giving a speech, telling of his personal admiration for our communities volunteers. The volunteer programs: Long Term Care, Faith in Action, Hospice, Senior Companions, and Mentoring we’re all recognized for the impact they’ve made in the community and the lives of the people they reach out to.

            Pastor Fred Westerhold provided entertainment after the awards, by playing a few songs for the participants on his acoustic guitar, while telling a few farm related fables. Sister Ann Louise sang an humorous, original composition about her experiences in the St. Cecilia’s Church thus far. Tammy Neurohr, Donna Corneliusen,and Denise Martin headed the event at the Presentation Center at seven p.m.

           Sometimes life is like baseball. You’re up to bat, ready to swing, the pitch comes, and BAM! Curveball. In all actuality, I don’t think that curveballs make a bam noise,or any noise at all, but to show emphasis, lets all pretend they do. 

          Now, if you’re one of those players who are really quick on their feet,maybe you can step up a bit and get the ball before it hits the ground. If you’re not one of those people,then you fall into one of two groups. You either A., roll with it and go wait until your next turn to bat, or B. you go postal and have no way to deal with it. You storm off the field and sit in the dugout, telling everyone in sight that it just wasn’t fair. There could be a third group for this kind of situation, but in my sixteen years, I’ve never seen a different way to handle something unexpectedly disappointing. 

           You may have guessed that I’m a bit in favor of the first group, but in all honesty, with some occasions I fall into the second. Now any self help book will tell you that to deal with life’s ups and down’s you should focus on the good, take time to heal,deal,and accept, but as some of you may remember, I can’t stand self help books and the people who write them(so that can tell you how I feel about Dr.Phil).

            Today, I’m not out to tell everyone how you actually should deal with life’s unforeseen events. Quite frankly that would put me in the same category as those self help writers and because I don’t even know! All i can do is suggest that we all take each day as it comes, and keep in mind that the majority of things get better in time(except yogurt and math class). If though you can’t find a way to deal with the curveballs, you could always just switch sports, in which I suggest texting; its skateboarding for the thumbs!

Written by Chamonix Martin, as seen in the Herald-Press 

Last Sunday, the 19th of April, Wells County Mentoring had their Mentor Bowling activity. The hour long, fun filled bowling session took place at JW’s Bar and Lanes from 1-2 p.m. While not as many as in the past attended, the group who came had a blast! 

Not too many people know how to react when their in an uncomfortable setting, and find themselves wishing they knew how to turn it all around. I’ve never been too good at filling in those awkward situations, and all my past attempts have usually resulted in endless rambling. Those good intended words of mine though, never seem to have the right effect. The other day however, I found the perfect way to make those sticky situations one that you can wipe right up with even the cheapest paper towel. The secret, is laughter. When in doubt crack a joke, pretend to fall off a chair(health permitting), or ironically state the obvious, such as, “Geeze, this isn’t awkward at all…”. Things such as these seem to make the most uncomfortable situations quite cozy. The reason I’m telling you all this, is an interesting story indeed. You see, I can’t stand it when people cry. Babies in the mall, the klutz in my gym class, or the girl on those sappy romance movies. When I see someone crying, its like a magnetic pole,I can’t help but to stop the flow. An example, and reason for this whole editorial, is last weekend. A friend and I were waiting to be seated at a restaurant, and our hostess was undeniably upset. She was trying quite hard to hide her emotions, but I’m a girl so its just an intuitional thing that I noticed. Also being a girl, I know what happens when you’re wearing mascara and your eyes get runny. So, being the softy that I am, I felt the need to ask her if she was okay, and then inform her that if she didn’t smile, people weren’t going to want to eat there. At that time, a woman and her friends came in, and we’re acting quite…impertinent. I quietly suggested in a humorous way to the hostess that she should act as the women who entered were. This got a pretty massive giggle out of her, before someone else come to taker her shift. Now, I’m not too sure how my friend feels about me randomly making the crying hostess laugh, considering the fact that I had no idea who she was, but I feel pretty fantastic about it. That day, not only did I learn what to do in an incommodious situation, but I also helped to make someone else’s day better, which an awesome result coming from the ordeal at hand.

Written by Chamonix Martin, as seen in Herald-Press 

You know that saying the glass is always half full? Well, my glass is almost always that way, but this weather we’re getting isn’t really helping my liquid situation. With all of the erratic weather going on in Fargo,Bismarck,and the rest of the state, its really not inconceivable that we’re getting some of this too. With it being the first week of April, all I want to do is break out my flip flops and throw my heavy jacket in the back of my closet. If I were to do this though, two things would happen. First I would probably get a really bad cold, resulting in a puffy red nose, and then my parents would have to enforce some dress codes which would be no fun at all. Don’t get me wrong, I’m really not trying to complain about the temper tantrum that Mother Nature is casting upon us. In our quaint little town we sure do have it better then those in the cities, but I really think that she should knock this stuff off. Back in February, she went and told that groundhog to see his shadow and predict six more weeks of bitter cold. I don’t think that she has very good math skills though, because if my spur of the moment calculations are correct, those six weeks were over just about a week ago. In a little over a month or so, school will be out summer will be in full swing. However I don’t know if the weather is going to get the memo in time. On the news tonight, there was a report on the Minot baseball team and their coach said that if the fields don’t melt and dry soon, there won’t be much of a season. Then, the weather man came on, and said the high of the week is supposed to be 41 degrees(not ideal for flip flops). In the coming months, Peter Granlund and I will be heading to Fargo for 6 weeks of Governor’s School, and the officials there don’t even know if campus will be fully functioning by then. Between all of the snow, wind, and who-would-have-thought-flooding, its no surprise that the President deemed us in a state of emergency. There have been countless reports on all of the volunteer efforts being made, and the National Guard is on call full force now too. With all of the attempts to “stop the madness” we all can only try to see the bright side, such as the fact that there have been no deaths caused by this catastrophe, and look forward to a few months from now, when this will all be over.

Written By Chamonix Martin, as seen in the Herald-Press 

Last week I changed my hair color, this morning I changed my changed my clothes, and yesterday I changed what pen I was using. I am a person who loves change. In any way, shape, or form, I’m all for it. When the school year starts and I have new classes from the year before;I’m ecstatic, when my French teacher changes her mind about giving me an assignment; I’m euphoric. When Wal-Mart changes the store’s layout, I can’t wait to shop because its as if they know just how much I love to frantically search for one stinkin’ item when I knew exactly where it was before they moved it to some ridiculous place. I get bored pretty fast when things constantly stay the same, so I often feel the need to spice things up a bit. I already told you about those flavorful habits of hair and clothes, but what you don’t know is what kind of change I couldn’t live without ; the musical kind. That’s right, I just love the kind of change that jingles in my pockets, makes great birthday presents for a four year old, and falls onto the sidewalk heads up. I live for the sight of it making the pocket on the side of my wallet bulge, and hearing it drop onto a store’s counter. I’ve come to find though, that some people don’t like that sound. Especially the ladies at American Eagle, when you count out and drop 75 shiny pennies on the counter and give ‘em a big smile. Before they even ask, yes, I do know that it would have been easier to give them a one and then get change back, but what fun would that be? When I see a homeless person in a big city, I’m over the top when it comes to tossing them a coin or two, and you can guess how glad I am when the Salvation Army comes around at Christmas time. I’m sure by now you’re all holding your breath, waiting for my moral point of the week, and this time I’m telling you to exhale because it’s not coming. Sort of. This week really ties into last week, when I said its the small things that make a big difference. This up coming week, I think we all should take the time to stop and appreciate the small things. Like Wal-Mart’s candy for only 10 cents, the miracle of hair dye, and easy to please four year olds.

Written by Chamonix Martin, as seen in the Herald-Press 

Have you ever had a single person in your life who no matter what, encourages and supports you? Well in my life and the lives of seven other people, we have three main groups of people who do this for us. First off, as we are the Anamoose-Drake Speech team, the person who gets us going the most, is our coach, Corinne Engen. She is the one who single handedly gets us on and off of buses, to practice our speeches, and lets us know that no matter how we did, we’re still awesome. The thing about Mrs.Engen that I think amazes our whole team though, is how after the long,loud, and sometimes smelly bus rides, she still manages to keep a smile on her face and encouraging words on the tip of her tongue. With our small school, and active student body, our coach always makes the time to get everyone ready for a meet and to see that we are always giving 100%. The second person who is always a constant in our speech giving lives, is our English teacher, Mrs.Meckle. Our literacy, our open minded perspectives, and senses of humor are all influenced greatly by her. If our speeches need some deeper insight, if we need to know if we’re being too  controversial, or if we just need someone to laugh at what we wrote, she’s there too. Last, but really always first, comes our parents. They are the people who let us join the team, who give us money when we’re too cheap to use our own, and who call us at the most inconvenient times,such as when we’re in the bathroom,wasting their money on sugary goodness, or interacting with our fellow speechers’. Now I’m sure that this whole thing really just seems like some over kill bragging on my educators and maternal supporters behalf but really its not. Its just a way of me saying that sometimes it’s the most common, everyday people who effect you most in life. From the mailman who delivers on the iciest winter days, the janitor who mops up the coffee you spill in front of your locker, or the speech coach who motivates you until the days end.

Written by Chamonix Martin, as seen in the Herald-Press 

Sometimes, I don’t know what to write about. Each week I try my hardest to come up with a topic that I think will grab the reader and keep them going until the very last period, and today…I’m lacking a subject.  Often times, I know exactly what I want to write about for the week, and I spend a few days mulling over how I want to present my choice, and then sit down for about an hour and write it. Other days, I wait until last minute and hope that I’ll stumble across something that gets my attention. Today, there are tons of things I could write about. I could give my view on how I feel President Obama is doing, but I think that there are already enough opinions going around about him at this time, with out my two cents being put in. I could talk extensively about a major event in the news this week, or I could even write about how much I just loved my spell check when I couldn’t figure out if extensively goes el, or le.  Why, I could even whip up a little tid bit about the revelation I discovered when I made my bed for the first time in about 4 months! ( I found that when my bed is made, my room seems cleaner, thus appearing larger, and isn’t that just the most exciting thing?). I would love to inform you all on the bravery of the youngest member of my speech team when she did Story Telling for the first time, but I’m sure she would shrug it off with a humble smile and silent grace. I’m sure that I could rant and rave for a paragraph or two about how much I detest this whole “Day Light Savings” ordeal, but who really wants to read about a sixteen year olds complaint of less sleeping time?  A fantastic thing that I could write about is my next door neighbor’s home made olive loaf bread which practically saved me from near starvation the other night, but I think that would just amount to a bunch of synonyms for the word hungry.  All of these topics would make a fantastic editorial for the week, and I believe that they all would prove to be quite entertaining. The thing is though, I’m just not really “feeling” any of them. I could sit here for the rest of the night, and I don’t think I could come up with a single topic that I can throw myself wholly into. Actually, I’ve been sitting here for about an hour as of now, and I’ve come to realize that I’ve reached a pretty lengthy amount of writing, which is surprising when you consider the context of this editorial. So, until next week when maybe, just maybe I’ll have something to write about.

Written by Chamonix Martin, as seen in the Herald-Press 

This time of the school year, is my favorite time of the school year. Even with all the snow,freezing weather, and new cows that never stop mooing, nothing can ever seem to get me down during the first few months of the second semester. Many of you are probably wondering why I’m so chipper during this albatross of a winter season, and thats because right now I’m on a full fledge over dose of a whole other season; speech season. Even with the 6 a.m bus rides to meets, the sometimes loud and smelly teammates, and the occasional loss of words while in mid rant, speech is always my favorite thing. If you’ve ever been around me for more then three minutes, you already know why I excel at this activity, and if not, I encourage you to strike up a conversation with me because I guarantee you that you’ll understand within moments. In speech I present a Speech to Entertain. With doing this, I give an entertaining speech that has to tie in to a serious point. Last year I did a speech entitled Memoirs of a Midget ( I was barely 5 ft last year) where I  discussed some of the pros and cons of my size, while making it clear that people shouldn’t be judged on their differences. This year I’m doing the same kind of speech, but with a whole new topic. I picked this event in speech because I enjoy humorous things and I have some strong moral beliefs that I love to share with others. I’m allowed just over six minutes when I’m giving my speech, and all during the first part of the year, those six minutes are what I live for. I walk up there, wait until the judge is ready, and then it’s my time to shine. Personally I’ll embrace anything that allows me to talk for six minutes, because those are my few minutes to say, ” this is my speech, your my audience, I’m going to talk, and you’re going to like it!”. The best part is, even if they don’t like it, I still get to waste their time with theatrical movements and well thought out puns. The whole point of speech is to show your literacy abilities at meets, where you do your best and hopefully make it to finals,and then place in your final. From there, you have the chance of making it into the State Speech Meet, where the best of the best in each event show their stuff. This year my goal is to make it to, and place at State. Some may say that this may be a high expectation, but like I said, if you’ve ever talked to me, you probably know why this is a reasonable goal for me. While I’m lost in my parallel world of continuous talking in order to get me through these last few months of harsh weather, I can only hope that you too can find something to tide you over. If by chance though you can’t come up with an activity that you think will get to jump out of bed and embrace each day, ask me and I’m sure I can talk you into doing something.

Written by Chamonix Martin, as seen in the Herald-Press