Maxie Eller, Newspaper Editor-In-Chief

Chaos. It’s the only word that I can use to describe the NFL’s Sunday Night Football. That’s saying something considering that my entire job here is to write using exciting words. Everything about it is chaotic. The screaming fans, the players charging straight at each other on the field, the watch parties, and even the sports analysts. All for one over-glorified game of catch. It’s ridiculous. The NFL is completely overrated and it’s time someone said something about it. According to Forbes, “the 2020 regular season averaged 15.4 million viewers” per game. 15.4 million. That’s more than the population of some countries. The entire country of Greece would have to watch football every Friday and still not have as many people watching as we do in the United States. At this point, it’s an obsession that is entirely unhealthy both physically, economically, and emotionally. MarketWatch estimates that the average fan spends somewhere between 2,500 and 3,500 dollars per...

Mac Fleming IV, Writer

Politics are in every facet of our lives, whether we like it or not, either consciously or subconsciously influencing the world around us. Politics affects many aspects of our society even when there is no direct correlation. What we’re taught, what we learn, why do we learn it? These things directly affect how we feel about things and how we view the world. It influences and can even change the way we think. Art is nothing more than our thoughts and feelings put into the creative medium of our choice to reflect our own reality in some facet. Art is just our mind channeling what we know and what we feel into another space for a different interpretation, which is why art and pieces of art can mean many different things to many different people. It reflects what you have lived and why you lived that way. Art has always been a reflection of the artist's reality, even ancient cave paintings can tell us that much. Unlike those cave paintings, modern lives are not only infinitely complicated...

Lily Johnson, Writer

Obviously, anxiety has increased in all of us during the pandemic. Isolation, limited things to do, and virtual adaptations to work have stressed us out. I take medication for anxiety, and I’ll admit that I had to go up on my dose a couple of times. Mental health is a very important subject that cannot be looked over but often is. It’s serious and too relevant to just push to the side. Mental health issues show physically as well. It has an impact on our bodies. Grief has made a mark on my body during this past year. Most of the time can tell when someone isn’t okay, so you should always help when you do notice it. Many people have lost loved ones due to the virus, and other health issues as well. Suicide and domestic abuse rates have sadly increased during the pandemic. Your friend might need help, and maybe your sibling too. Talk to your mom or dad, because they have feelings too… they may need your help. We all do. So many people have lost loved ones over the past year, but...

Maxie Eller, Newspaper Editor-In-Chief

November 9, 2021

There’s a monster within the walls of Heritage. Well, a Monster energy drink that is. Energy drinks have become increasingly more common as the school year progresses and their popularity has raised some questions about the merit of such drinks and their impact on teens The National Library Medicine noted in a 2018 study that more than 40% of teenagers consumed energy drinks on a regular basis. Energy drinks such as Monster, Red Bull, Bang, and Celsius, among others, are popular among teenagers needing a quick energy boost to make it through the school day.. “I like energy drinks because school is exhausting and it’s a way to keep me awake,” Kylie Maloney (11) said. “Celsius is my favorite because it’s sugar free and is also good for a pre-workout. For me, energy drinks are not about energy most of the time and are more about needing a pick-me-up.” Health experts claim that teenagers can safely consume up to 100 mg of caffeine per day. One can of Bang contains 300...

Maxie Eller and Julia Alley

November 4, 2021

The news cycle refreshes constantly in an endless rotation of stories. In a world where “newsworthiness” is confined to the here and now, some stories are left behind in the constant reporting and updating. Turmoil in Afghanistan, conflict at the US Southern border, the reemergence of COVID-19 and its variants, and even political disputes in Haiti and Guinea, all of these are stories lost in the ever-changing news cycle. Refugees seeking places to stay, families being torn apart, and even people inflicted with life-threatening diseases could find the help that they desperately need if people still knew about them and their trials. “I feel like so many of these stories just disappear and it’s like the world forgets about them and moves on,” Jordan Colvin (12) said. According to ResearchGate, more than 5,000 news articles are published online every day based on their newsworthiness. Stories are considered newsworthy if they are a source of public interest, concern, or...

Landon Pate, Writer

November 2, 2021

Small bands tend to go under the radar to most people who enjoy music and because of this, some are lost in the sea of newcomers. Although this is what can happen, a local band that assistant band director Jack Emery plays in has gained attention and is rising in popularity. “It's always really fun to get up at clubs and play really cool songs that people are actually really into listening to,” Emery said. The lead singer of the band is named Celestial and l’amour is French for love so together the name means “heavenly love”. Their favorite genre of music is rock, but from time to time they like to play pop or punk music. Emery plays as the band’s bassist, carrying out the flow of music so that it’s more stable and fluid. In recent times they have also been on the front page of the Fort Worth Weekly newspaper as a result of their rising fame in the community. “I was roommates with the drummer for two years at TCU,” Emery said, “and then I was in the band for...