Sad emoji.

When people are sad, we all have our different things we do. We eat ice cream to get over a boy, we listen to sad songs because the people singing them know how we feel, we isolate ourselves because we already feel alone. I have a playlist of sad songs that always make me cry. Why? Because I was moping after a breakup when I made it. There is a time to grieve, but do not forget that there is also a time to be happy. 

Do not allow yourself to grieve for too long. It's unhealthy. Ice cream will make you fat, sitting alone does not make things better, and there are more people than the artists who sing sad songs who know what you may be going through. Life goes on, so why let it keep going on without you while you are stuck in this perpetual sorrow for whatever it is that happened to you. Phone a friend, put on a happy playlist, force yourself to use the smiley face emoji, just start laughing. Yes, things can make you sad, but life is better when you choose to be happy. Ultimately, it is a decision you have to make for yourself. Maybe some of you fine-feathers friends are lucky enough to have friends that will snap you out of it, so you will not have to make that choice. Keep those people around, and be that friend to others. Looking back at low moments that I have had in high school, I appreciate them. No, they were definitely not fun at the time, too many tears were shed and I did waste too much time dwelling on things, but they made me appreciate the good times so much more. Expect that your high school career will consist of both high points and low points, it would be a pretty boring dollar coaster without them.

JSL

Sharks.

Sometimes, high school feels like you are floating in an ocean just waiting to see where you end up. Often times, you feel as if you need a life-preserver, yet there is open water all around, and you must find the strength you did not have to keep yourself afloat. You might think that the longer you are exposed to this new terrain, the better you get at it. However, this is not the case because high school has new challenges hidden behind every wave.

Treading water is exhausting. Above everything else, not being able to take a break is one of the hardest things about it. Life preservers do come, every once in a while, falling off of ships labeled "snow days" or "summer break". Life preservers only last so long, never long enough as it always seems, but you should be grateful for them. They help you float but what they cannot protect you from, is the vast, unknown, immensity that lies underneath you. 

Sharks for instance. Just as deadly by itself as it is when followed by others. They feed not only on your fear, but also your tears, your feelings of hopelessness, and your struggling to keep afloat. These sharks are very intimidating. They are good at being what they are, sharks. They have to be, in order for them to maintain their control in the sea. They are able to get inside your mind, making you question every single move you make. Terrifying you into believing that any move you make might be the last, forcing you to be still while they circle you. In the moment, sharks seem as if they will never go away. However, as crazy as this sounds, they do get bored and move on. The best shark repellent that I have found so far comes in a can labeled "just start laughing", in case you ever feel as if you are the shark bait this week.

JSL

Wolves.

The advice from every senior to the freshmen. Three years ago, when I was a bright-eyed freshmen, I ate up every word the seniors would say. They had been here in this school for four years, they had to know what they were talking about. Right? So I listened. I did my homework, I never questioned superiority, and I got involved.

With everything.

The administration gladly supported their advice. Every year they preach the same words of wisdom to the freshmen, "Get involved!" 

"Clubs, sports, music, drama, speech, THAT'S A DO!"

"And let us not forget to stress the importance of how fantastic it is to take as many AP classes as you can," the administrators thought to themselves. 

Then there was me, sitting there, watching the announcements, thinking this was the place where I could do everything. Kennedy had managed to make the impossible, possible. 

Off I went, joint show choir and band and then diving and then one acts and then speech and then track and I took an AP class and I joined student government. Sleep was for the weak. I was expected to do everything, so I did. Freshmen year went by and at times it was hard, but I survived. Sophomore year I took a more rigorous course and school itself got harder, as was expected, but everyone else was sleep deprived and struggling, it was normal. Right? Junior year came, the most important year they say, and along came two jobs on top of my schedule. 

That was the tipping point. 

When the time comes and you grow old and wise and become a senior, give meaningful advice. If you tell students to get involved, list the consequences. Do not just throw them to the wolves. The stress, anxiety, and sleep deprivation, claws and bites just as wolves would. Remind them that the best weapons they have against wolves are organization and responsibility, and maybe they will survive with less scars than we came out with. 

JSL

Decisions.

You are in high school now. You are almost legally an adult. You have a couple of years left living at home. You still have to ask to use the restroom. You might be scared. You should be. 

All we have been taught throughout high school is to obey. Whether it is the teachers who tell you what to study, how to do math problems or how to behave, to your peers who ultimately decide what decisions you make socially. When are we supposed to learn how to think for ourselves? Our parents are doing their job when they tell us what to do, but sometimes when we attempt to make a decisions and they are the wrong ones, we face the consequences. We get shunned at school for doing something everyone else does not approve of. We get yelled at for speaking our mind in class by the teacher. Rather than being open-minded and optimistic, we become robots controlled by those who surround us, giving them the authority to determine our decisions. Whenever we make a choice of our own, we cower and just wait for it to explode. However, out of all of this, we are supposed to become free thinkers of our own. You think you are going to decide what college you want to go to? Think again. Oh wait, we cannot do that by ourselves yet, let me raise my hand first.

JSL

Leadership.

In presidential elections, candidates run on a platform of change. As my government teacher always says,"No one will vote for someone, if their platform is that they are gonna run the country just like the last guy did." Their logos revolve all around the ideas of 'reform' and 'change' because that is what people want to do when they are put in charge. When one is given a leadership role their goal is to make things better than they were. If they only want the position for the title, they will not be a well liked leader because change is what people expect.

Because we live in a democratic society, people usually elect their leaders. There are also plenty of situations where people with leadership qualities rise to the top because of the situations they are presented with need someone to take charge. However, these individuals have less stress placed on them from others, because no one elected them, but they may place expectations on themselves.

As someone who has recently been elected to be in a leadership role, I can tell you it is extremely honoring and humbling, It was also very nerve-racking, because I have recently been struggling with balancing all of the things on my schedule I have this year, how will I be able to manage a whole team next year? I am no president, but there were so many things that came to my mind revolving around change and what I myself could do to better the team. How could I pass up this opportunity? I see myself as a rather out going and personable person and I want people to remember me for that, so what better opportunity to do that than accept my elected position as a captain of the Swimming and Diving team at Kennedy High School.

My name is Jayden Lovell and I approve this message.

Worth.

There is a price for everything, every good you buy has a price to keep the economy flowing, it's logical, it makes sense. However, when someone says something is "worth it" we stop thinking of prices in money and start to think of them in consequences, or the results of the decisions you make. By telling someone who they are "worth it" you are telling the person that whatever happens to them as a result of being with them, being their friend, doing anything with them means more to them than any consequence that may happen. I believe that people do not know how powerful these words are.
There are many words and phrases that are used now that have lost all meaning to the people who are saying them, and unfortunately, some of us do not realize when people do not mean it. I high school, there are many people who say things without meaning it, but there are also many who are deceived by the untrue words of others. What bothers me the most though, is that when the ones who believed the words of others find out that they were lies, the state of that person is the compromised. They stop trusting people, and begin to question everything. The statement "worth it" in my opinion is the worst of all things someone could lie about because you make the person you said it to doubt that they ever were really worth it.
I cannot caution high school students enough about how many things people will say to them that they do not mean. Even though going through high school questioning everything is not the ideal scenario, I am telling you now it is a lot better than how you would feel after finding out someone who you have trusted as just been lying to you, or they changed their mind about you. As you roam the halls of your high school, creating acquaintances and hopefully some good friends, please be cautious of what you say to others. Understand that things happen and feelings change so do not promise someone something unless you are positively certain you mean it and nothing will change your opinion. Say what you mean and mean what you say. In other words, think before you speak. Words are worth thinking about before you say them. This situation will happen to you, it happens to a lot of people because there are a whole lot of people who are just fantastic people, but just start laughing and get over it. Ones who lie to you are never worth your time.
JSL

Passion.

Passion is something that is described as "strong and barely controllable" when I searched it on Google. We all have it for something, teachers have it for teaching, athletes for their sport, musicians for the feeling they get when they listen to music. All of these things are very important to the ones who have a passion for it, and that is important. People now-a-days disregard the fact that whatever they say in a derogatory manner could be overheard by someone who feels strongly about the subject. 

The worst thing someone could do is make someone feel uncomfortable about what they feel about something. To make someone feel insecure about their passion, is something that should make one stand back and reevaluate themselves, but no one ever does. So in high school, where you are surrounded by people who do not care about what they say and how it could affect others, be the one person who is constantly checking themselves. If you are that person, you will be the flower poking through the sidewalk as other students walk with their head down.

This may sound like something that would be posted on tumbler or twitter, and it probably has been. Regardless of what the person is talking about, it is marvelous to hear someone talk about something they love and are passionate about. They forget that commas exist and never stop to take a breath because they just have so much to tell you about whatever it is that they are interested in. It can not help but make you smile when someone lights up to tell you about something. If you have the chance to be the person someone seeks out to share something with, do not hesitate to listen intently. It is a humbling feeling when someone waits all day just for the chance to talk to you about something because they know that they will be able to be open and honest with you. It makes you feel like such and important person, and brightens your cloudy days. So remember, do not just laugh at someone's passion because the last thing you want to do is make someone feel bad about themselves. But if someone has a passion for comedy, then you can just start laughing.
JSL