College By: Zachary Merold

This month's blog post needed to be about family, and one thing that has recently been on my mind is about my older sister, Zoe, who is going to college in a few months. Personally, I think Zoe will be fine in college, and will probably be able to get into the school she wants to, as she is Top 10 and always gets a pretty high GPA. While I am definitely happy for her, as college is a big step in life and she is going to experience a multitude of new things, I have mixed feelings about this because there is going to be an entire human presence missing from the Merold household almost all the time. Once Zoe heads off for college, our house will just be me, my younger sister (who is a pain), my mom, and my dad (who spends a lot of time at work). If Zoe were to read this, she would probably claim that I won't even realize she is gone considering I spend most of my time on my computer anyway. While the second part of this statement is true, the reason I would miss Zoe is because of all the little things that we do as siblings, like taking the bus home together and having little conversations, or sharing a funny Instagram post that we found with one another. While I am definitely hoping that Zoe has the time of her life at college, I also know that I am definitely going to miss her a lot. Below is one of the  pictures I have of some members of the Merold family going bowling, our family tradition.

My Family by Chloe Maher

As far as families go, I think I have a pretty normal one. There’s me, my mom, dad, and my two little sisters, Hope and Erin and of course our pets. To truly, understand my family I have to go into detail about each person so...

My mom: My mom is a pretty relaxed parent. She has a tendency to go with the flow, and always tells me to do the same. But because of this, she has a tendency to not take anything very seriously. She immigrated to America when she was in elementary school from Mexico. Because of this, she’s bilingual, which I think is super cool. She grew up in Brooklyn and had an abnormal childhood and has some really interesting stories. She has a huge family, and knows someone who lives in practically every state. She’s extremely close with her family, including second and third cousins. I’ll often walk into the kitchen to see her chatting on the phone to some obscure relative in rapid fire spanish.

My dad: Between my parents, my dad is definitely the more level headed of the two. He works really hard to support his family as a businessman, which I’m so thankful for. My dad has amazing music taste and has a really strong appreciation for it. Despite his love for old rock music, he’s recently taken an interest in current bands, like The Wallows. He’s constantly strumming away on his guitar after a long day of work. It’s not a rare sight to see my dad singing and playing along to ‘80s rock music, especially in the morning. Because my dad has such a strong appreciation for music, my house is chock-full of instruments, especially guitars.

My younger sister, Hope: Hope’s three years younger than me and currently in sixth grade. Hope’s an aspiring artist. She’s constantly stealing my clothes, to my complete and total annoyance. But one in a while, I take things ftom her closet too. Just like me, Hope constantly has her nose in a book. It’s so strange to see her in middle school now, I can’t believe she’s growing up so fast. Though she gets on my nerves, I’m glad she’s always there to keep me company.

My youngest sister, Erin: Erin’s in fourth grade and she’s nine years old. She’s the baby of the family and she knows it. Erin’s constantly using this to her advantage to get out of chores. She has an extreme obsession with panera and is constantly begging my parents to take her there. She’s always tagging along with Hope to things and bugging her. Erin really looks up to Hope particularly, copying her every move. The two even dress similar!

My parents rarely, if ever, fight and if they do it’s over something absolutely ridiculous like whether or not they’re going into the city that weekend. Though, my sisters and I are always arguing, usually we get over whatever it is within the hour. All in all, I think we’re pretty happy as a family. I’m extremely grateful for them!

My dog, Phoebe, a super important part of our family

My youngest sister, Erin

The Fox, Panther, Ox, and Otter by Ula Bitinaitis

The Fox, Panther, Ox, and Otter by Ula Bitinaitis

     Looking back on this now, this seems a lot more "edgy" and depressing than I anticipated, but I always romanticize my experiences in creative writing. Seeing other's difficult family lives makes me sad that I couldn't write anything more positive. Sorry in advance!

     My sister is a fox, clever and sharp-witted. She dyes her hair a deep, red russet, and her dark eyes are keen and seeing. She complains about her crooked teeth, but it's something that I and the otter don't mind and have instead come to love. She buries her head in scarves in the cold, and wears knitted clothes that I could find draped on the clothesline of a flower child's house. No matter how many times I write that sentence, it always seems to be mocking, but I love her wardrobe, with bold colors paired with neutral tones, with her outfits always looking put together. Though she's always willing to preserve my safety, the 14 years between us has led to an entirely different connection; we don't talk as frequently as the typical siblings do, and it seems as though we've grown up with entirely different families. When I snap at the panther, the fox is ready to defend, but is never unwilling to hear out both sides of the story with decisive, acute ears. She's been with the rest of my family the longest, and her heart aches with sympathy to see them now, yet I can tell she's more than willful, stubborn, and headstrong when it comes to everything that's changed.
     My mom is a panther, outwardly finicky and subtle, yet holding something down that only a panther can know. She's strong from years of vigorous work, up keeping the fox, the ox, and myself, yet her mind hasn't kept as abreast. When she's angry, her eyes are wild with rage, and it seems as though the panther's contorted face is something I've only come to see. She forgets and hardly forgives, and her words confuse me; how can you wish for the best of someone, yet have your tongue coated with spite and fury, with your fangs relentlessly bared? Though a panther, she's not stocky or fit, rather thin and delicate, with her long age catching up with her. She dyes her hair like the fox's, but her white roots are a reminder of what she has lost. She's confused, and sad, and happy, and bewildered. I've seen her face too often, and I'm always wondering what's behind her smiles.
     My dad is an ox, stubborn and grimly unreachable. Unlike the panther, he's been gifted with a strong, unrelenting body, fantastic health and burly strength; yet it's one of his gifts that he manages takes for granted, as he throws himself into death whenever possible. He has scarred horns and a morphed body and pelt, yet unlike the panther, though he can huff and rear his horns, his eyes still remain the same, taking away any fear that could possibly bloom. It would pain my sister to say that I relate her more to the ox rather than the panther, but the stubbornness they share is adamant and true, and thankfully, in all other aspects, she's completely detached in my eyes from any other relation to him, and we share a mutual spite towards the bull. There's so much to say about the ox, but it would make me feel better if I said the minimum.
     My brother in law is an otter, cheerily friendly and outgoing, and chock-full of wise advice. He's deeply in love with the fox, a constant, blooming happiness that I see between them, and something that I never want to go away. Like her, he's willing to keep me out of danger, and makes my well being known of its importance. Like her, he's witty and smart, and lets me know constantly that my academic achievements are something that I should commend. He's reciprocating and sympathetic, and not just because he's dealt with the similar problems that our family has had, but just because his kindness is unparallel to anyone I've me that's not of my blood. He's hardworking and iron-willed of the things he's believed in, and he puts so much love into me, the fox, the panther and the ox, something that I could never manage to give as endlessly. He, for some wild reason, stubbornly helps me in the minuscule problems I have, and lets us ramble endlessly about life and high school advice, including things that I never expected that I'd need, with the conversations only ending when the car stops at our destination. My family is unique, and though I'm not sure of what to make of the majority of my experiences, I'm happy that some love and protection resides in it.

(Sorry for stealing this picture from your Instagram, Mia)

Grandparents by-Garrett Neuschatz

My own personal family plays a very important role in my life and I think their all great. But this month I'm going to discuss two people that I find incredibly impressive and interesting: My Grandparents (On my fathers side). My grandpa is Joseph Neuschatz other wise known as Fafa. His story begins in Romania, where he was born and lived his early life. His time in Romania came to an unfortunate end with the start of WW2. He was Jewish but luckily his family lived in a wealthier Catholic area which gave them enough time to escape. They boarded a train to Israel, leaving everything behind, in order to start a new life without the risk of persecution. Sadly all of their extended family perished. At sixteen Joseph enlisted in the Israeli Army and had several years of military service before pursuing a career as a doctor. He left his family in Israel and traveled oversees to France in order to obtain his medical license in anesthesiology. This is where he met my Grandmother, Genia Neuschatz, known to us as Gen Gen. Genia's life began in Denmark, where at a young age she too had to flee from the Nazis. Her family moved to England where they began their next chapter. Genia at around age seventeen took a school trip to France. This is where she met Joseph, they fell in love, got married and decided to live in France together. They resided there for several years and had their first child. However to Genia's dismay they moved to the U.S. because of a work opportunity. They settled in Rhode Island where they would finally stop moving (Still being a semi-French man, Joseph would still eat a whole slab of brie cheese every morning for breakfast and still does). They had two more children, their youngest being my father. Joseph had a successful career as a doctor and Genia opened a flourishing art studio. Now both retired they are still happily living out a healthy and independent life. Genia still makes art as a past time and we have several of her wonderful pieces throughout our house. Joseph has taken up a knack for writing and has authored serval books about his experience in the medical field (And one short story about going bald). Over the course of their lifetime both became fluent in several languages during their travels. Joseph can speak five languages, English, Romanian, Yiddish, Hebrew and French. While Genia can speak three English, Dutch and French (Often times they can be heard squabbling back and forth in French which is they're preferred language). This is completely remarkable considering its impressive just to speak two languages alone. Overall I find my grandparents very inspiring because of their perseverance, ability to adapt and just the fact that their great people. Their the core of our family and at the end of the day I simply wouldn't be alive without them.

Here are a few of her paintings-

The start of a family- Kyle Sutton

The Birth of a Family- Kyle Sutton

I come from a family of immigrants, now I'm not going to romanticize any traumatic journey they had in their homeland, or som e struggle to get here, both my parents are from Canada. My mother and father met in a bar in Lower Sackville called the pub. Believe it or not, my dad slid in with a devilishly smooth pick up line, "I don't make six digits I'm not going to lie, but I would love to have your seven." DISCLAIMER: In Canada you don't need area codes because there aren't as many people. Even though this was clever it flew directly over my moms head. She responded, "I'm not a millionaire."
"No, haha, my name is Jeff, I was asking for your phone number."
"Oh, haha, well, I'd right it down for you if you had a pen."
This was the birthplace of my dad's ritual favorite pen, he had one in his pocket to give her so she could right her digits on his hand. Now he always carries one around and refuses any pen he is offered by anyone. Cute? Maybe at first glance until he continues over and over to point out he doesn't need the waitresses pen. He doesn't want it. He has is own.
The two talked together for hours that night. The topics of conversation is a hot dispute. My dad said he asked her a bunch of questions and that lead to him realizing that he played baseball against my mom's brother, also named Jeff. My mom doesn't remember, but she is certain that it wasn't about that. This lead to two traditions. One, my mom's classic, "I don't know what is right. But I know you are wrong." Second, the two Jeff conundrum. At all family gatherings there would now be two closely related. This was solved simply by my new Aunt Anita, calling Jeff Sutton (my dad) "Big Jeff," and Jeff Murphy, (my uncle) "Jeff."
My dad eventually was taken to meet my mom's parents. Him and his sly story telling ability and charisma (which was passed down to me, if I do say so myself) was able to sweep my now late grandmother off her feet. This was enough to get their blessing and accept him into the family. Although I theorize that this was an executive decision made by Nana, and my Grandfather, wasn't to happy about it. This lead to another tradition, the power struggle between my dad and grandpa.
My parents dated throughout college, my dad went to school in the states, my mom in Canada. This lead to both of them migrating often to keep the relationship alive. My mom had decided to call it and pack it in with her college experience. However my dad continued to pursue his education. My dad bounced around schools in New Jersey for 8 years until he got his MBA. He then had a job opportunity and moved to Miami. My parents lived in Miami, despite hearing the story several times it is still fuzzy. Before they were married they lived together all over the place, Miami, Toronto, Halifax again (where they got married) and finally settled back down into Morristown, New Jersey. This lead to the tradition of the always changing story of what exactly my parents did before I was born. The timeline is also fuzzy.
I was born when my mom was 31 and my dad was 33. I don't know their age when they met, or how far along they were in college, but I know they met before either went to college, but in a bar, so they must have both been over 19. My dad then did 8 years of college which would make him 29 when he was done. This leaves 4 years of them moving to four different places and making the decision to have their best tradition so far, ya boi, me.
While the story is questionable in a few places, it still ended in an undeniably happy ending, a beautiful family of a big strong man, a beautiful wife, and a darling young boy... until December 3, 2006. The birth of my baby sister, Katie. Then all hell broke lose.

My Family's Pets Through the Years by Veronika Waltner

     Throughout the years of my life my family has contained many pets. This is especially so because my parents got divorced when I was very young. This meant that I had two sets of pets in my family from a very early age, one that belonged to my mom and one that belonged to my dad.

Nico and Precious

     I've decided to group these two together since I don't have many memories of either of them since they passed even before my parents split . Nico was an older seal pointed Siamese cat that came with my dad from a farm in Turkey, and Precious was a black Persian cat found by my mom outside her work with matted fur that she ended up keeping. All I remember of them is that instead of meowing Nico made a "Nip" noise that was very cute, and that Precious meowed a lot and licked me once. I also apparently went with my mom when we had to put down Precious. Overall the very few memories I have of Nico and Precious are positive though.

Heide and Copper

     I also have chose to group together Heide and Copper because they are from the same time period as Nico and Precious. These two were dogs, Heide a purebred German Shepherd and Copper a German Shepherd mix. They had Copper first and got him from a police station that found him and were holding him in case they found his owner, the owner didn't end up showing up and the police station couldn't keep him (and didn't want to send him to a shelter since he was an adult dog) so he ended up with my parents. Heide was a puppy that they adopted after Copper that ended up extremely loyal to my mom. Heide was extremely obedient with my mom however she did not listen to my dad, this is because German Shepherds tend to pick a person and she picked my mom. Copper picked my dad but was much more obedient with my mom than Heide was my dad. Amusingly enough, rather than either of my parents being my first word, Copper was my first word. Of course as a baby I couldn't pronounce his name correctly, but it was definitely what I was saying since I said it whenever he would be near me. Least to say when these two passed I was very upset and we couldn't stay without pets for long.

Banjo

Banjo

The next pet we got was Banjo, who is still alive to this day. He is an English Shorthair Pointer who is 11 as of writing this. As expected of the breed he is very energetic and needs a lot of exercise. We got him while my parents were still together but they didn't split up long after getting him and he went with my dad when they did. I have distinct memories of my dad picking him up and flying him around like an airplane. Unfortunately he ended up with epilepsy and because of it has seizures at random. Despite this he is still dear to our family. Soon after Banjo we got Shylah but, they didn't get very close because they were separated so young.

Shylah and child me

Shylah

As previously stated we got Shylah soon after Banjo and it was not long after we got her that my parents separated. She went with my mom and was with me the majority time while I grew up. Sadly Shylah passed away not so long ago. She was a German Shepherd mix but despite this was of very little brain. Shylah was extremely affectionate and as a child I treated her practically like a sister. Least to say I was heartbroken when she passed, especially since it was extremely unexpected. She had cancer in her veins, including her heart. This kind of cancer is very untraceable until it is too late and she died at the young age of 9. You may have noticed that I did not specify any memories of her, this is because despite it being over a year since she has passed I am still very upset by her passing.

Sparkles

     Sparkles Pipsqueak was another pet that was gotten on the very edge of the time before the divorce. He was a hamster that I felt the need, as a 6 year old, to give the most ridiculous name. Because he was a hamster he didn't have much of a personality but was a weirdly good escape artist. Many a time he got out of his cage and we had to go through many before we found one that was mostly safe. At one point he broke out in winter and my mom had to go into the crawlspace and lure him out with apple slices. Despite him being Houdini in hamster form there is not much to say about him.

Shoeshine

     Shoeshine was a Guinea Pig and the first pet that I had gotten at my dad's house after the split. He was named after Underdog's terrible dog name because as a child I loved that movie. Not much to say on him either since I only saw him on Wednesdays and every other weekend. I do have the distinct memory of pushing him around in a Barbie car and the many night he kept me up with his squealing.

Stella on my shoulder

Stella

    Stella was the first in a line of many rats that I've had. She was a cream colored rat that I got because for some reason as I child I had the desire for a pet rat. Even though now I know what amazing pets rats can be, I do not know what originally got the idea in my head to get one. Just to be clear pet store rats are entirely sanitary and have been raised their entire lives in captivity. The point was that I desperately wanted one and was thrilled to have her. She ended up being one of the best pets I've had, she was very kind and I could have her sit on my shoulder for hours. Although this might seem gross to those who haven't had a rat before, I was incredibly endeared to the way she would kiss(lick) me. After having her for a while I wanted another rat very badly since I loved her so much.

Starburst

     Following up Stella and Shoeshine is Starburst. After Shoeshine passed I wanted another pet at my dads house and ended up with the green and yellow parakeet, Starburst. I am unsure as to why I named him this because there are no green starburst candies(and I know that he was named after the candy). Ignoring this I was very attached to Starburst and mourned his death much longer than one would expect for a parakeet. Especially so when you considered that I had long ago accepted that small pets don't live as long with Sparkles. The only memory that I have in particular pertaining to him is of me crying in class soon after he died because we were watching an American Doll movie with a llama named Starburst.

Luna

Luna trying to explore

     As previously stated I really wanted another rat to be friends with Stella and my wish was granted Christmas morning. I woke up to find a little black rat named Luna with a note saying that she needed a home and that I wanted a rat so our needs matched up perfectly. It went on explaining that she had been beaten up before we got her and that we needed to make sure to give her the medicine Santa provided to make her feel better. The reason she was injured was because she had been a feeder rat that was being beaten up by the other feeder rats. My mom went to a pet store and the separated the most social ones and my mom couldn't bear to leave her (she made the pet store workers give her medicine). Luna was extremely afraid of Stella at first since, as previously stated, she had gotten so beaten up by the other rats. Luckily, Stella was nothing but kind to her and after being sick of her being afraid held her down and licked her until she understood that Stella was not harmful. After that she became much more adventurous and crazy. My mom and I called her Lunatic because of this. She ended up being my favorite out of all the rats, even though I loved them all

Amber(left) and Aura(right)

Cirrus(grey) and Aura(black and white) sleeping

Amber, Aura and Cirrus

      After Stella died Luna got very lonely so we ended up getting another rat, Amber. She was champagne colored and a lot more ill-tempered than Stella. She bit us frequently and was not as cuddly as the other rats. After Luna passed we more careful in getting a more social rate. This got us Aura Blase who was a rat with large black spots and a blaze of white on her forehead. She like all properly socialized rats was very sweet and, despite how Amber acted with us, got along well with Amber. After Amber passed we got our finally rat Cirrus, who was a bit more antisocial with us than Aura but not mean like Amber. After Aura passed we felt bad for Cirrus since she was so lonely but we were done with having rats due to another new member of our family.

Koko

Wasabi

Wasabi and Koko

     This member was Wasabi, a cockatiel with the usual yellow and grey coloring. The way we received him was complex, but it breaks down to me seeing a cockatiel out my window, we failing to catch it, and trying to see if anyone else found it making us find Wasabi. At the time we though we could try and re-socialize him, now we know that was not an option. However, we did not see this through failing to do so but rather by the experience we gained with the bird we got after Wasabi passed. He did not live long in our family and we believed that the cause of his death was the stress of living in the wild before we got him. Since we had only had him for a short period of time, we hadn't gotten good use out of the supplies we bought leading us to getting a new bird. This bird is Koko, who is also a cockatiel but an albino one from a pet store. Least to say he is much more social that Wasabi was and much more talkative too. He is still a part of our family today and often does cute things like calling everything he likes a "pretty boy."

Bo

Bo sleeping

Back on my dad's side of the family we got another dog after moving house. This dog is Bo, a huge white German Short-haired Pointer with dark brown spots. He is a huge mush that love to snuggle into you. Despite being such a sweetheart he is not so well behaved, often eating food off of the counter. Even so I love him very much and have issues getting too mad at him for doing so. Like Banjo he has a lot of energy to spend but luckily can do so with Banjo. This way they can wear each other out.

Psyche and Odin

A rare peaceful moment with Psyche(bottom) and Odin(top)

Finally the most recent pets that I have gotten are Psyche and Odin. Psyche is a stubborn yet delicate Husky mix and Odin is a mischievously loyal German Shepherd mix. I know it's a cliche to say that you cannot pick a favorite out of your children but cannot honestly tell you which of them I love more. They both have their charms, Psyche is basically an anime Tsundere in dog form and Odin is always trying to please you but still is a puppy at heart. Either way I love them both as vital parts of my family.

A total of 19 pets have found their way in my family and, even if I was not incredibly attached to some, they have have been important in shaping me into being who I am today. Just like any other family member I could not imagine my life without any of my pets and feel truly blessed to have them. I know that none of them are reading this, because, you know, their animals, but if they could I would tell them that I love them and that they are a most vital part of my family.

My Sister

by Liam Rust

This is not a picture of my sister, but this is what she sent when I asked for one.
(It's a character from Twisted, in case you're wondering)

Having a sister is great. In lots of media, they tend to depict them as mean or annoying. From my personal experience with an older sister, though, despite the occasional fights, it's nothing like that. She shaped me into the person I am today. We bonded with each other throughout childhood. Here are just a few examples of this:

When I was young, my sister and I used to watch videos on YouTube (Just a side note, remember old YouTube? It was a great time). Anyways, she found a channel that did Lets Plays, which were basically playthroughs of games with commentary. She introduced me to them, and I started watching them. This would start my path to who I am today, as this introduced me to video games, and would later lead me to my interest in technology in general. This is just one of the many times that she practically changed my course in life.

We also had a lot of fun. We messed around with the Photo Booth application on our family Mac, and made little video sketches and funny photos. As we grew up, we also introduced each other to new things. I showed her video games I played, and she showed me music she was listening to and shows she was watching. Yes, we had our fights (especially if we got too competitive when playing games), but we became really close.

Nowadays, though we are a lot older, it's a very similar situation. Recently, when she's been home from college, she's been showing me musicals (such as The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals and Twisted, would recommend), and we've been playing games like Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. When she's not home, we send each other memes and voice chat.

I don't know how my life would be without my sister. It would definitely be worse. No one to talk with when no one else would understand. No one to play games with when your friends are busy. No one to help you along the path of childhood. She was, and still is, an essential part of my life.

The Evolution of Rainbowheart By: Mikayla Flanz

If I am going to write a blogpost about family, I feel like siblings need to be addressed. Sisters to be more specific. They steal your clothes, mock how you look, but 5 minutes later you have to make up so together you can discuss whatever random scenario you would never be able to talk about with any of your friends. Because you’ll never have the same connection with anyone else. Yet of course we all fight with our siblings, I with my sister more than anyone else, but that fight is going to go to a whole new level considering this blog post is about her. It’s time the Internet was introduced to Rainbowheart aka Olivia Flanz.

Born the third of October, 2004, my biggest pain and partner in crime emerged to this Earth. She might be two years younger than me, but that did not stop unfair genetic distribution from making her four inches taller than me. Even though she has that on me, she dug her own grave by making an Instagram for herself in fourth grade... I’m relatively certain most people that got social media at a young age regret a good portion of what they posted, not necessarily because there was anything bad, but because we all hated who we were in middle school. Anyway, Olivia being the absolute sparkle child she was decided to name herself “Rainbowheart”. And thus, an icon was born.

Personally I always though this title was legendary, as did many of my close friends. But our abmeration for her, escalating to a certain point may or may not have drive her over the edge after a few years. (It may have come to the point where we made a fan page for her... just maybe). It was tragic, but she finally changed her username, which then led us to create a hashtag in her honor (#bringbackrainbowheart), alas it did not work.
Now she is just Olivia Flanz, a little boring, but it’ll do I guess. There are so many stories to be told about her (she’s done so many questionable things), like the time she broiled a bar of chocolate, but blog posts can only be so long. For now, let’s hope for my sake that Olivia never finds this blog, but if you do Olivia... please don’t burn my clothes. Please.
Love ya sis, this one’s for you!

Blood Is Thicker Than Water by Maddie DiMarco

Blood is thicker than water

I've always hated that saying. We've all heard it a thousand times, from our teacher, our parents, our books, and our televisions. For as long as I can remember, that phrase pulled at me every time I heard it, rattling around my head until my fists shook. 

It never seemed right. Blood is thicker than water. I hate that pitch they tried to sell me. Your blood is your bond, and a set of shackles. Blood is thicker than water. What you're born as always has and always will override what you have and will do. These people are your wardens and this last name is your cell.

Liars.
All of them. 

I've learned I was tricked. I was hoodwinked and swindled, double crossed, fooled, duped, and deceived. They've been hiding something from us. They took the truth and cut it into their own shape, twisted it until it was as unrecognizable as it was ugly.

The blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb.

...

The blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb.

The original had been hidden, and I was delighted to unearth it. It was like waking up to realize perhaps I'm my own person after all. Shackles clatter to the ground.

Blood is thicker than water?

But the bonds we forge of our own volition are stronger than the bonds forced upon us by birth. I've discovered that family doesn't end in blood, nor does it start there. No one determines my family, the bonds with the people who love and influence me most, other than myself. 

Blood is thicker than water

Why Star Trek Is Responsible For My Family - By Jon Poret

My family is probably one of the nerdiest families you will ever meet. My family is so nerdy that my parent's first date was a Star trek convention. This may sound weird to some of you, but it's true. Both of my parents were (and still are) die hard fans of the Star Trek series, and some of the spin off series's.

Part of the cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation

It all started when my parents were both at Johns Hopkins university, where my mom, who had just come from Denmark to study, met my dad, who offered to show my mom and her friend around. My dad also took a class with my mom, and TA'd in another. They became friends quickly, and a year after that original meeting, went to a star trek convention together, which started their relationship.

Soon after they got married, they had my sister, and 3 years later me, which became my family. Well, after adding a few cats.

My sister and I are also huge nerds. My sister plays the viola, and obsesses over webtoons, mostly unordinary. To be fair, I also obsess over it, but not as badly as her. Okay, maybe i do stay up until midnight on Wednesday nights waiting for it to update. She also obsesses over Attack On Titan and Tokyo Ghoul, keeping up with them while studying some technical sciency muumbo jumbo at MIT.

I, on the other hand, am a different type of nerd. I obsess over rubik's cubes, music, video games, and Simpsons trivia. My nerdy obsession with cubing has led to me even going to speedcubing competitions, although I never made it past the first round.

Overall, my family is pretty nerdy, but nothing takes the cake like a Star Trek convention starting my parent's relationship.

The Swim Family by Miranda Doller

Families come in different shapes and sizes. I have two families that are as different as they can be. The first one includes my mom, my dad, and my dogs. Then I have another family. The family that's been through every stroke and turn with me.  

Ever since I was six, I knew that swimming was the sport for me. I tried gymnastics, soccer, tennis, and even ballet. I never committed to those sports because it never got me as thrilled as swimming did. I quit ballet in the first week because I was pushed to the ground and ran out of the class, crying. But let's not talk about that anymore. 

Swimming always gave me a sense of freedom. Feeling weightless and knowing that I am the one in control of myself in the water is still amazing to this day. The feeling of knowing that I can do more to improve my times, pushes me to try harder because the only thing that's holding me back is me.

Not only is swimming itself the reason I kept doing it, but the people I swam with made me feel like I was meant to be there. My first friend I made at swim practice was Emily Skilton, now a senior at Morristown High School. A longtime swim-mate and friend. Then I met Annie, my best friend to this day. She's a junior at Morristown High School. Then Grace, Olivia, Bridget... The list goes on of the many teammates I have that are a family to me. We go through thick and thin together. We survive the hard practices that Coach Al gives us, we go to a meet and cheer each other on, and stick with each other through tough injuries. 

Although they are my teammates, we have to swim against each other in a lot of races. Unlike other team sports, like soccer, swimming is extremely competitive and sometimes you have to beat one of your teammates. I don't have any siblings, so these girls are the closest people I have to siblings. The good thing is since we're all so encouraging of one another, we're barely envious and are always happy of each other's accomplishments.

The Swim Family:

Annie: She's like my older sibling. She's always there for every swim and makes practice super fun! I've known her for a while now and she means the world to me.
Sydney: Goes to Pope John. She's incredibly sweet and funny. She's a really good backstroker and I'm sad she's a senior this year because we've only gotten closer in the last couple of months.
Kelly: You'll always see Kelly next to Sydney. She always goes to Pope John, alongside Syndey. She's really fun to hang around with and will always make your day.
Olivia: My fellow butterflyer. She's been through all the rough butterfly practices with me and I couldn't ask for a better butterfly buddy. She always swims the 200 Fly with me during practice and we suffer together.
Grace: Extremely competitive swimmer with a great heart. One of the best swimmers in New Jersey. She's an amazing swimmer to watch.
Emily: She's only 14, but she's going to make it really far in her life. She is the fastest 14-year-old in the state and it is amazing to watch her swim. She really makes it look like an effortless sport.
Mark: He is the type of guy that you can't really hate. He's so kind to everyone and is an amazing swimmer. He does tend to throw up during practice sometimes, but that's okay because you just can't seem to hate him.
Bridget: In the locker room, she always talks about her day. She's a joy to be around with and she can never make you feel bad. She really is there for you whenever you need it. She's a senior this year and it's going to be awful seeing her leave in August.
Coach Al: Truly the best coach in the world. He looks out for everyone on the team, not only because he's the coach, but because he really does care about each and every one of us. I've known him since I was 6. Though he yells a lot during practice, we all still love him and I especially count him in the family. He brings us all together through the love and passion of the sport

You've met my swim family and now you see why I love them so much.

Family By: Noah Fischer

A Messy Collection of Random Compliments for My Friends:

Chosen family is just as important, and sometimes more important than blood. I don't know where I would be without my friends. Over the years they've been there for me through everything and I couldn't be more grateful for that. I've been through some tough stuff over the past 2 years and they have not once left me, even when I've treated them like garbage (if any of them are reading this sorry about that). I'm not the best at expressing my emotions so this is definitely very poorly written, but I appreciate my friends more than I would ever be able to put into words and I don't really think I've ever told them that, so sorry but I guess I'm making up for that now. It's incredibly difficult for me, a pessimist, to write about anything in a positive light (without making it so violently sarcastic that it's laughable), but I'm trying my best. Here it is in the simplest way I can put it: my friends are top notch, best a person can get, 11/10 would recommend. I really lucked out in that department, so thanks to them for being some pretty cool guys, and I'm sorry that I call you idiots every day, it's how I show my love. They've been there for me through every midnight rant, talked my down from my worst places and worst of all, they've had to put up with me, and honestly, I don't know how they do it. If I was in their position I would've been out a long time ago, but some of you have stuck around since 5th grade (a simpler time). They're the people that make me actually want to leave my house (a huge compliment if you know me well) and are the main reason I get out of bed in the morning. All jokes aside, I think the root message of this mess of random sentences is that I really love my friends.

That's all I got, and I think it's safe to say that it was hot garbage, peace out girl scouts.

(I have no pictures with them, this is a stock image with an obnoxiously obvious watermark, as per Liam's request )

My Family~ By Julia McEllen

There is no such thing as a normal, standard family. Every family is unique and interesting in some way.
For me, my family is the light of my life. (Just a forewarning- this is going to be a long one)

It starts with my mom, sister, and brother. they are by far the most important people of my life.

(My mom, sister, brother, and I)

My younger brother, Ryan, is the smartest and sweetest person I know. More than half of our time together is spent playing. We are honestly eternal kids at heart. Whenever we find ourselves bored out of our minds, we have a constant need to create a new game- no matter where we are or what time it is. And honestly, because I am an older sister, I do take credit for some of the ways he turns out. And by saying that, I think I did a pretty good job guiding him as an older sibling, with my older sister of course (although it is really my mom who deserves the true credit for being the best mom I know and raising all of us kids literally perfectly). Anyway, to be honest, I actually feel so proud when I look at Ryan. He is probably the kindest, most brilliant teenage boy I have ever met.
My older sister, Madelyn, is so much more than a typical older sister. She is honestly someone I would not be able to stay sane without. Whenever I need to just relax and have a movie night or take a drive and blast some music, she is there. And she makes me laugh more than anyone else in the whole world (I promise... she might seem shy at first, but that girl is hilariously funny).

(My siblings and I)

Next is my mom, and I will spare you on repeated words by suggesting you look back on my last blog post (which was about my mom for those of you who weren't catching on). In short, my mom is my best friend. She is my number one. Just to help you wrap your head around this a little more, my mom is the one person in the world I seriously would not survive without. She is the person I confide in when having a bad day and the person who knows me better than anyone. (Okay, now you should really just go read my last blog post or else I'm going to keep writing on and on about her due to the infinite amount of words I have in my head to describe our relationship).

Now it may seem that I am making more out of my family than what is there- but everything in this blog
post is true. That is not to say that we don't get in the occasional fight... but I don't understand what is so hard to believe about family members who are each other's best friends. I think so many people just expect others to butt heads when born into the same family, but my family is closer than anything.
I'm honestly the luckiest person in the world.

Anyway, moving from my immediate family, I have my cousins. And I am going to cut right down to my
cousins (even though we skipped a few family members). But again- I have a lack of space and an
excess of words here. I mean what can I say... I love my family.

So moving on to my cousins that are my age, I would first like to acknowledge Sophie. And yes, the
Sophie in our grade, and in our class. We are cousins. Although, I don't know why that shocks so many people considering we spend half of our time in the hallways together and about every day of our lives together. But maybe it's because we don't look very alike. Ever since we were little we used to joke thatSophie looks like my mom and I look like her mom (my aunt), but of course, we weren't switched at
birth- although that would make a very interesting story. But really, Sophie and I have considered
ourselves sisters- twins for that matter- since we were born. Interestingly enough, we were born exactlytwo weeks apart to the day. We would spend literally every day together during our childhood,
and practically lived together- we were very close. And we still are. Sophie is probably one of the only people who truly knows what I'm thinking and feeling at all times- even when we aren't in the same room. Now again- I have so many words and not enough space so I'm going to move on. But to sum it

up, Sophie is one of the funniest people to be around and knows me like a sister. She is so easy to talk to and laugh with and we always have the best time together. I feel so lucky to have her in my family.

(Sophie and I)

(Sophie and I as babies. To be honest... I'm not totally sure what is going on here or why I look so mad but- your welcome)

Now, a lot of people are truly surprised when Luke Simmons and I tell them we are cousins, and truthfully, we are not blood related. But our moms have known each other for a very long time and are best friends. So ever since I was born, his parents have been my aunt and uncle, and are also my
Godparents. this subsequently makes Luke my God-brother, but it is easier to say cousin, so we do.
But just because we are not related by blood, doesn't mean we are not as close as true relatives.
Honestly, Luke are I as close as most of my blood related family members. Anyway, Luke has always
felt like my brother. We have a family tradition (one of my favorite traditions) to have both our families
eat dinner together on Sundays, and it is by far my favorite night of the whole week. I love being able to
sit around a table, talk, and be myself in front of people who truly care about me. Luke's sister and my
brother are also in the same grade as each other and are only two years younger than us, so we all get
along so well. Even my sister, who is three years older, is as close to Luke and his sister. it is always so
fun when we are all together, especially now that my sister is on college. But to be honest, I don't know
anyone who is more genuine, sweet, and funny as Luke. I feel so lucky to have grown up beside him.

(Luke, his sister Ella, Ryan, Madelyn, and I)

(Luke and I when we were little)

So you can clearly tell that I am super close to my cousins and family members. I feel so grateful to

have been born into a family who supports me no matter what, and loves me unconditionally. And I am
forever grateful to have had the opportunity to have grown up with so many best friends by my side.
Family is truly one of the greatest things in the whole world, and something I would never give up in a
million years.

My Dog (She is part of my family after all) Akshat Iyer

OK, so first of all, I hope that my brothers don't read this, because otherwise, the gig is up. This knowledge could very well break them, as they still believe in the "Christmas Spirit" and all. I don't think they will be reading this, so I should be fine. Otherwise, things may go sour quickly between them and my parents, and I will just have to avert my eyes and pretend that nothing ever happened. Anyways, this is the story of how I got my dog. And no, she didn't come flying through the chimney into the living room next to the Christmas tree, contrary to what my siblings think. It was actually a much more drawn out experience, with a lot more anxiety and excitement arising. Anyways, let's start from the beginning.

The beginning, you may think, would be sometime during December, however, this whole pet business started sometime back in June. By that time, we were seriously considering getting a dog, because they were just a great companion to have around you at all times. However, there was a problem. I was slightly allergic to dogs. This was first noticed when I went to a friend's house (you know who you are), and then went to the movies to watch Spiderman: Homecoming. By the end of the movie, both of my eyes were swollen shut, and I couldn't see a thing. I concluded that the one factor that differed when I normally go to the movies and now, was the environment I was in before the movie. The environment at my friend's house. That's right. Full of dogs, cats, birds, you name it. Now, the birds were caged, and the cats were on the other side of the house, so I naturally assumed it was the dogs, as they were all over me when I first walked in. My parents took me to the allergist, and as it turns out, this suspicion was correct (I was apparently more allergic to cats than dogs, but dogs were still giving me a reaction). This proved to be a problem while we were choosing a dog. My parents did a lot of research on trying to find a good mix of a hypoallergenic dog but not choose a poodle, because from what friends said, poodles are too smart and they act like they are better than you. We also wanted to get a female dog (please don't make any jokes about that, as I have probably already used them) because we heard that they were easier to maintain. So, we settled. The dog that we were going for was a Golden Doodle, a mix of a Poodle and a Golden Retriever. This meant that the dog was going to be hypoallergenic, but have the sweetness of a Golden Retriever. They also didn't shed, which was a huge plus for us, because that is the main factor in causing allergies. So, we made a decision. Our new dog needed to be picked up somewhere during Christmas time, and so that is exactly what happened.

It was about time. December 24th. The sky was getting darker. I was chosen to go with my dad to make it look less suspicious about where he is going so my brothers wouldn't catch on. Oh, my, goodness. Those 3 hours were the greatest yet most nerve-racking hours of my life. We were going to an animal hospital in Delaware to pick her up, and while we were going there, I kept on thinking whether or not she would like me, whether or not she would cause me to not get any sleep, and so on. However, when we got to Delaware, I immediately was like, "Yes, this is my dog." She was very quiet and passive, yet she was also very sweet and loved to come into my arms and just sit there for all eternity. She got into the car, and all she wanted to do with me was to sit in my lap and sleep. It was the start of something new. When we got home, of course, we had to hide the dog from my brothers, but when we introduced her on Christmas day, my brothers were ecstatic.

Was the 3-hour drive worth it, you may ask? To that, I say OF COURSE. Pets are amazing, as they will give you their unconditional love as long as you give them yours (except if it is a poodle. Apparently they hate everyone). Pets are an amazing addition to a family, and mine was no exception. I ask all of you to think back to when you got your first pet, and if you don't have one, then you may be missing out. They are truly a magical addition to your loving family.

Puppy!