Thoughts Section

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By Katy Dirienzo

As I’m setting my belongings down on my desk, I hear a classmate say, “Madame Boyd, these freshmen stink!” The sad part of this statement is the fact that it’s true of more than just the freshmen. The hallways of this school stink. And the fact that they’re crowded doesn’t help the nostrils of the victims of this horrendous problem.

Day after day, I am witness to hundreds of teenagers who possess bad hygiene. So I am here to provide a little advice for those who haven’t pulled the cap off of a stick of deodorant yet. Did you know that 91 percent of all men and 95 percent of all women use a deodorant or antiperspirant? If these statistics were applied to our student population, 120 girls and 216 boys would not use deodorant. This is a problem. Not only does deodorant keep you from smelling like the wrapper of your Burrito Supreme, but it also aids in preventing sweat and bacteria. 

Speaking of bacteria prevention, did you know that putting toothpaste on acne helps get rid of it, right? Wrong. Toothpaste is good for teeth. The high hydrogen peroxide content of toothpaste actually works as an acid that burns the skin on your face, and could potentially leave a scar. Toothpaste is for teeth, not pimples. 

Speaking of teeth, it is very vital that everyone, especially teenagers, brush their teeth. This may sound a bit ridiculous and motherly, but you’d be surprised how many people open their mouths towards me and my first instinct is to vomit. Gum is not a toothbrush. It is simply a cover-up.  

Speaking of covering up, please keep your shoes on in class. Feet just stink, so please, do us all a favor and keep them covered.

Lastly, hair needs to be taken care of. Comb it. Wash it. It’s fairly simple. Our school dress code is set the way it is in order to make our learning environment more professional. Why would you mess this up with disgusting hair? Hair needs to be washed at least a few times a week. Dirty hair is not only extremely greasy looking, it’s also smelly.

Moral of the story: don’t be smelly. It’s gross and distracts those who are here to actually learn.

 

 

By Conrad Reid

So, you guys, I’m really OCD. Like, for real OCD. Like, it makes me sad if my room’s not clean. And I feel gross if I don’t wash my hands. And my clothes have to be organized in my closet.

People who say things like this irritate me endlessly. OCD has become synonymous in our society with cleanly, and that’s absolutely not the case. It’s also not a hilarious, quirky personality trait, as television shows such as Big Bang Theory, have led us to believe. It’s a real psychological disorder, and it makes functioning in society difficult.

OCD, or obsessive-compulsive disorder, is a mental disorder characterized by repetitive behaviors that cannot be controlled. Basically, you do things over and over because you have to, and it’s distressing to the point of incapacitation if you don’t.

OCD is a genetic disorder; I know of at least three people in my family who have it, including myself.

I was diagnosed with OCD when I was 15, but I’ve been showing symptoms my entire life. As a child, I wouldn’t stand in driveways as a car passed because I was afraid they would swerve and hit me. It sounds funny, but I would have anxious fits if I did. During the holidays, I could not allow presents to touch each other. Most seriously, I could not go to bed until I had checked the locks on every door in my house at least three times. And I don’t use the phrase “had to” lightly; I mentally could not lie down and sleep unless I did it.

But this is the quirky behavior people have come to expect from someone who suffers from OCD. The second major symptom, the one most aren’t aware of, is much scarier: intrusive thoughts. These are the thoughts that tend to fuel the compulsions.

In my case, intrusive thoughts came constantly. Every time I almost decided to not check the locks and just go to bed, I told myself that this would be the night someone broke into my house. I felt that it was my duty to check those locks to make sure, beyond any shadow of a doubt, that my family and I were safe.

I was in constant fear of being murdered, or being the murderer, every second of every day. Every time I thought, “I just want to kill this person,” without meaning, of course, that I literally wanted someone dead-, I believed that I genuinely did. That’s what caused the most anxiety. I spent so much time thinking I was insane, and making myself feel guilty, that it consumed my life.

That’s what OCD really is—constant fear, anxiety and uncertainty.

My case is definitely not severe. In many cases, people lose everything because of their disorder. In early February, a woman named Samantha Hancox lost her life as a result of her compulsions: she showered up to 20 hours a day, and the resulting skin infection killed her.

The myths and stereotypes surrounding OCD are endless. Unfortunately, the disorder has been distorted, making it very difficult for sufferers to get help. Remember that the next time you’re telling a friend you’re “OCD” about cleaning your room. Saying that only spreads the ignorance and increases the stigma surrounding mental disorders.

 

Vegetarianism is not for the uninformed

How to eliminate meat from your diet the safe and right way 

 

By Lily Neal

For years now, vegetarianism has been the “thing” to do. Too bad most people are doing it wrong.

There are so many key vitamins, like B-12, they are leaving out of their daily diet. But of course, there are some who have been vegetarians for years without a mishap, and those people will actually live longer than the vegetarian posers and meat eaters.

There are many pros to being a vegetarian. Not only are you healthier in general, but you have a lower chance of getting heart disease, diabetes and cancer. And because you are healthier, your blood pressure and body fat go down. How exciting. 

You not only help yourself, but you also help the environment. The way meat is produced actually hurts the environment. By being a vegetarian, you help the world.

Honestly, if you do not know how to stay healthy, then you shouldn’t even try to be a vegetarian. All you kids thinking vegetarianism is cool because PETA is the bomb dot com, you have tripped into the propaganda hole that is PETA. Yes, PETA is a good organization, but only to a certain degree. I believe they go too far. There are other organizations that do the exact same thing as PETA, like the Humane Society, but in a more civil way. 

When new vegetarians don’t know what they’re doing, they turn into “junk-food vegetarians” who try to subsist off potato chips and ramen rather than meat replacements like soy and wheat protein. 

The veggie posers switch their lifestyle without even thinking, I should know, I tried being vegetarian a few years back. It didn’t stick. I didn’t know how to keep getting the vitamins I needed. I quit very soon after I started. I couldn’t stay with only eating vegetables, not knowing that being a vegetarian was more than just vegetables. I needed chicken. So now, I only eat chicken and turkey, no red meat whatsoever, which means no beef or pork. I plan on going back to vegetarianism when I learn more about how to stay healthy.

All the vegetarians that do it to be cool need to stop and think about what they’re doing. If you have no idea what TVP is and if you are not willing to try ethnic foods, I would seriously recommend dropping vegetarianism.