Cindy Phung, Staff Writer
I am a freshman and this is my first year on staff. When I'm not at school, I can be found making memories with friends, recharging at home or procrastinating some sort of work. I also spend my time running, practicing art or reading while listening to music.
![Greeting students with a poem and a smile, junior Nicole Imral hands out one of many pocket-sized poems in her stack. Spread out near the school entrances, Imral and several other National English Honors Society (NEHS) members informed students and staff about the day and handed out poems. “I love poetry. I was excited about [Poem in Your Pocket Day] because its fun to read a bunch of different poems youve never read before, especially short ones because its easier to get through them,” Imral said.](https://PWestPathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/DSC_0093.JPG_-1-900x600.jpg)
![“[The best piece of advice I have received was] to let people do what they want. I think that would be the most impactful piece of advice Ive ever been given, [by] my partner at the time. Its something she would say a lot whenever I would get upset. Eighth grade to freshman year was that whole period where I was really judgy and had really strong opinions on things that I shouldnt have. I was too much. I think if I met myself my freshman year, I would punch me in the face, but I think a lot of people would probably say that. I grew up in a household where [if] you’re a girl, you wear this and if you’re a dude, you wear that. And so all my ideas were just copy and pasted of [my family’s] ideas. It was just a preference that was embedded in my preteen years and that I ditched when I realized it was stupid. Look at me now. Im not at all dressing stereotypically feminine. So Id say that would be an example of gender roles and clothing being something I used to really be a badger on. Now I’m like whatever. I think [this advice] really helped me build character and become my true self. Because a lot of my judging people for what they were wearing was almost a projection of myself and being upset that I couldnt wear what I wanted to wear because of the way that I was raised. [I] took it out on other people that were able to do what they wanted. Getting this advice to stay in your lane was just good [for me], I took it and now I’m living better.” – Mac Winter, 12](https://PWestPathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/IMG_3160-900x675.jpg)
![Sophomore Inaya Chishti shows her cow, Rosie, at last year’s Washington Town & Country Fair, where she won first place. After having a great season with Rosie, Chishti has looked forward to showing Rosie and her baby, a cow-calf pair, because she has never shown the same animal twice in a row. “It’s just a lot of work that you pour into this one animal, and then you dont get to show them again because its a lot on the animal. And so we normally just let them go into the field, but Rosie was a really good show animal. She showed herself, [and] I didnt need to be there. I could let go of the halter and just scratch her, and she would just stand there,” Chishti said. “Im excited [to show her] because I love her, and shes actually named after me. My middle name is Rose.”](https://PWestPathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/image000000-1-e1650295193713-900x638.jpg)
![Celebrating her journey, freshman Alexis Briner beams brightly with her family. Briner appreciates her parents greatly for their support during her journey with anorexia. “I was still in the depths of [the eating disorder] around the holidays. So there were a lot of meals and I remember I kind of panicked at a few of those. And so I would have to take time out and sometimes wed have to leave the parties early. And then my parents would be upset because it was very time consuming, [but] they were troopers,” Briner said.](https://PWestPathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/briner-feat-900x705.jpg)
![“[The best piece of advice I have received was] to let people do what they want. I think that would be the most impactful piece of advice Ive ever been given, [by] my partner at the time. Its something she would say a lot whenever I would get upset. Eighth grade to freshman year was that whole period where I was really judgy and had really strong opinions on things that I shouldnt have. I was too much. I think if I met myself my freshman year, I would punch me in the face, but I think a lot of people would probably say that. I grew up in a household where [if] you’re a girl, you wear this and if you’re a dude, you wear that. And so all my ideas were just copy and pasted of [my family’s] ideas. It was just a preference that was embedded in my preteen years and that I ditched when I realized it was stupid. Look at me now. Im not at all dressing stereotypically feminine. So Id say that would be an example of gender roles and clothing being something I used to really be a badger on. Now I’m like whatever. I think [this advice] really helped me build character and become my true self. Because a lot of my judging people for what they were wearing was almost a projection of myself and being upset that I couldnt wear what I wanted to wear because of the way that I was raised. [I] took it out on other people that were able to do what they wanted. Getting this advice to stay in your lane was just good [for me], I took it and now I’m living better.” - Mac Winter, 12](https://PWestPathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/kwinter-1-900x675.jpeg)