The Official Student News Site of Parkway West High

Pathfinder
The Official Student News Site of Parkway West High

Pathfinder
The Official Student News Site of Parkway West High

Pathfinder
“The saddest moment in my life is when my father died five years ago. It didn't affect me personally. I guess I just miss him. He was [very] interesting and fun to talk to. I was very close to my dad. But around the time he died, I hadn't seen him [for] a few months. There are like a lot of stories of when [I] was a baby. [When] we went to public places, I would go [up] to random couples, and I would tell them all these random words like my alphabet. My dad would just sit back and watch me. I remember we would come home after and eat nasty bananas filled with jelly, and I hated it so much. Yes, I would say my dad keeps me going. He would be very upset right now if he saw my grades. He always wanted the best for me. I just kinda started focusing on myself once he died. I'm not doing good in school; there’s no point. I decided to start drawing. I can honestly say I just do it for fun now. But it eases my mind and distracts me from reality.” - Melanie Shearer, 9

Melanie Shearer

Kerra White, CJ1 Writer • May 13, 2022

“The saddest moment in my life was losing my great aunt. [On the] day of her death, I was at school, and then I went to my friend's house. I remember asking my dad for a sleepover. My dad's like, ‘you're not gonna want to have a sleepover tonight.’ And I was like, ‘oh no,’ and that's pretty much the moment I knew that she didn't make it, which was sad. It was hard for my family and me because we always went over there for holidays, her house was the house everyone went to for the family gatherings and holiday parties. It was hard because she died from COVID. It was really sad because none of my family knew how to act. It was just hard to comprehend. It still hasn't hit me.” — Lydia Moellering, 9

Lydia Moellering

Olivia Picaud, CJ1 Writer • May 13, 2022

“[The saddest moment of my life was] when [my dad] left for his deployment. I knew that I wouldn't be able to see him for at least a year. When he was [gone], I was sad all the time. It was the summer [I was] going into second grade, and he found out that he would be deployed [to Florida]. He went to Florida for seven months and 10 days. I only saw him three times, once for Christmas. It was hard because it was just my mom, brother and me. My brother was 4, so he didn't fully understand what was happening. He became very sensitive and developed anger issues because his mind was confused. It was hard to watch my brother be so mad, sad and angry all the time. It was also really hard to watch my mom try to keep it together and be there for my brother and [I]. There was still stuff that had to be done, but my dad wasn't there, so I had to step up and do it. In school, I was shy. I had friends, but I grew distant from them. It was hard to sit in school and learn. I didn't know when [my dad] was coming back, [but when he did], it surprised me, and I was extremely happy.” — Hannah Zaiser, 9

Hannah Zaiser

Ava Silva, CJ1 Writer • May 12, 2022

“My greatest struggle right now is my knee injury because I haven't been able to play in many tournaments, and it's taking a toll on my mentality towards playing and my confidence. In my high school season, I kept passing repeatedly, and I was passing the wrong way, and I injured it. So watching my whole team play is exciting. But also, I just miss being on the court and being with my teammates and contributing the way I want to. [This past weekend] I went to Indianapolis, and we had a Mid East qualifier tournament. It was hard to be on the bench and watch the team play without me being able to contribute. I'm glad I was able to bring energy and help out the team in any way that I could.” - Maddy Bach, 9

Maddy Bach

Samantha Maniaci, CJ1 Writer • May 11, 2022

“The greatest struggle that I had in my life was my cousin's death last year. He had gotten into a bad car accident, and the doctors said he died from internal bleeding. After he passed, I was becoming slowly depressed, and I just felt like I had lost myself. But, after he passed, I grew close with my brother. He helped me by just rebuilding my energy and making me feel me. We would play video games or play basketball. Eventually, I got better at accepting his death, and I felt like I could continue. Although I miss him, I’m glad my relationship with my brother grew. He helped me see the bright side of it all. I became at peace with it.” - Keshawn Butler, 9

Keshawn Butler

Nola Becquette, CJ1 Writer • May 9, 2022

“One thing I miss was being virtual in school because I was able to be home with my family all day. At the time, I had a one-year-old brother, and we would just hang out all the time. I think that was super fun because we grew a lot closer. Another person that made virtual better was my younger sister. She is one of the biggest influences in my life. She is always super happy and upbeat. Even though she is younger than me, she exemplifies how I should be at home. When I and my other sister were fighting, she helped me do something else. She is the person that is always there for me when I have a bad day and helps me get my mind off of whatever bad that happens.” -Mckinlay Loveless, 9

Mckinlay Loveless

Ava Prsha, CJ1 Writer • May 6, 2022

“I lived in Joplin, Mo., for a little longer than seven years. Less than a year after we moved there, this big EF5 tornado came in and destroyed the town. I lived through a lot of rebuilding and sadness surrounding me. My dad's a pastor, and every Wednesday night, we would have dinner with missionaries who were rebuilding Joplin. [The tornado] was a big part of who I am. Now it inspires me. I went on mission trips after [the tornado] to towns destroyed by tornadoes. The mission trips were a fun environment, even though it was not fun work. The community was cool. We all went to Oklahoma because they had one big tornado, and we went there two years in a row. We went with the church, and there were a lot of kids my age that went, and we couldn't do a lot. On one of the mission trips, I remember that my sister Amelia and I built a shed together. It was fun because many times we were painting houses, and the older guys and women were building the sheds, and we couldn’t do much. It was cool to experience getting to build a shed, getting to use your hands and learning how to do something new.” - Sadie Burgess, 9

Sadie Burgess

Brooke Hoenecke, CJ1 Writer • May 4, 2022

“[One of my favorite hobbies] is frisbee. My friends and I play frisbee together. There's a very good community aspect to it. We cheer each other on and help each other, and it's the best team experience of any sport I've ever played. [My favorite part of frisbee] is that we make a spirit circle with the other team at the end of every game. We point out a couple of good things or a couple of good players from each team and [evaluate] how they did well and how our team can improve, or what they did. [The first time I was selected for that] it felt great to be recognized because it was my first year playing frisbee. I'm glad that I [improved], and I'm glad I could have an impact on the team." - Robbie Thompson, 10

Robbie Thompson

Drew Hayes, CJ1 Writer • May 2, 2022

“The happiest moments in my life would probably be when my family and I go up to Mass. every summer to spend time with my mom’s side of the family. I used to spend about one to two months there, but now it's down to about three weeks. My mom's side of the family is huge, so being able to reunite with them and watch everyone come together has always been my favorite things. Over the past years, my mom’s step-sister has had two kids, they're really little, and we never really had family there until now. So being able to go out there and watch them grow up over the years has been something very special, and just hanging out and playing with them was fun. One of my favorite things is that my grandpa lives on a lake. One time my dad and I tried to kayak the entire lake, but we only got about halfway because we were both too tired to make it all the way around. It was a fun experience, and I got to spend time with my dad. This coming summer will be my 16th summer going there. Every year we’re there for July 4, so we always like to celebrate, and my mom's other step-sister and I always run a 5k every year there. It is fun to get out and do something I love with the people I love. I only see my mom's side of the family three times at most every year, but sometimes you get lucky and see them more than that. It's really hard when I'm always with my dad's side and never really get to make memories with my mom’s side. They always send us pictures, and I just wish I was there. It's just really hard not being able to grow up with that side of the family. Since we don’t spend as much time with them anymore, it makes me more grateful for the time I spend with my family and the memories we make.” - Gabbie Kerber, 9

Gabbie Kerber

Danica Gatchel, CJ1 Writer • April 29, 2022

"My online experience has been a big change compared to in-person school. Staying virtual made my schedule pretty flexible which made it easier for me to fit in other extracurricular activities, such as playing the piano. Online school improved my mental health. I have the comfort of being at home while also learning what I need to. I haven’t had any mental health changes, partially because I made some friends in school. It’s harder to stay connected to others when you’re virtual since you can’t really go up and talk to someone, but I made friends from class, which helped with staying sane. I also like to talk to friends who go in-person, and it’s fun to hear about what’s going on." - Bhavya Gupta, 9

Bhavya Gupta

Emily Beach, CJ1 Writer • April 27, 2022

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