![“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](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/image1-9-e1650734534164-900x606.jpg)
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](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/image3-4-900x600.jpg)
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](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/image4-3-e1652129707436-900x645.jpg)
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](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/image1-8-900x600.jpg)
Maddy Bach
Samantha Maniaci, CJ1 Writer
• May 11, 2022

Keshawn Butler
Nola Becquette, CJ1 Writer
• May 9, 2022

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](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/image1-6-900x600.jpg)
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](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/image1-1-405x900.png)
Robbie Thompson
Drew Hayes, CJ1 Writer
• May 2, 2022

Gabbie Kerber
Danica Gatchel, CJ1 Writer
• April 29, 2022

Bhavya Gupta
Emily Beach, CJ1 Writer
• April 27, 2022