Gift Ideas for significant others

It is that time of the year when pure joy can be felt through the air. Christmas trees are decorated and you finally have an excuse to watch that Christmas movie or listen to your favorite Christmas songs.

This time of year is also well known as the excuse to be spoiled rotten by your family members with love and gifts. I know that not all families celebrate this time of the year the same way, but almost everyone enjoys it with the same joy almost all families do. If you're like me, you’ve finally gotten to the age where you earn money and know the secrets behind this memorable holiday. 

And knowing these secrets includes a terrible fate. Gift giving. Most of us are used to receiving gifts for Christmas. That new Xbox, those new sneakers, etc. But now we don’t receive those splendid gifts. We get simple things like socks or books which I’m happy with on my part. But aside from that, we have to give gifts to our parents, siblings and any other family member or friend. You would think this is not such a horrible thing, and truly it’s not because you get to see the beautiful smile of those people when they get their gifts. The only issue is how we get that smile.

It sounds simple on paper. Get them this big extraordinary gift and you are off on the joy and smiles road. But there is only one problem with that. We are kids. How do we even get that money to buy these fabulous gifts? Because frankly on my part I’m pretty much broke. But over the years I’ve managed to get my loved ones the gifts they deserve even with my little amount of money. And I’m here to show you how to find that perfect gift.

To find this perfect gift you have to follow these steps to the letter:

1. What is that person like: In my judgment, you must really care about this person if you are willing to read this article and take your time on getting them a nice present for Christmas. So what are they like? When you answer this question think of the following things:

1. Do they like big or small things?

2. Are they more of a materialistic person?

3. Do they enjoy quality time?

4. What are their hobbies?

5. Do they like minimalism?

6. Is there something they’ve talked about wanting for a long time?

2. What is your budget?: You are probably not going to only give one person a gift this year, so you will have to distribute the money among all your significant others.

1. Example:

1. Mom = 500 pesos

2. Boyfriend = 350 pesos

3. Dad = 500

4. Brother = 400

3. How are you going to proceed?: What is your plan of action? You know all about that person and you know how much money you have to spare. The next step is to use this information. People tend to love to get handmade gifts. They love the idea that you loved them enough to put work into a gift for them. So you could make the box you are going to wrap their present in or a little message for them to read before getting their gift. Here are some ideas I found off TikTok and Pinterest for these gifts.

1. Strawberry wrapper for jewelry

2. Paper  Flower bouquet

3. A candy sleigh

4. Heart Puzzle

5. Cute Origami Gift Bag

4. Their gift: By this point, you should have surely gotten your significant other their Christmas gift and if you haven’t there is a bonus list of material basic gift ideas for them. But if you are like me this year you would have gone for a more sentimental gift. These are some ideas of how to tell them how much you care for your loved ones (And yes these are all handmade):

1. Cards for the year

2. Cute note jar. Things you can add:

1. Reasons why I love you

2. Moments to remind them of you

3. Pictures

4. Their favorite song lyrics

3. Reasons why I love you flipbook

4. A meaningful picture together framed

5. Spongebob secret box gift

6. A quality time coupon book (Just write different activities you should do together and make them coupons)

BONUS GIFT IDEAS:

• Jewelry (Necklace, rings, bracelets, etc.)

• Candies (Just get them all their favorite candies)

• A lego of their favorite tv show

• Stuffed animals

• A portable charger

• A tote bag 

• A moon lamp

• Hair accessories

• A pillow blanket, socks convo

• A book they have been looking forward to

• An Amazon gift card

• A scratch poster

• A fill-in journal

• Fidget toys and a cool board game

What would you get for your significant other? Share it in the comments below! We read you!

Maria Alejandra Ramirez

8th Grade

Ten Facts About Veterans Day

Veterans Day is a celebration to thank and honor all who died and who have fought for America. A Veteran by definition is an ex-member of the armed forces. This year, Veterans Day was celebrated on November 11, but have you ever thought about why is it celebrated? 

Veterans Day is celebrated to honor American veterans for their patriotism, love of their country, and willingness to serve and sacrifice themselves for America.

10 facts about Veterans Day

1. Veterans Day did not always have that name. Before it was called Armistice Day.

2. Americans were not the only people to celebrate on November 11. Other Countries like the U.K., Canada, Australia, and France celebrated it as 'Remembrance Day'  or 'Armistice Day.'

3. Germany also celebrates Veterans day two Sundays before the Sunday of Advent.

4. The red poppy is a symbol, serves a purpose, and inspired many poems.  Poppys are a symbol of sacrifice worn by Americans since World War I to honor those who served and died for our country in all wars. It reminds Americans of the sacrifices made by our veterans while protecting our freedoms.

5. There is a reason the holiday 'Veterans Day' doesn’t have an Apostrophe. It is to dismiss the idea of possession and to show Veterans Day isn’t owned.

6. In the world there are more veteran women than you may think. Veteran women make up 10% of the veteran population and are celebrated on June 12 in the United States.

7. The holiday commemoration has changed to an observed date. It had been changed from November 11 to the first Monday of October.

8. To commemorate Veterans Day, there is a monument of silence during the act at 3:11 pm officially presided over by the  President of USA states.

9. The last living veteran of WWI died in 2012. She was a British woman that had served on the WRAF called Florence Green,

10. WW1 didn’t finish on 11/11/18. it ended with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles on France on June 28,1919. However, Veterans Day is celebrated on November 11 as a commemoration of the beginning of the end of WW1.

Now you know some facts about Veterans Day. I think that besides celebrating and building monuments to honor those who fought in wars, people should study more history. Learning about the lives of all those veterans and what they did years ago will keep their memory alive. The memory of all those heroes whose bravery should be remembered.

Carlos Graveley Carlo

7th Grader

Why should Afghan girls receive formal education?

According to NBC News, “nearly 3.7 million children don’t have access to formal education, and of that measure, 60 percent are girls denied access to education”. Most of those girls are banned from conventional education and find themselves restrained to house chores, surrounded by discrimination and forced to comply with child marriage.

For girls, and women in particular, education can be a source of empowerment. Traditional education for women in a region of the world that has oppressed females for decades serves as a voice and a platform to advocate their rights. It is critical to a developing country; it improves health, produces higher wages and economic growth, but more importantly it provides a space where girls get to experience their freedom.   

Social isolation is not necessarily bad; in fact, most people look for solitude at least occasionally. Being alone can be relaxing and calming. However, when we refer to young women and teenagers who, psychologically, require interaction, that mentality changes. Living an isolated lifestyle for a prolonged period of time can have a severe impact on both physical and mental health. Lonely people have higher blood pressure, are more vulnerable to infection, and are also more likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease, dementia, high levels of anxiety, and even hallucinations. Most families worry about sending their daughters to school in the midst of shootouts on the streets, bombings, and kidnappings — not to mention targeted attacks against girls’ education. On top of that, they have to endure constant discrimination rooted in the complex perception of gender roles in their community. There have been many cases in Afghanistan wherein the females have been physically tortured. Beating them severely, cutting them brutally, burning them alive or throwing acid on them have been witnessed by many throughout the country apart from forcing them to marry at a very early age, selling and buying them for the purpose of prostitution or forced marriages. As a young woman, I could not imagine being banned from performing an effortless action, such as walking down the streets or going to school. Something that you don’t think about, but is a life or death situation for them. 

On the other hand, girls who study at home do receive education on chores like cooking, cleaning and taking care of their children. Also, girls who are educated at home don’t have to stand the tormentous discrimination from the Taliban or the segregation they may encounter if they do go to school. Nevertheless, society expects you to go to school followed by college, get a job and settle down. Formal education helps you become a useful member of society and gives you a greater chance to contribute to your community. It opens a whole world of opportunities for the students so that they may have an equal shot at well-paying jobs. 

It is necessary that the Afghan government and law enforcement agencies take serious notice of the discrimination and violence against women. However, at the same time, it is necessary to address the root causes of the problem. It is essential to bring about changes in the way women are perceived within our society. The government is responsible for providing its citizens with access to all of their human rights. Instead of teaching girls how to be a wife, a mom, or how to clean they should be teaching them how to survive. How to survive the reality they are being faced with. How to paint an environment where they no longer are victims, but heroes of their everlasting battle for equality. We as a community should take action to the awareness of accessible institutional education for anyone who desires equity. Social norms, poverty, persistent violence, and conflict are all factors that continue to keep Afghan girls out of school. It is our job as a society to set an example for Afghan girls in the elaboration of a system that is inclusive. A system that can contribute to all girls who will become leaders in the future, one that helps rebuild communities and contributes positively to society.

Yoira Gonzalez

12th Grade

Guest Blogger

 

Thank You Elementary

Dear Elementary,

After all of these years of hanging around your halls and playing in your patio, it is finally time for us to leave you and move on to a new chapter in our lives. The 5th graders will now be taking our throne and become the new rulers of our kingdom,  as we enter a new one, one in which we’ll stop ruling and become commoners until we earn our place in the new building. 

The only thing to say right now is how grateful we are for all the love and support you’ve given us throughout the years.  You have given us so much, you’ve cared, shaped us and prepared us for what is coming in this new adventure.  Today we want to let you know we do understand how important you have been in our journey, you’ve taught us many crucial lessons about life that we’ll surely use in the future.

Everything and everyone we’ve encountered in this amazing place has made a significant mark in our lives… Teachers:  We may not say it often but thank you for all the extra efforts you made to help us grow,  and the challenges you encouraged us to face through all these years to help us become who we are today. Thank you for being our friends, authority figures and guides. We will always be grateful for your knowledge, support, and kindness. 

We want to especially thank Mrs. Rocio Rojas, and Mrs. Yahaira Sanchez not only for all of the special attention, and love and for all of the amazing things they have shown us but also because over the years they’ve gained our trust. We are confident that even if we are in a different building,  we can still come to them if we ever need something or need to speak to someone about personal issues.

Graduation is not necessary for us to look back on everything we’ve achieved, and all we’ve been through in elementary school. We’ve learned, enjoyed ourselves, shared with each other, and have experienced wonderful things in this building, and none of us is ready to leave. We want to stay and relive all of these memories we’ve had,  but even if we’re not ready, it is our time to move on. Adapting will be a bit hard, but with all you’ve taught us, we’ll be able to accomplish it as the big family we are.

Finally, the only thing to say is;

Thank You Elementary!

“Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.

-Dr.Seuss

Maria Alejandra Vasquez

6th Grader

Welcome to Middle School!

 Dear 6th Graders:

Congratulations! You’ve finally passed through Elementary and you're now beginning a new journey. You’ve gone from being the seniors of your building to the babies of the other. Don’t be scared. As intimidating as it sounds being a 7th grader, is incredibly fun. But let me give you some ground rules for this new school year coming ahead of you.

First of all, remember how I said you are going to be the babies of this building. Well,  get ready to be treated like them. For almost everyone in this building, you are just harmless little kids. Don’t worry is not like there are gonna be high schoolers in every corner, ready to beat you up. I just mean that you’re not going to be treated seriously. So a piece of advice would be to build some confidence. With confidence comes respect from your peers. 

The second, thing you should know is, that you need to loosen up. Yeah, there is a lot of school stress in this building, but there is also a lot of fun. But, don’t get confused, it’s not like you going to be living in a typical high school film, like straight out of a high school musical film. God, I wish that was true. But there are a whole lot of other things that are gonna be out of a dream. You get to participate in the high school Pep Rally, which is an event that happens every year at the end of the spirit week in which. You can join different clubs and school activities like, Model of United Nations, National Junior Honor Society, Student Council, etc. And let's not forget to participate in the school’s intramurals which are soccer and volleyball competitions between grades 7th - 12th.  

And my last and third advice would be for you to start worrying more about school. I’m not trying to pressure you or anything but just remember that mainly everything you do from now on, would be taken into consideration for you to go to a good college. The programs you join. The things you do at school would be necessary for deciding what you want to do with your life. 

So get ready for a year of pressure in which you are going to be expected to act like an adult and then be treated like a kid.  Oh and get ready to run from Brenda, when she caught you trying to watch the soccer matches through the window. Good luck!  And if you have any questions or just need an older friend to make you look cool among your peers, I am more than available. Just go to the 7th grade and next year's 8th-grade classroom, I’ll be more than happy to help. Well, welcome to Middle School!

Love,

        

Maria Alejandra Ramirez

7th Grader

Sleep problems in Teenagers

 I know that you might be suffering from sleeping problems. Some teens suffered from sleeping problems around 10 to 12 years old, before turning 13. Sleeping problems in teens are very common. Many of those teens suffer from insomnia, and having difficulty sleeping. Around the hour of sleeping avoid caffeine like coffee, tea, soda, energy drinks, and chocolate. The estimation of insomnia in teenagers is as high as 23.8%. 

Some reasons for suffering insomnia are: 

• Schedule, school, stress, university, work. Schoolwork might be stressful for those people because too much work accumulates. 

• Caffeine, teens who drink beverages with caffeine or energetic drinks to stay energetic during the whole day, but that is why they have a hard time falling asleep. 

• Medications. 

• Devices, staying with the device or falling asleep with the device in your hand including phones, iPads, tablets or computers. 

• Spending too much time texting or chatting with friends until late night hours. 

Tips for avoiding sleep problems: 

• Most teens should get 8 to 10 hours of sleep a night. 

• Try a relaxing bedtime routine. 

• Take a warm bath or shower. 

• Reading. 

• Listening to music. 

• Get regular exercises, at least one hour or one hour and a half (90 minutes) before bedtime. 

• Keep the bedroom dark, cool and quiet.

In conclusion, remember to have a balanced life. But also remember to have a good sleep quality and for that sleep for 8 to 10 hours a day. Avoiding sleep problems is very important. If your sleeping issues get deeper, visit your doctor. Finally, have a quiet and relaxing environment for a good sleep. 

By: Alana Garcia 

7th Grader 

Is the Educational System focused on learning or in grades?

NotionPic/Shutterstock. Design: Ashley Britton/SheKnows.

Are we really learning or are we just trying to get good grades? When we come to school we feel pressured to get good grades, because of the impact they will have on our future, but are we learning anything in the process or are we just studying for the tests and right after forgetting?

I personally think we don’t really learn that much when we focus on just grades because grades remove the focus on learning. We are worried about succeeding, but we are not allowing ourselves the chance of failing, and therefore, we're missing out on the opportunity to create significant learning experiences that create real knowledge. To check this theory out, I created a google form asking some students their opinion on the matter and these are some of their answers:

• “I believe that everything revolves around the grades we get, and we got to the point that students don't care about learning they just want to get that A to satisfy them and their parents.”

• “I feel like I learn only to be prepared for future exams just to get good grades, but after the test is over, I forget everything. When I was online, since there weren't many exams, I only did the work to get the grade and didn't learn anything.”

• “To be honest, obviously one learns, but I only do it to pass the grade and be able to graduate, but I especially don't learn much.”

• ‘I think we just come to school for a grade. Even though we learn things,  we judge ourselves by our grades. People think that if u get an F ur a failure and dumb, but if you get an A ur intelligent and a hard worker.’

• “When I was little, I did have the curiosity of learning. As you grow up and have more responsibilities, which gives you less time to care about learning. This forces you to choose priorities, this case being, "surviving the year".”

• “Although our primary attention is getting good grades, I believe that for the most part, in the process of getting a good grade we do learn the subjects we're required to learn. It's more of a subject of what is more efficient, keeping the grading system or eliminating it more together, making the sole focus of students learning.”

• “I feel that teachers don’t encourage our learning but they only help us get a good grade and expect us to get good grades not to really learn. I feel like not only teachers but the whole school should create activities that help us learn and understand topics instead of just putting assignments and expecting us to get an A on them.”

• “I believe that we are really learning most of the time, however, instead of having the motivation of learning something new, the motivation is to get a good grade.”

79% of the students that responded to the form believed that we don't learn much. And if we are being honest at the end of the year everything is just brainwashed. Just a glimpse of what we learned and remember. This is not right. We really are supposed to learn. So I decided to survey the students to see what they think teachers should do:

• “Teachers can make sure that your learning by doing different kinds of work not only worksheets, and summaries to check comprehension, or asking questions. Hands-on projects, trivia games and real-life experiences work better for me."

• “In order to assure that we learn, teachers could use games and activities like hangman and jeopardy. We learn better when we have fun!”

• “Teachers can do games, projects and competitions in the class. When you are having fun and competing, you enjoy learning more. Which makes you much more likely to learn more.” 

In my personal opinion, I believe teachers should do some kind of practice. For example a surprise learning game. Something that doesn't give students a lot of time to practice and see what they remember and based on that, teachers could know what to teach them.

I hope that you understand the situation and try and make this school environment more about learning than getting good grades because in the end what makes a good school is how well the students learn. Not a number.

Maria Alejandra Ramirez

7th Grade

How Social Media Can Affect Your Brain

Social Media can affect your life in different ways; physically, you might change something about yourself based on someone’s opinion or popular trends. Mentally, you might want to start doing something that is not correct, you can feel sad, unloved, or useless. Maybe you haven’t gone through this but other people have. 

Social media can change how you act every day. This change can be good or bad. A good change: an influencer can actually encourage you to start a new hobby or habit like learning a new language online or learning an instrument. A bad change: some influencer does something that's wrong but trendy and you want to be like them because they have many fans.

Sometimes, small children get access to overaged content and can get traumatized. This could be caused by friends that will start talking about inappropriate things and you might look for them. It can also be caused by a lack of supervision from adults.   

In conclusion, I think this is a very big problem because it affects many people regardless of their age or country, and it’s sad to see how it has been growing throughout time. I think if we create awareness and make an effort to build real connections with people and the world around us we won’t be affected by what social media has to offer.

Samantha Aquino

5th Grader

International Women’s Day

International Women’s Day has been celebrated on March 8th every year since 1911. It’s one day in the year in which everybody in the world celebrates the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women.

At MCS, we have been learning about different women who have made a difference. The Ninth Grade students, along with their teacher Mrs. Edith Fadul, have been researching and writing about these women, discovering their impact in today's society, and taking a moment to commemorate their amazing achievements.

These are just a few:

Oprah Winfrey

By Amalia Vargas

9th Grader

Oprah Winfrey is a leading American actress and businesswoman who hosts “The Oprah Winfrey Show”. She used the show as a platform to teach and inspire, giving viewers a positive and uplifting experience, featuring book clubs, interviews, self-improvement segments, and forays into events around the world. She has become one of the most influential women in the US. 

Winfrey is considered a role model to many because of her charity work, her schools, and her true relationships with her fans. Winfrey stands out among many people in her ability to empathize and help those people get through their troubling times. She established 60 schools in 13 countries, supported women's shelters, created scholarships, and funded over 200 homes through Habitat for Humanity.

In conclusion, Oprah is a very inspirational and empathetic person who has helped numerous amount of people truly find themselves, and motivated others to start helping the ones in need. As a young woman, Oprah has demonstrated to me that one can achieve anything if you are actually willing to, and that “Anything you imagine, you can create” by believing in yourself.

Anne Frank

By Lucas Ostropolsky

9th Grade

Anne Frank, was a German-Dutch girl that represents bravery, patience, and someone that brings light to the darkness. She was 13 years old when she hid from the Nazis that were killing Jews, so, being a Jew, she hid very well and started to narrate everything in her life for the past 25 months. She is recognized because of the diary she wrote while hiding and how her book made an impact on the world.

Anne Frank wrote a diary in which she narrates her life on her 25-month journey hiding from the nazis, but why is she so important? This is because we can see her bravery to hide and the patience to hide for that long and the way she wanted equality for everyone. Also, she proved that in every bad moment, a joke can take place because in her diary we can see how she did dirty jokes even though the nazis were looking for her, so she proved that she is actually important to show her bravery and intelligence.

Additionally, we can see she wrote about her life aspirations and her future, which never became true because they found her and killed her, which shows that some stories do have bad endings, also this diary proves, even more, the horrible things the Nazis did to the Jews just because of their religion. 

In conclusion, Anne Frank is a person we can look up to because of her intelligence, bravery, optimistic way of living, and her beautiful way of writing. In life, we need to start to be more optimistic.

Princess Diana

By Mariel Guerra and

9th Grade

Princess Diana, an international icon was born on the 1st of July 1961 in Norfolk. She was a trendsetter, not only fashion-wise but also because she was an activist way ahead of her time. Many people know Princess Diana as an incredible fashion icon, but I’m here to tell you that she was important for so much more than just her incredible sense of style.

Princess Diana was an advocate and humanitarian particularly interested in helping people in shelters, especially battered women and children. As a matter of fact, during her marriage to Prince Charles, she served as President of over a hundred charities focused on helping children and the homeless. For example, according to “historic newspapers”, she was the leader of organizations that had to do with battling poverty, and homelessness, banning the use of landmines, as well as other organizations and she was just generally in favor of changing our society for the better.

She was actually one of the first public figures to address the issue of HIV/AIDS and created changes regarding leprosy. She looked so happy while helping others when she did charity for those who really needed it. She set an example for many people all over the world, and she made sure to counteract beliefs in the world that were popular in her time but aren’t considered okay nowadays.

To me, Princess Diana is a role model, who even though is no longer with us, changed the world and flipped judgmental ideas around to create a more prosperous planet. Moreover, she was an inspiration for girls all over the world because she made them realize that you can do so much good and feel genuinely content with the satisfaction helping others brings. She also made girls understand their worth when throughout her life, she did what was best for her, even if those decisions were tough to make. Princess Diana was such an important activist who was passionate about helping those around her whenever she could.

In conclusion, Princess Diana was known for her impeccable sense of fashion, activism, and charitable work, but she used her fame to raise awareness about diseases, illnesses, domestic violence, and even mental health. She helped the sick and the poor despite her own personal problems while still prioritizing her family. Princess Diana said: “I lead from the heart, not the head.”. In my opinion, this means that she will give love to everyone, along with trying to make the world a better place by taking care of others instead of only doing what's good for her and her family. I believe that these are very important words that have a powerful meaning, they should be taken into consideration by every leader in the future who has the purpose of leading with pride and sympathy like her.

Kamala Harris

By Maria Paula López

9th Grade

Kamala Harris, an important woman figure and a great representative for women of color. Even for immigrants. Since little, Kamala Harris has been aware that the road to racial justice was hard and long. She often has spoken on her campaign of those who have come before her, of her parents, immigrants drawn to the civil rights struggle in the United States, and of the ancestors who have ‘paved the way'.

After her rise to the vice presidency, Kamala Harris has become the first woman and first woman of color to hold the office. This has become a milestone for a nation in disruption, in the struggle of a harsh history of racial injustice. Ms. Harris embodies the future of a country that is growing more racially diverse. In her victory speech, she spoke of her mother and the generations of women of all races who have made progress along the way for this moment to arrive. She said the following words; “While I may be the first woman in this office, I will not be the last, because every little girl watching tonight sees that this is a country of possibilities.” Representative Pramila Jayapal, Democrat of Washington said the following about Ms. Harris, “She understands what it means to be the child of immigrants. What it means to be a person of color seeking racial justice.”

I believe Kamala Harris is just one of many more women who will stand like she does. That will bring justice to us women and those of color. Who will represent us in many ways and show our strength to the world? Ms. Harris has done the first step for us and has made an impact on the world and on women. This will encourage other women to do what she's done and to let the world see that a woman is capable of anything.

Queen Elizabeth I

By Francisco Feliz

9th Grade

Queen Elizabeth I or also known as “The Virgin Queen” daughter of  Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn came to reign in 1558. This Queen had a certain trait that makes her stand apart from all the Queens in England as her surname says, she was a virgin until the day of her death. It wasn’t because she was ugly or because people never saw her, in fact, she received several propositions, King Frederick II, and King Eric XIV of Sweden were some examples of the pretenders she had, nonetheless, she rejected all of them. In addition, she was a great ruler, she succeeded in protecting England and its territories, and she was also religiously tolerant which was something rare for the time. This exemplifies the independence of Queen Elizabeth I. She didn’t need a man by her side to rule England, and she could run the country effectively. She stood firmly with that policy until the day she died.

In conclusion Queen Elizabeth I, was a woman who could take the role of men, the role of Queen, and could do everything that Kings could and even better without the help of any men. 

Serena Williams

By Miguel Gadala-María

9th Grade

Serena Williams is the representation of black empowerment…

She was the first black tennis player of all time, her goal was to follow her goal, but also to encourage black people, not to be afraid to show their skin. If you didn't know in 1990 tennis was basically a white sport you didn't see black tennis players at the time. In 1995, when Williams was in the ninth grade, her father pulled his daughters out of Macci's academy and took over all coaching at their home. Serena was so passionate about her goal that she wouldn't let anything stop her from achieving it. But she wasn't very happy with this decision. She wanted to go pro as soon as possible, but her dad did not agree to that…

After doing what her dad said, she kept trying to convince him of changing his opinion by letting her go pro. After more practicing and a lot of studies, Serena kept trying and trying until she got what she wanted… but after getting even better and better at tennis she started playing in important tournaments and games, and also showing people that being black is not a disadvantage in life that tennis is also a black sport and showing people to not be afraid, but to be brave. 

Then she continued to play and get better until she went pro, she is the first black tennis player that went pro. Her dad was hugely proud of her. 

Harriet Tubman

By Jade Mei Cheaz

9th Grade

While I searched for an important woman to write about, I thought about writing about someone I already knew about, but I was curious and looked up somebody I didn’t know; I’m glad I did. Tubman is somebody which I look up to now that I know more about her.

According to WomensHistory.com, Tubman was known as “Moses of her people”, this is because she helped a lot of people get freedom and break free from enslavement. Harriet Tubman was born into an enslaved family with 8 siblings. She was enslaved, abused and rented as a domestic servant at an early age, despite this, she later managed to escape and even went back to help more people who were going through the same thing she did, if it weren't for her, a lot of people would've been kept enslaved and would've gotten the chance at freedom. 

In conclusion, I think that Tubman is one of the strongest people I've ever known, despite her past trauma of being a slave and being abused, once she escaped, she went back and helped people with the risk of getting caught never leaving anyone behind. She risked her life for the freedom of people being treated unfairly and I really admire that, and think that she should be talked about more often.

To wrap it up, if you are a woman, feel proud of what you are and how many of us have helped society. Happy International women’s day, ladies. You deserve it!