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Panther Press December 2022

Forest Lake Academy Student Newspaper

Volume 2, Issue 5

Resolutions for NOW, not Later By: Ava Niemeyer, Editor-in-Chief Most resolutions are related to health and getting in shape, the prospect of finally keeping better eating habits and building muscle having always been so appealing. People look at their spending tendencies and wish they’d be able to eventually save up for that car they’ve always wanted or pay off those student loans - “save more money” becomes their resolution. There are especially those with career ambitions or company achievements to reach, so starting in January they’re going to actually keep up with their monthly goals.

ical health, none of it needs to wait to be improved in the future. Think about the best possible future for yourself, maybe the career you’ve always wanted. What's stopping you from beginning that now? Find someone who has that job and shadow them. Study that field and discover for yourself if that is what you really want. That is your resolution: to begin your future now. If your academic success is not where you need it to be, focus on better study habits or plan a reward for yourself for when you reach that grade. It may look like it will take too much effort, but you know you’re capable of getting there if you really try. That grade could make the difference of a college acceptance, and your resolution can get you there.

However, since when did high schoolers really need to focus on these things, since when did we even set resolutions in the first place? Most don’t. If you’re not at least a young adult, it is much harder to attain the common goals of people nowadays. In reality, we don’t even have career challengNo matter what grade level you are in, what you are es yet or many health issues to fight. doing with your time, or where your ambitions lie, That said, the idea that it is less important for high you are capable of setting a successful resolution schoolers to set resolutions is distorted. In fact, for yourself. Maybe you’ve tried resolutions before, teenagers are more driven and hold more emotional or this will be your first, either way it’s crucial to passion to not just go through with resolutions sucgive your life something to reach for and keep you cessfully but even exceed them. No, we do not have going. And along the way, never forget your life the same resources or revenue as others who are source and greatest guide to success, your spiritual older and have established careers. But we do still relationship and reliance on God. have our education, personal health, spirituality, Everyone could use a New Year’s resolution this possible side job earnings, or athletic teams. We year, I hope the FLA students will find what theirs have our own futuristic hopes and dream careers, and we're responsible for our own mental and phys- need to be. Happy New Year!

2 0 2 2 Refl e c t e d By: Leif Bromme, News Editor The new year prompts us to look forward and set goals for ourselves. Less emphasized is the need to look back and consider humanity’s past and collective future. As billions celebrate the dawn of a new era, never forget the past. As billions form resolutions for themselves, never forget to remember what 2022 and 2023 meant and will mean for humanity. The overarching story of the past few years has undoubtedly been coronavirus. In the United States, COVID became highly infectious but significantly less severe. Inflation increased, led by global food prices. In some areas, necessities such as wheat increased in price by 20%. Monkeypox began, and major hurricanes like Nicole and Ian pummeled the southeast. Also, Elon Musk decided to buy Twitter.

path of self-destruction. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released the second segment of their report, explaining that many environmental impacts are on the verge of becoming irreversible. On April 4, they concluded their report by warning that greenhouse gas emissions must peak by 2025 at the latest and decline by 43% by 2030 in order to limit global warming sufficiently. On November 15, the world population reached a staggering 8 billion.

However, many good things occurred last year. On December 18, Argentina bested France in the FIFA World Cup hosted by Qatar. Researchers finally discovered the Endurance: Antarctic explorer Ernest Shackleton’s vessel from his 1915 expedition. On September 26, NASA’s DART spacecraft crashed Amidst this chaos, the Russo-Ukrainian war raged into the asteroid Dimorphos to test planetary deon. As territory shifted and armies clashed, the fense solutions. The Event Horizon telescope also flashing images akin to a Risk board fluctuated on produced the first image of the black hole at the our TV screens. Although Russia pushed further incenter of our galaxy. While other countries fought, to the country, Ukraine fought back, famously reCanada and Denmark resolved their differences reclaiming Kherson: a regional capital. The sinking of spectfully by dividing Hans Island, a locale contestthe Russian warship Moskva was also a historic moed for decades, in half. Turkey and Israel also ment for the Ukrainian military. So far, the war has agreed to restore full diplomatic relations. Ten naresulted in 15.7 million displaced Ukrainians. In retions joined together to create the “Great Blue Wall” sponse, the United Nations has banned Russia from Initiative to protect ocean environments from climany international committees and events. mate change. Struggling humpback whales and monOther countries also went through turmoil in 2022. arch butterflies also made a comeback. Remember Kazakhstan experienced protests due to heightened the ozone layer crisis? The ozone hole has degas prices, as did Sri Lanka due to economic woes. creased steadily after governments around the The United Kingdom experienced the death of their world banned the chemicals to blame. Charmingly, queen and the notably brief tenure of prime minisCanada has just approved a program that permits ter Liz Truss due to her unpopular financial plan. doctors to prescribe an annual pass to their national Burkina Faso experienced not one, but two coups parks. last year. Then Shinzo Abe, the former prime minisWars, coups, and conflicts rage on. Prices rise. Viter of Japan, was assassinated. ruses and pandemics continue to ripple through our On June 22, a 6.2 magnitude earthquake killed over communities. Extreme weather and climate change 1,000 people on the border between Afghanistan and threaten to end the world as we know it. Somehow, Pakistan. On June 27, 53 migrants were found dead in through it all, humanity has the power to look fora truck trailer near San Antonio. With all the conward. flict throughout the year, one might adopt a dim (Continued on next page) view of our future. Humanity itself seems to be on a

A new year lets us envision a future where the good outweighs the bad, and maybe even conquers it. New Year’s is less about personal resolution and more about human hope. The Russo-Ukrainian war might be raging, but Canada and Denmark came to a compromise. External and internal threats endanger

our world, but NASAs got a plan to destroy any incoming asteroids. The restoration of the ozone layer shows what humanity can do if we cooperate and consider our collective future. In 2023, lets come together as we make the greatest resolution of them all — many more New Year’s to come.

Positive Transitions By: Lindsey Hazen, Design Editor As 2022 comes to a finish, we are reminded of the dwindling amount of time that we for so long had taken for granted, in a stage called our “teenage” years, or “high school”. The real world is right around the corner, which can be a terribly amazing thing. The largest milestones in life are coming right at us, and the simplicity of childhood is waning. Though this can be a frightening thought as we leave our safe bubble and take the long-awaited first steps of adulthood, we can be comforted by the fact that we are headed in the direction that we are meant to be. This ever-approaching chapter will be a time for both lessons and love. Life is meant to have many stages, and each of these stages sculpts us into the people we are meant to be. This motion of moving on through them and growing up can be an unbelievably beautiful and influential thing, as long as we allow it to be. In each closing of a chapter in the story of our lives, there is a bittersweet beauty that we only see after moving on. Although that may have been a time of happiness, there are other sweet fruits of goodness that we have yet to taste. If we were stuck in one chapter of life forever, we would never have the opportunity to grow into the people we are meant to be. If we had stayed in the year 2021 permanently, none of the wonders of 2022 would have left their marks on us. Just as if we had never left middle school, we

would never have known the joys of our teenage years and would have never met the people that were waiting for us there. We would never have learned the lessons that would later shape our entire lives, and never have made the memories that we will hold close to our hearts until our final days. In the same way, if we do not leave the simplicity and safety of high school and our hometown, we will never become the people that the world needs us to be. Though it may be hard to move on from a time that many have grown to love, and though it is difficult to leave behind beloved friends and nostalgic places, we must keep in mind one thing: we cannot hold onto these places or people forever. We must realize that this conclusion to childhood is truly the dawn of the rest of our lives. Yes, these are moments to cherish forever, but what of the key memories we will make after we take our leave?

See, in a way, growing up can be a beautiful thing. We have made memories that we will cherish for the rest of our lives, and now we are leaving to begin more once-in-a-lifetime experiences. Though our time on the clock may be dwindling, and our time before entering the adult world nears, think not of the sorrow you may feel that childhood is ending, but of the excitement that the most impactful chapter of your life is just beginning.

Where did FLA student s vacatio n over break?

“I started doing miniatures during Covid and then got the idea of doing a mini library when I was able to get some books from an auction online. The students loved it so much that it expanded from one room to now 4 rooms. Different students helped contribute furniture and ideas. They even painted pictures to hang in the walls which then birthed the idea of an art gallery room with a cafe where mini artist could paint. All of the art work showcased has been done by students at FLA. I have had several students say they wished they could shrink down to go inside. I tell them they can in their imaginations. I do it all the time!”— Ms. Brown PC: David Acosta

How can I incorporate my spiritual life into this new year? Dear fellow student of Christ, I advise that you choose to treat every day as a “New Year”, when it comes to your spirituality. Give your cross of burdens, heavy weighing tests, and life changing decisions to Him every morning before you begin each day. Even if it is just a prayer, it is worth more than you’ll know. At the end of the day we will all always have some area of needed guidance and peace, the Lord is where you find it. God is the only one who will always be committed to you, and in turn, it is only fair that we strive to be just as committed to Him.