Alexander the Great by Jasmine HollingsworthWas Alexander the Great actually a great leader? After Alexander was born, his mother told everyone his father was actually Zeus, making everyone believe he was a demigod. He became known for his bravery and leadership once he got older. Alexander the Great was a great leader because lead his army very well, cared about his culture, and spread other cultures.
First of all, Alexander was a strong leader because instructed his men excellently. In 334 BCE, Alexander led his soldiers to invade the Persian empire and succeeded, leaving him and his army with the fame of being powerful. Alexander led his army into success and gained more land for Macedonia, proving he was a great leader because he made them triumph, great leaders lead their armies into victory. In 333 BCE, Alexander and his troops conquered many cities, making them surrender out of fear and astonishment. Once again, Alexander leads his army into victory, again demonstrating his great leadership because he pushed his army to be successful, great leaders help people succeed. This all proves Alexander was an amazing king. If that first reason hasn’t convinced you that Alexander was actually great, Alexander was an excellent ruler because he cared about his Greek culture. Before Alexander’s first expedition to invade the Perisian empire, Alexander paid a tribute to his mythical hero, Achilles by placing a wreath onto Achilles' supposed grave (ancient heroes.net, 2017). Alexander making his first stop there shows he was an inspiring leader because he wanted to show a care for his culture, the myths he loves, and led his army to join him. Great leaders inspire their people. After Alexander conquered various places in 333 BCE, he sent riches back to Greece to help build temples and fund athletic competitions & religious ceremonies (Barry, 2017). His actions with his money shows us he’s a good leader because he showed us that he cares about his people, great leaders care about their people and help them. Alexander’s actions prove he was a magnificent ruler. To finish us off, Alexander was a spectacular king because he encouraged and helped the spreading of different cultures. During 324 BCE, after Alexander and his men returned to Macedonia, Alexander arranged a huge marriage between his men and Persian women, attempting to blend cultures. Arranging the marriage shows that Alexander was an accepting leader because he wanted to keep and spread cultures, great leaders respect and help spread cultures. On top of that, after he conquered some places, he allowed cultural customs and practices to continue, sometimes he even wore the local clothing style to show he accepted the culture (penfield.edu, Year unknown). Him doing these things also tells us he was an accepting leader because he wanted the customs to continue, so they could spread, great leaders embrace and accept cultural differences and customs. These actions prove he was a wonderful leader. A great leader to look back on from ancient times would be Alexander the Great because he was an amazing commander of his army, lover of his culture, and acceptor of other cultures. We should all be like Alexander, an accepting leader. We should all accept other cultures and traditions, like he did and lead a team with inspiration, like he did. Why the Dress Code is Weird By Mel and viviWe are all aware that APG has a dress code. People must have appropriate clothing at all times at school. You can’t wear anything too revealing or sexually suggestive or anything that has alcohol/drug/tobacco use on them and you have to wear shoes that don't show your toes. But this isn't being enforced fairly. Some people wear baggy pants that fall down to their ankles and nobody says anything about it, while other people might get dress-coded for just showing their stomach.
The dress code is somewhat fair though. Like not wearing clothing that shows almost everything. If someone is wearing a shirt that has an inappropriate image, they should get dress coded. But if the person is just wearing a crop top, they shouldn't get dress coded. The dress code is crucial for making APG a safe place but why are stomachs and kneecaps such a problem? It’s not like people are sexually attracted to them or anything, especially since everyone has them. Sometimes the dress code just doesn’t make sense. For example, there are some people that wear pants three sizes too big and they’re falling down to their ankles and their underwear is showing and nobody says anything about it. Also, sometimes people wear really short shorts and nobody says anything about that, either. But when some people, mostly girls, wear clothing that is “too low” or shows their stomach, they get dress-coded. Sometimes it’s understandable, but why would you dress code someone for showing their stomach or collar bone or something and not for showing their underwear? It doesn’t make a lot of sense to me. If you want to dress code people for wearing crop tops, either dress code everyone if they break the dress code (shirts and pants), or don’t dress code anybody (obviously naked people/people in straight up bras/underwear should be dress coded but otherwise no). In conclusion, the dress code at APG is weird. Sometimes it’s reasonable, but most of the time people who get dress-coded aren't really doing anything wrong. Most people who get dress-coded are just showing their stomach or collar bone, but other people who are showing almost their whole leg don’t get bugged or anything. Overall, the APG dress code is kinda unfair and we should be able to dress how we want as long as it’s not too over-the-top. |
Love and death by Mauricio BecerraWhen the universe was created someone decided that I should be called death and I should be black, sad, and always dark. Life is another story. He is so annoying. His light is always so bright it wakes me up although we are so far apart. Although I really don’t sleep. My job is 24/7,so is Life’s but it is still not as hard as mine. I have to watch pained faces as I strip away souls and tears roll down on family member’s faces. When somebody dies alone it makes my job easier. I am the only one wearing a pained face.
May 7th was the date that broke me. It was another ordinary day with Life waking up and shining through my window. I had been woken up at 2 a.m by a ringing in my ear telling me that someone had died (R.I.P Evelyn). I was sitting on the edge of my bed when the shine came through my window. Another exciting day!! Yay! I got up and went to the kitchen. Just because I was Death did not mean that I could not enjoy a great cup of coffee. I drank my coffee with a piece of bread and got ready for another hard day at work. My second job came at 9 a.m when an old man named George died from age. What a peaceful way to die. You grew up and didn’t have to worry about any diseases. You died happily. Or maybe not. I went out for lunch at 12 p.m at In-n-out. I went into the back kitchen and grabbed a burger(with no onions),some fries, and an ice cold water. I sat in the yard of the middle school with the greatest view of the ocean. A.P Gianinni. I sat there and ate my burger as kids played and ate. I am assuming it was lunch time. When I finished my burger I decided I would float down to the beach and get an up close. That is when a ringing ringed in my ear. Dang it! Right now! I turned my back towards the ocean and I followed the way where the ringing got louder. The death was happening east. I floated towards the east for about 10 minutes when I finally stumbled upon a pink and blue house. The colors were kind of mushed together. The ringing in my ear told me that death was happening inside and when I floated through the door there it was. There was a long hallway and at the end of the hallway there was a tall winding that started from the middle of the wall all the way to the roof. Below it were two people. One was male and one was female. The female was crying. Through her sobs she was saying “Please don’t die” I thought to myself If only it could be that easy child. If only. One glance and I instantly knew all about them. The female’s name was Camila and she was thirty three years old. The guy on the floor was her boyfriend, Daniel, and he was thirty two years old. Daniel was bleeding out and I never found out what. As I approached them something in me changed. I could feel Camila’s sobs bouncing off my dark clothing and Daniel’s shallow breathing became really loud all of a sudden. I felt very sad and was filled with emotion. Instead of watching from above this time I sat down next to them. I was wearing a long black dress that day. I put it around me flat on the ground so it would look like a flower. I studied Daniel and noticed something. It wasn’t his time yet. He still had some life left in him and through shallow breaths he said “Camila, there is no point in calling for help. I want to die here in your arms.” Camila looked up. Tears were still flowing down her face and she said “You can’t die. I need you.” “We both know we need each other but it is time.” He looked up and straight at me. I felt shivers go through me. It was as if he was saying that it was time and that he knew that Death was near. “Please Daniel, you can’t leave me” Daniel looked at Camila and took one of her strands of hair in his hand and pushed it behind her ear. His next words came as whispers. You could barely hear them. “I have died everyday waiting for you. Darling don't be afraid I have loved you, for a thousand years. I’ll love you for a thousand more” Camila looked up and smiled at him. She responded, “And all along I believed I would find you, time has brought your heart to me. I have loved you for a thousand years, I'll love you for a thousand more.” The next lyrics were sung by both of them. They harmonized as they sang “ and I'll love you for a thousand more” They smiled at each other and my tears rolled down my face. “Camila I was never good at goodbyes. So, Hello Camila. I love you” It was his time now I picked him up by the soul and sat there with his life in my hands, now dead. However, what I hadn’t noticed was that he had signed “I love you” in his hands before I took him “Hello, Daniel. I love you more than the stars in our universe” Camila signed “I love you” and put her hand on his chest. I got up and floated away. My tears matched Camila’s. I went to the funeral. I cried over a human for the second time there. When the ceremony ended I put up my hand and on it was signed “I love you” in sign language. Camila put hers up next and one by one everyone put up their hands until every single hand was up. Camila glanced at the casket and whispered "I love you Daniel" As she shed her last tear. School Lunch reviews by ella hutchisonMain Course:
Pizza [ ★★★☆☆ ] “It’s really mediocre. It’s edible but it can be too cold at times. The meat and sauce is the best part, while the cheese is gross & unappetizing.” - Anonymous (8th) Side Dish: Chicken Caesar Salad [ ★★☆☆☆ ] “The chicken is pretty gross, but the rest is fine. The best part has to be the croutons and the pita bread the salad comes with. I would probably recommend it to my friends (if they liked salad).” - Kimaaya (8th) Dessert: Parfait [ ★☆☆☆☆ ] “This is just gross. The topping (granola) gets really soggy, the fruit isn’t ever completely unfrozen, and the yogurt is too sweet. The best part about this is the cup. I wouldn’t wish this dish upon anyone.” - Maia (8th) |