I have a voice, I want to use it

Anika Arutla, Staff Writer

November 6, 2018

Filed under Opinions, Personal Columns

Change. That is what I think about when I think about voting. It is common misconception that one vote, among millions, is not worth anything - that it is a simple raindrop in the middle of the vast ocean.   Millions of those raindrops make up the ocean; similarly, my vote, even though it ...

The phrase “accept yourself” is more than a cliché

Nishant Medicharla, Staff Writer

October 26, 2018

Filed under Opinions, Personal Columns, Showcase

Throughout my childhood, I have always wondered what it would feel like to have light skin. How it would feel to be someone other than “dark”?   This thought would always come up partly because I grew up in an Indian society where being “fair” was desired and learned about American history wh...

Why walk it off is not just empty advice

Anthony Cesario, Entertainment Editor

October 22, 2018

Filed under Opinions, Personal Columns

As school days got longer and more exhausting through the years, and sheets of unfinished homework began to pile higher on my desk, the last thing I wanted to hear was my parents telling me to get outside and go for a walk.   I would groan and complain, insisting that going on a walk was b...

Reflecting on a year without dance; a quitter does not equal loser

Claire Clements, Editorial Page Editor

October 3, 2018

Filed under Opinions, Personal Columns, Showcase

I do not consider myself to be a spontaneous person.   Ranging from what socks I am going to wear today to what colleges I am going to apply for, I like to sit and think hard about something for an extended period of time before making a decision.   So it came as quite a shock to...

Strengthening hands, knowledge through sign language

Pramika Kadari, Copy Editor

September 8, 2018

Filed under Opinions, Personal Columns

  Last December, I met my first Deaf* friend, The Sidekick editorial page editor Claire Clements. When she first explained she was deaf, I immediately said, “That’s so cool!”   Everyone laughed, and she said that was the first time she had heard that response. For years, I have ...

Kadari crosses the country

Pramika Kadari, Staff Writer

May 22, 2018

Filed under Opinions, Personal Columns, Showcase

After 15 years of living in one state, one town, one house, moving from Illinois to Texas in the middle of my high school career was not something I was happy about.   The decision had been somewhat sudden - announced near the beginning of the summer that we would most likely be moving a...

“What makes a friend a real friend?”

Renata Barona, Staff Writer

May 17, 2018

Filed under Opinions, Personal Columns

A few months ago two very important people in my life got mad and our friendship ended in a blink of an eye.   We have all heard the saying that some friendships do not last forever, and sadly, it is true. How would you feel if suddenly the person you thought it was your friend is not the ...

My happy ending: Why I am not continuing synchronized swimming in college

May 15, 2018

Filed under Opinions, Personal Columns

If I could pinpoint the moment I decided not to pursue synchronized swimming (synchro) in college it would be two years ago at a competition in Mesa, Ariz. as I clung to the pool wall staring at a Lindenwood University swimmer.   The nerves I had for my upcoming routine combined with the image of the swimmer’s swimsuit ri...

A letter to mother nature, our home and safe haven

Anika Arutla, Staff Writer

April 28, 2018

Filed under Opinions, Personal Columns, Showcase

Dear Mother Nature,   Billions of years ago, an asteroid crashed into another asteroid, thus creating you, our home.   You provide us with water that has the ability to act as a mirror, scenery that makes us feel at peace and mesmerize us at the same time with air so clean and ...

Modern day feminism: How media has molded a movement

Jessica Hernandez, Staff Writer

April 19, 2018

Filed under Opinions, Personal Columns

From Broadway musicals to social media posts, feminism has become a central theme for thousands of stories that are being told every single day.   Although the definition of feminism varies from person to person, I see it as the advocating for equality of the sexes and the empowerment of ...

Representation in media extends greater than race, gender

Claire Clements, Staff Writer

April 16, 2018

Filed under Opinions, Personal Columns

On March 23, Apple announced that it planned on releasing 13 new emojis. These emojis are not smiley faces or flags.   They are emojis for disabled people. They are wheelchairs, canes, prosthetics and hearing aids.   A few weeks later, Tommy Hilfiger released an Adaptive clothing l...

Searching for enlightenment, finding peace through meditation (with video)

Anika Arutla, Staff Writer

March 29, 2018

Filed under Opinions, Personal Columns, Showcase

Four years ago, my father spent 10 days at a meditation camp in Delaware without access to technology and without speaking to anyone, including the other campers. He came back and said it was the best time of his life.   Within the next year, my mom went to the same camp in Delaware and my...