From Colombia to the U.S.: Not exactly the American dream (with video)
Laura Amador-Toro, Staff Photographer
March 18, 2019
Filed under Opinions, Personal Columns, Showcase
Since moving to the U.S., I can’t help but miss Colombia every single day. I remember getting to school early and hearing the birds chirp so pleasantly, as if you were alone in the middle of the forest. There, my friends and I had similar experiences when it came to joining a new school....
What journalism means to me: Improving work ethic leads to heightened passion
Pramika Kadari, Copy Editor
February 24, 2019
Filed under Opinions, Personal Columns
After being assigned my first Sidekick story in September 2017, I basically forgot about it - until former Sidekick entertainment editor Kelly Wei, who is now serving as editor-in-chief, confronted me for missing my deadline a week later. Somehow, I was genuinely confused about why she cared ...
Lasting impression: how journalism has impacted me, allowed me to find my own story
Sofia Guerrero, Co-Student Life Editor
February 23, 2019
Filed under Opinions, Personal Columns
It was freshman year, and I had to make a decision. I was currently in Principles of Arts, A/V Tech and Communications, and I was having trouble choosing between the newspaper and the broadcast course. Both intrigued me for different reasons, but it was journalism as a whole that excite...
How journalism allowed me to better understand myself
Shravya Mahesh, Staff Writer
February 22, 2019
Filed under Opinions, Personal Columns
“What do you want to be when you grow up?” From the moment this question was posed, I wondered what I would do in the future. I explored various hobbies and fields, including fashion design, forensics and music, yet none of them seemed to stick quite right. Finally, one d...
Hearing great stories, seeing little details
Sally Parampottil, Co-Student Life Editor
February 21, 2019
Filed under Opinions, Personal Columns
Stories have always fascinated me. From a young age, I would read book after book and watch movie after movie to build up my collection of tales. When I joined The Sidekick staff, I found that journalism became my new source of stories. Journalism gives me a chance to meet people I woul...
In his element: Newsroom captures heart of Sidekick adviser
Chase Wofford, The Sidekick adviser
February 19, 2019
Filed under Opinions, Personal Columns, Showcase
Sophomore year at the University of Alabama could not have started better. I had made it through freshman year and finished first semester of my second year with great grades. Then things changed second semester. My dad entered the hospital unexpectedly and died 30 days later. My positive college ...
My pink skirt doesn’t define me, and it shouldn’t define you
Claire Clements, Editorial Page Editor
January 23, 2019
Filed under Opinions, Personal Columns
I used to hate the color pink. It wasn’t that I hated the color itself, but the fact that growing up, pink was associated with girlinesss. And growing up, girliness was bad. I don’t have any siblings, but I have a cousin I grew up with who is basically my brother. When he wa...
Unheard and unknown: my experience with dance
Shreya Beldona, Staff Writer
January 16, 2019
Filed under Opinions, Personal Columns
“You’re a dancer? What type of dance do you do?” “I’m a classical dancer. I do Kuchipudi.” All of a sudden, their smile fades and with it, their intrigue. “Oh.” For as long as I have done Kuchipudi, this is the same reaction I usually receive...
Beauty from within
Umama Suriya, Staff Writer
January 11, 2019
Filed under Opinions, Personal Columns
Society. It tells you that a perfect girl needs to be skinny like a twig, have pronounced curves and wear layers of makeup to cover the scars and acne naturally on her face. Who made society this way? Why is the ideal and perfect girl the most beautiful? I am a short, average-weighted girl with glasses...
Ending “smart Asian” stereotypes
Pramika Kadari, Copy Editor
November 30, 2018
Filed under Opinions, Personal Columns, Showcase
I am Indian, and I am not enrolled in six AP classes. I am Indian, and I did not score well on the SAT my first try. I am Indian, and I struggle so much in calculus that I study for hours outside class just to understand basic concepts, because I cannot keep pace with the teacher’s lectures. ...
From sunny Florida to frigid Virginia to dry west coast
Anika Arutla, Staff Writer
November 29, 2018
Filed under Opinions, Personal Columns
Living on the southern tip of the northeast for most of my life, I grew up in what is the ideal holiday atmosphere. Christmas Day, it would be below freezing, with a few exceptions, with a light layer of snow covering the ground like a blanket. However, as my family traveled more during t...
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 ...
