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 Notch Trail, Badlands National Park Credit: Tim Park     This past summer, I was able to visit several well-known landmarks in the American West with my family. We visited the Badlands, Yellowstone, and The Grand Teton national parks. I had  high expectations for each of the landmarks and expected them not to disappoint. Some exceeded expectations while others underperformed. However, they each delivered a unique experience whether it was good or not.        Badlands National Park was the one of the first sites I visited. I have always wanted to visit this national park, so I had high expectations. Orginally, I thought this would be the best park I would visit during the road trip. However, it was slightly different than my expectations, but it still did not disappoint. However, I noticed the whole park seemed repetitive and I not have much to offer. Compared to Yellowstone and The Grand Tetons, it did not have the variety the others. Otherw...

                                Life of Pi Book by Yann Martel Review by Isaak Kumar      "Life of Pi" is a fiction novel written by Yann Martel in September 11, 2001. It depicts the fascinating struggle of the main character and his companion, a fully grown Bengali Tiger, as they try to survive in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. Piscine Molitor Patel, also known as Pi, is a zookeeper's son in Pondicherry. Due to his background, Pi grows up familiar with animals of all different shapes and sizes. By the age of 16, Pi's family and zoo are relocated to Quebec, Canada in the Japanese cargo ship Tsimtsum . However, in the middle of his trans-Atlantic voyage, a storm suddenly strikes and sinks the  Tsimtsum, with Pi barely escaping by lifeboat! As he comes to terms with his parent's death, Pi finds out that he is not the only one on in his drifting lifeboat. He is accompanied by Bengali Tige...

  By Ceyda Urcan     (This review contains slight spoilers)          In this review, I will be talking about Hooky by M íriam Bonastre Tur. Hooky follows the adventures of twins Dorian and Dani, who just happen to be witches. When Dorian and Dani miss the bus to magic school they decide to find a mentor to study with and eventually find a soothsayer named Pendragon. They are now flung into an adventure with new friends, new spells, and giant squid? Hooky was a magical book and an absolute joy to read. The book has everything you could possibly want, charming characters, an adorable art style, and a genuinely interesting story to go along with it.                Hooky had good writing, but what I found more interesting was the unique paneling. The drawings seemed dynamic and alive. Many of the drawings stick out of the panels but it's not overdone to the point where it's distracting. The paneling provide...

      Students at my school are free and encouraged to talk about their mental health issues. It helps us better understand our peers how to create a comfortable academic environment, as well as learn effective ways of communicating to individuals facing different conditions. Even though this seems like a perfectly safe space to share, to most of us struggling with mental health issues opening up to others is a very stubborn process. There is so much stigma that surrounds mental health disorders such as OCD, which I personally struggle with. I'm just starting on my journey to embracing who I am and recognizing how much strength it takes to grapple with mental health issues, and I hope after reading this blog post you muster up a little more courage to share, too.      Imagine holding a knife in your hand. Maybe you were collecting plastic utensils for the school lunch, using it to cut a cardboard box open, slicing up vegetables or fruit. Now picture yoursel...