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Bieberchella

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Op-Ed Post: How do we really feel?

By 8th-Grade Blogger Soleil Antle

This year’s annual Coachella Fest in La Quinta, California, was a hit! It was one of the best years for sure, but especially with Justin Bieber’s iconic performance. There are controversial opinions on his performance from weekend one, but we all know he was the one everyone was watching. 

Some people believed that Justin Bieber just doom scrolled on social media and sang along to his old songs; little do they know it’s more than that. This was his first big appearance on the stage in about four years. In 2022 he stopped touring to prioritize his mental and physical health when diagnosed with “Ramsay Hunt Syndrome”–which is a rare disorder caused by the same virus that causes Shingles and Chicken Pox. He was physically unable to perform because his disorder led to partial facial paralysis, making it impossible to sing. 

Canceling a tour isn’t as easy as it seems though because he ended up losing millions of dollars in the process, eventually ending up broke. In desperation, he sold his music for 200 million dollars which meant that 100% of his publishing rights, artist royalties, etc., would no longer be owned by him. So when one of his 290 songs were played on the radio or streamed on the internet, he would no longer be paid. 

After this, he left the public eye, for what felt like forever, to focus on himself. But he has now returned. His Coachella performance was actually very special because he regained ownership and control by releasing new music that wasn’t a part of the original catalog he sold. When he sat on the stage scrolling on just a MacBook and picking songs, it transformed the high-budget musical festival to a fun chill vibe that mirrored how his career originally started. He scrolled through his own history singing along to his older clips. People watched him grow up, and this was a special flashback. 

In the end, he had the highest-paying act in Coachella history, receiving 10 million dollars for a 90-minute performance. A lot of people renamed the popular event  “Bieberchella.” 

Justin Bieber sings his iconic song “Baby” with a youtube video in the back of his younger self (photo credit: Gianna).

Work Referenced: theatlantic.com

My Mood is Affected by the Horrible Heat 

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Op-Ed Post: How do we really feel?

By 12th-Grade Blogger Melina Brodeur

I always wondered why the weather was able to have the power to ruin someone’s day. Living in extreme heat for half of my life, I’ve noticed that the weather doesn’t just make me feel uncomfortable, but it affects the way my day goes. It affects my mood, motivation, and my mindset, and it’s so tiring. 

Extreme weather conditions are able to affect people’s mental health, and we should seriously start to think and talk about this more because this problem is mostly ignored or forgotten about. In the desert, where it is almost always scorching hot, basic tasks feel like I’m working a full-time job, even just taking out the trash is too much. You don’t want to go outside; you most definitely won’t feel productive, and your energy feels totally depleted. That’s when emotions start to go crazy: I start to feel irritated, lazy, and even feel stuck inside my own home. 

This isn’t just a personal opinion of mine; this has also been studied upon by the American Psychiatric Association (psychiatry.org): the organization states that “Extreme heat has been associated with a range of mental health impacts in research over many years, including increases in irritability and symptoms of depression.” When your body is extremely uncomfortable by the weather or situations around you, your mind is also uncomfortable, so the heat is able to affect your sleep schedule, raise your heart rate, and most definitely will affect your mental health. But, this is not just linked to heat. It’s also linked to any sort of weather; if where you live outside is always rainy, you may begin to start feeling depressed due to the gloomy weather (health line.com).

Senior Matteo Lam painted his parking spot back in September when temperatures soared still in the 100s. Seniors painted early in the morning to avoid the sun.

During the school year, it’s insanely difficult for me to keep up with classes when the weather is horribly hot because it constantly drains me to the point where I’m exhausted. Even when I’m hanging out with friends, the moment I step outside, it feels like I’m walking near a volcano, and then I feel as if I no longer want to go even if before I was excited. It’s a cycle where I want to go outside less, move less, and feel less motivated to do anything productive, and it’s so tiring.  Even if you lived here for so many years, you will never get used to it, and just because it’s common, doesn’t mean it’s not harmless to us. 

There are only a few ways to deal with this horrible heat, so stay hydrated, make sure to stay in colder areas with AC, and adjust your schedules to avoid running into the heat. So, if you think your mood is bad, your motivation gone, and everything feels harder than it should be, it’s most likely not you but the heat.

The Power of Having a Hobby

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Op-Ed Post: How do we really feel?

By 12th-Grader Melina Brodeur 

Bedazzling is one of my guilty pleasures. It takes many, many hours for me to finish a project, but placing down each little rhinestone is relaxing and allows me to get off my phone for a few hours. Bedazzling for me is not just decorating things with rhinestones, but a creative outlet that allows me to reduce my stress and anxiety. When I feel I am unable to focus on homework, do my reading, or even be able to study for a test, I decide instead to take some time to give myself a second to slow down, and focus on my thoughts while doing something I find extremely rewarding. I started bedazzling because I had watched a TikTok video of a girl explaining how much she enjoyed it.

I found it so satisfying to take something simple, like a water bottle, lip gloss, or even a phone case, and transform that plain item into something unique. Hobbies like bedazzling can bring back creativity into your life in a world full of social media. Instead of spending money on buying items that are manufactured and that everyone has, now you can create a unique item that is only yours, and even customize the colors, the patterns, and even the designs. Gluing down the rhinestones is extremely relaxing and takes a lot of patience and focus. If I ever need a break from homework, social media, or studying, I know I can rely on bedazzling to be able to ease my stress. There’s even research to support the idea (Mercy, 2023). According to the American Psychological Association, creative activities can decrease stress through expressive activities that involve concentration and imagination. They say having a hobby that involves using your hands, like doing crafts, can create a calming effect. 

Hobbies don’t have to be major like building a treehouse (although if you wanted, it would be cool); just do something that feels personal to you, give yourself a chance to slow down, focus, and enjoy yourself, and maybe you’ll figure out that this creativity will be the main component to you being able to pull through the rest of the year. So go find something you enjoy doing.

Melina bedazzled fragrance bottles and a mini Vaseline using rhinestones and adhesive.  Photo by author.

CUÁNTAS PATAS!!!

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Op-Ed Post: How do we really feel?

By 8th-Grade Blogger Jackie Pretorius

My dad needed an evil ploy to get us to learn some Spanish. He thought to himself what is the most awesomest thing in the whole wide world–so awesome in fact that his children wouldn’t mind speaking in a whole different language? Thus, Cuántas patas (how many paws) was born. Out of the blue, our dad will quiz us by asking cuántas patas? The thing that annoyed me most was that the answer was always cuatro (four). Cats have four paws, and that doesn’t change! It’s like that didn’t matter though. He would pretend we are in some sort of a gameshow and would be so enthusiastic whenever we got the answer right.

One Easter day we were doing our normal thing, finding eggs, and stuff. Usually we would have to complete a URL code that leads us to a video showcasing where we were going to travel next. In order to find the missing characters in the URL, we’d have to do a fun activity. I think you know where this is going. One by one he’d pick up our cats and shout cuántas patas in the most animated way possible, and when we answered “cuatro,” he would celebrate. I’d come to find this extremely annoying while Max (my brother) has embraced it and joined our dad’s side in trying to irritate me.

Also one of my games in Scratch (a simple kids block coding language), was having to take care of a cat by playing four different mini games. In one of these mini games, I made it so that the cat you were taking care of would quiz you with various questions about how many ears, eyes, and of course paws does a cat have in Spanish and later English. Best of all I showed it to our dad, and you can’t imagine how much he enjoyed it. A little inside joke he made has turned into so much more. Although I still find the cuántas patas game annoying, I’ve come to like it as it has brought us so many memories. And, now, you can embrace it and see how ridiculous but yet so wholesome cuántas patas came to be.

My Scratch game.

A World Filled with Possibilities

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Op-Ed Post: How do we really feel?

By 8th-Grade Blogger Soleil Antle

I often catch myself wondering about the future, wondering who I want to be when I’m older–not like the type of job I want, but who I want to be as a person. Do I want to be someone people look up to? This is an original poem about not knowing what the future holds: 

No matter how you feel right now,
About this moment,
This moment will never repeat itself.
Growing up is inevitable.
What do I want to be?
A person everyone trusts?
Someone everyone goes to see? 
In a world where I can be anything,
A world where I could have a crown, 
Or be the most famous,
Or be the smartest of the town,
I would choose to be the quiet listening ear,
Who helps her neighbour through the tears.
I would choose to be the person who holds open the door,
Never a mean word, wouldn’t want to leave a scar.
I would choose to be delicate with a certain poise,
But also a fun person filled with love and joy.
I would choose to see the world,
In all its glory and light.
Finding the beauty in everything,
Throughout the starry sky.

For me, it’s not what I want to be, but who I want to be. It’s hard to imagine that in a few years I won’t be here, young, with my friends; we will all be separated and on our different paths in life. I want to be someone people remember and trust. In a world where I could be anything, I would choose to be kind. 

The Horrible and Great Flags of the US

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Op-Ed Post: How do we really feel?

By 8th-Grade Blogger Max Pretorius

About a week ago, I blogged about the guidelines to creating flags. I went by the guidelines established by the UK’s Flag Institute and the North American Vexilogical Association. While doing this I used different examples of flags, some good, some bad. When finding these examples, I was forced to look into the horrible world that is American state flags. This has compelled me to make this post, looking into American state flags, going from best to worst. I will be grading the flags on a scale from 1 to 10.

The New State Utah Flag – 10/10

The current Utah flag features the Utah landscape with the red ground, white mountains, and blue sky. It also features a hexagon and beehive, representative of the Utah bees (Image source: https://flag.utah.gov/ ).
The old Utah flag was very ugly and overcomplicated. Interestingly enough though, it features a beehive just like the new one (Image source: https://onlinelibrary.utah.gov/state-symbol/historic-state-flag/ version 3).

One of, if not the best, US state flags has to be Utah’s. Utah actually had an old flag which was horrible, but they redesigned it for one that is much better. The new flag has three simple colors in the background, representing the Utah mountains with the red ground, white mountains, and blue sky. The center of the flag is a hexagon representing the bees with a beehive for them as well. The Utah beehive is iconic, representing the industrial drive of the Utah people, working together like a hive of bees, so it is quite symbolic. And, right below the beehive, there is a star, representing Utah’s star on the American flag. This is an AMAZING flag. I love it so much, and it shines in following the guidelines: it’s distinct, not too complex, and is filled to the brim with symbolism. Because of this, I give the Utah state flag a 10/10.

California – 7.5/10

The California flag has a bear above the text “CALIFORNIA REPUBLIC.” The bear is walking towards a star in the sky with a red stripe on the bottom (Image source: https://www.britannica.com/topic/flag-of-California ).

I’ve always had a soft spot for the Californian flag, as a Californian myself. Despite this, I have to acknowledge its imperfections. The flag is overall quite good. It has a big grizzly bear on it and has a red stripe along the bottom helping it be distinct from a distance. However, I cannot ignore the giant, bold text in the middle of the flag “CALIFORNIA REPUBLIC.” This does hurt the flag due to the use of text. But, as I mentioned in the last post, this use of text is somewhat of an exception to the rule because of the symbolism that comes to relating to the original Californian flag when California was rebelling from Mexico. The flag also has an awesome bear which is very nice. As much as I love this flag, the most I can give it is a 7.5/10.

Florida – 4/10

Florida’s flag has two red, diagonal strips going under the center of the flag with the Florida state seal. The black borders are caused by the Florida government website (so they aren’t really there on the flag). (image source: http://dos.fl.gov/florida-facts/florida-state-symbols/state-flag/)

Florida is a bad flag, but the main reason why it’s on this list is because it’s a copycat. Alabama has a flag that is nearly identical, to the point where Florida practically took Alabama’s decent, 8/10 flag, and not only stole it, but made it worse! The seal is super small, to the point where you can’t see much, and it is riddled with text. And, since they copied Alabama’s flag, their flag is less distinct! Because of this, the Florida state flag, in my opinion, is a 4/10.

Oregon – 2/10

This is the front variation of the Oregon flag. It’s a pretty lazy design with a name tag and date of “birth.” And, of course, it has an overcomplicated design in its center emblem (Image source: https://www.britannica.com/topic/flag-of-Oregon ).
This is the back of the flag, and it’s just a beaver, which is awesome (Image source: https://www.britannica.com/topic/flag-of-Oregon ).

At least I can say that Florida’s flag is somewhat distinct. I cannot say the same about Oregon. About 19 other states have the EXACT, SAME, FLAG. They follow the SAME, BORING design. It is just a blue background, stamped with an overcomplicated seal, coat of arms, some overcomplicated design, or in the case of Oregon, the added state name and date of admission. It’s such a LAZY template to use. And, the worst part is, because so many states have done it, each one makes it less and LESS distinct. The only SLIGHTLY decent part about this flag is the official back of the flag. It simply has a yellow beaver on a blue background, and that is so much better. Accounting for the front and back design, this flag gets a 2/10.

Illinois – 1/10

This is the flag of Illinois. It has the Illinois seal, and blue text saying “Illinois.” It’s a very lazy approach, and I don’t like it (Image source: https://www.britannica.com/topic/flag-of-Illinois ).

Words cannot describe the HATE I feel for this flag. It is the epitome of US state flags, the king of the lazy flags. It’s as if Illinois realized they needed a flag on government buildings so they just stamped a seal on a white flag, put a name tag on it, and called it a day. It is so indescribably lazy. At that point they shouldn’t have even made a flag, just hung up their state seal because it’s the same thing anyways. Illinois is an amazing state, which makes this flag even more disappointing, and because of that, 1/10.

Conclusion

If vexillology has taught me anything, it’s that it is very easy to make a bad flag, and when little effort is put into a flag, it becomes bad. Florida’s flag was only bad because they copied a flag and put their seal on it. Oregon’s flag is only bad because they use a simple template. And Illinois’s flag is only bad because they were too lazy to actually design a flag. However, if you really make sure to focus on the guidelines and just put in real effort into a flag, you can make an amazing flag like that of Utah or California.

Why Do Things Fall Out of the News Cycle?

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Spring semester blogger Melina Brodeur asks, “Why do things fall out of the news cycle?” She did some research. Here’s what she found.

By 12th-Grader Melina Brodeur  

News doesn’t stay “news” for long, and the main reason is the extremely fast pace of the 24-hour news cycle. The 24-hour news cycle is the constant reporting of issues, events, and updates around the clock across many platforms. This is a competition for attention between different news channels. Every news cycle wants to be the fastest to deliver information and stories. The new cycle pushes older topics out of the public eye, even if the issue persists. Everything in the news is constantly reviewed to see if it is still relevant to the times. In most 24-hour news cycles, according to KSL Executive Producer Kiera Farrimond, producers decide whether stories are worthy of broadcast; producers weigh whether audiences want to engage with stories or not. If a story cannot meet those requirements, it will be replaced by a new story. Journalists filter data because of either time, impact, or the ability to attract audiences, which causes newer stories to appear and old stories to disappear. In one case, the Coldplay concert was a controversy about a cheating scandal between a woman and her boss, caught on camera during a concert, and was aired online everywhere. But, today, we hear little about this situation; this controversy disappeared like a speck in the wind. 

Research shows that audience behavior on a repeated topic can lead to boredom and news avoidance (International Journal of Communication, 2023). So many of us become psychologically exhausted looking at the news; there is too much information all at once. Studies show that as news consumption increases, adults feel overwhelmed. Many of us limit how much news we follow. A great example of news avoidance is my mom; she tends to hate constantly hearing the news blare in her ears about all the horrible things happening. It brings down her mood, and she gets incredibly annoyed. That’s why news outlets stop running stories that aren’t gaining any traction anymore.

News organizations rely on audience attention to gain revenue. When stories stop attracting attention, they are replaced with different ones that will bring views. Views bring advertisers. Advertisers bring money. All these issues combined can make it seem like ongoing stories, many quite serious issues, seem too old to cover. Ukraine is an example of a serious situation with many fatalities, and many people have lost their homes, a situation that persists, which we barely hear about as much as we used to. The news algorithm’s favorite is what is newest and trending, which pushes the old stories out of public view. So, stories don’t disappear because they stop being important, but more because the media wants newer news.

First we Bopl, Then we Battle

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By 8th-Grade Blogger Max Pretorius

Bopl Battle is a game published by Zapray games. The game was first published on November 23, 2023, for Windows and Steam Deck. And, despite the simplicity of its nature, it is, in my opinion, the greatest game of all time, and everyone reading this post should give Bopl Battle a try!

Bopl Battle is a game that prides itself on simplicity. You, and 1-3 other people, go into a round–playing as little slime creatures with three abilities on a map that consists of oval-shaped platforms. You battle it out with those abilities. Despite being simple, the game is fun and addictive.

Bopls start a game with three abilities. The player chooses the abilities. Here I chose “grenade,” “blink gun,” and “air dash.” (Screenshot by Max)

The abilities in Bopl Battle are different tools/actions that the Bopls can use with “cooldowns” to help them be the last one standing. The abilities in Bopl Battle are also very intuitive, but they work because of the complexity added when you combine them with other abilities or the map itself. For example, you could just throw a grenade using the grenade ability, or you could combine it with “duplicate” to send four–instead of one–grenades flying towards your opponents. Or, you could just use a missile to explode your opponents, but you could also combine a missile ability with smoke in order to have larger explosions. Ability combos are what make Bopl Battle so re-playable. 

To employ a grenade ability, you simply throw it. (Screenshot by Max)

But, this isn’t just my opinion; I asked some of my friends who play Bopl Battle what their favorite thing about this game was, and these were their responses:

Hunter Fossey: “Killing you.”

Mason Mello: Beating you (paraphrased).

Jaxon Pacilio: “That I can play multiplayer.”

Mason Conway: “I like how the devs abandoned the game because the abandonment makes it niche.”

These replies, though varied, show off the most popular part of the game, being the multiplayer between friends. When my friends and I play Bopl Battle, we are very competitive and have a lot of fun beating each other–so much to the point where we make rankings on how good we all are at the game. (I’m last.) Furthermore, if you want to play with your friends and family on the same device, you can! Bopl Battle supports a shared screen, meaning you can play with multiple people by connecting multiple controllers to a device.

Overall, Bopl Battle is a fun yet competitive game that you can play with your friends and family. So give it a shot!

Mason Mello, Hunter Fossey, and Max played Bopl Battle two weeks ago. Max compiled clips of the game.

The World’s Most Amazing Cats

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With the new semester, we bring you new bloggers here at The Bird on Fire. For our first post of the semester, we introduce ourselves and share a passion or two. Here in January 2026, we’re interested in cats, video games, new year resolutions, musicals, and–how can we avoid it–the news cycle. — Advisor Zachik

By 8th-Grade Blogger Jacqueline Pretorius

My name is Jacqueline Pretorius, or Jackie for short. I’m in 8th grade, and this is going to be my first blog post. I chose to write about my three amazing cats. I’ve had more cats in my lifetime, but these are the ones that I have right now and am closest to. 

All the way back in third grade I was practicing some spelling words with Grammy (my Grandma) and my online teacher, and one of the words just so happened to be kitties. Once I spelled “kitties” correctly, Grammy told me that we had two kitties in our dad’s bathroom. I remember being so excited that I jumped out of my chair and ran out of my room. I didn’t even say goodbye to my teacher. I needed to see the kitties now! I quickly told my brother Max about the news and continued going down the hall. We met up and saw our kitties for the very first time in their little cages. 

We slowly introduced them to the house, and once they got to the living room, they were jumping around all over the place. It was so adorable. One cat we named Blitzen, after the reindeer. Blitzen for a while wouldn’t let me sleep since he kept on closing the door without realizing and then meowing afterwards. Eventually, after a couple sleepless nights we fixed the problem with a shoe blocking the door so that it couldn’t completely close. Then a while later Blitzen started making toilet paper art. I love him so much; he is more than just a friend to me. Every day after school he wants me to chase him down the hall for a scritching session. When I’m lying down on my bed he will sometimes go on top of me, put his paws on my neck, and start to purr. He has made it clear he has chosen me by meowing profusely when I’m at school or using the bathroom. The connection we built together is so indescribable. He has genuinely made me so happy that I can’t begin to imagine what life was like before we got him.

If I try to move Blitzen’s paw off my neck, he will nonchalantly put it back. This photo was taken when I was ten years old. Now I’m 14.

But overtime Blitzen became the only kitty in the house, and he was getting lonely when I wasn’t around, so in 7th grade we got two new kitties, their names being Frisky and Sunny. They came from the same litter, and they are both orange–although Sunny has lighter fur than Frisky. Sunny has chosen Max by always being with him, and whenever Max isn’t giving him enough attention Sunny will drag me along into his room. He also really likes these little alien toys for some reason, and he will run around to get them till we think it’s time to stop. He is cute, but also very manipulative when it comes to treats. Whenever we are in the kitchen he will meow or sometimes he will lead us to the cat treats.

Sunny comes to my room and meows, then goes to the cat tower and constantly looks back to see if I’m still there, and once there he will show me his furry tummy.

Frisky on the other hand helps Dad (a tele-radiologist) with the cat scans on his desk, occasionally turning off his computer monitor. Frisky has this specific spot that he leads me to so that he can be scritched. He is very playful since whenever you pet him he will try to bite and paw you, but it’s in a friendly way since he purrs throughout. Every night before bedtime we play with the kitties in my room, but Frisky has been too shy to go in. Last Christmas however we got a laser pointer, and he seems to really enjoy it so much so that his fear of going into my room when it’s play time has been conquered as he would not let the laser pointer get away that easily.

Frisky V.S Laser*

*(Above is a link to a Frisky Video: Just look at his head moving in sync with the laser. So cute! Also please don’t shine the laser pointer on your cat like I did accidentally as you can hurt them if it’s shined on their eye. Luckily he is okay!) 

All the cats have similarities–like using the chairs as their scratching post, even when there is an actual scratching post, as well as re-purposing random objects as things to paw even when there are cat toys just for that. Speaking of which, let’s hear their thoughts on these matters.

Interviewing my cats

 I understand if at first cats seem to not be that energetic, keep more to themselves, claw the furniture, and sometimes toilet paper, but it’s the bond you have with them that really counts.

Is Power a Good Thing?

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This week, our bloggers consider the in’s and out’s of power and leadership. Soleil begins with a balanced approach. Wait until you get to Sami’s, Mason’s, and Morgan’s pieces on power run amuck.

By 8th-grade writer Soleil Antle 

Power is defined as “the capacity or ability to direct or influence the behavior of others or the course of events,” so says Leadership Magazine.  

Thus, power is an extremely influential force. But, remember: not only can it inspire greatness; it has the ability to destroy. When power lies in the hands of someone who has the will to improve and create opportunities while opening doors of new wisdom and ideas, it is capable of shaping history, impacting nations, and changing lives. Think of the accomplishments of Martin Luther King, Jr., George Washington, and Oprah Winfrey. However, power comes with responsibility. When that ability is abused and turned into manipulation and lack of empathy, it turns power dark and dangerous. 

Martin Luther King, Jr., delivered his famous Civil Rights “I have a dream” speech before an estimated crowd of 250,000 (constitutioncenter.org).

When you have power, you control, and when seeking a positive outcome, it takes influence, perseverance, responsibility, and compassion. Abraham Lincoln, though a powerful president, faced many setbacks, personally and politically. He endured business failures, losses in elections, family tragedies, etc. (abrahamlincolnonline.org) But that didn’t defeat him; he continued excelling by persevering and using his determination, and that elected him President. He ended up making a powerful impact leading the county through the Civil War, uniting the Union and even ending slavery. He was one of the most influential people to use their power for good.   

Abuse of power often leads to an exploitation of the human condition. To have an impact on the people around you, your approach must be appropriate. I know that personally if a decision were to be made that affected me, I would like to contribute input rather than being told what to do. Regarding my education or career choice, I want to choose, do my research, and find a school or profession perfect for me that reflects my interests, because this is my future. I wouldn’t like it if that was chosen for me. 

If you use your influence to explore the thoughts and opinions of others, you show your respect. If you gather other people’s opinion on big tasks, that could change the way they are living in a good way, and you are more likely to follow through on the commitments you promised them. People want to have a say in what is happening around them; otherwise, they see you as someone who is thoughtless and only in it for the title.  

Power is not defined by its title: President, Queen, Governor, etc. When used selfishly for personal gain, it creates a divide, and you model ill action. As a kindergartner you have an older buddy who is typically a role model, someone you look up to. Whatever they do you learn from–right and wrong–and might try doing it yourself. Innovations, ideas, connections come from political and social experiences that help guide you to make stronger decisions, pushing boundaries you once thought were unbreakable. I’ve learned as a gymnast that it’s not all about how you perform but who you are as a teammate. I tend to do better when I’m in a healthy mindset and making rational decisions that better benefit me and my gymnastics. Your motive determines your outcome. 

“I’ve learned, power doesn’t control you, but what you choose to do with it defines your destiny.”

— Soleil Antle