From Beyond the Grave (By: Rebecca Moodie)

I take a flower from the bouquet I hold in my hands and smell it. The sweet scent made my nostrils twitch and I sneezed. I put the bouquet of daisies by the grave stone and felt a tear slide down my cheek. She was my life. My little sister, died so young. Killed herself because of her unpopularity. Apparently she had no friends at school or anything. I don't know how, she's such a lovable person.

"Hey Adrianna," I said to the stone. I ran my hand along the edge and felt a shiver run down my spine. It wasn't because it's November and it's cold, but because touching her tomb stone made me closer to her in a way. "I miss you, you know."
"Well, I missed you too," I heard a voice say. I froze and turned around. A person stood beside another stone about 5 feet away. I glanced up and saw her face. She was beautiful. Like nothing I've ever seen before. But then I realized something. I knew her. "Hi Damien. I missed you."
"Monique?" I asked. Her british accent was thick and I knew she had picked it up since she moved to England. I stood up and wandered over to her. "Is that you?"
"The one and only," she replied. "I see your accent is still as thick as ever even though you moved to Canada. I'm surprised you didn't lose your french at all."
"No, but I like yours," I told her. She smiled at me and stepped away from the tomb stone. "What are you doing here?"
"Oh, I had come back for a visit but something happened," she said. My smile from my face faded and I stood still. "Something awful."
"Me too." I said.
"Really? I got into a mess and I killed someone..." she said. I was about to step toward her when I stopped. She killed someone? No, that's impossible. Not Monique. "It was about a year ago."
"My sister killed herself a year ago. I came to bring daisies to her grave. They were her favourite," I spoke. Monique glanced up at me and I saw something shine in her eyes. It was like she was about to cry, but then they disappeared as quickly as they appeared.
"After I killed her, someone killed me." She explained. Then I relaized that I was talking to a ghost. "Do you know who I killed Damien?" she taunted. I shook my head and I knew that something bad was going to happen. "Adrianna. Your little sister. I was jealous of her. Your 16 year old sister. So beautiful, so wonderful, so...close to you," she said. My mind started racing a million miles a minute. I could barely interperet anything anymore. My best friend killed...no, murdered my 16 year old sister out of jealousy.
"No!" I screamed. I started backing up and I saw that Monique was inching toward me. I was starting to panic and needed a way out fast! Her face seemed to change with each step she took. It started getting more and more like a zombie. Almost like the death of her was taking away her beautiful years and replacing them with rotting dead ones. "Who killed you?"
"Your best friend...Tristan! He loved your sister. He thought that she was the most wonderful person in the world. I took that from him and stole her from you too. Adrianna, the beautiful, smart, outgoing, friendly child," Monique said while getting angrier and angrier by the second. As I kept backing up I realized that I was running out of space. I was backing up right toward the ravine and that 50 foot drop would be an awful one.
"Why do you want me?" I asked.
"I want you to join me in the afterlife. I'm lonely." She said. "Besides, if you join me, you can give your life to your sister," she said. I stopped.
"I can give my life and bring back my sister?" I asked. Monique nodded. Then I stopped altogether and stepped toward her. "Take me then," I spoke. She smiled wickedly and reached out her hand. She pulled me closer by gripping my sweater and yanking me. I stumbled forward and felt her lips brush over my skin. She moaned slightly and bit down on my arm. I screamed and felt the life being sucked from my very soul. My memories began to float out of my mind as she continued drinking my soul. My vision began to blur and my body went limp. I collapsed to the ground and suddenly everything was bright again. I glanced down and saw my body laying lifeless on the ground. I looked up and saw that Monique was gone. "HEY!" I screamed. "I THOUGHT WE HAD A DEAL!"
"You were a fool to trust me. You thought that making a deal with me would make everything go away, but you just made things worse! I'm not releasing your sister. Not in a million years!" she screamed. I then began running through the graveyard. In between the tomb stones and along gravel paths. But she was gone. Gone for good. And so was I.

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How to… do well in school (By: Cheryl Joseph)

Midterm reports were recently handed out, and we all know what that means: the lecture. Whether it’s from your parents or yourself, someone is almost always pushing you to get better grades. But with the holidays coming around, projects piling up, and a constant parade of tests, how can you improve your marks?

Listen in class. This is a no-brainer, but many find it hard – because frankly, it is. Some days, you don’t want to be listening to the teacher talk about trig identities. Some days, you just want to talk to your friend about your other friend who said she didn’t like this one guy but then ended up telling you that she did, but then it turns out you like him, so you’re in somewhat of a pickle.

Cool story, bro. No really – it is. But as hard as it may seem, you need to wait to tell it. If it’s really pressing, it doesn’t have to wait until after class; just after the lesson. Once you know you’ve understood everything that you need for the homework (and the upcoming test), you can chat (quietly), because we all know that the best way to feel better about a situation is to tell someone about it.

After the lesson, still get at least some work done. Often, a concept will seem easy until you apply it. If you try some of the homework, and if you find that you don’t understand it, you can always ask the teacher for help. This way, you’ll actually understand it, so reviewing for the test will be much easier.

Which brings us to how to review properly. Truth is, there is no “proper” way. Each person has their own, individual way of learning. Find a way that works for you. This quiz from VARK seems to be effective: http://www.vark-learn.com/english/page.asp?p=questionnaire. Once you’ve determined your learning style, you can figure out which study methods work for you. Reading/writing learners usually learn best from charts, notes, and by reading things over and over. Aural (listening) learners need to discuss; listening to the teacher is often really helpful. Kinaesthetic learners like to experience things: labs, field trips, and trial and error are often used.

Regardless of which type of studying you use, be sure to do it regularly. Depending on the class, or how busy you are, you may do this every week, every few days, or even every day. This way, you’ll introduce concepts into your head slowly, so you won’t have to cram.

Homework often helps you to study these concepts. In math or some sciences, for instance, your homework goes over the key concepts, so you don’t need to study quite as much. That also means that you have to do your homework. We all know you’d rather be using your free time for other things, but think about how much more time you’ll get before tests and exams while the rest of your class is cramming.

The greatest tip, however, is to remember that you can’t compare yourself to others. Sure, your best friend may have done better than you in some test, but that’s because you each have different strengths and weaknesses, so you may do better than them in another area. That’s not to say that you shouldn’t try your best: because believe me when I say, your best is pretty darn incredible.

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Somalia's Hunger for Change (By: Mayuri Mahendran)

The famine in Somalia may have caught your attention in the news in passing, but in comparison to other world crisis, such as the earthquake in Haiti or even the earthquake in Japan, it seems to have quickly faded. But the deaths of tens of thousands of Somalis have passed, and ahead looms the possibility of 750 000 more Somalis dying of starvation. Being dubbed as the worst humanitarian crisis in the past two decades, how is it going unnoticed?

The famine in Somalia has been caused by more than just the drought. The country has warred against militant groups for the past years, heightening the difficulty of getting food to those who need it. The militant group Al Shabab was blocked Western aid from entering the famine zones. Their grasp on the Somali people has not only restricted aid, but also depleted the aid that has been given. In addition, the danger of sending aid workers and our images of agencies rushing in to fix a crisis is hard to find. However, organizations have not faltered in their efforts to help the people of Somalia. UNICEF, for example, has been allowed in, although it is only their Somali staff that is allowed to give aid to Somalia. Western agencies that have not been allowed in have used the power of technology to find loopholes in their barriers, such as using cell phones to send “electronic money” which can be used in the local markets in the famine zones. Help in the camps is still needed though, especially as the camps also lack clean water, and when the rain comes in this November and December, the death toll could increase through the spread of waterborne diseases such as cholera.

However, the famine’s story on newspapers and television screens has died down, as a result of an ever-changing world. But just because the spotlight is not on the situation, it does not mean the crisis has not left center stage. To put things into perspective, the money donated to the charity Save The Children for the crisis in Japan was $22.8 million. The amount of money that has been donated to the same charity for the drought in East Africa is $5 million. Consider that Somalia is the 6^th poorest country in the world, while Japan is the 3^rd richest. There is no denying that in times of need, every country requires aid, but this shows that our response to a crisis depends upon interpretation. Our society can easily become numb to numbers, death counts and horrifying images all blur together into the mass confusion of everyday life. If this crisis is to be fixed, the solution is more than the band aid of a twenty dollar bill; it is the change of people and politics.

References:

http://www.aneki.com/poorest.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/02/giving/some-aid-trickles-into-somalia-surrounded-by-death-and-disease.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1

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Pink Game (Photographed by: Roshni Jain)

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this is it. (By: Anonymous)

I feel alone, not a soul can understand me.

Sometimes I want to cry,

But I have to keep pretending.

Pretending to be strong, and happy; pretending that there’s nothing’s wrong.


But this is it.


Once the winters over, everything will go back to normal.

The trees will be green again, the tulips will grow again.


I hope.


This is it; we’re almost at the end.

I can see the light, shining from under the cracks

But how?

How do I get there, without losing everything I love in the process?

I can’t.


This is it, I’m at the end.

If they could do it, so could I,

It doesn’t matter what happens.


I’ll get through this, with or without you.

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How to… DIY facials (By: Cheryl Joseph)

You’ve been working hard all week. School, homework, clubs, work, chores… your busy schedule has bound to take its toll. The best remedy for this? An afternoon of pampering. Bring the spa to the comfort of your own home – you’ll be surprised at how much this will relax you.

Many of these ingredients, you already have at home. Oatmeal, for instance, is a great ingredient to use in facial masks. Crush oatmeal flakes with a spoon and mix with milk until a spreadable paste is made. Apply to face, let dry, and rinse off. This will exfoliate your skin, and the milk will nourish it. This works for all skin types: in oily skin, it will exfoliate and unblock oil-clogged pores; in dry skin, it will moisturize skin and soothe itching.

Another exfoliating ingredient likely in your pantry is baking soda. Mix with water to turn into a paste, and apply. Leave on for 5 minutes, then wash off with warm water in circular motions. This cleanses the dirt, facial oils, and other substances that block your pores. This gunk would have otherwise caused acne, which is definitely not fun. So exfoliation is a must! Other exfoliating ingredients include sugar (both brown and white), coffee grounds, and sea salt. Just remember to mix these with moisturizing agents (banana, avocado, honey, peach, yogurt, etc.) to moisturize and protect the skin at the same time – grainy materials like salt and sugar can damage the sensitive skin on your face if used alone.

After all that exfoliating and moisturizing, using a toner will pull everything together and give you a nice, dewy, even complexion. Green tea, apple cider vinegar, and lemon juice are all excellent toners: these not only remove facial oils and other substances from your pores, but many also have amino acids, which help you get rid of that pesky layer of dead skin cells. This helps your face look brighter, cleaner, and smoother.

Although DIY spa treatments are fun, remember not to do them too often; after many treats (like exfoliation), your skin needs time to renew itself. Otherwise, you’d be getting rid of too many skins cells too quickly. And always remember to dab each mask on a small area of your skin to check that there aren’t any negative affects (due to allergies). Aside from that, feel free to experiment with different treatment combinations until you find the ideal one for you!

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