Photo taken by Eliesha Padilla Eliesha Padilla | Guest Writer I became a mom at 18, and now, at 21, I am raising a 2-year-old while continuing my education and trying to build a better future for both of us. One of the hardest parts is feeling pulled between being a good mom and being a good student. Sometimes when I am working on an assignment, my daughter is beside me, asking me to play or wanting my attention. I know she needs me, but I also have schoolwork to finish. In

Image by Pexels from Pixabay Seamus Reed | Writer Sometimes it's alright to not meet expectations put on you. You should never let others' expectations of you steer the direction of your life. Sometimes we lose ourselves trying to please others and feel that by us failing them... we've failed ourselves. As students, we can feel like there is always someone expecting something from us. Parents might have certain plans for our future, teachers might expect certain grades, coach

Image by Joshua Hanson from unsplash Natalie Paasewe | Writer Throughout my life, I've had times when I felt like a machine. I go to class, head to work, finish assignments, scroll, sleep, and repeat. When I find myself in one of these cycles, I reach for the perfect remedy: novelty. When I was 17, my form of novelty was joining my high school's color guard team. I was-and still am- a woman of little athleticism. However, I figured it would give me a break from senioritis an

Image by rebbeccadevitt0 from Pixabay Elyas Naddour | Writer “Class, don’t forget your exam on chapters 1-7 tomorrow,” the teacher says. Great, another all-nighter for the week. All these exams, handouts, quizzes, and endless pages of reading slowly chip away at your sleep. It’s agreed that all these assignments are supposed to help the human brain, but could they actually be hurting it? Could all the time spent drilling information into your head, only to forget it the next

Sophie Nieto Soto | Writer Between college applications, endless homework, and basically zero free time, my brain is usually running on 1% battery and pure stress. So when my favorite underground artist, Lucy Bedroque, dropped their new 15-track album, c, I honestly didn't expect it to end up at the top of my study playlist. If you haven't heard it yet, c is a super aggressive, loud, and experimental album. It’s an intense mix of heavy rap, heavenly metal vocals, and complete

Grace León | Writer Writer image by dimitrisvetsikas1969 via Pixabay This summer, I occupied the same Bethlehem pool twice a week. I watched kids swimming with new-age names. Names like Townes and Arcadia, which I only knew because their mom yelled at them every time they pushed, which was often. They played make-believe games, tricking each other into jumping in the pool. The older ones in a knowing bit, the younger ones coated in naivety and sunscreen. They followed the

Alexandria Ford | Writer Are you looking for a place on campus to connect with others and have judgment-free discussions? Whether you are a lifelong believer or have never even touched a Bible, Campus Christian Fellowship (CCF) is a club where everyone is welcome to come and join our discussions. We encourage students to ask questions and we will find the answers together. We study the Bible in small sections so as not to overwhelm anyone, and leave enough time to talk about

Kamila Estronza | Writer Kamila at senior sunrise Being a senior in high school while being a mere sophomore in college can make students feel sidelined. Whilst other seniors are looked up to and praised in regards of seniority, students like me feel that they are just another number of a school holding thousands. As a high school senior who still participates in sports and a few other activities I’m only given a small amount of instances where I’m still looked up to as a se

Nathan Johnson | Editor Image by anncapictures on Pixabay The vast majority of students are busy people, even more so at a community college like LCCC. Balancing classes, work, extracurricular activities, and finding time to spend with the people you care about is a real challenge. With 24 hours in a day, there is only so much time to accomplish everything you want to do. Keeping your priorities straight, especially as we enter this fall semester, is key to getting the most

Shi Weinhold | Editor Image by dimitrisvetsikas1969 from Pixabay. For most college students, summer is spent working, sometimes close to full-time hours throughout much of the week. In doing so, many lose sight of what summer is all about–making memories and finding happiness within yourself. I spent a lot of time working this summer and doing so made me feel a bit isolated from the things that made me happy. Despite that, I made sure that I made time for the people that mat