The Teen Voice - Laurel Springs Home School

The Teen Voice

We live in a world that is ever changing, but one thing remains constant, the power of a young mind. From generation to generation the power of its youths around the world is undeniable, and so this power must be cultivated and nurtured. I do not speak of the power of beauty and youths allure, although its power is undeniable as well, I speak of the power to change the world which comes from the vitality and honesty that seems to stem from young people. Laurel Springs School understands this, and due to their appreciation for unique concepts, they have allowed us to create the Teen Voice.

The Teen Voice was created in order to connect the LSS student community. It is a safe haven for students to voice their opinions, share their dreams, and embrace their passions. Your choice of topics is endless! From entertainment to history, from politics and sports to spirituality and society today; nothing is nonnegotiable.

In short, the Teen Voice is about you!

What you like or dislike. What you are for or against. What you believe in or never understood in the first place.

Its your voice, so use it!

Every month, the Teen Voice features new topics or themes. How you express your ideas or feelings on these topics is up to you. You can choose to send in poetry, artwork, essays, short stories, etc. And if you have something special you would like to turn in, but it doesnt fit the topics below, SEND IT IN ANYWAY!! We can certainly use your work in the next months issue.

Letter from the Editor:

The past couple of months have proven to be very challenging for me as a student, daughter, and friend. However, I am back on track right now, and am looking forward to next years Teen Voice, which should be in the NEW FORMAT!! Yes! Finally, The Teen Voice will move up in the world. The idea is for The Teen Voice to be located on its own website, and become the school's newspaper/community periodical, just for LSS high school students. I will be working on this, in conjunction with the school, during the summer months. If all goes well, I expect a working format to be up by the beginning of September 2006. This project will need a lot of support from the LSS community and,

hopefully, many LSS student writers, photographers, web designers, and artists will be lining up for the chance to be a part of this amazing opportunity!

Featured Essay of the Month

But how do you make friends? Thats usually the first question out of most peoples mouths when you tell them you are home schooled or explain Laurel Springs system to them. I suppose this question is justifiable in a way because that is one of the most difficult aspects of not going to public schools; having to try harder than other kids to find and make friends. Laurel Springs has many students, but as you well know they are scattered throughout the country. This distance sometimes creates a barrier for making friends. I am here to tell you a story that will show how distance actually brought two LSS students closer together.

Approximately two and a half years ago, I was scanning Laurel Springs website and found a link to the school message board. I decided this might be something fun to explore so I quickly requested and received access and entered the boards. Here I posted a topic telling a little about myself and was greeted warmly by all the other students on the board. This helped encourage me to join in a group chat on AOL Instant Messenger that some of the students had set up that was for Laurel Springs students only. At the time of this group chat, I had never chatted before so in a chat room filled with probably twenty students, I was a little bit overwhelmed and didnt say much. While I sat there watching the chat progress, I got messaged in a private window by one of the girls in the chat. We started talking separately from the group and got to know each other a little bit better. This is how I met my current girlfriend, Shelby True.

After this night we continued chatting online almost every day for about six months until we both decided that we wanted to be more than just friends. Obviously this seemed a little bit strange to both of our parents and even a little bit strange to both of us, but we worked out any difficulties that arose and let our relationship continue to grow. In January of 05 we made a big step and started talking on the phone after both of us obtained cell phones. Making the best out of our free minutes we talked long into the nights almost every night of the week.

Although the phone and the internet were great, we expressed to our parents how badly we wanted to meet in person. After much convincing, I left Oklahoma and made the twelve hour drive with my mom to Shelbys home in Indiana. Meeting in person was extremely exciting, but also very strange at the same time. I was with someone I knew extremely well, but at the same time, didnt know at all. After the trip Shelby and I soon set up several more trips and I have been out there three more times since that first meeting, including a surprise trip for Shelbys birthday. The last trip over spring break was one of the most fun trips I have had out to Indiana as Shelby, her family, her friend Ashley, and I drove down to Myrtle Beach and stayed there for several days before returning to Indiana. This trip was one of the best trips because I got to spend a week with Shelby and her family, which allowed me to get to know Shelby much better and her parents much better.

As of today, we continue to talk on the phone every night, and are hoping to see each other sometime this summer and possibly go to prom and graduation 07. Although Shelby and I cannot see into the future, we can certainly look to the past and know that Laurel Springs helped start something both of us will cherish for a lifetime.

By Zack Ahern (12th grade this fall)

Zack and Shelby

Featured Poem: By Maxwell Seidman

Web

Web is strands of material such as

Thought or silk put into a form that is

Together to create a spiders art that

Will be his home or

The words of a writer that will make his story

Web

The spider spreads its legs to

Create the strands of its home while

I spread my mind to create the

Strands of my story and piece together my

Thoughts.

Web

Web is the internet

Flowing with information and

Entertainment but not one

Spider is to be found in the

Community of bugs.

Web

A spider searches for the bug trapped in

His web

People anxiously search the internet

For the endless information that it holds

I search my imagination to reach a world

Of possibilities

With the perfect words to fill a page and

Create a story.

MOVIE REVIEWS : By Massmoviepsycho

At the end of Superman II, the producers promised "Coming Soon: Superman III." It has taken 26 years for that promise to be fulfilled. To be sure, there were movies in the 1980s called Superman III and Superman IV, but those were bad jokes masquerading as motion pictures, unimaginative stories cashing in on a pay-day. These many years later, Bryan Singer has gotten it right. In fact, Superman Returns is not only a credit to the first two Superman movies; it may be the best of the series. Its combination of romance and fantasy adventure is unparalleled in superhero comic book-to-movie sagas.

What differentiates Superman Returns from the average superhero movie is its focus on the love story between Superman (Brandon Routh) and Lois Lane (Kate Bosworth). If you think Mary Jane and Peter Parker are star crossed, they've got nothing on this couple. Of course, the Lois/Superman pairing has never been simple. Clark Kent has always been lurking around. Now, there are further complications. With Superman having been away from Earth for the better part of a half-decade, Lois has moved on in a big way. She has a son, Jason (Tristan Leabu), and a boyfriend, Richard (James Marsden), although she resolutely refuses to marry him. Maybe it has something to do with the man of her dreams. Some may not appreciate the amount of screen time devoted to these characters and their romantic interaction but, for me, it provides balance. Suddenly, Superman Returns has more to offer than a megalomaniac seeking world dominion -although it has that as well.

When last we saw Lex Luthor (Kevin Spacey), he was played by Gene Hackman and was off to prison. So, like Superman, he has been out of the spotlight for a while. He's "yesterday's news." Once free, however, he is more determined than ever to make his mark on the face of the globe. He visits Superman's Fortress of Solitude and pilfers all the crystals. With these, he intends to create a new continent and destroy a few of the old ones in the process. Superman, newly returned from a futile outer space search for other survivors from Krypton, will (of course) oppose his old nemesis, but this time Luthor is ready for him. Revenge is a dish served cold, with Kryptonite icing. Superman's return to once again aid mankind may be short-lived.

Gone are Christopher Reeve, Margot Kidder, and Gene Hackman. It's a credit to their replacements that they're not missed, at least within the context of the film. Brandon Routh channels his predecessor, although his version of Clark is a little less gawky. Kate Bosworth provides an altogether different take on Lois - a sexier, more modern view. She's prettier than Kidder, and there's more chemistry in her scenes with her co-star. Kevin Spacey's Luthor is cut from the same mold as Hackman's, except he's more cruel and less flippant. He has his share of one-liners but, when it comes down to it, he doesn't waste time with drawn-out monologues. That's when he's at his most brutal.

There are no miscasts to be found in the supporting cast, either. Parker Posey's Kitty fills the function of Miss Teschmacher - Luthor's female stooge who has a soft spot for the Man of Steel. James Marsden, following director Bryan Singer to Metropolis from Professor X's school, has the tricky role of playing the foil in Lois and Superman's romance without coming across as a jerk. Richard is a nice guy. Eva Marie Saint plays Clark's Earth mother, who gets to find her son and almost lose him again. The only returning cast member from the original Superman is Marlon Brando, with archival footage recreating his limited part as Jor-El, Superman's biological father.

For those who go to superhero movies for the action, rest assured there's plenty of that. While the extended climactic sequence is the movie's longest and most involved, I was partial to the rescue of a space shuttle and airplane, which heralds the Man of Steel's return to his adopted planet. It's a great moment, filled with tension, and topped off with top-notch special effects. Visually, Superman Returns offers the kind of upgrade one would expect after a quarter century layoff. This time, you really believe a man can fly.

Composer John Ottman puts his ego aside and gives John Williams' original music plenty of play. Singer provides us with a blast from the past with opening credits. Not only is the music 100% Williams, but the lettering nearly replicates that which was used in Superman and Superman II. There are other unobtrusive homages to the first two films, from Lois' spelling faux pas to Luthor's love of maps. Singer may not be a fan of the Superman comic books, but his affection for and knowledge of what Richard Donner brought to the screen is evident.

Superman Returns clocks in at a fat 157 minutes, but I hardly noticed the passage of time. The movie had me enthralled from opening to closing. One could easily argue that Singer used his time in the X-Men universe as an opportunity to hone his superhero movie skills. Superman Returns is near the top - if not at the top - of the superhero movie pile. It offers nearly everything: romance, action, humor, and plenty of goose bumps. For Superman, many happy returns.

2006 James Berardinelli

Entered By: Amber�Walker

Joining Laurel Springs School was the best decision I ever made. This school gave me the academic challenges and flexible schedule for ballet that I just couldn’t get in a traditional school. I was able to expand my ballet training and reach levels I never knew I could reach. Laurel Springs has given me the confidence I need to succeed both academically and in ballet. I feel that I am ready to go do anything in the world, knowing I have a great education.

Andrea Joy Lucas