#elena goodson

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Freshman Brandon Goodson wants his math teacher back. Goodson and approximately 30 other students walked out of class this morning at 9:30 to protest math teacher Kayla Thompson’s absence.  “It’s not fair,” Goodson said. “We’re standing for her because she can’t do it by herself.”

On Sunday, March 17, Thompson was named Pirate Hero of the Month. Riverside [High School in Durham, North Carolina] posted a photo of her posing with the award in front of a Palestinian flag on Facebook and Instagram. In the days that followed, dozens of commenters, many of whom are not affiliated with Riverside, criticized the flag.  “This kind of propaganda should not be allowed in the classroom,” one commenter who lives in Raleigh wrote. “She certainly isn’t creating a safe environment for her Jewish students.”  “Why does she have a Palestinian flag in her classroom? That is highly inappropriate and awful for her Jewish students to have to deal with in the classroom,” wrote another. Thompson’s students, however, thought differently.  “I didn’t view it as anti-semitic,” said junior Tiam Famet, Thompson’s second period teaching assistant. “Ms. Thompson saw that people in Palestine were hurting and she wanted to voice her support, and she did that by hanging up the flag.” “She had the flag up for a really long time,” said freshman Kyla Bannerman, a student in Thompson’s first period class.  The social media posts were deleted, and on Tuesday during first period RHS administrators asked Thompson to remove the flag. She took the flag down, then left campus and has not returned. Later that day, Thompson’s third period students recreated the flag with dry erase markers on the board. 

Assistant principal Greg Goble declined to comment about the week’s events. Thompson also declined an interview with The Pirates’ Hook, but said she hopes to speak about the incident soon.  During the protest, several students held signs saying “Free Palestine,” “Is This Scary DPS?” and “End The Occupation.”  A parent dropping off her child at school began arguing with students about a particular sign. The woman walked toward the protesters and began yelling, stating that they were “promoting suicide bombers.”  In response, students chanted “Free Palestine!”  Student Resource Officers (SROs) and administrators asked her to leave campus.  Thompson’s students protested again during A-Lunch. “[Administration] just brushed it to the side,” Goodson said. “That’s why we stood up for the class. We were her voice.”

-- "Kayla Thompson was named Pirate Hero of the Month. She hasn’t been to work since." by Isaiah Heinz, Delia Aguilar, Taliyah Cooper and Elena Paces-Wiles for The Pirates' Hook, 22 Mar 2024

[thoughtcatalog]

So let people back into your life. Trust that people have your best interest at heart.

(Source: thoughtcatalog.com)

[dragonl0rde]

I Published an eBook!!

Hello!! Today, my ebook went live on Amazon! I’m so excited to finally have all my short stories and poetry out in one place. I’ve been doing creative writing for a little more than a year. I’ve edited each piece many times over. For all of you who want a sample of my writing, you can find a published short story and poem below. The Cabinet of Curiosities Saviors For all of you who are interested…

[badmovieihave]

Bad movie I have Child of God 2013

[xoxoproject21]

Radix Core performer predictions

Mini female core performer top 20 (bold = top 10)

·       Campbell Castner

·       Alexis Mayer

·       Campbell Clark

·       Laci Stoico (Top 4)

·       Aaliyah Dixon

·       Kayley Kirsch

·       Taytum Ruckle

·       Gracyn French (Top 4)

·       Cocona Kawamura

·       Ella Barnes

·       Kennedy Kahler

·       Sienna Somera

·       Madison Ortega

·       Crystal Huang (Winner)

·       Mia Clark

·       Kira Chan

·       Haileigh Brennan

·       Kaitlyn Tran ( top 4)

·       Elizabeth Scott Lanier

·       Failenn Daley

·       Esme Chou

Mini male core performer

·       Campbell Bas (winner)

·       Nick D'Ambrosio

Junior female core performer top 20 (bold = top 10) (this was so hard)

·    Charlotte Cogan (Top 4)

·    Bella Dimopoulos

·    Aricela Boatwright

·    Leah Sachs

·    Jamieson Deacy

·    Madi Beerer

·    Sami Sonder

·    Izzy Rivera ( top 4)

·    Devynn Lewis

·    Izzy Howard

·    Kaitlyn Tom

·    Blanche Arnold

·    Dyllan Blackburn (Winner)

·    Emma Grisham

·    Casey Tran (Top 4)

·    Addison Middleton

·    Addy Beckham

·    Harlow Ganz

·    Mackenzie Couch

·    Jordyn Chhay

·    Lucia Ponti

·    Lillian McCollum

Junior male core performer top 10

·    John Torres (Top 3)

·    Luke Barrett (Top 3)

·    Darius Goodson

·    Rosendo Arechiga

·    Zack Mirosh

·    Harrison Robinson

·    TJ Beal (Winner)

·    Nathan Scott

Teen Female core performer top 20 (bold = top 10)

·       Janae Holster - p21

·       Katy Mcllwaine - p21 

·       Maddie Thanos- MVP

·       Amy Shuster - Touch of Glass

·       Cayla Bennish - the rock

·       Erin Wienke - Impact dance studio

·       Isabella Warfield – p21

·       Kailyn Yi – p21

·       Jade Bucci - danceology (Top 4)

·       Kiarra waidelich – the rock (Top 4)

·       Selena Hamilton – P21 (Winner)

·        Brooklin Laird - the company

·       Morgan Perschy – Triple Treat (Top 4)

·       Emma Christie - Mather

·       Ella Jones - CC&Co.

·       Brooklyn Vara – P21

·       Haley Stoico -P21

·       Lauren Wallingford – P21

·       Georgia Ehrlich – the company

·       Kina Siu – Nor Cal Dance arts

Teen male core performer top 10

·       Finley Lawton

·       Diego Pasillas (Top 3)

·       Sam Mcwilliams (Winner)

·       Harris Weiskopf

·       Kylan Wagner

·       Aydin Boone-Long

·       Easton Magliarditi (Top 3)

·       Anthony Curley

·       Brandon Herron

·       Garrett McMullin

Senior female core performer (idk about this one, there are only 24 people competing and idk most of them)

·       Sofia Torres

·       Izzy Burton

·       Camille Fehr

·       Madison Smith (Top 3)

·       Mackenzie Corrales (Winner)

·       Elise Allen

·       Sarina Premi

·       Madison Alvarado (Top 3)

·       Camryn Bridges

·       Elena Chronis

Senior male core performer

·       Dawson Walker

·       Tyler Duncan

·       Jaxon Willard (Winner)

·       Reggie Valdez (Top 3)

·       Kevin Ivins

·       Jesse Geraldo

·       Zeke Lindsey (Top 3)

[bestmovies0]

What Its Actually Like To Go To A Psychiatric Hospital, Because Its Nothing Like What You See On TV

Eduard Militaru/ Unsplash

When I was sixteen years old, in late Springtime, I was admitted to the Children and Adolescent Psychiatric Service in San Diego, California. Otherwise known as CAPS, this was the place that I thought would be like a prison for a week.

I was brought there by my parents, straight-out from the UCSD Eating Disorder Treatment Center. The doctors had said I was a danger to myself. After years of depression and previous activities, they had dreaded the worst. When I return to the therapy centre, after my stay at CAPS, my counselor had told me what I said to induce her so concerned.

You determine, every morning at UCSD, all the kids had to talk about how they seem and if they had self-harmed, purged, or anything on the listing of’ dangerous behaviors.’ Though I don’t truly remember it, as I was pretty out of it at the time, my adviser “re just saying that” when she asked how I was doing, I merely looked at her with blank eyes and said, “I’m simply in so much pain.” I wouldn’t talk the working day, which was unusual because, although I was severely mentally ill, I was still somehow the life of the party.

After lunch, medical doctors drew me aside and informed me that they would be transferring me to a psychiatric hospital for a while because they were concerned about my security. They suggested we take an ambulance, but deeming how expensive they can be, I insisted that it was fine for my parents to take me. I recollect watching my mothers sit mutely in the car, holding hands, while tears slip down their cheek. I just watched the cars drive by, neither worried or curious what would happen to me.

At this level in “peoples lives” , nothing mattered at all . b>

When we arrived at CAPS, my parents filled out intake paperwork and I signed a contract that pretty much said I would comply with the rules and “wouldve been” released when the hospital foresee fit. As my parents finished off in the hall, I was taken to another room where I would be given a medical examination.

The doctor was a nice and gentle lady, who looked at my cuts and disinfected some of them. My blood pressure was high from all the purging and I was emaciated. They took the cords off my shoes and the string off my hoodie “ve given me” socks and sweatpants and then produced me to my parents.

My mother and father, assuring me in these hospital pajamas and medical bracelets, had appeared so defeated and helpless. We were quiet where reference is said goodbye to each other. I hugged my mother and father-god for a very long time , not knowing when I would read them again. They promised they would visit.

I was then escorted through the gates into the hospital. I was given a tour and indicated my room. My mom was going to bring me more clothes and my stuffed animal soon. My roommate scared me; she seemed aggressive and angry. Afterward on in my stay, she would end up eating a bangle that I made in arts in crafts, hoping she would choke.

I fulfilled some of the other kids, who were all very strange. There was a young pyromaniac, a severely schizophrenic boy who strayed around with blank eyes, and other children with differing forms of depression, anxiety, and mental illness. The days soon became very routine.

We would feed the mediocre food in the cafeteria three times a day. I would be given a drink called boost, which was supposed to attain me gain weight. Every hour after I eat, a nurse would sit with me in my room for an hour, to make sure I didn’t hurl it up.

We had class time, where all the children would sit in a chamber and try to focus on school operate, often without success. There was group therapy after group therapy, must be accompanied by periodical individual therapy and medical check-ups.

Occasionally we would have a movie night or dance party, but they were all instead bleak and depressing. Once a few weeks we were allowed in the garden to get a glimpse of the sunshine. The grass was spiked and dry, so we were unable to walk on it in our socks. Almost none of the children wore shoes.

I recollect seeming so helpless there. I was being watched all over the clock, unable to self-harm, throw up, or hurt myself in any way. The only hour I got away with anything was at a movie party when I scratched the back of my left to right until it bled.

My mother, father, grandmother, and older sister came to visit me twice a week. I know it was especially hard for my grandmother, because her son, my uncle, had been hospitalized for years because of severe schizophrenia. My older sister would ever try to applaud me up, but I could tell that she too was struggling.

I came to realize that I had not been only suffering myself, but my family too. They were watching me destroy myself, helpless. It “wouldve been” years until I would realise the full result that my sickness had on my whole family . b>

Every night in the hospital I had nightmares. Some involved demise, disease, or catastrophe. Some were just reflections of my life, riddled with anxiety and panic. More than once I woke up with the feeling of someone watching me, only to find my roommate staring at me from her bed. It was disturbing.

It felt like I had been there for an eternity before I was finally cleared to be discharged. In reality, “theres only” about a few weeks. I never spoke much about my experience in the psychiatric hospital, although all the children at my treatment wanted to know about it.

It felt like something I wanted to be thrown behind me.

A few months passed and, still very sick, I felt myself longing to go back to the hospital. I even asked my parents if I could go back when things were particularly tough. But it was so expensive that it wasn’t something that was easily achieved.

I realized that I had felt safe there. Safer than I had ever felt in my entire life . b> I was unable to hide my meat, suffer myself or others, or do any of the things that had become my daily life in therapy. I was monitored constantly, never alone.

I felt like I had been a drug addict and being in the therapy was like me running cold turkey. It was a long time I had gone without suffering myself in nearly a year. It was desperately hard and pain, but in the long run, it really helped me.

A lot of people like to paint mental institutions as a horrible experience. I watch so many movies that make them look like a living nightmare where people are given awful penalties, like electroshock therapy.

Looking back on it, I genuinely think it was one of the best things that ever happened to me.

I ate all my food for a week, had constant therapy, and even made a few friends. I suppose places like CAPS get a bad rep, and thus people watch them as a last resort. I learned so much when I was there. The most important being how my illness affected my family. I was so guilt-ridden that I seemed sick. Soon I realized that I couldn’t keep putting them through this. So I started working hard at my recuperation, something I had never done . b>

Treatment had always seemed like an inescapable penalty. After CAPS, I started visualizing it as a light in the dark. Something to hold onto . i> For months, I dedicated my free time to reading and writing. I found inspiration in my sorenes and wrote beautiful poetry.

After running so hard to recover from my family, I purposed up working hard for myself.

I felt like I ultimately wanted to was better for. Not because I seemed guilty for their own families , not because I was so sick I could barely go on , not because I had no more friends, but because I recognized I craved a life.

I wanted to live. I wanted to experience happiness again. I wanted friendship and escapade. I craved a life where I could attain something of myself. Perhaps, I supposed, the working day I would be a mother. I would teach their own children self-love.

Now I am living in Europe, three years recovered, and living a whole new life. I have friends and am so close to their own families. I go to school and have been following my fervour for language-learning.

I am so happy . b > i> Now I think that going to the psychiatric hospital was a big step towards recuperation and if there’s any message that I want to get over it is this: Do not be afraid of the hospital. The people there are really trying to help and they genuinely care about you. Put attempt into your recuperation because, as cliche as it sounds, it actually does was better. There’s a whole life out there waiting for you and the world will be a better place with you in it.

Read more: https :// thoughtcatalog.com/ elena-goodson/ 2018/02/ what-its-actually-like-to-go-to-a-psychiatric-hospital-because-its-nothing-like-what-you-see-on-tv /~ ATAGEND

from https://bestmovies.fun/2018/02/23/what-its-actually-like-to-go-to-a-psychiatric-hospital-because-its-nothing-like-what-you-see-on-tv/

[dragonl0rde]

A Change in Perspective

When I was in Rome this past Spring, I was quite lonely. I didn’t have many friends and spent most of my time alone. When I finally left, after a full month there, I felt strangely sad. I thought I would be sort of relieved to move on, because of how alone I felt in that city. But I realized that I became strangely attached to it. Nine months later, I feel like I didn’t fully appreciate my time…

[dragonl0rde]

I Got Hungry In Tel Aviv

I’ve been in Tel Aviv for three days now and am leaving for Jerusalem tomorrow. I spent today walking on the beach, exploring Carmel Market, and eating delicious foods! I’ve been here a few times and so I’ve decided that these three Israeli restaurants are my favorite in the city! 1. Cafe Xoho, J.L. Gordon Street 17 This artistic and cozy cafe is a great place to start your day. They have an…

[dragonl0rde]

Praxis Poetfolio Project: Language School Marketing Tactics

Praxis Poetfolio Project: Language School Marketing Tactics

For my second module in Praxis, I have a really exciting portfolio project. I’ve planned it out and am eager to move forward. Basically what I’ll be doing is analyzing the advertising and email methods of six different companies. Those companies will be online or onsite language schools. I will use Mimic Method, Apple Languages, IH Language House, Amira Language, Fluent U, and ExSpanish. I’ve…

[dragonl0rde]

The DreamScape 2000: A Short Story

The DreamScape 2000: A Short Story

The walls around me are bright white, almost like a mirror. Facing them, I can see just how strange I look. A dark black jumpsuit, bare feet, sensors and wires are attached to my fingers and chest. The room around me is echoing with the beeping of machines and a slight hum coming from the DreamScape2000. Two scientists, Dr. Cleo and Dr. Lakes, stand over the coffin-like box running last minute…

[dragonl0rde]

Fighter Or A Heroe

Fighter Or A Heroe

Like a fighter, you had raised me with a blade between my teeth.

I couldn’t control the force within me, it needed to be released.

and when he finally came for me, down inside the caves, he picked me up and carried me; he cleansed me in the waves.

My limbs were numb, my voice was cold, I couldn’t look him in the eye.

I didn’t want to live like him but I didn’t want to die.

I was swallowed whole,…

[dragonl0rde]

Ants On A Busy Street

Ants On A Busy Street

I’m walking slowly up and down these roads

watching the people working overload.

A colony of ants too scared to deter

from the life that’s been assigned to them since the day of their birth.

What do they think of in the middle of the night?

Do they wonder or worry and search for the light?

Or do they just lay there,

like good little sheep

wanting and waiting for their peaceful little sleep?

This…

[dragonl0rde]

As some of you may know, I’ve been living in Cairo for more than three months now. I’ve explored 14th-century souks, gone camping in the Saharan Desert, and swam in the Red Sea. I’ve had some of the most magical experiences of my life with friends that I’ve learned to love after only a few months. I know this is going to be a time in my life that I look back on and reminisce, with longing and happiness sitting warm in my heart.

However I haven’t really talked about what I’ve been doing here. Since October, I’ve attended about three hundred hours of Arabic instruction. I study Fusha and Ameyya. Fusha is the Modern Standard for of Arabic, otherwise referred to as Quranic Arabic. Besides being the oldest spoken for of Arabic, Fusha is the language that is spoken on news channels, written in books and religious texts, and is widely understood throughout the Middle East and North Africa. It is also one of the six official languages of the UN.

Ameyya, or Masri, is the Egyptian Colloquial Arabic. This is an important dialect to learn while one studies Arabic, as Egypt, Cairo specifically, is the “Hollywood of the Arab World.” Most major films, songs, and television shows are all shot and recorded in Egypt. This has led to the Egyptian dialect, Ameyya, to be almost entirely understood throughout the entire Arab world. Considering that there are twenty-six countries with Arabic as an official language, you could see why this would be so valuable.

After Egypt, I’ll leave for Italy and then Germany. I’m keen to be back in Europe and to see some old friends, while sticking to my usual tune by the name of language schools. I’ll be studying Italian in Sorrento, after a short trip to Rome to see my friend Diana from Brussels and my dear old host mother from my last stay in Rome. Then I’ll head to Berlin for a month, where I’ll be staying with a host family and studying German at a school in Berlin Mitte.

If it’s not obvious by now, languages are my thing. I speak French, German, Italian, and Arabic. In the future, I hope to complete my knowledge in Spanish, and to pursue Portuguese, Russian, Korean, and Japanese. It’ll probably take me decades, if not my whole life. So why Arabic? Why now?

Well, I’m a media kind of girl. I love my Netflix and my iTunes. With Praxis, a business school I’m in, I’ll be set up to work in marketing for a few years. But after that, I’m going straight to LA or New York to pursue my life long ambition of making movies. I not only want to act in them but also produce, write and direct television and films. I know I’m going to do it too. Because I’m am determined and ambitious; not one to be content siting in an office for the rest of my life knowing that I could have accomplished something but didn’t.

So that’s where Arabic comes in. Actually, that’s where all my languages come in. I want to make foreign films. I was inspired by Blue Is The Warmest Color, Amélie, Pan’s Labyrinth, Il Postino, La Dolce Vita, Spirited Away, Life Is Beautiful and countless others. I was changed by them. I want to show other cultures and ways of life through cinema.

So in the end, I will shoot a kick-ass movie in Egypt, showing what Egypt actually looks like. Because, no, it is not a desert where old men in turbans ride camels all day. This is a complex and diverse country with so much emotion and culture that has been overlooked through Western media. I will bring it justice.

Learning A Language and a Half: Arabic As some of you may know, I've been living in Cairo for more than three months now.

[dragonl0rde]

Painting with Van Gogh: The Time Travel Reality Simulator

The sun was high in the sky, making the sunflowers in the field around me so bright that I nearly had to shield my eyes. The field of flowers seemed to extend forever, rising and falling like waves around me. I had an easel propped up in front of me and a palette of bright primary colors in my left hand. Next to me sat one of the most famous artists in history: Vincent van Gogh. His auburn hair…

[dragonl0rde]

Home for the Holidays

It’s been strange being home. I booked my flight only a month before and I hadn’t realized how unprepared I was to be home. It’s been like a dream to see my family and closest friends. I love the smell of our Christmas decorations and the smell of quesadillas coming from the kitchen. I love sitting in a small coffee shop, sipping a perfectly perfected cup of iced coffee, and walking my dog around…

[dragonl0rde]

Springtime Travels

I’ve finally figured out what I’m going to do for the last half of my educational world tour. After I leave Cairo in the middle of February, I’ll study Italian in Rome for a week. Then, I will head to Berlin, where I will study German for a month. Whilst in Berlin, I will take two weekend trips. One weekend, I will visit my friend Theo in Munich, the next I will visit my friend Christina in…