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Twice-Told Tale

The Student News Site of Lake Highland Preparatory School

Twice-Told Tale

Twice-Told Tale

(Above) Because of the widespread use of plastic, it is impossible to completely remove it from our diet, but it is possible to stop some of the consumption. Fruits and vegetables absorb plastics through roots which go into the plant. A study by Gea Oliveri Conti, PhD, found that apples and carrots have the highest concentration of plastics. Both are very healthy, but finding alternatives might stop more plastic consumption.

Our Bodies are Landfills

Kacie Palla, Staff October 30, 2024

Did you know you eat a credit card’s worth of plastic every week? This happens when you consume something that’s been in a plastic container or has been exposed to plastic in shipping or processing....

(Above, left to right) Elizabeth Rudd, grade 11, Sofia Tenghoff, grade 12, Fiona Knight, grade 9, Yara Koteish, grade 11, and Hayden Roberts, grade 11, show off their trendy Adidas, ranging from $90 to $120. These sneakers seem to be everywhere on campus, and walking between classes has turned into an Adidas fashion show. Many students have gotten inspiration from friends and social media, encouraging them to buy these trendy shoes.

Our Microtrends are Creating Macro Waste

Kacie Palla, Staff October 23, 2024

Parents have become increasingly lenient in the past years with their children’s screen time, allowing kids to have access to social media at a much younger age than before. Along with younger kids,...

(Above) In 2022, novelist and critic Jo Hamya with The Booker Prizes interviewed Moshin Hamid and his editor Simon Prosser. The original title of the book was All Migrants Through Time. Moshin and his editor agreed that title was, “overly poetic” and, “‘non-fiction-y’.” Moshin adds that this title was “Lacking in any actual plot.” Moshin’s wife, Zahra, came up with the title To Exit West, which later changed to Exit West.

Exit West Provides Perspective Through Portals

Tessa Guerra, Director of Advertising October 8, 2024

Moshin Hamid is a British-Pakistani novelist and writer who has written several books. He is known for his works including The Reluctant Fundamentalist, How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia, and The Last...

(Above) The first day of school was an exciting day for every Highlander. With Sophomore year complete, Katie Mathews and Hannah Thomas, grade 11, can’t wait for their Junior year classes. Mayren Comenencia and Kylie Kiefer, grade 12, love to reminisce about their Junior year and offer advice to them.

The Hidden Truth Behind Junior Year

Alyssa Wiboon, Editor-in-Chief September 18, 2024

Whenever the thought of “Junior year” comes to mind, most high schoolers dread it. Looking back on the summer before Junior year, I remember how terrified I was. My brain was flooded with fear: how...

(Above) This equipment helps doctors quickly diagnose and treat animals. Allears.net also mentions that the medical teams perform over 600 wellness checks per year and had many successful surgeries which included placing an artifical eye in a fish.

Ignorance Threatens Animal Welfare

Minaal Arain, Co-Editor April 15, 2024

Growing up, many of us experienced the awe of giraffes stretching their necks up or lions lazing on a rock, right before our eyes and only minutes away from home. However, in recent years, concerns for...

(Above) As with most types of injustice and trauma, the first thing affected is the brain. As women place constrictions on themselves about how they should speak and act, they fight against the part of themselves that sees themselves as equal to both men, but also other women. Furthermore, the contradictions placed on women add a layer of complexity. In young women particularly, as they see how different women act in scenarios, both parties second guess their choices, not realizing that they are trying meet a standard that is difficult to fit within. This causes a lack of self-confidence and heighted anxienty, which can lead to even more consequences.

Battle Against Sexism Involves the Same Gender

Minaal Arain, Co-Editor March 11, 2024

When people hear the word sexism, the first thing that comes to mind is typically man versus woman. However, a type of lesser known sexism, and therefore, arguably more dangerous, is the sexism between...

(Above) So much of the modern world is visual. Poetry doesn’t have to come through just black and white letters on a page; it can dance in swirls and color too. Through this poetry collage, there can be seen contemperorary poets such as Ocean Vuong and Louise Glück. There are 19th and 20th century poets such as Maya Angelou and Emily Dickinson. And of course, there is the newest brand of one-line poetry popularized by Atticus, a pseudonym for a poet who remains anonymous. There is still a whole world of poets and poetry to explore beyond the frames of this one collective photograph. The following list of additional poets I would personally recommend is by no means comprehensive: K-Ming Chang, Ross Gay, Hanif Abdurraqib, Victoria Chang, Sonia Sanchez, Sylvia Plath, T.S. Eliot, Percy Shelley, and William Wordsworth.

The Rise and Fall, and Rise Again, of Poetry

Serena Young, Director of Photography February 6, 2024

When most people think of poetry, their thoughts usually fall into two categories. They either catapult themselves back to 750 BC with Homer and the Odyssey or they fall upon the safety net of Shakespeare...

(Above) Double standards exist beyond gender roles. A wonderful resource about this topic is the blog Modcast, where English Literature and Language graduate students discuss various novels. In fact, the blog has a section called “Hypocritcisms: Double Standards in Literature,” which is dedicated to various types of conflicting ideals faced by people from all communities. This goes to shows that despite the wonderful steps made to equalize things for various groups, conversations are still happening and progress must continue.

Double Standards Dominate the Timeline

Minaal Arain, Co-Editor November 2, 2023

In the new Barbie movie, actress America Ferrera’s character explains how it is, “Impossible to be a woman.” The viral scene, one I highly recommend watching, conveys the frustrations of many young...

(Above) The cosmetic industry plays a significant role in fueling ageism by perpetuating unrealistic beauty standards and promoting products that promise to reverse or prevent the signs of aging. Many companies within this industry capitalize on society's obsession with youth, often employing marketing tactics that reinforce ageist stereotypes. For instance, beauty brands like L'Oréal have come under scrutiny for campaigns that seemingly celebrate older women but still emphasize their products' "anti-aging" properties. Similarly, companies like Estée Lauder market their products with phrases like "turn back the clock" and "age-defying," further contributing to the notion that aging is something to be feared and avoided at all costs. Like plastic surgery, topical remedies for aging won’t transform you. Billion-dollar companies aren’t dedicated to making the world look younger. They’re preying on easy insecurities, and we fall for it every time. In 2021, the global anti-aging market was estimated to be worth about 62.6 billion U.S. dollars according to Statistica, and this number is expected to increase significantly in the next few years.

Discrimination Comes of Age

Delaney Bolstein, Editor-in-Chief October 4, 2023

You’re standing in front of the mirror, and all you see are wrinkles turning your forehead into a barcode, protruding crow's feet, that new pixie cut you swore you would never get, and everything else...

(Above) Senator Rick Scott was my governmental correspondent. He gave me a Challenger Coin which has his seal for when he was the Governor for the state of Florida.

A Journalist Journeys to D.C.

Zane Rimes, Director of Advertisement September 27, 2023

From July 10 to the 15, I embarked on a journalism journey to George Mason University in Washington, D.C. The trip included going through multiple journalistic simulations including writing about First...

The line between cruelty-free and ethical is blurry. For example, the brand behind the Benefit Brow Bar in Ulta, Benefit Cosmetics, claims to be cruelty-free, claiming, “All Benefit products undergo very strict tolerance tests using non-animal methods during the procedure of each product,” on its website. However, what the company fails to mention is that animal testing can occur after the product is created such as pre-market testing and post-market testing. The old status quo of whether a brand was cruelty-free or not was if it sold products in China, but since recent laws now let “general cosmetics” be imported into China without animal testing, the line has become even blurrier. Benefit Cosmetics’ hair dye and freckle remover fall under the category of “special cosmetics” and thus require animal testing. To bypass the confusion entirely, I recommend that you stick with brands that are undoubtedly cruelty-free. My favorite ethical brands are Native, E.L.F., Glossier, and Rare Beauty. 

Embrace the Beauty of Being Cruelty-Free

Delaney Bolstein, Editor-in-Chief September 15, 2023

Amidst the past decade's booming makeup and cosmetics industry, heightened even more so by the introduction of “beauty influencers,” a movement is growing alongside the industry: the cruelty-free movement....

(Above) My grandparents from my mother’s side helped raise my brother and me until I was six and he was three. Seven years prior, they had dropped everything and flown from Shanghai, China, to take care of us. At that point, they were already in their late-sixties, but family always comes first. Photo courtesy of Mr. Samuel Young.

Benefits of Being Bilingual

Serena Young, Co-Editor/Director of Advertising April 20, 2023

Languages open up doors to new worlds of meaning. But with the rise of AI, mastering a language may seem outdated to some. People forget the difference between languages is not only word-to-word translation...

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