Creating a Self-Identity

Throughout Invisible Man, the narrator seeks to create his personal identity and get rid of his invisibility. In an attempt to create a name for himself, he willingly sacrifices friendship, his past, and loyalty to the Brotherhood. His ability to give powerful speeches is a unique gift, and can potentially define his identity. He is rewarded a college scholarship after one speech. He also gains recognition in the Brotherhood after giving a speech in Harlem. However, no matter how close he comes to making a name for himself, he is eventually stripped of his accomplishments and demoted to his status of invisibility once again.

Similar attempts of establishing reputations and identities are made by high school students everyday. Many students want to be popular, hangout with the cool kids, and be the talk of the campus. Just like the narrator, they are willing to sacrifice the important things in life to achieve this status of "coolness." A few students may actually be successful in their attempts but it comes at a  high cost. Is it really worth sacrificing everything you ever stood for just be noticed by your peers? The legendary UCLA basketball coach, John Wooden, once said, "Your reputation is what people think you are and you have little control over that. Your character is what you really are and that should be your only concern.

By Dane Johnson

Bittersweet

     Since a lot of posts seem to be dealing with graduation, going to college and so forth, I would like to reflect on the past four years that we have spent at Los Osos. Since freshman year many of us have challenged ourselves and pushed ourselves to greatest potential. We have yearned for the "perfect" transcripts, loaded up the AP classes, gone to tutoring, and gone the extra mile to prepare ourselves to not only get into our "dream school" but to be successful there as well. When filling out college application, we see the reality of what we have done the past four years and how it will affect our futures. Were we successful in getting good grades, or did we slack off, and does that show in a part of our applications. One thing that I have discovered from talking to students that have already graduated is that many of them hold regrets and wish that they would have been more focused and gotten better regrets. Though I can honestly say that I tried my hardest and that my grades reflect my full potential, a lot of us find ourselves in positions of regret. Do you feel as though you did your best or do you wish you could go back and perhaps try harder?

Lexie Cantarero

Too Close to Believe

I am feeling a sort of liberating anxiety with this huge milestone in our lives is rapidly approaching. Through our entire existance the only real goals we have been working towards was graduating and getting into college. Now that the time is here it is very surreal and difficult to grasp. True I can not wait to move on with my life and take the first steps in pursuing my future, but still I am reluctant. What about everything I am going to leave behind and all that is going to change? What if I make a bad decision and completely alter the course of my future? With so many auditions, tours, and interviews I am only questioning which path I should follow more than ever recently. Up until now we have only dreamt of the future and bragged about what we were going to accomplish in our lives, but now the future is here and I wonder if we are ready for the challenge of really working to pursue the successful life we have always assumed we could attain.

-Jaclynn Enriquez