By Addy Booher & Lucy Philips
EMS Press
Traverse City East MS
1st Place Division MS, News Writing
Feature Columnist
JUDGING CRITERIA
- Sharp attention-getting leads
- Expresses personal opinions; uses consistent style
- Reflects thought/research, freshness, individuality
- Effective use of facts/quotes or supporting material
- Informative, interesting, entertaining
- Upholds journalistic integrity
- Sentences, paragraphs of varied length; written clearly, concisely and vividly
- Proper diction/grammar
First it was Musical. ly. Then it was Tik Tok. Musical.ly was created back in 2014 and was popular for making lipsyncing videos. But over the years, the popularity of the app waned. The creators needed a fresh start and a new name to draw new users to the app. So, in September 2016, Tik Tok was released. It was an immediate hit, Today, more than 500 million people have an account. Tik Tok is famous for making, sharing and watching short videos. The app is a way for young people to express themselves. We love Tik Tok because it allows us to connect with our friends and with people around the world. We often find ourselves spending an hour making a 15-second video. It’s a good way to spend time, collaborate and be creative with peers. Every Tiktoker’s dream is to go viral. And for some it’s a reality. Tiktokers Loren Gray, Jacob Sartorius, Zoe Laverne, Danielle Cohn and Baby Ariel are well known around the world for their videos. Some even made money off the app. Tik Tok is also known for creating dances like the Woah, the Broken Clock and the Git Up. Once they’re introduced on Tik Tok, they show up everywhere we look. Tik Tok has literally created an empire full of creative, funny and entertaining young people.
“I can’t believe they’re coming back,” said a surprised parent. She was astonished to see that scrunchies are being sold again. And it’s not just scrunchies that are coming back. Things like, mom jeans, bangs, adidas products, plaid skirts and even preppy looks are making their way back into our lives. Everyday, we see a brother wearing khakis, a classmate wearing mom jeans, or a friend wearing a plaid skirt. But we like these trends. They give us a piece of the past. Mom jeans were primarily trendy in the late 1980s to the early 1990s. We guess they came back because they are loose fitting, cute and not to mention flattering. In 2003, the last season of FRIENDS came out, and thanks to Jennifer Aniston, bangs were revived for the first time since the 1980s. The rage slowly died down but was soon recovered in recent years. We assume this trend came back because bangs make a bold statement. It might also be because girls our age are big fans of Friends, even though it went off the air before we were born. I myself have watched the entire series — all 235 episodes — eight times. I’m currently on my ninth run through. In the halls of EMS, whether it is your friend, sister or your teachers, plaid skirts are everywhere. Plaid was popular in the late 1970s to the early 1990s. Now, you see them in many stores who target the youth market, like Brandy Melville, American Eagle and Hollister. We suspect that these came back simply because of their comfortable, cute look. In our opinion, the resurgence of these looks is one of the best things that has happened to fashion in our generation. Now that the 2020s are right around the corner, we wonder, what is coming up for fashion in the next few decades? Will our kids be wearing Vans, ripped jeans or Adidas NMD’s again? It will be interesting to see what is going to turn up in the years to come.
Maybe you didn’t know the TAG stands for touch and go. Random facts like these could make you never look at something the same again. The Krusty Krab from Spongebob is shaped like a crab trap. The phrase “open sesame” is actually “open says me”. When someone says “hold your horses” they want you to be stable. Flames don’t have shadows. Pinterest is called Pinterest because you pin your interest. NEWS stands for, noteable events, weather and sports./. The texts you send are written in white and the texts you receive are written in black. A club sandwich stands for Chicken Lettuce Under Bacon. The word bed is shaped like a bed. The first episode of a series is called a “pilot” because it’s the first time that it’s on air. The straw hole in a Capri Sun is the dot to the “I”. The bottom of a Gatorade bottle is to hold the cap. You can peel a layer off a nail filer to reveal a new layer. The theatre expression, “Break a leg” is because they are hoping to be in the cast. “Arby’s” which is pronounced RB’s stands for roast beef. When you call someone a dime, you are calling them a 10. In the Amazon logo the arrow points from “a” to “z” indicating that they have everything from a to z. In the FedEx logo, there is an arrow pointing horizontally right between the “E” and the “x”. The “L” in Staples is a half open staple.
It’s no surprise to us when the journalism and history teacher, Mrs. Phillips, comes to school with a boot and crutches. Her injuries always seem to be caused by one of her black labs, or a mysterious hole in the ground at a wedding. Phillips never fails to make us laugh with her “classic Phillips’ moments.” It all starts at 7:25 a.m. When she has one of her many injuries, she is parked outside the room, with her scooter, greeting us. Her scooter makes it difficult for her students to make it through the door. Classic Phillips. We know class has officially started when we see her frantically trying to find her remote to turn on the morning announcements. Which is hard when her desk is always so messy. Classic Phillips. Then once everyone is in their seat, we all watch the morning announcements. It always amuses us to see Phillips by her desk rocking back and forth on her toes with her arms crossed. Classic Phillips. The most iconic Phillips’ moment is the one we still can’t figure out. Everyday, Phillips brings two waters. Which might seem normal to most because maybe she runs out of water. But that is not the case. We hear the clinking sound of water and ice being poured into a metal cup. We know what is happening. Phillips is pouring her water into her YETI cup. Classic Phillips. All of these hilarious, iconic moments and her funny personality makes her who she is, our favorite teacher.
What brands are you wearing right now? Then ask yourself are any of the logos visible? Maybe you’re wearing a cropped shirt so that people can see your lululemon logo, or maybe you didn’t wear a jacket or sweatshirt on the coldest day of the year so that people can see your Vineyard Vines whale. Or you might go the other way. Rather than showing off your labels, maybe you’re hiding them. Perhaps you found a great deal on an off-brand pair of jeans, but they don’t have the American Eagle or Levi logo. Do you wear them without a care in the world or do you wear a long t-shirt to mask them? The truth is, it shouldn’t matter where your clothes are from. As long as you like your clothes and feel confident in them, that’s what should matter. Annoyingly, people are always asked where their clothes are from. It’s a completely pointless question unless you’re going to go buy the exact same thing, which is highly unlikely. Asking someone where their clothes are from might be a way to make conversation. But it might not. Is asking that question really just a way to judge someone? Does where you got something make it any less cute? No. Even though the exact definition of clothes are items worn to cover the body, it seems as if they are really just a way to show off money. For instance, lululemon leggings cost between $100-$120 while you could get a pair at TJ-MAXX for $10-$20. Birkenstocks cost $110-$130, but you can get a pair of off-brand lookalikes at Target for $20. Clothes should be a way to cover the body, but above all they should be a way to feel confident and show off style. And you can do that without labels.