December is the month of festivity and amusement, but it's also the month of stress and anxiety for students that spend hours and hours of studying for their final tests. If you are one of those people and need advice on how to get ready for those tests, here are five steps to help you succeed!

Step 1: Plan your schedule early

Begin by creating a schedule for the day and time that you will be reviewing your notes for your test. Try to plan a schedule as early as possible, like one week before finals week, because it will help you stay organized on how much time you need to spend studying on each subject. Set reminders on your phone or write on a calendar to help you stick to your plan.

Step 2: Study creatively

Create your own study guide, it can help you understand the material better. If you prefer to study with friends or another person to quiz you, make flash cards that have phrases or keywords that will help you remember the vocabulary, then ask them to quiz you. Take advantage of any free peer mentoring programs that are offered or tutoring.

Step 3: Take five

As much as you need to spend time examining your notes, you need to take a break every once in a while so you don't fry your brain! Balance your time to relax, so when you go back to work you can concetrate and memorize more information better.

Step 4: Take care of your body

Make sleep and food a priority. Trust me when I say this, pulling an all-nighter will not benefit you at all, even if you think that staying up to cram in all the new things you learn will help you, it will not. You will most likely forget all the information by the time of the test and you don't want to add more stress. A good night's sleep will help you have complete focus on your test, same goes for a full stomach. Remember to eat to have enough energy, then you won't have to worry about your stomach making weird noises during the exam.

Step 5: Relax

The final step is to relax, do not let panic overwhelm you, it will not fix or help anything. Regardless of how you feel as you work on your test, the key is to stay calm and remember that you have studied and know more than you think you do. Take your time on the exam, a couple of minutes won't hurt if that's how much time you need to look over your answers.

Recently the Trump administration lifted a ban that prohibited Americans from bringing their elephant trophies from Africa to the United States. Several celebrities, scientists, and other people who are invested in preservation are appalled because hunting can cause these push elephants even closer to extinction. 

They have expressed that hunting is a fiendish idea that will not help benefit conservation. After Trump's announcement, a variety of people tweeted their personal opinions about the situation while sharing links to a series of petitions and campaigns that are against this movement.

Ellen, a comedian, and talk show host devoted the beginning of her show to talk about the endangered species. "Elephants show compassion, sympathy, social intelligence, self-awareness, they're excellent at learning abilities, all things I have yet to see in this president," Ellen said.

Ellen first clarified that by lifting this ban he was encouraging Americans to kill elephants, then ended by sharing a hashtag #BeKindtoElephants asking her viewers to repost it on social media to help her raise awareness.

Another celebrity, Sophia Bush, raged, "Why would Trump do this?WHY?! This sentences defenseless, endangered animals to death. This surely guarantees poaching and the kinds of criminal activity that come with it, which destroys the lives of people as well, will explode again. This is inexcusable."

The president and chief executive of Humane Society, Wayne Pacelle, also remarked on the Washington Post that it is, "a venal and nefarious pay-to-slay arrangement that Zimbabwe has set up with the trophy hunting industry."

Save Our Planet, also declared on Twitter,  "I refuse to stop tweeting about this until it goes viral, this story has to be heard!!! Donald Trump just reversed an Obama-era ban to import elephant remains to the USA."

A numerous amount of people are publishing some old photos of Donald Trump's sons on a hunting trip expressing how inhumane they are for viewing hunting as fun. The world presumes to enrage at this movement but is certainly increasing conscience towards the Trump administration. On November 17, Trump updated the decision of lifting the ban and explained how they are putting the act on hold until they make further research. 

Sources:

time.com/5027350/donald-trump-elephant-ban-jr/

https://ohnotheydidnt.livejournal.com/108478429.html?=2#comments

Thanksgiving is usually remembered with turkey dinners, families gathering together, and watching football games. Although we enjoy these things annually, Thanksgiving is meant to be memorable, it's something that needs a touch of our own personal customs. 

Whether it's something new a family is trying out or something they have been doing for generations, traditions make the holiday much more special. I asked some of my friends and family how they celebrated their Thanksgiving, and their responses were unique. 

Thanksgiving stroll

"In my family, we take a walk after eating dinner, because everyone is usually really bloated and in need of fresh air. Regardless how cold it is outside, we will all walk together for an hour or two, until we feel like going back outside, other than that we just enjoy being together having long conversations and strolls!"

Tablecloth of memories

"Growing up as a kid, I moved a lot, so we definitely had a variety of friends, and we always had Thanksgiving dinners with a lot of different families, and the sad part was that we hadn't remembered all the people we had encountered along the way. One Thanksgiving, we bought two to three tablecloths and asked any visitors we had over for dinner, to sign their name and share a memory they had with us that they were thankful for. We have been doing this for five years already, and it's one thing I'm always grateful for every year."

Cultural film night

"My family and I watch Nollywood, which is Nigeria movies, and we eat popcorn, candy, soda, for a whole 18 hours. No turkey or big feast, just our Nigerian movies and a variety of different junk foods." 

Classic Thanksgiving toast

"In the morning we all wake up and eat breakfast while watching the Macy's parade, and we say one toast before breakfast for the things we are grateful for. As the day goes on we watch football, while cooking dinner. Once the sun goes down, all the food is prepared and laid out on the table. We pray and raise any drink we have and say the second toast of the day, then we feast as a family."

Thanksgiving adventures

"No one in my family really liked staying at home, we liked to go out most of the time. One year ago we began a tradition where we wake up six in the morning and we drive downtown to visit any new exhibits in museums. After, we return back home around 8 to have dinner."

However your family decides to celebrate Thanksgiving, make sure everyone gets a taste of what this beautiful holiday is in your family.

We all have our comfort foods, it comes in all smells, shapes and sizes, would it be wrong to share another one to add to the list? Lately i've been having a thing for Tinga tostadas, just like many other recipes, it's not as complicated to make and will without doubt, satisfy your tastebuds. This authentic Mexican dish is made with delicious chipotle sauce, onions, tomatoes, shredded chicken and refried beans, all piled up on a crispy tostada, that will serve up to ten people!

Ingredients:

1-2 chicken breasts

2 cups of chicken broth

2 cans of diced tomatoes

3 cloves of garlic  

2 large onions

chicken flavored bouillon

1 can of refried beans

2 tbs. of olive oil (to fry the onions and tomatoes together )

chipotle sauce

A blender

salt and pepper (optional)

as many types of toppings as you prefer!

Directions:

1. Place chicken breasts in a large pot and add enough water to cover it 

2. Set stove to medium or high, and in the pot you add one spoon of chicken flavored bouillon, and half an onion to add flavor. After you've added those ingridients, set the stove to 30 to 40 minutes to boil.

3.While the chicken is boiling, set the stove to medium and pour 2 tablespoons of oil. After that, dice the other half of the onion we used and saute on a large frying pan until the onions have browned around the edges. Start to add 3 cloves of garlic, then 1 can of diced tomatoes, stir occasionally for 5 minutes. 

4. As that mixture is cooking, Take out a blender and put in 3 tablespoons of chipotle sauce, 1 can of diced tomatoes, and 2 cups of chicken broth, and blend for 1-2 minutes.

5. After you have blended the mixture, pour it in the pan with tomatoes, onions, and garlic and let it boil for 5 min. After 5 minutes add the chicken already shredded, and stir the chicken into the sauce until warmed through, and boil for 40 minutes.

6. To finish up, smear the delicious, warm refried beans on a tostada, then the chicken mixture, and top with cilantro, cheese, cream, lime for a little more flavor, and any other toppings you'd like.

7. Last step would be to enjoy!

The possibilities of ending up where you desire to be are endless, just like Mr. Young who was taking a different major in college before he realized his heart followed a different path. Family and friends believed Mr. Young was very talented in art, and had encouraged him to choose a career that involved art, although they suggested careers, where his income would be higher than most regular artists, "they said the only way to make money as an artist, was to be a commercial artist, so I started majoring in graphic design, and quickly realized in my freshmen year that I didn't want people telling me what to do with art." Mr. young explained how these types of artists were restricted with their options, "Graphic artists have clients like, Coca Cola or Nike that says I need an advertisement design, here's how we want it, so it was really limited." This influenced Mr. Young to look for a different goal, one that actually allowed him to perceive what he truly wanted to become. It was in Colorado where a couple of photographs caught his attention and really fascinated him, leaving him to take another direction with the career he wanted to major in. Mr. young began to take classes for photography around his sophomore year in college, and it helped shape him to who he is today.

As a visual arts teacher, Mr. Young has a variety of different classes he teaches, and is currently helping one prepare for a big upcoming project. This project is specified for AP students where they create a portfolio that have two sections that includes 24 pieces, 12 are about breadth and the other 12 are about concentration, along with a short artist statement at the end. The concentration photos revolve around a certain theme, and an example Mr. Young gave was how a student he had last year, chose growth as her theme, he stated that, "she explored all the different ways she could represent the idea of growth in photography". The other 12 shots, the breadth section, are not meant to relate to theme in any way, he responded how "they have to show you that you have mastered the ability to make a good photograph". The students would shoot one section during the fall and the other during the spring, and would gather all those pieces at the end to build their portfolio.

When I asked Mr.Young what his main goal towards his AP students was, he responded "To make sure everyone gets a 4 or preferably a 5 to earn that college credit, and so you've learned and gotten the most out of the class than you can". When he talked about his regular students, he mentioned how he wanted them to transfer to AP, to push them out of their comfort zones. In any classes you take, you are always going to have strength and weaknesses, it helps you follow your aspirations even though there are bumps along the way and allows you to strive to do better. Quoting Mr. Young, "As long as your motivated, you'll tend to learn quickly", everyone has potential, it's just a matter of keeping that potential to keep progressing until it becomes a habit.  After listening to Mr. Young's story of how he evolved, and his position as a photography teacher, I want to challenge everyone to continue to explore so you can get to the path that suits you best and use it to help others create paths for themselves.