Each year, students at Jenks High School aspire to join the military after graduating. I aspire to go into the Air Force in the future, but over spring break, I got to visit a Navy Aircraft carrier. While visiting the ship, I took pictures to capture the history and pride that the carrier shows. It’s important to learn about the past, so we can understand more of the history behind any of our future aspirations. The Aircraft carrier made in World War II by the United States Navy has been decommissioned since 1970 and in 1975 became a museum ship at Patriots Point, Mount Pleasant, South Carolina (patriots point). Originally named the Bonhomme Richard, she was renamed Yorktown while in construction. The ship earned 11 battle stars throughout WWII and the Vietnam war and remains a reminder of patriotism for the country.

On November 5th, 2024, Donald Trump was re-elected president, beating Kamala Harris in both the electoral college and the popular vote, which a Republican hadn’t won since George Bush in 2004. This election was noticeably different from previous cycles we’ve had in history. The first Black woman nominated by a major party versus the former president.

The last quarter of eighth grade is a hectic mess and an intense rush to the finish line as you fight to finally leave behind the middle school and move on to the unknowns of high school. For many, this period of time is marked by end-of-year dances, messy friendship breakups, and the belief that you are way more grown-up than you actually are. But for me, the end of eighth grade will forever be remembered as the first time I read The Outsiders.

As women, we experience countless times of discomfort throughout our adolescent and adult years. Through this discomfort, we are also expected to carry out everyday tasks like working, going to school, exercising, etc. Recently, we’ve noticed that the women’s reproductive system is not very well known across those who don't directly experience it, or witness someone going through it.

Imagine it’s a rainy Friday night at about 8 pm. The kind of rainy night where it's too miserable outside to do anything other than stay home, curl up, and watch a movie. One friend is watching a gruesome horror movie, another could be watching a gut-wrenchingly beautiful romance, and the third could be fully immersed in an out-of-this-world sci-fi or fantasy movie. This is relatively average human behavior that isn’t questionable at all, but if you really sit and think about it, the choices we make on what movies we watch or what music we listen to can tell a lot about our personalities. 

Working out is a very important part of living a healthy and productive life. It is also important to gain the habit as a teen and bring it into your early stages of adulthood. Working out not only makes you feel healthier, but it can also help your overall appearance and self-esteem. 

Lunch during your free hour. A quick stop after practice. Late-night drive through with your friends. For many Jenks High School students, going out to eat isn’t just occasional–it's a big part of their weekly routine.

“If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all” was the phrase repeated too many times in elementary school. As kids, we’re taught that kindness is key. You never know what someone is going through, so saying mean things or making fun of them is never okay.

Everyone knows the biggest problem with Cheetos or Doritos is the orange stains they leave on your hands, and if you are not careful, you will track them everywhere. You can’t do anything while you eat these chips because you will look down and realize that bag of Flaming Hot Cheetos you just ate left red powder stains all over your shirt, gaming controller, TV remote, and your math homework. And do not even consider giving them to a child whose tiny sticky fingers will be leaving neon red handprints all over your house. Lucky for us all, there is a solution.

When selecting an AP class for your schedule, you often have benefits in mind, whether it’s an increased GPA or college preparation. But how does the number of AP classes you select affect your stress level? As a Junior who has taken 1 AP class in the past two years, I would like to determine the different factors of an AP class and the amount of stress a student may face depending on the number of classes they take. By surveying students at Jenks High School, I will be able to obtain a general idea of the stress levels an AP student experiences.

If another movie about another annoying self-absorbed white guy getting “famous” and immediately becoming a disloyal, cheating weirdo who parades around ruining the lives and marriages of all the people around him, wins and gets nominated for best picture, I am canceling my AMC A-List subscription, never watching another biopic again, and deleting every single streaming app I own. 

If you don’t live under a rock, you may have heard of what’s known as a “fit check” or an “OOTD” (Outfit Of The Day), a trend which has grown increasingly popular on social media. Each OOTD consists of a person or group of people pointing out different items of clothing and naming the brands of each piece for people to observe. High school is all about observing others. Did you see what blah blah blah posted? Guess who so and so is dating! What brands are people wearing? Whether you’ll admit it or not, you want to know. So I did all the work for you. Here is my masterpiece, Real School Fits. 

There is an old story about the power of a single word: maybe. The idea is that whatever crosses your path, maybe is bad or maybe is good. The main idea is to have the patience to see things through. The story starts with a farmer and his son; they have a horse, and one day the horse decides to run off. Then, the whole village comes by and says, “That’s so awful.” The farmer replies with a simple  “maybe.” Then, a couple of days later, the horse comes back with five more. Everybody in the village says, “That's amazing!” Then the farmer stays steadfast from the last remark, simply saying, “maybe.” A few days later, his son is riding one of the horses and falls and breaks his back. Everyone from the village is up in arms, saying how horrible that is. The farmer once again follows up with one simple but true statement, “maybe.” Finally, when the generals came through looking for soldiers for war, they skipped over the farmer’s son because of his back, and all the town said, “That’s so great,” and the farmer responded with “maybe.” This seems to continue despite the situation, and truthfully, it is something that I have seen as tangible in my own life. The main idea is to have the patience to see things through.

Greatness comes in all shapes and forms, and we most commonly recognize greatness in sports. Some examples include Tom Brady in football, Wayne Gretzky in hockey, and LeBron James in basketball.

I'm Ethan Adkins, but if you came to the Jenks Aquatic Center, you might hear me called Coach Ethan. Coaching is one of the biggest passions in my life thus far. I have also been a competitive athlete since I was in 5th grade, which is another one of my biggest passions. To me, these two passions go hand in hand in my life. The more I learn and grow as an athlete in the sport of swimming, the better a coach I can become.

Most people would consider themselves as experts on certain topics, but most people are wrong. To be considered a true expert, you must have more experience on that topic than most people and have evidence to back it up. 

With the film “Michael” coming out in April 2026, I felt it was a good time to review Michael Jackson’s solo music career. As a teenager born in the late 2000’s, I know of Michael Jackson and his masterpieces that have stood the test of time, but I really don’t know the “gems” that die-hard MJ fans know. I also feel like Michael Jackson really only has three amazing albums, so doing this review will answer that assumption for me. I’ll only be going through true solo albums, as well as only albums he was alive for. That means no “XSCAPE” (2014) or “Michael” (2010). I’ll be ranking the albums on a scale of 1-10 based on production, vocals, skipability (songs that I skip), and number of bangers in the album; I’ll give my top ten songs as well.

Everybody talks about Tulsa like it is God’s gift to children. But when you talk to the kids, everybody says one thing: “It sucks.” Many believe that all there is to do is attend football games, go to the movies, and shop at Walmart.  As a Tulsa native myself, I agree most of the time. Tulsa lacks many of the fun experiences that other cities have. To see if this is true or not, I will be seeing some of the places people often forget about here in Tulsa, the places that are sometimes overlooked.

Imagine with me, if you will—it is a dark December night. You’re snowed in at your house, and you’re looking for something brand new to watch. Now let me introduce you to three movies that will change your life forever: Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl, Dead Man’s Chest, and At World’s End.

Ah, the ‘60s. An era filled with The Beatles, hippie music, moon landings, and the effort to put as much gelatin as possible into the American diet. We may scoff at the bizarre creations housewives with too much free time managed to cook up, but all of us would be lying if we said we haven’t been curious what chicken salad trapped in jello would taste like. Fortunately for you, I was curious enough to actually try these recipes. Unfortunately for me, I was curious enough to actually try these recipes.