To the fractured human with scars on your wrists by Sierra Estes

How long will you continue this battle?
Will the angry red streaks follow you to old age?
Woven between blue veins and the wrinkles of time
Forever a reminder of younger years
Full of grief and sorrow
And the hatred of losing control
All compressed into ugly lines
Scattered up and down your arms, legs, stomach

Will your grandchildren see these marks?
Their chubby fingers trace the injured skin
As they ask what happened
How do you explain that to a child?
Eyes brimming with innocence and trust
How quickly will their hearts break if you tell them the truth?
Realizing your pain was self-inflicted
And then, how quickly will yours shatter?
Seeing smiles melt off their faces

Don't make it harder for yourself
Fix the fractures while you can
Repair your broken soul
So that love fills every crack
And that their childlike purity
Is not yet lost

Dear B. Virdot,

Dear B.Virdot

          I am responding to your ad in the paper, the one about giving money to deprived families and people. My name is Quentin Davis and my address is 53, Engle Street, Canton, Ohio. I need your aid because I am in a grim crisis. I have 4 living kids; the other 5 passed away, three because of being deprived of resources, and the other two due to tuberculosis. The crisis I’m in is that I as well have tuberculosis, and have from my guess about two weeks to live. My wife doesn’t know that I’m writing this letter to you, and doesn’t know about the tuberculosis because I don’t want her to worry. If you gave me this aid, I would spend the money on food for my family who is already starting to starve. This would all make my last few days much more bearable.

Sincerely,

Ben Durfee

Injury by Eric Jacobson

Alas I tell this tragic tale,

of a friend of mine's epic fail.

This story is one of woe

from only several months ago.

We were skiing and boarding all morning long,

when he jumped in the air and fell wrong.

He leaned forward with a twist,

but on impact he broke his wrist.

He lost his activity, his winter fun,

Until the Winter was long done.

Snowboarding his love was lost that day,

for the next six weeks the skies were grey.

In his bed he doth lay,

reminiscing about that tragic day.

In his bed he doth lay,

reminiscing about that tragic day.

One.. Team.. by Marcos Souza

 

One can make the difference.

One is all it takes.

One play.

One single break away can change the game.

One perfect pass.

One foul.

One open chance can lead to victory.

One mistake can change the game.

One is something you can never do and expect a victory.

A team will make a difference.

Team work is all it takes.

A team, that creates the play.

One single team will change the whole game.

One perfect team passing drill.

One team foul.

One open chance, the team will rise in victory.

One team mistake will change the whole game.

A team is what brings true victory, never one.

6 word short stories by Lindsey Hart

Stop killing yourself with his poison.

The boy ran, she died inside.

Fear is the ultimate mind killer.

She keeps me sane.. And alive.

Life is just another miracle now.

No please, don’t leave me now.

I need this moment to last.

Staying with me? No regrets.. Now.

Broken, our love, is broken.

Your mind games are really sick.

Why do you hate me, mockingbird?

But I thought you didn’t care.

Don’t even think of coming back.

I gave you a chance, cheater.

The voices in my head hate me.

Boston strong? You better believe it.

You will never break my spirit.

I thought you loved me back.

Come back home to me, love.

I shouldn’t have left you here.

Are you ready for the riot?

A new age of revolution, coming.

I never actually cared for that.

NFL Brain Injury

Bang! You are a professional football player in the NFL, you just took a hard hit to the head, you suffered from a traumatic brain injury and can no longer play, what will happen to you next? Will you suffer from depression, develop other disease like Alzheimer’s or will you even commit suicide? Athletes should be told about injuries, how they are caused and the affects of them. Also, coaches and the owners of the teams should make sports safer.

            Boston Globe reports that Tom McHale, and All-Ivy athlete who played in 87 NFL games form 1987 to 1995, died of an overdose in 2008 after battling depression and a painkiller addiction. Boston Globe say a handful, including popular pro Bowler Junior Seau, have committed suicide. It is sad to hear that pro football players who have suffered injuries have committed suicide, rather than facing the challenge of dealing with their injury. Football players are big and strong, but the brain is delicate? Football players are equipped with padding and helmets that are made to prevent injuries. However, Frontline reports that in the 2012- 2013 season that 160 players go down with a head injury.

            Boston Globe reports there’s no way to say the only hits that hurt you are the hits from those years. The hits you might of taken years back may have could have caused the injury not the one you just took. Frontline reports the NFL donated $3o million to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for brain injury research. The unrestricted gift is the single-largest donation in league history. In the league’s press release announcing the gift, it points to chronic traumatic encephalopathy as one possible area of research. The NFL is trying to help those who get injured.

            In conclusion, I believe that the NFL players should take more precautions when playing football to reduce their chance of injury. Also the NFL should make stricter rules to the game of football for anyone who wishes to play. Players should also be aware of the injuries, the affects of them, how they are caused, the long –term affect of the injury, and most importantly how to prevent them.

"Erasing More Hate" Flyer News online article by Jordana Pereira

Monday, March 25th, marked the revival of the FHS Marketing Class’s Erase the Hate campaign. What started off as a simple project in Jeremy Flagg’s marketing class, quickly escalated into a school wide campaign during the 2012 school year.  Students in the class made the famous purple Erase The Hate shirts that sold like fresh baked cookies at lunch. According to Jeremy Flagg, he “cleared out” every purple shirt at all A.C. Moore stores within a 50-mile radius of the school, and arrived to Framingham High an hour early every day in order to produce more shirts for sale.      This year, the class is reviving the campaign, in hopes of making it bigger and better. The purple shirts are returning with a fresh look. With emphasis on the slogan, “NO H8” the shirts are again handmade by Mr. Flagg and students everyday before and after school. On Monday, April 1st, Flagg presented his “Last Lecture” in front of students and coworkers. The lecture was the starting line of the campaign, meant for students and teachers to start thinking about the bullying on a more open and public level. He challenged his audience to be a part of the change: “Be willing to be the friend who lends a shoulder to cry on. But more so, be willing to be the stranger that offers a helping hand.”      In addition to the t-shirt sales being revived, the campaign is beginning new sales. Purple ribbons and “NO H8” dog tags will soon become popular on backpacks, lanyards, and key chains in the school, and hopefully will go on to be spotted throughout the town as the class works on spreading the word to middle and elementary schools in the future.      Along with the sales, social media has become a huge marketing outlet for the cause. FHS: Erase The Hate can be “liked” on Facebook and even “followed” on Twitter. Photographs of students with the “NO H8” slogan have recently begun popping up on Instagram and as profile pictures on Facebook. The slogan is either on the students’ cheeks or duct taped to their mouths, representing the hope for an end to bullying. The ultimate goal is to make a difference by sending out a stronger and more impactful message throughout the town and school on the social issues present not only in the packed hallways of Framingham High, but in society as a whole.