Let’s all be honest- February is the worst month. I offer my sincerest apologies to those unfortunate enough to have been born during the dreariest time of the year. February primarily consists of the brown or grey leftovers of a pure, white Christmas. While this month is the shortest of all, it seems to drag. At this time, students feel like hamsters on a wheel, sprinting towards the end, which seems to be reachable, yet in actuality it is still many months away.

And so, in order to breathe life and color into this month, the staff of the Viking Voice has moved away from the usual style of feature article; this month, we present to the student body a visual feature done completely in photographs. In this feature, the Voice investigates Gibraltar High School’s art department and the many pieces that combine to create its striking style.

This idea, the visual feature, is in the same vein of Beyoncé’s self-titled album released this past December. The album is a visual feast, with each song corresponding to a video that tells a story. Due to the convenience that programs like iTunes offer, so much of discovering, purchasing, and listening to music today is very rapid; there isn’t as much focus on enjoying the actual music. People rarely invest in entire albums anymore or listen to them in total. “There’s so much that gets between the music and the artist and the fans,” Queen Bey states. Beyoncé chose to do a visual album, because she wanted her audiences to immerse themselves in her vision when they listen to her songs. She states that she “wanted to make this body of work and…[she] wanted people to…not just listen to a ten second clip but actually be able to see the whole vision of the album.”

Beyoncé’s desire for listeners to experience her album as a whole piece can be applied to the Voice’s vision for itself. The Voice is not simply focused on student writing or reporting news; the paper is a culmination of many people’s efforts. It’s an amalgamation of not only the writing, but also the editing and the photography and the layout. Don’t just flip to the Photo Poll and then fold up the paper and recycle it. Invest in the paper.

Out with the old, in with the new- it’s January, which means a new year, new resolutions, a new and improved you.

I have recently upgraded to a new cell phone, from one smart phone to another simply because of a broken button on the older version. I enjoy the new device’s features, its gleaming, shiny freshness; I like how it feels as though I’m holding the weightlessness of the future in my palm.

However, as I deactivated my old phone, I couldn’t help but tear up a little. I thought of the trials we had triumphed over. I thought of how many times I had dropped it on cement, tile, and wood floors and how it’s chunky, sturdy design had withstood steadfastly. The adventures we had been on, the heartbreaks we endured, the thousands of times it rerouted me around construction in order to save me from hours of misery- and I was throwing it away, trading it in for a newer, more advanced, sleeker model. I know that I am sentimentalizing my dear phone, but I have a feeling that I am not alone in my attachment to this piece of technology.

This change-over, in my mind, is very symbolic of what happens at this time of year. January is the month of the future: resolutions are made and plans are created for what will be made of these next twelve months. These processes are carried out in the hope that this year will be better and brighter; we promise ourselves that we will make changes and we will improve. But not much thought is given to the past at this time though.

Frederick Douglass, a famous African American social reformer, once said “A battle lost or won is easily, described, understood, and appreciated, but the moral growth of a great nation requires reflection, as well as observation, to appreciate it.” So this year, instead of simply stating that you will make progress in an area of your life, reflect on your battles from the previous year, those you conquered and those that defeated you. Where did you find happiness? What caused you to struggle? What have you to be thankful for in the past year? How have you grown?

November is a stressful month. It seems to be the time of the year when academics, athletics, extracurricular activities, and personal issues all require more work, more time, and more commitment. Because of this, November can become completely overwhelming. However, even with immense challenges, you can always overcome. One of my most massive and troubling trials came on my first day of cross country practice.

It was a sweltering late August twilight. I was a shy freshman and not particularly athletic. I joined the team on a last minute whim, and I began to wonder if it was a mistake. I didn’t know anyone else there. It was my initiating high school experience, my first interaction with any of the daunting upper classmen or even the lowly sophomores. This memory, this experience, ended in humiliation- a failure so massive that there’s only one way to say it: I pooped myself.

This incident stands as the greatest misadventure I have ever lived through. At the time, I wasn’t even sure I could live through the indignity of the situation. No, it wasn’t due to nerves. It wasn’t from fear or intimidation. It was Sbarro’s pizza. Being an inexperienced runner and athlete in general, I had seen no issue with having a greasy slice of Sbarro’s pizza for lunch the day of my first practice.

We ran four miles- four miles through the splendiferous state park that abuts our high school. But my mind was far from musing on the beauty that surrounded me. Instead, I thought of my stomach that lurched with every stride. I ended up shuffling along behind everyone else; the coach rode along beside me on his bike out of pity. I couldn’t possibly tell him that my body had rebelled against my self-control. I’ll spare the details, but I may have faked a leg cramp in order to steal a moment or two in the woods to, ahem, freshen up. I did finish the workout though; I forced myself to run up the large hill that connects the park to the school and meet up with the rest of the team.

Climbing into my mother’s car after practice, I was disgusting and disheveled, covered in my own waste. But I knew that any of the other high school experiences that awaited me over the next four years couldn’t possibly leave me more mortified than pooping myself in front of many upper classmen. Every time that I have come up against a challenge in my high school career, I have thought of this memory. My drive to succeed has been fueled by my most excruciating and painful failure.

October is a good month for many things- wearing warm sweaters and jackets, winning football games, painting an ornate landscape in water colors, not doing the math homework that’s due tomorrow, un-tagging yourself from that awkward and embarrassing picture from Spirit Week’s pie eating contest. It’s the month that means business; teachers are no longer taking it easy on the homework load and sports seasons are busier than ever.

But for students at Gibraltar, October is a month for reflection, too.

On September 27th of last year, one of our students, Bo Johnson, lost his battle to Acute Myeloid Leukemia. Bo was twelve when he was first diagnosed with the rare blood disease, and he fought for a year with courage and a smile. Bo’s struggle and his passing rocked the worlds of not only his family, but of Gibraltar and the community as well.

However, Bo left behind a legacy that will live on in Door County’s heart. His message was simple and pure: pay it forward. This could be as simple as helping another person in need, loving someone, showing a complete stranger kindness. It’s easy, it’s straightforward, and it’s a part of being a good human.

On the day of Bo’s passing, I personally experienced a moment that made me trust in Bo’s message. As I walked down the hallway to my locker, I started to cry, overwhelmed by my feelings of sadness. As I came around a corner, I nearly ran into another girl; I knew who she was, but we weren’t close friends. Instead of rushing off to her next class, she hugged me and told me that, together, we were all going to get through this. It was at that moment that I realized how powerful paying it forward, being kind, having compassion, can be. And Bo’s message only grows stronger as more people choose to pay it forward.

Well here we are again- back within the halls of good ol’ Gibraltar High School. Summer has drawn to a close; fall is approaching in many manners, big and small. Rather than sand in between our toes, we have pencil shavings and schnibbles of notebook paper lining the bottoms of our backpacks. Before we know it, we’ll all be stressing over semester finals.

And so another year for the Voice begins; we are now entering our sixth year of publication, and I couldn’t be more proud to be a part of the staff. This publication stands as an invaluable forum to demonstrate the meaty strength and scrupulously honed talents of our writers at Gibraltar.

            However, changes are afoot. Along with a new school year, a new schedule, new teachers, and new students, comes a new Viking Voice.

            Our objective is to have the Viking Voice speak for the students of Gibraltar. As students, we want to read about our classmates, events going on in our lives, and changes that will affect us; from the school to the global scale. Volume 6 of the Voice begins with this mission. We will strive to have the paper present school-centered information that brings attention to the perceptions of our own students and teachers on a range of issues.  

            Our articles will feature students’ perspectives on topics that matter to them. Our research will be pulled from within the school. The Viking Voice will stand as a voice for our student body. We want the paper to exemplify Gibraltar’s student culture. We want to represent our readers. We want to epitomize the composition of students we have in our high school.

            This is a student-run publication. The Viking Voice should be a paper not only by the students but for the students.

            So, go on- sift through our September issue. Weigh in on the age-old question “Soup or Salad?” on our Tumblr blog. Let us know what you do when you hang out at the Super Wal-Mart on our Facebook page. Shoot us an email to nominate a friend for our featured athlete for next month. Have your voice heard and approach us about writing an article for a future issue.

While Door County is an area of splendiferous beauty in the summer months, the environment can quickly turn hostile as winter draws near, with tourists vacating the streets and shop owners closing their doors.

Because of the sub-zero temperatures and knee-high snow, the students of Gibraltar High School may often find themselves lacking in the entertainment department. Nearly every student working in the tourist industry has been asked the question “So what do you do here in the winter?” And the truth is surprising.

Gibraltar students are inexplicably drawn to the Super Wal-Mart of Sturgeon Bay. It’s a mysterious phenomenon that is not fully understood. Waiting for a movie to start over at the Sturgeon Bay Cinema? Let’s head over to Wal-Mart to kill some time. Eating at Hong Kong Buffet? We should go to Wal-Mart afterwards. There is a strange aspect of these visits to the department store though: students don’t go there to purchase anything.

It’s not uncommon to find students moseying aimlessly, eyes glazed, through the aisles, not buying a thing. Either that or they’re carousing. They play hide-and-go-seek, tag, ride tricycles made for toddlers, stare open-mouthed at the size of the watermelons, and race against one another in spur-of-the-moment scavenger hunts. According to a source, who would prefer to remain anonymous, students have also ridden around the store in the shopping cart handicap scooters and engaged in swordplay with plastic sabers.

Due to a lack of constructive activities, the Super Wal-Mart has been transformed into an oversized playground for many teens.

The store’s appeal stems from its open layout and wide assortment of goods. In addition, as popularized by the beloved website peopleofwalmart.com, there are usually people to gawk at. It’s free entertainment, and teenagers are welcome to loiter there for as long they please.