Rylies Retreat's

When you think about it, the world is filled with an infinite number of different points of view. Everyone views every situation slightly differently.  When I was eleven years old, I was into theatre. On August 18th, 2018, I had my first big performance: Beauty and the Beast . Following my performance, just an hour after, I was rushed out of the theatre by my father and (soon-to-be-stepmother) to a nature trail where I was placed in a portable chair and thrown a bag of candy. That's when I realized: my father and stepmother were getting married. Right there.  On that trail.  Immediately.  Sitting there, I could feel the tension between my internal thoughts and the external reality I was suddenly thrust into. My role as a child witnessing this moment felt awkward—why wasn’t I included in the decision? The disconnect between my perspective and the large events unfolding around me was shocking. My father and stepmother's point of view was focused on the joy of starting ...

It's interesting how humor, in its many forms, often hinges on the unexpected or exaggerated. A lot of the time, I don't catch on to sarcasm right away, which makes me feel like the gullible odd one out. Take, for example, last month when my dad and stepmom started making fun of how badly I parked at a restaurant. Half of my car was hanging over two spaces, and they sarcastically asked if I was planning on becoming professional at parking. At first, I thought they might have been genuinely upset with how poorly I parked, but then I realized they were just exaggerating the situation for a comedic effect. In the SNL clip we watched this past week in class, the woman secretly involved in the lesson says, "why do you have to criticize everybody?". This made me think about humor in general and how a lot of humor is based on making fun of people sarcastically or singling out one person. Humor often comes from something small and is exaggerated so we can laugh at something w...

"Roar" by Katy Perry is one of those iconic 2000s hit songs everyone knows. As a little girl,  Roar was the song I would always make dances to and sing at the top of my lungs. I was just four years old, and while I didn't fully grasp the meaning behind the lyrics, I was drawn to Katy Perry's famous persona and her powerful voice. Now, at seventeen, I have found myself rediscovering Roar, and this time it resonates with me in a whole new way . After years of not listening to it because I played it on repeat as a kid, I began to listen to it again and understand its meaning. The song's message is extremely empowering, emphasizing overcoming obstacles, finding your voice, and standing strong in the face of adversity. The structure of Roar plays a key role in emphasizing its overall message. The song begins with a softer more vulnerable verse, setting the chorus up for a journey of self discovery. As the chorus hits, the music swells, and the lyrics transform into a...

I f lipped the page — page 182;  I  had read 182 pages in two days.  Time slipped away as I turned each page.  The poor girl who confided in a psychopath, when she was at her lowest, was caught in a web of lies and chilling secrets.   The stakes rose for the main character, and I wanted to make sense of her decisions. "Are you plotting a murder?!" my mom joked, eyeing me as I inhaled yet another chapter. I laughed, but in my mind, I was thinking of the detectives perspective, envisioning myself in the future, uncovering the truth behind these troubled peoples minds.  

Being a boxer has made me have to engage in many fights (literally). When I step into the ring and do have to fight someone, I automatically think I am fighting for the people who are standing in my corner behind me. Boxing has introduced me to a variety of people that I never imagined I'd meet. My team and coaches have become a huge part of my life and I have no idea where I would be without them. They have helped guide and strengthen me as not only a boxer, but also a person. These are the people I would fight for. Although they are probably strategically better fighters than me, they would definitely be the people I would get in the ring for and give my all for. My Coach, Greg Culverson, has been a teacher for me not only in the ring, but also in life. There have been many times after practice where my coach would keep us a couple extra minutes and give us his "words of wisdom". Those words have impacted me immensely. Whether my coach talks to us about God, boxing, or ...