Pg. 3The Chirp January 2015

By Maddie AndersonStarting countdown: 5...4...3...2...1!

Happy New Year! We all know that once the clock hits midnight, the new year is fair game for any new life goals. Some are silly, some are physical, and most are simple acts of kindness, but how can we all manage to complete these goals?

The New Year is considered a fresh start, a way for one to sim-ply have a clean slate and forget the previous year. For example, my resolutions always involve less Netflix and more outdoor time; this of course has not happened yet! Why hasn’t it? Well, this may have something to do with my lack of ambition or maybe my deep love for television.

In order for me or anyone else in the world to complete a New Year’s Resolution, we need to be motivated. According to the Statistic Brain Web-site, only 8% of the people who set resolutions complete them.

In my opinion there are only five rules a person must do to excel and meet his/her goals.

Rule #1: Set a realistic goal with several possible ways to complete it. Saying I plan to become a famous rockstar over 2015, and have zero

musical talent just wouldn’t be real-istic! Think of something you really need to achieve or work on to be-come a better person!

Rule #2: Never let anyone de-ter you from your goals. Having friends who tell you that your goals are ridiculous and dumb definitely won’t motivate you to do better! Al-ways be around people who want you to prosper.

Rule #3: Stay focused. The worst thing people can do with their goals is put them in the back of their minds until later. Once a goal is set, stick with it no matter what else is going on in your life. There’s always room for improvement!

Rule #4: Write down your prog-ress. Nothing motivates a person more than seeing improvement! Keep a goal journal and once a week write down the things you’ve done to meet this goal.

And finally Rule #5: Be proud of your goal! Maybe its something funky and odd, but hey, who cares? It’s your goal, so embrace it.

With these 5 rules, any person with a realistic goal can achieve it! Follow your heart and what matters to you. The new year is here, will you complete your resolution?

New Year’s Resolutions: Time to Complete or Experience Repeat Defeat

Created by Levi Bennett in Google Drawing

By Maggie RieckmanHave you kept up with the Kardashi-

ans? Do you dance with the stars? Are you a real housewife of New York City? Do you live on Jersey Shore? Will your toddler get ultimate supreme? Do you have the voice? Can you swim in the sharktank? Do you have a strange ad-diction?

If you have any idea what I’m hinting at, you may have heard of or watched some reality TV. According to urban dictionary, reality TV is a truly sadden-ing development of modern media and primarily watched by mindless, brain-washed Americans who are long since bereft of any intelligent thought or rec-ognizable human values.

You would think that we watch real-ity TV to be entertained or to catch up with famous lives, but from a today.com article, psychiatrist and frequent TODAY contributor, Dr. Gail Saltz thinks that a majority watch it to feel better about themselves.

Even though a large chunk of Ameri-cans agree that reality TV contributes to the dumbing down of the U.S, when asked why they watch TV, some view-ers said they can’t take their eyes off of the hysterical trainwrecks of these peo-ples’ lives.

Next let’s ask ourselves, are reality shows even real? Reality shows have been accused of misleading portrayal of statements, actions, and expressions and editing to the extreme. Rumors also go around on the internet that our fa-vorite reality shows are actually script-ed.

An example of this is the news about Duck Dynasty and how it is all fake. Many websites such as theamerican-conservative.com shared articles trying to prove that the Robertson clan is just a bunch of bologna.

On the other hand, reality shows have helped society and people in it. David Frederick, professor of psychol-ogy at Chapman University and consul-tant on the TODAY survey, said, “We are likely hardwired to seek out infor-mation on how other people deal with conflicts, family, friends and mating.These shows appeal to a very basic hu-man need for information about social relationships.”

Reality TV Addictions, Reactions, & Reflections

See Reality TV continued on page

Pg. 5The Chirp January 2015

The Chirp Wants to KnowBy Kylie Doupnik

“I would probably just sleep in and drink hot chocolate.”

“Go sledding and hang out with friends.”

“Live inside a snowman . . . Duh!”

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About 50% of the students here at The Chirp don’t watch reality TV. The 50% that do watch shows like The Real World, Snooki and Jwoww, Project Runway, and Dancing with the Stars.

What do you think? Grab the re-mote, turn on the tube and find out if reality TV is a blessing or a curse.

Continued from page 3

Reality TV

By Levi Bennett

For the students who audi-tioned, it was one of the most antic-ipated times of school, where stu-dents sign up for auditions to one of the most professional choirs in the state: All-State Choir. Of the six Harvard students who auditioned, only seniors Zach Faltys and Elsa Knight made it to All-State.

“In the beginning I auditioned be-cause I thought it was just another honor choir. After going there you really want to go so your can experi-ence it again,” said Faltys.

“I am excited to perform with the best of the best. I know a lot of people that also made it, so I’m excited to catch up with them, too,” said Knight.

All state choir is an honor choir where more than 3,000 people audi-tion and only 400 people make the cut. Besides choir there is also All-State band, jazz band, and orchestra.

“I am looking forward to going to Lincoln because I don't see as much here as there is there. I am also want-ing to meet people, enjoy Lincoln, and sing with a lot of talented indi-viduals,” said Faltys.

The audition process is where you get five songs anywhere from late August to early September. There are 5 different classical songs, one of which is in a foreign language and another which is acapella. The

cuts for the songs (usually three) come the day before auditions. Two weeks later you find out if you made the cut.

“When I’m not at practice, I’m hop-ing to be hanging out with friends in Lincoln, whether going to the mall or the movie theatre,” said Knight.

“It is a really high honor in All-State and it is hard to imagine what it’s like until you’re there,” continued Faltys

“The concert for All-State was in the Lied Center in Lincoln on the 21st of November,” said Knight.

All-State truly is the most antici-pated and hardest to get into choirs in the state, so to get accepted is re-ally an honor for music students.

Two Seniors Earn the Honor of All-State

The One-Act cast and crew smile big after being awarded first place at district competition, which Harvard hosted on December 3. The majority of the cast also received recognition for their perfor-mances in “Oz.” The Cardinals finished 4th in class C-2 at state on December 11 in Norfolk.

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Dallas Doupnik Jr. earned runner-up for the Oustanding Actor award at state play produc-tion for his role as the Cowardly Lion in “Oz.”

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