The Paw PrintVolume II, Issue III Sonoma Academy December 2013

Inside this issue

See pictures of our winning fall sports teams! Pages 4 & 5

Fall Sports Wrap-Up Steven Stack ups the ante with a holiday-themed crossword Page 7

Steve's Corner How do you feel about Trash at SA?

by Jake LawsonStaff Writer

Singing Their Way Through Shakespeare...

...and Playing Their Way Through Shakespeare

by Connor Duncan Contributing Writer

First of all, if you were, for whatever reason, unable to attend the fall production, you missed out. Plain and simple. I wasn’t able to get a ticket to Metamorphoses last year, and I never heard the end of it, so now I get to be the one saying, “I can’t believe you didn’t go! It was so good! Feel bad about your-self!” There really is no excuse for not getting a ticket; there’s no way you

could have ignored those extremely scandalous posters of Grace Martin in a full-body-covering one-piece bathing suit. This year’s production of Much Ado About Nothing was directed by none other than the lovely Mrs. Jeni-fer Coté, who was assisted by the lovely assistant director, Alice Doyle, and the equally lovely stage manager, Izzy Nickel. Dances were choreographed

by Henry Kwok, the set was built by anyone who was willing to pitch in, re-hearsal happened daily for weeks upon weeks, and finally, for the first time in front of general audiences, on a Thurs-day evening, all eyes fell upon Chiara Catelli as she spoke the first lines of what would prove to be a pretty dang impressive four-day-running play. Over the course of those four days, some pretty interesting events transpired. Audience members were sat upon (and not by their blind, confused, squawking great aunts either! Well, unless Rachel Scherrer is your blind, confused, squawking great aunt, which wouldn’t surprise me too much), un-scripted tears were shed, crippling in-juries were had, Riley Rose kissed Jack Lasseter, and we all saw a little bit too much of Marshall McGraw. Remember when I told you that you missed out? Yeah. I asked the cast (and the lovely director) of Much Ado About Nothing to give me a brief idea of pretty much any-thing from the show, good or bad. Here are some of the results. “Ever since I was in Much Ado, my family has been calling me an ass a lot.” -Ian Martin If you saw the show, you know what that means. It’s basically an inside

joke. This is just another point where you feel bad for not getting a ticket if you didn’t. “This show was an amazing way to end my four years here at SA. I got to wear not just one, but six real fur minks and I cried a lot. I loved it.” -Riley Rose Smothers So emotional, so raw. Fall pro-ductions of Shakespeare plays are really emotional here at SA, even if they do involve Rachel climbing on top of you. “When you’re creating an orig-inal adaptation, you never know if it’s going to work, and I pretty much didn’t know it was going to work until open-ing night, but it’s because these kids are so talented, it all worked out.” -Jenifer Coté How cute is that? So proud. “One time, Henry said danc-ing with our eyes closed would make us better dancers, but then Steven Stack dropped me and everyone laughed. Also, Melissa French was the best one in the show." -Melissa French I feel this quote really captures the essence of what it truly means to be in the theatre here at Sonoma Academy. Much Ado About Nothing? More like Much Ado About Everything. Enough said.

The play Much Ado About Nothing is confusing. It would be a lot more con-fusing, however, without music. With the music that the Much Ado band (headed by music teacher Benjamin Mertz) facilitated, the play was clearer (telling who is evil and such) as well as a musical, fulfilling the dreams of director Jenifer Cote. This combination helped make the play absolutely fabulous, and taught me, at least, about a new style of music. Being in the band was quite fun. We practiced for about two

months every Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 4 to 6 p.m. The style of swing-era music was a bit of a chal-lenge to learn, but it soon became enjoyable and it now sort of taints my other playing styles. Benjamin is good at what he does. From all the comments such as, “Wow, the band is totally fantabulous,” and, “Geez, you guys sounded profes-sional,” it seems logical to accept that statement as the truth. It was a good ex-perience to have, and I look forward to doing something like this in the future.

Meet the Teacher: Jim Sweeney

by Jonas DucarrozStaff Writer

On November 2 a new math teacher, Jim Sweeney, was hired to teach Algebra II. This came about when the former AP Statistics teacher was

replaced by Amber Greer. The change has been hard for many students. The change was very abrupt for the Algebra II students and many of them were not happy with the change at first. It was very rough for some of the students because Jim came into the middle of the term, after students had already become accustomed to Amber and equally challenging for Jim. It took the students a little time to adjust to Jim and then they found out that he is a great guy even

Continued on page 2

Photo courtesy Izzy Nickel

Liam Kolling and Jake Lawson address the two sides of SA's trash problem Page 6

2 December 2013The Paw Print Features

by Alysa BucklerStaff Writer

New Teacher at SA

Questions? Comments? Concerns?

We want to hear from you!

The Paw Print is published six times each school year by mem-bers of the Journalism exploratory. We welcome letters to the editor, as well as story ideas, comics, reviews and opinion pieces. Please contact the editors to submit articles or ideas.

Interested in placing an ad in The Paw Print?

Contact Journalism Advisor Michele Martin for rates and information:

michele.martin@sonomaacademy.org

though it took some time. “Jim is a very funny guy. He is very capable of explaining things clearly,” said freshman Jim Hynes. According to Jim, “It is hard to have expectations change. They [students] are used to one thing and then they have to change things right in the middle, it’s hard to do.” So far his class has been progressing at a perfect pace. The students had some questions for him, such as whether he is going to be follow-ing the schedule that was already laid out or if he is going to do it his own way, and also how he was going to handle finals. In response, Jim said, “I have been fol-lowing the schedule that Amber has laid out, and I am going to collaborate with her on the finals.”

Continued from page 1

SA's Own Rockstar: Justin Schaefers

by Grace Freedman Staff Writer

Office Hours vs. Advisory

SA’s schedule has been a source of controversy for a long time, or at least since last year. Fall of 2013 marked the debut of a 45-minute office hour period on Monday mornings, from 11:05 to 11:50 am. Last year, these 45 minutes were split into both of-fice hours and advisory throughout the day, along with a second advi-sory on Thursdays. Now, we just have adviso-ry for 20 minutes on Thursday after-noons. Many SA students disagree with this scheduling. “Office hours on a Monday morning doesn’t really make sense to me,” said sophomore Sarah Ma-liarik, “and advisory should not be right in between classes because we feel stressed about the next class. It should be before lunch.” Not all students dislike the schedule. The only real prob-lem students have with it was hav-

ing office hours on Monday, when they have had all weekend to finish homework, and short advisory on Thursday. With SA enrollment ris-ing, advisory groups are growing and it’s hard to hear from and get to know everyone in such a short amount of time. “I like the time period on Monday for office hours because I am able to get ahead on much of my homework as well as ask any pending questions I have to teach-ers,” said sophomore Avik Baner-jee. “There is also no setback in how long our lunch is. I do not find advisory as useful. It is such a short period of time and we are unable to get much done during it. We also lose half of our lunch time because of it. It is more a disrup-tion than a benefit.” Some people have no problems with the schedule at all. “I like having the of-

fice hours time on Monday to get a head start on the work for the week, said sophomore Michelle Jakab. “I like how advisory is after EF on Thursdays. It changes up the schedule and keeps people on their toes.” One thing that was unani-mous? No one likes short lunches. “I do like that we get an opportunity to talk with teachers during the school day,” said sopho-more Julia Schafer. “However, I do not like that we have advisory on a separate day, shortening our lunch. I think that a solution could be to have advisory and office hours in the same period, and to hold office hours when there is no advisory curriculum. Overall, I find it a bit ridiculous to shorten lunch when you could have both in the same period.”

Critter Cornerby Sydney Weil Managing Editor

I recently came across a list that inspired this Critter Corner. It was Time’s list of “The 11 Most Influential Animals of 2013.” So, here is my own list of the Top Critters of 2013:4. Lily the elephant. Go to YouTube and watch “Baby elephant Lily’s first year in 2 minutes.” Trust me, you’ll be glad you did. This cute, not-so-little elephant calf will melt your heart as you watch her cavort around with the rest of the Oregon Zoo’s elephant herd and as she grows from a newborn to a playful young el-ephant. 3. The olinguito. It’s not everyday you hear about a new mammal species being discov-ered. So, it made my day when I heard about the discovery of the olinguito in August, I was overjoyed. This cute little furball joined the rac-coon family with a length of about 2.5 feet and weighing in at about 2 pounds. What makes this story even better is the fact that it hid un-der our noses for years because we thought they were olingos, but it turns out they are dif-ferent species, so hurray for animal lovers ev-erywhere!2. Baby pandas. 2013 was definitely a great year for pandas around the world. 14 cubs were born through artificial breeding at the Chengdu Giant Panda Breeding and Research Base. Plus, there were multiple pandas born in the U.S. At Zoo Atlanta, twins were born for the first time in 25 years in the U.S., and at the National Zoo, a baby girl was born. All three of the cubs have made it through their first 100 days and now have names. All of the pandas born this year are super cute.1. Rusty the red panda. I’m partial to red pan-das, but this resident of the National Zoo in Washington, D.C. takes the cake (or the bam-boo, in his case). A huge “thank you” to Face-book for alerting me to the goings-on of this little escapee. At first I was worried he’d been stolen and sold on the black market, but then they posted that he’d been found in the neigh-borhood. Then the whole thing was just hilari-ous, and I made sure to go and visit him while I was in town. Not only is he totally adorable, Rusty captured my heart with his antics. Let’s just hope he stays put for a while now.

When he walked in the door my heart stopped complete-ly. I was just like another 13-year-old girl, madly in love with no chance wearing a stupid concert T-shirt with a close up of his face and uncontrollably crying. He flipped his hair and walked with a pur-poseful stride towards me. Justin Bieber was sitting across from me so humbly at a ketchup-stained table in the Adirondacks. Just kidding, it was Justin Schaefers. But to me, and much of the girl population at Sonoma Academy, this was way better than overrated Biebs. I was joking about how I felt like dying inside but I kept my cool and learned more about the freshman who stole ev-eryone’s heart with “House of the Rising Sun” at Community Meet-ing. I began y asking how he felt about being compared to the Biebmeister, holding onto my seat for the answer. He talked about

how he accepted it and didn’t re-ally mind since there was nothing he could do about it. “Technically, he copied me with the hairdo be-cause I had it first.” The sass made me swoon but I continued on, finding out more about his music career.

Justin Schaefers began to fall in love with music in 4th grade after an assignment when he dis-covered The Beatles. Then on a random day, while wearing an “I am the Walrus” T-shirt, some guy saw the shirt, knew Justin’s dad, and ended up giving Justin his first guitar. Singing and playing the guitar have always gone hand and hand for him and he says he feels “naked” just singing without play-ing the guitar. He also plays elec-tric guitar, which he enjoys playing more than acoustic but has less opportunity around these hippie Sonoma parts.

Last year, he went above and beyond when he met his schools required community ser-vice hours with the gift of music. His guitar teacher was making a school in Africa and Justin, the sugar plum he is, raised $4,500 by getting places to donate, appear-ing on radio shows, etc. There is literally nothing he can’t do.

December 2013 The Paw Print Op-Ed

New Year, New Youby Allison Ashley Co-Editor

3

“3, 2, 1… Happy New Year!” This is what the world screams together as the clock strikes midnight on December 31. It is followed by toasts, kisses, hugs, fireworks, and a moment devoted to re-flections of one’s life and the promises to oneself about something to improve in the future. But what are the chances of your new years resolution coming true? According to senior Steven Stack, “New Years is the time to change your life.” A study conducted by Statistic Brain shows that almost half of Ameri-cans agreed with Steven. It reflects that 45% of Americans made a New Year’s resolution in 2012. However, only 8% were successful with achieving their goals. 24% of people have failed to fol-low through with their New Year’s reso-lution every single year. “I feel like I never complete

my new years resolutions, so what’s the point?” said senior KT Buckler. “It is a good moment to re-flect and make goals,” said senior Yzzy Mirabelli-Montan, “but they often don’t work. Making a resolution should be a continual process at any time during the year.” The top 40 most popular reso-lutions for 2013, revealed in a study conducted by LA Fitness, included: los-ing weight, reading more books, saving more money, spending less time watch-ing TV, drinking less alcohol, quitting smoking and many others. In 2012, 38% of New Year’s resolutions were weight-related and 34% were money-related. This is creating a society where people no longer take New Year’s reso-lutions as an opportunity to reflect on all they have accomplished this year, but instead on what they did not achieve by

The Importance of Being a Reader by Sierra MaciorowskiContributing Writer

Books smell like knowledge. There really is no other way to describe them. Some books are molded and worn, others project the fresh perfume of the printer, but all share the same qualities. And these qualities grant books their wholeheartedly magical appeal. In elementary school, I spent every possible minute in the library, running my fingers along the spines of my favorite companions. When not en-tranced by the colors and textures of my secret worlds’ covers, I buried myself between the lines of white and black. Sometimes, I read until this world blurred- only book realities, and the characters within their pages, seemed truly real. When real life becomes a blur, or a disaster, a love of books can gift you with new hope, or ideas for how to cope with the latest struggles in your mundane, daily life. Perhaps, you join the ranks of the British aristocracy. Perhaps, you tag along with on a voy-

age across the universe. Perhaps, your wordly journeys give you a worldly sense of adventure. Unfortunately, high school takes away valuable reading time- but even school requires books, as most Amazon accounts can attest to. Without literature, there could be no education, and no society, especially since look-ing at history is one of the only ways to move forward. As Abraham Lincoln once said, “A capacity and taste for reading gives access to whatever has al-ready been discovered by others.” With this access, we can begin to understand the world around us- and the world of the future. A world without books would be a bleak one indeed. Picture empty bookshelves, nonexistent schools, low-er literacy rates... no books, no global growth. Although many exhausted stu-dents might believe that reading is an evil, it is a necessary one. And, for many, the power of discovery outweighs even

this not-so-significant mark of time. Last year, Snap Fitness, a na-tional chain of 24-hour fitness gyms, added 100,00 new memberships after the New Year, making up 15% of all memberships that were added in 2012. After 12 weeks, at least 70% of people had quit the new exercise routine they promised to stick to. “People are unsuccessful [when it comes to following through with New Year’s resolutions] because they only think that they can change their life during that time. A self-im-provement doesn’t have to be related to a date to be successful,” said senior Meera Desai. Senior Dan Payne added, “New Year’s resolutions are a good excuse to feel better about yourself, without actu-ally doing anything.” On the list of the top 40 New

Year’s resolutions from 2013, there was only one that did not have to do with one’s self improvement: “Do something for charity.” Maybe the key to success-fully following through with a resolu-tion is looking outwards instead of in. After all, making others happy usually makes us feel better about our-selves as well. It’s a win-win situation. So, when the clock strikes mid-night this year and you are pressured to make an improvement in your life, keep in mind it that “people who explicitly make resolutions are 10 times more likely to attain their goals than people who don’t explicitly make resolutions.” But don’t let today’s New Year’s resolution become tomorrow’s excuse!

Now, you may be wondering, "What are the New Years resolutions of my dear Paw Print staff?" Well, here they are:

Yzzy Mirabelli-Montan wants to get into college. Grace Freedman hopes to wear more scarves. Hannah Breall wishes to make a pair of pants. Jenna Powell is longing to adopt a sand cat. Jake Lawson just wants to buy more jeans.

the mental and visual fatigue that come with the constant turning of pages. Although reading can take time to truly enjoy, the struggle is al-ways worth it. As several SA students have mentioned to me, books are an escape from reality. Moreover, spend-ing time in a book is like going into a vacuum of learning- you truly cannot escape, once you let yourself be pulled in. Each page turned brings you further and further into the endless spiral of the bookish world, and every chapter mixes into the medley of bookish understand-ing. With that in mind, try invest-ing in a few books during your Christ-mas shopping. You may find that those books could change your life, or some-one else’s, if you do your literary re-search. Or, just visit the library - and no, this is not merely a bibliophilic endorsement. Where else, after all, can you have as many lives as you want, simultaneously? Not even video games

can offer so much. In a 2012 Princeton study, only 18% of participants aged 16-17 believed that libraries were very im-portant to their families, and that needs to change. Perhaps, if more students took advantage of the fantastically free resources available on demand in the world’s learning centers, there would be a drastic increase in the number of students moving on to higher educa-tion. And that is actually what our world needs. Now, understandably, read-ing is not for everyone: some people prefer their entertainment on the TV, others through game consoles, and oth-ers through everyday adventures. But books are a gift to each of us. Every author, no matter how renowned nor ancient, thought of you as they planned their story. Because, as they know all too well, readers are their future and their friends, their audience and their muse.

What Exactly is the Winter Warmth Drive? by Hannah Breall Staff Writer

Once again, the fifth annual winter warmth drive is taking place this year, continued under new leadership led by Logan Noel. The program was founded by former student Miles Levin who graduated with the class of 2013. The program’s purpose is to collect new or gently used sweaters, jackets, coats and other warm clothing items to donate to Sonoma County’s homeless. The drive closes on December 17th, and the drive team has hopes of beating last year’s number of clothing articles collected, 2,882 items. There is a bin set up in the Gym Foyer for anyone who wants to donate clothing articles to the drive.

Amy Pino is also longing to adopt a sand cat. Jonas Ducarroz wants to finish The Two Towers. Allison Ashley is hoping to reread the Twilight series. Sydney Weil is longing to adopt a red panda.

December 2013The Paw Print Fall Sports Wrap-Up 4

Boys Soccer

Girls Soccer

December 2013 5December 2013 The Paw Print Fall Sports Wrap-Up

Cross Country

Volleyball

6 December 2013The Paw Print Op-Ed

Respect the Paper, Pleaseby Sydney WeilManaging Editor

At most schools, journalism is a class. They have huge staffs to fill pages and pages with fun, interesting content, publishing 28-page newspa-pers. That is not what happens at The Paw Print. We meet twice a week dur-ing exploratory. We currently have a staff of ten people--and that’s a record. We consider ourselves lucky to be able to print an eight-page newspaper, and we only starting having the paper print-ed professionally last year. We, the editors, love what we do. Amy and Allison have been on staff since freshman year, Sydney since

sophomore year, and we have helped take this paper from a newsletter to a newspaper. We have gone to numerous journalism conferences to figure out how to make our newspaper better by following Associated Press (AP) guide-lines, writing like journalists, and mak-ing our layout more accessible to you, our readers. Our staff works tirelessly to bring you funny, heart-felt stories from around campus. So, when we send out emails asking for your help and get no re-sponse, it hurts. We aren’t asking point-less questions. We aren’t trying to bug

you. We are trying to find quotes and opinions for our articles. We are trying to share information with the school, and we can’t do it without your help. So, take the 30 seconds to email us back, or schedule a 10-minute interview with a staff member. We don’t bite! Plus, by answering our questions, you’re almost guaranteed a quote in the article, and you’ll be newspaper famous! It also breaks our little news-paper-loving hearts when people say they don’t want to read the paper or take a newspaper that we later find on the floor of the girl’s bathroom. Next

time you see us passing out the newspa-per, don’t think of it as a piece of paper. Think of it as the product of many hours of work. Think about all the time the staff put in writing, editing, and putting together the layout. Even if you don’t want to read it, take one, because your parents might want to see it. They like being informed about what’s going on around campus, too. We love what we do here at The Paw Print. Please just help us make our jobs a little easier and our paper a little better. Sincerely,The Editors

Is Trash a Real Problem? by Liam Kolling Contributing Writer

A rose is a rose is a rose until thousands of poems are written about them. The rose is no longer thought of as simply a flower; it now resembles love, lust, and passion. Similarly, the trash at Sonoma Academy was previ-ously thought of as simply garbage that was inherent to any high school campus, yet that perception is quickly changing. This change, prompted by a series of emails and discussions, does not necessarily directly correlate to less trash on the campus. I collected data from students and faculty alike and ap-plied components of economics to the point of tension. Luxury goods, externalities, and misaligned incentives are the big economic concepts found in SA’s “gar-bage problem.” Derice Hogle, the Di-rector of Finance and Operations at So-noma Academy said, “When SA was a startup there was a lot of stress. Things now aren’t completely secure, but much more comfortable.” Sonoma Academy’s admission has grown every year, the budget gets larger each year, and each Big Night Out (SA’s annual fundraising event) brings in more money than the last. Car-

ing about trash is a luxury good. Luxury goods are services that are not consid-ered essential and are associated with wealth. The main reason our school’s administration cares is because now they can afford to focus on the small issues because they are confident the school will stay afloat. In fact, many se-niors testify that there is no more trash on campus than there was their fresh-man year. Externalities, which are when an authority figure monitors a trans-action, are another large part of this predicament. Parents pack lunches for kids and kids eat them; that is a good relationship. Vending machine opera-tors provide substance to students for a small cost; that is also a situation where both parties are benefitted. Dean of Students Stacy Co-hen is trying to monitor the externality that occurs in this transaction. Yet, does she really have to? The trash on cam-pus isn’t actually hurting people, and the evidence shows that students aren’t actually noticing the litter. If the rela-tionship as of now has little harm for the overall population, then there is no reason to change it.

Misaligned incentives, which are when different people want differ-ent things, are the last main aspect of the economics surrounding trash. The students have a different agenda than Stacy, and because of this these two parties do not see eye to eye on this subject. Stacy said, “All leaders will be put on a calendar rotation to survey the campus and remind classmates to clean up.” In response, senior Henry Kwok said “I do not come to school here to pick up after a bunch of chil-dren. I attend for the great education, fantastic staff/faculty relationships with students, infinite opportunities, and the tight community.” Stacy simply wishes for a cleaner campus coupled with a great education, and the students just want to attend school. The fact that these two parties want two different things results in the actual task not getting done as well as Stacy imagined it. In conclusion, the convention-al wisdom behind this topic should be that there is trash at Sonoma Academy, not necessarily that it is a problem.

The Paw PrintSonoma Academy2500 Farmers Lane

Santa Rosa, CA 95404(707) 545-1770

www.sonomaacademy.org

Editors-in-ChiefAmy Pino

Allison Ashley

Managing EditorSydney Weil

Staff WritersJake Lawson

Grace FreedmanJenna PowellHannah BreallAlysa Buckler

Jonas DucarrozYzzy Mirabelli-Montan

Contributing Writers

Liam KollingSierra Maciorowski

Steven StackConnor Duncan

AdvisorMichele Martin

michele.martin@sonomaacademy.org

Liam wrote this piece for Marco Morrone's Intro to Economics class to address the economic issues behind SA's trash problem.

Trash is a Real Problemby Jake LawsonStaff Writer

A couple weeks ago, I walked into the student lounge after school to get some chips. Not only was I met with squished broccoli under my feet, I also noticed the large amount of trash surrounding me. There was trash on the tables, near the microwaves, on the couches, and even some just tossed into the far left corner. Then, and only then, did I realize why Stacy has constantly been talking about trash on campus. Since then, I have noticed other acts of literal "trash"ing of the campus, such as the Random Acts of Kindness club hand-ing out free hot chocolate and people tossing their packets all over the table, leaving them for the members of the club to pick up after them.

No matter how you choose to think about it, trash will never be a good thing. Trash goes in trash bins. Trash does not go on tables, under chairs, in the air, among plants or on the ground. There is no argument against the fact that the best place for trash is, in fact, in a trash or recycling bin. With that in mind, it's hard to say that there isn't a "trash problem" at our school. Everyone's heard Stacy talk about it, most choose to ignore it, and the number of people who not only throw away their own trash, but pick up the trash behind others, is a very small number to say the least. But the fact is that, while there will always be trash wherever we go in the world, no one should have

to walk into the student lounge, a privilege that most schools don't even have, and step on food that has been left on the ground. While the majority of people may be mostly unaffected by the trash on campus, and most people seem to not care, the purpose of this is more to say that there are people who are affected by the trash on campus, myself included, and to remind people that their trash really doesn't belong on the ground. However, if every single stu-dent and faculty member was of the mindset that trash is not their personal responsibility, then we would likely be going to school with a layer of trash at our feet every single day. I spoke with a few people

who actually do believe trash is a prob-lem at school. My interview with junior Violet Cole was all I needed to demon-strate that students, as well as faculty, believe that trash is, in fact, a problem."Trash sucks,” said Violet. “It’s definite-ly an issue at our school, whether people choose to say so or not. Whenever I walk around campus, I always see little things on the ground. Always. Also, there’s honestly no question about trash being an issue because if there isn’t any trash on the ground, there’s no problem and no more debate. People who don’t think trash is a problem are the problem, be-cause they’re obviously not looking down when they walk around and seeing it all over the ground."

December 2013 7December 2013 The Paw Print Entertainment

Steve's Cornerby Steven Stack Contributing Writer

Book Review: The Power of Habit

by Sierra MaciorowskiContributing Writer

What do you do when you first wake up? Chances are, even unwittingly, your morning is filled with specific, unique hab-its. Whether you brush your teeth before or after breakfast, or skip break-fast altogether, each part of your daily routine is habit-dependent. And, as anyone who has ever tried

to stick to a New Year’s resolution knows, habit-break-ing is hard. An ever-continuing cycle of needs, each habit in itself is difficult to change. But, as Pulitzer Prize-win-ner Charles Duhigg argues in his New York Times Best-seller, The Power of Habit, habits can be disassembled and reformed--especially once you identify them. As he examines research on anything from Target shopper preferences to the spark behind the Civil Rights Move-ment, Duhigg proves that changing one small habit can make or break your life. Today, the holidays are approaching quickly, with New Year’s resolutions just around the corner. And, with them, come the sudden beliefs in change--want to exercise every day? Want to work harder in school? It will be a New Year, and cultural traditions tell us that anything is possible. However, Duhigg’s work gives us the power to actually make our resolutions come true. Unlike self-help books, The Power of Habit focuses on research, not guesswork. The details of Tar-get’s ability to recognize pregnant shoppers, the game-changing beliefs of former NFL coach Tony Dungy, and a middle-aged mother’s gambling obsession all help to demonstrate the true power of habits. But, how can they be modified? Habitual actions evolve through a constant process: cue, routine, reward. And identifying the

behaviors associated with each of these three steps, Duhigg says, allows people to consciously modify their decisions. His understanding does simplify the psycho-logical-behavioral connections between each part of the process, but his persuasive language convinces his read-ers of their ability to change their lives. And, while sim-plified, Duhigg’s three steps do make much more sense than a long-winded psychological textbook. Habits can cause problems: addiction, lack of environmental awareness, and forgetfulness, to name a few. But they can also be beneficial. Because of their

wide range, Duhigg never gets the chance to discuss all types of habitual behaviors, nor go into complete detail on everything he does mention. However, The Power of Habit is still a smoothly flowing, fascinating, and edu-cational work. With so many habits controlling every move, reading Duhigg’s latest work inspires belief in oneself, and one’s ability to change. Yet, The Power of Habit is more than a mere guide to self-revision.After all, understanding is the key to change; perhaps the greatest gift that Duhigg can give us is not the power of habit, but the power to comprehend habit.

8 December 2013The Paw Print Entertainment

Horoscopes by Yzzy Mirabelli-MontanStaff Writer

Aries (Mar. 21- Apr. 20) You are a leader by nature -- attacking every situation with the proper amount of sass, you get things done! You approach projects with a youthful eagerness and finish them off with confidence, boldness, and grace.You are most like:Stacy Cohen, Nancy Hoffman, and Jim Sweeney

Taurus (Apr. 21- May 21)You are very loyal and dependable, but as a bull, you are not afraid to push others to get what you want. You are stubborn, which only furthers your efficiency in reach-ing your goals. Despite your forceful tendencies, you are a great friend to all, and are likely surrounded by a won-derful group of followers (and not solely on Twitter!).You are most like:Channing Tatum and Megan Fox

Gemini (May 22- June 21)You are very amiable, establishing a perfect balance be-tween your external, outgoing self and your more intro-verted qualities. You are dedicated to your trade and all branch-off activities that come with your passionate pur-suit of this trade. Bored by stagnation, you lead a very satisfyingly active and busy life.You are most like:Luc Martin and Sam Horton and Michele Martin

Cancer (June 22 - July 23)You probably wear glasses, which serve not only to strengthen your already heightened sight, but addition-ally as a physical representation of your intellectual cu-riosity. You are quite mellow and understated -- accom-plishing tasks quietly, but passionately and thoroughly.You are most like:Drew Gloger and Sean Freese

Leo (July 24- Aug. 23)Your sign is the lion, which suits your characteristics perfectly! You are confident, proud and serious at times, but complement this strong force with a side of sass and comedy and a tinge of flirtation.You are most like:Darren Duarte, Maitane Elorza, and Alissa Coenen

Virgo (Aug. 24 - Sept 23)You pay great attention to details and you like order! You find creative ways to obtain this order for yourself in every aspect of your life. Whether it be the mainte-nance and emotional cleanliness of your friendships or the arrangement of food on your dinner plate, you en-sure a sturdy foundation, from which you can branch off of to achieve great things.You are most like:Michael Jackson and Beyonce

Libra (Sept. 24- Oct. 23)As a scale, you are fairly well-balanced and level-head-ed. However, you are emotional, passionate, and strong-willed, so when you are actively driven towards a goal, nothing (and no one) can stand in your way.You are most like:Kevin Christensen and Doug Gallagher

Scorpio (Oct 24 - Nov. 22)On the face of things, you take things lightly and can turn every unfavorable situation into something playful and funny. Deep down, though, you are sensitive and value intellect. You pursue your passions with gusto and drive others to do the same.Note: though infrequent, it is in a Scorpio's nature to lash out at times -- watch out for the sting!You are most like:Jamie Murray

Sagittarius (Nov. 23- Dec. 22)You are bold when you’re impassioned, and soft and sensitive when you tap into a deep connection with others. You are a kindred spirit -- reaching out to those around you with a strong, supportive hand. You are not afraid to try new things or branch out. In fact, your comfort zone lies outside any boundaries of comfort!You are most like:Brandon Spars

Capricorn (Dec. 23 - Jan. 20)You are not afraid to voice your opinion, nor to do so with a high concentration of sass and persistence. Your communication cocktail is full of passion and vigor, though always topped off with an aim of ac-complishing positive and satisfying ends. Your last name probably starts with a “Z.”You are most like:Chris Ziemer and Lisa Zavieh

Aquarius (Jan 21 - Feb. 19)You are everyone’s friend -- treating all relation-ships as your job or duty. You float from group to group, always bringing your steady creativity to ev-ery situation. People often seek you out for advice because you have an unconventional, yet profound-ly effective solution to anything that comes your way. Don’t forget to make some time for yourself when needed -- it’s well deserved!You are most like:Harry Styles and Taylor Lautner

Pisces (Feb 20 - Mar. 20)You value humor, but with great sincerity. You are kind, which is evident in your blunt honesty (using “tough-love” to a great effect). You are dedicated to all that you do, never stopping until you’ve reached the highest bar and finishing everything with a flour-ish of your own creative flair.You are most like:Kerry Hanlon

by Karishma Bottari

Movie Review: About Time

by Amy Pino & Sydney WeilCo-Editor & Managing Editor

Three words: It’s basi-cally perfect. Don't be deterred by the cliché poster of an in-love couple smiling in the rain. Rath-er, you should be enticed to see this movie because it is exactly the opposite of what the stereo-typical poster may suggest. Yes, it is a love story. Yes, there is a moment in the movie where the happy couple does in fact cel-ebrate their love in the rain. Yes, Rachel McAdams is the leading woman, an actress whom almost

every sappy, love story movie director seems to feature. How-ever, About Time is so much more than that. The story follows Tim (Domhnall Gleeson), a charming, adorable young British man whose father (Bill Nighy) has just recently revealed to him a groundbreaking secret about the men of their family. Armed with this secret, Tim is left to battle the ups and downs of his twenties. Tim is particularly fixated on one goal: finding love. His father warns him to be careful with this newly-learned secret, but Tim is determined to find the right girl. Enter Mary (McAdams), whom he meets in a rather odd setting: a restaurant/nightclub where people are seated with strangers and left to eat and converse, but with a catch: it's in the pitch-black dark. Tim is certain that he has found "the one" when he is seated next to Mary, and he is eager to leave the dark restaurant to finally find out who the mystery girl is. When Tim and Mary meet outside, there is an instant

connection between the two. We follow their story, the ups and downs of their love. Fear not when you think that the story may end in tragedy due to Tim's abuse of his family secret; just when Tim and Mary are at their lowest point, there is a upswing that will reassure you that they are meant to be together.