Daily Archives: May 12, 2022

Campus Life, Home Page News Bytes

Successful semester for Community Outreach Group

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Finally unhindered by the COVID-19 pandemic NECC’s Community Outreach Group (COG) has bounced back with a successful year of volunteer work. This semester COG has orchestrated a bake sale for deaf inc., a clothing drive for Lazarus house, and a collaborative campus clean-up.

 “This semester they decided they wanted to help out DEAF Inc. and so we had the first bake sale in over two years and it was successful. We earned over $300.” Said Merideth Gunning, COG’s faculty advisor. “We had an American Sign Language interpreter, but we had a lot of the students who were learning sign language coming by and being supportive.”

DEAF Inc. is a local multi-service non-profit run by and for deaf individuals. Fundraisers like COG’s support numerous programs such as independent living and American Sign Language training.

NECC students could have also found boxes around the Haverhill and Lawrence campuses collecting clothes for Lazarus House, an emergency shelter for homeless families and individuals in Lawrence.

COG’s work does not stop there. On April 20. COG teamed up with the student government association and the environmental club for a Haverhill campus clean-up.

 “I would love to do more events with multiple clubs next semester, I think specially after COVID we should unite and work together and I would like that after I’m gone whoever takes my position continues to work with the clubs and do more collaborations,” said Sarah Pachano, COG’s vice president.

 COG club meetings, events, and drives are open to all students, and they are always looking for more volunteers to help.

“Unfortunately, the clean-up event wasn’t very popular and at 11 a.m. nobody showed up, which was to be expected based on how plenty of classes start at 11 a.m. We decided to regroup at 12:30 p.m. and we got a group of about five people,” said Franziska Hoene, SGA president and one of the key organizers of the clean-up.

 COG Club meetings occur every other Wednesday from 12:30-1:30 p.m. on zoom and in-person on the Haverhill campus, Spurk building (C).

 “I actually didn’t plan to join the Community Outreach Group, but I went to one of their meetings and saw that they were interested in helping the community in every way they could, and, well, I stayed,” said Pachano.

 

Campus Life

Post pandemic Spring Jam a success

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NECC’s first Spring Jam since April 2019 came to fruition last month, drawing over 300 people to the Haverhill campus outside and inside the fitness and sports center. The annual resource fair offered food, games, activities, and information on the array of extracurriculars and programs NECC has to offer.

 The resource fair was spread out on a clear spring afternoon, with outdoor activities such as tie-dye hosted by the art club, mini-golf, and an obstacle course by the U.S Army. Students could find even more activities within the gym, with over 35 tables hosted by a variety of different organizations and clubs alongside free lunch and desserts.

 “Everything did go as planned, and I think that is due to setting a lot of time out to plan and get all the tasks done ahead of time […] I had no idea how many [people] to plan for and I guessed 300 but was not sure at all due to not doing this event for the past 2 years due to the pandemic,” said Stephanie Haskell, a key organizer of the event.

 In the end, Haskell guessed that there were well over 300 attendees based on food plates and crowd size before and after lunch was served.

 In addition to free food, games, and apparel, Spring Jam offered student interest forms to get emailed reminders for club meetings and other related news.

 “We did get to talk to a lot of students, and we had 14 people fill out the SGA interest form […] Many students came over and won plenty of prizes, and we have plenty left over for future events. I loved being able to communicate with students, and surprisingly, the games got students to ask more about what SGA does,” said Franziska Hoene, vice president of NECC’s student government association (SGA).

 Hoene, among other SGA members, hosted a carnival theme table with a variety of different games like spring the wheel and skeeball. In addition, the gym housed henna and caricature artists to attract as many students as possible.

 Janel D’Agata-Lynch, NECC’s civic engagement, and service-learning coordinator, also played a key role in organizing volunteer opportunities for students.

 “My office reached out to community organizations that have volunteering opportunities, as well as services that may be of interest to our students. We also helped with marketing Spring Jam to the NECC community and assisted with finding volunteers and securing snacks from Cedars Foods,” said  D’Agata-Lynch.

D’Agata-Lynch’s work allowed for local organizations like the YMCA, Lazarus house, and Community action to offer students opportunities to get involved in their local communities beyond campus.

 

 

Features

Games Club offers opportunity make new friends, play new games

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 The Northern Essex Community College Games Club is a fun and unique club that is great for meeting friends while playing a myriad of different types of games.

This past semester the games club has been meeting consistently.

As advisor Matt Gingras says, “This semester we met in C-107, alternating Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Tuesdays were in the evening from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. and Wednesdays were from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m.”

The games club plays many different types of games. Gingras says “I like some classics like Connect Four and Monopoly. The past two meetings I played chess with our students and thankfully didn’t embarrass myself too much. My favorite game is One Night a Werewolf, which seemed to be a good hit with the students this year, too.”

The games club also has access to multiple other types of games that students can play with one another. The games club is also a great way to meet friends and socialize.

Gingras stated, “We had a group of students that showed up consistently every week, which was good because they formed friendships. At our end of semester celebration today, we had our regular attendees come out and were able to just talk and hang out with each other.”

Like everything else, the NECC games club was somewhat affected by covid. Gingras said, “Thankfully we always had students that showed up consistently to hang out and have a good time, so we weren’t impacted this semester too badly outside of that.”

Gingras was very happy with the space that the club was able to create for NECC students. He said, “This was a weird semester, where NECC was mostly fully back, but COVID was still obviously around. The club provided a space where people could hang out, play games, and have fun for an hour a week. My co-advisor, Stella Vlahakis, and I used some of our budget on snacks, water, and Gatorades so there would always be something to drink or munch on, too.”

Home Page News Bytes, News

Young adults continue to experience mental health difficulties as COVID persists

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There is currently an epidemic of young adults suffering from mental health problems. These issues may have been prompted by a number of things on account of COVID-19 such as loss of jobs or financial troubles, worries about the safety of ourselves and loved ones and compromised social lives.

 From a 2021 Pew Research Study, “Adults ages 18 to 29 are especially likely to report anxiety, depression or loneliness compared with other age groups.”

 That same study also states, “Young people have been a particular group of concern during the pandemic for mental health professionals, and young adults stand out in the current survey for exhibiting higher levels of psychological distress than other age groups.”

 The benefits of self care include improving one’s physical health, protecting one’s mental health, an increase in self esteem and being led to healthier relationships.

 In an interview with licensed mental health counselor at NECC, Gabriel Garcia, he shares some benefits of self care such as learning to tolerate stress and forgiving ourselves for our shortcomings, all in order to learn to suspend our own judgment of ourselves and “master the self” as he says.

 He chooses to practice self care by establishing healthy routines, gratitude journaling nightly and hitting the gym a few times a week– anything to “recharge” himself.

 Sharon McManus, director of professional development at NECC and organizer of the 2021 Mental Health First Aid Training. This training is aimed to become a certified mental health “first aider” which entails being able to serve students in all areas of life and being able to recognize those struggling. These accredited students and faculty members are able to be more empathetic towards others as a direct result of this training. So far, at NECC, 198 people have been certified. The college will offer another session of Mental Health First Aid Training on May 18.

McManus practices self care by expanding her exercise routine and focusing on getting a good night’s sleep. She says, “I think to increase productivity we each need to focus on taking care of ourselves.”

 Self care is extremely valuable to one’s mental, emotional and physical health. It helps us think clearer and become better decision makers. We are able to cope better to reduce stress and anxiety. Simply put, it has been scientifically proven that practicing self care leads to a better quality of life– and who wouldn’t want that.

Arts and Entertainment

Downtown Haverhilll’s newest food-stop Stacks up well against its competition

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Located at 144 Washington St, Stacks is the bold and enticing sandwich-focused restaurant that provides casual eaters and foodies alike a satisfying  blend of craft and comfort that is likely to please. Stacks restaurant is downtown Haverhill’s newest addition to the cities ever-growing culinary landscape, and offers a menu that takes the sandwich and elevates it to a flavorful architectural experience. The Stacks menu consists of appetizers, craft sandwiches, chicken sandwiches, and salads. The main stars of the Stacks menu are its sandwiches, with 14 varied and diverse options that span the globe with their range of worldy ingredients.

 The adventure doesn’t stop there – Stacks also specializes in gourmet milkshakes that are a combination of whimsical concepts and indulgent ingredients that can be ordered either with or without alcohol in them. The aptly named “Boozy Shake Menu” features 12 main shakes, one monthly special shake, and an option for a “basic” shake, which can be done 11 ways. Stacks also offers brunch on Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., with breakfast style sandwiches being the primary focus.

Stacks is the product of two brothers, Chef Paul and Chef Anthony Tomacchio. The two co-run this new Haverhill hot spot and show their culinary perspective through their alluring and comforting craft sandwich and milkshake menu. Opened in November of 2021, Stacks brings a refreshing perspective to the culinary viewpoint that downtown Haverhill has to offer. With it’s share of Mexican, Chinese, Greek, and American cuisines, the food scene of downtown Haverhill has been begging for a place to open that can hold its own as an establishment that understands good cooking and good flavor and is able to use those things to create something that is inherently accessible yet still different. Stacks in downtown Haverhill manages to do just that. It is their focus on something than can and tends to be average at best – the sandwich – being done in a spectacular way that gives Stacks diners something they can recognize fundamentally that is enhanced and propelled into exciting territory through the treatment and intelligent usage of exciting ingredients.

 This is evident through the Bulgogi Cheesesteak sandwich, which takes the American Philly Cheesesteak classic and revamps it by putting a Korean spin on it through Korean inspired ingredients. Sandwiched between a great ciabatta sub roll, the spicy, thinly sliced shave steak that is bulgogi adds a baseline heat to the sandwich, paying homage and giving respect to the fiery tendency that a lot of Korean food has. Chef Paul and Chef Antony go even further to kick up the notch with this sandwich by adding of the fermented flavor bomb kimchi to the pile. Of course there is cheese, and plenty of it – the staple ingredient of a classic cheese steak had to remain.  American cheese ties this taste bud tantalizer together in a well thought out and satisfying spin on an iconic American sandwich.

The sandwiches truly are the heart and essence of the Stacks experience. Diners can be transported to Vietnam with the classic Bahn Mi sandwich, which Stacks serves on ciabatta rather than the traditional french baguette most bahn mi sandwiches are made with. Still, Stacks keeps the familiarity where they need to – ensuring that their bahn mi comes with the pickled carrots that make up a typical bahn mi – adding their Stacks spin on it by adding pickled cucumber, slaw, and the delicious umami of the sweet and sultry hoisin sauce to top it all off. Stacks is considerate of the vegetarian diner, who can order this sandwich with blackened tofu instead of the pork carnitas that it comes with.

Stacks offers two smash burgers as part of their craft sandwich section, with one option for a more traditional American style burger – with bacon, lettuce, tomato, and mayo on a potato roll – and one option for a more sophisticated and daring smash burger that comes with peach mayo, goat cheese, and a unique sangria mayo. The craft sandwich section brings diners on a trip to Louisiana, where Stacks diners can experience the Stacks take on the traditional, iconic po’boy sandwich that has  become a staple to the Cajun area and culture of the Bayou in America. Two pieces of ciabatta are the vessel for the fried Cajun shrimp that is nestled within a heaping portion of slaw, tomato, American cheese, and Cajun aioli.

Vegans even have a place at the table in the craft sandwich section! Stacks provides a satisfying and vegetarian and animal-byproduct free sandwich called the Vegan, which consists of mixed greens, hummus, roasted red peppers, tomatoes, and balsamic glaze on a ciabatta sub roll. This is a refreshing option for vegans and vegetarians and meat eaters alike who may be looking for a vegetarian option that doesn’t rely on the overdone, often dry black bean veggie burger seen on so many restaurant menus. Stacks sandwiches range from $13 dollars to $17 dollars.

As if the sandwiches weren’t adventurous enough, Stacks brings the fun to another level with their epic milkshakes. All constructed around a mason jar, the milkshake at Stacks is ice cream based, with some kind of flavored rim on the jar, a type of sauce or drizzle, and a giant chunk of some kind of dessert delicacy topping it all off. A diner who is in love with cheesecake is in luck – the Creamsicle Cheesecake milkshake (no, that isn’t a typo – this magnificent creation truly exists…) is a mouthwatering and gut shattering vision of creamsicle flavored ice cream with an orange marmalade drizzle and a vanilla frosted rim rolled in graham cracker crumbs. As if it couldn’t get any more out of this world, Stacks guilds the lily by adding a slice – yes, a whole slice – of beautifully luscious cheesecake right on top of the mason jar – finishing it off with another drizzle of orange marmalade and a dollop of whipped cream.

 The creativity and imagination within the line of Stacks’ milkshakes is endless and an effort that should be applauded. The ability of Chef Paul and Chef Anthony to pick out culinary gems from the sweet tooth archives of American history and to work them into something that is new and exciting is definitely what makes the Stacks experience not just satisfying but utterly unique. Other shakes like the Cinnamon Toast Crunch Bread Pudding zone in on nostalgic American classic flavors from the cereal realm and pair them with a hard to resist bread pudding that tops the vanilla ice cream based shake. The fun continues with the Strawberry Lemonade milkshake that consists of strawberry lemonade ice cream, a strawberry sauce drizzle, and a vanilla cupcake with strawberry and lemon sauce topping it all off. Again, the cupcake isn’t served on the side with the milkshake – it is literally right on top of your milkshake, inviting you to plunge in for a bite of cake soaked in milkshake.

Stacks gives diners multifaceted milkshakes that go beyond the typical just-one-flavor-of-ice-cream-with-milk-formula that is the common standard in America when it comes to a milkshake or frappe. Stacks uses unique ice cream flavors with other flavorful inclusions, such as syrups, coated rims, and whipped cream, alongside an actual chunk of dessert that they include on the shake to make it a well rounded, well thought out, all-bases-covered sensory (and just plain fun) culinary experience. Stacks’ mad milkshakes can be ordered for $15, with the addition of “booze” to any of the deluxe milkshakes for another $4 dollars.

If you are looking for a place to eat in downtown Haverhill that ditches the pretense of the culinary scene while still maintaining technique and mindful flavor combinations through the medium of comforting and satisfying things like sandwiches and milkshakes – then Stacks is the place for you. Chef Paul and Chef Anthony have created a cohesive menu of exciting, well-done sandwiches that are made with high quality ingredients and a culinary expertise behind them in order for the diner to have the chance to experience things that may be familiar in some way but lead you away from what you may expect about those familiar things.

Stacks’ aresenal of tasty and comforting food takes the framework of American classics and has tweaked and improved them through a clearly present knowledge and understanding of food at the basis of it all. Stacks is the result of two chefs who clearly have the culinary skill that only a seasoned chef can acquire through school, work experience, or a combination of both – and have injected it into their casual food in order to make it something you won’t forget. Stacks sets itself apart from the competition while keeping their feet on the ground.

Arts and Entertainment

Korn and Evanescence gear up for summer tour

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Korn is set to hit the road with Evanescence this summer for a 17 date tour that starts on Aug. 16 and ends on Sept. 16. The two bands, both alternative rock titans in their own right, last toured together for the Family Values Tour of 2007. Much time has passed since then, with each of the bands continuing to make music and grow and evolve on their own. Korn has recently released a new album entitled Requiem earlier this year and are embarking on this summer tour in support of the album. Evanescence released their latest album, The Bitter Truth, in March of 2021 and are still working to promote that album.

Both bands had members within their direct band or their touring ensemble test positive for COVID-19 in 2021, which caused each band to postpone their individual tours at their respective times. Evanescence’s winter tour of 2021 suffered cancellations towards the end of December when their touring staff had members test positive for COVID-19, resulting in 5 December dates having to be rescheduled for January of 2022. Korn’s lead singer Jonathan Davis tested positive for COVID-19 in August of 2021, forcing the band to postpone a show until Sept. of that year.

Jonathan Davis and his band Korn got their start in 1993 in California, bringing the now well known genre of “nu-metal” to the forefront of mainstream rock with their breakout hit album Korn that was released in 1994. The album catapulted Korn into rock stardom and set the tone for a new genre of alternative music that hadn’t been defined before. Since then, the band has released 14 studio albums and done well to cement their place in rock music’s innovative niche of alternative metal. Their unique blend of heavy bass centered music with intense rhythmic drums, paired with Davis’ unique, sometimes rapper-esque vocals set Korn apart from the get go.

Evanescence broke onto the music scene in 2003 with their surprise hit of debut album Fallen, which came seemingly out of nowhere, going on to sell 16 million copies worldwide. The dramatic, dark, ethereal, and moving music of Evanescence was fueled off of lead singer Amy Lee’s soaring, operatic vocals that could in an instant turn into a haunting and angelic whisper – as she sang about loss and survival, over the foundations of metal chugging guitar riffs, classical piano, theatrical orchestral arrangements, and choir vocalizations. The band has since released 4 more studio albums and has cemented themselves as well in the landscape of modern rock pioneers.

 Korn and Evanescence toured briefly together in 2007 for the Family Values Tour, which is a brainchild of Korn and had many co-headliners. It was a tradition of Korn’s to headline with a handful of other powerful and well known rock acts sharing the bill with them. In 2007, Evanescence, Flyleaf, Hellyeah, Atreyu, Trivium, and Neurosonic completed the bill. Since then, Korn and Evanescence have not shared the stage. However, Davis and Lee are no strangers to each other – in fact, the two collaborated on MTV’s Unplugged, when Korn played an entire set in 2006. It was for the bands hit song Freak On A Leash that Davis called Lee onto the stage in order for the two of them to duet. The live version that aired on Unplugged went on to become a cult classic for Korn and Evanescence fans alike.

Lee also took to covering Korn’s hit song Thoughtless many times throughout Evanescence’s first early worldwide tours in 2003 and 2004. Lee was always a self-professed fan of Korn, saying onstage in their 2004 live DVD Anywhere But Home that Korn was a band “they loved very much”, before she started in on the piano as she began her version of the introduction to Thoughtless. Since then, the two bands have somewhat been related in the sense that it is known by the fan base of either band that one is appreciated by the other. Both Korn and Evanescence fans can appreciate the other band’s music, and the fans know that Davis and Lee respect each other and are friends. So for them to be going on tour together again is a huge deal, for alternative music fans who fall within the Korn/Evanescence niche and presumably for Davis and Lee, and the members of each of their bands, who are all friends and will get to reunite when they hit the road for this sure to satisfy summer tour of 2022.

Korn and Evanescence start their tour Aug. 16 in Denver, Colo., touch down in Mansfield, Mass., on Aug. 26, and wrap it up Sept. 16 in Ridgefield, Wash. Tickets for the Mansfield, Mass., show are still on sale through www.livenation.com or www.ticketmaster.com

Features

Stop the trend

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Everyone has somewhat fallen into a need for greed or small desire to be recognized at some point, but when the quality of the idea to bring them there has lost its originality then it should be forgotten instead of repeated again and again.

In today’s current state of the world, plenty of things within the media are flooded and overpopulated. Whether it is streaming services or apps on your phone, there are copycat concepts carrying the same six second videos anywhere you look.

Once one person gains a following for doing something, that may be original, it is copied and pasted into an endless depth of remakes and repeats. To this point, the sequel to a movie is rarely as good as the first and never needed to be made in the first place, even though it is almost guaranteed to bring in money as a meaningless cash grab.

People have dropped into an addictive blackhole of swiping on their phones and while some of it is good for unwinding, it can be detrimental to productivity within things that matter.

If the things that they were seeing weren’t copycat artists it would probably be easier to filter through the garbage and not be as addictive.

A former Northern Essex Community College student, Kyle McCarthy is just getting home from work as he puts his bag down and says, “Sometimes my screen time on my phone is averaging over fifteen hours a day. It probably isn’t productive, but I don’t look at it as that big of a deal.” McCarthy  is a perfect example of why the product that is being consumed has been on repeat and needs to have an escape.

A graduate of Northern Essex Community College, Ian Miller, who now goes to UMass Lowell is just woken up by a phone call as he says, “I had way too many things going on in my life and found myself spending way too much time on any of those apps, so I ended up deleting them and got a lot more of my schoolwork done earlier than I was before.”

Miller went cold turkey from all of the infinite amount of distractions on his phone and never looked back.

This is for sure a great approach to this situation, but if you could fix them from the source instead of having to hold and delete then it could be beneficial for the many others who find themselves in a rut from the brain-numbing streaming.

A graduate of UMass Lowell named Victoria Rouleau scoops up her cat and says, “I don’t use most of those apps, but my feed for the ones that I do use consists of just people that I know personally and it definitely is not cutting into things that I need to get done.”

This is about the only way that these apps can be consumed without tripping into the pit of the same material. If more people did this their screen time would be a lot lower than it is today.

Originality is a good source of inspiration to others and the failure to put out this content can do the exact opposite.

Even though it would be a nearly impossible feat to help fix the platform from where most people in society sit, it would still be great for someone to stop the trend of repetition.

Features

The mastermind behind Student Activities

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If you find yourself looking through Northern Essex’s event calendar, one name starts to stick out from the rest: Student Life Coordinator Stephanie Haskell.

 Haskell has been with NECC for nearly four years now, and her role in student life has been essential in almost all major events on campus. Though her history of event planning doesn’t start there, for that, you’d have to look at her time at Nichols College.

 “We had a thing called a programming board, and I was like the president. So we got like a whole chunk of money to plan events for students […] I did way more outside of the classroom versus stuff for my major in business management,” said Haskell.

 In addition to being the student government president, Haskell was the logistics coordinator for her college’s orientation program. She pursued her masters in higher education at Nova Southeastern University in Florida, where she worked as a student life assistant.

 After her time in Florida, Haskell got a job at Louisburg College in North Carolina, where she worked for nearly five years, ending her time as director of student engagement before joining NECC.

 “It was just like my student involvement led to this career […] I absolutely love it and it’s basically something different every day,” said Haskell.

 During her years at NECC, Haskell has been involved in an array of programs like the National Society of Leadership and Success, serves as an advisor for the Student Government Association, has helped train numerous students for internships, implemented NECC’s event calendar, as well as planning numerous events like the U-Knighted Fair and Spring Jam to name a few.

 Although Haskell’s biggest impact on campus may be the students, many of whom jumped at the opportunity to share their positive experiences,

 “Without her, I wouldn’t be where I am today. She deserves so much praise and probably a raise too. When she plans events, she puts in a lot of thought and thinks about things that I normally wouldn’t consider,” said Franziska Hoene, SGA president.

 “Stephanie is one of the most supportive members of staff in the NECC community. Her work in student life supports the development of professional and soft skills needed for the real world that isn’t readily available in theoretical classrooms,” said Jessica Newey, a NECC student ambassador.

 “Her commitment to the students, to Student Life, and to the success of everyone she meets is refreshing and inspirational. She has committed herself to showing others what she has learned through her leadership experience,” said Laura Martyn, SGA parliamentarian.

 One recent change in Haskell’s day-to-day is the new Assistant Coordinator of Student Life, Suzanne Reyes, who had this to say about Haskell.

 “Stephanie exemplifies what it means to be a great leader. I have seen how she really works to encourage students to have independence and to be engaged. I am really looking forward to continuing to work closely with Stephanie and to bring my own ideas and changes to the NECC clubs,” said Reyes.

 As the semester comes to a close, Haskell is already making plans for student activities this summer and beyond.

Features

Hold me back as time flies

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It is no secret that time starts to fly by at an incomprehensible rate as we get older.

As unexplainable as this is, the trials and tribulations of life slowly weigh on the human race creating a paradox of what we used to know as one day now feels like a week.

It is most noticeable once we leave high school and look back at how many years ago that was in disbelief. Some people decide to ignore this and continue to go about their daily life whereas others may use it as motivation in order to accomplish more within a smaller period of time.

As an individual finding their way in life, it could last an eternity or you might be born knowing exactly what you want to do in life.

A student who took early college at Northern Essex Community College, then graduated from the University of New Hampshire in less than three years and is now going for a Masters degree in Nursing at MCPHS named Megan Carroll was born knowing that she wanted to go into the healthcare profession.

She states, “I eventually figured out that I wanted to be a nurse, but I did not know that when I was younger. As I noticed time was starting to fly by, I kinda just picked something and stuck with it.”

A lot of people tend to just pick something and see where it leads them, which can be very beneficial to your bank account.

A junior at St. Bonaventure considers his past and declares, “Based on my experiences in school, time flies by too fast and yet memories can be made. However, you need to seize the opportunities that you know and don’t know that are there and hope for the best and do your best.” This person’s name is Jack Dalton and he clearly takes none of college for granted. He wants to get his degree and he loves the idea of experiencing life whenever he can.

Dalton takes a great approach towards the clocks moving faster from his own perspective.

A graduate of UMass Amherst, David Rouleau sits at his desk in his apartment as he says, “High school feels like it was yesterday, and yet, I haven’t been there in almost seven years now. At the same time it also feels like another lifetime ago. I don’t know how someone is supposed to go about juggling the concept of time moving faster while dealing with their everyday problems, but I just keep my head up and keep keeping on.”.

All three of these interviewees bring up the fair point of having the mentality that there is nothing you can do, so why have it be a bad thing? Why not look at the overarching concept of time and tie it in with progression?

The future holds a lot of bright things for almost everybody. If you keep looking to the past or the future for answers or problems then you will miss the moment that you are in as time keeps gaining speed.

Features

New Year’s resolutions: The lie we keep telling ourselves

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Many make New Year’s resolutions but are unable to keep them.

Working out, eating healthier, reading more. But how are some able to complete their resolutions and even make them into a habit?

I asked two current and one former NECC student about this to try to examine what factors made their resolutions stick.

Former student Karen Smith made a resolution in 2020, to eat healthier; two years later she has kept that resolution and has lost almost 40 pounds!

I sat down with her to ask what steps she took to be successful.

She told me, “Honestly, what made it the easiest for me to keep up with it was meal prepping. With my meals already made, I was less tempted to eat something else because I had something already prepared and did not want it to go bad!”

For Smith, her kids were also a spark of inspiration to keep her going. “I wanted to be healthier for my kids so I can live longer and overall just feel better about myself.”

Olivia Hansen’s goal was to read more books.

On average in 2020 she read about 12 books. Now in 2022 she is reading almost 50 books a year.

“Really, what it did for me was making the time to go and read. When I found myself on my phone for a little too long, I would instead go and pick up a book. The more and more I did that it became easier for me to choose my book instead of my phone. Then it became a game to see how many books I could read.”

Hansen’s tip for those trying to read more: pick an interesting and fast paced book, if you keep reading engaging books you’ll find yourself always wanting to read more.

For Avery Hochheiser, her goal was to work out more.

She told me it was hard at first but once it became routine, she found herself enjoying when it was time to go workout. “Kickboxing is what made it fun for me. I don’t think if I did any other type of exercise I would have been able to keep at it.”

Finding what was enjoyable was key for Hochheiser keeping her resolution.