The Quarantine Diaries: Day 13
These are two of my dogs. Imagine that one of them is the dog in my short story.
Hello and welcome back to the Quarantine Diaries.
I am finally seeing trees turning green and that makes me so so happy because summer is almost upon us. There are just two more weeks left of online school now so we are on the countdown! I wish that everything would open up in time for summer, but we all know that it won’t happen.
So this summer, we’ll all have to make up our own fun. Instead of Valley Fair and baseball games, we can paint rocks and have bonfires with our family members. I know that this summer will be full of new opportunities, and I for one, cannot wait. Today I wanted to do something creative though, so I wrote a short story. I had to include these words: Bloom, Crash, Bright, Sweet, Echo, Flow. Enjoy 🙂
The dog crashed through the opening door into the sunshine and blue skies. Senses aflame, he took in all of the sounds, smells, and sights around him. The sweet summer air tickled his nostrils and the distant flow of the river danced in his ears. The bright sunshine welcomed him like a warm hug. He began to run through a field of fresh-bloomed flowers, their scent washing over him as the birds sang their cheery song, an echo of one another.
Jordan Wenshau is a junior at Sartell High School. She is one of six kids. Her favorite hobbies include singing, cooking, writing, reading, drawing, and...
Disney animated goes up against Disney live action
Disney live action and animated films are all good.
Three Disney movies that are both animated and live action are Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and Cinderella. I’d like to look at the difference between live action and animated, then I’ll decide which one is better.
Animated: Who does not like the classics? This is where children can learn life lessons and escape reality into a world of imagination. Every kid knows when it is in cartoon form there is no such thing as bad endings, only happy endings. When it comes to the villains in Disney movies, it makes them not so scary to the kids because they are not put into real life scenarios. Everything is happy and there’s something to learn.
Belle, from Beauty and the Beast, learns to forgive and not judge a book by its cover along with the help of a talking teacup named Chip. Jasmine, from Aladdin, learns that there is more to life than being all pampered in riches and royalty with the help of a genie from a lamp. Then lastly, Cinderella learned that dreams do come true if you put your mind to it also with the help of talking mice Jaq, and Gus, and of course a fairy godmother. With this being said the animated version has more of a fairy-tail twist to the movie.
Live Action: Who does not like it when things are put into a little more real life perspective? This is where parents, guardians, and children can enjoy a Disney together. This isn’t always the most kid-friendly because the events are put into a real life world. The beast from Beauty and the Beast, looks more scary because of his sharp teeth and snarl. But this also carries a bigger message because it really puts a huge emphasis on the whole do not judge a book by its cover theme. Then in Aladdin, Jafar looks more like a normal person rather than a bad guy, and it shows kids that maybe you should not trust everyone you meet right away. But I do have to say Will Smith played an awesome genie maybe could not have anyone better. Then lastly, Cinderella shows that some stepmothers are awful and the apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree when it comes to her daughters. With all of thatbeing said, live action has more elements of being realistic rather than the animated versions.
Disney movies, whether they are animated and or live action, are awesome movies. They both have a lot of differences but a lot of the same as well. In my opinion “May I get a drum roll please”……. Animated will always have my heart because that is what I grew up on and learned my morals.
Sydni Scherr is a senior at Sartell High School, and she enjoys a wide variety of outdoor activities from snowmobiling in the winter, to four-wheeling...
Eating disorders are exacerbated by pop culture, quarantine, and beyond
This is Wintergirls, the novel I read that inspired the topic for this article.
Disclaimer: This article discusses eating disorders and disordered eating habits.
I recently read the novel Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson and rewatched the movie To The Bone on Netflix, and I haven’t been able to stop thinking about either one since. These pieces of media cover people dealing with the most fatal mental illnesses there are: eating disorders. While the COVID-19 pandemic is ravaging the world, mental illnesses like eating disorders are worsening.
Wintergirls follows Lia, a girl with anorexia nervosa, dealing with the aftermath of her friend Cassie’s gruesome death. Cassie became part of the 3.9% mortality rate of people with bulimia nervosa, and this novel did not romanticize it.
Reading Wintergirls was like being trapped inside Lia’s head, listening to all her self destructive thoughts, and watching her fall into a spiral of disordered thinking. The book didn’t shy away from the horrifyingly fatal nature of these disorders, and while I adored this novel, it was dark and difficult to read because it didn’t shy away from reality.
To The Bone follows a girl named Ellen who is entering a new treatment center with a new doctor and her overall experience in recovery. Now, overall I liked this movie because I felt Ellen and the other characters’ disorders were not romanticized or glorified, but there were some parts I had problems with.
To The Bone is the movie that also helped inspire the topic for this article.
The mental health professionals in the movie were seemingly more detrimental than helpful to Ellen’s situation, and some of the humor was in bad taste, but the movie showed many things that aren’t shown in other books and movies.
Other people in the treatment center had a range of disorders and body types; for example, one of the characters was pregnant, showing the highly underrepresented demographic of women with eating disorders who are struggling with wanting to have their child and the difficulty of pushing themselves to recover so their child can live. (If you want to know more about To The Bone and its successes and problems, there is a review linked here from Emma Giordano, who is in college to get her master’s degree in mental health counseling and is in recovery for her own eating disorder.)
So many times in pop culture, eating disorders are portrayed as straight, white, middle-class teenage girls with low body weight; while that is the experience of some people, there are so many groups left out of that representation. People of color, queer people, men, and people with lower socioeconomic status are not going to have this same experience, and it’s important to show this side of the story as well.
Along with that, not everyone with an eating disorder has low body weight. If that is never portrayed, someone with an undiagnosed or hidden eating disorder may think they aren’t “sick enough” to get help, which can lead to their disorder worsening.
Another thing that can lead to the worsening of eating disorders is the spread of pro-eating disorder content online. There are pro-eating disorder websites in which people with disordered eating can talk to each other about goal weights and techniques, share “thinspiration” (thin inspiration) pictures of emaciated figures they wish to look like, and even discourage recovery. A few years ago, I accidentally came across one of these websites when I was researching mental health. It’s been almost four years and I haven’t been able to forget some of the things I saw.
Not only are there separate websites for the promotion of harmful habits, but there are subcultures on platforms like Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr, Pinterest, and one of the most problematic ones at the moment: TikTok. While most of the other applications mentioned have policies against the publication of pro-eating disorder content and measures they take to remove the content from their platform, TikTok has let this subculture grow, even recommending pro-eating disorder content on the For You page. Even on platforms where there are restrictions against pro-eating disorder content, users have found ways around them like using misspellings of usual slang and codes for different content.
This is a warning that pops up on Tumblr if you attempt to search certain pro-eating disorder keywords.
Studies have found the impact of these communities on people with disordered eating to be negative, and that users who frequented these sites were more prone to dissatisfaction with their own body image and had disturbances in normal eating habits. This just shows how there needs to be stricter guidelines and enforcement of said guidelines or people’s lives can be seriously affected, and even ended.
Now that the country is in quarantine with a stay at home orders extending every few weeks, eating disorders are in their perfect environment. They thrive off of social and emotional isolation and from the fear of food and health to isolation and seemingly endless free time, recovery is at a disadvantage. If someone is quarantined alone, they are at an even greater disadvantage because there is no one there to help them if they are relapsing into old habits.
Those with low weight and anorexia nervosa may even be more at risk for complications if they contract COVID-19 because of their compromised physical health. For those with bulimia nervosa or binge-eating disorder, tensions can run high between them and family members if they are eating large amounts of food and purging afterward or secretly eating large amounts of food multiple times a day, therefore wasting food when there are shortages in stores. These increased tensions can also lead to increased depression and anxiety and an increased likelihood of suicide and self-harm.
The COVID-19 pandemic is affecting the physical health of the world, but it is also heavily impacting people’s mental health, and if pre-existing or new mental health struggles are not properly dealt with, it can seriously harm someone’s quality of life in the present and the future.
If you are struggling with an eating disorder or other mental health issues, consider contacting a helpline:
National Eating Disorder Association: 1-800-931-2237
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255
National Youth Crisis Hotline: 1-800-448-4663
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA): 1-800-662-4357
Emma LeMieur is a junior at Sartell High School. She is involved in band and morning drumline at the school and loves them both. In her free time, she...
The story of Jai Paul
Photo via Saint Audio under the creative commons license
Jai Paul released two demo songs that were a huge hit.
Jai Paul released two demo songs and became one of the most influential artists in pop music, getting sampled by very well known musicians, such as Beyonce and Drake. In April of 2014 his album leaked, causing him to quit music until mid-2019.
Jai Paul is a British artist. His two demos are “BTSTU,” which stands for Back to Save the Universe, and “Jasmine.” Both of these songs were huge hits mixing elements of R&B as well as experimental pop music. Drake sampled “BTSTU” in his song “Dreams Money Can Buy,” and Beyonce used it in her song “End of Time.”
As of April of 2020, “BTSTU” has 2.3 million plays on YouTube, and “Jasmine” has 3 million. He decided to sign a record deal with XL Records and got to work on his music.
In 2014 his album was released on BandCamp. There were no titles to any of the songs, and they all sounded like demos. Soon after he tweeted that it was not him, and it was not his debut album asking all of his fans not to buy it. He said that it was devastating to him in an official statement and that he was angry at how the media portrayed it as if he leaked his own album, despite him saying otherwise. This caused him to quit music after losing all motivation, knowing that if people wanted to they could take his music and listen to it before he was ready for anybody to hear it.
On June 1st 2019, Jai Paul released Leak 04-13 (Bait Ones) on streaming services. People were excited that this would finally be Jai Paul’s return to music. In December of 2019 he released two new singles: “He” and “Do You Love Her Now.” These have remained less popular than “BTSTU” and “Jasmine,” with “He” only having 13,000 views on Youtube and “Do You Love Her Now” having 16,000, but fans are still more excited than ever to have new Jai Paul music.
Maybe eventually he will be able to return to his former popularity, but until then fans are happy to just have Jai Paul as their underground treasure.
Raven is a senior at Sartell High School. His favorite SZA song is "Doves In The Wind." His plans after high school are to be rich and famous for his music...
The strange minds of Rae Sremmurd
Photo via Ahmed Klink under the creative commons license
This band is not your normal, run-of-the mill type of group.
Rae Sremmurd is a hip-hop duo from Mississippi who came into the spotlight with songs like “No Flex Zone” and “No Type.” Now let’s talk about how weird they are.
The first point of Rae Sremmurd’s strangeness comes with their name (pronounced Ray Shrem-er). It’s Ear Drummers backwards. They created the name when hip-hop producer Mike Will Made-it noticed them. They said in an interview with VladTV: “His team is Ear Drummers, and we wanted a unified name so we put it backwards and came up with Rae Sremmurd.”
In an episode of How To with Fader magazine, group member Slim Jxmmi says, “There is a silent H between the S and the R, and if you forget that, you won’t be saying it properly.” But I don’t believe he knows what a silent H means. A silent letter is when a letter is in a word but is not pronounced, like in the word knot. It doesn’t mean that the letter isn’t there but is pronounced. That’s actually the polar opposite of a silent letter, by definition.
I would also like to talk about their music, mainly their two biggest hits, “No Flex Zone” and “No Type.”
No Flex Zone, as the title suggests, is supposed to be a song about not flexing. A no flex zone is an area that you are not allowed to show off in. In the chorus, group member Swae Lee exclaims “No flex zone, no flex zone, they know better, they know better” but in Slim Jxmmi’s verse he says “5 chains so they look at me funny, and “Four five six seven chains on”, which really throws out the “no flex zone” theme.
In an interview with Hot 97, they said “No Flex Zone” was about not being fake and showing off what you don’t have, but this was only their first album so they did not have “four five six seven chains on” because they didn’t have the money to yet.
Second is “No Type.” This is a song about the group not having a specific preference in women, but it seems to be more about flexing their jewelry rather than women. The hook begins with “I ain’t got no type” and then immediately follows up with the type of women they like, as well as Swae Lee saying in his verse “I got some models that you see up in the movies” really making it seem as if Rae Sremmurd really does have a type.
Overall I believe that Rae Sremmurd is a great group to have fun with. Their music isn’t made to make you think and analyze, it’s just nonsense to show off their abilities as singers and rappers, but that doesn’t put them past criticism. If you write a bad bar, it’s a bad bar, no matter what the music is made for. Their a great group to have fun to and ignore the lyrics, and although they have practically split up I am looking forward to whatever they decide to do with their careers as solo artists.
Raven is a senior at Sartell High School. His favorite SZA song is "Doves In The Wind." His plans after high school are to be rich and famous for his music...
Orjansen Family Podcast: EP 2
cover for my podcast I am doing with my family.
In this episode my sisters and I played a game where we put on headphones with the music very loud so we would not be ale to hear what the other is saying. I asked questions and my sisters tried to answer as best as they could. It was a really fun and silly game.
Vaniesa is a senior at Sartell High School, and she is planning on moving to Arizona for college next year. She is planning on majoring in psychology to...
Resident Evil 3 Review
As we return to Raccoon City, we get a different story through the eyes of S.T.A.R.S officer Jill Valentine.
Capcom certainly hasn’t slowed down since the release of the reimagined Resident Evil 2, and won’t be slowing down for some time. Fans were surprised to hear that Resident Evil 3: Nemesis would also get a reimagining, but only a year after RE2’s remake.
You wouldn’t be the only one to think this next remake is a little underdone, that, however, doesn’t make it any less awesome.
Just like last time, let’s have a little history lesson.
Resident Evil 3: Nemesis was released on September 22nd, 1999 for the PlayStation, GameCube, Windows, and Dreamcast. It followed in the footsteps of its famed predecessor Resident Evil 2, but the game actually takes place before, during, and after the events in RE2. The game follows S.T.A.R.S. officer and veteran zombie hunter, Jill Valentine as she struggles with the aftermath of the Spencer Mansion incident (Resident Evil) and the recent Raccoon City outbreak.
“She is an elite operative of R.P.D. Special Tactics and Rescue Service. Her name is …something… Valentine.” – Mikhail Victor
We are also introduced to UBCS (Umbrella Biohazard Countermeasure Service) special-ops mercenary Carlos Oliveira. During the game, you switch between playing as either Jill or Carlos, different than RE2’s Leon or Claire campaign. RE3 also took a more action-oriented approach to the series and was a shorter game compared to the other games in the franchise. The game has sold around 3 million copies worldwide since release.
Resident Evil 3 (remake) was released on April 3rd, 2020, and has kept most of the same aspects from the original. It stays true to the more action-oriented approach of the original and the shorter run time, but Capcom did leave important scenes like the Clocktower and others out of this remake, leaving some fans disappointed. Being that the remake has only been out for a month, it has shown pretty impressive sales, with 2 million copies being sold so far. It is available on PS4, Xbox One, and PC.
Now, let’s return to the horrific zombie-filled world of Raccoon City.
Before the arrival of heroes Leon and Claire from Resident Evil 2, Jill Valentine was in the midst of a full-blown zombie apocalypse.
The game opens in a first-person perspective similar to that of Resident Evil 7, and after a glimpse into Jill’s nightmares, we get to experience them for ourselves. Less than ten minutes into the game, we are introduced to the terrifying Nemesis creature who is sent into Raccoon City with one goal in mind; destroy all remaining S.T.A.R.S members. Our girl Jill along with fellow S.T.A.R.S officer Brad Vickers are the only members left in town, unfortunately for Brad, Nemesis isn’t the one who leads to his untimely demise. In a desperate attempt to save Jill, Brad sacrifices himself to a horde of zombies. Now alone, you help guide Jill through the infested city streets as she is relentlessly pursued by Nemesis. After the second encounter with Nemesis, and narrowly surviving a fall off a parking garage, Jill meets UBCS mercenary, Carlos.
“My guys have converted some subway cars into a shelter. It’s safe.” – Carlos Oliveira
Carlos informs Jill that his platoon is rounding up survivors and keeping them safe in the subway. With the power to the subways shut off, however, an escape plan is put on hold. Carlos’s platoon leader Mikhail Victor asks for Jill’s help in restoring power to the subway. Hesitant to trust them because they are working for Umbrella, Jill eventually agrees to help restore power to save the citizens.
This leads Jill to venture back into the streets of Raccoon City and beyond. Unlike Resident Evil 2, in Resident Evil 3 you are not confined to the police station, sewers, or underground lab. Instead, you are forced to explore the many ins and outs of the city, circling back continuously to look for items and equipment. Some bigger locations throughout the city are the return of Kendo’s Gunshop (and Kendo himself), and as Carlos, we return to the RPD and explore a monster-infested hospital, eventually leading to a secret Umbrella lab underground. That freedom is a huge change in pace but is necessary for the more action-oriented game that RE3 is.
Welcome back to Raccoon City, we don’t have raccoons but we do have zombies.
The graphics for the game are breathtaking just like those of RE7 and RE2, showing once again how beautiful and realistic a horror game can be. One thing I love about this game is that it has a lot more color set into the dark atmosphere. The first time you walk out into the streets with Jill, you see bright neon street signs and billboards but take one wrong step and you could become zombie chow. The sound design is not as menacing and creepy as RE2 but is still enough to make you want to jump out of your skin, especially when Nemesis breaks through a wall unexpectedly. While working on this article, I got the chance to watch Nicole Tompkins, the voice and motion capture actor for Jill Valentine, play the game live on Twitch. While playing she answered questions from fans about her audition experience and what it was like to bring Jill to life, and got a surprise visit from fellow actor Nick Apostolides who plays Leon in RE2. It was fun watching her talk about different scenes, and how they were all constructed to form what you see in the game.
I went through a pretty standard audition process, I auditioned for the role and I was very lucky to hit it off with the creative team early on.”
— Nicole Tompkins
There are a lot of things to like about this remake, but nothing is ever perfect. This game is a lot more action-packed then it’s predecessors. Sometimes straying far from its survival horror roots. There are a lot of boss fights between Jill and Nemesis, and as I watched most of those fights unfold, I started to wonder how Jill was even still alive. She is constantly jumping, falling, or being thrown off buildings, even getting shot at by a rocket launcher and still coming out alive. One of my favorite mechanics from RE2 was the ragdoll effect on the zombies. For example, if you shot a zombie and they died, they would go limp and fall to the ground like a ragdoll, adding a cool human-esque element to the monsters. That mechanic is very toned down, and almost non-existent with the zombies in RE3 and makes them feel less threatening and scary.
This game overall is a remake, it is not the same as the original version, and it isn’t supposed to be and should be treated as such. This game, despite it being fantastic, has gotten lots of criticism. People don’t like the short run time or the heavy action gameplay, but then again, those things were part of the original game.
I for one think this is another great game in the Resident Evil franchise, and I think right now is a really exciting time to be a Resident Evil fan. With Capcoms next announcement of a Resident Evil 4 remake expected to be released sometime in 2022, and rumors of Ethan Winters from RE7 set to return for Resident Evil 8 in 2021, the horror isn’t stopping anytime soon.
Charlie Monson is a junior at Sartell High School. Her hobbies include watching movies, playing video games, painting and listening to music. She is currently...
Sartell Anglers’ Corner: Rods and Reels
Beginners Rod and Reel Recommendations
There are many rods you can choose from.
Summer is approaching quickly. If you are looking to get into fishing, you are gonna need a couple of rods and reels. We will go over some of the cheaper options and some of the higher quality options.
Now if you are just starting to get into fishing you don’t need much. You can easily get by with one or two rod and reel combos. One spinning combo and one bait cast combo.
A good starting rod for anglers of all ages is a spinning rod. For the cheap option, I would recommend an Abu Garcia Vengeance. This 7 foot medium power spinning rod is a very versatile option for all beginner anglers.
The reel I would pair with the Vengeance would be a Source K from 13 Fishing. This specific reel has a gear ratio of 5.1:1, which means that the spool of line will turn 5.1 times after every full rotation of the reel handle.
That is the cheaper option for a spinning rod and reel combo, which would be roughly $80. Next, we will get into the more expensive, higher quality option.
Starting with the rod again, the St. Croix Bass X rod is very high quality. I again would recommend a 7 foot rod, this one you could get either a medium or a medium-heavy power.
As for the reel, a Daiwa Fuego LT is an excellent option. This reel comes in a 5.2:1 gear ratio or a 6.2:1, both are good options.
So those are some recommendations for spinning rods and reels, next up will be bait cast options.
We are going to start with the cheap option for a bait cast rod. A Berkley Lightning Rod. For beginners, a 7 foot medium heavy power bait casting rod is always a great option.
A cheap option for a bait casting reel is a Pflueger Trion. This reel comes in a 7.3:1 gear ratio. Bait casters can be slightly more difficult to operate. Before using it on the water, it is always a good idea to take it out and practice in your backyard.
The more expensive bait casting rod I would recommend is an Abu Garcia Veritas. Again a 7 foot medium heavy power rod is a solid choice. You could get a 7’3” if you feel you’d like that little extra length, which would make your casting more accurate.
Lastly, the more expensive option for a bait casting reel would be a Daiwa Tatula 100. This reel comes in gear ratios 6.3:1, 7.1:1 and 8.1:1. Any of these are good options, it will vary person to person depending on which you prefer, or what technique you will be using it for.
Peyton Henkensiefken is glad to be a senior at Sartell High School and is looking forward to being done with high school. He loves to fish and hunt. He's...
The Vikings fill needs in 2020 draft
A replica of a ball used in NFL games.
Heading into the 202o NFL season, the Minnesota Vikings were in dire need of talent at multiple positions. After the draft this week, a lot of those issues have been solved.
On the first day of the draft, Minnesota selected WR Justin Jefferson with pick 22 out of LSU and CB Jeff Gladney using pick 31 from TCU. These were the two top needs the Vikings needed to address.
Using the selection they got from the Buffalo Bills from trading Stefon Diggs, they selected his replacement in Justin Jefferson. After leading college football with 111 receptions on the national champion LSU team, Jefferson has the ability to be a huge difference maker in the Minnesota offense.
At 5′ 10″, CB Jeff Gladney is considered undersized by many at his position, but his football IQ and toughness more than make up for it. Compiling 31 tackles, half a sack, an interception, and 14 defended passes last year at TCU, as well as earning an invite to the Senior Bowl and first team all Big-12, Gladney was one of the premier corners in the draft and looks to make an immediate impact on the roster. Most impressively, however, is the fact that Gladney played the entire 2019 season and attended the NFL Combine with a torn meniscus, choosing to delay the surgery until after his drills in Indianapolis.
Ezra Cleveland was the Vikings’ first pick on the second day of the draft. At a freakish 6′ 6″ and 311 pounds, Cleveland has all the measurables that the Vikings have needed for years at the LT position. While most experts think he needs to sit for a year to work on his physicality as a blocker, the Boise State lineman already has the athleticism to be a star at the position, excelling in outside zone runs that the Vikings love to use with Pro-Bowler Dalvin Cook at running back.
Dipping back into the pool of cornerbacks, Cameron Dantzler out of Mississippi State looks to be another great weapon on defense for Mike Zimmer. One of the only corners to give the aforementioned LSU team difficulty this past season, simply refusing to back down against the juggernaut team. He will look to compete for a starting role this year with the team.
DJ Wonnum, the defensive end out of South Carolina, was the first of the Vikings’ three fourth round picks. Wonnum was a captain at South Carolina for two years and has drawn many comparisons to Danielle Hunter, the current star of the Vikings pass rush.
With their next pick, the Vikings decided to take James Lynch, the all time sack leader from Baylor. Lynch needs some time to perfect his technique, but has absolutely no lack of effort and can cause massive disruption in the pocket for opposing quarterbacks.
Using their final fourth round selection, the Vikings took Troy Dye from Oregon. Dye led Oregon in tackles all four years he played there, and was used in college similarly to Anthony Barr, the star LB on the Vikings. Falling farther down the board than most thought, the Vikings got a steal with this pick.
Beginning the fifth round, the Vikings again draft a cornerback with pick 169 in Harrison Hand out of Temple. With this selection, the Vikings have fully replenished their CB room after losing Xavier Rhodes, Trae Waynes, and Mackenzie Alexander to free agency prior to the draft.
Their next selection was WR KJ Osborn out of Miami. While he will likely be used as a return man, he does provide valuable depth at the receiver position sorely needed after offseason departures Stefon Diggs and Laquon Treadwell. He will also likely take return duties away from cornerback Mike Hughes, who will need to be used more as a result of Minnesota’s personnel turnover on defense.
Starting the sixth round, the Vikings took Blake Brandel, the tackle from Oregon State. Brandel looks to be a developmental piece on the line, something the Vikings have been lacking in recent years. Brandel holds the third longest starting streak in Oregon State history.
With their next pick, the Vikings selected Josh Metellus from Michigan. With a severe lack of depth at the safety position, Metellus is very likely to make the roster and see a decent amount of playing time as a rookie.
To begin their seventh round selections, the Vikings got a high value player in Kenny Willekes from Michigan State. Graded by most as a third or fourth round selection, Minnesota gets a player at the end of the draft that is the school’s leader in tackles for loss. This was graded by most analysts as the Vikings’ best pick of the draft purely for the high value at the spot.
Their next selection was QB Nate Stanley out of Iowa, the Vikings’ first QB taken in the draft since Teddy Bridgewater. Stanley has all the requisite talent at the position, just lacking accuracy. He will compete for a backup role this year on the roster.
With their second to last pick in the draft, Minnesota selected Brian Cole II, the safety from Mississippi State. Cole has lots of versatility, playing safety and linebacker in college and the ability to play cornerback. He also played wide receiver in college for a brief period. He is the second player from Mississippi State taken by the Vikings this draft, along with CB Cameron Dantzler.
With a record setting 15th pick in the draft, the Vikings selected guard Kyle Hinton out of Washburn. He played tackle in college but will need to convert to guard due to his size in the NFL.
With only three selections made to address the decade old need at O-Line, and two of them being late round picks, GM Rick Spielman will likely be criticized for not taking care of this hole. However, he did an excellent job of finding value picks and not giving up any capital to take good players who will contribute to the team.
The new needs at wide receiver and defensive back were addressed early, and the Vikings were able to find incredible value with their picks without moving up the draft board once. They did add some high end talent to the offensive line as well as some developmental pieces to help for the future.
With the sheer amount of talent taken in this draft, the Vikings look to have one of the better draft classes of the year, and hopefully one of the best in recent Vikings memory.
Dylan Krenz-Bertrand is a junior at Sartell High School. He is involved in Student Council and is currently the Minnesota Central Division Parliamentarian....
How is an 8 year old game still $60?
Diablo is an isometric RPG about killing demons to save the world Photo via Wikimedia under the creative commons license
The game company Blizzard released Diablo in 1996, Diablo II in 2000 and Diablo III in 2012. Diablo III still has a dedicated fan base to this day, with different releases on PC, Xbox 360, Xbox One, PS3, PS4, and Nintendo Switch spanning eight years, and this entire time, the game has cost $60.
The game has consistently gone on sale for over half off, most recently on PS4 for $22, but the price stays at $60. They’ve released two expansion packs throughout its lifespan with one in 2014 titled “Diablo III: Reaper of Souls” and another in 2017 called “Diablo III: Rise of the Necromancer.” Reaper of Souls comes with the console editions of the game, with the other DLC costing $15. The Reaper of Souls DLC helps keep the game at a higher price point. The base game comes packed with 20 different difficulty levels and over 500 possible hours of gameplay.
Diablo IV was announced in early 2019 with no release date set for the future. Usually, an announcement like this would drop the price and sales of the previous game, but for Diablo it had the opposite effect. Instead, people continue to buy the game and the price point has remained steady. It has now sold over 30 million copies and has become the 10th best selling game in history over the last eight years.
Raven is a senior at Sartell High School. His favorite SZA song is "Doves In The Wind." His plans after high school are to be rich and famous for his music...
The Quarantine Diaries: Day 12
Here's me going to school in my pajamas. It is AWESOME.
Hello fellow quarantiners! Welcome back!
It’s another day of the Quarantine Diaries. Today, I realized how much has changed since the beginning of social distancing. There are a lot of things that were not socially acceptable five weeks ago that are totally normal now.
For example, I go to school every day in my pajamas. Also, I can take breaks from learning to go play with my pets. I can have my breakfast and coffee during class or I can wear the same pair of pants for three days in a row. I don’t even have to groom my eyebrows. They get pretty wild.
I’ve also noticed that I spend a lot more time with my family, which is awesome! Every night, after we eat dinner together, we all sit in the living room and watch The Office or just talk and hang out all night. Not everything about quarantine is bad.
If you haven’t already, go enjoy your family because before you know it, you won’t be living at home anymore. You will miss it. You have a chance right now that we probably will never get again so make good use of it. 🙂
Jordan Wenshau is a junior at Sartell High School. She is one of six kids. Her favorite hobbies include singing, cooking, writing, reading, drawing, and...
Quarantine is affecting the mental health of Americans
Wikipedia under the Creative Commons License
Mental health issues are a huge struggle in this current time period and are only getting worse.
Quarantine is affecting many people in America but in different ways. It’s affecting some people financially, but it is having a huge impact on American’s mental health.
Very well mind stated that quarantine has a huge impact on the three main key elements of mental health which are Autonomy, Competency, and, Connectedness. Quarantine also comes with many psychological effects such as anger, boredom, difficulty concentrating, emotional exhaustion, fear and apprehension, frustration, helplessness, and more.
Autonomy is described and defined as the right that the patient has to make their own decisions which are a huge part of mental health because they have complete control of their mental health decisions. Competency is defined as the ability to do something efficiently and successfully, which is restricted in quarantine because you can’t go out and complete many tasks of your everyday life. And lastly, is connectedness which is defined as a feeling of belonging to or having affinity to a particular person or group. When you are in quarantine you are isolated and separated from everyone which makes mental health decrease due to lack of human interaction.
Stress can be brought on by many restrictions during the quarantine.
An outbreak or pandemic can cause a lot of stress which can also lead to increases in depression and anxiety levels.
The CDC states that stress during an infectious outbreak can include fear and worry about your own health and the health of loved ones, changes in eating and sleeping patterns, difficulty sleeping or concentrating and even more effects.
Dr. Brian Alman shared some of his tips and coping methods for stress during this quarantine period in a reporting article on Kusi.com.
The first coping method is the pace you’re going to cope, are you a turtle or a racehorse? The second step to coping is consistency: eat intelligently, drinking enough water, sleep 7-8 hours every night, etc. The third step is to find your inner emotional resilience which will require conversations, self-talk, and journaling can also help to cope with stress during this time period.
Another article reported on SearchEngineJournal.com listed 15 ways to deal with stress during this quarantine. Some of those ways included doing home workouts, online shopping, take breaks from watching the news, cleaning your house, talking to friends, and family was just some of the ways. You can find the rest of the listed ways on the website which I linked above.
Another problem that is on the rise in American’s in anxiety. Anxiety is a feeling of worry, nervousness, or unease and is typically about an imminent event or something with an uncertain outcome.
Anxiety is a growing problem in America and is getting worse with quarantine.
This pandemic has a very uncertain outcome which is causing a lot of people to have more anxiety than usual. According to Forbes.com, 31% of Americans say they are no sleeping less because of quarantine based anxiety. As people are self-quarantining, they are using more remote therapy sources like Talkspace and Brightside. They have seen a very high increase in demand. In the same Forbes article, Talkspace saw a 65% increase in customers since February and Brightside saw a 50% increase in new customers since the beginning of the new year. That is a huge increase in those who are needing to talk to someone about their mental health issues.
The ADDA which stands for the Anxiety and Depression Association of America stated that anxiety levels would increase due to the pandemic because of isolation, capsized travel plans, and more. They also included ways to decrease and help anxiety levels during this uncertain time. Some of those ways included: stick to a normal schedule, avoid obsessing over the endless coverage of the virus, starting a new quarantine ritual and even more ways.
Another huge problem people are facing currently is depression. Depression is described as a severe feeling of despondency and dejection.
Depression is on the rise to be an epidemic and psychologists aren’t ready.
Depression is a huge problem when self-isolating because you are stuck in your own thoughts. This pandemic could lead to an epidemic of clinical depression and bring numbers higher than they have ever been. With such a rare and confusing disease, stress and loss can come with it. Examples of this stress might include being afraid to catch it and the loss of loved ones to the virus are at large.
Another huge worry and impact on people’s mental health are financial issues. Finances bring a lot of stress to people but put almost all of America under stress due to their jobs shutting down leaving them unemployed and waiting for unemployment. The conversation.com listed changes that have to be made before the numbers rise. If the numbers do rise there are many ways that you can reduce depression symptoms and stop surrounding yourself with your negative thoughts about yourself. In an NBC News article, Emily Roberts who is a psychologist said that one of the most important things is for the individual who is depressed to be in touch with their support system. Even though they can’t be in touch physically they can still zoom, skype, facetime, text, etc. Sometimes that can be all it takes. But other available treatments or ways to lessen the feeling of being depressed can include online therapy, having a self-care routine and a daily routine in general, physical activity can also be a huge mood booster.
If you’re feeling anxious, stressed, depressed, and more and need someone to talk to there are many online counseling sites. The ones that I have listed and linked below are all free options available for you:
Faithfulcounseling.com (a great often for those of you that are religious)
Those are just some free counseling websites but there are so many more available to use 24/7. But if you are feeling down during this time of uncertainty and need someone to talk to, please reach out to a trusted adult, a counselor, counseling website, or one of the mental health hotlines. Remember even those times aren’t good right now they will get better, stay positive!
Kylie Reisinger is a senior at Sartell High School. She plans on going to SCSU for college and is going to major in early education to become a kindergarten...
