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2 2 Editorials Are You A Success or A Failure? Laura Florez The definitions of success and failure vary from person to person. I consider someone to be successful when they are happy with their life and a failure when they’re not satisfied. Another common opinion is success means being rich, and failure is not having enough money. In this article I will point out students opinions and try to show you that success isn’t just based on money. Usually when you picture success you see mansions, people taking exotic vacations, and driving expensive cars. That is not always the case, there are celebrities that were extremely unhappy and lonely. Some celebrities even turn to drugs for an escape of their sorrow. For example, Jeret Peterson, a Olympic skier who won a silver medal at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games but had fought depression and gambling. He struggled to stay sober and ended up dying with a self-inflicted gunshot. A good example of someone not being famous but still being successful is Freshman Colby Pasour. Colby tries his best to spread positivity and happiness. He believes that someone is a failure when they spread hate instead of positivity. Colby said, “You cannot consider something a failure if you learn from it, so stay positive and learn; that’s the only thing you can live your life by and stay happy doing it.” He considers Aziz Ansari to be successful because he always seems happy. Aziz is an actor, comedian, and writer. He is known for his role in the tv series Parks and Recreation and Master of None. Aziz Ansari once said, “Even in my stand-up, there’s a lot more positivity and enthusiasm rather than negative, I-hate- everything vibes.” Another person that proves that money and fame don’t automatically make you successful is Heath Ledger. Heath was an actor before he took his own life by overdosing. Although he seemed extremely successful because of his role in the movie The Dark Knight, he had struggled with depression. He had fallen into a state melancholy after his break up with the mother of his daughter. He demonstrates that just because your life seems victorious doesn’t mean it’s automatically successful. Emma Rayfield, another Highland freshman, believes that someone is a failure when they don’t attempt to try something new and take risks. She thinks that she is successful because she works hard and goes to a school where she gets great preparation for her future. She said, “Another thing that makes someone successful is to learn from your mistakes and not repeat them.” Personally, I wouldn’t consider someone’s life a failure just because he’s failed at a few things. He would only become a failure because he gave up trying. This is why I believe success is based on happiness; your well-being is more important than anything else. Emma Rayfield Colby Pasour Ram Reviews Emma Hinkle Nintendo Switch Console New products are everywhere, but are they worth spending your money on? I asked around and found the popular opinion on the most talked about products. I even tested some myself to see if they worked. This will serve as your guide to the new and quirky products of 2017. The most popular new tech product is the Nintendo Switch. It retails for about $300 on Amazon. The majority of gamers are happy with the product because of how versatile it is. It can be used as a handheld game or set up and played with other people. The most common complaint with the Switch is that there is not yet a wide variety of games to play, but the console has only been out for a short amount of time, so more games are expected to come in the near future. An interesting fact about the Switch is the game cartridges have a bitter taste which is meant to stop small children and pets from chewing or eating them. PopSocket uses and functions A product people are speculating about is the alleged iPhone 8. This year marks the 10 year anniversary of Apple’s iPhone launch. The phone is said to include new features such as a screen that goes from edge to edge and a camera with fingerprint recognition sensors that will be built into the screen. These changes will mean saying goodbye to the home button. “I don’t like the fact that they’re taking away the home button,” said freshman Sadie Matzke when asked what she thought about the new phone. “I’m a very fidgety person. I like the clicking sound the button makes when you push it.” I personally like the button as well. I think the new phone may be too sleek and will be dropped too easily. If you’re worried about dropping that new iPhone 8, why not try a PopSocket? It’s a circular grip that sticks on the back of your phone and can be used as a stand, grip, or earbud holder. PopSocket is really useful for me because I drop my phone a lot. I really like it because you can run and hold Official SiliSponge from Molly Cosmetics your phone with a smaller chance of dropping and cracking the screen. It’s also really useful for when you want to prop your phone up to watch TV or videos. On the official website PopSockets cost $10-$15 depending on the design. Another crazy product I tested is the SiliSponge. This is a makeup sponge made completely out of silicone. The official brand that first released these is a company called Molly Cosmetics. The “sponge” itself is $12 (not including shipping). The sponge consists of two sides, a flat side and a more curved side. I used it to apply and blend my foundation and overall it worked pretty well. Using it, at first, took some getting used to, but after that I thought it was pretty simple. So what do you think? Would you be interested in buying any of these products? Hopefully this article will help you when deciding whether to purchase these products or not.