![Walking through the tunnel created by the cheerleaders and Celebrities, senior Frances Tran smiles as the soccer team is sent off during DEN for their playoff game against Rouse tonight. Tran said the wins against Smithson Valley and Alamo Heights gave the team a morale boost to take on the Raiders tonight. “I know we were not 100% confident in those games,” Tran said. “But, Rouse is a big opponent for sure. We’re definitely going into tonight with a lot of morale [because of the previous wins].”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/frances-tran.jpg)
![Holding a bucket of materials in one hand and a roll of tape in another, anatomy and biology teacher Tyler Terry prepares for a lab. Terry said his proudest moments are when his students are happy to see him. “When I take my wife to a football game or something and a bunch of students want to say hi to me or they like to smile and wave and it just makes me feel good that the students are really kind and supportive of me,” Terry said. “[I’m also] proud when I see students perform really well in their extracurriculars because I can see how hard they’re working in my classes, [so] when I see that they’re also working so hard in other things. Like they’re winning band competitions or they’re getting awards for their theater productions, or I see them put on their choir shows, that’s like, wow, you guys are incredible.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Rags-6.png)
![Catching a ball, junior Alivia Robinson plays at the Cedar Park vs Glenn game. Having played since she was 5 years old, she is dedicated to softball and has committed to UTPB for softball. “When I got my offer it took me a very long time to decide where,” Robinson said. “Softball has always been my dream for college, and UTPB is my fit. When [I committed] I knew I was going to be loved and supported.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Lilly-Adams-3.13aliviaedit-901.jpg)
Feelin’ Good As Hell
‘Love, Lizzo’ Documentary Released on HBO Max
HBO Max released a documentary about the singer/songwriter Lizzo on Nov. 26. The documentary covers Lizzo’s life before and after she became a popular celebrity. The documentary is high energy and fun while also tackling and bringing attention to important issues in society.
January 9, 2023
My mom and I sat on the couch wondering which movie we wanted to watch. Both of us had a stressful week and we both wanted to relax and watch a new movie that was recently released. I began to browse HBO Max and we didn’t find anything we were interested in until we came across Lizzo’s new documentary called “Love, Lizzo.”
The documentary begins with clips of Lizzo when she was younger and then transitions to clips of Lizzo performing while an audience is cheering her name. This immediately reminded me of when I saw Lizzo perform in 2019 at Austin City Limits. She had just begun to get really popular because of one of her most popular songs in 2019 called “Truth Hurts.” At the time “Truth Hurts” was playing 24/7 on all radio stations and became one of the most popular songs that year. At ACL, she had a smaller stage and I remember vividly that it felt like every person at ACL went to go see her perform.
The plot began with Lizzo talking to the audience explaining that she “always was trying to chase the music” hoping to get to her dream of being a big music star. Then it moves to Lizzo giving background information about her childhood and explaining her life as she was growing up. Next, the documentary transitioned to her life during the pandemic. She explains how the pandemic affected her and how much it affected other people at the time. Then the documentary goes back to her childhood in high school. In addition, the documentary continues with Lizzo explaining how her music career developed into what it has become. The documentary focused on how she began to feel confident in her body and how she hopes to be a voice in spreading body positivity and really opens up about her life before she became super popular and after she became popular.
I really enjoyed that the documentary was split up in different parts and I was always interested in her life and the fact that there were so many things that I didn’t know about her. I found her authenticity really refreshing and honestly really inspiring because she constantly strives to be her true authentic self, carrying herself with confidence that I aspire in myself.
I admire that her music carries so much meaning and she truly tries to be a voice for change in the world. I was happily surprised by this documentary because I had always loved her music but had never known much about her. I thought that the documentary was the perfect amount of fun energy while also tackling and bringing awareness to serious issues. Her humor really brought the documentary to life and set it apart from others.
I definitely would recommend this documentary to everyone, I think everyone could find entertainment and could be interested in her story. She uses her popularity to influence others and I think that she uses her voice really well as an icon and musician which I feel is not done by many celebrities. My perception of her definitely changed after the documentary and I enjoyed watching it a lot. Lizzo has gained my respect and learning about how she worked hard to become the confident and talented women she is today inspired me and this documentary will inspire others as well.
Penny’s Rating
Plot Rating: 8/10
Music: 9.5/10
Overall Rating: 8.5/10
![Holding her dog, Nova, senior Ariana Balakrishnan poses for her senior pictures while Nova wears a bandana with her college decision. Balakrishnan applied to 18 colleges in total, but she decided on Columbia in the end. “Right before I clicked the button to open Columbia’s letter, I literally looked at the camera and go ‘This is just gonna really suck because I wanted it so bad,’ and I clicked it and all of a sudden you hear trumpets,” Balakrishnan said. “There’s a video that plays when you open it and I actually didn’t watch the video, I just watched the screen go black, because every day of December before ED [Early Decision] I would go on YouTube and watch the acceptance video to manifest it, so immediately when the screen went black, I started screaming and jumping up and down. And my parents in the video are like ‘What are you doing, where’s the letter,’ and I was just screaming ‘I got in, I got in.” I just started crying, and it just felt like everything in the world came together.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/ariana-2-300x217.jpg)
![Catching a ball, junior Alivia Robinson plays at the Cedar Park vs Glenn game. Having played since she was 5 years old, she is dedicated to softball and has committed to UTPB for softball. “When I got my offer it took me a very long time to decide where,” Robinson said. “Softball has always been my dream for college, and UTPB is my fit. When [I committed] I knew I was going to be loved and supported.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Lilly-Adams-3.13aliviaedit-901-600x400.jpg)
