![Holding up T-wolves, the tour group poses for a picture in the Chinese classroom. Sophomore Lydia Ou, junior Phu Trung and senior Yushan Pan gave a tour to Taiwanese diplomat Andrea Yang on Nov. 8. “I was so excited when I heard I would get to give the tour because it’s a big deal,” Ou said. “She’s from the US embassy for Taiwan, so she’s really important. I’m so privileged [to get this opportunity] and I’m so excited.” Photo by Skyler King](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Main-Taiwan.jpg)
![Students drew chalk art in honor of Veterans day. This is just one of many things the school does to show appreciation to veterans, and the art will remain in the courtyard as a reminder of all of the veterans who served their country. “On veteran’s day, I think it’s a great thing we do at school to honor people that served [who are] at our school or family members,” English teacher and cheer coach Nadira King said. “It makes me feel proud, and it makes me remember the [veterans].”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Capture.png)
![Sucking in a breath of air, freshman Lily Pope competes in the 200 yard individual medley. On Oct. 25, the swim team competed in the AISD Swim Invitational. Overall, the girls team took second place and the boys team came in eleventh. “My favorite stroke is butterfly because I do the best in that stroke,” Pope said. “I feel like [butterfly] can test how [your ability] to convince yourself to keep going. The hardest part of swimming is convincing yourself to stay strong and keep pushing during a hard race [when] everything is tired.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/POPE-1200x804.jpg)
![Smiling at the camera, Author Ehigbor Okosun, members of Page Turners, and other students reflect on the author's visit. “I thought the visit was great,” Senior Amia De Leon said. “It was interesting talking to her and [getting to know] her process and her thoughts and books in general. But I think the reason it went well [was that] people got to ask questions. I'm glad that she said so much in response to the questions and it wasn't just one and done. [The author’s responses] felt very articulate.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Sebastian-5-1200x800.jpg)
![Standing in front of the field at a freshman football game, cheerleader freshman Jacob Gaudreau along with teammate freshman Bella Gibson pose for a photo during halftime of game. “[Cheer has] definitely given me a much more outgoing personality,” Gaudreau said. “I used to be very introverted, so it's definitely made me more extroverted towards people.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Ingrid-204-1200x800.jpg)
![Holding a wooden pizza toy, senior Taylor Peterson plays with small children in Bucaramanga, Colombia. During the summer, Peterson traveled to Colombia to help build an elementary school that only had two classrooms but five or six grades with one teacher. “We add[ed] two more classrooms,” Peterson said. “It’s kind of hard when you have two or three grades in one classroom and you only have one teacher. It’s very hard to actually get some beneficial learning. [The extra classrooms will give the students] a better quality of education because they’ll actually have a place specific for their learning.” Photo by Taylor Peterson](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Taylor-P.png)
![Swinging with his arm extended, senior Nolan Park hits the ball smoothly over the net and to the opponent’s side. Park is one of four varsity tennis captains and helped the team win district championships. “Winning district champs was a pretty awesome feeling,” Park said. “We had lost to Liberty Hill a couple of weeks before, but when we played them [again], we came out and really took care of business. We took them out and it was just a really awesome night.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Kassidy-419.jpg)
![Standing proud, varsity senior athletes Rafael Escobar, Griffin Jacobs, Jakob Martin, and juniors Jackson Springer and Jack Morris pose with their newly earned medals. The varsity team finished third out of 14 teams on Sept. 25. “The team's primary goal is to win the district championship,” head coach Cody Price said. "We're confident that with our action plan in place, we can accomplish this mission. [For the next tournament], our preparation involves assessing our strengths and weaknesses, celebrating milestones and creating individual development plans." Photo courtesy of Cody Price](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/golf.jpg)
![The cross country team poses for the camera after finishing the district meet. The varsity boys, JV boys and JV girls all placed third and the varsity girls placed fourth. “Coach put in the right training for us for this season, so I think we will be peaking this week and the next couple of weeks,” varsity runner and junior Nathan Kukla said. “The chances of making it to state are very high, but we don’t settle for the lowest and there is always going to be that chance, so [we] race for the best.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Heidi-831-1200x900.jpg)
“I Would Hit Rewind”
Review on Gnash’s Debut Album
Gnash released his debut album on Jan. 11, 2019.
January 23, 2019
On Friday, Jan. 11, Gnash, an American singer-songwriter and producer, released his 13 track debut album “We.” The album has been anticipated by many of his supporters, including me, after his last three EPs titled “U,” “Me” and “Us” came out. The album revolves around heartbreak, insecurities and living in the moment. Together, it creates an intimate and sentimental masterpiece that makes you see yourself and the world around in a different manner.
Although I loved every song featured, below are my five favorite songs on the album.
1. “Happy Never After”- This is the first song on the album, and it starts in a unique way that I loved. When I heard the spoken intro, I was hooked. He introduces the whole concept of the album in less than 50 words and 16 seconds, and it sets the scene for every thought and emotion he had while writing the 13 song album.
2. “Imagine if”- This is one of the songs released in anticipation for the album release, but I did not listen to it, because I wanted to wait until the whole album was released. This is one of the more upbeat songs on the whole album, so it makes you want to bop your head and dance to it. It’s a very catchy song, so you can be guaranteed that I have all the lyrics memorized. “Imagine if” further helped me realize on what we miss when we are so caught up on our phones and social media rather than living in the moment.
3. “Insane”- This specific song immediately transported me to the mindset he might have gone through while writing this song. It’s a mellow, almost calming, arrangement that really helped with relating to him in some degree. I also really enjoyed the change of pace when he raps the second verse and later speaks the last few lines, something that was consistent throughout the album.
4. “Dear Insecurity”- The song features an Australian singer and songwriter, Ben Abraham, as the main vocals for the chorus. This song was also released prior to the album release, but unlike “Imagine if,” I did listen to this song when it was first released. The first time I listened to this song, I cried. It hit so many personal soft spots and it was written so honestly and raw, that for me, it was inevitable to not express those emotions as I listened. My favorite part about this song is the progression of ideas. In the beginning, it was about letting insecurities control your mind and then it ended at a point about an individual gaining that control back.
5. “P.S.”- This is the best song to end the album. It’s short, but it expresses many emotions in one minute and 43 seconds. It is not only the end of the album, but the end of his former relationship. I cried while listening to this song, especially with the last line that ties every song and emotion together, “Even if we’re not together, we’ll forever be we.”
My criticism:
1. I really loved this album, so there is not much criticism on my part, but there is one thing that I did not particularly love, this being the inclusion of “I hate u, I love u” featuring singer-songwriter Olivia O’Brien. At first glance, I was confused why it was added to the album, as it was released three years ago. In retrospect, I can understand why this song was added to the heartbreak side of the album, and especially because it was Gnash’s first hit song.
Overall, I can describe “We” as a rollercoaster of emotions. There was so much expressed that I was able to relate to many of the songs, lyrics and situations showcased. If you want to listen to a new artist, album, or song I definitely would recommend this album. I can guarantee that you won’t listen to the album without relating to at least one thing.
This album is categorized as explicit and under the Indie/Alternative genre. Stream “We” free on Spotify and Pandora and buy it for $8.99 on Apple Music and Google Play Music.
Rating: 5 out of 5 flowers
![Sucking in a breath of air, freshman Lily Pope competes in the 200 yard individual medley. On Oct. 25, the swim team competed in the AISD Swim Invitational. Overall, the girls team took second place and the boys team came in eleventh. “My favorite stroke is butterfly because I do the best in that stroke,” Pope said. “I feel like [butterfly] can test how [your ability] to convince yourself to keep going. The hardest part of swimming is convincing yourself to stay strong and keep pushing during a hard race [when] everything is tired.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/POPE-300x201.jpg)
