Hi! My name is Autumn Yoder. I’m 13 years old, in 8th grade, and I’m interested in Journalism. I’ve actually been quite interested in documenting things like events, people’s stories, and their lives for as long as I can remember.

My parents were always so annoyed with me because I would get a camera and take a bunch of pictures and videos of them and every place we’d go to. Memory cards would be filled up in less than a week.

“The problem is not the problem; the problem is your attitude about the problem.” This is a quote by Jack Sparrow. It explains that if there is a problem that you face, like a tree in the road, that’s not the problem, the problem is how you will react to it. Will you be levelheaded and take proper actions, or will you start to get road rage and slam on the car horn for 20 minutes screaming your head off? It’s all up to you, buddy, it’s all up to you.

This quote should be applied to many students already during this grueling past week, definitely including me. We’re finishing our second week now, and some students are already freaking about homework, and what’s going to happen with their friends. They should remember that– well, friends are important, but you still definitely need to do your work. Schedule times with yourself to do your work.

Don’t try to do it all at home at 12 pm while you’re half asleep writing “200+125+359=6”. Do as much as you can at school. During class, during Cougar Time, just don’t try to do it as fast as possible or you’ll probably end up with an answer that’s 200 off. Just take your time, please.

As hectic as the first week of school seemed, it didn’t go as horribly as everyone thought. Except for those kids who absolutely had no idea what was going on in math class and were too afraid to ask about it. You’ve got to get some more confidence man, don’t fall behind.

One of my friends, on the third day, was crying because she believed she was going to fail this year of school because the math was too difficult. You can always take a little time to learn more. Talk to your math teacher, see if you can get some tutoring and get the little problems taken care of. Make the right decisions and don’t fail your first or last year here.

I’ve got confidence in everyone in Dobie, and I guess in myself too. It may not be the easiest time of your life, but you can try to make it the best time of your life. Now that I realize, this column has turned into a sort of inspirational speech with some stories here and there. Oh well.

I think this is going to be a good year for me, and I can’t wait to get further into it. I’m not the best in science, math or social studies, but I’ll keep on trying my best.