Netflix Series, Cobra Kai, Shows the Power of Friendship

Schuyler Kropp, Staff Writer 

The show Cobra Kai is based off of the events in the movie The Karate Kid. It was made in 2018 by Josh Heald, John Hurwitz, and Hayden Schlossberg in hopes for the Karate Kid saga to live on. The show begins thirty four years after Karate Kid. The dojo name “Cobra Kai” is taken from The Karate Kid, and there are many returning faces including John Kreese, Paul Dugan, and Terrance Silver. This show explores many different forms of relationships and how they can teach us to be better people.

Robby Keene is the main character in season one. Miguel Diaz is the main character in season two. They become friends throughout the show as you get to know the differences and similarities between Miguel and Robby and how their bond is formed. They both want the same things, but have different paths to get there. At first, they don’t like each other because Robby is jealous that Miguel starts to have a father figure to look up to. Throughout the seasons, they have their problems, but they grow up and move together towards achievable goals that bring them together. 

In one memorable event from the season two finale, Miguel ends up in a coma because Robby kicked him off a high staircase. However, later in the show Robby and Miguel fight again and resolve their conflict. Eventually, they find common ground after the fight and become best friends. They are able to unite because they both didn’t have male role models growing up. I feel like the lessons that are being taught to the viewers are that people can have conflict at first, but it is important to know and understand their side of the story. This also shows that the two people who once didn’t get along can always move on from the past, and grow into more mature people.

Another character, Tory Nichols is also similar to Johnny Lawrence. Both of them miss father figures, and resort to isolating themselves. Tory and Johnny never really got to know who they really were as they both grew up without knowing who their biological father is. Many have speculated online about rumors of Mike Barnes possibly being Tory’s father. I disagree, but I think her father could be either Dutch or an unknown man. Both Dutch and Tory had difficult lives and both ended up in juvie. That is revealed when Johnny’s buddies from high school mention that he was up in Lompoc County.

While learning under Sensei Johnny Lawrence, Miguel starts to become close to a girl named Samantha, and eventually starts a relationship with her. They find things in common and they share chemistry together as their relationship grows stronger each season. Miguel struggles in this relationship because Sam feels like she doesn’t know and understand him anymore after a few weeks. They eventually break up and Miguel gets into a short relationship with Tory Nichols to try something new in an attempt to get over Sam. Tory points out that this is unfair for her. Eventually Miguel returns to Sam when she finds an octopus necklace in the dojo and realizes that Miguel still likes her more than a friend. They get back together again because they spent some time on their own trying to find out more things about themselves but they end up realizing that they love each other romantically. This shows how willing Miguel was to communicate and understand his love for Sam from the very beginning of the show, all the way to the end. Their relationship can show us how to communicate in romantic relationships, and everyone should be able to do this in their own lives.

Throughout season one, Robby gets hired at LaRusso Auto and works there helping a character named Daniel fix and sell cars. Daniel later becomes a father figure for Robby. Both of them had demons in their past and fought them. Daniel sees the potential he had in himself and decides to help Robby use it in his life. Robby struggles against his opponents in tournaments. Robby knows the sorts of struggles that he faces are inevitable. He makes lots of mistakes throughout every season. but he wants to take responsibility to show Daniel that they are alike in many ways. Daniel learns how to trust himself throughout this father-son relationship as he helps Robby. There are times where they argue, but they eventually put their differences aside to come back together. Robby and Daniel are very much alike and they have always found ways to win in various situations.

Many people struggle with bullies in their life. Yet, in the end, it is always important to remember what you’ve been taught. Even if that is fighting for your purpose or love. I have most certainly dealt with a whole lot of bullying and I do not like it. It is because of bullying and the things I dealt with in my early life that I began to watch this show Cobra Kai. I feel like if I get better at fighting for what is right, then maybe I could pass down my knowledge as a sensei one day. While I hope that everyone lives their lives full of happy memories and experiences, they should also be ready for unfortunate events to happen. However they can overcome those difficulties by remembering to spend the most time you can with the people that you love and care for.

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Hit TV Show, Stranger Things, Highlights A Variety of Human Relationships

Schuyler Kropp, Staff Writer 

Stranger Things is a TV Show set in the 1970’s through the 1980’s that was introduced to Netflix in July of 2016. It was made by the Duffer Brothers, as a multi-genre series including science fiction, horror, drama, and action. The show quickly gained a lot of popularity and views, making many of its young actors famous. In the beginning of the show, the character Will Byers, played by actor Noah Schnapp, goes missing in the town of Hawkins. The past of Hawkins is uncertain in the beginning of the film but then, the cause behind tragedies in this town are revealed. 

The show often centers around the character, Eleven. She grew up inside a mysterious lab and eventually made an attempt to run away. She escapes through the underground tunnels leading out into a forest away from the lab. When she escapes, she is found by three boys— Micheal, Dustin, and Lucas— who help her learn about the outside world. As she starts to explore this new world, she starts to learn how to form meaningful relationships and love the people around her. You can learn about love through Eleven’s journey of discovery. She explores different types of relationships in her life. Those types of relationships are friendship, romantic, self, and parental love. 

She experiences friendship and love through the relationship she has with Max. At first, Eleven doesn’t like Max because she is jealous over a boy, but when Max asks her about him, they learn about their likes and dislikes. Max gives Eleven relationship advice, and allows her to discover her taste of who she wants to be. This is how she finds happiness with Max. Later on in the show, they understand each other better as their friendship grows. Throughout the show, they support each other through difficult and even violent times as they face issues with both friends and supernatural forces. Their friendship teaches us how we can rely on friends through hard times.

Eleven experiences romantic love in the show with her boyfriend, Mike. Mike and Eleven become friends during her time when she first escaped the laboratory. They become closer as they both struggle with bullies in their lives. Throughout the show, they are both willing to stand up to these bullies for each other. As she defends Mike, Eleven learns that she wants to use her powers for the greater good rather than showing them off or hurting others. As he finds safety in Eleven, he discovers that he can always have someone to rely on through tough times. This relationship teaches us that our partners are supposed to be people who always have our backs. 

Eleven learns about self love throughout the show as she tries to figure out who she is. At the beginning of the show, she had been stuck in a lab for her entire life and therefore, had never been able to discover herself. Once she breaks out and is able to explore the world, she starts to gain a sense of independence. She starts to be able to make her own decisions, including who she hangs out with, how she dresses, and what her values are. This teaches her about herself as she is no longer just a tool for someone else. She also takes time to discover her past and meets her sister, Kali and her mom. From her journey of self discovery, we discover that no matter how bad our pasts may be, it is always okay to keep moving forward and make our own decisions about how our futures shape us.

This show also models parental love with the characters Hopper and Eleven. Hopper adopts Eleven when she escapes from the lab and quickly becomes her father figure. The beginning of their father and daughter relationship is a bit tough as Hopper becomes controlling of her. Hopper wants to protect Eleven as she fights the evil in Hawkins, but at one point ends up pushing her away as she tries to find independence. Eleven returns to him once they both open up about how they have lost important people in their lives. Hopper has made mistakes but his relationship with Eleven allows him to reflect on this, move forward, and become a better person. Hopper helps her understand what parental love is and what it means to be unconditionally supported. Their relationship shows us that parents are supposed to love and support us even through disagreements.

Character based storytelling is important because it allows us a new way to learn about ourselves and how to navigate the real world. Stranger Things shows how people love each other and what that is like. I like to relate some of my writing to this show, as I like to tell stories and express different relationships between characters. The beauty of stories is that they can show how everyone deserves to be loved.

The 5th and final season of Stranger Things will premiere later in 2025 on the streaming platform, Netflix. 

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Imagine Dragons Newest Album Shows Different Meanings in Music

Schuyler Kropp, Staff Writer

Music is everywhere. We listen to it for many reasons, including focusing or calming our minds. By listening to music, you allow rhythms to flow into your ears while jamming out. Songs and albums are meant to have hidden meanings and messages. Anyone can listen to the lyrics of a song and process them in many ways. Songwriters try to have a hidden message in their songs or albums by saying what they truly mean in a more creative way. It is common that these messages get jumbled up causing misinterpretation. Trying to coax out information or meanings is hard to do, but it allows your brain to understand other ways to look at things. This also helps you find what songs are your jam. 

The band Imagine Dragons is a good example of putting meanings into their music. Imagine Dragons is an American rock band formed in 2008, based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is headed by lead singer, Dan Reynolds. The band has mostly upbeat and some mild to slow songs, often changing their pace in many different ways. They write songs that grab people’s attention. If the song is short and mournful, then people might feel sad singing along to the song. But, if the song is long and cheerful, people might feel happy and exuberated. 

Imagine Dragons often disguise messages in the songs that they write and play. Their songs sound like they are happy, but in reality they are often not. Dan Reynolds often hides his cry out for help in his songs or lyrics. He sings about things that are a part of his life story and communicates that sometimes, people who are supposed to be happy with their life, really aren’t that happy. Anyone in the world can feel hidden emotions in their life, just like how the meaning of songs can be hidden. His newest album Loom is a perfect example of this.

Dan Reynolds often talks in his lyrics about being lonely, despite his fame. In his song “Fire In These Hills,” Dan Reynolds sings about feeling trapped, alone, tired, and scared while he does not want to open up to anyone. Despite the song being upbeat, he sings that “the more we try and the more we fail,”. This tells his audience that people can have high standards, and when you meet them they can lose interest or pull away. This is how people can become lonely. 

In another line, he sings, “I’m so tired, can I please come home?”. This line communicates that high expectations can cause you to become tired and want to disconnect from the outside world. Many people expect Dan Reynolds and Imagine Dragons to be the best, putting pressure on him to constantly perform well. In his song “Gods Don’t Pray”, he says that “fortune is unfortunately volatile” and talks about how fame or fortune can be taken away from you, because of how high the expectations are. Reynolds is widely popular, but still feels like he has to constantly outdo himself to meet up to these high expectations. This can cause him to second think himself, and live in fear of being judged. 

In these songs, Reynolds often talks about heartbreak and abandonment. In the song “Nice to Meet You”, Reynolds talks about wanting to talk to someone, but there is a divide between them. With this song, he tries to say that you need approval from yourself before others. Having approval from yourself means that you know that you are moving forward and taking your own advice to things. This is important in life because it allows you to be more independent. 

In the song “Wake Up”, Reynolds talks about struggling on the inside and not showing it. In this song, he feels like he is “spinnin’-in-in’” and in the chaos of life, you struggle and feel like you can break apart from people or relationships. The song “In Your Corner” Reynolds talks about loyalty despite abandonment. An example of that is in the lyric “Gonna burn this down, every sober day,”. Reynolds shows that he  is turning to substance abuse to cope with feeling abandoned by the people in his past and present life. 

In the song “Take Me to the Beach”, Reynolds talks about independence, blocking out the world, relaxing, and doing his own things. He says that on this “people-pleasing' planet…you can have the mountains. I’ll take the beach,”. Reynolds wants to be independent and do his own relaxing, away from the expectations of the world. 

In the song “Eyes Closed” Reynolds talks about independence and following what you believe by ignoring the expectations of everyone else. He sings, “I will spend these days as an island. Alone and far away,”. He wants to turn away and be alone in his life. In order to achieve this solidarity, he cuts himself off from his friends and family. This is his solution to getting away from the pressure of others. He also talks about wanting to change his mindset. 

In the song “Kid”, Dan is talking about keeping your motivation up, despite facing struggles, and tells people to “take your losses as a win”. In that lyric he is stating that even if you lose at first, you can still find a way back to win later. The bottom line is that you have to keep fostering your motivation, despite the inevitable challenges you will face in life. 

This album by Imagine Dragons is an example of how important it is to interpret more than one meaning in music. Everyone can interpret it in many ways, but I feel like the album is about how everyone struggles in life and it is okay to not meet high expectations. This is something that everyone can relate to, including myself. As he is singing it, people are dancing and rocking out, often completely ignoring the overall message. I can relate to this, because I feel cheated by people misinterpreting me in more than one way. I know I am not alone in this feeling, So, remember that it is okay to talk about it by singing about your own grief and pain. This is the overall message that Dan Reynolds is conveying in his album Loom.

Snowboarding: A Sport Requiring Hard Work, Bravery, and Confidence

Schuyler Kropp, Staff Writer

In the early morning light of Austria, I saw different colors shaping out the mountain side view. As the cold air pressed in on my body, it felt as if I had dropped down a dark, black hole. My face turned red and my fingers locked up with stiffness. In this moment, I found joy and happiness in snowboarding. 

Throughout my travels in Austria, my family and friends went up to the Austrian Alps. As we got to the top, I saw one of the scariest runs, a trip down the mountain on my snowboard, was a double black diamond. A double black diamond in snowboarding symbolizes that the trail is hard and recommended for experienced riders.  Looking down on the run, my heart started to race. As I was racing down and carving my board, I felt scared by using a more difficult technique. I kept looking in all directions as I was frightened to crash into people and objects. I felt relieved once I returned to the base of the mountain. It was fun and I felt that I had accomplished something. That fear was now towards the back of my mind.

The snowboarding community in Austria is rather small but the global snowboarding community throughout the world is huge. I have snowboarded in the United States and Austria. I have skied in Switzerland and France. Even though people speak different languages in these places, everyone is able to come together through snow sports, and feels included in the community. 

Throughout my different snowboarding experiences, I have found that the main reason I enjoy it is through the people involved. The support of fellow snowboarders and the surrounding community encourage you while you go on the mountain. People at bars and pubs share news about events in snowboarding or skiing. This continues on social media where bigger events can be organized. For example, the winter sports in the Olympics is where people from all around the world gather around to enjoy the time in the games and can learn new skills and snowboarding tricks. This connects you with your idols, the ones you look up to in snowboarding. 

Learning to snowboard requires hard work, bravery, and confidence. Hard work is crucial to getting better and serves as a motivator for others. For example, a seasoned snowboarder struggling with a new technique can be inspirational for a beginner who’s trying to complete their run. However, this leadership is hard work. For example,  I excel in skiing, which I did for eighteen years. Skiing can be difficult because of the intensive maneuvers you do that require your leg strength. That is where the hard work is applied, and where bravery fits in. You also use leg strength in snowboarding. Balancing is part of snowboarding even though it can easily be scary to do. You have to be brave in order to use the board on the mountain as you are telling it where to go.

One way that people gain confidence through snowboarding is by holding their chest up and sticking out their butt. This is showing good posture while snowboarding. Another way is by showing your clean turns and feeling confident to jump off high jumps or railings. You could use these skills daily by practicing them in your day to day life or routine. As you gain confidence, you are able to move through life and accomplish what you set your mind to.

Snowboarding is one way you can show that you are a hard worker, brave, and confident. It can connect you to a community by bringing people together on the mountain. All of this is made possible because of this amazing sport.