We invite you to read and respond to The Paly Voice’s ongoing staff blog, where we talk informally about the Voice, campus life, and other things on our minds. Enjoy — and click on the feedback link on the bottom if you want to participate by adding your own comment.

Farewell Class of 2005 (June 7, 2005)

I can’t believe it, school has ended. It’s time to say goodbye to the seniors and a stressful junior year. This year the majority of my friends were seniors so its so hard to say goodbye. I will especially miss the fabulous voice editors: Laura, Thomas, Kristen, Huda, Jimmy, and Moonway. You guys did an amazing job keeping the site running and I only hope I can follow in your footsteps! You certainly paved the road! I will miss you all a LOT! It truly won’t be the same without you on staff.

All of the seniors are leaving and the junior class is moving up. Its going to be hard next year without all the seniors around, but I think the junior class will be able to hold its own. We will dominate spirit week and win first place (finally!), I hear that varsity football will be awesome, and we will make lasting impressions on the underclassmen.

So seeing the seniors go is sad, but I’ve come to realize that it isn’t the end of the world. They are off to do great things, and we will soon follow.

I love Paly, I will be devastated to leave. I’m lucky to have one more year of Paly ahead of me. Another year of voice, another spirit week, and another year to be a high school cheerleader! Once I graduate all of these things will be gone, and that’s not something I look forward to.

I will desperately miss the seniors, but they have made me realize that high school isn’t all that bad, and I will cherish every moment I have of it! So goodbye class of 05’ and good luck! Class of 06’ its time to be seniors, finally!!

PS — Seniors from voice editors, taylor and dominic PLEASE keep in touch! I love you all, you’ve taught me so much. Thank you.

– Kristie Flatley

Cheers (June 1, 2005)

As our current school year approaches it’s end and final exams approach, I’ve been doing a little extracurricular thinking. Someday, in the future, when I am old with many grandchildren, how will I look upon the 2004-2005 school year? Will I remember this as the year our boys’ basketball team reached the NorCal finals? Perhaps I’ll remember the notorious fire alarms that I could always count on to get me out of a big test? I may even remember this year as the one in which I appeared in the yearbook for an image other than my school mug shot.

I’ve come to find that the event that figures most prominently in my mind from this year is me joining the Voice. It’s truly been an incredible journey this year with my 28 colleagues and our fantastic advisor Mr. Kandell. I’ll be honest; (for those of you who were present for my speech to join the editorial board this may all sound familiar) I joined the Voice this year with the intention of joining Paly’s daily broadcast show, In Focus, during my senior year. "How cool would it be," I thought, "to be seen by Paly’s entire student body on T.V.?"

After one year of experience with the Voice I’ve come up with an answer to my own question: not very cool. The six billion individuals that we at the Voice can potentially reach out to seriously dwarfs the 1700 students that tune in to watch In Focus each day. The magical part of the Voice is that our words can (and do) influence people from all around the world: children in Europe, mothers in South America, and even my grandpa in Hong Kong. I’ve said it once and I will say it again; I’ve fallen in love with the Voice.

My experience with the Voice, however, would have never been the same without the presence of seven of the most intelligent and funny editors anybody could ever ask for. Most of these editors have been a part of Voice since it’s creation three years ago and all of the editors will be graduating this year. So here’s a huge digital round of applause and a (non-alcoholic) digital toast to Kristen Barta, Jimmy Chen, Timon Karnezos, Moonway Lin, Laura Mitchell, Thomas O’Connell, and Huda Shaikh. Three other seniors who deserve mention are Dominic Littleton, Anna Luskin, and Taylor Whitfield. Thanks guys.

Next year I will join three talented individuals (Doreen Bloch, Kristie Flatley, and Elena Marinelli) in what is the largest leadership change the Voice has ever experienced. While we will never be able to top the achievements that our outgoing editors have accomplished over these past three years, we sure will try. Here’s to hoping that we may continue the Voice’s strong tradition of excellence for many years to come.

–Nathan Lui

To study or not to study (May 31, 2005)

Well, here it is, those last two weeks before we say goodbye to Paly, only to return in two and a half months, but that’s not the point. The point is that by the end of these two treacherous weeks, I expect to find myself hospitalized with numerous ulcers in Stanford Hospital. Yes, I’m an end of second semester junior.

Fortunately, I only have one actual final, my other classes include big unit tests (as my teachers call them) or pointless projects that take more time than studying for the class would. The reality of the fact is that I have more things to accomplish than I even have time for.

Roughly eight weeks ago, I got back from spring break. I had just taken my first college visiting trip to Southern California and upon my return got the highly anticipated, “you have eight more weeks left and it’s time to buckle down” talk from my parents. I thought nothing of it because well eight weeks is two months and two months is a long time. As far as I was concerned, it was going to be all right for me keep letting the days sail by. Little did I know how quickly the last two weeks were approaching.

I find myself in uncharted waters. Finals are approaching rapidly, but the weathers getting more and more enjoyable, and the last thing I want to be doing is sitting in a poorly air-conditioned classroom waiting for the bell to ring.

Here I am again in the same spot I’ve been for the past eight weeks, pondering the same daunting question: to study or not to study?

— Jessie Ebert

Awards Banquet (May 27, 2005)

As a freshman, I had heard of how great our journalism program is at Paly and how I should get involved right away. Unfortunately due to health issues, I did not join Voice until my senior year. Now, as it is all coming to an end, I am just beginning to realize how incredible our publications are–all of them–and how lucky I am to be a part of it, even if only for a year.

On Tuesday, we all came together to celebrate our accomplishments: Voice, Verde, Campanile, and In Focus. The competitive rivalry between publications was forgotten for the night, as we enjoyed slides and videos, and applauded each other’s achievements. It’s difficult to believe that we, here at Palo Alto High School, have one of the best, if not THE best journalism program in the country.

I had my doubts about Voice, that it may not be as rewarding as Verde or Campanile, that no one would read my stories, that our staff wouldn’t bond as well as other staffs, etc. But, in the words of our own editor-to-be Nathan Lui, "I fell in love with the Voice." I really did. Our staff, which seemed like a bunch of random, Verde/Campy rejects and tech bunnies at first, soon became united under a common goal: to make our web site the best. Not only did we accomplish that goal, I think we had a lot of fun doing it.

So for all those who have doubts about Voice, or journalism in general, I urge you to reconsider. Just take a look at our final products and you will see what you could be a part of. To all those who are already in the journalism family, I want to congratulate you on your great work, and also say thank you, for adding to an important piece of my high school experience.

-Taylor Whitfield

http://voice.paly.net/view_story.php?id=2989

http://voice.paly.net/view_story.php?id=2520

http://voice.paly.net/view_story.php?id=2204