BY Rayne Wilcox
LifeAtStart.com Reporter

School is back in session after the long winter break. I think it was winter, anyway. A new semester has begun and some people will still choose to fail a class, while others actually care about what they get and try to get good grades.

First semester was hectic in my classes, including journalism. Some people chose not to do the work that was honestly really easy to do. I always think. “Why don’t people care about their grades?” I may never know the answer to that question. Which saddens me.

You should always care about your grades. We live in a society where your grades reflect where you go in life. Do you want to go to prison? Or, would you like to have a good job, money, and a family?

The choice is ultimately yours. Make a good one and make this year, your year.

BY Kaylah Kislan
LifeAtStart.com Reporter

It has been said that the most influential leaders not only think a certain way, they carry themselves a certain way. In a study conducted by Amy Cuddy, a researcher at Harvard University, body language proves to boost confidence and lower stress. Not only does body language affect how others see you, it affects the way you see yourself. It has to do with your body’s hormone levels in various postures.

For example, you may be nervous or shy going into an interview. What does your body do? Closes itself. It builds a invisible wall to guard your emotions. People may slouch, look at the ground, and even fidget. This causes an increase in cortisol, the hormone in our bodies that is responsible for regulating stress. Automatically, when we have this posture, our brains say, “Hey, you’re going to stress out now.” Just like that, your confidence plummets. But what about confidence? There’s a hormone for that too.

Studies from various universities such as the University of Oregon, and the University of Texas, prove that higher levels of testosterone in women and men lead to greater confidence. So how do we boost this hormone? Here’s a hint, it isn’t going to happen by taking protein powder, and hitting the gym more often. It is much simpler than that.

When you feel negative or when you doubt yourself, stand tall. Pull your shoulders back and let go. By acknowledging your posture and body language, you can over come the stress of whatever self doubt you may experience.

What Amy Cuddy’s studies show is that you can boost your self confidence in a matter of minutes by changing your posture. In short, keep your chin up. This simple old adage we all seem to forget can be a life saver.

BY Andrew Russell
LifeAtStart.com Reporter

Since 2007 when Iron Man came out, another ten superhero movies from Marvel, another seven superhero movies from Fox, and two Spider-Man movies from Sony have been produced. That tallies up to 19 films, plus the Dark Knight Trilogy and Man of Steel from D.C. comics. Now, these movies arguably ARE Hollywood today. They’re the ones breaking the box office records every summer, and they’re the reasons production companies are coming up with five-year plans that ensure the productivity of their franchises.

There is an obscene amount of money to be made from these franchises. I like many of these movies, but I hate just as many. It’s not that I want these franchises to end, necessarily. I just have a question: What happens when it’s over?

A lot of people forget, or just don’t know, that there was a dark age of Hollywood followed by its boom in the 1920’s and 30’s. This dark age happened because of the increased affordability of the television, the economic crash, and because of Communism.

Well, not literally Communism, but the reaction to Communism. It was the societal uptake of McCarthyism in America that caused things like the Hollywood Ten trials to occur, in which ten of Hollywood’s best writers and directors were accused of Communism and subsequently banned from working in film ever again. After that, film quality went down for the most part.

Our threat to film quality today, however, isn’t Communism or McCarthyism, but inflation. No, not the kind of inflation that your father complains Obama does nothing about.

Twenty three superhero movies have come out in the last eight years, and over 20 more are set to be released in the next five years. Those are outrageous numbers. The superhero genre will be inflated in a couple of years. What used to be gratefully accepted as a good and faithful film adaptation will just be seen as another installment in a franchise that’s long overstayed its welcome. What we used to look forward to every year or two as something special and to be cherished will become average in its abundance.

So, back to my question. What will happen when it’s all over? The studios will have nothing left to replace their superhero moneymakers. They’ll be rich in a currency that no longer exists, like having a billion Prussian Francs. No one will anticipate their superhero franchises anymore, and they’ll be stuck grasping on to anything that keeps their businesses afloat.

In the not too distant future, the age of the blockbuster will be at an end, and we will plunge into the second Hollywood dark age.

BY Me’Lyea Burton
LifeAtStart.com Reporter

Tomorrow, will awake.

Our dreams,

while big,  will break.

Our fears,

near in the dark nights.

Our stars,

dim out then die.

Our scars,

always remain.

Our friends,

all fade away.

Our regrets,

will last us long

Yet our youth,

passed by us, gone.

Still life must go on…
(reread from bottom to top for a different perspective.)