With the abundance of negativity around us, hope seems to be a thing of the past. People live in fear of terrorism. Melting ice caps are exterminating arctic animals and drowning islands. Racial tensions are spiking. It’s like the world is falling apart, Archer City, Texas, included.

We go to school in portable buildings with no lockers and carry backpacks whose straps snap from the weight of our books. We walk a mile just to eat lunch, and now, we pay for the same food that was free last year. One act play has to rehearse in the cafeteria. Band practices in the gym and is constantly interrupted by the people walking through. In athletics, coaches have left and players quit or change schools completely, abandoning their teams in the middle of the season. Then injuries seem to take out the players still there.

In the midst of all these trials, it’s easy to become overwhelmed by the bad. Human nature draws us to negativity, and therefore, it overshadows the good. But when we focus on the setbacks stacking up against us, we miss the abundant blessings around us.

Life in the pods has made us more flexible by forcing us to adapt to less-than-ideal situations. Although OAP doesn’t have a stage to perform on here, they’ve been able to practice on the stages of their competitions. Despite losing their band hall, several band members still received all-district and even  all-region honors. UIL academics is off to a strong start, finishing third out of 17 schools at their first meet in Haskell. Elementary, middle school and junior high are following their lead, as they finished second in their district competition.

Our teachers go above and beyond to help us succeed; they’ll hold a tutoring session on a Sunday for a stressed algebra class; they write recommendation letters for us with one day’s notice of the deadline. Also, our school offers abundant resources to help students receive a higher education. They pay for 15 hours, a whole semester, of college credit, and just by filling out the scholarship form, seniors who plan to earn some kind of degree after high school will receive $2,000 thanks to the windfarm budget. Don’t take that for granted; college is crazy expensive.

Though it isn’t always shown on the scoreboard, our sports teams are very successful. The Ladycats have been to the regional finals three years in a row and earned our first trip to state in volleyball. Six girls received all-state honors, not just for their athletic ability but for academics as well. The basketball girls finished second in district and claimed an exciting Bi-District Championship. In softball, the girls made it to the regional finals and are looking at another strong season. The Wildcats won district in baseball last year, and several boys and girls advanced to the regional meet in track.

This year, it seems as if the boys have it rough, but they are proof that there’s more to sports than winning. Persevering through hardships develops a stronger character in them, which will prove to be an important quality in all of their future endeavors. We also have incredibly loyal fans, who will drive over two hours to a tournament and be in the stands before the team even takes the court.

All around us, people are giving back. The middle school held a canned food drive. National Honor Society members participated in Harvesting Hope to donate meats that can only come from a USDA plant to the Wichita Falls Food Bank where Peer Assistance and Leadership students later volunteered. PALs also served lunch at Faith Mission. About 50 students participated in Teens Make a Difference and volunteered around the community. Student Council has already hosted one blood drive and has plans to hold a second one, as well as an assembly to raise awareness about the danger of tobacco usage. Everywhere, people are helping others.

Though negativity seems to be more prominent in the world, good things are happening all around us. People choose to highlight life’s disasters, but it doesn’t have to be that way. Be the one who chooses to have hope and focus on life’s blessings.