What’s one thing you can’t live without?

By: Mia Madelleine Torres (Grade 8)

What can’t WPGA live without?

I decided to ask several people from WPGA one simple question, “What can’t you live without?” I got a variety of answers from our school. 

1. First, we have Zach from 8th grade. There are many things he can’t live without, but the one thing he really needs are his friends and family. Friends and family are important because they are always there for him, they make him laugh, and they make memories together. 

2.  Next, we have Namara Morse. One thing she couldn’t live without is books. Namara has a lot of stressful days and makes sure to relax and de-stress. She does this by reading books. Namara loves reading and she loves to learn. She usually reads before she goes to bed or in the summer on her family’s boat. Isn’t that awesome? 

3. Ms.Wittmann loves to spend time with her cute little animals. She says, “they provide us with support, love, affection and reassurance. They have an innocence to them and the trust they place in us as their owners is immense.” She added that her animals are always happy to see you and that that joy is contagious. Additionally, she mentioned that, “they make us laugh with the strange and silly things they do. It takes time to build trust between you and an animal, especially animals that aren’t cats or dogs, but when you have earned their trust, it is a wonderful feeling. When I had ferrets, I would toss them into a box full of plastic bags. They loved the noise and confusion of all the bags and would joyfully bounce around in the box. If you sat on the floor and looked at the box, all you would see was little heads randomly popping up above the lip of the box and then disappearing back down again. You would hear crinkling plastic mixed with little clucking noises that ferrets make when they are extremely happy. Ferrets take such pleasure in the simplest things, and everything is a toy to them.” Don’t we all just love animals? Come and visit Ms. Wittmann’s hamsters in her classroom, trust me, they are the cutest things ever! 

4. Julia Bishop has an amazing voice and has been singing since she was a little kid. She says that the one thing she couldn’t live without are her choir folders. She said, “The choirs I sing in have changed my life forever. They’ve introduced me to a whole new community of incredible people and allowed me to share the gift of music with an abundance of different people.” 

5. Evie Tomita answered that she can’t live without her friends. We all have those times when we just need a break from everything, right?  Whether that’s taking a walk, watching a movie or maybe stress eating, Evie likes to do it with a friend. She says, “Whenever I have a bad day, or I want to leave the house to do something like go to an event, go exercise, or even when I want to stay in with someone, I always know that there is someone I could call. My friends have helped me get through stressful times and when they are around, I’ve had the best times with them. If they were to disappear I would not know what I’d do!” 

6. Last, we have Mrs. Haider. Besides her super busy schedule (which is mostly marking our papers), she makes sure to leave some time with her family. “One thing I treasure is my family’s “Monday Movie Night”. Each week, my siblings come over and we make dinner together and watch a movie. It all started about a year ago when we decided to re-watch the whole Harry Potter series. We had so much fun, that we just kept picking a new movie each week. I look forward to movie night each week because it has reminded me how important it is to spend time with one’s family. We each take turns making dinner, so we have lots of fun trying new recipes too!”