Highland High School - Shield Yearbook (Highland, IN)

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What ' s It All About ? Survi ving The Life Surviving • it ' s taking all life can give, the good and the bad, and then coming up the winner. As we continue our everlasting journey towards shore, it sometimes seems that the problems outweigh the happiness; but as we become more experienced on the journey, we learn ways to deal with problems. When growing up, our parents were the ones we turned to when a problem arose. They seemed to be able to take care of just about any situation. Now we realize they don ' t know all the answers; however, we go to them still because they are eager to try to understand and help. Sometimes it ' s not comfortable to tell parents about certain problems, so we turn to friends. They may not be able to give an answer to the problem, but just sharing the problem makes it feel a bit lighter and easier to cope with. There are times when there is n o one who can help with our problems. At times like this we must go within ourselves to find the answers. We have to dig deep in our souls to decide what is right for us. When the problems and pressures become too much to handle, many of us find ways to escape and avoid them. Many simply avoid the problems. They block them completely out of their mind and pretend they don ' t exist at all. The problems get put off until they absolutely have to face them. This The Decision. Many students try to escape problems only to create others: all must make decisions. 24 Escapes

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Future, Cont ' d problems that the future holds! A world full of problems that cause us all to worry. College, work, money, our future, national troubles, getting a car, and just being accepted by people for being yourself add to the pressures of life. Whatever the pressures are the individual must remember to be strong and face them head on. Thinking of the future. Tammy Scott and Jim Salatas talk about the times to come. Decisions, decisions. There are so many colleges to choose from that even picking one out is a problem.

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What Mow? Sandi Sarti finds answers from her mother; always a sure way to get help Within Myself. Sometimes the big decisions can only be made by searching within one ' s self. Will We Make It? gives them time to relax and get themselves together and ready to hit the problems head on. Television and movies provide an easy route to flee from problems. Students can sit in front of the tube or sit in a dark theatre and step from their lives into the lives of the characters on the screen. They can take on the personality of their movie or T.V. heroes and pretend to be in total control. Through music, we can let our problems drift into beautiful noise. We can let music fill our soul and ease the tensions and pressures of the day. Mellow music may simply bring the person to think about what is going on inside his head, while hard rock lets students jam out and forget about the things on his mind. There are good ways to help us escape and forget for a while; however, some routes of escape only cause more and more problems. Some students turn to drugs and alcohol to leave their problems. It ' s easier to just get high or stoned than to face the problem at hand. The drugs give students a temporary high that gets them away from the immediate problem. Once they come down they have to come back into the world and face their problem which now is even worse. By using drugs or alcohol the student has made a new problem for himself. He may become dependent on drugs or alcohol to solve all the problems that may arise in his life. Being dependent on drugs makes a person become a prisoner of his life. He can never totally be free because he can ' t face life. Students also literally run away from their problems. They pick up and leave home, hoping to find a place to escape from their problems. By leaving home, however, only more problems are created. They may leave a certain problem back at home, but they also leave their family and friends. This can lead to a new problem called loneliness. Physical exertion is also another way to break away from the problems we face. While working out, the mind becomes so involved in what the body is doing that problems are forgotten. Sometimes the mind transcends to another dimension, like in meditation. The mind is set free to calm itself. Problems have always and will be part of our lives. No matter how hard we try, there is really no way to avoid or escape their grip. They can only be solved by coming face to face with them. As we continue our journey we will meet many more people and gain many more experiences which will help us solve our problems easier and faster. We will get the courage to face all the problems we meet head on. Escapes 25