Highland High School - Shield Yearbook (Highland, IN)

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‘I was here ■ No one cared’ “There was a small room off to the side of the gym at our school which the student council advisor used to store all of their junk Being the caring ' student council advisor that I was I would go into the room practically every day. And there sitting in a wooden chair right by the door inside the room was a young girl. I didn ' t know her, she was not a member of our council, but every day she was there Every once in a while I ' d say hello and smile, but usually I was just too busy to stop and talk. Then one day I went into the room and she wasn ' t there. It was as if someone had removed a piece of furniture. And there written in MARKS-A-LOT on the wall above the chair were these words, ‘I was here today, but nobody cared. This was a story told by Mr. Phil Gugliuzza who is the State Secretary for the Louisiana association of Student Councils. His point was simple, Be ware of the people around you who lack your friendship. Don ' t be too busy to day “hello ' ’ to a person who seems to disappear into the woodwork. They need you By shutting themselves in, they are desperately reaching out to anyone that will reach back. You can be that person. The term placed on these individuals is invisible . Most of these people are the “outcasts ' who are not invisible by their own making but rather by that of others, including ourselves. Many of us close our eyes to them as though we were too good for them or we take the attitude that there is nothing we can do to help, so why bother. But bothering them would possibly be all they need. So many invisible students are just afraid that they were to take some initiative, so they don ' t. So as a message to bothe the “invisible and the brightly shining, reach out to someone and let them know you care, and do it now. It really is important. Mr. Phil, as he is known throughout the country, left us with this story of a young man who reached out to him. “I received a call from a young man in Texas who simply said Mr. Phil, I buried my best friend today, and I never told him that I loved him. Now I II never get the chance. What a wonderful world this would be if all of its leaders were people who really cared. Leadership is a very im- portant thing to us as people, especially this year when we elect our most import- ant leader. We need a leader to keep us organiz ed and always moving in the right direction, but what good is a lead- er if he doesn ' t look back upon those that he is leading? We tend not to trust a leader who in turn doesn ' t care about us. Leaders are often chosen to cure prob- Believe It Or Not They Care. Shelly Erhert and Paige Quigley listen to the problems of a friend. lems for us, but in all fairness, a leader should cure problem with us, A leader Is not a person who will do everything by his or her self, but rather a person who will use his leadership ability to join together all those hero s he leads into one working force. To do this he must understand his role as leader not to be a controlling one, instead one of caring for those under him. In such a case, his subordinates will care about him and in so being, help him. Such cooperation makes for an effective leader. ? Bionfc 23

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Have you ever seen a wounded bird, and wanted so to help? Have you ever known of pain, and wished you could cure it? Then you’ve felt care . . . Please, Give it. Have you ever hurt, and been afraid to call out? Have you ever cried, hoping for some understanding Then you need care Please, reach for it. Have you ever hugged a friend, kissed your Dad, Said to Mom “I love you. Your chances are few; Do these things now . . . Please, with me. One of a teens best and most caring friends in a time of need is often of the same gender. There are so many times when one needs a friend to tell his or her problems to. Often a friend can pull you through some of the times you feel are the most trying experiences in your life. Also, a friend does not focus on or point out faults you may have, instead they are able to look past those faults and see only your positive abilities. When your mind is so full that it may burst, a friend will let you unload without making you feel like your push- ing it off on them. They accept you and understand you like no one else will ever be able to. They just seem to appear everytime you need them; It ' s so nice to know that someone out there cares about you, he she is Puppy Love. Keren Hemphill shares some lime with her friend Don Hammer end e mutel friend. 22 Bionic

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Homecoming Reving Into Spirit It begins in the heat of August and doesn ' t end until that chilly Friday night. We spend months just preparing for an event that is over in one day. Hours and hours go into folding and fluffing flowers. Well, maybe there was just a little bit of goofing around going on, but not too much. We never did any of the silly stuff at float meetings like those other classes. We always worked feverishly to finish our float. None of our float meetings got so carried away were people got thrown into a pool. No sir. Our float meetings never got out of hand. Those months of preparing were well worth it. To fire everyone up f or Homecoming week everyone dressed up according to the designated day. Days ranged from hat and tie to western day. The amount of students who participated was great. It seemed as though everyone really enjoyed dressing up and no one was at all embarrassed. Why should they be embarrassed, they only dressed up to show their support for their team.