Jan. 19: Creek schools had just had their first couple weeks back from winter break. The students were starting the second semester. Many kids like myself and my friends would go skiing on the weekends and get up into the mountains for a small break from normal life. “I go quite a bit actually, I love being with my friends and being able to absolutely shred,” said my good friend, Joe DuMont. Joe and I ski a lot and enjoy the time in the mountains. -Staff Writer Jonathan Trigg

Jan. 19: As a sophomore, I was looking for extra volunteering hours to help with my application for the National Honor Society at Creek. Soon enough my family and I stumbled upon Freedom Service Dogs – a nonprofit organization that trains and gives out service dogs to veterans, kids with Autism, and many others. I love this volunteering opportunity because – after a few classes – anyone can pet and treat one year old puppies to help this organization. “I like to do it because it helps people with disabilities and traumas to cope with what they’ve been through,” said my dad, Geoff Seckman. “I like to help train their dogs so that one day the dogs can help those people.” In January, before COVID-19 really hit the United States, my family went in for two hours every weekend to help enrich the puppies; we would read to them, teach them tricks, and just play with them. Since we can no longer go in to see the puppies, we are fostering one named Burton every weekend. I’ve really enjoyed this experience and recommend it for anyone who enjoys volunteering. – Feature and Managing editor Madison Seckman

Jan. 26: This is Snappy. She’s twenty years old, paralyzed in both back legs, and a permanent resident of Carson Nature Center. I began volunteering at Carson in eighth grade for my What Do I Stand For project, a required service project for all Campus Middle School eighth graders. Since then, I’ve gone once every month, running the front desk at the nature center and caring for the animals, like Snappy, the common snapping turtle. January was normal: I hung out with Snappy on the floor while her tank was being cleaned. She’s an extremely sweet turtle, if that exists, and she’s lovely to spend time with. February was also normal. But after that, I didn’t return to Carson Nature Center until October. By then, the head employee at the nature center had been laid off, visitor numbers had severely declined, and Snappy had fallen severely ill, nearly dying before miraculously recovering and becoming her normal self again. It was weird returning to the nature center. I’ll never get the normalcy of January back. – News Editor Carly Philpott

Feb. 18: It was mid-winter break for students in NYC and my family decided it was time to go on a trip. We went to Texas! This photo captures the Texas State Capitol located in Austin, Texas. One thing to note is that my family and I love to travel, but this was a totally different experience. We got to go inside of the building while people were working. The interior of the building was beautiful, filled with amazing artwork that just made the experience so much cooler. Of course we couldn’t touch but that was ok because just seeing it was enough. We walked around many chambers and offices and got to see where they hold meetings and such. I’m Not really one for history but this place was honestly pretty cool for a 132 year old building. One thing I noted all throughout Texas was their love for showing off their giant state. You can find many decorative pieces of their state all around, EVERYWHERE: restaurants, murals, sidewalks, the list goes on and on. Here we were, New Yorkers roaming around in such a new place like tourists, yuck. – Staff Writer Aila Monlouis

Feb. 27: French teacher Angela Moreen makes crepes with her students during Ethnic Fest. Many clubs provide food like egg rolls or boba tea, and other services like drawings. There are also live performances that include dancing and singing. Ethnic Fest is a way for these clubs to raise money and educate people on what they do. This was taken before we went into lockdown and it was a shock seeing crowds of people close together. – Editor-in-Chief Hannah Edelheit

Mar. 6: Roughly a week before the first complete lockdown, when no one knew the proportions this pandemic would take, I was surprised after coming to school with what by far was the best gift of 2020, my cat, Lin. “It was cool we got him when the pandemic started. I wish we got him sooner because we missed his early months and because he is baby now, imagine then,” said my brother, Andrei Machado. Lin has just completed one year of life on December 14, 2020. According to purina.com the first year of a cat’s life is equivalent to its late teenage years. The second picture was taken Dec. 14. – Opinions Editor Gio Machado

Mar. 14: It was mid-March when I went to the grocery store for the first time during quarantine. I was shocked at how empty the story was of necessary supplies. I’d heard of the toilet paper and paper towel shortages, but I hadn’t yet seen it – this was the moment when I realized how real this pandemic was. “It was kind of like when there’s a big snowstorm, and everyone buys everything out, except that I’d never seen the entire produce section gone,” said my dad, Bill Philpott, who I was with at the time. “I’ve never seen the entire meat section gone. Everything was just gone, and that was when I realized that our supply chains could be seriously disrupted.” In a not-so-strange turn of events, margarita mix was also completely absent from the shelves. – News Editor Carly Philpott

Apr. 13: One of my best purchases and early birthday presents this year helped my cave of a room appear a bit brighter after I had spent most of my time there during quarantine. After days of digging through old furniture and boxes in the basement, my dad and I dug up our old stereo set from the early 00s and connected it to my new record player. I can’t exactly put a finger on it, but there’s something satisfying when the needle goes over dust on my dad’s old records from college that’s blasted on an outdated bass speaker that takes up too much space. I guess you could say it reminds me and my dad of our childhoods. “It transports me back to my youth when that was the only way to listen to music,” my dad, Jason McCauley, said. “It’s good to remove yourself from technology and go back to a simpler time.” After listening for hours to Pink Floyd and Peter Gabriel in the dark, my record player let me forget about my small room, remember happier days, and have hope that the future would be better. – Editor-in-Chief Jane McCauley

Apr. 25: I had been stuck inside for a month already. Couldn’t go to the grocery store, my grandparents’ houses, or even ride my bike without wearing a mask. We didn’t even have school. I knew I wasn’t the only person experiencing this loneliness and lack of events, so I decided to make something for people passing by my house to enjoy. Buried on a shelf in my garage was chalk from when my sister and I were in elementary school. I picked it up and went out onto my driveway. On my phone was a picture I’d taken earlier in the year of a butterfly in my flower garden; I decided to draw a butterfly on my driveway. “I was proud the my daughter felt the need to inspire others,” said my mom, Kristy Seckman. “Through the hours of her work – which were so lengthy that her fingertips bled – she spread joy to others in a time of uncertainty.” My goal was to bring hope and happiness to everyone I could as they walked or drove past my house during the early days of quarantine. The best part of it was watching people walk by and smile when they saw it. It brought me joy to bring others joy. – Feature and managing editor Madison Seckman

May 10: This was about the part of quarantine where my friends and I were all sick of meeting up in parking lots and catching up for 30 minutes, then going back home to sit in our rooms for 3 more days. We started going on hikes. Almost every day we would be waking up at 3:30 to be catching the sunrise. We would go all over the place, and it was really one of the greatest summers I’ve had, even though it was mid-lockdown. – Staff Writer Nate Meredith

May 29: No Justice, No Peace. The first rally I had attended in 2020 was anything but “lowkey.” Fights broke out while debates over Black Lives were subjects of speeches and chants among young people. Tear gas and fireworks went soaring in all different directions around the main capital plaza as sirens roared and young adults sang the names of the black victims taken too soon by police brutality. “I think in our modern day society, especially as a young person, it’s hard to get your voice out there. Going to rallies and protests has helped me express what I believe is right and helped fuel that desire to promote change. It makes me feel like my voice matters,” Vivianne Hartford, a junior at Heritage High School, told me. These are the people on the front lines for creating change. These are the people who are fed up with the familiarity that comes with the faceless names of the men and women in uniform behind these killings. These are the people screaming, “Times up! Let’s rise up!” in the streets, staring authority in the face, marching up to leaders in the flesh, demanding Justice. Demanding change. Demanding peace. Before I had heard anything about the rallies, the marches, the riots in my city, I had started to feel more and more powerless. Petitions and re-posts had become one of the only things I felt familiar to me now as I sat at home, comfortable. But something about Elijah McClain made me uncomfortable. Made me want to get up and fight. Made me want to be a part of this movement. This revolution. – A&E Editor Bre Mennenoh

Jul. 11: Usually there are kids that play at the park by my house. Due to restrictions, it was closed and this climbing wall was left abandoned. My neighborhood, which generally hosts an annual block party, remained completely empty. It was a huge change to go from super busy to completely quiet. I missed seeing other people and didn’t realize how isolating this summer would be without my friends. It also solidified the idea that large gatherings were not going to happen for a while. – Editor-in-Chief Hannah Edelheit

Jul. 20: As I completed my third year in the United States in February 2020, it seemed that I was getting, and would continue to get, more and more distant from my friends from my home country, Brazil. Brazil, however, had an incredibly similar, disastrous situation as the U.S. when it came to dealing with covid, which caused me and my friends from Brazil to be in lockdown and homeschooled at the same time. “If anything, we [my friends] talked less because we would see each other in class every day, but it was natural for us to FaceTime almost daily since we can’t survive without each other apparently,” said my friend Luiza (second from left at the bottom in the picture). “The good thing is that you could be included more frequently since the time zone difference didn’t matter that much since we were all home all the time.” Today I can say I’m the closest to my Brazilian friends than I had been for a long time. It was nice having at least one good thing to take away from this useless year. – Opinions Editor Gio Machado

Aug. 8: The air was cooler and fresher. The sound of the wind across the lake seemed to soothe away the stress of the past five months. The isolation was much needed. Camping and getting away in the mountains was a way for me and my family to distract ourselves from the chaos that was happening in the world. For two days of bliss almost every month, we would disconnect from the internet, forget about our incapable government, and spend alone time reading our books and having long conversations around the campfire with the stars above us. “It was a combination of adventure and escaping from the pandemic and the election,” my dad, Jason McCauley, said. “Being in a world where you might as well be the only person was my favorite part. Plus, getting chased by a moose was quite exhilarating.” The days after we came home were always the quietest and most peaceful, and they seemed to be happy dreams before reality set in again. – Editor-in-Chief Jane McCauley

Aug. 15: That was the day when the fires were really out of control. I remember how thick with smoke the air was – the entire city looked like a warzone. I had walked out of my room. The sky, like the world, was bleeding. A red carpet draped the wall, spilling into the room like cranberry juice that had overflowed. The shadow was a result of the smoke and it lingered there for days. “I remember that day. We were looking out the window, and it felt like the world was ending,” my mom, Elissa Deitch, said. “There was COVID, and now, there were fires. It was really sad.” Things have gotten better and we have started to heal, but it’s clear the damage caused by the fires left a scar on the heart of Colorado. – Staff Writer Lily Deitch

Aug. 30 – A year after the tragic death of Elijah Mcclain, a rally was organized by fellow friends and family members to speak up on the police brutality and systematic racism wreaking havoc on the community. The march, which was also sponsored by the Party for Socialism and Liberation, started at the Aurora Police Department in hopes to reach the Capital before dark. “It gets dangerous at night” Damien Russel, one of the party organizers told me. “That’s the time Elijah had to fear. As soon as that sun goes down, every black persons a threat to the badge.” To Damien, we’re not only marching for justice, we’re marching for peace. – A&E Editor Bre Mennenoh

Sep. 20: My girlfriend and I enjoyed a COVID-19 safe hike on the weekend. Due to the pandemic, many people, including myself, were forced to enjoy safer activities. “There is still a lot you can do, you just have to get creative, like going on a hike!” said student Elizabeth Ross. I got used to doing things outside this summer and trying to limit the amount of people I am with. While this is hard, I know it’s the right thing to do in order to keep myself and others safe. – Staff Writer Jonathan Trigg

Sep. 21: When the world first shut down in early March, I don’t think I was the only one who thought that it wouldn’t last long. Maybe we’d be out of school for a little longer than the original two weeks, but certainly my summer plans would stay the same. Certainly I’d still get to go to camp and to visit my grandparents in California, and most definitely this would all be over by my birthday in late September. But as COVID continued to ravage the world, I found myself celebrating a much-dreaded quarantine birthday. It was much too dangerous for my Californian grandparents to fly out, not to mention against every health guideline, as my grandmother had been diagnosed with cancer right before quarantine started. So my birthday dinner was just my family and I. Even my Coloradan grandparents, who live all of five minutes away and who I normally see weekly, were only able to visit after dinner – sitting masked in my living room as they watched me open presents. “I hated the fact that I didn’t get to spend [my birthday] with Grandma, Grandpa, Nana, and Papa,” said my brother, Peter Philpott, who turned twelve in quarantine back in May. “I got to open gifts on a Zoom call with Grandma and Grandpa, but it was not nearly as great as getting to have dinner and cake with them.” That night, after my birthday celebrations, I found myself returning to the same routine and stress that had already accumulated in just one month of school. It was as if nothing had changed, because nothing had. This picture was actually taken two days later, on my new phone that I’d gotten for my birthday, of my turtle, Abby. It was a rare moment where I’d gotten to relax a little. – News Editor Carly Philpott

Sep. 27: Baseball is a huge part of life, and in the midst of a global pandemic, the season was still going strong. My 13 year old brother plays competitive travel baseball, and the team becomes a family very quickly because we spend basically our entire spring, summer, and fall together. It was rare to see people wearing masks at tournaments. Every team spent hours and hours together, creating a general trust that nobody was going to get the virus, and nobody ever did. Of course, if grandparents came they wore masks just in case, and we stayed away from other teams’ parents. For me, the constant baseball activity was the best part of the year, as it gave me something to do almost every day of the week. “Watching them play was one of the most normal things of 2020,” my dad, Craig Knobbe, said. “It was a nice break from all the craziness.” – Sports Editor Raegan Knobbe

Oct. 17: It was an hour long car ride to get there, and we weren’t even sure we would get to play. I stepped out of my dad’s truck into the Boulder Soccer Complex to see the ever expanding plumes of smoke billowing out of the Rocky Mountain tops. The world was on fire. “It was unnerving to go from no fires in our immediate area, to being completely surrounded over a four or five week period, and ultimately evacuating due to the Cameron Peak, CalWood, and especially the totally unexpected East Troublesome fire,” Larry Seckman, my grandpa and a full time resident of Estes Park, said. “Before the evacuation, our anxiety was compounded by being cooped up by COVID-19. It was hard for us to even go outside to exercise due to poor air quality from soot and ash. 2020 will be unforgettable.” I didn’t fully grasp what it must have been like for them until I was there in the moment, seeing the fire so close to me and breathing in the fumes myself. I’d heard about the Cameron Peak Fire on the news, but witnessing it in first person was deeply depressing. I thought of all the people and animals who were losing their homes to the fire. And, I feared for my grandparents. – Feature and Managing Editor Madison Seckman

Oct. 31: Halloween is a night full of fun and joyful, often terrifying entertainment. It is commonly depicted in cartoons alongside a full moon, but a full moon on Halloween is just the opposite of common. It only makes sense that of all the years a moon could have been full on halloween, 2020 would be the chosen one. Halloween night of 2020 was memorable in more ways than one. A full moon on halloween is a rare occurrence, only happening once roughly every 19 years. Interestingly, The 2020 October full moon was the first to occur on Halloween in 76 years. One of my closest friends and I had planned to spend as much of the night as we could outside, in order to fully appreciate the rarity and brightness of a full moon on the night of halloween. We dressed up in costumes in the warmest way possible, and set out into the moonlight. My friend and I finished our trick-or-treating late, and settled on a field. We couldn’t help but keep repeating, “It’s so beautiful,” in reference to the bright moon. The moonlight had made it easy to spot the elaborately decorated tables set out for trick-or-treaters, so staying distant from neighbors made no difference to the amount of candy we acquired. The moon was so beautiful that I decided I needed pictures better than the blurry iphone camera could supply. My friend graciously drove us to my house, where I stole my brother’s telescope. The telescope pictures were beautiful, but I realized the ones taken with an iPhone camera, though blurry, were more beautiful because of the way they captured the moonlight. – Staff Writer Jane Parker

Nov. 7: I was volunteering at Carson Nature Center when my brother and mom texted me saying that Biden won the election. I had to have my dad take over the front desk at the nature center because I was so overwhelmed. I don’t think I’d been that happy since mid-March – for a moment, it felt like everything was okay. I took this picture of the Drudge Report website, a formerly conservative news site, on the nature center’s desktop computer while my dad went outside to call his sister. “I felt a great sense of relief and hope,” said my aunt, Kath Costa, who was the second person to text me with the news. “[But] I still feel like it will be awhile before we’re out from under the damage [Trump] has done.” It’s a big regret of mine that I wasn’t able to go downtown and celebrate or at least witness the celebration of the results of the election. – News Editor Carly Philpott

Nov. 14: COVID Birthdays became a bland day, knowing you couldn’t celebrate like you usually did back then. People began to Zoom and FaceTime with friends and family, or have presents delivered days later to their doorsteps from others. It was my mom’s birthday that day. We all gave her flowers and made her breakfast this morning, but our biggest surprise was when a family friend came over to celebrate! We all wore masks and stood 6 feet apart, chatting and wishing birthday wishes. The adults had a glass of champagne at 2 o’clock in the day, and we all were freezing in the cold weather. “We haven’t celebrated like THIS before!” said my dad Arthur Yagudayev when coming out of the house in the freezing cold with a glass in hand. “It’s something really special,” said Galya Strukova, one of our friends that brought the party to our door. I hope that everybody that celebrated their birthdays this year has celebrated to the fullest, and enjoyed all of the nuances and people around them. There are more birthdays ahead, and I’m sure your quarantine birthday is the most memorable.- Photo/Art Editor and Design Editor Ethel Yagudayeva

Nov. 22: To say the least; Red Rocks Park and Amphitheatre empty, as expected. My family and I went out & drove to Red Rocks as a way to get out since we’ve been inside due to working at home. Not to mention, the only times we really went out were to walk the dog or do little grocery shopping! We arrived and walked around for a little, it wasn’t crowded at all. The few people there were running up and down the steps of the theatre for they were probably trying to get their steps in just as my family. Either that or just to enjoy their surroundings as it wasn’t filled with sweaty crowds, or maybe that was just me. – Staff Writer Aila Monlouis

Nov. 26: When my Great Grandfather got COVID-19 right before Thanksgiving and was admitted to the hospital, my family began to prepare themselves for the worst. But it seems my great grandpa is a real life superman because, at 98 years old, he defeated the coronavirus with a joke and a big smile. On Thanksgiving my entire family got on a zoom call with him, set up by the wonderful nurses at Porter Adventist Hospital, and the first thing he said was, “Guys, I got the virus!” For anyone who knows my great grandpa, this joking behavior was expected. He used to be a urologist, and his mental function is so crystal clear that he was in the hospital instructing the doctor on how to insert his catheter. At one point he said, “Jim, make sure the food on my counter gets put back in the fridge, and I need some new batteries for my hearing aids.” Jim, my grandpa, just laughed and assured him that the tasks would be completed. This was not a dying man’s behavior, and I was truly touched by his resilience, as well as the love my family demonstrated by calling him on Thanksgiving. – Raegan Knobbe Sports Editor

Dec. 1: I was staring at my screen. It was the fifth time this song had come up in the past hour. I was tired of studying and spending the day looking through a tiny box. But, here I was – holding one in my hand. Music had been a really good thing for me lately. It took my mind off of all the craziness that had been going on the past few months. “I think, probably, most of the world is feeling like that,” my mom, Elissa Deitch, said to me when I would tell her how I was feeling. “Everybody would rather go out and see their friends or do something fun, but if that’s not an option, it’s great to have some kind of escape.” It felt like an eternity ago when I had listened to the same songs with my friends, not even aware of what was coming. – Staff Writer Lily Deitch

Dec. 5: It was supposed to be a nice day downtown with my girlfriend, Sam. The weather was pretty, and so far, not too many crackheads. Then, out of nowhere, to our side we hear a huge uproar. “STOP THE STEAL, STOP THE STEAL!” Right when I saw the American flags I knew what it was about. It was a massive crowd of about 60 people, and I could only see about 5 wearing masks. I don’t care which side you’re on, or what you’re protesting for, but this is the reason that the mandatory lockdown keeps getting extended. “It’s so ironic,” Sam said. The fact that they are protesting to get their freedoms back, when they could possibly be spreading the very virus that’s been keeping us all locked up for the past year. – Staff Writer, Nate Meredith

Dec. 8: We’ve all been lonely in quarantine. That’s a no brainer. I know that many people, like myself, decided that quarantine was the perfect time to bring in a new household member. Meet Hubert (Hughie) Valentina Seckman, a two month old teddy bear Syrian hamster. Norah Seckman, my sister, and I bought him as a new friend to keep us company while cooped up in our house. “Hamsters are really cute, and I’ve always wanted one,” Norah said. “So, when my dad let me get one, I was happy to do it – especially during quarantine.” The more and more comfortable he gets in my house, the happier I am staying here at home because I love watching him be well. Having a pet during these crazy times makes life just a little bit better. – Feature and Managing Editor Madison Seckman

Dec. 9: My heart beat louder and louder in my chest as the doctor came closer and closer to the hood of our car. My mom was having the worst symptoms. Cough, fever, chills, everything. I was just facing a bit of drowsiness and nausea. For me, this test was the only way to get any sort of relief. My mom has never been in one state for over a week at a time and up until now, because of her work, a flight attendant for United Airlines, that was never a concern. But after coming back from a Thanksgiving rush, mainly deadheading to Florida, Texas, and New York, some of the biggest hotspots in the country. “It’s really hard right now. For all of the front line workers. What is guaranteed however is getting tested. Getting tested, staying home, wearing a mask,” Mark Warner, one of the COVID testers, told me. – A&E Editor Bre Mennenoh

Dec. 12: We moved to our new house at the beginning of the year, before everyone was in quarantine. At that point, the park behind our house was always filled with a bunch of people, either fishing, playing tennis, or with their kids playing at the park. Since quarantine, there has rarely ever been even one person there. “I used to see lots of people in the park,” said Jason Foster, my dad. “But now I only see a few people. It’s very quiet.” We’ll sometimes take the dogs out for a walk around the park. It’s very sad to see all of the tennis courts and the pool empty, even when it’s not snowing outside. – Staff Writer Lydia Foster

Dec. 27: I never would have imagined that the pandemic would have lasted this long. Maybe I should’ve known it would, or maybe I did know and I was just denying it to keep myself sane. But from the very beginning, I never thought we’d still be in this situation by Christmas. It didn’t even cross my mind. Christmas has always been very important for my dad’s side of the family, and we were dedicated to somehow making it work and making it as normal as possible. As we got closer to the date, however, it seemed less and less likely. My cousins, who live in Virginia, were unable to come. But after completely isolating ourselves for two weeks, not even leaving our homes to go to the grocery store, my family was able to drive the five minutes to my grandparents’ home in Greenwood Village, and we had a (relatively) normal Christmas. After months of only seeing them to drop off groceries, and only speaking through masks, I was finally able to hug my grandparents. But when we left on Dec. 27, we realized that we were about to go back to the way it had been: masked always, far apart even when we were close. It was a near-full moon, and I took this picture as we all said goodbye. My grandparents’ house is a place I’ve frequented since I moved to Colorado at the age of three, and now I barely ever set foot inside. The pandemic has not ceased taking things away. – News Editor Carly Philpott