What do students want to do before they die?

By Jazmin Tapia and Sally Vitela

 South East students speak of their own “bucket lists."

SEHS students share their idea for what they would like to do before they die. This is the ultimate question that many humans think about. Still some never think of it, while others think of this question daily.

For those who consider this question daily, “Carpe Diem” is the motto they live by. They hesitate to wonder what the future might be like, because they know anything can happen in a mere second.

Students at SEHS have far more interesting goals for their future than just achieving the obvious. “Before I die I want to take a vacation at the Maldives Islands,” said Erick Valdez, a junior at SEHS. The Maldives are some beautiful islands in the Indian Ocean.

Valdez is setting a high goal for himself in his own idealistic future and setting himself for excellence in his high school career.

Andrea Chavez, a junior said, “I want to be a Sumo Wrestler and make a big house for homeless people.” Both of Chavez’s ideas are inspiring. It’s surprising to some in California to hear that a high school student wants to be a Sumo Wrestler before their death. The fact that she wants to help homeless people is very caring and humanitarian to do so. Its not so often that one meets people who wonder what its like to be a Sumo Wrestler and willing to try it.

Blanca Siodia, a junior said, “I want to crowd surf before I die.” It could be something very simple for some, but for siordia it is a goal to achieve before her time runs out. Marianna Reynoso, a senior, said, “I want to bungee jump off a building before I’m gone.”

Students at South East dream to achieve what seems impossible for some, but possible for many.

 

Two Winners For South East Idol

On March 25 South East High School’s staff and students attended and voted for the 2010 South East Idol.
The time of the year finally came for SEHS to choose 2010’s South East Idol. The South East Idol winner is determined by the audience, applauses and excitement filled the auditorium.
The winner for 2010’s South East Idol was not one, but two students. Giselle Rivera, a sophomore, and John Belton, a junior, who performed “A Whole New World” were this years winners. It is the first time that SEHS has had two winners for South East Idol. “You have a great voice and John too,” said Ms. Vallens a teacher from the Visual and Performing Arts academy, one of the judges.
The judges had time to make their decision and reduced the number of 13 contestants to the top three finalists. The top three finalists were Sandy Navarro who performed “Sway”, Giselle Rivera and John Belton who performed the duet for “A Whole New World”, and Alejandra Gastelum who sang “Stand By Me”.
At the competition, the judges scored the contestants based on their performance and vocal quality and these six judges were Ms. Chavez, Ms. Ramirez, Ms. Mangiliman, Ms. Vallens, Mr. Orosco, and Ms. Barragan.
The event was held on Thursday, March 25 in the SEHS auditorium, at 6 p.m. The pre-sale tickets were $4 and $5 if purchased at the door on the day of the event. It was free for all SEHS employees.
“This year we have two groups of two people performing duets. We will also be having special guests of the winners from 2008 and 2009,” said Ms. Gragera, the choir director fo the Visual and Performing Arts Academy.
The winner of South East Idol for 2008, Krystle Gutierrez performed first and 2009’s winner, Ashley Bailon performed last, right before the judges made the decision at the end to pick the last three finalists.
Cristian Pelayo, a junior and Oscar Tranquilino, a senior at SEHS sang one of the duets: “Kryptonite”. John Belton and Giselle Rivera performed the second duet, which was Disney’s Aladdin theme song, “A Whole New World”.
On March 4 and 5 Gragera held auditions in room P100 during lunch and after school. Students auditioning were asked to sing a verse and chorus of the song they wished to present. The singers had a choice to perform individually, as a duet, or in a group. Their options were to sing acapella (which means without a track), with an instrument, or with a CD with the selected song.
One contestant Bryan Elias, a junior at SEHS, said, “Well, I feel nervous and nauseas every time I think about South East Idol, but every time I sing, all that doesn’t matter I just step inside the song that I am singing and I close my eyes and soon I’m in another world. I don’t know who will win, but what I do know is that everyone has a chance to win and I only wish the best for all of the contestants.”
After they auditioned Gragera elected 13 contestants that she thought they were able to fit the critiques. “I had a really good job with the auditions, so that’s why I had a really hard time making my decision,” said Gragera.