Matthew R. Powell on Kevin Xiong

Kevin Xiong has been called many things. When he ran for vice president in freshman year (in a mock election), he was dubbed "the X-factor". As any mathematician knows, x is a mysterious variable. x is a number, but what that number is, nobody knows. the goal of the equation is to find out what x is. so what (or who) really is x in this case? we have the equation. we observe kevin as he makes tens of throwing stars or other origami creations, and we wonder to what end. we hear him ask questions in math or spanish that range from intelligent to atrocious and we roll our eyes or hang our heads or stifle laughter. does he look for a reaction in the audience or an answer? i think it's the latter. kevin asks everything thats on his mind, and, while he may have a sub-motivation sometimes to entertain his classmates, i believe that kevin really is, first and foremost, looking for an answer. kevin's color, as with all those who have many questions, is green. the riddler wears green, and, as anyone who wasted 2 hours watching batman returns will know, the riddler's costume was riddled with question marks. so next time kevin asks a horrendous question, go ahead and smirk, but secretly commend him for having the inquisitiveness to keep asking day after day.

Compilation Playlist

Mallory- "Most Recent Perfect Playlist"
1. "Upward over the Mountain (Live Version)" - Iron & Wine
2. "One Big Holiday"- My Morning Jacket
3. "Sweet Disposition"- The Temper Traps
4. "Tripping Billies"- Dave Matthews Band
5. "Long Way to Go" -Corey Smith
6. "Taylor"- Jack Johnson
7. "The Heart of Life" -John Mayer
8. "Forever Young"- Youth Group
9. "Best Rapper Alive"- Lil' Wayne
10. "Prom Queen" -Lil' Wayne

Andrew- "Eminem Playlist"
1. Kill You
2.Til I collapse
3. Lose yourself
4. Old Times Sake
5. Elevator
6.Forever
7.Rain Man
8. Mockingbird
9.The Way I Am
10. Forgot About Dre

Embry- "Boat Music"
1. Mr. Blue Sky - Electric Light Orchestra
2. Walkin' On the Sun - Smash Mouth
3. When the Sun Goes Down - Kenny Chesney
4. Son of a Son of a Sailor - Jimmy Buffet
5. Banana Pancakes - Jack Johnson

Athie- "Autum Playlist"
1. Build Me Up Buttercup -The Foundations
2. Ain't No Mountain High Enough -The Temptations
3. Sweet Caroline -Neil Diamond
4. Chicken Fried -Zac Brown Band
5. Don't Stop Believing -Journey

Rachel- "Road Trip"
1. Don't Stop Believing - Journey
2. Respect - Aretha Franklin
3. Homeward Bound - Simon and Garfunkel
4. You've Got a Friend - James Taylor
5. There is a Reason - Alison Krauss and Union Station


Allen- "I'm mad at my laptop, and don't care to get over it!"
1. Get Back-Ludacris
2. One Step Closer-Linkin Park
3. Cry Babies(Oh no!)-Ludacris
4. Zerstoren-Rammstein
5. Gematria(The Killing Name)-Slipknot

Matthew Powell- "Playlist for Just Chilling"
1) Two Weeks- Grizzly Bear
2) The Prayer- Kid Cudi
3) House of Cards- Radiohead
4) White Sky- Vampire Weekend
5) No Other Way- Jack Johnson
6) Redemption Song- Bob Marley

Zane- "Workout"
1. Drop the World by: Lil' Wayne
2. Bulls on Parade by: Rage Against the Machine
3. Thunderstruck by: AC/DC
4. All the Way Turnt Up by: Roscoe Dash ft. Soulja Boy
5. The Way I Am by: Eminem

Neha- "Lazy Summer Day"
1. Dancing in the Streets- Martha and the Vandellas
2. Under the Boardwalk- The Drifters
3. Soak up the Sun- Sheryl Crow
4. Summer Nights- Grease (John Travolta/ Olivia Newton- John)
5. Toes- Zac Brown Band

Will- "Pissed Off"
1). "Death of Me" - Red
2). "I Will Not Bow" - Breaking Benjamin
3). "Whiskey Hangover" – Godsmack
4). "Out from Under" – Red
5). "Had Enough" - Breaking Benjamin

Helen- "Road Trip"
1. "Send Me On My Way" by Rusted Root
2. "Straight Lines" by Silverchair
3. "Chicago" by Sufjan Stevens
4. "Fearless" by Taylor Swift
5. "Island in the Sun" by Weezer

Perfect Playlist

My Playlist- "Most Recent Perfect Playlist"

1. "Upward Over the Mountain (Live Version)" - Iron & Wine
Iron & Wine have some of the prettiest songs I have ever heard and this song is no exception. I've recently become obsessed with Iron & Wine because of their beautiful melodies and soothing voice.
2. "One Big Holiday"- My Morning Jacket
3. "Sweet Disposition"- The Temper Traps
This song has recently been all over different commercials which kind of ruins it for me, but i still felt like I should include it on this playlist.
4. "Tripping Billies"- Dave Matthews Band
Dave Matthews band makes some of the best music ever. Hands down.
5. "Long Way to Go" -Corey Smith
Corey Smith is the best acoustic, honest, real, truthful music ever. "To live is to struggle and to struggle is to grow."
6. "Taylor"- Jack Johnson
Jack Johnson is amazing, i think everyone knows this. And I will never get tired of this song
7. "The Heart of Life" -John Mayer
John Mayer is also amazing, even if he is a jerk.
8. "Forever Young"- Youth Group
I love this song. Its about wanting to stay a kid forever and that’s really how I'm feeling about life right now.
9. "Best Rapper Alive"- Lil' Wayne
If you have ever really talked to me I've probably expressed my love for Lil' Wayne. I'm obsessed and I really don’t know why.
10. "Prom Queen" -Lil' Wayne
This song doesnt sound like your typical Lil' Wayne song. But it does have your typical Lil' Wayne offensive lyrics.

Kelly Baker

I sit next to Kelly Baker. I guess the first thing you should know, and my most favorite thing about Kelly, is that she is Lactose Intolerant. The fact that Kelly is Lactose Intolerant is very important. Her inability to process mike products practically defines her in mine and Libby’s mind. We constantly make fun of her for it and laugh every time she pulls out one of her lactose pills. Im sure she really hates us for it, but we do it out of love. Seriously Kelly, we love you for it.

Another random thing about Kelly is that she has a freaky-blue-squishy-bump on one of her fingers that won’t go away. It’s awesome. A lazy Susan is to blame for it.

Kelly is actually the most similar to me out of all my friends. We’re both kind of quiet and very shy at first. We very rarely talk a lot in any class and we never like to be the center of attention. We are also both very rational and calm people. Also, I think, fairly mature for our age and always have been. Kelly, you are one of my only friends that I can talk about UK Basketball with, and I really appreciate that. Kelly is one of the nicest people I know. She is very genuine and kind. She truly cares about people and their feelings and that’s a really great quality to have. Kelly’s a great person and I’m really glad to call her my friend. I’ve know Kelly since the 6th grade, she was one of my first new friends at Winburn. I’m so happy that she and I have become close this year.

If I had to give Kelly a color it would be a peachy-orange, because she’s just a sweet, kind, and gentle person. And I love her.

Allen!!!!

I'll start with the basics. We met in second grade at J.R. Ewan my first year here in Lexington. Along with Kayla, we've gone to the same school since then. Nowadays, he practicially lives at Henry Clay, him being an athlete (football), a musician (percussionist, marching band member in the summer), and an academic all at the same time. But despite all this activity, Allen still finds time to listen and to hang with friends.

One of the craziest but most protective people i know, Allen would be the color orange, like his Jeep. While some might say red, orange represents endurance, warmth, fun-loving, action-oriented, and strength when faced with adversity. A mix of energetic red, expressive yellow, and a touch of honest brown, most people can't help but tolike him (sure explains how he can get all buddy-buddy with teachers and principals). Never hurts to be attractive too-big brown eyes, a warm smile, and muscular arms that are fun to poke at.

While there's a lot more I could say about Allen, it'd take forever to write...plus he would kill me if I revealed too much. So there's a just a bit about him (insert smiley face).

Natalie

Since andrew so rudely decided not to write about his actual seat partner (me), I've decided to write about Natalie instead, both to spite him and because she wanted me to. Natalie's a great girl. I still remember the first time we had class together, Mrs. Barbour's freshman citizenship. We had great times in there, and i vaguely recall her talking about some utopia thing. I didn't understand what she was talking about at all, but her essay was very original, and I appreciated her effort.

Here are a couple of fun facts about Natalie, or Natalia as she was known for a period during freshman year.
1. She is an outstanding student. Having A's and B's in a program like the academy is no small feat, especially with teachers like Mr. Holloway.
2. She swims like a dolphin (or so I've heard). Natalie is on the swim/dive team for Henry Clay, and always does a great job at meets. I don't actually know if thats true or not, having never been to a swim meet, but I assume so because she's good at everything she does.
3. Her favorite animal is a polar bear. I don't know why, but I'm guessing that she digs those coke commercials that they run around christmas time with the polar bears and the penguins.

In conclusion, Natalie is a person that I am glad to have met. She's just an all-around great person to be around. If I were to have to give her a color, I'd say that she's yellow, because she's always so bright and bubbly. Or purple, because she's wearing a purple dress today. Take your pick.

He's not Asian, but...

His person reminds me of yellow. Actually, the first color I could think of when pondering what to write about Connor was blue--but that's only because I keep picturing that white and blue striped polo he wears sometimes. When it comes to personality and character, however, I definitely think of yellow.

To me, yellow represents excitement, hope, and brightness. And I mean "brightness" as a sort of "he can just bring up anything to talk about to anyone." Or maybe it can be better defined as talkative... Whatever, "bright" is a better word in my head. Of course, this doesn't mean I always thinks he's happy and upbeat. It just means that I generally think of him as a bright and happy person.

Now, aside from his personality, this guy's got quite a brain. From what I know, he's good at just about every subject--except History, of course, but who's actually good at that? (rhetorical question!) He's a great essay writer, the guy people go to for Physics answers, and the one who's always got a way to explain how to do number 38 in Section 5-8 in the AP Calculus book. In fact, he's a math level higher than this Asian--preposterous!

Outside of school, he plays the trumpet and piano. He gets all kinds of trumpet solos at band concerts, and he learns the most ridiculous songs on the piano by ear. With his friends, he's always concerned about their well-being and puts his best friends before him. Connor's a great guy, and if you haven't taken the time to have a nice conversation with him, you're missing out on some good times.