In my mom's desk drawer

If I had one wish,

One thing to come true,

What would I wish for?

What would I do?

Would I wish for a sailboat, a car, or a plane?

Would I wish to be special, or simply be plain?

If you had one wish,

What would you do?

Wish for a friend, for love, or for peace

All these are good, respectable, and true

But all I would wish for,

Is a mother like you.

I love you mom.

Love,

Zane

(Written in 2013 as a gift for mother’s day)

Social Suicide

Several years ago, there was a social media account created that "ranked" girls at Timpview according to their looks.  This account created such a stir that it was reported about on local news, and the administration had several direct addresses to the student body about it.  The account stopped posting, but the response to the account didn't seem to discourage others from creating accounts like it.  This year there was another account created, used solely to bully Timpview students. This is an article that I published on timpviewnews.com in response to that account:

Dear Readers,

Throughout our school’s history, social media has been used to bully, harass, and put down other students.  This year through timpviewnews.com I have tried to change the mindset regarding social media at Timpview because I want everyone to know that Timpview is a genuinely good school--that the best students in the world go through Timpview.  I refuse to recognize the offending accounts’ names, as to not propagate the harassment, but I would like to directly address some social media accounts that were created recently.  And readers, I want to talk to you.  To be frank, I am disgusted.  I am disgusted that accounts created to slander, denigrate, and corrupt Timpview have been able to gain following more quickly than accounts created to uplift, innovate, and inspire.  I am disgusted that good ideas, good work, and good people are getting trampled by students who prefer laughter at other's expense.  I am disgusted that we do not realize the path that we are on as a school.  I am reminded of two of Mohandas Gandhi's seven deadly sins:

Pleasure Without Conscience

and

Knowledge Without Character

because I believe that Laughter Without Caring is something we suffer from.  As a collective student body we would rather laugh than feel, we would rather mock than sympathize, we would rather hate than acknowledge.  I would like us to remember the consequences of bullying.  It never ends well.  It isn’t an issue that is ever just laughed about and then dismissed because bullying is never funny.  So, what can we do?

As I look at these bully accounts, I ponder what it means to “follow” them.  The definition of follow is to accept as a guide or leader; accept the authority of or give allegiance to.  I would be scared to attend a school in which we accept the authority of someone who bullies others.  I would be scared to give my allegiance to someone who doesn’t value my feelings.  What we can do, and what we should do, is shun these accounts.  We should shun bullying, drive it out of Timpview, because all it would take is a few extra pills, a bullet in the chamber, or a tall building for the bullies to realize what they and their “followers” are doing.

Dreams

I wish that I could text her, tell her how I feel.  But that would be different, and people don't like different.  I wish that I could tell her how often I get on her Instagram, how often she's on my mind, how I dream about a future with her.  I wish that I could send that second text in a row, and not have to come up with an excuse. But I can't speak about what I really do, because what I really do is dream.  I live in a world where the dreamers are crucified by common sense, and crippled by rationalization. Under the guise of friendship a friend or a teacher will say, "Let's make this realistic," or "Now back to the real world."  And they "help" us, dreamers, to come down to the "real world." For they do not realize that it takes courage to dream big.  It takes courage to tell your friend that a girl you met 7 months ago makes you feel like you can fly.  It takes courage to send that text that says "You are special, and I knew it from the moment I met you."

Dreamers, to the few of us left, you are not alone.  I too have been laughed at because of my dreams.  I too have been called weird, and given funny looks.  And sometimes, I follow my passions because I am too scared to follow my dreams.  But it is us, dreamers, that make life interesting.  Because rationalization and common sense are boring, and It’s the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting.  And I hope that you wish, like me, that we can dream as big as we want.  

What I said to BYU in 246 words

If I could meet the admissions committee, I would ask them to consider who I really am, far beyond what’s reflected in my grades, ACT score, or extra-curricular achievements.  While I’ve had some successes in those areas, what really defines me means far more.  I am defined by my genuine desire to, forever and always, change the world around me.  As a student at Timpview, I created timpviewnews.com and changed the journalism program; I’ve asked everyone to “See Timpview Differently,” and they have.  I am defined by my choice to pay for college with my own money, not money from a trust fund.  I am defined by my choice to sacrifice time with friends to spend time with my little brother.  I am defined by the fact that my grades, while not perfect, are honest.  I am defined by the way I care for the people around me.  In truth, I am defined by my love of writing.  And I am defined by how I am responding to my trials.  I would encourage the admissions committee to consider who I’ve become since losing my parents and siblings: a person committed to fulfilling my potential, just the kind of student I think BYU is looking for.  I would encourage BYU to take a look at some things I have done, beyond my application.  Look at timpviewnews.com, look at my blog (zopenshaw.blogspot.com), and consider me, Zane Openshaw, for what I am really defined by.