Horror is my favorite movie genre. More specifically the gorey, slasher movies, where you feel like throwing up, but you just want to keep watching. I don’t know where my love for these types of movies developed, but ever since I watched Andrés Muschietti’s IT I just couldn’t get enough. After that, I watched more […]
This is my last article of the school year, and my last article while I’m here at Countryside, so I wanted to say goodbye. I’m sad to have to go, but I hope you enjoy–this show is really one of the few things I love near as much as Countryside. 🙂 Spy x Family […]
This is my very last article, and I wanted it to be memorable. As some of you know, I will be moving onto the next chapter of my life. I will never be a student at Countryside anymore. With great sorrow (and much love), I present to you my very last article, a goodbye. My […]
The Beginning In the last article, I touched on the beginning of Genshin Impact and what I planned to write about the rest of this series. The first article can be found here. After learning how to use your new power, you continue towards Monstadt City when you come across a girl in red. This […]
Welcome back, to, “Mattox Rates Genshin Characters!” I am your host, and this is a continuation of my series. You can find the previous articles here. Let’s get started! Sangonomiya Kokomi This is Kokomi’s official birthday art, displaying her doing… a little dance…? Yeah, and she’s smiling at the camera with her little horns. (Source) […]
There is an old folktale with a king and his three daughters. One day, the king asked his daughters how much they loved him. This was to find out what the next queen would be. The oldest and middle daughter complimented their father, while the youngest said that he was “more precious than salt.” The […]
If you read my other article, you probably know that I have always wanted to go to Universal Studios Florida. I had never thought there were more rides than Hagrid’s fun roller coasters. For me, I am not much of a thrill person. (This is a picture that my mom paid for when the ride […]
Splatoon 3 is my favorite game in the world right now and nothing compares to it. The thing is most people think it’s for kids. For me Splatoon is a very complicated game and people do not appreciate it. In Splatoon your character is called an Inkling or an Octoling. You can switch between a […]
Welcome back to the second article in my series of “Rating Genshin Impact Characters,” where I talk about some of my favorite characters in the game Genshin Impact. If you haven’t read my previous article (and other Genshin Impact based articles), I suggest you do, because that does some explaining in the matter, which you […]
Hello one and all, I would like to talk to you about Genshin. “But Mattox, there are already so many articles on this topic!” Yes, but no–because I am going to be talking about their gacha system! Now, you may be wondering, “Mattox, what is gacha?” Gacha, at least in this case, refers to games […]
In 2023, Hoyoverse came out with a new game called Honkai: Star Rail. This is their first major game since Genshin Impact, and I’m very attached to Genshin, so I wanted to try out their new game. I haven’t played that much, and some of my opinions may change. I won’t go into the game […]
Ballet used to be entertainment for rich Italian nobles in the 15th century. Over time, costumes, music, and stories evolved. By 1681 ballet moved from the courts to the stage. Nowadays, there are scores of different ballets. Some are hundreds of years old, and some are far younger. Many are tragic romances, others are classic […]
Hello, everybody. After a lot of pondering over what to write my third article about, after coming to my friends for help on this cluelessness on what to write, I finally decided to write about my favorite game, Genshin Impact. Genshin Impact is an RPG based in the wonderful world of Teyvat where you get […]
The 2023 Grammys–don’t even get me started. It was a disaster. I can say for sure that it’s one of the worst Grammys ceremonies I’ve seen. This is why I call them the Scammys, to show how artists were scammed out of an award. The Grammys is an event held by the Recording Academy to […]
This article is the second in my series of three, and it is still about my recent trip to California. This trip was full of rushed airplane rides, trolley cars, and seeing some amazing sights. I enjoyed this trip so much, and I want to write about all the interesting adventures we had visiting the […]
Intro: Welcome to the third part of my series of articles about self defense. So far I have covered ground self defense, the blocking grid, and a little bit into pressure point flows. This article analyzes more of the pressure points. I will show you the rest of the pressure points on your body. If […]
When I was in third grade my friend told me about a new ride where you can feel the fire on your posterior. I wanted to go to Universal Florida. For four years I have been dreaming about going there. When I got there and saw the Universal sign, I was so happy. I wanted […]
If you know me, you know my whole personality is basically Taylor Swift. Taylor Swift did this. Taylor Swift said that. Well, being a Swiftie has been my personality since 2011. As soon as I could walk, all I would do was play Taylor through my princess CD player. Even my sister, who’s loved her […]
Hello! Later this year, Hollow Knight: Silksong, the second game by Team Cherry, and sequel to the critically acclaimed Hollow Knight, will be released. The original is a platformer RPG where you play as a little dude uncovering the secrets of the ruined kingdom of Hallownest. Silksong follows a similar format, but this time focuses […]
Welcome to part 2 of my series about self defense. Part 1 covered ground self defense, which is a type of self-defense. Ground self defense are the moves you can use to defend yourself when your attacker gets you on the ground and is on top of you. Now we will cover principles of self-defense, […]
As most of you already know, over Spring Break of 2023 my family and I traveled to Japan. We went to many different places, mostly including shrines, temples, and gardens. We saw a lot of locations where people go to pray and learned a lot about Japanese culture over the period of eight days that […]
Who doesn’t love desserts? I, for one, am a big fan and love to try out different places. You would think that a small town like Champaign wouldn’t have that many choices for dessert but you would be surprised! Today I will be writing about my top five places to go, in order, whenever I […]
As many of you readers may know, I have come to build a serious love for the Chicago Bulls, maybe even too serious. Everything the team does on the court, off the court, and in the Chicago community ever since I started watching them has had me hooked. From explosive halftime shows, celebrities in attendance, […]
I have written many articles about the Met Galas, and as this might be my last article here at Countryside I figured I should end on one too. The Gala has hosted many stunning and jaw-dropping dresses and clothes throughout the years. But I feel like sometimes celebrities think that the more outrageous the more […]
Warning: Spoilers for various Mega Man games. This is part three of my series that’s ranking all the main Mega Man games. If you’re not familiar with the series, check part one for a plot explanation. Since we are currently at the final part of the series, the top four, all of the games listed […]
Here is another part of the Maker Faire: Behind the Scenes series! Nicolle S. starting to make a batch of donuts and donut batter. Photo by: Me. Ella F.’s daily cookie spread, trying to find the best chocolate chip cookie recipe. Photo by: Me. Kaitlyn Y. gluing one of her rings. Photo by: Me. […]
Recently I have been thinking about redoing my room in the spring or summer. I want something that when the seasons change it is easy to change the aesthetic. Small decor for each specific season is what I have been looking for and I have found a couple things to implement in the spring and […]
Do any of you have siblings? Young ones? That sister or brother that just gets on your nerves? Most people know that I have eight siblings, and it can be a lot. Luckily, sometimes something happens that makes you enjoy having them… It is late at night and my younger brother, who shares a room […]
While this is somewhat of a tangent from my previous two articles, it still retains relevance to art in video games. We will be discussing the world that player freedom opens up to video games and, therefore, art. Video games contain many parallels to film with the ways that cinematography, artwork, dialogue, etc. are produced […]
Cars are an unhealthy option for transportation. There we go, I said it. Before I go through all my reasons, I want you to tell me how cars are worse than methods of transportation such as walking, cycling, and taking public transport. Do you care about global warming? Cars are worse. Do you care about […]
A couple of weeks ago I was in my basement and decided to look through my family’s photo albums. I was looking at photos of my sisters and me when I found my first grade Halloween costume. I have decided to share that photo and the rest of my Halloween costumes from preschool to seventh […]
I have a dog and her name is Hobbies. She’s a wheaten terrier and she’s very dumb. In the three and a half years we’ve had her she’s done some pretty funny and stupid things, like trying to bite water or eating just anything she can get. Today I will tell you these stories. So […]
I’ve been wanting to write an article about Genshin Impact for quite a while now. I started playing Genshin back in January, 2022, and have grown to love the game from its voice-acted quest dialog, to its gorgeous visuals and graphics, and even some of its more… questionable character designs (Yanfei… I’m talking about Yanfei). […]
If you read my last article about Maker Faire, then you saw all the progress of everyone, so I’d like to share more projects with you! Layla Z. working on her final product, based on ancient Chinese embroidery. Photo by: Me. Aliyah E-W working on her very original “Aliyah Square.” Photo by: Me. Allison W. […]
Hello! As the title has suggested, today I’m going to be talking about logical fallacies. I’ll be honest, this is a very niche topic. Whenever I bring it up with anyone I know, they respond with a confused “huh?” and change the subject. I’m hoping to share some of the fallacies I find most interesting, […]
At first, writing about a city on the other side of the world proved to be difficult. Changchun is my mom’s and her mom’s hometown, and I’ve only been there once at eight months old—but have no memories of it. I wondered just how exactly I would manage to put the spirit of Changchun into […]
This week, I was having trouble thinking of something to write about for my article. I asked around and got a very passionate request from Kaitlyn to rate my top-five drinks from her (and also my) all-time favorite franchise, Starbucks. So, I’ll be granting her wish! Number 5: Strawberry Acai Refresher The Starbucks Strawberry Acai […]
Going to a bad restaurant could ruin a perfect day, while going to a good restaurant would make the day even better. Top qualities of restaurants include service, location, and obviously the taste of food. Today I’ll be writing about the top five best restaurants in Champaign. While writing this article, I couldn’t come up […]
Here at Countryside, everyone comes up with unique ideas to create something great. From fondant flowers, to pottery, to short animated films, all students work hard to put on an amazing presentation of their talents for families to see. Walking through the halls, and visiting rooms to take pictures, I’m quite wowed by the unequivocal […]
Ever since I was in sixth grade, I’ve wanted to take a trip to Norway. It’s wildlife, beautiful snowy mountains, and bright skylights are what excited me the most. Although I have never been, I can picture myself there every now and then. Norway’s mountains and Northern Lights image found here Norway is known for […]
