![MORE THAN A GAME. With two diving catches in the outfield, the Lions showed up defensively, aiding in their victory over the Pacers. One catch was made by Atwood, and the other by McGraw. Throughout the game, the Lions knew that it wasn’t just about their victory today. “I think [playing for cancer] makes it bigger than just a game,” McGraw said. “Knowing that you have a bigger impact in this world than just who you are as one person.”](https://wlhsnow.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/I70A1454-1-1200x800.jpg)
![Students in the National Art Honor Society work on the Mount Hood mural on the window of SouthLake Church. The students brought a variety of paints and mixed their own custom colors. “Instead of brushstrokes, we’re doing more dabbing, because it gives [a] better impression of tree foliage, rather than looking like actual brush strokes, because if we’re painting trees, we need it to look like trees,” Crawford said.](https://wlhsnow.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/IMG_2397-1200x900.jpg)
Amplifier preview: “Emotion behind the lyrics”
A Q&A with two student musicians will be coming out in our first magazine of the year.
At the end of the first semester, the Amplifier will be releasing the first issue of the 2021-2022 school year. Two students; Avery Mickey, junior, and Tiffany Utley, sophomore; were interviewed about their music careers, and how they began making music.
Mickey commonly uses a piano or guitar to make her music on and has taken music classes all her life. Making music is a way for her to express what she is feeling without trying to actually speak it.
“It has kinda helped me control my emotions so I don’t have outbursts at my family,” Mickey said. “Especially when we were stuck at home the entire time.” Writing out her feelings and adding music behind it gave her a whole new way to express emotions instead of worrying about taking her frustrations out on others.
When Utley got a ukulele a couple of years ago she started to create music with it and add lyrics. Learning how to play it and create her own rhythm allowed her to put words that flowed together creating something new to express herself and her feelings.
“It’s therapeutic to put the chords and lyrics that I wrote together knowing that I made a good song with the emotions in the lyrics.” Utley said. By putting her emotions in the lyrics, she could relate to her own music and could create whatever she wanted.
To hear more about their stories, make sure you grab a magazine on Feb. 1 to read it and other good articles. Learn about how your emotions can be put into music and maybe start a new path of your own in music.
Your donation will support the student journalists of West Linn High School. Your contribution will allow us to continue to produce quality content by purchasing equipment, software, and continuing to host our website on School Newspapers Online (SNO). Additionally, donations will go towards paying for the physical editions of our Amplifier. Donations of $20 dollars (as of Oct. 15, 2025) or more will receive a subscription to our Amplifier, which will be mailed to the donator's address (donations made with the intention of purchasing a subscription CANNOT be anonymous).
Mallory Cooper, sophomore, is the Lifestyle Editor and Facebook Editor for wlhsNOW. This is her second year of journalism, and ever since enrolling she...
