The Long Hard Road

Toes on the line, she focuses on the rim. As she dribbles the ball, the sound echoes throughout the empty gymnasium. The fluorescent lights shutting off one by one in that ever-so-familiar sound. The last minutes of practice tick-tick-ticking away. 

She shoots the free throw like hundreds of times before, a drop of sweat rolling off her already saturated shirt, cascading down to meet an inevitable fate. Barreling through the air reaching out to anything to slow it on its journey until it hits the floor. 

Crashing off the rim she runs off to rebound her shot and gather up her things. As the coach shoos her out for the evening one thing still remains. That drop of sweat, one of thousands, on that court and many like it, remains there. 

According to an article put out by the NCAA, every year roughly 400,000 high school students across the world put in the time and effort to be able to play women’s basketball competitively on a collegiate level. With only 4.1% of them achieving this, and only a staggering 1.3% doing it on the Division I level. 

Makinna Serrata is one of this tiny percentage of students. She is currently a student-athlete at Texas A&M Corpus Christi, playing women’s basketball in the NCAA Division I Southland Conference. Getting here was not easy, it was a long and arduous journey. A journey that started long before now, back on that line with the lights fading, and that drop of sweat. 

The Drive

What would drive a person to strive for such a challenging goal, Tiffany Younts would reflect back to the first tumbling classes that her daughter took. Younts recounts how within days she was moved up to tumble with the older group. 

“She just has a passion for competing and being the best, which brings out the passion when it comes to sports,” Younts said. “She doesn’t half-ass anything.” 

This was simply just the start of her athletic career. Tumbling would lead to little league baseball, volleyball, track & field, and of course basketball. Serrata states that sports were just always present while growing up. “I grew up around guys, and I was the only girl,” Serrata said. “So I would just play ball with them.”

In just the sixth grade she had already begun practicing with the high school basketball girls. Waking up early during the holidays or summer breaks just to go to practice with them. “She put in the time and hard work when the coach was not asking her to,” Younts said. “She dedicated herself to sports and loved every minute of it.”

It was at this time that Serrata made a decision that would shape her life. The decision to set a goal that sounds outlandish, but within reach for someone willing to sacrifice for it. The decision that no matter what, she was going to play Division I basketball.

“From junior high, she told me that she would play for a Division I school,” Younts said. Now with her mindset on this daunting goal, there was only one thing left to do; reach it. 

Hustle & Heart

The next few years of pursuing this goal proved to be full of challenges for Serrata. There were many obstacles on this road, one of which was the school she attended. Serrata went to McMullen County High school, a small 1A school in the heart of South Texas. 

With large powerhouse 6A schools receiving most of the attention of college scouts, it is hard for an athlete like Serrata to get on the radar. According to an article by USA Today High School Sports, it just comes down to the fact that college coaches just do not have the time and resources to travel to every high school in the country looking for recruits. This was the first step for Serrata, just getting noticed.

“We had to find a way to get her seen,” Younts said. “I, as her mother, have never been in this situation so there is the second challenge we both had to overcome.”

Serrata eventually joined a couple of club teams that would play in tournaments that scouts regularly attended. This did not take away from her school sports though. Her long-time coach Tony Taylor can attest to this. 

“In the fall she played volleyball, in the winter basketball, and in spring she did track and field,” Taylor said. “She would make all our practices and still go off to practice with her club team.” 

This along with her academics would leave Serrata spread thin. “There would be times that I would finish practice at school,” Serrata said. “And then I would have to drive an hour and a half to make it to my club team’s practice.” As the end of her high school career neared though, this hard work would prove to be all worthwhile. 

During her junior year of high school, the offers started flowing in. First for sports like track and field or volleyball, but Serrata turned those down, staying true to her goal that she had set years before. Until she was approached by a coach from Texas A&M Corpus Christi. 

The Next Level

That was the beginning of the end for Serrata. The end of a goal set long ago, an achievement that was seven years in the making, but it is also the beginning of a new goal. A goal to be the best athlete she can be for her team, and to be a good Islander. 

With toes on the line, she focuses on the rim. As she dribbles the ball, the roar of the crowd echoes in her ears. The light of the camera flashes dances across her eyes. She shoots the free throw like thousands of times before, a drop of sweat rolling off her already saturated jersey. Silence spreads through the gym interrupted only by the crisp sound of the ball sailing through the net. 

As they fast break back down court one thing remains on that line. That drop of sweat, like millions of others like it, symbolizing the accumulation of the countless hours on hundreds of other courts. A symbol of all of the hard work put in. A symbol of the long hard road. 

COVID vs. Small Businesses: A matchup for the decade

The sharp clicks of the high heels echo across the empty showroom floor with each step. The cavernous room only illuminated by a single beam of sunlight that dances across the linoleum tiles. The ink bleeds into the fibers of the paper as Nanette Holman signs the lease. 

“This is it,” Nanette said. “The next step in growing my business.” Things have been going well with the previous location and so expansion was the next reasonable option for Holman. After all, what could possibly go wrong?

Backtrack to the beginning

In the wake of all of the madness following the spread of COVID-19, many things happened. Grocery shelves have been emptied, self-quarantining became the new normal, the economy has declined, and small businesses took a hit. The Pink Cactus Boutique is one of these.

The business was going well, in fact, at the beginning of the new year, things were going better than ever according to long-time employee Cheyene Garza. Sales and growth have been steady, to the point where their boutique was starting to feel a bit cramped and too small. “We were kind of outgrowing the space that we were in,” Garza said. “So we began looking for a place for the business to grow in.”

The process began in November of 2019. A location was found and the new store was coming together nicely. Orders were made for new decor and for new products to fill the sales floor, with a grand re-opening date set for March 20, 2020. Everything was on track until the unexpected happened.

As March rolled around, the concerns about this new virus, COVID-19, began rapidly increasing. When the doors finally opened to the public, these concerns caused poor turnout, attracting only about 20 people, according to Garza. However, it would still not be the worst of the situation. 

In the coming days, the store would be labeled a high-risk location and would be forced to close its door to the public in the meantime. Affecting not only the business owners but the employees as well. 

“Workdays are few and far between, and my check for these past two weeks was only about $90,” Garza said.

Trying to keep things afloat, the staff at The Pink Cactus Boutique worked hard on ways to get their products to the people. From posting products to their Facebook page, setting up an online platform, offering curbside service, and even putting on Livestream showcases for their customers to shop through. 

“Times are hard, there is nothing we can do about that,” Garza said. “We can only try to keep our heads above water long enough for this all to subside.”

Pressing through the pandemic

For the first few weeks of the pandemic, keeping their head above water is the only thing that they could do at the Pink Cactus. With restrictions at a peak, there were days when Holman was the only one allowed in the store to fill orders.

This was how things ran until May 1. On that day, they were granted much-needed relief, as restrictions in Texas loosened and businesses were able to open their doors back up to people. 

Although this resolved some of their initial problems, it also introduced them to a whole new set of them. 

The most prominent of these problems was getting the store ready for customers to come in. In an interview with Holman she shared how important she felt implementing sanitary precautions was for her business. “I have got to think about the customers walking through that door.” Holman said. “If they don’t feel safe, they will not shop.”

As the weeks passed, the restrictions and tensions about COVID-19 seemed to ease. Garza talked with me about the increase in foot traffic she saw throughout these weeks. 

“Life is slowly going back to normal and people come in and shop more frequently.” Garza said. “And some people, they just come in to talk.” 

This blissful reprieve from obstacles only lasted for a month though. With sales slowly picking up, new merchandise was needed to restock the store. 

Much of their distributors are located in population-dense areas, more specifically, Los Angeles. Holman explained how, other than the initial shutdown of the pandemic, this was the biggest obstacle they faced for the business. 

“Most of the fashion industry is based out of Los Angeles, and right now they are under very strict orders.” Holman said. “So getting orders in can be unreliable, with some being filled within 48 hours to some taking a month or longer.”

Problems of the present

The next and final obstacle that the Pink Cactus may face however lies in the possible future. Holman stresses the importance of the fourth quarter of the fiscal year for small businesses like her own. “The fourth quarter is when we make the money that helps us through the bad times.” Holman said. “About 50% of our revenue in the fiscal year comes from this quarter.” 

According to an article by Houston Medical Leading Medicine, the second wave of COVID-19 may occur soon. The article states the research has found that SARS-CoV-2 is gaining momentum through naturally occurring mutations capable of producing mutant viruses that can escape vaccines. 

If this second wave causes another shutdown like the one that occurred at the beginning of the pandemic, all of the hard work done by Holman and the staff at the Pink Cactus will prove futile. 

Defying the odds  

Despite all of these issues that The Pick Cactus has faced throughout this pandemic, they are doing better than most. In fact, according to Holman they are having the best fiscal year ever. “We have actually doubled our numbers,” Holman said. “ I do not know how, but we have.”

At the beginning of the pandemic, the switch to a new location was a prominent worry. Opening a new location is hard enough on its own, not to mention piling on shutdowns and restrictions on top. 

This actually may have been beneficial to the store though. With the pressure of the pandemic, their hand was forced to provide alternative shopping sources. Garza explained how this really sped up the production of their online site. “The website was just an idea when the shutdown occurred,” Garza said. “But just weeks after Nannette had the site up and running.”

Now the site brings a significant amount of revenue to the store. Holman explains that with their increased online presence, they are not only getting sales from locals. “Most of our online sales come from out of town or out of state.” Holman said. 

Although the year did not start the way they wanted, it has not been all too bad. The store has faced great adversity but met it with even greater resilience.

The sharp click of the heels is now drowned out by the sound of customers. The once empty showroom is now filled to the walls with the merchandise. The Pink Cactus did not just survive but thrived. 

Critical Movie Review: Tenet (2020)

Complex film director Christopher Nolan’s latest film, “Tenet,” brings a whole new mind-altering perspective to time travel in cinema, with intricate scenes that show time and items moving forward as well as backward.

The film follows The Protagonist, played by John David Washington, a CIA agent who is thrown into a new and dangerous world of espionage tasked with one simple mission, to prevent World War III. He embarks on this mission armed with only a single word that will open all the right and wrong doors, ‘tenet’. 

Nolan weaves complex webs. Like many of his other films that came before, such as “The Dark Knight Rises” and “Inception,” this film takes a very non-linear approach to storytelling. The film’s main storyline is told within a time loop, with many others loops throughout. Like these past films, “Tenet” takes a bold step in what is considered possible in cinema, with mind-bending action scenes that leave the audience amazed.

The film’s use of orchestral music throughout its soundtrack helps set the mood and intensity throughout the film. As the music swells, the tension seems to increase leaving the viewer on the edge of their seat until the fading music relieves them. This factor makes the music element in the film equal to that of the visuals. Ludwig Gӧransson, a Grammy- and Academy-Award-winning composer, created these musical feats. Following the theme of the movie, most of the instrumentals and vocals were augmented immensely. In an article by Broadway World TV, Gӧransson talks about his work on the film and how much the cinematic elements influenced the music. “The score is full of inverted sounds and illusions,” Gӧransson said. “I spent a great deal of time taking familiar sounds and manipulating them -- both organically and digitally -- so that it reflected the complex world of ‘Tenet.’” 

Gӧransson and Nolan worked together diligently to perfect the music for the film. Not only creating music and sounds to create a narrative around the film, but around each character within. Making the reader feel the emotions that Nolan intends to portray. 

Cinematically, “Tenet” pushes the boundaries of what can be done, whether it is with the film’s jaw-dropping stunts or complex fight scenes. 

George Cottle and Jackson Spidell, the film stunt and fight coordinators respectively, had to start in advance to the film due to the complexity of many of the fight scenes. With time flowing in opposite directions, for each scene, they had to make two different fight choreographies. This creates mesmerizing fight scenes that captivate the viewers. 

A factor that makes this film incredibly impressive is Nolan’s dedication to not using a green screen or CGI in this movie. With many large and intricate action scenes, this feat seems nearly impossible. They conquered this obstacle by taking bold action like renting out eight miles of highway and crashing a Boeing 747 airplane.

With a captivating storyline that keeps the viewers’ eyes glued to the screen and mesmerizing action scenes, it is no wonder why it has received much praise from numerous critics around the world. “Tenet” may be just the movie the film industry needed to jumpstart itself in the wake of our COVID-19 pandemic.

Brother Jed: The Infamous Campus Evangelist

COLLEGE STATION, Tx. - As the spring semester begins and settles back in on the Texas A&M campus, so do the students, the winter weather, common colds, and of course the infamous Brother Jed. 

Over the years, Jedfest and Brother Jed have grown to be a constant here on the A&M campus, so much so that it has become almost a tradition. Brother Jed otherwise known as Jed Smock has been coming to our campus for several decades. As a matter of fact, Smock states that he has been coming to preach here on campus “virtually annually since the early ’80s.”

Smock is best known across campus for his loud and extreme form of evangelism which he preaches to the masses on campuses across the United States. He screams out to students about how their lifestyles are damming them to hell and why this is so. He claims that this is a part of his technique. Smock said, “The shock and awe factor grabs their attention, so I can then tell them the wrong in their ways.”

This is not always how Smock was though. As a matter of fact, back in his younger years, he was the exact opposite. In the ‘60s, as a professor of history at the University of Wisconsin, he had gotten involved in the radical drug revolutionary movements during this time. It was during this time that he, “turned onto the drugs, tuned into the hippie scene, and dropped out of my professor position.” 

This led Smock to the northern shores of Africa, more specifically Morocco. It was here while living in a hippie commune where he found his faith and purpose. “There was a man on the beach, carrying the cross, preaching in the name of Jesus.” Smock said. “It made me realize that I had never read the bible before. And I didn’t have to get that far into the New Testament, to determine that if the bible is true I am going to hell.” 

This was Smock’s turning point in his life. He returned back to the United States to devote his life to god. This is when he started to preach on campuses and since then he has visited, “hundreds of campuses, in every state and abroad.” And the rest is history.