The McNicholas Milestone

In an effort to better interact with and learn what concerns its audience, The McNicholas Milestone launched the “Ask Abbey” column under senior Milestone staffer Abbey Pour for the second semester of the 2017-2018 school year. The column takes questions from Milestone readers, and Pour answers them to the best of her ability. Questions are published anonymously and can be about anything, but The Milestone reserves the right to refuse publishing any material that could be libelous, in poor taste, or otherwise violates journalistic ethics. The goal of this column is for pure entertainment purposes only. To submit questions for the monthly article, email

– How do I make sure my senior students do not come down with the dreaded, highly contagious senioritis?

Unfortunately, once senioritis takes hold, it is very hard to cure. Students can contract this disease as early as junior year, but it can take time for symptoms to show. Main symptoms include, but are not limited to, a lack of motivation in the classroom, glazed over eyes, and apathy towards grades, homework, and class participation. Ways to counteract these symptoms include movies, group projects, out of the classroom experiences, and a healthy dose of humor. Make sure to have students wash their hands, cover their mouths when they cough, and have some occasional low stress class days to rejuvenate your students and make sure the senioritis doesn’t spread.

– What is one of your favorite memories from any summer?

One of my favorite moments is from this past summer when I travelled to Minnesota with my family. We weren’t there on vacation, but each day we would take some time to do something simple, like having a cup of coffee someplace that isn’t found in Cincinnati or going to the Mall of America to window shop. It wasn’t anything grandiose, but it was exciting to experience life at a different pace than usual.

– How do you deal with negativity in the world, as such a positive person?

It can be hard to keep a positive view of the world, especially with the negativity seen in social media, the news, and from people around us. Try to set time aside every day to relax or do something you want to do. Take a different way home or go out to eat with friends. Take a break from Snapchat, Twitter, and Instagram, and spend some time with people. Negativity can be chaotic, so try to find ways to be peaceful.

– How can I focus on my homework when all my brain wants to do is compose poems and create fictional characters and Google “when did Americans lose their British accents?”

I would suggest setting a time limit for yourself and try to have your homework done by that time. If I have any homework that doesn’t need to be done on my tablet, I leave my tablet in a different room along with my phone and try to finish the homework first. If I’m really feeling the need to procrastinate, try working through homework one subject at a time and taking a break in between. It also might be helpful to do your homework with someone else, even if they don’t share the same classes as you. Maybe you’ll catch some second-hand motivation! As for the Googling, I would suggest this link.

– How can I watch Parks and Rec without it being blocked?

Unfortunately, being blocked from websites for watching something means that it is unavailable to the user. If the site’s still blocked at home, check your internet connection. In the meantime, perhaps you could find solace and entertainment in a math textbook or science worksheet.