When we are young, we make mistakes. No matter how small or huge, all of them impact our lives. Realizing that they did make an impact on our lives is important, and coming to face them shows we have matured.

When I was in eighth grade, I had to wear a barf-like neon green shirt. I didn’t like it, but I was required to wear it; it was promoting a choir concert, and it was for a grade. Thus I wore a maroon hoodie to cover the abominable shirt.

However, I did end up taking off the hoodie. I was in a high school classroom, and there was a girl who was talking about her “awesome” shirt, but some of the boys she was talking to said they did not care for it.

If you were in a location other than a cave this January, you know about the Stop Online Piracy Act. Several websites raised awareness of SOPA, which aimed to increase online censorship. The Internet community responded in protest, clinging to a desire to exercise freedom of speech.

Similarly, Harding Campus Activities Board realizes the importance of showing a film in its original form despite potential controversy. In the past, CAB has shown the “Harding appropriate” versions of films sometimes several months after they were released on DVD because it took so long to remove content that could be considered offensive.

It has been a sad year for American icons. At the end of last month, when the celebrated astronaut Neil Armstrong slipped the bonds of earth at age 82, our nation lost a humble pioneer, a man whose “small step” left the first human footprint on the moon. Fans of popular music are still mourning the death in February of mega-star Whitney Houston, whose soaring voice left its own imprint on the culture. Children who loved “Where the Wild Things Are” will miss Maurice Sendak, the artist who helped tame their nightmares. New Year’s Eve will never be the same without America’s oldest teenager, Dick Clark. And the world felt a little less safe on July 3, when Andy Griffith laid down his badge at 86.

If you have ever wanted to fast-forward through this election year, you are not alone. Just the thought of politics can be frustrating, even to those of us who feel it is our duty as American citizens to vote. While it is tempting to think that one vote will not affect the outcome of an election, it can be even more tempting to give in to peer pressure and pick the candidate for whom “everyone else” is voting, whether or not you know anything about him or her.

On July 20, a man entered a movie theater in Colorado and opened fire on hundreds of people inside. The crowd, who was packed in to watch “The Dark Knight Rises,” experienced the indescribable horror of watching 12 people die. James Holmes, the man arrested in connection with the shooting, was charged with 24 counts of murder, two for each of the people he killed, and 116 counts of attempted murder.

On Aug. 5, a gunman entered a Sikh Temple in Wisconsin. Wade Michael Page killed six people and wounded four others, including a responding police officer. After the violent attack, the self-proclaimed white supremacist fatally shot himself in the head. The case is being treated as domestic terrorism. Further investigation was turned over to the FBI.