Chapter 15: Porter Cottrell
Porter Cottrell is sophomore at Pleasant Valley. Although this is the only place he has ever lived, his life has been anything but boring.
Cottrell was born with three holes in his heart, a condition that typically requires a risky open heart surgery. However, in Cottrell’s case, the surgery was not necessary. “It was kind of miraculous. Right before I was supposed to have the surgery, the holes just closed up on their own. That’s really rare,” Cottrell explained.
Since then, Cottrell has been able to live a normal life. He participates in both basketball and track at school. During basketball season, he plays guard and center, and he does the 100 meter, the 200 meter and does the high jump for track. However, he is currently injured and unable to run track at this point in the season. Outside of school, Cottrell also enjoys fishing with his dad.
This past August, Cottrell also had the opportunity to go on the school trip to Peru. He was able to help out in a local school, an experience he said he will never forget. He said, “It was really fun and a cool experience. It was cool to meet all of the people and to see how they lived. A lot of them had close to nothing, but they were still happy with everything they did each day.”
When he is older, Cottrell plans to do something in the medical field, but he is not positive yet. He did consider orthodontics for a while though. “I have some relatives that are in the medical field, and I find it very interesting. I’ve always known I wanted to do something medical when I’m older,” he said.
Cottrell is a very kind individual who wants the best for others, made clear by his experiences helping children in Peru. However, he is also very funny and loves to laugh with his friends. Cottrell is definitely leaving his mark here at Pleasant Valley.
Bro-mPosals
Brandee Noellee via Pixabay
Prom season is here again, and with it, there’s the need to ask someone to the dance. There are many ways to do this. However, there are also many ways to do this the wrong way.
Some people, when asking, do one of three things. One is that they go way too far with it. This could make an awkward situation, especially if the two people don’t know each other that well. Another way to go too far with the promposal is by buying the person something expensive.
The second thing people sometimes do, the opposite to the first, is to not even try with the promposal. This can make the whole event feel ordinary, like nothing special. Even if people are going with their friends, they should put a little effort into the promposal. A great example is asking someone with a sign with something simple, like their favorite candy. This way it’s cheap and kind of special, but at the same time, it’s not too serious.
The last way involves finding that happy medium, keeping the relationship in mind. This will set up the prom experience to be fun and special.
The promposal that someone chooses can determine what the overall experience of prom will be. Obviously if someone did a funny promposal, they would expect to just have a fun night together. The promposal is not an exact picture of what prom will be like, but it just gives both parties a visual of what might happen.
Some last advice for the bros trying to figure out what to do: do whatever feels right. Don’t feel pressured into asking someone a certain way. Realistically, just do what feels right, and that will probably be best.