The Interview..

Two and a half years ago WereNotReallyFree also known as Free At Last was just an idea. One year later Free At Last officially joined Instagram. After a year and a half Free At Last went from zero Instagram followers to almost a thousand followers and have released numerous clothing drops. 

The founder of Free At Last is Andrew M. Gaona who is in charge of design and is involved with everything that runs through the business. Although Gaona is handling a lot of work, he does have help. Next is co-owner and co-designer Shayne Vision who helps with designs and brainstorming for the next drop. 

Gaona states, “Shayne and I are both owners of Free at Last. We both curate the garments, posts, and designs! Though Free at Last was thought of by me, I was more than happy to bring Shayne on as co-owner of Free at Last!” 

Shayne’s involvement in the company came as their friendship developed through gaming. As their friendship grew, they began to share their ideas about starting a clothing brand. As they all became serious about their new adventure, they decided they needed to get Shayne to California. 

“Ultimately the brand was started by us moving me across the country from my home town in New Hampshire to the Bay Area. We drove across the country. Andrew and I had always had a creative and collaborative friendship, even with the distance,” stated Vision. They knew with Vision being closer their ideas and dreams could become a reality.

 Free At Last’s final partner is Eric Ozburn, head photographer. Ozburn has been the photographer for Free At Last since the beginning.  Gaona and Ozburn have had a friendship for over 15 years.

Ozburn shares, “In the beginning it was more of just a hobby. I didn’t think much of it but fast forwarding to now, they have relied on me for more than just casual photos and it has become more about creating images that really show off their amazing art work.” 

Who is mass producing the designs for the next drop? All three of them are! As of right now this upcoming business is just three 25 year olds trying to live out their dream. Each drop the guys cut, sew, iron, stitch, and paint all of the garments for each drop and do it again the next time. It should be noted that all of this work is done in their three bedroom apartment. 

Gaona explains, “We’ve faced plenty of challenges along the way because of the fact we built this from the ground up. We cut, sew and print in house, so learning all of these traits, as well as becoming a business, has been quite a challenge. Even to this day!” 

Supporting small businesses has become more of a trend since the pandemic in 2020. Knowing where and how these clothes are being made, makes it easier for the consumer to buy their product and support their brand. 

Free At Last is mainly advertised through Instagram, but does appear on Facebook when a new drop releases. The amount of success they’re bringing in just from Instagram alone, is just the tip of the iceberg for this young group. Just because they are popular on Instagram doesn’t mean you won’t find them on other social media outlets like TikTok and Discord. 

This up and coming brand has just finished up a pop up shop on Sunday, December 15, 2022. This was their first pop up shop that they were involved in and hope it provides positive exposure for the brand. Pop up shops seem to be becoming more and more popular by the day. Pop up shops can occur at malls, flea markets, farmers markets, night markets, and even barbershops. 

So what is next for this brand and its young owners? “We want to build a community around this brand. A huge goal has been to collaborate with other artists as well. We’ve worked with some super talented friends. We love to follow an artist’s creative vision and commission people we truly admire,” Gaona stated.

“We’re going to keep reaching to create beyond our limits and producing pieces that will live in your closet for a lifetime. We’ve always had big dreams for this from the start,” Gaona states as he visualizes what is in store for this up and coming brand. 

These three young men are making sacrifices and taking risks to make their dreams come true, as they have chosen to be free to dream and create, and live by their name Free at Last! 

Two and a half years ago WereNotReallyFree also known as Free At Last was just an idea. One year later Free At Last officially joined Instagram. After a year and a half years Free At Last went from 0 Instagram followers to almost a thousand followers and have released numerous clothing drops. 

The founder of Free At Last is Andrew M. Gaona who is head of design and is involved with everything that runs through the business . Although Gaona is handling a lot of work he does have help.The spot of Free At Last’s head photographer taken by Eric Ozburn. Ozburn has been the photographer for Free At Last since the beginning. Last but not least is assistant designer Shayne Vision who helps with designs and brainstorming for the next drop. 

Who is mass producing the designs for the next drop? All three of them are! As of right now this upcoming business is just three 25 year olds trying to live out their dream. Each drop the guys cut, sew, iron, stitch, paint all of each drop and do it again the next time. Knowing where and how these clothes are being made makes it easier to buy from them. 

Free At Last is mainly advertised through Instagram and does appear on facebook when a new drop releases. For the amount of success they’re bringing in and only on Instagram is just the tip of the iceberg for this young group. Just because they are popular on Instagram doesn’t mean you can’t find them on TikTok and Discord. 

This upcoming brand has just finished up a pop up shop Sunday December 15, 2022. This was their first pop up shop that will provide positive exposure for the brand. 

The Oldest Polar Bear at Midland Zoo Suddenly Passes Away.

The 16 year old polar bear also known as Homer, was found floating in the pool within his exhibit at 7a.m. just an hour after his feeding. Zoo Director Chris P. Bacon is looking into the case and said, “We will do everything in our power to determine how this bear died.” Although there have been two other animal confirmed deaths within the last month, Director Bacon says they are unrelated.

Dr. Shanda Lear, senior staff veterinarian stated, “ The zoo will perform a necropsy to try to determine the cause of death. The results will not be available for several weeks.” The two other polar bears in the exhibit, a 9 year old male named Yukon and 10 year old female named Mckenzie have been removed and are now being monitored by the veterinary staff.

Polar bars have thrived since 1975 at Midland Zoo and are ambassadors for their wild relatives, educating zoo visitors about these threatened animals. 

Subway Is releasing a footlong cookie in honor of national cookie day that is coming up on December 4th. The audience for this would be anyone who enjoys cookies like parents, kids, teenagers, and so on. The benefit to the reader would be they learned when national cookie day is and learned where to find a footlong cookie. The company gains publicity and maybe even business after the cookie comes out. It is like any other article just not as serious as the others which makes it a easier one to follow.

Former President Trump Calls for Termination of the Constitution.

Republicans cautious about the 2024 campaign are silent after recent campaign speeches. Trump’ recent words did not alter decisions of his supporters just like previous actions from the former president. Trump then asked for the 2020 election to be overturned or rerun once again. 

After losing the 2020 election Trump has spent the last two years lying about the election and  promoting various illegal mechanisms for overturning it. Whitehouse spokesperson, Andrew Bates says, “Attacking the Constitution and all it stands for is anathema to the soul of our nation and should be universally condemned,”Some republican supporters were rejecting the comments and believe the constitution was set for a reason and shouldn’t be messed with. 

A notice of Trump supporters starting to let go of the loyalty to Trump started with an interview with Representative David Joyce of Ohio illustrated Republicans’ unyielding loyalty to Trump. Joyce dismissed three questions from the anchor, George Stephanopoulos, about Trump’s comments and whether he would support Trump in 2024, and it ended with an uncomfortable, “I will support whoever the Republican nominee is.” Without the constitution we have no rights and if someone who is able to be a president again wants this then we need to realize the danger he can cause to our country.

FedEx Driver Charged for Kidnapping and Killing 7 Year old girl.

The search for Athena Strand began Wednesday afternoon after she was kidnapped by FedEx driver Tanner Lynn Horner. Strand’s body was found Friday but the police won’t release where she was found.ABout 200 volunteers and numerous law enforcements helped search for Strand.

Authorities then arrested FedEx driver Tanner Lynn Horner for aggravated kidnapping and capital murder of a person under 10 years old. Horner confessed to killing the 7 year old and authorities believe she was killed within an hour of abduction.

Horner had no prior relationship to the family or to the girl. The girl arrived home in her school bus Wednesday around 4:15 p.m. and her step-mother reported her missing around 6:40p.m. Sheriff Akin received a tip about a FedEx driver Friday morning which led them to the driver.  “digital evidence and partnerships with FedEx” had helped identify Mr. Horner, said James J. Dwyer, the acting special agent in charge at the F.B.I. office in Dallas.

According to the F.B.I. less than 350 people under the age of 21 have been abducted by strangers in the United States per year since 2010. Communities and parents need to work together to prevent these situations from happening in the future.

Christmas at Morningside is news to all new students like me specifically but could also not be news to returning students. Christmas at Morningside is news to students, faculty and staff, and the families of the students. The information tells the audience how to register and what to expect when attending one of the two dates. 

The purpose of this story is to notify the Morningside University community about a Christmas celebration for people to come and enjoy music and skits. Readers will gain awareness about the christmas show and may gain interest and want to attend or participate next year. 

Students benefit by being able to experience something new for Christmas and learn and meet new people. Morningside gains attention from these events and can attract students from other schools or even grab the attention of high school students deciding to attend.

Jacob O’dell had a conversation with a fellow classmate trying to help build his business. After breaking down every step of action that the classmate needed to learn to grow, he didn’t retain any information. Even though O’dell knew he was trying to learn and get better, he felt the kid was dumb or stupid and that he was better than the classmate.

“Naturally I think I’m better than a lot of people, day to day I feel better than everyone, more superior and if not I strive to be.” O’dell also feels being egotistical keeps you focused on your goals and always provides confidence in himself. 

Close to half of covid patients, after months have not fully recovered.

The New York Times studies show one in twenty patients have not recovered fully after being sick. Four in ten patients have not recovered fully months after. Infected patients have regular symptoms like breathlessness, difficulty breathing, palpitations, and confusion at a three times higher rate than non-infected people.

Student Jared Parker had this to say about how long symptoms can really last.

There are more risks than just physical. Covid has affected many patients’ mental health just as much as physical health. If you have been vaccinated prior to getting covid it has reduced and helped with long term effects.

A Utah special ed teacher decides whether or not to bring a gun to school.

Reported by the New York Times, Jenny Nogues, a special ed teacher in Utah has enrolled in a class taught by the Utah County Sheriff. The class is six weeks long and covers tactical trauma education, school shooter simulations and de-escalation training. After asking morningside student Nate Dooley how he would feel if his professors brought guns with them to class, this is what he had to say…”” Nogues enrolled in the class hoping it would help her make a decision about whether to carry a gun in her classroom.

Moving to Baseball.

Two rookie of the years are named after an anxious wait. 

The MLB announced the rookies of the year, For the National League Michael Harris II was named rookie of the year after not being on the roster until may. Harris had ended up being a starter by the time it was playoffs and played a big role in their lineup. For the American League, Julio Rodriguez became an impact starter since opening day and was also a huge part of Seattle’s playoff run. One fan had this to say about the rookies. Both players received contract extensions during the season. 

Last night Stuart Scott was presented an award at the ESPYS in front of thousands of people at the Nokia Theatre. The award he received was the Jimmy V. perseverance award due to the fact that he is working and achieving major accomplishments with the V Foundation while also working and broadcasting at ESPN.

Scott is accomplishing all of this while battling a rare form of cancer. Scott’s message to everyone in the audience and everyone watching on television, is that it doesn’t matter who you are, what you do, or what you have, never give up.

Stuart Scott gave an example that just because you die doesn’t mean you lose, “When you die, that does not mean that you lose to cancer. You beat cancer by how you live, why you live and in the manner in which you live.” If you continue to live your life, accomplish whatever you want to accomplish, you don’t lose because you didn’t let cancer stop you from living your life.

Scott explained that the battle is never a lonely battle. Scott is not fighting alone but when you get tired don’t try to do it alone,” And when you get too tired to fight then lay down and rest and let somebody else fight for you.” Let the people around you family, friends, doctors, supporters fight for you while you can’t.

The reason Scott fights is because of his two daughters who he explains are the reason he is still here. Scott brought his youngest daughter up to the stage for a hug bevause he needed it and continued to explain to everyone watching to never give up live, live, live your life.