Valdosta High School Wildcat Writers

B days

A rainbow and a raven and wonderful students!

These guys work hard and style harder!

More Antigone!!

Antigone by Sophocles via

So much fun before the fire 🔥 alarm went off because of the smoke machine! An evacuation, a fire truck 🚒, all in a day when your neighbor loves decorating for the door contest!

Homecoming - patriots/pajamas

A reminder!! From

Check out the new BHM pieces by

A Black History Month essay by Hamilton Lacey

Francis Ngannou

In recent years, Africa has produced and trained some of the most influential and disciplined fighters in the UFC, they are considered by many to be the future of the UFC and have the potential to change the landscape of MMA world-wide. Two of these fighters, Israel Adesanya and Kamaru Usman, who both hail from Nigeria have captured the UFC championship belt in their respective divisions, but there is another fighter who has the makings to be the third ever UFC fighter born in Africa, Francis Ngannou. Francis Ngannou was born in the most unsuspecting towns in all of Cameroon, Baité. This town was poverty stricken and many residents were forced into labor intensive work their entire life, but Francis Ngannou had a much higher calling. From an early age he travelled for miles just to attend school in order to fulfill his dream of becoming a lawyer in order to care for his family; but with his family’s financial status deteriorating quickly he had to drop out of school. He resorted to having to work in the sand mines in order to help provide for his mother who was going through a difficult divorce with her husband. The fear of being trapped for the rest of his life in these mines scared young Ngannou who still had an unparalleled ambition, who now took inspiration from Mike Tyson and pursued a boxing career. He fought in regional and local competitions, and due to his supreme work ethic and insane physical strength acquired by working in the sand mines, he began to amass notoriety.
Although his reputation grew he knew that in order to become a successful boxer, he would need to leave Cameroon. He travelled to France with only 100 euros and nowhere to live. He was homeless for more than 3 months with the sole goal of training, and through sheer luck he found a local gym which accepted him and there he began to apply his superhuman work ethic in this new gym. The gym owner soon showed his compassion for the clearly talented Ngannou and allowed him to sleep inside the gym. For income, he fittingly became a bouncer for a local club. He then met a local MMA trainer named Didier Carmont, who was impressed by Francis Ngannou’s physique and dedication to being an amazing fighter and convinced him to try MMA; he conceded and in November of 2013 he started his MMA pro career. He quickly made a name for himself as a force to be reckoned with coming from his brutally impressive string of first round knockouts. Soon the premiere MMA organization, the UFC, saw potential and was added to the “Dos Anjos vs Cerrone 2” fight card where he had a second round knockout of Luis Henrique. Soon after he amassed a multitude of victories over notable names such as Curtis Blaydes, Anthony Hamilton, Andrei Arlovski, and Alister Overeem which was so brutal that it won the knockout of the year. He was then brought to fight the reigning heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic. Ngannou lost this fight after fighting for 25 minutes against the clearly superior wrestler, but this loss could not tarnish his optimistic and motivated spirit. Since then, he has amassed another 4 wins over more notable fighters ranging from Junior Dos Santos to most recently Jairzinho Rozenstruik, leading him to another fight against the champion Miocic.
These wins are regarded as some of the most impressive wins in UFC history and have landed him in the 13th spot in the coveted pound-for-pound ranking. All these achievements come from a child who had to fight for everything in his life, a child who with sheer determination became one of the most impressive fighters in the UFC. He will forever stand as an inspiration to everyone in the world and teaches the lesson that with hard work anything is possible in life.

Inspired by Angela Davis - art and statement by Kylie Lewis
Hair, for many, is an important symbol of who they are and how they want to express themselves. For decades, natural hair for African Americans have alluded to a much deeper importance than hair or even the want to express yourself. Natural hair represents the history of America concerning the civil rights movement.
In the past couple of years, natural hair in schools and in the workplace have become an issue at the forefront of the modern discussion. Many have fought the unfair treatment that arose from discrimination. One activist, Angela Davis, posed her afro as a weapon against justice, and wore her hair proudly in order to combat the negative stereotypes of natural hair. My artwork is loosely based off of Angela Davis and her actions. The flowers in the hair represent the growth of the civil rights movement and how society is moving forward together. The colors surrounding the woman show the joy and self-respect that comes from supporting your true self image.