![Setter Emma Lee (9) sets the ball to the middle during the match against Pinewood on Sept. 12. “[I’m looking forward to] getting more skilled, learning more about my position and also becoming better friends with all of my teammates," Emma said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/DSC_4917-2-1200x795.jpg)
![“[Building nerf blasters] became this outlet of creativity for me that hasn't been matched by anything else. The process [of] making a build complete to your desire is such a painstakingly difficult process, but I've had to learn from [the skills needed from] soldering to proper painting. There's so many different options for everything, if you think about it, it exists. The best part is [that] if it doesn't exist, you can build it yourself," Ishaan Parate said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/DSC_8149-900x604.jpg)
![“Animation just clicked in a way. I had been interested in art, but that felt different. [Animation] felt like it had something behind it, whereas previous things felt surface level. I wasn't making that crazy of things, but just the process of doing it was much more enjoyable," Carter Chadwick ('22) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Screen-Shot-2022-08-16-at-9.44.08-AM-900x598.png)
![“When I came into high school, I was ready to be a follower. But DECA was a game changer for me. It helped me overcome my fear of public speaking, and it's played such a major role in who I've become today. To be able to successfully lead a chapter of 150 students, an officer team and be one of the upperclassmen I once really admired is something I'm [really] proud of,” Anvitha Tummala ('21) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Screen-Shot-2021-07-25-at-9.50.05-AM-900x594.png)
![“[Volleyball has] taught me how to fall correctly, and another thing it taught is that you don’t have to be the best at something to be good at it. If you just hit the ball in a smart way, then it still scores points and you’re good at it. You could be a background player and still make a much bigger impact on the team than you would think,” Anya Gert (’20) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/AnnaGert_JinTuan_HoHPhotoEdited-600x900.jpeg)
![“I'm not nearly there yet, but [my confidence has] definitely been getting better since I was pretty shy and timid coming into Harker my freshman year. I know that there's a lot of people that are really confident in what they do, and I really admire them. Everyone's so driven and that has really pushed me to kind of try to find my own place in high school and be more confident,” Alyssa Huang (’20) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/AlyssaHuang_EmilyChen_HoHPhoto-900x749.jpeg)
![“My slogan is ‘slow feet, don’t eat, and I’m hungry.’ You need to run fast to get where you are–you aren't going to get those championships if you aren't fast,” Angel Cervantes (12) said. “I want to do well in school on my tests and in track and win championships for my team. I live by that, [and] I can do that anywhere: in the classroom or on the field.”](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/DSC5146-900x601.jpg)
![“I think getting up in the morning and having a sense of purpose [is exciting]. I think without a certain amount of drive, life is kind of obsolete and mundane, and I think having that every single day is what makes each day unique and kind of makes life exciting,” Neymika Jain (12) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Screen-Shot-2017-06-03-at-4.54.16-PM.png)
Warm Bodies warms heart with humorous zombie-human romance – 4/5 stars
February 23, 2013
Finally. A romance between a human and a mythical being that does not have you wishing that the creature had just eaten the person at the beginning of the movie.
Directed by Jonathan Levine, Warm Bodies tells the story of a post-apocalyptic zombie, R (Nicholas Hoult), who gradually regains the ability to experience emotions and coherently express his thoughts after meeting Julie (Teresa Palmer), his human love interest. However, he only becomes humanized after feasting on the brains of Julie’s dead boyfriend (Dave Franco): a smooth way to get rid of competition, R.
The unusual friendship (which, of course, grows into a romance) between R and Julie eventually transforms the originally antagonizing relationship between the zombie and human communities, as the zombies slowly learn to become humans again.
Warm Bodies ingeniously pulls the fairly corny idea of a zombie-human teenage romance out of the ditches with its witty and amusing script. For once, the audience sees from the viewpoint of the zombie, which is a fresh perspective. And luckily, the zombie that the audience follows is a funny one.
The movie has quite a few amusing moments, such as when R awkwardly tries to approach Julie without scaring her, that elicit chuckles from the audience, thanks to both R’s humorous thoughts as well as the cast’s apt acting skills.
Hoult’s depiction of R embodies all the characteristics that a typical love-struck teen zombie would have: awkward, frustrated, and well, lifeless (though, certainly not heartless). He does not have any sparkling body parts like Twilight’s vampire Edward Cullen. Rather, he looks exactly what a zombie should look like: pale, unanimated, and ghastly.
Parker also does a superb job of not portraying Julie as a weak damsel-in-distress: instead, she is an independent and strong-minded teen with compassion (even for someone who occasionally chews on her dead boyfriend’s brains).
Though the ending is painfully predictable, this movie nevertheless cleverly warms your heart up to the idea of non-antagonistic relationships between humans and mythical creatures. If you ar[liveblog]e ever craving a romantic comedy that is more brainy than mushy, there will be no better movie than Warm Bodies, which, fortunately, has more brain-eating than kissing.
