February Writers

The February submissions are now up!

There are eleven pieces this month.  You know the routine.  Read ALL submissions.  Choose five (three senior and two freshmen) pieces and leave friendly, constructive, helpful feedback for your peers.  Your comments are due Friday, March 6.  Remember to explain and justify your commentary.  Let the reader know that you took the time to read their work.  Don't just write, "Yeah, it's great.  I really liked it."  State why you liked it. 

OK, now go read.

 ENJOY :)

Christel--My Love Bug

            I stayed up past my 8 o’clock bed time laboring endlessly with my mom crafting these one of a kind pieces of art. Constructing a love bug takes quite a lot of work. First, my mommy is the one to draw out the heart shaped body. Then pulling my favorite pair of safety scissors, my first job was to cut these heart bodies “very carefully” said my mommy. Next, remembering what my second grade teacher, Mrs. Jones taught me last week, I chanted in my head “dot, dot, not a lot” as tiny, sticky glue specks spotted the red hearts I cut out. After that I quickly pasted pink, red, and white pom-poms all over the love bug’s body and my mom finally put the finishing body parts of the love bug which were its six legs and its two antennas. My last job was to go down the list of my classmates and fill out the “To:” and “From:” When I got to the name, Nick, my heart leaped a little. I always liked how his hair curled around itself and how he always high fived me every day after class. I quickly scribbled a heart after his name in the “From:” section and stuffed it in the pile of other love bugs, went to bed, and dreamed of how great of day I was going to have tomorrow.  

            The next morning, I woke up shouting, “Today is Valentine’s Day!” This is the day I’ve been waiting ever since Christmas passed. My classroom gleamed with shades of red and pink. All my classmates had something delicious on their desk eagerly wanting to pass them out already. After Mrs. Jones took attendance, we began our sweet celebration.  I placed my love bug on April’s desk then after April’s desk was Nick’s desk. I carefully placed my love bug with the written part facing downwards so no one but him would see the heart next to his name. I smiled at myself and felt my cheeks getting a little hotter than normal after placing my treat on his desk. As I turned around I found Nick coming back from distributing his goodies and I darted back to my seat, scared that he might’ve saw how red my face was getting. A few minutes later I hear April and Nick laughing while Nick holding my love bug in his hand. My cheeks got an even darker shade of red and I put my head down on my desk with embarrassment. April came over and whispered in my ear that Nick thinks I have cooties. When the last bell rang to go home, usually Nick would give me a high five, but this time he didn’t.

Cienna--Feminism

 

I am sad to inform you this is not a story. I wrote this to stress the importance of feminism. I realize most will find this uninteresting and stupid. You probably rolled your eyes just looking at the title, and I apologize. I felt that it is important that people know the truth and the real meaning and not just assume that they know what it is from information the gathered from others. Some may call this a rant. I just call this addressing a problem that has yet to be fixed.

Where in the bible does it say Adam was more important than Eve? From what I recall, men need women to bare children. No, this is not a bible lesson but what im trying to figure out where men got this funny idea that they’re more important… that they’re stronger and women are weak. It seems like the people in this world came to a funny conclusion that women were put on this earth to please men. Women were not put here to serve. Its weird that women raise their daughters to cattier to their man. I constantly hear, “No man wants a girl who doesn’t cook and clean for him.” Can men not do for themselves? It’s quite sad that society puts this image in a young girl’s mind that she is to grow up, have children and keep her husband happy. Women deserve to pick and choose how they should live without someone looking down upon her.

What is “ladylike”? Since I was a little girl I have refused to be ladylike. My mom never gave me a real reason to why she said so. I always wondered if that was her or the rest of society. Society says women should love their body and be comfortable with it but whenever a girl does so she is constantly body shamed. If girls don’t dress “appropriately” we’re teasing boys, right? Wrong. I shouldn’t have to go to school wondering if im going to get dresscoded because my bra strap is showing. I didn’t know boys were unaware that females wear bras. But then again ignorance is bliss.

Aaron--Work

As I sit here writing this now, I struggle to formulate my thoughts and put them on paper. I have several experiences in which I want to convey to you the reader, hoping that you will walk away with just a little bit of knowledge gained. But my experiences are mine, and while I may think you can feel the emotion I felt in each of them just by reading about it, you can’t. In life we are on a journey of our own. Sure, we may see people along the way and receive support and guidance and help along the way, but at the end of the day the only person that is held accountable for your actions is you.

I believe that each and every individual is put on this earth with a purpose. Some find it and fulfill it, some don’t find it and their purpose dies along with them. However, the people I feel most sorry for are the ones who do find their purpose, but do not fulfill it. To have success right in your grasp and to not make it is a terrible thing. If you ever find your purpose in life, if you ever think up some outrageous and daring dream, chase it. Don’t let the opportunity to do something great pass you by. Don’t let in the moment priorities and actions destroy your chance to be something great down the road. You can’t go through life living in the moment, but should always think of the objective that lies ahead. Maybe you are tired, but what if getting up that much earlier to go for a run makes you better? You do want to hang out with friends, but what if staying home and studying turns that B into an A? The question is, “what are you willing to do to ensure no stone goes unturned in order to be the best you?”

But you see, this journey of reaching our full potential is more than just taking an opportunity. You have to work for it. You have to put in grueling hours to get better and sometimes it isn’t going to happen or something won’t go your way. But that does not mean to quit. The worst thing a person can do is work towards a goal and when it gets tough, throw in the towel and walk away. Failures build success. It’s that simple. You can’t learn from a mistake and work to be better without failing not once, not twice, but multiple times. So how do you stay on the grind when it gets tough? You keep that end, that goal, that dream in sight. You zero in on what is to come of all the blood, sweat, and tears and you push through. Les Brown, a motivational speaker, once said, “When life knocks you down, try and land on your back because if you can look up, you can get up.”

As I conclude this writing, I hope to have reached some of you. But the fact of the matter is, I most likely didn’t. In life, you have to walk your own path. You have to see the mistakes, the pain, the trials and the errors all on your own before you can understand what it means to work towards a purpose. And the greatest thing of all is that we can never stop growing. There is always a new path, a new goal, and a new dream to work towards each offering a new lesson.

Jonathan--Bedeviled

                As Jeremy Atlas ran the school track, he watched with lonely and pathetic envy as groups of friends walked by, looking back at him with a grin and snicker. He didn’t have any friends.  All of his fiends started hating him at the same time, for reasons he didn't even know. If that wasn’t bad enough, his grades in school started falling right at the cut off. This progress report would be sent to a school looking at him for a scholarship, but if he didn’t have a 3.6 GPA or better, he wouldn’t be admitted. His family life wasn’t any better. His dad had left, his mom was busy or with her boyfriend, and his older brother and sister found him a brat and fun to irritate. In one month, his life turned from good to awful, worse than it has ever been in his life. He started gaining weight, from attempting to eat away his problems. Walking in the dirt, he wondered what he could possibly do to turn this whole mess around. He felt like wallowing in the dirt forever, it seemed better than facing his problems. The one thing that could make his life bearable is Jessica, the most amazing girl in the world. If she said yes to him then everything that has happened to him wouldn't seem so bad. After P.E., he would go and ask her out. He continued to walk, when someone threw a stone at his head. He tripped and fell, scrapping his knees, and slammed flat on his face. He got up, brushed the dirt off himself, and turned to see who threw the rock at him. It was Zachary Smith, his old friend. His anger grew to a dangerous point, but he held his cool. After P.E, he walked to his chemistry class, where he met with Jessica. He, secluded her from the other people to ask her. "What's up, Jem?" Jessica asked, curious to the reason he brought her over here. "So ummmm, would you…want to….go out with me?" She burst into laughter, thinking his question was a mere joke. At the realization of what he meant, she stopped immediately, and looked pale. "Oh…..". Long silence echoed through the hall. Everyone around him seemed to notice what had just happened. " I'm sorry, but there is no way I would ever go out with you" she said bluntly and squeamishly. She walked away with a fast pace, leaving him the center of attention. Heartbroken, embarrassed beyond belief, he sat there sad and angry. Suddenly, he felt a stabbing sensation.  His eyes went small, his mouth started to foam, and he started to twitch. With incredible speed, he raced through the hallway and caught up to Jessica. Everyone ran, screaming. He picked her up by the throat, and stared into her eyes, seeing his almost demonic reflection. She struggled in vain to escape his grip. He blacked out. He woke up in the hallway, surrounded by rubble and flames.