October Writers!!!!!

Our Blog has been updated. Check out the twelve October Featured Writers. We have a variety this month with five Flash Fiction, four Abstract, and one each of the Personal Narrative, the How To and the Book Review. There is some great reading for this month, so please, enjoy the selections. I also want to apologize for some of the formatting problems. Some pieces may be hard to read for there were a few problems with margins and paragraph breaks. I am sorry for this and I will try to rectify the pieces if I can. Your assignment: Read ALL twelve pieces. Choose at least five to leave comments. Make an effort to leave comments for each of the genres. Remember, you can always leave comments for ALL pieces if you wish, but you don't have to do so. My October Writers: Keep checking the blog and watch the comments show up for your piece. You, twelve, can choose your three favorite pieces and leave comments for those only. Remember to write helpful feedback for the writers. Tell them what you LOVE, ENJOY or find INTERESTING about their piece and give a reason. Say why you feel that way. ALL comments are due next Monday, November 2. I'm giving you plenty of time to complete this month's assignment. Now, Go Read!!!!!

Kayla S.--Man on Fire

He dismally made his way down the street that he had mindlessly walked so many times before, the suitcase containing all he possessed swaying lightly at his left knee. All of those who happened to be outside paused to watch him with their eyes reflecting a blaze of heat and those who were not, peered at him through their windows with envy. As he continued he could feel the warmth through the thin shirt, if that was still what it was to be considered, that barely lined his upper body. That evening the wind blew the coldest it ever had in his small town of Suffocation but he had taken no notice. The townspeople, no matter where they were, couldn’t help but observe the smell of something burning. Children in parks, men at work, women in grocery stores, everyone alike lifted their noses toward the sky in response to the contaminated air. Fueled by ambition his feet needed no instruction and kept him on his journey down the street. His eyes never looked anywhere but straight ahead and his arms never strayed from their established rhythm. He aspired to meet new people, see new places, and struggle with new ideas. In this small, sickening place nothing like this would ever happen but he was determined to accomplish more. In a town where everyone looked and thought the same he was confined to the amount of knowledge resembling the area of a playpen so, with this in mind, each atom of his chemical make-up propelled him forward. He knew that if he remained, his dreams would be nothing but a pacing fancy of the mind and he could take it no more. His passion had set him on fire.

Marissa--Jane Doe

My head hurts from all the complaining patients and their endless needs. What about my needs?  I’m ​  hungry. ​ I’m  ​ thirsty. ​ I  ​ want my pillow adjusted. I never knew bags under my eyes could be  permanent until now.  “Lily, you’re needed in room 210.” The high pitch voice of my boss sends angry chills  down my spine. If you look up fake in the dictionary, her name would be written in bold letters,  Miranda Burton. ​I imagine a picture of her showcasing her poorly lined lips and atrociously  long nails. I chuckle at the thought.  “Copy that, Burty.” I salute her. Two things she hates that I do. She grimaces at me  before turning away. I swiftly grab the chart before entering the room that smells of plastic  gloves and antiseptics. Written in the name spot is ‘Jane Doe,’ which I have been seeing a lot  recently. I see the burns on the woman's face, and instantly feel sympathy for her. There’s no  way they will be able to fix that.   I gather all the equipment I need to clean the burns, softly dabbing the cotton balls on her  skin. Even though she is asleep, I can almost feel her pain as I clean the torn flesh. I read on the  chart she should be waking up soon. I’m hoping I’ll be done before that. My hopes turn to dust  as her eyes begin to slowly open.   When she sees me, her eyes widen and she grabs hold of my hand pulling me closer to  her. I back away but she’s very strong, and despite her wounds she doesn’t let go. She is trying to  speak, but all that I hear are muffled words as if duct tape were over her mouth.   “Ma’am it’s alright. I’m here to help.” My attempts to soothe her fail. I look into her  swollen eyes and an odd familiar feeling washes over me. I reach for the red button behind the  bed to call for another nurse. Not a moment passes when she arrives and carefully pries the  woman's hand from mine. As the other nurse, Isobel, attempts to calm the woman, I inject a  sedative into her IV. The woman's wild eyes calm and her black and blue eyelids fall shut.  “Poor lady.” Isobel shakes her head, staring at the now sleeping body in front of us.   “It’s life.” I say, shrugging my shoulders. Saying this is the only way I keep myself from  having a mental breakdown. I like to think that it helps.     I'm sitting at lunch when I see Burty headed towards me with her giant lunch bag. If I  have to sit through another lunch with her I might lose it.   Burty sits down next to me and without skipping a beat she’s going on about her  grandkids and how she can’t wait to see them. I know one thing I can’t wait for, lunch to be over.    My pager startles me when it starts buzzing uncontrollably. It reads that it's an emergency  in room 210. I shuffle out from behind the receptionist's desk, and rush to the room with the  unknown woman. The sound of sobbing and nurses yelling stings my ears as I get closer. I enter  to see three nurses all trying to calm this one, hopeless woman.   "What's going on?" I shout over the noise, meanwhile trying to control my racing heart. I  have to tell myself not to panic, otherwise I'll only add to the mess taking place in front of me.   "She's in pain, but she won't say where." One of them replies. I roll my eyes and push  past them.  "Yelling at her won't help." I shoot them each a glare before turning to the woman. She  grabs my hand like it's the last thing she'll do, and because of her desperation I don't make any  attempt to pull away. I look into her eyes, ignoring the familiar feeling, "I need you to calm  down. I know it hurts, but I can't help unless you calm down." I say in my calmest voice. It  works, but sobs still escape her lips and she hasn't let go of my hand. "I'm going to help. I  promise." With these words she slowly nods her head and her sobs stop. "Okay, don't try and  speak. Just nod your head, can you do that?" She nods. "Do you think you are able to write?" She  nods again.  I let out a breath before I pick up the clipboard containing all of her information. I place  the pen in her weak hand and the paper underneath it. "Can you write your name?" She is barely  able to press down on the paper, but she does enough to where I can see the letters M­O­M. This  doesn't make sense.   The woman's eyes become wide and the machines start blaring with their beeping noises.  The nurses, still in the room from before, rush to help me save this woman's life.   In the commotion of all the nurses doing different tasks to figure out the source of the  complication, one of them moves her gown exposing her left shoulder. My heart sinks.  I see the small tattoo and the familiarity of her eyes, her desperate clinging onto my hand,  and the letters written on the paper cause tears to spill out of my eyes.   This is my mom.   The beeping continues, growing louder and louder along with the orders my colleagues  are shouting at each other.   My mom's eyes shut, and the machines are still blaring. This time a different sound then  seconds before.  It's now steadily humming, and the room falls dead silent. I stare in disbelief before  putting my hands on her chest and pushing, trying to bring my mother's still body back to life. I  feel like I'm in a dream when the nurses pull me away from her. Everything starts to move  slower.  In an instant, everything changed. 

Reymie--Death

Tired, weak, groggy. "What's going on?" I tried to mumble to my surroundings but my lips refused to cooperate. I strain to hear the faint noises enveloping me. My ears perked as I listened to the soft whispers of my mother's voice "She's been sick for weeks now , she's lost 5 pounds since the last you saw her ,there's bruises everywhere, and red splotches, I just, I just..." she was cut off by an unfamiliar deep voice"Mrs. Strada please calm down I told you these are the side effects of the sickness she's developed, it's very common." After the strangers comment hysterical sobs followed, this caused me to flutter my eyes open only to be blinded by the bright white lights, walls, and sheets surrounding me. "Baby?" I try to set up but fulirm hands press me back down. " Sorry Ms. Strada but you won't be able to get up for a while until you've gotten all your strength back." I look at my mom for confirmation but all I see is her back and she walks out the room still crying. "I have to go get your test results but when I come back I expect you to be in bed got it?" my doctor states in a firm voice and I nod in reply. I stayed in that position for 20 minutes but then my bladder filled with unbearable pressure that has me running to the bathroom. After finishing with my business I go to the sink to wash my hands, as I do so I stare in the mirror examining myself. My face is slim, pale, and spotted with red marks all over. Just as I was finished looking at my ghastly appearance I see a black blur move past my doorway. I jump and turn expecting to see whatever it was reappear but nothing was there. "Wow the doctor was right I must be really weak to be having hallucinations like that" I mumble to myself but just as I complete this thought a sharp scream is heard from the hall. Panicking thinking it's my mother I scurry out ready to fight off whatever is harming her, instead I come face to face with a massive black form gliding into the hospital room with a black staff poking from its side. I follow it into the room and watch as it points at a young girl peacefully sleeping. She starts to float up and off the bed and onto her feet and walk the rest of the way to the huge figure and then grab their head with inhumanly large hands covered in black gloves and twist sharply to the left. The crack heard was resounding so much so I didn't even realize the loud scream that had fell from my mouth. The thing sharply turns its head and stared at me at least that's what I assumed because it had a hood covering the entirety of its face almost making it look as if a shadow hovered there. As I stared into the dark abyss that was its face I did not notice a large metal and pointy site that had been protruding out from its cloak until it was too late and had slice my throat right open. As I chocked i felt my body run cold and empty and my world becomes surrounded by the shadow that I had previously been staring into. I guess my results were positive.

Maryann-Living the thing we call "Life"

Living the thing we call “Life” Every star you see in the sky is dead. By the time you see that star’s light the star has already died and all you are seeing is the light it emitted that has taken light years to reach our eyes. (So guys don’t ever compare a girl to the stars in the sky because they’re dead.) But back to the stars, we see the product of their lives. Some stars are brighter than others, some shine in different colors. But just like stars, what are we doing with our live?. What are we going to be seen as? A second will always just be a second and a minute will always be a minute but within that minute there are a sixty seconds and within those seconds there are a million infinites of numbers we haven’t yet counted. Time is a manmade idea that we’ve come up with as means of measuring; measuring our lives, the seconds it takes for the minute hand to make a full revolution, the hours that pass as you wait in line for a ride at Disneyland. Our lives are our defined by the time we live. What do we mean when we say we’ve lived 17 years? It means we’ve lived 17 years, 884 weeks, 6,188 days,148,512 hours, 8,910,720 minutes, or 534,643,200 seconds. But for how much longer will we be remembered for? Do you want to be remembered as the guy who spent his days playing video games? Or the girl who spent all morning applying make up only to wipe it off before bed? Would you prefer to be remembered as the guy or girl who made the most out of their life? What does it mean to make the most out of our life? It means that every second is an opportunity. There’s not a minute to waste in our lives. Do you want to skydive, bungee jump, or travel the world? Become an artist, play music, or engineer the structures of tomorrow? Then what are you waiting for? The reality is that we should do what makes us happy. Happiness is not defined by the number of digits in our bank accounts because the reality is those bank accounts are full of nothing. Money is just another counting unit and while happiness is not money they are correlated but that doesn’t mean you can’t be happy when all you have is a tiny cottage in the middle of nowhere. Some people are so poor that all they have is money and lack the real riches in life. Do what makes you happy because when the average lifespan is 78.7 years why should you do anything else? Why would you want to do anything else? It might seem like we went off on tangent but fear not. The reality is that if you do everything with happiness and a feeling of satisfaction anything you’ve done is the best you could possibly give to the world. The only thing that makes an ordinary person different from an extraordinary person is the love and dedication they put into their work. We’re all ordinary people who could do extraordinary deeds. That’s what people remember us for, it’s not for the numbers in our bank account or for the hours of work we got in every week it’s for what we did. Just like the stars we are appreciated for the work that we left behind that we dedicated our lives to. The work that was done to the best of our ability. I don’t care what I’m remembered as, as long as everyone can say that anything I did was with a passion because then my light will be seen from light years away.

Taylor--Bliss

The definition of bliss is the supreme happiness; utter joy or contentment. I believe as humans we should consider this the utmost goal out of life, it sure is mine. Bliss is the overachiever of happiness, the BIG guy! This feeling doesn’t just go away in an instant, it makes you feel full and an overwhelming amount of love out of your soul. I truly feel that wherever we are at with our life, we can find moments of bliss. I read this quote recently by Shawn Achor, “ Happiness requires changing of lens of how you perceive your reality.” Perspective plays a huge role with finding our bliss, It can be a deal breaker or a thought builder. With the same outlook we can get content with just settling in life rather than pushing our comfort zones for the ultimate goal. Bliss isn’t a material object, its something you feel through an experience. I feel this by hearing people’s stories. For example, I made a friend recently and he told his experience about his adversity from his home country and making it to the United States. What he has been through is something many have not, now both him and his sister have a scholarship to a University. Within three days of his application, the institution called him due to his eloquently written truth about his life. The most amazing part of his story is his spirit and soul that constantly shines through his words. A true form of bliss comes from connecting with our peers on a deeper level and realize we aren’t alone, but sincerely similar. Traveling to different locations, experiencing the unpredictable adventures through breaking the every day patterns open my mind to euphoric bliss and love for this wide Earth. Being exposed to the numerous novelties that are offered in our life are hard to grasp. We can drive an hour and a half and get to witness the art of endless greenery and continuous shades of blue encompassed in one beach. To feel the warmth of the sun recharge your body in the natural state is blissful. Seeing natural wonders that are incapable of man’s hand, standing massively firm in the midst of the ever changing world is absolutely magnificent. Thinking we have several decades to journey countless countries and connect with various people excite me just to live. Remarkably, traveling is bliss no matter how close or how far, it’s our choice to make it a reality. So my advice to make this one life count is to live it blissfully. Set standards high for ourselves and our dreams, but humbly live with the deepest love. Be grateful for the many blessings we experience because being alive is a miracle itself. Push through our comfort zones to embrace a new perspective and continue to grow immeasurably. Do not settle for average but drive your heart to your personal bliss. With all of this, we can undertake life with so much joy that bliss shall constantly be felt.

Christa

There’s a beauty in nature that seems almost too vast to explain to others. In Southern California we have beaches that are 2 hours away, and Big Bear the same distance. I’ve found that the place with beauty so astounding to me is much farther away, where the air is clean and the beauty is insurmountable. This past summer in the beginning of June, I went camping for the 2nd time in the Sierra Mountains. The drive there was 5 hours of a mostly desolate road full of desert the first half of the trip, and pastures filled with cows and horses the second. The sky was clear, which seemed an almost foreign aspect to behold considering the mountains we see in our backyard everyday seem to be filled with a constant grey haze. As we got closer to our campsite the familiar anticipation I felt all year returned, it was finally the day I have looked forward to since I got home from our last trip. June Lake is a place unlike any other that I’ve been too, its lakes are a dark navy with little white peaks, the mountains jagged with waterfalls sporadically throughout. On the road in, it was nearing dusk when we saw deer on the sides of the road, acting almost like greeters. Passing through the town full of gift shops and coffee shops I realized with the windows rolled down that, it was much colder than last July. Smoky skies and cold winds made white waves roll on the lake's surface disrupting the calm water I was expecting. The prospect of sleeping in tents in such weather made some weary, yet I couldn’t help but be full of excitement. After living in Southern California my whole life, the idea of having any sort of ‘cold’ weather made me brazen enough to gladly stay outside and not move to the Jeep. That first night, much like the rest had an average temperature of º35 with winds rocking the tent back and forth and water clinging to the red material of our tent. Nights were almost completely obscure, save for the occasional light of the moon peeking through the clouds. Animals rustled in the bushes and the ground squirrels ran across the meadow close to our tent. By morning the chill in the air still remained and the wind still blew in steady gusts. We lacked any set plans for the duration of our trip, leaving us free to do what we wished with our days. The boys fished from early dawn till the afternoon, while the rest of us lazed around the campsite reading and occasionally walking around the campgrounds. I can still smell the smoke from the campfire and hear the remnants of the guitar playing softly in the background from our evening dinners. One morning we decided that we would visit Yosemite National Park seeing as my sisters never been. Now if you’ve ever gone to Yosemite through Tioga pass you’ll know that some parts of the road seem like an imminent fall to the ground thousands of feet below. Now add to that, actual snow along the road and the fog that almost completely blocks out any visibility of cars in front of you, it was a bit daunting. After a certain point, we’d passed through the gate and the fog cleared to misty mountains with white peak tops. Then after driving through the road full of tall trees we could see Half Dome, and I remember thinking that this must be what home felt like. The prospect of being around a place that I knew to have so much beauty was poignant. It occurred to me that this anticipation I’ve felt all year, just to come back to this place had much more meaning behind than to just ‘get away’. This trip marks the time I get to spend with family that I don’t get to see as often as I did before. These trips that we have are full of belly aching laughter, with tears roll down our faces as we gasp for breath. Playing games of cards and listening to Bob Marley on repeat, with jokes filling the quiet air. Nothing compares to this experience I have, not even when I’m back in Fontana. Nothing is able to compete against waking up to clear air and the sounds of waterfalls in the distance, waiting to be hiked to. This place I’ve decided to call my second home is where I find inspiration, where I learn new things about myself that are free from the influence of others. Here in these big vast mountains, with the snow caps and the lake, I am free to just be. Which is something I think everyone should experience, whether it be the mountains, the sea, or even a big city. We all deserve to lose ourselves for a while, just so we can put ourselves back together with new memories and new dreams. Surround yourself with the beauty around you, and you’ll find that it’ll begin to shine within you.

Tommy

HOW TO:) When you were once a young child, did you ever measure your height on the wall? I know I did and I always included the date in which I measured to precisely know how much I grew within those select few months. Here is an example in which a young boy recorded his height every 6 months starting his 14th birthday. Please read the chart. Time (starting 14th birthday, in months) Height (feet) 0 5’0 6 5’ .5 12 5’1 18 5’5 24 5’5 30 5’5 36 5’8 42 5’10 48 5’11 As you can see here, the young boy grew 11 inches throughout his high school career! That’s incredible! That is an a​verage​of 2.75in./year or 0.229ft/yr. Does this mean that every year he grew exactly 2.75in? Well, look at the graph and tell me. The Answer is no. If we were to find the derivative of this line (which isn’t linear, we would find out that the boy did NOT grow exactly 2.75in per year. In fact, from 18 months­30 months he stayed the same height. Because of this, we do not know the exact rate of change of the graph. Finding the derivative of this will allow us to find the exact rate of change and therefore tell us   

Andrew--Sylo

Sylo written by D.J. MacHale is about love, survival, and mystery. This is a very good and descriptive book, which is also highly recommended by other authors. The book Sylo has an exciting feel of mystery. The book is fast pace and is one of my favorite books. I can’t wait until I finish the series, Sylo, Storm, and Strike. The main characters in the story are five kids named Tucker, Kent, Quinn, Tori and Olivia. In this story an army named Sylo invades the Island of Pemberwick. The Sylo Army was there to contain an unknown and mysterious virus. The main characters in the story believed that the virus was actually a ruby supplement. However, the Sylo Army was very strange and no one knew where this army was coming from. Events transpired and the main goal was now to escape the island, but the Sylo Army was not about to show any mercy. The army would kill anyone that acted suspicious or posed a threat. The main characters had to be quick and sneaky because the Sylo Army had many snitches. The Sylo leader’s name was Granger. Granger was a ruthless man who was always on the lookout for suspicious characters. The main characters were in fear of being shot and killed. The Sylo Army attempted to kill the main characters by burning down the forest. James Dashner the author of the Maze Runner series also commented about the book Sylo. James Dashner highly recommended this book because it leaves you wondering. When I was in the eight grade I met the author D.J. MacHale and he read to us the first sentence from his book. “It was the perfect night for a football game and death” This was to catch our attention and then he proceeded to read to us the rest of the first chapter. That was all it took for me to buy the book that summer and I have no regret doing it. My favorite part of this story took place when the main characters had to escape during a massive dogfight battle between airplanes and ships. The main characters had to find a way to maneuver through the battlefield while being chased by Granger. Also, this story was has many mysteries. This story leaves you in suspense in trying to identify, which characters were lying and which characters were telling the truth. MacHale also wrote the book series Pendragon, the Morphuse Road, and the Monster Princess. However, I believe that Sylo was his best series. In the book, one of the main characters had many important quotes. Tucker said, “Nowhere is safe” and “Marty Wiggins was the first death and wont be the last”. I believe these quotes describe the book perfectly. I highly recommend this book because it has everything you could possibly ask for. It has mystery and suspense. I really enjoyed the twist and turns between the main characters and their fight for survival. This is a must read book and the ending will leave you in suspense.

Tariq--Essence of Existence

   Prosperity attempts to flee eternal rest not knowing longevity only lies within the grave  Chasing the unchaseable as a shackle­less slave  three stages are found  rooting from the womb expanding as a branch to the tomb  And through an enlightened birth we begin Crawling to   walk upon the right path seeking a  glorious life before the inevitable doom     But maybe just maybe through the return to the universal black one will enter an essence  renewed ­Tariq Ali          The most important of phrases one may reflect upon tend to begin with the word what. So in  contemplation of what the ultimate of questions stemming from "What" it is incumbent upon the  soul  that it be directly related to the expansiveness of its being. So I pose the rhetorical  question what does it mean to exist? What is it to breathe, to feel ,to have thought, to live and to  die. My question is rhetorical for three simple reasons. Firstly  I wish for those whose minds are  firmly touched by the question to challenge their brains and answer it for there own well being.  Secondly because I don't truly desire another's explanation; I must have my own answer being  that I'm my own individual and live in my body in solitude. The greatest of reasons for the  rhetorical nature of my questions though  is that in spite of my wishes when it comes to a clear  definitive answer to "what is it to exist"there is none. We are similar beings yet we differentiate in  process of thought to the preciseness of the fingerprint. Myself nor any other being holds the  cookie cutter answer to  existence package. Whether someone one wants to attribute existence  to a creator or a non­causal evolutionary theory neither is befitting of such limitations.  Irregardless of our narrow understanding of existence as humans there is that which we can  remain certain of , and that is that our existence is ever changing and is composed of three  levels. The past we must draw from to maximize the present and in turn bettering the potential  of the future however it may come into fruition, while not wasting fear upon that which is  inevitable.             The universe possesses millions of niches known and unknown to mankind and for them to  be filled it requires a deep self focus and maintenance of those who fill the gap. It may be  applicable and of great benefit for one to draw from another source of existence  but it need not  be mirrored for one to formulate their definition of existence. My definition changes every day  from experience and discovery but it is constant in its basis that I've formed it upon. Basis may  vary but they need to be roots of power and high significance to individual be it God ,family, or  success. It must be remembered that no one has the right or the ability to form another's  meaning for what it is to exist. A higher level of overall existence may be found in the plumber  than in the CEO and satisfaction can be found as a nomad in opposition to an owner of land.  What is of quintessence in our defining of existence is that wherever we lie as humans we are  determined to strive.          It is commonplace that in our existence as a coping mechanism we pretend that our situation  is constant. That things will not change and that we must avoid everything that can disrupt the  pleasant status quo which we belong to. This mindset cuts us off from so many internal  resources we have due to fear of harm, pain and death knowing deep down that these events  are necessary to growth and ostensibly impossible to avoid. We must not love mediocrity and  fear discomfort so much that we deny ourselves of an increased existence. The discomfort we  are linked to throughout our lives whether it be the daily pains the higher pains or even death  are simply trials or pathways making us worthy of the positions which are greater than what we  we hold. There is so much nobility we can pull from our past but many of times we are afraid to  do so because of pain and we , are complacent when it comes to maximizing the present  because of current comfort and we are so unsure of the future we neglect it. Whatever it means  to exist that is clearly the antithesis of it and does not allow us to do as we must to find and  complete this definition as it applies in our own lives.         The human capacity is nearly infinite being that a new discovery is made every week. We  can not put a cap or limit on anything in understanding, for understanding and phenomenon are  continuously expanding. Our existence covers who we completely are. So when asking the  question what does it mean to exist? What's really being asked is who are we and what's our  purpose. These questions seem like abstract ideas on type of abstract ideas but from these  abstract ideas we can draw very practical applicable and agreeable concepts. So in spite of  their being no specific definition of what it means to exist we can form some fundamental  principles of existence. Existence occurs and evolves in stages, existence is growing and  defining yourself while discovering the concept of your existence, it is seizing the day, and it is  not fearing that which is inevitable and  may possibly bring forward a better existence than we  previously ever knew 

Kayla M.--Balance

Keeping everything in your life where its supposed to be and juggling responsibilities while trying to strive for a successful future is a hassle of being well balanced. Balance is an even distribution of weight, enabling someone to remain upright and steady. Without balance all of lives would have no structure or support, like a body without bones to hold it upright. How do we obtain balance? Through experience, mistakes, and knowledge. You may often hear, “Knowledge comes with age,” and its true. Without making mistakes and learning from them, we wouldn’t be able to become balanced. Personally, balance is the most important trait I have because I know I have a balance of confidence with awareness. Which makes me seem wiser and more knowledgeable than the average seventeen year old. This control has given me the opportunities that has contributed to my journey of success and happiness. Once your learn to self control and balance, success is closer than you think.

Jeremiah--Sleepless Nights

  It was 11:59 pm on a cool Thursday night. The fan makes a constant inaudible noise and  his bed was soft and comfortable. Despite this pristine sleeping environment, he laid down on his  bed wide awake looking at the emptiness of the his white ceiling. He thought to himself how he  should already be asleep and that every second he misses out on will negatively affect his  performance on his economics presentation just 8 hours later. “Why?” he kept thinking to  himself, why was he awake and what is keeping him up. Shortly after a few more strikes of the  clock, he realized what had been bothering him. He got up and with his pen and paper started to  write in his journal, he wrote out his emotions, thoughts, and whatever popped into his mind.    August 14, 2013   Honestly I don’t understand what I’m feeling right now, my head hurts and I have a  presentation tomorrow and plenty of homework I still haven’t done. All I know is for some  reason I keep feeling like something is wrong, something is robbing me from being happy to a  certain degree. I feel lonely, I feel lost. Maybe it’s because I’m thinking too much. Maybe I’m  wondering what if I spoke up and said what I felt. Maybe I’m still questioning what I did or what  I didn’t do to make you ignore me. We really weren’t that close in actuality but all I know is that  I wished I knew what would've happened if I was able to prevent the event that caused you to  ignore me. Am I just boring? Are you just too busy? Did someone else who’s superior come into  your sight? Am I just in love with the idea that could've been something? Am I just sad because I  feel like I’m not good enough? I don’t even know why I feel this way, is it because of you even  though I barely knew you. I’m probably just mesmerized with the idea of not being alone  anymore and that idea slowly died and crumbled away. Maybe I still like the girl whose smile  makes my heartbeat a little faster. The girl I know I have no chance of being with especially  when better men have tried to gain her affection and failed. Rather than show my true feelings I  just stand beside her and just be a friend, nothing more and nothing less. Should I be content with  that? Do I even still like her past a platonic way? Yet every time I hear that you might start liking  someone my heart aches a bit, and every time I hear someone say they like you I encourage them  to tell you how they feel because it was always something I wanted to do but didn’t. I don’t  know if any of these feelings are truly accurate/current or just a fabrication of mind due to  loneliness and fatigue. Maybe I’m in love with the thought or the idea of being in love...  As he finished writing his thoughts on the piece of paper, he looks up and realizes its 1:42  am. He lost nearly 2 hours of sleep but what he gained was his sanity. Expressing his emotions  that for so long he bottled up gave him a sense of relief, something that sleep would of only  delayed. However, his mind remained jumbled and he realizes that he has to take action and  discover his true feelings.    The very next day he feels horrible and wanted to never get out of his bed. It felt like  gravity was magnified but he forces himself to get up and get ready for school that day. The day  went on smoothly even though his sleep deprivation was evident, but then his thoughts from the  previous night start to pop back into his mind. He realizes that he has to try, he has to find out  what emotions he has. Hesitantly, he turns on his phone and goes to message the first girl in his  journal. “Hey, how have you been?” His heart was palpitating, but shortly after his heart slows  and he collects his thoughts. “What if I never get a reply?” he thought to himself. However. he  realizes he made an effort and even if his effort results in nothing, he was satisfied for now.  

Shaniya--Switch

“Are you happy with the way things are Cindy? Underestimated, put down, and disrespected? You’re twenty-three years old and still sleeping on your mother’s couch. You’re unemployed, irresponsible, and unreliable. You are a failure. Do you really believe that you could survive in this world without me? You’re weak! You need me Cindy, we both know that. Let me be strong for you, you know you can’t deal with these obstacles that you have been given. Your life is so pitiless; I might as well just take it...” “No! Just shut up! You don’t know anything about me! I may not have my life together just yet but that doesn’t mean I’m a failure. I don’t need you. Things will get better, I know they will, I-I’ll get a job and start making new friends. I’ll make some changes. I can do it, I know I can.” “Awe, trying to yourself Cindy? That’s cute. I’m afraid I already made my choice. I’ve waited long enough, watching, rotting, and learning from your ignorant mistakes. You take life for granted my dear, and that’s why you’re in this predicament now. It will never get better for you. It only gets worse from here. “N-no you’re lying. Things will get better, I promise… I promised… No I won’t fall victim to you anymore, I’m not weak. I will not need you anymore. This is goodbye, for good.” “I doubt that. At this moment Cindy reached for her neck and gasped for air. It was as if her air supply was stolen from her. During this lung-crushing, eye-watering, and throat-drying attack she tried standing but she couldn’t walk. Her legs wouldn’t move. She lay on the dark black ground in a ball while trying to catch the remaining breaths she had. Through all the pain she looked up and saw this beautiful woman dressed in a gorgeous red dress, something Cindy would never be able to look good wearing. She had long luscious black lock flowing down her back and bright red lipstick on. She wore red bottom heels and had a slit at the bottom of the dress. She’d never seen this woman before but there was something familiar about her, and why was she there, inside of Cindy’s head? “I told you I made my choice,” Said the woman. “It’s my turn now.” As the woman walk through the darkness of Cindy’s mind, toward a door of light, she glanced back at Cindy crunched up on the floor and smiled devilishly.

September Writers

The September Writers have been posted to the blog.

I know it is October 1st and we are reading for the month of September.  That's all right.

There are nine pieces for this month.  Please read ALL of them and leave your helpful and thoughtful comments for four of them.  You will have one week to complete this assignment.  Your comments are due Friday, October 9.

If you are a writer this month, write comments for only two pieces.

Scroll down and begin reading or you can use the tabs on the left:)

Have fun!!!

Camille

It was Valentine's Day. Of course I was alone because my girlfriend of two years, Loraine, dumped me last month because I didn't get here anything for her birthday. She was so beautiful and nice and down to earth. She had nice light brown hair. She had hazel eyes and was very tan. She had perfect teeth and a perfect smile. I was in love with her so I was completely devastated when she dumped me. I thought it was going to be one of those break up then back together within 24 hours but no she was for real. She lost interest and moved on and has another boyfriend. The night she dumped me I did some crazy drugs and knocked out...

    The next day I walked into my favorite coffee shop and saw a beautiful girl. I saw there was an open seat right next to her so I sat next to her. "Hi do you mind if I sit here?" "Of course not, I'm Rosemary what's your name?" "I'm Tyde." She smiled and went on with what she was doing. I took out my laptop from my backpack and began typing. I glanced at Rosemary a few times because she was so beautiful. Her long dark brown hair, green eyes and tan skin. After about 20 minutes, Rosemary had to go. She packed up all her things and said, "It was nice meeting you!" with a really big smile on her face.  "It was nice meeting you as well!" I said nervously.

A few days went by and I went to the coffee shop every day and never saw Rosemary ever again. On Friday, I went to a concert with my best buds. We got there two hours early so we didn't have to wait in that long of a line. Once we got into the line there was a tall blonde girl right in front of us with a few of her friends. From what I could see her hair was exactly like Rosemary's. After about an hour waiting in line most of the people in the line sat down. The blonde haired girl started a conversation with us. There was something strange going on because I could've sworn that the blonde haired girl looks exactly like Rosemary. I asked the blonde girl what her name was, she said “Hunter.” I started talking to the Hunter to find out some information about her and compared it to what I knew about Rosemary. We had talked for about ten minutes then they started letting people into the venue. We ended up switching seats with people that sat next to the group of girls so we could all hang out and rock out. After the concert was over and everyone was heading towards the exit I was looking around and the group of girls were still with us but I couldn’t find Hunter.

    A few weeks after the concert, a few of my buds threw a Super Bowl party. The Green Bay Packers and the Seattle Seahawks were playing and most of the people at the party were Seahawk fans. I was wearing my favorite Seahawk’s attire, which was just a Seahawk’s jersey and some pants. There was one girl at the party that was wearing a Seahawks shirt that was completely bejeweled. She was a red head and had a lot of freckles. She had perfect teeth kind of like Hunter's. She was tall and about 5'9. We ended up sitting next to each other on the couch. We exchanged a few words during the commercials. Her name was Jasmine and it turns out she's a lot like Hunter and Rosemary. That's so crazy, finding three people in a row that are almost exactly alike. When the game was over and the Packers had won, unfortunately, everyone got up and said goodbye. I looked around to find Jasmine but she'd also disappeared. It was Deja Vu. Every girl I met disappeared.

    A few months had passed. I woke up and I was in a hospital for some reason. Loraine was in the room, she was sitting down in a chair reading. I was hooked up to so many machines. I started to freak out. I wanted to know why I was hooked up to so many machines. Loraine got up and started crying, she tried to calm me down while screaming at the top of her lungs for a nurse. A few nurses came in the room and took a few tests. Loraine was calling my friends and family in her seat with a few tears coming down her face. I asked Loraine why I was in the hospital. She told me I had overdosed and slipped into a coma for 5 month. She found me passed out on my apartment floor the next day. I was appalled. About 30 minutes later my family and friends came into the hospital room they looked so happy to see me. I knew I was loved by so many people but one person stood out to me the most. The day I got released from the hospital I asked Loraine to get dinner with me. At the end of dinner when we were sharing a slice of red velvet cheesecake I got down on one knee and held Loraine's right hand. "Loraine I love you. I never stopped loving you. Especially when I was in a coma. All I could think about was you. Every girl I saw was a variation of you. You came back for me and found me on the floor and cared enough to call 911 and you stayed with me in the hospital almost every day. I love you. Will you marry me?" Everyone in the restaurant was looking at us. "Yes!" She finally said. We both jumped up and hugged each other and I put the ring on her finger.

Lexi--Dennis and Daisy

                                                       Dennis and Daisy

Stuck

Dennis: “Do you every look up at the sky and think your belly button smells like cheese
wiz?”

Hi, my name is Daisy Debuke. Dennis Delaro is my boyfriend. He has a charming smile,
hair that fuzzes up like a Q-tip when it dries, and always knows how to make me smile.
This ability to make me smile, however, comes with random comments like this one.

Me: “Why must your charm be so endearing? And yet you cannot treat any moment with
a fraction of seriousness.”

My country requires all children, ages 17-18, to be thrown into an arena with blood
thirsty wolves, treacherous landscape, and billions of people trying to kill you. The only
way to get out of the arena, is to die. There is no drawing to decide who steps into the
arena, no volunteers to step in for you. I have reached the age where it is my turn to
step into the arena.
Okay, so maybe it’s not a death arena, but it is terrifying and sudden and every child’s
nightmare. The name even more horrific, the real world.
They cushion the blow of “real life” with this fuzzy imaginary one that you live in until it’s
your turn to step onto the playing field. Teachers, parents, relatives (all adults really)
always say, “Oh, just you wait until real life hits you. You’ll be in for a real surprise!” And
yet, though they have control of our so called pre-life, they continue to let us sit in the
blurry, intermission of a life we are living in.
I have expressed these accounts to Dennis on several occasions, sulking in my
disproval of the system. He, however, does not look at the remainder of our eternity as a
series of death traps. His light hearted whimsy lets every problem roll right off like a
bead of water sliding down a green leaf in the early morning. The water seeps down into
the soil to effect everyone else, but it does not stick to him.
I wish I had the naive perspective to approach the world in this manner, but to my
despair, I do not. My first mission in this arena of death is referred to by a great majority
of the population as “college”. College comes with all sorts of complicated add on
features like locations, new people, new problems, and let’s not forget the ever
wonderful debt liable to haunt you well into your rocking chair stage.
I feel so stuck in this perpetual, fuzzy, imaginary, high school world that I cannot even
begin to fathom this “college” topic. I need to get away from this fuzz, surpass the smog
layer and somehow find air that is clean enough to breath, find air that will help me
realize where I’m supposed to be.
I am leaving tomorrow. Packing up my four wheel, carry on sized bag, and going away. I
am going to find the place I’m supposed to be, even if it means finding a thousand
places I’m not.

Departure Day

I open my email from the subway after arriving in New York from flight 172 departed
from LAX. I click the little pen and paper symbol in the top right corner of my screen and
begin to write.

Dear Mom, Dad, and Dennis,
I am sorry I left without saying goodbye. There was nothing any of you did wrong, no
school bullies, no sexual offenders I’m running away from. Most importantly, there is no
need to worry.
I was not even sure why I left until I took off. Then it hit me.
The lights began to wiz by, faster, faster, faster, until the air caught under the wings
thrusting you upward, like a parent pushing a child on a swing. Now you are the child in
the swing, cheering with glee as the thrust propels you off the ground and into a world
apart from your own. The plane takes off, turning the once ordinarily perceived ground
into an infinitely starry sky. All the reality of below shrinking to specks. All the problems
of below fade into a blur of passing towns, only represented by their grid like lights.
Every passing cluster takes you farther away from the place you left behind and towards
the one your supposed to be. This is the new beginning you have been seeking. Here it
is, sitting on metal wings and an engine, with less than satisfactory snacks. Your ears
may pop and you may hit turbulence, but nonetheless it's here, and it's now.
I will see you all soon.
Love,
Daisy Debuke
Send.

Maddie--Tiny Things

Tiny Things

I believe that life is only worth living for the tiny things, the things so absolutely miniscule that their very existence seems so absolutely mundane that they are almost irrelevant in the grand scheme of our lives. If we can find these tiny things that give us that fleeting moment of instant joy and relief, then I believe that we can all lead lives that are much more fulfilling, For myself, it’s a candle on the edge of my desk that I light to do homework- not the candle itself, but the way the flame danced with the draft caused by an open window. The small wiggly motion it made like a gelatinous substance that had been dropped onto the floor, was enough to make me stop and watch in a moment of complete euphoria before returning to my econ notes. Even more so, the view from my rearview mirror when driving on the freeway on a rainy day. The brilliant yellows contrast beautifully against the solemnly dark paint coats of the cars and even more so against the sky. Or maybe, perhaps, the feeling of completing my homework, all of my homework, really well, and being able to sleep knowing that it’s all done. Sometimes I am even afforded ten to fifteen minutes to spend without anyone in the house- enough to appreciate the ability to be alone with my thoughts without having to converse or really do anything at all, and yet short enough to leave me wanting more. Sometimes I find myself reveling in the way my room brightens at Christmas and I can stay in bed with movies that I’ve watched hundreds of times- or- the way marshmallows always seem to float to the back of a mug no matter how hard I try to get them out. The best thing about little things though is that they never get old or tiring, they happen so often and yet go so fast that their departure almost occurs before we have the opportunity to notice that it was ever even there. We forget about the little things like someone letting us cut ahead of them in line or something that made us laugh when we were younger. Because they are so commonplace, we forget they exist. It’s almost funny to think about the hundreds of tiny things that make us so happy that we take for granted so often that their presence seems to be irrelevant to our livelihood and yet, if only we briefly acknowledged these tiny pieces of absolute perfection, we’d be so much happier. I think life is worth living for the tiny things but only because the little things remind us that in the vastness of this ever expanding universe, we too are tiny things.

Aaron--Tides Turning

Tides Turning

The morning of the tragedy started off like any other. Becky, the mother in the family, was in the kitchen cooking some mouthwatering pancakes. Bill, the father in the family, was reading an article in the paper about children in third world countries dying from the lack of medical attention. Brad, the eighteen-year-old only child, was in the shower attempting to remove the scent from last night's wild party. Finally there is Blitzer, a golden retriever, who at the time was running around looking for anyone to play with. The family was having a morning like any other. It was Blitzer’s birthday that day, he was turning a year old and their plan was to celebrate this gift that God gave them by having a picnic at the beach. Once they finished eating they commenced packing everything they would need to have a perfect day. They arrived at to the beach, sat next to tower 3, and began to set up the EZ-Up and the barbecue. Time passed, it was 1 O’clock and the food began to sizzle atop the flames in the grill. The chicken was slowly being roasted to perfection, the taste of the steak struck everyone just by staring at it, and it was all finished off by the company of grilled vegetables resembled some from a magazine.  Blitzer walked towards the ocean for a little swim. The clock hit 2 and as the family finished their five star meal, they noticed that Blitzer had not came back. To prevent chaos from erupting, Brad stated “Don’t worry I will go get him real fast!” As Brad walked toward the water, the tension dramatically decreased with Becky and Bill. The happy wed couple lay side by side and they began reminiscing on their lives. Before they knew it an hour passed and neither Blitzer nor Brad came back. As Bill began to panic, Becky said “Don’t worry honey, Brad probably found him and played with him and they must have lost time track of time. I will go tell them that they have to get out of the water now”. Right after she finished her sentence she was off, walking slowly towards the water. Bill sat alone. He watched the seconds turn into minutes. The minutes turned to an hour. With his heart filled with fear, he abandoned everything and ran full speed to the water. By 7 O'clock, the area next to the tower 3 was alone with the exception of multiple police vehicles and news reporters. “What should we call this report?” muttered a cameraman. “ I say we call the story as it is...a Family of 3 drowned”. Just as everyone was leaving the scene, a shadow emerged from the ocean. It was Blitzer. He eagerly pounced to where the family had set up, wagging his tail, looking for warm welcome. Bill, Becky, and Brad were nowhere to be found. He rotated his head right, taking a glimpse into the endless grains of sand. He turned left catching images of families huddled up around a circle roasting s'mores. His tail stopped wagging. Blitzer took off into the dark streets accompanied by only his shadow, searching for his family, his home, and his world.    

Courtney--Undoubtedly Me

Undoubtedly Me

Hanging in my room since I was an infant was a quote by Diane von Furstenberg which reads, “I didn’t always know what I wanted to do, but I knew the kind of woman I wanted to be.”  As most little girls do, I spent my early years reading fairytales and dreaming of my prince coming to pick me up and give me everything I needed in life. But luckily for me, I had a mother who loved me enough to tell me that no prince would come to give me everything I needed in life.

 My mother grew up in a quaint little town in southern Alabama where women strove to be the ideal “Southern Bell”.  My mother wore pearls and gloves whenever she left the house, she made sure that when my father arrived home that dinner was on the table and our house was tidy, and she always made sure the bows in my hair were straight.  On lookers would probably gaze upon her life and think to take pity her.  So many people look only at the surface of this lifestyle and think she’s living a lie that she could not possibly be content in the way she’s living.  Little did they know what kind of woman my mother really was. 

My mother was a woman of dignity and she would always tell me to never pretend to be someone I wasn’t especially for a boy.  She taught me to love my femininity without using it as a crutch for avoiding difficult things in my life. My mother taught me to read books and make them a priority.  She was enthralled with Maya Angelo and the way she read her poems impressed upon my heart the truth of those words.  Not only did she instill in me the importance of knowledge, she taught me to be compassionate. The cookies she baked every Friday weren’t to make my father happy; she made them to for the elderly gentleman at the end of our street who had lost his wife when I was six to cancer.  You wouldn’t believe the look on his face he had the first time we went. 

Now, that I am coming upon my 18^th year of life, the first thing I’m all too often asked what am I planning to do with my life.  I always think of that quote when I’m asked this and say I’m still unsure what I will do with my life but I know how I’m going to live it.  I’m going to live as a woman of honour.  I will carry myself with grace and smile at strangers.  I will study things that light a fire in my soul and will help me better the world around me.  I’m going to live a life that I love and only allow people into it that will help me love it deeper. Most importantly though, I want to be the woman my mother raised me to be.

Erick

At first, I thought I was dead. As it turns out I found myself in a pitch black hole, I felt the walls and the ground and it felt less like dirt but more of a metallic feeling to it. I immediately tried to find a way out of this unnatural hole only to find what happened outside. However when I try to remember what happened before I woke up, I draw a blank. After a while I feel a groove on one of the walls and released it, it was a lever within the wall. I reach for it and pull down and push. I struggled because it seemed I was asleep for a long time because my body was not used to extraneous activities. Finally when the lever was pulled down and I pushed out, I saw a grayish reddish sky with no clouds and a kind of fog or mist that appeared to surround me like a devil’s aura. It was so silent not a single living creature seemed to cry out for help or make their presence known. It was very warm not cold surprisingly, it felt as if I had a fever. I could see no signs of plants, grass or trees anywhere. What remained were ugly, disfigured carcasses of trees or plants that seemed to look like demons dancing in the aura. Debris was everywhere, papers with information from a lost era with announcements for upcoming events. Pieces of houses and buildings were either still standing or on the floor. As I took my first step out of the warm and “cozy” hole I noticed two things, there was an infinite amount of dust on the ground and that I had injuries. How I got these aches and pains I don’t know. I started limping my way through the debris and rubble to find any sign of survivors. I smelled burned flesh and decay, I felt as if I was walking through an ancient scene of battle. I read the signs on the walls of destroyed buildings and signs that were not destroyed by whatever hit this misfortunate area. I came to one of these signs “PREPARE FOR THE WORST: VOTE RICK E. RESORT FOR YOUR NEXT PRESIDENT, GOP PARTY” I read more and found out it was the year 2085, but when I tried to read more the piece was missing lost in this graveyard. I walked more and saw more, a once proud school in ruins. The red and black colors with eagles. A place where people went to learn now a wasteland for the unknown. I saw old shops a red target sign lying next to cars trying to escape whatever was the inevitable doom that they were facing. A broken bridge leading to the other side blocked my way of going to the other side and I climbed down and started walking on the empty freeway. I came across a fallen airplane, the reek of the gasoline offending my nose and I carefully walked by. I could see the dead passengers, their last moments imprinted like ice in their decaying last positions. Walking on the empty 15 freeway as I saw because of the sign obstructing cars, I suddenly remembered who I was. Well I looked in my back pocket and found my driver’s license it said Keith Tesfaye, nineteen years old, and born on June sixth 2066.  I made sure by looking at a side view mirror on a wrecked car. I walked for nearly 3 hours until I reached an eerie place. There were countless heads on sticks, body parts on the floor and an infinite amount of blood everywhere. The flies flew everywhere, this was their idea of a grand feast of decay. I was suddenly rushed by a half-naked man with a spear. His eyes were red and a terrible amount of spit and mucus was dangling from his half open mouth. The savage Hissed and bared his rotten teeth “Are you……DEAD!?!” I jumped back and in shock did not answer him right away. “I said……have you…..DIE!?!” I was so paralyzed with fear that I still could not open my mouth to answer his peculiar question. I barely shook my head and the savage’s eyes widen and he tilted his head giving me a face that would be etched in my mind for an eternity.  I looked behind him and found more savages, all of their faces disfigured. The Leader who I was speaking to suddenly straighten up and point at me. “YOU JOIN US……NOW” and then I knew no more as blackness covered my eyes. 

TO BE CONTINUED

Sierra

It's September, the 24th day of the month. I awoke to a very hot morning feeling like I was a chicken in the oven. The sun was already out, throwing its violent rays into my eyes. I fall out of bed, shocked by the amount of light hitting me. Light is running through my window attacking me, so I go scrambling towards the window while still on the floor to close out the evil enemies. The light disappears and I stay there sitting and thinking. Today marked the birth of me, seventeen years on this planet, with the last seven being a hell. No friends, no support, nobody for me.

Then came a sudden knock on my door.

            "Are you awake!"

            "Sadly yes..." I mumble under my breath to the voice behind the door.

            "What? Hello? Did you hear me! Wake u--"

            "Yes I heard you, now leave!" I reply wearily, getting up off the floor.

"Happy birthday to me, huh. This is gonna be a great day." and I go on to get dressed.

            7:32 and the bus is running 5 minutes late. Not much of a big surprise. Some time later, it finally arrives and I wait in the back for my turn to board a long yellow rectangle. Last one on, and I walk past each aisle, full of friends or a person with a bag taking the seat, saying "This inanimate object is much more important than you." More important than me.

Row No. 17 on the left. A seat which is finally occupied by no one or anyone's much more precious bag. I sit down feeling the glare of the robot driving the bus.

            7:56 and I am at school, walking through the hallways. Seven hours of gruesome tasks to be piled onto me to all be accomplished by the next day. Seven hours of being surrounded by people, which I recognize but choose to ignore me. Seven hours of loneliness in a place which I am not wanted nor recognized as human... Or is it that they're the humans and I am the robot? Humans that ignore me. Me for being strange.

            I feel it. That sensation... What is it?... Who are you!... What do you want from me, I have harmed no one!... What do you want from me?

            -THUD-

I see the floor approaching me. Quickly, as it is engulfing me, light fading fast, but yet all happening oh so slow. Darkness. Snickering. Evil presences surround me. Hatred. I am dying. Am I dying? Or perhaps I am already dead. No one helps me and I feel the evil disappear as quick as it came. Noises seem so distant, almost like a dream...

Silence.

I am lying on the floor for what feels an eternity; warmth surrounding my head like a halo would an angel. Footsteps? I feel my body being lifted up. Am I an angel?

"Aare youu ookaaay?" a soft soothing voice. Care and gentleness radiate from somewhere. Something thick is falling and I hear a gasp, very faint and far. It was as if someone shouted at me in a tunnel far, far, and away. The darkness settles in...

            I jump up, breathless, my heart pounding so much I feel the blood in my head. I am in my room. The clock to my right reads "6:00". I analyze my room and see there is barely any light entering. I take a deep breath and feel the cool air rush into my lungs. It feels like I haven't taken a breath in an eternity. I close my eyes and can see faces of people flash through. Friendly people... people who love me.

Kaiya--The House

The House

People have always said crazy stuff about the house I’m moving
into. Some say that a psychotic doctor built this house but ended up
killing himself because of his baby’s tragic disappearance. Others say
that a crazy teen boy lived here as well but was shot by the cops for a
massacre that he was responsible for at a high school nearby. But my
parents love the house and made an agreement to buy it of course.
Now I have to go to a completely new high school with nobody to talk
to.
My first day was horrible. I made zero friends and have horrible
teachers that I hate and I’m pretty sure hate me too. And on top of this
horrible first day of school I come home to the sound of my parents
yelling at eachother again great. I swear they will never ever stop
fighting with each other, sometimes the fights get so bad I have to
end up calling the police. I just ignored them and went upstairs to do
my homework. Once I got to my room I began to unpack some of my
things, I noticed a funny and very disturbing smell coming from one
of my boxes. I went over to go check and I found a possum with it’s
throat slit open and it was somehow still breathing. I freaked out and
screamed for both of my parents. They both came running to my
room asking what was wrong, I pointed to the box with the dead
breathing possum both of my parents looked in it with disgust
eventually my dad ended up throwing it away. I had all my nicest tops
in that box too. Well my parents stopped fighting after the situation
and ended up making up.
I couldn’t sleep at all that night, I kept thinking of the things people
have said to me about the house. I scared myself so much that I
ended up not sleeping at all that night. The next morning I was able to
convince my mom that I was sick enough to skip school. But I ended
up staying home all by myself since my parents had to go to work. I
got out of bed to make myself some breakfast when I heard someone
walking upstairs. I assumed it was probably my dad since he’s late to
work a lot. I asked for my dad but there was no response. I just left it
alone. I continued to make my breakfast. I heard a loud thump coming
from upstairs. It scared me so much I dropped the carton of milk all
over the floor. I went upstairs to go check and there was absolutely
nobody up there. I was on my way downstairs when somebody
behind me grabbed both of my arms and dragged me into the attic. I
have never felt more horrified in my life. One of the lights, turned on
and it was the psychotic doctor and teenage boy that died in this
house years ago. I asked what they wanted with me. I got no
response, just silence. They both walked to another room, I had no
idea what they were planning on doing so I took the chance to open
the attic door and run out but I was too late. The teenage boy had
grabbed me and began to tie me up, the doctor also got some
medicine to put me to sleep.
I woke up in complete horror, both of my parents were tied up and
unconscious right in front of me. They too also began to wake up. We
were all so horrified and had no idea what to do. The first thing we did
was untie each other quietly so the dead doctor and teenage boy
wouldn’t hear us. My mother and I wanted to escape the attic and
leave but my dad insisted that we stay here and act like we are still
unconscious and tied up. We both did as he said. It didn’t take the
doctor and the teenage boy long to arrive back. I opened my eyes just
a little bit and noticed that they each had a knife in their hands. My
parents noticed as well. My dad was the first to take action. He quickly
jumped out of his position and somehow managed to grab the knife
out of the doctor’s had and teenage boy’s had at the sametime. He
threw them on the floor and told my mother and I to run to the car as
fast as we could. We all got into the car and drove as far as possible
from that house.
We ended up letting that house go and moved back into our old
house, the house not filled with a bunch of stories and the house
filled with a nice high school with nice teachers and students and
friends to talk to. The incident at the old house not only scared us to
death, but made us all closer as a family.

Myra--Social Rejection

Social Rejection

I didn’t know what judgement was until I entered High School. California in general
seemed like a place for the most beautiful people in the world. I remember the first day of
freshman year, I came wearing a very plain white Tshirt
and all of the other girls around me
were wearing fancy dresses and blouses with loads of makeup and hair done to perfection. That
day was the emergence of my insecurity and shyness, it lasted for three years. The first thing I
noticed was that people immediately gave you a good look upanddown
before deciding how to
respond to your greeting, introducing myself to everyone seemed simple enough, a smile and a
“What middle school are you from” seemed sufficient enough. Some people answered the
question with the same friendly smile I greeted them with and others did not. Moving from such
a small town and small middle school to a suburban town and fairly populated high school was
not easy.The mere fact that there was around nine hundred students in my grade versus the
sixtyeight
at my old school was immensely degrading to my selfesteem.
I never understood the mindset of someone who was distant from people and interaction
when I was in middle school, but in high school I lived it every day. It just seemed as though I
didn’t fit in, no one seemed like they wanted the new and quiet girl in their already established
cliques. This was my first time being the new girl and it was not fun. Watching Disney movies
about high schoolers was not good training and . I always wondered why it made me feel so
worthless and insecure, I wasn’t like this in Las Vegas, I was indifferent towards any hatred
against me. I was content around the people that liked me, others were simply just people around
me and nothing else. I realized that I had not changed at all, I still thought the same way and
acted the same way. What changed is how I thought others were going to be, when I thought
about it, the same type of people that were middle school existed in high school, I just didn’t
know anyone here, so I wasn’t familiar with those types of attitudes and lacked understanding.
Obviously this was naivety, unfortunately that's the blessing that comes with being young. I
finally understood that people are not always going to like me and forcing people to, won’t ever
make their feelings change positively towards me, but possibly make them worse.
I found friends who liked me for who I am and were very similar to me, but I am happy
to say that I am now over it and have more important things to worry about. I must say that this
realization came at a very inconvenient time, when my last year of high school is marking the
end of my journey. This realization however came to me when I was thinking about my future
and starting the path towards the rest of my life. Surviving in this world is inevitably tough, but
the things we are put through in high school, no matter how horrible and heartbreaking they are,
they help us by making us stronger. Resilience is key to strength, without it we are vulnerable to
the harsh reality that is adulthood. Whether or not we enjoy high school, we all have learned
something from it. I did not enjoy high school as much as I wanted to, and I do regret it to an
extent, however, I still learned something and that’s what matters. Thank you high school, for
teaching me that people are people, they come with various pros and cons, and it is healthy to
keep in mind that that the cons might just be more evident than the pros. I am happy with
everything I have learned and with everything I have had to struggle with. When I was in the
eighth grade my health class took a survey on whether we thought we were going to change in
high school, I was the only one in the class that thought I was going to stay the same. I am happy
to say that I have changed since middle school. The perception of the world is not so
“rosecolored”
as I thought it was in middle school, and this perception has made me more
mature and ready for my future. I am still the same person, and I will never change, this is what
makes me different, and sometimes hiding isn’t always the best option.