April Writers!!!!

We have a small batch of submissions this month.  There is a total of six writers.  Please make sure you read all of the pieces.  Then write comments for three of them OR if you wish, you may comment on all of them.  Please make sure to state what you enjoy about the piece and how you relate to it.

Your comments are due next Tuesday, April 14th.  Be kind, helpful and courteous in your feedback to the selected writer.

April Writers,

You are not expected to leave comments, but you may.  You may also respond to comments left on your page.

We only have one more month left for our 2019-2020 blog.  Please stay healthy, warm and rested.  Try not to get overwhelmed with all that is happening around you.   I know that  we all have different situations so make sure you are kind to yourself, first.  Take care of your loved ones. 

"When one tugs at a single thing in nature, he finds it attached to the rest of the world."--John Muir

Take a moment to make those connections with others you may have lost contact.  Make that phone call, have a FaceTime, send that text...whatever that "tug" may be.

I miss you and think about all of you during this time.

Peace,

Mrs. Solano

Photo:https://www.google.com/search?q=april+free+images&rlz

The Modern Day Gentlemen--Chris

Chivalry is something most people in my generation know almost nothing about and if they
do have some knowledge about it to them the idea is somewhat outdated. In a brief description to be chivalrous is to be a gallant and noble towards women, in other words, a gentleman. A gentleman is polite, honorable and most importantly respectful and a true gentleman is always chivalrous towards women. However nowadays if a guy treats a woman with respect he’s labeled by others as a “simp”, which by definition is essentially a guy that lets women walk over him by doing anything for them, so basically a pushover. The word simp is heavily used by guys trying to insult someone for treating women a certain way. For example, my friend had feelings for this girl for a long time and would always be courteous and was always a gentleman towards this girl. Because my friend would act like a gentleman with this girl many of our friends would call him a simp just because he’d act like that around said girl. But why did my friend have to be insulted by our friends just for respecting the girl he liked? It has to do with many of the misogynistic values that are instilled upon us when we are younger that women are inferior to men which is not the case. Most misogynist can’t wrap their head around the idea that women are equal or even stronger than men so when they see a man respecting a woman and putting her on a pedestal so to speak they see him doing something unfathomable so they ridicule the man and

insult him just like my friend when he was labeled a simp. Due to this the word simp is overused quite often and may have lost its original meaning because in some cases a simp can be the modern-day form of a gentleman.

To many people the idea of being chivalrous and being a gentleman may seem outdated, but why should someone be ridiculed for being polite and having good manners. But some guys that treat women with courtesy and respect are ostracized and labeled as simps so one could argue that simps are in some mays the modern version of a gentleman but under a different title. I was taught by my family growing up that a boy should always be a gentleman and always treat a woman with respect. As I got older, I realized not everyone would act like a gentleman towards a woman and often act rudely towards them and the guys that did were made fun of for being nice to a girl whether he liked her or not. That being said I’ve always done my best to be a gentleman and utilize the values that were instilled upon me at a young age, while some people might call a simp because I open the doors for girls and I’ll lend a girl my jacket if it's cold, I welcome it because I’ll choose the way I act and the values I uphold and not let a misogynistic society change who I am. If being a gentleman in these modern times means I’ll be called a simp well so be it I’ll have pride in being one of the modern-day gentlemen.

My Gift--Johanna

I’ve always believed that each and every person held a gift, something that they were given to make them individuals, unique, special even. I am no person to tell what each and every person's gifts are because that would mean I would have to live their life, in their body, mind, and soul to find the one gift that makes them who they are. I am no mind reader, and I am no perfect person, I strive and live my own journey, my mistakes, my pains, my happiness, and even my grief and through all of this I’m still on my own path trying to recognize who I am and what my gift is.

For as long as I can remember in the ripe years between 7 and 13, I was a very sensitive young girl who felt everyone’s emotions and only wanted to make them happy. I wanted to make someone feel joy and strength when it seemed like there was no hope, understand their pain and hope I can truly understand them as individuals. See, the world needs hope, it needs someone who wants to help, and I don’t believe that there is a person who doesn’t want to be helped because if that were the case what hope would humanity have. There has always been this fire inside of me burning to be let out, to show the world that we all can help, to be compassionate and kind, be a person filled with curiosity and faith in the unspeakable, to shine in a world that’s full of dark.

Birth, babies, and children all screamed to my subconscious. Everytime I would meet a new baby and all I wanted to do was handle them with care and love, they needed that. At age

13, I realized what my calling was I wanted to be a nurse, not just any nurse but a neonatal nurse, someone who takes care of babies who are in the most critical stages of their existing life, all I wanted to do was to nurture them back to health, to give them the chance to breathe, to live, to make mistakes, find love, live a full life that I was living then. I knew to become a nurse that I would have so many long years and a hard journey to get there and even once I’m there to continue on the difficult path that I set out for my life. From that moment I vowed to have good grades, and starting middle school to have a 4.0 and to never lose that. I was very mature for my age, I just wanted to have a future and I knew I could obtain it if I just worked hard enough. I took ROP career ready classes like Health Care Occupations and Medical Assisting because I wanted to show my family that I was serious about being a nurse. I started volunteering in a Rehabilitation hospital as a Unit Support volunteer, where I could meet patients who needed extra care. I was determined to get to my goal and hoped that my accomplishments would lead me to where I am today.

Like every story, though there is good, there are also bad and difficult times, my story is no different. An important piece of my story which I didn't mention is where I got my strength, compassion, understanding, love, hope, joy, and my need to serve others from. My grandmother, the woman who showed me to be all those things is the reason that I am here today. In my Junior year of high school, one of the most critical years of my school life was also one of the most difficult years of my personal life. My grandmother was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's Disease or other known Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, which is a very rare condition. My grandmother was struck with this disease at 86 years old, and it was the most devastating news I could hear. To try and cope with my pain, I intellectualized everything, I wanted to be one step ahead to understand what will happen, what can help her, who do I need to become in order for her to be okay. Along with my mother, my grandmother raised me, she taught me to

love life and to speak spanish, to give others what they need even if I don’t have something to give. This disease took her too soon, within shortly 6 months the woman who had a strong will to live and a fighting spirit, wasn’t able to get her life back. Yet, I wanted to repay what she had done for me my entire life by being the nurse in hers. When she passed, it was the worst time in my life, but I knew life didn’t end for me, that I had to continue becoming the person she needed and wanted me to be. When one life ends another is born, maybe her spirit was born in me to continue my journey. I knew from the moment she got sick to the moment she passed and after that I needed to become what I always believed I was destined to be, if not for me then for her.

I’ve learned that not everyone has solely only one gift, I believe that everyone has their own whether it be one or twenty, that gifts are what are given to us at the beginning of our life but as we grow up more are added. From a young age, compassion, kindness, forgiveness were my gifts, and now I added more to my life-long list and now they come from grandma, strength and perseverance are my new found gifts. I believe that a person’s joys and future should be determined not by the mistakes they have made, or the grief they have felt, but by the person who they have become when all of these situations are said and done. I wanted to be a nurse since I was 13 years old, my only reasons being because it was my passion, yet now it’s my passion and the yearning to honor the life of my grandmother. I never gave that up. So all along I am certain that this has always been my gift.

Demon Possession In Humans--Taja

Everyone has had a moment in their life where they have sensed a presence other than the

people surrounding them. Whether that individual was by themselves or accompanied by friends and family, they were able to detect an unusual presence. For instance, when people wash their faces in the shower and feel the sudden urge to open their eyes and turn around it’s because they feel a supernatural presence. This leads me to question if the presence that is sensed is the presence of a demon or if stress is controlling their thought process. The literal definition of demon means, “​an evil spirit or devil, especially one thought to possess a person or act as a tormentor in hell.” In the bible demons are referred to as, “ fallen angels,” a fallen angel is an angel who rebelled against God and was cast out of heaven. In the bible an angel named Lucifer ( better known as Satan) was cast out of heaven after rebelling against God along with the angels he persuaded. “ So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him”( Revelation 12:9). Although Satan and the angels he persuaded were cast out of heaven they were still able to interfere with humans. “ For Jesus had commanded the impure spirit to come out of the man. Many times it had seized him, and though he was chained hand and foot and kept under guard, he had broken his chains and had been driven by the demon into solitary places” (Luke 8:

29). This shows that demons have the ability to possess the human mind and body. “Night and day among the tombs and in the hills he would cry out and cut himself with stones” (Mark 5:5). Demons can often lead people to come out of character resulting in them committing self harm. This can be seen in society as stress, depression or mental health issues.

Oftentimes people will not equate spiritual warfare with mental health problems. For example, there are several teens and adults that suffer from self- harm. They inflict wounds by picking at their skin or by cutting themselves with sharp objects. “She drew ​blood​, but she continued to scratch and cut. In her mind, self-injury was the only way she could deal with all the dealing with stress​” (WebMD). Oftentimes the term, “ stress demon,” will be used when people describe the amount of pressure that they are under. This is because of the negative effects stress can have on an individual’s body. Stress can cause a person to have anxiety, depression, or mental health issues. Stress is “ ​a state of mental or emotional strain or tension resulting from adverse or very demanding circumstances.” Despite the fact that stress is common within society if it is strong enough to affect an individuals health it should not be overlooked nor normalized. There are several ways that stress can be reduced. A few of the ways are to identify what is causing the stress, seek help, and to walk away from situations when you are angry. In conclusion, taking steps towards ensuring that both mental and spiritual health is taken care of can help an individual fight their own battles with their demons.

Only A Dream--Monica

Nevaeh abruptly awoke to the sound of her manager, Rachel calling her to wake up and
get ready for the busy day that awaited her. She was the type of person that was always prompt and never overslept, but for some odd reason, today was an exception. After Rachel tried several attempts to wake up Nevaeh, she finally arose from her bed and headed over to her luxurious bathroom to start her early morning. From the other room Rachel said urgently, “Nevaeh you know today is a huge day for you, we have to prepare for your album launch party tonight and I hope you didn’t forget about the radio interview we have scheduled today.” Nevaeh rolled her eyes in annoyance, she was tired of hearing her manager constantly nagging her about what she needed to do but she knew Rachel had her best interest at heart. “Rach you’re starting to sound like a broken record,” Nevaeh complained with an irritated tone. Rachel sighed as Nevaeh stepped out of the bathroom still in her pajamas, now with a full face of makeup on and her naturally curly hair decorated with butterfly clips. She sat on her california king bed as her manager handed her items of clothing one by one so that she could decide on an outfit for her big day. Nevaeh had finally decided on two outfits, one for the radio interview she would be attending, and one for her album launch party later that evening. As the two young women made their way out of the door, they were met with a sleek, black SUV that was parked in the long narrow driveway of the mansion. After a long car ride through LA traffic, Nevaeh and Rachel opened the car door only to be met with a crowd full of screaming fans and paparazzi, Nevaeh stopped briefly to greet her fans, take photos and sign autographs. Eventually, Nevaeh and her team made it safely into the lobby of the building where they were guided into what looked like the radio room where the interview would be held. The people in the radio room welcomed Nevaeh and her team with warm smiles as they introduced themselves one by one, briefly after greetings they began the interview which consisted of Neveah answering questions

about her debut album, plans for a potential tour, and experience with her newfound stardom. After the interview, they were headed to the venue where the album launch party would be held to discuss decorations, the guest list, and overall preparations for the event. Nevaeh finally headed back home to rest before her busy day would resume once again for a huge celebration later on. She was beyond excited about finally launching her album after all of the blood sweat and tears that she put into her craft, she could not wait for everyone to hear the long awaited project. Before she knew it, it was 5:00 pm which meant she had to start getting ready for the album launch party so that she could be there before the party started at 7:00 pm. With an hour and a half left to spare, Nevaeh left her house to meet Rachel and the rest of her management team at the venue where guests would start to arrive. She entered the nearly empty venue at 6:15 pm, giving her and the staff enough time to make sure the finishing touches were in place for the party. “Hey Rach what time is it?” Nevaeh asked, as Rachel checked her phone for the time, it was 6:57 pm and guests started to line up in front of the venue where a bouncer stood at the door to make sure the people let into the event were on the guest list. As they began to file into the large room, Nevaeh greeted everyone with open arms and a wide smile, she was so happy to see all of the familiar faces.The guests spent their time mingling with one another, taking photos at the photo booth and helping themselves to refreshments until it was almost time for Nevaeh’s debut album to be released to the public. Nevaeh made her way to the stage with a microphone in hand, “Hello everyone, I would like to thank you all for coming and I’m so thankful for every single one of you.” The crowd erupted into a fit of applause as Nevaeh continued her speech, “As of now, my debut album will launch in exactly two minutes and I cannot be more excited yet nervous for you all to hear what I have been working on these past few months, so without further adieu, I would like to officially announce the launch of my new album, ‘Dream’.” Everyone in the audience cheered for Nevaeh as she made her way off the

stage and into the crowd of people. Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves while Nevaeh’s music blasted throughout the whole venue, Nevaeh went around chatting with friends both old and new and all of her family members, she was so thankful for all of the special people in her life. The party eventually came to an end and Nevaeh made her way back home, still in awe of her magical night. She layed on her bed closing her eyes and reflecting on her life, she couldn’t believe it was real, it almost felt like a ​dream​ that she had no intention of waking up from. The sound of an alarm clock blared in her ear as she awoke groggily from her sleep, she began to realize the room she was in was not a large master bedroom but a small room that contained a twin sized bed with posters all over the wall and several instruments in the corner of the room. In a tired, raspy voice she said softly, “I knew it was too good to be true.” It was only a dream.

Reflection--Jackie

“Hm?”, I look around the dark room with no windows or doors, though the room was too
dark, I was still able to find my way around. A light suddenly shines down in the center of the room revealing a little girl. Golden flowy curls as her hair and a tiny frail body, though her face was not there. She was unidentifiable. “ Hello?”, I say slowly walking towards her. “STOP PLEASE, YOU’RE HURTING ME!”, the little girl screamed. Confused, I looked around to see who she was yelling at but when I looked back at her, to tell her no onees here, she was gone. I panicked and ran to where she was standing shouting , “Little girl?! Where did you go? Hello?” “Stop! Please!”, I turned around seeing the little girl on the floor curled up with someone surrounding her like a wolf ready to attack it’s prey. “Leave her alone!”, I yelled. I tried to run and stop the person but my body would not move an inch, as if I was frozen. I look up and see tears dripping down the little girls chin as the stranger continued to circle her. I continued to struggle trying everything in me to move to save this little girl. I looked up again and she was gone. My body was finally able to move, I ran straight towards where she would have been. “Little girl! Where are you?” I say with worry taking over my body.

I waited and waited for her to appear again or to give me a sign to know that she’s here. “You’re 

up, trembling. I see where she was looking only to see that two shadow figures were walking towards her. “Stop, please!” the little girl yelled with pain and fear in her voice. “Get away from her!” I yelled. My feet glued to where they were at, “No, No, No, Little Girl!” , I yelled for her to run towards me. The two shadow figures were in front of her as she screamed for mercy. “Stop!”, I yelled, though I knew they would not stop. “No!”screamed the little girl before disappearing once again.

Tears streamed down my cheeks like a river as I knelt down not wanting to hear her cries of pain, help and misery. “ENOUGH!”, I screamed still facing the puddle of tears on the floor. Everything was finally silent. I slowly looked up to find myself in an elevator, facing my reflection. I looked around continuing to see only my reflection. I stopped with chills going down my spine, the once beautiful little girl was not covered in cuts, bruises and no emotion on her face. Her clothes ripped with blood stains and dirt which told me those shadow figures damaged her. I turned around and there stood the little girl. “You didn’t help”, she said with tears forming in her eyes. In a blink of an eye, sewing thread closed her mouth shut preventing her from speaking. “I c-couldnt”, I say with pain and guilt in my voice. I looked away in shame, only to see that both the little girl and I were now in a living room. She looked down disappointed and hurt as I see shadow figures come behind her. “Don’t come near us!”, I yell warning them.

“Who are you?”, I shout as they continue to walk towards us My eyes were blinded by something silvery and shiny, which caused me to look to see what it was. My blood ran cold when I realized they all had a knife they were harshly gripping. “Get out of here little girl, Run!”, I shouted to try and get her away. Even if I died, I’ll die knowing that the little girl ran away. But she didn’t move an inch, “Run!” I say again, trying to get her to safety. The shadow figures were were now only three feet behind the little girl. Everything stopped for that moment. Time stopped where I had to make the only decision, I grabbed the little girl and ran to escape, but stopped to see a mirror. The shadow figures now behind me, we were trapped. The shadow figures held up their knives ready to stab us, I quickly dropped to the ground to protect the little girl. I felt the pain of knives going into my back. I held the little girl close to prevent any knives cutting or harming her in any way. I screamed and cried as the knives sliced and cut into me. I looked up into the mirror seeing all of the shadows stabbing me as my tears mixed with my blood. I looked at the little girl but she disappeared into me at the same time the stabbings stopped. I looked to see that the shadows were now surrounding me and I, being the little girl that whole time.

Growth vs. Fixed Mindset--Jonah

Have you ever had a time where you take your first test for a class and you completely bomb it? I’m sure most of us have had that moment once in our life, and just left you feeling like there is no hope for your grade for the rest of the year in your class. This type of thinking is known as a fixed mindset. According to Carol Dweck, a researcher in personality and social psychology, a fixed mindset is where "people believe their qualities are fixed traits and therefore cannot change." This type of mindset is toxic to your lifestyle and affects you negatively as you grow older. Unfortunately, this mindset plagues many of our ways of thinking, which ultimately leads to constant failure. Alternatively, the opposite of a fixed mindset is known as a growth mindset. Once again, according to Dweck, a growth mindset is when "people have an underlying belief that their learning and intelligence can grow with time and experience." The growth mindset takes time and effort to achieve. However, this mindset is what mainly helps lead you to a successful route to whatever obstacle you aim to overcome. Let's say you have a test that you studied for well enough, but you did not get the score you hoped to achieve. A person with a fixed mindset would leave them feeling hopeless, unmotivated, and angry with the outcome. This can affect their knowledge negatively and affect the tests they take in the future unfavorably. A growth mindset would rather accept the score they received and focus on what went wrong on their test. They would then learn from it and figure out ways to be more prepared for the next one. The key difference between these two situations is the persistence and commitment to accomplish a better score. Having a growth mindset does not only need to be applied to academics but your everyday life, such as relationships, sports, and your future career.

Life is difficult, and it is only going to get tougher as we transition from high school to college. More obstacles are going to appear in each of our lives, and the best way to overcome them is to maintain a growth mindset. Sure, there will be multiple instances where you fail, and it is inevitable. Keeping the growth mindset will help you look past these failures and move forward. The main problem with having a fixed mindset, is people tend to continue looking in the rearview mirror. They focus on what happened in the past, and not what is going on right in front of them. Being optimistic and thankful for the things you have can help you look past those mistakes. We need to learn from our past mistakes and grow from them. Every loss is a lesson to help you become more successful. When you do succeed, focus on what you did right and continue to do it daily so you can perfect it and minimize failure. Everyone can be successful, it just takes the willingness to change your mindset to get your journey started on your path to success.