A Dream..?

Authors Note: Currently in class, we are doing speeches. So I decided to do a collaborative piece with Kavitha, and this is called a "Sentence Tag Story". That is when each of us switches off writing the sentences, and the story can be completely random, just like ours is. Enjoy, and I hope you laugh - a lot!

My head went bazingaa! That was what happened to me when some random stranger threw a loaf of bread at me. I turned around to them and said, “Do you believe in unicorns?” turns out they didn’t. And it just so happens that there was an ice cream truck coming down the road, so I got a vanilla cone and smashed it against my forehead. HA! So there are unicorns in the world; Some people might think this is weird, but if you knew me, it is perfectly normal. I could tell by the strangers face that he thought it was the strangest thing, so I took out my handy dandy travel size loaf of bread and hit him in the face. Our fight went on for hours, but that’s not even the craziest part; I actually entered the world of Narnia, don’t ask me how, I just did! I roamed the vast forest around the lamp post, and soon came to find a strange woman named the “White Witch”. She gave me this wonderful food called Turkish Delight, and so I climbed onto her coach and we went off. During the ride, she tried to take my stuffed doll Dora, so I said to her “Swiper no swiping!!” I tried to get out, knowing that anyone who looked this horrid is bound to be trouble, thanks to those beavers with the british accents, I did. The beavers took me to the great lion Aslan, and I asked him if he could get rid of the Dora swiping demon for good! He was very wise, and told me that she is too powerful for anybody to kill her, besides the chosen one; which just happened to be...not me. It turned out to be Peter, some random guy that walked into a wardrobe or something. He looked really familiar, kind of like the kid who hit me in the head with the bread. When Peter walked into the room, he said “Greetings Earthlings, I am the chosen one!” To be honest, I didn’t even like the kid. He seemed to be too full of himself. So, who cares if he’s the chosen one, I am the chosen..er one. I didn’t really see what I was doing here, so I said to them “So.... Can I leave?” Nobody was paying attention to me, so I decided to go back to the lamp post. I was wondering how I was going to get back home, when all of a sudden this creepy centaur thing came up to me and started attacking me. I screamed at the top of my lungs, “AHHHHHHHH! Somebody help me!” I kept yelling, when I found myself waking up. So I guess it was all just a dream... Or so I thought. As i sat back up, I looked around, I was in the middle of the street with bread in my hair and ice cream on my forehead. And to this day, I don’t know... Was it real? Or... A Dream?

And that kids, is the story of Pippy SirSqueeALot and the Dora Swiping Demon, and we’ll see you next week for another story on the Adventures of Piipy SirSqeeALot, good night!

A Letter to Myself

Author's Note: So I was struggling to decide what to write for my next conference. Then I looked at some writing prompts at creativewritingprompts.com and did Writing Prompt #21, which states "Write a letter to the 10-year-old child you had been." When I was 10 I was in 5th grade, and that was my last year in Michigan. It was really fun and interesting writing this piece, so I hope you like it!

Dear 10-year-old Becca,

Right now you are ten years old. You are in 5th grade and have Mrs. Scott as a teacher. I’m assuming you really love your life right now. Sam is now your best friend, and you’re really close to Kaley, Breanna, and Rachel. And trust me. Sam is your best bet as a friend. She will never abandon you, and you will never get in any fights. She will never tell anyone any of your secrets, and she will always be there for you. Kaley, Breanna, and Rachel are okay friends, but you really don’t need them. You will meet better people in the future. Oh, and you just got your ear’s pierced this summer! Well, for a second time. Remember when your left earlobe got all red in school last year? And then you went home and took the earring out and blood was spurting everywhere? Ouch. That must’ve hurt real bad. But I’m glad you decided just to let them close up and get them pierced yet again. But this letter is mainly to tell you that your dad will get a job offer at MetalTEK in Wisconsin. Him and your mom will go house hunting for a couple of days, and then come back and tell you that they are thinking about moving to Wisconsin. At first you will be really excited, and tell everyone in your class. But then you start to get scared all the time. You won’t want to do anything at school, because you feel like it’s pointless because you might be moving to a different school anyways. That Sam won’t be your best friend anymore, and that you will be a complete loser at your new school. And don’t freak out the day that your parents decide that it would be the best thing for your family to move to Wisconsin. The pay at MetalTEK will be more, the schools are much better, and there will be more opportunities in life. The moment you find out you’re moving, you will get your mom’s phone and go to your room. You’ll immediately dial Sam’s mom’s phone number and you’ll ask if you can speak to Sam. You’ll tell her that you’re moving and you’ll both start balling your eyes out. You’ll ask if you can go over to her house, and you walk over there. Then you both cry together. Just cry. Please don’t try to stop it. Just hug each other, and cry, and let everything out. Just let everything out that you’ve been holding inside you for so long. Just cry with your best friend and spend every waking moment with her until Friday, August 21, 2010 at 4:30 PM. But please, please, please do not let the fact that you’re moving make you sad or depressed. Just think of the good things. At your new school, you can start over. You can try and not be that shy girl that you’ve always been. Meet new people, and make new best friends.Focus on getting good grades and meeting new people. But I just wanted to warn you about the Wisconsin thing. And just have fun being a normal 10 year old girl, and worry about things that any other 10 year old would worry about.

Love,

The Future You.

The Journey of Life

Authors Note: This is a Literary Analysis on "The Bean Trees." I focused on trying to show my understanding of the book. Enjoy! This essay is also being used for my District Writing Assessment.

“It was one of the many times in Turtle’s and my life together that I was to have no notion of what to do.”(pg.281) Taylor Greer, a young woman from Pittman County, Kentucky doesn’t know what she wants with her life. So she heads west in her battered, ragged car, hoping to start over with a blank slate. But during a series of unexpected events she somehow ends up with a three-year-old American-Indian girl named Turtle. The Bean Trees, written by Barbara Kingsolver, has an admirable story-line because of its pronounced sense of love, friendship, and abandonment.

Love is the greatest source of healing – it heals hearts. When Taylor meets Turtle for the first time, she doesn’t know what she should do. She doesn’t know how to be a mother, and she doesn’t even have a home to live in. Yet she decides that she should not care about their possessions, or how much money they have – but to just love Turtle with all her heart. Taylor discovers bruises all over Turtle’s body and finds out that she must have been through some sort of traumatic experience. Also that Turtle had most likely never been loved before, and had never had a mother that truly cared for her. Taylor and Turtle’s bond is caused by love – and that bond is what keeps them together throughout the entire novel.

Although love may have a great effect on The Bean Trees story-line, friendship is also another main factor in this novel. When Taylor and Turtle arrive in Tucson, Arizona they decide to stay there permanently. One of the many people that they meet on their journey is Mattie. Mattie runs the “Jesus Is Lord Used Tires” shop, and she gives Taylor a job there, as well as a place to stay. But eventually Taylor is going to have to get her own place – or share an apartment with someone else. She eventually finds an apartment and lives there with a woman named Lou Ann Ruiz and her son Dwayne Ray. Lou Ann and Taylor become the best of friends, and share the experiences of mother hood with one another. They become independent, strong women and mothers, who know how to effectively run a household. They depend on each other for life advice, and they both play a huge role in each other’s lives.

Despite the fact that friendship plays an extensive aspect in this novel, abandonment has to be what brought all these characters together in the first place. While Taylor is working at the tire shop, Mattie introduces her to Estevan and Esperanza - a young married couple who came to the United States illegally from Guatemala. But they could be arrested or killed in America since they had come illegally -- they were not safe in Tucson, Arizona. They had to abandon their country because it was too dangerous. Their daughter Ismene had been kidnapped and adopted into another family. Taylor did not want to have Turtle taken away from her either. Social services was going to come and take Turtle away from her because she wasn’t her legal guardian. And the only way to keep Turtle was to get her birth parents to sign her over to Taylor Greer. The only problem is that Taylor has no idea where any of Turtle’s relatives could be. So Taylor takes Estevan, Esperanza, and Turtle to Oklahoma to keep them safe and to somehow find a way to adopt Turtle. This expedition linked them all together because of their own reasons of abandonment -- and they just wanted to be safe with their loved ones.

A commendable novel that contains a great sense of love, friendship, and abandonment is The Bean Trees, written by Barbara Kingsolver. This book is extremely passionate about being loyal to your family and friends, while being loyal to yourself. Never forget to love people with all your heart. Because one day, you might need all the love you can get.

Only the Heart Matters

Author's Note: This is a quote interpretation that I decided to right. I wanted to do something that I had never done before, so I choose this quote from John Elroy Sanford. Enjoy!

“Beauty may be skin deep, but ugly goes clear to the bone.”  ~ John Elroy Sanford

Beauty can mean two things. One is about your looks. People may say you’re, “pretty”, or “beautiful”. Another meaning of beauty is beauty within your heart. Being beautiful can mean having a beautiful personality. Caring about someone, and loving people for who they are, not just what they look like on the outside. Imagine if we were to have no skin, and no looks. Just looking at someone and being able to see straight into their heart; not having to judge them on their looks before actually getting to know the person. “Beauty may be skin deep,” means that not everyone will be able to tell that you are a real, caring person, because the human eye can only see the skin.

In this quote, I think that the meaning of ugly is based off of personality, and how you act. Ugly can mean rude or violent. “Ugly goes clear to the bone”, means that your entire personality is consumed with selfishness, and only caring about yourself.

Overall, I think that this quote means that not everyone can see the beauty within, only the looks that they are capable of seeing. But anyone can tell if you are an ugly person, and have an ugly heart, because there is no way of escaping the eyes and hearts of the people around you.

Nature's Beauty

Author’s Note: In this creative piece, I wrote about nature. I focused on creating a scene with lots of details.

Nature. It is a place where all creatures can stop and rest. We go there to think. To get things off of our minds, and get a breath of fresh air. You can go there just to take in all the beauty. Deer prancing through the trees, birds chirping in their nests, and squirrels finding acorns to store for the winter. The leaves slowly falling from their branches in autumn, gradually turning into winter. The wind glides through the trees branches, causing a slight rustle of movement. In the wintertime, the ground looks like it is covered with a bright white blanket. The beauty of nature is mesmerizing; a unique place only found on Earth.

Concert Review

Author's Note: Last week, I was in a band concert. Ms. Mitchell always has us do Concert Evaluations, but this time she decided to have us do an essay and pretend that we came to the concert instead of playing in the concert. Here is my critique of the 7th and 8th grade band concerts in essay format!

On March 6, 2013 at the Pewaukee High School Auditorium, the Asa Clark Middle School 7^th and 8^th grade band performed a concert.  I attended this concert at 6:30 PM and was prepared for a variety of song selection and musical talent. After the concert, I was fairly impressed. The Asa Clark Middle School 7^th and 8^th grade band performances were extremely intricate with a variety of song selection.

First, the 7^th grade band performed. Each song that they played had a different tempo and time signature, which made a lot of different variety. Within a few of the songs, there were different melody’s which also made more variety within the pieces. I was impressed that the band blended their sound very nicely. But, I did not notice a lot of dynamic contrast. I think if there were more dynamics it would have made the music more meaningful. The blend and balance was phenomenal. The only parts that really stood out to me were the articulations and dynamics. The articulations could have been more defined to make the music more clean.

After the 7^th grade band was finished performing, the 8^th grade band took the stage. When they started performing, you could hear the assortment of instruments as well as the different tempos within each piece. I was extremely impressed by the alto saxophones. They were marvelous at making the entire band blend together; they were like final string tying the band together. Just like the 7^th grade band, I did not notice a lot of dynamics. Throughout the entire performance they had the same volume. The upper woodwinds exceeded the rest of the band’s volume, and they were too overpowering; there should have been more low brass. The articulations were much better than the 7^th grade band’s; it made the music sound very polished.

A band that has an assortment of song selection and has excellent performing skills is the Asa Clark Middle School 7^th and 8^th Grade Band. Overall, I was extremely impressed. The young adults in the 7^th and 8^th grade band are very professional for their age, and exceeded my expectations. They should expect extraordinary musical futures.

Questions and Thoughts

Authors Note: Lately I have been reading the Twilight Saga, and I decided to write a letter to the author, Stephenie Meyer. This is my creative piece!

Dear Stephenie Meyer,

I’ve recently been reading the Twilight Saga, and I love it. I am literally obsessed with it. All I think about is vampires and werewolves. Many people ask me - Team Edward or Team Jacob? And I’m both ways. When I watched the movies I was definitely Team Jacob. But when I started reading the books I was leaning towards Team Edward. I didn’t realize that Edward cared so much about Bella, and you describe his love for her really well. I just finished Eclipse, and I am both teams. Edward loves Bella so much, but Jacob just won’t give up on her.  But as I’ve been reading these books, many questions have formed in my mind. My first question is, how are vampires able to smell blood? For example, in Twilight, when Edward and Bella have Biology together, Edward needs a lot of self-control because her blood smells so good. But if Edward is technically dead, how are his senses able to work? Most of my questions won’t be able to be answered, but it just gets my imagination running on full speed. Another one of my questions is how exactly is a human turned into a vampire? For example, when other vampires feed on humans, how do those humans not turn into vampires? Is it because all of their blood is sucked out of them? I think that to turn someone into a vampire, you only bite them, not drink their blood. An additional question is, how does the vampire venom get into a human’s body if all they do is bite them? Does the venom come out of the vampires teeth? Another one of my questions is, when a vampire gets killed, why do you have to tear them to shreds and burn the pieces? That sums up my questions about the Saga. But I do have a lot of comments on the books. I really love how you they put themselves back together if their pieces aren’t burned? Those are all of my main have the two different creatures fighting over Bella, and how the description makes a perfect picture in my head. Although sometimes I feel terrible for Jacob. Sometimes I wish that Jacob would imprint on Bella, so that she wouldn’t have a choice but to fall in love with Jacob. I have seen all the movies so I know that Jacob imprints on Renesmee, and I know that Bella is furious with Jacob. But I’m happy for Jacob because he gets to be around a part of Bella, and be apart of her family. I have a lot of favorite parts in the books. But I have to say my favorite part is in and they get to talk about Bella. If only they weren’t always meant to be enemies. Sometimes it Eclipse, during the tent scene. I love how Jacob and Edward get to be normal around each other, makes me so angry, that Bella, Edward, and Jacob could all just be friends, while Bella and Edward are married. Why can’t Jacob just accept the fact that Bella will never be able to love him the way that she loves Edward? And how can Bella be in love with two people at the same time? If she knows that she isn’t able to live without Edward, she should just consider Jacob as a friend. I have seen all of the movies, and they are amazing, but the books are so much better. The books describe the events in so much more detail, and they suck you into their world. I hope you can answer some of my questions!

Becca Chadwick

Interpreting The Characters

Authors Note: This is my Point Of View essay. I decided to do this essay on Twilight because I think that the book would be very different if it was told in a different point of view. 

In Twilight, Bella Swan moves to Forks, Washington and meets a vampire named Edward Cullen; they fall in love and face the consequences of being together. They do anything to be with each other, even in life or death situations. The novel is written in Bella’s point of view. From her perspective, she doesn’t care that everything around her is dangerous and life threatening: she just wants to be with Edward. In the book Twilight, by Stephenie Meyer, 17 year-old Bella Swan’s point of view affects how readers feel about certain characters and events.

Bella’s point of view affects readers interpretation of the character’s because what we think about them is mainly what Bella perceives them as. Such as the character Rosalie Hale. Bella thinks that Rosalie does not like her, since she is always giving her evil glares. But if the story were to be told in Rosalie’s point of view, then we would know what she really thinks about Bella. The readers know and feel how much Bella loves Edward, and how much she wants to be with him. When Bella meets Edward for the first time in Biology class, she doesn’t know what is wrong with Edward because he looks very disgusted by her. Bella thinks that she smells bad, but if the book was told in Edwards point of view, we would know that it was just because her blood smelled good; he wasn’t able to hear her thoughts either.

If Twilight were to be told in Edwards point of view, readers would be able to feel the amount of self-control that Edward has to have in order to be around Bella. Readers would also be able to learn more about Edward’s past and the thoughts of the other characters: since he has the ability to read minds. When the evil vampire James is on the hunt to try and kill Bella, Edward is furious. If it was told in Edward’s perspective, we would know how frustrated he was with James, and how much he wanted to keep Bella safe.

17 year-old Bella Swan’s point of view affects how readers feel about certain events and characters in the novel Twilight, by Stephenie Meyer. In many books, if the point of view is changed then the whole story can end up being different. If Twilight were to be told in a different point of view, readers would interpret characters and events in a completely different way.

The Land Without Love

Authors Note: This is my theme analysis essay on the book "Delirium". I decided to write this essay on this book because I just recently finished it, and I thought that it was really well written. It kept me wanting to keep reading more, and the themes were meaningful.

People, living their lives as if they're zombies. Living as if there's a constant bubble separating them from the real world. Finding out that their entire life has been a lie. Magdalena Tiddle, otherwise known as Lena, lives in Portland, Maine where there is no such thing as love. "Amor Deliria Nervosa", is thought of as a disease, where the side effects can be things like depression, fatigue, and even death. In the heart-breaking but fervent story “Delirium”, by Lauren Oliver, the main theme is courage because of the passionate actions shown by the main character.

Seventeen-year old Lena Tiddle has lived her life in captivity, even though she has just realized it. She has always been the shy girl, that always goes along with what people say, so that she doesn’t get into trouble. But when she meets Alex Warren, she finds out what her life has really been like. The government has been lying about everything for the past 64 years, when they discovered that love was a disease called “the deliria”. Alex tells her the truth about everything. How the Invalids do exist, and that they all live in the Wilds. There are many sympathizers and resisters living a secret life in Portland. When Lena thought that the sympathizers and resisters were executed, they were actually just people living normal lives. Sympathizers and resistors are people that resist getting cured, so they get thrown into the Crypts, where they are left to rot. Discovering so many new things about her life made Lena bring up the courage to do what she believes in, and to do what she thinks is right. She won’t let the government control her, and she gains a huge amount of courage throughout this novel.

Although Lena represents courage through standing up for what she believes in, she also expressed it through protecting the people she cared about. When Lena discovered that her best friend Hana was planning on going to a party with loud music and boys, she was worried about her, because party’s are majorly illegal. But Lena brought up the courage to go to the party, because she wanted to show Hana that she isn’t as scared as she thought she was. At the party, Hana was frantic that Lena decided to come. Lena needed a lot of courage to go to that party, because she had always been so scared to go against the rules; she went because her best friend wanted her to. Lena also finds Alex at the party, but she is still afraid because she doesn’t know what to think of him. They both know it’s illegal for them to interact with one another, but they do it anyways. The first time that Alex and Lena meet together, is at East End Beach. That’s where Alex tells Lena that he is an Invalid; he never was cured and he was born and raised in the Wilds. Alex and Lena both portray a lot of courage, because they trust one another, and they know they will keep one another secrets.

The main characters in “Delirium” illustrate courage, but they aren’t the only ones. Katniss Everdeen in “The Hunger Games”, by Suzanne Collins, also demonstrates quite a lot of courage. “The Hunger Games” is about 12 districts within the country of Panam; the Capital holds The Hunger Games every year, and they choose one boy and one girl from each district to fight to the death. This event takes place so that the Capital shows power and control over the districts, and so that they stay in line. Prim Everdeen, Katniss’ sister, got chosen to be in the games, but Katniss volunteered herself to take Prim’s place. Katniss represented loads of courage, because there was a very slim chance that she would survive. Authors Lauren Oliver and Suzanne Collins both have the same type of theme in their books. Each contains the main theme of Courage because of the Government Control that happens in the books.

Courage is the main theme because of passionate actions demonstrated by the main character, in the heart-breaking but fervent novel “Delirium”, by Lauren Oliver. People try to blend in, and some aren’t brave enough to be themselves or standing up for what they believe in. Lena and Alex are big examples of exempting courage, because they stood up for what they believed in; they wanted to make things right. Courage isn’t just a theme, it’s most definitely a life skill that everyone should learn.

Strange Thoughts

Authors Note: This is my creative ending to 3:15. I think that this will be the ending to the story, because I used evidence from the story. 

Cody runs back home to melt the hook into a golden brick. His run down shack has a musty smell, and the floorboards creak as he treads along. He's getting ready to melt the brick as he hears the leaves rustling outside the door. Then he feels a cold rush of air against his skin. Strange thoughts wander into his mind, but he just pushes them aside and continues on to prepare the materials to melt the hook. But then he swears he sees some sort of shadow pass by the window. As he gets up to check the water suddenly starts running and a drawer opens. Cody sprints to the door but he hears the door latch, and he wiggles the knob frantically. His mind gets swarmed with all kinds of thoughts about what could be happening. But as he turns back to the sink, a knife is floating in the air. And the last thing that the village of Marshall heard that night, was an ear piercing scream. 

One out of Thirteen

Authors Note: This piece is my Character Analysis. I chose to analyze the main character in the book "Thirteen Reasons Why", Clay Jensen. Clay is a hard character to analyze because he adds on to his own personality, but I wanted to challenge myself with it.

In the beginning, Clay Jensen is a normal teenager. He goes to school, does his homework, and plays basketball. But one day he finds a mysterious box on his front porch, with seven cassette tapes inside. He finds out that these tapes were recorded by Hannah Baker, who committed suicide two weeks earlier, and that they were made to show the thirteen reasons why she committed suicide. It turns out that Clay was one of those reasons. And by the time Clay is done with the tapes, he realizes what he could’ve done to stop it, and his whole life comes into perspective. Throughout this heart-racing novel, “Thirteen Reasons Why” by Jay Asher,  Clay Jensen’s life changes, and so does the way he acts.

At the beginning of this book, Clay is a normal teenager. He goes to school, does his homework, and likes to play basketball. As he states in the book, “Basketball. A lot of us played that summer, hoping to make JV as freshmen.” - Cassette 1: Side A, page 22. He starts off as being just like everyone else. Clay was just a normal kid, who went to high school, and blended right in with everyone else. He did what everyone else did, just to make sure that no one gave him too much attention.

Clay changes into a totally new person throughout this entire novel. He goes from a normal teenager, to someone who is filled with guilt. He blames himself for not noticing that Hannah was going through a very tough time in her life. “I was the only person who might’ve been able to reach out and save her from herself.” - Cassette 5: Side B, pg 133. His entire personality changes. It turns into guilt, and regret, from all the chances that he had to stop her, and to help her through the hard times. So many chances were missed, and if he had just realized what was going on, Hannah might still be alive.

Even though Clay changed himself, he influenced the other people around him. The snowball effect, as Hannah calls it, started with Justin Foley, and ended with a teacher. Clay influenced others to keep treating Hannah like dirt, and he didn’t help her situation at all. But Hannah knew that, and the only reason that Clay was in the tapes, was so that she could say she was sorry. Sorry for pushing him away, when all he wanted to do was be in her life.  “I would have helped her if she’d only let me. I would have helped her because I want her to be alive.” - Cassette 7: Side A, page 164.

When I was reading this book, I thought it was very emotional. It made me realize that everything you do can majorly affect other people’s lives. Even the smallest things can have a huge impact on someone. Teenagers in high school always tend to believe all the rumors that they hear, and they add onto them, just making them worse. For Hannah, one small rumor lead to the end of her life.

Changing from normal teenager, to changing yourself as well as the others around you isn’t only in “Thirteen Reasons Why.” Molly Dix, the main character in “Spoiled”, by Jessica Morgan and Heather Cocks, has to move in with her famous father and his spoiled daughter. She teaches her half sister to treat others with respect, as well as some important life lessons. Molly and Clay have the same problem. Both of them are confused about life, they both lost people very important to them, and they each learn who their true friends are.

Clay Jensen’s life changes, and so does the way he acts, in the heart-racing novel “Thirteen Reasons Why”, by Jay Asher. He changes into a completely new person, and not necessarily in a good way. But people change throughout life, and sometimes for reasons that are tragic. People change in reality, and in fictional novels.

Inspiration of America

Authors Note: The prompt to this Patriots Pen Essay, is "What would you say to the Founding Fathers?". I decided to talk about what question I would ask them, and explain how much I would like to thank them for everything they've done.

The founding fathers, such as George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, and Thomas Jefferson were major parts of our countries history. They were the ones who created the constitution and changed life as we know it. They wanted to form a country that was different than all the others. Without them, America wouldn’t be what it is today. Even though it’s been over 200 years, the Founding Fathers have inspired so many changes that have happened today.

The government that we have today was majorly affected by the Founding Fathers. The type of government that we have, laws, branches of government, and the way our country is run would all be different. If I had an opportunity to ask the Founding Fathers a question, I would ask them, “What made you do what you did?”  The reasoning isn’t very important, but I think that many Americans would be wondering the same question. They were brave, by making a move to make things right in America. To make the people have a say in what we do and for everyone to be equal with one another. They took a stand for their country because they knew that something needed to be changed. They decided that the citizens of our country should be free, because people shouldn’t be forced to do something they don’t want to do. And I would want to thank them, for all of the risks they took for America, just to make things right. It is hard for me to imagine life if the Founding Fathers didn’t do what they did.

So many changes that have happened today, were inspired by the founding fathers over 200 years ago. The United States of America would be very different if they didn’t do what they did. The Founding Fathers were a part of forming America, and we owe them everything.

I Just Want to be Me

Authors Note: This piece is about a girl like me, who just wants to be herself. And how people treat her different than they usually did. This piece is very emotional to me, and describes how I sometimes feel. 

I’m sick of everybody giving my so much pity and talking to me, and asking me how I feel. I’m sick of people wanting to know how I feel now, when no one talks to me at all when I’m just walking down the hallways. I don’t like when people besides my friends talk to me. I don’t like when people ask me how I feel when I know they don’t really care, they’re just trying to look good. No one really gets how I feel. I’m not the kind of girl that tells everyone how she feels and complains about how she’s feeling. I keep everything to myself. Even some of my other friends don’t even care. But no one knows how badly I just wanna be myself around everyone. No one understands how other people don’t like me because I’m shy. Some of my friends just don’t get it. I just want to yell at my friends to get all of my feelings out, but again, I don’t share my feelings. I keep it too myself, and just express myself in writing. Writing is the best way I can express myself because I’m not rushed into anything. I can take my time to really think about what I want to say. And when I get in fights with my friends, they just keep on fighting, when all I’m really trying to do is express how I feel. All I want to do is be me.

Cause & Effect of Moving

Authors Note: This is a piece about cause and effect, based on my experience of moving to Wisconsin.

An event that happened in my life was that I had to move from Michigan to Wisconsin. My dad got a call from MetalTEK one day, and they had heard that he was very good at his job, and they wanted to have him work for them. He went and interviewed, and he and my mom decided that it would be a good family decision that we would move there. It would make my dad happier, and possibly make my family happier.

The thing that caused this event, was that my dad answered his phone the day MetalTEK called him, and offered him a job. This event effected my life, and my family’s life because we had to leave all of our friends, our school, my parents jobs, and just go move and start all over again. This event might not have happened if my dad didn't answer his phone. If he didn’t answer his phone he might’ve gotten a voicemail still, but we will never know.

Conflict & Resolution of "Spoiled"

Authors Note: I decided to write my Conflict & Resolution piece on the novel "Spoiled", because there are some obvious conflicts that have great resolutions. 

The novel “Spoiled”, by Jessica Morgan, is about Molly Dix, who has to move to Los Angeles to live with her celebrity father and his spoiled daughter, Brooke Berlin. The main conflict in this book is that Brooke feels like Molly is taking away all of her spotlight, and she feels like her dad doesn’t pay any attention to her anymore. But Molly feels like everyone is pushing her away, since she is the new farm girl who moved to the big city. Brooke tries to sabotage Molly’s life, but nothing works out the way it was planned.

This conflict gets resolved because when Brooke tries to sabotage Molly’s life, it just ends up ruining her own. Molly ends up getting more attention than ever, from her classmates, paparazzi, and their father. But Molly realizes that Brooke has had a hard life, being an only child and having a movie star dad. They each take a place in each other’s shoes and realize what great friends, and sisters, they can become.

Major Life Changes

Authors Note: I decided to write my Personal Narrative on moving because it was an experience that is still fresh in my mind. Also because it it an experience that I feel like I can best write about.

I stood on my front lawn on a sunny, warm, Friday afternoon just watching my house trying to remember all of the little details I loved about it. I hugged my best friend while saying our final goodbye just wishing that the moment would never end. I remember when I said the last final goodbye to my school, neighborhood, and my friends. I realized that after that moment, I would just be a distant memory to the people that I once called my best friends. I couldn’t believe that I was moving.

I remember that I only had 5 minutes until I had to get into the car and say goodbye to my Michigan life. I used the last few minutes at my old house that I had lived in for 10 years. I walked up the red-brown creaky staircase up to the white front door while remembering the time we had to carry my 90-pound dog down to the car to take him to the vet. I entered the house and saw the dark purple wall on my right, and the big bookcase on my left. I walked up the 3 steps from the entryway to the living room and turned to my right, to get my old room. Just seeing the bright blue walls, and the automatic lamp that my dad had just installed made me wish that I would never have to leave.

The entire time we were in the car I was still crying from saying goodbye to my best friend Sam. My legs were stiff and I just couldn’t get my mind off of Michigan. It’s the place that I remember growing up in, and I always will. Having a major change in my life like that was very traumatic, in good and bad ways. The worst thing was leaving all of my best friends that I had known since preschool, and coming to a new place where I didn’t know anybody.

Coming to Pewaukee School District was an experience I will always remember.. Walking into school on the first day was the most terrifying thing that I have ever had to do. Seeing so many unfamiliar faces, and walking down strange hallways was very overwhelming. For the first couple of weeks I knew I was going to be known as “The New Girl”, but I didn’t know how bad it felt to be called that. After about a month, I started figuring out who my friends were potentially going to be. I started putting names to faces and recognizing the hallways. After a while, things weren’t as bad as I thought they were going to be.

Although moving was a terrible idea at first, it got better as the months went on. I learned to love my new house, friends, and school. I kept in touch with my old friends in Michigan and I will always miss them. But when one door closes, another one opens.

Spoiled

Authors Note: This is my retelling piece about the book "Spoiled". I chose to write my retelling on this book because I thought it was very good, and it would be worth doing a retelling on.

"Spoiled" is about a girl who has to move to Los Angeles to live with her celebrity dad and his spoiled rotten daughter. Her life becomes chaotic and even her own half-sister betrays her. Everyone in this book learns a valuable life lesson about trusting others and being true to your family.

The Movement

Authors Note: I chose to write a literary analysis because I feel that I am best at writing them. They are one of my strengths in writing and I enjoy writing them. I chose to write this literary analysis on "The Wave", because it was a great story and I wanted to share what I thought about it with others.

Walking through school, being afraid to say anything. You don’t agree with what they’re doing but if anyone finds out you could get hurt. All of your friends have abandoned you and joined the troops, as if they’re in a trance. It feels like you’re all alone and no one even cares anymore. This experiment has just went too far. History teacher, Ben Ross, wanted to create a movement that was just like the events that occurred during World War II. The students at Gordon High School get too involved and the experiment goes way too far. “The Wave”, written by Todd Strasser, is an interesting true story that captures your attention.

History is supposed to be just an average, everyday, high school class. Ben Ross likes to get the students involved in any way he can. As the year rolls along, they come across the unit of World War II. Mr. Ross shows a video about Adolf Hitler, the Nazis, and concentration camps. The students were stunned by what they were shown and they didn’t understand why the Germans didn’t stand up to the Nazis for what terrible things they were doing. Mr. Ross tries to explain as best he can but no one in his class seems satisfied. Then, he comes up with the idea to try and recreate something similar to what happened during World War II. When you read this book, you will be very interested in what will happen next.

While being interested in this book, a lot of things may capture your attention. As Mr. Ross begins his experiment, his students don’t get into it until they have the desire to do what he tells them. Their motto is “Strength Through Discipline, Strength through Community, Strength Through Action.” They come up with a salute for their club, and call this movement, The Wave. It spreads throughout the entire school and almost everyone joins. The students that don’t join are  disgrace to everyone who is a member of The Wave. They get so serious about other students joining The Wave that people start to get hurt. It is unbelievable that something like this could actually happen. It caught my attention when I realized that you can recreate something that happened in the 1930’s.

When I was in shock about how something like this could come true, I just needed to know what Mr. Ross was going to do. The entire school was out of control and only Laurie Saunders and David Collins could see it. It had gotten so out of control, that parents were getting worried, and Mr. Ross might even lose his job. He realizes that he needs to do something before someone gets seriously hurt. He tells the principal, his wife, and Laurie and David that he has a plan and they just have to trust him. In this book, you learn that you shouldn’t always go along with what everyone else is doing, but to do what your heart says is right.

An interesting true story that captures my attention is “The Wave”, written by Todd Strasser. This book is very intriguing and will astound you. You should never do anything just because other people do it, but because it is what you decide to do.

Siblings - You always have to love them

 Authors Note: My Writing circle group decided to write about siblings because we all have at least 2 siblings so they're always in our life. We wrote about the pros and cons of having a brother and/or sister.

Siblings can be very annoying, but sometimes very helpful in certain situations. Sometimes, I just feel like punching someone in the face when my siblings annoy me. But, they’re always there if you have a problem about something and you have no one else to talk to. I’m the middle child, so I have an older sister and a younger brother. I like to irritate my older sister because she gets annoyed really easily and is extremely gullible. I don’t prefer getting my young brother mad/upset because I’ll get in big trouble. I hate when I do something wrong and I get in huge trouble, but then when my brother does something wrong my parents don’t do anything about it! Some things about my family get me really frustrated.

Also, my younger brother gets the special treatment. He’s 10 years old and my mom does practically everything for him. I could do everything by myself when I was 9! It really annoys me, but I don’t let it stress me out too much. I think that that is how my sister feels about me, because I am really mean to her and I don’t get in any trouble. But when she’s mean to me, she get’s in huge trouble. My sister is 24, so she is considered an adult, so my mom thinks that she should be mature enough to “handle the situation like an adult.”

Even though some things really annoy me about my siblings, I’ll always love them, but only because they’re family.

Friends

Authors Note: My writing circle group chose to write this piece because we all care so much about friendship. I personally wanted to write this piece because my friends are a big part of my life.


I love my friends. They’re the ones that will always be there to catch me when I slip on a banana peel. I’m the one that can make them laugh when they feel like crawling into a hole to die. We make memories and we’ll remember them until we are cranky old lady's in a retirement home. My friends and I are always laughing. No matter how random it is, we laugh until our stomachs hurt. All my friends are the best people in the world. They’re funny, sweet, and very loud. They keep my secrets and I keep theirs. I don’t know what I’d do if I didn’t know them. My friends will be my friends forever.

Some of my friends aren’t my friends anymore. I thought I could trust them and then - BAM! They betrayed me and stabbed me in the back. They lied to my other friends, and when I confronted them about it, they lied to me. It turned out that they did talk about me behind my back. I’m glad that we got into that fight, because now I know that I can’t trust them.

Trust is a very important quality. If you can’t trust your friends, you can’t tell them your secrets, and you can’t trust what they tell you. I think that trust is the most important quality in a friendship. Without trust, it just isn’t a true friendship.