A Quick Note

A couple of this month's selections may not appear on the main page (they should, but the blog settings are not cooperating at the moment).  All writers and titles are listed on the side bar and those names can be clicked on to go straight to the story.  Otherwise, to see pieces not on the front page, you can also click "Older posts" at the bottom of the page, and that will take you to the rest of the pieces.

I've enjoyed reading this crop of new featured pieces -  I think you will too!
Mrs. C

"The Proper Guide to Procrastination" By Jeremy Q.

Throughout life, society experiences various struggles leading to the circumstance where one may not be able to overcome necessary obstacles to succeed in life without proper guidance. This may range from solving algebraic equations in math class to finishing a blog report due in a few hours. In this entry, one may discover how to succeed in school while retaining the qualities of a slothful student.

            Many high school students suffer from lack of motivation and the symptoms from acquiring laziness when assigned to do work. The cause of this phenomenon is not definite but can be overcome. As a student guilty of such effects, I wish to pass on my knowledge on how to prevail over such a severe disorder. Results may vary.

9/20/13 6:22 PM

First I would like to explain why I included the times in which the portions of this instructional guide were written. This report I am writing right now, which was assigned a month prior, is approximately due in six hours. I wish to verify to you that my method for procrastination does in fact possibly work and such proof is that I will finish this piece within the projected time constraint I was given. If my guide does in fact fail to possibly solve the burden of procrastination, then this report wouldn’t be posted for I wouldn’t have been able to turn it in on time. As for now, I am about to head out and eat at a fancy steakhouse and would return to complete this guide as soon as possible.

9/20/13 9:13 PM (Priorities)

People may encounter procrastination through distractions such as gourmet foods that shift one’s priorities from what is actually important. Some Super Stockhouse Steak Special for example is a temptation that pleads priority among whatever one may be doing (it was very delicious by the way). The juicy tenderness of a well-done pound of awesomeness with a dab of A1 sauce has proven to be quite irresistible especially with a side of a Colossal Root Beer float. With the addition of creamy clam chowder and a handful of fries, it is quite a meal to contend with… Anyways, people who fall for such distractions are guaranteed to mismatch their priorities.  For people that fall under this category, they must first realize this shift in priorities. To notice such a thing implants a “nagger” in the back of one’s mind that will nag oneself and put stress upon the necessary work to be done until it is built to the point when one stresses enough to get back to topic.

9/20/13 10:34 PM (Planning)

The Croods is a very interesting movie… Speaking of getting back to topic, let’s get back to topic. Another significant matter to conquer procrastination is the importance of planning. If one chooses to procrastinate (or is unfortunate enough to be fall victim to procrastination), it is important to plan one’s procrastination. What is vital to procrastinating successfully is setting a schedule or deadline for when one can seize the opportunity to grasp enough motivation to complete one’s work prior to when it’s due. This is done by evaluating the work one has at hand and estimating its length of completion and importance to one’s life. This evaluation helps motivate the mind through stress which increases productivity of a person as the deadline comes nearer. The scheduling should be based on one’s situation and preference.

9/20/13 11:29 PM (Caring)

The most important factor to conquering procrastination is to care about the work one must do. People should consider whether the slight satisfaction of not completing work is worth it for they will suffer the consequences that may befall on them which usually outweigh the magnitude of such temporary satisfactions. This is important to keep in mind to spark and maintain what little motivation people may have so that it will not come back to bite them in the future when they choose to just give up. To sum it all up, if you wish to procrastinate you must be willing and able to finish the job and take into account all these factors so that you may actually finish in time.

9/20/13 11:40 PM (Warning)

Warning: Choosing to procrastinate can leave you with either an incomplete or unsatisfactory job caused by the limited time you’ve given yourself to finish a work assigned to you (even when given surplus amount of time by the teacher to complete the assignment prior to procrastination). Forgive me for my possibly inflated or incoherent word play for my procrastination guideline was written under the same circumstance it is written of. To put it bluntly, to avoid any possible regret regarding doing work in time and coherently, don’t procrastin

"Cheating Death" by Josh N.

(Mitochondria are what human life depends on. Every day we get older and we get closer to dying all due to one innocent abundant resource, Oxygen. We live off of oxygen but we also die off oxygen. The reaction between mitochondria and oxygen causes humans to grow old. For instance, oxygen rusts metal, causing it to tarnish and eventually break down to nothing but fragments and dust. 95% of the oxygen humans breathe in goes to mitochondria, and the remaining 5% roam around affecting DNA causing cancer, Enzymes which end up damaging our DNA strands, and finally our membranes. )

                  It’s the late 2900’s, humans have lost the feeling of being materialistic, our government is now run by the people completely, and population in the U.S has risen to astonishing numbers. Nowadays, it’s unusual to see anyone walking around without a mask pressed to their faces. Everyone now looks generic, and fewer people die. Oxygen is less of a problem in this day and age, life seems to be less corrupt, crime rates are down and the people just stopped caring. When children are born, they grow to a certain age; once they are pleased with their personal appearance they undergo a normal and typical procedure. A simple implant of a mask allows human to breathe Nitrogen safely without the side effects of aging. The life expectancy for a human is unknown, for nobody has really died. There is no average anymore, people die when they want, and it becomes a life choice. A simple removal of the mask yields one to twelve months left of living depending on how long you actually have lived, In other words people ultimately control their lives.

                  The fact of living forever sounds wonderful, but deep down without the thought of time life becomes pointless. At this point people become less diverse than your average manikin in a department store. The creative process is completely gone and people roam around like zombies, going to work day after day not knowing any better because they have completely forgot what it feels like to live. Art is gone, literature is forgotten, and music doesn’t exist. In the 2900’s all humans have become that of like a robot, they have absolutely no feelings, no motives, and no concern about time. Without time, and a ticking clock telling us to hurry and experience new things before the dreadful thought of everlasting sleep everything loses meaning. To humans time is the greatest commodity. Crime rate is so low because people don’t feel the need to break away from society, government is run completely by the people but frankly there are no more people left meaning the government also does not exist, and finally the astonishing numbers of humans are not humans anymore. The simple fact of cheating death to live more caused an entire nation to lose the feeling of even living.

"Late July" by Norma C.

June 26,2013 10:30 pm

            It was just a normal summer night at my house with my boyfriend. When we hear the sirens and red and blue lights of an ambulance. A few seconds later my boyfriend got a text from his mom asking, “Where are you?” After that, a call to my dad from my uncle was made asking “ Is Norma home?”  A reply after “ Yeah, What happened?” Uncle: “ Okay, good cause there is a big accident one street from my house and four streets up your house.” Dad: “ No, everything is fine. Hopefully everything is okay.” Uncle:” Okay, Bye.” Moments after my boyfriend went home and everyone was getting ready for bed.

June 26,2013 11:30 pm

            I was slowly climbing in bed when I heard a ding coming from my phone. As I grabbed it I saw that it was a message from my best friends older sister. I thought to my self “ Well this is weird, why does she need me?” As I open the message the very first thing I read was “she got in a car accident along with three others and all I know is that she has a broken leg…” The first thing that came into mind was, the sirens, the red and blue flashing lights, the text message, and the phone call form my uncle. I quickly run out of my room and tell my parents the news of the accident. Once I told them, I called my best friends mom to make sure this was not a joke and find out if she is okay and what hospital the ambulance has transported her to.

June 26,2013 12:30 pm

            As I gathered the information to go see her, I quickly get dressed and head out the door with my dad. As we drive to the hospital in the pitch-black freeway, I start to pray that hopefully nothing critical has happened. As I arrived to the hospitals emergency entrance, I encounter her family outside waiting to go see her. As I waited outside to go in, I hear that she is okay. Nothing was to be worried about except for her fractured femur. Shortly after that it was turn to go in. as I walk into the very cold hospital, I walked by many other patients. I finally reached her; she was all covered in a pink hospital blanket, talking about how she wanted her “Starbucks coffee” and “Chap stick” for her chapped lips. Then out of nowhere she said, “I’m going to sue the hospital for cutting up my favorite white shorts! How dare they!” she was a ok, back to her normal self. By then my time was up with her, cause some of her family members were next.

June 27,2013 4:00 am

             Things took a twist. She fell into a coma in a matter of couple of hours when I left her side. Early that morning they have moved her to ICU (Intense Care Unit). Shortly after she had surgery on her brain to limit the pressure between the brain and the skull. When everything was done only two people at a time were able to go in the room and see her. While her mom was crying in the hallway a friend and I went in. at the first look I couldn’t believe it, this was not her. I was not used to seeing her in such a fatigue stage. I tried to hold the tears back, but was hard with my friend breaking down as I comfort her and calmed her down. Tears fell down my face and we left the room. We couldn’t handle it anymore as we walked into the waiting room we cried even more. This was not my best friend lying on that hospital bed. I wanted her back; I never understood why did she have to get the worst end of it all. 

            As days and weeks went by remained the same. Some day she got worst and some days she would improve. Slowly and steady she would show signs of improvement like moving her arm or reactions when the doctors pinch her. She never liked it when they would do that. The improvement became more consistent, the doctors decided to move her into a children’s hospital in Los Angeles. Now from visiting her everyday it become to once a week or when ever I have the change to drive myself there. And every time I would go she was in a better state than before, but she still would not wake up. The doctors even told us that if she wakes up, she would be lucky if she can even brush her teeth. But I did not believe that cause I know she is a very smart young woman that always finds a way out of everything. As the continuous days and hours passed doctors, nurses, and therapist walked in and out. A nurse noticed how a brutal therapist treated her very harshly, she would respond more. Which meant the chances of her waking up were even sooner than on her own. Sooner than we expected, she slowly started to wake up and more movement was progressed. Even though the chances of her to being 100% normal were way off the chart, she proved the doctors wrong each time. That was the best friend I knew all along, always proving wrong and finding a way out.

            It was not until late July that she was fully awake and was aware of her surroundings. At this point she was moved to another hospital in orange. Only this time I was able to go two-three times a week. I would talk to her about everything still even though she couldn’t talk. The smile or the look she would give was enough for me.

            Now, till this day she is recovering and improving back to her normal self. She is even still proving doctors wrong till this very day I have never doubted her one bit since day one. I knew that she was capable of, from the night of the accident the police officer said” It is a true Miracle that she made it out of the truck alive.” One thing that I learned from this one experience was to be aware with who you get in a car with and your surroundings. She is a very blessed individual and as we all say, “This is one race that God gave you and that every race you have raced you’ve managed to finish strong. Now you got to finish this one even stronger than before.”

            -“Even miracles take a little time.”

           

"The Deceptive Voyage to the Unknown" by Aaron R.

About 12,074 years into the future humans would have colonized all of the solar system.  From Mercury to Pluto, humans have induced their culture upon these planets.  All of which had been created by a German scientist, Daniel Volksberg, who after 20 years had invented a hand held teleportation device which can teleport anything and anyone anywhere in the universe at a speed faster than light.  However, before these planets were inhabited by humans Volksberg, his dog, and team of researchers had to examine and explore these planets.  Here are their accounts of their experiences during the journey.

            (Day One Departure for Journey) “Hey Sam”, said Daniel, “You ready for the trip?” Sam replied, “I think so.” Daniel replied, “Did you remember to bring your stuffed animal?” Both men laughed and waited for the others to arrive at the laboratory where they will be transporting to their first destination, Pluto.  There were six of them in all that would be embarking, Daniel Volksberg (lead engineer of project), Sam Thompson (meteorologist and geologist), Jacob Conley (biologist), Larry McDonald (medical doctor), Joseph Conley (brother of Jacob Conley and Daniel Volksberg’s assistant engineer), and Daniel’s all black German shepherd, Boji (a Native American dialect name for “Bear”).  All the men were equipped with a hyper cube which was a 4 inch by 4 inch by 4 inch that cube used quantum physics in order to store all the materials the men will use throughout the journey.  With all the men ready, the teleportation had started and in a fraction of a second they were gone! 

            (Boom!) They had teleported thousands of light years away to Pluto, where surprisingly there was an atmosphere of breathable air so they did not need their exoskeleton suits.  What seemed to be a lifeless planet because of its very cold climate and rugged rocky terrain, soon would become active with consequences.  The men had set up camp and Sam asked, “What are we doing in this deserted waste land of a planet?”   Daniel replied with, “We are here to explore the land for anything unusual and useful that we could take back to Earth and analyze.”  After finish discussing what the men believed were the plans of the trip they settled down for the night.  They men were unaware of Daniel’s true purpose of the journey; which was to find the undiscovered treasures that lied in the planets.   After some days of examining and gathering samples of the planet the men decided to move on to their other planet destination which was Venus.  It was decided that Sam and Larry would stay behind and continue to gather more samples of the planet.  The men packed their necessary belongings and in a blink of an eye they were transported to Venus.  

            Once on Venus the  men needed to wear their exoskeleton suits due to the unstable atmosphere. The planet was covered in plants and forests making the climate very tropical.  Daniel knew this was the place where he would find the riches he was seeking.  The men quickly set up camp due to the fact that the days on Venus were much shorter than what they were accustomed to on Earth.  While Jacob and Joseph were examining the terrain Daniel was scheming a plan to how he would transport his treasures back to Earth.  But, soon everything would change. As the men approached their camp they noticed their transmission beacon beaming which indicated a missed transmission  from their colleagues on Pluto.  The men quickly responded back and received a distress call from Larry, “Hey Daniel it is Larry, I have bad news, Sam does not seem to be doing well; he seems to have contracted some illness that I cannot diagnose.” (Larry turned the camera towards Sam which revealed warts all over his body. )  Just as Daniel was about to respond Larry yelled out, “Oh my God what is that!”  A loud  growl and yell was heard and the transmission  was disconnected.  Just as Jacob, Joseph, and Daniel were trying to figure out what had just occurred in Pluto Boji  began to bark.  The men all turned around and were bewildered to see …

                                                                                                                                                      

“Sacrifice” by Ariana J.

If  there  was  a  terrible fire  and  i  could  only  save  one  thing  it  would  be  a  photo album.  I  value  this   because  it  has  a  lot of  my  childhood  memories.  Memories  I  could never  get  back  or  relive. For  example pictures of  me  and  my  grandpa  like  he  isn’t  alive anymore  so  like  all  pictures  of  me  and  him  I  value so much.   There  are  these  quotes  that  I  love  and  it  goes  like  this  “Sometimes,  you  will  never  know  the   true  value  of  a  moment  until  it  becomes  a  memory.”-anonymous. Another  one  I  like  is  “ I  love  those  those  random  memories  that  make  me  smile  no matter  what  i’m   going  through.” -anonymous.  I  wouldn’t  save  clothes  or like  an  electronic  device  because  you  could  always  re-buy  it  or  get  a  new  one  of  the same  thing.
    If  I  had  to  give  my  photo  album  to  someone  it  would  obviously  be  someone I  trust. So  my  best  friend,  Kameryn  S.  is  someone  who  I  really  trust.  I  love  her  to death  and  I  know  I  can  tell  her  anything  and  she  would  still  be by  my  side  no  matter what.  I mean  if  i  didn’t  really  have  to  give  it  up  I  wouldn’t  really  want .Unless obviously someones  would  get  hurt  or  for  some  strange  reason  their  life  depended  on  it then  yes,  I  would  give  it  up.

"The Village" by Alexandra U.

One night, I walked into the woods behind my house. I walked for hours, not knowing where I was going, I walked and walked. Until I came upon a sign, the sign read Beware: For when you enter you will never be the same. I was scared, but intrigued so I kept walking. I walked until I came upon an old village.

            The village was dark and grey. The willow trees surrounding the parish draped into the town and made it dark, cold, and musty. The town looked terrible; it looked like it had been there for centuries. The buildings were slanted, and the paint had vanished off the miniscule structures. As I walked through the parish I felt as f a thousand eyes watched my every move, so I walked into a small little bakery. The bakery looked worse than the town. The food was old, moldy, and was infested with bugs.

            An old woman stood in front of the counter. She was young, she looked new. She looked like she didn’t belong in a town so ugly. So I asked her for the best thing on their menu. She stared at me with glazed, whimsical eyes. When she finally answered, but it was an unusual answer, in fact she wasn’t even speaking a real language. All of a sudden the woman charged at me with a knife. I ran out of the bakery as fast as I could.

            Then the whole village was chasing after me. I stopped to catch my breath for only a second when a man grabbed my arm. He told me to leave and never come back; he told me that outsiders weren’t welcome. He let me go and I ran for my life. I ran out of the woods, into my house: locked all the doors and windows and packed my bags and left. I got in my car and drove away. In the surrounding woods I saw the villagers come through the woods and watch me leave. After that day I never looked back, I never returned and I never will. The last I heard the house was vacant. And the village was never seen by anyone ever again.

“Patriotism At Its Best” by Michael S.

A time in which I had discovered something very meaningful in my life took place around the holiday season in 2011. My father went to Afghanistan to spend Thanksgiving with our American Soldiers. He followed the 172^nd Brigade Blackhawks, a division in our military army. At this time, Afghanistan was still a very dangerous place to be in. There was constant fighting going on. Explosive devices were going off constantly. I was feeling very concerned about my dad, and I know my mom was too. He was working on a segment that would later be shown on the Sean Hannity Christmas Special on the Fox News Channel. My father’s mission was to capture on film what soldiers and their families go through when deployed and off to fight in war. The soldiers that my father followed were considered doubled deployed. This means that they are based in Germany and then from there, the soldiers go to Afghanistan. Their spouses and children are separated from their families as well, do to the fact that they are away from the states. The separation that occurs to these families and soldiers are difficult to endure at times, especially around the holiday season. My father’s goal was to capture all the emotions through the camera lens and put together a very special segment that all Americans would see and appreciate. His main goal was to be able to give some glimmer of happiness to their spouses, children and families who would be watching this at home around Christmas time.

     He first followed the soldiers to Germany, where they are stationed. There, he filmed their spouses and children put together care packages that later would be delivered to the soldiers back in Afghanistan. These packages had items such as; snacks, toiletries, pictures and personal letters written to them. There were many items that were also donated from different companies who wanted to support this great cause. My father is a good friend of Chuck Norris, and he was able to get him to donate these awesome Chuck Norris t-shirts. After all the packages were completed, they were ready to be flown to Afghanistan. My father then was off to Afghanistan as well. He was filming our soldiers on a day-to-day basis.

     If I remember correctly, I believe my father came home around the 20^th of December in 2011. He looked exhausted, yet pleased. He had been gone for a month at least, but at times it felt like forever. My mom, brother and I were to happy to have him home safe. He shared his experiences to us, yet it really hadn’t sunk in. When December 23^rd arrived, we turned on the television at 6pm to watch The Hannity Christmas Show Special. As I watched the show with my father and mother, it was then that I realized how much sacrifice our soldiers and their families endure. I look at things differently now. I appreciate everything and everyone in my life. I especially appreciate what these soldiers do to secure our freedoms. The one thing that I discovered throughout this entire process was that my father sacrificed himself to tell a soldier’s story about what they endure in times of war. He showed me how much of a patriot he was. He made me see that everything I have and enjoy in life is because we live in the greatest nation in the world. It was then that I decided to be a patriot myself. I watch and listen to the news all of the time now. I keep up on current events. U.S. History is now my favorite subject. But the one thing I learned the most about myself is that I feel so proud to be an American.

If you would like to view the segment, type in this link.

http://video.foxnews.com/v/2050536347001/operation-patriot-care-package/

"The Great Gift" by Roselin O.

The saying “Money can’t buy you happiness” is commonly used whenever people talk about how buying a material good will instantly make their lives better. In the media, we constantly see and hear about rich people buying the latest technology, newest cars, and going to the most lavish places, but what we don’t hear about is those people who have instantly become rich going through rehab due to drug addictions or losing all their money and going back into debt with an even worse situation. According to recent studies, the salary that makes people the happiest is $50,000.[i]   All our lives, we grew up with the idea that the job that makes us the most money would make us happiest. My friend once asked me “If you can do any job that makes you happy and money wasn’t a problem, what would you be?” right there I questioned my whole life. What do I want to be? Or more importantly: What is happiness?

            In a non-clichéd way, the dictionary states the definition of “happy” as “feeling of pleasure, contentment, or joy.” It’s true. Whenever you buy something, you get that feeling of contentment, but we all know that for most of us, it doesn’t last long. I begged my parents for the Nintendo DS; I was given the DS; I played with the DS and I was done. Before I knew it, the DS lite, DSi, DSXL and 3DS came out. I don’t even remember the last time I saw my handheld game console, but I do know that I was the “happiest” kid for about a month and I didn’t really need it. With people consistently changing, what makes you happy now doesn’t make you happy one month from now or for some people, even one hour.

Happiness is a limited. It passes. Some days you are happy for hours. Sometimes, you just feel down in the dumps for days. Happiness is contagious. It can be passed from one person to another. That feeling can make one person’s day. It’s hard to bring down a person who is happy, but if you do, it’s hard to bring back up. When you see someone feeling blue, just share something that makes you happy because turning that frown upside down can make the difference and makes the world a more positive place. Talk about cats and how crazy they are. Share the cat videos. Laugh. Laughter is a side of effect of happiness. Happiness is free and can be found everywhere. Once in a while, going to the park with friends or just going out for frozen yogurt can make the difference.  Experiences are not tangible, but they can be looked back upon to recreate that happiness from before. There is no monetary cost in being happy. Go make smiles happen, because happiness is the best gift to give… and it’s free.

---

[i] "The Salary That Will Make You Happy (Hint: It's Less Than $75,000)." Forbes. Ed. LearnVest. Forbes Magazine, 24 Apr. 2012. Web. 21 Sept. 2013.

"A Heart Like His" By Christina T.

This past summer, I was blessed with the opportunity to go on a two-week mission’s trip to the nation of Latvia. Bordering the western edge of Russia, Latvia is a small country with a large percentage of unreached population. So, on July 11^th, I, along with a group of five other people, prepared to travel half-way across the globe in hopes of sharing the hope of Jesus Christ with these people.

            Arriving in the small, rural town of Ropazi on a Saturday afternoon, our team was introduced to the members of the town’s church and instantly began assisting with preparations for the Vacation Bible School which would begin the next day. As we worked to transform the local cultural center into a vibrant VBS, we fell in love with the Latvian people. Falling asleep that night, I still remember my sensation of giddy anticipation as I thought of all the precious children I would get to meet the following day.

            Less than twelve hours later, I stood on a wide grassy field watching the first group of children making their way to the game station. Welcoming them with waves and smiles, my partner and I began to explain the rules of kickball to them. But, due to the language barrier, the children had no idea what we were saying and were thus utterly confused. Improvising, we attempted to demonstrate the game, but this also proved to be a complete failure. Recognizing that the kids were still not grasping the concept, I decided to simply interact with them. Walking up to one of the little girls, I began to tickle her and as her soft peals of laughter filled the morning air, the other children joined in. Within minutes, their expressions of bored confusion had changed to beaming smiles as we all proceeded to dance, make funny faces, and tickle one another. From that moment on, every minute I spent with the kids was filled with hugs, piggy-back rides, tickle-fights, and endless laughter. As the days passed, I was continually shocked as my love for the children continued to grow and grow. It didn’t matter whether we were playing football (soccer), eating lunch together in the town’s only café, playing catch (tag), or simply walking hand in hand, our hearts were being knit together.

            One of my fondest memories of the entire trip took place on the last day of VBS. There was a small river which ran alongside the cultural center, and having access to several boats, we decided to take the kids canoeing. Rowing through the dark blue water, four little Latvian girls sat in the boat with me: Paula, Anniea, Anna, and Kitiea. Throughout the week, they had become like younger sisters to me, never straying far from side. As I had done before, I asked them to sing one of the worship songs which they had learned during the VBS. Without hesitation, Paula began to sing the chorus “stipri mes” (which translates to “stand strong”). The other girls eagerly chimed in and for the next few minutes, proceeded to sing loudly and uninhibitedly. Since the lyrics were in Latvian, I knew only portions of the song and sang along whenever I could. But, regardless of whether I was able to sing along with them or not, I was content to merely sit and listen to their beautiful little voices being raised in praise to Jesus. It was through humbling moments like this, and many others like it, that Jesus did a huge work in my heart over the course of the trip.

            Through my relationships with the children, He reminded me of how we are all children in His eyes. Through the heartache I felt in having to say good-bye, he showed me how immeasurably greater His love for us is. Though the lasting friendships I made with the Latvian people, He reminded me of the unity which exists within the family of believers. But most importantly, He reminded me of His own majesty, His own beauty, His own love, and His sacrifice. He showed me the areas in which I had drifted away from Him and provided me with a renewed passion for His name by drawing me to Himself. He picked me up, brushed me off, and whispered in my ear, “Look to me child, because I alone am your satisfaction, your joy, your love, your hope, your peace, your contentment, your salvation, your life.”

"Please Stay" by Lauren W.

 Note from Mrs. C and Lauren:  This story focuses on a sensitive subject- suicide. If this topic would be hard for you to read, feel free to move on to another story.  We understand!  Also, if you are feeling hopeless or need someone to talk to, there are many people here on campus who are here and ready to listen and to help-   Please come see Mrs. Cogswell anytime, or any other staff member/counselor.  It's never too late.  We care about you.

My head hurts. It is a splitting sensation, like someone attempting to crack it open with a dull, blunt axe. The voices. At first they’re quiet, a whisper. As they grow louder, I can hear their tone is mocking and condescending.

            “Naomi…”

            “Naomi!”

            “Naomi.”

            “Why are you here?”

            “You’re not pretty.”

            “You’re not smart.”

            “You’re a waste of skin.”

            I clutch my head and upset the teacup in front of me in the process.

“Excuse me miss, are you ok.” Everyone one in the little coffee shop is staring at me. A tall thin man stands in front of me. On his brown apron is a white name badge with the name ‘Jonathan’ painted on it. His brow creases in concern.

            “Yea, I’m fine. I’m sorry, I’ve made a mess.” Righting the teacup, I move to mop up the liquid that is dripping down the table onto the floor.

            “Miss don’t worry about it, it’s ok. Are you sure you are alright?” His hazel eyes look distressed.

            “He doesn’t care about you.”

            “He wants to make a fool of you.”

            “Look how he is smirking at you.”

My hands tremble. I’m breaking down in front of all these people. “I’m really very sorry. I have to go.” I leave neglecting my bag and rush out into the crowded streets. The noise keeps the voices at bay and allows me two blocks of peace.

            My loft is dark, empty, bare. A worn salvaged sofa, a few piles of books, and a random object here or there are the only possessions this city has left me.

            “Naomi.”

            “Naomi!”

            “Naomi…”

            “You’re alone.”

            “No one cares about you.”

            “Di-“A grungy black phone attached to the wall screams. Its high pitched peal is blaring and accusatory.”

            “Hello?”

            “Naomi?”

            “Yes?”

            “Hi, my name is Jonathan. I work at the coffee shop. You left your bag here, and I was wondering if you would like to come pick it up or if you’d like me to bring it to you?” His voice is kind and sympathetic.

            “Oh, I’m really sorry. I’ll ummm…”

            “It’s no problem; I’ll bring it by tonight.”

            Two agonizing hours pass by slowly.

            “Naomi!”

            “End it.”

            “Unless you are too weak to do it?”

I eye the black switch blade that sits on top of my self-help books. My hand curls around the hilt.

            “You’re worthless.”

            “Life is pointless.”

            “Do It!”

            “Naomi, it’s me Jonathan.”

            “Do It!”

            “Go away, just go away! You don’t care about me, no one does. There is no reason for me still being here.

            “Do It!”

            “Look Naomi, I brought your bag. Whatever you’re thinking about doing, don’t do it. It’s not worth it.”

            “Do It!”

            “Goodbye world.” The bite of the knife is sweet against the skin of my throat. As I take my last breaths, I can hear Jonathan begging me to stay.

"The Red Lily" by Jalena M.

Not every murder is named after a flower. Only the most gruesome and terrifying murders that can never be solved are the ones who are named after the most beautiful flowers. There are murders like the case of the Black Dahlia or the Rose bomber. The one I have always remembered about is the murdering of the Red Lily.

 The Red Lily is another name of Charlotte Hastings. She was a beautiful red head with emerald eyes. Her skin was as beautiful and fragile-looking as porcelain; you can say she resembles an angel. But as beautiful as she was, she died a terrible, gruesome death at the age of twenty-two.

            Charlotte was waitress at a local diner in the town she went to college. According to her friends, she spent all of her time studying to become the person to cure cancer or working at the diner to save up for her college fees. I thought she had a bright future. Fate thought differently when a serial killer found her walking down a street after she had gotten off of work.

 I cringed just remembering the details of the crime scene. She was found in a forest approximately four days after her death. She had been cut up into pieces and her ring finger on her left hand was missing. This was the M.O for a serial killer that had killed fifteen women over the past seven years.

            Anthony James was a genius. He knew how to plan, get rid of the evidence, and most importantly: BTK. And because of this, there has never been any physical evidence to point towards James. I was a cop. A determined cop of over thirty years, and I have seen many terrible things in the past thirty years. But what happened to the Red Lily completely changed my perspective. I have finally realized that justice is cruel. There is never any real justice until the guilty is captured.

 To hell with our court system and to hell with our “rights”! How can people like the Red Lily killer really slip through our fingers? I know how. They escape because of our corrupted government which refuses to prosecute those who are obviously guilty. Because of this, I am now able to say that this injustice needs to stop…

　

2 Days Later

The reporter looked at the camera as she stood in front of the house of Anthony James.

“Are you ready?” The reporter’s cameraman asked.

“Yeah.” She answered as she held the microphone to her lips. The cameraman pointed to her, indicating they were now live. “Just hours ago, Detective Frank O’Neil was arrested for the murder of Anthony James. Detective Frank has been part of the police force for thirty-two years. Anthony James was the suspect in a murder case Detective Frank was on. According to my resources, Detective Frank bound James after knocking him out. He then tortured James and soon killed him. Resources confirm that this was the same M.O for the murder we know as the Red Lily murder of Charlotte Hastings. I’m Cassandra Hastings of NBC news. Back to you, Jim.”

"LAW LIFE --Story on Shivonne Theresia" by Da'Jah A.

Teachers always ask, "whose your role model?", "who do you think is succesful in your family and why?". My answer is always my cousin/godmother Shivonne Theresia. I choose her because shes very succesful in a career i find interests in, shes a lawyer. The other day i got to have a little chat with her about the "law life".

                  It has always been of dream of her's to be a lawyer it never changed. Throughtout high school she always set achievable goals that will get it her to where she is today. She had the goal to get into UCLA and get into law school over at Georgetown. Once again she achieved that goal. She attended UCLA as and undergrad and went to Georgetown for law school. I asked, " why did you choose to become a lawyer?", she responded, " I felt that it would be interesting, I had intentions to help people, and I just wanted to get into politics." With career choices for most teens, parents tend to get involved. As for Shivonne she said, " My parents were definetly supported, my mother basically forced me to become a lawyer".

                  Now she is a very succesful lawyer. She is a lawyerr for the Department of Social Services. She fights to take away liscense from people who own social businesses, such as ; day cares, citizen home, preschools, old people care, etc.Most people are unhappy with the career choice they have chosen, so the question was asked, " Are you happy being a lawyer?". It was answered, " yes im happy but if i had the opportunity to change my career i would, i change it to do something like a nonprofit organization, a after school program or tutoring for high school students.

                  Due to the fact that Shivonne is 38, owns her house, has a stable job, nice car, and happy life she will always be someone in my eyes that I believe is very successful. I hope to one day follow in her footsteps and be just as successful. It was nice to sit and interview her on her successful journey called life, or in her words, "law life."              

"Race Day" by Percy S

Preparation, hard work, and dedication. Those were the three things he had. Those were the three things he knew he had to have if he was going to win. And oh did he know he was going to win. In his mind he was the best. Adam was always going to be the best because nobody prepared like he did. No one worked as hard as he did. But, most importantly Adam pushed himself harder than anyone else could because he understood that in the end of it all, failure or success, the end result is on you.

July 23, 2 days before the big race, there was Adam, 5:30 in the morning on his Saturday off training on the track. Adam knew that when the goal was to win, there were no off days. As he began his run, in the crisp morning air, the breeze settling upon his face, he saw him across the track. The only other person Adam considered a competitor. Jordan Williams, his rival and fellow competitor since elementary school. Adam had never beat Jordan, but this coming Monday he would. He would finally taste victory and feel what it was like to come across that track in front.  Adam thought to himself, “it’s time for Jordan to feel what it’s like to see my number ahead it’s time for him to taste my dust.”

Jordan approached Adam. He didn’t know why he felt uneasy today, he did. As far as Jordan was concerned he would always win. “Hey Adam, looks like your training hard, hope you can get those knees higher if you want to beat me.” Adam ignored him and continued around the track. There was something different in the air that day. Adam felt it, Jordan felt it, and even the track seemed to stir as in temptation of a new pair of feet crossing its finish line.

“HERE IT IS FOLKS THE DAY YOU’VE BEEN WAITING FOR!! RACE DAY, GRAB YOUR NACHOS PUT THE KIDS ON YOUR LAP AND LETS WATCH THESE ATHLETES PERFORM!” “The announcer seemed happier than usual,” Adam thought, “Don’t think about that, remember your training, lets win this race. As he lined up, there was Jordan, same smug look on his face. “Ready to lose Adam?” Adam thought, “Not today.”

            “RUNNERS ON YOUR MARK, GET SET, CLAP!!!! The gun sounded off as the runners leaped forward. Jordan pulled ahead first with Adam close behind. First turn Jordan was ahead with a comfortable lead but Adam was catching him. At the 2^nd turn Adam was closing the distance. Around turn 3 Adam pulled aside Jordan. Both pushing towards the finish as fast as they could go! Jordan in front, no its Adam ahead, no they’re neck and neck.

            “Adam! Adam! Adam! Wakeup his dad screamed. You can’t sleep in son, it’s the day of the big race you’re going to do great!” Adam sat up with a smile on his face. “Let’s go he thought, Let’s Go!”

"Turning Tables " by Ravenn T.

"So? What do you think?"

The anxiety was killing me and my fingers were practically twitching with the effort of not tearing my paper from his hand, throwing it to the ground, and stomping on it until the surface was soiled and illegible. But, just as my hand began to reach towards him, he sighed and looked up at me. I knew that look.  A low groan escaped my lips as my head fell between my knees in defeat.

"Just tell me. It's horrible, isn't it?" He grimaced. 


"Uh, the title is centered." Wow. It was worse than I thought if that was the best he could come up with. 


"I hate writer's block! I know I can come up with something better than this if I have more time!" He looked bored, like there was some obvious answer I was missing in all of this. 


"Then don't turn it in." I scoffed. 


"And tell Mrs. Darles what, that my dog ate my homework?" Zack just shrugged, his eyes glinting playfully.

"You could take off!"


"You mean ditch class?" I asked incredulously. 


"If you want to be official." He shrugged, biting into his annoyingly perfect Granny Smith apple. It was a completely ridiculous idea… but somehow I found myself considering it.

"Well, it would give me enough time to write a better paper..." The bell shrilled loudly and I felt the panic seize me as other students started filing into the classroom. 


"Decision time. Staying or going?" He wagged his eyebrows and all I wanted to do was wipe the smug expression off of his face. Zack was enjoying this, but did I have the guts to prove him wrong? Could I, innocent little Caroline, break the most fundamental of all school rules? Zack didn't think I could. Personally, I didn't either but I really didn't want to turn in my crappy assignment and it was only one class period… Before I could think too much about what I was doing, I swung my backpack over my shoulder, my seemingly confident strides taking me towards the door. Then, just before I walked out, I turned around and flashed one of his classic smirks.

“You coming?”