It's April in May!!

Our last batch of writers!  I know you'll enjoy these-- Thanks for all the great work this year!  (Don't forget to do your comments!)

Remember:
All Students:  Be sure to read the entries for this month.  Everyone is required to comment on at least three different pieces of writing.  You must post the comment here on the blog (below the post is the "comments" link to click) AND cut and paste your comments, complete with dates and times, on to a Word document and turn it in to me by the due date.  You must do both to get credit for comments this month.

Remember, comments must be positive, supportive, constructive, and SPECIFIC.  No "Good Job!" comments, unless you follow that with specific things you thought were done well in the piece.  Show them you actually took the time to read and enjoy their work!

"What does it mean to be successful?" by Hunter F

     Ask yourself, what is your definition of being successful? Is it owning the million dollar mansion in Malibu, with the Lamborghini Aventador parked in the driveway? Is it having a family you can provide for and have many memorable experiences with? Or is it even winning the gold medal in the 200-meter dash? The definition of success claims to be, “the accomplishment of an aim or purpose.” But then what exactly is your aim or purpose? It seems ideal to most people that having success is having a comfortable and stable income, healthcare, and possibly the Bugatti Veyron sitting out, parked next to the curb in front of your house. But for others, maybe it’s not so simple. The question of being successful has increased in frequency of thought as I have matured and grown through these last years of high school; and with college right around the corner it’s hard to say how exactly I would want to go about answering this question. But like all great accomplishments (Get it, because success is an accomplishment of an aim or goal) we have to start somewhere. To gain some insight into what we define as being successful we have to look at what type of “successful” we want to be. For Example people may say that Bill Gates is one of the most successful people in the world. Now is this because of his net worth of 80.90 billion dollars, or is it due to the contributions of technological innovation and advancement he has and continues to provide to the world today. The great Albert Einstein once said, “ Try not to become a man of success, but rather to become a man of value.” In other words what do we hold valuable to our meaning and purpose for choosing the actions and schools and internships and jobs we take in life. Is it to earn the nice paycheck that provides the shining Bugatti in the drive way, to take pride in the career path we have chosen, or to even have a loving and supporting family that no matter what happens in life you know that someone will catch you if you were to fall or be with you no matter where you travel and experience things some may only dream of. Is success discovering the “God” equation of which all the natural physical principles we live by are comprised into one harmonious symphony of variables? So wait now we’re saying that being successful can take on various forms? The point is there is no true objective definition of what it truly means to be successful; no one person will have the exact same definition of this concept as another individual. Success is subjective to the person that ponders the thought and always will be. For example, Let’s say you ask an individual who has built up a multi-million dollar company from scratch, owns beach front property, and is married to America’s Next top model, what it means to be successful. Then on the other hand you ask a humanitarian chairman who has donated countless hours of work to helping less developed countries out of poverty and has saved millions of lives, but lives in a beat up one room apartment with a car that takes two twists to start, the same question.  Who would you deem as more successful? Why?

Albert Einstein Quote: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/a/alberteins131187.html

Bill Gates Info:

http://www.bing.com/search?q=Bill%20gates&pc=cosp&ptag=C25N1234D010714A316A5D3C6E&form=CONBDF&conlogo=CT3210127

"Baby Zarah" by Ishmam K

Congenital diaphragmatic hernia is the failure of the diaphragm to close in a newborn. My baby cousin, Zarah, was born with this condition. The diaphragm separates the chest cavity from the abdominal cavity and a muscles that assists breathing. Weakness can be seen as a bad link in what can be a very strong chain. Growing up I had very healthy cousins who made me feel like our family in no way had a weakness due to extreme illness. Being the last one to get married, my Chachu (uncle) and Chachi (aunty) had the last cousin that would be born in our branch of the Khan lineage, Zarah.

            At the day of her birth, our family was not allowed to visit the hospital and I had no idea on why. It had been about two weeks until I finally learned that the baby we have all been desperately waiting for had hole in diaphragm that allowed her intestines to start sliding up to her lungs. At that point I felt like our family can be really weak but baby Zarah proved me very wrong. She had a major surgery and her condition was very life threatening. Thanks to modern medicine, our little baby Zarah made it through very major bump in her life.

It had been 4 months after birth that Zarah would be allowed to leave the hospital. When she did, our families from all over the state came to visit her. After leaving the hospital, Zarah’s only way to be fed was through a tube that would inject milk into her stomach. This condition also directly affected her breathing so she also had breathing tubes for the first year of her life. When my family looked at her, they saw little weak baby with a lot of problems and as did I. I had no idea that I was looking at the chain that would keep our family together.

Zarah had learning disabilities along with this condition. One of the issues that came with this disability was that Zarah couldn’t understand how someone is able to chew food and further from that is how they swallow that food. She never experienced breastfeeding like many infants should for their own self confidence studies show. However, this didn’t stop her from trying. This little blessing that came into our life would take food into her mouth and sit the for like an hour and not spit it out. The first time I saw her trying this was on a thanksgiving dinner where everyone sat around and ate. I noticed her put food into her mouth and I got extremely scared because I felt like she would choke. When I asked her to spit it out she just sat there with the food in her mouth. Zarah had turned about 4 so she was at the stage that everything was hers. She acted like as if I were taking her Minnie doll which she was extremely territorial over. Then I figured that the Zarah felt left out. She had turned five when she finally began to eat a bit normally but the tube was still her primary source for nutrients.

            One more day came where it felt just as scary to the family as the moment she was born. Zarah’s diaphragm opened once again and her intestines began to slide up to her lungs. This meant another major surgery at very young age which I have never seen anyone go through. At this point that point I realized just how strong this baby was. After the surgery, there were very few times where Zarah would complain about her pain which was there. My sister and I babysit Zarah on daily basis and her improvement as child seems amazing though having disabilities. Her ability to read is particularly impressive at her age and makes me actually want to start reading. Anytime she has to read, she would bother me for hours to read with her. Her work ethic would make many people of older age feel bad about their own work ethic.

            I can’t be more thankful that I get to see her every day after a long day of school. Zarah taught me what perseverance truly meant. I have a very hard time sticking to what I felt was important in any subject so I had to learn to put it in my mouth and sit, no pun intended. She had been through very tough situations and made it through them bravely and victoriously. I saw this baby as a weakness for a little but her progression showed me that she is stronger than anyone in my family. She has become the symbol of our strength in our family for those who know us.

"Bruises" by Ari A

She let herself fall deeper and deeper, even though she knew it would end in scraped knees and
bouts of anxiety that seemed to rip her ribs apart.
Although she knew her fate, she let his scent bore its way into her brain and linger, as if it was
made to torment her for these things that she said her “heart” made her do.
She let his hands roam across her body in a way only he could, almost making a map towards
their own demise.
She knew she would let him do it, because picturing herself alone made her feel a certain way
that could only be described as cold ice.
It almost seemed romantic, and sometimes she thought she was a martyr to this belief; sacrificing
her stability for hope that maybe it could last...at least until Christmas.
She knew it was coming, she knew it was coming, she knew it was coming...
When it did happen, it was as if her body had been plunged into freezing water, and she was
calling, calling, calling out for help.
Every time the sobs would overtake her body, she reminded herself it was her fault and she was
never enough for anything such as him because that’s how you’re supposed to think right?
Everything is her fault, her fault, her fault...
As the sunlight pooled onto her eyelashes every morning, her hands felt the dents in the mattress
that held the only thing she had left of him. It was the basis of their relationship after all.
Although she knew it would come, it still broke every bone in her body and the ship that sailed
the oceans in her lost its direction, becoming nothing but a drowning mess. Sinking, sinking,
sinking...
God she knew was only a small piece of the puzzle but to her he was the all of the parts
combined, fated to come apart after finally putting it together.
The aroma of the city left her as she ran and ran and ran to what she hoped was something she
could latch onto, and her feet hit the ground as she thought maybe she would tire herself to sleep,
as it had been so rare. The smooth, sticky air engulfed her and she remembered he once said that
pain was purely a primitive thing, wired into our bodies to make sure we were safe. She
wondered how this dull ache was a way of making her safe and laughed because she just always
knew it would come back to him, even at 4:30 in the morning in the middle of nowhere. Air
filled her lungs but didn’t seem to reach her brain as the dirt made contact with her skin. She sat
motionless biting her fingernails because to her that was the only constant left in her life and
repetition was something she needed, almost as badly as water.
She knew, she knew, she knew he would do this. She was drowning, drowning in regret and
hopelessness and abandonment and denial and...
…..but as always, she got up and walked back home.
Walked towards the lights of the city and sighed with the trees, because she knew this was it, and
maybe nothing got better.
But somehow she was okay with that…..
AA

“Etiwanda Soccer Tryouts” by Vannah R

     This girl named Cierra was the best soccer player you could ever watch play. High
school tryouts were coming up and she was confident in herself that she could make
varsity as a freshman. Tryouts were just in a few weeks. Her grades were one thing that
stopped her. Our report cards come out a week before tryouts. She checked her grades,
and her GPA was a 1.6. She tried desperately to bring up her grades as soon as possible.
To be eligible to play soccer you need a 2.0 GPA. The next day Cierra had tests and she
didn’t study for any of them. She found out that she passed all of them with at least B.
Few days later Cierra got her report card and her GPA was still not high enough, it was at
a 1.8. That same day were tryouts and we had to give coach our report cards. Cierra was
very talented and the coach wanted her but her GPA just wasn’t high enough. Coach told
cierra he wanted her on varsity and so that meant she didn’t have to worry about her
grades. So, eventually we find out that she made varsity and her parents were proud of
her but cierra never told them about her grades.The school then sent out report cards in
the mail and cierra’s parents looked at it. They were very shocked and immediately pulled
her out of school soccer and the coach got fired. Cierra didn’t play soccer until her GPA
was over a 2.0. In her junior year of high school she picked up her grades and her GPA
was 3.5. The last day of school in her junior year she got a letter saying she got accepted
to a division 1 college, she thanked her parents that same day and continued to work
hard on both her academics and soccer.

" The Old Commination of the Sick" by Alexis M.

Normally, when I help Mrs. Tate she will give me extra time to watch the
television so i help out as much as i can. The nurses here are nice but they are
watchful. They are always in a rush that's why i always try to keep out of the way. I'm in
room A16 the children's ward the adults ward is across the hallway. I have tried to get
in it but it is blocked with metal gates. One kid Ansgar claims to have seen it before and
says they tell stories of the place being cursed but he lies like a cheap watch. Ansgar
may lie a lot but he’s still my buddy. During our playing hour Ansgar and me decide to
play ball. Just as we are about to play Larissa another kid from the ward decides to
keep taunting Ansgar about the time he peed his bed. It was his first night here at
Commination of the Sick so it was unfair for her to bring up the event. I asked her to
leave but she stayed instead. I threw the ball at Larissa hitting her in the face. She falls
onto the floor and starts crying. I run through the hallway into the storage room. I close
the door quietly and start climbing the the loose cabinets shelves. I reach the top and
open up the ceiling door hearing Mrs. Tate trying to calm down Larissa. I hop on the
wooden planks that surround the small 4ft room. Nobody knows of this room i only
found out about it a few weeks ago when i was setting the food on the shelves. I had
tossed up a can of soup hitting the ceiling door, it's nearly invisible. I hear Ansgar and a
few others calling out my name Ansgar saying “ Albin Mrs. Tate wants to speak to you!
She's says you are in no trouble but must apologize.” I shake my head and laugh
reenacting me throwing the ball but i accidently hit the wall with enough force to create a
hole. I hold my hand in agony trying to hold in my tears. I look at my hand sure that a
bruise will likely form. I angrily look at the wall and notice a light peeking as i crawl
closer. I hear the door open to the storage room followed by heavy breathing. Frozen,
there’s nothing but silence. The ceiling door starts shaking rapidly as whoever is down
there is banging on it. I forget my hand and turn my body around to try to kick the wall
with my foot. The wall takes no chance to defend itself. Once i break through i can see a
light emitting from the vent cover on the side of an air duct. I can remember Mrs. Tate
saying the vents did not work and they could not afford to fix them. I peeked through the
vent cover that reveals the hallway. I listen and the sounds of children whispering. I start
to move into the darkness trying to reach whatever was on the other side of the air duct.
I knew if i did go back down to face Mrs. Tate it would not end good. I crawl forward and
the air duct seems to be going down instead of up. Five minutes pass and hear the
metal creak loudly and suddenly it breaks apart. Falling down i hold onto the walls then
the air duct hits something and i fly to the top of the air duct hitting the back of my head.
I regain focus a few seconds later and realized the air duct is sinking into water. Not
able to think i use all my strength to catapult out and the water engulfs me. I try to swim
but the water drags me down. I fight the water but find myself sinking even further into
the water. The water drags me under and i can feel it infect my lungs as i try to gasp for
air. My vision gets blurry, i cannot remember anything else. I wake up in a room holding
my chest from the pain. The room is too dark to see anything but as my eyes start to
focus in the dark. I can see tall figures walking towards me. Frightened, i try to stand up
but fall to the ground. The figures get closer and surround me. I cover my eyes and feel
the cold fingers on my skin. They try to grab me but suddenly the ground falls in and all
of us fall into the endless pit. I wake up once again but to Mrs. Tate smiling and asking
me how am i feeling. “What happened?” i asked “Well after you threw the ball at
Larissa’s face you started to run but did not notice the cord to the television and tripped”
replied Mrs. Tate, who then sets a glass of water on my nightstand. “Wherewhere’s
Ansgar can he come in here?” i stuttered. “You need to rest and Ansgar or any other
disruptions will interfere with that” smirked Mrs. Tate. She closed the door to the room. I
laid there trying to make sense of what happened. I started to feel the pain in my chest
again and reached for the glass of water on the nightstand hoping it would cure the
pain. Once my hand was out reaching for the glass. I noticed a bruise on my hand.
Puzzled, I looked towards the door and there stood Mrs. Tate smiling.

" The Proposal" by Kiyah M

     Today was the day. It was June 4th and I decided I wanted this special moment to befall
under the light of the stars and fireworks. I told the love of my life to meet me at Le Colonial .
She thinks it just an ordinary anniversary dinner. She was now on her way so I grabbed the ring
case, made sure the ring was in there, and left. I fixed my tux up and called my planner that I
hired because this had to be perfect.
When I was about to drive off I got an unexpected call. I answered and there was a
woman's voice, “Jason Linse?.”
“This is him,”.
“I’m Natalie, from Kaiser Permanente hospital, I’m sorry to inform you that your girlfriend
Melanie Carver is currently in the hospital due to a car accident.”
I felt as if someone hit me in the heart. I instantly freaked out “,Oh my gosh, is...is she okay!?”
“She's in a coma facing incredible damage, you should come in as soon as possible.”
“Okay I'll be there soon.”
My body was quivering, I rushed over to Kaiser and peaked in the window of her room
she was just laying there, eyes closed.
It's been hours since I've been here and she's still in a coma. All of her family is here
now and we're finally allowed to see her. I grasped onto the soft small case in my hand the
whole time until Melanie’s Aunt said that everyone has seen her, that I can go in now.
I looked at her just lying there for a really long time. I took her hand and and grasped it
with mine and laid on her chest feeling and hearing her heartbeat and began to pray. I looked
back up at her and said,“Please don't leave me.” I took out the box and slid out the ring and
softly said “,Melanie Carver, I've loved you since the first time I saw you freshman year, I could
tell you that you're smart no...intelligent, and beautiful, rare, but come on, you already know that.
I love waking up with you as the sun creeps in and hits your face glowing up your eyes and then
you smile that amazing smile that I absolutely live for. You light up my world and if you don't
mind I would like to see that smile everyday…can you light up my world even more and become
my wife.” Two slow beeps came up on the electrocardiogram, it was kinda weird but I ignored it.
I slide the ring on her finger and I smiled and began to cry. I layed on her stomach again and
started to sob uncontrollably. A couple minutes later I felt a hand touch my hair and the words “I
will”. I was so confused I was the only one here and I didn't hear anyone come in, till it hit me,
the voice came from Melanie’s direction. I looked up and saw that her eyes was open and she
touched my face and said once more “,I will.”

"I’m Good, Thanks" by Dianna C-R

Okay, I think I have everything. Shampoo, conditioner, razor, shaving cream, lotion, crap I forgot hand soap. Okay, well I have a louffa, toothpaste, I think my toothbrush is still good, makeup removing wipes, oh man I forgot face wash. It’s okay; I’ll live without it. It’s not worth getting out of line now. I’m almost to the front and I’m sure another week without a face wash cannot produce any more acne than it already has. Where was I? Oh yes, okay I have notebooks, led, printing paper and index cards. I think that’s it. Mental checklist number one, check. Mental checklist number do; what do I have to do today? Well, I don’t think I have government homework but I have a test Friday so I should probably study… But that’ll be last on the list. First I need to finish hat scholarship application I started on. Oh man, I think there’s another scholarship due this weekend and now that I think of it I have another scholarship due in a week and a half. Okay well, I’ll do those when I find time. So next I should probably email lesson plans to the Sunday school teachers at my church. Oh my goodness, I totally forgot about my online class. Okay, no I have to work on that first, for at least an hour and a half. But right now, I need to get all of this stuff home as soon as possible. Jeez why do I wait until it’s absolutely necessary to come buy everything I need at the store? I’m next; the man in front of me is taking extra long though. It’s okay, there’s nothing I can do about it. Patience, patience. I’m going to get my money out so I can be ready when-

            -“Hello, how are you?” Oh man I’m up and I was totally not paying attention. How am I? Well, I came to the store because I ran out of absolutely everything at my house but I still forgot some items so I’ll probably have to come back in a day or two. I don’t have time to come back though. Ugh, I really should get to all those scholarships. Why is college so expensive?! Oh, I just remembered I need to complete an application for housing next year. That’s not due until later though. I have stats homework! I almost forgot! Okay, I’m going to do that first so I can just get it out of the way. Why has life been so hectic? I have to maintain my grades, go to work (and apply for a new job because I’m fed up with mine), find and complete scholarships, help out at my church, and oh man AP exams are coming up! All of this all while trying to maintain my mental health by spending at least thirty minutes with my family each day which I must carefully carve into my schedule. Lets not even get into friends or clubs and sports. How did I get here? I am a complete mess, barely making time to go to a convenience store to get basic necessities, standing in front of a random stranger who literally does not care one bit of my crazy life but is just polite and well mannered and who is now probably confused by my blank face. I need to snap back into reality. I have all my thoughts cluttered chaotically in my brain and am missing out on real life. Okay, now get out of your thoughts.

            “I’m good, thanks.”

"THE DAY THAT NEVER COMES" By Davis Larsen

     I remember the war. I remember every second of it. I remember it at night, when I try to
shut out the world. I used to think sleep was an escape, but now sleep haunts me with
memories of the war. Memories of the lives I took, memories of the fire raining down
from the sky, memories of everything. Every night since I came back, this has
happened, and I have been home for only a month. Sure, all of this haunts me, but not
nearly as much as my own family. Am I supposed to feel comfortable around these
people? I feel like a stranger in the house that I bought, that I share with my wife, where
I raise my son and daughter. Every time the microwave goes off I remember the bombs,
the glorious explosions. The bombs represented finality, if you saw it over you, that's it.
Two more months pass by, I feel like a zombie, walking lifelessly through my daily
routine. My kids stare at my like I am some strange creature from another world, I am
too scared to do too much with them. Every night since I came home, my 12 year old
daughter asks me to read a book to her before she falls asleep. Every night I say no
because I am too tired. Too tired to read a book to my own daughter, who was heart
broken every night. Too tired to play catch with my 8 year old boy. Too tired to love my
wife, the woman that I should feel most comfortable with. My wife, she looks at me like I
am a bomb, one that could go off at any moment. How could they ever understand what
I went through? How could anyone? A couple more months go by, I begin to miss my
friends in my special operations team. I miss the times we shared and how they
understood. They understood why I stayed in the war. I wish they were still alive. I wish
they weren’t gunned down like nothing. After awhile I begin to miss the war itself, the
feeling of a gun in my hand, the power to take a life, I miss the combat, I miss feeling
something. Back home I get a job as a dishwasher at a well known mob restaurant
called The Kitchen Irish. I used to hold the power of life and death in my hands, now on
some nights I take out the trash. One night, the head of the Irish mob is eating dinner
and boasting about his recent scores of drugs and money. I ignore it as I clear the
tables and take out the trash, then I get this old and familiar feeling. The feeling before
an ambush. A rival gang came to attack the mob, I could have walked away, but never
again. So I stopped those men, they probably would have been in the hospital, if the
Irish didn’t kill them. The leader offered me a job as a hitman, of course I refused. But
then they began to antagonize me. They found the truth about me, about who I was
during the war, they threatened my family. They threatened to take my family. I couldn’t
just let that happen so I roughed up one of their guys and ended up taking the job.
However, I thought that if I was sneaky enough I could kill the leader and the gang, I
was so close to pulling that trigger, so close to freeing myself of this evil man.
Something stopped me, maybe I wanted to keep myself out of jail, or maybe I wanted to
keep my family away from who I truly am. The next day, the news is talking about how
the Kitchen Irish was taken out by some rogue team. I slept better that night, knowing
that me and my family was safe from them. Or so I thought. I decided to take my family
to the park for a day out. I finally felt at home, I finally felt like my old self. I was no
longer a man of war, a killer, but a family man. I was happy. If I wasn’t so caught up in
happiness I might have sensed it. Sensed the ambush. In a split second, bullets were
flying everywhere. I almost missed it. My family was taken from me, gunned down like
animals right in front of my eyes. I have never felt so horrified. I saw where my son’s
face used to be, my daughter with a look of terror in her eyes. And my wife, she didn’t
even see it coming. Then I got hit by a bullet. I’ve been through worse. I woke up in the
hospital the next day, in shambles. My family is dead and I am alive. So I left the
hospital and decided something that would change my life forever. I would track down
the people that took my family from me and I would punish them. I would punish any
criminal that walked away unscathed by justice. I would make it my duty and my
responsibility to eliminate those people. That was twenty years ago. I stand out in front
of my old and abandoned home for the first time in forever. I’m sorry I couldn’t save you.
I’m sorry and maybe one day, I might be able to forgive myself for letting them take you
away from me. I guess I am writing this letter to no one, to try and remember our lives
together.
I miss you guys.

"Lesson Learned " by Christian Z.

Nearly three years ago on May 18^th, 2013 I was fortunate enough to attend my Grandfather’s fourth retirement party. To all of those asking the obvious question “How do you retire four times?” my Grandpa simply told me that he retired from four different companies because he could never see himself fully retiring from the workforce. Upon arriving at the party, I saw that at least 80 percent of the guests were people that I have never seen before. I specifically remember rolling my eyes as I walked into the house since I would have to endure the awkwardness of small talk and fake cheerfulness for the rest of the evening. I sat myself down at a small table and prepared to heroically fight an epic battle against the evil temptation of sleep.

            As I began to drift off and wonder when dinner would be served, one of the guests sat down in a chair adjacent to mine. It was difficult to see the man’s face at first because it was partially covered by his hand and a cell phone that he was speaking into. His conversation drew to a close, at which point the man turned to me, furrowed his eyebrows, and gave me a rather confused look. Immediately after he turned, I recognized him as a very prominent political figure (No, not Bernie) and readied myself to put on a good smile and not mess up saying hello. Before I could even make a sound, he asked “What in the hell are you doing son?” Now obviously I am shocked at this point because I have no idea what I did to offend this very powerful person and now it looks like they are going to get into an argument with me in front of all these other strangers. I do give myself some credit for being able to get the words “Excuse me?” out of my mouth in a timely manner, but I then sat wondering just what would happen next.

            He readjusted himself in his chair and began talking to me, this time in a much less confrontational tone. “I know exactly who you are and I cannot understand for the life of me why you’re sitting here alone at this table. Pretty much all of the guests here are very influential people that are very powerful in their fields and instead of trying to get on good terms with them and build a strong network, you’re sitting over here doing pretty much nothing. Go out and take advantage of everything that you possibly can in order to help yourself become more successful.” I sat back and reflected for a moment. I was surrounded by dozens of people who could very much help me in my life, and yet I sat at this lonely table in the corner. I turned to the man and said “You’re right.” I thanked him for sharing his advice and he gave a small smile and a gentle head nod in return.

            After the conversation ensued, I decided to get up and introduce myself to as many people as possible. It actually turned out to be quite a great time as I was able to share many laughs and stories with other guests. As the party began to end and guests started to leave, I said goodbye to everyone as they left out the door. I said goodbye to the man who had initially talked to me and he did the same, giving me a firm handshake and a wink as he left. I had to stay to help my grandparents clean up and then I went to bed in the guest bedroom. I was woken up very late the next morning by my Grandpa, he told me that many of the guests have called him to say good things about me and a few wanted to know when I would turn 18 so that I could be hired for internships.

            I learned a very important thing that night; make use of absolutely every opportunity and object around you. The road to success is obviously a path that is not very easy to navigate, so why not bring as many tools and supplies with you as possible? Everyone reading this has access to a giant network of academic support, a great school, and many forms of aid that exist solely on our high school campus. We have all been given many great resources to use and I sincerely hope that we are all able take full advantage of them in order to help us fulfil own dreams and aspirations.

"Regrets" by Andre M

     From now until the moment I die, I will have regrets. I will look back on my life at my
dying moment and know that my life could have possibly been better. No matter how hard I try,
those past decisions cannot be changed. Nothing will change my decisions of the past. Nothing
I do now will change how I've lived my life. Nothing can change how I’ve become a stranger to
my once friends or how my timid behavior has limited me from experiences. As somber as all
that sounded, regret can also be a positive and beautiful thing. The regrets I have push me to
be a more outgoing person which I regard as an accomplishment considering what a sheltered
odd kid I was.
     Regret is to be disappointed about a past decision. I sadly have many regrets throughout
my 17 years of life. They range from regretting not picking up a nickel from the street to not
telling her my feelings because of fear. All these regrets are now part of me. They have made
me what I am today. I have my bad choices to thank for making me the person I have become.
We all face constant growth in character as humans everyday. I like to think we all are
becoming better people with every day we conquer. In spite of this idea, the growth as humans
that is caused by regret can only occur with its acceptance. As stubborn as some of us are, we
have to be able to welcome the sadness and embarrassment that comes with regret. No matter
how proud of a person you are, you cannot be allowed to make the same mistakes in life.
Regret is often accompanied by shame. This shame we feel is not a bad thing but
instead necessary to the process of individual growth as humans. We feel shame for not making
the right decision, for being wrong. But you cannot expect perfection from an imperfect people.
We eventually realize that any regret is an opportunity to become better and more perfect.
A real example of the power of regret can be seen by the average high school student
and their desire for acceptance. High School is where everyone wants to be praised as cool and
seeks the acceptance of their peers. Some kids change their whole identities to fit into what they
believe is cool. As time passes they realize there is no need to change who you are to be
accepted. The regret they feel leads them to not let their mistake to be repeated again.
All this leads to the goal of living a life without regrets. To live the perfect life. To do
everything we want and enjoy the the life were given. This is the goal of many but achieved by
none. No one will ever be able to live a life without regret because we are imperfect people that
are inclined to make wrong choices that we will eventually regret. But nothing can stop us from
trying.

"The Life We Would Have Led" by Sophia J.

    Vanessa's mom told her that Seth was probably the first man she ever truly loved, and Vanessa just started to cry, because she knew it was true. The thing about love is you don't know you had it until you've start to fall out of it. Seth wasn't the kind of boyfriend that drank too much or didn't pay the bills, he was sweet and gentle, and good to Vanessa's family. It wasnt Vanessa's fault either, she tried to keep the sparks flying but the passionate love died with them. The dates weren't filled with laughter, just uncomfortable silence and there was more chemistry between them and the bread than with each other. The nights were spent with backs to each other and the television still stuck on the news. It wasn't the cozy old couple type of relationship, they were 28 and 29, but they just couldn't fill up the space any longer.
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    Seth was a junior, 16, when he met Vanessa, a sophomore who was still 15. The conversation started out a bit hesitant, and the only reason  Seth sat at the bench Vanessa was at was because they were waiting for their group to show up, but they had never talked to each other before that. The talking was a good kind of awkward, though, and they clicked. One conversation led to hanging out before school and during lunch. A month later, Vanessa confessed that she had feelings and Seth reciprocated and they began a long period of adoration for each other surrounded by comfort and the word they hadn't said quite yet.
    Their first kiss was innocent yet intimate, cuddled up on the couch in Seth's mother's house, soaking each other in. The first few birthdays and anniversaries were genuine and filled with child-like excitement in celebrating their existences independently and together. The first time they said “I love you” was in her bed on Christmas, and they didn't wholly understand it yet, but they knew that they felt something overwhelming. Holidays began to fly by in blurs of love letters, candy, and kisses. Life was simple before things changed. Love was simple before it was lost.
    Once they went off to college, they started to make their own friends in their majors and social circles. They had their own agendas, but still put effort into date nights and remained interested in the interests of the other. Eventually, Seth began to settle into his career, as did Vanessa and they ran out of the time to organize date nights every weekend or find new things to talk about over dinner. Seth and Vanessa didn't notice this difference in the beginning, they were blissful but busy, and still gave each other attention when they had the time and the energy. The energy eventually died out and the time along with it. Seth started putting in overtime for the money that he insisted they needed and Vanessa stopped expecting him to sit down to dinner with her. Their relationship became monotonous, an unhappy routine of almost ignoring each other throughout the day.
    What used to be love, turned into a business partnership. Vanessa worked, Seth worked. She came home and ate dinner by herself then put his in the microwave before she went to bed. He came home late, ate his dinner, and only slept in the bed half of the time and when he did it was opposite where Vanessa was laying. Weekends were spent talking politics or jobs if anything, and were mostly spent out of the house or on the television so they didn't have to face the silence.
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    It was then, in her mom's car that she broke down, realizing how much she had loved Seth when they were much younger and how little she did now. Love was something she had forgotten in the hustle and bustle of her work and her life outside of her home. She had fallen out of love and it didn't truly hurt until she realized it.

"Let the Savings Begin!" by Antonio B

            “C’mon mother!” pleaded Alphonse, “I’m finally 15, and you promised you’d take me with you when you leave for Black Friday”

            “I suppose we did,” replied his mother, “but to be frank: I do not believe you are old enough to witness the savagery of the peasants there…”

            “Oh let him join us for the love of Apollo!” yelled his father, “If he doesn’t come this year, when will he ever learn to love Black Friday?”

            Sweet, I’m finally going with mother and father this year! Ah well, I better mark my calendar. Hmm… November… 102 A.P…. Ah there!

            Alphonse was now eagerly waiting for the day that he would finally be able to join his parents during the Black Friday rush, which was now tomorrow night. Alphonse rushed up the stairs to the 5^th floor where he gave all his clothes to his butler and all his extras to his maid and proceeded to pray to Apollo before he went to bed. As Alphonse stood up to get in bed, the sight of smoke from his left side window caught his attention and he decided to look out the window for a better look.

            Why must these peasants ALWAYS burn fire at this time of night?! Let me see, there’s about… 15 burning cans tonight?! Well it’s too late to be wasting time with these low-lives.

            Going now to his right side window, Alphonse’s eyes were instantly lit up when his eyes caught sight of the lights shining brightly from the many luxurious houses that seemed almost endless. Each and every house was lit up and none were shorter than 6 stories tall.

            Muuuuuch better! I wonder if the Elrics will be there tomorrow night? They seem to be gone every Black Friday was well. Oh! Would you look at the time!

            Quicker than Apollo himself, Alphonse rushed into his bed and fell asleep as soon as humanly possible, dreaming of all the gifts he would be receiving and all the trampling people would talk about.

            Today was that day, the fated Black Friday.

            As Alphonse traveled down the long underground road in the family train car, all he could see was the bright red railing they were traveling along and all he could imagine was all the gold he would be around, all the gifts he would be receiving, and all the peasants he would see. The ride the family’s destination was a mere 15 minutes but to Alphonse, it felt as if he turned 16 in that car.

            When Alphonse finally got out of the train car, he was met with a huge gold coliseum, not the gold shopping mall he was desperately waiting to see. He was so confused that his excitement faded the instant he saw that huge doorway to the coliseum but the confusion finally turned to understanding after a moment.

            Oh! Because the way people shop here are so vicious and savage, they’re like gladiators! It’s like a metaphor, right? Well it matters not, I’m finally here!

            As Alphonse and his family approached the door, a bouncer stopped them, examined them and led them to a cable car. This cable car would take them to the top of this coliseum and give them a bird’s eye view of the arena, but Alphonse was not aware of this. He was still was in a world where he was getting gifts today and making tons of peasants jealous. His love for Black Friday would soon be completely destroyed.

            The top of the coliseum had many viewing platforms, like a fancy opera house, and had chairs made of gold and lined with rubies the size of tennis balls. As Alphonse took a seat between his parents, he was wondering why they were sitting at all for Black Friday, but before he can even produce a sound, a tall, skinny man dressed in a purple tuxedo with a black tie came out of one of the pitch black viewing platforms. A bright light was illuminating him and some people in the coliseum arena. In the arena were peasants, those who burned cans for heat and stole whatever to get by, savages.

            “GOOD EVENING EVERYONE!” yelled purple tux, “IS EVERYONE READY FOR THE ANNUAL BLACK FRIDAY CELBRATION? WELL TO BAD HERE WE GO! TODAY’S FIRST ITEM IS A BRAND NEW GOLD LINED PURSE! ARE YOU READY SAVAGES? 3…2…1… LET THE SAVINGS BEGIN!!!”

            The instant purple tux said “1” the savages bolted at each other, tackling one another and throwing punches left and right. This is it, Black Friday is a battle to the death for luxury items for peasants. This was life or death for them, but to the royals, this was equivalent to a football game, the Superbowl. As the savages fought, Alphonse’s face was blank. He was unable to express his emotions and all you could see in his eyes was the carnage that was Black Friday.

            When he came back to his senses, he began to cry and fell to his knees, but he had no time for crying as the next item was being produced and announced to the excited crowd. Because of his shock and all the crying he was still doing, the last words he heard before running to the cable car were “LET THE SAVINGS BEGIN!!!”

"You: An Abstract Idea" by Samantha Q.

  “You”, the word, is singular and often connatated, if not synonymous with, individuality. I
believe that to not only be incorrect but in alignment with human nature’s vain tendencies as
well; instead, “you” are not an individual but a finite component of the infinite system that you
are a product of, that system being the Universe. It only seems fitting that this piece should be
philosophical with an existential tone because it correlates to our lessons in AP Lit but that is not
this piece’s purpose. We cannot view ourselves as separate from each other when, in the grand
scheme of things, we are all made of the same elements; oxygen, nitrogen, carbon, hydrogen,
and calcium. The same elements that were created in the cosmos that formed nebulas which
then formed stars and planets which made up galaxies and eventually they all made us and
“you”. I’ve just always loved the idea that all we are is stardust and each of us is a star child
(RIP to the homie David Bowie). Humanity has always been interconnected by this unknown tie
that moves through us all, a domino effect that starts a one person and travels through
everyone as Newton believed “For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction”.
Therefore “you” should not be seen as singular because of the subsequent effect you have on
others. One of the oldest questions that has given rise to storytelling and research is “who are
we? Why? Where are we from?”. As civilizations have evolved so has our reasoning, we first
believed the sun was a torch being held by a giant and that the astrological signs were
characters in the stories we’d tell the children to make sense of things. Now we know of the true
mechanisms of space and have a better perspective on who we are as humans and although
our research is advanced our motivation is as constant as the north star, “who are we? Why?
Where are we from?”. We, YOU, all of us are just collisions of the same energy of the universe.
We are the conscious forms of the universe, we are miniscule pieces of the ever expanding
space that therefore forces us to be even smaller every time it is further stretched to its end. We
are the cosmos realizing itself is alive because we are becoming aware of IT and for that reason
we can no longer fall to our self centered disposition but instead acknowledge that we are so
small (not to be confused with insignificant or without purpose) that we are analogous to the
atoms in an element’s molecule. “You” should no longer be seen as the individual because it is
the “we” that is voyaging to make sense of our own self discovery since we are all products of
space. The lack of individuality may have a pessimistic tone to many of you but to me that is not
the focus, the idea of being made of something so “out of this world’ (pun intended) is honestly a
beautiful sentiment. Also, if you think about it, whenever we look up into space through our
telescopes there is a sense of anxiety when staring into the great unknown but a sense of
peace as well and i believe that that’s because, in our minds, we’re going home.

“I Love You” by Madison B

     I was walking home from work one night on the phone with my boyfriend when out of the blue he asked me if I loved him. I honestly didn’t know if I did I mean we had only been dating for a few months. Every time I asked why he was asking he would talk over me and ask me over and over if I loved him. I told him that I didn’t love him because it was too soon and suddenly the line went dead. I was so confused why he had asked after only a couple of months… did he love me? When I got home I was so tired I just went to bed without any thoughts of the crazy phone call I just had. When I woke up the next morning I was startled to see the long message I had from my boyfriend. It said “Hey baby I’m sorry for acting so strange on the phone I just had to know if you felt the same way… I’ve loved you since the day I laid my eyes on you. You’re my life, my world, my everything. I understand that it’s soon but I love you and if people ask about us I’ll tell them were fine. See you soon love.” After reading his message I realized how blind I was and knew that I had to tell him soon that I loved him back, so I threw on clothes as fast as I could and drove to his house. When I got there I was instantly worried when I saw an ambulance and a few cop cars outside. When I knocked on the door I was surprised to see his mom crying. I asked her what was wrong but she didn’t answer she only hugged me and cried harder while muttering incoherent words. My heart stopped when I saw her move away for the paramedics to pull my boyfriend out of the house strapped to a gurney. When I turned back to ask her what happened I saw her and her husband busy with the cops so I followed the ambulance to the hospital and waited and waited and waited until finally the doctor call me and his parents over. I asked him if he was okay and all he said was that they tried as hard as they could to save him. That’s when I tuned everything out and fell to the floor screaming and crying asking the doctor for it not to be true. I jolted awake when I heard someone yell, “ANNIE WAKE UP! WAKE UP LOVE!!” when I opened my eyes I saw my boyfriend and I started crying happy tears knowing that I was only dreaming. I hugged him as tight as I could and looked up at him and said “I love you, I love you so much.” He looked at me like I was crazy but smiled, kissed my forehead, and said “I love you too, now let’s get back to sleep.” Before I fell asleep I whispered “never let me go babe I love you to the moon and back, forever and always.”

“Would Everything Be Different?” By Valarie L

Always having to move around is tiring, but it’s not so bad sometimes. I have always wondered what would happened if we never moved. What would I be like? Who would I hang out with? Would everything be different from how it is now?

In my past years, I have moved 6 times. However, there are many people who have moved more than I have. Even though moving has caused me to always have to make new friends and cope with the new environment, I have always told myself that there is a reason for why we move. I have met many people that influenced me and helped me build up my confidence as a person. If we had not moved around so much I wouldn’t have found such loving and caring friends. I wouldn’t have met all these wonderful teachers that helped me overcome my years in school. Every time I entered into a new school, I was this shy new girl that could barely talk to people. Moving makes you realize how many wonderful people there are in the world. The people I met were so nice and loving, they helped me be more comfortable and more outgoing.

If I hadn’t moved so much, I think I would be so different. I would be so much shyer and I probably wouldn’t talk to anyone. If I just stayed in one place, I wouldn’t have ever learned how to cope with a new and different environment. On the other hand, I would’ve been a lot closer to all my old friends. I would’ve been able to grow up with them and know them a lot more. After moving so much, I have discovered that all teachers teach differently, so if I didn’t move I wouldn’t have been able to experience so many different ways of teaching. Moving has allowed me to travel a lot because different areas had different amusement parks, scenery, etc. I used to live in such a cold area and now I live here, which is so much warmer than where I used to live. If I stayed in that area, I think I wouldn’t be used to the warmth at all. The weather was so different from where I used to live and where I live now, so I got a lot of allergies, which caused me to get sick very easily.

The thing I hated the most about moving is how I had to always make new friends and leave them in like 1 or 2 years. I didn’t mind making new friends, but the thought of always having to leave these new friends sucked. However, if I hadn’t moved, I wouldn’t have met the awesome friends I have now. So far, I have been in the area for 4 years, which is the longest I have stayed in one area. Overall, I’m glad to know that I won’t be moving anytime soon.

"?" by Deborah F

I caught him staring once again. And as expected, he turned his head away from me.
Typical, I thought. I sighed, continuing my work. About a minute later, he was looking my way
again. I was becoming agitated. I turned towards him and stared back. Except I didn’t have the
same blank expression he had. I gave him a face that said “What do you want?” He rolled his
eyes and turned away yet again. This brat! Matthew, the one I always catch glancing at me, does
this routine every single day. Looks at me. Once I notice, looks away. Soon afterwards he starts
looking again. I show my annoyance, and he gives me a rude gesture which furthers my agitation
with him. He started doing all of this after second semester began. The first time I noticed him
looking at me, I thought he was looking at someone else. I soon realized it was me that he was
fixated on. I assumed he had a crush on me or something like that. But it didn’t take me very
long to figure out that this was not the case. Well, it at least didn’t seem like so. One day, I
returned his gaze. He looked away. I wasn’t really surprised with this, so I looked away as well.
But once he saw that I was no longer looking at him, he started looking at me again! I was
definitely baffled with this action. I looked at him with a perplexed face. He then narrowed his
eyes at me and gave a look closely resembling a glare. He turned away. I was now slightly
angered. Who did this boy think he was? Unfortunately for me, this continued just about every
day. On some days I would pay no attention to him at all. On others, I showed my annoyance
with him. He then always gave me an impudent glance in return. I eventually found out his name
and also found out that he was a senior, just like me. We both were in our last year of high
school. But the fact that he is a senior is very obvious since he shares a few classes with me, a
senior. I never met him before nor noticed him and most likely would never have if he didn’t
start this stupid routine of his. I don’t even know why he does what he does. Like I stated before,
I made assumptions, but they did not seem too likely to be true. I have Matthew for two of my
classes. Math and art, my elective. I also have him for lunch but I usually never see him during
this period. I encountered him a couple of times during lunch but I just ignored him. I don’t
know if he ignored me though.
Math class, first period. I walked in and sat down in my assigned seat. Another day, I
thought. I was waiting somewhat impatiently for my last year of high school to end. We are in
the last three months of school. It is currently the middle of March. I never really enjoyed high
school as much as others. To begin with, I don’t have many friends. I have a couple of people I
chat with in certain periods but no one to hang out with. However, I never perceived this as an
issue. I find people to be quite a hassle most of the time anyways. I don’t enjoy school much not
because of the lack of communication between me and my peers, but mostly because school feels
more unnecessary than it should be. The curriculum taught by the school comes off as
nonsensical to me. It has felt like this ever since my freshman year. Despite the fact that I feel
this way, I don’t complain too much about it. I do very well in school and that is all that matters
to me. As I was contemplating all of this, a familiar face walked in the classroom door. It was
none other than Matthew. I forgot to mention that he sits on the seat to my right in math class. In
art class, he sits further down the rows of desks, which is a relief. As he walked toward his desk,
he looked my way. I looked at him and gave a frown. He scoffed and sat down. I rolled my eyes
at his unnecessary but usual attitude. We had five minutes till class started. There were a couple
of other students in class but not many. Most students wait in the school’s quad till the bell rings.
This made me wonder why Matthew comes in class before it is time to. I figured he has friends
to hang out with. Or maybe he is like me. I turned my head towards his direction. He was staring.
“Why are you staring at me?” I whispered at him. This was the first time I ever spoke to him. To
my huge surprise, he responded. “Because I can.” Still bewildered that he actually responded, I
quickly composed myself and spoke back. “I don’t care if you can, it’s annoying.” “Do
something about it then,” he said. I was shocked even further. “Is that a challenge?” I responded,
trying to keep my voice low. He smirked. “You are more interesting than I thought, Caroline.”
“Huh?” I said, confused. “How do you know my name? And what do you mean by
‘interesting’?” “We’re both in the same class. It doesn’t take a genius to find out someone’s
name, genius.” “Whatever,” I replied. “You didn’t answer my second question.” “Hmm,” he
said. “Don’t need to.” I was mad now. “Stop being a brat, and answer my qu”
the bell rang
before I could finish. Matthew faced forward. That answer of his upset me for the rest of the day.
What kind of trouble and level of annoyance will this kid bring me in the future?

“Cinnamon” by Michael R.

            I woke up to the sound of pebbles being thrown at my window. I opened it up and stuck my head out to see Cinnamon standing in my front lawn. “’bout time you woke up! Come on, man, get your money and we’ll head out.” I didn’t know what she wanted, and it was way too early in the morning to ask questions, so I just put on some clothes and pocketed the 6 bucks I had been saving. I looked up at my calendar: November 25^th, 1967. Today was circled in red marker. I wonder why. I moved downstairs and poured myself a bowl of cereal when I heard a commotion outside. I opened my front door to see Cinnamon and Mrs. H. yelling at each other from across the street. All I could catch was Mrs. H. saying “Just get outta here, you hippie trash!” Then she just turned and went into her house. Cinnamon looked obviously hurt, so I gave her a hug and said “Don’t let her bring you down, she just doesn’t understand.” We walked down our street and into town, which was totally empty. It was unsettling, like it was awaiting a coming storm. Cinnamon said “What’s Mrs. H.'s problem?” “I hear she lost her husband in the war.” “Really?” “Yeah, haven’t you seen it on TV, all those soldiers with their arms blown off. It’s terrible.” “That’s no way to die.” “It’s not.” We continued our thought provoking conversation until we reached Mr. Vinyl’s Record Shop in the town mall. Then I remembered, we were gonna buy some records to listen to on our sleepover tonight. We went inside and were looking through some albums when we were met by our friend Daniel. “Hey, did you guys hear?” “What, what did we hear?” “There’s gonna be an anti-war protest down on vine street tonight. You guys in?” “Yeah, were in.” We said bye to our friend, bought our vinyl, and walked back to my house. Our night just got more interesting. Luckily, Mrs. Haggarty wasn’t at her position on the porch, so she couldn’t torment us. We listened to our music until nightfall. I told my parents that we were going to sleep. We actually climbed out of my bedroom window and we were in the street in no time. I kinda felt bad about lying to my parents, but they would never let me go out this late. We made our way to vine street and we were greeted by a group of I think 70 people that were dressed in tie-dye and armed with signs that said things like “END THE WAR” and “FLOWER POWER.” Even late at night there were still a bunch of on-lookers. It was obvious that word had got out that there was gonna be a protest. Basically, we just stood around, waving our signs. Nothing hard. The moon was bright in the night sky, and the streetlight’s orange glow illuminated the city streets. We stood in front of the town’s recruiting office. It was a perfect place to protest the war. Me and Cinnamon kinda hung out there for about 2 hours, telling the occasional person that we were here because we believed that the war was immoral and unnecessary, when the police showed up. They had asked us to leave. Some of the hippies told them that they can’t tell us what to do. I felt the same way, but I didn’t like the way the police looked at us. They asked us one more time. Out of the crowd I heard “Why don’t you make us!” Me and Cinnamon looked at each other, and then back at the crowd. Things got out of control very, very fast. The cops came at us with batons and gun-butts, and they didn’t hesitate to smack, hit, and beat every hippie there. There was screaming and I had stepped in a puddle of blood. Time seemed to slow to a crawl, all I could hear was “Ahhhhhhhh!” coming from all directions. People were bumping into me left and right, and I lost my balance. I righted myself and frantically ran around, looking for Cinnamon and trying to dodge punches and baton swings. I didn’t notice that she had been tugging at my sleeve the entire time. When I finally noticed her, I grabbed her hand and we ran out of that chaos as fast as we could and we didn’t stop running until I finally tripped over a crack in the sidewalk. We were already on our street. As soon as I caught my breath, I got up off the ground and gave Cinnamon the tightest hug I had ever given anyone, thankful that she had gotten out of there unharmed. We walked to about the front of my house when we spotted Mrs. H. sitting on her porch. She said “What are ya’ll doing out here at this hour? Don’t you tell me that ya’ll were in that riot!” Still recovering from our misadventure, I remained quiet. Cinnamon spoke up “That’s none of your business!” “Don’t you take a tone with me, you ugly girl! It’s not my fault that all your hippie trash got beat for doing something stupid! I’m glad you all got beat, it should teach ya’ll some manners! You’re all a bunch of idiots!!” “Your glad!!! Do you know how many of our friends got hurt out there!! Do you know how much blood was spilled out there!!” Mrs. H. said in a quiet voice “Still glad.” Cinnamon was furious “Oh, you’re still glad, are you!! Well you know what!! I’M GLAD THAT YOUR HUSBAND DIED IN THAT WAR!!!!!!!!!!!!” What happens next was too much too handle. Mrs. H. had pulled something out of her pocket. Suddenly I heard a loud bang. Then I saw Cinnamon topple over in a puddle of crimson that stained the sidewalk. Blood oozed from her chest. Her eyes were glazed, staring at nothing. I couldn’t believe what I had just witnessed. All I could do look at her. I could her sirens off in the distance, coming closer. I could hear Mrs. H. curse to herself. Then I could hear nothing. It was too much for me to take. I felt myself falling backwards. Then it was dark. I woke up to the sound of pebbles being thrown at my window…

"Holiday" by Katy O

            The holiday that I have created is called “Forever Alone Day.” People who celebrate this holiday are the people who aren’t in relationships. During the day all you really have to do is close your blinds, watch romantic movies, and eat a tub of ice cream. To make this holiday even more fun, you can spend the day with your best friend and both sit on the couch all day while you both wish you could be able to find that special someone and live happily ever after like the movies. Forever Alone Day is on the same day as Valentines Day but now the people who aren’t in relationships can now be apart of the celebration. In order to prepare for this day, I would recommend you go to the market and get a few tubs of your favorite ice cream. Then when the day comes all you have to do is call your friend over and spend the day watching old romance movies. This day is probably the best day for people who aren’t in relationships because then when you see all of the couples walking around during Valentines Day then you won’t feel sad because then you’ll have spending the day with your friend to look forward to. Forever Alone Day is a much better holiday than Valentines Day because you can do anything you want. This holiday was formed for all of the single people out there. Maybe one say you’ll find your true love, but for now celebrate Forever Alone Day.

            Now that this day has been formed, I definitely will call all of my friends and celebrate this day with them so that we can all be lonely together. The best part about this day is that you can spend the day being with your single friends and you could binge watch an entire season of your favorite show on Netflix. I really couldn’t find an even better way to celebrate this holiday. As you can see, this is the holiday that I have created and these are some ways to make celebrate Valentines Day even better. Please join your friends and celebrate this amazing holiday for every single person out there.  

“Fine” By Victoria E

“... but if anyone asks tell them we’re fine.” Lisa told Lex, her best friend, as they were
heading home from the woods. The night before, they told their parents they were going to a
birthday party. Both of their parents agreed to let them go, as long as they were home by 10:00.
Unfortunately, Lisa and Lex did not make it home by 10:00.
Lisa and Lex met by the park. Once they met, they started walking to their friend’s house.
They decided to go through the woods because it was much faster than going by street. As soon
as they started walking into the woods, Lisa told Lex that she had an eerie feeling. Lex reassured
her and said “ There’s nothing to be worried about, this way is much faster..”
After walking less than a mile, they heard a noise. The noise started off as a rattle in the
bushes. The noise kept getting louder and louder, and whatever was causing it was getting closer
and closer. Lisa and Lex looked at each other for a split second and then started sprinting through
the woods.
Lisa tripped over a rock, and Lex tried to quickly help her up, but Lisa could barely move
her leg. Lex looked down at her leg and saw a huge scrape. There was a lot of blood coming out
of her leg. Lex grabbed her handbag and started looking through it in hopes of finding her first
aid kit. Luckily, she found it and started wrapping a band aid around Lisa’s wound. Lex heard
the noise again and told Lisa “Get up fast! I hear it again!”
Then suddenly, they saw a pair of reddish brown eyes peeking at them through the
bushes. They heard a low rumbling voice growling at them. Suddenly, they began to see
whatever was causing the noise, a dog. The dog slowly began walking out of the bushes and
revealed itself. It had foam coming out of it’s mouth and looked dirty and mangled. It was
positioning itself like a tiger getting ready to pounce on it’s prey. Just as it was about to attack
them, they hear a loud “BANG.” The dog collapsed on the floor, just as a tall man began walking
towards them. It was Lisa’s dad.
“Are you two okay?!” he said. “Yes we are now.” said Lisa. “C’mon let’s get you two
home.” Lisa asked “How did you know we were here?” Lisa’s dad said “I heard a rattling sound
and followed it through the woods. I’m just glad you girls are okay. Let’s go home now.” He
and Lex pick up Lisa since she was injured and they all went home. “I’m glad we’re okay.” said
Lex.” “Me too,” said Lisa. “Except you have a scraped leg, so you’re not completely okay Lisa.”
“... but if anyone asks tell them we’re fine.”

"Untitled" by Lauren M

      In today’s time, war and death have become so prominent that the mentality of “us versus them” is beginning to consume society as a whole. There are two types of people in this world; and they will always find a way to hate each other.

One of the most problematic issues in life is that we, as a human race, still look to establish differences within ourselves so that we may exist separately from others. Perhaps this is only done to satisfy our desperate attempts to sustain a type of identity that is so profound that we feel purposeful and “unique”. All around us, there exist social constructs that teach us to generalize the human race into two categories. Too many believe there to be a war between Muslims and Christians, failing to see how religion is too often abused as a war tactic than a type of untainted faith. People view abortion on two spectrums: pro-life v. pro-choice when in reality, there is an entire intermediate area that is so muddled it has lost relevance. Just by observing the words “pro-life” and “pro-choice” it is obvious how one group attempts to gain leverage by falling back on the fallacy that if you believe in “choice” you don’t believe in “life”, or vice versa. Democrats versus republicans until the world burns because how dare another political party rally a support that rivals the number one highest paid starters. Even racism is still prevalent and presents itself as one of the most infamous categories of all: black v. white that refuses to believe in the possibility of grey.

The fact that “everyone knows there are two types of people in the world” delineates how much we would rather assume a different identity from another group of people than realize that these misconstrued differences aren’t as conclusive as we make them out to be. People are afraid of admitting that they aren’t special or different; but what’s more so, is that society hasn’t realized that it’s excusable to not be so overwhelmingly different. We all have nuances and culture that personalize us and that should be enough to fulfill our “noble” goal of being an “individual”. So while we may strive to resolve the modern blights in society it is imperative that we recognize above all, that it is us, ourselves, that hinder society’s ability to achieve progress and a type of nondiscriminatory peace.