Something to Be Thankful For! New Writers are Up!

Remember to read all of the selections for this month --   comments are for this latest group only (no earlier months/submissions, or last year's submissions)  NO ANONYMOUS COMMENTS.  Be sure your name is attached or included in the text book with your comment.

https://www.housebeautiful.com/room-decorating/colors/g600/fall-paint-colors/

All Students:  Be sure to read the entries for this group  (November writers).  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 Dec. 6.  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!

"07/07/2017" by Nufsat K

I woke up in the morning, went out of the room and saw my house was full of guests who were congratulating my parents. I was perplexed and went to my mom asked her, "What’s going on? Why are there so many people in our house?”. She replied, “ We got our visa, and we need to leave for America within one month as the school starts in August.”. I was so happy as my whole family was in America. I called my friends and shared how excited I was. But after a while one my friend said, “ Oh, so you are going to leave us?”. That’s the moment I faced with the reality that I will be leaving people behind with whom I grew up with back in my country. The one month past meeting family and friends, packing our luggage and getting together everything. Finally, the day arrived, when we needed to leave everyone. I saw my grandparents crying, my cousins trying to hide their tears and my friends couldn't stop crying but still, explaining to me how happy they are as I am leaving and they won't miss me at all, but those tears told me everything. Then went to my best friend, who is hiding from me in the back so that I don't catch him crying and as I went to him, he hugged me and murmured in my ear," I will miss you best friend. You were the gluestick of our friend group. Don't ever change yourself " It was the 5th of July, 2017, I left behind Bangladesh.

7th of July, 2017 I entered the United States of America with lots of anticipation and urge to make my parents proud of me. Everything was new around me, the people, their culture, different language even the climate. All of these didn't matter until the first of day of school when I knew nothing but was afraid to seek for help. I

came back from school ran to my mom and told her, " I don't want to stay here anymore. " She understood that I was feeling alone so she asked me to give myself some time to get used to everything. Everyone telling me how hard junior year was supposed to be and how important that year was for all the student and the only thing I noticed was my failing grades. Soon I realized how this country has given me so many opportunities and opened so many routes which I never thought I would have and all I needed to do was grab those chances and make my future the way i want. It was really challenging for me, but the support from my family made everything possible.

"Perseverance" by Mayur C

I am almost there. I have been working very diligently for seventeen years. Don't give up now! You must be cautious in every step you take and the distance between having fun versus being serious. You notice that many of your peers are either doing better than you or slacking off. I reflect upon my peers and myself. Tighten up because there are no second chances in high school. 

I use to prey upon listening to the advice that best soothes me. Now I must think, listen, and understand differently. With big dreams after I turn eighteen, the only thing that will stick to me is my education and the impact that my teachers and society have made upon me. 

It all started when I was a sophomore in high school. Ms. Min was my honors chemistry (and later AP Chemistry) teacher who is also the advisor for Science Olympiad (SO). At first, I thought it was a huge waste of time; spending countless hours studying to what avail- finding pleasure and motivation to make a scientific breakthrough? 

Sticking to my teacher’s advice, I finally complied to join. I came to the first meeting and everyone appeared very enthusiastic, except I had mixed emotions; one being that I love science, and the other being that it sounds stressful. 

Junior has arrived and chaos emerges. It’s 2:55 pm and I walk out of my sixth period english class, making my way to Ms. Min’s class. It’s an entirely different atmosphere in which everyone is studying very diligently for the upcoming regional competition. 

At the day of my regional competition, I felt ready to compete against other schools in the following events: thermodynamics, ecology, and helicopters. There was a block schedule that I had to accommodate for all of the other events that SO has to offer. Event after event, my excitement started to build up. By the time I had to compete for thermodynamics, I released all of my excitement and knowledge into the experimental and test portion of the event. Coming out of the testing room, I looked very forward to the award ceremony at 6 pm. 

*applauses from the entire Etiwanda High School Science Olympiad*

I made my way to the front of the stage to be given my thermodynamics and ecology medals. I glanced at my partner with much joy and reflected upon how much I have accomplished that year. Everything that I learned from the members in my cluster I hope to teach to the new members that I am currently with. 
 
The so-called year of procrastination has finally arrived. 

Senior hit and I plan on teaching my new cluster how to build and test their thermodynamics box. I was super excited to see many new faces filled with enthusiasm. As I rebuilt my thermodynamics box, I let the quote “there is always room for improvement” become my driving force. As I improve from the mistakes that I made last year and also realize how I will need to manage my time even better, I come to Ms. Min’s class to look for motivation to continue on my path of perseverance. At any point I start to slack off, Ms. Min spots me and picks me right back up. 

The new members in my cluster found out about how well I did last year and often call me the “thermo god”. I look at that name as if it is a noble title that I have to live up to. Even though it many think it sounds dumb, I think of it to be very important and a way to become recognized in the club. Also whenever I feel unmotivated, I occasionally socialize with them to relieve some stress weighing upon my shoulders. 

Science Olympiad has not only taught me to become well-rounded in all of my events, but also to manage my time very well; as spending many hours studying can sometimes outweigh my study time for school. Also SO has also taught me to become socially proactive, help keep a strong student-teacher relationship inside and outside of class, and become an ideal role for others. The last thing that my partner last year taught me was that once every work has its own method with some exception. I completely agree with that especially when learning more topics that pertain to thermodynamics. The mathematical concepts can be a little tricky and also understanding the conceptuals from a chemistry and physics perspective for example the first law of thermodynamics.

"Dad's Christmas" by Leslie R

December 22nd 2014, it was nearing Christmas so we packed and left for the family trip we usually always took to celebrate. I had visited my dad a week before we had left and spoken to him over the phone only a few days before. We, being my little brothers, my tia, uncle and myself, were heading to Angel’s Camp located in Calaveras County, CA. The trip took a few hours and when we finally arrived it was later in the day and so cold, the ground was covered in a thin layer of snow, which was an awesome change from the typical scenery you get in Fontana. After a few hours of lazing around the hotel room we began to unpack the little Christmas tree and decorate the room to give it that spirited feel because we’d be staying there until the 26th then leaving. The next day we spent messing around in the snow and walking around the town heavily associated with the Gold Rush, so of course you can imagine what was plastered all over the town. Then we walked back to the hotel, made dinner, ate dinner and went to sleep. The rest of the days leading up to Christmas went similarly, snowball fights, walking, eating and sleeping. Waking up Christmas morning came with excitement because all I could think was “Heck ya, can’t wait to see what I got”, but also an uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach. It felt like when you know how bad your grades are, and you know your parent is most likely going to check and see, which is then going to lead to them clicking on a class and seeing all those missed assignments you have. You know you are going to get in so much trouble, that something bad is going to happen and you are just waiting for it to happen. Except in this case I had no idea why I felt how I did nor did I know when this “bad thing” would happen, and eventually I forgot about it and went back to ripping open my presents. After hours spent playing with my new IPad we ate dinner and went to bed. One of my little brothers and I had to share the pull out bed in the living space and my tia, uncle and other little brother got the bed in the actual room. I was on the verge of sleep when my tia’s phone rang, and because i’m so lazy I ignored it and tried going back to sleep then again it rang and again I didn’t pick it up. It happened about 2 more times after that before I decided to get out of the bed and look at it, my abuela’s contact came up and I went right into my parents’ room to let my tia know that her phone had been ringing and that it was my abuela. She called back and I went right back to bed, once again I was on the verge of sleep when suddenly I heard a shout in my ear that scared me awake, I looked around and saw no one around so I kind of just sat there looking lost. Then my tia came out of the bed room. She had tears streaming down her face, sobbing and the instant she looked me in the eyes and I just knew exactly what had happened, he was dead. Never in my life had I cried so hard in my life, it wracked through my body and made it almost impossible to breathe. My uncle came out, took my little brother to the bedroom and let my tia and I cry without disturbance. It took me hours to calm down, but the tears never stopped, not when I watched t.v to try and distract myself and not when I tried to sleep. That entire night was spent sitting on the couch doing nothing but thinking. The next morning as soon as the sun rose we were on our way right back home. The next few days passed by in a blur, just a bunch of family giving their condolences, late nights sitting up thinking about him and why it had to happen the way it did and on Christmas day. That was  THE worst day of my life and since then Christmas has not ever been the same, but it helped me become stronger. There is not much worse emotionally then losing a family member so it really did help me, especially being able to put things in perspective when it gets tough.

"The Actions of the Sea" by Noah P

A cloudy day, on the open sea, a pirate ship with a flag bearing a skull and glasses is seen drifting along. About 1 kilometer behind that ship is another, one with no flag, the only thing visible being a man on deck wearing a full black suit and tie. On the pirate ship, under the deck, a captain with glasses is seen with ink and a quill, writing.

“Dear Shanks, 

The sea has never been one to forgive, and has never been one to forget, you know that even better than I. I hear great things about your crew as the days pass by from passengers as well as World Nobles. The incident on the isle of chulk, however, has left a bad sense within my mind that you are being steered down the wrong path. Being in control of a sizable crew is indeed a stressful task, but do not let corruption seep into your mind. I've seen too many good men fall to the likes of it, growing further distant from their crew. Victory can be blinding, and power requires a steady hand to control. Please do not let your newfound “power” lead you to destruction. Follow the goal that you are so passionate about, the one you spoke to me about before, when you were in my pirate crew. 

Now, enough of the memories, it is better to hope for a better future than to reside in the past. I know how much of a “to the point” man you are so I'll give my portion of words. 

I need not remind you of the bounty that resides on my head placed by my own country, and that I have been on the run since the placement. What is new is that they are close on the trail, I suspect that they are within 1 kilometer of my ship. I have realized the gravity of the situation, and I am the only member on board. My beloved crew is gone as I told them to survive and live full and developed lives. The fact of the matter is that this will be my last communication with you, and I have one final request to ask of you. You and your crew are full of life and liveliness, and I see the power to influence in you youngsters. My generation of geezers is over, and besides your crew as well as a countable number of others, the Pirate life seems to be fading away.

Their ship is near, so heed my final words to you.

Inspire others for the sake of discovery and adventure, revive the pirate life, and protect your crew. Do not make the mistakes that I have made, always hope for the best, but prepare for the worst. 

The Sea never forgives and forgets my friend, see you in the next life. -Silvers”
As the old man writes what seems to be his final words, a single tear is shed from his right eye, and he walks onto the deck. The ship painted silver with a banner of the country of stark is now aligned with the old man's boat, and the man in the black suit and tie stares into the eyes of the old man menacingly. The old man stares back, the only acceptance remaining in his heart. 

“Your bounty has grown quite an amount over the years, after today, I'm going to be a rich man.”
There is a pause as only the oceans waves crashing can be heard, and a flight of pelicans fly over their ships. The old man breathes in deeply.
“Your Pirate reign is over, Captain of the Glass Pirates, Silvers Stark!” 

In an act of what seems to be superhuman ability, the old man unsheathed his sword and jumped from his ship to the suited mans. The suited man whipped out his pistol and aimed at the old man, and pulled the trigger, only for the old man to slice the bullet in half. 

“Take me to my countries execution stand, I want to die at home.”
The suited man, trembling from the old man's actions obliges, and after a 3 day journey at sea, they reach the country of Stark. As they set ship on the docks, the old

man is escorted to the execution stand in the middle of the town. The executioners rest their blades just over his neck and they ask him,
“Any final words?” 

The old man looks up onto his home town, which runs in a circular design with a path around the town and a giant noble palace at the top of the circle. He sees a statue in the distance near the palace, and begins to realize distant memories of a mentor long past. Then he thinks of Shanks, and smiles.

"Cold White Tiles" by Mirza B

It was a crisp fall evening in the small town of Rosendale. The town was filled with an eerie spirit as Halloween night was slowly approaching.The usually busy road that Jennifer and her mother were on was oddly empty, but the reason for this wouldn’t be clear until later.

 “Jennifer, if you don’t get get off your phone right now, I'm going to stop the car and make you walk home!” Mrs.Harrison snapped at her daughter as she tried to keep her eyes on the road. “Alright, I got it, just finish what you were saying!” seventeen year old Jennifer retorted as she rolled her eyes.” I was saying that until I come back tomorrow, the house is yours. I don't care what you do as long as you stay inside, get your homework done, and don't throw any parties. Is that clear Jen?” Jennifer managed to mutter a sarcastic “clear as day!” under her breath as Mrs. Harrison pulled up into the driveway. Mother and daughter exchanged farewells and Mrs.Harrison started on her 5 hour drive to her important business meeting. As she turned the corner, a pang of sadness grew in Mrs. Harrison’s heart. In attempts to comfort herself, Mrs. Harrison begin repeating the same sentence.“It's okay Meredith, you’ll see her tomorrow, Jen’s not going anywhere.”

“Yeah, I'll be waiting outside at 8:30. From my house we can head straight to Jacob’s place.” Jennifer texted her friend Crissy as she adjusted the belt on the dress she had secretly bought just for Jacob’s party. Jennifer curled one more strand of her blonde hair and walked down the spiral staircase. Not knowing if it was cold enough to wear a coat or not, Jennifer turned on the TV and turned on the news channel. “Weather reports will be in 5 minutes, but first some major news,” the cheerful anchor announced. “Ugh, the news is so boring. Nothing crazy happens in Rosendale!” Jennifer groaned as she went to the kitchen to fix herself a snack. Unfortunately for Jennifer this time something crazy was happening. The news anchor sat up straight and announced, “A dangerous murderer is loose in Rosendale, we advise everyone to stay at home with your doors locked.”

“What do you mean you can’t come to the party? We planned this whole thing and now you bail? How am I supposed to get to the party without a car?” Jennifer yelled at Crissy through the phone. “Well, I'm sorry but my Dad saw my report card and he’s making me stay home and study. Jacob’s house is only a mile and a half away, you can walk.” Crissy retorted back and hung up the phone. Jennifer considered this and determined she had no better options. Jennifer ran out the cherry wood door, forgetting to lock it behind her.

“Sorry I came so late.” Jennifer apologized,stumbling into Jacob’s foyer. “Oh, it's no problem, it’s only 9:45. It's a Friday night so we don't need to worry about waking up early or anything.” Jacob reassured her. Jennifer took off her jacket, grabbed a cherry soda, and put her phone on silent. ”Jacob is right.” she thought to herself. “I just need to loosen up and enjoy the night.” While Jennifer was having a blast at the party, Mrs.Harrison was struggling to stay awake and focus on the road. “Maybe a little music will keep me awake.” she said to herself. Not finding any stations she liked, Mrs. Harrison started listening to the news. That's when her heart sank. “ There is still a dangerous murderer on the loose in Rosendale, residents should make sure to stay inside.” Mrs.Harrison pulled over and frantically started calling Jennifer, only to reach the voicemail box. Tears were brimming in Mrs.Harrison’s eyes as she started interrogating her phone “Why isn't she answering?! Why isn't she answering?!”

It was 12:00 and Jennifer was just getting home from the party. She turned on her phone to see five missed calls from her mother. “I'll just call her in the morning” Jennifer tiredly muttered as she ascended the marble steps to her bedroom. She stood in front of her mirror and examined her smudged eyeliner. That's when she heard a rustling coming from her closet. The white closet door opened with a squeak and out came a tall man wearing an orange shirt and pant. He slowly took a knife out of his pocket and with a grin said, “Didn’t they say to keep your door locked?”

Jennifer opened her mouth but to her horror, no scream escaped. She ran to her mother’s bedroom which had a balcony fifty feet above their backyard pool. With the murderer just a foot away, Jennifer flung open the balcony door and looked down at the crystal blue water. “Its okay I'll fall in the pool, and I'll survive,” Jennifer assured herself as she climbed over the ledge. Unfortunately, Jennifer didn't fall in the pool. She fell unto the cold white tiles.

"Freshman Year " by Elias A P

Throughout high school, I have been fortunate enough to have some amazing experiences that ultimately opened up my mind in one shape or form. As a football player, I learned that just simply putting in the effort to achieve a goal is a great accomplishment, even if I never achieved that goal. Even though being a part of the team allowed me to experience incredible moments, it was not the experience that impacted me the most. The class that really changed my way of thought was Drama 1 with Mr. Kyle. The decision to take drama was not actually my own.  At the start of Freshman year, I was excited and equally nervous about my classes and the different people that I would meet. I was lucky in the fact that I was able to get all the classes that I wanted and that the order in which I had these classes sat well with me. After three days my luck ran out as my mother decided that she did not like the classes that I was taking. I originally had all prep classes and wood shop as my elective. After my mom had decided what was best for me, I ended up having to take both honors English and Math but also Drama one. I dreaded this decision and begged my mom to change to my schedule to what it was before. My begging, however, had no effect whatsoever. I was now more nervous than I was excited about high school, and I especially feared Drama and the whole concept of performing to a room full of people. The next day I received my new schedule and I was happy to see that I did not have drama until third period. I then used the first and second period to prepare myself for what I thought was the most terrifying, pointless, biggest waste of time that I perceived as Drama. Although Mr. Kylie is a very passionate teacher that focuses on finding the best ways to help his students learn, he can at times be a little bit too much. As third period rolled by, I became more nervous with each step that I took on the way to the E building from the A building. As I stepped through the door, I quickly noticed that the majority of the room was all black. The walls and the stage were painted black, the chairs were black, and there were black curtains that covered the walkway that lead towards Mr. Kylie’s desk in the back. I nervously introduced myself to Mr. Kylie and took a seat in the front row. As much as I thought that I would absolutely hate my time in drama I actually started to become quite fond of the class. I began to enjoy the class because it allowed everybody to freely express themselves and put on performances that at times would bring the whole room to tears. The class was mainly made up of freshman and seniors, all who had their own hobbies like choir, water polo, football, ASB, and baseball. As time went by I saw how everyone was either completely comfortable or at least begging to become comfortable performing. In spite of everyone being nonjudgmental and even helpful to one another with constructive criticism, I was still terrified of performing. I would go up on stage and be so nervous that my hands would not stop shaking and I would not talk loud enough. I had always been insecure about a lot of things in my life and therefore I always had a fear of presenting to people, even if it was just a small group and not a classroom. I was then stuck at a crossroads, I would either continue the way I had been doing things and cower away when it came to performing or I would try and find even the smallest bit of courage and give it my all when it came to performing. Luckily, I chose the latter and decided to not let my fears dictate how I lived my life. Once I had decided to give it my all I noticed that my hands would no longer shake and that the people in the back could clearly hear my voice. I was now comfortable being on stage and allowing my creative side to be freely expressed without having any interference from fear. In one particular performance, my partner Samuel and I decided to put a twist on what was serious dialogue. For the location of where the monologue was taking place, we decided to make it an amusement park. We were two strangers that were both extremely nervous about riding a rollercoaster and we tried to ease each other's fears as we came to the drop where we ultimately just lost any progress that we had made. The whole scene was at most six to seven minutes but in that short time, I gave it my all. At the end of the semester, I felt as though I was an extremely different person thanks to Drama. I believe that the valuable lessons that I learned while in football allowed me to learn even more in Drama which in turn opened up a variety of new perspectives that I had never even considered.  

"Bliss" by Julia A

When you think of bliss what comes to mind? Bliss is defined as complete happiness by the Cambridge Dictionary. Having the feeling of joy and peacefulness in life and even towards people at the same time is my definition of bliss. Many people have different experiences and thoughts when it comes to happiness, making blissfulness difficult to label. As quoted from Deeka Chopra, “ Bliss is not a feeling but a state of being. In the state of bliss, everything is love.” This quote is very interesting, because it expresses how bliss is related to what a person is currently going through. What a person may be going through includes physical and the mental state of one, which plays a big role in what someone may think of bliss right then. For example, if someone were to lose somebody or something precious to them, in the moment of this the person is not going to feel “complete happiness” and therefore they are going to feel as if everything is against them ultimately leaving them the complete opposite of bliss. Deepak Chopra has also mentioned how experiencing bliss shows enlightenment in an individual. Enlightenment is the action or state of attaining or having attained spiritual knowledge or insight defined by the Dictionary. Although we do not consider bliss on a spiritual level, attaining the knowledge of happiness is considered on the spiritual outlook on things. Now that bliss is defined and clarified, how does someone obtain “complete happiness?”To simply inform

someone of complete happiness is quite difficult because there are variations among individuals and what they consider their own version of happiness. Personally something that makes me happy is food, whereas for others sleep is what makes them happy. I believe that doing things that bring you joy is the first step to achieving blissfulness. At many times I have experienced things in my life which made me feel everything but contentment. Being senior year it is very stressful, between school and things at home, my main emotion at the moment is stress and overwhelmingness. In a way I am still happy, however that “joy” is not all the way there. I look back to when I was at my happiest moment and I ask myself what happened. But, now that I think about it, my life in both present and the past have always been filled with happiness even though I have my days where a mental breakdown is a normal. From this I then wanted to explore the concept of being happy in life, and not just happy in the emotional state, but physically radiating that joy in everything we do. As a result I found that bliss was the best word to describe this concept, and as I dug more into researching more of bliss, I found that enlightenment was also an extended version of this word. Therefore being inspired by the concept of bliss I then wanted to explain that in life regardless of what you may emotionally be feeling, the state of being you are in is what really makes out if you look at life with bliss.

"The Water Experiment " by Braden B

I have been here for six days. No one here has ever made it past seven days. At least that is what they told me as they tied the weights to my legs. I do not know who I am or how I got here if I am being honest. The last thing that I can truly remember is waking up to a blinding light. A blinding light followed by the sound of a door closing. Then the weights. Oh, these miserable, miserable weights that are tied around my ankle. I am unable to move any longer. Every now and then I would be able to move with these weights. But not any longer. Not on the sixth day of this horrible experiment. All I can do is lay here. Lay here and stare at the glass of water that will set me free. When they tied these weights to my ankles they placed a glass of water on a white pedestal. A white pedestal, in a white room. A white pedestal with a glass of water on it. A glass of something that I have not had in six days. I am dying of thirst. I am sure that everyone else died of thirst too. Those skeletons are probably people who died of thirst. White bones, in a white room, with a white pedestal with a glass of water on top of it. And all I can do is lay here. I can't even cry at this point. I have no water left inside me. No tears would come even if I wanted them to. I wish they would come. I could drink them. Sweet, sweet water. But alas. I will die here. I will die here just like everyone who had to endure this before me. The nameless person who made it to seven days. I feel sorry for that person. Seven days in here. Seven days in a white room. Filled with white bones. With a white pedestal with a glass of water on top of it. A glass of water that sits merely a few feet outside my grasp. A glass of water that I am sure sat just merely a few feet from most people's grasps. But all those people, just like I, end up as skeletons. I can see their bones. All the white bones. And I am scared. I do not want to die. But I fear it is inevitable. I will become a skeleton and the next person with these miserable, miserable weights tied to their ankles. They will lay here looking at my white bones, in this white room, with a white pedestal with a glass of water on the top. The glass of water that they were told if they could retrieve, they would be set free. I wish for that water now for so many reasons. I don’t want to die. I want that glass of water. I want to leave this miserable room. With its miserable white walls. I want to go anywhere else. And yet I can not leave. No matter how much I want to. I will die here. And that is that. I close my eyes. And as I close them, I see the most joyous thing I have ever seen. A room made not of white but rather of black. And as I slip further into the black room I feel nothing. I am at peace.

"Case of Senioritis" by Saima S

      Suddenly I woke up by the alarm which is the sound I dreaded. I turned it off and got up
from bed, it felt like I only slept for 30 minutes but this was probably because I spent every summer night staying up late on facetime with my best friend Casey or scrolling through twitter till I realize it 2:00 am. I collect my thoughts on what has happened and then a gush of anxiety filled up inside of me as sat up. It was the first day of senior year.
     I didn't really talk to anyone this summer so thoughts filled my head on how my “friends” would react on the first day when they see me. I mean, if they really missed me they would’ve called me, but Casey was the only one who put in effort. I was happy that I was taking three AP classes this year. I'm really determined on having a better GPA. I was never really good at school and I want to do better in my last year. All I really cared about was passing the class. Maybe I'll sit next to the smart kids this year so I can ask them for the homework. The next four periods before lunch was all introductory stuff. Despite it being the first day, I had homework for all my classes, and everyday after that. Casey had first lunch so now I have to hang out with other people and tell them about my summer. It wasn't bad, but we wouldn't be having this conversation if only they talked to me over the summer. After lunch I went to my other classes

that dont really matter. At the end of the school day I meet up with Casey for a while and hung out with her till my mom came.
     Every day was somewhat the same as the last. If I was lucky, I would catch a fight happening at lunch. I would always have tons of homework and i started to question why on earth did I pick AP classes. But not once did my grade fall in any class which was something I was proud of and kind of bragged about as well. Casey told me to chill out. She said that I just need to relax given the reason I'm a senior and I should probably lay back a little.
     Casey was a distracting friend but she would always stick with me everyday. I had known of her since freshman year but never really talked to her until this summer. We clicked and she easily became my best friend.
     It was finals of first semester and casey was still not taking work seriously, I wondered why so I thought I’d spend more time with casey, and why she wasn't panicking. I thought casey might've had senioritis because she was showing major symptoms of it. I layed off on the homework for a while, after all, I did have straight As so missing some homework really wouldn't drop my grades that much. I also missed a few classes. Finals week was bound to come weather I was prepared for it or not, in this case I wasn't, considering how much time I wasted. I had so much work piled on me. But it's too late to complain. I was cramming for tests and running off of three hours of sleep. Sometimes I would have thoughts of dropping out. But this was all Caseys doings. I was kinda mad, I should’ve known better. I get into bed after studying for my calc. test. I have a dream that night, a dark fog crowding over me, making the corners of my eyes go dark as it embraces me. It almost felt as if it was alive. I felt a cold shiver up my spine. I woke up freezing cold. I didn't sleep after that but the next morning I had no motivation

to do my tests. As the test was being passed a gush of anxiety fills my stomach. The pencil in my hand became slippery because of my sweaty palms. It's been an hour, and I'm still only on the 14th question out of 48. Then, while I was bubbling an answer, it hit me. Casey does not have senioritis, I do. Casey is senioritis.
     I had realized I had trapped myself into this dark hole of motivation and laziness along with depression. This whole time I thought I was just taking advantage of my senior year and “living my life” but instead I was falling deeper into Casey's trap. It ,makes sense of why she is so disliked now. I was furiated, Id one this to myself and it wouldn't have happened if I wasn’t so ignorant. I rushed through the calc final, I knew I failed anyways. And at the ten minute lunch, I confronted her on how she had made my life so miserable. Casey then turned into fog, she crept around me and held me tight almost knocking me out. I felt the fog going up my back and clouding my brain. Then in the middle of campus, I broke down, anger boiling inside of me and with a tear stained face,I went to the nurses and asked to go home. This feeling of betrayal was a on another level. Probably because it’s my fault and I should’ve had more people around me, people who can guide me. I go home raging, yelling at    Casey who is now inside my head. Telling her to stop clouding my brain. I don't think I’ve ever experienced something this evil. But it's here now, and the best thing to do is to carry on now and ignore her torturous ways and brush off the suffering that I'm going through. She’ll go away eventually. I know I'm not the only one like this

“I luv u gma” by Kailee H

     The morning is fair, the rainy season has come and gone once again. Every morning my mom wakes me up unreasonably early. School starts at 8:30, yet here she is rubbing my back, ever so gently, telling me it’s time to get up at 5. At first I pull the blanket over my head and hide under until she starts tickling me and I have no choice but to surrender and roll out of bed. My mom always picks out my clothes for the day and brushes her teeth with me while I imitate her every move. She helps me put on my clothes and we head downstairs. She has already made breakfast, I see steam rising from a bowl. I get on my tippy-toes and grasp the countertop trying to peek at what’s inside. She picks me put and sets me on the skyscraper like chair, I look in the bowl and it’s my favorite, oatmeal and raisins with brown sugar. I eat my food in .2 seconds and ask for more, but it’s already 6 o’clock and we have to leave.
     We walk out the door and all I want is to do is curl back up in my blankets. My mom still has me sit in a booster chair whenever I go in the car. I’m already 7, I think I’m big enough to ride without one. She hates how I put my hands all over the car window, but I love to draw pictures and aggressively point out dogs and birds that we pass by. I also love singing to the music she puts on every morning, which includes Veggie tales and Hannah Montana. It is tradition for us to spend time with my grandma every morning. We arrive at her house, I am taken out of the car and I run to the front door. I have a special knock whenever I go to my grandma's, so she knows who is at the door. “Knock.knock......knock.knock.....knock.” As my mom walks up, my grandma opens the door with the same smile on her face like every other day. We enter her house and I go straight for the candy bowl, I shove a hand full of m&m’s into my mouth. I glance over at my mom and she gives me the death stare, so I walk away from the bowl. My mom and grandma start talking, but I don’t pay attention and I walk over the my grandpa’s bed side. I always thought it was odd that he never got out of bed, talked, or left the house. But I loved the way he looked at me and smiled whenever I entered the room. I was his favorite, I helped my mom prick his finger and give him medications, but I didn’t know what was wrong with him. I would sit on him and tell him about the games I play with my friends and how bad I wanted a little sister to play with as well.
      When it’s time for us to leave, my mom would have to pry me off of my grandpa because I loved to sit with him. By the time my mom had finally got me off I was in tears and would lay on the floor refusing to leave. The only way I would calm down was the promise of coming back tomorrow. We said our goodbyes and I was off to school.
      Our mornings are the same everyday, nothing changes. But my birthday is coming up and I am so excited for presents and cake. A week has passed and tomorrow is the big day. But this morning we don’t go see my grandma. I think nothing of it because my mom said we would visit later in the day. When we arrive to my grandma's house, the whole family is there. Including people I didn’t know, who had on weird blue outfits and looked as if they were guilty of a crime. As soon as I enter the house, I rush over to my grandpa and grab his hand. The enjoyment on

my face makes him smile and everyone around starts tearing up, trying hold back from bursting into tears. Even my mother is acting this way, she never cries, and in this moment I knew that something was wrong.
     As I’m still holding onto my grandpa's hand, I yell across the room to my mom and ask “Momma, why are you sad?” She walks over to me, kneels down and responds “Oh my sweet little ladybug, you are too young to understand. Just remember the smile you put on your grandpa’s face everyday.” I am still confused and my mom pulls me away from my grandpa. I don’t resist her because of the way she looks at me, it was unlike any face she has ever made. One person in a blue outfit walks over to my grandma and asks her if she was “ready in begin”. At these words everyone becomes silent, waiting for her answer. My grandma replies a simple, “Yes”. The people in blue outfits gather around my grandfather and start removing the tubes that are connected to him. They stop and there is one tube left to remove, this one is connected to my grandpa’s nose. I wonder why they would hesitate, but a minute later they remove it and my grandpa closes his eyes. Everyone is crying but I am emotionless. My mom picks me up and hugs me tight. She whispers to me “I love you”.
     We have a new morning tradition now, leaving notes for my grandma. Every morning we would drive to her house and put post-it notes on the screen door. They would say “l luv u gma”,”u ar my hero”, “I wil aways be ur favorit”, “gandpa is in heven now”.

"Saying Goodbye" by Lindsay S.

      It had just started to snow in Rexburg, Idaho. We sat in the warm car and watched the
delicate snowflakes hit the windows as they melted. My mom sat in the driver’s seat, my dad in the passenger seat, my sister and I were bundled under blankets in the backseat. I tuned out as my mom explained once again to Casey how important it was to not go anywhere alone at night, eat healthy, and get good grades. I listened to the still silence outside and watched as the occasional pedestrian hurried to their destination. As they walked by, I could hear their boots splash in the snow, which was slowly becoming brown slush. Although I had been expecting this goodbye since the day she got accepted into college, it was more difficult than I had anticipated. I start listening again as my mom and dad told my sister that they loved her, as they tried not to cry. We all got out to hug her one last time before leaving her. As we got out of the car and into the freezing air, snowflakes surrounded us and it was finally time for the dreaded goodbye. I hugged my sister, knowing things would never be as simple as they were when we shared a bunk bed and played outside together. Then, she turned around and headed into her new apartment. When she got inside, she waved and we waved back as we got in the car. The goodbye was over and then began the long, lonely car ride home.
     There’s something I have never understood about goodbyes other than the obvious why do they have to happen? I guess what I can’t seem to comprehend is why goodbyes are always sad. No matter the reason people are saying goodbye, they are never happy about it. My sister

was starting college, a new and amazing experience, but still we dreaded the thought of leaving her.     How do these goodbyes impact our lives so much? My sister would always make my decisions for me, what would I do now that she’s 882 miles away? Of course I could call her, but it would never be the same. It was time for a new chapter in all of our lives. A time for me to learn how to make decisions and be responsible without my big sister right beside me. But why so soon? My sister and I have always been inseparable, so how was I supposed to go through some of the best/worst times of my life without my best friend? Besides, life moves so fast why can’t we just stop and enjoy it for once? Why are we so involved with what we have going on right now that we forget that one day we will be forced to continue on with our lives? We do not realize the little time we have to enjoy life and so the time slips away from us.
     Maybe that’s why goodbyes are so miserable, one cannot imagine their life without that person. When they leave, things have to change and might never be the same again. At the same time, though, maybe that’s what makes goodbyes essential. They give us an opportunity to experience new things, to grow, and appreciate what we once had. Since my sister left for college 3 years ago, we’ve grown into new individuals. Nonetheless, we still talk everyday and she’s always the one I go to first for help. Goodbyes might make things more difficult, but they are not the end. They might physically separate people, but not the bonds between people. Possibly goodbyes are meant to make you appreciate what you are leaving because you don’t realize what is so great is right in front of you. If nothing ever changed, you would not grow as a person and have the opportunity to become your best self. People are placed in our lives at certain times for certain reasons. Although I didn’t want my sister to leave, it was time for me to grow up and become my own person.

     People dread goodbyes because to say goodbye is so final. The fear of letting go overcomes you as you realize it’s time to part. It is so easy to keeps things exactly the way they are. There is no risk, and therefore no chance of failure or sadness. To let go means that you must take a chance and attempt something you have never had to before. Although this may seem like the better choice, to keeps things the way they are, it is not truly living. Goodbyes open opportunities for individuals to discover who they are and who they can become. In order to experience life, we must experience goodbyes.

"The End" by Evan T

TOP SECRET
File: Unit_Info_25-S64
Wave-25 Type-Service No. 64.

      “Otherwise known to be “Sein.” This model is one meant to aid leading frontline fighters
as well as guarantee the protection their assigned human from potential threats such as incoming enemy forces. The model is specifically designed to function much like a human and has also been given higher-leveled functions such as premium hacking abilities, enlarged memory storage, heightened senses and intense combat abilities. It has been given a mind of its own so that it may seem like the humans themselves, but lacks the true emotions they would be able to feel like them. It is one of very few models that have this quality among the thousands of android types released to this day. However, their free will has been proven dangerous to the one mission these androids were anonymously created for...
     This model has been able to dig into the servers of the Mother Computer multiple times and find the all-time mission of the androids whenever their data was being uploaded to the system. We have had to execute said model various times when it seemed to become too much of a threat to the mission. Unfortunately though, it seems that there’s a glitch with the enlarged memory storage, allowing this unit has been able to keep little bits and pieces of the information from the previous memory whenever they were killed. It has come to a point that the ultimate mission may have to accommodate for this new finding. For now though, this data is to remain Class S+ information. No one must know of the truth...”
-    Head of Interspecies Connections and Humanity Prevalence, S.W.

     He couldn’t believe it... His entire existence was a mere lie. Everything was all part of a sick, twisted mission. His creation, his assignment to protect the young child he grew fond of, everything... Did it go further? Was the war between humanity and the alien race all just some farce as well?! Before then, the humans and aliens prospered together, worked together, learned together... Now they were in a full blown war that’s been going on for almost three millenia.
     Sein couldn’t take the intense revelation as he stepped away from the barely functioning Mother Computer, ignoring the fact that the alarms were now blaring out noise he couldn’t hear. He broke out of his trance as a voiced called out for him.
     “Sein... Are you okay?” Akaki spoke out. Sein turned to the small child of eight years and kneeled down to him to look at him in the eyes. He took deep breaths before mustering up the energy to lift his head up.
     “D-Don’t worry Akaki... It’s all gonna be fine... It’s gonna be f-fine...” Sein’s voice broke as he tried to keep the young boy from worrying. “Why don’t we... just go outside... Let’s just leave this place behind... leave it in the past...”
     Akaki didn’t question the android guardian. Sein had been there all of his life. The android had always protected him, he practically raised him. He was like a brother to him. Though in all of his life, he never imagined that Sein could ever be broken. It never occurred to him that Sein had this much of a mind. Akaki broke out of his train of thought when he saw a light emitting in front of him. They were about to be back outside the facility, back into the desolate world they called, “home.”

     “It’s just a little further Akaki...” Sein muttered. He kept his head down as they kept walking over the piles of debris and android corpses. Akaki couldn’t bear to look at the parts of android that littered the floors everywhere, thinking that all of these androids were - in his mind - Sein’s brothers and sisters. He shuddered at the thought of being in Sein’s place in the moment.
     They eventually made it to the outside to the orange sky, dust in the air, and more debris spread across the barren land. There was a large alien warship hovering a couple hundred miles away from the android base. There was a hatch opening and Akaki saw something was emerging from it.
     “Sein, what’s that...?” Sein had looked up for the first time since reading the file and saw what Akaki was seeing. He didn’t say anything back to Akaki to answer him. He gave a look that resembled terror instead. Terror of what? He walked over to the small confused boy, kneeled down to his level and embraced him tightly.
     “It’s gonna be okay Akaki... Everything’s gonna be okay...” Akaki could start to see tears in Sein’s eyes.
      “Sein, what’s wrong...? You’re s-scaring me...” Akaki was now starting to tear up as well. Sein looked up at the ship above. The hatch was fully opened and something large was now hovering from it. Sein analyzed it and determined that it was going to be released any second now and that it would take about ten seconds for it to reach the ground.
“D-Don’t worry Akaki... There’s no need to be afraid...” Sein embraced Akaki harder as he pulled the boy’s head to his shoulder. He heard in the distance the release of a clamp.
10...
“We’re just gonna go to sleep buddy...”

9...
The young child stared at the last android, teary-eyed and said...
8...
“I-I don’t want t-to die...”
7...
Sein couldn’t even bear to look at the face of fear from the last bit of innocence in the
world. He mustered up courage and said the one thing he could say to him. 6...
“Just close your eyes bud...”
5...
“Think of all those people we met...”
4...
“Those people made you smile... Just think of the happy times...” 3...
“You’ll be dead...”
2...
“No I won’t, and you won’t either...”
1...
“I’ll be right here... right here...”
...
Mission Update:

Protect Akaki Colombo - Complete
Oversee Near-Extinction of Humanity - Complete “Escape the Maze” - ...Complete...
Unit 25-S64 signing off...

"The Art of the DM" by Chad L-M

      Throughout history, mankind’s methods of attracting and getting a mate have evolved as
time goes on. In the stone age it was a brutal battle between who was the alpha, in the medieval times it was a joust battle to the death, and in the 20th century it was a courtship with beautiful flowers handpicked by the gentleman (or a close family arrangement for those living in the Appalachian mountain range). However, when your handwritten letter professing all of your deepest, heart throbbing emotions and feelings for the girl you never even talked to, inevitably fails with you ending up humiliated amongst all of her friends, you may begin to fear of never finding love again. You may even have the fear of losing your 5th grade crush to the fastest runner at recess. Fear not young padawan, for I have a foolproof method for getting that girl of your dreams without fail! Gentlemen, (and ladies, if you’re bold like that) I present to you my secret step-by-step method for getting that mate of your dreams: “The Art of the DM”.
     Now at first you may be thinking, “Nah, this guy is baloney, there’s no way you can actually get a girl through a DM.”, and “I’ve tried this before, and it I was left on ‘read’”, or if you’re an ancient dinosaur still asking your kids how to work your iphone, “What in the world is a ‘DM’”. If you’re either of the first two then I can assure you that as long as you follow my course step-by-step, this method WILL work, but if you’re the last one then this isn’t for you. I used to be like you, very skeptical of the whole direct messaging process, and just like you I was once a failure with the ladies as well as what my father saw me as. However, through thousands of hours of research and testing on the most effective ways to attract a mate in the 21st century, through sleepless nights of grinding (doing my research of course), and after many failures, I have mastered the Art of the DM and have only had 100% success with the babes. I have decided that I no longer want to watch guys suffer in fake depression and sorrow, sulking to their simp playlists in their room, being complete beta males, and I would rather help them get the girl of their dreams with this fountain of essential knowledge that I have compiled into my method of the Art of the DM. Keep in mind that this isn’t as basic as putting a Supreme sticker on your Hydroflask, this method for attracting a mate is a perfected ART.     Let’s begin.
     The first step in the Art of the DM is to get notepad or something to write on. Once you have that, begin stalking all of your Instagram and Twitter baddies as you usually do (whether they are from school or you just added them since they were in your recommended box) and begin to write down the username(s) of your potential wife(s). Got it? Good. Now if you see your future wife at school, your minimum wage job, or in public, make sure to either get their username by asking your homies, frantically searching their name in the search box, or all of the above. DO NOT, and I repeat, DO NOT actually go up and “talk” to them or even think about asking them for their “@” in public, as only a complete imbecile would do such a thing. Plus, just look at you, you’re a loser, that’s why you’re here (but don’t worry just continue along). Be also very cautious as to which baddie you decide to keep track of, as some are not worth your time pursuing, but are there just to look at and salivate over. A few red flags include: “men are trash” retweets, “spooky szn but still no boo” tweets, an excess of filters and “catfish lighting” to

hide their imperfections and compensate for their lack of self esteem, an attempt to be funny with unoriginal tweets, or the outdated post “im good luv, enjoy”.
      Once you have your list of future mates, the second step in the Art of the DM is to make sure that your profile is as visually appealing and representative of you as possible. This means posting all, and I mean all of your epic Fortnite highlights, your mirror selfies with the camera flash on, your smoking of forbidden substances (the Devil’s Cabbage and the Juul), as well as that one time you went to the gym in all of your outdated Adidas gear. Remember that the epic Fortnite highlights are absolutely crucial if you want this to work, as it let’s all of the females know how alpha you are through your display of how you epically own the “noobs”.
     After making sure your social media profiles are up to par and ready to dab on the haters, you must then proceed to the third step which is following the girl, on whatever social media platform that may be. For quicker success, make sure to like her last three pictures she posted. While this is usually enough to get the spark ignited, you may have to be more diligent in the art, so you should continue to follow and unfollow her to get the flame going. In the unlikely case that your future wife doesn’t reciprocate the same energy back on social media, it means that she is just busy and is not ignoring you.
     The fourth step of the Art of the DM, and arguably the most vital, is to actually go ahead and DM the apple of your eye. With this step, imagine you are a savage lion, The King of the Beasts, creeping in the grassy Savannah, ready to pounce on your prey (the female). Now before you get your mind in the gutter, realize that this analogy is used to represent your swiftness and finesse, as well as confidence and wit needed when catching your prey, or in this case Direct Messaging your potential baby mamma. Too slow or scared, and you’ll lose your pray and starve (they block you). You may be wondering, “Bro, I don’t know what to do. What should I say?” With this part, you have a plethora of things to say in order to seal the deal, or at least start a conversation with your e-girlfriend. Here are some examples:

• -  “Hey, I was wondering if you could help me finish this book I was writing? It’s actually a phonebook and all I need to now is your number in it.”
  
• -  “*send ball emoji*, ‘Oops, I think my ball accidently fell in this DM.”
  
• -  “If I could rearrange the alphabet, I’d put ‘U’ and ‘I’ together.”
  
• -  “Do you believe in love at first sight—or should I walk by again?”
  
  Make sure to have them be as cheesy as possible. If you are a man of few words you can even just send the “two eyes” emoji to start pulling all kinds of ladies. Also, make sure not to post a “like for tbh”, or comment on their stories/posts expecting the interaction to go anywhere just by complimenting their looks like the average schmuck.
  
  From this point on either you followed all of the steps correctly and you now are a master of attraction and seduction with the ladies, or you failed because you didn’t follow the Art of the DM step-by-step correctly. Another plausible cause for failure may be that your epic Fortnite clips, were in reality, not so epic. Therefore make sure to “git gud” and only post your most epically epic of highlights. You don’t need to worry about anything after the DM, as you will
  

become so incredibly alpha that things such as social skills, a decent personality, and good looks are unnecessary. Also, in the rare case that your potential spicy señorita leaves you on “read” or “seen” with no response, just know that it is not because the Art of the DM doesn’t work (which is a preposterous assumption to make due to its perfectness), but it is most likely because she is overwhelmed by how alpha you are and can’t even begin to muster a response from her thumbs, especially under the excess testosterone you are emitting just through the screen. In that case, block her immediately. Alternatively, you can send her the “Let’s Play 8 Ball Pool” message, which is the same thing you should send in response to someone who sends you paragraph-long texts.
The final step after getting your guaranteed success from following the Art of the DM step-by-step, is to share your success stories to all of your homies that you catch lacking in clout. I will not publicly share my inconceivable abundance of personal success stories with women just because I wouldn’t want to flex on you. Just take my ALPHA word for it. So what are you waiting for loser? Get your mouth salivating, your eyes stalking, your thumbs warming, and start sliding in those DMs!

"The Disease Called Love" by Madison B

I knew I had it when I could feel my heart beating and thumping and crashing in my chest harder
than ever before. My stomach was turning and flipping and I could barely breathe. My eyes couldn't focus on anything else than what I could see right now. My face got hot and I felt like I was burning up. I had felt a feeling like this before but never once had it been this strong. I didn't know what to do. Was there a cure for this disease or would I be stuck like this forever? After a few days of agony I did the only thing I could think of, I contacted an old friend. All they could do was laugh at my current state but eventually they did offer a bit of useful advice and I was determined to follow it. I clutched my phone in my hand, my heart beat was the only sound I could hear and it felt as if my throat had closed. I was going to do it, I had to. My hands were shaking but I managed to do what I needed to do. I took a deep breath and typed out a message it read “Hi your friend told me I should talk to you so hi!” It was sent, there was no going back now. I messed up so bad, what kind of an idiot sends a message like that? But wait, my phone vibrated I got a message. They said hi back! My hope was back and I sent another message. Message after message we became closer and and my heart beat slowed and I regained control of my breathing and when we finally talked in person the planets aligned and peace finally came to me. I found a cure for my disease, a disease called love. And she was my cure.