Our First Group of Writers Has Arrived! Comment time!

Remember to read all of the selections for this month  (Aug/Sept writers)--   comments are for this latest group only (no last year's submissions)

https://tasty-yummies.com/5-ways-to-embrace-the-fall-vibes/

All Students:  Be sure to read the entries for this group  (Aug/Sept 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 October 11, in class.  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!

"On Morality and Justice" by Joshua L

      The United States of America is an incredible place to live where money falls from the
trees and the people here feel content. Except that this couldn’t be further from the truth. Our country, our government claims to be the liberators of the oppressed and fighters for freedom. While we have a separation of church and state, God is apparently their main motivation, or the money for reelection. If we dare choose to question their motives, we disappear. Or rather disappear in the news cycle.
What is morality? What is justice? I’d like to believe that these two overlap; that without one, the other doesn’t exist. If you try to separate the two, then it results in disingenuous solutions. For example, the United States of America is the richest country in the history of the world. Yet, we have forty million people living in poverty while the wealthiest Americans keep gaining wealth. What’s their solution to this? Cut taxes on the rich, cut benefits for the poor and keep you sick. How is that moral? When did we, the people, decide to let our government, the one we created, represent the interests of the few and not the many?
     The real remedy to this is actually quite simple. What we need is a massive redistribution of wealth in this country from the rich to poor and middle class. This isn’t as radical as the pundits or CEO’s might suggest. As long as we conduct the agenda of the American people in the proper manner, by getting young people involved in the political process and registering

 folks to vote, there is nothing we can’t accomplish. The way we eliminate this grotesque level of
income inequality, where the three richest Americans own as much wealth as the bottom half of this country, is to stop spending trillions of dollars on endless wars and reinvest that money into guaranteeing every man, woman and child healthcare as a right and not a privilege. We need to end the war on drugs which has disproportionately incarcerated our black and brown brothers and sisteWe must demand that corporations pay their fair share of taxes and act as responsible corporate citizens. We need a federal jobs guarantee through a Green New Deal, which will transform our energy system away from fossil fuels and towards energy efficiency and sustainability. This, and so much more, is how we take our first steps towards justice and equality for all.
     If you are reading this and think that what I said is impossible to accomplish because of the amount of money in our politics or how the special interest groups and corporations might react, always remember what President Franklin Delano Roosevelt once said: “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself”. This motto isn’t just a catchy saying, but rather a challenge to each and every one of us. It being that in order to achieve justice and equality for all, we must have the moral courage to act true to the intent of our founding documents, that no matter your creed, race or gender you have the power that money can’t buy: People Power.

  
Sources:
https://poverty.ucdavis.edu/faq/what-current-poverty-rate-united-states https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2119052/three-richest-people-us -own-much-wealth-bottom-half

Lechuga 3

"The Deep Blue Sea " by Brianna Y

     In the summer of 2011, I travelled to China to visit my relatives. My mom and cousins convinced me to venture out to the beach and I agreed, ignoring the adamant voice in my head telling me I can’t swim. After we got off the plane, a fresh fragrance of ocean water and coconut trees engulfed my senses. I slowly stepped out and was immediately blinded by the iridescent sunlight. The nearby town was quiet as all the residents were still sleeping soundly in their homes. We set out beach towels down on the sandy beach and began setting up our tents. My mother realized that she forgot her umbrella and said, “I’m going back to the hotel to retrieve my umbrella. Have some fun in the ocean, don’t just stay on the beach.” However, I was still too scared to be carried away by the strong grip of the ocean. I stayed on the beach for a little while longer, lazily constructing a flimsy sand castle. As I look out into the vast sea, the sound of beating waves soothe me. I hear the voice of the ocean calling me in to explore her beauty closely and intimately. Should I go? I’ve never talked to strangers but she sounded almost familiar. Her deep blue eyes beckoned for me to come closer and closer and her soothing voice whispered sweet promises. At an excruciatingly slow pace, I feel myself being pulled like an impotent magnet into the waters. My conscience warned me about my lack of swimming abilities at the time, but I dismissed the thought as quickly as it appeared. My feet gradually carried me to the edge of the shore. I submerged one foot into the water..another foot.. Suddenly, I was swept away by a wave of blue. The bitter salt stained my tongue as I desperately tried to obtain oxygen. After a few attempts, I realized how inferior I was to the vicious grip of the ocean. I let

the waves drag me farther out into the sea while I imagined myself at home, under the warm blankets. After what felt like hours, my head finally emerged from the waters. I looked around. Nothing. I tried desperately to paddle back with my flimsy lifesaver, but the ocean was reluctant to let me return. At last, two men spotted my 9 year old self and safely lugged me back to shore. As my toes once again stood on solid ground, I turned around to meet the ocean’s gaze one last time. She stared back, tempting me to explore her beauty, a beautiful siren singing to an unsuspecting sailor, slowly luring him to his demise.
     There have been many stories of brave souls who perished from drowning in the ocean, about people who fearlessly challenged the sea and failed. Why would we wish to indulge in activities that are filled with risk and danger? My nine year old self was not the least accustomed to swimming, and yet I didn’t think twice about diving into the ocean. Now, I wonder where that sense of bravery, or perhaps recklessness, had come from. I became traumatized after that incident and swore to myself never to touch water again. I didn’t want to experience such a near death experience again. Childhood experiences were meant to mold a person into not repeating his/her mistakes. Nevertheless, a few years later, I joined the swim team. A few years after that, I joined my high school’s water polo team. Every game feels like drowning as opponents try to pull you down, but I loved the adrenaline. Thinking back, how did I not become the water’s prisoner? Is this an innate nature of human beings to overcome any obstacle in their way? The answer must not be so simple, or we would’ve already solved the mystery.
     This tendency to face our problems has always been an integral part of our learning experiences. Only through trial and error would we improve and ascend. Evolution has proven that the strongest and fittest survive adaptations. If one fail discourages everyone from trying again, they will lose to the forces of nature.  Although we do not need to fight for our survival anymore, the only true way to happiness and success is to be bold enough to try everything. If

we allow every mistake to confine us by the walls of fear, soon enough, we would be imprisoned by our own conscience, never free to grow and develop. By attempting and accomplishing a task we formerly thought was impossible, we have gained one new skill that will follow us along our journey. Regarding my decision to vanquish my fears and take up a water sport, I believe it is the innate pride and determination in all humans to overcome any difficulty in their way. At the end, I am able to say that I didn’t back down after the ocean’s claws smothered me. Instead, I have defeated her by reentering the waters, and quelling my fears.

"The Silver Medal" by Tanner N

      It was the last week of June and all we could think about was what would be coming in
the next week. We had put in hundreds of hours of practice over the past 9 months and all of it had been leading up to that one tournament. A few months before the tournament, my team and I qualified for the United States National Championships for men’s volleyball in the 14-under division.  Going into this new club team had been rough and I drove over an hour one-way to practice in order to play on that team for three days a week! Living in an area with no men’s volleyball had been hard, however, I made it work and had grown as a player over that club season and was able to make the team which was expected to place high at the tournament. That year in 2016, the National  Championships was located in Dallas, Texas and was host to hundreds of teams from around the United States, including US territories such as Puerto Rico. Though my team had prepared immensely for this tournament over the preceding few weeks and even the entire season, we still did not know what to expect. Every year, the tournament not only is unpredictable, but there are so many teams and players that are skilled and have been practicing for months.
     As we were going to LAX to fly out to Dallas, I was so excited to travel for the first time for a major tournament like a National Championship. I could not wait to arrive and see what Texas was like. On the plane, I took many pictures of us landing at Dallas Fort Worth Airport

because it was a moment that I never wanted to forget due to it being my first National Championships. Walking off the plane, I felt an immense amount of humidity in the air and finally understood why everybody complains about the humidity in Texas. It was amazing to finally be halfway across the country for this tournament because of the building anticipation throughout the entire year. We qualified for this tournament in the Southern California Qualifier in Anaheim, California and because of that, we were placed into a starting rank of 7th place out of the entire country. Only 10 teams out of all of California made it into this tournament and even qualifying is an honor for many clubs. We were finally pulling up to the hotel in the taxi and were in the middle of this massive downtown area with loads of different people and buildings. These massive buildings were amazing not only because I got to sight see, but because I also got to stay inside of them as well with my family and teammates. We had one day to arrive at Dallas and become acclimated before the tournament began, where we could possibly win or even take last place. Going into the next three days, we would end up winning every single game but one to a Puerto Rican team. This game however, did not end up hurting our chances to get into the top 8 teams luckily. Going into the tournament in 8th place and being able to make it into the top 8 was an honor and my team was extremely satisfied. We ended up having a team dinner that night and went to bed before the most important day of the entire tournament.
     When I woke up, we were going into the quarter finals as our first game in order to be in medal contention. As usual, we got ready for the day and alike any other day we went to the metro station to travel over to the convention center, however the train did not show up. With the game only being an hour away from the time the train was supposed to show up, our team was forced to scurry and find taxis in order to make it on time for the quarter finals. When we finally

arrived, running into the convention center, we were able to warm up in time and were ready to play the team again from Puerto Rico. As the quarter final game went on, we lost the first set and won the second set, meaning it was a very close game which had everything on the line including winning medals. Both teams ended up fighting hard and after almost losing, my team and I ended up saving the game and winning in the third set by an extremely tight and stressful margin. We were not only surprised at our comeback but were proud because of our determination to not give up on the game and ended up winning. At this point, we moved on into the semifinals, where we were guaranteed a bronze medal if we lost, but we wanted to go even further. During the semi-finals, we were playing our rival team from southern California and already knew what to expect from playing them. After a hard battle, we ended up winning the semi-finals as well and moved on into the final match of the entire season for the gold medal. When we were on the stadium court, we were introduced by the announcers and thousands of people watched us over the internet and in the stands as well. In the semi-finals however, one of our key players was injured and as we went into the finals, we were proud of our finish no matter the placement. First or even second place. As the game went on, we battled hard and ended up fighting to take home the silver medal. Even though we wanted to win the gold, being second place in the entire country for our age division was something to be extremely proud of.
     We not only played well, but we also exceeded others’ expectations and confirmed our own expectations and year-long hard work with every single player on the team bringing something to the court to help us win a silver medal. This event taught me that hard work truly pays off and having faith in your teammates and in each other is the best kind of teamwork. This

silver medal to this day is still important to me and will always be symbolic of the hard work that was put in to win that medal with my team.

"Carrying Death" by Cassandra J

      It was a summer day, 5 years ago. Like every other summer with my family, most of it is
spent in the refreshing pool of my nina’s. My cousins who usually came over to swim were: Chris,
Andrew, Myself, Hannah, Michael, Lina, James, and (the youngest at the time) Aaron. It was made a priority for the Jimenez kids to know how to swim since we went so often, which all of us
had. All except little baby Aaron.
     Before we all went to the pool, my family fed us all and thus began the summer day that fell out of our normal routine. My two eldest cousins Andrew and Chris both use lifevests because they weren’t the greatest swimmers and they needed a little help to keep them up above the water.
Aaron used a lifevest simply because he didn’t know how to swim.
All of the cousins were swimming together playing games while the adults stayed inside. .
     After most of them went inside to rest after a couple hours of swimming, it was just Lina, James, and I left in the pool. Now, I don’t know what YOU did with your cousins in the pool but my

family really enjoyed pretending we were rulers of the sea. We usually switch up the roles of who
plays what and that day I wanted to be a good mermaid while my cousin Lina and James were my
rivals. As we played, unknowingly to anyone else, Hannah had taken off Aaron’s life vest since he had exited the pool. As she went back inside thinking that he would follow her in, Aaron wobbled his way to the unfenced pool deck and fell in not so far from where I was treading water.
     Unfortunately at this moment Lina, James, and myself were too focused on our game that no one had taken notice to Aaron struggling silently. As I was about to return a smart remark to my “rivals” I heard a soft gurgling noise. I turned my head and witnessed my baby cousin sinking underneath the water while facing upward. From this moment everything went slow to me. I cradled Aaron in my arms, ran out of the pool, and screamed “Aaron!” at the top of my lungs in order to get the attention of the adults. He was as light as a feather. As I made it to the backyard door, I began to kick it while continuously screaming. It felt like the parents were taking forever to get to us.
     I looked at the glass door and saw the clear reflection of the fear and desperation that took
over my body. I directed my vision down to my cousin and saw that his lips had a tint of blue in it
which horrified me to no end. Finally the adults had rushed to us and my Tio Hector (Aaron’s dad) had grabbed him from me and was screaming the name of his child. He put him down on

the concrete floor and stuck his finger down Aaron’s throat in order to see if he would have a gag reflex. As we all anticipated the sudden gasp and throwing up of water, we got nothing from him.
All of the family was shouting and crying not knowing what to do until my grandma had pushed through us. She dropped to the floor and began to do CPR on Aaron. We all watched and began to lose hope when a couple of tries had went by and he was still gone. My Tio Hector was crying and he had to walk away because he couldn’t process what was happening. The rest of us stayed and watched without blinking an eye, hoping for a sign of life. Suddenly Aaron begins to throw up water and starts to cry. My Tio Hector ran to Aaron and held his son like he never wanted to let him go. We were relieved and cried along with him since the feeling was so surreal.
     The ambulance came to pick Aaron up since they were called to make sure everything was alright. One of the men came to speak with me and told me that I had saved his life and if I wasn’t paying attention, Aaron would have been at the bottom of the pool at that moment. We all went to our homes after comforting each other. Some time around 8pm we get a knock on the door and my Tio Hector came with flowers and the gummy life savers. We both hugged and he still calls me lifesaver to this day.
     After this incident the family decided to teach Aaron how to swim, he was very afraid at first and would scream if his foot even touched the water. My nina also put a large fence around the pool in order to prevent anything like that again since we have three new baby cousins in the family. But now, Aaron is a confident swimmer and gets to enjoy the fun games we play during the summer.
     This event was extremely significant for my family because we now know to be very alert and aware of our surroundings. Today I still observe the places and people around me to get

a sense of security. I also learned to act fast, you can’t wait for anyone to act on something if it needs to get done.

"A Different Kind of Cheese Burger" by Lotus T

      Food runs the world, or at least that's what I believe. From far back as I can remember food has
been, quite frankly, the love of my life. This includes eating and cooking food. From when I had my first bite of food as an enfant to when my cousins and aunt taught me to cook eggs at the age of 11. My recipe for a certain kind of cheese burgers is a perfect example of my love to create and taste different kinds of food. My goal today is to teach whoever's reading this how to make this “different” kind of Cheese Burger. 

Ingredient List:
Warning if a reader is allergic to any of the ingredients listed below the reader can substitute ingredients.

1. 1 Pack of Hamburger Buns ( there's usually 6 in a pack)
   
2. 4 Whole White Onions
   
3. 1 Pack of Whole White Button Mushrooms (white or brown appearance)
   
4. 1 Can of Green Pre-sliced Jalapenos
   
5. 3 Packs of Swiss or Provolone sliced cheese
   
6. 2 sticks of butter
   
7. 3 packs of 1lb Ground Beef
   

8. 1 Pack of Season Salt (optional)
Material List:

1. 2 Large Skillets / Pans
   
2. 1 Large Plastic Bowl
   
3. 1 Spatule
   
4. 1 Can Opener
   
5. 2 Large Cooking Spoons
   
6. 1 Small Cutting Boards
   
7. 1 Large Kitchen Knife
   
8. 1 Hamburger Pattymaker (optional)
   
9. 1 Pair of Tongs (optional)
   

Instructions:
First off make sure that both ingredients and cooking materials are clean. Second begin to slice the white mushrooms and onions. After cutting you should have rings of white onion slices and slices of white mushrooms. Then Cut 1 stick of butter in half, placing one of the halves of butter in one of the skillets. Set temperature to low to medium heat and place the onion and mushroom slices in skillet along side butter to saute. Let it cook for 6 minutes and stir twice before turning off the stove. The onions and mushrooms should look bronzed and smell intensely good. Now open the can of green Jalapenos using the can opener. Open up the packs of ground beef and

grab enough ground beef to make a single patty and place it in the large bowl. Using the curves of the bowl to shape the ground beef. The ground beef should look like a mini makeshift bowl inside the actual bowl. Place 3 to 4 Jalapenos inside the makeshift ground beef bowl, and then close(close by pinching and mashing the ground beef together) the top open section of ground beef to form a patty with jalapenos on the inside. Place the other half of stick butter in the second skillet along with ground beef jalapeno patty at a medium to high temperature. Cook the patty for the same duration of a regular cheeseburger. After the patty has cooked place a slice of prefered cheese on the patty while it is still hot. The result should be bulky browned and charred looking patty with melting cheese on top. Last but not least place the burger patty with melted cheese on a hamburger patty and also add the mixed sauteed onions and mushrooms slice on top of the cheese. Finishing the burger off with the bun on top. The result should look like a Carl's Jr. ad, basically a large patty with melted cheese and brown bronzed onions and mushrooms on top. All that in between two hamburger buns. This recipe can be repeated as many times as wanted for larger serving sizes.
Now you may be wondering where did this amazing recipe for a cheeseburger comes from. Well in 8th grade, I took a cooking class and one day there was a group project to create a dish and compete with other groups in the class for a prize. My group wanted to make ourselves stand out from the other groups so we wanted to mixed flavours that usually juxtapose. With this cheeseburger my group made a dish that is both spicy and savory. As amazing my group and myself thought this cheeseburger was the judges for the contest did not completely agree. Instead of winning first place like my group expected we were placed third. Also my group never gave

the cheeseburger a proper name. Even after producing this cheeseburger multiple times for different family members and events I have yet to give this burger a name or title. In fact, I would like to enlist readers to follow this recipe and cook the cheeseburger and eat it and then to send me a name for this cheeseburger.

"The Root Of Fear " by Ariel G

     Saturday the 21st of July, 12:59 P.M. another member of the Higgins family dead, some say their cursed others think one is up to blame. It all started with Mona Higgins, she grew up witnessing her father domestically abusing her mother at the age of 7, two years later her mother died of suicide and her father was sent to prison for his reckless behavior and neglecting Mona along with her sibling. It wasn’t long before Mona was taken into Child and Family Services, hopping around foster homes being treated like an old toy, no one cared for her. As time went, on Mona became violent and uncontrollable, an incident broke out between her and a male worker, she planned to frame him for the death of her sibling. Instead, she was passed around to many social workers all who were preferably women. Mona soon became of age and ran away from her foster home with another kid in the agency because she was pregnant. The two began a new life together and it wasn’t long after   Mona gave birth to her daughter, Sofie that she got married. Sofie was a sweet but troubled little girl, growing up as an only child, Sofie was exposed to harmful situations. Her mother, Mona became divorced and her father never stayed in contact however it always occurred to Sofie why her father never reached out but she didn’t fully understand until she had kids of her own. Sofie gave birth to two boys, many referred to the

twins as the Higgins. The boys grew up having yet to met their grandma Mona, Sofie wouldn’t allow them to only because she didn’t know the truth about her parent's separation. Months and years passed before Sofie let the boys come in contact with their grandma. They scheduled to meet at grandma Mona’s house the following morning. When Sofie arrived with the twins she became cautious for only she had known the capabilities of her mother. At first, Sofie was hesitant to leave the boys alone with her mother but grandma Mona insisted Sofie take a tour of the house. So on Sofie went, while she was touring the house she stumbled upon an antique that she had recognized as a young girl. The antique was a square box that chimes when opened, but Sofie noticed it wasn’t chiming once she opened it, it was stuck as if it were tampered with. So she aggressively shook the box but it still didn’t work. On the floor, however, she noticed a wrinkled folded piece of paper that had fallen from the box. Once she opened the paper, Sofie realized it was half of a newspaper strip it read, “July 21st, 1973, Mona Higgens pleads guilty after being charged for poisoning her husband connecting back to the death of her brother Alex Higgins.” Footsteps began approaching towards Sofie, she quickly crumbles the strip into her pocket and locks eye contact with her mother, Mona. “The twins visiting hours are over, they need to make it home for their afternoon nap,” said Sofie. “Well then you better be on your way I guess,” replied her mother, Mona. Sofie scarcely rushed out the house with the twins and quickly placed them into their car seats, she soon realized one of the twins had gone pale in the face and the younger twin was beginning to gain a rash all over his body. They had been poisoned, while the twins were being hospitalized Sofie grabbed the newspaper strip out from her pocket to make sense of her father’s passing. There it read in BOLD print, “July 21st, 1983, 10 years later, the Higgins pronounced dead after being hospitalized from poison.”

2

"The Love for Family" by Wendy C

     It was another average day at home and I was inevitably hungry after a long day at

school. As I tiptoed down the stairs to grab a snack, I overheard a serious conversation taking place in the living room. I thought it was strange since I would usually know if we had visitors coming, but today that wasn't the case. Minutes pass and I hear hushed voices from my older sister and her husband. My sister is kind-hearted and generous, with the most beautiful long black hair and big brown eyes. Being aware of the situation, I inched forward and heard my sister say, “We wanted this to be a surprise to you...”. I immediately knew what was happening, but I held my will to say anything in that moment. I knew that my sister was at the age to begin creating a new family.  Although this news wasn’t unexpected, I was still shocked there would be a new member in the family.
     Eight months passed, and it was the day of her baby shower. It was an ugly day, cloudy and the fog seemed to continue rising. On the other hand, her belly was almost as big as her excitement, and it felt like it was going to burst with joy at any moment. The party began and was full of laughter and amuse as we all gathered to play games and conversate. Once it was time for our family and friends to go home, we were left with a mess to clean up. I watched as my sister struggled to pick up gifts with her pregnant belly, so I walk up to her and ask, “do you

need any help?”. I knew she couldn’t resist the help because of her physical condition, so she smiles and answers “yes of course!”. While I was sorting the gifts, I began to grow curious about her newborn. What if something goes wrong? How would it affect her and her family? I decide to not let my worries get the best of me and enjoy the rest of the night.
     Although her pregnancy was the highlight of her life, it was also the worst thing that could’ve happened to her. It all took a turn once the baby was born on October 20th. I remember the day clearly as I walked through to my classes and receive a strange text from my other sister. I read it and it said, “The baby has some complications, we’re all at the hospital”, which immediately worried me. Because I was always put last during the pregnancy, I had no idea what was going on. Finally, after a long week passes, I’m finally able to visit the hospital where my sister had been staying. The hospital was cold and quiet as I passed the entrance doors to the visitors booth. I quickly placed my sticker on and my mother led me to the room. Once I walked in, I felt a negative energy vibrate throughout the room. It was dark and unlike anything my sister had been for the last couple of months. I look at how she struggles to form a smile to reassure us she was doing okay, but I knew it wasn't. Another week goes by and matters are getting worse for my newborn nephew, Peter. The doctor walks in to inform us he would need multiple back-to-back surgeries to fix the complications surrounding his heart. My sister was able to go home, but I knew she wasn’t ready to be apart from Peter. I tried to console her one night as I heard her cry. We sat down and I told her it would get better. It was cliche, but it was the best I could do.
     Remaining positive for the next few months helped my sister collect herself. Although Peter was in critical condition, I knew it would all be okay in the end. My sister didn’t let

adversity change who she was, and I’m grateful she was able to be collected during such a difficult time in her life.

"My First Birthday" by Yajari M

      When people ask me what is my first birthday I often tell them that my
fourth is the one. They get really confused and ask me why if I have another three before that one. Well to start of is the first one I can remember, and curiously enough is also the first memory that I have in my brain. That is how far back I can go. No one day before or after but that specific day and till today's date is the most clear birthday memory I have. Even more that my last birthday.
     This all started in May thirteen of 2006 at two in the morning. People may wonder how do I know the specific time and date well the time is because I was born at that time and since then every single birthday my mom sings happy birthday to me at that time with no missing one day or minute. Every may 13 at two in the morning there is her call. Secondly there is also the fact that, that day my mom found me watching a horror movie instead of sleeping. Wich let her to implement in me a time for bed that only lasted a week.
     Also it was a Saturday morning. Which was the reason why I did not care about school and stayed all night up watching horror movies. After my mom sang happy birthday to me we both fell asleep again. She hugging me as another tradition we had until I turned ten years old.
     Moving on with the day my dad came to the room at seven in the morning telling us to get ready for the party and that as never he had made me breakfast. But even before he had said anything I knew in my bones that he had cooked something as there was a delicious smell coming from the kitchen. So I get up and walk to the kitchen going down the stars and across the living room into the kitchen. There I sit and admire the breathtaking breakfast that my father had made. But more specifically the apple pie that he had back with his mom recipe that had come down from several generations.  Freshly made with the apples grown in the summer house. As I was savoring this masterpiece my mom was putting on my outfit in my room. Which indicate that she was screaming which color did I want my dress. But as always, she never took my opinion in consideration and selected the one she wished for.

     Around 7:30 in the morning my male best friend That lived in one of the ranches near mine came running. Telling me if I was ready to see my gift, and my dad shut him up in the moment as it was supposed to be a surprise. Well he brought me a cow. Wich my mom did not let me keep. I was mad about it her name was sparks. Then by the lateral door of the kitchen that has a view to some of the threes my dad goes out and then enters with a golden retriever and two geese. That where my present and I loved them. The golden retriever name was sky and as the geese where male and female I gave them my biological parents names.
     After that I got reedy and run out to open the door as my sister had arrived she lived in the taun right below. So she was relatively close after her my aunt came with my older cousin. Then we three females and my male best friend started playing hunters.  This game was easy to play the entire ranch was nour play grown including the secret tonnels, the ceiling, the top of the trees, and everywhere we could go. The game consisted of making our own bows and arrows with bamboo and some three branches.  Then shoot it at each other if we did saw us. But as I said, the whole house was ou play grown. So sometimes we had to jump from three to three and yes there were times we fall. But still the game went on.
     Time continued going on as more people were arriving, and my dad was getting everything ready for the carne asada. Then around two in the afternoon, a quick change of clothes, and a severe scream of my mom. One of my favorite pearson came. My uncle with the nickname of danonino he gave me my present. But not only mine but my sisters, and cousin too. As always that he came he brought us a gift. Let's not forget the fact that he gave me more things that them for two reasons. One I was his favorite, second it was my birthday. One of those presents included a chick movie. Which was my first and last. I will never forget that movie altho I never saw it. For the reason that my mini family members wanted to see it but they did not have it. But as it was mine I did not let them see it even tho I had the equipment to play it in my room.
Soon after the food was ready, and more no so important individuals to meansion came. Time to eat was here. That was the only fact that matters.

     During the process of socializing with family members that I only see during special occasion my girl best friend arrived. She was like food making this accuar moment less weird. Well food finish and the time of the cake came that for me was the worst. In my birthday I discovered that I did not like cake and nothing like that in the worst moment. So putting that really embarrassing moment away I got to open more presents and play more till the end of the day came. Making this my first birthday on my memory, and a day that I will charice all my life.
-     In case someone was wondering this took place in jalisco Mexico. The ranch is just outside tesistan and My sister lived in tesistan which was a 25 minute drive. Also this was a summer house not my actual house that was in Guadalajara. May it's summer so we were there at that time.

“Wings” Amitoj B

     A boy, so young, so free, dreamed about the world, on how open it can be. Ever so often,
he would float away into the clouds and look at his life from up above. He was happy, the happiest a twelve year old could be. The boy loved nature, so did his grandfather, hence why they got along so well. He wished that he could see him more often, but they lived on opposite sides of the world, making it harder for them to communicate. Some days, the boy’s grandfather would call him and they would spend hours telling each other new stories filled with excitement and full of imagination. He enjoyed his company and felt like he was always going to be there for him.
It was time for school, the boy woke up, got dressed, ate his breakfast, and wore his favorite pair of sneakers. The sneakers had a blue design with yellow-green lines stitched to it. It reminded him of the ocean, as if it were a drawing that had many dimensions within it. He laces up his shoes, sits down, and checks the time on his mother’s phone. He notices multiple missed calls and text messages. He opens the phone, wondering why someone would call this early, and as he’s reading the messages, he knew he had just lost a piece of his heart.
     As the boy grew older, he didn’t really know how to handle situations. He became reckless, thoughtless, and simply careless about everything. His shyness and quietness often turned into anger and aggression and he didn’t know how to control it or who to take it out on. It was as if he thought everything was alright, but deep inside he knew he was wrong and only hurting himself more.
At home, the boy was more comfortable with his family. He knew what things to tell them and what things he wanted to keep private. If he told his family too much, then they’d think he’s exaggerating or he needs attention. If he didn’t share anything at all, then they would question him if everything is okay or if someone did something to him. The problem was that he didn’t need any attention nor did he want to answer any questions, he just wanted everything to be how it used to be. Excitement, stress free, full of happiness: all those things he once had but now he barely has them and if he did, he has so little of it.

     Time and time again, the boy went through the depths of the ocean whenever he felt lost. Sometimes, he had no idea where he was and there were no signs of human contact near him. He was trapped in a whole other dimension by himself. At one point, he noticed that there was a dim light above him. It had a yellowish tint to it, and it had tiny rays of light shining down towards him. He thought it was a sign of hope, so he started swimming towards it but within a second, it was gone, and he slowly started to sink into emptiness.
     As the years went by, more tensions started to pile up and he felt like he was drowning and that there was no one there to save him. His mind was like a drawing made from a five year old with different shapes and patterns that had many scribbles on it and once you erase it, the marks were still visible, only this time it had no color. He was confused and alone and he didn’t know what to do, or how to react. The boy never knew how it felt to be all alone, even though at times he was scared thinking about it, he eventually got used to it and wasn’t affected by it at all. He always wondered about his life; how it worked in such a strange yet unique way? He didn’t understand how something so big and universal, came out. He wishes he could go back in time and change some of his memories, but he knew that wasn’t and would never be possible.
     He eventually reached the bottom, and his mind at this state of time was empty. The numbness took over his body, he felt nothing. He was breathing really fast, his heart was pounding, his eyes wandering, and eventually everything stopped.
     The boy woke up and went to the mirror. His world changed, he wasn’t himself anymore, he was no one.

"Beauty" by Natalie M

      Beauty can be seen as a multiplicity of things that no two people could ever truly agree
upon. It is an abstraction that prevails as a unique perception drawn upon in various ways. To some, beauty comes from the visual perception of an individual, to others beauty is what is perceived as what comes from the inside of an individual, but to many, beauty is an expression that allows countless individuals to carry out the most common phrase,“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” Beauty is not a concept that can be taken lightly, it can be seen as an emotion, a reaction, a description, and most commonly a perception that is uniquely decided upon. The Oxford dictionary defines beauty as “a combination of qualities, such as shape, color, or form, that pleases the aesthetic senses, especially the sight”. However, beauty nowadays can be seen in a multitude of ways depending on several factors, such as culture, familiarity, comfortability, and most importantly connotation. Beauty is often misunderstood, distorted and shadowed by a wide amount of conflicting pressures and false imaging. For example, within the United States, we find our national standard of beauty within magazines, on television, and within stores. We have a unique cultural perception of beauty, that is far different than many around the world. Beauty is however something we endlessly strive for, rather than see within the true essence of our happiest moments that life offers us.
     Much like the Oxford definition, an innumerable amount of people find that their very first thoughts of beauty relate to concepts of visually pleasing images/ connotations of subjects,

objects and or people. Since the beginning of time, beauty rarely ever began with thoughts of inner beauty, the type of beauty that no one can ever truly find fault with. The beauty that signifies oneself, the beauty that lays the foundation of who you are as a person. Evidently visual perceptions of beauty have long been the common standard to what defines beauty and what it entails, it also began the negative imaging that has caused a significant amount of women to see themselves as something less than what they truly are. As seen in the Dove women’s body image study in 2016, “Women are under many pressures to conform to beauty ideals.....adding pressure to look a certain way” (News). Beauty is far greater than what the eyes can see. The eyes only see the clear surface view of things. But the heart, mind, and soul allows you to see the deeper meaning, the important aspects of a person, the real deep meanings of who that person is behind the surface of what is being displayed to everyone who walks by and only ever throws a glance. The eyes can be liars when it comes to who exceeds beauty based on what the surface presents, which is why beauty is something that is far greater than what only the bats of an eye can provide. It is a form of self-expression that is much more complex than what the eyes can identify. Beauty as a whole can never truly be asserted as one specific idea, because it is a word that can hold different meanings to different people, therefore truly signifying “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.”

"Not Exactly Paradise " by Michael Joseph V. I

Act 1 - Gareth

(Narrative version) Michael Joseph V. Ibarra

We’ve been on a raft stranded in the middle of the sea for about 3 days. And we just now arrived on a deserted island. The 6 of us stop for a sec then RJ steps forward, “We should set up camp here.” He says. “How do you suggest we do that genius?” Charlie Replies. Charlie and RJ doesn’t have the greatest sibling relationship, then again he doesn’t have the greatest relationship with anybody. “Why don’t we start with a fire dingus! Get some matches from the raft.” Charlie doesn’t budge so I step in. “Hey Theo, how much food do we have left on the raft?” I ask. “Enough for about 3 days if we ration, but if we find some branches I can use my knife to make some spears for hunting.” He says. Theo for some reason knows way too much about surviving in the wild, I guess in the end it benefits us. “Alright, what about water?” Parker asks. Charlie walks up to Parker, “You know Parker, you can be a real dunce sometimes.” He points to the ocean, “You see that? Water. Drink it! “Sarcasm doesn’t suit you well Charlie.” “Sarcasm?” “We can still use the desalinator on the raft.” Theo says. “The What?” Charlie replies. “That black box with the hose attached to it?” “How is that gonna give us water?” “It just does ok?” They keep bickering for a minute then they begin trying to talk over each other. “Well excuse me for not having a Harvard education!” “It’s middle school science Charlie!” “Whatever I can be smart too! Mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell!” Jocie breaks them up. “Enough! Both of you!” “He started it!” Charlie says. “Shut it!” “We wouldn’t be in this mess if Charlie didn’t get the captain to fall overboard!” Parker snaps. Charlie then says something that really got me upset. “It was an innocent game of marco polo!” “Because 2 bottles of Jack is innocent?” I say. After the captain fell overboard Theo was brave enough to take over but the storm got the best of us and the yacht capsized, most of us were able to jump ship, but we still lost some people; Rj’s parents, Jocie’s dad, and Parker’s wife, Riley, who was also my sister. I just can’t help but blame Charlie for this, his childish mentality got us stuck in this situation. “You know what, we need some water.” Jocie says. Theo steps up, “Wait! Here, I found these on the raft.” Theo passes around some whistles. “Be safe.”

Act 2 - Rj
Even on a deserted island I still find some way to be happy, I mean I’m here with the love of my life, my brother (eh), and my best friend. We pretty much have all the essentials so now we’re just bored out of our minds. Charlie starts tapping a rhythm with some sticks. Parker starts to sing, “Bones sinking like stones, all that we fought for.” Gareth then hops in, “Homes, places we’ve grown, all that we’ve fought for.” Then Jocie, “We live in a beautiful world.” I finish it off, “ Oh all that I know, there's nothing here to run from, 'cause here, everybody here's got somebody to lean on.” This song is how pretty much all of us got to know each other, Mylo Xyloto tour 2011. Jocie and I were on our 2nd anniversary and Coldplay was in town that month. We met Riley, Gareth and, Parker when they were seated right next to us. We got to talking and next thing we know we’re having dinner at an outback in Covina after the concert. “Do you guys hear that?” Parker says. “Guys someone is here move back.” Theo urges. He then pulls Charlie back. We then hear a voice, “I mean you no harm, I just need water or-,” The man steps into the light, “Jocie?” He says. It’s her dad! They run towards each other and they hug for a bit. “It’s good to see you sir!” I say. “It’s good to see you to Ronald” He replies. “This calls for a celebration!” Theo claims. “I’ll go catch some fish! Gareth you’re with me.” “Alright.” Gareth says. “I’ll get some water.” Jocie says.

Act 3 - Charlie
I never really liked fish, it’s all weird looking when cooked in one piece. But it’s all we have, so I guess it will do. I never meant for the captain to fall overboard but I can’t help but feel guilty, I killed Riley, I killed my parents. But it seems they’ve just ignored it, and I don’t like it because all I got was a slap on the wrist. “Hey Theo.” I say. “What’s up?” “I just want to... I want to say thanks for catching the fish.” “We could thank Theo for a lot of things!” Gareth exclaims. “Aw, thanks guys! Although-” Theo puts his arm around me, “I may never be able to play another game of marco polo ever again.” Everyone laughs. Damn it! Serves me right though, everything I’ve done, but it still hurts, a lot. I push Theo’s arm off, “I think I’m gonna go for a swim.” I say. “What, gonna play another round with the captain?” Parker jokes. “Ha ha ha! I hope you choke on that fish.” I walk towards the beach and I just lay in the water, thinking. How I should have gone down with the boat, instead of Riley, instead of mom and dad. But then I realize I’m not gonna go anywhere in life feeling sorry for myself. I’m gonna make it up to them, I promise. I close my eyes for a bit, the next thing I know there’s a sharp pain in my chest, I look and there's just a clear blob. The pain increases so I try my hardest to get out of the water. On my way back to camp everything is just loopy, sounds are disappearing, everyone at camp runs towards me. I think I’m screaming but I’m not sure. Now I’m thinking, “This is it, this is my penance.” The last thing I see is Rj passing a knife to Theo, he says “I’m sorry.” Then, Nothing... END

"The Day I Almost Died " by Isabella P

     It was December 14, 2018, a Friday night, and, per usual, my grandma came over to watch us so my parents could have a date night. My brothers and I were arguing as usual on where to go for dinner. I finally suggested Chick-fil-a and off we went. When we walked in, I could see the line was quite long which gave me the time to decide I wanted the grilled chicken wrap, waffle fries, and frozen lemonade. As soon we sat down with our food I began to scarf it down. When I was about halfway through my meal when my lower lip started to feel like there was a needle in it. Though it was odd, I thought little of it.
     We decided to head over to the mall next door to walk around. I had it in my mind, I wanted to get to Sephora to check out a new highlighter from a brand I like. We parked by the Ulta and started to walk. As we passed the Lake Bryant store I started to feel an itch under my chin. I asked my brothers, “Do you see any little red dots under my chin?” My brothers told me they saw nothing and when my grandma asked if we should turn back. I told her no since I didn’t think I was in danger.
     By the time we passed Cotton On I started to sneeze. Again, my grandma asked if I was okay, to which I responded, “I will tell you when I am not.” We had just turned the corner to Johnny Rockets when I started coughing. My grandma asked if we needed to turn back and I agreed that we probably should. We were walking back when the coughing and sneezing became quite violent. As we passed  The State I called my youngest brother over to help me walk as my legs started to get weak. He came under my arm and as I started to sweat. Seeing me struggle, my grandma took the other side. The older of my two brothers walked ahead and tried to keep people out of my way if possible. When we passed the T. G. I. Fridays my throat started to close.

     I did not feel swollen, instead, it felt like the skin was stretched too tight over my neck. My brother and grandma were supporting most of my weight and I was extremely light-headed.
We made it to the car and my grandma asked me what I needed to do. I told her I was going to use my EpiPen and then we would drive to the nearest hospital. I remember her saying, “Over my dead body am I driving you to the hospital.” I pulled my EpiPen out of the pack I carry and leaned against the car. She told the older brother to call 911 as she called my parents on the car speaker. She explained what was going on and my dad told me, “Use the EpiPen as we practiced.” My grandma told them I was going to and they got off the phone to drive over to us. I opened the EpiPen and got ready to inject myself. “I’m scared,” I cried as tears started to gloss my eyes. I knew as soon as I stabbed myself a needle would go into my leg and I was terrified of doing it wrong. “I know, but you have to do this,” my grandma told me. I collected myself, ripped off the cap, and stabbed myself. 10- 9- 8- 7- 6- 5- 4- 3- 2- 1. I took the EpiPen out of my leg and reached for the cap and casing to put it back in. I leaned back against the truck and watched my brothers pull out their phone flashlights and run around to hail the ambulance. My grandma told me to sit down in the car, but I refused knowing what was coming. An EpiPen is filled with epinephrine, otherwise known as liquid adrenaline. While it will open your throat it, accelerates everything else. I began to lose my dinner all over the parking lot. I felt weak in my knees and I wanted to lie down. My grandma did not want me to choke so she sat next to me on the cold, hard ground and cradle me like a baby. I remember seeing the beautiful lights of the freeway flash by as my eyes began to roll. My body felt like it was on fire, my skin turned bright red, and I swelled like a pufferfish.

     The firefighters got there first. They came over and asked what was going on and my grandma told them the basics of the reaction and that I had injected myself. The firefighters helped me lift myself into a wheelchair. The ambulance arrived seconds later with my parents on their tail. The firefighters talked to the medics as they moved me to a gurney. Quickly, I was loaded into the ambulance and as they discussed which hospital to take me to and injected me with Benadryl. In a moment of clarity, I saw my mom with my purse and I told her “Text Alex ___ and tell him I will not be at competition tomorrow.” My mom called him to avoid mistranslation through text and with the sirens sounding he learned the basics of what was going on. The medic gave me a bag to use if I needed to barf again which I promptly used. Later my grandma told me these medics were cute, but I’m guessing I did not make a great first impression.
     The ambulance doors closed and I saw my parents run back to their car to trail the ambulance. Things people don’t tell you about ambulance rides are they are fun because they are going fast, and the lights of the cars behind you are very pretty at night. I wanted to doze off because A) the initial adrenaline rush from the EpiPen was wearing off, B) they had injected Benadryl right into my bloodstream, and C) sleeping is my coping mechanism. The last thing I remember in the ambulance was the medic in the back with me telling me, “I can’t let you go to sleep” and seeing colorful lights flashing through the window in front of me. Then, everything turned black.
     Next thing I know we are pulling into the hospital’s special entrance for ambulances and the sirens were turned off. My first thoughts were Really great job you did keeping me awake. I could have died in my sleep. They told me I was going to feel a bump as they got me out of the

ambulance. It wasn’t like I was going to fall out of the strap contraption and they had guard rails on the sides like my bed had when I was about 4. They rushed me into the hospital and took me to the restroom as I had asked since I was starting to stabilize. My mom arrived at the same time as us so they let her take me into the restroom with a little bottle for a urine sample. When we came out I climbed back onto the gurney and got wheeled into this huge room with one wall being a window so the nurses could see me. I climbed onto the bed and they made me change into the atrocious hospital gown.
     By this time I was stable so they didn’t have to do anything but observe me for hours. The physician came in to ask what had happened and if I had taken any drugs (I hadn’t). She was as confused about the situation as I was. She left to attend to other patients and I just wanted to take another nap. The nurses were so kind and turned down the lights so I could sleep. After making sure all of my affairs were in order and texting my team that I was stable, but I definitely wouldn’t be at competition tomorrow I let myself doze off. The nurse came in a couple times to check on me and I would wake up for a couple of seconds to acknowledge her or answer her questions. We left the hospital around 2 AM and the ordeal was over. I was monitored closely by my parents for all of that Saturday to make sure the attack did not come back.
     I almost died that night so I was bound to learn something from the experience. I learned not to ignore the warning signs of a reaction and that the EpiPen isn’t as scary as it seems. My parents learned to not let me eat Chick-fil-a. We suspect that Chick-fil-a changed their peanut oil distributor and it wasn’t as refined as it used to be because I had never had problems with peanut oil before, even with as allergic as I am. For background, I am off the charts in my peanut allergy

at a 99.9+ last time I was tested. There are 5 major proteins in a peanut 2 being mildly dangerous, 1 being moderately dangerous, and two being highly dangerous. I don’t react to the mild ones, but I am off the charts for moderate and highly dangerous.
     What I got out of this experience and I have learned how to joke about it. You have to have fun with the bad things in life because without it life becomes scary. For example, I think everyone has to experience the feeling of your mind dissociating from your body as you try to stand up after injecting yourself with an EpiPen at least once in their lives. Overall, this is a 10/10 adventure, but I would 10/10 not try it again.

"Wealth" by Nathan M

      Wealth is not something that should be measured by the amount of money that one
person possesses. Rather it should be measured by non materialistic things such as an individual's happiness, virtue, and family. People these days focus too much on trying to gain wealth by earning money when they should focus on trying to make themselves a better person. In order for a person to truly be wealthy they should seek for more than what a number possesses. It is often found that the simplicity of a large number never truly satisfies the crave to which makes an individual happy. For example, satisfaction in Northern America showed that “earnings past $105,000 tended to coincide with a lower levels of happiness and well-being.” This further exemplifies ideas pointing to the concept that money can only lead to happiness to a certain point, once you reach that point having a larger amount of money does almost nothing to increase your happiness. Therefore it could be argued that once you gain enough money to survive then you should strive for the spiritual wealth that can lead to truly being satisfied and feeling wealthy rather than the feeling you would receive from a larger amount of money. People will find that if they strive to make themselves a better person and appreciate the little things in life rather than materialistic things like money and their possessions then it will lead to them feeling as if they are more wealthy than if all they worked for was just a larger amount of money.

     When you feel as if you have lived a good virtuous life then it makes you feel accomplished, which makes u feel as if you lived a life of meaning. A life where all you strive for is money will lead you to feeling empty at the end of your existence because you haven’t accomplished things that make you truly happy, which leads to concepts of unfulfillment, leaving you to feel like something is missing.
     Many people will also choose their profession based solely off of how much money they will be able to make. Instead people need to find a job that they will actually enjoy doing and will make them feel fulfilled in life not one that will lead to a larger paycheck. People spend almost every day working at their job so if they choose a profession solely based off of how much money they will make then they will not be as content with their life as the years go by because they have to do something that they aren’t truly passionate about. This is why it is important to choose a job that you enjoy so when you have to work there every day you will actually enjoy what you are doing and remain content with the duration of your lifetime. Choosing a profession out of happiness rather than wealth reasons can lead to a longer amount of happiness which is more important than a life full of money. Overall if you want to be able to live a wealthy life then it is important to focus on doing things that will make you happy and feel as if you have meaning rather than just working towards a larger paycheck.


Works Cited
Josh Hafner, USA Today https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.usatoday.com/amp/374119002

"Love" by Leigh R

      When the word love is brought up, we think of flowers, kisses, hugs, chocolates, and
other sweet, valentine’s day related things. This question might sound so cliche but when we think of love, why do we forget the fact that the word love comes with heartbreaks, tears, and pain? Well, the answer is just as simple as one two three- its because we take love as a dream that motivates everyone to live and continue with their life. The word love, in my definition, is a powerful thing that can either strengthen you or it can also ruin you but mostly, it brings positivity to an individual. Love does not need to be given from a significant other, this is also given from family and friends. Most of the time, love brings more than love itself, it brings joy, peace, confidence, and much more positive words.
Love is an idea that creates a domino effect in a way of getting from one place to another because it spreads as someone gives it to another person. Love does not see who you are as a person, what your race, age, height, weight, and gender is. According to Angelou, “Love recognizes no barriers.” If a person is in love, they will conquer the oceans no matter how hard it is; you are inspired to cross the ocean to get to the person you love. The quote that Angelou said is such a powerful motivator because when you are filled with hope, it

gives you the happy ending that you deserve. “I believe that two people are connected at the heart, and it doesn't matter what you do, or who you are or where you live; there are no boundaries or barriers if two people are destined to be together.” This quote by Julia Roberts tells that boundaries are just nothing to anyone who is in love and who is loved. Anything is possible because this creates a motivation for each other to conquer their limits to prove their love for each other or for someone.
     Another thing about love is that it creates a new personality that is unknown to you before love comes in and does its job. When your love is around, you start to smile out of nowhere, your demeanor changes, and your heart races out of your chest; this reaction causes you to change your personality in a second. “When we are in love we seem to ourselves quite different from what we were before” this quote by is Blaise Pascal and he himself even noticed the changes of a person who is in love. In this context, it makes me think that love is very strong because it can control you and your emotions and you can’t control it. According to Harvard Medical School professors, when we are in love, the chemicals that circuit around our brain causes us to act differently like having feelings of passion and anxiety. The level of our stress hormones called cortisol increases and the level of the neurotransmitter serotonin would decrease, which Richard Schwartz described as the “intrusive, maddeningly preoccupying thoughts, hopes, the terror of love.”
     The result of love is not only the courage of conquering the boundaries around them and the changes of personality. There's more to these two results like love gives you

happiness, makes you feel like you're on cloud 9, and it also makes you feel lucky because not all feels this type of energy. If you see one or two individual who you think who needs it, it does not need to be a relationship type of love, share it with them. With this, it lessens the sadness of the world and this will give peace in the future. Overall, each individual has a different experience of their own love story, this molds them to who they are now.

Citations
Edberg, Henrik. “78 Inspiring Love Quotes.” The Positivity Blog – Practical
Happiness Tips , 30 Aug. 2019, www.positivityblog.com/love-quotes/.
Finn, Heather. “These Quotes About Love Will Get You In The Mood For
Valentine's Day.” Good Housekeeping , Good Housekeeping, 11 Jan. 2019, www.goodhousekeeping.com/life/relationships/g3721/quotes-about-love/?slide=5.
Greenwood, Chelsea. “Why Love Makes You so Silly, According to an Expert.” Insider, Insider, 5 Feb. 2019, www.insider.com/why-love-makes-you-silly-2019-2.
“Julia Roberts Quotes.” BrainyQuote, Xplore, www.brainyquote.com/quotes/julia_roberts_173770.
“Love and the Brain.” Love and the Brain | Department of Neurobiology , neuro.hms.harvard.edu/harvard-mahoney-neuroscience-institute/brain-newsletter/and-brain-s eries/love-and-brain.

Rubillar 4

"The Abstract Idea" by Derrick R.

      Happiness, the mental or emotional state of being happy. However, what exactly is
happy? Many define it as having a similar sense of joy, others define it as “being relieved from all sadness”, however, I define it as being ok, having happiness, being decent for the time being, not being in the mental state I was in before hand. For example, hearing about becoming the MVP for my job, I felt happiness from the current dread of having to go in, or passing a really stressful and time consuming test and having that 15 seconds of your heart racing as you cover your mouth and try not to scream or make a sound, the feeling of being accepted into a group of people and having them accept you for who you are. That’s happiness, or even, pure happiness. However, this idea can be mixed up with ecstasy, an overwhelming feeling of great happiness or joyful excitement.
     This reminds me of a time back in sophomore year and it was club rush, i just had walked out of 4th perio math in building 507, carrying my oversized backpack and lunch pail, seeing the vast quad space filled with 70-80 tables, seeing my best friends from cross country, choir, and even P.E. Me being at the age I was, being newly introduced into politics because of world history was interested in current events going on, reading the daily news on twitter, reading articles from L.A Times, watching the news at 5:30 every morning, and that very day I had

turned to my right to see a long line of students of all ages and ethnicities, me being the curious teen boy i am had to go and see what was going on. Walking in my newly bought clothes from the day before, swinging my pail full of sandwiches and crackers and juice, walking closer to see the large white poster saying, “Feminism club! Join now!”. In my mind, I thought, “wait, didn't I hear that from somewhere?”, being unsure about what I was seeing in front of me I proceeded to wait in the long line of boys and girls.
     Finally arriving at the front of the line, seeing one of my classmates Seriah, proceeding to welcome me and ask if i'd like to join the club, then seeing the utter confusion on my face then explaining that the fe,minish club is to enlighten and sopread the exuality and everyone, regardless of gender, and I felt a flush of happiness. I was feeling happy because of the awareness of the situation.  My definition of feminism is the equal rights of men and women and any other gender. However many people such as middle ages to about 60 year old men believe otherwise, still wanting it to be like the 1950s, having strict gender roles. Males being the man of the house, going to work to make money for the family, while the wives stay home and do housework and take care of their kids, the women had no say in what they wanted otherwise they would get beaten by their husbands.
     In this day and age, peoples ideas are looked upon, but however there are those people who are selfish and only believe what they think, and when something i s explained to them they disregard what they're hearing and they completely ignore you. So, in my opinion, if you want change, spread happiness and show pride in what you're spreading! ♡

"Gaining an Experience" by Stephanie C

      Image joining a sport you have no experience in or knowing very little about it, that was
my freshman year of highschool in 2016. Of course I should’ve known water polo would be a very difficult sport to commit to. Season started in the winter, who would’ve known that it’d be raining, jumping into an ice cold pool with pouring rain was no excuse to miss practice. Just when I thought that was bad, practice was even more intense than expected. Swimming seems easy, although image having weight belts on, swimming 25 yards without breathing, treading medicine balls and chairs. It was a struggle everyday, although it was my distraction away from my sister with cancer. I became dedicated to self-improvement, I joined the swim team to increase my speed and gain endurance.
     Throughout my freshman and sophomore year, I continued to grow my strength. By junior year I could see major improvements, even if I didn’t make varsity water polo. By the time swim season came in March, I participated in varsity practice helping me increase my speed to a varsity level.   During spring break of my junior year, I became a certified lifeguard. Before I knew it, three years had passed of playing a sport I quickly learned to love and created a bond with my teammates and coaches.
     My last summer before senior year, I worked at the Fontana Aquatic Park as a lifeguard and at Chaffey College teaching kids how to swim. I gained an experience of being a part of a

sport and was able to give back to my community through this. Working over 35 hours a week seems like alot, on top of practicing at 6am, and having tournaments. Although it wasn’t horrible any second of it, I loved the experience of being able to teach kids who were terrified at first, similar to me, and soon easily being able to swim.