Check These Out!

 All Students:  Be sure to read the entries for this group  (December writers).  Enjoy reading these pieces -  we'll do comments when we return from break!

"Christmas Tradition ~ Lost Forever or Soon to be Revamped?" Bonus Poem By Kayla M

 Christmas Tradition ~ Lost Forever or Soon to be Revamped?

Bonus! (Not for grade)

Eleven months has passed

 

December is now here

 

Wow, time went fast

 

Now it’s my favorite time of year

 

December holds two things close to my heart

 

The day I was born eighteen years ago

 

Thankful for my mom who started my character arc

 

And a certain holiday that is associated with snow

 

Every year, our decorations are put up in late November My little sister and I team up decorating our tree

My dad hangs up the lights, which at night they glow like ember

 

My mom wraps presents, for family and friends soon to be filled with glee

 

This team we’ve created as a family

 

Has made tradition that we do

 

For our favorite holiday annually

 

For the Christmas that holds us like glue

 

Our traditions consist of after final decorating we go to Church, celebrating the birth of Christ Later going home to eat our feast

With food that is probably overpriced

 

Soon going to bed, soon our gifts of tomorrow will be released

 

Overall, the traditions we continue

 

Is what helps me keep on living

 

Each of us showing our tribute

 

To “The gift that keeps on giving.”

 

Our Christmas Practices happen every year

 

But one thing comes to mind

 

Will these things we hold dear,

 

Be forever be left behind

 

I am now what you call coming of age

 

Turned eighteen on the thirteenth of December

 

My is life is turning to a new page

 

Will we have time to be together?

 

I’m now laying in awake on the night of Christmas eve

Now worried what the Future will hold

 

Will my parents and baby sister continue traditions without me?

 

Or will they leave them out in the cold?

 

The more I think, the more worried I get

 

My family depends on each other all the time

 

My sister and I work together like we are singing a duet

 

While my parents are aging, their backs not allowing them to climb for lights that mimic the sunshine

 

What would we do without the complete group?

 

To keep our spirits up and prevent from falling so soon

 

With me leaving the nest, losing a member of our troop

 

Will traditions be gone, like letting go of a balloon?

 

Next Morning, being woken up by my sister

 

Her screams of joy put a smile on my face

 

Running down the stairs, hoping she doesn’t end up with a blister

 

She soon arrives to the tree, with me in tow, close to our fireplace

 

My parents are smiling, finally happy that we are awake

 

Both telling my sister, “Look what Santa left for you.”

 

They looked at me winking, indicating this secret a keepsake

 

Also giving me a present in wrapping paper of a nice hue

 

Seeing their gaze of determination to keep their annual traditions living Made me wonder, Why was I worrying in the first place?

Seeing all this joyfulness in the air thriving

 

Put happiness upon my face

 

Knowing the bond we all created

 

Is what Christmas is about

 

As we are solely motivated

 

By spending time with each other, with a bond that’ll cause us to never back out

 

These traditions shows our teamwork

 

Making us happy as we can be

 

Now drinking hot coco, admiring our artwork

 

Along with sitting watching holiday shows near our Christmas tree.

"Will Christmas traditions be the same?" by Kayla M

It was over a year ago, the day I turned 17 years old. During this time, it is usually an excitable time for me. Being born within the month of December, celebrations for my birthday and Christmas were always amazing. Our traditions we have created over the years as a family have been pretty constant. We would always every year start decorating for Christmas at around late November, almost before Thanksgiving starts. My sister and I would work together, bond, and have fun when decorating our Christmas tree. Every year we would have a different theme in colors. Blue and white, Green and pink, red and gold, even sometimes almost a rainbow theme. My dad would be outside decorating the outside of the house with Christmas lights making sure our house would shine like all the others around our block. My mom would be wrapping presents for all of our close family and friends as she is the only one with the heart to do, risking our funds for the happiness of others. On Christmas eve, we would attend Church due to us being a Catholic family and later we might join our friends Christmas or even New Years parties, and soon in the night we would have a feast of mostly Filipino food. On Christmas day, my sister and I would usually run down the stairs to open our presents everyone got for us and enjoy our time with our parents, as they are not getting any younger. We can be watching Christmas specials, baking cookies, or just hanging around each other in general. Not only does December correlate to our favorite holiday of the year, it is usually the time I grow older. I remember being happy becoming a year older, having fun having twice the presents I would get during the winter holidays, and also having to celebrate my birthday and afterwards looking forward to Christmas around the corner. Also enjoying the celebrations my family would throw to me, making me feel special and happy. As I get older though, I can’t help wondering, once I turned 18 and maybe even beyond that and maybe have to leave the nest soon...Will these traditions we built over the years be different or even worse be gone once I grow older? These thoughts have appeared, once my 17th birthday rolled around last year on December 13th, 2019. I was a year away until I became a legal adult here in the U.S. and I already can feel like I was being treated differently. My parents treated me as if I was way past the age of 17, even though they claim I was still their little girl, just much older now. My little sister is also getting older now, now being the age of 8, and we no longer have a baby or even a toddler in the house anymore. I can even feel like I am getting older now too and thoughts started playing in my head. Like, am I even ready to be an adult in the year of 2020? Will I be able to help out my family even if I am away from college? Will our traditions stay the same and can I be there for them for the holidays? These very traditionsI truly care for my family and want to continue to do this with them even if we are growing older and I know we need each other, but what if future years will stop me from doing that? For a while I have pushed these thoughts away, trying to bring myself into blissful ignorance. 

A whole year later, it is December once again. Things have been different since the start of March as everyone knows. To me, December was something I was looking forward to as I was finally becoming 18. These thoughts I felt a year ago started coming back, around early November. I was feeling as if everything would be different and I won’t get to live my last bit of my childhood or teenagehood before transitioning, until the sheer determination of my mother called out to me. Seeing that she knows that things are harder to do than we usually do, but seeing her not back down on these traditions brings out the determination within me to continue what we practiced over the years. We did everything we usually do to the best of our abilities, seeing everyone happily do our yearly tradition, brought a smile to my face and sheepishly feeling guilty that I even doubted my family. They still want to continue while I was here thinking that once I turn 18 that everything will end. I now don’t need to worry as much as I did back last year. Now it’s my birthday once again and my celebration was great, I finally transitioned into adulthood feeling much happier that I can still feel like continuing these traditions that we hold so dear. Knowing my family is still happy doing these every year, just brings a smile to my face.

"Forever & Always" by Marwa J

 

We met six years ago and I enjoy every moment by your side. To the nights where we stayed up talking about our future, how our kids are going to be best friends and that nothing will come in between us.. I loved every conversation we have ever had. We fought throughout dust storms together and it made us stronger. You’re my best friend till death do us part. Thank you for showing me what real love is and helping me through it all. You gave me laughs to the point where I couldn’t breath, where I couldn’t control the tears from coming down.. You gave me reasons to keep going.

Days and nights pass and life just feels like it will go on forever with you by my side. I love visiting you everyday and dropping things off that you love, seeing your smile is something I hope to do forever and always. To the oath we made to stick it out till the end and to the fights we have that didn’t break us.. I will forever be thankful.

I can go on forever with thanking you for coming into my life and there isn’t a moment in my life where I don’t cry because the happiness you’ve given me feels unreal. Thank you for being my best friend, I hope one day I can return the favor with all I have to give. I can’t wait to see you again and make more memories together. It’s June 8, 2019 which means its happy national best friends day. I have never met anyone that has rode for me the way you have, you are literally one of a kind and I am beyond blessed and thankful to call you my best friend. We have managed to get through the craziest things together but hey not everything is perfect, but when it comes to you i gotta make sure everything is perfect because you have changed my life for the better. I seriously wouldn’t know what I would've done without you. I love you so much more than words can say and I can’t wait to see what the future holds for us.

With everything that has happened to us this year nothing broke us, until you pulled away. My dearest best friend, why did you get so distant? Everything went away with a blink of an eye, until your mom called me one day saying you were at the hospital throwing up blood. Hearing those words made me feel like my whole heart was torn apart. When I saw you on the hospital bed, I cried hoping that God would give me your place so you wouldn’t suffer. Spent endless nights sleeping next to your bed, praying that you’d wake up. Nothing worked..Until one morning you woke up not remembering who I was or where you were at. Doctors claimed that it was a side effect from waking up from a coma… but I just knew that you were gone. I promised you that I’d never give up on our friendship no matter what came in between us. There were days where you’d look at me crazy just by telling you all the crazy memories we went through, nights where I sat by your side holding you from crying through all the pain you were in.

Doctors said it would only take a miracle for your memory to come back but I was slowly giving up. Forever and always I claimed to you every night before you went to sleep, hoping you would slowly come back but still...nothing. Your scans never showed anything, until your doctor told us that you have been diagnosed with cancer. Being broken is one thing, but hearing those words.. my world fell apart. You still didn’t remember me, nor did you feel anything but the pain your body was in. Moments where I showed you pictures and just the slightest giggle made me happy inside. I never thought I’d see that smile ever again. Days still pass by and you still don’t remember a thing. You grabbed my hand and whispered Forever and Always and took your last breath.

"Euphoric Delirium" by Luvly L

 

She’s lost control of her mind again, feels it decaying as her anxieties, the pressures of perfection, neglect and the cruel words consume her soul. Sits with her back on the door because anytime she invites someone in, they take advantage of her vulnerability and taint her worth. Her lies beginning to burn her throat, her smile cracking her cheeks pretending to be fine to spare your worry. How strange it is to feel sane when stability constantly fades to a state of confusion since the voices in her head have become far too exhausting to comprehend. Destroyed herself working endlessly to please others seeking their validation, but it was never enough and now she’s left isolated... struggling to mend the repercussions. Emotions and feelings suppressed so deeply that she feels nothing at all; because at least being comfortably numb can silence the chaos. With no motivation to escape these four white walls, she became blind to the vibrance of life and found solace in the simplicity of black and white. Grown tired of seeking help in escaping the restless nights where it feels like someone is strangling her lungs and she can’t seem to catch her breath, escaping the weight of her worries that become so heavy the room begins to spin, escaping screaming insecurities who shatter moments of triumph, escaping herself. However, self destruction was close enough to escaping. Her knees on the cold bathroom floor, spitting out the toxins society brings in order to feel happily empty. Sin sitting in between her lips, breathing in unfamiliar feelings that transcend her to infinite bliss. Swimming in the comics of her once colorless mind, sinking into the colors of the sky derived from this temporary deceit. She lays in the comfort of forever, where her anxieties are simply aspects of matter and her worries are carried off her shoulders. She prefers to indulge in this luxurious experience where her insecurities fade away and her pain alleviates within her euphoric delirium.

 

Staring within the infinite reflection, the girl in the mirror holds a familiar face that she can no longer recognize. I’m sorry I lost you to the ferocity of the world and couldn’t save your brilliant mind from becoming infested. I’m sorry people took your compassionate heart as an open invitation for manipulation. It killed me watching people ignore the aspirations that gracefully left your lips, causing your radiant smile to fade. I miss your diligence as you worked relentlessly to achieve your goals that others disregarded as far-fetched dreams. I ache to hear a room filled with your contagious laughter that was always way too loud, but never failed to leave people smiling. Miss the way your presence beamed with an irreplaceable spirit that held the purest intentions. Oh what I’d do to see the world through your luminous, optimistic eyes again. The lengths I’d go to watch them glow with a childlike spark that once desired to explore the beauties within the world. With time, it will be okay; you will find your once curious mind, your tender heart, your vibrant spirit, and your divine soul. With patience and strength we will meet again my love.