What a Treat! New posts to read!

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)

https://bednersgreenhouse.com/pumpkin-decorating-ideas/jack-o-lantern/

Remember:
All Students:  Be sure to read the entries for this group  (October 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 November 8.  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!

“This is it” by Ana H.

Slowly I opened my eyes. They felt so heavy and everything was so blurry. I tried to focus but I couldn’t pay attention to anything with the huge headache that I had. My heart was racing and it felt like it was on fire. I didn’t know where I was. I looked around but could only make out shapes and colors. I heard something from afar but couldn’t make sense of what it actually was. I couldn’t move. I felt like my body was so much heavier than what it actually was. I tried to stand up but then realized I was strapped to some sort of chair. Although I was still a little drowsy, my vision started to become a little clearer.

 I was in some sort of basement. Everything was dark and dusty. The walls were made of some sort of brick material and there were pipes connecting throughout them. A staircase on the opposite side of the room led to a door which I assumed led to outside. There was one light hanging from the ceiling and in the top corner there was a small window. I had no idea what time it was or where I was and I couldn’t remember anything whatsoever. It was so cold.

 I looked down and all I had on was what seemed like a hospital gown. It was covered in dirt and there was blood around my stomach. I looked up and I saw a mirror in the corner reflecting some boy with his face half swollen. I started to look around for the boy only to realize that the reflection in the mirror was actually me. My hair had been cut off and one of my eyes were swollen shut. I had cuts and scratches all over my face and body. There was dried up blood that was coming out of my nose. I didn’t know how long I had been here or why I was here.

 I started to freak out. Suddenly, it became super hard to breathe and my heart began to race again. There was tears coming out of my eyes and, because of my swollen eye, it hurt even more to cry. There was a sharp pain coming from my right side. I screamed from how much it hurt.

Once again, I tried to get my hands untied. Aside from all the agony, I managed to break free. Instantly I stood up and immediately realized what a mistake that was. Everything got blurry once again and I began to feel very dizzy. I fell to the floor and hit my head on the ground. I began to crawl towards the window. Pain going through every inch of my body with every movement I made. I pulled myself up but soon realized that it was locked. There was nothing around to break it open. I stumbled to the stairs and slowly made my way up. The door had five different locks on it and all of them keeping me from escaping.

Suddenly the door opened and there was a big man standing at the doorway. With his big deep voice he yelled, WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING!”

 I turned around and tried to run down the stairs but he grabbed me and pushed me down. I reached the bottom of the stairs and every part of my body ached. It felt as if I was paralyzed. He was coming towards me and I couldn’t move. He dragged me back to the chair and tied me back up.

I began to cry, “Why are you doing this? Who are you?”

“Don’t act foolish Amanda you know who I am,” he responded.

 “My name is not Amanda, it’s Samantha. Please you have the wrong girl. I’m 18 and from San Diego,” I cried.

 He then pulled out his gun and pointed it at my head. My breathing was heavy once again. I wasn’t ready to die. I wasn’t ready to leave the people I loved. My mom. My dad. My brother. My friends. My teammates. I wasn’t ready to stop living life. I didn’t know what to do.

“Please,” I begged, “don’t do this.”

“I’m sorry Amanda,” he said as he pulled the trigger.

Suddenly I woke up. It was 6:00 am. Time for another day at school.

“How to make a Brown Sugar Walnut Pumpkin Pie” By Zoya M

        It is October and you know what that means, it’s fall which means spooky movies, and enjoying everything pumpkin, including pumpkin pie. The reason I chose this topic is because my mother had a huge craving for some pie, and my favorite thing to bake is Pumpkin Pie so I made some for her and she enjoyed it. This recipe is fairly similar to others, but I added my own twist. Therefore I thought this would be a great opportunity to teach you how to make my Brown Sugar Walnut Pumpkin Pie.


Ingredients you will need for one pie:
1. 1 can of pumpkin puree
2. ½ cup of finely blended walnuts
3. 1 cup of graham crackers
4. 1 cup of brown sugar
5. ½  cup of chopped walnuts (topping)
6. 1 ½ stick of butter unsalted
7. ¼ teaspoon salt
8. 1 can of evaporated milk
9. 1 cup of sugar
10. 1 teaspoon of pumpkin spice
11.  19 inch pie pan
12. Whip cream
13. ½ cup water


What to do:
1. Begin with washing your hands, and having everything ready in front of you.
2. Next we will make the pie crust. To do, this you will need the 1 cup of graham crackers, ½ cup of finely blended walnuts, ½  of the cup of brown sugar, and ½ a stick of butter. Melt the butter in the microwave until smooth, and then throw all the ingredients together in the blender and blend until graham crackers are blended with all ingredients. This is important so the ingredients stick together. You will now put everything in a bowl and add the melted butter and mix well. Now you will put the crust at the bottom of the pan and put it in the fridge to set for 15 minutes.
3. Now it is time to make the actual inside. You will get the can of pumpkin puree and add that to a large bowl. Also in the large bowl, you will add the other half of brown sugar, ½ stick of butter, ¼ teaspoon of salt, 1 can evaporated milk, ¾ cup of sugar, 1 teaspoon of pumpkin spice, and mix together until smooth.
4. Now that your pie crust is solid in the pan, you will add the mixture to the pan, and spread evenly until it becomes leveled. You will then put the pie in the oven to bake for 15 minutes at 450 degrees, and you will then lower the temperature for 350 degrees and bake for 45 minutes or until you insert a toothpick and it comes out clean.
5. Once finished baking, you will take the pie out to cool, and with the chopped walnuts and with ¼ cup of sugar and ½ a stick of butter you will caramelize the walnuts. To do this, add the sugar, ½ cup of water, and butter to the stove. Once this becomes a smooth consistency, you will then add the walnuts and mix.
6. Finally put your pie on a plate, and top with caramelized walnuts and voila! You have a Brown Sugar Walnut Pumpkin Pie.


I have always enjoyed baking, and Pumpkin Pie is something my Mother and I love dearly during this time of year. This recipe is personal because I have incorporated walnuts, and brown sugar throughout the whole pie, and my Mother loves walnuts. This recipe isn’t too hard to achieve, and hopefully you enjoy this pie as much as myself cuddled up watching a spooky movie.

“Raised being Kind” by Samantha W

   Everyone believes that being kind is harder than not being kind, I want to disagree to agree. Being kind is one’s own personal choice and YOU decide whether to be kind to others. People view people, meaning your first impression of a person is the most important because not only will you view that certain person the same way all the time but it will reflect their behaviors towards certain outcomes. Ella Wheeler Wilcox once said, “The truest greatness lies in being kind, the truest wisdom in a happy mind” and the ability to make yourself happy mentally is all anyone can ever wish for. There was an incident where my step mom said something rude to me and there were a couple of solutions I could of gone about the situation, such as saying something unnecessary back, staying mad, continuously be rude to her, and I decided to be kind. I was always taught to be generous or kill people with kindness because it doesn't hurt people to be nice. All my life I was raised to look out for people's feelings, constantly think before I speak, being aware of how things may seem. All these qualities were molded in my head to become a kindhearted person. This does not come naturally, to this day I have to nonstop remind myself to watch what I say. Being kind might not come easily but I always say, “ It doesn't hurt to try and be kind because at the end of the day all people remember is the bad actions people take. So if all you do is come off courteous then there shouldn't be any negative comments others will remember.” You also never know if a person is having a bad day, is emotionally, physically, or mentally depressed, suicidal, or doesn’t take disrespectful comments well. You can’t ever assume anything about a person and their negative actions because you can’t know what they’ve gone through, and being thoughtful can remind others that they, too, need to treat others how they want to be treated. Many people view being kind as a weakness and they also believe that it is the wrong tactic to go about leading others. I believe that it’s more of a strength and challenge to be able to hold want you really want to say in and speak enthusiastic towards others. Everyone wants to be happy and if you try and be caring you can see that you’re happier. Holding grudges can demolish your mood, tone towards others, and overall happiness for that day but that is just the way you handle what comes at you. When you hold in all the anger you end up punishing someone else such as taking your rage out on them, causing fights you don’t intentionally mean to start, or even making rash decisions that you haven’t thought out clearly with a focused mindset. Being sweet towards others can result in bringing people out of their gloomy mood and making a change in their life even if it’s not noticeable yet. In our society today people are making it seem like it’s acceptable to be mean to others, and it’s not. Society is making it come across like toughness shows who has the most power, and thinking that being generous is agreeing that rudeness can be unnoticed. Allowing yourself to push aside the harsh comments and keeping a friendliness mood is defined as rising above. Being kind to people cannot harm you, such being rude does not solve anything. 

"The Poor Blue Bug" by Taylor V

     It was junior year. The day had started off as normal as any other. I went to school, talked to friends, did my class work, and counted the down the minutes until school was over. At last, the final bell rang and the day was now able to begin. My friends and I hung out all night doing typical teenage things; listening to music, eating food, and enjoying each others company.

It was approximately 10:40 p.m, I started to drive my friends home- yet again another normal task to do. As I came down the street of Etiwanda, approaching the intersection of Highland, I had a green light. As any other driver would have done, I proceeded through the intersection. Unfortunately, a drunk driver was not paying attention to the bright red light that was ahead of him. I remember these next moments vividly.

Suddenly, our cars collided and a large crashing noise was heard. I saw as the front of my car shriveled up, the air-bag quickly inflated, smoke started to come from the front, and my blue Volkswagen Beetle started to spin faster than a merry-go-round. All I remember thinking to myself is “why me.” I was paralyzed in thought. Unable to react, I hadn't even noticed the car stopped spinning. “Taylor! Taylor get out of the car!” my friend exclaimed from the front seat. As I slowly re-entered reality, a rush of pain was felt on my stomach from the air-bag. I got out of the car and noticed myself limping due to pain on my left leg. This pain was unbearable, I wouldn't wish this pain on my worst enemy. I sat on the curb, crying hysterically, not knowing what to do. Luckily, God sent an angel to come help me in the form of a woman's body. “Sweetie, you have to call your mom. Sweetie please call your mo- Yes hello, 911?” I heard her say before I realized to call my mom. I raced to the car to grab my phone, which somehow ended up in the back. The cops and ambulance came and the sweet lady left. I never even got her name. I could barely get a word out to the officers in between my crocodile tears. I looked behind me and noticed my hurt friends and there was nothing I could do. I felt terrible. They trusted me to get them home safely and I failed them.

It seemed liked hours had went by, but in reality, minutes passed and everything began to settle down. I remember sitting on the curb with my friends, all of us w stained cheeks from our tears. As we stared at the wrecked blue bug, many thoughts ran through our head “Why us” “If only we were there seconds later” “What's going to happen”

The following week at school was the weirdest by far. I felt as if every person at school was just staring at me and my limp, as if I did something wrong. Rumors started to spread of what had happened. They made me feel as if it was my fault for the accident. I couldn't help to believe that it was. My best friend, at the time, did not talk to me for the entire week. On top of all the rumors spreading, my BEST FRIEND wouldn't even talk to me. This had put me even more down than I already was. I felt as if I had done something wrong, as if this whole thing happened because of me. I apologized for what I had done numerous times to my friends who were involved, and even their parents. My mom assured me that the accident wasn't my fault, but it was so hard to believe that I hadn't done anything wrong when rumors were spreading and I couldn't even get my own best friend to be there for me, as a good friend should.  

Moving on from this day, I've learned many things: be cautious when crossing an intersection, dont drink, dont drink AND drive, but most importantly, I learned to be strong, both mentally and physically. Mentally, I had to overcome my developed fear of driving. I am still working on my anxiety of driving at night and nearly six months later, I still avoid that intersection at any cost. I also had to learn to believe in myself. I had to believe that I had not done anything wrong to harm my friends nor to push away my friend. Physically, I had to learn how to make my soft and inflamed knee-cap strong again. It took months, but I am slowly starting to feel less pain in my knee. Everything happens for a reason, which is why I now believe that this happened to allow myself to make myself a stronger person. By believing in myself mentally, I was able to believe in myself physically and heal faster than the doctors said I would.

I adored my royal blue Volkswagen Beetle. Blueberry Azul Quavo Petunia, as my friends called my car, gave so many memories to my friends and I. From beach trips to spontaneous trips to get boba, my blue bug gave all of us joy. Tragically, my beloved blue bug was unable to be fixed, but my friends and I were able to walk away with not so serious injuries. I was devastated at the death of my car, but I had to understand that my friends and I physical health is far more important than any car. Although this accident impaired me both mentally and physically, it has made me by far a more stronger person.

          

"The Art of Fear" by Jacob B

 “Limits, Like fears, Are often just an illusion.” - Michael Jordan 

     Everyone has a fear in life, some people are scared of the dark, or snakes, or even the fear of failure. This list could go on and on but what they all have in common is that they affect a person in a certain way that changes them.People will state that they are scared of something or someone when really the only person they should be scared of are themselves. Any thoughts of uneasiness or nervousness come from only one person and that is yourself. You’re scared of something because you tell yourself you are scared of it, and you have already lost the battle when you are putting negative thoughts in your own head. For example, when I was little I was scared of the dark and I’m pretty sure many of you would be able to relate to this same “fear”. I would put in my own mind that something was watching me or coming to get me when in reality the only person in my room was myself. There were no monsters or demons with me in the room, but only my own imagination that was causing me to be scared of the dark. This same concept can be related to any type of “fear” that you may think you have. Horror films and tv shows make a living based off of people’s fears and they give people an idea of something to be scared of, and with many people they find enjoyment in being scared. With the idea of fear,usually people are open about their fears in life while some people keep it inside and try to hide it. Both of these two ways of trying to control fear are completely wrong. Talking to people about your fears in life and trying to get help won’t do any good If you have not come to peace with yourself that you aren’t scared of something. Trying to hide your fears also isn’t good because you aren’t doing anything to solve the problem you’re just pushing it to the side and hoping you won’t have to face it. You should confront your fears with yourself and really think about If it’s even scary or worth all the stress you think it’s causing you. Nothing is ever as bad as it seems and people are always quick to say they’re scared of something when there’s nothing to be scared of at all. It’s the month of October and the first thing that comes to everyone’s mind with this word is Halloween,a holiday built off of fear and trying to scare people. The concepts of Vampires ghost, monsters,etc. are all just illusions to scare you and contribute to the fearful day of October 31st. This day shouldn’t be different than any other day when it comes it to fear, the only person I fear in life is Jacob Aaron Blandino and any thoughts of fear I have our generated by my own mind. So no your not scared of heights, or the dark, but the person in the mirror is your worst nightmare. 

Works Cited https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/m/michaeljor447196.html