Jenessa Martinez
Short Story.
 
          A beautiful young women named Diana was only 17 years old she lived in Chicago with her family she had 3 brtohers and 3 sisters. One night her Mom and sister decided to go to the bar, but Diana was only 17 years old, her Mom said, " Diana let's go, you dont have to drink any alcohol we just want to go because theres this really cute Dj who plays really good cumbia and other good music" Diana's Mom said " Are you sure I can go, I'm only 17 and it's my first time going to a bar" Diana said "Yes, Im sure let's just go for a bit and we'll come home right away" Diana said " But Mom what about my ID? I need one so they can see that Im supposedly 20 or something". " Don't worry we'll get you in some way" " Okay" Diana said. Diana, Alex and her Mom were getting ready to go out, Diana wored a really nice black dress uo to her knees with a little bit of nice sparkles above her waist with a nice par pair of open black open toe high heels. In about 20 min or less

Jenessa Martinez " Going to work with Mommabear" Ever since you left i think about you mostly everyday, now that your gone everywhere I go I just feel like your there you've left so nay memories I think about them, everyday

My Transfer In

Sierra Brady
Mr. Winfrey
Creative Writing - Period 1
24 February 2015

 

My Transfer In





I used to live in Plainfield, IL then I moved to Chicago. My old school was called Plainfield North. At my old school I was well known and it was easy for me to be myself. And leaving the soccer team was hard because I grew close with them my freshmen year. Freshmen year I made the JV soccer team which was decent because it was a team above the freshmen team. Coming to Kennedy I was nervous because I didn't think I was going to click with people. I started after first semester finals and the first day couldn't come faster. My first day was nerve racking; meeting all new teachers was ok, but the work looked hard. I met a few people that day and one person I clicked instantly with was Hailee. She introduced me to so many people which helped because I made more friends that week. After about a week I started to get to know everyone. From my old school to here the only things that are different is the way the people act and the school work. In my old school people were really judgmental and they thought they were better than everyone because it's all rich people there. At Kennedy, the people are mutual and don't treat others differently. The school work at my old school was a lot easier than at Kennedy, but I feel like I'm learning so much more here. I'm happy I transferred because everything has been going good for me.



Mia Reich

Cedar Point

            Five hours away lays an enormous amusement park in Sandusky, Ohio called Cedar Point. A place where the rollercoasters take it to a whole other level.  Cedar Point is like the "adult" version of Great America. During the five hour drive you get this mixture of happiness, and tiredness of course, from having to wake at 6 a.m. to get there right when it opens. On the way, you're just thinking to yourself, "What am I going to ride first?"

            This amusement park lies on a thin piece of land with the view of Lake Erie wherever you turn your head. It's almost like you're on an island. As you drive, you pass many beautiful beach homes that are exciting to just glance at. The moment you finally see the rides through the fog from the lake, you get the same feeling of excitement as if you're on the ride.

            You pull up in the parking lot and see many people, probably experiencing the same feelings as you. Then you look ahead and see a tall blue sign saying "Welcome to Cedar Point." Then you look up and see a big blue rollercoaster covering the first end of the park on the right to the other end on the left. It's called the Gatekeeper.

As you walk into the park you see the rest of the park ahead of you. At this point you have no clue what ride to go on. You smell funnel cakes, cotton candy, and hot dogs. Kids run all around with family and smiles on their faces.  You end up riding every ride in the park, and if you have time, you repeat the best ones.

                The sun slowly creeps down and the darkness slowly creeps up. You barley notice because you are so focused on the rides.  The colorful lights flash on all around the park. You take a moment and think about which ride deserves to be last. You approach the ride and take it all in. You enjoy every second, drop, twist, and turn of the ride. Once you leave, you're already planning on the next time you go. Your feet give up and your eyes get low and you end up falling asleep the whole way home while remembering the good times that were just made.

Favorite Pace Story Kobe B

My favorite place would have to be Dallas, Texas. It was my first time visiting Texas I went because that's where my family reunion was held 4 yrs ago. I thought it was going to be boring but I remembered it was my first time visiting. I took the train there we had to stop on the way there at least 5 times or more for like 45 min. It was a boring train ride there all I did was sleep on the way there. When we finally arrived it was my mom, grandmother, 2 brothers and me. We walked around downtown in Dallas. I remember it wasn't a lot of stores down there. We then went to the hotel to meet up with the rest of the family. Since it was everybody in my family first time being there we got a bus with a driver to take us places so we could see things. Some times I didn't go because it was too hot so I just went to the pool everyday. It was 102 to 105 degrees everyday we where there. It's my favorite place because it was peaceful there it was different from Chicago and plus it was a nice get away in the summer for my family and I. Our last day there we had a picnic at some park it was fun. We had food and games to play I had a good time with my family. That's probably the man reason why it's my favorite place because it was the last family reunion I went to.

 

favorite place story Kobe B

My favorite place would have to be Dallas, Texas. It was my first time visiting Texas I went because that's where my family reunion was held 4yrs ago. I thought it was going to be boring but I remembered it was my first time visiting. I took the train there we had to stop on the way there at least 5 times or more for like 45 min. It was a boring train ride there all I did was sleep on the way there. When we finally arrived it was my mom, grandmother, 2 brothers and me. We walked around downtown in Dallas. I remember it wasn't a lot of stores down there. We then went to the hotel to meet up with the rest of the family. Since it was everybody in my family first time being there we got a bus with a driver to take us places so we could see things. Some times I didn't go because it was too hot so I just went to the pool everyday. It was 102 to 105 degrees everyday we where there. It's my favorite place because it was peaceful there it was different from Chicago and plus it was a nice get away in the summer for my family and I. Our last day there we had a picnic at some park it was fun. We had food and games to play I had a good time with my family. That's probably the man reason why it's my favorite place because it was the last family reunion I went to.

 

home

Emmanuel Cortez

The story begins in a Chicago home were everything seems normal in the outside but inside is a home for eight people and everyone works together to help each other out it’s not just everyone for themselves its everyone has a small role in the house to help around and make easier for one another and every day is different

one person may not be in the mood one day but we still end up hanging out and watching TV or playing fifa it’s Just my Brother Joel and my neighbor Eddie and I who just hangout

his wife Mary who takes care of Leo and Ali and whenever she gets busy, we’re babysitters and Ali is scared of my dog Lindsey who is a schnauzer and she literally doesn’t attack anything she just would bark at something and like pace back and Ali is scared of her when she follows him like she is just following him around the house and he already yelling “Lindsey Stop” and shes probably locked up in my brothers room sleeping,

Then he would go running to my room and play with my Pokemon toys because he doesn’t have as much toys as me and he leaves his toys in my room because when I'm not home he would run to my room and just play.

he told me he likes my room because its colorful and my room is covered with posters and has paintings everywhere and to me it’s a really cool room for a kid Because they get to use their imagination because when i started to design my room it was just plain and baby blue and slowly i just began to fill it up with posters and other stuff that would just make the room to be me.

and then theres my father, the man who i have the most respect for, there’s no one else who i have meet that goes through what he goes through and every thing he has done may have been good and some may have been bad in his life but not everyone has

this isn't an ordinary story this is just me talking about how my home is, It may not be the nicest home but everybody in there puts a patch to make the house the way it is and not all the families are as great as you expect it to be, but why set the bar to the point were everything has to be perfect when you can accept what you have now and begin to work on your future

Raymundo Hernandez Junior

“A special Moment in My Life”

A special moment in my life was a couple months ago, on July 18^th – July 21^st in Aurora, Colorado. I had a National soccer tournament with my team RB United. RB United stands for Riverside Brookfield United; RB United is a traveling team. RB United plays in NISL Schaumburg soccer league in the fall and summer. RB United won state and regional cups, therefore they moved on to National cup in Aurora, Colorado. The National tournament was a week long. It was a 18 hour drive from Brookfield, Illinois to Aurora, Colorado. The tournament had teams worldwide, from different cities, states, and countries. RB’s first game was on July 18^th against ISC B98A, RB won 7-0 and got 3 points for wining. The win was good because that’s what RB needed. The next game was on July 19^th against NBEFC 98B BLUE-Arsenal, RB won 3-2. The game was a close game as seen in the results, RB was struggling to get that win that they needed, and at last they got it. RB’s final game to qualify to the finals in the tournament was on July 20^th, against Indiana Magic 98/99 B, RB’s motivation for this game was to win the National tournament since it is RB’s last year being together since all the players are moving on to high school and are joining their high school soccer teams. RB went out into that soccer field motivated and with their heads up. RB won the game 5-0 and that was a good way to qualify to the finals of the tournament. After the game was over RB’s head coach Raul also known as “spider” congratulated RB’s players for the win. RB qualified to the championship game, at first RB did not know who would be their opponent for the championship game but found out later in the day that it would be Indiana Magic 98/99 B once again. The championship game was on 21^st and it was a game that RB had to for sure win because they wanted the 18 hour drive to be worth it. The championship game was finally here for RB, it was time for them to shine, show everyone what they are made out of, and play the soccer they know how to play. The soccer RB knows how to play is simple soccer, posses the ball, find feet, touch the ball around a lot, don’t play the ball in the air, don’t hold the ball too much in your feet, and make the other team run. It came to the time to start warming up and RB was putting a lot of effort into it because they wanted to win and be National Champions. It was game time for RB United, RB had all of the intentions to win this game and become the new National Champions, make history, shut all the haters up, and take that trophy back home with them. RB United was one win away from becoming the new National Champions and Indiana Magic was capable of doing anything to stop them. Both RB United and Indiana Magic were both sacrificing their bodies, and doing anything to become National Champions. RB started playing good and showing Indiana Magic that they wanted that trophy, 10 minutes in the game and RB scored, the score now was 1-0 in favor of RB. Indiana Magic realized RB was not giving up. Fifteen minutes in the game and the score was still 1-0 in favor of RB, couple minutes later RB scored another goal, the score was 2-0 in favor of RB, as it was since before. It was halftime, Indiana Magic still trailing RB 2-0, RB was happy with the score at halftime, Indiana Magic wasn’t. Second half began and RB wasn’t going to give up, but do the exact opposite, keep playing their game and keep scoring. On the other hand Indiana Magic was going to go all in for it. Five minutes in the second half, RB scored once again increasing their lead to 3-0 over Indiana Magic. Indiana Magic wasn’t going to put their heads down, few minutes past, Indiana Magic finally scored decreasing the lead to two, 3-1 was the score. RB realized Indiana Magic wasn’t done yet, so RB started to put more effort into their game. Twenty minutes into the second half, RB scored another goal increasing the lead back to within three, 4-1 was the score. The score stayed like that until minute 30 of the second half when RB scored for the last and final time with 15 minutes remaining in the half, increasing the lead to 4, the score was 5-1. Now there was really nothing Indiana Magic could do to tie the game with 15 minutes remaining especially because RB’s tight defense wasn’t going to allow any more goals go into their goal net. The final whistle was blown, that meant that RB United was the new National Champion and made history by being the first team to not only making it to the National tournament but by being the only team to make it to the finals and winning a championship. After all RB United showed the every team on the tournament and was on their bracket that you win with team work, effort, and with your heart. RB United will be known for their great effort they put into winning this Championship as their last year being together and after moving on to high school. RB United will be known for their history in National tournaments.

Favorite Place

Sierra Brady

Mr. Winfrey

Creative Writing - Period 1

20 Feburary 2015

Favorite Place

My favorite place is Wisconsin Dells. Going to the dells has been a tradition since I was a baby. My family and I go to the Dells three times a year; for spring break, a summer vacation, and winter break. Since I have a big family its affordable and everyone can have fun no matter how old you are. The best time I ever had there was last spring break on my birthday. I enoy driving there so because my family and I plan out what we are going to do from the time we get there til the time we leave. Since it was my birthday weekend I got to make all the plans with my mom. The first place I choose to eat was at Paul Bunyan's, it's a breakfast place and they have the best donuts. Our hotel restort was called Mt. Olympus, the was the biggest restort in the dells. They have so much to do there such as roller coasters, a water park, and a game room. When we got there we spent the day riding the roller coasters because by the time we got there it was 6 p.m. and we didn't have enough time to spare. They didn't have a lot of roller coasters, but the ones they do have are fun. After we rode the roller coasters I drove in the go-karts. The go-karts are so fun, they go under ground and around on the big wooden horse that stands like 20 ft tall. After that we went back to the hotel room and made dinner.

The next morning, we went to Paul Bunyan's, after that my mom dared me and said that if I go bungee jumping she would give me $50. I was so scared, but I made that deal with her, on our way to the bungee jumpinh back my stomach turned and I was so nervous clenching my fist full of sweat; no matter what I was not backing out. When we got there my mom already paid and got my ticket so I knew I really couldn't back out, walking up to the rope I was shaking. Now, I was finally at the top and all I had to do was jump, but I just couldn't do it.I stood up in the air for about 10 minutes with everyone telling me to jump, finally, I shut my eyes and let go. That was the best part of my trip. I felt brave and wn my bet.

Sierra Brady

Mr. Winfrey

Creative Writing - Period 1

20 Feburary 2015

Favorite Place

My favorite place is Wisconsin Dells. Going to the dells has been a tradition since I was a baby. My family and I go to the Dells three times a year; for spring break, a summer vacation, and winter break. Since I have a big family its affordable and everyone can have fun no matter how old you are. The best time I ever had there was last spring break on my birthday. I enoy driving there so because my family and I plan out what we are going to do from the time we get there til the time we leave. Since it was my birthday weekend I got to make all the plans with my mom. The first place I choose to eat was at Paul Bunyan's, it's a breakfast place and they have the best donuts. Our hotel restort was called Mt. Olympus, the was the biggest restort in the dells. They have so much to do there such as roller coasters, a water park, and a game room. When we got there we spent the day riding the roller coasters because by the time we got there it was 6 p.m. and we didn't have enough time to spare. They didn't have a lot of roller coasters, but the ones they do have are fun. After we rode the roller coasters I drove in the go-karts. The go-karts are so fun, they go under ground and around on the big wooden horse that stands like 20 ft tall. After that we went back to the hotel room and made dinner.

The next morning, we went to Paul Bunyan's, after that my mom dared me and said that if I go bungee jumping she would give me $50. I was so scared, but I made that deal with her, on our way to the bungee jumpinh back my stomach turned and I was so nervous clenching my fist full of sweat; no matter what I was not backing out. When we got there my mom already paid and got my ticket so I knew I really couldn't back out, walking up to the rope I was shaking. Now, I was finally at the top and all I had to do was jump, but I just couldn't do it.I stood up in the air for about 10 minutes with everyone telling me to jump, finally, I shut my eyes and let go. That was the best

Anthony Gonzalez

Period.1

Short Story

Lucid Dreams

         Entry #1- Well this is weird I plan to keep a journal and just keep track of what's going on in my life. It’ll be interesting to see how far this will go and what I write about. I really don't plan to get much out of this but memories and to see how I feel about myself in the future once I read this again. So just incase I change my name or something my name is Jesse Torres and I was born in Brooklyn New York. I'm currently 15 while writing this and I'm a sophomore. I plan to keep this private so if anybody else is reading this that's not me feel free to judge me all you want because I don’t care! I'm into the more quiet part of life. I keep a lot of things private I have a small group of best friends that I plan to keep in touch with forever and I have loving and caring family that will always help me whenever I’m down. All I want to see is progression in society and in myself. I wish one day to be successful so I could do whatever I want and pay back my parents and my friends for the great adventures and experiences I've had so far. I want change and I expect to see change.Entry #4- I  have my dreams to keep me sane. Without my dreams I’d be nothing but a sad and lonely soul. I hate what life has become and what the world has come down to. Its really sad and almost depressing. So I dream to survive, I dream to fight, and I dream for humanity. I've lived a good life but I could no longer carry on what society has planned out for me. I wish I could just fly away and move away from all the corruption. Now a days people are being brainwashed by the media and becoming slaves. Its not a fun thing to see considering I already see my brothers becoming brainless sheep. No matter how much I try to help them and try to show them the right way of living they don't listen and continue to pursue the life of a slaved idiot. They have all the tools to break away from that light but i guess they're too deep in the trance to fight back. But there is a small group of humanity that isn't brainwashed. That group consists of of diffrent people with different ideas but with the same goals in mind. I haven't met much people in person that have the same ideas but I've met people online who do. Im glad I found the inspiring words of the late great Jay Steez. Without the knowledge I gained from his music I probably would go crazy and join the slaves myself . The world has been changing in so many ways lately and its not a pretty sight. I like to dream and keep some of my ideas private. I still speak of ambitions and I'm not afraid to speak about my views on a topic I feel strongly about. But when I do  think I've said enough or whenever I feel like I don't want to live on this planet anymore I turn to lucid dreaming. Lucid dreaming isn't anything special but an art. It takes the right mindset and the right vibes for it to work. I believe its easier when somebodys has learned acceptance and when someone has learned to be at peace. I'm not claiming to be a master of this myself because I'm not. I'm able to Lucid dream when I want to though. These dreams take me on adventures and put me through new experiences without having to risk anything but a nightmare. Dreaming always puts me in different perspectives and problems that only help me grow. I hope that one day everyone is able to experience these dreams to really awaken their souls. Entry #7- So today has been another typical day at school. I got to chill with my friends and put up with the lame work the teachers gave me. But it's no problem after all I do enjoy challenges. Speaking of challenges I had a great dream where I was with God having a conversation. During that conversation I was asked "What is the meaning of life?" I was in shock because it's such a cliche question but it's such a powerful question because it always changes one's thinking process. I thought long and hard during my session and I woke up still trying to figure out what is the meaning of life. It was all I could think about today and I'm pretty sure it'll be a question I ask myself every day. What is the meaning of life? Entry #9 Well days have gone by and I'm still stuck with that question. Trying to find the answer I did some research on how to find out the answer for myself. I stumbled across some articles on meditation and some videos on how to cleanse the spirit. I found these out to be very exciting so I read up a little more and decided I want to be an indigo. Free spiritedness and quietness sounds like a rebirth. I want to follow the path of an indigo to find my answer and to get some new ideas flowing in me. It'll be the coming of a new me. This journey isn't something I could turn back on or something that will be easy. With the guidance and the information I'm receiving it'll only be a matter of time before I'm able to enter new dimensions and become one with my soul. I want to open my third eye. I want to release my chakras. I want to mediate. I want to dream. I need to find my answer. Entry #14 Well everything has been going smoothly lately. School has been quiet and so have I. I've been really interacting more with my family and friends in this short week. Everything just seems to be balanced and nice. It almost feels like I've been tripping off some stuff lately but I haven’t I just feel more at ease. My studying has kept me productive and I like that. I found out about a small step into cleaning the spirit and it is surprisingly a "fast". It got me hooked and I wanted to know more about this fast. It's basically I stop eating for a week. Nothing more and nothing less. I thought it was crazy at first and many others would think the same to if I attempted to do this. The fast is to put the body through a faze off grief and discipline. It's good for the mind as well and it would make for some real good dreams to. Many great philosophers have done this and it only helped them think more. Gandhi went through the fast to protest war and to show peace. I figured why not try this after all I could drink water so this really shouldn't be a hard challenge. I was ambitious and prepared so I told my friends of the idea and they just mocked me but it's okay because I'm not trying to impress no one. I'm trying to elevate and keep going forward. I knew this was crazy but it's only for the good. I had to eat one more time of course so I ate only my favorite foods before I went through this process. So before I move on to this I just want to wish myself luck. Entry #15- So the first day of my fast went by quick. I woke up took a shower, got ready for school, and chugged down 2 cups of water so my stomach felt full before I got to school. Classes were the same as usual and I felt fine. Once I got to lunch I got in line and picked up a lunch but I didn't eat anything or drink anything so I just gave it to my friends and told them to eat up. I sat back in my chair put on my ear buds and just drank my water day dreaming and having a moment for self reflection. The rest of day was the same, just a breeze. I was hungry but I wasn't bothered by it instead I was motivated by it. I knew I was learning self discipline and I liked it . But when I got home I felt tired so I put my phone on speaker and just napped for the day. When I was dreaming I felt lifted. It was amazing because during that dream I saw my future and I liked what I saw. There was positivity and confidence bouncing off me I felt new. It's crazy how thinking positive can lead someone down new paths. So I continu my day writing this and watching TV to put me in a sleepy mood. So before I end this I just want to leave myself this question for the future. Was all this worth it? Entry #17- These past few days have been a little harder but I have to keep moving forward. I don't feel sick but I feel empty and I noticed today that my pants were sagging a little today only to realize my pants got big or I'm losing weight. This boggled my mind because I just now realized that I'm going to łoose weight during this process. This will for sure make me look crazy now. Not only am I going to be seen as that weird kid but I'm now going to be seen as that physco kid. But like I said before "Who cares?" I shouldn't stress over this at all. I agreed to change and change is what I'm getting. Sure it'll be awkward seeing my slimmed down but it shouldn't be that bad either. If for anything it'll look good I guess but I could care less about what I look like because that's only something that shallow people worry about. I'm a strong minded individual and I know this because of everything I've taught and put myself through whether it's my dreams or my journey to enlightenment. By the way I think I'm going to star meditating. It's amazing for the spirit and actually healthy for the mind and body it could also help improve my dreams which will soon become visions. Entry #19- My fast is nearly over and I could now really feel myself become weak. I'm slowly starting to feel like I'm going to faint but it's okay because the school day is almost over. Once I get home I'll be able to dream peacefully in my nice warm bed. Man this is crazy! I can't believe I'm almost done with this process. I feel so changed! That might just be the weight loss speaking but I know this fast put me on a level of change and enlightenment. I still have a long awaited journey before I'm able to become a indigo but it feels amazing to know I'm a step closer. A lot is going through my mind but once Saturday is here I know for a fact I'm going to enjoy eating my grandma's food. But then again I know I shouldn't pig out because I think I like being skinny it's a good look on me. So I think I'll just take it easy on the eating and change to a simple and healthy diet to keep my shape. I think I'll even work out too but this could be thought about later what I really should focus on is the future dreams I’ll have. I know for a fact they're going to be wild and uplifting. Entry #47- Well it's been about a month now since that fast. A lot of good came out of it. I'm having that confidence boost and positive vibes bouncing off me like I visioned it a while back. It's crazy how I saw this happening. I guess it's just my 3rd eye beginning to show me what it's capable of. I like it. Meditation has done me so great to. Lately I've been feeling more healthy and bright like I'm some star or something. It's amazing how life works. Everyone's meant to go through obstacles and achieve success. I’ve started to shed out of my old skin and become somebody completely new. These are small fazes in my journey to being enlightened and being an indigo. It truly feels amazing. Life is going my way and my dreaming is becoming advanced. I could now take full control of some dreams I have. It's crazy because I could use those moments to do things I always wanted to do like get really good at skating but I'd rather use it to progress and look deep into my future and see what my soul wants to achieve. I could only hope I'll find my answer to that question that put me on this long journey. What is the meaning of life?

Roberto Garcia

Roberto Garcia

February 4 2015

Short Story

Is this reality?

Normal days for Levi usually start off like this: He wakes up 30 minutes before school starts which is 6:30, he takes a 15 minute shower, takes another 5 minutes to get dressed, brushes his teeth, shaves and then he's off on the long walk to school knowing he's gonna be late. Levi was a strange guy. Tall and skinny, has black hair, bags under his eyes because he has trouble sleeping and a strange attitude. "Levi! Get up! It's time for school!" shouted his mom. Levi squirms around and seems to have trouble getting up since he stayed up til 2am.. Minutes pass and he makes great effort and gets up. "Hey mom, you got work today?" said Levi. "Yeah I'm just about to head out. Be safe Levi don't get in any trouble." His mom said. "Don't worry mom, I won't." said Levi. Levi's mom leaves and heads out. Levi rushes to get in the shower and a few minutes later he gets out. he gets dressed and hurries to leave his house to get to school. Levis walk to school takes about 20 minutes so he usually listens to music to make the walk there seem entertaining. He goes to Lincoln High School. Since he's gonna be late he decides to take his time anyway. Once he gets there he has to show his bag to security and passes through and heads to his first period class. Levi knocks on the door and Mr. Jackson opens the door. "Levi? Late again? Take your seat we're taking notes." said Mr. Jackson. Levi takes his seat next to his friend Frank. Franks a cool guy, Tall and skinny and he's been Levi's friend since freshman year. "Yo Levi this is the 3rd time this week you're late. Since its our last year here you're taking it real easy." said Frank. "Yeah I know, its senior year, I worked my ass off to get good grades so I'm just gonna chill for a bit. We're out in like 2 months anyway and these teachers are starting to not really care anymore." said Levi. "Yeah you're right I guess." said Frank. "So I made my half of the money so I can get my car. My dad said he'll take me as soon as i get out of school. Wanna come?" said Levi. "Damn dude grats! For sure I'll come just tell your dad so you guys can pick me up?" said frank. The bell rings and everyone leaves to got to their next class. Levi goes to all his next classes anxiously waiting for his last period to come because he has a girl named Violet in that class and he's had a crush on her for years. Since its Friday he has to take a lot of tests and after a long 3 hours it's finally his 8th period. Levi doesn't talk to anyone in that class. He dislikes everyone in that class except of course, Violet. The late bell rings and Levi takes his seat and after what seemed to be forever Levi begins to talk to Violet. "Hey Violet." says Levi. "Oh hey Levi. Finally manned up and decided to come talk to me huh? Got tired of just staring?" She laughs. Levi turns red and laughs. "Haha no.. So uhh Violet how are you? he says. "I'm alright. Just wanna get out of here already. Just 2 more months." said violet. "Yeah me too. It's getting boring around here. Four years in this school I'm just dying to get out." he said. "This may seem random by what do you always stare at me? says violet mysteriously. "God damn it I was afraid she would ask this.. Violet you have guts.. Fuck! What do I say.. Alright I'll just tell her" "Well I think you're magnificent. The way your beautiful green eyes sparkle in the lights, I can't help but stare.." says Levi. Violet blushes and she sends off a small smile. "Th-thank you.." she says. The bell rings and violet leaves class. Levi not knowing what to do asks her if she can go out around 5. Violet says yes and says to meet her by the lake at 5. Levi agrees and says bye. frank finds Levi at his locker. "Yo bro I'll just go to your house so you won't have to pick me up." he says. "Alright man lets go." says Levi. The two walk home. Once they arrive no ones home and Levi calls his dad and he says that he'll be there in 10 minutes. Levi heads to his room and gets his 5k he saved since sophomore year. The two head outside where they find Levis dad waiting. "Alright boys let's go." says Levis father. They all head to the used car dealership and Levi looks for the Jeep he's had his eyes set on for months. Once he finds it he calls the dealer and his dad over. Its a 2004 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited. After a talk with the dealer he says that the price is 8k. Levi puts in 4k and his dad puts the rest. Levi thanks his dad and hugs him as his dad gets in his car and heads back to work. Levi and Frank get in the jeep and leave the lot. Levi heads over to the car wash. Frank helps Levi clean the interior while Levi cleaned the exterior. After a whole hour of cleaning the two leave the jeep looming and smelling great. Levi says "Thanks bro" and Frank just nods with a happy look on his face. Levi heads to the gas station and fills tank completely, he then heads back home and drops Frank off at his house. Levi heads home to get ready to go see Violet. 30 minutes and he was ready, put on his favorite skinny jeans, a white button down and his favorite blue sweater over it and his favorite aldos. He sprays a bit off his Acqua Di Gio and he leaves his house ready to see Violet.

Levi drives down to the park and heads to the lake. He parks his car and gets out and looks for violet. He finds her sitting at the edge of the lake by the rocks wearing some dark blue jeans and a maroon cardigan."God she's beautiful.." He taps her on the shoulder and freaks her out. "God dammit Levi you scared the fuck out of me!" she says. Levi laughs "Sorry about that." he says. Levis sits down and they talk for a good 20 minutes. "You look good Levi" she says. Levi smiles and says "Thank you Violet, you look good too. I think its time that we leave..". Violet nods and they begin to walk. "Wanna get some food? Chinese? Mexican?" says Levi. "Chinese sounds great right now. It's my favorite" says Violet. The two head to Levi's favorite Chinese restaurant and they both order teriyaki chicken with fried rice. "So how are you feeling about us almost being done with school?" says Levi. "I'm a bit excited actually. I got a full ride to Yale. My perfect grades and hard work got me a full ride." says Violet. Levi in shock says "Thats g-great! Congrats!"  The two finish their food and Levi asks for the bill. The waiter hands him the bill and 2 fortune cookies. Levi gives Violet one. "Do you ever believe your fortune?" says Levi as he opens his cookie. "No not really." says Violet. Levi crack his cookie open and he takes the paper out and it reads "Your life is in danger." Levi in shock throws the paper out and eats his cookie. "What did it say?" asked Violet. "It said someone will give you an unexpected gift." "I wonder who that would be" says Violet as she laughs. Silence breaks out and the two don't say anything for a few minutes. Levi leans in and kisses Violet on the lips. He tells her how he's been feeling about her for so long and tells her that she's beautiful. Violet doesn't say anything afterwards and the two leave the restaurant. Violets jumps in Levi's car and Levi drives her to her house.The two sit in the car for 5 minutes. "Thanks for today Levi.. I had a good time." says Violet. "No need to thank me. Thank you for saying yes." says Levi. Violet grabs Levi by the back of his hair and she begins to kiss him very passionately. Violet gets out of the car and she leaves. Levi waits for her to get in her house and then he drives away. "I wonder what that fortune meant… Maybe it's just someone in the business trying to fuck with someone."

Levi lays in his bed all night thinking of Violet but mostly worried about what the fortune cookies said. Levi hears a strange noise coming from downstairs and he gets out of room quietly so he doesn't wake his parents. Levi heads downstairs and goes to the living room and finds the tv on. He shuts it off and goes to the bathroom. Levi takes his contacts off and puts on his glasses. He looks in the mirror and notices cuts on his chest. Strange deep cuts. "Woah! How did I not feel this.. what the fuck.." Levi heads back to his room and lays down. After another hour of thinking about the cookie and the cuts on his chest he finally falls asleep. Weeks pass and school is finally over. Levi and Violet go out every Tuesday, Friday and Saturday. "Ring ring ring" "Hello?" says Levi. "Yo bro lets chill today!" says Frank. "Alright man I'll get ready." says Levi. He hangs up and gets ready. Levi picks Frank up and the two go on a cruise downtown. "So how ya been man?" says Frank. "I've been good. been chilling with Violet every other day." says Levi. "That's cool man. You look strange bro. You feeling alright? Your face looks real pale. You look like death." says Frank. "Oh shit really? I feel perfectly fine." says Levi. "Well just take care of yourself man." says Frank. Levi parks his car by the shore and pulls out a cigarette and the two smoke and listen to music for hours. After a while Levi starts driving and Frank is sleeping. Levi drives him back home and he wakes him up and gets out. Frank says thanks and he leaves. Levi drives back home. He gets home and finds no one home. He finds a letter on the counter saying that his mom and dad had gone to spend the weekend at his grandmas house because she had gotten very sick. Levi tries calling but he hears both of their phones go off in their room. Levi finds it very strange that they would leave their phones home. A week passes and his parents aren't home yet. Levi begins to worry. He tries to call his grandmas house but no one picks up either. Levi calls Violet and they decide that they're gonna hang out so Levi can get his mind off things and so he doesn't start over thinking things. Levi picks up Violet and they head back to his house. "So Levi what's up with your parents? It's like they vanished or something." says Violet. "I don't know. I don't know if I should be worried or not. I hope they'll be home soon." says Levi. The two go down to the living room to watch some movies. Violet starts kissing Levi and they start to get into it. "Bang!" a super loud noise comes from the wall. Both Levi and Violet and get up and freak out. "I think we should get it out Levi." says Violet. Levi goes upstairs to his parents room where the loud noise came from. He opens the door and checks to see what happened. He notices that the mirror had fallen.. He picks it up and he see his mom in the reflection. He shakes his head and closes his eyes and then checks again and this time he sees his mom hanging from the ceiling fan. Dead pale skin and the noose around her neck is so tight that her blood filled eyes look as if they're about to pop. Levi puts the mirror down and runs downstairs. He looks for Violet and finds that she's gone. Levi calls Frank to see if he can stay at his place but he doesn't answer. Levi goes to his car and takes a blanket so he can sleep there. Terrified of what he had seen he falls asleep instantly. Days pass and Levi finally starts to sleep in his house again. His parents still haven't been home and now Levi hasn't seemed to hear or see Frank or Violet.

Levi spends his days in his house not going out except to get food. He wakes up, eats, then sleeps the rest of the day. "Levi!" a voice from a distance is heard. Levi wakes up and sees that Violet is laying next to him. In shock Levi asks "What are you doing here!?". Violet wakes up and says "Oh hey Levi how did you sleep?". "What are you doing here?" says Levi. "What do you mean Levi? You called me last night and asked me if I could stay here." says Violet. "I don't remember anything from last night.." says Levi. "Well you better get up Levi let's go get some food downstairs." said Violet. The two head downstairs and Violet cooks some mickey mouse shaped pancakes. The two eat pancakes and watch tv. "Hey Levi I'm gonna take a small nap." said Violet. "Alright I'll wake you up later." said Levi. Hours pass and Violet is still sleeping. Levi gets up and goes up to his parents room where he finds his parents sleeping. In shock Levi wakes them up and he hugs them. "where have you been?" said Levi. His parents don't say a word and Levi gets out of their room. He checks one more time and sees that they weren't there. "Am I going crazy?" Levi goes in his room and lays down. Minutes later he hears something fall inside his closet and he finds his dad there tied down and his thumbs cut off. Levi jumps back and he unties his dad. His dad barely alive says "It was her. It was Violet! She tortured me and your mom. She kept us locked and tied down in the basement for days. We heard you walking upstairs everyday. We wondered if you would ever come down." "How did you get here in my room?" said Levi. "She put me in her last night when you were sleeping." said his father. "And mom what about her?" asked Levi. "Your mom is dead.. She killed her weeks ago. Your mom threatened her and she hung her." said his father in a low but terrified voice. "Levi. Where are you?" says Violet as she comes up the stairs. "Stay away from me!" says Levi. Violet comes in the room and stares at him and his beat father for a long time. "Soo.. you finally found him huh?" says Violet. "Why would you do this!" screams Levi. Violet stays quiet as she pulls a knife from her boot. Levi in anger attacks Violet and he takes the knife away from her. "Get off me!" yells Violet. Levi takes the knife and he slits her throat. Blood splatters all over his bedroom floor. Levi's father barely alive says "What have you done?" as he falls to the ground. Minutes pass and Levi storms out of his house. Sirens wailing and a policed man yells at Levi saying "Get on the ground!". Levi sees Frank standing by the police man. The police grab Levi and they handcuff him and throw him in the back of the police car. Levi passes out in the back of the car.

"Wh-where am I?" whispers Levi as he wakes up. His vision is blurry, his head spinning and his body is immobilized. Minutes pass and he starts to get a hold of himself. He looks down and he notices that he's in a white hospital robe and in a whited out room. Levi gets up and starts slamming on the plastic windows. "Get me out of here!" he yells. A door opens and Levi gets out. Levi looks for someone who might be inside but doesn't find anyone. After an hour of searching the what seems to be enormous building Levi finds a room full of screens. He turns the tv's on and he finds videos of himself playing. They show his graduation, when he got his car and many more moments after graduation. Not once does he see Violet. The videos continue playing and they show something he couldn't believe. "Levi stop!" yells a woman. "No no what am I doing" says Levi from the tv. Levi can't believe what he is seeing. "Levi please stop!" yells the woman. Levi cuts the woman who is his mother and he cuts her shins as she falls to the ground he punches and beats her, he then proceeds to slice her throat. "No no.." whispers Levi. He stops the videos and realizes that he killed his parents and that violet was never real. Levi runs out of the video room and he runs down the hall. He takes off his shoe and unlaces them both and ties the laces around his neck. He gets on top of a nearby desk and he stands on it as he ties the other end of the lace to the hook hanging from the ceiling. As he is about to step off the desk and a grey figure enters the room and grabs him and throws him back into the white room he was originally in. Through the plastic window Levi can see the gray figure. It was very tall and skinny, it only had eyes, no nose, no mouth. Levi in shock jumps back and he says "who are you?" the grey figure says nothing. As time passes Levi falls asleep. Days pass and Levi wakes up and he sees the grey figure in the room. More like the grey figure enter the room and they gather around him. Levi yells for help and the grays rip of his arms. The grays put Levi in the video room and they play the video of Levi torturing and killing his parents over and over and over again.. The arm less Levi gets of his chair and as he lies on the floor he bleeds out and slowly dies for the nightmare to be over.  

Kobe Blackwell

Feb 2,2015

Creative Writing Per.1

 

            It was the summer before school had started back I was going to be a freshmen. In my freshmen year I had a lot of gals such as playing basketball and getting good grades. Honestly I thought it was going to be an easy year I thought I would come here and be the man on the basketball team and in the whole school. When I got here it didn't go as planned I had to learn a lot about myself and other people. I remember when I met the basketball coach he was cool and he still is but I had to adjust to his coaching. He would have open gym for anybody that was trying out for the team and everybody would play and I didn't know anybody so when we would play I'd get nervous and not play well. I remember when we would condition we had to run 3 laps around the whole school in the hot sun I would finish last because I wasn't in good shape. Sometimes I thought I was going to fall out and just give up but I didn't I would just finish it out. When tryouts came up it was this one day called hell day were we would just run and do running drills for like 3 hours. It was tough on my body but after I had got through that day I felt I could do anything. The next day in tryouts we had skill day we would do dribbling drills and shooting drills. Last year I wasn't a good dribbler but I could shoot and play defense. When the coach said he liked to see good defense I knew I would make the team. After that day the jv coach told me I had made the team I was so proud of myself and I thought I was going to be a starter on the team. That didn't happen people on the team were better then me and could do way more stuff on the court better than I could. The jv coach didn't give until jersey until the first game which was on Dec 6,2013 and I got a old jersey I was mad and at that point I felt that I was weak and didn't deserve to play basketball. When we would have a game I never got a chance to play but I would still go to practice. I thought I was working hard and the coach felt that I wasn't so sometimes I wouldn't go to practice. Not playing in the games made me feel terrible every day and I would just be mad at myself. It was this one person that gave me hope that I could play basketball. That person was a guy name Omar we built a relationship to were when I'd came gym we would do basketball drills. We would do dribbling, shooting, and defensive drills he was the person that made me better. I started to see myself getting better and better each day and I just kept working on my game with him to get confidence. The first time I realized I was getting better was when there would open gym at the park I would do stuff that the people I usually play with never saw me do. They would say good things like "I see you" or "You been in here working on your game." I remember we had a spring league tournament at Kennedy and people on the team still thought I was weak I had one game where I hit 6 threes and the game winning three. Omar would always tell me to be confident and play your game he was the reason why I didn't quit the basketball team my freshman year. Also in the summer at the park I was going to they would have tournaments I hit 3 three point shots in a row and the other team started yelling "Who got Kobe." I just laughed and Omar said to me "When they start saying that it's funny because they not use to you doing that." Also Omar helped me with my basketball IQ by saying "The coaches at Kennedy call you a shooter." I said "Yes what wrong with that." He said "do you know when you missing you not going to be a factor in the game." I never thought about that so when we did the dribbling drills he would tell me to attack the rim hard and finish. He made me realize getting to the basket a couple time will make the defensive back up and let you shoot that mid range shot and the 3 point shot. When I got my dribbling up to where I could get to a certain spot on the court and to the rim it helped me out a lot. Omar always told me to play with confidence and I started doing that it helped me become a better basketball player than I ever thought I could be. Every time I played I felt I had to play with a chip on my shoulder and it helped me play well and prove all the doubters wrong. I felt like I finally had some body on my side that wanted to see me do good and that was rooting for me and it felt good. Coming into my sophomore year at Kennedy I wanted to start for the jv team that was the focus. Once I told Omar I was starting he said "I knew was going to start because I saw you getting better." I asked him "How many points should I score. He looked at me and said "15 or more if you continue to play the same way you playing now." This the highest I score in the game was 12 against Urban Prep but we lost I was upset. The next game we won so i felt my team bounced back and played well that game. Now Omar and I  still do basketball or we just sit in his office and talk about how basketball is at Kennedy. Sometimes we even talk about what I still need to work on and sports. I look at Omar as a mentor because if it wasn't for him I wouldn't be playing basketball right now. After I accomplished starting on JV I felt that stopped playing with that chip on my shoulder I felt I need to get back to doing that. Once I did I started playing just how was before the season had started. Every time I come in the gym I to work hard and get better but people always tell me that I don't and they tell me I have attitude this and that. It just makes me laugh and I block it out at the end of the day. Also I want a higher GPA this year and I know I have to work really hard and do all my work. This year I started off kinda bad I got a D in geometry it made me mad but the next semester that is not going to happen. I really just want my sophomore year to be better then my freshman year and so far it hasn't to me but its still time to improve it. That what I'm working at now getting good grades and getting better at basketball. I also realized this year that i need to be to take criticism in order to get better at basketball. That those bad habits that I have need to stop because my freshman year it real made me realize that nothing is going to come easy that you have to work hard. Now I'm starting to work hard and not wish that things will come easy. I take everything I do now serious because I never know if  I'm going to get another chance to do it again.    

Kobe

Anthony Gonzalez

Period.1

Short Story

Lucid Dreams

         Entry #1- Well this is weird I plan to keep a journal and just keep track of what's going on in my 

life. It’ll be interesting to see how far this will go and what I write about. I really don't plan to get much out of this but memories and to see how I feel about myself in the future once I read this again. So just incase I change my name or something my name is Jesse Torres and I was born in Brooklyn New York. I'm currently 15 while writing this and I'm a sophomore. I plan to keep this private so if anybody else is reading this that's not me feel free to judge me all you want because I don’t care! I'm into the more quiet part of life. I keep a lot of things private I have a small group of best friends that I plan to keep in touch with forever and I have loving and caring family that will always help me whenever I’m down. All I want to see is progression in society and in myself. I wish one day to be successful so I could do whatever I want and pay back my parents and my friends for the great adventures and experiences I've had so far. I want change and I expect to see change.Entry #4- I  have my dreams to keep me sane. Without my dreams I’d be nothing but a sad and lonely soul. I hate what life has become and what the world has come down to. Its really sad and almost depressing. So I dream to survive, I dream to fight, and I dream for humanity. I've lived a good life but I could no longer carry on what society has planned out for me. I wish I could just fly away and move away from all the corruption. Now a days people are being brainwashed by the media and becoming slaves. Its not a fun thing to see considering I already see my brothers becoming brainless sheep. No matter how much I try to help them and try to show them the right way of living they don't listen and continue to pursue the life of a slaved idiot. They have all the tools to break away from that light but i guess they're too deep in the trance to fight back. But there is a small group of humanity that isn't brainwashed. That group consists of of diffrent people with different ideas but with the same goals in mind. I haven't met much people in person that have the same ideas but I've met people online who do. Im glad I found the inspiring words of the late great Jay Steez. Without the knowledge I gained from his music I probably would go crazy and join the slaves myself . The world has been changing in so many ways lately and its not a pretty sight. I like to dream and keep some of my ideas private. I still speak of ambitions and I'm not afraid to speak about my views on a topic I feel strongly about. But when I do  think I've said enough or whenever I feel like I don't want to live on this planet anymore I turn to lucid dreaming. Lucid dreaming isn't anything special but an art. It takes the right mindset and the right vibes for it to work. I believe its easier when somebodys has learned acceptance and when someone has learned to be at peace. I'm not claiming to be a master of this myself because I'm not. I'm able to Lucid dream when I want to though. These dreams take me on adventures and put me through new experiences without having to risk anything but a nightmare. Dreaming always puts me in different perspectives and problems that only help me grow. I hope that one day everyone is able to experience these dreams to really awaken their souls. Entry #7- So today has been another typical day at school. I got to chill with my friends and put up with the lame work the teachers gave me. But it's no problem after all I do enjoy challenges. Speaking of challenges I had a great dream where I was with God having a conversation. During that conversation I was asked "What is the meaning of life?" I was in shock because it's such a cliche question but it's such a powerful question because it always changes one's thinking process. I thought long and hard during my session and I woke up still trying to figure out what is the meaning of life. It was all I could think about today and I'm pretty sure it'll be a question I ask myself every day. What is the meaning of life? Entry #9 Well days have gone by and I'm still stuck with that question. Trying to find the answer I did some research on how to find out the answer for myself. I stumbled across some articles on meditation and some videos on how to cleanse the spirit. I found these out to be very exciting so I read up a little more and decided I want to be an indigo. Free spiritedness and quietness sounds like a rebirth. I want to follow the path of an indigo to find my answer and to get some new ideas flowing in me. It'll be the coming of a new me. This journey isn't something I could turn back on or something that will be easy. With the guidance and the information I'm receiving it'll only be a matter of time before I'm able to enter new dimensions and become one with my soul. I want to open my third eye. I want to release my chakras. I want to mediate. I want to dream. I need to find my answer. Entry #14 Well everything has been going smoothly lately. School has been quiet and so have I. I've been really interacting more with my family and friends in this short week. Everything just seems to be balanced and nice. It almost feels like I've been tripping off some stuff lately but I haven’t I just feel more at ease. My studying has kept me productive and I like that. I found out about a small step into cleaning the spirit and it is surprisingly a "fast". It got me hooked and I wanted to know more about this fast. It's basically I stop eating for a week. Nothing more and nothing less. I thought it was crazy at first and many others would think the same to if I attempted to do this. The fast is to put the body through a faze off grief and discipline. It's good for the mind as well and it would make for some real good dreams to. Many great philosophers have done this and it only helped them think more. Gandhi went through the fast to protest war and to show peace. I figured why not try this after all I could drink water so this really shouldn't be a hard challenge. I was ambitious and prepared so I told my friends of the idea and they just mocked me but it's okay because I'm not trying to impress no one. I'm trying to elevate and keep going forward. I knew this was crazy but it's only for the good. I had to eat one more time of course so I ate only my favorite foods before I went through this process. So before I move on to this I just want to wish myself luck. Entry #15- So the first day of my fast went by quick. I woke up took a shower, got ready for school, and chugged down 2 cups of water so my stomach felt full before I got to school. Classes were the same as usual and I felt fine. Once I got to lunch I got in line and picked up a lunch but I didn't eat anything or drink anything so I just gave it to my friends and told them to eat up. I sat back in my chair put on my ear buds and just drank my water day dreaming and having a moment for self reflection. The rest of day was the same, just a breeze. I was hungry but I wasn't bothered by it instead I was motivated by it. I knew I was learning self discipline and I liked it . But when I got home I felt tired so I put my phone on speaker and just napped for the day. When I was dreaming I felt lifted. It was amazing because during that dream I saw my future and I liked what I saw. There was positivity and confidence bouncing off me I felt new. It's crazy how thinking positive can lead someone down new paths. So I continu my day writing this and watching TV to put me in a sleepy mood. So before I end this I just want to leave myself this question for the future. Was all this worth it? Entry #17- These past few days have been a little harder but I have to keep moving forward. I don't feel sick but I feel empty and I noticed today that my pants were sagging a little today only to realize my pants got big or I'm losing weight. This boggled my mind because I just now realized that I'm going to łoose weight during this process. This will for sure make me look crazy now. Not only am I going to be seen as that weird kid but I'm now going to be seen as that physco kid. But like I said before "Who cares?" I shouldn't stress over this at all. I agreed to change and change is what I'm getting. Sure it'll be awkward seeing my slimmed down but it shouldn't be that bad either. If for anything it'll look good I guess but I could care less about what I look like because that's only something that shallow people worry about. I'm a strong minded individual and I know this because of everything I've taught and put myself through whether it's my dreams or my journey to enlightenment. By the way I think I'm going to star meditating. It's amazing for the spirit and actually healthy for the mind and body it could also help improve my dreams which will soon become visions. Entry #19- My fast is nearly over and I could now really feel myself become weak. I'm slowly starting to feel like I'm going to faint but it's okay because the school day is almost over. Once I get home I'll be able to dream peacefully in my nice warm bed. Man this is crazy! I can't believe I'm almost done with this process. I feel so changed! That might just be the weight loss speaking but I know this fast put me on a level of change and enlightenment. I still have a long awaited journey before I'm able to become a indigo but it feels amazing to know I'm a step closer. A lot is going through my mind but once Saturday is here I know for a fact I'm going to enjoy eating my grandma's food. But then again I know I shouldn't pig out because I think I like being skinny it's a good look on me. So I think I'll just take it easy on the eating and change to a simple and healthy diet to keep my shape. I think I'll even work out too but this could be thought about later what I really should focus on is the future dreams I’ll have. I know for a fact they're going to be wild and uplifting. Entry #47- Well it's been about a month now since that fast. A lot of good came out of it. I'm having that confidence boost and positive vibes bouncing off me like I visioned it a while back. It's crazy how I saw this happening. I guess it's just my 3rd eye beginning to show me what it's capable of. I like it. Meditation has done me so great to. Lately I've been feeling more healthy and bright like I'm some star or something. It's amazing how life works. Everyone's meant to go through obstacles and achieve success. I’ve started to shed out of my old skin and become somebody completely new. These are small fazes in my journey to being enlightened and being an indigo. It truly feels amazing. Life is going my way and my dreaming is becoming advanced. I could now take full control of some dreams I have. It's crazy because I could use those moments to do things I always wanted to do like get really good at skating but I'd rather use it to progress and look deep into my future and see what my soul wants to achieve. I could only hope I'll find my answer to that question that put me on this long journey. What is the meaning of life?

fATIME DESCRIPTION PLACE

Niagara Falls, one of the world's greatest natural wonders, can only be described as breath taking. No matter what time of year, whether it's the beautiful rainbows glistening in the mist, or the magnificent ice bridge created by the cold of winter, Niagara Falls always seems to amaze everyone.. On July 28 2010, I was given the opportunity to travel to New York and see the expansive falls with my own eyes. The falls serve as a border between the U.S. (New York) and Canada (Ontario). The falls actually consist of the American Bridal Veil Falls and the Canadian Horseshoe Falls, collectively called Niagara.  The water flows at an amazing 212,000 cubic feet of water per second. Niagara Falls has been nicknamed the "Rainbow City". On any sunny day, a rainbow can be seen over the falls, adding to the charm of the city. I soak in the beauty of the water falling over several thousand feet sitting near state park. Around me there are a lot of people enjoying this heavenly view, snapping pictures and experiencing the rush of the Niagara waterfalls. As I am sitting down near state park i came across looking at my first groundhog enjoying this lovely sunny day . The sun is about to set. There are about 200 colored and white calcium torpedo lights located along the road down the bank of the Canadian side of the gorge and behind the water of the Horseshoe Falls. People from around the country travel to see the falls, but unless they are also viewed at night, one cannot fully comprehend their true beauty. Each night, various-colored lights illuminate the falls. Blue, yellow, purple, green, and pink light up the falls, creating a flowing rainbow of water for all to see. The lights change every few minutes fading in and out, softening the effect of the water.

     A photograph could capture only a small part of Niagara Falls. A simple snapshot could never capture the wonderful rushing sound of the water pouring over and splashing into the basin below. A picture could not possibly create the wonderful motion of the water as it continuously flows over the rocks. To fully take in the sights and sounds of the majestic falls, one would have to visit them personally.. There was the distinct smell of clean air, like the way it smells early in the morning. The Horseshoe Falls are one of the nature's marvels. The Algae on the rocks by water had a very distinct odor. The aroma of chicken being roasted or fish being baked on the roadside just slams into your face with the wind. The atmosphere in the forest near lake was unmarked, but a slightly musty smell was still here.

Sierra Brady   

Mr. Winfrey

Creative Writing – Period 1

31 January 2015

 

Harmony’s Wrong Path

            In Ashland, Ohio the Apricot family were packing their belongings and getting ready to start their new lives in Inglewood, California. There was not a specific reason on why the Apricot family wanted to move other than they wanted to experience life in a new state George and Summer, being the parents of Harmony, though the move was going to be hard for her. Summer and George began to realize their daughter was falling apart. They see her start falling apart and question it themselves without asking her. Soon enough it was too late to question her because she had a tragic death.

            Back in Ashland, Harmony was known as the perfect child. She was intelligent and made high honor roll, she was caring, friendly and athletic. It seemed like almost all her friends were jealous of her, because she got to do everything she wanted to do. Besides that Harmony was blown away beautiful, she had caramel brown curly hair, naturally tan skin, hazel eyes and whatever she wore always looked good on her. She never had to try hard like her friends to get compliments nor the boys’ attention. Even though it was hard for Harmony to say goodbye to her friends, she knew she had many opportunities. She worried about not fitting in and not making the soccer team like she did back in her home town. As bad as she wanted to keep up with her grades and soccer: things suddenly changed for Harmony, and began to let herself go by getting mixed up with the wrong crowd.

            Since the Apricot family moved during the school year; Harmony was not able to begin school until second semester, but that was only a week away. That week went by fast and Harmony was nervous, but she knew she could get through it. The first day of school she met two friends for Jessie and James; they both seemed to be kind with bright personalities and had many things in common with her, but they both had a side to them that Harmony did not know about. Although, Harmony had a little crush on James, he had blonde hair with straight teeth and the way her dressed she loved. He sagged his pants and always smelt good. One day Jessie and James had asked Harmony to go to the park and of course Harmony said she would because that was another chance to see James. She did not tell anyone she thought James was cute. Later that day after school, Harmony met them up at the park across the street. When she got to the park she froze with everyone around her, almost as if the whole student body of the entire school piled outside. Harmony did not expect nobody else to be at the park.

            As everyone sat there talking and laughing with one another Jessie looked over to Harmony with something in her hand and said, “Here Harm try this!”. Harmony then said, “What is that? I don’t think it’s a good idea I’m here.” Jessie laughed and said, “OMG….You’re fine just try it.”  Harmony was afraid of her parents finding out if she got caught especially her dad. George was tall and very strong and he always had an angry face even when he really was not mad. Jessie and James kept encouraging her so she did and she liked it; they all kept smoking until they were high. Harmony never experienced what begin high was until now, she did not even think she would like it. Until it became an everyday thing the three of them met up and smoked marijuana. Harmony’s parents never asked her about school nor the people, because they were so caught up in their work that they did not even realize what she was doing. Summer was a lawyer and usually busy taking care of her cases; her dad was a pilot, so he was rarely home and when he was home he was usually sleeping. That Friday, James had asked Harmony to go to a party with him, since she had nothing else to do she went because it was another chance to see him. Harmony never missed out going somewhere as long as James was there she made sure she went.

            Friday night all their friends were pumped for this party since there was not going to be parents and there was liquor and drugs. That night James picked up Harmony from her house, on the way to the party James asked Harmony to be his girlfriend and she said yes. James was not really trying to date her, he just wanted to use her for sex, but she did not realize that. When they got to the party half of their friends were already drinking and the music blasted so loudly. Harmony never saw anything like this before and it seemed fun it was not long before Jessie saw her and pulled her to the side and say, “Hey, try this is makes you feel good!” Jessie knew she was gullible. Harmony knew it was bad, but she tried it anyways. After she had already taken it with hard liquor she asked what it was and Jessie said, “Acid”. Not knowing what it would do to her she kept dancing and drinking with everyone else.

            James spotted Harmony from a distance and walked up to her and pulled her in the room alone. James started kissing on her and telling her he loved her and she believe him. Soon enough, James and her started having sexual interactions and he told her it would be okay so she went along with it. After James was done with her he gave her some more acid. Harmony was so out of it she took more with no problem.

            A couple of hours later Harmony had passed out on the floor with foam coming out of her mouth; everyone ran out of the house and left the party, including Jessie. James sat there yelling, “HARMONY, HARMONY WAKE UP!” About 5 minutes later he gave up and called 911. As soon as the ambulance pulled up and examined her, they pronounced her dead. The paramedics called Harmony’s parents and told them; never in their life would the Apricot family thought that she would do such a thing. They were devastated and did not want to believe this was possible; they questioned how Harmony got so deeply involved with drugs, but there was nothing more they could do.

            The Apricot family could not handle that their daughter passed away; planning a funeral for their only child killed them, matter of fact it tore Summer and George apart. They both ended up losing their jobs and filing for a divorce, because they argued constantly about Harmony. Soon enough it was time to tell Harmony’s friends back in Ashland what had happened. They were devastated and could not believe it was true. They were invited to her wake because the service was held in Ohio. Hopefully this taught Harmony’s friends a lesson and not to drink let alone do drugs.

Harmony could have had so much more going for her, but she wasted it on drugs. Those drugs are not as good as a scholarship could have been. Sometimes it takes a lot for people to notice what can happen even though they would never have thought what it really comes down to.  Some people change for the worst when their life changes.

“I’m not giving up, just starting over.”

I was just 8 when I joined my first soccer team. I played in Douglas Park every Saturday and practiced Thursdays. I played with guys and unfortunately not knowing anything about this sport there was times where they would pick on me, push me, and basically make me miserable. But let me tell you the story of Linda, an unexperienced young girly girl who was able to make it to the big leagues.

     Determined to learn how to play this sport and not be good but to be the best I join Las Estrellas. My first team ever. We wore bright green shirts, black shorts with green strips and black socks.

                    Do you ever get that feeling of butterflies in your stomach, that feeling that made you anxious and all you can really do is act normal? Yup that was me before any game. But the day of my finals I wasn’t at all nervous. I was actually very excited that my team and I made it all the way up here. Fighting for first place. At the end of the game we lost. All that really mattered to me though was the fact that I would receive my first trophy. From that point on I knew that soccer would be a big part of my life. Up until the day my life turned upside down.

I got recruited to many traveling teams like Chicago city, Chicago magic, etc. I was well known by many because of my talent and style of playing which was playing with guys. Guys are more aggressive more dedicated and that pushes me to play harder and to not give up.

Ten years after I decided to join a soccer team and put my whole life into it I suffered a tragical moment. The moment in my life where I would have to choose to keep going or giving up. One Saturday morning I went to play in Milwaukee sports complex with one of my teams. That day we were going to play against one of our worst enemies, San Antonio. Every time we played against that team one of us would end up fighting. There was a specific girl in that team whose presence wasn’t so good. I could feel here rage towards me and she was constantly trying to compete with me. I walked in the stadium with my team.

     “Hey Alex, do you have any straps I can use?” I said.

                         “Yes, let me get them out of my bag.” he responded.

“Coach let me start of down on defense!” Bryan shouted in the background. “Alright, Linda you’ll stay up as striker than.” My coach announced.

     “Okay coach.” I said.

Everything was going just fine as the game began and we started playing. We were winning three to zero. But almost at the end of the game I remember I ran for the ball and ready to shoot someone came from behind me and kicked my leg. I fell. I looked up and it was the same girl who hated me. The same girl who tried to compete with me. As my team ran towards me she walk back with a little smile on her face and she was expelled from the game. I was rushed to the hospital. On my way to the hospital my dreams and goals were vanishing, unconsciously I thought to myself that what happened to me would be another obstacle that would take me further away from what I wanted. The doctor walked into my room and said,

          “Linda… I’m sorry to say this but, your tibia was broken. You’re unable to play.”

I cried and said emotionally,

     “How long won’t I be able to play?”

Hoping it wasn’t that bad and that I would be able to go back to my normal life he said,

           “There is a probability you won’t be able to play at all or the same way again.”

He put his head down as if it was a sign that he was sorry for the news. After a few days I went home with a cast and I was told I had to wear it for a few months. I struggled to keep a normal life. I would go and watch my teams play at times and I tried staying in shape. But the fact of sitting down all day everyday became a habit for me to eat junk and stay in to watch TV or sleep.

Those few months felt like years. Each and every day that passed by I faked a smile to the world. But underneath my smile is my broken heart. A heart of an athlete whose dreams were high and now they’re gone.

I no longer thought that reaching my goals were possible. My cast was finally taken off. That same day I walked to my back yard with my ball in hand. Being able to walk but not sure if a can run or kick or even jump. I placed the ball on the ground and positioned myself to kick. I walked about 3 steps behind and I jogged towards the ball. My left leg back ready to swing and kick the ball. There it went. But it wasn’t the same. It had no force, no direction. I repeated these steps many times. I began to grow in temper as every try ended in a fail. I fell in tears thinking to myself “You’re worthless, there’s nothing here for you anymore.”

     Hearing about my condition many invitations for traveling teams and bigger leagues were declined. Of course, who wants a player with no condition and no skill on their team? I felt like I was back at zero. I felt as if I went back in time to the first time I played soccer. I had no inspiration but only disappointment that I couldn’t do anything. But one day a man overheard my story and came to my house. He drove up to my house, parked the car, and walked up my stairs.

*knock knock*

     I walked to the door and opened it. It was a man about 5’6, short dark hair, blue eyes, and maybe around his late 40’s.

      “Hello, are you Linda Martinez??” he asked curiously.

   “Yes? That’s me.” I said.

      “I’m sorry to interrupt; I came here today to talk to you. I heard about your story and I think I can help.”

Very confused I said, “Of course come in.”

We walked to the living room and sat down. 

        “Linda, my name is Daniel Acosta. I use to play with FC Dallas back when I was younger. I came here to tell you my story. It’s much similar to yours except in this story I never gave up.” He said.

I sat in silence for a while thinking to myself, why did I let this man in?

    “I’m sorry, what is it that you want from me exactly?” I asked very much confused.

        “I want to help you get back on your feet. I want to personally train you and show you that just because there’s and obstacle in the way doesn’t mean you can’t get passed it and you can still achieve those dreams you have.” He said with a voice that somehow was able to convince me.

We talked for hours. At the end we had a plan. I would get personally trained by him, he would get me into bigger leagues, and help me gain back the confidence I needed. I trained for months and I tried my hardest. He put me in physical therapy as well. Of course I had my stumbles here and there and he helped me. I got stronger not only physically, but also mentally and emotionally.

Two years after I met Daniel and trained basically every day I was back on traveling teams. I was even better than I was before. He represented me, he was my manager, and most importantly my friend. I was even being paid to play in teams. I would get calls from leagues to come in and tell my story. I was an inspiration to many people. There was young 13 year olds who were motivated with my story. I didn’t know that I could be a role model to many young and even older people.

As I became more popular more people across the country heard about me. And one day I got a call. This call that would change my life forever. The call that would take me just a few steps closer to my dreams. It was the coach or head of the U.S women’s national team. One of the biggest teams for women. I was being recruited to a pro soccer team!!! They told me to go in Wednesday morning to their headquarters to train with the team. I ran to Daniel and told him the news. We celebrated my accomplishment.

It was Wednesday morning and I was ready to train and show them what I had. Of course I was nervous. I got ready and I went out to the field. There was about twenty there girls out there. We warmed up and started a little 10 minute game. I went in as defense, but to my surprise it wasn’t as easy as I thought. Yea they were girls but man can they push. I fell many times and I wasn’t able to control the ball. At one moment I got the ball took it to half the field, passed it to my midfielder, she passed it back, made a 360 degree turn on a girl and scored.

After training the coach called me aside.

      “Linda, you have talent!” he said surprisingly. “You’re in, I want you to bring your things in ill show u were you’ll stay.”

I couldn’t believe it! So many wonderful things were happening to me.

After I got settled I made a phone call.

    “Daniel, guess what??” I said with joy.

        “What is it Linda?”

    “I’m in the team! The coach liked how I play and now I’m in!” I said.

        “I’m so proud of you Linda!” he said with excitement.

We talked for hours until I fell asleep. The next few days I trained even harder I was determined to get on their level. I set my goal and I’m here to achieve it. I played with the lower teams at first and I got closer and closer to the top team. And that day came I was being put in to play with the top group of this team. Ready to play the day after tomorrow I was called in by my coach. I came to his office and sat down.

    “Coach, what is it that you wanted to talk to me about?” I said very confused.

I thought he would tell me I couldn’t play or that I’m off the team.

      “We got a call from Mercy Hospital, and I’m sorry Linda, “he said. “But, Daniel is dying. He has a two days to live. If you want you can go off and stay with him.”

I began to cry. All those memories we had flashed back. When we lose someone we love, it seems that time stands still. But life goes on, we have to be strong. I decided to go say my last goodbyes to him. The next day I packed my things and I was ready to leave. I got on the bus that would take me to the south side of Chicago. And as it began to move a stood up and screamed.

    “Stop the bus!!”

I walked out the bus and came back to the headquarters. I know that I wouldn’t be able to say my last goodbyes to Daniel but to make him proud I would play my first game with the top group of U.S women’s National soccer team. I know he would have loved to see me play. But I also know he was proud of me because I made it this far. He helped me reach my goal; he helped me gain back my confidence. I was happy he pushed me because now I’ve achieved my life long dream. Don’t let life change your goals, because achieving your goals can change your life.

My day has come. I stood at that field with millions and millions of people looking down at me. I began to get that feeling of butterflies in my stomach. But I set my mind that everything would be fine. The game was about to start and the only thing that would come into my mind was Daniel. He was like my brother. I smiled and the whistled was blown. The game began and we started to play.

I had the ball at my feet. I stood still as if I was frozen. I heard the echo to his voice in the back of my head saying, “You can do it Linda! Let’s go!” and I was suddenly back into reality. I looked up and dribbled the ball. Millions of people screaming. I passed one girl after the other. And as I reached the goalie I saw Daniel’s face. Of course I knew it was just my mind playing with me. I positioned the ball and I made a shot. The crowd went wild. I could hear them scream my name. “Linda, Linda, Linda!!” I scored! And a few minutes after I scored Daniel Acosta passed away.

I eventually came to see him at his grave. I walked to his tomb and smiled.

    “Daniel. Thank you for all the help you gave me. I know you’re proud of me. I know you’re looking down at me smiling and I know you’ll still be here for me. You’ll be my number one fan. But, most importantly my family. I’m being recruited to other teams. And because of you I’m known from across the world. I’m writing my story. Or should I say our story.”

I cried for hours. Sitting next to his tomb stone I now realized everything bad that happened to me was for a reason. I was destined to meet him and reach my dreams. Not only did he help me but my teammates were there for me and my fans that support me. I’m the most known women nationwide. My story, my life this is how I made it this far. I didn’t give up, just started over.