Find a Way to Love Me (Extra Credit)

Every day when I wake up
I take a look in the mirror
Then I start to wonder do I really belong here?
All the shit that I go through
I can't take anymore
I wish I were a bird, that could be free, and fly right out the door
If I could belong, the things I'd do
Never worrying about being covered in poo
Wishing I had friends, having my back
No-one here, I'm all alone
Being made fun of, for who I am
They are tearing me apart, I hate them
I just want a chance to prove myself

Right now I feel like an ant in New York
Trying to find my way around but still nowhere to be found
Going to school my heart almost explodes
I'm so nervous and scared
No-one has yet cared, loud is my cry, please realize
If I could belong, the things I'd do
Never worrying about being covered in poo
Wishing I had friends, having my back
No-one here, I'm all alone
Being made fun of, for who I am
They are tearing me apart, I hate them
I just want a chance for me to prove myself

My New Year Resolution

I don't like school
I don't like tests
I hate waking up in the morning
Why can't I just go back to bed?
I don't like driving, especially in the snow
I don't like airplanes, in fact I hate traveling in general
I don't like the cold
I don't like the scorching heat on summer days
Sports can be a hassle, maybe I should quit
I don't like spiders
I don't like poison ivy
I don't like cameras or computers
I don't even really like video games
There are a million more things that I don't like but I can't list them all
It's like I hate everything as if I am a seventy year old man who can only complain
I don't know why but being negative can feel good
However I realize that there are so many positive things in this world that can make me feel better
I realize that I am missing out on the things that make me happy
You only get one life and I know that I should make the best of it
Which is why my new year resolution is to just enjoy life.

The Love Hand

As I grab my brother's soft hand
it reminds me of walking on smooth white sand.
It is as white as the new falling snow that brightens my eyes,
but can also smell like a critter that dies.
However, as we get home it's the smell of the dirt on the baseball field
with cuts and scratches that I hope will soon heal.
It feels like a pillow that makes me sleepy,
but when I close my eyes his hand jumps on my face which is very creepy.
He cracks his fingers sounding like stars collapsing
it's a monster's hand with his fierce grasping.
His hand shows that my brother and I are always together
us loving each other from now and forever.

Choice Topic: Private Moment Made Public, Then a Fatal Jump

In my opinion, I think that what happened to Tyler Clementi was a horrible thing that was clearly caused by Dharun Ravi and Molly Wei. People who are gay go through alot in their lives and seem to always be judged, and they can't even help it. people who are gay do not have a choice and I think its sad to see how differently people view them and how differently they are treated by some people. I firmly think that Tyler Clementi's roommate and former classmate invaded Clementi's privacy on purpose and I think that it was because of his sexuality. They described Tyler Clementi as a quiet and artistic kid and I think that no one would do this to someone unless the person was seen as "different." I don't like how some of the people who are gay have to struggle with others judging them and I think that people in our society should help support them because it can be a very tough life to live.

Five Lessons Learned

Every year playing youth hockey I have always made the team that I wanted to make. I always had the mindset that I wouldnt have to worry about not making a team. Unfortunately I did. In ninth grade and trying out for the Bantam"A" team which was my last year of playing youth hockey, I was shocked when I got the call figuring out I made the "B1" team. At first, I acted like I was a quitter and that I didnt want anything to do with hockey. But sure enough, I realized that I still love to play my favorite sport. So I decided to give it a shot at playing for my new B1 team. When I showed up to my first team practice, I felt like I wasn't supossed to be here and that I should be with the "A" team. As I continued to work and play hard for my new team, I realized that it wasn't bad at all. I was actually having a fun time with the new guys on my team. That season I was the leading scorer on the team and I scored the most goals I have scored. I even expirienced what it was like to take on the role of a captain, something that I have never expirienced before. As the season came to an end I was so glad that I decided to continue to play and not quit. Reflecting on the season, I realized that I had found five life lessons from this whole expirience. I learned that you dont always have the most fun or obtain the best things by being involved in the BEST things. Everyone is different and the best things aren't necessarily the best things for certain people. Another thing that I learned was that by playing a sport can also help you become a better person in life no matter how good you are at it. For example, I became much more confident after being a captain. Another lesson that I learned was to never give up. The fourth lesson that I learned from this expirience was to get out of your comfort zone. If I didn't get out of my comfort zone, then I wouldnt have met so many awesome people. The last lesson I learned from this expirience was that everything in life, good or bad, happens for a reason. If this expirience didn't happen then I might have never knew what it felt like to be a leader. Continuing with something that is hard to deal with at first, can open the door to so many other opportunities in life.

My Special Birthday

During the summer of seventh grade, I remember being woken up by my phone ringing and I remember seeing my moms name on the screen of my phone. I was sleeping at my friends house at the time so when I answered my phone, I knew i had to quickly sprint home by the sound of my moms voice. It didn't sound good. In fact, it sounded like she was about to burst out in tears. She told me to come home as soon as possible. My house was about three blocks away so I quickly gathered my stuff and shot out the door. When I opened the door I saw my mom sitting at the dinner table with my dad and right as a took my shoes off, my mom told me that it was my grandmas last day.

As I was driving to the hospital with my family, I remembered that it was my birthday, July fifth. I forgot this because the only thing that was on my mind, the second I woke up, was my grandma. I wasn't really at all thinking or complaining to my parents about my birthday because I knew that spending time with my grandma would be a lot more important. I'm not going to lie, I was a little dissapointed that I wasn't going to do anything fun for my birthday but I didnt want it to get to me because I knew that it would be the last day with my grandma. When I walked into my grandmas room, I saw her lying on the bed. she was talking a little but she looked very weak. The whole atmosphere of the room was feeling down. The only thing that I really could hear were snuffles as people were crying. Other than that, the room was totally silent. After we all got most of our tears out, we began to relax a little so we could talk to my sick grandma. All of a sudden my mom pulled out a brochure that read "White Water Rafting," something that I have always wanted to do. My mom told me that she was going to bring my brother and I White Water Rafting for my birthday. On the outside I acted like I didn't want to go and that I wanted to spend my time with my grandma. However, on the inside, I really wanted to go. Also, it was the last day of White Water Rafting so it was the only time we were able to go. We came to a conclusion that we were not going to go but out of nowhere my grandma interrupted. She told us in her very weak voice that we should go and have a great time. I looked at my mom and she smiled and said that we might as well just go because we already paid the money. So I said my last goodbyes to my grandma and as I was walking out of the room, my grandma softly said, "Happy Birthday."

After White Water Rafting, I reflected on my thoughts about my grandma. I realized how amazing my grandma was. She knew that it was my birthday and even though she knew that she was going to pass away, she was still not just thinking about herself. She wanted my brother and I to have the best birthday ever and she made it come true. This birthday will always be my most memorable birthday and will always be something special in my heart that will always remind me of my Grandma.

The Glass Castle

I am starting to realize that Jeannette’s parents can be supporting their kids well. For an example: Jeannette’s dad, when he is not drinking, he captures his children's imagination, teaching them physics, geology, and above all, how to embrace life fearlessly. The only problem is, is that Jeannette’s dad has a drinking problem that not only affects him, but also affects his family. Everyone views Jeannette and her family as dirty and poor and now Jeannette is at an age where she understands that this shouldn’t be her life and she knows that she can’t keep living like this. When Jeannette enters high school, she felt that she had finally belonged to something for the first time. She had started to work for her school newspaper and Jeannette really enjoyed this job because for once she felt popular at her school because she got to take pictures of students and even attend football games. She now feels that this is a good time in her life where she gets the opportunity to live the life she has always wanted. Jeannette decides that she wants to move to New York with her older sister Lori because she notices how successful Lori is after leaving the life with her parents. I am curious to find out what she does or how she does it.