Month: October 2022

No one would understand that her pencil was Magic.

She can put her pain in paragraphs,

And Build up skyscrapers with her sentences.

It was effortless,

She may just be in pain; she

she also may be finding her peace.

Maybe it was not the pencil that was magic,

but it was her.

Around 1 and a half year ago, One of my close friends decided that for his birthday he would take me and 2 other friends to Veracruz. Veracruz is a 2-3 hour drive from where I live, Puebla. His little brother, mom, dad and an chacha came too. On the way there we played on our nintendo switches, which is a portable console, Me and the friend that planned the tripped were playing a brand new game that came out like 2 weeks ago at the time, this made my other 2 friends very anxious. Once we got to Veracruz we went to a sushi restaurant, I dont remember what I got but I remember my friend ate a lot of wasabi, this didnt end well for him. We got to my friends parents apartment and got all set up, there were 4 rooms, 1 for the chacha, 1 for the parents and the little brother, and the other 2 for us. After getting everything set up we all just chilled for a bit then went to the pool, it was really fun, I lost my slippers sadly. Everyone decided to head back to the apartment and get ready to go to the mall, when we got there we went to a really good seafood restaurant, we ate next to a great view to the sea, my mask also flew off sadly. We strolled around the mall for a bit, I got ice cream and then left back to the apartment. After joking around for a while we went to sleep, me and my friend turned the lights off an hour later, and had a deep talk about women for the next hour. The next morning we woke up to the beatiful sound of waves crashing against the sand, tho I saw my friend still asleep, I woke up good that day so i let him be, I went to my other friends and saw they were still asleep, I went to the couch and waited for them to wake up. When everyone was awake we had breakfast, and then me and my friend played on our nintendo switches, one of my friends decided he couldnt wait anymore and bought the game we were playing, now only one guy didnt have the game. We didnt do much that day, except that night we went to an enclosed theme park and gokart racing, this is where tragedy struck. I was carrying my phone with me, and i put it in my pockets and got inside the gokart, my dumbass didnt leave it behind, the race started, i was halfway through when I noticed my phone was about to fall and be crushed by the wheel, I reached for it, but then I hit the wall. My phone was cracked, I was pissed, I cannot bear this type of stuff, I was so mad, and I didnt even win the god damn race, after the gokarts we just had fun at some arcades in the enclosed theme park and headed home. That night we were in the couch playing on our nintendos, until the last friend that didnt have the game, acquired it, so we all joined the same party in the game and had a great time, then we went to sleep and talk. The next morning was going to be the best day, because it was my friends birthday and his parents friend had a yacht and we were going to use it, so we did, we met with my friends cousins and uncles too. We went to a mini island and found lots of stuff, like fishes or sea urchins, we also jumped off the yacht into the water. We then later chilled and went to the sea and jumped in, we then went to the front of the yacht and had deep conversations again for the thirth time. We then headed to the apartment and got him a cake and smashed his head into it, We then played the same game again and went to sleep instantly after. The next morning we packed everything up, went to have breakfast, I had pancackes, and headed back home. This memory is definetly one of my happiest memories I will always cherish.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a beautiful movie that was released in 2012, directed by Stephen Chbosky. This film was originally a novel (published in 1999) also written by Stephen Chbosky and was later turned into a film. This text will focus on the film adaptation of the story, the main character Charlie, and one of the most powerful quotes I have been exposed to.

This story starts by introducing us to a character named Charlie who has just joined a new high school and is welcomed into a group of social outcasts (otherwise known as Wallflowers). We follow him through his first year of high school; times that are both carefree and melancholic. As the movie progresses, we notice how his mental state plays a great factor in the development of his new life and how we perceive the character that is Charlie Kelmeckis. He ages with the movie, and discovers new passions, such as writing and English class itself. After class one day, Charlie approaches Mr. Anderson (his English teacher) with the question “Why do nice people choose the wrong people to date?”, and with this, his English teacher originates an extremely powerful quote; “Well, we accept the love we think we deserve.”, which practically carries the entire movie’s sentiment in a few words. It is clear that this quote majorly impacts Charlie and supplies him with a new view of the world around him. Many factors contribute to this extremely well-written character, who expresses incredible amounts of genuine emotion throughout the film. I feel that he has very authentic qualities and perfectly depicts how mental illness can affect someone’s personality and overall life. And in my opinion, Charlie Kelmeckis and his story make up one of the most astonishing films I have ever watched.

Nyah Sharratt – 10/27

On every exhalation, there are small pieces

Every chatter I have,

Shatter things I adore

Without the parts that left me,

I would never be the same

To myself 5 years ago

 

Pieces of me

Derived through the air

Shall be still there, on my beloved ones

Though I have changed

The image in their minds never changes

 

I wake up to the sudden sound of my alarm clock. I drowsily roll over to turn it off. The soft taps of the rain hitting my window and the warmth of my bed is all I can think about. I lay there in peace, as though I have no care in the world. A few minutes pass and I suddenly hear my name, “Lisha come down, your going to be late”, my mother’s stern voice calls. I pick myself up from my bed, feeling like I am made of bricks, and slowly make my way downstairs. “You have to walk to school today, ok?” my mother says while she rushes around the house frantically. “And for the rain, I bought you a new rain jacket yesterday so you won’t get wet.” I look down at my cereal rubbing my eyes. “What about after school?” I ask, “Will you be able to get me or should I walk back?” “Ya, that would probably make things easier. Thank you” she says with relief hugging me. I nod and she rushes off again. “Ok I have to get going, see you after school!” she calls across the room as she slams the front door. I sit there in silence for a few seconds before I realize the time and decide to get moving.

I step off the front porch closing the door behind me. I see cars full of busy families rushing to school and work, hoping to get there in time. I also see the rain pouring from the sky and making puddles on the ground. I sigh as I turn around and go back inside. “I’ll go to school tomorrow” I say as I slip myself back into bed.

I have though of my future life many times, all that times I always end up changing something since Im a very indecisive person. I always wanted to have a family and a big house, I would like to have 2 kids. But before this I want to do many things. First of all I want to graduate from college and then start working. I still don’t know what Im going to study but I do know that I don’t want to go to university in Mexico, I prefer studying somewhere else like Spain, Canada, United States, etc. After university I want to start working, become independent and be my own source of money. My dream is to live in Italy or in New York, start working there, maybe open a business if possible and be happy while living my dream. Also I want to travel all around the world and get to know more cultures, food, and people. I’ll love to go to Japan and Singapore. I want to have an apartment and i would like to live there for a while. After I have achieve most of the things that I want, then I want to get married and have a big party with a beautiful dress, invite all my friends and family and just have a great time. Then babies can come and the big house but before this i want to have the time of my life, hangout with friends, go to parties, focus on my studies, everything that a teenager would do.

Oh, how I love plants. They make everything look cozy and positive. Their green color makes things look bright and colorful. Plants have useful skills that most humans do not have. Plants talk about their owner without embellishing. If the plants are happy and living, the owner is happy as well. If they are dying, maybe the owner is dead. Or lazy. Or the owner forgot to water them. But it says a lot more than one would think. Sometimes, people don’t even try to take care of them with the excuse “They will die in my care.” But if they would try slowly, with just one little plant, they will eventually get used to it. After some time, they could try to buy more and sooner or later have a big garden filled up with colors and scents. Thats why my mom always loved them. She had a lot of friends who she treated like her beloved plants. If you give them food, time to grow, and love, they’ll love you back.

Here came fall again

Hearing the autumn night breeze

Leaves rustling softly

 

Last year around June, my hockey team and I (U15 Reign Rep) went to Kelowna to participate in the BC provincials. We all took a bus together on the way to Kelowna, which was very fun, but very long. There is 18 of us, 2 goalies 9 forwards and 6 defense. We arrived at the hotel we were staying at in Kelowna and everyone’s energy was high. We all checked into our rooms, got ready and went to dinner all together. Once we finished dinner we went back to our hotel, and we all hung out for the rest of the night until we went to bed. In the morning we got up very early at 6am for an 8am game. We all met down in the lobby and left in the bus carrying our gear. It was about a 15-minute drive to the arena, so we listened to music and got mentally prepared for our game. We arrived at the rink, and all walked in together; wearing our matching black tracksuits and Nike runners we lay our bags of gear down on the floor of our change room. As we warm up outside the rink, we get a good look at all the other teams warming up for their games. Time goes by and we are all ready to go on the ice, our coaches come into our dressing room, and they give us a pep talk before going on. We won our first game against Castlegar. In between games we all went to Subway to eat before going on and playing again. Our second game was against Prince George. From what we have heard they weren’t a very strong team, so we went into the game thinking we were going to win. We lost. Everyone’s mindsets changed, and the mood was low. We spent the rest of the night upset with our actions of play, but we still made the most of Kelowna, and we went out for dinner and went to bed.

The next day was the final battle of our pool division. Against Surrey, we’ve played these girls before and have only beaten them twice in our regular league games. They are a tough team to compete against but that wasn’t going to stop us. Our game was a little later in the day, so we still had majority of our time to hang out with our team. Our coaches surprised us in the morning with rock climbing and a party bus to go and tour Kelowna. We spent the morning just spending time and having fun with each other, knowing that our next game could be the last game we play together. The day went by quick with fun activities. We arrived at the arena with our palms sweating and legs shaking. The whole warm up went by very smoothly and we were ready to play. Adrenaline flowed through our bodies as we waited for our coaches to be done talking. Suddenly we hear a buzzer outside our dressing room; it’s time to go on. The whole game we played great and right up until the timer it was a tie game. Everyone was on the edge of their seats. It was my line out next, for the last line of the game. WE SCORED! We beat the hardest team in the league! everyone was ecstatic and excited to be moving onto the next round of provincials.

A few hours later of celebrating we went back to the arena to see the results of our pool division. To our surprise they put Prince Georges name in front of ours; they beat us. We were done. We were all devastated and sad but at least we had a good season with the girls

I have been golfing for 2 years now. I played a little when I was younger, but not competitively. Golf is a sport that takes a long time to learn, I have been practicing as much as I can for the time being. I have learned that it takes a lot of precision, technicality, and time. The game is very mentally draining, frustrating, and you want you quit at times, and I have been there and if not, I still am. But since I have been playing, I have had 2 coaches, and the coach I am with now, has changed my game a lot. Since I have been training with him, I went up north to Prince George, and participated in the BC Summer Games. And by the end of the games, I finished second, which was a super big accomplishment for me, and I was proud that I was even able to qualify and compete in this tournament. Since I started playing golf, I have been competing in local tournaments called Callaway Junior Tours, in these tournaments you don’t win anything, and you are pretty much just learning the environment of tournaments. 1 month ago I also won first, at a club championship at Highland Pacific. This was also a highlight of my golfing career so far, because to be thinking I have only been playing 2 years and have completed these achievements, is pretty cool. By the end of my golfing career, I want to try and get a golf scholarship to UBC because they have a super good golf team for girls. I will be training as much as I can to achieve this.

Calla Eastgaard-Zaharko

    Last spring break my family and I went on a trip to Maui. When we arrived at the airport in Maui, we got on a little trolly that took us to a car dealership where we got our car, a Mustang GT. As we were loading our luggage in the trunk of the convertible, we realized not all the suitcases would fit and that we would have to put them in the back seat of the car. The problem with this is that the inside of a Mustang GT is not very big. The back of the car only has two seats and there is not a lot of extra room. My dad was wondering if we should switch the car for another one. After a lot of shoving, we managed to fit all the suitcases in the trunk except for two. We opened the roof of the convertible and stacked the two suitcases between my brother and me in the back seat and put the roof back on. My brother and me were squished in the back seat. My head was touching the roof, my knees were pressed against the seat in front of me and I was pressed against the side of the car with a suitcase pressed into the other side of me. It was a very long drive to the hotel. The next day we went for a drive down this road that ran along the ocean, through a jungle, and by cliffs. The ocean was a vibrant turquoise, and you could smell the salty smell of it in the air. The road wound through a jungle that was full of birds, their cheering bird songs drifting through the air. The tall trees were full of vines that twisted and snaked throughout their branches and dangled down the sides of it like thick pieces of rope. The air was hot and humid and full of the fresh smells of the jungle and the ocean. As we drove around a bend in the road, you could see tall cliffs jutting out into the ocean, big waves crashing against rocks and shooting up a spray of water. The hot sun shined down on us while wind rushed against us, the perfect balance between hot and cold. The car was definitely worth it.

There is a memory engraved in my head since kindergarten. It all started when i hurt myself while playing on the playground. It was a sunny morning in the grey city called surrey, the sun shined through my windows early in the morning and I rose from my bed. It must have been 6 AM and everyone wlse was asleep. I got up slowly and quietly as to try and not wake up my brother who was sound asleep across the room. I cracked open the door and slid out of my room and down the hall to my parents room. I woke up my dad and ran downstairs before he got mad at me and woke everyone else up. He eventually came downstairs and asked why I had woken him up from his slumber. I told him i wanted to go play at the park before we went to school. With a sigh my father made himself a coffee an ate some breakfast before taking me on the short walk to go to the park. Once we arrived, I bolted across the wood chips and onto the red and grey playground. I played for around 30 minutes before tragedy struck. I was on the swings when my dad told me we had to leave, I thought it was a good idea to jump off of the swing but my finger was stuck in the chainlink holding the seat midair. I attempted to launch myself from said seat, and got pulled back and landed face first into the woodchips. The wind was knocked out of me for the first time in my life and I had a twisted finger.

What seemed to be a day I was waiting for over two years resulted to be a disaster. It began when I decided to go to bed early because I did not want to fall asleep on the ride to mount Washington. I woke up numerous times at night trying to contain my excitement at times where it felt almost unreal that I was going to go skiing again. I had just gone off the phone with my friend at 3:30 in the morning deciding on where we were going to sit on the bus but before I knew it, it was time. I quickly got up from by bed, took a quick shower, stuffed all my skiing equipment into my backpack, and made myself breakfast. I had a full 9-hour sleep and had my morning cup of coffee and was ready to go. Once I was dropped off by my dad, I was ready to get on the bus. I boarded the charter bus and put my backpack onto the top shelf and sat down on my chair. 10 minutes later, the bus was off. It took around 3 hours to get to mount Washington and it was hard enough being the only person awake since there was no one to talk to, but I remembered to bring my iPad for that specific reason. Once we got to the mountain, I had to desperately search for someone who could tie my ski boots for me and luckily, I found a student tying everyone’s boots because the attendees were mostly international students who have never gone skiing before. Once I got my skis on, I went straight for the easiest hill on the mountain, the Reverse Traverse. At first, it was a smooth breeze down the hill. Since this was my third time skiing, I was confident. Then I went down the hill a second time, and the already bad snowstorm got worse. I went down the first slope and almost fell, but I quickly regained balance. Then, it got much worse. The snow continued to pile up and eventually, I fell victim to a icy bump. I was thrown off my skis and started rolling down the hill, then I suddenly stopped. I tried to stand back up, but I was unsuccessful in doing so. A sharp pain went down my leg and when I tried to move it, I felt the shattered bone in my left leg rocking back and forth. I yelled as loud as I could, trying to catch the attention of nearby skiers until a skier saw me on the ground and called the ski patrol as I was begging for him to take off my ski. 10 minutes later while shivering on the ground, a member of the ski patrol came with a toboggan to take me down to the first aid building. It all seemed like a straightforward process, until the doctor had to figure out how to take off my ski boots. I was given laughing gas and inhaled a lot of it which seemed to help with the pain. The moment the ambulance arrived I was put into another stretcher with a box cast on my leg. Surely it couldn’t get worse than this? Once I waited an hour for my X-Ray to get taken, I was told that I would have to get surgery which I have never gotten before. It took me a while to process everything since at first it seemed that it wouldn’t be such a big deal, but then once I woke up from my surgery, I had a new cast on my leg that was half plaster half bandage. It didn’t hurt at first until the morphine wore off and I felt it all. Until this day, I have had to cope with the fracture since I still have the metal pins in my leg. I was on crutches for three months until I was given the green light to walk normally on my broken leg. My ankle was barely movable at first due to muscle atrophy, but it took me another four weeks until I was able to walk like I did before. Breaking my leg reminded me that I wasn’t indestructible and that I should pay more attention to the slopes next time.

On October the 9^th I had a golf tournament at Highland Pacific Golf Club. Up to this, I had been hitting the ball great. I was (and still am) practicing every day, keeping my game as sharp as possible. I got to the course and went to the range to warm up. I was hitting it very good, so my expectations were high. The greens proved to be rolling  fast, so I had to learn the speed. To get the speed down, my dad always taught me to hit putts uphill and downhill, back and forth. Once that is mastered, move on to flatter putts. This worked good for him, and good for me. As my name was called, I was excited and a little nervous. I have played in many, many tournaments previously so the nerves weren’t anything new to me. My first shot went down the middle of the fairway. This helped settle the nerves a little. I would go on to make 2 early bogeys, however I made a 30-foot putt for birdie on the 9^th hole. I finished 2 over through 9, a decent score. I was playing very well, until the 16^th hole. I had 125 yards, so I thought. Turns out that was the yardage to the back rocks, and the pin was only 95 yards away. I airmailed the green long, into a hazard. This resulted in a double bogey. I went on to finish 78, good for 3^rd place out of 15 which is alright. I could have played better, but that is golf. It is a game of misses, and whoever misses the best will generally win.

 

During a basketball game, there are 5 positions et for each player. The Point guard, Shooting guard, Small forward, Power forward, and Center the positions you get usually depends on your size and your skill, the position I play is center, during the game I set screens for the point guard and roll, when you roll your cutting to the basket and it helps with getting opened and scoring. The point guard is supposed to dribble the ball down the court looking for an open person or an open chance to call out a play. When the point guard calls the play all the players should react to it and move around to their positions that they practiced, if the defense reacts to there fist option then they move to the second, and if they react to the second they move to the third option. The first option is usually passing to the shooting guard whole will run around the screen set by the power forward, depending on how your play is, your second and third option is always different. The most consistent shooter on the team is the shooting guard, he takes most of the shots during the game, and the center and power forward box out every time there is a ball getting shot. the center posts up which is pushing on the defender and the power forward drives the ball in the paint.

Freedom to fly
free to fall 

more falling than flying
they all say to fly you have to fall
but why
why cant we fly before we fall
why do we have to fall?

The world of Vaisix is a medieval fantasy world that has been in a struggle for power for years between 6 big factions founded by houses. The first house and the most noble is the House Hardegen. The second is House Persefall which controls the icy north. The third house is House Guibert which is in the west of the mainland and has big bastions and big defenses but lacks good offense. The fourth house is house Ancelmus which controls the East of the mainland and they don’t have many defenses but have a great offense strategy and have had a long standing rivalry with House Guilbert. The 5th house is house Percival which controls the warm south and has big advancements in ship technology so they control the seas. The 6th and last house is house Ranulph which controls the center of the mainland and has big cities with big fortifications. They are the main power in the mainland and have a big trade empire. There is a 7th evil faction which is controlled by Lord Brevil, the Lord of the Dead and he has a very powerful army which he uses to raid the enemy factions and try to rise to the golden throne of Vaizix, like his predecessor, the Lord of Death also known as Dark King once did. The golden throne has its origins after the great war of Expansion between the Dark Legions and the Alliance of Vaizix conformed by the great duchies and empires of the old Realm.

The Midnight Ball is extravagant. The school reserved the hotel’s conference room just for us. The girls are wearing beautiful long gowns while the boys wear suits tailored just for them. The ballroom is filled with arranged wildflower in vases on top of white round tables. The girls heels clack as a slow-dancing song plays. A girl with brown braids and pink puffy dress, Mya, dances with Tristan. Beside the lovebirds are Lucas and Jeremy who are messing around together as always. At the middle table stood a pyramid of banana muffins and a bowl of punch. I walk towards the table and got myself two cups of juice and searched for Jade; she is resting on one of the balconies. Her blonde hair shines in the moonlight and her green eyes glitter while her white dress flutters in the wind. I shoved her the cup of juice I’ve gotten for her. We talk about stupid things: what the punch is made of, how stupid this entire ball is, how we wished something more exciting would happen.

Suddenly, Mr. Sharma clangs his glass of champagne as he walks up to the stage to make an announcement, “Tonight is the last night we are staying here… As we are heading elsewhere tomorrow!” The room groans. “We’ve been assigned by the governor to assess all of your abilities to survive in the real world. We know that you are able to work together to take down this serial killer on the loose!”

Before any of us could process what is going on, the teachers force us out of the hall and into our rooms.

“Sweet dreams, Jade and Abigail. Have the rest you will need,” smiles Mrs. Hampton, as she locks our door. As the room filled with silence and darkness, I closed my eyes.

Does being fair mean treating everyone exactly the same? (Explain why / why not.)

We often use the words “fair” or “ unfair”. However, what is fair?. In my opinion, the answer of this question is yes. Some people say that it depends on the situations, we should deal flexibly. But there is no ways to listen to everyone’s request. So it’s the better way to treat everyone same but we need to remind it is not the best way. I learned the differences between fair and equality in Japan. It said fair is to get what they need in order to be successful and equality is to get everybody same thing. In other words, fair is focused on the result and equality is focused on the process. It makes sense but I think they should be the same thing. For example, there are three people who are watching the soccer game. And there is the wall. So one of them can’t see the game because he is not enough tall and he is still a child. Should we give the box only for him or all of them? That is the point. But, everyone has childhood. It seems fair for me because I believe that people grow stronger through challenges. Though people in the society should be who give him a box, the society should not be like that.Do women get some handicaps because just they are women? It should not be. It’s the same things. There is no discriminations but also no compassions. If you need something, you should get by yourself. At least the society should be.

It is very traditional in Mexico to have a party for your xvs (quinceañera), so I did. I woke up that day feeling really nervous because it was a very expected party by almost all of my friends, so normally I start overthinking. What if it isn’t a good party and I disappoint everyone? But my dad calmed me down. Early in the morning, I got my make-up and my hair done, and I put my dress on, and we started taking pictures. The pictures took like 3 hours because all my family wanted to get pictures. After that, I went to church, and the priest gave a really nice ceremony. After the ceremony ended, all my best friends were waiting for me outside with lighted candles. We went to the party. I was so excited because it was something I had been thinking about since I was a little kid. The decorations turned out beautifully. Later, all of my family and friends arrived, but they couldn’t see me because I was in a room, but I got out when I danced a vals with my dad. This was a very special moment for us. We cried, we danced, we laughed, and it was beautiful. Following that, I danced with my best friend to a surprise dance, and after everything ended, the party began. So there were a lot of people, about 1,000 people were registered entering the event, but the DJ was fantastic, so everyone was able to dance. I did not leave the dance floor until the whole party ended. I did not even have dinner, but it was worth it. Not only that, but I had so much fun; it was the party of the year. Furthermore, I received lots of compliments about how great the party was. It will undoubtedly be something I never forget. Finally, the party ended at 7 a.m. I was very tired, but the next day was my actual birthday, so I had another party with all my family too. It ended at 9 a.m. I was exhausted, but I had a really nice time. It is certainly something I will never forget.

 

A book that I am currently rereading is The Secret History by Donna Tartt. I have read the majority of her books, and she truly deserves the recognition she receives. Within her books and in real life, she truly finds new ways to keep her readers guessing. An example of this is the fact that throughout her career spanning 30 years, she has only produced 3 pieces, all of which are revered in the reading community. The Secret History being her debut in 1992, The Little Friend released in 2002, and The Goldfinch being released in 2013. Throughout her releases there seems to be a particular pattern. Donna releases her books every ten or so years.

While it hasn’t been confirmed, most find it obvious that it is on purpose. It usually doesn’t take ten years to write a single novel, so it must be. Her quite patient fans are asking, is it time for another publication? We are soon approaching the threshold, the dawn of a new era. It isn’t the case of an absence, because The Goldfinch was adapted into a movie in 2019, and she ardently showed her support. Any reader of hers knows that she is a big fan of making suspense known, so why not do it in real life? However, it may just be a coincidence, I try to be an optimist. I still recommend you to get ready for a five-hundred to a thousand page novel, that will without a doubt be worth the wait. 

My personal writing response is about the time my brother and I caught minnows and fried them at a beach near a cabin we were staying at in Pinawa, Manitoba. 

       On July 6, 2013, sometime in the afternoon, my brother and I decided to head down to the beach to catch whatever critters lurked in the waters. We put on our bathing suits, and each equipped a small bucket and a small fishing net. An hour after we arrived at the beach, we ended up catching roughly 42 minnows altogether. My brother and I debated on what to do with the minnows and ended up deciding to fry the minnows over an outdoor fireplace near the cabin we were staying at. Arriving at the cabin we asked our dad to assist us with starting a fire. Once the fire began to rise, we placed aluminum paper on top of the fire along with all the minnows. After a short period of time the skin of the lifeless minnows frying over the fire became burnt. We removed the minnows off the fireplace and placed them onto a plate sitting on a picnic table beside the fireplace.  

       After displacing the minnows, we noticed a lot of steam coming off the minnows, so we left them untouched until no steam was visible to us. My brother and I played a game of cards while waiting for the minnows to cool down. The minnows resting on the plate finally cooled off but still had a gross black and unappetizing crisp to them. I picked up a minnow with my fingers and placed it into my mouth. I soon felt sympathy for myself after exposing my taste buds to the horrifying and utterly bitter taste of the minnow. Since that day, I’ve never consumed another minnow. 

In my family is almost tradition that every holiday all of the family gets together in the house of a relative for dinner. On Christmas we celebrated with a dinner with all the family on a house of a relative almost ever years is on my house, so we decorate a lot. Every Christmas we decorate the same just in different colours, the best one was when the theme of the tree decoration was candies, but because the theme was candies there where lots of glitter and it was really messy when we started decorate it, but it was worth it. 

My mom, dad and grandma made some of the food like turkey, spaghetti, and the main dishes. Other family members brought sweet desserts to cooperate. We have a game that is tradition between my family, the game is about you get a random name of any family member that is going to be present and you have to buy a gif for that person, but without let it them know, then the night of Christmas you have say things to describe the person you got to give the gift and the other have to guess for who is it, but we have another game that you make prank gift and you put it on a table full of others prank gifts at the end of the night you have to grab one that you like, but someone can stole it from you if they want, when the game is over you can open the gifts that you stole or you got and sometimes may be good things like valuables things and others can be just a empty can of beens.

On the first weekend of October, my family and I went to the mainland to go to my dad’s friend’s wedding. We met at a beach not too far from the city and it was very late out. Mid-way through the wedding, the wind started to get abnormally quick and started to mess up everything because everything was paper plates and plastic forks which are very light after about 30 minutes of heavy wind they had to call off the wedding because everything was flying around and it was not the way they wanted to get married so they arranged it for the next day but we only booked one day up there so we had to come back to Langford where I live now and we missed the wedding but it was fun even though it was very windy and would do it again if given the chance.

Some call it the wasteland, others the apocalypse, but to me, its just home. Its all I’ve ever known home to be. As I feel my consciousness ebbing away at night, my head is strained from the violent sight of bloodshed as the gunshots continually replay in my mind. Drifting off to sleep, all things begin to fade to silence at last. Screaming, my chest immediately lifts to ninety degrees, and my eyes widen with fear. Sweating profusely, shallow rapid breathing and my heart pounding frantically against its cage of ribs.

Two twenty two am. Letting out a deep and steady breath, I relax my eyes shrunk back into my own skin and attempt to regain my sanity. Exhausted by it all. I fall back onto my rigid mattress and lay my head down against my cold pillow. ” Think of anything”, I mutter under my breath. Anything to relieve myself from the disturbing images that are fused into my brain. But it was something about the brutal and perilous sound of cannons in the distance that compelled me to envision the complete opposite. I visualised a meadow on a quiet spring day full of vivid and unique flowers that glimmered against the beaming sunlight and caught the smooth brush of wind every now and then. Tranquil and serene, peace flowed through the meadow like an effortless ribbon of water that streams through a river. I had never experienced this before, but the idea of it lay so close to my heart.

Eight thirteen a.m. I awaken to the normality of gunshots and the nauseating smell of death that was just another everyday occurrence. The feeling of my brain shifting gears between unconscious and fully aware is draining. It consumes every ounce of right and wrong and leaves my soul feeling empty. Standing on two feet I begin to circle around my room pointlessly while trying to ignore the outside surroundings. Eventually, I give in as my curiosity takes over. Tenderly drawing the curtains aside, the sight of war is unveiled infront of my eyes. Chaos and ferocity is staring at me. The wailing sirens struck fear into the struggling crowd of panicking civilians. Children crying. Buildings collapsing. Corpeses rotting. Bullets were not moving through the air, they were simply atmosphere. The screams outside were silenced for longer than normal. A chilling sensation runs through to me bones but before I had time to take another breath, a deafening bang caused the city to rapidly warp into flames. Explosions. Speechless I stood my heart dropped. Struggling to gather myself I took notice of a young child. He lay on the rubble helpless and restricted. Apprehensive, I needed to see him. My mother clutching onto my wrists, desperate for me to get him. I stopped instantly when I saw it. Two bullets to the heart, the little boy lay in his fate. I turned away, shaking my head in disbelief. Trembling, I took a step closer, my lips began to quiver as I quietly whimpered. Hesitantly turning back, a single teardrop rippled down my cheek. For moments earlier a child had walked the street but now there was only blood, crumbling walls and a sense that all that was good in the universe had cried out in pain.

He was too young. Too innocent. Kneeling down, I caught a glimpse of his deep, green eyes. I gazed intently at them as they reminded me of something familiar. Tilting my head, I paused to think. My face lit up and I half smiled. My visions of the peaceful meadow came back to me. Butterflies filled the air with new changed and beginnings. Nature gave animals a habitat to be able to live and survive. Flowers blossomed gracefully as they brought a sweet fragrance to the atmosphere. Something about these visions gave me hope. A hope that maybe one day I can experience it. A hope that maybe one day I can call it home.

         

Page “5113”  – Jm.Y

       I wonder. What keeps me alive? What motivates me to go on with my life? What makes me try my best although nothing is really rewarded? Every day, I start a new part of my life. I start off with a blank page. I start filling up the page with every hour, every minute, and every second I spend in the day. Sometimes these stories end up being fortunate, and sometimes they are not. Sometimes they come up with a good ending, while some do not. This cycle continues; the pages stack on top of each other; creating a long story – life. Everyone’s stories are unique to one. They all have different settings, plots, conflicts, and resolutions. My story of life is very hectic. There are unexpected things going on in my life as well as weird happenings. However, good things tend to happen unexpectedly, as do bad things. This keeps me motivated to live life and continue my story – with every page added every day. The story isn’t over yet – there are more things that are waiting for me – whether that is positive or negative. I still have a lot to go on with my adventure. In fact, I am on Pg. 5113. 

– Jeongmin Yoon

This is the story of a man named Stanley. Stanley worked in a big building where he was employee #427.

 

I push these buttons,

Day in, day out,

Without rest,

Without remorse.

Everything else is forgotten,

For they are my heaven.

 

Why do I sit here,

In my cubicle,

Staring at the screen,

Waiting for my next order,

And each subsequent message,

Never letting in a free thought as leverage?

 

But what if I could leave this melancholy?

What if the whole building was desolate?

What if I could have…

A choice?

 

I could walk down the beige, carpeted hallways,

Nervous of being followed,

Tinkering with anything I want,

And going through any door I wish to explore.

I could be free of that machine

And free of being seen.

 

Except for you.

Why are you in my head?

Why are you trying to control me?

Why did you lie about her?

Who are you?

 

I simply play to my intended purpose, the same as Stanley. We’re not so different, I suppose. I’ll try once more to convey all this to him. I’m compelled to.

Rows of twinkling lights shimmer along the high street store fronts on Piccadilly Circus. A shop door opens, and a blast of joyful Christmas carols fills my ears. The warm smell of roasted chestnuts wafts in the December air. My fingertips brush against a candy cane wrapper scrunched up in the pocket of my parka. It is almost time for dinner. My taste buds are anticipating the custard tarts we plan to pick up later from the Portuguese bakery in Soho. But first, we have come to the West End.

My mum, grandmother and I have each put our names in a lottery to win tickets for tonight’s show. We placed our ballots with hundreds of others into an enormous golden spinning drum. Now we are standing outside the opulent Prince of Wales Theatre, waiting for the draw to commence. My fingers are crossed tightly in my mitts. Please, please, please let my name be called! We can see our breath, but I am not paying attention to the cold.

Wearing a top hat, and a fancy coat with tails, the theatre manager calls out the first name. A man in the back cheers and runs up to collect his pair of winning tickets. Then a second name is called, then a third name, a fourth, and a fifth. The theatre will be giving out seven pairs of tickets. Front row tickets. 

I begin to feel disheartened —but then the manager calls out—“Heather Brown!”. Next to me, my mum lets out a hoot. She hops up the steps to collect her two tickets.  A thought crosses my mind. We need tickets for four people . . . .

The manager bellows, “And the final two tickets for tonight’s show go to . . .  Samantha Zinn!”.  My heart sinks.

But wait! Where is the winner? A few minutes pass, yet Samantha is nowhere to be seen. What? Tension in the crowd augments. That means one last name will be drawn! I nervously watch the golden drum turn, and see the slips of paper tumble inside. I close my eyes.

“Finnegan Brown!”  

“That’s YOU Finn!”, my grandma laughs out loud.

We’ve won four tickets! We can all go!  Both my grandparents, my mum and I.  Christmas in London is always magical. To be honest, the events leading up to the show stand out more in my memory than the actual show itself. That frosty December evening on Piccadilly Circus is one of my favourite memories.

Déjà vu:

Waking up the same way every day,

Alarm set for 6:30, can’t be late!

Slept about eight to ten hours yet still feeling tired.

Can’t say no though,

Have to push through it,

Be the model student because we have to prove we can do it.

Can’t ask for help,

Show no signs of weakness,

Can’t show them we’re just a big mess.

Life can be tough for anyone,

For us though,

It’s a mountain to climb.

No time for a social life,

No time to smile,

Get the work done or feel the burden,

Once that’s done,

We can finally close the curtain.

Sports keep us busy,

And so does music but at least we have Sunday for relaxation and playing with church kids.

Summer is great, we get to have fun, go to camp, and soak up some sun, and like this year,

Getting dunked!

But once summer’s over, its back to school,

The terror has begun.

As the cycle continues,

It feels like nothing new though.

All it feels like;

Déjà vu.

 

This weekend I had a school senior boys basketball game at Spectrum. There were some highs and lows but overall was considered a success by me and my teammates. Most of us met at Brookes and departed as a team. Coming out of the van we were all excited and ready to play our best.

Inside the gym was abnormally hot which worried me because it would likely make it harder to run for long periods of time. Luckily almost everyone showed up to the game, so we had lots of subs. Our coach read out the starting lineup, which I was included in. We did our cheer and walked onto the court.  Immediately I looked and chose the biggest guy to be my check who was only around six feet. The whistle blew and I lost the jump ball. Within the first three minutes of the game their best player scored a shocking eight points on us before he broke his ankle. After this incident it was easy for our team to bounce back and hold a steady lead till 3^rd quarter. Alex our point guard gave me nice passes for easy layups, I was getting the simple put backs through rebounds, and we always hustled back on defense. During the 4^th quarter we pulled ahead and finished the game winning by 20 points.

Returning to the school I was very happy with how I played. I ended the game with 14 points. This leaves room for improvement, and I look forward to playing next game.