14 - Samantha A: My Ideal "Sweet 16"

 

Birthdays are filled with fun and excitement. There’s nothing better than a day devoted to you, where you can choose whatever you want. Over the past 17 years of my life I’ve had many fun birthday memories, but one that was extremely memorable for me was my 16th. Last year we were online for school, and my birthday happened to fall on our spring break. It was so fun because I had the whole day to do whatever. My cousin came down from San Diego to visit me, and we spent the whole week watching Twilight and eating junk food.

 On my birthday specifically though, I remember we went shopping and she even got me a book that is one of my favorites now. Later in the evening we went to San Francisco and ate at the cheesecake factory with the rest of my family. I remember ordering the cheesiest penne pasta, and not being able to finish it because it was too much. My dad then decided to order 7 DIFFERENT cheesecake slices for each of us, and I thought it was so funny because he was just ordering random ones without even knowing if they were on the menu (thankfully they were). After dinner we drove home, and my sister made me a red velvet cake which is my favorite type of cake ever. No one else in my family likes red velvet, so I didn’t have to worry about there being none left. Usually when people celebrate their 16th they’ll have a huge “Sweet 16”, but I liked this birthday celebration even more, because of the way I spent with just my family. I also got great sentimental gifts, like the Twilight series after having just watched all the movies. I spent the entire summer reading those books, and I often think of my 16th birthday when I look at them. 

word count: 314 

13-Jenna K: Loss

Nobody prepares you for the pain of losing a loved one. Whether it be a sudden loss, or a long draining process, it hurts the same. When my grandma passed away, it all happened so quickly. At around 10 pm one night we received a call from my grandma’s partner. He told us that she was having strange behavior, trouble speaking, and that he was calling an ambulance. By 9am the next morning, she was gone. After the initial shock of losing my grandma, who was one of my favorite people in the entire world, it was my mom’s pain that affected me the most. My grandma was my mom’s best friend, their relationship is one I aim to have with my own mom when I’m older with a family of my own. I distinctly remember sitting on the floor of the living room hours after my grandma died, while my mom sat on the couch calling various family members and friends informing them of her passing. I remember having to plug my ears because I couldn’t handle hearing my mom cry anymore. My best friend, who was also extremely close to my grandma, came over as soon as she could, and I remember opening the door and hugging her for five minutes straight while we both cried. The months following my grandma’s death were also very hard. Cleaning out her house, keeping things with sentimental value, and donating things we had no room for. My grandma’s house was located right next to where my other grandparents live, so whenever I go to their house, I pass by hers. It’s still sad to think sometimes that another person’s grandchildren will grow up visiting their grandma at a place I have so many good memories of. The absence of someone in your life never really leaves, but it becomes easier to manage over time. I no longer think about my grandma with sadness, but with happiness, because I can look back at all the good memories I had with her. I have memories of her scattered around my house, and a box of things that were once hers sits under my bed. I have a birthday card from her sitting on my desk because I plan to get her handwriting tattooed when I turn 18. I had a lot of good years with my grandma, and although I miss her, I know that wherever she may be, she’s proud of who I am today. Word count: 412

13-Ethan R- Long live The King of Newark

 A year ago today I experienced loss. It felt as if my world was caving in and I was not prepared. A year ago today I lost my Grandpa Julio Roig, the king of Newark.

A year ago today we got a call that my grandfather was on his deathbed and we only had a few days to see him and say our goodbyes. My mom and I got on the first flight to new jersey and a wall of sadness and loss flushed over us. As we landed my cousin picked us up with her eyes red from tears and took us to our grandmother's house.

We entered the catholic home of grandparents as we see our grandmother laying in her bed sobbing her eyes out. I just remember thinking it was the first time seeing any of the adults cry they've always been so strong. My grandmother was bedridden sobbing her eyes because the love of her life for the past 76 years was about to leave her life forever. 

Days passed and he never got better. The night he died all of the older family members sat in a room crying and getting his affairs in order. I was the last and youngest to see him that night. We all went home and he passed peacefully in his sleep. I remember oddly feeling remorse for him, he was no longer suffering, and he moved on to a better place. His funeral was a few days later, everyone in new jersey came to see Deacon Julio. He was always known as the king of Newark, and everyone for Belleville to broadway came to give respect to the king. I'll miss you forever and ill always have the memories we've shared. I love you, papa.

Word count 296

13 - Janessa Huntoon: The Dying Rose

 The Dying Rose

Loss is the most horrific mind-boggling thing I’ve ever gone through. It's not more complex than simply not seeing that person anymore. It's having to realize that person is gone and no matter what you do that person isn't coming back. You blame yourself for not doing something when life itself is totally out of our control. We feel as if we lost all control of the world around us; we are a dying rose.

A rose which used to be filled with bold colored petals soft to the touch but rough when you see/ touch our stems, our stems that should remain in water so no one can see what we are feeling or coping it should remain hidden at least mine was. I was safe and secure. I felt my life had balance. But then he died. My grandpa passed away into the great beyond and that vase once full of balanced nurture and strength is shattered. My thorns become exposed and I can't repair what's done. I lose the control to cry, to yell, to push people away. I layed in my bed thinking about how life was so much better in that vase full of balance when my grandpa was still there because frankly when passes he took a piece of me with him up in that beautiful sky through the clouds and into the great beyond.

I stayed in my room, my petals wilting no longer soft to the touch but instead full of guilt and anger, a feeling I couldn't shake. I asked myself why this had to happen to me, a selfish thought but I’d never lost anyone until that day, how was I supposed to cope and process feelings I’d never felt so horrifying. I was comfortable in that vase. I was at peace. But how, how did the feeling of being safe and secure disappear in the matter of a phone call, a phone call I wish never would have happened. I was left shattered, taken out of the good state of my emotions, the rose everyone once knew was now dry, rough, and forever hurt. Even today I’m rebuilding that vase, but it will be nothing like the one I had in a life with him. 

13- Katrina Smith: Flip flops are called “thongs” in Australia- Word salad

 

If you traveled to Australia for the summer and decided you wanted to take a walk on the hot sand at a beach or pool, you would ask for a pair of thongs for your feet. If you went to England and it was dark outside and you needed something to illuminate your path, you would ask for a torch. If you wanted some sliced and fried potatoes with your burger in England, you would order some chips. If you were in your 4th year of highschool in the United States, you're a senior. 

All of these words are used in the English language as a whole, but mean completely different things depending on what country or region you are in or what lexicon is used in your dictionary. A tap in Canada is a place where you wash your hands or run a faucet, in the United States this is called a sink, but tap in the United States means the water that comes out that is slightly purified by your county water management system. The word ‘tap’ (when referring to water works) means different things depending where you are. 

However, this is not comparable to two different words that mean the same thing but are just another way to say it. For example, a little gray bug that rolls up in a ball when frightened is called a rolley polley on the West coast, but on the East coast it's called a pill bug. Both of these terms are correct to refer to the bug, and if you used the term unoriginal to the region you're in, people may be confused, but it wouldn't mean a completely different thing. A person who goes to a Walmart and asks for a pair of thongs so they could walk on a sandy beach would get some weird looks in the United States (west coast). 

Words will also have different terms or slang depending on one's age or generation, as well as the region they grew up in or that their parents grew up in. My father is a boomer, and he called hair conditioner “cream rinse” when I was growing up. His generation tends to use this term for the moisturizing hair product. 

Being born with immigrant parents or non-english speaking parents can also contribute to the words we use to describe things. When I was very young, before kindergarten, I wasn't speaking English unless my father was home. I didn't know how to say the word “oatmeal” in English for a long time. If I wanted oatmeal at home, I would simply say “I want oatmeal” in the other language. When I got to school and spoke more English, I realized later on that I didn't know the word oatmeal and had to vaguely describe it as a hot breakfast food that's mushy, at some point I finally learned it. 

Words don't only differ in other languages, or countries, but can differ by simply traveling to another city or coast. 

Words: 504

13-Nigel R: How Should Kids be Disciplined?

How parents discipline their children has been a controversial topic for a while now. Some people feel like physical discipline is okay while others think it isn’t. Personally, I think it depends on the situation on how kids should be disciplined when getting in trouble.

When kids are younger I feel like it’s okay to spank them. When they’re young this shows them what they’re doing is wrong and makes them not want to do it again.   This used to happen to me when I was younger and it made me behave pretty well because I didn’t like getting in trouble after that.  

When kids get older I feel like they should get grounded. When older kids get grounded they usually get their electronics taken away and can’t go out for a while. When teens get their electronics taken away they can’t text or call their friends and they can’t play video games which is something that most teens do. When they can’t go out they feel like they have nothing to do because they already have everything taken away from them. This will make them regret their actions and not want to get in trouble anymore.

I also think that it depends on the kid's behavior. If the kid has good behavior I feel like they should have less strict punishments and shorter lengths of their punishments. If the kid has bad behavior I feel like they should have more strict punishments.

The thing about discipline is as kids we don’t understand why we have to get punished until one day we have kids of our own and then it makes sense. There are many different methods of discipline but, I think it mostly depends on the kid's age and behavior.

Word Count:292

13- Preston K: dream of auto tech

Dream of Auto tech

Cars, Personally I love cars. By cars I don't mean a “car” I mean every component from fuel injection to bushings of suspension arms. At will c wood the auto shop elective every day I get to be around and and work on the things I love. 

Last week in the auto shop due to the 2-hour time schedule we had in the class I got the opportunity to do a big job on an old army vets' car. It needed a new alternator, and 2 belts one on the main serpentine and one for the pumps and alternators. Just having to work and figure out how to do what needs to be done to the car presented me with such joy. Knowing I fixed his car completely and he wouldn't have to work about any more problems along with gaining experience. 

With the experience and knowledge, I gain every day in that elective class to become closer and closer to my dream car, goals, and dreams. Working in an auto shop I gain access to the lifts that normal people don't have access to and when I need to do major upgrades for my car to prepare it for time attack racing. I plan on working all summer to save and complete my car in converting it to a time attack car. With all the knowledge and resources, I gain from the auto shop I become closer and closer to achieving that goal. 

In the future I would love to work at a professional speed shop building professional level cars and owning one myself. Working in an auto shop gives me the early experience that is needed to rocket you into the car world of building and fabricating for speed shops. Overall, the auto shop is definitely my favorite class at wood.

Words 304