A Week of Worrying

Authors Note: I have just recently got some news that isnt earth shattering, but it could turn out to be. I have been very stressed out latelty and wanted to get some things off my mind without telling everyone the story.

Today is the day. A week of worrying all led up to this. So much support, so much worrying, and the person who its really hurting doesn’t even realize how much could happen in that room. Three hours, the best surgeon in Milwaukee, and the one I love on the table. So much pain and sorrow I feel for him, yet nothing I say or do can help. No balloons or cards can bring him happiness. Support is all I can bring. Yet, even such a small gesture won’t feel like enough. I never knew that I could feel this helpless until now, in this moment.

The Summer I Tured Pretty Point Of View

The book The Summer I Turned Pretty is written in the point of view of Belly, a sixteen year old girl who is in love with her mother's very close friend's son, Conrad.  For almost the whole book he is very to himself, but Belly doesn’t know why. Jeremiah knew what was wrong with Conrad and why he was being this way the whole time but, she was left out of this information. First the depressing news about Susannah and her husband getting divorce, and then finding out towards the end of the summer that Susannah's cancer had come back. From her point of view nothing was wrong with Conrad, just the fact that Conrad was acting out, that’s all.

Her mother's best friend Susannah was like a second mother to her, and yet there were things still held a secret from Belly. She didn't know that Susannah and her husband Mr. Fisher were getting a divorce, or about the cancer. She has heard her mother and Susannah fighting earlier in the summer, but didn't think too much about it. Susannah didn't know that the boys knew or otherwise she would have told the story to everyone. She wasn't one to keep a secret unless it was in the best interest of the people she loves, there was no way.

The whole summer Belly didn't know what was going on around her. She was held back from information that she was obligated to know. Susannah was a part of her life and shouldn't be in the dark about things that were happening in her life. If she had only know all those times her mother and Susannah asked her to just stay home, and be with them was actually because Susannah had cancer again, she would have been there spending as much time as she could with her. Now time is limited and summer is over, what would she do now? She had to go home, where right now she didn't want to be.

Why You Should Like Justin Bieber

Justin Bieber, an extremely talented singer, is one of the most popular teen pop star sensations in the world. He became very famous extremely quickly. Why? Pure talent is why. He was always involved with music and sang ever since he was two. He posted videos on YouTube of him singing in a music competition at age 11. He didn’t expect anything out of it. He defiently got more than he bargained for, but now he is on tour with millions of screaming girls following him all over the world.

How does such talent come from a boy at his young age? Well, Justin Bieber was a success from the start of his music career. At two he was playing the drums like a professional. Although what he used as drum was a little different. He would drum on his kitchen chair. As he was drumming he would sing, granted his voice wasn’t the best then, but that shows how much he loved singing, or any kind of music with a best for that fact from a young age.

While Justin was growing up his parents got a divorce. He lived with his mom most of his childhood. They weren’t very wealthy at the time, and Justin’s mom Patty had a hard time supporting him. As a single mom, and being only 19 when she had him, she did an exceptional job of raising him. He dropped out of school to be home schooled.

He wasn’t just a musician growing up though. He actually tried to hide the fact from his friends that he could sing and play an array instruments, or that he could sing. He learned how to play the guitar, trumpet, piano, and percussion, but he never left out time to play sports. He played basketball, hockey, golf and soccer with all of his friends. When his friends found out that he could sing they didn’t believe it, so they went to watch his singing competition, and supported the fact that he can sing. Those friends are still supporting him today, by going to his shows and calling to remind him that they care.

Justin was discovered when he was only 12 years old by Scooter Braun. He saw that Justin’s page had thousands of hits so he watched a couple of the videos. Scooter was amazed by what he heard. After Scooter saw these videos he went out searching and found Justin. Pattie, Justin’s mom, was very skeptical about taking Scooter’s offer to fly to Atlanta for a day and see how it goes. Pattie accepted after a very long phone call to Scooter. Pattie accepted and Scooter later became his manger.

Justin’s career started right away. Scooter took him to sing to famous artists, like his current mentor Usher. They were all so impressed by how amazing his voice was, and how confidant he was when he sang. Justin didn’t know how lucky he was at the time, or that one day he would be touring around the world and have million, and millions of screaming fans watching his every move. He didn’t know that he wouldn’t see his friends and family often, and the time that he did get with them would be brief. Even then Justin managed to stay grounded, and not slip into the fact that he might be a celebrity, and that he’s better than everyone else. By the help of Scooter, Usher, and his mother Pattie there is no way he wouldn’t stay grounded. They help him through everything, especially his mom.

Through all of the hard things that he has to go through, with not seeing his family or friends often, Justin stands tall. He doesn’t let something like that take him down, he keeps moving forward. He doesn’t care what people think. For him it is about what he wants, and his dreams, not what other people want. He is only 17, and yes it may be hard to believe, but he is a normal guy under all that fame, but he is nevertheless. He likes to hang with his friends, eat fast food, sleep in, and he even gets sick sometimes. So, if you don’t like his music, that’s okay, but don’t hate the guy behind the music.

Introduction

Authors Note: We were doing a warm-up for introductions in class. We chose topics for a story such as  settings, and characters then we switched a couple of them throughout the classroom and made an introduction with our settings, characters, and topics. This was a challange for me because my setting and charactors are so different.

In Lake Park, a neighborly, subdivision lived an old man named sensei chin-chin. He was a extremely wise man with sensible clothing, for an old person that is. He lived next door to me. In his back yard he had a wagon, but it wasn’t just a wagon, it was a big red pool he had custom made for him. Sensei swam everyday. He would swim laps for hours and hours and play classical music loudly. It was so loud that inside my home, in the basement, on the furthest corner away from his house, and with ear plugs in could still hear his music. This kept me from being able to do my homework and read because I couldn't concentrate, but don’t try and tell your teacher that, trust me they wont believe it. I got in trouble at school because I had kept using "excuses" about not getting my homework done. My teacher called home my mother and father yelled at me. But I never had time to explain my self! Whatever. Screw this. I am going to Sencei Chin-Chin and we are going to have a conversation about his music. I am going to fix this problem all on my own.

Grandma's House

As I lay here I think about what I have left at home, nothing but loneliness and nothingness fills that home. Although it has nothing good for me there I love it because it was my grandmother's house. She passed in 1990 when I was 13. I was old enough to remember her and cherish her, but that was different for my 3 year old brother who will not remember her and if he does it will be just a small memory that will fade to nothing over time. Her death will mean something to him, but he won't hurt as much as it hurts the rest of us.

I think to the future and how it will be when he asks who his grandmother was and what she was all about. He'll ask questions I'll feel obligated answer that I may not be ready to answer at that time. He deserves to know but, he is too young to know enough of what is going on at home right now. I hope that one day he will know who she is and remember how I do. I will honor her in everyway I can now. I don’t want to go back to loneliness and the depressing home that awaits me. It is sad there right now with everyone grieving.

Ever since I moved into my grandmother's house I have felt close to her. If I go back, will it feel better? Will I be less sad? Either way I have to go home at one point to her house. I will go back, but again it is nice here in Cancun, and I don’t want to leave. Maybe I will stay here for a while, and relax. That sounds like a good idea to me.

Language Arts Progress

Author's Note: I wrote this piece to explain what this Language Arts year, and how it meant to me and how I have improved. I went through so much this year that I couldn't fit all of it in this one piece knowing that I would bore you. 

In the beginning of the year I came into the class feeling like an outsider. I felt as though I didn't belong with all the other students. Because it was a couple of weeks into school it was very hard for me to just walk into the class, and write, and then share my writing with all these new people. However, I was welcomed in to the class as soon as I entered the room. I felt very comfortable in this class. This helped with my writing because my surroundings were comforting. I was very relaxed and my mind could travel wherever I wanted it be. As a writer I feel like I have learned so many new and different things ranging from simple grammar to how to quote sayings from books, or just sounds that I wanted to authorize. Even after improving in all of these things, there are still a few things I'd like to work on. Such as, reading more than I do now a days and also writing in different styles like poems or nonfiction. Seeing as I have never tried that kind of writing this year in class, I would like to try this at home on my own on my own time.

Independence.....something so important in school for students to learn, but we never do. We are taught that you listen to rules and follow them to a "T". Well, with the help of Mr. Johnson I was able to understand how important it is really was to be yourself and to be independent, not only in your writing and in Language Arts, but also in other classes too. This year in this class I worked on being as independent as possible, but also using my resources wisely. Mr. Johnson was there for me to answer every question I had, important and meaningful, or any silly, or nonsense questions. I happened to have those a lot. Even though most of the year was spent on time filming and editing videos for my group's satire, that was about three months late, I still had time for independent book reading and independent writing. The whole experience was extremely enjoyable, but frustrating at the same time with everyone bickering, and trying to make the movie better in their own ways. In the end I got a ton out of it. After everything was done, I realized that not only did I finish one of the best worked on project so far in my life, I had also made new friends, and got closer to ones that were always there. Most importantly I was independent with my work that I put forth and my groups work, which I was proud of. This meant a lot to me because teachers that I have had in the past years haven't let me be me in a classroom. I was doing the work I had to do, and putting as much effort into it that I had to. Now I know how good I can writer I can be, and that when I write a piece that I am not impressed with to make it the best that it can be, and Mr. Johnson helped me realize that.

I always thought that there were rules to follow on every writing piece, and that you had to write what your teacher told you to. It was very easy to write those pieces because you just put information together into paragraphs and called it writing. No matter how hard I try to write one of those pieces I have to change them now, so that I fit my teachers expectations, but I like to up and beyond them too, and add my own things to the old boring piece. While working on writing pieces that teachers assign me I have a lot of moments when I mess up the spelling of a word in the middle or miss a concept, but I am human. I also make mistakes on simple short stories, or while writing a sentence that when you go back and read it makes no sense. I worked on not missing any concepts and not making any simple spelling errors that were unnecessary in the first place. Because, I worked towards these goals I felt as if I grew and grew over the year and that I was more confident in myself that I can write anything and make it my best that it can be. I'm not another Shakespeare or anything so I don't expect to be the best all the time but as long as I put the best work that I can into it I am usually proud of myself.

I will miss all of my classmates, but there is still next year waiting for me to screw it up, but I will make every moment count with my writing and independence as an 8th grader. I will remember to work hard all of the time, and achieve my best.  All in all I think that this year for me in my LA was successful, and I have become a better writer and became much more independent. No matter how much I miss Mr. Johnson, and how much I learned from him, always coming into class learning something different, I will always remember my 7th grade Advanced Language Arts Class.

First Piece

Author's Note: I thought that it would be fun to post my first piece of the year that I wrote, grammar errors and all. It is very short too. I like reading this because it shows me my growth in writing.

Halloween is a very fun time of the year. People dress up as whatever they want to be. On Halloween people try to scare themselves just for fun. I think that that is kind of stupid but that's not any of my business anyway. No matter what I think everyone should participate in it because it's a fun thing to do and everyone can express themselves  in their costumes.