Survival

Author's note: This is my predicting piece, I tried to work on AB transitions. Also I worked more on my body paragraphs like more support.

People quickly try to put their cold blistering hands in to the rock hard soil to dig down dip in the Earth’s ground for a hole 6 feet deep. A young 16 year old girl, Lina taken away from home, put to work with her mother and brother but her father sent to prison. While she is in the cart of a train to depart from her home town she meets a boy Andrius were she started to really like him. This happened in the book Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepety. I believe that in the end of this book Lina will have to work for years  and eventually her family and her will be let free in America and Lina will meet up with Andrius. Her survival will be because of her honor and love of her family.

The only thing that is keeping Lina alive is her family and her determination of surviving and going to live her life normally again. Every day she thinks of her father and tries to find a way to send something to him messaging that she is still alive. Through the drawings she makes of what she sees,  she sends them to the prison trying to let him know they are alright. Her only motivation she tells her self is “I will survive.” Every day would get harder and she would still be thinking of father and how she will see Andrius again.

Both Lina and Andrius loved each other, and right before she had to leave to work somewhere new Andrius gave a book to Lina the same one that she had earlier but ruined because it was used for smoking. Right after she got the book in her hand she had to leave and Andruis said to her “I’ll see you.”  It ran through her head a million times,  she knew she couldn’t wait to see his face.  Therefore she began to read the book even though it was Russian. Some pages Andrius would write things that made her wish she would be with him like “I am thinking of you, are you thinking of me?” Many people have been separated from who they loved and were put through torture like the holocaust and to come through just to fight for their own life.

 A girl, Ellie a little younger then Lina had to go through the holocaust which was just kind of like what Lina had to go through. Ellie liked a boy from school but he wasn’t Jewish so he wasn’t taken away from his home.  Once Ellie had to start to work and was separated from her father and brother she started to think that she had to survive because she wanted to get back with her family and wanted to see her crush again. These two characters remind me of each other because they both had to go through the same thing which was some bossing them around and had the fear of dying. The two girls both had the same attitude which was to survive and live the rest of their life with their family.

Overall I think that since Ellie had to go through almost the same thing and she survived so Lina will survive too. Along with that Lina’s family should survive too because Lina would do almost anything to save them. Also I think that Andrius will find Lina too because they were truly in love and he had access to send her letters and pictures. 

He Didn't Leave

Author's Note: This was my prediction for the story Thank You Ma'am. 

After the woman shut the door on  Rodger, instead of them never seeing each other again, he stayed outside of her house because he didn’t want to go home to his parents yelling at him or being alone. Therefore from then on he started to visit her more often, and they became closer it was like she was his mother. The reason I say this is because it seems like he didn’t have a very good home life, it seemed like his parents were never home but if they were it seemed like they would yell at him for not having a job so he could pay for himself. Also I think that he would hang around Mrs. Jones because she had a big impact on him changing his attitude so he enjoys to be around someone that trusts him. 

Haunted

Author's note: I forgot the people's name in the stories names and couldn't find the story but this is my predicting piece. 

In the story The Buried, I think that in the end the man that took the gold rings will be haunted by the man that died and I think he may scare or kill him. The reason I say this is because the man that passed away told him that he wanted his treasures to be buried with him, but the man just took them. Although he was died his spirit was still on the earth grounds that’s why I think he is able to haunt him. 

Changing Isn't Always a Bad Thing

Author’s note: This piece was about two characters that change within the story, and I tried to make sure that I added transitions in between my paragraphs. 

In the book Touching Spirit Bear by Ben Mikaelsen the character Cole went through an event to change his whole life and personality. Cole had an abusive father which had a huge impact on his personality. He was an angry, unforgiving, uncaring person and he was unwilling to change. Throughout the story Cole changed a lot, even though in the beginning he didn’t want to. 

Therefore one day Cole took his violence to far and he beat up a student named Peter on the school sidewalk. Peter suffered from head trauma, speech problems, and had many nightmares about the beating Cole did to him. Cole was caught from the circle justice and either had the choice to go to jail or had to go to an island to heal his criminal ways. Which he choose the island, in the beginning Cole did not take it seriously and he was not willing to change. Cole attempted to escape the island but he was caught by the rising tide and was not able to escape. Then Cole returns to the island and  came across the touching spirit bear and tried to take his angry out by stabbing the bear with a knife. The bear was unfazed and attacked Cole, he broke his hip and arm as well as knocking Cole out.

However Cole was taking to a nurse to heal from his injuries, and he finds out that his mother now was open to press charges against the father. Cole was now anxious he wanted to start his healing progress again, but the circle justice said to him that he already used his chance. It started to show that Cole was willing to change he wanted to become a better person.  The circle justice decided that they would give him one more chance, and this time Cole knew he had to work harder. When Cole got to the island he had to build his own shelter and he did many actives to release his anger. Once Cole was starting to change and starting to gain forgiveness and starting to think of others not just his self a man named Edwin that is part of the circle justice tells him that Peter is doing worse.  Cole felt bad, he knew that he had to do something to make their relationship better. Therefore Cole invited Peter to the island to let him know what he is doing at the peaceful island, and Peter starting to understand how to forgive Cole.

In addition this book relates to The Haunting by Joan Lowery because both of the characters were selfish in the beginning and then they became to realize it isn’t always about them.  In The Haunting the main character Lia inherited a old, creepy, haunted house in Graymoss. Her parents were always thinking about adopting young children that didn’t have a home or parents and this was the perfect opportunity. Although Lia didn’t want to move away from her best friend so she wanted to prove to her parents that it was haunted. After visiting the Barker Home for Children Lia started to realize why her parents wanted to do this, the kids looked unhappy and unloved.  Now all Lia wanted to do is get the ghost out of the house so that they could live there with the kids, and the night that she went she figured it out and kicked the ghost. These two stories both relate because the characters both tried to push things away and were unwilling to do something different, although at the end both of the characters both ending up doing something for another person which helped both of the characters.

Overall in these two books both of the characters changed throughout the story, and they learned something within their situations. In Cole’s situation he learned that he shouldn’t just be angry at people that innocent and didn’t do anything to him. With Lia situation she learned that she shouldn’t ruin someone else’s dream especially since their dreams are trying to help others. Both of these characters personality changed, and they both helped someone out. Many people that read these books would be able to tell that the characters change in a very good way. 

Founding Fathers

Author’s Note: I tred to add some transitions in between my body paragraphs.

Dear Thomas Jefferson,

I am really glad to say that you are my favorite founding father. I really think that you worked really hard for the rights of our country. It wouldn’t seem right if we were suppose to stay under the order of the king of Great Britain George III, if he were to be abusing the colonists. Since the rights include the ability to live free, to have liberty and to pursue happiness,  you  really proved that by writing the Declaration of Independence.  I think that separating ourselves from the British was a peaceful resolution. Even though the British probably would have been mad about it, the Americans did say that they always would be like brothers with England.

In addition I really appreciate the country that now it became, it was a land of opportunity for many people throughout the world to have a new beginning to their life. Since you wrote the Decoration of Independence that let my ancestries come from Germany and Italy to build a new life. If you wouldn’t have wrote this most people in my world now wouldn’t be a live right now because this had a true impact on our country. People now were able to get land, find a job, and build a house for their family. The decoration of Independence  gave people the opportunity to practice their own religion, and live their life freely not under the command of someone.

Therefore in our current world today, I think if many people had a chance to talk to you or any of the founding fathers they would say that they thank you very much for giving us freedom and rights. If you didn’t create this document our world now would be very different not in a good way. I really am thankful for courage, in the United States and benefit from the educational system that we developed, and the protection by the soldiers that we have now.  

Shouldn't Have Gone to the Mountains

Author's note: This is a piece that is about the cause and effect of the book Pictures of Hollis Woods. I tried to work on the AB transitions and making sure that I don't start my sentences with the same word.

In the book Pictures of Hollis Woods by Patricia Reilly Giff is a story about a girl that is a foster child that normally doesn’t find a house that she likes. Usually she will live with a family and not enjoy being with them so she will run away from the home. Although once she met Steven, Izzy and the old man she knew that this was the family that she should stay with. 

Therefore while Hollis was thinking of living with the perfect family, Steven and her got into a car accident, which was the climax. While they were staying in the summer house Hollis always wanted to go up on the mountains but the old man wouldn't let her because he thought it was dangerous. Which he was right she went up on the mountains and hurt her ankle she wasn't able to call for help because Steven was fishing, and the old man and Izzy went out. Once Steven got back from fishing he couldn't find Hollis, he worried and figured she went to the mountains. Steven quickly drove up the mountain and found her injured. On the way down from the mountain the brakes on the truck weren't working, Steven told Hollis to jump right before the truck ran into the door. Hollis thought it was all her fault and felt really bad that Steven got hurt.

Since Hollis thought the car accident was all her fault she ran away from the family. This really effected the story because if the brakes were to be working when they were going down the hill they would have never got in a car accident. If they weren't to get in to a car accident then the story would have been really different she would have never ran away and she would be living a nice life the old man, Izzy and Steven. Nothing can ever just be perfect, and if it would have Hollis would have never met Josie.

  

Hiding From the Germans

Author's note: I wrote the main conflict and resolution of the book Yellow Star.

In the book Yellow Star by Jennifer  Roy was about a young girl named Syvia  that lived during the holocaust. The main problem of this book was that Syvia had to live in the ghetto with Germans directing her around,  which then she had to start to hide from all them because they sent all the kids to concentration camps. There were many kids in the holocaust that had to go through this too, like Anne Frank she tried to hide from all the Germans. This book really is a group vs a group, because it is the Jewish people vs the Germans but the Germans are mainly over powering in the beginning and middle part of the event. 

Therefore Syvia  hid underground to make sure the Germans wouldn’t find her and the other children.  Right in the middle of the war the Germans got really bad and they killed so many Jewish people, by either shooting them or putting them in gas chambers.  Many innocent  people died throughout the war, but eventually the Russians and the Americans teamed up and defeated the Germans in the war which stopped the holocaust. The end to the war let the Jewish people that were still alive to leave to start a new life, which Syvia and her family decided to go to France. 

Basketball Championship

Author’s Note:  This was a game that I will never forget, and I tried to add some transitions to meet my goal.

Everyone walked on the court very stressed out, both teams knew it was going to be a complicated game. My coach kept saying "Relax girls just play this game like any other." I keep thinking of that when we were warming up, but I still had butterflies in my stomach. We started the game and all I could hear is my coach yelling, which got everyone really nervous but we have played Franklin before so we knew who their best players were. This game meant a lot to me, it proved to me that my coach believes in me.

After playing awhile there were just 5 minutes in the half and we were losing by 3 points, we had a lot of time to catch up. It was our ball and we were running a play for one of my teammates Becca, it was for her because my coach knew she could shoot three pointers. She made her cut which got her open, I passed her the ball and she made it. I heard all the parents clapping, and my coach howled "Great shot Becca! Now let's go into our press." From there the game keep going back and forth we would score then they would score.

Suddenly I heard a voice say "come on ladies let's finish our tournament with a great victory and a perfect record. " My coach said at half time while pushing some people on the court. They were winning by a couple points, we could get those back pretty easily. Although after a few minutes into the second half we were all kind of tired we had 3 games before this one. "Go into twelve defense" Our coach realized we were kind of tired that is why he told us to go into zone defense. We weren't that good at zone defense because we didn't play it that much. Anyways now there was 5 minutes left and we were winning by 7 points then the other teams coach called a timeout. "I think you girls are doing a great job just make sure you don't let them back in the game. Also get more water if you were just in." My coach said while taking a glance at the other team.

As soon as the ref blew his whistle my teammates and I walked on the court like we thought we had this game in the bag; the other team walked on the court playing with their clammy hands. It was the other teams ball, and it seemed like they were doing a play so we tried our best not to let them score, which turned out awful they got a three pointer. Next thing we knew it was a tie game with only one minute left, and it was their ball. We seemed to already know the play that they were running so we stopped them from shooting the three pointer, until number 32 came from nowhere and got an open three which she swooshed it. Now it was our ball left with only 10 seconds left on the clock. “Timeout!” my coach screamed while the veins were popping out of his head and neck. Right away he grabbed his whiteboard and throw it hard against the ground. He picked up the old damaged whiteboard and started to draw out a play for us to make a three pointer, which I was the one that was going to shoot it.

Behind the thick black out of bonds line Becca received the ball from the old grumpy ref and right away she threw it right to my teammate Kenzie. The others players were setting me up, I did my big loop around the other side of the three point arc and I was open. Kenzie passed to me with a lot of force, then I noticed that there were two defenders coming towards me. The only decision I had was to dribble the basketball down more towards the corner but still outside the three point line. I picked up my dribble and had no choice but to shoot there was only 3 seconds left. I struggled to get my hands underneath the ball so I put the ball in my right arm and did a right hand hook shot. The clock buzz real loud. It was going towards the hoop it looked like it was going in! Then it plopped down. Everyone was disappointed I could even hear everyone saying “Why would she shoot it like that?” in a real snotty tone. All a sudden we heard the refs whistle blow and it was a foul that meant 3 free throws, I could tie the game.

Therefore I stepped up to the free throw line sweat dripping down my face, I felt really nervous. I could hear my heart beat rapidly, I could feel everyone’s eyes on me. The ref passed me the ball, and I started to dribble it a couple times then  I shot it. The ball went right in the net so nicely no one could hear it hit the rim. I heard all my teammates cheering then the ref passed me the ball again, I did the same amount of dribbles as usually and I shot it, and it went in. I felt a little more relaxed, everyone was still cheering but I knew this was the last shot to see if we went into overtime. I dribbled it 6 times again, and shot my last shot when the whole gym was as quiet as a mouse. Instantly my whole team ran over to me hugging me and cheering as loud as they could. We all sat down on the bench with huge grins on our faces, but we still haven’t won yet we still had an extra minute of overtime.

In addition Becca jumped as high as she could, and we got the ball off the tip off. Kenzie caught the ball and went in for a lay-up beating everyone up the court, and no one could catch her so we scored. All we had to do is not let them score then we got 1^st place and a perfect record of 15-0. The other team was so in shock of what happened they couldn’t even score, they keep the ball around which was wasting time. Evenatually there was only 10 seconds left and they set up a play to make 32 shoot a three. “Shoot it!” yelled the other teams coach because there was only 3 seconds on the clock. The ball went up in the air but Haylie jumped in front of the shot and blocked it a little. The clocked buzzed real loud, we won! The other teams heads were all real low, and our team could not stop smiling. 

Things May Start Bad Then Become Better

Author's note: This is a retelling piece about the story Where the Heart Is.

Where The Heart Is was a book about a teenage girl that is pregnant and stranded in a city where she knows no one. She creates a goal for her and her daughter to make something out of their life, and she meets people along the way to help her meet her goal.

What's the Point of Life?

Author's note: I wrote this because I am reading a book where a girl has no father and her mother was addicted to drugs, so I thought I should write a story kind of like her life. 

Everyday is a struggle, I go to school trying to hide the pain that I feel.  In the morning I can barely get up because my back hurts so much from being whipped with a belt.  I dread the thought of sitting in school too, because I had 50 slashes from my father’s belt the night before. My mother was so high that she was completely oblivious to the beating my father did to me.  Child abuse is an awful thing so no parent should ever do this to their kid, it really ruins their life.

Everyone at school seems to have their own clicks that explains why I don’t have many friends. I only have one her name is Molly and we usually sit by each other in classes or at lunch. Although she has never came to my house before, or met my parents. If she did meet my parents she will probably stop being friends with me because she would found out that my dad is an alcoholic and my mom is addicted to heroin.  I decided I should probably go get my diary so I could write something to make me actually happy.  I got up but then my father looked at me, I knew he was going to say something mean or blame something on me.

“ Where is the remote control for the television?”  

“ How am I suppose to know, you never let me watch television. Why don’t you look for it yourself?”

“ Are you talking back to me Morgan?”

“ No.” I said then realized I wanted to take it all back....He walked towards me giving me a strange look like he was going to do something horrifying tonight.

I was screaming in pain telling him to stop every time he would push against my body.  He was pushing my hands down and sat on my legs so I couldn’t kick. I knew it had to stop soon, but it was going on for long enough. Finally he let go of me and got out of my bed he zipped up his pants then walked away.  Tears keep running down my face, but he seemed to be back for more.  Now he had his black leather belt behind his back.  I was terrified of what he was going to do next. He grabbed my shirt and ripped it in half so my boney spine was showing.  He repeated to hit me with the belt on my back, but it was the hardest he has ever hit me. It felt like it was going on  forever,  finally he stopped. The rest of the night I cried myself to sleep.

I woke up the next morning and I was still in pain. I decided not go to school and just to stay home alone.  I had no idea where my parents were but I was glad they weren’t home.  I tried to get up to get the phone but once I sat up from bed I know it would be hard to keep my legs stable. I put legs on the ground and took my black and blue hands to push off  the bed but I just couldn’t stand up. After the twentieth try finally I was up. It seemed so difficult to walk I felt like an elderly woman. I got to my outdated kitchen where the phone was, but I thought why even call the school they don’t care about me. I decided to keep the phone in my hand but I walked slowly to the cabinet where my dad’s gun was. I open the old cabinet, and there his brand new sliver pistol was. I got a hold of it and I knew exactly what I was going to use it for but I thought I want someone to know why I would do this to myself. I took a notepad that was under the pistol along with a pen and I started to write. I explained what happened to me, what I actually enjoyed in life and a paragraph to Molly saying how I will  miss her.

I began to cry I was scared if it was going to hurt, but I knew I was going to do it. I dialed 911 and someone picked up instantly. “ You are going to need to get a police officer down on W3467S5703 Kitten Lane there is child killed in the house.” The women started to talk but I wasn’t l listening I dropped the phone and picked up the pistol and I placed it right on my temple. I felt the tears run down my cheekbones  then I pulled the trigger. 

Is She Real or Not?

Author’s note: I have had so many fun times with my cousins extremely my cousin named Kimmy.

My cousin and I were really good friends we used to hang out a lot. Even though she lived in Brookfield so we went to different schools. When we would have family events we would always just talk to each other. I felt like she was the reason why I enjoyed going to those family events. Then she had to move to California, and we don’t talk  that much anymore. Although I did go to California and to visit her, we went to the beach a lot. I thought the it was so fun and California is so beautiful.

    This summer I am really excited because she is coming up to Wisconsin and she is going to stay at my grandparents house, they live in Brookfield. We are thinking about going to the Dells with them which would be a blast, we would go to a lot of outdoor water parks. The other times they came, we have gotten together with other family. It is always a joy to see all of our families members and extremely Kimmy.

Make Sure you Are Strapped in All the way.

Author's note: We choose death as our writing circle topic and I didn't really know how to write about someone dieing that was very close to someone so I made it someone that no one knew. Hope you enjoy!

I am so excited, tomorrow my best friend Lily and I are going to six flags it is going to be the time of our lives. Lily and I have been best friends for about 5 years now and we have done everything together. We live in Brookfield Wisconsin, so it might take awhile for us to get down there so we decided to leave early in the morning, We were going to pick up Lily and her mother. I should go to bed though because it is getting late and we have to get up at the crack of dawn.

    “Alice, you have to get up it is time to get ready.” My mother said in a nice peaceful voice. RIght then I got out of bed and rushed to the kitchen to get my breakfast. I saw that there were 5 huge pancakes just for me. I grabbed the syrup and stacked each pancake on each other. Every bite I took was delicious, I couldn’t stop eating then my mom walked over.
    “What do you wanna wear too Great America? It is probably going to be hot.”
    “Um, well will you get the blue shirt, and my jean shorts?” I said while trying to wipe my face.
    “Sounds good, and make sure you wash your face off your as messy as a pig.” She said while giggling. I did as I was told and ran in the bathroom to wipe my face, and brushed my teeth while I was at it. Right when I finished brushing my teeth I dashed to my room and changed immediately. I got out of my room, and looked around to find my dog, Lucky and she was barking away. I am guessing that she just didn’t want me to leave.
    “What should I bring in the car ride?” I asked my mom while I was petting my dog.
    “Well Lily and you could sleep in the car if you guys are still tired.” she said while putting some food in a bag.
    “Okay, I’ll meet you in the car. “ I said while picking up my green blanket. I sat in the middle seat of the van. I feel like I have been sitting in the car forever then finally my mom walks out with a big bag and cooler of food. She sets the stuff in the trunk, and then walks into the front seat and starts the engine.
    “Are you feeling okay or are you just still tired?” she said while pulling out of the drive way.
    “I feel fine, but like you said I am tired.” I said. We were now on our way to pick Lily up and it only takes about 5 minutes to get to her house.
    Finally we got there and they were waiting outside, it seemed like Lily was tired too well it was 6 o’clock in the morning. Neither of us are used to getting up that early.
    “Hi Lily!” I said while she was taking her seat right next to me.
    “Hey Alice, do you know what we are going to do on the ride there?”
    “Well I am sort of tired so do you want to just take a nap?”
    “Sounds great, I am too.”
The car came to a sudden stop and I realized that I have been sleeping for the whole ride. I turned to look at Lily and she was still sleeping.
    “Wow those cars were going slower than molasses.” Mrs. Shock said while she was opening the car door.
    “Are we there mom?” I asked.
    “Yeah do you want to walk up Lily?” I turned a shook Lily lightly and told her that we were here. Her big green eyes got huge once I told her. I was excited myself too. We walked up to the ticketmaster and surprisingly it wasn’t a long line, there wasn’t a lot of people there. Anyway right away we walk over to the best ride superman. We get up to the line and there was not anyone in line. We had to wait for the other ride to come back, and for some odd reason I felt like something bad was going to happen. The people that were just on came back, and we were allowed to go on the ride then. I sat by Lily, and our mothers were right in front of us. We got all strapped in and I couldn’t turn my head to be allowed to see Lily.
    “I feel like I am not strapped in all the way.” Lily said. Right when she said that I freaked out I didn’t want her to get hurt but then again that is how the ride is supposed to feel like.
    “Will someone check our seats again.” I yelled so they could hear me. The man that was working the ride came over and made sure we both were strapped in and he said that we were fine. I felt relieved once he told us that we were fine. Suddenly the ride started to move and we were on our way. The ride was turning so much that I actually felt like I was flying! Lily and I were screaming the whole time then all a sudden there was no noise out of Lily or the person right next to Lily. I wonder what happened, why would they both become silent. Although it did start to rain and seemed like it was going to have a storm pretty soon. The ride was just about over and I was going to ask right away. We came to a complete stop and we were allowed to get off. I noticed that Lily was crying but at least I know she is safe.

“Lily why are you crying?” I said to her while looking sympathetic.

“I saw the person to me fall out of their seat, I don’t know who they are.” she claimed while looking more scared than ever. I didn’t answer, but our moms asked us what happened and she told them right away. We told the man who was working the ride to tell someone about the dead body laying in the middle of the field. We knew we had to leave because all of us were scared to go on to another ride, and it started to downpour really hard. It was very odd that it started to rain because it was suppose to be sunny the whole day but I guess the weather man isn’t always right. I was then on scared always to go on roller coasters and even though we drove for a long time it didn’t matter.

Down Under.

Author's note: I thought that this is one of the most beautiful places and I would like to visit it in my lifetime.

A place that I have always wanted to go to was Austraila. I thought it would be interesting to go there because there are a lot of different animals. One of the animals  that I would mainly like to see would be the Kangaroo because they seem like very kind animals, and it would be very fun to see how it hops around.

Another reason why I would like to go to Australia is because there are many beautiful beaches. It would be extremely amusing to go swimming in the either the Indian or Southern Pacific ocean. Not only would I swim I would also take walks or runs in the morning and sometimes night to see the stunning sunset.

Along with that I would like to go see the Sydney Harbor bridge. Supposedly the highest point is 134 meters it is made out of steel. Which means that there is so many fantastic views, you probably could see the whole city. Also when it is night time there would be so many lights that it would light up the whole city.

    Overall I think that this would a wonderful experience. If I lived there I would feel like I was on vacation all year round. Hopefully sometime in my life I will live there.

Horrifying Nightmare

Author's note: I have seen many scary movies and I thought that this reminded me of many of the ones that I have seen. 


I am exhausted, I have a really bad headache from last night. I was at a party, with really loud music and now I have to go to class. I woke up a little late but that didn’t matter, I have 20 minutes to get to school where I have to turn in my essay. I walk into the hallway of my apartment and I don’t see anyone, then I see a black cat sitting right infront of me, staring at me. I thought it was as weird as someone sitting alone in the corner of a room. I figured no one was home and everyone was out, anyway I walked out to the parking lot where I park my Nissan. There were no cars there, I continued to get in my car.  I pulled out to go to the street, but there was no one driving their cars or there wasn’t even people walking. I figured that I should stop to get some coffee to wake up because maybe I am just imagining this. There is a Dunkin’ Donuts just up the street. 

I take the next turn to get my car into the parking lot, which no one was at. I didn’t know if anyone was even working there, but I figured I might as well go in and try. I get out of my car and grab my purse. I open the door to Dunkin’ Donuts, and there was a man standing with his back turned to me. I was as happy as clam, someone was actually there.

 “Excuse me, can I have a cup of coffee?” I said while pulling out a five dollar bill. The man grabbed the coffee pot and poured a single glass. Once he turned around I noticed that he had a scar on his face, it was on the left side. I felt like I have seen him before, in one of my dreams. 

“That will be $2.34.” He said with an unfriendly voice. I handed him the five that I had in my hand, and he handed me the cup of coffee. Without saying a word he handed me my change. I felt like I have just walked inside a haunted house. I walked out, and into my car and put my coffee down in the cup holder. Suddenly I noticed that the man was watching me, I got so freaked out that I quickly pulled out of the parking lot and now I was on my way for college class.
         
I took a sip of coffee, to see if there really were no cars around. The coffee was so hot that it felt like a fire started in throat. Although it did wake me up and I realized that there was a car behind me. Otherwise there were no cars. I took a left to arrive at my school. Just my luck it starts to rain really hard. 

I gathered my books, then I see the lightning bolt seconds later thunder was heard. I figured  I should run because class started in 4 minutes. The building was close to my parking spot and it wasn’t like anyone was there which was odd. I get into the building and it was as quiet as a mouse. I turn the corner and then again a black cat was sitting there staring at me, I knew if I wasted my time looking at the cat I would be late for class so I continued to walk. Finally I arrive at the door of my classroom, I open it and there was men that was standing in the corner of the room alone with his back turned to the class. It didn’t look like my teacher, so I walk over to the mysterious man.  

“Where is everyone? Who are you?” I asked. The man turned around, he had a scar on the left side of his face, it was the guy from Dunkin’ Donuts. I detected a knife in the man's right hand, I tried to ran but it was too late. His motion of his arm swinging to hit me with the knife was about to hit my neck.

 “Ahhhh! Please don’t!” I yelled with all my might. I was still alive, I opened my eyes and I was laying in bed it was just a terrifying nightmare.
   

Semantic Devices.

http://www.authorstream.com/Presentation/aSGuest134311-1411694-semantic-devices/

Syoblism

http://www.authorstream.com/Presentation/aSGuest134311-1411680-syoblism/

Oil Drilling

Author's note: I wrote this because I think that they should not ruin the wildress in Alaska.

While you’re walking in the wilderness you will see many beautiful plants, animals, and many other creatures. Think about all of this nature replaced with machinery, bare land full of hard workers. This will happen to the Alaska wilderness preserve, because of our consumption rates. Although digging will only reduce US oil imports by 4%, having no real effect on prices or supply. We should not dig for oil in Alaska because it will not improve our economic conditions at all.

On MSNBC it states even if the government decided to dig for oil, it would not reduce the price for gasoline. The U.S would barely be getting out of the lost production that we have had earlier.  Followed by that, the Article Wildlife Organization estimated that it would only be a six month supply. Which means this wouldn’t stop the need for getting oil from other countries. The US uses 25% to 30% of oil produced in the whole world, but the Alaskan reserve is less than 3%.

In order to process the oil reserves, they would have to disrupt ecosystem in Alaska. It is one of the largest sanctuaries, which many animals live in. According to National Resources Defense Council some are endangered, like the shaggy musk ox and a mammoth that was a survivor from the last ice age. Also it affects the beauty, because there would be over 60 contaminated sites. Lastly the landscape would be defaced by mountains of sewage sludge, scrap metal, and garage.

The Wilderness Society has said that if they were to drill they might have a big oil spill, and there are many animals that are in the water most of the time. If they were to have this spill the sea lions, seals, whales and other types of animals would be in risk of dying. Another article on buzzle.com said that the production rate will get higher and that means that there will be more usage, so it would generate more greenhouse gases.

In conclusion, digging for the oil will not help our economic conditions. Since oil is not renewable, we should save all of our reserves and find a different method. Eventually, in the future we can use the rest of the oil when needed.

The Past Matters.

Author’s note: When I started to this book, and I realized that it had a great lesson so I wanted to write about it.    

Some people have messed up their life, and wish that they could undo their mistakes. Although they can't, the only thing that they can change is their self now, but how do you change when you don't want to change. I have seen this happen to many people in movies, real life, even other books. A great example of this situation happened to a guy named Cole in the book Touching Spirit Bear by: Ben Mikaelsen. The author of this book really showed that the past makes us who we are now.

In this case, Cole was abused when he was younger by his dad so he had anger too. Many kids that were abused when they were younger either are quiet, or they may even be a bully when they grow up. There was an article by a girl that was abused by her dad and she said that since she was abused, it made her take her aggression out on her little sister. Also she says that she was now living her life in fear, and she will always be scarred. This shows that when kids get abused, they put there anger out on someone else.

Afterall how could you over come something like this, you can't change the past. The only thing that you can do is overcome it. Although Cole did heal himself, even though it took him more then one try. For example Opra Winfrey was abused when she was younger. Look at her now, she uses what happened to her in the past to inspire her to help others. Even Cole helped Peter through his depression, his experience at the island made him more sensitive to others.


Once Cole was given the second chance to go back to the island, he did activies to release his anger. This relates to many kids that do sports as in wrestling, boxing and football. By releasing their anger they are using the sport to direct their energy in a positive way. These are great ways to channel their energy rather then having them hurt others or get in to things that will hurt themselves.


Therefore, you can not change the past but you can use your past as a reference to what you will be doing in the future. Opra was a great example, and Cole was going to the right direction. Although he did not realize it right away he eventually figured out that he shouldn't live that way and to help others not live the way he used to. 




.    

   

The Effects of the Holocaust

 Author's note: I was reading this book and I felt bad about what happened so I wanted to write my essay on it.


    There are so many people that died during the Holocaust, just because they were Jewish. Only about 800 out of 270,000 survived in Lodz, Poland. Out of the 800 there were only 12 kids. One kid that survived was named Syvia, she was probably scared everyday just of death. In the book Yellow Star by Jennifer Roy the reader can see how hard it was for Syvia to live the way she did, and how it was not right or fair.

When you look back at this event it was so depressing, think of just being put in a concentration camp just like Syvia's friend. Syvia started to become best friends with a girl in her building, then she got taken away to the concentration camp, and she was never saw again. When you would go to the concentration it meant that the Germans would kill you if you were Jewish. This happened to Anne Frank and her family, they were hidding from the Germans but then they were caught and all were killed.  Most of the kids would go there rather then the parents because the parents could do work for the Germans. For example Syvia's parents never were told to be put on the train, but they had to work. Even that isn’t right because they shouldn’t make innocent pedestrians work.

  
 Many people have lost their lives, but some that lived, lost about everything. Such as Syvia that lost her most valuable belongings, and lost her childhood. Other people in this event were lucky that they lived, many walked out of Poland by their self with no family and no plan or money. Most people were like this, even Syvia was like this although she lost mother on the way to France. Almost everyone single person that went through this, is emotional damaged.

   

 I would imagine that the kids and even some of the adults live their life in fear. Even Syvia was having night mares every night, she still thought that she would have to live life as a secret. When there was suppose to be no kids left, her parents took her and her little cousin under ground with the other ten kids. All of the parents of the kids would bring food to them so they could still be able to eat. After all Syvia grew up and moved to America, and ended up living in peace. Her cousin's said in touch with her, and they even lived with each other for a little bit.

   

This event, made a huge impact in history and it will continued to be told, and learned about. People still judge about where they are from and what they believe in. Even Syvia wished that she was not Jewish even though there should not be a problem. Everyone should be treated the same, although it has got in better.

At Least you Tried.

Author's note: I really like this quote and it is a very good influence on many people.

Try and fail, but don’t fail to try.- Stephen Kaggwa. This is one of the best inspirational quotes that I have heard. I like this certain quote because it is telling you that if you put out an effort but you are still no good or can’t do it at least you tried.  This really relates to many things such as if Thomas Edison didn’t attempt to make the light bulb we probably wouldn’t have had it now.  Which this would come around for many other inventions, people that have tried to make something had to fail at least more than once.

Another thing that this quote reminds me of would be that you shouldn’t just stop trying to do one certain thing. I mean that if you can’t do something then why stop trying why not try to do it more so then you can get better and then maybe at one point finally do it. There are so many things out there that people are good at and others are not. People should think of this quote when they are down and think that they can’t do anything.

Furry

Author's note: I think that Koalas are very furry so I wanted to learn more about them.

           Your walking in the forest in hunt to find a really interesting cute animal what do you think you would be trying to see. Honestly you would probably want to be looking for the koala bear they seem to be the cutest and the one that would want to be cuddling. It gets me the most how furry they are, but the real reason they have so much fur is because they have to protect themselves from the heat and the cold. They say it is like a rain coat, because it is so thick. Some people say that humans used to hurt koalas for their fur, because of how pretty it is.

            Another thing that I like about the koala is how they act. They are always up in trees and crawling along the branches. Supposedly they are in a tree because they need the moisture from the leaves, because they don’t drink much. Although if you see them not in a tree they are either jumping to another tree, or trying to get some shade. If they don’t want the moisture or eating then they are probably sleeping. The koala sits in the tree for 18 hours of the day just napping and resting.

            Apparently their isn’t a lot of their land left because people hunt them and tear down their habit. Now there are strict laws against that, and they are trying to help them and keep them living. Hopefully sometime if you ever go in the forest you can see one and maybe if they aren’t scared of you then you can go and pet them. 

Mouth watering

Authors note: I really enjoy having this food, and I wanted to try to describe it. 

 

                                              

                                              Ice cream

                                    Irresistible, scrumptious

                               Licking, ingesting fascinating

                               A rich sweet, creamy treat

                                             Dessert