K1.) Little Johnny's Adventure

One night little Johnny decided it was time for an adventure and what better way to do that then to embark on a journey. When everyone was fast asleep Johnny escaped out through his window, climbed down the trellis and walked out into the mystifying night. Johnny decided that he would take a shortcut through the cemetery to make his way over to the boardwalk where he would get ready to watch the boats set sail. But while traveling through the cemetery little Johnny started to hear voices calling his name. Johnny began to pick up his pace when he was stopped by a dark figure that he couldn’t make out because his face had been masked. Johnny began to panic and felt his heart beating out of his chest. With shaky legs and palms sweating Johnny realized the figure was nothing more than a ghost warning him to turn back. He decided to turn back and cut through a different way so he wouldn’t run into the creepy figure once again. Once Johnny reached the end of the graveyard he felt a great rush of relief escape his body. As he continued on Johnny came upon a figure that looked similar to the ghost he saw before but in his eyes he could tell this figure was evil and wasn’t happy about Johnny trespassing. The figure asked Johnny to follow him toward the boardwalk, at first he was very hesitant but knew that if he didn’t follow there would be major consequences. When they approached the boardwalk the figure walked towards a ghostly looking boat and demanded Johnny to get in. Johnny knew that something about this boat was not good and needed to get away. The figure began to grow angry and started shouting, when Johnny noticed to the right of him the ghost he saw in the cemetery approaching. He shouted for the boy to step away from the boat, he and quickly through the ghost into the boat as it took off with the current. The ghost from the cemetery asked why the boy disobeyed him and then went on to tell little Johnny the curse of the boat. He explained that the boat was a place they took kids to because it takes away their souls giving them more power to survive. So, as the boat carried off into the distance Johnny and the ghost kept their eyes on its path.

J4.) What's Good About School Dances...

There are many people that enjoy school dances but me on the other hand totally dreads them. I mean it’s nice being able to hang out with my close friends, but I just absolutely hate the environment. On my weekends I enjoy the fact that I don’t have to go to school for a whole two days, so going to these dances makes me realize how much I dislike school. Your probably wondering why bother going to the dance but the problem is my friends make a valid point that it is my senior year and that I will end up enjoying it. Plus my one friend constantly makes me feel terrible if I don’t go to these events with her. The problem is I absolutely hate dancing so an event that is based around all of that just makes it all the more worse. I really enjoy being able to dress up and see what everybody else decided to wear, but if that’s the only thing I can think of that I enjoy at a dance why bother going. I am the type of person that enjoys the after part of the dance because I absolutely love being able to go out with all of my friends and take part in activities I actually enjoy doing. I decided that as much as I hate dances I’m going to try to make the best of it and put my happy face on for the time because eventually it will be over. The only thing I hope to avoid for this dance is having to take a billion pictures. I’m looking forward to going over to my friend Madeline’s house and hanging out. It may start off as a rough night but once I get into her hot tub the night will have turned around for the better.

J3.) Favorite Bands

I have three favorite bands so I cannot choose a favorite. One of my favorite bands is Kings Of Leon, they have such original music. I absolutely love Kings Of Leon because there is not one song of theirs that I dislike. All of their songs have some sort of meaning to me and make me happy every time I hear them. Me and my best friend Cindy planned on attending one of their concerts over the summer and were devastated when their tour was cancelled. So hopefully one day we will be able to attend one of their concerts. Another band I absolutely enjoy listening to is Nickelback, which is up there on the top of my list as my number one band. I remember all the times my cousin, aunt, and I would all jam out to Nickelback on a long car ride. I love their music because it has meaning and depth and isn’t the typical pop band. I have listened to Nickelback since I was younger so it’s just there with me and will always be. The third band I absolutely love is Spice Girls because their classic. I love listening to their music because there has not been one time I have been able to just sit back and not sing along to it. I loved that they were and all girl group and there outfits just made the whole group. I hope that one day they get back together and have one last tour. Not to mention thanks to the Spice Girls it makes for great Halloween costumes. I love that all the guys dress up in the Spice Girl apparel and make it a huge joke. Let’ s face it there is not that many bands out there that I can honestly say I like but these bands win me over.

J2.) Favorite Teacher K-5

When I was eight years old my family and I moved to Alden because we were building a new house. So I had the honor of attending third grade in the Alden school district. I didn’t spend much time in the school district so if I had to pick my favorite teacher from third to fifth grade it would definitely have to be my fifth grade teacher Mrs. Bishop. She was one of the sweetest and easy going teachers I had met since I moved here. When I was struggling with science she would stay after school with me and help me until I felt confident with the material. She was great at teaching and the best part was that she made it enjoyable to learn. We would spend time doing fun activities that would help us learn new material. Mrs. Bishop would never raise her voice, no matter how annoyed she would get with us and that truly made me feel respect for her. I remember she always made time for us to joke around and not always be serious but she made it clear when it was time to get back to work. I really liked the fact that she was extremely organized; she had a specific chart for lunches, a chart for those who did their homework and so on. I thought it was smart of her to teach those that did their homework that they would be rewarded with free time and those that didn’t even attempt to do their homework were not allowed to have free time. I thought that was a great strategy to get kids to realize that they need to do their work in order to be rewarded. I also liked the chart that if you did your homework for a certain amount of time she would give you a ticket that said one free get out of homework card. The fact is she was a good teacher and at the same time was fun and nice.

J1. What A Hero Truly Is...

Hero is defined as ‘a person of distinguished courage or ability, admired for his brave deeds and noble qualities. In my opinion hero has a lot more meaning than the definition displayed. To me a hero is one who puts themselves out there, not caring what anyone thinks, is a good remodel for those not put on the right track, and most of all is a leader that is strong-willed and sets out to accomplish the impossible. Madeline Koelbl, my best friend who I have known for years deserves the title of “my hero”. Madeline has always been there for me, through all my ups and downs she’s backed me up no matter what. I can honestly say that everyone needs a friend like Madeline Koelbl, she is sincere, smart, and motivated. Madeline is my hero because she is the best influence on my life, she has taught me that it’s possible to have fun and still be a hard worker. My whole life all I cared about was having fun and didn’t really care about my grades, but Madeline proved that she had time to hang out with friends and still work hard and get good grades. Her whole life she has been extremely motivated, she participated in several sports and excelled in all of them. Not only was she motivated to do her best, but in swimming she led other teammates to put forth all they had and to never give up. The greatest characteristic that Madeline possess is that she is not self-absorbed and puts others before herself. She is the best friend I could ever ask for because whenever I’m feeling down she is always there to help me get through it. I couldn’t ask for a better best friend, she always has my back and that is why I can call her “my hero”.

4.) My Thoughts On This Mild Winter...

Many people are either thrilled or annoyed that this year is supposed to be a mild winter. In my case I am more than ecstatic about this year’s weather. Not only does snow make it difficult to reach your destination quickly and safely, but it leaves me dreading to get out of bed. For some people heavy snowfall is a downfall because unless you have a snow plow you are stuck going outside to shovel your driveway. When it snows I wish nothing more than to stay bundled in my covers and sleep the day away, which is not good when you have so many things that need to be tended to. Don’t get me wrong there are some reasons as to why I wish we would get a little snow. I love being able to go snowmobiling and sledding, but most of all I live for going out and going cross country skiing with my mom. The snow is enjoyable for these activities but other than that there are no other reasons as to why I would wish for snowfall. I am the type of person that enjoys nothing more than being able to sit outside and enjoy the warm weather. There are always times that a little cold weather is good, but that’s what fall is for. I see no reason as to why we have to deal with crazy amounts of snowfall during winter. If I could I would move somewhere that consists of a high climate, like North Carolina or even Florida. When I heard that my parents booked a tripped to the Mayan Rivera I was the happiest kid alive because just the thought of leaving this town to head somewhere warm was thrilling. So those who are disappointed about the scarce amount of snow we have received should be happy because next year I’m sure will get pounded with snowfall.

My Higlight of Holiday Break

There was so many things that I enjoyed while being on holiday break. I absolutely loved the time I was given to see family members I haven’t been in touch with for a while and hang out with all my closest friends. But, the highlight of my break had to be Christmas day because everyone was just so happy and everyone was able to come together and the most celebrated holiday. I enjoyed every minute of Christmas, not just because I was able to open gifts but because I had the time to see every side of my family and not have to worry about being away from the people you love. Christmas day was the high point of my vacation because I just loved being to put smiles on the people’s faces and not always be about myself. I mean what’s better than being able to think of someone other than yourself and see their face light up; I just absolutely love that feeling. Some other reasons as to why Christmas was my high point of the break was because I was able to pig out on delicious food all day and not have to feel bad about it, I wish everyday could be like that and I would never gain weight from it. A close second for the high point of my vacation was New Year’s Eve because my best friend, her family, and I all went to dinner at Friar’s Table. I can honestly say that I had the best meal that I have had in a while. What’s better than filet mignon and lobster tail? After dinner we all headed over to Shea’s Performing Arts Center to catch a few comedians perform. Once the comedy show was over we went down town and waited for the ball to drop. While, I was there I was able to witness several older ladies dancing really crazy, which just made for an amazing night. Both of these days remind me that school may be terrible but there are still things out there that you can look forward to.

Top Three Items On My Bucket LIst

Every person should create a bucket list once in their life, because there are just so many things you want to try before you die and what better way to do that then listing in order the things you hope to complete. My top item on my bucket list would be to go sky diving, I think it would thrilling like nothing I have ever tried before. Plus, I am extremely terrified of heights so what better way to face that fear. Not only would sky diving be something different but I think it would be life changing. The second item on my bucket list would be to travel to Hawaii with loved ones and ride the dolphins in the ocean. I have always wanted to travel to Hawaii since I was little, so I think it would a great opportunity. Not only would it be great to swim in the ocean but I think there is so many things to sight see you would never run out of things to do. I can just imagine myself down on the beach drinking some type of tropical drink soaking up the sun, there is absolutely no worries going on in my head, it’s just the perfect dream vacation. The third item on my bucket list would have to be meeting Channing Tatum in person. I absolutely love him; he is a great actor and is extremely attractive. Channing has starred in many of my favorite movies, so he would be my top choice as in what famous guy I would die to meet. I believe that meeting Channing Tatum would be a one in a life time thing and would be happy for life. There are so many more items that I would add to my bucket list if I had one, but these are just the ones that would be top on my list.

What Better Way To Start Off The Year

What better way to start out the New Year but with a new year’s resolution? My new year’s resolution would have to be not letting people’s insensitive attitudes toward me bring me down. I have spent way too much time in life allowing people’s words to affect me and what’s the point because those are the people that don’t feel good about themselves so they like to drag you down with them. I can tell you I will no longer take what people say to the heart. There is absolutely no point in getting in arguments with people over what comes out of their mouth because its’ not helping me, it’s just bringing me down to their level. I think this will be the greatest resolution idea ever because I need to realize that not every person that I meet I am going to like. I need to realize that when it comes time to get into a professional career that there is always going to be that one person you just can’t stand and you just need to learn to ignore it. Maybe one day these people will realize that no one likes to be around people that have nothing nice to say. All I can say is that those who dish it out will one day be hit with karma good. I’m hoping this New Year’s resolution will open my eyes and make me realize that people like that are not worth my time and shouldn’t bother with them. This year I plan on being very independent, so just because my friend likes a certain person doesn’t mean I’m going to like them. I was not put on this earth to please other people, so if I don’t like a person I’m going to stay far away from them and act they don’t exist. This may seem harsh but I am done wasting my time on people that obviously don’t care about me, so why should I ever give them the time of day or satisfaction. Well this will be the smartest resolution I thought to ever try.