Wet Christmas

Wet Christmas

the rain pours down and washes all hopes of a white Christmas away

I’m outside checking for any signs of snow

the sun shines down happily peeking out of the clouds yet I am not happy at all

I feel the wet plops of rain as they drip down on me from the puffy clouds

the weather outside makes me want a popsicles, ice cream, or an ice cold drink, not the soft, warm cookies, the hot chocolate, or gingerbread men

instead I have a bitter taste of hatred toward the warm weather

warm weather is enjoyable, but everyone deserves a white Christmas

not a wet Christmas

Where Does Poetry Hide?

Where poetry hides…

beautiful Yellowstone Mammoth Hot Springs

The little table with the striped umbrella on my back porch

My grandparents’ old apartment

under Leah’s bed where bouncy balls and half dressed Barbies hide

in the basement in a small closet

in the black, polished mailbox

in my orange and black Halloween basket

on the top shelf of my pantry where the chocolate hides from little fingers

my closet full of clothes in my bedroom

in the dollar section of the Target, in the bins with the silly hats

at the delicious Starbucks in Target

A poem is born.

Disney Amusement Park Ride

Dear Disney Amusement Parks Co. executives,

These are my very educated thoughts on your next amusement ride.  Vanellope Von Schweetz, the little girl from Wreck it Ralph, is cute and sweet, with a touch of sassiness.  She is the perfect character to guide a simulator ride for Wreck It Ralph.   The ride should be full of colors, just like the movie, and should have sweet smells because kids will enjoy them.  There will be green mints falling into the chocolate lava, and the carts should be sloppily made with candy, just like in the movie.  The videos should all be clips from the movie.  The screen for the videos should be in front and stretch above the riders’ heads.  There should be rooms for the riders to walk into, with a person instructing each party where to go.  It should have lots of different lines for riders to wait in that lead to sets of waiting rooms.  Different Wreck it Ralph clips are playing in the waiting rooms to make the wait time go faster.

The simulator will include some slightly sudden movements upward and forward, when the cart glitches for some excitement. The ride will include 3d videos of the scene when Ralph and Vanellope escape through the secret passageways.  “Shut up and Drive,” will be playing the whole time so riders can recall the scene.  In the movie, Ralph tries to teach Vanellope how to drive the car, but she keeps hitting Ralph with it.  In the ride, the cars will go backwards and forwards and repeatedly hit Ralph, as the car had in the movie.  This will create some laughs.  After this, the riders will “get the hang of it”, and they will drive rapidly around the pathway many times.  The riders will then drive off the path, and onto the unfinished road with Vanellope.  Her head will touch the mints, and she will exclaim, “Hold on, guys!  Whoa!”  The cars will fly up and riders will have their heads hit the hologram mints at the top of the cave.  Mints will fall down behind them, and there will be small explosions in the soda lava, causing the kart to rumble.  The kart will, then, drop back down onto the path.  

All kids will love the fun stimulator ride because it will not include anything scary.  It will not include any large drops or loops, because kids who watch Wreck It Ralph are probably very young, and would be scared of large drops and loops.  The ride will include lots of kid-friendly photos/videos as well.  All of it would be made up of clips from the movie, with some extra lines in it, like, “Hold on, guys!  Whoa!”  The little girl will say that when their heads “hit” the mints.The ride would only consist of fun, kid-friendly clips.  Because kids will love this ride, it will be one more thing to add on their list of rides they want to go on again.  They will convince their parents to visit Disney World more often in the future, because they enjoyed this ride.  They might also take their own families to Disney World when they grow up.  When their families come back in the future, Disney Amusement Park Co. will make more money!

The Wreck It Ralph ride will be similar to The Simpsons ride in Universal Studios, because they will both be simulators with convincing graphics.  The Wreck It Ralph Simulator should be slightly more kid-friendly, though.  The Simpsons Simulator is very exciting, but includes some scary parts.  Even though the kart is just rumbling, with the high-tech videos, I feel like I am actually there, seeing the evil man and being eaten by the baby.  For your Wreck It Ralph Ride, the videos should be high tech, but less scary.  This will appeal to a broader audience.  In the Simpsons Ride, the goal is to run away from an evil man, but the goal in the Wreck It Ralph Ride, should be to win a race, instead.

I look forward to meeting up with you and building the ride.  I have a complicated map written out for the ride already.  I will be charging you ten million dollars for the making of this ride which was my idea.  I have hired some construction workers and they are ready to build the ride.  Send me a letter back when you are ready to schedule a meeting.

Sincerely,

Angie, Specialist for Amusement Park Rides

So we got a kitten... and I wrote a contract for him

I, ____________________, do solemnly swear to provide our cat, Gus Gus, with love, comfort, and attention for his entire lifetime.  I promise to fill all of his basic needs.

I promise to:

• Provide my cat with toys.
• Play with him.
• Give him food that he likes, including canned tuna.
• Make sure that he has clean water to drink.
• Clean out the litter box.
• Allow him to roam around in our home.
• Invite him to sleep wherever he wants.  He’ll have his own bed but can also sleep with us if he’s lonely.
• Give him kind and gentle care.
• Coordinate preventative medical care, as well as treatment if he is sick.

I accept responsibility for these daily chores:

1. litter box

2. food

3. water

I agree to do my assigned chore each week.  I understand that other responsibilities may be needed, including brushing hair, trimming nails, and vet visits.  I understand there will be penalties for not doing my job, because of the importance of these jobs to Gus Gus.

Little sister- no Ipad for a day, Dad - 10 push ups, Older sister- (I won’t forget anyway) clean my room

* Punishment only applies if job was forgotten and substitute was not requested.  

x___________________________ ____________________________

Baldness project vs Malaria project

I was given a prompt about whether I should fund for baldness which would give me money or fund for malaria, a deadly disease killing off millions. Here goes nothing.

I might fund baldness, because I could become rich.  I could be a millionare, like Taylor Swift!  Actually, I won’t be like Taylor Swift, because she is a multi-millionare.  But still, I would make lots of money out of this, which I could spend on clothes, and expensive stuff.  I could buy as many Taylor Swift concert tickets as I wanted (I love Taylor Swift).  Maybe the baldness project won’t give me so much money, but I would still be rich!  Funding the baldness project will help me gain money that will help me buy things I want.

            I want that money, but, on the other hand, funding for malaria may save lives.  Funding the malaria project will not get me any money.  Although this is the case, I have enough money to survive, and being rich won’t solve all my problems.  Money is important, but people’s lives are more important than money.  If I help others survive malaria, I will be a better person by saving people’s lives.  If I fund for a baldness cure, I won’t save anyone’s lives, unless someone who was bald did suicide.  Some people might hate being bald, and they would really want hair.  They would want it so much, they would kill themselves! 

            Still, if I fund for malaria, a deadly disease, I could save lots more people than by helping stop baldness.  Not many bald people would do suicide, just because they wanted hair—only a few people would.  Many more people would die from malaria.  Malaria kills 1.2 million people each year on average.  That’s a lot more than 1 or 2 people who would die from baldness.  Funding malaria will help stop the large numbers of dead people each year.

            If someone killed themselves, because they were bald, that would have been their own decision.  People don’t choose if they want to die from malaria or not.  In fact, I bet that almost one hundred percent of people with malaria didn’t want to die.  People bald would kill themselves by choice, but people with malaria would die against their own will.

            If I fund for malaria, it might get sponsors.  The malaria project may get sponsors to help support them, if the malaria project gets popular.  If I fund the project, that would be one step closer to getting sponsors.  The sponsors will help fund money for the project.  They may even advertise the malaria project, so more people fund it.  Malaria will stop killing people, if the project gets enough funds.  This would save millions of people over the years!  I should fund the malaria project, because sponsors will help the malaria project, if it gets popular.

            I will fund for the malaria project, because funding for baldness may give me money, but won’t make me a better person; if I help save people’s lives by funding for malaria, I have become a better person.  Saving others is more important than making me rich and spoiled.  Maybe, in the future, I will fund for baldness.  As of now, the malaria is killing at least a million people each year, so I will fund to stop the big numbers of people dying from malaria.

Octarchy vs monarchy/presidency

               A country ruled by an octarchy, a government of eight people, would be a stronger government than a country ruled by a monarchy or a presidency, because they will less likely make mistakes, and can make people listen better.  A country ruled by and octarchy would make fewer mistakes.  If a few of the eight people in the government might want to do something wrong, the others could tell them about their way of thinking, and they would make the right decision together as a group.  If a country is ruled by one person, that person is more likely to make a mistake, because he might have his own way of thinking and might want to do things the way the citizens would not.  For example, the government might be deciding if the citizens of the country should get involved in a war or not.  If the problem that caused the war is big enough, like a need for oil, or other resources, then the government will probably make a good decision and fight for resources.  Octarchies will make a choice that is right for the citizens, because octarchies have more people discussing the subject.  Eight people will discuss the matter.  They will all have different point of views, so they will discuss the matter and come up with a decision that is right for the country.  One person ruling could end up with the ruler making a decision that is not reasonable.  A president might have had a life in war as a child and thought it was too dangerous.  If the issue is that we need resources, then he might decide that we will not join in the war, even though it is important.  More countries should be ruled by octarchies, a smarter, more logical government, because octarchies are a lot less likely to make serious mistakes.

Ghost story

               As we huddled around a campfire, Vivi said to us, “A few campers, just like us, were camping out in the woods on a dare.  On a dark and stormy night, a hoot echoed through the woods”— in my mind, the hooting created a vivid image of an owl.  Nothing to be worried about, just an owl, I thought. 

               “These campers shivered in the cold.  They huddled together around the campfire, which would soon go out if they didn’t keep regenerating it with wood.  The campers reviewed the amount of hours they had left until the dare was over and they could return home.  One of their friends had dared them to stay a whole five hours outside.  They had approximately three hours left.  It was seven o’clock, and they came into the woods at five.  The rules of the dare were that they couldn’t bring anything like tents, microwaves, or telephones.  Since there was no rule that they couldn’t bring telescopes, they each brought one, and they looked at the stars and the moon.  That got boring though, so to keep them vivacious, the friends sang some lively songs.  They sang them in a monotone, because they were not happy in their wet clothes and shivering bodies.”

               “‘Argh!’ the sound pierced the night.

               “Many people ran around and nobody knew what was going on.  Some people ran to exit the woods.  Others tried, unsuccessfully to calm everyone down, assuring them that everything would be fine.    There was a blur of people running and yelling, but then, one camper noticed a ghost.  Nobody seemed to notice the ghost, except him.  Everyone was too panicked.  Some people were even running through the ghost without noticing.”

               “The camper looking at the ghost saw that he was in pain. The wailing sound was probably from when he got hurt.  Blood dripped from his leg.  The drops of blood singed the grass when they fell to the ground.  Even though the boy could see the ghost so clearly, no one else seemed to notice.  All the confusion scared the camper, causing him to feel as though he was passing out.  He thought to himself, why am I the only one who can see this ghost?  Is there something wrong with me—am I hallucinating?”

               I blinked my eyes.  Everybody stared at me like I was crazy.  I noticed that my arms were up in a shielding position, and I was on one leg.  I sat back down.  As I sat down, I realized that I had just imagined all the chaos and confusion.  I was just visualizing Vivi’s story as she told it.  We were really just camping and sitting around the campfire.  There was no dark sky, or storm.

               Vivi continued, “And everybody, including the young camper, disappeared when the ghost fell to the ground.”

               Vivi’s mom shouted from inside the cabin, “I’ve got everything we need to make s’mores!”  Everybody ran excitedly to get the first serving.

Innovation

               Innovation can be beneficial to the future of the human race, just as in the past; because new, creative innovations, can make the world more organized, give people more entertainment, and help them have a better education.  The world can be more organized when people plan cities, instead of just putting buildings in random places.  They can use an innovation such as graph paper, and folders can organize the papers.  New innovations will also give the human race more entertainment.  An innovation may be an invention such the television, the iPad, and many other products which entertain the human race.  People will also have better education, because many people like to think outside of the box, so they will become smart and make inventions for others to be smart, too.  Somebody must have thought of the world as a sphere, instead of being flat, even though that was considered weird in the past.  Eventually everybody found out that person was right, and the world is a sphere.  Now, everybody knows the world is a sphere.  In the future, many new innovations will help the world by keeping it organized, entertaining the human race, and educating people.

Galileo

               When Galileo published his discovery that the solar system was helio-centric, the society should not have a right from the truth being known.  The society is coming into direct conflict with the citizens, because they want to know the truths.  At the time, everybody thought the world was geo-centric, Earth centered, because the previous philosophers had all thought that.  The people wanted to know if the world was geo-centric or helio-centric.  Teachers would want to know whether the universe was geo-centric or helio-centric, based on the latest information discovered by Galileo, so they could teach their students the correct information.  The students needed the correct information, so when they took tests and exams, they would fill in the correct information.  Scientists also needed to know what Galileo thought, because they need to know whether or not they needed to keep studying it.  They need to know if they are done studying the topic of whether the universe is geo-centric or helio-centric.  When Galileo discovered the solar system was helio-centric, the society should not have had the right to hide the truth from the citizens.  

Vandalism

               Vandalism is a horrible crime, and should never be done.  Vandalism is when people destroy or ruin other people’s property. Many people would get mad if their house was destroyed, because they bought it with money which is valuable and precious.  Because people will get mad, Congress decided to make a law against vandalism.  Although the law is set, and nobody should break it, some criminals do.  An act of vandalism could be done secretively, with nobody knowing about it, or it could be done egregiously, with barely any secrecy.  If the act of vandalism was done egregiously many people would know about it, and the police could catch the criminals faster.  Egregious means flagrant, easily noticeable.  The people around the area of the scene would easily notice the criminal’s act of vandalism.  They would be able to report to the police fast.  The police would be able to go to the scene of crime and arrest the criminals there.  Even if they didn’t get there in time, the witnesses would be able to tell the police what the criminals looked like, so the police would be able to find them faster.  If an act of vandalism was committed in stealth and secrecy, the act would still be quite outrageous, because the person who owned the items would be mad.  But unlike an egregious act, a secretive act would be concealed.  The criminals probably wouldn’t be caught on the scene.  If the act was done secretively, nobody would know who did it, and the police could spend months looking for the criminal.  They are both equally atrocious, but if the criminals went about the act egregiously, they are just asking to be caught, and the cops will then be able to catch them easily.  Therefore, vandalism is better done egregiously, than secretively.

Avoiding someone

               I avoided talking to my friend by staying away from her, ignoring her, and getting help from my closest, trusted friends.  My friend was following me around too much, so I decided I did not want her to follow me around as much.  I tried to keep her from following me by asking her nicely if she could try not to follow me around as much.  She said she would try, but over the next few days, I noticed her following me again.  I decided I should just avoid her by using three subterfuges.  First, I stayed away from her as much as possible.  I wasn’t in most of her classes, so I rarely saw her.  When I saw her in the hallways or homeroom, I ignored her.  When she tried to make conversation, I didn’t say anything, as though I couldn’t hear her.  When she frantically kept saying my name, I made an excuse not to talk to her.  When she still clung to me, I desperately asked my closest friends for some help.  They stuck with me more at lunch, and played with me at recess.  Soon, my friend took the hint and stayed away from me.  A few days later, I played with her at recess so that I didn’t hurt her feelings.  I still did not hang out with her much, but we found that we could get along well.  Staying away, ignoring, and getting help from a few trusted friends can help me avoid people.

Audiophiles vs bibliophiles

               An audiophile has a richer, more fulfilling life than a bibliophile.  An audiophile loves to listen to music, while a bibliophile loves to read.  An audiophile listens to music, and listening to music won’t damage anything in a body.  Reading, on the other hand, can hurt the eyes, so a bibliophile can get damaged eyes.  While listening to music, an audiophile can take a shower, do chores, and exercise.  While reading a book, a bibliophile will have to focus on the book and won’t be able to do other things.  An audiophile will be less socially awkward than a bibliophile.  If someone always sticks their head in a book, they most likely will not have many friends; they won’t talk to anyone because they are always reading a book.  By talking to others, people can become friends.  If someone always listens to music, most likely they will have many friends, because they talk to people about artists and song lyrics.  An audiophile has a much better life, listening to music, than a bibliophile.

Anthropologists

               There is an important anthropologist, someone who studies mankind, named John Smith. He knows what type of animal each bone or fossil came from just by examining it.   Today, his crew and he are looking for Neanderthal fossils.  Neanderthals are closely related to humans, which is why Mr. Smith is going to study the bones in the cave.  He is a bit cuckoo in the head, though.  As John Smith’s crew starts digging for fossils, he examines his nails, and barks at people.  He shouts things like, “I will not dismiss you until you finish this the right way,” or “you call that succeeding at your task!  Hah!  That hole doesn’t seem like an ant could fit in it.  You say you have proceeded, well, to me, it looks like your hole got smaller!”  When somebody finds a fossil, Smith reports in a bellow that it was a fossil of a bear, or of a fish, but not Neanderthal bones.  Suddenly, one of the members of the crew exclaims, “I think this could be it, master!”  He holds up a white, oddly shaped bone.  The edges look like they had been chewed on by some other animal.  John Smith declares that the fossil is indeed Neanderthal, and a bear probably lived in the cave that ate fish and Neanderthals.  He says his job is done, and leaves without another word.  John Smith is important, because he can tell whether or not a bone is one of a Neanderthal or not just by taking a quick look.

Impressing people

               Acting magnanimous in order to impress people is worse than acting pusillanimous.  Acting magnanimous would mean that someone was acting kind and generous.  Acting magnanimous would make people think someone is nice, even when they are not.  People would be deceived by the acts of generosity and kindness from a person seeming magnanimous.  A person being pusillanimous would not deceive people about their personality, so others will know the person’s real personality.  If the person was truly nice, then others would be his or her friend.  Acting pusillanimous would be better than magnanimous, because acting magnanimous will deceive people, while acting pusillanimous would show people the person’s true personality.

Acropolis

               The word acropolis has many meanings, such as a city with high walls surrounding it, a city with a high population, or a Greek city.  “Acro” means high, and “polis” means city.  An acropolis could be a city with high walls surrounding it.  It could be a city with a high population.  An acropolis might be a city where the houses are made high, like skyscrapers.  The word is heard in Greek stories, so it might mean a Greek city with high walls surrounding it.  Many Greeks put high walls around their cities, to protect themselves from others.  The acropolis could mean many things, but the true Acropolis is an ancient citadel on a rocky hill above Athens. 

New Kid

On the first day of, I walked into the loud, crowded bus.  People were talking loudly and yelling.  The aisle was packed and gave no personal space.  I remembered the first rush of nervousness and excitement, as I walked down the aisle and looked around for an empty seat.  Many people were pushing in the line, trying to get into a seat as soon as possible.  When I walked down to nearly the last seat, a patrol told me to sit in a seat with two other children.  I sat down quietly, trying to make myself smaller, so that the two other students wouldn’t be squished and annoyed with me.  They must have been friends, because they were chatting away.  I felt left out and very nervous at first.  The two friends started talking to me.  They included me in their conversation, and soon I was a lot less nervous as I realized how kind the students could be.  I just hoped the other students and teachers were understanding and nice like them. 

Soon, we arrived at school.  Many questions started forming in my head, as I walked into the big school—only making me more nervous.  “Will my teacher be nice?  Will I make any friends?  Will I fit in, or stay the ‘new kid’?  Will I be able to find my classroom?”  They kept echoing in my head, even though I told them to go away.    I had heard that many people got lost, so I paid careful attention to all the turns in the hallway.  Even though I did this, I still couldn’t find my classroom.  I reached my classroom after searching for several minutes. 

I realized the students were very helpful and not in the least bit mean.  They guided me around the school, and they told me what to do.  I also realized the teachers were nice and understanding.  The teacher let the new kids introduce themselves.  After that, I felt as though I had been officially declared a Floris student—not just some new kid.  They explained how everything worked, and told me about the daily routines.  Soon, I learned what WFLO was, and how to work the SmartBoard. 

Then, it was time for lunch.  I didn’t know where to sit.  Many people invited me over.  It felt special.  Many people wanted to be with me—maybe even be friends.  I felt special.  I took a seat with some kids who seemed pretty eager to sit with me.  Lunch went by in a flash, and it was time for recess!  Many groups of children formed, so I joined one of them.  They kindly invited me to play with them.  Recess went by even faster than lunch, and it was time to pack up sooner than I had expected.  The day had just seemed to start, when it ended. 

Over the next few days, I got used to the daily routines, and the expectations.  They became a part of my life.  I made new friends, and soon, I was no longer the “new kid.”    

Taylor Swift Concert

I was never as hyper and sleepless as I was before I went to the Taylor Swift concert.  The concert was at the Verizon Center in Washington D.C.  I couldn’t believe that I would actually see Taylor Swift in person and breath the same air as her.  I see her on posters on my walls and in videos every day, but I would actually see her live, thanks to my parents.  They spent lots of money to get the tickets!  The concert was very exciting and lots of fun, but in the process, some interesting things happened.

I invited my friends Kyra and Vivian to the concert even though they weren’t big Taylor Swift fans (Swifties).  They aren’t Swifties, but they are my friends and I knew we’d have a good time together no matter what.  My friends came over to get ready for the concert a few hours early.  We painted our nails red in honor of the Red Tour. As I was holding the nail polish bottle, my sister was doing some sort of eenie meenie miney mo thing.  I don’t even know why.  She pointed at me, and knocked the whole bottle of nail polish out of my hands.  In my head I was thinking, “Nooooooooo!!!” as I watched the nail polish spill all over the wall, my album, and the floor.  “Chloe!” my mom yelled, “Why were you fighting with Angie for the nailpolish bottle?  No more paint!”  Chloe looked down.   My parents now have to repaint the wall and I was impressed that they didn’t freak out about it.  I had been wanting to paint my face red in hopes of getting noticed and invited to Club Red.  Club Red is a backstage party after the show that is invitation only.  No amount of money can buy you an invitation, which I like.  Otherwise, it would be a party of rich Taylor Swift fans, rather than a party of extreme Taylor Swift fans. I was a little worried that my unpainted face would not be chosen for Club Red, but I was still excited for the show.  I grabbed the posters we had made and some markers for the car so that we could decorate our faces.  

As we were riding to the concert in the back of my parents’ blueberry colored minivan, my sister Chloe in the middle seat and my parents in the front, my friends and I ended up having a marker fight.  My friend, Kyra, drew a star design on my other friend, Vivian.  When she was done, she drew a dot on Vivian’s face.  Vivian took another marker, and said, “I’m armed!”  Eventually, Kyra gave up on trying to draw on Vivian, and she started drawing on me.  I had to grab the last marker, and yell, “Stop!” My friends rolled their eyes, “Fine then. Be that way.” I didn’t need another mess.

By the time we got there, it was only 6:30--the concert started at 7:00, yet the whole place was crowded.  We showed the security guard at the front our tickets, and she told us we had to get our iPad checked in by the guest services people.  That was why we had to hide it behind our shimmery and red posters, because we didn’t feel like going to the guest services.  We pushed our way through the crowds, and went up lots of escalators to get to our seat.  

As we sat down, I felt like I was going to trip and roll over all  the people and land towards the bottom where the stage was, because the seats went upward in a steep slope.  I leaned back to feel safe.  The place was loud and I almost had to shout for my friends to hear me.  It was even louder than when our cafeteria gets out of control.   I was shouting the answers to the Taylor Swift trivia questions that were played on the giant screens hanging from the ceiling.  I got all of them right.  Saying that I am a fan would be an understatement.  I am one of her most extreme fans.  I know that she was born on December 13, 1989 at 8:36 am in Room Number 8 in Reading Hospital In Reading, Pennsylvania.  And I know that her favorite food is cheesecake, she is twenty-three years old, her height is 5’11”, her first unpublished song was “Lucky You,” and her first published song was “Tim McGraw”.  Soon, the screens stopped playing trivia questions, though.  The concert was starting!

As the lights dimmed, the room got louder and louder.  All the fans were screaming, including me.  The room started to quiet down as some random guy appeared on the stage, and started singing some song I didn’t recognize.  

“Who is this guy?” I shouted to Kyra, who was seated next to me.

“I don’t know.  He’s probably just opening for Taylor Swift,” she shouted back.

We listened and watched the guy singing for a few minutes.  He sang some country songs that I didn’t recognize.

“I think his name is Brett Eldredge,” Kyra shouted to me, as the guy started singing his second song.

“Oh, and who’s that?” I asked her.

“I don’t know,” Kyra replied.

“Are you ready to see Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran?” the Eldredge guy said in between his second and third songs.

The room got loud again.

“Okay,” he said, “Well, I have a song for you that I wrote, it’s called, One Mississippi.”

“Ugh, he’s hogging the Taylor Swift concert,” Kyra complained.

“Yeah!  Why would he even ask us that, if they aren’t coming out yet?”

“I don’t know, but I hope he leaves soon,” Kyra said.

We listened to three more songs and finally--FINALLY, this Brett Eldredge guy left.  The lights brightened up again.

After him, the lights went up for a minute or two, then darkened again.  Ed Sheeran came out and played “Lego House” with this super long guitar solo which was super loud, and I had to cover my ears.  Ed Sheeran sang some of his other songs that I didn’t really recognize.  Kyra got excited when he sang “You Need Me Man, I Don’t Need You.”  Kyra loved that song, so she stood up and yelled all the lyrics.  Then he did a mash-up of “Thrift Shop” and another one of his own songs.  Ed Sheeran started to “kiss” the microphone as he sang his next song, “The A Team.”  “Hopefully, no one else will be using that microphone...” I thought.  After that, he sang a song from the movie, “Pitch Perfect,” a movie Kyra loves.  Then, he thanked the audience and drank some water.  He walked back stage and the lights went up again.   During his songs, Kyra held up the “Ed Sheeran, Marry Me?” poster.  She actually didn’t want him to marry her, she just wanted to look like a crazy fan, because she is crazy.  She took it down as soon as he went backstage.

It was intermission time.  My friends and I talked to each other about how Taylor hadn’t even come out yet, and it was all Brett Eldredge’s fault.  The lights dimmed again, and the room got louder than ever.  The red curtain showed Taylor’s shadow on it.  I knew it had to be Taylor Swift on stage, but I couldn’t believe it. Even when she started to sing “State of Grace,” I couldn’t believe it was her.  She sang a few other songs, then threw her hat into the audience.  I was so mad that I didn’t get that hat!  The rest of the concert was still fun and exciting though.  She sang lots of songs-- some even from her other albums.  I screamed the words loudly to all her songs.  I didn’t cry like I had expected--I guess it was just too surreal to believe that she was actually there.  I must have thought it was a dream.  Everybody started standing up, so my friends and I couldn’t see.  We had to stand up too in order to see.  Because of this, the people behind us were complaining.  They wanted us to sit, and thought we were holding up our posters too high.  I was like, “Too bad!  You can stand too!  We’re just living our lives!  So whatever to you!”  But I just thought it in my head, so I wouldn’t get in trouble.  After a few songs, I realized how much more amazing Taylor Swift was than people credit her for.  She sang with a beautiful voice on tune, and she wasn’t even a little nervous on the stage.  I could tell by how natural her moves were.  

I couldn’t believe it was over so soon.  My mom said, “Get your stuff, girls!” We grabbed the posters.  We walked out and my mom called my dad to pick us up.  We were all hyper until we piled into the car.  I looked at the clock and realized it was 11:00 at night.  My sister said, “I’m tired.” She yawned and fell asleep.  Chloe’s head started falling to one side.  My mom told me, “Angie, hold her head!” I stuck my hand out and let her lean on my hand as I gazed out the window.  I was really disappointed that I didn’t get invited to Club Red. Even though The Taylor Swift concert wasn’t perfect like I had imagined, it was still a great experience.  I had the time of my life at the concert, and I wish I could go to another one.

The next day at school,  everyone asked how the concert was, and each time I would reply, “It was perfect!”

Mother's Day 2013

Thank You, Mom

As I look at the beautiful red tulip, I think of you.
We don't say thank you enough.
I don't say thank you to the tulip for it's beauty.
I don't say thank you for spending so much money on me
Or driving me places
Or cooking
Or cleaning
Or encouraging me
Or teaching me independence.
I want you to know that my life wouldn't be as beautiful without you in it.
I wish I could write you a song like Taylor Swift...

But this poem will do.

Written with Love,
Awesome Purple Pear

A perfect field trip

A terrific field trip would be at Virginia Beach, because we could learn about the waves, and how the make their motion, and sea animals.  We could also have a lot of fun, because we can play in the water, and in the sand.

The field trip would not be of no use to the education of students, because they could learn about many things there.  One thing is sea animals, because they could learn about the dolphin and fish that are there.  They could learn about the different levels of the ocean based on sunlight, if they go scuba diving.  They could also learn about the waves, and how they form, crash, etc.  They could learn all sorts of things about the ocean!

The students can have fun, because they can play in the sand and ocean.  They could build sand castles, with moats from the sea water, or bury themselves in the sand.  They could boogie board in the ocean, or just splash around.  Maybe they would like to just sit in the shade and talk.  But whatever they decide to do, it will be fun.

Who I am

I am in sixth grade.  My favorite sport to watch and do is gymnastics.  I am on level six.

A gymnastics movie, Stick It, is a great movie.  Stick It is my all-time favorite movie.  It is about a girl named Haley who breaks a law, by accident.  While doing cool biking tricks with her friends, she accidentally breaks part of a house.  Haley’s punishment is that she has to go to a gymnastics camp called the Vickerman’s Gymnastics camp.  She says that she would rather gone to juvy than go to the gymnastics camp.  She used to go there, and she doesn’t try to hide her hatred.  Once Haley gets to the camp, the other gymnasts there don’t try and make her feel welcome.  At the end she becomes a big rebel.  The other gymnasts start to like her, and they become friends.  The movie is very hilarious. 

Taylor Swift a gymnast, but she is my favorite celebrity of all time.  If you came to my house, you would see how much I am in love with her.  Taylor Swift is my idol, and I love her songs.  She writes all of her own songs and has a great personality.  Taylor worked really hard to reach her dreams, and I admire that.  She is great at singing and playing the guitar.  She has won many Grammies, and other awards.  I love her music.  My favorite album is her first album, simply named Taylor Swift.  My favorite song by her is “All Too Well,” which is from her latest album “Red.” 

Although Taylor is my favorite artist, I love listening to other artists’ music, as well.  My favorite song that is not by Taylor Swift is “One More Night” by Maroon Five.  My favorite type of music is pop, but I love country as well. 

In the future, I want to be a children’s author.  An author writes books, and stories, which I love to do.  Writing stories for kids is especially fun, so I will be having fun while I am doing my job.  Instead of writing essays for the SOLs, I will be achieving my dream of being an author for children.  I hope that one day, my stories will be bestsellers, but for now I am just a kid.  Even though normal kids can’t change the world, I hope to someday make someone read a good book, so I will work hard towards my dreams just like Taylor Swift worked hard to achieve her dream.

School lunches

               School lunches definitely do not taste good.  Airplane food tastes about as good as school food.  That shows just how bad it is.  Most people think school lunches are gross, and I agree.  Students shouldn’t be forced to eat stuff they don’t like.  I know one food that almost everybody loves.  Tacos, but not just any tacos, there should be tacos from Taco Bell.  The tacos should be a lunch choice, because many people love tacos.  The regular school lunches are disgusting.  The fruit isn’t fresh, the salad is old, and most of the other choices taste rotten.  Tacos from Taco Bell taste fresh.  Students will like the food better, and the lunch lady won’t have to worry about people wasting food.  Some people don’t eat their lunch, and their money and food will be wasted.  If there are tacos from Taco Bell for lunch, most of the kids will look forward to great food, which is fresh and tastes delicious.  Another thing I hate about school lunches is the drinks.  The juice tasted okay, but doesn’t taste good.  Don’t even mention the milk.  Once, my friends found a chunk of pie in a milk carton.  I was absolutely grossed out, and I couldn’t eat after that.  They should have better drinks.  Fresh milk would be okay, but smoothies would be the best.  They are delicious and healthy.  Lots of people enjoy smoothies, and many students would like it better than chunky milk.  If they added smoothies and tacos to the menu for food at school, I would actually like the school lunches.

How to Survive a Long Flight

A few summers ago, I took a 13 hour flight to China and it was the worst experience at the beginning.  I was bored, cranky with the flight attendants and the food tasted terrible. Then I figured out some strategies to make the flight fun.  These tips might help you in the future when you go on a long flight.  In order to make your flight more enjoyable, you should bring something to entertain yourself, be nice to the flight attendants and bring your own food.

Bringing your own entertainment can make a long flight bearable.  If you don’t bring anything to entertain yourself, you will be bored for a long time.  I suggest bringing electronics.  If you have an iPod or iPad, then you will have many apps to play with.  Electronics are only allowed for part of the flight, so make sure to bring other items, such as books.  Reading books can help the time pass.  When your eyes get tired, you can watch a movie.  Check out the movies the airline offers, but since the selection is restricted for kids, you should bring your own movies and DVD player.  This way, you can watch movies that you like.  A long flight can make you stare at the seat in front of you for many hours without good entertainment.

Besides quality entertainment, the flight attendants can make your flight more comfortable, because they give you the food and drinks, help with the carry-on bags, and sometimes provide the headphones.  Flight attendants are perky but short tempered.  Think before you make a request.  If you are polite to the flight attendants, they might give you what you need quicker, instead of slowly or not at all.  They will serve you before others.  If you make a special request, such as an extra cup of water, they will give it to you.  Make sure to be polite to the flight attendants, so they make your flight more enjoyable.

One last tip is to bring your own food, because the airplane food tastes stale, undercooked, and over microwaved.  Ramen is a great food to bring, because it tastes good, and can be eaten after adding hot water.  Another food to bring is gum, because as the plane takes off, your ears can pop, and chewing gum prevents it.  Bring some extra snacks so, if you get hungry, you can eat a snack between meals.  Bringing your own food can prevent you from eating disgusting airplane food.

You should bring something to entertain yourself, be nice to the flight attendant and bring your own food if you want your long and boring flight to be enjoyable. You will have a good attitude when you get off the plane.  Your parents will be in a good mood and more willing to buy you whatever you want on your trip.  If you become a good traveler now, you may even be open to more job opportunities in the future.  

               

Audiophile vs. Bibliophile

               An audiophile has a richer, more fulfilling life than a bibliophile.  An audiophile loves to listen to music, while a bibliophile loves to read.  An audiophile listens to music, and listening to music won’t damage anything in a body.  Reading, on the other hand, can hurt the eyes, so a bibliophile can get damaged eyes.  While listening to music, an audiophile can take a shower, do chores, and exercise.  While reading a book, a bibliophile will have to focus on the book and won’t be able to do other things.  An audiophile will be less socially awkward than a bibliophile.  If someone always sticks their head in a book, they most likely will not have many friends; they won’t talk to anyone because they are always reading a book.  By talking to others, people can become friends.  If someone always listens to music, most likely they will have many friends, because they talk to people about artists and song lyrics.  An audiophile has a much better life, listening to music, than a bibliophile.

Acropolis

               The word acropolis has many meanings, such as a city with high walls surrounding it, a city with a high population, or a Greek city.  “Acro” means high, and “polis” means city.  An acropolis could be a city with high walls surrounding it.  It could be a city with a high population.  An acropolis might be a city where the houses are made high, like skyscrapers.  The word is heard in Greek stories, so it might mean a Greek city with high walls surrounding it.  Many Greeks put high walls around their cities, to protect themselves from others.  The acropolis could mean many things, but the true Acropolis is an ancient citadel on a rocky hill above Athens. 

Iron Man 2

I watched Iron Man 2, and I think it is a great movie.  It is filled with lots of action and adventure.  Tony Stark tries to have world peace and his life is great, until he realizes something.  He is dying.  His blood gets more and more toxic every day.  Not only that, but he also against a man who is trying to kill him with the use of Tony’s own technology.  At first, the creepy crazy man, Ivan Vanko, is using strong electric wires and trying to kill him with them.  He gets thrown in jail for a while, but he gets out with the help of Justin Hammer. Justin Hammer is helping the villain, and hates iron man, but he acts innocent in public, and even runs his own company.  When things get too out of hand, Tony has to work with a military colonel.  They are a good team, but do they have what it takes to defeat Ivan Vanko?  And what about Tony’s blood toxicity?  You can find out what happens if you watch the movie.

Scuba Diving

My mom shouts, “Get ready to go to the pool!  Your uncle’s picking you up in five minutes!”

“Okay, Mom!” I yell back.

I am super excited to go swimming with my uncle!  My uncle lives in China, so I don’t get to see him often.  Also, I rarely go swimming.

I throw on a turquoise bathing suit.  I pack my extra clothes, a towel, and goggles.  The clock ticks 2:03.  My uncle still hasn’t arrived.  I am sitting on the floor in front of the clock by the front door.  My patience ticks with the clock.  I start to get anxious.  2:05.  The time is going so slowly.  When will he arrive?

“Mom?  When will he be here?” I ask.

“Just be patient.  He is stuck in traffic,” She answers.

“But Mom, I’m tired of waiting,” I groan.

“He’s almost here.  Just wait a couple more minutes.  I promise you he will be here by 2:15,” She tells me.

“It’s already 2:10 and he’s not here yet!” I yell with impatience.

“Angie”--she gives me the look-- “just be patient.”

“Fine,” I grumble.  I sit on the floor and stare at the clock again.  2:12.  I am not interested in doing anything else while I wait.  I should be there by now, and I’m still stuck staring at this stupid, slow-moving, so boring clock!  Why did there have to be traffic?!  I hate--Ding dong!

“Yaaaay!” I scream excitedly.

I run to the door to see if it’s my uncle.  It is!  I swing the door open for him to come in.  I exclaim, “Let’s go!  Come on!”

He says, “Okay, kiddo!  Just let me talk to your mom real quick!”

“Okay I’ll wait on the motorcycle,” I say, running out the front door.

The motorcycle's wheel is locked, for safety.  I climb onto the seat, and I swing my bag onto my back into a more comfortable position.  My uncle is walking leisurely towards me.  He stops and pulls out a cigarette, puts it between two fingers, puts his hand around it to light it and inhales it.  I wave to him to come as quickly as possible. I tell him, “Stop smoking and hurry up!”  I always tell him this and he never stops. “BIG, MEANIE HEAD!” I think.

Soon, we pull up to the swimming pool center and circle around it for space to park.  This is why most people in China take a taxi instead, so they don’t have to worry about finding a parking spot.  We walk inside the building, ride an elevator up to the second floor and meet my dad at the small, crowded pool.  I get ready to jump straight into the water.

“What are you doing?” my uncle asks.

“Getting into the pool?” I say.

“We’re going scuba diving, remember?” my uncle questions.

“What?” Something fishy is going on.

“We’re going scuba diving,” my uncle repeats.

“Why didn’t mom tell me?” I ask.  I flash back to the time when my grandmother was coming all the way from China to our house in America.  I turned around and saw my uncle at the front door, too!  He likes to surprise people.

“I surprised you again!” he laughs.  

“I don’t really want to go.  I just want to swim in the pool.  So can we just swim?” I ask, hoping he’ll say yes.

“No, Angie.  I already had my friend take off from work today so he can coach you,”  My uncle says firmly.

“What? I even have a coach for it?  Now I really don’t want to go.  What if he thinks I am not good at scuba diving?”  I ask with concern.

“He will.  Trust me.  This will be a good experience for you,” my uncle insists.

“But I--I,” I stammer.

“But you what?”  he asks.

“I’m scared of fish, and plus the water pressure will hurt my ears, and the air container will weigh me down, and I will sink all the way to the very deep bottom, and not be able to breathe or come up, and die, because I will be stuck down at the bottom,” I blurt out, with concern filling my face and voice.

“Oh, silly you.  The air tank keeps you afloat in the water,” my uncle says matter-of-factly.

“Yes, but what about the water pressure?” I ask, raising my eyebrows.

“There is a special trick for that,” he replies.

“Fine, but what is it?  And what about the fish?” I ask.

“Your coach will teach you the trick,” he says, clearly bored, “and there are no fish, because this is just for practice.”

“But... I don’t want to go!”  I say.

“Angie, don’t be a wimp.  Come on, let’s go!  You should try new things.  And besides, I already paid,” he tells me.

“Fine,” I give in.

“Good.  Now let’s go get the things we need,”  he says happily.  A tall, muscular man is standing in the supply room my uncle and I just walked into.  He is looking down at his iPhone.  He looks up, just as we enter the door.  He introduces himself to me and my dad.

“I am your coach.  My name is Wang Jin.”  He gives me a fist pump, which feels awkward, because usually only boys do that.  My dad shakes his hand and smiles.

Then, he and my uncle talk about stuff together, and my dad joins in their conversation, while I stand there waiting.  But in my head, I hope for them to talk longer, because the longer they talk, the less time we have for scuba diving. The less time scuba diving, the happier I am!  

I stare at the clock for a minute and twelve seconds, just like I had earlier in the day. The adults have stopped talking!  I realize this is not good, because we will have to go scuba diving, NOW! I have to put on a wetsuit that is way too big, because it is supposed to be for adults, overtop of my bathing suit.  The fact that they don’t have a wetsuit in my size makes me worried; kids my age don’t typically go scuba diving! It is the smallest size they have.  I also wear a bunch of heavy stuff on my back, and around my waist.  The goggles make me have to breathe through my mouth, and I do not like breathing through my mouth.  The suction of the goggles is tight, and it almost hurts my face.  I feel like something disgusting is clinging to my face.

Dizziness starts to overcome me.  “Why am I getting dizzy?”  I ask my uncle, and dad.  They said to just relax.

I decide to cool off by sitting on the ledge in the pool.  When I get to the pool, I am scared to jump in, because the pool looks super deep from up at the top.  I finally ease myself onto the ledge, and the cool water feels good against my body.  I decided to put my full body in, and swim a lap.  I am ambivalent about whether or not to swim.  Part of me says, “Go swim!  You’ll be a lot cooler, and feel less dizzy.”  The other part says, “No, don’t do it, because you will sink and die down at the bottom.  Nobody will know where you went!” I keep going in and out of the water, in and out, in and out.

At last, I decide to swim, because I am a really good swimmer, and the coach is at the side watching. He is sitting by the side of the pool and handing supplies to my uncle.  My uncle calls his friend the coach “a seal” and “a bear” because my uncle thinks he resembles those animals.  I don’t agree, but it still makes me laugh every time I look at him.

I edge into the water, and start the lap.

Uh oh!  I really am going to die.  My special shoes are weighing me down.  The water is pulling me in, and under!   I fight to the ledge where I take off the shoes.  When I try again, it feels much more natural.  I swim the breaststroke, because I do not get tired from it, even after many laps.  

Once I swim back to the ledge safely, my uncle says it is time to scuba dive.  I feel a bit more comfortable, because I swam a lap safely, but I still do not feel ready to dive deep down yet.

“Can I just swim around while you and dad scuba dive?” I ask, hoping he will say “fine”, or “okay”.

My uncle tells me, “Angie, we already discussed this.  You have to try new things! Don’t worry.  The air tank will keep you afloat, even though it is so heavy on land.  Trust me on this.”

I take a deep breath, and say, “Okay, I’m ready to try.”

In my mind, I think, “I am going to do this to show I am brave, and to have a good experience, but I really hope I don’t die!”

I put on the backpack with the oxygen tank, while sitting, at the ledge, so it won’t weigh me down.  I put on the goggles, and the other heavy things.  I feel like I would drown in this stuff.I finally get too freaked out, and so my uncle brings up an idea.

“How about you get in the water first, and hold onto the ledge, then I will put the backpack on you?” he says.

“Okay,” I reply happily.  So I jump into the water, and hold tightly onto the ledge.

My uncle, coach, and dad splash in.  My uncle clips all the clips of my backpack.  Then he hands me the goggles.  I put my elbow on the ledge, and fasten the goggles, careful to not entangle my hair with the rubber.  It sucks my face, giving me a horrible feeling.  My face feels like a jellyfish is clinging to it.

Soon, I have put on all the material, and I try breathing into the oxygen tank.  I breathe in, breathe out.  When I breathe out, it a funny noise echoes across that makes me scared.  I feel like it is hard to breathe.  Am I suffocating?  I remove the breathing tube from my mouth.  A huge sigh of relief comes over me.  I breathe a couple deep breaths through my mouth.

“Why does it make that noise?” I ask my coach.

“It’s supposed to.  It means it is working correctly,” He replies.

“It is hard to breathe, though,” I say.

“Don’t worry, It will be easier under the water,” he says reassuringly.

“I guess I will try it under the water, then,” I tell my coach.

He gives me a nod, telling me that I should.

I take a big breath, and dip my head under the water.  I breath out and all of a sudden, a blast of bubbles explodes in my face.  At first, I feel scared, but then I start to relax.  It is easy to breathe as long as I remember to breath through my mouth instead of my nose!

I pick my head back up, and exclaim excitedly to my uncle, dad, and coach, “It is easy to breathe!”

My uncle says, “Okay, you stay here with your coach.  Your dad and I will be over there, okay?”

“Okay,” I answer with some more calmness in my voice.

My coach says, “You can try going under with me.  I will take a picture of you.”  He is holding his iphone encased in a waterproof box.  

“Okay, I’m ready to try.”  I dip my head under and let go of the ledge.  I try to doggie paddle and get scared, because I feel that I am being pulled down again.  My coach pulls me up again.  He hadn’t finished what he was saying to me.

“If you want to come up, show me a thumbs up.  If you are comfortable with going further down, then point to the ground.”  

I say, “OK!” and dip my head under again.  This time, I try to relax a bit more as I slowly float down.  It is silent under the water.  

I look over at my coach and start laughing, so I need to come back up to stop laughing.  I calm myself down, give my coach thumbs down and lower myself into the clear water again.  

It feels like I dive a mile under water.   I look up and see that I’m only a few feet from the surface of the water. All of a sudden, I panic because I breathe through my nose instead of mouth.  I am about to give the thumbs up sign, but I have calmed down again and breathing through my mouth is a bit easier now.

I notice that the walls are made of a fish mosaic.  I think it is very creative, because since there aren’t any real fish in the pool, we can see the fish on the walls.

I look down and see my uncle and dad down at the bottom of the pool.  I am afraid that I will run out of oxygen in my air tank.  I give the thumbs up sign.  He helps pull me up to the surface, and asks what is wrong.  

“What if I run out of oxygen?”

“You have plenty of oxygen!  I fill it up every time you come up to the surface.”  I feel relieved.  

“Are you ready to go back?”

“Yes,” I reply half-heartedly.  

I see my uncle and dad down at the bottom, swimming around.  They are waving to people through the window down at the bottom of the pool.  It would be cool to learn how to go all the way down there.  Not today,  I still don’t feel ready for that kind of thing yet, but maybe next time.

I keep laughing coming back up.  Eventually he gets a picture of me.  My coach shows me the gooey stuff underneath the ledge.  The gooey stuff is made of air bubbles that have all been caught there.  

“This is pretty cool,” I think.

I realize my uncle and dad are starting to come up to the surface.  My coach says it is time to go.  “You did a good job,” he compliments.

My uncle and dad say that I should have been more brave.  My coach says, “Being too brave isn’t a good thing because you can get hurt under the water if you’re too brave.  Angie, you were cautiously brave.  Well done.”  All of a sudden, I feel cold.  I was having so much fun that I didn’t notice it before.  It was over so quickly that it felt like one minute.  I can’t wait to go scuba diving with my uncle again.