A loud “whoosh” echoes throughout the dark distant auditorium, and in an instant huge gleaming lights lower themselves upon the stage. The stage sits empty, lifeless, waiting, listening..listening for one to drop jaws with their all-knowing Mozart Symphony or disappoint with a piece that has no rhythm. With each day a new audience gathers around to join the stage in listening. To some it just may be a song, but to others it is a message, a chapter, a story. A story that throws all of life's up’s, all of life's downs. All of it’s good days, it’s bad days. Everything described on one sheet of paper.. But ultimately that was the audience's choice. The stage waited each day for the next performer, for the next song..With each passing person a new song, a new story told, and here is mine.…
Padgett, Ron. The Teachers and Writers Handbook of Poetic Forms. New York, NY: Teachers and Writers Collaborative, 2000. Print.…
I learned a lesson all the way back in first grade, and that lesson has stuck with me ever since. I was coming in from recess, and I was talking to a friend of mine off to my left. Unfortunately, I was not watching where I was going. I kept barely taking glances of what was in front of me, and that was a huge mistake. Someone was running behind me, and wasn’t watching where they were going either. As I approached the building I heard yelling, but thought nothing of it. After all, recess had just finished, so obviously kids would be yelling, right? It turns out some kids had been playing tag, and decided to play until they got inside. One that was still running away, because God forbid he’d be “it,” was Nick.…
If I were given the opportunity to change something, I would definitely choose to go back and do over the years I was in high school. During my time there, it was more important for me to do things that were more fun than sitting in class and learning. I thought that being in school was only useful for socializing and passing time. I only went because my parents forced me and so I never put any real effort into it, my adult life suffered very much because of it. Not having a high school education set me back in a lot of ways, and it closed many potentially successful job opportunities. After finally realizing what I lost, I decided to come back to school. I finally see doors opening for me now, that could have been open for me since the beginning…
It was my first day of practice for high school swimming. There I was- a scrawny freshman, idolizing these upperclassmen who towered above me. Being the only freshman in my class, my coach had me train alongside these giants. I remember the countless morning practices, which always involved grueling endurance sets, where my teammates lapped me constantly while I struggled to make the intervals; feeling disappointed in myself, but determined to continue working hard in order to catch up to my teammates. However, even those grueling workouts could not compare to Christmas break that year. A whole week of practices that were near impossible for my teammates, and absolute torture for me. I will never forget one set from that week. It was a set of 32x150s with a descending interval every four. By the last eight, I was no longer making the interval and struggling to keep up with my teammates, who ended up lapping me, as usual. But I still put every ounce of effort I had into that set, and swam every lap long after everyone else had finished. I challenged myself with a fierce determination to…
Looking back to middle school I remember the fear I had for someday having to go to high school. My teachers always told me how different and harder it would be when I went. My older sister was in 9th grade at the time and I wanted ti be with her when I went. But the high school she was at was different from the one all my friends were going. I always had a hard time making decisions and now I had to choose between going to a school with my friends or going to a school that would help me prepare for the future. So I decided I would just apply to my sisters school to see if I got accepted, going into the interview I wasn't really scared because it didn't matter to me, I just thought whatever happens, happens. Surprisingly I got accepted and…
My high school graduating class consisted of 66 students, so obviously everyone knew everyone and unfortunately everyone’s business. When I was a junior, a well-known and liked senior boy had a very public breakup with his girlfriend of 3 years. They had met as freshmen and were expected to marry after finishing school. The next day he drove his car at what police estimated in excess of 100 miles per hour into a concrete railroad bridge that crossed the main road out of town. After that, the bridge became known as Burkett’s bridge and I was never able to drive through it without getting a chill and goosebumps on my arms. It’s been over 40 years since high school, and it is amazing how often I still think of Bobby and his…
The biggest commitment that I have ever made so far was when I was in the high school, that commitment was challenging and difficult for me. It was graduating from the high school a high grades. Why it was challenging and difficult was because before that commitment I was the laziest person in my family, I didn't care about school and believed that getting high grades in school wouldn't change my life as long as I moved from level to the next but my intuition was wrong. My father tried to change my perspective, he had done many thing to me by enrolling me with a tutor, talking to my instructors in school to help me. However, all that things didn't work. He didn't see any change. As a result, he tried to convince me that affect our family’s…
It was my first day. I took a deep breath and walked in the door with a fear of being embarrassed and frustrated. The smell of french toast and egg omelettes for breakfast. I grabbed an ice cold water from the cafeteria and headed to my first class. Kids of all grades were scattered right and left in the halls. Students struggling to open their lockers. Teachers rushed to get their work ready before the students arrived for class. Everything was very hectic and way more different than middle school.…
There are parts in life where you learn a lesson sometimes the easy way or the worst way. See as in me sadly enough, I end up learning the rough way look see I was always a troublemaker in school even when I was in preschool. Sometimes I wish I can change ,but i can’t it’s just my personality. See I would Had fix all that if just do my work and pay attention, yet it all that is boring.…
Growing up can be challenging even with the ideal surroundings. Your teen years are even more puzzling because you seem to be stuck in between being a child and an adult. Throw in not having a father or mother around and life gets difficult. The year 2001 was a difficult year for my family and the nation. My life growing up wasn’t picture perfect, but in one very long month I learned that kindness from those around will help you endure and survive.…
When I was in my second year of middle school, around 1990, I began to feel miserable about life. Everything begun in school, some kids liked to bother me with offending words, insults, and then, after a while, physical aggression. I was always a very friendly and smiling child, but having to deal with the new circumstances made me a sad and depressed person, diminishing my joy of living.…
I am the middle child arriving to the U.S. having to overcome challenges of a new language. My parents are the eldest of their families; one going to kindergarten and one going up to Middle School. Mom worked instead of going to school, had to wake up at dawn to grind corn by hand, make food for twelve people. My dad worked made belts, horse saddles, taking care of animals and leaving school to help my grandparents.…
Shifting from middle school to high school is a set of different vibes. As young kids, we constantly surround ourselves with familiar faces and adapt to a routine, but as we go off to high school or college our perspective changes. I grew up as a shy girl in middle school and I had trouble communicating and making interaction with my peers. I carried that identity along with me as I enroll in high school, and accepted that was truly who I was. Although I was shy, I focused more on my academics. Studying had always been my greatest suit and I grew to believe that if I was academically successful, people would finally give me recognition but that vision faded long ago.…
Long wide roads that seemed to go on endlessly, small houses reflecting the neighborhood, steel fences losing its touch for it was beginning to rust, tall palm trees swaying back and forth, and a black broken down Toyota parked near the pavement of a butterscotch house. Right around the corner is where you’d lay eyes on Thomas Jefferson Middle School. As I walk into unfamiliar building and know nothing about the culture and language a huge chill came over me, which I have never felt before. Something finally hit me I was in school in America. I walked in my first English class and sat there in a full panic mode but pretended I knew what I am doing. I heard a loud noise that said “Alright class take out your notebook and write a paragraph about your winter break”. Although I can understand some English words I had no idea how I was going to do…