2012-2013 Literary Magazine

WIDE-OPEN SPACESTHE LITERARY MAGAZINE OF GREGG MIDDLE SCHOOL Volume I May 2013

Dear Readers, It’s been a busy year at Gregg Middle School. The students were busy brainstorming,researching, writing drafts, peer reviewing, critiquing, editing, revising, publishing andpresenting original pieces of writing. If you are a parent, you may have witnessed yourchild rushing home from school and head directly to the kitchen table to continue workingon the masterpiece they began earlier that day. If you are a student, you know exactly whatI am describing. I—along with the entire writing faculty— would like to share with you asample of the students’ hard work with the first edition of Wide Open Spaces. With writing as a core class this year, the faculty witnessed the students makingsubstantial growth within the subject as well as across the curriculum. Most importantly,we enjoyed participating as “facilitators of creativity.” It is extremely rewarding watching astudent take pen to paper with their original ideas. Some of the most delightfulconversations occurred while conferencing with the students about their initial drafts.During classroom discussions before writer’s workshop, the students would share theirplotlines aloud accompanied by huge smiles, excitement in their voice, and pure joy intheir eyes. When reading final works to the class, students would clap or laugh or gasp withshock, complimenting the writer at the front of the room. Nevertheless, there were days when writers struggled to produce any ideas, orbecame frustrated with a particular writing assignment, and even sometimes couldn’t helpbut let a bad day get in the way. Even then, their writing served as a backbone—venting injournals, drawing diagrams and webs, or free-writing until overcoming the obstacles.Writing is a powerful tool in understanding the world around us. Inside this issue you will find a comprehensive selection of original student work,from poetry to argumentative essays to narratives to informational texts. Share with us inour journey, our joy and sadness, our exploration of the world around us as well as someof our greatest accomplishments. Special thanks go to the Literary Magazine studentofficers, Eva Hindman and Colby Roy, who pored over student submissions to put thismagazine together.Jacquelyn ValenciaLiterary Magazine Advisor7th Grade Reading/Writing Teacher

Contents Front Page, 1 Blue, 20 Letter to Readers, 2 Coral, 20 Table of Contents, 3 This I Believe: Education is the Key, 22 Why Do We Have To Write Today, 4 Presidents, 23 Finally, 23 Red, 5 The Screaming Never Stops, 24 Blue, 5 Gummy Bear Queen, 25 This I Believe: Animal Abuse Must Be The Four Enlightenment Thinkers, 26 Stopped, 6 Hard Work Pays Off, 27 Orange, 8 What if the World was Flat, 29 Trail Ride, 8 I Like Nonsense, 30 A Picture is Worth 1,000 Words, 9 When Pigs Fly, 30 Farewell, 9 Busy City Life, 31 Boxes, 10 Laughing Can Save Your Life, 32 What if Volleyballs Could Speak, 10 The Shade of Blue, 34 Under the Rug, 12-13 Hunting, 35 Once Upon a Time, 15 Peace, Please, 36 I Am; We Are, 15 Purple, 37 Sports Can Help People, 16 I Only Wonder, 38This I Believe: Woman for President, 17 Cinquain(s), 39 Decisions, 18 Back Cover, 40 What if Life were a Dream, 19

Why Do We Have To Write Today? from Edutopia.com To be subtle. To be true. To be original. To be on. • To sing without moving yourlips. • To explore the conventions of a thousand genres and befriend a thousand tribes. • Toset your love free. • To convince someone to give you money. • To get better at doing hardthings. Because everything that matters is written. • It's a Zen act. Use just enough words,but not too many. • Because writing sharpens thinking. • To solve problems. • To eulogizeyour friend. • To turn bad prose into good. • To conquer fear. • Because writers (KurtCobain, Winston Churchill, Oscar Wilde, Steven Pressfield, Zora Neale Hurston, ShermanAlexie and Tupac Shakur) are cool. To be understood. • To understand. • To forward social justice, suppress tyranny andsave the world. • To critique. • To see faces in shadows. • To make sans serif memes. • Tobrainstorm dog names: Moby, Jet, Beefheart, Boomer, Thor, Google, Moose, Mahalo. •To compose monomyths. • To write entertaining dialogue like, \"Coffee is for closers.\" •Because closers finish what they start. Because greeting cards with someone else's sentiments are lame. • To marinate yourbrain in wow. • To create the next Yoda. • Write. Revise. There is no other way. • Tocommit the armies of your mind to a task before you are ready. • To replace emotionaltrauma with resolve. • To exercise mirror neurons. • To talk to your high power. • Toprioritize. • To forgive. • Because the world needs you to tell us who you are. • To realizethere's more in you than you think. • To be human. Join the club. Because writing is critical to every discipline. • To understand author's craft. • Tomake \"text-to-world\" connections. • To use metaphors to understand. • To predict thefuture, like George Orwell. • To map the psyche, like Freud. • To fill dark skies with cherryblossoms, like Matsuo Basho. • To leave love notes on the fridge. • Because poets scarefascists. • To be immortal.

RedBy Shalohm ManneraakRed yells out “Look!”When the sun sets, red reveals itself.Red runs through your veins day and night;as the apple tree bears sweet fruit,red grows.Red reflects the anger of the world.Smoke rises from the red flame.The red dragon flies in search of a lost one.Red feels like the warmth of a mother’s love.The family sits around a fire’s red glow.Red has the comfort of togetherness.The heart of love is the deepest red:Red whispers “Goodnight.” Blue By Janay Sanders Blue expands throughout the Earth. You can hear the howls of blue against the dreary night. Blue sets the sun in the west and raises the moon in the sky. Peaceful sounds of blue in the early morning awakening the newborns. Blue runs through the veins in your body which energizes your mind. Blue is the symphony of our lives.

This I Believe: Animal Abuse Must Be Stopped By Ian Fonesca Did you know that millions of animals every year are killed by abuse? Well I do andthis is bad because these innocent animals are being treated horribly. These animals aresmart, beautiful creatures that play an important role in our society. The abuse of these animals is horrible, and the abuser should be sent to jail for thiscrime. And the animals should be sent to an appropriate home. But even so, this abusecomes from our own human race. I do understand that we need some animals for our ownsurvival. But to hurt these animals without reason is sick. I cannot think of any reason tohurt these animals except if they have mental issues. Another concern is littering. I can bet that millions of animals are being killed becauseof this. I once went to a museum with a bear statue and they told us that he had been killedbecause he had eaten garbage and dolls. I think this is unacceptable for us to be the causeof these animals’ deaths. People should also not test products on animals. If we continuethis process, animals could be hurt or disabled in some way. And if we send them backwithout knowing it has a disease, it could greatly impact a whole slew of other animals. We also destroy and teardown these animals’ habitatsand drive them off. This is badto take their homes away fromthem and force them to find anew one. And, also, the way wecapture them is bad. It doesn’tstop there. We also put animalsin zoos where we imprisonthem. I do think we shouldhave zoos for education, but weshould only be allowed to keepthe animals for a certainamount of time. Soon, once thetime period is up, we wouldtake the animals to theirhabitats and bring back new animals. These are all of the things that happen to animals and I believe that if we can stopthis, our animals—endangered or otherwise—can survive harm and extinction. So if wecan stop most of the abusing, littering, and habitat destroying, our animals will be safe.And I believe that if we do this we can look to a brighter future.

“Either write something worth reading ordo something worth writing.”—Benjamin Franklin

OrangeBy Grant JohnsonA bright ball of fruit;sweet, sour, and surface is smooth.The color of the sunset,the treasure is locked inside.The sweet comfort of the orange,with a hint of color,big sights bring flavor to your eyes,touching and hearing,put signals in your ears.Orange is the best color of the year,When yellow and red get married.Sometimes orange means caution;sometimes orange means brightness.Orange always gets your attention,whenever you want it:that’s what makes orange special. Trail Ride By Meredith O’Dea As I woke up early and excited stumbling out of bed I got dressed in my boots and jeans counting down the time My aunt came and got me we headed to get the horses from the farm because we were going on a trail ride We got to the place greeted by trees and dirt roads it was as quiet as a flower blooming Riding through the woods I had the time of my life

A Picture is Worth 1,000 Words By Alura Luck After fighting for days, weeks, and then months, the soldiers became weary. Bothsides wonder when the war will come to a close. Finally, the foreigners surrender, causingthe whole United States to cheer. Our soldiers grab their empty backpacks and slowly beginto walk to the helicopter that will take them home. Suddenly, replenished with supplies,the foreigners begin shooting at the helicopter. The walking men quickly convert torunning. Hopefully, no soldier will die from the shooting and the helicopter still operates.Otherwise, it would be months before our soldiers can come home.FarewellBy Eva HindmanA fire burns,burning my soul,destroying my heart.I don’t feel it anymore—the pain.All I can feel is a tingling sensation,and tears burning my eyes.I feel the need to cry,to scream,to just let my feelings flow,flow out of me like a river.I feel the tears streaming my face,I taste the salty water when it hits my lips,and I hear the quiet weeping,as I sit alone.I sit in a corner—dark and lonely,shadows creeping at the edge,reaching out and wrapping me in their cold, dark tentacles.I let it take over me,for it is the closest thing to comfort that I have.I allow the shadowsto take me away into the night.I bid my farewells,and hum a sad tune.I shed my final tear,with my weeping goodbye.

Boxes What if Volleyballs Could Speak…?By Sam Towe By Malla YictaLaying on my bed, If volleyballs could speak,an emptiness in my room: They would teach me great technique.everything was in boxes. They would teach me how to bump and spike, And all of the things my coaches like.The night was long and tiring— Volleyballs would teach me how to diveI woke up to brown everywhere.Squares, rectangles of all sizes. Well enough to earn me a high five. They would teach me the sweet spot to serveI got up,finished packing, and To make the ball go fast and curve.got in the truck. They would teach me the Spandex fashion To complete the wardrobe for my passion.The ride was longand boring,but we made it.We got out,took everything inside,and started unpacking.When I finished,everything was in my room,and I didnothing.



Under the Rug By Raikiah Faircloth “Spooky!” Okay, if you suspect your neighbor of killing, then you should listencarefully. Imagine you are in a nice house. The neighborhood is full of nice people andthere is one strange person who rarely comes outside.To begin with, if you don’t know Mr. Hamilton, then you should listen up. 1. He has a colorful house. 2. He has a big green lawn. 3. Nobody visits him. 4. He only comes outside to water his flowers and lawn. 5. He never speaks. 6. He stares at you scarily. I am Josh Courtwood. I’m in the 8th grade, on the football team, and I have a girlfriendnamed Gracie Topia. I go to Ridgewood Middle School and hang out with a couple offriends that I’ve known since last year. So I was sitting in the lunchroom at school with agigantic amount of people. I was hearing rumors that Lorreta Sakwood hadn’t been toschool in a couple of days so I asked her friends if they knew where she was and they allsaid “Nobody knows!” Of course the rumors of her being kidnapped or that she went to jail started to surface,but I didn’t believe the jail part; she makes straight A’s and has respect for everyone—eventhe people who are mean to her! Somebody had to have kidnapped her. Then, that’s whenI remembered I saw her two weeks ago. Later that night I had been thinking about where she could be. Everyone around myneighborhood is too joyful to do something like that. That’s when it hit me: Mr. Hamilton. Icouldn’t go to sleep thinking about it, but I had football practice the next day, so I had to.After practice, I walked home. Gracie wanted to come too but I told her no (I didn’t wantMr. Hamilton laying eyes on her). When I got home, my mom was making snacks asusual. “Hey Bud, how was your day?” she asked. I smiled at her while shoving food in my mouth and she got the point. Then I stopped. “Hey Mom, keep an eye on Lori—a killer is on the loose,” I said in a somewhat panicky voice. “Okay” she said in a weird voice. “Mom, I need new sneakers for football. Mine are too worn out. I have a game on Monday,” I said. “You need a job!” she replied.

So I went to my room, all beat up and tired. I didn’t go to school the next day because it was the weekend. I got up to the smell ofwarm pancakes and freshly squeezed orange juice. So I was eating with my sister Loriwhen my mom said, “I have a job for you.” “Who?!” I said. “Mr. Hamilton needs help with his lawn.” She replied. “Ha, the creepy guy!” Lori yelped. “Mom why?” I begged. “He was the only one available. If you need new sneakers, you’ll have to work for them.” She said. “Fine, but if I turn up missing, it’s going to be your fault.” I cried. That’s when she saidOkay, whatever. Get ready. I was walking to his house and he was at the door waiting for me. He didn’t sayanything except for Mom got you working, huh? I didn’t say anything. He asked me to helpget the mower out of his house. As I walked in, it wasn’t so bad for a “weird” guy. Then,all of a sudden, I saw a lump in the rug. I started sweating immediately. I was frightened todeath. He started pulling out the mower, saying, “I had to do things your age that I didn’twant to do.” I started screaming all the way to my house. “What’s going on?” My mom asked. “Killer, killer, killer,” I shouted. “He killed Loretta Sakwood and hid her under his rug. Then he said a freaky speech. I’m calling the police!” The police came and questioned Mr. Hamilton when they arrived at his house. Whenthey asked him about the lump in the rug, he pulled the carpet up from the top. It was justa robot he messed up on. I felt completely embarrassed and stupid. On Monday, Lorreta came back. She had gone on an important road trip with hergrandma. That’s why I saw her two weeks ago. I immediately apologized to Mr. Hamiltonand finished his lawn. He gave me twenty dollars for the work. “It’s okay,” he said. “I mean, I stay in the house all day; it’s pretty capable for anyoneto catch some strange idea about me.” Everything went back to normal and safety was nolonger an issue. I even bought my new sneakers in time for the football game.

“You fail only if you stop writing.” – Ray Bradbury

Once Upon a Time… By Grayson Evans Stories and stories begin with these four little words; do you know where these wordscame from? Well, they came out of a story. I am here to tell you the importance of a goodbook! A good book does many things to stimulate your mind. It will take you far and closeplaces. Everyone has that one favorite book, whether it is a children’s book or a novel, Iguarantee that it brings back memories! Sitting in the big chair in grandma, grandpa, mom,or dads lap while they read you a bedtime story—my point is a book is a memory. Being that princess at the top of the castle, Romeo calling to his Juliet, or CaptainAhab sailing the big blue sea looking for Moby Dick! A good book will put you right therein the middle of the story. It’s why books are an important part of growing up! Stressed, mad, happy, sad, or hungry? It’s going to be okay! Just jump into a newbook, an old book, a favorite book! These things are great to snuggle up with. And please, don’t judge a book by its cover. Believe me, it isn’t going to judge you!You get judged every day, but not by that book on the shelf! After, all it never hurts to tryand read. I Am; We Are By Kayla Walkup I am young, I am strong, and I am the future. I am my future, your future, our future, and you are the same…this I believe. I believe I am in charge of my life, and you are in charge of yours, which makes us in charge of our future, we are the ones responsible. We are the future.

Sports Can Help People By Logan Grantham In my opinion, sports can helppeople. Sports such as soccer or baseball, orfor this matter any sport at all, allow you towork with a team. I feel passionately aboutthis topic because people can learn aboutbeing a team player. To participate in asport you need to be committed whichmeans you cannot neglect to show up topractice or games. You also cannot use theteam as an excuse to slack off in school. Ifyou want to be on a sports team and youreally don’t work well with people, youhave to learn to be a team player—and ifyou can’t do this then sports are not for you. Being committed to a sport means you cannot just skip practice because you’re lazyand don’t want to go. You have to show up to the games on time, and oversleeping is a bigno-no. Soccer is a sport that you need to be super committed to because for games youhave to be up at 6:30 AM for an 8:00AM game. Practice is usually a 2-3 hourcommitment—I know this because I was on a team for eight years. On the rare occasionthat you actually have something to do—like homework—be polite and tell your coachahead of time. That brings me to my next subject: you cannot use the team as an excuse to not doyour school work. School is always more important than sports. No matter how much youwant to play, if your grades are not the best you are going to be benched, so keep up withschool and you will not have that problem. If you want to play sports but you can’t work with people, then either sports aren’tfor you or you need to adjust yourself. This involves cooperating with your team membersand your coach. It also means you have to let other people play your position if they wantto. People do not just want to play the same position every game; they want to try newthings and see what they are good at. When you are a team player and cooperate with yourteam, it makes the experience more enjoyable for everyone involved. When people play by the rules, are considerate of other people, keep up their schoolwork, and are in love with the game, I believe that sports can help people for the rest oftheir life.

This I Believe: Woman for President By Bria Drayton I believe women are segregated because of their sex. There are people who thinksome jobs are just made for men. If it’s not true, why has there never been a femalepresident? Ever since the second grade I felt like women were set back by the people in thisworld. Some jobs don’t even allow women to work for them. There are people who thinkwe are treated equally, but that isn’t true. Of course women can run for president but notmany women have in the past. I believe they are afraid to because they think nobody willvote for them. And then there’s another thing: why, in many documents from history, arewomen excluded out? Women are segregated every day because of their sex. I feel like I can make a difference by making a long and creative speech. This speechwould have to be in an important place so many people would come. Also it should be onnational TV; this would make the idea spread quickly. Women should be treated equally,because they are an equally important part of this world, too. Back in history, they wouldmake the clothing and cook food. If it weren’t for women, many things here todaywouldn’t exist. Women are segregated every day because of their sex. We women play a major role in America’s everyday life. One day a female will makea big change that the world will notice; however, every day, women make strides that gounnoticed but touch the lives of everyone. One day, when I write my speech, there will bepeople who agree. But, I believe it is just as much up to you as it is up to me to see thischange. We should all come together to make a difference. I wish everybody would betreated equally. I believe there areothers out there who agree with me. Ibelieve they are being quiet. But, Ibelieve that if they hear me loudenough, they will take a stand. One day soon, women won’t be segregated because of their sex.One day soon, segregation of any kind will be a fact from a far distant past. This I believe.

Decisions By Ardae Hobbs Deciding whether or not to wear pink or purple is an easy decision. Deciding onsomething that could affect your life temporarily or permanently is very difficult. It takesthought and precision. When I was younger, my ultimate dream was to become a school bus driver. Nomatter what anyone said, I stuck to that. I’d always sit at the front of the bus to see howeverything worked. One of the highlights of my youth was when my grandfather droveschool bus after retiring. I’d beg to start the bus always. After a while, he bought a personalschool bus for personal trips. After months of customization, it looked like acharter/Greyhound bus inside. As maturity set it, I started thinking about what would support a family, a house andcar(s). I realized that a job as a bus driver could only be a side job. At that point, I had tothink about a full-time career. I’ve always wanted to be a doctor as well. I also love helpingothers and I thought, “Why not protect others?” With the inspiration of my aunt, Army 1stSgt. Rose McQueen, I had my mind set on Air Force Pediatrician. I’m going into pediatrics because I love small kids—especially newborns. I’ll makeup to $127,000 a year. For about four years, I’m going to join the reserves because I wantto stay in South Carolina. I’ll go active in 2023. By 2019, I’ll be Sgt. Ardae Hobbs. Since I’m going into the medical field, I hope to deliver my own child. I plan to stayin the Charleston Air Force Base. I know for now that I’ve made the right choice, and Igreatly look forward to being a U.S. Airman.

What if Life were a Dream? By Bailey Soyebo What if life were all a dream And nothing was ever as it seemed Some days were good and some days were bad Some days you are happy and some days you are sad None of this would matter And you could just grow sadder and sadder You could live your life one day at a time To only wake up and find nothing. What would you feel like If you dreamed your life All the days you lived your years And all the days you faced your fears All your life you dreamed it all In the end to watch it fall You could be dreaming right now What would you do If your life was a dream And nothing was as it seemed And in the end The only thing That went through your mind was How? The Baby Elephant By Anonymous Alec, the animal owner, had seen lots of exotic animals, but this one was special.Having recently gone to Australia, he found a baby elephant abandoned. So he did whatany animal lover would do: he took it to the nearest animal hospital. Unfortunately, healready ah to many animals living in his house at the moment (three!); sadly, Alec had toleave it there. However, when Alec was boarding his private jet, a rare tiger snake poppedout of the doorway. Knowing how poisonous they are, he stood very, very still. Then, outof nowhere, the same baby elephant jumped into action at lightning speed hurling thesnake away from the door with its trunk. He threw it in the wrong direction and it landedflat on Alec’s face. He ended up having a four hour jet ride back to Canada to the nearesthospital with the baby elephant running around on his lap. Alec knew this one was special.So when he finally got out of the hospital, he ran very far away from the dangerous babyelephant.

BlueBy Kailee EllisBlue is blueberries,round and rolling around.Pick one up and take a bite:sweet, but tart.The ocean water,a salty aroma across my face,swimming all the coast line,waves crash on my ears.Going under—taste of salt on my tongue.Nothing but a glass of water,standing still in a vase—silky smooth touch to my toes:cold was the water.CoralBy Coral AmbroseCoral is the memories that I share with my friends.Coral is the loss of a loved one.Coral is the great and powerful things in life that happen.Coral is the sunrise from darkness to light.Coral tastes like sweet victory when the soldiers win the war.Coral smells like the treats that are baking in the oven.Coral sounds like the waves on the beaches of South Carolina.Coral feels like the sand at the beaches when it is hot.Coral looks like the fight is over but it’s really not, so you never give up.Coral makes me feel like I am on top of the world.Coral is my best friend when I am down on myself.

“Dreams are illustrations…from the book your soul is writing about you.” —Marsha Norman

This I Believe: Education is the Key By Beyonce Simmons I wonder… If everyone had an education in this world, what would it be like? Ibelieve in education because I think education could be the breakthrough in our economytoday. I also think getting an education could make differences in many children’s lives.And, if we all did get an education, we would be the most intelligent country in the world. My mother and father have always told me that if I get all the education that I need,I will become anything that I want. I will be able to get a nice car, a beautiful home, andhave all the money to pay my bills in the future. Every day, I see someone in school whodoesn’t care whether they make it to the next level or not, when they could be putting theirheart and soul into learning. Such ways are the ultimate waste of time. I believe that with an education you can set more goals than you could ever imagine.Like my cousin, Karria; she wanted to become an artist but they don’t make a lot ofmoney. So while she was in high school she knew she had to study more to becomesomething else. Now she is in collage determined to fulfill. I say, if you want to pursueyour dreams and learn more than others, stay in school and do your best. My parents have never gone to college; they only got through the 12th grade. Butthey always encourage me to do my best and put my best foot forward. I would love to bethe 2nd Simmons to go to college and follow in my brother’s footsteps, and make myfamily name carry on, and go down in history for something amazing. I believe in anyoneand everyone who wants to get an education and succeed. I think God gave all of usthe ability to learn, and to use thatability. I say, we all have theprivilege to go to school, learn,teach others, and discover newthings. We can make this countrybetter so let’s start by getting everychild on the streets off and inschools, and others who don’thave anywhere to go put themwith a nice family. I will do mypart and I believe we can do thistogether!

Presidents By Colby Roy The President wakes up with a new day planned, he signs laws and bills with his pen in hand. He lives in the White House with the First Lady, too— that is a privilege only given to a few. Whenever he travels, he flies Air Force One, sometimes from early morning ‘til the setting of the sun. With Ambassadors and Foreign Leaders the President does meet, a great reputation will he keep. He meets with the House and Senate too, making laws for me and you. This country’s constitution he does uphold, to do this he sometimes has to be bold. In four years, he can run again, with hopes to hold the highest office in the land. Finally By Skylar Linder I walked outside and took a breath full of fresh air. A sweet rose scented smell filledmy nostrils and I realized spring had finally come. The sun was warm against my skin andthe sky was a beautiful blue. My eyes wandered around, catching sight of the bloomingflowers and green growing trees. I let my hands touch the soft green grass. This is thebeauty of spring.

The Screaming Never Stops By Leah Truelove Once there were a group of kids who were sitting around a campfire in the dead ofwinter. They were so absorbed in their story about Jack Frost that they barely noticed thewolf howls coming from a few miles away. “…And then, when the blizzard came, he was frozen solid.” Travis, the oldest kid in the group, explained. “Grrr!” a figure in the background exclaimed. “He was—did you hear that?” Travis whispered, terrified. “Grrr!” the creature sounded again. “There it was again!” Travis screamed. Then there was a loud humming noise, like a car engine coming to life. As one, theentire group swiveled their heads around to the point where the humming was comingfrom. There stood a black, looming figure. The figure crawled a bit closer to the campfire.When the fire illuminated the mysterious creature, Tommy, the youngest of the kids,screamed. The head of the creature looked like a wolf’s head, but the features were of a cat. It swung its huge head around to look at Tommy. It smiled and contorted a weird, bloody smile. Tommy fell over and lay there unmoving. “It killed him!” one of the kids screamed. The monster turned toward the kid and stood to its full height. He looked like he could tower over Earth and hit the moon. The monster looked at everyone and mauled them, aside from Travis. Instead, it silently came up to him, sniffed him, turned and fled. Now, Travis Harbinger lives in an asylum, still screaming for his friends to run.

Gummy Bear Queen By Shaylah AllenFrom—her throne,of wonderful material.Although for a time—she thought she was alone.Her kingdom,almost etherealEven though her gummy bearfriends protected,her heart was left defenseless.But…when he came through,her mind started to obsess.Yet—she wondered,if he even knewhe was fated to be—the Gummy Bear Queen’s kingBut—this wasbecause,he decided this to be.She plotted—while her friendsbegan to sing.Summary:The Gummy Bear Queen herself is a queen; all she has are her Gummy Bear friends andher kingdom. This “he” plays the role of the prince, but not 100% (the queen is in charge!).Currently, she is planning their future together.

The Four Enlightenment Thinkers By Eva Hindman I am a journalist and researcher; I explored the unknown and uncovered themysterious. That is why I invented a time machine and went back in time to research myfour favorite enlightenment thinkers: Voltaire, Rousseau, John Locke, and Montesquieu.These four important men were a big influence during the Age of Enlightenment. Igathered as much information as I could as I studied them in their time period. What Ifound truly amazed me. Voltaire was born in France, but once visited England. He then realized all thewrong that his government was doing. He lived in a country that was ruled by an absolutemonarchy, but he believed it should be limited by a constitution. He learned that Englandhad a bill of rights; this allowed the citizens to have individual rights such as religiousfreedom and freedom of speech. Voltaire wrote books attacking France’s governmenttelling everyone how unjust the government in France was. He then was imprisoned in theBastille and exiled to England. Montesquieu was a French enlightenment thinker. He influenced the US constitutionwith the ideas he came up with. He favored the separation of branches. This was made sono branch in the government would become too powerful. Montesquieu came up with thisidea to help restrain government. Because of him, our government is separated into threebranches: legislative (makes laws), executive (enforces laws), and judicial (judges laws). John Locke believed everyone’s rights should be protected. He also believed thatgovernment was created as an agreement between social groups; this is known as socialcontract. John Locke said that if the government failed to protect our rights or becamedestructive, the people had the right to abolish it and create a new one. Many of JohnLocke’s ideas were used in the US constitution written by our founding fathers. Rousseau is opposite of what John Locke believed. Rousseau believed that only themajority’s rights should be the protected. If you were not in the majority, your rights wereignored. He also believed in social contract like John Locke. Today we use a similar idea ofRousseau and John Locke; we go with the majority’s decision, but everyone’s rights arestill protected. Although all of these men had different ideas, they all had the same four goals.Individual rights and freedoms, human reasoning, limited government, and religioustolerance. I believe if these men were to come to our time period, they would be proud ofall the improvements of our government. Thanks to these men, the US is free and we areno longer under the shadow of a monarchy.

Hard Work Pays Off By Jalen Williams Hey! I believe that hard work pays off later in life. If you love something that youwant to do forever, do it at the highest level. Many people do not know that if you do notwork, your dreams will not come true. From hard work, I learned the way to do your best at everything and what you love.Some people work hard at sports, school, business, etc. If you know that you love thethings that you do, and want to succeed at it, do it at the highest level. To be successful is taking out the time and committing sacrifices to be the best. Ittakes being with friends and hanging out with them. Later in life all that time you spent onthe things that you love will pay off. My dad gave me a lecture about succeeding and hesaid if you want to succeed more than you want to breathe then that’s what it takes to be the best. At my age, succeeding has paid off for me. I’m blessed that I had a chance to playwith the best basketball players in the country. I do basketball workouts and train for threehours every day. I shoot 300 shots a day and maintain schoolwork. To me and my family,schoolwork always comes first. I think that sports and school can take me a long way inmy future. When I train, I give it one-hundred and ten percent. Sometimes you just have togive more than you are already giving. Hard work will not be easy, that’s why it’s called hard work. When I work hard Igive all I got because I know that someday that it will pay off. I come from hard workingparents and when everybody in your family is working hard you just follow along. So ifyou’re doing something that you love and want to do it forever, give it one-hundred andten percent. Finally, if you wantto make something ofyourself or want to besuccessful, work hard dayin and day out. I workhard a lot and I know thatsomeday that if will payoff. I am in the top onehundred and fiftybasketball players in thecountry. So never give upat the dreams you wantand have a mindset to bethe best.

“There is no greater agony than bearingan untold story inside you.” —Maya Angelou

What if the World was Flat? By Shalohm Manneraak What if the world was flat? Has anyone thought about that? I think that if the world was flatMagellan would not have died in the Philippines, the sun would set on the British Empire, Columbus would have been wrong, and there would be no globes. If the world was flat the ocean would fall off of the Earth, the atmosphere would not cover all, and the moon would orbit in a square. If the world was flatwhen you dug too deep, you would fall through, the season would not change, and endless lines would stop. What if the world was flat? Yes, I’ve thought about that: A flat Earth would kill everything. I love the round Earth just the way it is.

I Like Nonsense By Zoe Pollak “I like nonsense, it wakes up the brain cells. Fantasy is a necessary ingredient inliving.” This is one of my favorite quotes by Dr. Seuss because it is open minded and I canrelate to it. “Nonsense” is a word that people tend to elude it, even though it provokes thebrain cells. Life would be dull without fantasy as well. Nothing should be the same. The colorful, twisted, seeming, imagination can simply spill talent, ideas, andthoughts into someone. Imagine life without fantasy. There wouldn’t be as much hope tohappen; no books to read or write, and believe it or not, no common sense. Your brain cells would be asleep, along with the wiseness. I hold nonsense andfantasy within me. I make up and say the weirdest things; I write to free my crazyimagination. I’m also good with words because I trust the mind’s eye. Open your mindbefore you speak; it could just somehow save a life. When Pigs Fly By Jalen Holloway Everyone seems to use the term “when pigs fly.” You could tell someone about yourlife goals or dreams and they just step all over those drams by saying the simple words:“when pigs fly.” This whole phrase already confuses me. Why did it have to be pigs? Couldn’t it havejust been humans or dogs or something like that? What kind of person would think of ananimal such as the pig? A smelly, non-sanitary animal. Maybe the person who created this phrase was thinking that since the pig can’t evenkeep itself clean, and instead dirties itself up, that it wasn’t smart at all. Therefore, the pig isunindustrialized and, no matter what, will never be able to fly. What would everyone even do if pigs actually started to fly? There would be so manynew things happening. The saying would end, and the world would never be the same.

Busy City Life By Hannah Thomas On the corner, people gather around.New York City sees people rushing everywhere. The crowd is enormous and blends together like crayons. Blurred like figures in the fog. Masses scattering down the sidewalks, shuffling and bumping into each other’s space. Cars screeching and racing through the streets, lights flashing and music blaring— no one watching their surroundings. Black, white, yellow lose their color. All races bond together like superglue, trying to survive the chaos. Where is everyone going? Jobs of different natures, identities covered like masks at a party. Masses scramble home at the end of the day. No more hustle and bustle; solitude and confinement are met with a smile.

Laughing Can Save Your Life By Sam Araghi Fascinating fact:laughing helps preventcancer. Humor can relievestress and make you feelbetter about yourself. Forexample, if you laugh it canhelp relieve stress. If youlaugh more often it can helptake the weight off yourshoulders. If you work a lotand sleep a little bit, everynight you should laugh and itmight make you feel better. If you laugh it’sscientifically proven that ifyou laugh more it can helpprevent cancer. So laughing and humor are like medicine for the brain. Laughing is alsosomething you can do if you ever feel sad or lonely. There are a lot of ways that you can laugh, like going to comedy shows or askingyour friends to tell you jokes. Or, you could laugh at funny things that happen to you, likefalling out of a chair or making up funny words. You could also just laugh at things in life,like having fun with friends or watching funny movies. Even if no one else laughs at it, youcould laugh at it anyway. These are just some ways to have humor but there are a lot more. One time I wasfeeling sad so I looked up funny videos online and made jokes about the videos. I alsolooked for funny pictures with captions and said them in weird voices—I just couldn’t helpbut laugh! I also looked up funny words in the dictionary and said them in a lot of accentsand voices with my friends. In the end, we found really long words and mixed up thesyllables to make them the most confusing words. It turns out that we all felt a whole lotbetter afterward. In conclusion, laughing is the best way to make anyone feel better, and if you feelgood about yourself it helps you in life. So you can pretty much do anything to help youlaugh and make any day a really good day. I believe that laughing is probably the best curefor everything.

“And by the way, everything in life is writable about if youhave the outgoing guts to do it, and the imagination to improvise. The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt.” —Sylvia Plath

The Shade of Blue By Jacob Gamble Blue is the sky before the storm, and blue can be transformed into a rush of water in the cold salty ocean which can make the water bitter or make a pool of life for other creatures.Blue can cause the trees to sway before a dark storm, and even cause disaster; but for most, it saves all from the drought or adds to the flood of a stormy land. Blue can even be the beautiful sky on a spring day. It tells the children they can play. It tells their parents it will be a long day at work. Who can imagine a purple ocean or a pink sky? That is why blue is so essential.

HuntingBy Chase SweatI got up at 5:00 AM to go to thehunting club. I start a fire in thebarrel. My cousin and I meet everySaturday.We keep the fire burning until allmembers arrive. We check to seehow many guests are there.We give all the guests all rules.Then we plan where we will hunt.We load the dogs up in the dogbox. We all drive to the area thatwe will hunt.When they turn the dogs loose, itsounds like heaven. The shots fromthe guns sound like a cannon. TheCB radios are screaming witheveryone talking.The dogs run the deer toward me.I make sure it’s the deer and not thedogs or a person. I shoot the deer inthe neck.We all meet at the hunting club.We skin the deer and hang it in thecooler. I had a great day at thehunting club.

Peace, Please!? By: Aniyah Vinson I wish we had peace in the world. Some people think it is impossible, but I’m still questioning it. The first thing that is preventing world peace from happening is crime. People do badthings not only because they are mad and crazy, but because they don’t think about thefuture or what their lives could have been. Most take drugs or blame it on their childhood. People are destroying nature. If you want to live in peace, so do the animals! Youdestroy nature everyday simply by leaving a rapper on the ground. It’s not that hard tothrow something away. Polluted water kills fish! Turtles, more than once a year, are killedby plastic. Sad, right? You killed the animal! You can change the world if you try.Knocking down trees that animals have lived in. That’s their environment. How wouldyou feel if your house was torn down? Education: yousay it’s stupid andboring but if you wantto be a basketballplayer or a cheerleaderyou have to graduatefrom college. Sure youcan get a GED but it’snot going to get youfar in life. You mighthate it now but it doeswell in the future.Some don’t finishcollege or even highschool. We have twowords for that: dropouts. Dear kids—allkids--I’m trying to tellyou to finish school! We never can agree on things. This world needs to be at peace. I believe that theworld being at peace is necessary. We need it! Even if we did have peace in the worldnobody would confess that there is a problem. Speak out! Help out! Do as much as you canat your age. Just because you are a kid does not mean you don’t have to worry—you are anew generation, your time will soon come. I know the world is not perfect but you canalways change that by making a difference. Be the change you wish to see in the world.

The Moon By Tucker Higley I look up in the sky, see you shining bright like fire— all the stars scattered around you. Sometimes you look like a ball; other times only half is visible. Then times, a quarter is to be seen. Stars go shooting by; I see the little dipper, along with the big dipper. You make no sound. You are a silent planet. You are like a broken vacuum. You are always there at night. I look up to you at night. You sometimes give me light.PurpleBy Gabby BohnAs I walk down the road,I see a grape vine:violet as ever.The soft touch,the sour and sweet taste,makes my mind go blank—dark as night.But, I can still seethe crushing soundwhile people walk onthem, makes mejump, the smooth, darkcolor ofpurple.

I Only WonderBy Kayla WalkupI wonder,I wonder,Oh, I so deeply wonder,what would happen to you,what would happen to meif the world we lived inseized to be.What would happen if everything were different?If everything we knew changed within it.I wonder, would I then be a man?Would I know things now I then didn’t understand?Would I be an animal or still a human being?Wow, oh my, this change would be worth seeing.Maybe I’d be a cloud in the sky,or the rain falling from it,or the bird passing by.Maybe I’d be a rich and famous movie star.However, I know that change isn’t that far.What if I was disabled and didn’t have the things I do?How would I survive? What would I do?If I were blind in this new world, and could not see,I wonder then who would care for me?Or, if I were deaf and could not hear,would anyone be kind and lend me their ear?All of these questions I ask myself nowwould soon change the world itself.Or, I wonder if they would,I wonder,I wonder,Oh, I so deeply wonder,what would happen to you,what would happen to me,if the world we lived in seized to be.I wonder if you would still be youand if I would still beme.

Cinquain(s) By Gideon Manneraak baseball cool, fun running, catching, hitting America’s favorite pastime sport chicken cowardly, scared clucking, walking, eatingfeathered flightless small bird bird T.V. awesome, funny playing, pausing, recording best invention in history television paper lined, construction sitting, folding, recording blank piece of paper document

“One day I will find the right words, and they will be simple.” —Jack Kerouac