The Ways

Author's Note: This is a poem that was very heart-felt for me.

I miss the ways

You got me to laugh

I miss the ways

You hugged me when I cried

I miss the times when

You always cared

What happened?

Why did you have to leave?

I miss you

Tommo.

Author's Note: My inspiration for this poem was one of my favorite singers.

The sound of your voice

Is like a laugh

Hard to forget

back But the pictures it brings

Just aren't worth 

The tears I cry

Because of it

Falling

Author's Note: This is me being creative. Once I was done with this, it reminded me of Geronimo Stilton books with the adjectives in different font. Who knows, maybe it was my 3rd grade self coming back creatively?

 

The white, fluffy bits of cold

F

    A

L

    L

I

    N

G

From the clouds

Like a snow-globe's fake snow 

B  r  i  s  k  i  n  g  your face

Leaving a chill

And your face tense

As though it has been permanently

FROZEN

I Wish.

Author's Note: This piece is basically me venting how I feel about people. In all honesty, people bother me in the way that they treat people because of the differences they might have.

Have you ever possibly wished that  things could be back to the way they used to be when you were younger? When no one cared what you looked like because we were all accepting of one another. When everyone talked to each other because we were taught to be nice to everyone. When everyone included everyone because differences didn't matter. I feel like I live in a world where judging is thought to be okay. Oh wait...I do. Nobody is accepting of one another any more because we all changed in many different ways and some people can't look through all of that to see what is hidden underneath.

People don't realize how frequently their so called "friends," talk badly behind their backs. This usually occurs because of problems within the friendship or because the two friends were changing and the other friend didn't like their changes. Especially being mad about stupid little things. If someone talks behind your back, you obviously never find out from them; always another friend. Then there becomes problems with how the friends act around each other and depending on the people, it can get better or worse. 

It seems, as you move through your teenage years, you begin to notice the changing in the ways that people act around other people. You lose friends, you make friends, you learn who is there for you when you mess up and who isn't. People don't stay friends because they can't accept differences and they don't want to see the changed person that you have become. Some people, once they reach a certain age, don't care about particular people anymore because they figure that those people don't care about them anymore because they both have changed. 

Throughout writing this whole essay and thinking about what to write, the main thing that came to mind was judging people. That is how you are classed in this society because people make judgments. Sometimes, the way you look at someone and how you picture who they are, is the total opposite. Many people in this world are as happy as clams by day but go home and cry at night because of things that go on that people don't notice. 

People are not willing to look underneath the layer of skin that is on someone to see how they really are on the inside. They jump on every chance they get to judge someone on their changes. Everyone is different and will change in their own ways to become their own person. Before you are quick to make assumptions about someone, give them a second look and set the differences you may have beside. 

The Surface

Author's Note: I just got creative because I was bored. :)

The frog leapt a       c       r         o         s         s

The lily pads

In front of it  -  with its baby

Carefully choosing where they landed

Trying not to fall

     below the surface

Room, Basement, Closet, What Else?

Author's Note: This is an essay on theme analysis and the theme I picked out of the book Room, by Emma Donoghue was hope. You will see in many ways throughout this essay how that theme is indeed expressed in the book as well.

Imagine being trapped in a room, disguised as a shed for five to seven years with nobody knowing you were in there...Tough thing to think about isn’t it? People have been searching for you for a while but you were kidnapped and nobody knew... try living with that one. Trying to get out but you just can't make it happen... Picture the pain. This was how Jack and Ma lived in the book, Room by Emma Donoghue. This story supports the theme of hope because throughout the whole book, they have a sense of hope that they can get past Old Nick and reconvene with their family.  (Donoghue, Room)

Ma always had hope that they could get out of Room. She says to Jack, "The point is, we need to escape before that. You're going to get back in the rug now and practice some more till you get the knack of wriggling out." (Donoghue) Room is only an 11x11 foot space; only in your dreams could you live in a place that small. You can sense the panicky vibe she is giving off because she feels so strongly about successfully tricking Old Nick into getting out of Room. This also represents the kind of person Ma came off to me as through the author's writing; strong-willed, confident, and brave- and hopeful. 

I get a feeling that Jack is hoping that Old Nick isn’t ripping her to shreds for what she planned to do but he did. It would be his doing for her being killed. That she is still alive. You can sense it through what the author wrote down that he was thinking. Ma, Ma, Ma. I don’t hear her in my head, she’s not talking. His hands are so tight around her, tighter, tighter, tighter, she can’t talk, she can’t breathe, she can’t anything. Alive things bend but she’s bent and bent and—“  (Donoghue, Room) Jack seems like a child that is easily scared. Who wouldn’t be if they were kept a secret for so many years and suddenly exposed to so many new things?

Similar to the book Room was an article that I read was called, "Girl Was Kept In Closet For Years," this had the central theme of hope. Locked in through not the child's words, but what I took from the article that it seemed how the child would feel in that situation. This child was locked in a closet for approximately four years, and was kept there by parents and siblings. People pretended she didn't exist. Her real dad didn't even know she was alive. The only thing that could have possibly kept this child going was hope. Room and this depressing story are similar in that some of their family members did not know that they were in there, in the case of Ma and Jack, that they were even alive. (Prosecutors: Girl was Kept in Closet for Years)

Not only have people been kept in rooms and closets, but now in basements as well. "Wisconsin Girl has been Abused" is another example of extreme form of abuse that took place. A poor-sadly teen at only fifteen years of age was forced to stay in the basement with no food or water for long periods of time. You could tell the only thing she could turn to was hoping. Hoping that everything was going to be alright. She was, by her father and step-mother, required to complete certain "tasks" that were not pleasant. You can tell that she was hoping to someday get out of the basement and away from the torture because of how she decided to escape; through a window. This relates to Room, in the way that Ma was forced to also complete the same "tasks." (Police: Malnourished Wisconsin Girl has been Abused; Locked in Basement since 2006)

In hopes they can reconvene with their family, Ma and Jack cling to the sense of hope throughout a large portion of the novel, Room by Emma Donoghue. As you've read, you've have most likely noticed that this realistic fiction story isn’t just found in fiction novels. It is one of the thousands of things that happen to not only kids, but adults as well. There are many other tragic things that can take place and ruin someone for what could be, the rest of their lives. 

Jamestown

Author's Note: This essay is about the difficult times that the settlers of our country went through. I have sited all my sources that I used to find this information in the sentence that it is used in. After I had my conference, I was told that my sources were not cited correctly. My teacher told me that it was okay that I don't correct it so if you really care that the sources were not done right, mind them.

Since Europe brought difficult times to the settlers, they decided to move to a New World. As they boarded the ship to hopefully a better life, different thoughts were running through everyone's minds. They thought they had an idea in where they were going to end up because they thought it was going to be Asia. They had been to Asia before, but just going in a different direction. However, they ended up in America with the Powhatan Indians. Being with the Indians laid out even more struggles in their paths. A tremendous amount of colonists died when they settled in Jamestown because of sickness, starvation, and Indian attacks.

Many people died back in the 1600's because there was either no treatment for what was wrong, or they didn't feel like they would be any help to anything anymore because of their sickness. Sometimes they didn't even know they had a virus. Brackish water was also a huge problem for the settlers because they didn't know that it was, in a sense, toxic. It is a combination of fresh water and salt water and it is not safe to drink. (Doc A) Another large problem that occurred was that human waste was dumped into the river and it just sat. It didn't move down-stream, it just sat and festered. Therefore, the people that didn't know about that water and drank it or bathed in it, got sick and died eventually as well. (Doc A)

Though sickness took a huge toll on the population, starvation was an even larger killer. Starvation was probably the biggest problem among the English. Because they arrived fairly close to the beginning of winter, they obviously didn't have enough time for the crops they needed for winter to grow, so it was a very long and hard winter. (historicjamestowne.org) Another factor was that they had to share the land with the Indians and there honestly wasn't enough food for both settlements. The English began to strong-arm more and more villages in the area wanting food; relations quickly deteriorated and soon came to cause problems .(historicjamestowne.org) Drought was also a problem throughout the years at Jamestown. The longest unbroken period of drought was 1607-1612. (Doc B)

Even though things were already difficult with sickness and starvation, the Indians started attacking.  When the English arrived in Virginia, the Powhatan Indians were already there and they had already made a place to call home. They weren't exactly what you would call thrilled to see other people take over their land. Nobody for sure knows why, but the Indians started attacking and killing the English starting in 1607-1608. (Doc E) They only killed 13 people within those two years which is pretty good considering how many people they could've killed. However, in the next summer, about 134 were killed in the attacks. (Doc E) Most people predict that these attacks occurred because when the English got hungry, they thought it was okay to kill people for what they wanted. (Doc D) Those raids for food are most likely what sparked the issues with the Indians. (historicjamestowne.org) 

As you've read, it was a dangerous and deadly period of time for the colonists from England. Due to sickness, starvation, and Indian attacks, hundreds of settlers died. What they thought would turn out to be an easy trek over to the New World, ended up being much of a hardship in many ways. They thought they would find gold and things to help them in the next years to thrive as a society. (historicjamestowne.org) Instead they encountered hunger and death as their main events. By May of 1610, only 60 of the 500 settlers that come to Jamestown, made it out alive. (Making Thirteen Colonies- Joy Hakim)