Bitter Sweet

Bitter Sweet

My best friend this year is a senior and I am a junior. She has just turned 18 this week and it has really kicked in that she won’t be by my side next year. I don’t know what I am going to do without the person who helps me with all my problems next year.

Mac and I have a very interesting relationship. We can get in the most ridiculous arguments and not want to talk to each other every again and say things we know we don’t mean. But honestly it doesn’t matter, because an hour later, we are best friends again. It’s like we are siblings. I practically live at her house, I take care of her little brother, and I treat her parents like my parents. I always tell her parents that I will still be at their house next year even though Mac won’t be there. It just wouldn’t be the same if I wasn’t over their at least once a week.

I have already promised Mac that I will take care of her little brother in high school when she’s gone and keep him out of trouble. I guess I just have to remember that she will be back for breaks and know she won’t be gone forever.

Although Mac and I act like kindergartners and argue about everything, she is still my best friend. I can still talk to her about anything no matter the situation. And she always has the best advice to help me through rough times of my life. I’m going to miss Mac to death, but I know there are a lot of more great memories to come with our friendship.  

(285 words)

An Ability to Refurbish

An Ability to Refurbish

As the Great Gatspy movie comes out, I have been interested in its sound track. The movie and book is set up in the roaring 20s, one of the most interesting time periods for me. While looking into the soundtrack that people like Jay z, Andree 3000, Beyoncé, and Florence are all contributing. This just shows the talent of some artist today to make their music fit into a movie set in the 1920s or maybe it shows how much music in the past has influenced music today.

                I have grown up in a home that greatly appreciates music, and for the longest time I believed that the music style today was a disgrace to the wonderful role models they had throughout the 1900s. But lately I have had hope, especially after listening to the Great Gatspy soundtrack. The artist on the soundtrack have been able to remake songs and make them like modern 20s songs but still have that old school feel.

                I have so much respect for artists who are able to remake songs to make them modern but then they are also putting a fresh feel to the old songs. I feel like they are more musically intelligent to understand what is needed to refurbish the music in order to introduce this fabulous old music to appeal to a new generation. I hope this tradition continues on in years to come. There is always something we can learn from the past and a lot of the past is based around music.

(260 words)

No Regrets

No Regrets

As I sit in the audience my eye lids begin to lower like an elevator heading to the first floor from a 10 story building becoming heavier and heavier while passing each floor. In a matter of second I am completely asleep and resting my head on my dates shoulder, then slowly falling to the floor pasted out. I had become hypnotized.

Soon I become abruptly awaken which upsets me. As the hypnotist brings me to the stage I seem to be extremely upset, with my smile turned completely upside down to a full frown. To others this was hilarious but to me I didn’t understand why people were laughing or why I was doing what was told of me to do, making me become even more upset. Although I was upset, that frown had turned around again when I was told that I was on a beach. I begin to relax and “lay out in the sun” even though it was prevalent we were inside in Iowa. But I begin to become upset again when I become overheated. I begin to fan myself with my shirt flashing my stomach to the whole audience and crying because I am so frustrated people are laughing at me. I am just thinking in my head, “Annie you aren’t really on a beach why are you so hot right now?” but it was because the hypnotist told me and I would do what he told me to.

The next event was receiving our birds. We didn’t actually have a bird on our finger, but it felt like we did. He told us to kiss our birds and love our birds. So of course I begin to kiss my bird uncontrollably and pet my bird like none other. As he goes down the line of hypnotized students he asks them what kind of bird they have and what their birds name is. As soon as he got to me I didn’t even have to think about what to say, it just came out. “Young lady, what kind of bird do you have?” Said the hypnotist I replied quickly with a quick “It’s a diva bird!” and again people begin to laugh. The hypnotist talks back to me “A what?” and again become angry “A DIVA BIRD!” I yell back to him. “Alright what is your diva bird’s name?” he asks me and I reply with a sassy “Beyoncé” and he laughs and continues down the line.

As the show goes on my memory of anything tends to deteriorate my friends had told me afterwards that at the end of the show all the hypnotized people were in an MTV dance contest and the winner got a cash prize. As soon as they told me I knew I would be embarrassed. I tend to get into my dancing, and to dance like that in front of an audience would be quiet embarrassing. I was told that I got “ghetto” with my dancing. I was apparently shaking my back side uncontrollably and doing a lot of Beyoncé body rolls. I expected nothing less than what I did that night.

Being hypnotized is a crazy experience, but there is nothing I regret. It’s funny to hear all the stories and think, yes I remember doing that, but why did I do that? If you ever have the opportunity to get hypnotized, grab that bull by the horns and do it, it’s a wonderful experience!

(580 words)

All Men Make Mistakes

“Think: all men make mistakes

But a good man yeilds when he

Knows his course is wrong,

And repairs the evil: The only

Crime is pride."

I think this passage means that yes, we make mistakes, but if we take the time to think before we have the opportunity to make the mistake, we will be left with pride in the decision we made. While reading through this writing there are a couple of examples that come to mind, one big one is soccer. When you play soccer yes, you make lots of mistakes, but it’s how you recover from these mistakes that make you the player you are. “when he know his course is wrong, and repairs the evil” is like taking the time to think about the pass you are making or the tackle you are going into before you do it. By taking the time, you don’t make the mistake and your team keeps possession of the ball leaving you with pride of a well-played game.

The word choice in this quotation I feel has a lot of impact on the meaning. By using words like evil and crime, it makes it seem like it’s not just everyday mistakes like forgetting to turn off your car lights but something big like committing a crime. Also the word yield made me stop and think. By using yield it makes me think that this man is very apprehensive about this wrong he is thinking about doing. For me I thought about a yellow light which you are supposed to yield to, but does he yield or does he speed through before the light quickly changes to red? One thing I don’t really understand is why the quote ends with the only crime is pride, it makes it seem like you can’t go wrong when you choose to stay away from the mistake, but that completely wrong. There are hundreds of cases where a mistake came out to be fantastic. For example chocolate chips were a mistake, and where would life be today if we didn’t have chocolate chips?

 

(350 words)

Too Much

Too Much

“I spent 300 dollars on my homecoming dress.” When I hear this my first reaction is WHAT!? Who has the kind of money to spend that much on a dress you will wear once? No scratch that, who has the desire to spend that much on a dress you will wear once? These days, the price of your dress means more than what it looks like. Some people are so insecure about themselves that they feel like they need to overcompensate with how much they spend on clothes.

Yes homecoming is a big deal but personally, I try to find the lowest price when it comes to dresses or regular street clothes. One of the greatest feelings is walking out of goodwill with good buys and spending a fourth of what you would spend at regular stores. I don’t think people understand that you can find cute clothes for a good price. Even if goodwill or thrifting isn’t your thing, you can still find reasonable that look better than name brand clothes anyways.

One of my pet peeves are miss me jeans http://www.missme.com/jeans/boot-cut/. If you look at them you would understand why I dislike them so much. Why would you want a disco ball on your back side, along with spending 100 dollars plus on a pair of jeans? Instead of have a disco ball butt and being broke after buying one pair of jeans, try target or forever21 . At these cheap stores you can find jeans that are actually fashionable.

Another no no in my book are uggs http://www.uggaustralia.com/classic-boots/women-boots-classic,default,sc.html. First off there is a reason they are called uggs, because they are ugly. And second, they are completely overpriced. Again, you can honestly go to a store like target and get a pair of cute boots for 20 dollars rather than going to get uggs that are over 8 times more expensive and, in my opinion, 100 times less attractive.

In order to become a successful shopper you need to:

1. Buy cute clothes, not expensive clothes. The price of your clothes does NOT reflect how “fashionable” they are.

2. Consider your dollar per wear. Before buying the item, consider if the price is worth it. For example let’s say a shirt is 20 dollars, will you wear that shirt at least 20 times in the next year? If so purchase it, it’s a great dollar per wear.

3. Get outside your comfort zone. Try thrifting. It’s fun, cheap, and cute.

4. Wear what you want to wear; don’t just wear something because it’s the “cool” thing to do.

5. Express yourself, be you.

I don’t mean to offend anyone by my pet peeves or my shopping tips. I just don’t think it’s very necessary to spend an insane amount of money on clothes. Girls especially, are too self-conscious about what they wear. Calm down ladies, you can look good, without going into debt. Just broaden your horizon and go outside of your box. You could be surprised on what you can find if you just let go of how much you are spending on your clothes. In an economy like ours, be smart and follow my tips. Youll look good and feel good about how much you’re spending.

(545 words)

Would We be The Same?

Would We Be the Same?

Do you ever feel like you wouldn’t be the same person if something hadn’t happened to you? I feel like certain things happen for a reason, either to teach you a lesson or to help you mature. I feel like if I had grown up in a super wealthy home I wouldn’t be the same person I am today. Things like that really transform a person.

The other day I was discussing this topic with my best friend, and she completely agrees with me. After her family had a house fire about 6 years ago, she had to quickly morph into a responsible young adult. They had lost a lot, but no fire could destroy how close knit that family is. The fire had just brought them closer. That’s why I wonder if that fire happened for a reason. Maybe her family was meant to get closer or maybe she was supposed to mature quickly and early.

What if the house fire never happened? Would she be the same person? Would I still have become best friends with her? Or would we have lived completely different lives? This is why I think things happen for a reason. I can’t imagine what life would be like without her being who she is.

Although the things that happen to us may be devastating, I think it’s important to remember some positive is going to come out of it. By growing up in a home wear money is tight, I have become liable and more down to earth. By experiencing a house fire, my friend had matured into a grateful, responsible, young lady.

So weather it’s something little like a rainy day, or something traumatic like a death in the family it all happens for a reason. Like they say, what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. Life isn’t going to always be cotton candy and rainbows, so turn those tough times into positives and let them help you grow into the person you’re meant to be in life. It all happens for a reason, so let it happen.

(350 words)

Simply Amazing

Simply Amazing

Every little kid has a dream about what they want to do when they grow up. Mine was to be on Broadway. I just knew I was born to star in the play Annie as the freckled red headed orphan. But these plans have drastically changed. I no longer sing, dance, or act. So I think Broadway may be a little out of the question.

Sense Broadway didn’t really work out, I have completely changed directions. I would like to major in Special Education while I am in college. My main goal is to become a middle school autism or special needs teacher.

Over the past few years I have gotten the opportunity to work with a few of these amazing kids. It’s so interesting to me how they learn and grow. I think they are underestimated on their abilities. These kids have special talents, that people who don’t have problems learning would struggle with tremendously. Some of these kids may have better memories, math skills, or even musical skills. You never know what they are really capable of doing till you observe them in their own environment.

This summer is when I had decided that this is what I really want to do. The turning point for me was watching my buddy Clayton. Clayton is almost completely nonverbal, so of course he is behind for his grade on learning. Although he cannot talk correctly, this kid would never fail to put you in a good mood. Just looking at him can put a smile on your face. Just image a 5’7” seventh grader with his tan skin and a nice slicked back comb over, manipulating his skin and bone body in ways you didn’t think were humanly possible. The way he can bend his body is like Gumby, I swear he has no bones, and then suddenly he’ll just burst into a big loud laughter for no apparent reason in order for you to smile. It’s like he knows the perfect timing on when you need a pick me up, to me there is nothing better than this kid.

It’s not just Clayton to be inspired by, it’s all of them. They have their own corks that can just make you giggle. It’s things like these that just persuade me more into this career. I honestly could not picture myself doing anything else. I have my heart set.

(400 words)